Michael J

[Master_Debunker @Master_Debunker]

✴️ FEELINGS OVER FACTS ✴️

The Rape Gang Inquiry Report lacks serious credibility as a rigorous, objective, or authoritative inquiry. It functions primarily as a political advocacy document rather than a neutral fact-finding exercise. Here are my findings.

- It is a private, self-appointed project chaired by a sitting MP with strong, pre-existing views on immigration, multiculturalism, and the specific issues covered. It has no statutory powers, no government backing, no independent panel of experts or judges, and no ability to compel witnesses or evidence. Official inquiries (e.g., Jay Report, Telford Inquiry) operate under formal terms of reference with legal authority; this one does not.

- Crowdfunded by a self-selecting donor base. Raised £600k from over 20,000 donors explicitly framed as British patriots. This creates obvious selection bias and incentive problems. Transparency exists on the associated website, but funding from aligned supporters undermines claims of neutrality.

- Heavy reliance on speculative and disputed national extrapolations. The headline claim of at least 250,000 victims since the 1950s originates from loose extrapolations by Lord Pearson (House of Lords, 2018–2019) scaling up Rotherham figures. Independent analyses (e.g., Full Fact) have repeatedly flagged this as methodologically weak and unsupported by comprehensive data. Official sources consistently note poor national recording and avoid such precise high-end totals. The report presents it as established fact.

- Theological causation claims exceed the evidence. Sections attributing the phenomenon primarily to the Influence of Islam (citing specific Quranic verses, hadiths, supremacism doctrines, etc.) represent ideological interpretation rather than empirical criminological analysis. Official inquiries identify cultural attitudes, clan networks, misogyny, and opportunity structures in certain communities as key factors. They do not frame core Islamic theology as the driver. This overreach shifts the document from inquiry to polemic.

- Selective focus and lack of balance. Strong emphasis on one perpetrator demographic (Pakistani Muslim men) in group-based CSE, while giving minimal weight to data limitations, other offender groups, broader child sexual exploitation patterns, or countervailing evidence. Official reviews acknowledge overrepresentation in specific prosecuted cases but stress poor data quality and the risks of overgeneralisation. The report's framing amplifies one narrative.

- Advocacy tone and emotive language. Mixes formal report structure with highly charged rhetoric ("evil," "demonic chapter," "barbarism," calls for maximum penalties including death in places). Political accusations against named figures (e.g., Starmer, Khan) are presented in accusatory terms rather than balanced analysis of institutional failures documented in prior reports.

- Anonymised, untested testimonies with no adversarial process — Survivor and whistleblower accounts are powerful and consistent with known cases, but they are anonymised and collected in a non-statutory setting without cross-examination, corroboration requirements, or legal safeguards typical of official inquiries or criminal proceedings. This limits verifiability.

- No independent verification or peer review. It draws on existing public inquiries and media but adds its own scaling and interpretive layers without external methodological scrutiny. Claims of 149 districts and nationwide patterns since the 1950s rest on compilation rather than new rigorous fieldwork.

Bottom line: The report has value in amplifying survivor voices on a genuinely serious and historically mishandled. However, its methodological weaknesses, partisan leadership and funding, speculative statistics, and ideological framing mean it does not meet the standards of a serious, credible inquiry. It is best read as a political intervention rather than a definitive or neutral source.

[Michael J @psykomyko18]

I loved Eddington, but I also think dipping into the "current cultural/political topics" of the day again isn't really something that I would like from him. Plus this just doesn't sound interesting at all.

[DiscussingFilm @DiscussingFilm]

Ari Aster's next film ‘SCAPEGOAT’ will reportedly follow a surgeon operating on a Jake Paul-inspired character who dies during surgery.

The surgeon then faces scrutiny from his wife and brother, reportedly inspired by Erika Kirk & Logan Paul.

(Source: https://t.co/zle947w8L3)

[MenasLG @MenasLG]

What a striking visual, fromsoft artists are unmatched.

[DiscussingFilm @DiscussingFilm]

Bob Odenkirk has returned as Saul Goodman in a new video celebrating 250 years of America.

[Lee Hepner @LeeHepner]

Per film box office averages are up. Demand for theatrical is highest among younger moviegoers. It's not a natural death - Netflix has diverted hundreds of movies from theatrical release. The lack of supply (more movies) is deliberate attrition. https://t.co/3Zb139FQMl

[Lee Hepner @LeeHepner]

You want to talk about reversing the out-migration of film & TV production, closing the indie distribution gap and preventing the collapse of theatrical exhibition?

Stop allowing streaming platforms to integrate with production and distribution studios!

[Rory Johnston @Rory_Johnston]

alright, let’s see how many ships Tehran lets through tomorrow

[Michael J @psykomyko18]

@vordb Thankfully this isn't true since The Duskbloods comes out this year, which is a mainline title.

[Michael J @psykomyko18]

The system is rigged...

... in your favor as well, jackass.

[Gavin Newsom @GavinNewsom]

Americans are struggling to pay for groceries and gas while Elon Musk becomes a TRILLIONAIRE.

When the federal government is for sale, the rich get richer and everyone else gets shafted.

The system is rigged.

[Matt Stoller @matthewstoller]

Apropros of nothing, I've been wondering what happens if the market bubble pops. https://t.co/oTYE6NNz05

[Parker Gabriel @ParkerJGabriel]

Sean Payton said they watched Ja'Quan McMillian's game-saving pick against Buffalo last week on McMillian's birthday.

"I said, there will be a day you’ll come visit me and I’ll be having applesauce and I won’t remember your name, but I’ll remember that play."

[USA Reject @sadreturns]

how has it been 18 years and this is still one of the funniest videos on the entire internet

[Lee Roach @leevalueroach]

SpaceX is the most overhyped IPO of the decade and it will end exactly the way every overhyped IPO ends. Facebook IPO’d at $38 and traded under that for 15 months. Uber IPO’d at $45 and is still below that adjusted seven years later for a while. WeWork tried at $47 billion and ended at zero. Robinhood IPO’d at $38, hit $85, then $7. Coinbase IPO’d at $381 and was at $40 two years later. Rivian IPO’d at a $100 billion valuation with no meaningful revenue and gave back 90%. Beyond Meat. Peloton. Lyft. DoorDash. Bird. Each one a “generational company” the day it priced.

Each one a wealth destruction event for retail within 18 months. The pattern is not a coincidence. Hype IPOs are designed to transfer wealth from the people buying the story to the people who built the story. The bankers get paid. The early employees get out. The VCs get a markup they can show their LPs. The retail investor gets the bag. SpaceX is a great company. That has nothing to do with whether it’s a great stock at IPO. Greatness was already priced in five funding rounds ago. You are not getting in early. You are buying the exit. The only IPO worth chasing is the one nobody is talking about. Those don’t exist anymore because every IPO is marketed like a movie release. So the answer is: don’t chase. Wait two years. Buy it down 70% when the lockup unwinds and the narrative breaks. Or don’t buy it at all and put the money somewhere the bankers haven’t already extracted the alpha. Hype is not an asset class. It’s a tax.

[Zach Segars @Zach_Segars]

Definitely points to a healthy relationship between ownership, the FO, and Sean Payton

Also would be pretty odd to make this move after forcibly removing playcalling, so I think this is further evidence of Payton being on board there

[Alex @ajak1033]

The Spurs know how to TAKE the lead, they just don't know how to HOLD the lead. And that's really the most important part of the lead: the holding

[Zac Stevens @ZacStevensDNVR]

Bo Nix arguably has better stats than Patrick Mahomes since he entered the NFL:

Bo:
24-10 record
64.8% completion
54 TDs
23 INTs
8 4th quarter comebacks
10 game winning drives

Mahomes:
21-9 record
65.3%
48 TDs
22 INTs
6 4th quarter comebacks
8 game-winning drives

[The Duskbloods @TheDuskbloods]

Transcend humanity as the Bloodsworn. Wield eccentric blood powers and experience a small part of what the Dusk Battle has to offer in The Duskbloods network test. Please keep an eye on this account for details coming at a later date.

[Iron Pineapple @IronPineapple_]

DUSKBLOODS CLOSED NETWORK TEST SOON OMG

[VGC @VGC_News]

The producer of the upcoming Onimusha: Way of the Sword has addressed players' complaints that the demo is too easy.

Akihito Kadowaki has explained why it was made this way, and assured players the full game will be more challenging.

https://t.co/MRhuDohKng

[Michael J @psykomyko18]

He wasn't harsh enough. I nearly fell asleep watching that movie.

[The Hollywood Handle @HollywoodHandle]

Luca Guadagnino says ‘TOP GUN: MAVERICK’ is a “very bad movie.”

He says people liked it “because the economy of nostalgia right seems to be the only commodity that can be dominated by all types of markets.”

(Via: https://t.co/cCRBiiRYun)