Cars of 2020

[Chrill]

Mercedes has decided to ditch the silver in their Silver Arrows paint scheme, in an effort to support the BLM movement in which Lewis Hamilton is involved.



I mean, it looks good, and the cause is one I hope we all wholeheartedly support. However, I don't see how a black car tackles racism any more than a silver car. Perhaps a white and black fist together, as in Bubba Wallace's BLM livery, would at least highlight something. Mercedes, however, opted for a more subtle call on their halo to "end racism".

[Penfold]

I know it's a laudable cause (even if sadly some of the people involved in the UK BLM movement are Marxists with ulterior motives - destruction of The State), but I really just want to watch a bit of sport in a nice relaxed mindset without having politics shoved down my throat.  That said, if Mercedes is determined to make a political statement, why don't they refuse to race in China where the state is busily persecuting countless Uighurs?  Or like so many others does their grandstanding only extend to the point where it costs them money....

[Chrill]

Now, keep in mind I am one of the Marxists aiming to destroy reform the State. (All Scandinavians are, with our dangerous democratic socialism. )

Sports and politics are intertwined, you can't really have anything without politics if it's on an international scale. It applies to movies, sports, musical acts, and indeed even my own leisurely travels. Me deciding to travel to Israel is equal to approving their occupation of Palestine territory. Me going to Turkey is equal to accepting how Erdogan treats the Kurds. And yes, me visiting USA is equal to allowing the detention of migrant children on the border to Mexico.

Yes, Lewis could refuse to race in countries that do not align with his world views. That would keep him out of a lot of races, but it would also send a shock wave across the world. He is in a massive position of power, being arguably the most famous F1 driver ever. People who have literally no interest in sports can sometimes name Schumacher, they can rarely if ever name Senna, and they haven't got a clue who Vettel, Fangio, Prost, Alonso, Lauda, or Stewart is. But they know Hamilton. If he simply refused to race in China, Bahrain, UAE, USA, Brazil, Azerbaijan, Russia, etc. then F1 would get unprecedented media coverage.

[Penfold]

There is a world of difference between the aims (and methods) of British Marxism and Scandinavian Socialism.  Do you genuinely believe that The State as is should be dismantled?  That capitalism should be purged from society?  Do you consider it acceptable to deface war memorials such as The Cenotaph?  If you're a British Marxist you will answer 'yes' to all of the above.

Me deciding to travel to Israel is equal to approving their occupation of Palestine territory. Me going to Turkey is equal to accepting how Erdogan treats the Kurds. And yes, me visiting USA is equal to allowing the detention of migrant children on the border to Mexico.

I wouldn't say that tourism, which often provides vital employment for people in poor regions, is exactly equivalent to a sport such as F1 taking a bit fat cheque from a brutal 'Government' before participating in a State-run event.

Yes, Lewis could refuse to race in countries that do not align with his world views. That would keep him out of a lot of races, but it would also send a shock wave across the world.

Note that I said if Mercedes is determined to make a political statement they could refuse to race in China (or Bahrain!), and by extension it would have to be F1 as a sport making that call - but of course when pressed on that whole messy Bahrain situation a few years back, F1's meek response was that they shouldn't involve themselves in a political matter.  In other words, by all means give us a cause to support but only if it won't cost us anything.

On a side note, lumping the USA in with regimes such as China, Bahrain, Russia, etc is frankly bizarre.

[Chrill]

Do you genuinely believe that The State as is should be dismantled?  That capitalism should be purged from society?  Do you consider it acceptable to deface war memorials such as The Cenotaph?

Well, I don't know what "The Cenotaph" is so I couldn't tell you if your Marxists would embrace me. I do however believe that the State should be more present, not dismantled. Sweden's healthiest stints (and indeed why our economy blossomed post-WW2 which laid foundation to Sweden being a major player financially today despite our tiny population) came about due to a strong state which encouraged companies to invest and helped them survive due to a larger tax burden also allowing a larger redistribution to those who needed it. Sweden is constantly rated as one of the greatest countries for startups. In addition to newer companies like Spotify, Skype, DICE, Klarna, Mojang, and King (makers of Candy Crush), we also have H&M, Volvo, IKEA, AstraZeneca, Ericsson, and Scania. Not bad for a country that only just reached 10 million in population.

We need not discuss politics, we are clearly on different ends of the spectrum. I'll just end with saying that my political ideology can be summed up like this: If you've got more money than you can spend, and people in your country starve to death at the same time, you're a bit of a shit person.

I think that statement is a lot more agreeable than tossing around expressions like "destroying the State" or "British Marxism".

[Penfold]

The British Marxists won't like being categorised as an expression.... I only mentioned them to highlight their presence within BLM UK and why people should think twice before taking a knee in solidarity.  We're not talking cuddly socialists here, they don't talk of encouraging companies to invest and then redistributing profits through higher taxation, the belief is that all levers of the economy should be owned & operated by the State.  And if that doesn't endear them to people, you can add in the recent tweet about mainstream British politics being gagged from critiquing Zionism - nothing quite like a dose of good old-fashioned 'Jews run the World' paranoia.

I did say that The Cenotaph is a war memorial.  To elaborate, it's the one where our annual Remembrance Sunday event takes place to honour the British & Commonwealth dead of the two World Wars.

AstraZeneca Swedish?  Global really, but probably more British than Swedish these days....

Guess that's it for now, other than to say what's the point in discussing politics with people who share your exact views?  You might as well stare in a mirror and talk to yourself.

[Chrill]

I did say that The Cenotaph is a war memorial.  To elaborate, it's the one where our annual Remembrance Sunday event takes place to honour the British & Commonwealth dead of the two World Wars.

War memorial is very broad, but your clarification was helpful!

what's the point in discussing politics with people who share your exact views?  You might as well stare in a mirror and talk to yourself.

Very true. At best, both walk away with wider knowledge and more understanding. At worst, nothing changes.

[Penfold]

Absolutely.  Though I note you side-stepped my insightful AstraZeneca comment....

[Chrill]

Absolutely.  Though I note you side-stepped my insightful AstraZeneca comment....

I'd definitely consider it a Swedish company! But even if only the Astra part is Swedish, it's still testament to a small nation being successful in many fields. Compare it to Norway or Finland, where I can name just a few companies. For Norway, there's oil producer Statoil and phone operator Telenor. For Finland, there's phone maker Nokia and app developer (Angry Birds!) Rovio. Danish companies? Uh, well, Magnussen is sponsored by something called Jack & Jones which I think is a clothing brand, then there's Carlsberg (probably not the best beer in Denmark, even), Maersk, and Lego.

[Penfold]

Sweden definitely punches above its weight in the corporate world and you seem to have a broad economy, by which I mean there's a healthy spread across different sectors - plus future-proofing courtesy of a vibrant start-up scene.  Puts you in a good position not only relative to your Scandinavian friends/rivals/sworn enemies (delete as applicable) but also to someone like Germany, whose bias towards heavy industry might not be such a positive going forward.