I have tried to contact HQ regarding this fora. Cant access

I reckon Kate got the clippers out. He probably asked for a number 3 at the sides and a 4 on top, and she just shaved the lot.

[gasp] do you think it's a faked picture of William?

Actually, it does look better, nothing worse than a comb-over

Yes, I think more people would join in if there was a 'News' forum which was separate from a Politics one, although very often the two merge.

Mind you, we'd have to be careful about the phenomenon of our times, FAKE news. It's easily manufactured and spread.

I should doff my cap here, and say it looks better short.
He is very bald!

I suppose politics could be brought into anything but sometimes news is just news.
eg
The death of a famous person
Swimmers rescued by a drone
Mount Mayon volcan is spewing out lava
And apparently Prince William cutting his hair extremely short (well shaved) is news

News and politics are not good bedfellows?

Most news on the television is political. Politics is about people.
I agree that if you want to put some good gentle news, photos of kittens, etc., rescued in the snow, go on chat. That's what chat is for.
If someone put something about the NHS in news, does that mean it's not political, so only those who agree with what the Tories are doing to the NHS should go on the NHS in the news thread?

What’s really going on here is an attempt by the right to stifle free speech - I don’t criticise the existence of the Games threads - I just don’t go on them. If you don’t like political debate then ignore news and politics threads and take your chance on Chat. IMO it’s sour grapes because the right on here are nowhere near as erudite as the left and therefore because they don’t want to play and lose,they want to stop others from playing. What on Earth is politics if it’s not a debate about alternative ways of achieving specific objectives?

I don't think it would work because sooner or later one of the 'debaters' would contribute a contrary post to an 'everyone agreeing with each other' topic and the thread police would jump on them and then there'd be a bit of a row...

Short of banning people from the 'In the News' forum (which, of course, wouldn't be possible) I don't see how it could be avoided.

I don't know why people don't just use Chat if they want to avoid possible heated debate...

How is politics not related to party politics?

Who wants a thread on thousands without power after winter weather unless there’s a political issue about the failure to maintain the infrastructure which would have its roots in issues around privatisation of basic utilities. On the other hand those affected could go on chat and share their experiences for coping. Sad deaths can go in news and politics - why not? Or chat? Beauty queen hits back at racist critics - pure politics. Wolf story - issues around keeping wolves in captivity,how was it able to escape,accountability and responsibility,funding issues - what if someone had been injured by said wolf, hours waiting in A&E,access to legal aid to sue???

No-one is asking for party politics to be excluded. They would like Politics and In the News to be two sections, as they were to start with. That would not be a hard and fast division, that is impossible in any section. However, it does open the door to the chance that a given thread would perhaps escape the notice of the keen debaters, who might not be casting their sharp eyes over a section not under the heading of "Politics", and others could discuss it non-debatingly (sorry to invent that word, but can't for the moment think of a better one)

Surely politics includes party politics but is not exclusively party politics. It would be a strange political forum which excluded party politics.

Maizie If it stayed at that, no-one would be asking to separate news and politics, but politics have become purely party politics - there is never a discussion of any aspect of looking after our physical world and managing the people in it that doesn't morph into labelling saints and sinners, sheep and goats and not admitting any good in the sinners and goats or any fauts in the saints and sheep.

I rather think that most of your 'news items' could become political, Elegran.

Apart, perhaps, from the sad death of Peter Wyngarde (I hadn't realised just how old he was )

I don't necessarily mean party political , just everyday 'how we mediate life in our society for all its members and how we look after our physical world'.

I missed that!
and hadn't heard about Peter Wyngarde.

Really, I should get out less and turn on the telly.

BTW, the cocaine in the fresh pineapple wasn't a scientific discovery of why fresh pineapple is so tasty. The cocaine was packed in plastic inside pineapple to be transported.

" it is difficult to find any thread on it which is "news" but not "politics"" That is because most people considering starting a thread about headlines in the news like the following thinks twice about venturing into the gladiatorial pit of News and Politics They post instead in a less confrontational area - Chat perhaps - but all these are in the news. If they are too frivolous to be serious news, then either news and politics do not belong together or it is not true that "Everything is political"

"Winter weather: Thousands without power after gales hit UK"
"Berkshire wolf escaped 'after gate left open'"
"2017 'warmest year without El Niño'"
"Beauty queen hits back at racist critics"
"Cocaine found in fresh pineapples"
"Peter Wyngarde dies aged 90"

I've noticed some comments on the News and Politics forum protesting "this thread is not political", interestingly in response to someone who challenged the view of a previous poster.

There are plenty of innocuous websites for those who want to avoid controversy, and plenty of non-controversial threads on GN.

The News and Politics forum is there to engage in debate- and that includes differing opinions. This is the most popular GN forum and it is difficult to find any thread on it which is "news" but not "politics".

And just because it’s in Chat doesn’t mean it won’t or shouldn’t become ‘political’. Threads develop and meander - and attract those dreadful dreadful ranters and cutters and pasters. Truly shocking.

politics is LIFE ..from street lights to Trident and everything in between ,decisions made about every facet of your life is a political decision.I guess I'm one of the offenders who brings politics into threads.Thats because I'm passionate about my country and how its being systematically destroyed by Tory policy .I may consider if Gransnet is really a site for me ,I find myself out of step a lot with the mainly southern grans who can neither see nor understand a Scottish Nationalists point of view ..cybernats someone called us on here recently.....so why not BRITNATS ,for the rest who are unionists?Whats good for the goose...?

jolly why don’t you put this on Site Stuff - HQ will see it and the discussion can take place on there - I really can’t imagine HQ would change the board anyway just because you contacted them.

You could always post something in the “chat” section if you just wanted to talk about something non political. But it doesn’t really matter what the heading is does it?

I am listening to the 6pm news on R4 - it all sounds pretty political to me

I really would like to see some substantive examples of news stories that are not political - anyway,having two separate boards could just lead to a bunfight about whether something was news or politics. Generally imo the left on here are much more politically aware and understand how a ‘news’ story is political. The right are more likely to say’why bring politics into everything’ because they are less aware of the impact of politics on just about every area of life

I could be wrong but I'm sure that when I first joined Gransnet in 2012 they were separate.

I think we had 'In the News' and 'Politics'

Maybe I dreamt it though.

I don't like them being lumped together either.