Re: Escobar response:
Better than the reporter's head in the bed of a horse!
4159 publicly visible posts • joined 10 Jun 2009
It's called "life". There is no way to prevent [insert harm du jour here] in its entirety, so the question revolves around where the limits are, and how they should be policed. Personally, I think that the limits in the Western world are about right (and I have strong links with Rotherham) - what is needed is proper numbers of *well-trained* police both out on the streets and playing with computers.
@HildyJ: The question rarely asked is why they want all this information. We have our ideas about it, but how do the people behind the slurping justify it to themselves? I find it difficult to conceive of all of them as being acting in bad faith, so why do they think narcopaedoterrorists are such a threat to society that everyone needs surveilling?
Bob - I do have some sympathy with you, being well on the autistic spectrum too, but I've learned to re-read the more ludicrous posts on these threads. There are a lot of clever people who use sarcasm to make very valid points - the original post is one of the less subtle efforts.
Upvoted, Bob, because you are correct. However, the AC you replied to is correct, too. Until the ludicrous partisan politics of the USA is sorted out, it doesn't matter who is president - you are all fucked. Work towards building bridges between the two sides, and you might be on the way to where you want to be.
@AC and HelpfulJohn: First, I'm not a bot - I've been posting here for many a long year now!
AC - when you can point me to a government that doesn't have similar issues (not in detail, then in type), then I'll take your comments seriously. Yes, in principle, all of these things should have been dealt with, but psychiatry is in crisis throughout the UK, not just in Scotland, and has been for decades (I quit working as an RMN in England in 2004 because the entire job consisted of containment, not treating people properly). Most of this is because there has been no investment in training psychiatrists and RMNs nationally. Don't blame the SNP and the Scottish government for this problem.
That doesn't mean everything is hunky dory - yes, the Carseview scandal is atrocious. The inevitable scandals due anytime regarding Ninewells hospital and Dundee University, for example, are going to seriously damage the Scottish government. But, again, show me any country that doesn't have these issues - England certainly does.
HelpfulJohn - I don't know what your thoughts on Brexit are, but there is far less thought about what is to be achieved with that than with a Scotland independent from Westminster. Policies set in London are almost always not aligned with Scotland. Immigration is a clear case in point at the moment - Scotland is an open, welcoming nation that is happy to have anyone from anywhere as long as they ate willing to integrate. No educational or income requirements are needed. The utter muppetry coming from Westminster is going to hurt Scotland hugely. There are lots more areas in which Westminster and the fucking Tories are going to damage Scotland to get their own way, but thus post is too long already, and won't be read anyway.
@Rich 11: my philosophy exactly. If it's a small amount and I've got it (less likely these days due to rarely carrying cash), I'd rather take the risk I'm being scammed than risk not helping someone who needs it.
@sundog uk: more dog than human in your soul, I'm afraid. Compassion is not weakness.
@NeilPost: "Self-evidently the “employer” is you."
Self-evidently, the employer in this case is the Nationwide - the court just said so. Therefore, it doesn't matter that neither the employer or the employee thought the relationship was different - they were wrong. The employee has a *right* under EU law to four weeks' holiday for every year he was employed, or pay in lieu. He was also entitled to sick pay at a rate not less than the statutory minimum, regardless of any insurance he had.
And what is it with you and Porsche Macans, FFS?
"... they just destroyed the political career of the trustworthy Prime Minister they had to deal with..."
I'm completely bemused by the positioning of "Theresa May" and "trustworthy* in the same sentence, unless you meant she could be trusted in the same way as a pissed-off cobra!
"If they jump before they are pushed, they would not be entitled to redundancy or unfair dismissal payments."
Yes, but a nasty cough should lead to self-isolation for two weeks, and then there are the contacts at work who should also look out for a nasty cough and then self-isolate. A couple of weeks getting very little exercise is going to see a huge increase of back injuries needing four weeks off. Oddly, that's a month-and-a-half gone!
@codejunky: "... it is a sad state to believe there is nothing better for you than whoring yourself out (the UK). I know it happened with the EU but that is not the only way to live."
That sounds awfully close to "You can live on your knees or die standing proudly." (Note: I definitely don't think we "whored" ourselves to the EU at all, but I do think that the shit-heads in Westminster will whore themselves to the USA once "standing proud" looks like losing them an election.)
Some journals like the aurora to be on alphabetical order, not lead order. I had a law professor who pretended to be upset that he had never been first author for any of his major work, despite having "Bro" as the first letters of his name - he collaborated a great deal with "Ad" and "Bra"!!
@John: Virtually everyone who has created something that you or someone else wants to watch, look at, read, or listen to has done something that you or someone else thinks is wrong. Murder, rape, assault, under-age sex, child abuse, bestiality, homosexuality, heterosexuality, adultery, bigamy, monogamy, political views, religious views, drugs, alcohol, misogyny, misandry, cruelty, forgiveness, road traffic offences, tax offences - they are just the ones I can think of amongst the people who have created things I like. I work on the principle that all artists seem to be flawed in some way. Their work is not the person, but the work would not be what it was without that person and their lived experiences. There are a few people, mainly authors, who I will not directly support (I buy their books second-hand), but, in general, I still watch the good stuff Polanski made, I read Heinlein's works regularly, and I specifically bought Rolf Harris and Michael Jackson CDs after the allegations began (I already have Gary Glitter records in my collection from when I were a lad). I'll still watch films produced by Weinstein as long as I like them (not LOTR, though <shudder>)
That's my rule - hope it helps!
@MJB7: "... adding another item to the "things to check when taking over a British company" "
How about making it more difficult to to sell British companies to overseas buyers? "Taking back control" could start to mean something, and be an advantage to real people, not the sharks at the top hoping to make a killing at the expense of everyone else.
@ticking AC: Do where are the data that show spikes in cancers that can be correlated to the increase in mobile phones? We should now have sufficient historical data in developed countries for this to be obvious, both longitudinally and in comparison with countries with less saturation of the relevant frequencies etc.
Just recently, there seem to be a lot of car drivers who think speed limit minus 25 per cent is appropriate on a clear road in good, daylight, dry conditions is appropriate, combined with driving as close to the centre of the road and braking into any vague deviation from the straight. I don't care what speed you want to do, but pay attention to your rear-view mirrors and pull over to let other road users go past.
Elections should not be in the gift of the current government. The FTP Act was intended to remove the ability of governments to go to the polls when it suited them. I agree with this - calling an election should be a function of time, unless a majority (preferably, a super-majority) of MPs want one earlier. It would be even better if the electorate had some say, too, but that is a loooong way off (if ever).
"... his son took his first year post law school job and earns more than 75K,"
I'm law lecturer, and I have to say this is incredibly rare. It shouldn't be taken as any sort of benchmark at all.
"... and my nephew made 200k inc bonuses at blackrock in his first year after university. "
Again so rare as to be hen's teeth.
@RegGuy1: "We all should pay more tax -- all of us."
I've been saying the same to anyone who will listen for a long time, but no one is taking it on board. The Tory message the taxation is a bad thing, and the "libertarian" view that taxation is immoral, is too prevalent. These people want a shit hole country for reasons of their own - it keeps the peasants down (at least for now - of course, when the voiceless get pissed off, it all changes - they aren't allowed to "take back control".