comment by Insert random username (U10647)
posted 4 hours, 41 minutes ago
See Musk hasn't really even used his own money to buy twitter, He's leveraged the cost against his ownership of Tesla.

Seems like a broken system to me, having the capacity to acquire that much debt against paper money, that changes value on the hour

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It’s one of the truly fundamental issues with free market capitalism: for growth it is entirely dependent on unregulated investment and commercial banking.

Ultimately, you have guys in commercial banks just entering negative numbers against accounts, creating capital (and debt) out of thin air.

People complain about central banks printing money, but the overwhelming majority of new ‘money’ is created by investment and commercial banks gambling that enterprises’ future revenues will be sufficient to backfill debts they’ve created out of nowhere.

Beyond the fact that it’s incredibly irresponsible and dangerous, my biggest beef with it is that it’s borrowing from the future (and future generations) to pay for the present.

It went largely unreported this morning, however last night parliament (despite attempts by the lords to prevent it)...

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3020/publications

...voted to place the (once independent) Electoral Commission under the control of the Government.

The Government will now have executive control over the Electoral Commission (one of the bodies designed to hold the power of the executive in check).

Clauses 14 and 15 give the government control of the elections watchdog, permitting them to alter and influence election rules as they see fit. It's Orwellian stuff...

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3020

The lords has many great people in it but it's a bloody useless second chamber

Ironically we need Labour to benefit from the dodgy FPTP system to then have the capital to drive through proper political and electoral reform

- Refurb the Palace of Westminster, turn the current commons into a museum and let's have a chamber/parliament in line with most modern ones (actual desks and stuff, no more squeezing together like it's a school assembly)

- Scrap FPTP and bring in AV/PR

- Reform the second chamber (no ideas or suggestions on how or what tho)

comment by CrouchEndGooner (U13531)
posted 30 minutes ago
The lords has many great people in it but it's a bloody useless second chamber

Ironically we need Labour to benefit from the dodgy FPTP system to then have the capital to drive through proper political and electoral reform

- Refurb the Palace of Westminster, turn the current commons into a museum and let's have a chamber/parliament in line with most modern ones (actual desks and stuff, no more squeezing together like it's a school assembly)

- Scrap FPTP and bring in AV/PR

- Reform the second chamber (no ideas or suggestions on how or what tho)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, we had a guy who promised PR back in 2015.
Never fulfilled that promise, but the people have in the 2 elections since by giving him a minority.

comment by CrouchEndGooner (U13531)
posted 52 minutes ago
The lords has many great people in it but it's a bloody useless second chamber

Ironically we need Labour to benefit from the dodgy FPTP system to then have the capital to drive through proper political and electoral reform

- Refurb the Palace of Westminster, turn the current commons into a museum and let's have a chamber/parliament in line with most modern ones (actual desks and stuff, no more squeezing together like it's a school assembly)

- Scrap FPTP and bring in AV/PR

- Reform the second chamber (no ideas or suggestions on how or what tho)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Any elected second chamber needs to be based on area of land, rather than population within it.

In our parliament we have a very very large majority of MPs based in cities, and that doesn't protect rural ways of life at all, and is why we see rampant development on unsuitable sites rammed through by the government. Planning laws are a shambles, local authority has refused one site nearby 5 times because it's on a marshy floodplain, and has watervoles present, yet said landowner has been having the land cleared anyway because they are so so certain they will get planning!

There's another "affordable" site being outside the town's limits too, rejected twice for its location, and it's one entrance/exit, as well as the affordability of homes (all estimated over £300k) yet they too are adamant it will go through and are tearing up hedgerows hundreds of years old.

And that's before we get to the government approved affordable site nestled between a major road, a bio digester and a sewage treatment works.

comment by What would Stuart Pearce do? Who do you think you are kidding Mr.... (U3126)
posted 59 minutes ago
It went largely unreported this morning, however last night parliament (despite attempts by the lords to prevent it)...

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3020/publications

...voted to place the (once independent) Electoral Commission under the control of the Government.

The Government will now have executive control over the Electoral Commission (one of the bodies designed to hold the power of the executive in check).

Clauses 14 and 15 give the government control of the elections watchdog, permitting them to alter and influence election rules as they see fit. It's Orwellian stuff...

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3020
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Creeping authoritarians gonna creep.

Stolen but made me laugh…

Look forward to:

- Absolutely no p*rn was watched.
- There was p*rn, but I was ambushed by it.
- I'm furious that nobody advised me it was p*rn.
- Who doesn't watch p*rn at work, really.
- It would be wrong to preempt the p*rn inquiry.
- MOVE ON, YOU PRUDES. THERE'S A WAR ON!

comment by Barry McOkinner (U22339)
posted 1 hour, 29 minutes ago
Stolen but made me laugh…

Look forward to:

- Absolutely no p*rn was watched.
- There was p*rn, but I was ambushed by it.
- I'm furious that nobody advised me it was p*rn.
- Who doesn't watch p*rn at work, really.
- It would be wrong to preempt the p*rn inquiry.
- MOVE ON, YOU PRUDES. THERE'S A WAR ON!
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Tam, you live in Scuuumerset right??

Any opinion of wells? Found some land for sale near there, and it's a tossup between there, Salisbury or Dorchester currently

comment by Insert random username (U10647)
posted about an hour ago
Tam, you live in Scuuumerset right??

Any opinion of wells? Found some land for sale near there, and it's a tossup between there, Salisbury or Dorchester currently
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Seems a nice place but my FIL is moving there.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/boris-reveals-ukrainian-soldiers-poland-b2067303.html

Perhaps removing a lazy, lying buffoon who can't take anything seriously is actually a good idea when "there's a war on"

comment by CrouchEndGooner (U13531)
posted 2 hours, 39 minutes ago
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/boris-reveals-ukrainian-soldiers-poland-b2067303.html

Perhaps removing a lazy, lying buffoon who can't take anything seriously is actually a good idea when "there's a war on"
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Saw this yesterday, and thought "How typical"

comment by CrouchEndGooner (U13531)
posted 4 hours, 47 minutes ago
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/boris-reveals-ukrainian-soldiers-poland-b2067303.html

Perhaps removing a lazy, lying buffoon who can't take anything seriously is actually a good idea when "there's a war on"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Agreed. Biden out Trump in

‘Brexit import checks delayed for fourth time‘

“…The government's plan is that a new digital trade border, applying to the whole world, will be in place at least in trial form by the end of 2023.“

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61259832

Is this the one that Boris said would be ready to solve the Irish border issue by April 2019?

Reform the second chamber (no ideas or suggestions on how or what tho)
.............

I previously pointed to the Irish Senate as an example where (I think) senators get a 7 year term.

"Under Article 18 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann consists of 60 senators, composed as follows:

Eleven nominated by the Taoiseach.
Six elected by the graduates of certain Irish universities:
Three by graduates of the University of Dublin.
Three by graduates of the National University of Ireland.
Forty-three elected from five special panels of nominees (known as vocational panels) by an electorate consisting of TDs (members of Dáil Éireann), outgoing senators and members of city and county councils. Nomination is restrictive for the panel seats with only Oireachtas members and designated nominating bodies entitled to nominate. Each of the five panels consists, in theory, of individuals possessing special knowledge of, or experience in, one of five specific fields. In practice the nominees are party members, often, though not always, failed or aspiring Dáil candidates:
Seven seats on the Administrative Panel: Public administration and social services (including the voluntary sector).
Eleven seats on the Agricultural Panel: Agriculture and the fisheries.
Five seats on the Cultural and Educational Panel: Education, the arts, the Irish language and Irish culture and literature.
Nine seats on the Industrial and Commercial Panel: Industry and commerce (including engineering and architecture).
Eleven seats on the Labour Panel: Labour (organised or otherwise)."

comment by And... Rosso... Though its... Yeah and... That... (U17054)
posted 9 hours ago
‘Brexit import checks delayed for fourth time‘

“…The government's plan is that a new digital trade border, applying to the whole world, will be in place at least in trial form by the end of 2023.“

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61259832

Is this the one that Boris said would be ready to solve the Irish border issue by April 2019?
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Project is being overseen by a Mr S Strange of the Sanctum Sanctorum.

Britain deploying 8000 troops to Eastern Europe, largest amount since the Cold War. Is that us officially getting involved now?

Westminster Voting Intention:

LAB: 42% (=)
CON: 33% (-2)
LDM: 9% (=)
GRN: 4% (+1)

via @Survation

(Changes with 30 Mar)

Looks like #durhampartygate just.osnt cutting through

Who we voting in the council election lads, I’m torn between Green or Lib Dem

Labour

I'm voting Lib Dem. They are the party that have the best chance of beating the Tories in my area.

I have to attend a speed awareness course after being caught doing 42mph in a 30 zone by a mobile speed camera.

comment by Tamwolf (U17286)
posted 5 minutes ago
I have to attend a speed awareness course after being caught doing 42mph in a 30 zone by a mobile speed camera.
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Appeal and ask how fast the speed camera was going?

Labour have been crap for me, high council taxes and their maintenance of the area has been awful for about 10 years. I’ll probably vote Dem.