Recent posts

#21

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by HisMajestyBOB - Today at 07:51:08 AM

This happened this morning in a ford near to here:

Looks like a Volkswagen to me.

#22

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by grumbler - Today at 07:50:58 AM

Do the police need to have a search warrant under those circumstances (searching possessions incident to an arrest)?

#23

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by HisMajestyBOB - Today at 07:49:33 AM

Depends on if you think this Supreme Court will uphold legal precedent.

#24

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by garbon - Today at 07:40:35 AM

It would be great if public infrastructure didn't rely on social media reports.

#25

Off the Record / Re: The EU thread

Last post by Josquius - Today at 07:35:10 AM

I was having weird thoughts the other day of maybe in a way its 'too little' inequality. There being little to work for as formerly solid middle class salaries of 50k+ don't really put you in a different league to minimum wage people, just more comfortable in the same place.
Further expanding could it loop back around to 'everything is housing'? You save up all your money and you get to afford to own a regular terraced house whilst your neighbour earning half as much has to rent it for twice as much.
Have more, and more diverse housing, and maybe more of a tangible physical point than financial security can come from earning more.


Also... I'm not sure top 10% vs. bottom 10% is where to look for the key difference. Top 10% kicks in with 60k a year, which even without the compression and housing issues isn't massively different to 20k a year.
Its with the 1% or higher even that the difference really comes in.  Where you're talking not 3x more but 30000 times more.

I suppose it comes down to we're lacking a solid 'middle'.

#26

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Josquius - Today at 07:03:42 AM

But I think it is where Hyde is quite useful as she started as an entertainment writer and I think we are in an age when understanding how sports or celebrity fandoms work is pretty useful in understanding our politics. Many of the strongest supporters have their support for, say, Corbyn or Trump as core a part of their identity as a sports fan or a Swiftie - which makes persuasion impossible. How do you try to convince Jos to abandon Sunderland, say?

The club being taken over by an ultra conservative authoritarian dictatorship would do it.
Incidentally I really should get a Gateshead shirt.

I'd add that like Hyde I also have a lot of problems with the argument that we need immigration to have a class of lower-paid people to do "demeaning" jobs. And again I have wider issues with the way we as a society treat those who need care - whether elderly or because of disabilities - so I don't like his framing on that. On both of those points I find the framing pretty morally repugnant - we don't value or respect the weak or the people who care for them (naively I had genuinely hoped covid was a break in how we perceive work). But I think on both points it's not specific to him - although I think it is sort of adjacent to the Little Britain/Benefit Street era contempt for the poor.

On this too.... I recently noticed a case on BBC news of a male nursery worker in London being convicted for abusing children.
This really upset me. I mean, on a kids being abused the story itself level it did obviously.
But also on a deeper level that this is a huge problem in the UK, though we're making good progress on getting women into "men's jobs", "women's jobs" seem less suitable for men than ever. Which hurts the overall respect they get and damages staffing issues.
Compare to Switzerland where male nursery workers are pretty standard. Women are still the majority but most nurseries will have at least a man or two as well.


On the Hyde article and Polanski....
I think thats a problem with the 'populist' approach and trying to term things as the man on the street would. You will end up offending people. When you're on the far right this is fine. Offending inferior people is the name of the game. When you're trying to present yourself rather as a far left person who stands up for the weak though....It is a tight rope.
I never saw the bum wiping bit but I get the cringe. On the other hand his bit on the last leg about penguins choosing to identify however they want....I've not seen any trans outrage about that. It was a pretty nicely put way of ridiculing the anti-woke arguments.

He really needs to work on his framing with that one. Quite a complex issue where these jobs are considered undesirable thus not many Brits want to do them, as a current reality that needs addressing.... But we shouldn't keep propagating it.

He often gets attacked for just being a left wing Farage but....honestly I'm fine with that. Not my taste but that's the name of the game and if some those people who might be swayed by Farage can be swayed towards positive ends instead? This is fine.

She repeats the dodgy interpretation of the boob job story though. I'd like to see a good neutral writeup around that but his explanation definitely sounds believable.

#27

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Josquius - Today at 06:58:57 AM

Question for the lawyers about the part I bolded: doesn't that screw up the chain of custody for evidence?

The searching without a warrant part too.

Though these days  rules don't matter anymore do they.

#28

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by Josquius - Today at 05:12:07 AM

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwygqqll9k2o


Sigh

Trains cancelled over fake bridge collapse image

Trains were halted after a suspected AI-generated picture that seemed to show major damage to a bridge appeared on social media following an earthquake.

The tremor, which struck on Wednesday night, was felt across Lancashire and the southern Lake District.

Network Rail said it was made aware of the image which appeared to show major damage to Carlisle Bridge in Lancaster at 00:30 GMT and stopped rail services across the bridge while safety inspections were carried out.

A BBC journalist ran the image through an AI chatbot which identified key spots that may have been manipulated.

Network Rail A photo showing damage to a bridge. A section of the barriers that run along the top of the bridge appears to have collapsed and a pile of rubble can be seen underneath. A large hole can be seen in front of the bridgeNetwork Rail
Network Rail said it was made aware that the image was on social media
Network Rail said the railway line was fully reopened at around 02:00 GMT and it has urged people to "think about the serious impact it could have" before creating or sharing hoax images.

"The disruption caused by the creation and sharing of hoax images and videos like this creates a completely unnecessary delay to passengers at a cost to the taxpayer," a spokesperson said.

"It adds to the high workload of our frontline teams, who work extremely hard to keep the railway running smoothly," the spokesperson said.

"The safety of rail passengers and staff is our number one priority and we will always take any safety concerns seriously."

The British Transport Police said it was "made aware" of the situation but there was no ongoing investigation into the incident.

Network Rail said 32 services including passenger and freight trains were delayed because of hoax.

A spokesperson for the rail provider said a mix of passenger and freight train would have been impacted.

They said some of them would have been directly stopped or slowed while it checked the lines, but a lot of the trains were delayed as a result of earlier services still being in their path.

The spokesperson said many of them would have been local but because of the length of the West Coast Main Line some trains were delayed as far north as Scotland.

A photo showing the bridge is undamaged
A BBC North West reporter visited the bridge today and confirmed it was undamaged
Railway expert Tony Miles said due to the timing of the incident, very few passengers will have been impacted by the hoax as the services passing through at that time were primarily freight and sleeper trains.

"They generally go slow so as not to disturb the passengers trying to sleep - this means they have a bit of leeway to go faster and make up time if they encounter a delay," he said.

"It's more the fact that Network Rail will have had to mobilise a team to go and check the bridge which could impact their work for days."

He urged people to consider hoaxes like this could have on real people.

"If they actually did delay a train it could have impacted someone who had to get to a medical appointment, or a flight or a funeral.

"It may seem like a game, but anyone who's thinking of doing this should consider how it will impact real people."

#29

Off the Record / Re: Football (Soccer) Thread

Last post by Maladict - Today at 05:02:26 AM

And apparently the Dutch East Indies qualified in 1938.

#30

Off the Record / Re: Football (Soccer) Thread

Last post by Maladict - Today at 04:58:37 AM

I was thinking on Curaçao. Apart from the UK is this the first time a country has had two teams at the WC?

I think the Antilles made it to the WC once or twice.