Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[Josquius]

Thought this was interesting on why London's l download a QR code to collect a parcel, while the queue grows behind you.[/b]

To understand what's going on, you first have to understand how a mobile phone network operates. In its simplest form it is like a super-powerful outdoor wi-fi network: your phone connects to a mast, which might be a modest lamppost-style pole on a street corner, or a big chunky metal lattice structure standing some distance away on top of a hill or a block of flats. Your phone then sends and requests data from the mast, which in turn deals with the request by communicating with a central network, usually using an underground fibre optic cable similar to your home broadband connection.
   

Huh, you know I had no idea this was a problem, really surprising.
Though if I remember right the last time I was in London, 2 years ago or do, I do vaguely recall running into a lot of spots with no signal and finding it quite odd.

Though the Asian wires comparison... Not sure how helpful that is. We are at two opposite extemes, the build whatever you want and don't give a shit about cosmetics vs detailed 800 page reports on bat mating habits for a new public bin.

[Tamas]

There have been positive vibes about the budget in the news, so Starmer, I guess, felt obliged to come out with this:

Starmer to set out 'harsh' reality of fiscal situation in speech. Prime minister will say government will ignore 'populist chorus of easy answers' as it is set to raise taxes and rewrite fiscal rules in this week's budget

FFS wouldn't it be better to say yes the Tories fucked everything up but we are raising taxes to improve on things? They are in government, the doom and gloom must end.

[Josquius]

There have been positive vibes about the budget in the news, so Starmer, I guess, felt obliged to come out with this:

Starmer to set out 'harsh' reality of fiscal situation in speech. Prime minister will say government will ignore 'populist chorus of easy answers' as it is set to raise taxes and rewrite fiscal rules in this week's budget

FFS wouldn't it be better to say yes the Tories fucked everything up but we are raising taxes to improve on things? They are in government, the doom and gloom must end.

I interpret it kind of the opposite?
There's been a lot of moaning about how Labour is changing the rules to invent a magic money tree and not really getting more money, same old labour, etc... etc.... The Tory's meme squad probably has a tonne of stuff ready to go.

We can't cut ourselves out of trouble, we need to invest to grow, and the only way to do that is borrowing.

[Tamas]

Actually I am rather liking what I have read of his speech and his answers to journalists, especially to the whole "omg but teh manifesto semantics!" nonsense

[Sheilbh]

So at a Sussex fireworks festival at the weekend and this year's effigy (along with the multiple Guys) was Starmer and Reeves as highway robbers (Honestly mainly impressed at the quick turnaround).

The head of the bonfire society gave the speech on scaffold, going back to gunpowder, treason and plot etc - and went on too long and got a little bit political. Though it is helpfully tempered by the local tradition of throwing bangers at the speaker and trying to hit them

The fireworks were spectacular too - better than any I've seen in London.

[Tamas]

Semi-regularly I browse Reddit for a while based on the main page recommendations it gives me. I have noticed there is a small minority of posters in UK threads who act like Starmer has been in power since time immemorial and is to blame not just for everything that has happened to the country but the inevitable doom that is at the doorsteps. They do get downvoted to absolute oblivion, though.

[Josquius]

UK Reddit is a cess pool. I used to poke around there a bit a few years ago but steadily people with dodgy sympathies have taken over the moderation - as of course a well adjusted person with a life isn't interested in doing this.
Surprised those cursing starmer would be downvoted based on my last impression of the place.

[Tamas]

UK Reddit is a cess pool. I used to poke around there a bit a few years ago but steadily people with dodgy sympathies have taken over the moderation - as of course a well adjusted person with a life isn't interested in doing this.
Surprised those cursing starmer would be downvoted based on my last impression of the place.

Maybe it depends on the kind of topic, and it's never the "UnitedKingdom" reddit. That does seem to be a far-right cesspool

[Admiral Yi]

We can't cut ourselves out of trouble, we need to invest to grow, and the only way to do that is borrowing.

Karmer just said there is another: raising taxes.

[Josquius]

We can't cut ourselves out of trouble, we need to invest to grow, and the only way to do that is borrowing.

Karmer just said there is another: raising taxes.

That just about covers the black hole in the budget, not the investment needed.

[Admiral Yi]

That just about covers the black hole in the budget, not the investment needed.

Neither Karmer nor I have mentioned a specific tax rate, from which you could infer the revenue raised.  How in the world did you come to the conclusion that it "just about covers the black hole in the budget?"  (Hint: you can't.)

[Josquius]

That just about covers the black hole in the budget, not the investment needed.

Neither Karmer nor I have mentioned a specific tax rate, from which you could infer the revenue raised.  How in the world did you come to the conclusion that it "just about covers the black hole in the budget?"  (Hint: you can't.)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9wrkngvyx4o

£20 billion to be raised. About what the shortfall in keeping the lights on is.

[Admiral Yi]

"Other than National Insurance for employers, the freezing of income tax thresholds could be extended, meaning more people are "dragged" into paying tax, or higher rates of tax, as their wages rise and cross the unchanging thresholds.

The government is looking at increasing tax on asset sales, such as shares and property, and changes to inheritance tax."

[Savonarola]

TRAGEDY STRIKES UNITED KINGDOM:

Imposters stole thousands of pounds of posh cheddar, rattling the U.K. cheese world

Fortunately there are some leads; Scotland Yard got a photograph of the perpetrator as he was breaking in:

[Sheilbh]

Actually I am rather liking what I have read of his speech and his answers to journalists, especially to the whole "omg but teh manifesto semantics!" nonsense

So I was at a thing at the weekend and chatted to someone who works for Labour who was absolutely despairing. He pinned it all basically back to not doing a budget quickly (every newly elected government since the war has done a budget within two months of the election - this one is after 100 days). But also he just said it's very chaotic and disorganised at the minute...

Totally agree on the semantics thing. It really annoys me about journalism in this country because I think it is dumbing down/getting straight to the heart of the peiphery. I remember it during covid when you had political reporters trying to get a line on whether a "Scotch egg in a pub" is a "substantial meal" or not and science, health correspondents (and the general public) asking real questions. It's just all focusing on tricksy trivialities.

I mentioned the BBC report on how austerity was reported (which has been memory-holed) but I generally think we could do a lot worse than getting the political correspondents to do a lot less reporting and the subject/area experts to do more - eg health, economics, science reporters make the running on policy announcements.

Unfortunately the BBC's just cancelled its only long-form interview show, has sidelined Panorama and moved from Newsnight having policy correspondents doing deeply reported pieces to a half-hour show with talking heads from across the political spectrum All of these save absolutely fuck all in the scheme of the BBC's budget but they should be doing better. I always feel they overinvest in the stuff others can do really well (drama, soft reality TV competitions like Strictly) and massively underinvest in the stuff no-one else will do (hard news, culture etc).