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#21
Off the Record / Re: Vote in the Dutch election...
Last post by Josquius - October 20, 2025, 03:28:17 PMI voted flower man. Figuring green.
So socialist.
This is fine.
So socialist.
This is fine.
#22
Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...
Last post by Admiral Yi - October 20, 2025, 03:14:41 PMI was thinking about the efficacy of protests in effecting change in the US, and my first thought was protests only work when Democrats are in office. But then I realized Nixon's withdrawal from Vietnam could be credited to protests.
#23
Off the Record / Re: Vote in the Dutch election...
Last post by Admiral Yi - October 20, 2025, 02:50:14 PMQuote from: Maladict on October 20, 2025, 12:42:50 PM15 JA21 – Recycled right-wing clichés.
Which cliches?
#24
Off the Record / Re: Vote in the Dutch election...
Last post by crazy canuck - October 20, 2025, 02:07:27 PMQuote from: Maladict on October 20, 2025, 12:42:50 PMHere's the description, courtesy of ChatGTP
1 PVV – Fear-mongering for votes.
2 GroenLinks–PvdA – Idealism masking impotence.
3 VVD – Greed dressed as pragmatism.
4 NSC – Empty promises in a shiny package.
5 D66 – Bureaucrats pretending to care.
6 BBB – Populism with tractors.
7 CDA – Compromise to avoid taking a stand.
8 SP – Rhetoric over results.
9 DENK – Exploiting identity for influence.
10 PvdD – Morality posturing for votes.
11 FvD – Reactionary nostalgia as spectacle.
12 SGP – Dogma before people.
13 CU – Sanctimony in a suit.
14 Volt – Utopians ignoring reality.
15 JA21 – Recycled right-wing clichés.
Sure, sure, but this is a Dutch election. I need to know the important data - how tall is each Candidate?
#25
Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic
Last post by Sheilbh - October 20, 2025, 02:00:26 PMQuote from: Josquius on October 16, 2025, 02:21:16 PMApparently a grand sumo tournament is taking place in London this year. Curious.The pictures of this look fantastic. Would have loved to go but I was away (and I think it sold out).
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/oct/15/grand-sumo-wrestling-tournament-london-royal-albert-hall
The dohyo in Royal Albert Hall looked pretty spectacular - from the last day when all the rikishi came out to get their applause:
#26
Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...
Last post by Sheilbh - October 20, 2025, 01:56:52 PMI think it matters - but I think I would resist the urge to view it in a purely liberal/economic way.
On that point though - they lose £45 million from fare dodging. They're currently receiving about £145 million as the subsidy from the state. So it's not an insignificant amount in the context of their budget. On the cost of fixing it I know more about TfL - the cost of fare dodging is about £150-200 million (in the context of a far larger budget). They estimate the cost of measures to prevent fare dodging as being in the realm of £20-30 million.
But as I say I think it is important to consider it socially as well as just economically.
The TSSA, the transport workers' union, is running a campaign on this recently based on some research they've done. Over 90% of TSSA workers have been verbally or physically abused by a member of the public. The overwhelming trigger point is someone not having a ticket and being confronted by someone - often a public sector worker - doing their job. About 40% have required first aid or medical treatment following physical abuse from a member of the public. Again, overwhelmingly the provocation is challenging people not doing what everyone else does and should which is to pay for a ticket. As I say in the case of SWR, these are public sector workers of a nationalised company providing a public service.
I think on the broader picture it is like shoplifting, vandalism, fly-tipping, phone-snatching, bike theft. In that in the grand scheme of things these are "minor" problems. But they are very common, they have an impact at the micro-level whether that's seeing someone get their phone snatched, being in a shop when someone shoplifts (I have a particularly bad personal experience of this) or on a carriage when someone is abusing a worker.
So I think socially it adds to a broader sense of a degraded public realm and of declining social trust. As someone who believes in politics that involve the social and the public I think that's really dangerous. I also worry that you basically will end up with a situation like benefits for public spaces. So in the same way as benefits for the poor very quickly become poor benefits, I think we're at risk of ending up with a public realm that is for people who can't afford alternatives and will end up with an increasingly poor social environment. On all of these I think people who can afford it will disconnect from the social and just live their atomised lives. Shoplifting doesn't matter when you get everything in parcels or Deliverooed, fare dodging doesn't matter when you'll just get an Uber (or, soon in London, a Waymo), the inability/unwillingness of the police to solve bike theft or phone snatching (the UK represents 40% of all phone theft in the entirety of Europe) when you can pay for insurance firms who hire private investigators (this is becoming increasingly common in London for bikes). But if you don't want that privatised, liberal space - or you can't afford it you'll have to put up with shops looking like banks, security tags on mince etc.
I'd add to that that I think there are common causes here too. So the British Transport Police are currently going through another round of spending cuts and planning to close another 17 stations with 300 fewer officers on the network (again the TSSA is campaigning against this). This despite the evidence from the closure of over 100 stations in London (largely to sell the buildings) and cuts in police numbers which showed an increase in crime, particularly low level crime and anti-social behaviour in those areas (which were overwhelmingly poorer areas). Similarly shops have reduced their staff numbers to focus on the automated checkouts (and the cost of shoplifting has an impact of the price of things too) - this is particularly visible (both the number and the price) in Co-ops where you'll often have one or two members of staff for a pretty big shop who are bearing the brunt of shoplifting. I think you've seen a similar move from staff on trains and in stations to the automated gates at either end and similar results.
I think it's another area where basically people who are willing to break the rules know that chances are they'll get away with it, which leads to more and more rules/obstacles that just make the lives of people who follow them more difficult. I think this is a very general trend in Britain in a lot of areas - and I'd say it's a big part of European regulation at the minute too. In my area which is sort of tech law there are so many laws coming into effect it is incredibly difficult to manage if you're trying to do the right thing and follow the rules. If you've got a healthier risk appetite (perhaps especially if you're based outside of Europe) then the chance of you being caught and enforced against is pretty low - especially if you're not a very famous company (TikTok, Meta, Amazon etc).
On that point though - they lose £45 million from fare dodging. They're currently receiving about £145 million as the subsidy from the state. So it's not an insignificant amount in the context of their budget. On the cost of fixing it I know more about TfL - the cost of fare dodging is about £150-200 million (in the context of a far larger budget). They estimate the cost of measures to prevent fare dodging as being in the realm of £20-30 million.
But as I say I think it is important to consider it socially as well as just economically.
The TSSA, the transport workers' union, is running a campaign on this recently based on some research they've done. Over 90% of TSSA workers have been verbally or physically abused by a member of the public. The overwhelming trigger point is someone not having a ticket and being confronted by someone - often a public sector worker - doing their job. About 40% have required first aid or medical treatment following physical abuse from a member of the public. Again, overwhelmingly the provocation is challenging people not doing what everyone else does and should which is to pay for a ticket. As I say in the case of SWR, these are public sector workers of a nationalised company providing a public service.
I think on the broader picture it is like shoplifting, vandalism, fly-tipping, phone-snatching, bike theft. In that in the grand scheme of things these are "minor" problems. But they are very common, they have an impact at the micro-level whether that's seeing someone get their phone snatched, being in a shop when someone shoplifts (I have a particularly bad personal experience of this) or on a carriage when someone is abusing a worker.
So I think socially it adds to a broader sense of a degraded public realm and of declining social trust. As someone who believes in politics that involve the social and the public I think that's really dangerous. I also worry that you basically will end up with a situation like benefits for public spaces. So in the same way as benefits for the poor very quickly become poor benefits, I think we're at risk of ending up with a public realm that is for people who can't afford alternatives and will end up with an increasingly poor social environment. On all of these I think people who can afford it will disconnect from the social and just live their atomised lives. Shoplifting doesn't matter when you get everything in parcels or Deliverooed, fare dodging doesn't matter when you'll just get an Uber (or, soon in London, a Waymo), the inability/unwillingness of the police to solve bike theft or phone snatching (the UK represents 40% of all phone theft in the entirety of Europe) when you can pay for insurance firms who hire private investigators (this is becoming increasingly common in London for bikes). But if you don't want that privatised, liberal space - or you can't afford it you'll have to put up with shops looking like banks, security tags on mince etc.
I'd add to that that I think there are common causes here too. So the British Transport Police are currently going through another round of spending cuts and planning to close another 17 stations with 300 fewer officers on the network (again the TSSA is campaigning against this). This despite the evidence from the closure of over 100 stations in London (largely to sell the buildings) and cuts in police numbers which showed an increase in crime, particularly low level crime and anti-social behaviour in those areas (which were overwhelmingly poorer areas). Similarly shops have reduced their staff numbers to focus on the automated checkouts (and the cost of shoplifting has an impact of the price of things too) - this is particularly visible (both the number and the price) in Co-ops where you'll often have one or two members of staff for a pretty big shop who are bearing the brunt of shoplifting. I think you've seen a similar move from staff on trains and in stations to the automated gates at either end and similar results.
I think it's another area where basically people who are willing to break the rules know that chances are they'll get away with it, which leads to more and more rules/obstacles that just make the lives of people who follow them more difficult. I think this is a very general trend in Britain in a lot of areas - and I'd say it's a big part of European regulation at the minute too. In my area which is sort of tech law there are so many laws coming into effect it is incredibly difficult to manage if you're trying to do the right thing and follow the rules. If you've got a healthier risk appetite (perhaps especially if you're based outside of Europe) then the chance of you being caught and enforced against is pretty low - especially if you're not a very famous company (TikTok, Meta, Amazon etc).
#27
Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...
Last post by crazy canuck - October 20, 2025, 01:48:17 PMQuote from: Josquius on October 20, 2025, 01:41:51 PMI wonder how it will work. Surely it will get to the US either way via Britain or canada? Or are we locked out too?
I would think that all members of the Five Eyes will be on a need to know basis.
#28
Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...
Last post by Josquius - October 20, 2025, 01:41:51 PMI wonder how it will work. Surely it will get to the US either way via Britain or canada? Or are we locked out too?
#29
Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...
Last post by The Minsky Moment - October 20, 2025, 01:34:36 PMMy understanding is that the Dutch are significantly cutting back on sharing, not eliminating it entirely.
But it's not surprising. Actually, surprising it took this long.
Telling because it doesn't just say a lot about lack of trust of the US to treat intel properly. It also reflects a judgment about the relative value of the intel the Dutch are getting back.
But it's not surprising. Actually, surprising it took this long.
Telling because it doesn't just say a lot about lack of trust of the US to treat intel properly. It also reflects a judgment about the relative value of the intel the Dutch are getting back.
#30
Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...
Last post by Valmy - October 20, 2025, 01:02:39 PMI still cannot believe that months ago Trump threw an embarrassing temper tantrum in the White House with Ukraine...and then months later invited him back just to do it again. Is his negotiating strategy just to scream at Ukraine?