Have we done this one already?http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/mar/30/police-racism-black-man-abuse
― Let's Talk About Socks (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Saturday, 31 March 2012 07:44 (1 year ago) Permalink
The CPS initially said charges should not be brought against MacFarlane because the remarks did not cause the man harassment, distress or alarm.
when they've sacked the police officer, they shd sack whichever cunt came to this decision too
― red is hungry green is jawless (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 31 March 2012 07:53 (1 year ago) Permalink
It is in this murky light, surely, that one must interpret all the current mutterings about class. Most voters do not have an absolute objection to any politician on the grounds of his social, regional or racial origin. But such origins can arouse suspicions or prejudices which may then be confirmed by certain actions. Once upon a time, for example, I barely noticed whether a British politician was Scottish, but once devolution got going and yet more Scots seemed to swell the Cabinet in London, I became uneasy. “What are you doing down south? Why are you giving so many jobs to your chums?” I found myself asking.
Charles Moore you are a weird, sad little dude
― Nascar Pony (stevie), Saturday, 31 March 2012 08:57 (1 year ago) Permalink
Someones been reading the Protocols of the Elders of Cowdenbeath.
― windborne grey frogs (dowd), Saturday, 31 March 2012 09:15 (1 year ago) Permalink
Ha ha.
― Alba, Saturday, 31 March 2012 10:17 (1 year ago) Permalink
Once upon a time, for example, I barely noticed whether a British politician was Scottish, but once six geldings and a coach with four horses were dispatched to bring the king to England and James left Edinburgh for his month-long journey through his new kingdom through the beautiful spring weather, and all the prisoners in Newcastle were released except those accused of "treason, murther and papistrie", and all those gaoled for debt had their debts paid off, and in York a conduit ran all day with white wine and claret and at Worksop the king was entertained by "excellent, soule-ravishing musique" by the Earl of Shrewsbury, I became uneasy.
― Fizzles, Saturday, 31 March 2012 10:23 (1 year ago) Permalink
i wd Excelsior that but, y'know, pearls and swine
― red is hungry green is jawless (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 31 March 2012 10:30 (1 year ago) Permalink
I'm fairly sure that the test isn't whether the words caused distress, etc, but whether they were likely to. Whether he was alarmed isn't really the point. It's difficult, going on the facts given, to see how that decision could have been reached.
― Une semaine de Bunty (ShariVari), Saturday, 31 March 2012 11:08 (1 year ago) Permalink
Email and web monitoring laws 'to be brought in soon'
Lord Carlile, the former official reviewer of terrorism legislation, said that "having come into government, the coalition parties have realised this kind of material has potential for saving lives, preventing serious crime and helping people to avoid becoming victims of serious crime".
So stick your civil liberties up yer arse. Vote Lib Dem.
― Charles Kennedy Jumped Up, He Called 'Oh No'. (Tom D.), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 11:59 (1 year ago) Permalink
http://www.karoo.co.uk/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=N0193991333956312495A&category=UK
shd be a separate thread for "things that cost the UK economy billions according to Friedmanite scumbags". i wd wish actual harm on these people but hey i'm on holiday so fuck 'em.
― red is hungry green is jawless (Noodle Vague), Monday, 9 April 2012 08:31 (1 year ago) Permalink
Scrapping public holidays could add £18 billion to the nation's annual economic output, according to a think-tank.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research said each bank holiday costs the United Kingdom economy in the region of £2 billion.
― red is hungry green is jawless (Noodle Vague), Monday, 9 April 2012 08:32 (1 year ago) Permalink
Too much annual leave clearly the problem here.
Denmark 39.5Austria 38Sweden 36Slovakia 35Luxembourg 35France 35Germany 34-39Portugal 34Czech Republic 33Slovenia 33Italy 32Spain 32Greece 32Poland 31Finland 31Bulgaria 31Belgium 30Hungary 30Romania 30Ireland 29Netherlands 28-29UK 28
― Une semaine de Bunty (ShariVari), Monday, 9 April 2012 08:56 (1 year ago) Permalink
If we scrapped weekends we could add 200 billion more!
― if, Monday, 9 April 2012 09:05 (1 year ago) Permalink
the sheer nebulousness of anything quality of life related "losing" the "economy" money is a nice lens, you can look back thru it and see straight into the insect brains of the economists who wish they ran the government
― red is hungry green is jawless (Noodle Vague), Monday, 9 April 2012 09:08 (1 year ago) Permalink
Short-sighted too as i'm fairly sure at-work productivity would increase if people didn't hate their fucking bosses / jobs so much.
― Une semaine de Bunty (ShariVari), Monday, 9 April 2012 09:12 (1 year ago) Permalink
And this 'research' gets wheeled out every bank holiday...
― mmmm, Monday, 9 April 2012 09:25 (1 year ago) Permalink
scrapping them? hell we get loads too few as it is. Spain has 13! i always thought a great sweetener to put in a pre-election manifesto would be to offer more public holidays. i mean if party X were going to give you 3 more Bank Holidays that'd be such a big deal in the UK. there should at least a couple more in Autumn/ Winter.
― piscesx, Monday, 9 April 2012 09:46 (1 year ago) Permalink
there shd be a few more. i guess the subtext of the "taking holidays will not make us the economic master race" guys' report is that they want the existing holidays spread out thru autumn and winter but tbh let's have them when there's at least the possibility of sunshine and warmness?
― red is hungry green is jawless (Noodle Vague), Monday, 9 April 2012 09:57 (1 year ago) Permalink
We should move the late May one to the end of June / start of July
― Let's Talk About Socks (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Monday, 9 April 2012 14:56 (1 year ago) Permalink
I suspect what they really want is to kill Mayday, as proposed last year. Too much association with radicalism. Well, they can fuck right off.
― emil.y, Monday, 9 April 2012 15:07 (1 year ago) Permalink
bank holidays were invented or codified by a victorian banker iirc
― The term “hipster racism” from Carmen Van Kerckhove at Racialicious (nakhchivan), Monday, 9 April 2012 15:13 (1 year ago) Permalink
nv is apt with 'insect brains of the economists', fuck all those bawheid dorks, esp the selfconsciously reasonable and modest behavioural economists that the restoration enjoys
― The term “hipster racism” from Carmen Van Kerckhove at Racialicious (nakhchivan), Monday, 9 April 2012 15:16 (1 year ago) Permalink
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/georgeosborne/9194558/George-Osborne-Im-going-after-the-wealthy-tax-dodgers.html
of course you're 'shocked'.we believe you george.
― mark e, Tuesday, 10 April 2012 09:54 (1 year ago) Permalink
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/apr/19/metropolitan-police-accused-racism-firefighter
― Let's Talk About Socks (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Friday, 20 April 2012 07:34 (1 year ago) Permalink
hey, the chief super said that half the allegations of racism against the Met were raised by police officers so obv they've got this shit sorted
― aboulia banks (Noodle Vague), Friday, 20 April 2012 08:36 (1 year ago) Permalink
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17815769
never thought I'd find myself agreeing with Nadine Dorries in any way!
― boxedjoy, Monday, 23 April 2012 22:26 (1 year ago) Permalink
she's been running with this line for a while now hasn't she? makes total sense that she's embracing the ~maverick backbencher~ role (and all she;s doing is aligning herself with the tory grassroots)
― liberté, égalité, beyoncé (lex pretend), Monday, 23 April 2012 22:33 (1 year ago) Permalink
passion to want to understand the lives of otherspassion to want to understand the lives of otherspassion to want to understand the lives of otherspassion to want to understand the lives of otherspassion to want to understand the lives of others
― The term “hipster racism” from Carmen Van Kerckhove at Racialicious (nakhchivan), Monday, 23 April 2012 22:35 (1 year ago) Permalink
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2133369/Eric-Joyce-gives-astonishing-interview-MP-youll-read.html
somewhat worrying that this twitchy psycho became a major and then a labour mp
― The term “hipster racism” from Carmen Van Kerckhove at Racialicious (nakhchivan), Monday, 23 April 2012 22:37 (1 year ago) Permalink
Trainspotting sequel where Begbie's done pretty well for himself.
― michael nyman cat (Merdeyeux), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 00:03 (1 year ago) Permalink
Recent Events
Unhappily, I resigned from the Labour Party in March this year but will continue my work in the House of Commons, as an Independent Member of Parliament for Falkirk. Readers should note that my commitment to Labour values is still the same and my work in Parliament and in Falkirk continues in much the same way, allowing for some minor adjustments in my priorities and with a few less party political constraints.
― The term “hipster racism” from Carmen Van Kerckhove at Racialicious (nakhchivan), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 00:07 (1 year ago) Permalink
O_O that interview
― liberté, égalité, beyoncé (lex pretend), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 07:46 (1 year ago) Permalink
not saying this kind of guy flags up the farce of representative democracy, just saying
― aboulia banks (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 08:12 (1 year ago) Permalink
on a related note, i find that now the prospect of house of lords reform is upon us, the idea of another elected chamber full of career politicians fills me with dread
― liberté, égalité, beyoncé (lex pretend), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 08:55 (1 year ago) Permalink
yes. terrible as the Lords is, i'm willing to believe that a Lords as envisioned by the Commons wd be even more terrible.
― aboulia banks (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 09:00 (1 year ago) Permalink
considered re-starting a "representative democracy is the shabby veneer on the rotten edifice of capitalist power" thread but what's the point? cynics gonna cynic, nihilists gonna despair, apologists for this fucking shambling death factory we call the free world gonna apologise
― aboulia banks (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 09:09 (1 year ago) Permalink
(inspired by re-reading previous discussions of the political process rather than thinking too hard about the boneheaded thug upthread)
― aboulia banks (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 09:10 (1 year ago) Permalink
it's terrible now in the sense of being a ludicrous oddity that no one takes seriously and doesn't actually wield that much power.
also i do feel it's important that there's somewhere in the legislature that doesn't have to pander to the electorate
― liberté, égalité, beyoncé (lex pretend), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 09:11 (1 year ago) Permalink
if you mean "making lowest common denominator appeals to achieve a 'majority'" then yeah.
this is biggest part of the problem tho, how do you have a second tier of government that has real checks and balances on the lower tier, isn't an old people's version of the lower tier, and still has some democratic accountability/doesn't just represent the most powerful vested interests in the country?
― aboulia banks (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 09:14 (1 year ago) Permalink
apart from forbidding membership of the existing political parties in the upper house
― aboulia banks (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 09:15 (1 year ago) Permalink
also how do you "represent" a group of people whose interests - conscious and unconscious - are radically opposed to each other?
― aboulia banks (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 09:16 (1 year ago) Permalink
The other problem is how you have all those things and still maintain it has 2% of the power / legitimacy of the Commons.
― Just like you, except hot (ShariVari), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 09:21 (1 year ago) Permalink
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Law_of_Oligarchy
― aboulia banks (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 09:23 (1 year ago) Permalink
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17821018
"It can't be right to have people able on housing benefit to live in streets and homes that hard-working people are unable to live in themselves."
1. fuuuuuuck youuuuuu shapps2.'hard working' and 'on housing benefit' are not mutually exclusive3. you know what's really not right? a council unable to house people because there's fuck all social housing and no control on private rents
― c sharp major, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 09:24 (1 year ago) Permalink
impossible to reconcile the housing concept of both 'basic right' and 'marketable asset', innit.
― diafiyhm (darraghmac), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 09:29 (1 year ago) Permalink
idk how important democratic accountability is in a second chamber - it's ideally meant to be a check ON the flaws of representative democracy. the trouble is how you balance that with having some form of credible composition
― liberté, égalité, beyoncé (lex pretend), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 09:36 (1 year ago) Permalink
I don't see why we can't have an elected second chamber, just like every other representative democracy on earth.
― good luck in your pyramid (Neil S), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 09:50 (1 year ago) Permalink
we're getting rid of ours, tbf
― diafiyhm (darraghmac), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 10:02 (1 year ago) Permalink
well not so much democratic accountability but representation of sections of society that need representation, i.e. not those sections that already have all the power.
of course the problem for me is that the whole edifice is a sham, but it's interesting to think about what an upper chamber with actual teeth cd be if it wasn't just a mirror of the lower chamber.
― aboulia banks (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 10:27 (1 year ago) Permalink
arguably slightly less of a sham if you remove hereditary peers, retired MPs from the lower house, QCs, bishops etc. The problem is not replacing them with identikit career politicians. Wild ideas: ban party affiliation? Elect using full PR?
― good luck in your pyramid (Neil S), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 10:42 (1 year ago) Permalink