Britain - The Official Thread

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How will you vote in the 2024 UK General Election?

  • Conservative Party

    Votes: 2 6.9%

  • Green Party

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Labour Party

    Votes: 14 48.3%

  • Liberal Democrats

    Votes: 2 6.9%

  • Other (Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland)

    Votes: 1 3.4%

  • Other Independents

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other Parties

    Votes: 2 6.9%

  • Spoiled Ballot

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Will Not/Cannot Vote

    Votes: 8 27.6%
  • Total voters
    29
  • Poll closed .
Liquid
Doesn't excuse it one bit.
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I never said it did.

Oh well. I am out of here in the summer if things go my way. Then I won't have to worry. I feel sorry for my family and friends though.
 
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Touring Mars
Of course, this Bill only means that police and government agencies can access your internet history legally... the fact that they can almost certainly see it already anyway is arguably more important.
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This.

My main question on the matter has been what's the change? But the reality is that these powers were already being used, legally or otherwise.

I'm a bit annoyed about the whole thing myself. The fact a PAYG phone can access the web today means it's hardly difficult to conceal your online identity.
 
Liquid
'UKIP is on the verge of bankruptcy'

I guess prayers really do get answered.
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Moral bankruptcy or otherwise?

I guess they'll have a cashflow through their MEPs if push comes to shove, but I think their main problem in the UK is caused by two things; people seem to have realised that even with a groundswell of support they struggle to actually take UK seats, and Farage retains party control even without the mandate from a seat.
 
Touring Mars
Meanwhile, William Hague is getting worried about population growth and the prospect of Europe being overrun with migrants...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...e-hurricane-that-will-soon-engulf-Europe.html
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He falls short of linking immigration with the population boom (unlike some of his fellow Conservative party members), he seemingly ignores that actual reason for the main boom... sheer old age. To make it worse, I heard the whole article in his voice. Shudder.
 
Gayle Newland, the woman who supposedly duped another woman into believing she was a man in order to have a sexual relationship with her, has been jailed for eight years for sexual assault.

From what I can gather, the entire case depends on the testimony of the alleged victim, and her impact statement(s) that would have us believe that her life has been 'ruined' by the trauma of discovering that her 'boyfriend' was in fact her female friend using a strap-on.

Suffice it to say that not alot about this case makes any sense - and it doesn't take a great deal of time to discover that there are serious doubts as to the veracity of the alleged victim's statements.

Meanwhile, Gayle Newland is sentenced to 8 years in jail - the average sentence for rape in the UK... for having a consensual sexual relationship.

I'm usually quite good when it comes to smelling a rat, and right now it smells like the New York subway.
 
Warren Mitchell, aka Alf Garnett, has passed away aged 89.

I can't help but see a certain irony in the passing of a man whose comedic persona was so "of its time" on a day when exactly the same attitudes are rearing their heads once again. Still, it's a sad passing, and I like to think that he was being ironic himself at times.

BBC.
 
Touring Mars
Meanwhile, Gayle Newland is sentenced to 8 years in jail - the average sentence for rape in the UK... for having a consensual sexual relationship
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It is indeed a very strange case, but I don't necessarily agree it was consensual in the context of the deception that was shown in the conviction.
 
A Libyan national has been arrested for the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher* during the Libyan embassy protests.

BBC.

*Referred to as WPC Fletcher back in the day, of course...
 
TenEightyOne
A Libyan national has been arrested for the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher* during the Libyan embassy protests.

BBC.

*Referred to as WPC Fletcher back in the day, of course...
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Though it takes time, If this is the one it is good that they have been caught finally. My dad was in the Met in the 80s and it was not a good time for them...
 
DavCam is to get his own plane for trips. An Airbus 330 Voyager will be refitted for use. BBC.

I have mixed feelings about this, one the one hand we're in austerity saving and seeing local services slashed or closed while £150 bottles of wine are drunk (maybe even quaffed) at semi-official dinners. On the other hand I wouldn't want a friend blown up on their flight because they were sitting next to DavCam while he nibbled his Pringles, so to speak.
 
TenEightyOne
On the other hand I wouldn't want a friend blown up on their flight because they were sitting next to DavCam while he nibbled his Pringles, so to speak.
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A common hypocrisy. Another case of British NIMBY.

"Why doesn't the Prime Minister use public transport? ...Well I wouldn't sit next to him. He's an obvious target!"

Can't have it both ways. That it comes during a time of unprecedented budget cuts is obviously not going to sit well but I see no problem with the principle of a Prime Ministerial plane.
 
TenEightyOne
DavCam is to get his own plane for trips. An Airbus 330 Voyager will be refitted for use. BBC.

I have mixed feelings about this, one the one hand we're in austerity saving and seeing local services slashed or closed while £150 bottles of wine are drunk (maybe even quaffed) at semi-official dinners. On the other hand I wouldn't want a friend blown up on their flight because they were sitting next to DavCam while he nibbled his Pringles, so to speak.
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David Cameron is a very dexterous man apparently:
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What a git he is. Sure if Britains economy was thriving and we were not cutting things left, right, and centre then a plane would be a fine thing to have. But right now? Get out.
 
Not sure why it's costing 10 million to convert. This plane isn't new, it's being converted from the refuelling and utility fleet. If the seats are good enough for the squaddies....
 
TenEightyOne
DavCam is to get his own plane for trips. An Airbus 330 Voyager will be refitted for use. BBC.

I have mixed feelings about this, one the one hand we're in austerity saving and seeing local services slashed or closed while £150 bottles of wine are drunk (maybe even quaffed) at semi-official dinners. On the other hand I wouldn't want a friend blown up on their flight because they were sitting next to DavCam while he nibbled his Pringles, so to speak.
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Air Farce One?
 
To be honest, it's pretty embarrassing that we can't even afford to get the PM a dedicated plane - we have to borrow an RAF In-flight refueller.
 
The theory behind it is that a refitted tanker will be cheaper in the long run than charter flights, which is what the PM uses at the moment. It makes sense, and although it looks like an extravagance I think it's probably a reasonable move. It looks good when you arrive on your own aircraft (look at the image Air Force One has), and it could also be used to ferry the royal family around, saving more taxpayer money. Of course, that's the theory, in practise it's hard to know if it will actually be cheaper.
 
British cinema chains have said that they won't show an pre-yule advert for prayer, specifically the christian lord's prayer. BBC. Personally I agree that cinemas and all such-like should steer clear of political or religious commentary of any kind.

BraceYourselfBritainFirstFacebookPostsAreComing.jpg
 
TenEightyOne
British cinema chains have said that they won't show an pre-yule advert for prayer, specifically the christian lord's prayer. BBC. Personally I agree that cinemas and all such-like should steer clear of political or religious commentary of any kind.

BraceYourselfBritainFirstFacebookPostsAreComing.jpg
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Whilst I agree that cinemas should be free of any religious/political commentary, when has a prayer hurt anyone? Sure everyone believes differently, but isn't Christmas completely revolved around a religion, so if they are banning prayer adverts etc, would the next step be banning xmas adverts? That would be really sad.
 
An aggregation of various pre-Christian traditions brought together, assimilated and incorporated to make the transition for pagans seem both not as severe and broadly acceptable. I think.

Also, every Winter I like to highlight ahead of time that Xmas is not taking the 'Christ' out of Christmas. Christ is a Greek moniker (Christos 'anointed one') and the first letter of that in Greek is X. That's why Xmas is Xmas. The X literally stands for Christ. Don't let anyone tell you it's PC gone mad.
 
ECGadget
Really? I thought the whole concept was based around Jesus? I mean I know the whole St.Nick thing etc, but I always was told it is based around a part of Christianity?
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The insertion of Christ and Christianity into the winter festival in Europe is very much a recent invention and one that is rapidly and thankfully dying off.

Europe has had a winter festival for millennia, around the Solstice, as a celebration of the end of nights drawing in and the new year, characterised by feasting and the giving of gifts. Because Europe was farmers and hunters for eighty thousand years and if there's one thing farmers and hunters hate and party because it's gone away it's short days and long nights - they can't get as much work done and if they try it's dangerous and they die.

The Romans had a habit of pairing existing festivals with their own deities, so when they invaded your country you could still have a party so they didn't seem like bad guys to the genpop, but theirs was bigger and in someone else's name and the Pagan (well... sorta) "Yule" became attached to Saturn as Saturnalia. The Romans invaded quite a lot of countries, so quite a lot of places celebrated Saturnalia. They even made their Saturnalia last for a week, just to encompass as many Yules as they could...

Then they caught Christianity and in the 4th Century some bright spark decided that Christ was born on 25th December, right around the time of the biggest celebration on the calendar. It's like magic or an amazing coincidence or something - especially as the Gospels disagree on the year - but there you go.

So for a few hundred years it was Yule, Saturnalia, Christmas and whatever all rolled into one. There was much feasting and gift-giving as usual.

Crap didn't get really religious until the Middle Ages, when everywhere went really religious and if you think that was pious, it had nothing on the Reformation. They went nuts with the Christ stuff.

But it's had its day now and the consumerism we all bitch about every December has shunted Christmas back, ironically, towards Yule and Saturnalia. Ask people what the ten things that represent Christmas to them are and you'll get a list of stuff that Yule and Saturnalia were all about - food, drink, gifts, holly (and ivy, natch), snow, music and so on. The rest of the list is likely to be Santa or, more broadly, the colour red, which shows you just how effective the marketing department at Coca Cola really is.

Even the Nativity is a concept that predates the tradition. The Romans put on a play in Saturnalia - the Protestants just made it a play about the infant Jesus...
 

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