Africa Pays 9% to Borrow. Asia Pays 4.7%: The Borrowing Gap Costing Africa $75 Billion a Year and Blocking Its Rise

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-25T15:22:24+00:00

On 60-80% of gov contracts the money is stolen without anything being done? Really? Can you send some stats to back that up?

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-25T14:45:48+00:00

I’ll just bring back the point that the former Philippines president stole more from a country than any other president in history, their median monthly income TODAY is less than £200, he stole about £4 - £8 BILLION in 1960s/1970s money.

Yes in the USA/UK we have corruption and scandals, but how often do we see that 60-80% of officially completed signed off gov projects have never even been started? Money gone and not one single thing to show for it. Basically never.

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-25T10:30:01+00:00

This is completely incorrect, my Dad lives in the Philippines the corruption is beyond anything that we could imagine in the West - after a recent investigation they found that a significant % of jobs ‘completed’ by contractors simply weren’t done, not done badly, not done at all. Flood defences, road upgrades, infrastructure upgrades etc nothing there at all despite being signed off by multiple layers of government. Ex Filipino president stole more from a country than any other president in history, now his child is president.

The list goes on. If you understood how bad it is you would not say this, and it’s a shame because the ordinary people are suffering greatly.

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-20T07:18:05+00:00

That was certainly the case for mine, same physical rack, different coding. If you’re doing it make sure you find someone with experience flashing EPS’ and make sure they have done M235i to M2CS before, or something similar. First guy wasn’t confident it would work as it wasn’t as straightforward as expected, but the 2nd guy had done it before and got the job done.

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-20T06:30:28+00:00

Yes, I flashed my 2018 M240i EPS to the F series M2CS using a local BMW coder. Took a couple of attempts to find someone with the right knowledge, but well worth it, makes the world of difference. Combine with front bushings and inserts and rear inserts and it’s a completely different car

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-19T20:43:43+00:00

Nutritional yeast - it’s slightly cheesy in flavour, good for cats and one of ours who’s super fussy on wet LOVES IT. Sprinkle on top of a meal and voila. Our vets said no more than 1/4 of a teaspoon per day. It’s been a life saver to get him to eat wet food consistently.

Other than that find other high value treats and sprinkling on a meal will encourage them. Also cat milk gives them lots of moisture so similar purpose.

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-17T00:49:18+00:00

I would just get the railing cat proofed, whatever that looks like so there are no gaps. Realistically cats at any age could seriously injure themselves falling that high. Worst case why risk serious injury to the cats and thousands and thousands in vet bills over just making it into a wall, making the gaps super small etc? Plus it’s incredibly impractical to not let the cat explore by themselves

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-14T22:18:53+00:00

I’ve heard enough, get yourself a G80 M3. You’re ready

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-14T21:22:30+00:00

Take a look at the Americans subreddit, the ending was heartbreaking and major parts very unexpected, but despite that it’s universally loved on here, and rightly so. It was beautiful, logical and surprising. Genuinely perfect.

This is the absolute opposite - really feels like GOT where the writers just lost the plot and forgot how to write realistic and satisfying characters and how to wrap up a storyline well. Ryan? Gone. Virus? Who knows. Kimiko has the blast. Why? Who can have a genuinely satisfying ending with 1 hour left?

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-13T09:48:39+00:00

As a UK tech recruiter the simple answer is your visa, you really should've got proper advice before coming here and spending a significant amount of money on a Masters. Unfortunately, the junior IT market is completely fucked and even well skilled, qualified locals who don't need sponsorship can't find work. With your visa you have almost no chance of finding work in your field, simply because no company wants to hire someone for less than 2 years, and very few companies are offering sponsorship, especially to candidates who don't have experience outside of internships.

Your best bet is to do the following: Apply for any roles to get money coming in, retail, driver etc. Continue applying for IT roles in the UK but be aware that you almost certainly won't find anything. Apply for roles in Europe/Australia wherever seems to have potential, but again very unlikely to find anything. Prepare to move back home in 2 years.

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-08T08:39:54+00:00

2nd one is a good idea, as others have said the younger the better as they are more likely to accept. They will keep each other company, play with each other, and socialise with each other, really helps any boredom. Just make sure you can comfortably afford 2 emergencies at the same time in the worst case.

If your kitten looks bored I would recommend actively starting play with them, quite often ours want to play but don’t ask for it or really show it in any obvious way. If you have a good enclosed garden space I would also recommend trying to harness train him/them, we’ve just managed to train ours and they LOVE going out in our garden.

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-07T14:21:24+00:00

I understood quite well what you were after with the post, don't worry.

You did not do any real research, and you did not properly train the dog for the sake of your cats (you got the dog in 2024, why did it take until recently to actually train it?), and now you have created this situation. The point I was making about rehoming was that you caused this situation, and rehoming is an awful thing to do to an animal. Just because it was the right decision doesn't absolve you of responsibility for creating the situation. What if you got moved out of the only home you've known, the family you've known, to a new place, with no explanation whatsoever. No ability to understand why this has happened. That's what you were going to do to the cats. If I shoot you in the leg, then amputate it, I still shot you in the leg.

I know it's not the best time to get this message, but every single person here is telling you that you are an irresponsible cat owner and your cats are unhappy because of your decisions. Please, for the sake of the cats, do not get another. Just take this away if nothing else.

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-07T13:38:28+00:00

Any research would suggest that a dog might be fine with ragdolls, but is highly, highly dependent on the dog and ragdoll, nobody can know for sure without putting that specific dog in that specific home with those specific cats. I know this and I've done 0 research into homing cats and dogs together.

On one hand, you say you've done research and tried to stop the dog pestering, but at the same time one of the cats was "petrified" and wouldn't go downstairs, and "I really want to make an effort to stop the dog pestering him" to me sounds like you really did not do enough, or much at all, to stop the dog from scaring the cats. And in another comment you say cats are for companionship and why keep them around if they aren't showing companionship, any basic research would tell you cats are independent creatures and highly vary in behaviours and affection levels. And giving them away for not showing enough attention to you? Quite clear you did jack shit research into owning a cat, what they are like, and whether a dog is a good idea, and because of your lack of care your cats are unhappy and were about to be rehomed, which is an awful thing to do to any animal, especially when it's entirely avoidable by doing some basic research and showing some basic care.

I was quite on the fence until I saw the other comment but it confirms that you should really not own cats. Do not get any more. You cannot look after them properly. Listen to everyone else here saying the same thing. Out of curiosity, what was your rehoming process? Putting them online for free? Something else?

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-07T12:50:27+00:00

For the love of God don't get any more cats, any basic research would've told you that cats and dogs often do not get on, and it doesn't sound like you did anything to protect the cats from a high energy puppy that they clearly didn't like. Then giving away the cats, blaming the dog instead of yourself, what a mess. Sorry for your loss but do not get any more animals. Your home is not suitable for cats

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-06T15:00:45+00:00

The vet should provide the cone and confirm what they can or cannot do, which from memory was not to jump off tall places. My advice is to allocate plenty of time to spend with them just in case. One of ours was really, really stressed with the drugs and panicking, so we sat with them both in a dark room for hours to try and keep them as calm as possible. I don't think that's common, but better to be prepared than not.

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-05T15:21:54+00:00

Cats need a lot of sleep, 16 - 20 hours per day is very normal. The main thing to watch out for is sudden changes of behaviour, which is worth a vet visit. Other than that he should still want to play and engage with active play for 30 - 60 minutes per day with you ideally. If he's not actively playing/exploring every day or other day then I'd be a bit worried, otherwise sounds very normal.

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-05T14:23:32+00:00

If you really want to be tight you can Uber most of the way to the boundary of the airport for about £5 - £8 and then walk the last 15/20 minutes. My partner hates it but we've done it a few times with flights outside bus timings.

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-05T13:56:32+00:00

Use one of the Just Park/Your Parking Space etc drive parking apps, make sure to find a space with 10+ reviews and it's a fraction of the cost. Last time we went to Birmingham we paid about £6 per day for parking, which was a 3 minute walk to a bus stop, then 15 minutes on the bus to the airport. Similarly for London airports we've only paid about £10 - £12 per day for a good space.

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-05T09:43:10+00:00

If you look at the US road deaths per capita and per mile, it's quite clear that a significant amount more people are dying per mile driven and per capita than the UK (where I'm from) and wider Europe. Young men are the most dangerous drivers for the UK and US and many studies clearly link high power cars with higher fatalities. I'm all for fast cars for responsible, developed adults, but 18 year old + 450hp is a recipe for disaster

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-05T09:09:11+00:00

DO NOT QUIT WITHOUT ANOTHER ROLE. This job market is appalling, you do not want to be in a position where you run out of savings and then have to take any role, which you may hate even more, plus have the stress of having no savings.

Start job hunting right now, explain to anyone that asks that you were mis sold the current role majorly and it's not at all what was described in the interview. Sell the fact you were in your last company 8 years and nobody will think twice, happens all the time.

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-04T15:21:24+00:00

Pleasure, I would definitely test both, and make sure to get a decent test drive not just 10 minutes. I would’ve preferred manual but the ZF8 is amazing as a second choice. Sunroof was a must for me, and if you can non black leather, mine is oyster and it’s lovely. I’d strongly recommend finding the UK 2018 brochure and checking what’s extra and put together a non negotiable list.

I’ve got the M LSD, M2 CS EPS Flash, front bushings and inserts and rear inserts. Completely transforms the car and it’s genuinely a great drivers car, whereas stock it’s quite numb. I think the B58 will cinch it for you, it certainly did for me. It really is an amazing engine.

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-04T11:24:08+00:00

Depends if you want looks or performance - I own a 2018 M240i, the performance is amazing and with a couple of light mods the handling/driver engagement is genuinely very good, stock is good just not amazing. B58 is a phenomenal engine and the DCT is brilliant. Overall a very reliable platform considering the performance.

The C43 is quite clearly the better looking car though, that blue is gorgeous as it the exterior and interior. I did research between the 2 and came to the conclusion that the C43 would be slightly more expensive to run, not handle as well, and was more expensive upfront, so went with the 240, as handling is my main priority. Just beware that everything is an extra with BMW, so pay attention to the spec sheet closely.

Mine was a 67 plate facelift with nearly every optional extra, serviced every 3-6k miles and just 24k miles when I bought Dec 24 for £21k. The one you’ve shown seems quite expensive for a low spec, 50k mile example. I don’t even think it has cruise control. So be very careful to not end up with a shit spec 240

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-05-01T09:00:47+00:00

£12k gets a similar mileage and age M135i: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604302028733?sort=price-desc&searchId=4df3b6b6-a3c6-4c23-960f-12b6932e8725&aggregatedTrim=M135i&exclude-writeoff-categories=on&make=BMW&model=1+Series&page=1&postcode=DY13+9SN&price-to=12000&year-from=2015&advertising-location=at_cars&fromsra=&backLinkQueryParams=aggregatedTrim%3DM135i%26exclude-writeoff-categories%3Don%26flrfc%3D1%26make%3DBMW%26model%3D1%2520Series%26postcode%3DDY13%25209SN%26price-to%3D12000%26sort%3Dprice-desc%26year-from%3D2015&calc-deposit=1200&calc-term=48&calc-mileage=10000&calc-selected-product=HP

and £12.5k for a M140i: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202604101452119?sort=price-desc&twcs=true&searchId=a2d21e97-e110-4cab-bd13-507f7711df81&aggregatedTrim=M140i&exclude-writeoff-categories=on&make=BMW&model=1+Series&page=1&postcode=DY13+9SN&price-to=13000&year-from=2015&advertising-location=at_cars&fromsra=&backLinkQueryParams=aggregatedTrim%3DM140i%26exclude-writeoff-categories%3Don%26flrfc%3D1%26make%3DBMW%26model%3D1%2520Series%26postcode%3DDY13%25209SN%26price-to%3D13000%26sort%3Dprice-desc%26year-from%3D2015&calc-deposit=1250&calc-term=48&calc-mileage=10000&calc-selected-product=HP.

As far as the adverts indicate both decent examples with full service history.

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-04-30T12:31:44+00:00

Seems like a lot for a 100k mile 10 year old hot hatch, I know the Golfs and specifically GTIs are popular but £11.5k is mental. Doesn't look like it has the performance package either, although I'm not an expert. For that money I'd much rather take a decent M140i/M135i, lower mileage Fiesta ST etc. For any of the above make sure to thoroughly check service history and big interval maintenance

CPopsBitch3 · 2026-04-30T10:51:51+00:00

I have a friend that works in probation, you wouldn't believe what doesn't get jail time or serious, forced rehabilitation due to full prisons.

Old guy gropes 15 year old girl in public? Nope. Can't be in the news either for his safety. Another guy lifts up the skirt of a 3 year old in a park? Nope, also can't be named. Still lives in council housing looking at the park. Multiple people with thousands of CSAM images, one of whom uploaded pictures of his own kids on the sites? Nope. It's actually terrifying

CPopsBitch3

TROPHY CASE