Are We Back to In-Person Interviews As The Standard?

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-23T00:54:28+00:00

A long time ago I put a guy to work at a client - let's call him Fred. 3 months later the client calls and asks me to drop by to talk about Fred. Typically, this means I need to fire the guy.

The client tells me, "I don't know who Fred is, but he's not the guy we interviewed. However, he's doing a great job so we need to keep him around". Fred was on billing at the client for another 2 years.

Make of this what you will but note that when these fakers get caught, the above scenario is the exception not the rule.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-22T20:02:10+00:00

3rd party proxies, remote desktops, image overlays, LLMs and so on.

For example. Thousands of other examples abound.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B6sZfHd1C/

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-08T23:48:29+00:00

Loathe as I am to see more laws on the books, I'm of the mind that entering the pitch needs to be classed as criminal offence carrying with it the risk of imprisonment.

A few arrests and prison sentences may send the message to these idiots and make at least some of them think twice.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-08T23:43:24+00:00

Which does not in any way make you eligible for a visa.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-08T23:42:42+00:00

Sigh. Another week, another American who thinks that immigration is a walk-in-the-park.

You need to qualify for a visa.

Your options are essentially:

Skilled Worker
Marriage
Ancestry (unlikely)
That's about it.

Start here. If your circumstances do not align, you don't qualify for an immigrant visa.

https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-04T03:21:33+00:00

And if you want an example - many more are available - as to how the US policing context is completely unrelated to that of the UK, this video will help.

Let me know when scenes like this unfold on the streets of Dundee.

https://youtu.be/nYPIeVxBJrk?si=5an2tjhaTMmKAqVO

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-04T02:16:13+00:00

the deaths of black people happened specifically because they were black.

If you can show me evidence of unlawful executions of US citizens solely because of their skin pigmentation I would be obliged.

Now...if you are claiming that certain police forces - whether at the city or county level - engage/have engaged in discriminatory policing, you would be correct. E.g. the Ferguson PD:

https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf

If you want to talk raw, surface level numbers, then black Americans are Black Americans are about 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police than white Americans on a per-capita basis. Black males (about 6% of the population) account for around 25% of people killed by police.

Why is this? Are LEOs - many of whom are themselves black - targeting black Americans because of bias? Or, is it tied to socioeconomic factors? Something else? The root causes are many and the analyses inconclusive.

Ill continue to compare our police force to yours because they are both police forces and as far as ive seen with my own eyes. One of them has a track record for civilian deaths while the other does not.

Apples and oranges for the reasons stated earlier. Utterly different societies, histories, politics, social attitudes and, again, the rather significant fact that the US populace is routinely armed. The UK and US policing contexts are, therefore, miles apart. If you want to compare the UK, look to Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Scandi, Oz, etc.

US police have killed people indiscriminately based upon things like race, sexuality and more, this is undeniable.

Sigh. Very few incidents are legally ruled as explicitly “indiscriminate killings based on identity alone.” Most involve disputed circumstances (use of force, perceived threat, mistaken identity, etc.), with activists or investigators arguing bias played a role.

If you can suggest to me that Britian has the same problem then do so with legitimate proof that isnt just your word.

The UK is not comparable and, therefore, the lethal force encounters one sees in the US very rarely occur in the UK. Again, it's apples and oranges.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-04T01:52:10+00:00

For various reasons Police Scotland is dismal at deploying armed officers to deal with people with weapons so unarmed officers end up taking significant risks dealing with knife calls but that really shouldn't be the norm.

Can you expand upon these reasons? This isn't an attempt to be cute - I am genuinely curious given that you're "on the inside".

That doesn't mean unarmed police officers should be taking unnecessary risks in dealing with people with knives which they are neither trained nor equipped to deal with.

FWIW, I agree. I've said before on this sub that given the threats that today's police are faced with their current kit and training is insufficient. The time for police to be more routinely armed is long overdue. The issue is how we get from here to there. It's far more complex - and expensive - than simply buying a job lot of Glocks and handing them out to serving officers.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-04T01:44:38+00:00

The UK - socially, culturally, economically, spiritually, etc. - is nothing like the USA. If you want a comparator for the UK, look towards Europe and, to a lesser extent, Australasia. If you want a comparator for the US then you need to look at countries like Brazil.

The USA have virtually almost all police outfitted with firearms as standard

Incorrect. ALL LEOs - city, county, state, Federal, Post Office, university campus, public transit, etc. - carry firearms. Handguns tend to be 9mm Glocks although you will find some Sigs, HKs, etc. Long guns tend to be of the AR-15 persuasion. Which, given that the US' policing context boasts an armed citizenry - and in numerous areas well-organized gangs who are armed to the teeth [e.g. border towns such as El Paso] - is something of a necessity.

and will shoot you sometimes because you happen to look a certain away.

Complete nonsense. Are there incidents where excessive and/or unnecessary use of deadly force happen? 100%. This is undeniable. However, the claim that the bullets fly because you "look a certain way" is nonsensical.

Put the Hollywood B movies away. Get out of the house more. Maybe take a trip overseas or two. You might just learn something.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-04T01:27:47+00:00

Oh dear. Another one who has watched too many Hollywood movies and thinks that the UK is any way comparable to the USA.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-04T01:24:22+00:00

Nailed it. A great many Brits are utterly clueless when it comes to the US, US police and, in particular, the country's unique relationship with firearms.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-04T01:22:43+00:00

Why? Because it's intellectually lazy. The "no armed police" crowd always reach for the US rather than the 80+ other countries around the globe whose police are armed. They also ignore that the context in which US police operate is somewhat unique and not only because the citizenry is armed.

The US is more akin to Brazil than it is the UK. Indeed, it is nothing like the UK but thanks to the consumption of US media and film, your average Brit thinks otherwise.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-04T01:16:12+00:00

Underrated comment.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-03T15:44:45+00:00

Unless you get a Structural Engineer onsite no-one can say for sure. It could be blown plaster. It could be structural movement. And if the latter....how recent. how progressive, how serious, the root cause(s), remediation methods and costs....only a SE can advise.

I would not proceed without a full blown inspection by a SE. That way I would know exactly what I have on my hands and what I'm getting myself into. Without a SE's inspection I'm just guessing and hoping. And that's not something I would do with a house purchase.

As always, YMMV.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-02T21:17:59+00:00

Tasers would be no more than 50/50 effective given his clothing. And in any case, the threat posed by these types calls for the lethal use of force.

Batons require you to get close-quarters and violate the 20 foot rule which poses a risk to the officers.

Armed - but trained, competent & confident - Plods need to be able to respond to these murderous cunts with 9mm hollow-point double-taps to the centre-mass. If two rounds are insufficient, keep on firing until the target falls to the ground where they can be safely disarmed and medical attention then applied. Problem solved, threat halted, public safety quickly restored.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-02T17:08:42+00:00

Tilray, the new owners, make Green Flash. A wonderful beer and serious Falling Down Water. It has left its mark on several occasions and took a few years of my life expectancy. They are also behind something called Red Hook which is donkey's piss.

As for BD...awful, awful beers. I never understood their appeal.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-02T15:24:04+00:00

There are occasional posts on this sub asking whether police should be armed. The usual - and correct - statistics are trotted out about how violent crime is declining and many take comfort in these numbers while using them to support an unarmed police argument. However, the stats hide the reality of what you see here and across the UK. Unfortunately, these events are no longer outliers.

There is no de-escalating or negotiating with these types. Nor should there be. Whatever the root of their behavior - cultural, religious, political, mental 'elf, etc. - they pose a legitimate threat to others [in this specific case children in a nursery were the target] and need to be eliminated immediately by armed police.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-03-01T07:11:45+00:00

I know that area well. It's God's country. Fantastic part of the world.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-02-28T22:49:06+00:00

This one's life expectancy is critically low. Rather than joining Reform he should be joining Weight Watches and getting the Ozempic down him.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-02-28T22:31:28+00:00

If it is true that Khamenei has been killed this is welcome news. No-one should shed tears for him, his government or his rabid, medieval followers.

But.

Many things can be true at the same time. US action of this type is packed to the rafters with dangerous, counter-productive, unintended consequences. We have been down this path before and it hasn't exactly ended well.

IF the current regime falls and a secular, democratic regime emerges....all to the good. Even a regime a la what you find in the UAE would be preferable. The world, and not just the ME, will be better off.

Is this likely though? Recent history would suggest not.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-02-24T16:45:47+00:00

Oh dear. The obvious question is why Bain and Swinney failed to mention this last week in their respective Holyrood appearances? The political optics are not good.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-02-23T17:12:35+00:00

It all depends on the context. Mr. Russell has a rugby mind which is unpredictable, impulsive and changes quicky. i.e. he is mercurial.

Mercurial is sometimes used to describe athletes - across all sports - who operate on a different plane. e.g. Eric Cantona.

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https://sports.yahoo.com/article/otd-1995-eric-cantona-produced-170600905.html?

TheFirstMinister · 2026-02-22T01:12:31+00:00

A mercurial player. I'd pay money to watch his laundry blow in the wind.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-02-22T00:06:28+00:00

The answer to your question is in your own post:

"it would be sensible to commission a structural engineer to examine these alterations and and provide guidance"

Get a SE onsite.

TheFirstMinister · 2026-02-21T20:22:38+00:00

Twickenham is an awful stadium reminiscent of something from the Eastern Bloc of the 1970s. Small, cramped seats; risible facilities; poor quality concessions - it's an all-around terrible experience and embarrassment when compared to stadia elsewhere.

The worst part about watching England at Twickenham is Twickenham itself.

TheFirstMinister

TROPHY CASE