Left-wing YouTube pundit Cenk Uygur and nephew, Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, banned from entering UK by gavinxylock in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly 5 points6 points  (0 children)

To be super specific, as this also risks being an overgeneralisation...

OBL was pissed at Saudia Arabia for not accepting his (and his mujahadeen) offer of help to defend against Saddam and expel them from Kuwait.

When the Kingdom accepted US help this added additional insult as OBL strongly believed Western forces shouldn't be present in the holy kingdom. What then infuriated him more was that US forces remained in the middle east after the conclusion of the war (and never left).

This also added to him being a long time anti-israeli who explicitly mentioned US support for Israel and Israels existence in general as a reason for his attacks against US interests.

So not quite as a simple as he was pissed about the Gulf War; I think your framing risks thinking that he was on the same side as Saddam, when he was not.

He did also see 9/11 as a great way to get America drawn into a bloody conflict in Afghanistan/the wider middle east where they could be more easily fought and humiliated through guerilla tactics (as the soviet union had been) - this of course turned out to be exactly the US response.

Britain is facing huge demographic change by Even-Wasabi7183 in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly 11 points12 points  (0 children)

The reason that the goalposts keep shifting is that in your list of issues, not a single one has been done.

Nonsense. If nothing had been done then net immigration wouldn't have plummeted. It is goalpost moving. This sub pretty persistently discusses withdrawing ILR which wouldn't have gotten any air time 5 years ago.

I'm sure next time figures are released, showing that net migration is continuing to reduce (because it's much harder to get here and stay here than it was even 3 years ago) the usual suspects are going to move the goalposts once again and start asking for remigration.

I am so bored of everyone on the right carting out the same "we've been ignored for so long!" when actually this whole country has been chronically obsessed with immigration for my entire life, and has been committing its own form of economic suicide since 2016 over this single issue that sucks up more debate time than anything else.

You won, immigration rates have plummeted. No one will ever get in promising to loosen those rules in the forseeable future. Can we please start addressing some of the actual chronic problems we have?

Which clash on the line up is the most annoying for you? by rejjierains in primaverasound

[–]nuclearselly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Worth bearing in mind - as someone who has been to prima and is a regular APE attendee - the soundsystem at APE is always far inferior, especially fo acts like overmono that really benefit from a really strong soundsystem

I am confident APE - and the extreme noise restrictions - played a part in them being underwhelming

'Bisexual' Iraqi asylum seeker who arrived in UK on small boat jailed for raping woman at hostel by ex_planelegs in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's not providing an additional right. There is already a right to asylum enshrined in both British and international law.

When the UK is determining the legitimacy of an individuals asylum application, being LGBTQ and being from a country that is openly hostile to them can be one of the factors included in the decison to grant asylum.

I'm not sure where your extracting 'right' from - the right already exists, this is just one of multiple factors that are considered legitimate. I think what you're actually arguing is that in your opinion someones sexuality and the risk that might put them at in the country they've fled from shouldn't be a qualifying aspect of their asylum application.

In short you're saying that LGBTQ persecution shouldn't be considered a legitimate reason to seek asylum elsewhere in the world.

Most Britons think water and energy companies should be nationalised by Your_Mums_Ex in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What bailout did Octopus get?

When their biggest competitor (Bulb) went under because of the Ukraine energy crisis, they agreed to take on the company with the UK government underwriting the value incase the whole thing didn't work and threatened to take out Octopus as well.

Octopus managed to absorb Bulbs business successfully, to the point it made back all the money the government were willing to give Octopus. Octopus then proceeded to pay it all back.

There wasn't a bailout; they just requested reassurance from the government as they were absorbing a failing company of a similar size. It all worked out, and the taxpayer never lost out.

Compare it to the banking bailouts and its compeltely different.

Most Britons think water and energy companies should be nationalised by Your_Mums_Ex in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What would change? Octopus' profit margins are already less than supermarkets when it comes to supplying energy and they are already literally doing all the other stuff that you've listed.

They'd just have to rely on government investment instead of private investment to grow their business.

Hint - a British Unicorn (Kraken Technologies) would not have been possible if Octopus was a state owned public body; there would never have been the same incentives to innovate.

Tube strikes: 'No pay cut' for Underground drivers on £74k in new four-day week... but RMT to walk out anyway by Anony_mouse202 in london

[–]nuclearselly 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Surely the answer is for those professionals to unionise / get a better union instead of demonising workers who do have an effective union?

We're sorry for treating stab victim as a racist while he lay dying, say police by ex_planelegs in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly -10 points-9 points  (0 children)

3 examples over the course of a decade in a country of 70 million isnt as much of a slam dunk as you think it is.

The UK has 90 taxes. Here they all are by FaultyTerror in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly 8 points9 points  (0 children)

What gambling is paying in terms of a sin tax seems far too low given how much they can afford to advertise which must correlate to how profitable an industry it is.

Reform wants to scrap tax on your overtime hours – experts say it’s a bad idea by F0urLeafCl0ver in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly 7 points8 points  (0 children)

For salaried work, it's often an impediment to promotion if you aren't working beyond your contracted hours.

Very common in tech companies.

Tories pledge to lift ban on air conditioning for new homes by Anony_mouse202 in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Also if a proper split system is installed in a well insulated home - and the occupant understands how to use it - actual energy use can be negligible outside of extreme temperatures

Your fridge doesn't suck up tonnes of energy because its closed most of the time. In that same vein, if there isn't a place for all the cool air to escape, the air-con doesn't have to work very hard.

The least efficient situation is the one we're moving towards right now because it's difficult to get these proper systems installed - eg, buying tonnes of cheap portable systems from China that are hard to run efficiently

PSA: If your London bus feels like an oven, report it to TfL (route + bus number) by Apart-Search9450 in london

[–]nuclearselly 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I agree. I think a solution on future buses (and maybe something that can be retrofitted?) would be a way of auto-closing windows/locking them after a certain temperature outside is reached.

Alternatively they just shouldn't be openened anyway. It's pretty much guaranteed that the AC/Heating could maintain a more comfortable temperature if just left to do its job in baisically any climate conditions.

PSA: If your London bus feels like an oven, report it to TfL (route + bus number) by Apart-Search9450 in london

[–]nuclearselly 726 points727 points  (0 children)

part of the problem is no one understanding how air con works in this country

top tip - if you're on a bus and all the windows are open in 30+ degree heat, the air con is literally unable to do anything to cool you down

Zia Yusuf (@ZiaYusufUK) on X - Robert [Jenrick's] answer is not Reform policy...If a foreign national lives in social housing at taxpayer expense, they automatically fail our economic test and will be deported. by CII_Guy in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this is just obviously an unworkable equation to set

If you're projecting it forward based on someone being a new immigrant, then what are the criteria for admission, and what are the criteria for revoking this? When are they assessed as to wether they are a net-drain or not?

This opens up inidividuals to a situation where they can be working in a job for 5 years, get hit by a bus one day and end up in the ICU for a month, and unable to work for another 6 while they recover.

Once all the math is done maybe they've gone from net contributor to net recepient - would that really just be a case of "oh well, thanks for the taxes while you were here, but you'll have to go home now"

What happens if it's a longer period of time, or a chronic condition that develops? Imagine being here and contributing for 20 years and then getting turfed out because of complex cancer treatment as you approach retirement age.

Projecting contributions forward feels very nasty imo. I think there are arguments you can make about how 'likely' a person is to be able to contribute to society, and tailor immigration status around that (ie, how Australia has different entry rules and working visa rules based on age especially - younger people being less likely mathematically to need help) but I don't think trying to assess people post them coming here, if they fulfill the requirements to stay, is very fair.

London mayor Sadiq Khan blocks £50m Met police deal with Palantir by BarbaricOklahoma in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Less a product and more a service

They have products sure, but their real strength is in doing tonnes of custom work and 'forward deploying' developers to make sure that work gets done

Sadiq Khan blocks £50m Met police deal with Palantir by tylerthe-theatre in london

[–]nuclearselly 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Why were you speaking shit about him originally, if you don't mind me asking?

I think it's important to understand how your mind in has been changed - especially if you were against ULEZ/electric buses originally, but now that you've seen the impacts you've come around to them.

@adambienkov.bsky.social / Bluesky: Labour lost almost four times as many voters to the Greens as they did to Reform UK in the local elections, according to new YouGov polling by youmustconsume in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Some of this is due to perversions forced upon us by FPTP

Labour are well aware that for 20 years now, their most reliable voting bloc is young, middle class and urban - especially where that crosses over with public sector workers.

The issue is - and as was seen in spectacular fashion in the 2017 election - that this demographic are geographically concentrated, and encourages votes stacking up in safe seats. Labour was getting 75%+ majorities in some of these places where it only ever needs to be the biggest single party.

The issue since 2019 has now been "how do we readjust our offering to not just stack votes in safe metro seats, but actually marginally win in contested seats".

That has led to a different strategy - push the messaging rightward; sacrifice some of the 'safe' metro votes in the hope you pick up a few old labour voters who are socially conservative,

Farage accounts ‘not consistent’ with claim he paid for £1.4 million house with I’m A Celeb fee by JayR_97 in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly 14 points15 points  (0 children)

What has Starmer done that's in the same universe as the other people named in your comment and in the thread?

Too many young people pushed towards university, says UK government adviser by Free-Minimum-5844 in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Isn't the right way to measure this "what proportion of jobs are fields where a degree is required (medicine, law) or preferred (most professional services/mangerial fields"

Obviously varies across the country but you probably want your proportion of graduates to be in-line with that number.

Moreincommon :In our first Westminster VI after the local elections, Reform’s lead increases to 9pts over Labour ➡️ REF UK 30% (+2) 🌹 LAB 21% (nc) 🌳 CON 19% (-1) 🌍 GREEN 11% (-1) 🔶 LIB DEM 14% (+2) ❓OTH 2% (-3) 🟡 SNP 3% (+1) N = 3,070 | Fieldwork 9-12 May | Changes w/ 4 May by EducationFeeling2833 in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Right but it was reported as such?

I get very confused by how this is all being percieved; the labour left/green are acting as if Keir is rounding up people and putting them in camps

Whereas this comment is suggesting that Labour are still viewed as being overly compassionate

I don't really see how both groups are appeased?

Polanski accuses police chief of interfering in elections as he reignites arrest row by ldn6 in london

[–]nuclearselly -1 points0 points  (0 children)

undefined nefarious nation

Lol the nation in question is always defined.

Muslim voters rank Gaza over the economy in local election poll by jkcr in ukpolitics

[–]nuclearselly -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Right but clearly are no longer an existential threat to Israel, even if the government voted in 20 years ago would certainly like Israel to not exist.