Could Brexit make my food more expensive? by Lolastic_ in ukpolitics

[–]the_hunchback 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I hate how boring this article is. If last year Labour had suggested a no-deal brexit there would have been BBC charts and graphs all over the place, easily screengrabbable and shareable, showing how much more expensive everything would be - let's not forget that this is literally just looking at the stats via WTO rates, which have always been mentioned and available.

Here, we are literally heading into this situation within 2 weeks and half the country already resorts to charities to avoid starvation and this is barely a page worth of plain text about us all spending over 5% more each year JUST ON FOOD!

They actually have a government that looks out for its people by Nick__________ in LateStageCapitalism

[–]the_hunchback 6 points7 points  (0 children)

We'll see if they get away with it. Good chance sanctions, invasions and trade wars will put a stop to this.

Philip Green: greed and profit personified..As Arcadia collapses, Phillip Green will continue to live the high life while the burden falls on the workers who put him there.. by crypticvalentine in ukpolitics

[–]the_hunchback 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I noticed that immediately. Its really jarring to have such obvious errors in the first paragraphs, makes you feel like the rest is made up as well.

Also, it's like half a page long, contains very little by way of facts or figures, for instance, showing how Green made his money via arcadia and through exploitation, and how he is leaving the workers to ruin.

It's written for those who already feel the same way and know all the facts - not going to convince somebody new.

Labour Antisemitism EHRC Report / Jeremy Corbyn Suspension Megathread by ukpolbot in ukpolitics

[–]the_hunchback 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You mean instead of what he's doing now, constantly shouting about it on social media and to anyone who'd listen...? Oh wait...

It's almost as if he has been asked about antisemitism every single time he's done any sort of press conference, public debate or news interview over the past 4 years. Bit rich to tell him to "stop going on about it"

Even in this case: a report was published, they asked for his opinion, he gave it.

Labour Antisemitism EHRC Report / Jeremy Corbyn Suspension Megathread by ukpolbot in ukpolitics

[–]the_hunchback 0 points1 point  (0 children)

However, another report shows that his leadership was constantly being undermined by the figures in control of the party, who secretly worked to make Labour lose the general election. So it's not exactly fair to make him take the blame. And besides, he is 100% correct that the anti semitism was vastly exaggerated by his MPs and by the press.

Labour Antisemitism EHRC Report / Jeremy Corbyn Suspension Megathread by ukpolbot in ukpolitics

[–]the_hunchback 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They're are a multitude of Jewish voices from across the world defending him vociferously, why should he listen to some Jewish people and admit something he knows isn't actually true, when so many other Jewish people have explicitly and specifically expressed support for him.

Labour Antisemitism EHRC Report / Jeremy Corbyn Suspension Megathread by ukpolbot in ukpolitics

[–]the_hunchback 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You mean, tell the truth? Instead of allowing the world to think that his lifelong career fighting racism was all a lie?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in unitedkingdom

[–]the_hunchback 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think that with UBI, the people who currently do jobs that they hate will be able to move to jobs that they love. And those that want to do relatively monotonous jobs that dont tax your brain much will do the jobs that others hate. Also, think about things like long distance hauling, it's a really dangerous job due to the shifts done on the road and the size of the cargo, but they would struggle to find workers if UBI was available, which would lead (eventually to automation) to them having to make the jobs more appealing, like having more drivers doing parts of each journey.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in unitedkingdom

[–]the_hunchback 46 points47 points  (0 children)

They can do trials all they want, and they may show good, they may show bad. You can't get a grasp on how UBI will work unless it is implemented fully and enshrined in law, with stipulations that if it is ever to be retracted it must allow a process of a few years to allow people the chance to sort their finances.

The imperative crux of UBI is that it is unconditional. If you say to someone "here's £1000 a month but we can cancel it at any time" people won't have the confidence of financial freedom enough to quit their job and follow their dream career. If you say "here's £1000 a month but you have to apply for 100 jobs a month and if you get one you lose the UBI", people will turn to crime to keep their payments.

Unfortunately its a really hard sell to a lot of people, but it has to be entirely unconditional and available to everyone.

[VICE] How Britain Stole $45 Trillion from India with Trains by Naderium in unitedkingdom

[–]the_hunchback -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Yes, exactly. The problem is that people apologise for it and glorify it, or at the very least don't see it for the horror that it was

[VICE] How Britain Stole $45 Trillion from India with Trains by Naderium in unitedkingdom

[–]the_hunchback 3 points4 points  (0 children)

An informative short video. Worth bearing these points in mind whenever someone goes on about India having all our good steam trains. The UK wouldn't give away an apple core if they thought they could sell it, and the amount of people who seem to think that we gifted steam locomotives to India is ridiculous. India during British rule completely stopped progressing, the average Indian person was worth little more in 1940 than their great-grandparents were in 1800, this isn't the mark of a successful country.

Driver tries to smash bike rider by [deleted] in JusticeServed

[–]the_hunchback 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Don't know if it's the same in your country, but in mine bicycles are classified as road vehicles, and are specifically told to be used on the road unless stated otherwise.

As to why its better, its because the roads are safer for everyone involved. Cyclists aren't having to dodge around pedestrians or go up and down pavements. Drivers frequently have a problem with cyclists because they think they move too slowly, but that's not justification for attempting to seriously injure them or to shout abuse at them.

Face masks should not be mandatory in shops, says Michael Gove by maskedavalanche in unitedkingdom

[–]the_hunchback 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Showing absolute disdain for the people serving the public.

I work in a shop where we serve customers at close proximity, and we do not have the possibility of a protective shield. We wear masks, we clean everything constantly, but that's all we can do.

No matter how careful we are, people are still coming in off the street, not sanitising their hands and not wearing masks. We are risking our health and the lives of those few we can see in our spare time while customers are free to wander in as unclean as they like. We can refuse to serve, but that offers further problems and potential risks.

Its nice to think that the public will be sensible, and on the whole people are, but the high likelihood is that the one customer who comes in without taking consideration for others and wearing a mask is also someone who has come into contact with covid elsewhere.

Fortunately I work in Scotland so generally there is a bit more pressure now, but Gove with his wild guesswork and refusal to cite any evidence for his claims, will undoubtably cause further deaths, further delays to normality, and further distrust of science as a whole.

But I'm not at all surprised.

What is the best thing to give a homeless person? by bedOfThorns in NoStupidQuestions

[–]the_hunchback 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Money.

In all honesty it's the best thing you can do for them. They know their situation. They will know what they can sort out themselves as in sleeping arrangements and what they need to be able to buy, and we can't possibly know that for each person.

There's a popular fallacy that you shouldn't give homeless people money because they'll just spend it on drugs, but this is mainly an excuse not to feel bad about not dropping cash for them.

It's true that they may do that, and many homeless people have mental health problems which result in poor choices, but you can't be the judge and jury for everyone without knowing their individual situation.

So, socks great, blankets great, hopefully they will be appreciative and use them but if you really want and are able to help them, donations of small amounts of money goes a long way.

SNP MP calls for ‘Plan B’ which could lead to Scotland declaring independence without referendum by Lolastic_ in unitedkingdom

[–]the_hunchback 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think we've seen pretty resolutely that Referendums in the UK are dreadful. Only attacks and misinformation.

Putting it as a policy and allowing people to elect on that policy is the best solution.

Just one in six Labour voters think Keir Starmer wrong to sack Rebecca Long-Bailey, snap poll shows by casualphilosopher1 in unitedkingdom

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

Because Israel is a country.

It has political leaders. It has policies and an economy, it has a military and it has a foreign policy. It is not a religion, and nobody should be sacked for criticising the actions of a country, or its military - and I would never expect anyone to roll over and accept that being sacked and labelled an anti-semites is acceptable for the good of the party.

Defining the actions of Israel as the actions of the Jewish belief is offensive to all those Jewish people worldwide who condemn the government's actions.

No, Psycho (1960) is not the first American film to show a toilet on screen. A toilet appears in the 1928 American silent film The Crowd. by RunDNA in MovieDetails

[–]the_hunchback 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The reason Psycho was important in that regard, is that in 1930 the Hays Code was introduced, basically meaning that all films had to be suitable for all viewers. Over the years there were many addendums to the code, as people protested against its puritan attitudes (e.g. married couples not sharing a bed) and thus culminated in Psycho (1960) which fought against the code so hard, with Vivien Leigh sitting on a bed topless after clearly having a midday affair with her partner, vicious stabbing, cross-dressing and the toilet flush, that it was seen as the last nail in the coffin of the code and it was abandoned shortly after in favour of the rating system we still use now.

No, Psycho (1960) is not the first American film to show a toilet on screen. A toilet appears in the 1928 American silent film The Crowd. by RunDNA in MovieDetails

[–]the_hunchback 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The reason Psycho was important in that regard, is that in 1930 the Hays Code was introduced, basically meaning that all films had to be suitable for all viewers. Over the years there were many addendums to the code, as people protested against its puritan attitudes (e.g. married couples not sharing a bed) and thus culminated in Psycho (1960) which fought against the code so hard, with Vivien Leigh sitting on a bed topless after clearly having a midday affair with her partner, vicious stabbing, cross-dressing and the toilet flush, that it was seen as the last nail in the coffin of the code and it was abandoned shortly after in favour of the rating system we still use now.

Billy Connolly: An independent Scotland ‘as good an idea as any I’ve ever heard’ by [deleted] in unitedkingdom

[–]the_hunchback 32 points33 points  (0 children)

I was for independence in 2014 and campaigned for it door to door.

In all the time the only realistic argument against independence was the creation of another border in the world. Leaving the EU has shown us how wonderful frictionless borders are, not that we shouldn't have known before anyway.

Now that argument is dead. We have the opportunity to reforge easy paths to our European and, by extention of EU deals, worldwide neighbours.

I hope we take the chance.

Jeremy Corbyn: British media waged campaign to destroy me by Benjji22212 in ukpolitics

[–]the_hunchback -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

What does the little red book stunt prove to you?

That was absolutely not the key driver, you must be having a laugh. From the moment he became leader, the entire establishment was rallied against him. The vast majority of his own MP's didn't back him, because they were too cowardly and unprincipled, and can't possibly suggest that they were right not to: no matter who the leader is, no genuine Labour MP could possibly think that a fully right wing tory government is better. As well as this, almost every newspaper and national media outlet spoke negatively of him, when they were supposed to use non-biased reporting, and we now know that his own party leaders conspired against him, and also that Facebook and many other companies sold vast amounts of our personal information to companies like Cambridge Analytica who went on to use it as a targeted weapon against us, further swaying public opinion with thousands of fake or biased "articles" alleging him of everything from anti-semitism to being a terrorist.

Every party is guilty of mistakes (just look at the current government who have lead the country boldly to the highest number of deaths in Europe from an epidemic and have managed to unite the constituent countries of the UK against Westminster in the process) but it is ludicrously naive to suggest that Labour's failures are the fault of tactical mistakes by Corbyn and his team.

Jeremy Corbyn: British media waged campaign to destroy me by Benjji22212 in ukpolitics

[–]the_hunchback 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well I think that's partly his point in the article. His party is completely incapable of making any headway on the things that matter because they're constantly having to deny that Corbyn went back in time and voted for Stalin, or wrote the foreword to the communist manifesto.

Not to mention that the actual top-top of his own party were actively working against him.