leicsmac

The freedom to take the consequences is the one upon which all the others are based.

Nearly five years later... and pretty much every worst fear about the very idea of truth being subverted has come to pass. The latest posts in the Gen Chat thread regarding the ME and Epstein show just how effectively those willing to abuse power are using the idea of "alternative facts" and making the objective appear subjective in order to keep abusing that power.

The spicy chicken fillet pieces they used to do were a bastard for that too.

The objective of the UN is to be as apolitical and a balancing force as possible. Whether they're actually achieving that or not is clearly up to the beholder, but IMO I trust their reading of a situation over that of any nation state, and if we can't trust their reading of a situation then no ones can be trusted and we may as well settle into this pseudo-nihilist circle-jerk on the nature of truthful information flow and sources while doing nothing and letting innocent people die. At some point, folks have to trust a single point of information and take action based on it, or all of this is absolutely meaningless.

So it is proving. However, no idea how best to address that with anything short of the Chinese solution (which naturally comes with massive ethical and logistical problems of its own).

It's more the idea that a (arguably) belligerent foreign power is using this incident as an excuse to encourage those ideas to become more and more established that worries me.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce83pj1ggmeo Not quite sure why the bigots in the US think they have the right to directly interfere in the UK legal process regarding the right (or not) to incite bigoted violence.

"You are not a clown. You are the entire circus."

Wait... that was actually what happened?

It would be fitting if it were an admission of a level of hypocrisy never before seen regarding using the justice system to persecute ones political opposition, but probably not.

It's always great to excel at something, isn't it?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cr5vv3mrpndt Didn't have John Bolton getting raided on my bingo card for this year, tbh. Hopefully if it comes to it he'll have a good amount to say about the current lot in charge.

Stephen Miller. No further elaboration required.

I know, right? It might even dispel some of the ideas about the apparently black-and-white nature of that conflict the media-based talking heads seem to like if that were occurring. But of course it's not happening, trustworthy sources are saying it isn't and that the UN are lying. ...... right?

Apparently the UN IPC are liars when it comes to some humanitarian issues. Apparently.

I think the post above this covers this - Labour have tried to illustrate this vision, but they're failing at the execution at the moment. Why it's failing is complex, but understanding it is critical, because the vision itself is critical. Also, I can't quite understand why at least a plurality of humans wouldn't share a vision where civilisation and even some comforts are still a thing tbh.

On the contrary, that vision is very clear and explicable. You describe it very well with the very previous sentence (also bolded). The vision is, must be, the preservation of human life and civilisation at the quality it is now or better. There are so many threats to that, and a lot of people simply do not see them and take the infrastructure they use every day for granted. Until the day it's no longer there. And everyone, even the most hardened individualist, needs that network and relies on it in ways they don't even consider - if they think otherwise, they are simply mistaken. The problem arises, again, through simple human short term self interest that often runs counter to projects that would contribute to that goal. So, I don't think the problem is one of lacking what the vision is, it's more one of being able to implement it in the face of those who do not share the same vision.

From a purely personal point of view, as I said, I wouldn't mind as it would not affect me in the least, apart from a likely improvement to public services in which I partake. However, I'm both not a selfish bastard and understand that I'm vastly outnumbered by people for which this is unacceptable, so logically I know it can't work, for that reason that I made clear in my original post. My personal feelings don't outweigh what exists in terms of other human behaviour, and perhaps other people should consider that concept a little more. Again, as I've said above, I know that there would be caterwauling in the press and threats to leave (and actual leaving). So, with that in mind, what is the way forward that possibly doesn't involve a libertarian paradise where the market dictates who lives and dies and social inequality is baked into the system itself? Edit: unless that kind of have and have-not society is someone's idea of an acceptable time, that is.

Time to die historic on the Fury Road! I wouldn't mind that, but unfortunately there appear to be rather a lot of people who are having more trouble getting by that would. I can't see any tax increase having the popularity to succeed even in the medium term unless it targets the much higher earners more.

I can't see it happening. Some of the world leaders might be sociopathic, but they're not stupid and they value self preservation too highly. Of course, there could be a terrible error in communication that might lead to such a thing, but I doubt it. I do wonder where we might be if key resources (such as food and potable water) drop off sharply as they might over the next few decades, though.

... so it's the other pathway with all the increasing inequality, and social breakdown and violence that entails, then? Unless there's a third way that might be elaborated upon.

It's possible having English as the established language helps there, seeing as it's an international language and often one of the biggest roadblocks (and causes of discrimination) is difficulty with the native language of where one migrates to.

I think it's a case of being better than most, but still with room for improvement, especially in the area of SEN provision (which, again, the UK does better than most at). WRT inequality, there's issues with that everywhere, education included, but it may be an area where its effects are lesser than others.

Such is the price sometimes paid.

Yet another example of too few or misdirected resources resulting in people suffering.