Sam
@lavaridge.bsky.social
Father, software engineer, avid but disillusioned politics-follower. Based in The North, UK.
A decision Starmer got right. From the point of a view of a typical member of the public, the idea that someone from Gaza can come here under a Ukraine programme is on the face of it ridiculous. It would be Christmas for Reform.
It's right that Parliament ultimately controls the immigration rules.
It's right that Parliament ultimately controls the immigration rules.
February 12, 2025 at 5:56 PM
A decision Starmer got right. From the point of a view of a typical member of the public, the idea that someone from Gaza can come here under a Ukraine programme is on the face of it ridiculous. It would be Christmas for Reform.
It's right that Parliament ultimately controls the immigration rules.
It's right that Parliament ultimately controls the immigration rules.
Even bringing net migration to zero wouldn't 'fix' anything for people who are anti-immigration because of effects on their local area. So it's not clear that even an agressive anti-immigration policy would win votes for an incumbant.
February 10, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Even bringing net migration to zero wouldn't 'fix' anything for people who are anti-immigration because of effects on their local area. So it's not clear that even an agressive anti-immigration policy would win votes for an incumbant.
I worry that numbers is not the real issue. Example, near me is a main road full of shopfronts with (sometimes exclusively) foreign signage. Locals feel excluded from their own area.
Could Labour require signage to be in English? It would be a visible step that addresses voters' specific concerns.
Could Labour require signage to be in English? It would be a visible step that addresses voters' specific concerns.
February 10, 2025 at 11:11 AM
I worry that numbers is not the real issue. Example, near me is a main road full of shopfronts with (sometimes exclusively) foreign signage. Locals feel excluded from their own area.
Could Labour require signage to be in English? It would be a visible step that addresses voters' specific concerns.
Could Labour require signage to be in English? It would be a visible step that addresses voters' specific concerns.
It actually will write a response to this if you ask it to. Claude gives an even better one. Neither mention germophobia.
January 29, 2025 at 11:36 AM
It actually will write a response to this if you ask it to. Claude gives an even better one. Neither mention germophobia.
I'd love to see verification to prove you're a real person, a resident of the country you say you are, and not a child.
With cryptography, none of that requires your ID to be linked to your account in a retrievable way.
I think that could give most of the benefit with much less privacy risk.
With cryptography, none of that requires your ID to be linked to your account in a retrievable way.
I think that could give most of the benefit with much less privacy risk.
January 23, 2025 at 10:11 AM
I'd love to see verification to prove you're a real person, a resident of the country you say you are, and not a child.
With cryptography, none of that requires your ID to be linked to your account in a retrievable way.
I think that could give most of the benefit with much less privacy risk.
With cryptography, none of that requires your ID to be linked to your account in a retrievable way.
I think that could give most of the benefit with much less privacy risk.
I'm in no position to assert it's correct, but "The Dictator's Handbook" made a really intuitive argument. If you depend on a few people to stay in power, the best rewards you can give them are private goods. If you depend on many, good public policy is the only way to meaningfully reward them all.
January 13, 2025 at 11:55 PM
I'm in no position to assert it's correct, but "The Dictator's Handbook" made a really intuitive argument. If you depend on a few people to stay in power, the best rewards you can give them are private goods. If you depend on many, good public policy is the only way to meaningfully reward them all.
Unfortunately the "Democracy is great" axiom in our culture is completely hollow. We've forgotten why it's great. Schools don't teach it, the media doesn't talk about it. So it's easy for an 'edgy' young person to claim it's just there to make us feel good, and a strong leader could do much better.
January 13, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Unfortunately the "Democracy is great" axiom in our culture is completely hollow. We've forgotten why it's great. Schools don't teach it, the media doesn't talk about it. So it's easy for an 'edgy' young person to claim it's just there to make us feel good, and a strong leader could do much better.
Yeah it's great, but it's only in London - and London had daily caps on travel even before the government brought in the fare cap.
My comment was for outside London where the fare cap per journey seems to be a really random and blunt instrument in terms of who benefits.
My comment was for outside London where the fare cap per journey seems to be a really random and blunt instrument in terms of who benefits.
December 31, 2024 at 2:12 PM
Yeah it's great, but it's only in London - and London had daily caps on travel even before the government brought in the fare cap.
My comment was for outside London where the fare cap per journey seems to be a really random and blunt instrument in terms of who benefits.
My comment was for outside London where the fare cap per journey seems to be a really random and blunt instrument in terms of who benefits.
Where? That's not true in general.
Doesn't look like it's even true in London (they do have a cap but it's £5.25).
Doesn't look like it's even true in London (they do have a cap but it's £5.25).
December 31, 2024 at 1:43 PM
Where? That's not true in general.
Doesn't look like it's even true in London (they do have a cap but it's £5.25).
Doesn't look like it's even true in London (they do have a cap but it's £5.25).
I'd recommend a book called When Men Behave Badly by Dave Buss. It's a psychologist's take on violence, stalking and controlling behaviour.
Some of it is slight differences in what men want and value, some is that men are more violent (on average) but a small minority are especially so.
Some of it is slight differences in what men want and value, some is that men are more violent (on average) but a small minority are especially so.
December 31, 2024 at 11:08 AM
I'd recommend a book called When Men Behave Badly by Dave Buss. It's a psychologist's take on violence, stalking and controlling behaviour.
Some of it is slight differences in what men want and value, some is that men are more violent (on average) but a small minority are especially so.
Some of it is slight differences in what men want and value, some is that men are more violent (on average) but a small minority are especially so.
I work for a big private company and we let people do this all the time for all sorts of reasons.
Also if you think the public sector is shit, preventing it from recruiting the best people by attacking them for any perk it may provide is one of the least productive things you could do.
Also if you think the public sector is shit, preventing it from recruiting the best people by attacking them for any perk it may provide is one of the least productive things you could do.
December 30, 2024 at 1:23 PM
I work for a big private company and we let people do this all the time for all sorts of reasons.
Also if you think the public sector is shit, preventing it from recruiting the best people by attacking them for any perk it may provide is one of the least productive things you could do.
Also if you think the public sector is shit, preventing it from recruiting the best people by attacking them for any perk it may provide is one of the least productive things you could do.
And I'm not trying to be judgemental btw, I'm a dad and it's a conscious effort/struggle to be fully present and keep the phone away when we're playing together.
December 26, 2024 at 7:42 PM
And I'm not trying to be judgemental btw, I'm a dad and it's a conscious effort/struggle to be fully present and keep the phone away when we're playing together.
Or on how its effects on adults indirectly affects kids.
Out and about see plenty of parents playing on their phones instead of engaging with their children. Hard to imagine they're much different at home. How much one-to-one attention is being lost over a childhood to parents being distracted?
Out and about see plenty of parents playing on their phones instead of engaging with their children. Hard to imagine they're much different at home. How much one-to-one attention is being lost over a childhood to parents being distracted?
December 26, 2024 at 7:41 PM
Or on how its effects on adults indirectly affects kids.
Out and about see plenty of parents playing on their phones instead of engaging with their children. Hard to imagine they're much different at home. How much one-to-one attention is being lost over a childhood to parents being distracted?
Out and about see plenty of parents playing on their phones instead of engaging with their children. Hard to imagine they're much different at home. How much one-to-one attention is being lost over a childhood to parents being distracted?
Me and my partner (at different sides of the country) both experience long delays and cancellations several times per week. Often without the apps even reporting it.
It's no wonder people want to avoid dependence on the bus service. If you commute to work, you simply can't afford the risk.
It's no wonder people want to avoid dependence on the bus service. If you commute to work, you simply can't afford the risk.
December 19, 2024 at 9:10 AM
Me and my partner (at different sides of the country) both experience long delays and cancellations several times per week. Often without the apps even reporting it.
It's no wonder people want to avoid dependence on the bus service. If you commute to work, you simply can't afford the risk.
It's no wonder people want to avoid dependence on the bus service. If you commute to work, you simply can't afford the risk.
But it's a terrible policy. Subsidize bus fares, yes, but a flat cap on journeys is madness.
A day out for me between cities is now a fraction of the price it should be. Great but I don't need it.
But commuters who need two or three short trips to get to work still pay nearly full price...
A day out for me between cities is now a fraction of the price it should be. Great but I don't need it.
But commuters who need two or three short trips to get to work still pay nearly full price...
December 18, 2024 at 4:50 PM
But it's a terrible policy. Subsidize bus fares, yes, but a flat cap on journeys is madness.
A day out for me between cities is now a fraction of the price it should be. Great but I don't need it.
But commuters who need two or three short trips to get to work still pay nearly full price...
A day out for me between cities is now a fraction of the price it should be. Great but I don't need it.
But commuters who need two or three short trips to get to work still pay nearly full price...
It's not that unlikely that you could have two kids right now and find that one of them is a short-sleeper and has a lower cancer risk... I'd hardly call them superhuman.
December 11, 2024 at 11:22 PM
It's not that unlikely that you could have two kids right now and find that one of them is a short-sleeper and has a lower cancer risk... I'd hardly call them superhuman.
I was shocked when a woman I knew described the pain of having a coil inserted. Doctors said there was no relief available because it wouldn't be that bad. Several of her friends had the same experience also.
I can absolutely believe there is a similar dismissal of women's pain across the system.
I can absolutely believe there is a similar dismissal of women's pain across the system.
December 11, 2024 at 7:56 PM
I was shocked when a woman I knew described the pain of having a coil inserted. Doctors said there was no relief available because it wouldn't be that bad. Several of her friends had the same experience also.
I can absolutely believe there is a similar dismissal of women's pain across the system.
I can absolutely believe there is a similar dismissal of women's pain across the system.
I hate to even see it being called debt. It's not debt, it wasn't borrowed. The carers were honest, and the money was given for them to keep.
This demand for "debt repayment" is just the government forcing unlucky people to hand over tens of thousands of pounds to make up for its own mistakes.
This demand for "debt repayment" is just the government forcing unlucky people to hand over tens of thousands of pounds to make up for its own mistakes.
December 11, 2024 at 7:50 PM
I hate to even see it being called debt. It's not debt, it wasn't borrowed. The carers were honest, and the money was given for them to keep.
This demand for "debt repayment" is just the government forcing unlucky people to hand over tens of thousands of pounds to make up for its own mistakes.
This demand for "debt repayment" is just the government forcing unlucky people to hand over tens of thousands of pounds to make up for its own mistakes.
Isn't the public sector also banned from providing free tea and coffee to staff?
December 10, 2024 at 2:57 PM
Isn't the public sector also banned from providing free tea and coffee to staff?
"Anti-woke" and "anti-waste" are the new "anti-corruption".
Whatever it's called:
If the proposed solution is building strong, independent institutions with expertise, then it's probably genuine.
If it's to hand more unchecked power to the leader and his political appointees, it's just branding.
Whatever it's called:
If the proposed solution is building strong, independent institutions with expertise, then it's probably genuine.
If it's to hand more unchecked power to the leader and his political appointees, it's just branding.
December 8, 2024 at 1:08 PM
"Anti-woke" and "anti-waste" are the new "anti-corruption".
Whatever it's called:
If the proposed solution is building strong, independent institutions with expertise, then it's probably genuine.
If it's to hand more unchecked power to the leader and his political appointees, it's just branding.
Whatever it's called:
If the proposed solution is building strong, independent institutions with expertise, then it's probably genuine.
If it's to hand more unchecked power to the leader and his political appointees, it's just branding.
Phrasing it like this implies it's McDonalds who should be responsible for deciding what to sell to kids.
The shock isn't that McDonalds *wants* to convert kids to customers.
It's that *we allow* the environments our kids grow up in to be dominated by junk food and advertising.
The shock isn't that McDonalds *wants* to convert kids to customers.
It's that *we allow* the environments our kids grow up in to be dominated by junk food and advertising.
December 4, 2024 at 9:03 AM
Phrasing it like this implies it's McDonalds who should be responsible for deciding what to sell to kids.
The shock isn't that McDonalds *wants* to convert kids to customers.
It's that *we allow* the environments our kids grow up in to be dominated by junk food and advertising.
The shock isn't that McDonalds *wants* to convert kids to customers.
It's that *we allow* the environments our kids grow up in to be dominated by junk food and advertising.
Madness. Didn't Kamala Harris prove that having a bit more money is useless if you can't point to solid achievements?
Protecting politics from big money would have great populist appeal, and undo some of the damage of Kier's own scandals.
Protecting politics from big money would have great populist appeal, and undo some of the damage of Kier's own scandals.
December 3, 2024 at 12:53 PM
Madness. Didn't Kamala Harris prove that having a bit more money is useless if you can't point to solid achievements?
Protecting politics from big money would have great populist appeal, and undo some of the damage of Kier's own scandals.
Protecting politics from big money would have great populist appeal, and undo some of the damage of Kier's own scandals.
Presumably this is a "Look at what I do, not what I say" situation.
I can't imagine a Prime Minister explicitly rejecting one ally in favour of the other, on camera. Especially before it's even clear what the policies of the US towards the UK will be.
I can't imagine a Prime Minister explicitly rejecting one ally in favour of the other, on camera. Especially before it's even clear what the policies of the US towards the UK will be.
December 2, 2024 at 9:28 PM
Presumably this is a "Look at what I do, not what I say" situation.
I can't imagine a Prime Minister explicitly rejecting one ally in favour of the other, on camera. Especially before it's even clear what the policies of the US towards the UK will be.
I can't imagine a Prime Minister explicitly rejecting one ally in favour of the other, on camera. Especially before it's even clear what the policies of the US towards the UK will be.
I can sign up for a banking app in ten minutes, which involves a credit check, identity check, and a search of their databases.
Maybe rather than hiring more staff to bring the wait time to slightly-fewer months, the real question is how it can be brought down to seconds and why it isn't already.
Maybe rather than hiring more staff to bring the wait time to slightly-fewer months, the real question is how it can be brought down to seconds and why it isn't already.
November 22, 2024 at 3:09 PM
I can sign up for a banking app in ten minutes, which involves a credit check, identity check, and a search of their databases.
Maybe rather than hiring more staff to bring the wait time to slightly-fewer months, the real question is how it can be brought down to seconds and why it isn't already.
Maybe rather than hiring more staff to bring the wait time to slightly-fewer months, the real question is how it can be brought down to seconds and why it isn't already.
I'm in no position to argue details on disability. The post you originally replied to was about how UC works for 'most people', and it seems your real issue (which took some time to get to) is that some quite specific disability benefit situations can in your opinion be overgenerous. Good to know.
November 19, 2024 at 10:25 AM
I'm in no position to argue details on disability. The post you originally replied to was about how UC works for 'most people', and it seems your real issue (which took some time to get to) is that some quite specific disability benefit situations can in your opinion be overgenerous. Good to know.