UKMT May 2016: We Import Two Thirds of Our Posts. This is a Disgrace.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > UKMT May 2016: We Import Two Thirds of Our Posts. This is a Disgrace.

«‹›143 »

tooterfish: Jul 13, 2013

I was laid reading in bed, I thought it was a gas explosion and nearly jumped out the loving window in my kecks.

e: On this day the 2nd May, 2016: I poo poo myself and nearly jumped out the window. In my kecks.

# ? May 2, 2016 23:25

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 7, 2024 17:44

communism bitch: Apr 24, 2009

Try living in the south. we dont get overflown by supersonic raf jets because all the tory mps living round here would throw a loving fit in parliament about reckless boy racer pilots.

# ? May 2, 2016 23:27

Pissflaps: Oct 20, 2002; by VideoGames

I can confirm that nothing was audible in Middlesbrough.

# ? May 2, 2016 23:29

serious gaylord: Sep 16, 2007; what.

Oberleutnant posted:

Try living in the south. we dont get overflown by supersonic raf jets because all the tory mps living round here would throw a loving fit in parliament about reckless boy racer pilots.

It happened the other month for a non responsive small plane. I remember hearing the bang and the local papers were up in arms at the cost to the tax payer because some arsehole didnt maintain his radio and it broke.

# ? May 2, 2016 23:32

kingturnip: Apr 18, 2008

Oberleutnant posted:

Try living in the south. we dont get overflown by supersonic raf jets because all the tory mps living round here would throw a loving fit in parliament about reckless boy racer pilots.

OTOH - police helicopters; Chinooks; traffic helicopters

# ? May 2, 2016 23:42

StoneOfShame: Jul 28, 2013; This is the best kitchen ever.

Oberleutnant posted:

Try living in the south. we dont get overflown by supersonic raf jets because all the tory mps living round here would throw a loving fit in parliament about reckless boy racer pilots.

Southerner are you? Please show yourself to the gulag you've got away with this for far too long.

# ? May 2, 2016 23:43

Guavanaut: Nov 27, 2009; Looking At Them Tittys
1969 - 1998; Toilet Rascal

kingturnip posted:

OTOH - police helicopters; Chinooks; traffic helicopters

Those don't sound nearly as loud as a sonic boom and are necessary to keep the riff raff in line, so they'll tolerate those.

# ? May 2, 2016 23:47

Puntification: Nov 4, 2009; Black Orthodontromancy
The most British Magic; Fun Shoe

Guavanaut posted:

Well, we're talking about a line that allegedly goes from Yorkshire to Newcastle (assuming Tyne and not Lyme) without crossing Middlesbrough, so that rules out York and Hull, and then crosses over into the sea, so I'm going to say Halifax, or possibly Leeds.

All the people who heard it on my fb are in leeds.

# ? May 3, 2016 00:01

LemonDrizzle: Mar 28, 2012; neoliberal shithead

Via the Sun; no link because the Sun:

quote:

SENIOR Labour MPs believe they have persuaded party grandee Dame Margaret Hodge to stand against Jeremy Corbyn to spark a leadership contest.
They want the veteran Labour MP to be the stalking horse who begins the toppling of the hard-Left leader.
The plotters are also close to signing up 50 Labour MPs to publicly back her potential challenge this summer.
A fifth of the Parliamentary Labour Party must support her to make it formal and start a full-blown contest.
Under the plan, Mrs Hodge would then drop out and, having soaked up a furious backlash from Corbynistas, allow other challengers to come forward without blood on their hands. The former minister, 71, is seen by moderates as a highly credible figure who could inflict serious damage on Mr Corbyn.
Any Labour MP who tries to oust him is likely to face a bitter deselection battle. But Dame Margaret will be 75 at the 2020 General Election and may be ready to stand down.
She is respected party-wide and Jewish � which allows her to make a stand on Labour�s anti-semitism crisis.
One MP who is part of the plotting told The Sun: �Margaret is our perfect candidate � she has a lot of gravitas but is also expendable.
�She is weighing it all up now but we think she sees it as her duty and will do it.�
Mrs Hodge has known Mr Corbyn since the 1970s as Left-wingers on North London�s Islington Council.
Former Home Secretary Alan Johnson has also been approached to be a stalking horse but refused because �he prefers an easier life�, another Labour MP plotter claimed.
Senior figures within the party plan a media blitz to attack Mr Corbyn 66, after Thursday�s local elections, when Labour is expected to suffer humiliating losses of 150 councillors.
They will hold back from launching a coup until after June 23 so as not to hurt the pro-EU referendum effort.
But Mr Corbyn has vowed to stay on as leader even if the party gets a mauling at the ballot box on Thursday.
He acknowledged he could face a challenge but said he was �not having sleepless nights� about it and would �carry on� no matter what.
Corbyn loyalist Diane Abbott admits he �may well� face a challenge in July.
But the Shadow International Development Secretary claimed he would defeat it if his name was on a fresh ballot due to his popularity among ordinary members.
It also emerged yesterday that Labour frontbenchers are threatening to quit in the anti-Semitism row.

# ? May 3, 2016 00:09

Fans: Jun 27, 2013; A reptile dysfunction

quote:

One MP who is part of the plotting told The Sun: �Margaret is our perfect candidate � she has a lot of gravitas but is also expendable.

I don't think these plotting MP's are very bright.

# ? May 3, 2016 00:11

serious gaylord: Sep 16, 2007; what.

LemonDrizzle posted:

Via the Sun; no link because the Sun:

This is literally the Spinners and Losers episode of Thick of It.

# ? May 3, 2016 00:17

IceAgeComing: Jan 29, 2013; pretty fucking embarrassing to watch

That seems like a dumb plan and the sort of thing that would end in tears

For everyone, since the Tories would win the next election

# ? May 3, 2016 00:24

Thanks Ants: May 21, 2004; #essereFerrari

We get the loving poo poo politics we deserve I guess

# ? May 3, 2016 00:24

Puntification: Nov 4, 2009; Black Orthodontromancy
The most British Magic; Fun Shoe

IceAgeComing posted:

That seems like a dumb plan and the sort of thing that would end in tears

For everyone, since the Tories would win the next election

The blairites made it quite clear even during the leadership process that they were willing to sabotage the party to get their way.

# ? May 3, 2016 00:27

TomViolence: Feb 19, 2013; PLEASE ASK ABOUT MY 80,000 WORD WALLACE AND GROMIT SLASH FICTION. PLEASE.

Pissflaps posted:

Name a point and I'll tell you if I agree with it.

# ? May 3, 2016 00:31

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Pissflaps posted:

I can confirm that nothing was audible in Middlesbrough.

That seems unlikely, even on a week night.

# ? May 3, 2016 00:44

Ms Adequate: Oct 30, 2011; Baby even when I'm dead and gone
You will always be my only one, my only one
When the night is calling
No matter who I become
You will always be my only one, my only one, my only one
When the night is calling

Pissflaps posted:

I can confirm that nothing was audible in Middlesbrough.

Can you?

# ? May 3, 2016 01:21

Guavanaut: Nov 27, 2009; Looking At Them Tittys
1969 - 1998; Toilet Rascal

I can confirm that nothing was audible in Leicester over the car horns.

# ? May 3, 2016 01:24

Fans: Jun 27, 2013; A reptile dysfunction

In Non-"There was a noise" news, TTIP leaks have come out and shown that the whole thing was a hot loving mess.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ttip-leak-could-spell-the-end-of-controversial-trade-deal-say-campaigners-a7009896.html

quote:

They indicate that the US is looking strongly to change regulation in Europe to lessen the protections on the environment, consumer rights and other positions that the EU affords to its citizens. Representatives for each side appear to have found that they have run into �irreconcilable� differences that could undermine the signing of the landmark and highly controversial trade deal, campaigners say.

For instance, the papers show that the US is looking to weaken the EU�s �precautionary principle� that governs how potentially harmful products are sold, Greenpeace says. The US has much weaker regulation that aims to minimise rather than avoid risks, and that same less strict regime could come to the UK and Europe under the deal.

US style regulation of our food and medicine? The UK couldn't convince the EU to loosen those up and I doubt the US would either. It's looking pretty dead.

# ? May 3, 2016 01:32

Regarde Aduck: Oct 19, 2012; c l o u d k i t t e n; Grimey Drawer

They'll try again in the future and make sure to bribe more people.

# ? May 3, 2016 04:39

OwlFancier: Aug 22, 2013

Pissflaps posted:

How do you draw a line 'from Yorkshire'?

With a stick of chalk held sideways.

E: also I am inordinately annoyed by people claiming corbyn is "hard left" because if he was hard left I think the next four years would be a lot more fun.

OwlFancier fucked around with this message at 04:44 on May 3, 2016

# ? May 3, 2016 04:42

nobodyssweetheart: Sep 26, 2015; I'm so proud my brother
is death ray panda

I want to butt in to say how much I like the new tagline of the thread.

Watching that "cheese" soundbite ping around the internet and into real media has been a delight.

# ? May 3, 2016 06:25

jabby: Oct 27, 2010

Surely the whole point of a 'stalking horse' is lost if everyone knows what the plan is? I mean I get that the idea is to soak up the initial anger and open the door for a more serious leadership challenge but hows that gonna work if everyone knows the architects of the plan are the next bunch of people to stand?

# ? May 3, 2016 07:24

serious gaylord: Sep 16, 2007; what.

Turns out the majority of politicians are retarded.

# ? May 3, 2016 07:56

goddamnedtwisto: Dec 31, 2004; If you ask me about the mole people in the London Underground, I WILL be forced to kill you; Fun Shoe

jabby posted:

Surely the whole point of a 'stalking horse' is lost if everyone knows what the plan is? I mean I get that the idea is to soak up the initial anger and open the door for a more serious leadership challenge but hows that gonna work if everyone knows the architects of the plan are the next bunch of people to stand?

Well, leaving aside that the story is an obvious fabrication by the Tories (whether blue or red) to make Corbyn look like he's hated by/not in control of his party, the point of a stalking horse in transferrable-vote systems is to be either galvanising enough to one part of the electorate, or inoffensive enough to the others, to get enough votes to get to a second round of voting (or in this case to start the leadership election process - and I'm not 100% that the PLP alone can force this, I was certain it needs either the NEC or the main Party to also agree).

By doing this you get to see what others are going to do and your main candidate can adjust their campaign accordingly, and if the stalking horse fails the plotters get to walk away with clean hands. It really doesn't matter if your stalking horse is actually literally a horse, everyone knows exactly what's going on and knowing that a candidate is a stalking horse doesn't change any part of the process.

# ? May 3, 2016 08:30

Maugrim: Feb 16, 2011; I eat your face

Who should I vote for in the London Assembly elections? Has anyone done the research on this and can either give a run-down of Correct candidates or point me to a good place to start in my own research?

[Edit] Okay it's not quite as complicated as I thought. Find out who's standing in your local constituency and Google those names. The London-wide assembly members are elected based on party so just pick the party you support.

Maugrim fucked around with this message at 09:13 on May 3, 2016

# ? May 3, 2016 08:54

Gonzo McFee: Jun 19, 2010

I enjoy the Blairite wings of the party's master plan of trying to topple Jeremy Corbyn by pushing various bland interchangeable politicians as the next big thing.

Anyway, it turns out privatisation isn't a good thing!?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...s-a7010496.html

quote:

Serious failings in the Government�s privatisation of the probation services have been exposed in a damning report amid warnings that David Cameron�s �half-baked and reckless� policies have left the criminal justice system in a mess.

The report by the independent Parliamentary spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, warns the Government has no way of knowing how well companies responsible for running the country�s probation services are performing due to a failure to collect accurate information.

It also says some of the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) may be manipulating or withholding data from government agencies while others are putting financial profit above public safety by ignoring difficult offenders who require the most help because it costs them too much money to treat them.

The disclosures have sparked fears that companies are not subject to adequate oversight or scrutiny and led to calls for an urgent investigation into the rushed policy of selling off parts of the probation service en masse.

Andrew Neilson, from the Howard League for Penal Reform, said the report raises serious questions of whether companies were protecting financial profits rather than public safety.

He told The Independent: �This clearly is not safe. A lack of reliable data means this report stops short of entirely condemning [the privatisation scheme], but the major problems it identifies suggests that the programme is a mess. This is an inauspicious start for untested reforms that could have disastrous consequences if they fail.�

Shadow Justice Secretary Charlie Falconer called for an immediate inquiry into the report�s findings: �This important independent report from the National Audit Office adds to the growing criticism of David Cameron�s half-baked and reckless privatisation of the probation service.

�With prisons in crisis and now the probation system seemingly failing to effectively rehabilitate offenders, we need a serious study of how private companies running prisons or probation reports their success or failure to the public. They should be open, transparent and should publish fully accurate and reliable data on reoffending whenever possible. Any suggestion that CRCs are withholding information from the National Probation Service should be investigated thoroughly.�

The report itself states that the Ministry [of Justice] should �as a matter of urgency ensure data are available to support the contract�, noting that under current provisions no data will emerge until late 2017, meaning there will be no accurate way of assessing the private companies� performance until then.

Privatisation of probation services began in 2014, with responsibility for low- and medium-risk cases being outsourced to CRCs held in public ownership, before the scheme suddenly extended shortly before the general election in February 2015 to apply to commercial companies in the private sector.

But the sudden rolling out of the proposals means the Government did not wait to find out the results of its own pilot scheme to test whether privatisation was appropriate for the probation service.

The rushed nature of the scheme also meant that Ministry of Justice staff struggled to cope with the demands: �Ministry teams appeared stretched in dealing with so many bidders with relatively junior staff sometimes fielding complex commercial, operational or legal questions,� the report outlines.

A number of the companies that were awarded contracts had no experience of the sector at all and a number of others were set up shortly before being awarded contracts, meaning that they had no track record from which they could be assessed for their suitability.

The report also states that the Government has no way of knowing how well the CRCs are performing after failing to collect accurate data required to assess them. It adds that the Government has �no data� or �insufficiently robust data� in a variety of assessment criteria, concluding: �Performance of CRCs remains unclear given limitations around data quality and availability.�

The report�s authors also express concerns that the private companies may be manipulating data, warning: �In the four CRCs we visited only three provided initial caseload data and these were presented as an average, which masks any variation within and across CRCs.�

It also notes that �many junior staff in the National Probation Service thought that their CRC contracts were often not providing them with necessary information�.

These revelations led to accusations that the CRCs are putting commercial profit above quality of services and public safety, as �many junior staff in the National Probation Service thought their CRC contacts� had become too focused on their commercial interests as opposed to the best interests of the offenders�. The report also describes how the companies are paid per task they perform rather than whether reoffending rates go down, raising concerns that they are engaged in a box-ticking exercise rather than producing real results which reduce reoffending and protect the public.

Concerns have been raised that privatisation carries �an inherent risk� that private companies may avoid working with some offenders who need the most support because this could cost them more money and carry the risk that they will miss performance targets and subsequently incur financial penalties, despite the fact that working with difficult cases is necessary for public safety.

Probation services are responsible for monitoring and engaging with offenders once they are released from prison in order to reduce reoffending rates and ensure public safety. In February of last year, a privatisation scheme introduced under the coalition government saw responsibility for low- and medium-risk offenders sold off to CRCs, while responsibility for high risk offenders remains in state control through the National Probation Service (NPS). Around 80 per cent of probation work is now the responsibility of CRCs, costing the taxpayer some �450m per year.

Serious concerns have also been revealed regarding the NPS, which remains a state agency and manages high-risk offenders. The NPS has been found to have little awareness of how it operates or what contracts it holds. �It only has copies of around 30 per cent of its contracts and does not know exactly what it spends on good and services � its best estimate being �60m.�

The NPS has been described as having no proper storage of records, instead using a chaotic system relying on information on older cases coming from staff who had been working there for long periods remembering the case details. The system has been described as having �extensive miscalculation and mis-recording of allocation decisions� about offenders.

The Ministry of Justice did not comment when approached by The Indepedent.

# ? May 3, 2016 09:05

suck my woke dick: Oct 10, 2012; I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!

Put this cum-loving slave on ignore immediately!

Fans posted:

In Non-"There was a noise" news, TTIP leaks have come out and shown that the whole thing was a hot loving mess.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ttip-leak-could-spell-the-end-of-controversial-trade-deal-say-campaigners-a7009896.html

US style regulation of our food and medicine? The UK couldn't convince the EU to loosen those up and I doubt the US would either. It's looking pretty dead.

The dumbest thing about all this is that greenpeace and news articles based on the press release keep going on and on about the bit replacing the precautionary principle by risk management (probably because it would make things like stretching GMO approval processes out to last forever harder) while barely mentioning anything else. Ditching the precautionary principle in favour of more realistic ways of dealing with risk is one of the more sane things that could be implemented so the message is "TTIP will get rid of a piece of stupid regulation" and not "TTIP will kill off loads of useful regulation, too".

# ? May 3, 2016 09:17

OvineYeast: Jul 16, 2007; Freiheit ist immer Freiheit der Andersdenkenden

HorseLord posted:

That's not the CPGB in the picture because that party dissolved in 1991.

But actually yes they were

The CPGB, like basically every early 20th century Communist Party was founded in direct response to the October Revolution, and it's ideological heritage is Marxism-Leninism which is from the USSR. They never pretended to be anything else.

Well that photo is from the 1940s when even Tories liked Stalin so im not sure it indicates all that much.

# ? May 3, 2016 09:41

Guavanaut: Nov 27, 2009; Looking At Them Tittys
1969 - 1998; Toilet Rascal

blowfish posted:

The dumbest thing about all this is that greenpeace and news articles based on the press release keep going on and on about the bit replacing the precautionary principle by risk management (probably because it would make things like stretching GMO approval processes out to last forever harder) while barely mentioning anything else. Ditching the precautionary principle in favour of more realistic ways of dealing with risk is one of the more sane things that could be implemented so the message is "TTIP will get rid of a piece of stupid regulation" and not "TTIP will kill off loads of useful regulation, too".

Risk aversion in in vogue at the moment though, especially when it comes to chemicals and genes, which I am told are both bad.

# ? May 3, 2016 09:44

Thanks Ants: May 21, 2004; #essereFerrari

OwlFancier posted:

With a stick of chalk held sideways.

E: also I am inordinately annoyed by people claiming corbyn is "hard left" because if he was hard left I think the next four years would be a lot more fun.

That and the "he said Hamas are his friends" thing that gets printed at any opportunity.

Gonzo McFee posted:

I enjoy the Blairite wings of the party's master plan of trying to topple Jeremy Corbyn by pushing various bland interchangeable politicians as the next big thing.

Anyway, it turns out privatisation isn't a good thing!?

quote:
But the sudden rolling out of the proposals means the Government did not wait to find out the results of its own pilot scheme to test whether privatisation was appropriate for the probation service.

We are all being trolled

Thanks Ants fucked around with this message at 09:56 on May 3, 2016

# ? May 3, 2016 09:51

General China: Aug 19, 2012; by Smythe

thehustler posted:

Alternative answer: they're pretty insignificant.

Hi I'm from Lancashire

Any line drawn between Newcastle and Yorkshire would miss out Lancashire.

Which I'm up for, living in Lancaster. People round here aren't normal. They put gravy on chips and everyone sounds like they are suffering from a collective learning disability when they speak.

I'm from South Shields, which is further North and East than Newcastle so draw that line where ever you want.

# ? May 3, 2016 09:59

Thanks Ants: May 21, 2004; #essereFerrari

There is nothing wrong about gravy on chips :colbert:

# ? May 3, 2016 10:02

Pissflaps: Oct 20, 2002; by VideoGames

Cheesy chips with gravy mmm

# ? May 3, 2016 10:07

General China: Aug 19, 2012; by Smythe

Thanks Ants posted:

There is nothing wrong about gravy on chips

Its what they do down south.

It is very wrong in so many ways.

# ? May 3, 2016 10:07

Kokoro Wish: Jul 23, 2007; Post? What post? Oh wow.
I had nothing to do with THAT.

Thanks Ants posted:

There is nothing wrong about curry on chips

# ? May 3, 2016 10:08

General China: Aug 19, 2012; by Smythe

Pissflaps posted:

Cheesy chips with gravy mmm

Another poster who is dead to me.

Coincidentally, another southerner.

# ? May 3, 2016 10:09

TinTower: Apr 21, 2010; You don't have to 8e a good person to 8e a hero.

I'm surprised someone like Wes Streeting or Michael Dugher hasn't stuck the knife into Corbyn or McDonnell for their brazenly anti-semitic statements congratulating Leicester last night.

# ? May 3, 2016 10:09

stev: Jan 22, 2013; Please be excited.

If you're going to put something on chips, it had better either be cheese or BBQ sauce. Unless they're loaded chips covered in various meats and fats.

# ? May 3, 2016 10:18

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 7, 2024 17:44

Guavanaut: Nov 27, 2009; Looking At Them Tittys
1969 - 1998; Toilet Rascal

The best thing to put on chips is a piece of buttered bread either side and some tom sauce.

# ? May 3, 2016 10:19

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > UKMT May 2016: We Import Two Thirds of Our Posts. This is a Disgrace.

«‹›143 »