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escapegoat posted:Not to mention the articles that are just ads themselves, about the new McDonald's menu or an item at Lidl that is apparently causing a stir on social media or whatever. Yeah, I've noticed that a lot in my local town which seems to be ground zero as a testing zone for big US chains opening their first UK restaurant and you always get the breathless "this ultimately pretty basic chicken sandwich and fries with a soft drink I got for free was pretty good (because they can't even lie creatively), if you want to try it, head down to Wendys/Popeyes/Chick-Fil-A/wherever the gently caress now" article on the local papers website. I was proud of the place for once in my life when that Chick-Fil-A shut down very quickly because people were protesting it so often and I assume they were not making the money they wanted. Not what I expect of Reading but it was nice. Now it's been replaced by a wing place that isn't notably homophobic in its home country at the very least.
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Jun 13, 2023 12:36
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Read a good thing from a New York magazine article where they interviewed some guy who said the internet had ruined journalism because journalists went from leaving their desk to go into the field to interview people to having to write 5-7 articles a day and never being able to leave their desk, limiting the people they talk to to the PR guy handing them the copy, the think tank agreeing with the copy and all of their colleagues who come from the same backgrounds and the same schools. A whole system designed so that even if you want to do your job well you can't do it.
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Jun 13, 2023 12:38
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Jaeluni Asjil posted:Do agree about SIPP though if you can afford to tie money up until you're 57 (and who knows that might go up again). You don't even have to invest in a fund if you're worried the stock market will crash before you get there - you can keep it in cash form and still nab the tax relief at 25% each year (though that is only on what you put in that year not on all the money). There are also some pitfalls to look out for once you start withdrawing from a pension. (Suggest you check out some of the SIPP providers and download their info sheets on SIPPs and also check out your own employment-based pension conditions if you have one). This will lead to their pension money being heavily eroded by inflation, though. OP's investment horizon seems to be about 30 years. The stock market will probably crash a few times in that period, but the general idea of number go up over time should (no guarantee ofc) see them doing substantially better than leaving it in cash, if invested wisely.
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Jun 13, 2023 12:54
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Gonzo McFee posted:Read a good thing from a New York magazine article where they interviewed some guy who said the internet had ruined journalism because journalists went from leaving their desk to go into the field to interview people to having to write 5-7 articles a day and never being able to leave their desk, limiting the people they talk to to the PR guy handing them the copy, the think tank agreeing with the copy and all of their colleagues who come from the same backgrounds and the same schools. Yep. Can confirm. I joined the exciting and fulfilling world of local newspapers and magazine publishing right in the very dying days of the 'proper' local news reporting. The duty junior reporter's day involved going to the police station to see the blotter and chase up any reported incidents, a similar check-in with the local council office, then usually a thrilling schedule of local society and club events, school shows, local business announcements, new model of bus arrives at Stagecoach depot etc. Tedious, but it required leaving the office and going into the community to talk to people and look at stuff. The old hands in the office were from the days when reporters not only had specialist subjects (local politics/crime/healthcare/business/environment/transport) but geographical patches they were expected to literally walk and work. Just wander around in case something interesting occurred, chatting to business owners etc. I very quickly jumped to the 'specialist publishing' side (not a euphemism) but now most local papers are heavily syndicated and 'reporters' have daily content quotas, most of which is generated by rehashing press releases or wire stories. 'Investigative journalism' these days means sending emails from your desk to a corporate PR mailbox and reprinting whatever the reply is or asking people on twitter if you can reuse their images. There is no time for independent digging or even basic fact-checking or questioning. And even if there was your employer would kibosh it because it threatened access to the news feeds and PR mailing lists.
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Jun 13, 2023 12:57
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thebardyspoon posted:Yeah, I've noticed that a lot in my local town which seems to be ground zero as a testing zone for big US chains opening their first UK restaurant and you always get the breathless "this ultimately pretty basic chicken sandwich and fries with a soft drink I got for free was pretty good (because they can't even lie creatively), if you want to try it, head down to Wendys/Popeyes/Chick-Fil-A/wherever the gently caress now" article on the local papers website. I had a friend at University from Reading who told me it’s demographic is deemed a perfect microcosm of England by marketers and thus new shops / restaurants etc are always trialled there
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Jun 13, 2023 12:58
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It's funny a similar tpox came up in a podcast I was listening. Basically it was talking about computer gaming and changes in the way game journalists operate. Basically the old hand from the 90's/Future Publishing era talked about going to Gaming Expo's, spending all day writing notes, and then all night drinking/partying with the knowledge the magazine didn't have to come out for another few weeks. (One journo in particular explained how he used to collect leaflets/flyers from every game stand, stuff them in a box, have the Box posted from America back to Bath and he'd have all the material to write his articles when he got home. Pretty clever.) The counterpoint was a YouTube creator who explained that now, you'd he expected to go to the conference in the day and go back to your hotel at night and record some videos to release ASAP. This real hustle/grind mindset over partying and networking.
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Jun 13, 2023 13:04
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even after blocking ads on Reach sites, the layout is still terribly with autoplaying video + sidebars. recently started using Reader mode on Firefox (press f9) and it works a treat if you don't mind images not always showing up with the captions correctly
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Jun 13, 2023 13:22
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The Question IRL posted:It's funny a similar tpox came up in a podcast I was listening. I'm now in the world of motoring publishing ('automotive """""journalism""""" - there cannot be too many air-quotes around the word) and it's gone the same way. Especially in recent years as cars have become more tech-heavy, the market is increasingly 'tech' rather than 'design' or 'engineering' driven, and the sector becomes more and more like Silicon Valley thanks to the rise of the EV and Tesla/Musk. There's a desperate need (for reasons no one actually seems to understand) to be the first to get the news out, or to essentially live-stream/live-blog everything. So you basically film or live-tweet yourself going around a motor show or product launch. When a PR guy from a car company stands up and gives a speech full of flowery marketing bullshit, all that really matters (as far as your job is concerned) is that you shove the content out into the ether as quickly as possible. There's no time, no means (and apparently no need) to properly digest and analyse what's been said, how it relates to previous statements or known facts, how it compares to other announcements from other firms etc. No comment from independent experts. Just gotta get the content out there with a clickbaity title as quickly as possible. That's how Elon Musk is able to stand up and say that the Tesla Roadster (due mid-2021, pre-orders starting in 2017...) will have cold gas thrusters to aid performance and manoeuvrability and it'll do 0-to-60mph in one second and all the major news outlets just repeat "Musk Says New Tesla Will Use Rocket Thrusters!" without the slightest hint that it's complete BS.
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Jun 13, 2023 14:02
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smellmycheese posted:I had a friend at University from Reading who told me it’s demographic is deemed a perfect microcosm of England by marketers and thus new shops / restaurants etc are always trialled there Yeah in terms of fast food chains, Reading often gets them first. Wendies, tacobell, chick fa la. Think German doner was there very early. They are recently got Popeye's too. Truly the town of culture.
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Jun 13, 2023 14:18
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There's a Popeye's and a Jollibee in Leicester now, but no Wendy's for miles around.
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Jun 13, 2023 14:26
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Reading has a Black Sheep Coffee which is irritating cos my partner works there but doesn't drink coffee. Although I do have a big bag of cardamoms now so I can make honey cardamom oat latte at home till they get round to opening one here.
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Jun 13, 2023 14:29
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My train got cancelled so I popped into the local pub for a pint and there are a bunch of golliwogs behind the bar 
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Jun 13, 2023 14:39
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keep punching joe posted:My train got cancelled so I popped into the local pub for a pint and there are a bunch of golliwogs behind the bar Typical - the wrong thing got cancelled yet again
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Jun 13, 2023 14:41
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Call up the Beeb or Graun and see if you can get them cancelled too.
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Jun 13, 2023 14:43
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Alternative punchline: they prefer to be called BAME these days actually.
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Jun 13, 2023 14:44
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But enough about the bar staff, how much did the pint cost ?
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Jun 13, 2023 14:45
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DJT518T posted:But enough about the bar staff, how much did the pint cost ? 3.50 Fastest I've ever downed one. keep punching joe fucked around with this message at 14:51 on Jun 13, 2023 |
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Jun 13, 2023 14:47
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Three people who block a road to try to stop a deportation have been acquitted. It definitely feels like there's been an increase of jury nullification. I assume the right will bemoan it again.
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Jun 13, 2023 15:22
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There's a Wendy's in my town now, opened a month or so ago. I had forgotten until they were mentioned itt. I shall have to go try them at some point. [edit] It's in the same unit that the Burger King was in (twice) before it eventually shut for good.
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Jun 13, 2023 15:32
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keep punching joe posted:3.50 I paid £6.45 for a pint on Saturday. In derbyshire! Edit: and it was a dark amber ale. That’s an autumn drink you idiots
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Jun 13, 2023 15:49
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Brendan Rodgers posted:gently caress my hip problem isn't gonna go away and I'm gonna need a replacement one day. For now got my walking stick and painkillers. This was nearly 15 years ago and in Glasgow, but I got referred to...some sort of social worker who specifically helped me fill out a...whatever it was before PIP, ESA? But then that may have been because I was sucidial and mentioned money woes as a specific reason, IDK. But possible? Waiting times are probably even worse now than then mind
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Jun 13, 2023 15:52
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Brendan Rodgers posted:gently caress my hip problem isn't gonna go away and I'm gonna need a replacement one day. For now got my walking stick and painkillers. Someone wrote an effortpost in one iteration of this thread about filling in a PIP form. Can't remember who unfortunately. Been meaning to look for it as one of my partners has just applied, we're assuming they'll get rejected initially.
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Jun 13, 2023 15:58
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Jaeluni Asjil posted:If there was a sort of subscription service which the online news'papers', other news services (blogs or whatever) signed up to and I could pay - I dunno, a monthly sub of say £10 or say '10p per article capped at a max of £10' - I would willingly sign up to it. I ran the idea a year or so ago on FB and quite a few of my friends said they would happily sign up too. Unfortunately, the counter to that is that execs think "right, or we can have our own platform, and ransom the shows to get each person who wants to watch them to pay just us £10." Until a service like that exists and can be solidly proven (probably with a bunch of pivot tables) to end up paying more to the providers, they won't go for it. Music streaming services like Spotify have (eventually) come round to that sort of model, the problem is they also pay a loving pittance to the artists and rights holders. Guavanaut posted:So you won't be spending $3,499 to have a virtual copy of the Daily Mail float in front of your vision at all times?
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Jun 13, 2023 16:07
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killerwhat posted:Someone wrote an effortpost in one iteration of this thread about filling in a PIP form. Can't remember who unfortunately. Been meaning to look for it as one of my partners has just applied, we're assuming they'll get rejected initially. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=4011204&pagenumber=1&perpage=40&userid=151902#post527067063 Don't know if that will work but if not it was Spangly A in the Autumn 2022 thread. Some very helpful details
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Jun 13, 2023 16:24
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Brendan Rodgers posted:gently caress my hip problem isn't gonna go away and I'm gonna need a replacement one day. For now got my walking stick and painkillers. Yeah you're protected under the equalities act, any requirement for mobility aids counts, and anything you need painkillers for will almost always count (you're judged on whether there's impairment without any kind of support, and untreated chronic pain will impair the speed and safety you perform tasks at). You'll still want to speak to your GP and any involved specialists to start collecting supporting evidence for your conditions. Currently the dla/pip/attendance breakdown is almost always under 16/working age/pension age, there are exceptions but those are mostly just about being under devolved government, if you've not claimed before I don't think there are other relevant ones. As for who can do it, I usually think it's best to have a trusted family member, partner or friend who you don't mind feeling vulnerable around and is comfortable with tedious beurocratic shite. The scoring system isn't the part that's unfair, it's the questions themselves that are misleading, and mostly irrelevant to the actual underlying scoring. It's just a slog for anyone to spend ages writing about all the stuff they couldn't do without support, in a very rigid format, all so the government agrees to eventually pay for some of it. E; thanks KC I could only find the posts where I was yelling about Nazis having read the DWP fibromyalgia guidance. The stuff I quoted in there is from an application that has now been back a while - my friend was found not fit for work related activity (so bonus uc pay and she got to tell her creepy work coach to leave her alone) and med/high on daily living/mobility components of pip, without the DWP putting up a fight at all. I'm still not sure if it's written up well enough to be usable for other people but the method definitely seems to make it harder for them to play silly buggers.
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Jun 13, 2023 16:49
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I can't seem to find the post on mobile, any chance someone could quote it?
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Jun 13, 2023 17:25
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Bobby Deluxe posted:I can't seem to find the post on mobile, any chance someone could quote it? Spangly A posted:actually I've had a cig and reading back I think I'm wrong here. The MP could have dealt with this better but it's not reasonable for me to expect everyone to have the encyclopedic knowledge of beurocratic genocide that I've tried to build from several years of staring into the void in these threads and dealing with these vampires. The DWP pretty recently sent notice that neither the "lifetime" part of my award or the covid extension to my review deadline are things they care about, to an address they don't think I live at, so this month I had 2 working days to scramble for an extension and start rebuilding evidence held by organisations that don't exist anymore, and it's definitely affecting me.
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Jun 13, 2023 17:27
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https://twitter.com/dorianlynskey/status/1668650418317008903?s=46&t=ARI_L-v32Oind1-d9B3a3Q I know we've had a long string of similar stories, and that's exactly why I think we need to step back and contemplate for a moment how absolutely insane it is that Starmer's election campaign for 2024 seems to consist of explaining to the British electorate in detail how he will do nothing whatsoever to help them or make their lives more pleasant. Just a long, grinding effort to make the country's largest opposition party irrelevant/hostile to its interests.
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Jun 13, 2023 17:28
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Going to publish the manifest-no which is just a big list of everything we've ruled out doing.
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Jun 13, 2023 17:32
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"how are you going to pay for it" drake no: with increased taxes on those who can afford it drake yes: we're going to pay for absolutely nothing, but in a grown-up, evidence-based manner, and when our public institutions are even more gutted than they are now we'll hand out insane contracts to g4s and serco that are more expensive than the government planning and funding these things itself in the first place
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Jun 13, 2023 17:34
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Still bonkers to me that the UK doesn't have free childcare. I guess it's easier for people to swallow when fee-paying schools are so normalised.
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Jun 13, 2023 17:38
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It's the most basic, braindead form of thinking possible. "This costs money, but children don't earn money, so how will we get it back?" Yeah, good point, Keith.
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Jun 13, 2023 17:40
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Hmm children eat food, but people get upset if you use children as food. My government will not rule out classifying children as a type of brassica, resolving this issue.
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Jun 13, 2023 17:43
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I posted this in CSPAM so crossposting but there is another juicy bit in the article:Graun posted:At the moment all families where both parents have an expected annual income of below £100,000 qualify [for support]. Labour officials are looking at whether that could be adjusted so that some families below that threshold do not get the full allocation, as a way to pay for more support to families with younger children. We will improve funding via further cuts, brilliant plan.
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Jun 13, 2023 18:07
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simply enrol your children in the G4S nursery where they can eventually pay back their own childcare fees via indentured servitude to the company from 18 - 21
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Jun 13, 2023 18:16
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Jaeluni Asjil posted:If there was a sort of subscription service which the online news'papers', other news services (blogs or whatever) signed up to and I could pay - I dunno, a monthly sub of say £10 or say '10p per article capped at a max of £10' - I would willingly sign up to it. I ran the idea a year or so ago on FB and quite a few of my friends said they would happily sign up too. Apple News Plus does exactly this (fixed fee for access to a bunch of newspapers/websites, not per-article fee), but the newspapers skew American (the only British ones appear to be The Times & The Sunday Times). Elon was trying to make it part of Twitter Blue too, but I don't think any of the major publishers signed up.
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Jun 13, 2023 18:19
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I understand what fiscal responsibility means for someone like me but have no idea what it means for something like the U.K. government. Obviously countries operate so differently to a domestic budget that I don't know how you'd classify a "fiscally responsible" budget.
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Jun 13, 2023 18:20
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bessantj posted:I understand what fiscal responsibility means for someone like me but have no idea what it means for something like the U.K. government. Obviously countries operate so differently to a domestic budget that I don't know how you'd classify a "fiscally responsible" budget. Line go up
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Jun 13, 2023 18:22
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bessantj posted:I understand what fiscal responsibility means for someone like me but have no idea what it means for something like the U.K. government. Obviously countries operate so differently to a domestic budget that I don't know how you'd classify a "fiscally responsible" budget. - satisfy your donors - don't make anyone who edits a newspaper mad
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Jun 13, 2023 18:22
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It has very little to do with numbers and very much to do with what the people in charge feel like spending money on.
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Jun 13, 2023 18:23
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