LostUruk

@losturuk.bsky.social

216 Followers 632 Following

The world is run by small, frightened people who want you to be as small and frightened as they are. Always remember you are strong.

After hitting the headlines, Project Timber is no more. The negative connotations of ‘timber’ doesn’t play well – so officials have renamed the project and moved to the next phase of planning. As one person close to the situation told the BBC, “we will be having this same conversation in a year’s time”. The solution to this is clear: do what almost every other country in the world does and run water as a publicly service for the benefit of the country. Given that the companies are effectively worthless, there would be no need to compensate the shareholders if they were taken into public ownership. The Labour government has signalled that it has no desire do this. Other than some vague words about “cracking down” on sewage releases, it has said nothing about how it plans to deal with the water companies running out of money. If anything, fining them would only accelerate that process. What can we do about it? We’re building a mass non-payment campaign to target the financial model of private ownership. Many water firms — Thames Water the prime example — are desperate for investors to pump in more cash to keep them afloat. Their pitch largely hinges on the near-guaranteed income from millions of customers. Don’t forget these firms are monopolies with no competition. Our job is to make that income look as shaky as possible.
How did our water get so bad? Take down the profiteers, end the scam. Turn the tide on 40 years of privatisation and failure. 5 min. readView original As value is extracted from this national resource, the service provided is threadbare with sewage regularly and illegally discharged into rivers, little maintenance or upgrading of the system — and more stories about waterborne disease hitting water supplies in communities across the country. How did we get into this situation? Privatised water The Water Act of 1989 created protected private monopolies, giving the new private owners exclusive concessions to provide water and sanitation services for a 25-year period.
Water firms in drought-hit UK flogged 35 reservoirs in five years - and built just two There has been fury as water companies make millions of pounds by selling off water storage sites for housing, fishing and other uses while building just two small new reservoirs in five years By Jack Clover 2 min. readView original There has been fury as water companies make millions of pounds by selling off water storage sites for housing, fishing and other uses while building just two small new reservoirs in five years Water companies in drought-hit Britain have flogged 35 reservoirs in five years – and built just TWO. Amid hosepipe bans and coastal sewage dumping they have made at least £26million from the sales. ‌ Old reservoirs have been converted for uses such as fishing and housing – and some are a haven for BMX fans. A union which uncovered the deals said: “The water industry is not fit for purpose.”
Government steps in to build first major reservoirs in 30 years New reservoirs will supply three quarters of a million homes and unlock the building of tens of thousands more as part of the Plan for Change By Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs 3 min. readView original In a significant intervention to speed up delivery of much-needed reservoirs, the Environment Secretary Steve Reed has seized control of the planning process to build two major reservoirs for the first time since the 1990s. This immediate step delivers on this government’s commitment to fast-track the delivery of nine new reservoirs, supporting its plans to get Britain building and deliver 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament.
Anger from "Inside Out" blowing his top.
My parents last dog, Rexie.
Figurine based on a 2000ad fatty as seen in the Judge Dredd strip, complete with belly wheel to help him move. source: https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/540673-Infinity%20Civilian%2C%20fatty%20with%20belly%20wheel.html
Picture of football commentator John Motson alongside an old quote - "For those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in the all-yellow strip"
"Response to recommendation 27 Whilst we recognise the important role ponies play in conservation grazing on moorlands, ponies, like all livestock, exert grazing pressure. If ponies were to be excluded from stocking density calculations, we would have no control over grazing pressure on the moorland, and the potential for over grazing would be increased. This would prevent us from achieving required improvements in habitat condition and therefore impact the delivery of many of our environmental objectives. It would also have implications for animal welfare and the economic, environmental, and social sustainability of grazing on the moor.  We are aware that previous agri-environment schemes have provided payment for keeping cattle, but not ponies, and that this has been linked with a decline in pony numbers. Under the new SFI and CS moorland actions, we will provide payment to farmers who include cattle, ponies or a combination of the two in their grazing regime. Applicants must have a minimum percentage of their stock as either cattle or ponies, to be eligible."
"a supplement payment for grazing land using native breeds at risk. This supplement will be available for livestock that are included in the native breed list on sensitive grazing habitats (currently this includes the semi-feral Dartmoor Hill Pony population on Dartmoor and the pedigree Dartmoor ponies)."
Picture of a pub called the Slug and Lettuce.
Not listening gif from Dumb and Dumber.
Availability of UFSM improved children’s Reading test scores at age 11 by approximately 4% of a standard deviation. This effect size is equivalent to approximately two weeks additional progress in school. This corresponds to a ‘small’ effect size in educational trials, but is not trivial, at around half the magnitude of the impact of two years’ exposure to the ‘Literacy Hour’, for example. • We do not find consistent evidence of an impact of UFSM on children’s Maths test scores. • Effects on Reading are similar for pupils registered for means-tested FSM, who see no change in the price of their lunches, and those not registered for means-tested FSM, who become newly entitled to a free lunch, and for whom the rise in take-up was likely to be much larger. Finding similar impacts for both groups supports there being benefits from universal provision not just driven by individual take-up. For example, the change in nutritional intake may mean children newly taking up a UFSM exhibit less disruptive behaviour. This may also benefit other children in their class.
In summary, universal provision of FSM throughout primary school helps ensure that all children have access to a meal of high nutritional standards, yielding health and educational benefits for these children, while also providing cost-of-living support to families with school-age children. There are also likely to be time saving for households no longer shopping for, and assembling, packed lunches that we cannot capture. We also do not take into account any employment benefits, due to the increased number or hours of catering staff required to facilitate the increase in take-up of school meals. This may also reduce Government outlay on Universal Credit. The impacts of providing UFSM that we have identified are measured close-in-time to UFSM provision, but are likely to yield long-term benefits to individuals and to society. An increase in reading ability at age 10 has been shown to promote earnings throughout adults’ working lives (Machin and McNally, 2008). Childhood BMI has been shown to be somewhat persistent into adulthood (Singh et al., 2008, Simmonds et al., 2015). If effects on obesity are sustained, this will affect healthcare costs and productivity. Total NHS and productivity costs of obesity to the UK economy have been estimated at £60bn per year, or £3,708 per person with obesity (McKinsey 2014). Even where impacts do not persist, there is evidence that reducing the prevalence of obesity in
UK government spending by sector for 2023-2024.
On 28 April 2016, Mann confronted Ken Livingstone in a public stairwell in front of a news camera crew, calling him a "Nazi apologist" and a "fucking disgrace"[36] over Livingstone's remarks in a radio interview that Adolf Hitler, on coming to power, supported Zionism for the purpose of expelling Jewish people from Germany.[37] Labour's chief whip, Rosie Winterton, told Mann it was "completely inappropriate for Labour members of Parliament to be involved in very public rows on the television".[38]
"I have seen the body cam footage, it’s harrowing, and I have to say, as a father of a 17-year-old boy, I felt sick watching it. It is absolutely right that the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) are looking at this. There are clearly serious questions that need to be addressed, not least how accusations of racism informed the decision making in this case."
"Although the Labour group on the council championed the project at the outset in 2006, and they maintained their support for the i360 for eight years, just a year before the local elections due to take place in May 2015 they changed their position and withdrew their support. Similarly, a year before the local elections due to take place in May 2023, the Labour group on the council began to describe the i360 as a "Green/Tory vanity project" noting that "with 100% public funding when private sector partners could not be found ... It was a flawed business model from the outset – as we tried to convince our Green and Conservative colleagues of at the time."[57] Yet, when the i360 opened in 2016, then council leader, Labour's Warren Morgan, spoke positively about the attraction, which he noted would be "a great addition to our seafront."[58] Councillor Morgan also sat on the planning committee which granted planning permission for the i360 in 2006. Irrespective of the reasons for the timing of any position change on the Labour group's part, the i360 has become a politically contentious issue in the city."
Trinket ‪@trinketbirdy.bsky.social‬ Follow Pay people the same for doing the same job. You're not being paid for experience they routinely pay young people less for the same job just because of age which is outrageous. I got paid less than an older person at my first job despite having specialist knowledge they didn't have. Claire ‪@clairepull.bsky.social‬ Follow Nonsense. You could never apply that to all professions. Police officers for instance, not all rise through the ranks, you've got PC's with 15/20 years experience who are invaluable to the profession and should never be paid the same as a new starter.
The man from the two buttons meme, sweating and looking stressed.
Picture of a space shuttle flying over the Earth.
The famous demon eyes poster from the 1997 election. It features an image of Tony Blair on a black background with a torn paper effect across his eyes and a pair of red demon eyes showing instead. Fair play, the Tories got this one right.
"13.179 Where there remains a genuine concern about the accuracy of the response to a request for an individual to confirm their sex, then the service provider, person performing public functions or association should consider what action is proportionate in the circumstances. There is no type of official record or document in the UK which provides reliable evidence of sex. For example, sex on passports and driving licences may be changed with or without a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), and birth certificates may reflect the acquired gender of someone who has a GRC. Therefore, it is unlikely to be proportionate or practical to ask for further evidence of a person’s sex. In such circumstances, it is likely to be necessary to weigh up the relevant factors to decide whether to exclude the individual from the service or association or to permit them to continue to access it."
a bike in an empty parking lot.
"The Price Commission was set up in the UK under the Counter-Inflation Act 1973, alongside the Pay Board, in an attempt to control inflation. The Conservative government of Edward Heath, elected at the 1970 general election, had previously abolished the Prices and Incomes Board in November 1970, shortly after taking power, relying on competition to keep prices down. At the same time, the Industrial Relations Act 1971 was intended to rein in the trades unions. The Conservatives' economic policy was not successful, and the government took a U-turn. A 90-day freeze of pay and prices (as well as rents and dividends) was introduced on 6 November 1972 under the Counter-Inflation (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972. This was replaced by a Price and Pay Code, which strictly limited increases, supervised by a new Price Commission and a Pay Board."
"The Price Commission was set up in the UK under the Counter-Inflation Act 1973, alongside the Pay Board, in an attempt to control inflation. The Conservative government of Edward Heath, elected at the 1970 general election, had previously abolished the Prices and Incomes Board in November 1970, shortly after taking power, relying on competition to keep prices down. At the same time, the Industrial Relations Act 1971 was intended to rein in the trades unions. The Conservatives' economic policy was not successful, and the government took a U-turn. A 90-day freeze of pay and prices (as well as rents and dividends) was introduced on 6 November 1972 under the Counter-Inflation (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972. This was replaced by a Price and Pay Code, which strictly limited increases, supervised by a new Price Commission and a Pay Board."
"Bus services are run predominantly by the following large operators, under contract to the Bee Network:[18] Diamond Bus North West First Greater Manchester Go North West Metroline Manchester Stagecoach Manchester. Private operators include: Arriva North West Belle Vue Coaches D&G Bus First West Yorkshire High Peak Buses Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire. Other bus services include: Free Bus – launched in 2002 as Metroshuttle. It provides two free bus routes around Manchester city centre. New services were provided in Bolton, Oldham and Stockport after success of the service in Manchester, but those services were substantially withdrawn by 2019.[19]" Ring & Ride – an accessible, low-cost minibus service for people who have difficulty in using public transport. Local Link – an on-demand minibus service for areas of Greater Manchester with limited public transport. Areas include Dane Bank, East Manchester, Heald Green, Heywood, Middleton, Saddleworth and Mossley, South Manchester, Timperley and Sale West, and Wythenshawe.
Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse gif, with the text "Women, know your limits"
Cartton of Zach Polanski with hooked nose
Simpsons meme - "Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos"
Traffic levels In December 2004, one year after opening, Friends of the Earth issued a press release expressing concern that, faced with lower than expected traffic numbers, Midland Expressway were trying to attract new traffic-generating developments to greenbelt and greenfield sites in the M6 Toll Corridor.[10] and in April 2005 the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported that there was strong interest in the commercial property market place around the M6 Toll "zone of influence".[11] In May 2005, the Macquarie Infrastructure Group reported that traffic figures were "disappointing".[12] In August 2005 the Highways Agency confirmed in its own "one year" study showing that usage had settled at around 50,000 vehicle per day (lower than the predicted 74,000) but that traffic volumes on the M6 had reduced slightly.[13] From 2008, traffic levels started to fall. Traffic in the first quarter of 2009 was 39,000 vehicles-per-day (Monday-Friday figures),[14] but recovered to reach 54,000 in the second quarter of 2015.[15] Traffic levels are not published on a regular basis, but can be found in company financial reports published in press, generally around about September the following year.
Capitalist : "I got rich through hard work" Worker : "Whose though?"
Meanings and uses Neutral/ethnographic: Historically descriptive — someone sporting the oseledets, a Cossack, or simply a Ukrainian. In older literature and folk contexts it could be used neutrally or affectionately. Colloquial/pejorative in Russian: In modern Russian usage “хохол” often functions as an ethnic slur for Ukrainians. Tone depends on speaker intent and the setting; in many contemporary contexts it’s considered insulting. Self-referential and jocular: Some Ukrainians reclaim or use variants playfully in jokes, nicknames, cultural revival contexts (especially references to Cossack imagery, folk dance, songs). Regional and historical nuance: In Polish, Romanian and other border-region speech, cognate forms appear with similar senses; historical documents sometimes use the term without the modern pejorative load. Why it matters now Political tensions since 2014 and especially after 2022 made formerly neutral or joking ethnonyms charged. Using “hohol” in contemporary Russian discourse often signals derogation or dehumanization; using it in Ukrainian contexts can be ironic, nostalgic, or performative when intentionally reclaimed. Sensitivity: Many Ukrainians find the term offensive when used by outsiders as an ethnic label; context, speaker, tone and audience determine whether it will be received as a slur.
Still from the film "Space Chimps". The central chimp is giving you a look.
Table of personation allegations and outcomes 2014 - 21 allegations, 0 convictions, 3 cautions 2015 - 26 allegations, 0 convictions, 2 cautions 2016 - 44 allegations, 1 conviction, 3 cautions 2017 - 28 allegations, 1 comvicion, 0 cautions 2018 - 19 allegations, 0 convictions, 0 cautions 2019 - 33 allegations, 1 conviction, 1 caution 2020 - 0 allegations, 0 convictions, 0 cautions But sure, let's stop thousands of people voting to stop those 3 convictions.
A map of "Rangerland" from The Sloane Rangers Handbook A map of the world as seen by a Sloane Ranger.
The famous daily Mail front page - "Labour must kill vampire Jezza" With a caricature of Jeremy Corbyn as a vampire in a coffin.
Three melanesian children from the Solomon Isles. Black skin and blond hair.
Ranks of mountains going into the distance
"But historic data, which Full Fact at first had to obtain with a Freedom of Information request, and which has now been published as an official statistic, shows that the rise delivered in the government’s first year (5.2 million more appointments) was smaller than it was the year before (6.5 million)—raising questions about how meaningful the pledge was in the first place. The way in which the pledge has been described has also changed over time. When publishing the data with which to measure progress, NHS England described it as a manifesto commitment to deliver “an extra two million NHS operations, scans and appointments”. But the full quote from the Labour manifesto is “an extra two million NHS operations, scans, and appointments every year” [our emphasis]. This is potentially significant for reasons we’ll explain in the section below. The Labour manifesto also described the pledge as a commitment to deliver 40,000 more appointments each week “during evenings and weekends”. In declaring the pledge to be met, the government said it was “delivered in part by extra evening and weekend working” [our emphasis]. It therefore sounds as though the extra appointments the government says it has delivered were not only during evenings and weekends, as appeared to have been originally promised, although we cannot find any data showing when they happened."
Google maps screenshot showing southern Lebanon with the towns marked.
Recent claims suggesting that the wealthy are fleeing Norway due to marginal increases in wealth taxes have been exaggerated and misleading. Out of 236,000 millionaires and billionaires in Norway, only 30 individuals relocated, which, although slightly higher than in previous years, represents a mere 0.01 percent of the country’s millionaire and billionaire population. The revenue lost from these departures constitutes a small percentage of the overall revenue gained from the tax increase. While there is a slight risk of wealthy individuals moving after the implementation of a wealth tax, it appears to be quite low and thereby should not be a major concern when enacting such a tax. However, relocation could become a more significant issue if wealth taxes are levied at a very low level, such as on a subnational or state level, as seen with parts of the Spanish wealth tax, which applies differently to individuals depending on their region of residence. Hence, it is essential to implement wealth taxes at the national level, at the very least." https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Taxing-extreme-wealth-What-countries-around-the-world-could-gain-from-progressive-wealth-taxes-Tax-Justice-Network-working-paper-Aug-2024.pdf - page 11
Warhammer 40k figures painted in LGBT colours. source : https://www.reddit.com/r/Warhammer/comments/12xajwq/the_gate_crushers_lgbt_themed_space_marines_squad/
Source : https://internationalpolicy.org/publications/the-gaza-war-at-six-months-five-recommendations-for-ending-the-fighting-and-ensuring-human-security-in-israel-palestine/ dated April 3, 2024
"China hasn’t fought a war in more than forty years, a fact that haunts the modern-day People’s Liberation Army as it grows to fit the country’s new great-power status. The country’s lack of recent military experience could prove the decisive factor in a future conflict, one that would be utterly unlike any conflict China has ever fought before. China fought three wars in the 20th century: Against U.S. and U.N. forces in the 1950 to 1953 Korean War, a brief war against India in 1962, and another brief war against Vietnam in 1979. The first two wars were generally favorable to China’s mass infantry tactics and benefited from large numbers of combat veterans in the PLA ranks." source : https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a25322576/is-the-chinese-military-ready-for-war/
Image of the pub named after Sal Madge.
Homer Simpson bleach meme.
Children working in the mines in Democratic Republic of Congo.
A sausage roll from my local butcher.
Antimatter being delivered. There's a photo to prove delivery, click tracking to view on Amazon website. Photo is from an article about Amazon brushing scam - here's the amazon faq about it. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=TrpVVzT0gyyuZn2ZNv
"Despite that uncertainty, the IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said on Monday that "we don't see a structured programme to manufacture nuclear weapons" However, nuclear proliferation experts worry that might change in the aftermath of an attack aimed at destroying the regime that has ruled Iran for 47 years, and the killing of its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who had issued a religious edict, a fatwa, against the building of a bomb"
"Despite that uncertainty, the IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said on Monday that "we don't see a structured programme to manufacture nuclear weapons" However, nuclear proliferation experts worry that might change in the aftermath of an attack aimed at destroying the regime that has ruled Iran for 47 years, and the killing of its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who had issued a religious edict, a fatwa, against the building of a bomb"
Image of a designated protest zone. As can be seen this has been chosen to minimise disruption to ordinary people just going about their business while still allowing protests to take place. (Okay, this is in UK. It's Coire Valley, Achnashellach, Wester Ross in the highlands of Scotland taken from "The Most Remote Places In Britain (And Why You Should Pay Them A Visit): PART 1" - https://marvellousmaps.com/marvellousmusings/2021/6/1/remote-places but I believe it's under consideration for the designated protest zone for UK. I'm sure there are places in NZ just as suitable)
Image from Wallace and Gromit: A Grand Day Out. Wallace is trying a bite of Moon Cheese while Gromit looks on
Cycle racks in the shape of dolphins. image taken from google maps because I couldn't be bothered to look through all my photos.
Set of four V for Vendetta masks in various colours. Image taken from Amazon listing.
Graph of Us top marginal tax rates over time showing current rate are the lowest since the late 1920's
Graph from Statistica "Number of agriculture, forestry and fishing insolvencies in England and Wales from 2014 to 2024" Graph shows a large increase in insolvencies in 2022 source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/310435/uk-insolvencies-compulsory-liquidations-in-agriculture-uk/
Screenshot of ‪Baby octopus‬ @mancalledhorse.bsky.social‬ replies with a search box showing no mentions of "genocide" in the last month
"Genetic studies indicate a genetic affinity between Palestinians and other Levantine populations, as well as other Arab and Semitic groups in the Middle East and North Africa.[8][9] Historical records and later genetic studies indicate that the Palestinian people descend mostly from ancient Levantines extending back to Bronze Age inhabitants of the Levant.[a] They represent a highly homogeneous community who share one cultural and ethnic identity,[17][18][19] speak Palestinian Arabic and share close religious, linguistic, and cultural practices and heritage with other Levantines (e.g Syrians, Lebanese, and Jordanians). According to Palestinian historian Nazmi Al-Ju'beh, like in other Arab nations, the Arab identity of Palestinians is largely based on linguistic and cultural affiliation and is not associated with the existence of any possible Arabian origins."