Quote (Meanwhile @ 25 Mar 2024 17:03)

The world opinion is eventually not really the one you want but the fact is you said that :
"The conflict in Ukraine began in fact to the Russian Federation and the citizens of the Russian Federation are responsible for the actions and decisions of their government, one way or another"

Like I said this is a system of violence based on having like 10% of the population in the pocket (police, low officials, and related business networks) while exploiting or misstreating the 90% others. I dont like it, and seems it's contagious, so NOPE.

Quote (Ghot @ 30 Apr 2024 03:53)

Why Germany ditched nuclear before coal—and why it won’t go back

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/04/why-germany-ditched-nuclear-before-coal-and-why-it-wont-go-back/



Weird and... interesting.
What do Pard's resident Germans think about this?

Quote

Predictions that the nuclear exit would leave Germany forced to use more coal and facing rising prices and supply problems, meanwhile, have not transpired. In March 2023—the month before the phaseout—the distribution of German electricity generation was 53 percent renewable, 25 percent coal, 17 percent gas, and 5 percent nuclear. In March 2024, it was 60 percent renewable, 24 percent coal, and 16 percent gas.

Overall, the past year has seen record renewable power production nationwide, a 60-year low in coal use, sizeable emissions cuts, and decreasing energy prices.

Quote (dro94 @ May 26 2024 12:44pm)

General election :hail:

Get the Conservatives out. Bring Labour in. It seems like a formality, with the last 14 years being the worst period of stagnation in British history since pre-industrial revolution.

Things I'd like to see:
- End Rwanda policy on Day 1, I like the Border Force idea as a means of containing the boat crossings
- Significant increase in public investment - it's the main reason we've fallen behind in productivity since the GFC. Northern rail links and East to West rail and intracity connections must be a priority.
- Greater devolution to cities and large towns. Already happening but it needs to happen faster
- Great British Energy as a publicly owned renewables company is a good idea. Nationalisation of the railways must happen and possibly water utilities too.

Even though the Conservatives got caned for proposing national service, I think it's a good idea medium - long term, though it's not a current priority. The British class system is a terrible thing, and young people from across the country have to feel like equal participants in society. Too many working class people live and die in their bubbles, having never interacted with the middle and upper classes in London and the South East. Independence movements in the devolved nations have never had more support, and it's not just down to economics or Brexit, seeing as the SNP have had a majority in Scotland since 2007, when Britain was one of the top 5 richest countries in the world per capita.

Quote (Prox1m1ty @ May 27 2024 10:35pm)

Agree with basically all of this.
Railways 100% need nationalised. We literally invented the railways and spread them throughout the world. And now British railways are a laughing stock.

Rwanda policy is absurd, but the sunk cost is immense. About £500 million and they haven't sent a single person yet, apart from willing deportee(s).
The danger I see is Labour strolling into a victory without actually having to give a clear plan/manifesto. Most people are not voting FOR labour, they are voting for change and anything but Tory.

And if the Tories are obliterated with say Sub 150 MP's, there will be little in the way of functioning opposition to hold Labour to account.

Quote (dro94 @ May 27 2024 11:01pm)

Yep, especially the bolded. I thought you were a SNP guy though but it's been a long time since I've been here so I could be wrong.

Quote (Prox1m1ty @ May 29 2024 09:39am)

I am an SNP guy. But voting SNP in Westminster elections is irrelevant because of the constitution makeup of our democracy; Even if every Scottish constituency elected an SNP candidate(which has all but happened before) then we still get a Tory or Labour government in London :)
So clearly an independent Scotland would have more and better control of its own situation. The current setup is broken.

The SNP in Scotland have lost face. Sturgeons clown of a husband. Yousaf was an awful politician. They lent far too far to the left with gender politics and climate insanity to placate the green party in its coalition.
And they will lose seats in the upcoming election.

Its needed to remove the lifetime politicians. Similar to what is needed in Westminster with the Tories.
But hopefully since the Scots are just a parasite on the UK's budget, Westminster will be glad to grant independence sooner to avoid paying for all our nasty social programs :thumbsup:

Quote (dro94 @ May 29 2024 07:13pm)

Well, technically every region of the UK excluding London and the South East get wealth redistributed to them. A Londoner only receives 74p in their public services for every pound they put in, South East about 85p, whereas regions like the NW and SW get 1.10 and then the devolved nations get 1.15-1.20. It's not parasitic of those regions, it's just evidence that we need to do better in levelling up while also not just bashing London for being better.

I think what would genuinely worry me if I was a pro-independence Scottish voter is that the SNP can't organise a piss-up in a brewery, so successfully navigating leaving the UK would be impossible, even if it's possible (but still extremely challenging) for a competent government to do it. It would be a very tough few years being outside the EU, what with a new currency, a hard border with its largest trading partner (rest of UK) and having to take on huge amounts of debt owed to Westminster. Ironically, it would be like a second Brexit.

In your position, I could see going Labour because they'd be better for Scotland as well as the country overall in the short - medium term, but I can also see that being difficult to do when you're ideologically fixated on a single issue they fundamentally oppose. At least Labour does care about Scotland, whereas the Conservatives could not give a shit about anyone outside the M25.

Quote (Prox1m1ty @ May 29 2024 07:26pm)

Sure its a concern. But you say that as if your confident that the Tories are more useful than an ashtray on a motorbike. They are just, not.
Do we really need to mention Liz Truss? Or big liar pant Boris. What about Jeremy Corbyn's plan to disband the military?
Labour aren't exactly great either. Their just the less worse centrist option.

Your conjecture about independence is possible. The only worry for any Scot is not about what an independence would look like, because lets be honest. Brexit has been a disaster and consecutive Westminster governments have let Scotland down.

The only worry is not worry at all but a bitterness that the oil wealth of the North Sea, instead of going in a sovereign wealth fund like Norway. Which you may know is $1.6 trillion currently.
The wealth went to multi-national oil companies and to funding wars in Iraq, Afghan, Libya, Syria, the Falklands for fuck sake and for oppressing the Irish republicanism in northern Ireland.

If you asked a majority of Scots which they would have prefered in hindsight. 1.6 trillion or a collection of wars that surmount to the British government attempting to remain relative globally after its empire crumbled post WW2.
I'm fairly certain the frugal Scots would bite your hand of for even half the 1.6 trillion dollars.

There are 5.5 million people in Scotland compared to England's 55 million yet 90% of the oil was considered to be in Scottish territory.
If independence had occurred London would be paying for Scottish oil and every time we lost a football match we'd double the price :D
We'd have needed to spend billions rebuilding Hadrian's wall and keeping the boats of English migrants from entering our gold plated beachfronts.

But at least now we got highspeed rail from London to Birmingham, thats a real boost.