Nanny state etc. What do people want? A government that looks after them? The freedom to vote means the freedom to die of chicken-egg-poisoning. Dying of food poisoning is a fundamental British value that woke experts will have to rip from my stinking hands. (or something like that.)

You could be right. I listened to a Tory minister on the radio today talking about ending anonymity on the internet and - more interestingly - about silo-ing parts of the internet so that certain groups, such as children, could only access certain “versions” of the internet. I wonder whether that’s the longer-term agenda.

I grew up with even less access. At school we used paper and ticker-tape to program computers. And there was no tv (which was black and white anyway) during the day. Those were the days. Boring as fuck!

This apparently “spontaneous” group of “ordinary mothers” looks surprisingly media-trained. I’d be interested in knowing more about the founders. When the “keep our schools open during covid” group were examined they turned out to be a puppet of a right-wing thinktank.

HMRC claim that only 5% of UK don’t pay their taxes.

That 5% is worth £36 billion a year!

I’ve got my suspicions about who that 5% are. Damn you you single-parent, new trainer-wearing, work-shy benefit claimants! Damn you!

Do dentists in other countries have the same sense of prestige as British ones? I used to work with a guy whose wife was a dentist and he constantly talked about being a dentist as being on the same level as a doctor. Said that entry requirements for dentistry at university is the same as medical doctors.

Hmmm… 2024…. isn’t there supposed to be some sort of big thing happening involving politicians. And of course the British people can see right through any attempt to bribe them. Can’t they?

This table was in an article discussing benefits including pensions from across Europe. I’ll see if I can locate it. I think the data comes from this calculator: https://www.oecd.org/els/soc/benefits-and-wages/tax-benefit-web-calculator/#d.en.500997

No, it is one-sided reporting. I wonder how much of the praying was used as a means of push-back by pupils at Michaela to the authoritarian way the school is run. I don’t think I’d like a school where even in my breaks and lunches I have to have conversations with my teachers using prompt-cards.

Better not upset the rich and powerful… who strangely also seem to be religious.

Britain’s benefits system is rated as the meanest in Western world, according to OECD. And yet there’s a misconception in UK that those on benefits live the life of Riley.

I do the same thing. I’ve tried Kavita and Audiobookshelf and ended up just keeping the books on a network share and then accessing them through Calibre. I am sideloading to a Kindle though.

I’m happy with having a “nanny state” if it means my sons can get dental treatment. The only NHS dentist in our area won’t take appointments (unless you go private) and say that if children are in pain to call 111. As a child I went for a check up every 6 months. That’s now not possible since Tory austerity.

Lack of air conditioners in UK state schools makes them unbearable places in the Summer.

Great timing. The (supposed) tax cuts will pay for the electricity bosses’ new porsches.

I’ve just read that and can’t see anything badly written. Where was the bad writing? (Or is it just their views you don’t agree with?)

“The Riddle of Genius.” Ho ho ho.

Sorry, I posted a reply to your comment in the main feed rather than to you. Back to school for me!

so crushingly dull that it destroys any natural curiosity that kids have

You are right. Children have a much earlier start to school in the UK compared to other countries. This cuts short the time of their “play-based” development. By Year 1 (about 5-6) children in UK primary schools are sat at desks and taught in quite bizarre ways. From Reception (ages 4-5) they are tested continuously to a point where UK children are the most tested children in the Western World. Other, more successful countries (educationally and economically) don’t do this. We have a weird, damaging obsession with testing children and placing them into hierarchies in this country. When testing becomes the purpose and goal of an education system it is, as you say “so crushingly dull”.

Perhaps more people need to know who owns these companies and how ownership affects their operations.

My local company is 40% owned by JP Morgan and other hedge funds are involved in ownership. My understanding is that this is similar across many utility companies. Instead of service being their primary concern, it is the generation of revenue.

The catastrophic role of hedge funds in the UK cannot be overstated.