Comments by "" (@redtela) on "Fast Jet Performance"
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I'm a "bushcraft" kinda dude, have taken the kids camping in hammocks etc for years. I also live on a farm. For my birthday this year, one person gave me a beautiful folding knife. The blade itself is damascus steel, the inner tang is titanium, and wrapped in a walnut finish. The walnut itself is inscribed with a few things that are intrinsically personal to me, and the maker has a certificate produced verifying that the wood comes from a very specific tree, which was sentimental to my father.
Since both the blade and tang (individually) are under 3 inches long, and it's non-locking, it's perfectly legal to carry daily in the UK. Being that it's a very short blade and I have quite large hands, I've added a paracord "dongle" through the titanium loop at the end of the tang. It just so happens that I'm quite a handy chap with paracord... pull the "dongle" in the right place, and it's quick release and becomes useable paracord (see point on bushcraft, redundancies are good). I also happen to know how to basically throw paracord into the air, and catch it so that pulling your hands apart forms it into a useable pair of handcuffs (useful on the farm for tying animals legs together quickly). Having tried it, from the paracord being attached to the tang, to me wrapping it around a sheeps front pair of legs takes about 6 seconds.
I have no plans whatsoever to ever take it out of my pocket on a public street - but doing so would be infinitely better than trying to look my loved ones in the eye knowing I stood by and watched some atrocity happen.
Re staying safe, another tip for you (and others) Tim... tell the wife to keep the de-icer spray in that little pocket in the drivers door. Still quite nippy out early in the morning and that's a handy little pocket for de-icing the car in the morning. ;)
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In my younger days, I was in the St John Ambulance, and something no-one really talks about, is that to be promoted within that organisation, you have to go to (and pay for) "NCO training" after a certain point. I remember the course well... amongst the daily teachings of first aid, "crowd control," map reading... etc etc, every morning, they come and inspect your room, and run a white glove along surfaces like the top of the window frame (and it's your fault if it's dusty).
I remember getting there, first day and seeing a sign on the payphone "out of order" - in the days before mobile phones. Over the course, the tutors/organisers/staff at the hostel start having whispered conversations, slowly the rumour mill starts between the students, other subtle things are dropped in along the way until everyone is "ordered" to gather in small groups to finally be told what is going on, and why all the staff seem so worried.
"There's no easy way to tell you this, but a terrorist has escaped from the nearby prison and was observed stealing clothes off a washing line in the village. The police asked us to keep you all in here, and to minimise panic we didn't say anything. But new information has come to light, and we need volunteers..." - my hand gets raised - "... to try find the IEDs - turns out he was an explosives expert and we're told he's left multiple devices around as a way to avoid getting caught."
Of course, it was all poppycock, the "IEDs" were decorated bottles of washing up liquid... but none of us teenagers knew that it was all part of the leadership tests for the course.
Taught me a lot about observations and being depended upon by others, and was multiple decades ago.
EDIT: Oh, and the payphone worked perfectly fine, they confessed afterwards to them simply wanting to stop us phoning parents about what was going on.
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Tim, on your point about humans helping other humans, couldn't agree more. I understood your "no-one is coming to save you" video, the way you intended it.
A buddy of mine is active over in Ukraine, and I was talking to him today. He was telling me that other folks in his unit don't like to wear their body armor when running drills on the range. To paraphrase him, he also says they're over-weight. I told him just to laugh in their face constantly. When they complain about it, the answer is easy.
"One day, a grenade might land near both of us. I KNOW I can outrun you in full gear. You my friend, are going to shield me a little from the explosion. I also know I can reload a weapon faster than you. So if things go south and we end up toe to to with bad dudes, I know which one of us is alive. Do me a favour though, do some more PT. I'm going to swear at you a lot while I'm dragging your sorry a$$ away from people pushing lead in the wrong direction."
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Tim, I'm only a couple of years behind you - literally - but I grew up on the outskirts of Leeds/Bradford. Racial tension - and indeed rioting - is an old tale. I walked down the road during the Bradford riots (profile pic is genuinely me, a white dude). I don't really care for modern facts. Your message is on brand - at least ish. It's just late.
No Muslims in the government? Sorry, I disagree - no politician is a good politician. Doesn't matter what race they are.
I was taught about Islam, among other faiths, at school - a very proud CofE school. But our RE teacher was also a hippie - so we could go in with a "Miss, can we meditate today in class?" - and we laid under the tables and pretended not to fall asleep.
As I've said since college - over 20 years ago - if you're not speaking out against the problem, you're part of the problem.
But lets not forget, that list of former Christian countries that are now Islamic - were Christian because we - British, conquered them, by force.
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Tim, it's funny to me, I've never served and never been through a filter interview for the forces. But I have been on both sides of the interview table, and knowing how much the candidate side sucked, I set about making that better from the employer side. I fell somewhere on what it seems the Air Force do for filter interviews. I've hired people for Software Developer positions (at all levels), my junior intake interviews went as follows:
- Can you hold a conversation? Even though HR freaked out about it, I had one guy talking about Thatcher era politics - I didn't care what his opinion was, I just wanted him to have one and be able to express it, and be receptive to a different point of view.
- Do you know the basic language that we write software in? This test was as simple as being able to write your own name in English. I wasn't expecting anyone to be Van Gogh, but if you can paint by numbers and stay within the lines, you get the next test...
- How quickly do you admit you don't know something? This one was a 1 line bug in some software I'd written specifically for the test, but the problem was described in language that would require a PhD to understand. If you understood the problem and fixed the bug, you fail, because you have a PhD and you're applying for a junior seat.
- If all of that is done within 1hour and conversation is still flowing - does my best guy like you as a person?
And then at the end of the hour, if I'm not shouting YES enthusiastically, it's a no. But for showing up & putting the effort in, I always doubled the time allocation to write feedback. Spend an hour talking to me, I'll spend 2 writing up my opinions to help you in the next interview.
The best person I've ever interviewed ticked all those boxes within their first 15mins, so I stopped the interview there and then with a "give me a number, no BS, how much to make you say yes to come work with us? If I have it in the budget, you get the number you say."
More senior level positions, I think I put one person through 9 rounds of interviews, but we paid them an hourly rate equivalent for the role, their flights, accommodation, food & drink, before any decision was made. Since they had to relocate, we were also paying 6 months rent in with the contract... so I wanted to be DAMN sure.
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Tim, I too check wheel arches, look for CCTV, sit facing the door at restaurants etc. As a moderate, I question the underlying premise of it all.
Back in the early 2000's I worked at a hotel that chose to employ immigrants, and the owner put me in charge of their settlement. This was primarily young ladies from Spain, a couple of guys, a couple of people from other countries, but the majority for whatever reason were Spanish ladies that barely spoke English. Getting them a bank account was difficult, dealing with immigration was difficult, but I operated a FAFO policy with them. The Finding Out was that I would buy them a ticket home and put them on a plane myself - it wasn't my job to babysit them, but if they did anything that would jeopardise their legal stay in the UK, they were going home. I never had to send a single one home.
Then maybe early 2010's, I helped a now good friend move from Ukraine with his wife, as I'd learnt how to navigate the system.
My fundamental question: ONS stats say 745,000 immigrants arrived last year, up by 184,000 the year before. Lets round that down to 1.3million in 2 years. ONS also say in 2022 our nation had 67.6 million people. So that means that now, 1 in every 52 people are immigrants (and I'm just using 2 years worth of data, and assuming that they all stayed, of course). Where the hell are they all hiding? Back when I helped people legally migrate and get work, I knew where they were, because I set them up with board & lodgings. But where are all these immigrants that are coming over?
Has anyone checked the bean counters maths? I mean, if there's a reason I'm not tripping over immigrants walking around Tesco, I'm on your side about it all.
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No lecture heard here Tim.
The old man, being ex REME, raised me with the "get comfortable being uncomfortable" mantra. Life ain't meant to be easy.
"Next year should be uncomfortable" - excellent timing. I've never struggled with alcohol, luckily, but starting Jan, I'm leaving the PAYE world and starting up in business for myself, self assessment for taxes. Wohoo! So with my income being unknown (and if I don't get my rear up and bring 100% in a morning, will be ZERO!) - I figured a few days ago that alcohol was one of a few easy things to cut out of the budget. Another is processed foods, which, living on a farm, why the hell am I driving to town to buy processed food anyway?!? Might as well save some diesel while I'm at it!
I've got my own demons too, luckily not alcohol, but I'm working my way through 'em.
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I'll also add, in my boot year round, are snow chains, survival shovel, chainsaw, axe, fire extinguisher and a first aid kid good enough that I've used it when I've stumbled across random crashes on the road, an ambulance has shown up less equipped. I also have tow rope, compressor for the tyres, jack, coolant, oil and a warning triangle (I'm probably forgetting some things).
I was helping a neighbour recently with his car, he saw in my boot and commented "F me, if the zombies ever attack, I know who's door I'm knocking on!" I replied "good luck, we won't be in. I have a plan for that." 🤣
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Tim, I get the "legalese" response, especially in America.
Consider for a moment that some institutions like to encourage debate - and American's do love their "free speech" - in some cases, a student can say things that they do not believe in / believe should happen, in order to stimulate debate. In that context, to get other people to realise how horrible calling for genocide actually is, saying a thing you don't believe in can be a good thing - and in legal terms, such students would not be deemed inappropriate.
That is why they won't give a yes/no answer - because a "yes" is the RIGHT answer, but being trapped in a binary situation has negative consequences elsewhere. Same as your rowing club story.
In the context of students calling for genocide of any population of people, by protesting on campus grounds... kick those students off the courses, please. That should be the same as employment clauses "you don't bring the employer into disrepute."
The folks answering questions should have said "I can't give a simple yes/no answer, but here is an example that would be unacceptable, and here is an example where it MIGHT be acceptable." There is a line in the sand, but a yes/no Q&A is not where the line exists, because someone will twist it no matter which way the yes/no goes.
I don't think you're out of line on it, I think you've just responded a little "off the cuff."
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I disagree about the style of noble death. Well, more accurately, there's probably a few types of noble death.
My old man was former REME, great service record. After leaving, he was a lorry driver, a bus driver, a driving instructor - and when age got the better of him, he retired and continued working for charities because it kept him busy. Then society took a big dump on him, and in his 70s he found himself behind bars for a thing that he said he didn't do, and no-one that knows him could genuinely believe he might have done. The man had never even had a speeding ticket.
His last day was under HMPS guard, though he was in a hospital. His health had deteriorated to the point that he couldn't walk, couldn't sit up in bed unassisted, and I fed him his last meal. His memory was also patchy at best. Thankfully HMPS had relaxed the normal visitation rules because the hospital staff were predicting he would not have survived past the Tuesday, but it was Friday, so he was surrounded by those that loved him, comfortable, and talking (after 2 days of being unconscious).
I look back on that day quite a lot - I would happily walk through what he went through, if I was guaranteed as good a last day as he managed to have. His legacy was respected by those that it meant something to.
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Tim, the lads serving, and some of the government think you're a nationalist? Have any of them got a copy of the dictionary? If not, here's what mine says: "a person who strongly identifies with their own nation and vigorously supports its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations."
Now, I may be wrong, I often am, but that... errr... sounds almost patriotic. (Again, for those without dictionaries on shelves, patriotic: "having or expressing devotion to and vigorous support for one's country.")
I guess the hang up is on the latter part of nationalism, the exclusion or detriment of other nations. Quite easy for people without dictionaries to get confused though, it seems.
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The distraction story I saw, wasn't that one, it was the kid on the Scottish border that chopped down a tree. Yes, tress are important. Yes, it was an important tree. But F me it's not a news story.
Tim, I think it's wise to remove the "black on black" aspect - not because you're wrong in any way, but what we actually have is the local population stabbing each other (sometimes it's a kid, sometimes it's a 30 year old dude). It just so happens that the local population is majority black. In just the same way that a fast jet doesn't care about the colour of your skin, neither does a knife (and as you can see from my profile pic, I'm a white dude).
There is however a reason that Mr Khan can't control his city - he's too busy implementing ULEZ, which by all reports, everyone hates. Much like the 20mph speed limit in Wales.
The issue, to me at least, is that most people aren't speaking out about this stuff. Maybe that's because government policies, and the mainstream media, have us all too busy arguing with each other about skin colour, feminism, trees being chopped down or whatever other nonsense they think will sell a newspaper or make someone click a link. If we slow down information flow, this problem probably goes away. Call it OpSec for civvy street, if you will.
I fear we're scarily close to Universe 25.
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Paul - while you might have problems, we see you. Feel free to reply to me with whatever contact details you have. I, for one, am happy to have a chat whenever our schedules allow. I can't promise answers... giggles, maybe, if we're lucky. I'm not qualified to give advice on anything, but also, there's no judgement. For anything, ever.
Tim - keep droppin' those bombs my man. Finally, someone looking at the big picture. The folks in Ukraine deserve our support (and I know some that are hands on doing that)... but... there's no point sending a jet to them that they can't use. There's better ways to help, now, while boots are on the ground, than waiting 8 years for flight quals.
I go through suicidal ideation from time to time - in my case, the easy way is an RTC that I choose to cause. Every time, it's my kids that keep me alive, and to this day, they don't even know it.
Oh Tim, the stories I could tell about Ukraine... maybe one day, when friends aren't busy getting jobs done.
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Tim, love your perspective.
There's some folk I was following (and contributing to financially) on social media. However, they've recently expressed their opinions and I, at a deep level, disagree with them. No need to name them, but the opinions I'm seeing coming out of the woodwork are "why doesn't X do Y, because that would be more inclusive and help me. Why is the onus on me to do Z instead?"
I just reckon they're lazy, so I've stopped following them / contributing to them. No point having an internet debate about it, that would only end with me getting banned.
You were right to warn them, they finally admitted it. Funnily enough, around your anniversary of leaving the service. Be the phoenix mate. Keep being you, even on the bad days. It's only the bad days that tell us how good the good ones really are.
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Tim, who told you no-one watches things longer than 10mins? Maybe the younglings that can't sit still longer than a kangaroo after drinking a gallon of coffee...
I guess I'm like Mrs Davies... I enjoy a drink, whenever I want. I've never had the urge to get drunk (though I have been completely and utterly wasted at times), I drink because I enjoy it. Last year, my Mrs turned around to me with a "I'll stop smoking if you stop drinking" - OK, done. She lasted about a week, I didn't drink a drop for 2 months just to prove a point. At one point in the two months she even commented that I had bottles (plural) of whisky gathering dust. "Yeah, just don't fancy any right now," was the reply.
I thank my highschool biology teacher for the psychology - her take was "everything, in sufficient quantity, is a poison, and if you burn as many calories as you eat, you won't gain weight. Everything in moderation, including moderation itself." She was a big lady, so while she didn't practice what she preached, she certainly put me on the right path.
January for me, is "One Punch Man" month - 100 sit-ups, 100 push ups, 100 squats AND a 10k run - every day, for the month. Gotta burn off that Christmas pud!
11mins 51... and I watched every second.
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Nope.
I'm a parent... if I lived on the base with my kid, and they wanted to get involved in the social event, because of the bright interesting colours, sure, cool. But that has sweet FA to do with gender of any kind. If I don't live on the base, my kid would have no business being anywhere near an active base. Can't speak for that kid, because I don't know who their parents are.
Has anyone pointed out to them, that they've painted over the double yellow lines? Pretty sure you're not allowed to do that on a public highway, whatever your think your gender is.
For your last question: I have kids, sure, they should know what other people have decided for themselves. But I barely understand the alphabet community myself (and I've said so to a community member that I work with). They, just like everyone else, can do what they want, so long as they're not pushing their ideology on to someone else. If people, like my kids, want to learn about other ideologies, and see if they make sense to them, cool... I'll learn about it with them... but pushing is just out of order.
I reckon you should ask the King for a Knighthood, mostly so that then you'd be a Knight who said NEE!
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Oh, and Gen Z, I just had to look up that term on Google, it's not in my dictionary. Some of those folks work for me. Some applicants I've had in front of me are just bone idle lazy.
Not really that different to any other generation, and if I as an employer, don't offer competitive rates, then the motivated folks go elsewhere. I don't run the RAF, obviously, but my civvy street experience says "If you don't want to lose folk, pay them what they're worth, don't listen to people who like to count beans."
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Tim, you're wrong mate. Here's where you're wrong:
- you say Police were in the airport. They were GMP and were called to the airport from outside. The altercation happened outside of airport security (land side).
- you say the officer was right to kick & stomp... you weren't there. I wasn't there. We cannot possibly know.
- you're referencing a few unrelated events, and grouping them based on colour of skin/religion/type of incident alone, and you're assuming that those events influenced the Police reaction at Manchester. Unless you've spoken to one of the officers, you cannot possibly know that. Ass-u-me.
- you're not aware of armed officers being attacked - to name but one incident, Bradford Riots. I was there, that's why I don't judge the ones in Leeds who were ordered to retreat.
- you want me to picture my family in the departure lounge - but that is NOT where this incident happened. This incident happened landside, near the payment meters for T2's main car park.
- you say that one incident makes us all less safe. I disagree partially on a personal level, that I'll get into in a moment, but also, you're presuming that there won't be an escalation of dominance (more O/T for the boys in blue, etc).
Here's where you're not wrong: my wife has a blackbelt in karate, and I'm physically bigger than her (and multi-discipline trained, though not to her level). The kids have asked her to spar with me, and no matter how much effort she's put in, I've danced around her giggling.
The ambiguous stuff:
- "someone went for a gun" - well, the people visiting the airport certainly wouldn't chance getting one past security. So I have to conclude they may have gone for an officers weapon. Holster security is there for a reason, and I would assume that anyone grabbing a coppers gun, gets met with other coppers pointing barrels. They didn't do that in the video we saw. Maybe they did go for a gun, and the cops didn't feel it an appropriate escalation. Hopefully we'll find out in the investigation.
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@FastJetPerformance I'm with you - it ain't a fair system, but it's the system we have, and taxation has always changed over the years.
And to slightly rebuff the "doesn't pay to get the roads fixed" - doesn't pay AS MUCH. As we know, fuel tax, VAT, council tax etc go into the same pot and gets used on the roads, in part.
It's also a proven fact that folks buying second homes drives prices up, reducing the ability for local folks to buy a house.
The "brain drain" influenced by property prices has led some in Wales to start talking about reductions in income tax to "compensate" and try to encourage locals to stay in the area. Of course, that will probably mean an influx of population in those areas from outside, fixing the "brain drain" but doing nothing to help house prices.
Can't please all the folk all the time. The day they force me to pay VED, I'll consider what I want to do about it. The choices seem like "accept it and pay" or "buy a different vehicle with a different tax bracket," but there might be another option when that day comes. Same thing if the tax band on my house changes, really.
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@adminsparkes2450 I got exceptionally close to suicide. I didn't talk to anyone about my plans. I set out one day, parked my motorcycle, took off my protective kit and laid it in a neat pile at the side of the road, and set off.
At the last second, I couldn't do it for one reason - randomly the thought struck me about what my actions were about to cause my daughter to go through.
To me, refusing to follow through on the thoughts is strength.
My old man, ex sapper, one day called me and left a "good bye" voicemail because I was working. At that point he was already Type 2 Diabetic, and he'd taken what he thought would be a sufficient overdose. I heard the voicemail 3 hours later, and then drove the 1hour to his house (without breaking the law), expecting to find him dead already. He wasn't. So he got ZERO sympathy from me as I dialled 999. He survived his attempt.
His attempt was a cry for help, in exactly the wrong way. I'm just fortunate enough that he raised me correctly, and I don't hold it against him.
Since you know Rich, at your discretion, feel free to let him know that acting upon the thoughts is the weakness. Talking about it, seeking help, living through the hard times, is the strength.
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Tim, I'm British, white, and live in the UK. Profile pic is genuinely me, years ago.
So called "two-tier policing" is nothing new. I was a teenager when I walked up the road in Bradford as rioting happened. I wasn't part of the rioting, I was just walking up to my then girlfriends house. I guess it must be that I was in the area often, people knew my face, and I wasn't trying to get myself involved in the rioting, so I was left alone. I walked straight up to the line of police horses, since they were in my way, and with a "alright boss?" to one rider, they just shimmied out of the way, and let me pass. Genuinely pretty surreal. There's plenty of other things I could cite for people getting a "lucky break" or "favourable treatment" from the police.
I just pulled the statistics for West Yorkshire, 2021 - 23% were minorities. 2011 it was 18%. In the 80's where I grew up, it honestly felt like some areas were more 50/50.
IMO, those that want to come, and contribute to society (regardless of intelligence/education), and not try to enforce their culture on me & my family, then hell, yes, they're welcome. I've helped a dude from Ukraine (before 2014) move with his wife. I remember they had to pay £3000 on a skilled migrant visa, just to be allowed to use the NHS. Anyone that just wants to freeload, or bring their ideologies with them, can go on an all expenses paid holiday to Rwanda for all I care.
Talking about people being thrown in jail for rioting, there were 297 arrests for the Bradford riots in 2001 - 200 of those resulted in jail sentences. It's not only white folks that get arrested/jailed. The last sentence to be handed down from those riots was 6 & 1/2 years after the event.
I'll stand up & be counted when the time is right, but protesting / rioting has never actually solved anything. I was taught back in junior school not to jump on bandwagons.
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Going for a walk & talk is better than having a chat down the local pub! Also, you forgot the 4th thing, horse sized genitalia.
My example of wealth... I used to throw spanners at my cars/bikes, and I still know how to do that perfectly well, and have the tools. Nowadays, I pay dealership rates on the bike (because it's on a PCP and the dealership has private offices for use - for free, while they service it) and local mechanic rates on the car. My time is more valuable doing something else, especially spending the time with the family. Though in fairness, my son could balance throttle bodies on a fuel injected motorcycle - by listening to the engine - aged 4 (his hands were smaller than mine, easier to get him to do it).
Another example... I went to the office today... I turned up a little after 9am, I left a little after mid-day. Because I can, it minimises my time in traffic, it reduces stress. I still did the work that needed to be done, and spent the time on it that needed spending. Just on my schedule.
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100% addiction is a choice. Not an easy choice, no matter what the addiction is, but it is still a choice.
Not alcohol related, but in the past, I used to be an utter tool on a motorcycle, addicted to the adrenaline. Then one day I came off, not wearing protective kit, and only at 15mph. Tarmac does awful things to flesh even at that speed. I healed up well enough.
The next time I went to get on the bike, my daughter, then aged 6, ran over to give me a hug, with a "Daddy, please don't hurt yourself on your motorbike again." That was enough motivation that just typing it now brought a tear to my eye - and she's now in her 20's. I still ride, but if the risks are too much for me to uphold the promise I made that day, I don't do it.
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I'm going to diversify and not go to the same place as lots of other people. That picture of the cops... that was just a junior school fancy dress party. No way those kids are even old enough to know how to tie their own shoes!
In good news, two "adults" have now been charged with an alleged assault at Manchester airport, and no officers are being charged with anything (IA review ongoing).
Why do all Germans sound angry (even if that particular one probably had cause to be angry)?
Also Tim, to save the channel, have you considered setting up another channel? Same amount of editing work, marginal admin overheads, reduce the risk and double the pitiful ad revenue (I wager most of your views, like myself, would watch both).
Hopefully another vid or 2 from you before Weds, but if not, have yourself a good Christmas fella! 👍
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Since that was a long comment: you ask what I'd do if I were that officer. Honestly, no clue, I've not walked in his shoes. I like to THINK that I'd act similarly to him, but minus the stomp. The kick sends the same message and probably had more affect.
You ask me to picture my family in the airport, and what I'd do. Well... a different story may shed some light on it. Some years ago, I was on the DLR with my wife, no kids with us, we were doing the art gallery thing. On the DLR, I heard a certain phrase come over the drivers radio, and I turned to my with with a "the next stop is ours, don't ask, just walk." The stop after we got off, the train had a very long wait, and no-one was ever told why. In those situations, with the ones you love, the best defence is distance. You just need to be awake enough to see it for what it is.
To the officers attending T2 on that day, and their families: heal well, I hope you're back in service after a short investigation. Sh*t gets ugly real fast with adrenaline.
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Tim, c'mon mate - this is as old as England itself. My highschool History teacher taught us about taxes. Back then, tax money paid for the already wealthy to get more wealthy. Sure, as a by product, we get things like the NHS and military. But you're a fool if you don't realise those at the top will bend the rules and take the cream from the top whenever they can.
Re the middle being squeezed, I live in Wales. If you're affluent enough to have a house in Wales that you choose to rent out as a source of income, why should that not be taxed? There are locals that in many cases can't afford a local home.
I happen to be a career long software developer, and had a salary that you would imagine comes from that. Before my old man passed away, he remarked that I was earning more in some months that he would do annually when I was a kid. I'm now self employed, much like yourself, and earn less than I once did. To a point, it's incumbent on those of us that can have the nicer things in life, to support those below us - and because too many won't, taxes exist. Are they fair? No. Should you perhaps get a tax break for renting out that 2nd home of yours to a local? Probably. But this is the system we've had for many, many generations.
I drive a 2013 Renault Megane - which I specifically bought for it's Euro 5 engine and VED exempt status. This next budget, they might change the rules so that my car is now susceptible to tax payments. But if they do, I've had a bloody good run of not paying VED, and I'm in a position to look at the market and choose if I want to opt for something else. I'm a cup half full kinda guy.
The world was never a fair place, and whoever told you it was, was lying to your face (while probably banking your taxes).
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Tim, I can't help but feel it all boils down to envy. Whatever the number of immigrants coming in, they're wanting to come to the UK because of the perception of our country from theirs. Envy also causes people to try to tear down the things above them that they can't achieve.
I've spoken to a few folks from overseas, and in their countries, the UK has a similar reputation to back when our ships were busy colonising the world. Of course, time has moved on, and the grass is always greener, but they're not aware that on the inside, many of us don't believe we still have the reputation.
I think "tired of it" is almost the wrong expression, because it hints that we may be close to breaking point. I was once in a room where they asked for volunteers to go searching for IEDs, completely out of my skillset, my hand was in the air as soon as they'd said "We need some volunteers" - the task didn't matter. If I were to be "tired of it" - maybe my hand wouldn't go up as quickly.
Nah, I'm not "tired of it" - annoyed by it, motivated by it. Much better.
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18mins Davies, what are you doing? The youth won't watch it ;)
The "idiot", since he's admitted guilt he - in my opinion, doesn't deserve to be named. However, he was, and remains British. We might not like it, but part of living here is that we don't strip people of citizenship rights just because they've gone to prison. We're better than that and have no need to stoop to the level that some countries operate on. The line is drawn above that. If he were not British, there might then be a discussion about deporting him at some point - and potentially that he might be triable under some other legal framework, and that would do an injustice - in my opinion - to the victims.
He is British, and as a result, should be forced to stand up and suffer the (legal) consequences of his actions.
Re dealing with threats in the moment - I've been tested, my kids have been tested. The police were involved in all those cases, but nothing needed to go to a court room. There is ALWAYS a proportionate - and legal - response.
In positive world news, very recently, Colorado's Supreme Court has ruled that elephants, are indeed, not people! It's a shame that case had to go through a court, but it is a light at the end of the tunnel!
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I've paused it just before the police statement, pinky promise I've not read it.
Initial reaction: dude on the ground with a woman next to him... he's clearly been tazed. He did something to deserve that. He turns his head and gets a boot to the face - ok, that's borderline - could be justifiable based on circumstances (disobeying an order, no prior event history from the video). The stomp, now that, to me is crossing a line. He didn't raise his hands to his face in response to the boot to the nose, and he doesn't appear cuffed, so the stomp feels like it's a bit too far.
That said, I also have clocked that officers are engaged in crowd control, and the female officer appears to be crying while continuing her job. An officer crying while doing their job isn't a normal Tuesday job with tea & biscuits. Maybe the officer with the over-reactive boots is having an emotional reaction to something that went on with his colleague.
Also, I go through Manchester airport - A LOT - it took me a minute to clock where this happened - it's T2's car park near the payment machines. So they're not in a "controlled" area of the airport - possibility for weapons etc whereas beyond airport security, people are unlikely to have a knife or other weapon.
Overall: I'll leave this to someone who gets paid to investigate it, to have an opinion on right/wrong.
Now I'll continue watching :)
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Tim, I'm sorry, but this comes across as somewhat of a reductionist argument. Especially with including places that I grew up around.
For a little context, it's me in the picture, I'm obviously a white dude. My brother is also a white dude. He, for a long time was a paramedic in/around Leeds. I met my first girlfriend at the ice skating rink in Bradford. I, a white dude, was at the Bradford riots (and no-one, on any side of that "debate" could give two s** that I was even there).
Sure, I'll grant you, the areas that - lets call them "foreigners" (even though many of them aren't) - live in have grown. The Asda in Dewsbury for example, is predominantly "dark skinned" folks walking round buying groceries, and while that Asda didn't exist when I was growing up around there, it sure FEELS like there were more "light skinned" folks as a proportion. All of them, as far as I'm aware, completely respectable folks, even if some will try to put on some bravado (which is no real difference to the old Mods vs Rockers around Whitby/York, and gets the same reaction from me).
Sure, there was racial tension between groups. BUT if anyone, of any group got too far out of line, it was the elders WITHIN that group that sorted things out. The nanny state didn't exist.
I like a lot of what Trump has said, and I've long since been a fan of FAFO - and that's what the problem is. Many people today don't get to FEEL the FO part, so they will FA. Take kids (of any race) in schools - I'm not saying we should bring back the cane, but I'd be happy with a blackboard wipe being hurled at my child's head if they were FA in a class - it didn't do me much harm. Can't do that though these days, without a teacher losing their jobs.
Bring on the FO!
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Tim, my big takeaway from this, is that I've probably bumped into Sam on a night out. I was probably wearing a dress at the time, despite being 100% straight. Damn good giggle on those nights, but man, yes, you see a lot of stuff. Point being, don't listen to the idiots throwing stones dude. No need to prove you're not, I've never met you, and I know your values enough to not listen to those trying to discredit you.
On the topic, fair play on that Admiral for not being scared of "cancel culture."
I've had more than my fair share of stones from from glass houses. My old man's advice was perfect, so I'll repeat it here. "Don't be throwing mud for the sake of throwing mud. It's Fing hard work, trust me. And all that happens is you end up dirty. But DO draw a line in the sand, and the microsecond anyone on the other side dares to put a toe over it, do whatever you need to do to chop their Fing legs off. Be extreme at times like that. Send a clear message about where the line is, and why it's there. And when they retreat, have the good grace to let them go lick their wounds & feel sorry for themselves."
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Banning "zombie knives" ain't a bad step, it's a step in the right direction, but it's less than half a step.
Unfortunately, Tim, using stats won't help. As my high school maths teacher drummed into us, statistics can be used to draw any picture you like. I personally treat every situation as unique, because relying on stats alone means those close to me are at risk due to blind spots. You don't fly a fast jet based on statistics, you fly it based on experience and what the situation infront of you shows. I learnt long ago to pay attention to the smaller details in life, and it's not done me wrong yet.
Off topic, my 19yr old brought home the "free palestine" ideology this weekend - I thought about emailing the exchange to you Tim. My response was the same as any sane persons should be. "Here's a map, show me where Palestine is, and if you can, I'll listen to you. If you can't, then you listen to my arguments on the topic." His final comment on the topic was "Well, since Britain setup Palestine, anyone arguing to free them, is arguing in favour of colonialism, and that isn't exactly free. So it doesn't make much sense."
Back to the topic, it's not race that matters, it's culture, and to a lesser extent, religion. A British black dude is British no matter where he was born, so long as he holds the British values as his own. Most of the people in the Isreal/Gaza conflict have the same skin colour as each other, but one side gets involved in fisty-cuffs more than the other.
Anyone showing hostility towards my family gets criticism, race, religion, skin colour doesn't come into it. Attitude is what matters. I watched all 17mins, and I already know you read all the comment fam. Make the wife a brew, that'll help settle the arguments.
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Tim, the format of this video made it's content lost on me. I see the point you were making by playing the game while talking, but it made it difficult to tell me what parts were the essay author's, and what commentary you were adding.
So, I went back to basics, back at college, I was a Computer Science student wanting to get into AI (so I took Psychology & Physics too), my girlfriend at the time was doing soft sciences (Sociology etc) and my best mate is now a Barrister (he was doing Law & History)... Tainter's book was right up our alley for reading & discussing without it being on any particular course. So we did, knocking on the door of 30 years ago. Wanting to get into AI and being aware of Mr Asimov's work around robotics, I always wanted to structure things around a moral framework - for no other reason than it felt like it made sense.
Regrettably, Tainter was an archaeologist rather than a historian, and in the book (in which he lays out his theory - and it is just that, a theory) he cites his framework as explaining the fall of Rome, for example. At it's very heart, his framework is reductionist at best. Sure, he might be on to something, but it needs fleshing out. To that end, a list of other books around the same subject that I recall reading:
- Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
- A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright
- The Wealth and Poverty of Nations by David S. Landes
- The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization by Bryan Ward-Perkins
- The list goes on, I'm sure you get the point...
Sure, there are parallels between modern society and Tainter's book... but one thing I don't remember mentioning (perhaps the essay didn't mention it), Tainter's book also states that the collapse need not be catastrophic. Not to mention his work being very ethnocentric - which always trips my "why though?" circuit when someone tries to be divisive (as he was - I'm not suggesting you are being). For example, his framework doesn't appear to fit the Mongol empire, or the Ottomans.
You make a long video, I make a long comment. Seems fair to me. 🤣
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Davies, bashing one out in the car huh? (Yes, I have the mind of a 12 year old). Re illness, it's not only stress, but modern offices with AC have a lot to answer for.
I'm not in the service, never have been. I work - a heck of a lot. I work in IT where there's a lot of imposter syndrome, I'm lucky to have never suffered with it, but I have helped a few through it. I don't think I'd describe my thoughts as "I'm not good enough" - but I have always chased the improvements. And there's always something that could have been done better.
An example on a tangent: I'm a biker, and I occasionally ride with a camera - not to post on YouTube, so that I can critique my riding, ask those I trust for their opinion, etc. The last one of those was a 7min video riding down a road I've known like the back of my hand for the last decade - and EVERYONE that I showed it to went "Don't be daft, I couldn't ride that well!" However, in that 7min video, I found 21 things that I consider I did wrong. It's just how my brain is wired: "I screwed that up and can do it better, so this is how I learn."
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Had I been on that train, my actions would have been simple.... dial 101 in earshot of the conductor "Hi, police please, I'd like to report a minor incident. I'm about to help this train conductor escort a non-paying customer off the train at station X, where the train is currently being held. I don't want to get violent, but I will respond appropriately in self defence if needed. If you would like to ask BTP to meet us on the platform, that'd be appreciated. I believe there's a fine payable for travelling on a train without a ticket, they might want to ask the chap about that when they arrive."
What happens after that, is the choice of the non-paying British Rail customer.
Also, notice how skin colour didn't factor into my comment? Yeah, I would do the same if it was a white guy not paying and delaying the train. And yes, I'd be happy to delay MY journey to help the train continue for others.
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Tim, I'm sorry mate, but you have a bit of a false dichotomy going on in parts of this video.
Example: "Is it right that my mum has to wait in line being people that have come into this country, when she's paid taxes all her life?" - well... the NHS is a first come first serve business. That's how the queues work, that's our free healthcare (for all, regardless of if they're a tourist or an 80 year old working class nan). Taxes pay for part of that. We also have an option for skipping the queue - paying for private health care. In the example, if your mum were in the wait before immigrants, she'd get an appointment to be sorted out, before them (unless, of course, your argument is that the NHS has corruption within it).
Being British, means waiting your turn - to do otherwise is entitlement.
In the last video, I commented that I have experience of the immigration system. You're not too far wrong - legal immigrants that contribute to society have millions of hoops to jump through to be allowed to stay. Illegal ones (who will still get NHS treatment under our system), typically don't come through an official border, or have a bank account, or other paper trail. Some get caught, some of those get deported, some "escape." But I still question the numbers reported. It seems to me like immigration is just a divisive topic, no different than Brexit was... and I, for one, would love to get us back to a United Kingdom.
There's no easy answers in life, but the protests that are ultimately about poor quality service from the Police etc, should be held (regardless of who is highlighting the issue - that's not supporting the person, that's supporting the cause).
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While not on topic, I have my own thoughts about the people marching around London recently. I'll leave that there until you do a video on that topic.
The group of Brits that surrounded the cenotaph - the original sentiment behind that, I fully support. No different as I support the arrests for vandalising other cenotaphs like the one in Rochdale. Had they done so without any of the macho BS, perhaps committing to do it in silence out of respect. They would still have my full backing. But the chants etc, was just trying to antagonise an already tense atmosphere. Chasing the march through London and keeping the Met busy was simply out of order, and not in line with the stated spirit of that gathering.
To the tweeter - for all you know, Tim's mum might have been in that crowd that you've just branded as tw**s. That's bang out of order fam. Watch your mouth.
When does remembrance become remembering your own actions instead of the lost? I don't know. For me, never. And while we're at it, lets spare a moment for the animals that have been in theatres and lost.
This year, I learnt that even veterans that are serving time at "His Majesty's pleasure" in prisons, are given time to respect the dead. The TV's are on full volume, those that want to step outside into the fresh air for their moment of silence can (within the walls of the prison). There's also a "remembrance breakfast" served. It turns out, convicted criminals can still be recognised as British patriots. So in my book, so can "right wing tw**s."
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My only curiosity here Tim, is why you're so late to this. Maybe, related to the targeting system, you didn't want to speak first. I get that.
But Russia released this leak, not because they had it, because it was advantageous to them. The advantage? It gets us to squabble amongst ourselves, and voices to put pressure on politics to stop helping. There's a LOT more I could say, that I know we're doing and not admitting, but I have Ukrainian friends (from before Crimea was annexed)... politics aside, we pushed Putin to act (as you said), our duty to stand by the innocent that we dragged into conflict.
Re changing schedules etc, my old man served in NI (and in Germany, before the wall came down). That's been ingrained in me.
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