citizenerased's recent activity
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Comment on Exit poll suggests Conservatives are set to win an overall majority of eighty-six in the UK general election in ~news
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Comment on Exit poll suggests Conservatives are set to win an overall majority of eighty-six in the UK general election in ~news
citizenerased Link ParentHealthcare is not a binary choice of either NHS or an American system, there's a whole myriad of options in between. From the article you posted, apparently this is what was said : The front-end...Healthcare is not a binary choice of either NHS or an American system, there's a whole myriad of options in between.
From the article you posted, apparently this is what was said :
“We should fund patients, either through the tax system or by way of universal insurance, to purchase health care from the provider of their choice,” the book says on page 74.
The front-end in the UK is always going to be universal coverage; free at the point of use for most services. Have you ever seen a UK politician arguing otherwise?
It's just the back-end which is open for debate here; how can we improve our healthcare system to improve outcomes?
It is absolutely idiocy to shoot down any healthcare debate by saying "lol NHS good, anything else bad". We should be looking at our our system and keeping what works best about it, and looking at systems from elsewhere in the world and taking what's best about them.
The NHS was created in the 40s. Things have changed, and if we're to remain a nation on top of its game, we can't be clinging to the past (like convervatives), but should be innovating and leading the way forward for the rest.
I personally believe a healthcare charter needs to be drawn up ASAP, which established the principles which the UK public expect governments to follow, and then let both the market and ruling parties decide how to go about achieving said targets. The charter would need to include:
- free at point of use
- maximum waiting times
- what is considered "abuse of the system"
,etc, etc
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Comment on Exit poll suggests Conservatives are set to win an overall majority of eighty-six in the UK general election in ~news
citizenerased LinkI'm extremely wary of anybody shouting 'this is a disaster', or 'this is amazing'. This election needs to be looked at in a variety of ways, taking into consideration: your Brexit position taking...- Exemplary
I'm extremely wary of anybody shouting 'this is a disaster', or 'this is amazing'. This election needs to be looked at in a variety of ways, taking into consideration:
- your Brexit position
- taking Brexit out of politics
- the party's policies.
In the eyes of the public, the referendum dictated whether we'd leave or remain. It was an expensive campaign, and dominated the airwaves for months. The public, given the conditions of the referendum, voted for leave. The referndum, however, was extremely naive and failed to take into consideration the following steps, which imo, has lead to our current crisis in politics. It should have been a priority for everybody party to have policies in place which aim to heal the rift in our society and ensure that future referenda are held to higher standards, as opposed to beating the Brexit dead horse and creating further divisons. In this regard, any result in this election would have been a failure.
'Getting Brexit done', imo, had to have been the priority this election. I liked Rory Stewart's position in stating that if we had kicked the can any futher down the road, the UK would be left looking like a state in crisis, unpredictable, and politically ineffective; a laughing stock globally. Reverting the Brexit decision would have left 45%+ of the population feeling alienated with politics; allowing a far, far nastier breed of politics brewing. "None of them give a fuck about us, so fuck it, might as well vote for the British Union of Fascists to get our country back!". People may argue that currently 48% of the population feel alienated, but to counter that, not many people, or any political party representing said people, stood up pre-referendum and said "no, we need to rethink how we're running this". The public by and large agreed to hold a referendum, and were therefore included whatever the outcome. Given this, I am glad the Conservatives have a majority, so we can undo the utter failure of Theresa May's leadership which left us in limbo for 2 years.
I'm hoping that now, we can shift the battleground away from Brexit and into things which really matter, such as social policies, education, health, policing, etc. I truly hope this election and referendum has been a wake up call, which will invigorate the electorate into being more critical of our media, politicians, and political process. I think the time has come to move the public discourse away from Brexit and into building a stronger country for the future.
Any cries of "woe betide, our healthcare will become American!" is absolute nonsense fear-mongering; a result of a media which isn't held to any standards. If we are unable as a people to not argue in better faith, we will get the outcomes we deserve. It's up to us now to ensure public discourse remains civil, balanced and critical; putting our politicians to the test and creating a better playing field, as opposed to cementing up our goalposts.
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Comment on Netflix has signed a ten-year lease to keep Manhattan's single-screen Paris Theatre open, which it can use to satisfy the theatrical-release requirement of the Oscars in ~movies
citizenerased LinkI'm not a fan of this push from Netflix to bypass cinemas. However, I could be coming from a different background than most. Where I live, there's a tonne of independent cinemas. Shit's...I'm not a fan of this push from Netflix to bypass cinemas. However, I could be coming from a different background than most.
Where I live, there's a tonne of independent cinemas. Shit's affordable, I can knock back a beer, and watch a whole variety of films - not just blockbuster trash.
I would fight tooth and nail for the situation I'm in. I'd hate to live in a community where people all retreat to their homes to watch things on their laptops, where there's no decent cinemas, and where the bars are full of people "just wanting to get fucked up" as opposed being venues of various different cultural events and places to retreat to after having actually done something during the day.
I'm not a fan of the entire world relying on big Silicon Valley companies controlling the messsage and collecting data on everything we do.
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Comment on Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales has quietly launched a Facebook rival social network named WT:Social in ~tech
citizenerased LinkThanks for the heads up. Just got myself in on the queue and will see where this hopefully ends up!Thanks for the heads up. Just got myself in on the queue and will see where this hopefully ends up!
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Comment on What is your dream game? in ~games
citizenerased LinkA pixel which breaks free into the open world. There's no instructions at all. The game starts off as Pong, but after playing a while you realise it's a little glitchy and eventually you start...A pixel which breaks free into the open world.
There's no instructions at all.
The game starts off as Pong, but after playing a while you realise it's a little glitchy and eventually you start notice weak spots on the side of the screen, etc. Eventually, the Ping pixel breaks off the screen and drifts into cyberspace, eventually evolving from a 3 pixel gameform into a 9 pixels life form which ends up in another game with another unique power.
The game mirrors the evolution of gaming, right up until the point at the end where it breaks the 4th wall and turns into an AR game. The idea being that a single pixel, given enough chaos, could eventually break free from a closed system and influence outside events.
Gameplay wise, it'd be about playing games unconventionally and trying to find exploits to try and 'break free' from that level. I.e when complexity gets up to Half Life, the level would have to be completed utilising bunny hopping and jump mapping, or finding glitches, with the shooting just acting as a distraction.
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Comment on Interferencje /w FOQL S02E05 - Polish Cold Wave special in ~music
citizenerased LinkThat's a banging mix! Had some great fun listening to that! And great to hear some cool stuff coming out of Poland!That's a banging mix! Had some great fun listening to that! And great to hear some cool stuff coming out of Poland!
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Comment on What are some interesting websites (tech related or not) that I can add to my endless rotation of Reddit, Tildes and Hacker News? in ~talk
citizenerased LinkI love the 'Morning Coffee' extension for Firefox. Effectively you can add bookmarks to 'Monday', 'Tuesday', 'Wednesday', etc (by right clicking on the tab -> morning coffee -> [day of week]....I love the 'Morning Coffee' extension for Firefox.
Effectively you can add bookmarks to 'Monday', 'Tuesday', 'Wednesday', etc (by right clicking on the tab -> morning coffee -> [day of week].
Then, when you click the 'coffee cup' icon on the addon bar, it will open up all the bookmarks you have saved for that particular day. I find it's a great way to remember checking different websites, as opposed to relying on sites like this and Reddit for everything.
For example, I've added most links here to my morning coffee and added them all to different days. So when I do my morning browsing or have some spare time, I might stumble across something cool, as opposed to just leaving it buried in a todo list.
Now and again I'll go to the settings and delete link which piss me off / I remember being routinely dry.
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Comment on Netflix Reportedly Testing New Variable Playback Feature That Will Show A Film At 1.5x Speed in ~tv
citizenerased LinkI'm pretty sure it'd be possible to analyse subtitle files and detect scenes which include the 'family drama' used to cheaply pad out longer series (i.e in Breaking Bad or Sons of Anarchy). These...I'm pretty sure it'd be possible to analyse subtitle files and detect scenes which include the 'family drama' used to cheaply pad out longer series (i.e in Breaking Bad or Sons of Anarchy). These scenes could then be chopped, reducing the above examples by half. Play at 1.25x, and voila.
Alternatively, Netflix just needs microphone privileges to detect excitement levels in series. Use that to get rid of filler, and create 100 different variations of an episode. Trial these 100 variations with different audiences and get feedback to work out which is the most successful/logical cut, and use that to refine the cutting sequence, and voila!
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Comment on Anyone watching the F1 race in Sochi, Russia today? in ~sports.motorsports
citizenerased Link ParentIt was amusing when Hamilton came on the team radio asking if everybody's OK, and the response was something like (note: I forget the exact words and am exaggerating here) "All OK, just Grosjean"....It was amusing when Hamilton came on the team radio asking if everybody's OK, and the response was something like (note: I forget the exact words and am exaggerating here) "All OK, just Grosjean". (Would be great if somebody remembers the exact wording, as I do remember laughing at that point.)
Leclerc Vettel is going to be extremely spicy. If only Mercedes had taken on Alonso, and Ricciardo had stayed at Red Bull, every race would have been absolutely glorious.
In all seriousness though, it's a shame that teams are effectively penalised for having '2 primary drivers' and encourage hard racing.
Most of us agree that 'something' needs to be done to promote close racing, and 'lots' of us agree that F1 shouldn't implement gimmicks to achieve this. Maybe some rules regarding the driver market might help achieve both goals...
Something like:
"The team of the WDC is obligated to hire the next best driver in the WDC - not in said team - to be the designated 'challenger' for next season, if that driver so desires. £40million will be awarded to the challenger's former team as compensation."
Through doing so, we'd achieve the following:
- The dominant teams' drivers fighting tooth and nail to avoid potentially being replaced, reducing the possibility of 2nd drivers emerging. (Bottas and Vettel/Leclerc driving on the edge every race to stay on top)
- Through the above, the dominant teams taking more points off each other to tighten up the pack. (Bottas taking points off Hamilton brings us more of a 5 way WDC)
- More fluidity in the driver market to help the best reach the top (Bottas would end up at McLaren/Renault, allowing Verstappan/Vettel to end up at Mercedes, which allows Sainz/Norris/Perez/Magnussen a shot closer to the top to prove themselves)
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Comment on Anyone watching the F1 race in Sochi, Russia today? in ~sports.motorsports
citizenerased Link ParentWilliams were also apparently scared they wouldn't have parts for Suzuka so they boxed Kubica in case they couldn't run 2 cars / incur significant costs. I'm not deluded into thinking Kubica...Williams were also apparently scared they wouldn't have parts for Suzuka so they boxed Kubica in case they couldn't run 2 cars / incur significant costs.
I'm not deluded into thinking Kubica should be pumping out WDC times and that Williams is holding him back in some grand conspiracy. But he has always struck me as an honest, ultra-professional chap, and his whole demeanour when it comes to Williams, leads me to believe he has drawn a very short straw, and Williams are fighting tooth and nail to keep Mercedes happy with Russell.
I imagine that Williams have finally woken up to the reality of their situation and have realised they need a close working relationship with Mercedes (buying more parts, 'selling themselves' as a quasi-B-team) in order to have any sense of a future. I do wonder what would happen if Williams were, assuming Kubica is alluding to they truth, treating Russell in a similar way to Kubica.
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Comment on Anyone watching the F1 race in Sochi, Russia today? in ~sports.motorsports
citizenerased Link ParentIf I made a shitty strategy call for every time I said that recently, I'd be a Ferrari... ;) My fear is that it's going to be the same shit next year, then we'll all be like "oh 2021" and bang,...Next year could be interesting
If I made a shitty strategy call for every time I said that recently, I'd be a Ferrari... ;)
My fear is that it's going to be the same shit next year, then we'll all be like "oh 2021" and bang, new regs = new domination by somebody else.
I totally agree, Ferrari came away looking like total cunts today, and not even in a good way a la Schumacher era. Never really was a Vettel fan, but recently he's grown on me, and today I felt sad/pissed off/angry about what had happened. It was comical how the race came off as if they were trying to stop themselves winning the race at every single moment in order to appease Todt's wonder boy, who also came off as whingey, spoilt and unlikeable over team radio. (Not my opinion on the actual person, just my interpretation of the narrative world feed team radio was pushing)
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Anyone watching the F1 race in Sochi, Russia today?
If so, any thoughts before, during or after the race? If not, feel free to ask any questions about the sport or motor racing in general, if you'd like to beef up the ole knowledges. ( Discord...
If so, any thoughts before, during or after the race?
If not, feel free to ask any questions about the sport or motor racing in general, if you'd like to beef up the ole knowledges.
( Discord server invite for more action : https://discordapp.com/invite/dCnYaSw )
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~movies
citizenerased LinkMore Disney franchise shit. Undoubtedly will contain no grit, no soul and no sense of awe and wonder. I have no time for any 'art' which begins life as a decision of 'how can we create $$$ from...More Disney franchise shit.
Undoubtedly will contain no grit, no soul and no sense of awe and wonder.
I have no time for any 'art' which begins life as a decision of 'how can we create $$$ from 'x' name' while making sure we include 'y' social themes and nods to 'z' nostalgia-triggers.
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Comment on What's the best IMDB alternative? in ~movies
citizenerased Link ParentI feel dirty spending time/money/effort on anything which has lost a personal touch and is owned by huuuuuuuge business. Even though sometimes it's necessary, I don't believe it should be a...I feel dirty spending time/money/effort on anything which has lost a personal touch and is owned by huuuuuuuge business. Even though sometimes it's necessary, I don't believe it should be a preferred outcome.
I want to try as hard as possible to contribute to places which have a sense of real community, real people, a sense of freedom and where I feel my efforts are valued. It's basically why I'm here, too.
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Just watched 'Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia' (1974). Any fans of Sam Peckinpah in the house?
Some of the works of Peckinpah had been on my watch list for months, sitting there in a subfolder of a subfolder. From the choice of Straw Dogs and Cross of Iron, I chose the aforetitled, liking...
Some of the works of Peckinpah had been on my watch list for months, sitting there in a subfolder of a subfolder. From the choice of Straw Dogs and Cross of Iron, I chose the aforetitled, liking the idea of embarking on a bit of a journey through Mexico with a gritty protagonist as we experience splatterings of violence and negotiate the thoughts of a down and out vagabond making a ran for his riches.
The film left me with mixed feelings. I enjoyed the path of Benny, experiencing how his character is unwavering in his desire to take that last lucky ticket out of debauchery street, but didn't care much for his journey's partner. While I appreciated the dynamic of the relationship, the understanding they both had that they weren't in love with each other, but all they both had, the chemistry and dialogue didn't really resonate with me at parts. I actually was rather glad when this relationship came to its abrupt end as the film entered its final 3rd.
On top of that, there was major issues with the sound which made it difficult to fully immerse myself in the journey at times. I found myself feeling I was watching a caricature of a 70s movie now and again, as opposed to be engrossed in a gritty noir-esque adventure.
But all in all, an enjoyable film which has left an impression. I always appreciate watching unpolished characters navigating circumstances plotted outside their usual courses, then watching how they deal with the inevitable implosion. From what I've read since, the film was one which perhaps accurately portrayed the director's life at the time of filming; dealing with various booze-infused demons. That rawness definitely shows, as does the inevitable imperfections in this movie's execution.
7.5/10
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What's the best IMDB alternative?
Used to love reading the IMDB boards after checking out a flick. Up until, of course, Amazon's takeover and purging. Now I feel dirty using the site to check out info about films, and am trying to...
Used to love reading the IMDB boards after checking out a flick. Up until, of course, Amazon's takeover and purging. Now I feel dirty using the site to check out info about films, and am trying to break the habit of using it as my 'go-to' site.
Letterboxd and TheMovieDatabase seem to be the 2 most credible alternatives. Any other suggestions on the Web3.0 (or 2.5) solution to a great community to kick back, contribute and learn with others about film?
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Comment on Motorsports in ~hobbies
citizenerased LinkGrew up watching F1, but hate how sanitised it's become. Looking to get into another series which has a feeling of rawness, danger and excitement. I'm sad that I never was around to experience the...Grew up watching F1, but hate how sanitised it's become.
Looking to get into another series which has a feeling of rawness, danger and excitement. I'm sad that I never was around to experience the Group B rally days. It's a dream of mine to head to the Isle of Man TT one day.
Aside from that, in my free time, I love karting. I'm starting to sometimes hit top times in rental karts, but just don't have the money to do anything more serious. Instead I prefer just to combine karting with travelling; hitting different tracks around Europe and just enjoying the buzz of the track. Hopefully when various projects start taking off, I can do something more with the hobby.
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Comment on How eating out keeps you poor in ~finance
citizenerased LinkThe strength of our economy is based on what we do with each of our units of currency. If we spend money on cheap factory processed products from huge supermarkets which ship the profits abroad/to...The strength of our economy is based on what we do with each of our units of currency. If we spend money on cheap factory processed products from huge supermarkets which ship the profits abroad/to the capital, our local economy and community will reflect that - a cheap, processed, poor community which delegates all power and responsibility elsewhere.
If we spend our money in the local community, trust local experts to cook us food, and socialise and build relationships through doing so, we will live in a stronger, more responsible community where money is kept within, not shipped out (theoretically).
This is coming from a well-run, educated city, where I am happy to spend my money in locally run places, knowing that it's keeping the cogs of the local economy turning.
It saddens me, however, if people are manipulated and mafia-ed into wasting their money in McDonalds/Walmart or some other big corporate shitfest. Through advertising/manipulation and unfair business practises, it's such a shame that some communities have no choice but to do that.
I loved how, in Cairo or Istanbul, for example, there were street side places for eating absolutely everywhere, and it felt like, at times, just dropping into your own extended dining room to grab something quick to eat. Poorer communities in 'the West' would do well to adopt such ways of supporting each other, as opposed to just being mines for big business.
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What's your cloud/syncing setup for files, pics, mail, bookmarks, etc?
So I've spent the last few days trying to sync everything up between devices, with the following thoughts in mind: how fucked am I going to be if a device gets corrupted/stolen/lost? how can I...
So I've spent the last few days trying to sync everything up between devices, with the following thoughts in mind:
- how fucked am I going to be if a device gets corrupted/stolen/lost?
- how can I easily access everything I need from a mobile device/device not belonging to me?
- how can I avoid using services from the big tech companies, and keep things open source, as much as possible?
I'm by no means an expert in the field, and I'm hoping in this thread to get a discussion going as to the pros and cons of using different services/setups, to get a general idea as to what others are doing to keep their daily lives simpler and more secure, and to perhaps see what are the future steps for me to take when I feel like playing around again.
Servers & Storage
I span up a 25GB VPS with Vultr for 'active use data', and also took out some 'deep storage'(?) from Wasabi for things which I need to keep, but not really access that much.Mail
Protonmail with custom domain. Using the ProtonMail app for mobile, and Linux ProtonMail bridge with Evolution mail for desktop.Pics/Vids
Nextcloud autoupload feature on mobile automatically uploads my pics to an 'autoupload' folder on Nextcloud server. Here, I categorise pics into folders and share what needs sharing before deleting anything I don't need and wiping the pics on my phone.Passwords
Nothing yet. Looking at getting KeyPass synced across devices.Bookmarks
Again, nothing yet. Had Firefox Sync running to connect Fennec and Firefox, but am looking for a more open approach which involves Nextcloud somehow, and allows me to tag and order things more effectively as opposed to dragging things around in the sidebar.Calendar/Contacts
Evolution calendar on desktop, simple calendar on mobile, hooked up to Nextcloud and all synced using davx5Programs and General Setup
Here, I'd like to somehow take an image/backup of my Ubuntu configs of importance and experiment with getting my setup and customisaitons replicated on another machine quickly and without taking up too much space in storage (i.e. don't need to bakckup all my files as they're already on cloud).Also, I am very curious as to whether anybody is using Syncthing across their devices? And if so, how are they finding the experience?
22 votes
If you're looking at Boris Johnson in such a way, you've fallen victim to whatever media you've been consuming, in my opinion.
I think a good starting point would be here to develop a more nuanced view : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Johnson#Political_views_and_ideology
I think the following line gives a nice overview:
Imo, not an extreme character in the slightest; more the opposite. And now he's effectively put Farage/the Brexit Party/UKIP to bed, we'll see a shift in his policies from the right back towards the centre.
As for the final paragraph, I don't share your negativity I'm afraid. It's quite impossible to say anybody has 'fucked over the planet' without setting any parameters. Are we defining this in terms of living standards? eradication of cultures? slavery? amount of people killed by said institutions?