tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.comments2023-08-01T15:05:35.540+01:00a blog from a Citizen of WokingCayce Pollardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18441199457742532638noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-79504838736565089132018-03-05T18:08:46.493+00:002018-03-05T18:08:46.493+00:00I didn't say anything about whether people are...I didn't say anything about whether people are clever enough (and agree with your point that clever people making bad choices), but about whether they are sufficiently well-informed to take part. This isn't about judging peoples' opinons but abotu their knowledge of basic facts that are essential to the process. It is not clear to me at all that someone who doesn't know that the government spends more on debt repayments than defence should be having a say on government spending.<br /><br /><br />A democratic system born in the Edwardian age and shaped for mass media is not necessarily the best system for a post-industrial society and needs reinventing and reinvigorating. How? I don't know, but I'm open to hypotheses.Cayce Pollardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18441199457742532638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-49924824854922126462018-03-05T16:02:29.273+00:002018-03-05T16:02:29.273+00:00You will know without asking that I agree that Tru...You will know without asking that I agree that Trump's steel and aluminium tariffs are stupid and self-defeating. All systems will produce errors; protectionism has been tried by all kinds of regimes and is a remarkably resilient policy for one that has been so comprehensively demolished in theory and in practice. What we should aim for is a system that can corrects errors without recourse to blood on the streets. Excluding people from political participation on the grounds that they're not clever enough to be considered is not likely to achieve that.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15543808883177437160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-36953960787733415682018-03-05T15:22:40.271+00:002018-03-05T15:22:40.271+00:00Don't know why the formatting is all wrong - w...Don't know why the formatting is all wrong - will try and fix it.<br /><br />I agree that its because the concerns of those who didn't benefit from the "new economy" were not addressed they quite rightly got angry, but that doesn't mean that they will a course of action that will address their concerns - look at Trump and his steel tariffs. They may (but almost certainly won't) improve the lot of 150,000 steelworkers by reducing the living standards of 5m other workers.<br /><br />I haven't read the Popper so I just read a couple of summaries eg https://philosophynow.org/issues/38/The_Open_Society_Revisited.<br /><br />Cayce Pollardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18441199457742532638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-69484545370160954832018-03-05T11:52:27.838+00:002018-03-05T11:52:27.838+00:00"The Open Society and its Enemies" got l..."The Open Society and its Enemies" got left out after "Popper", for some reason.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15543808883177437160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-28111282922233659272018-03-05T11:16:56.107+00:002018-03-05T11:16:56.107+00:00Objections:
(1) It's not as if well-informed,...Objections:<br /><br />(1) It's not as if well-informed, clever people cannot make spectacularly bad decisions.<br />(2) Many political questions have a large, sometimes dominating, subjective component. No-one should imagine that there is an objectively correct answer to every political question.<br />(3) People who are less well-educated may have legitimate interests that are different to those of the better educated; a restricted franchise would rely on the altruism of the reduced electorate.<br />(4) If the concerns of the less well-educated (well-founded or not) are not addressed, to what do they resort? Lampposts and ropes?<br /><br />Have you read Popper's ? Part 1 is a thoroughgoing deconstruction of Plato's 'philosopher-king' model of governance.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15543808883177437160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-43449059031024280002013-01-14T08:59:44.837+00:002013-01-14T08:59:44.837+00:00It's certainly at ridiculous levels. I was con...It's certainly at ridiculous levels. I was considering flying down for the unconference (in the end as usual I will take the train as the timing is better) and found that Air France breaks down its fares - the flight would have cost £6 and the tax £93.GreatSheElephanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06589100964804729527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-88208746794940398992012-12-26T18:34:05.793+00:002012-12-26T18:34:05.793+00:00I tend to agree with this. As I've said previo...I tend to agree with this. As I've said previously, the fastest way to kick start the economy and deal with inequality would be to raise inheritance tax to 100% for money/stocks/financial instruments/property and zero for stuff. The retail upsurge would be a joy to behold.GreatSheElephanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06589100964804729527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-34866252462583819322012-11-20T15:46:53.405+00:002012-11-20T15:46:53.405+00:00powerful stuff, each to their own i suppose though...powerful stuff, each to their own i suppose though!<br /><br />Lucy <a href="http://www.at-automotive.com/" rel="nofollow">Woking</a>sebba63https://www.blogger.com/profile/12598334106075545505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-71526332380480827672012-10-19T13:08:37.829+01:002012-10-19T13:08:37.829+01:00Strangely enough this is not an US phenomenon. How...Strangely enough this is not an US phenomenon. How do I know this? Well on several internal flights in the US earlier this month, foks were listening to their music players with impunity, and on some flights folks were watching movies from take to landing without being asked to remove their headsets.<br /><br />However, I do know from a BA pilot, that mobile phone signals can be heard through their headphones as they approach landing, that's the signalling handshake that you can hear on your radio if the phone is close enough. In addition, the level of radiation in the cabin goes up as the phone looks for a base station, leaving us all potentially cooking in a faraday cage as more and more phones are left on! Ian Osborne, Grid Man Now!https://www.blogger.com/profile/12317155239000407544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-44974274107412022132012-07-28T04:49:01.646+01:002012-07-28T04:49:01.646+01:00Works for me.
For a real Spam call like you descri...Works for me.<br />For a real Spam call like you describe, I see no reason not to put them on hold.<br /><br />Yes, it's "rude'. But calling you unsolicited to try to get your money wasn't exactly within the bounds of normal polite behaviour either.Vickihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05520201773777349145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-23283981881485293812012-05-25T17:33:53.750+01:002012-05-25T17:33:53.750+01:00Only people who pay taxes should vote. Or are they...Only people who pay taxes should vote. Or are they the stupid ones?Neil McEvoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04109605637923554860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-9787230000058687902012-01-02T11:19:28.572+00:002012-01-02T11:19:28.572+00:00that does rather penalise people who do good works...that does rather penalise people who do good works though afavour those who do the very opposite, both because salaries are a lot lower in the 3rd sector and because of voluntary work. I'd far rather see Camilla Batmancan'tspellorpronounceit get an honour than Bob Diamond.GreatSheElephanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06589100964804729527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-28926048998722566972012-01-01T22:47:36.697+00:002012-01-01T22:47:36.697+00:00I propose a dishonour system, whereby in return fo...I propose a dishonour system, whereby in return for a tax rebate, you get initials after your name which are moderately defamatory, e.g. a £10k/year rebate gets a tag of BBE (B@st@rd of the British Empire).Neil McEvoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04109605637923554860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-69418852805292404482011-11-13T19:52:47.242+00:002011-11-13T19:52:47.242+00:00I saw that Carol - I've been in Orlando this w...I saw that Carol - I've been in Orlando this week - back home for a few days then heading out to Seattle till the end of next week - so I've been trying to keep with idiocy tsunami that's swamping you.<br /><br />Will e-mail later.Cayce Pollardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18441199457742532638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-12495188344622881662011-11-13T04:25:55.491+00:002011-11-13T04:25:55.491+00:00Okay, Dave, trying this again since I had to regis...Okay, Dave, trying this again since I had to register with more google crap just to post here (grrrr--Mama Google is starting to get on my nerves) and my other comment vanished meanwhile. <br /><br />You probably don't get the GOP debates in Woking (lucky you). If you had, you would have seen one of our GOP golden boys trying to recall which huge government agencies he was going to eliminate with the stroke of a pen. Uhhh....duh.... let's see, Commerce, uh...Education (aka Educamation)...uh, what else, uh... oops. You Brits will never get as dumbed down as we Yanks are, no matter how hard you try. <br />PS: Hi Dave from chilly ColoradoCarol Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02620864458802718536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-76939001919176500442011-11-13T04:19:44.877+00:002011-11-13T04:19:44.877+00:00Dave, You need to watch some of the GOP debates go...Dave, You need to watch some of the GOP debates going on in your former colony. Rick Perry, one of our GOP hot boys, was trying to remember which of the federal agencies he was going to eliminate. He managed to remember two....then....uh....duh... oops. (I doubt he even knows how many there are and what they do.) You Brits have nothing to worry about because we Yanks will always be stupider than you.Carol Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02620864458802718536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-60929003554613670292011-10-31T10:45:10.031+00:002011-10-31T10:45:10.031+00:00Sorry, I can see how badly-written my post is. I&#...Sorry, I can see how badly-written my post is. I'd didn't mean that immigrants are reducing our IQ - I meant that immigrants are the only thing keeping us functioning. As our IQs tumble, the ability of employers to obtain literate Lithuanians and educated Estonians has meant that the economy hasn't collapsed. However, I stand by my (and New Scientist's) claim: overall, the population is getting stupider. This isn't the result of some poorly-understood natural phenomenon but the predictable consequence of our deranged Welfare State and, in particular, New Labour's policies.Cayce Pollardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18441199457742532638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-75633166914310364642011-10-30T21:24:44.985+00:002011-10-30T21:24:44.985+00:00I'm not sure you can draw a link between immig...I'm not sure you can draw a link between immigration and the lowering of the national IQ. While admittedly one might question the intelligence of those who deliberately choose Britain as a place to live as opposed to simply experiencing the misfortune of being born here, I wonder if it might not actually counter the dumbing down of the indigenous population. Our own illustrious ancestors potentially being a case in point?GreatSheElephanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06589100964804729527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-56053538244684905632010-11-17T15:35:20.462+00:002010-11-17T15:35:20.462+00:00yeh its obviously in a prime location as its been ...yeh its obviously in a prime location as its been targeted once. extra security and better surveilance measures are needed<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wokingsearcher.co.uk" rel="nofollow"> www.wokingsearcher.co.uk </a>johnibodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09833881619432676403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-64620682140060636272010-11-03T09:53:57.014+00:002010-11-03T09:53:57.014+00:00apparently, if a house or flat has been burgled on...apparently, if a house or flat has been burgled once, it greatly increases its chances of being burgled again in the future. Something to bear in mind when choosing rental accommodation.GreatSheElephanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06589100964804729527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-37896001008007037022010-09-06T22:29:45.080+01:002010-09-06T22:29:45.080+01:00I trust this will include speeding and parking tic...I trust this will include speeding and parking tickets.GreatSheElephanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06589100964804729527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-20675304149676466012010-08-25T19:27:40.204+01:002010-08-25T19:27:40.204+01:00If one is to believe Jared Diamond, the "geno...If one is to believe Jared Diamond, the "genocide" in Rwanda was as much an inter-generational as inter-tribal conflict. The country had a population density approximately equal to Holland's, supported only by stone-age agriculture on depleted soils. The old owned the land... the young were hungry... the rest is history.Erik Bloodaxehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06784544231552907558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-28316854481834661052010-07-14T10:28:26.520+01:002010-07-14T10:28:26.520+01:00I'm not entirely sure I would have bothered bl...I'm not entirely sure I would have bothered blurring her face out.<br /><br />Easyjet got the police to remove someone from a flight I was on recently for ignoring a request from the cabin crew.GreatSheElephanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06589100964804729527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-64859012572002899092010-04-17T17:44:15.141+01:002010-04-17T17:44:15.141+01:00I think a good rule of thumb is never to believe a...I think a good rule of thumb is never to believe anything you read in the Mail. As for Peterborough once being a beautiful and quintessentially English town - maybe in the 18th century. It's always been an armpit.GreatSheElephanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06589100964804729527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22339746.post-10651069107718939752010-02-02T08:43:45.172+00:002010-02-02T08:43:45.172+00:00agree 100%agree 100%GreatSheElephanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06589100964804729527noreply@blogger.com