UK British News Megathread - aka CWCissey's news thread

https://news.sky.com/story/row-over-new-greggs-vegan-sausage-rolls-heats-up-11597679 (https://archive.ph/5Ba6o)

A heated row has broken out over a move by Britain's largest bakery chain to launch a vegan sausage roll.

The pastry, which is filled with a meat substitute and encased in 96 pastry layers, is available in 950 Greggs stores across the country.

It was promised after 20,000 people signed a petition calling for the snack to be launched to accommodate plant-based diet eaters.


But the vegan sausage roll's launch has been greeted by a mixed reaction: Some consumers welcomed it, while others voiced their objections.

View image on Twitter


spread happiness@p4leandp1nk
https://twitter.com/p4leandp1nk/status/1080767496569974785

#VEGANsausageroll thanks Greggs

7
10:07 AM - Jan 3, 2019
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Cook and food poverty campaigner Jack Monroe declared she was "frantically googling to see what time my nearest opens tomorrow morning because I will be outside".

While TV writer Brydie Lee-Kennedy called herself "very pro the Greggs vegan sausage roll because anything that wrenches veganism back from the 'clean eating' wellness folk is a good thing".

One Twitter user wrote that finding vegan sausage rolls missing from a store in Corby had "ruined my morning".

Another said: "My son is allergic to dairy products which means I can't really go to Greggs when he's with me. Now I can. Thank you vegans."

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pg often@pgofton
https://twitter.com/pgofton/status/1080772793774624768

The hype got me like #Greggs #Veganuary

42
10:28 AM - Jan 3, 2019
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TV presenter Piers Morgan led the charge of those outraged by the new roll.

"Nobody was waiting for a vegan bloody sausage, you PC-ravaged clowns," he wrote on Twitter.

Mr Morgan later complained at receiving "howling abuse from vegans", adding: "I get it, you're all hangry. I would be too if I only ate plants and gruel."

Another Twitter user said: "I really struggle to believe that 20,000 vegans are that desperate to eat in a Greggs."

"You don't paint a mustach (sic) on the Mona Lisa and you don't mess with the perfect sausage roll," one quipped.

Journalist Nooruddean Choudry suggested Greggs introduce a halal steak bake to "crank the fume levels right up to 11".

The bakery chain told concerned customers that "change is good" and that there would "always be a classic sausage roll".

It comes on the same day McDonald's launched its first vegetarian "Happy Meal", designed for children.

The new dish comes with a "veggie wrap", instead of the usual chicken or beef option.

It should be noted that Piers Morgan and Greggs share the same PR firm, so I'm thinking this is some serious faux outrage and South Park KKK gambiting here.

 

[teriyakiburns]

IR35 was only ever really enforced in the public sector.

Experience tells me otherwise. It has been a disaster for any sort of small sub-contracting business. One of the reasons we have such a huge truck driver shortage is that indies fell under IR35 and pretty much lost any incentive to continue when the rules were changed.

What's the one tax change in the last few years that absolutely everyone agrees makes no sense? The drastic increase in corporation tax, pushed for by the Yanks, which she attempted to reverse. I bet it eventually turns out she was brought down by American gayops.

And then an American in all but name was installed as her replacement. You can be sure he'll be off to live in his California penthouse, to work in a shiny new venture capital board position, the moment he leaves office.

 

[AssignedEva]

And then an American in all but name was installed as her replacement. You can be sure he'll be off to live in his California penthouse, to work in a shiny new venture capital board position, the moment he leaves office.

He's pretty blatantly already being courted by the likes of Blackrock, Andreessen Horowitz and Blackstone - there was a transparency report the other day about the unusual number of meetings he's having with Silicon Valley types. Rumour has it they might give him a cushy job overseeing VC funds specifically relating to AI.

 

[Coolio55]

Interesting thought: How long until parliament is a zoom video call and MPs are all in other countries?
I know that they jet off once their financial interests are secured but I know plenty of council workers that live abroad and I'm wondering when the bigwigs are going to join them. Clearly they aren't passing legislation with any intention of living under it.
Insert "Klaus Shwab already runs the country from abroad" joke here.

 

[Dick Mason]

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/04/uk-seeks-to-criminalize-creation-of-sexually-explicit-ai-deepfake-images-without-consent/

New UK law targets “despicable individuals” who create AI sex deepfakes​

Under new law, those who create the images would face a fine and possible jail time.​

On Tuesday, the UK government announced a new law targeting the creation of AI-generated sexually explicit deepfake images. Under the legislation, which has not yet been passed, offenders would face prosecution and an unlimited fine, even if they do not widely share the images but create them with the intent to distress the victim. The government positions the law as part of a broader effort to enhance legal protections for women.

Over the past decade, the rise of deep learning image synthesis technology has made it increasingly easy for people with a consumer PC to create misleading pornography by swapping out the faces of the performers with someone else who has not consented to the act. That practice spawned the term "deepfake" around 2017, named after a Reddit user named "deepfakes" that shared AI-faked porn on the service. Since then, the term has grown to encompass completely new images and video synthesized entirely from scratch, created from neural networks that have been trained on images of the victim.

The problem isn't unique to the UK. In March, deepfake nudes of female middle school classmates in Florida led to charges against two boys ages 13 and 14. The rise of open source image synthesis models like Stable Diffusion since 2022 has increased the urgency among regulators in the US to attempt to contain (or at least punish) the act of creating non-consensual deepfakes. The UK government is on a similar mission.

"Under the new offense, those who create these horrific images without consent face a criminal record and an unlimited fine. If the image is then shared more widely, offenders could be sent to jail," the UK Ministry of Justice said in a statement. "The new law will mean that if someone creates a sexually explicit deepfake, even if they have no intent to share it but purely want to cause alarm, humiliation, or distress to the victim, they will be committing a criminal offense."

Last year, the controversial Online Safety Act criminalized sharing non-consensual deepfake images. The new proposed law, which still needs to go through parliamentary process to become enacted, would mark the first time that creating sexually explicit deepfakes of non-consenting adults will become illegal in the UK (the distinction being sharing versus creating). The government says that existing laws already cover the creation of sexual deepfakes of children.

The government is also seeking to reinforce existing laws, allowing charges for both the creation and distribution of deepfake content, potentially leading to harsher penalties from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

In a statement, Minister for Safeguarding Laura Farris MP emphasized the government's stance, stating, "The creation of deepfake sexual images is despicable and completely unacceptable irrespective of whether the image is shared. This new offense sends a crystal clear message that making this material is immoral, often misogynistic, and a crime."

 

[Whoopsie Daisy]

Serious question, if you make an AI image using a VPN, how do the government catch you to fine you? How does that same government circumvent GDPR rules to obtain your name, address and personal information from a 3rd party, foreign-owned platform like Twitter or Instagram?

The UK fuzz are breaking more laws than the law breakers.

 

[AnOminous]

Serious question, if you make an AI image using a VPN, how do the government catch you to fine you? How does that same government circumvent GDPR rules to obtain your name, address and personal information from a 3rd party, foreign-owned platform like Twitter or Instagram?

GDPR doesn't apply to police. And Twitter and Instagram have compliance policies for police requests. If they obstructed police investigations they could get in trouble. And even most "no-log" VPNs will comply with requests to track future activity if a crime has been committed, at least if they're under the jurisdiction of whoever is asking.

Also people are stupid and if they're actually harassing someone irl that they know, their victim probably knows them too and they'll be the prime suspect.

 

[isalaide]

Not worth a thread, but too funny not to share: gangster spends thousands on funeral wreaths for cousin commemorating cousin's crimes: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/ne...dson-matthew-ferry-funeral-flowers-edinburgh/

You really have to see the pictures though. Fucking hysterical

 

[Teghern]

Not worth a thread, but too funny not to share: gangster spends thousands on funeral wreaths for cousin commemorating cousin's crimes: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/ne...dson-matthew-ferry-funeral-flowers-edinburgh/

You really have to see the pictures though. Fucking hysterical

Let it never be doubted that long before the first slave made it to the New World the Scottish had already perfected being niggers.

 

[Otterly]

Not worth a thread, but too funny not to share: gangster spends thousands on funeral wreaths for cousin commemorating cousin's crimes: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/ne...dson-matthew-ferry-funeral-flowers-edinburgh/

You really have to see the pictures though. Fucking hysterical

Imagine being the florist. Sweating as you carve a machine gun out of oasis in case it’s not good enough for the recipients. You do t even know what a machine gun looks like ffs. Best get a picture of one on the phone…. Will that do?

 

[isalaide]

Imagine being the florist. Sweating as you carve a machine gun out of oasis in case it’s not good enough for the recipients. You do t even know what a machine gun looks like ffs. Best get a picture of one on the phone…. Will that do?

I don't know how much he paid that poor florist but I think she did brilliantly. I mean I don't think she's ever been asked to make bolt cutters and a balaclava before

 

[Morethanabitfoolish]

You really have to see the pictures though. Fucking hysterical

Marvellous.

BRAZEN gangster Mark Richardson spent thousands of pounds on funeral wreaths to celebrate his late cousin’s armed robbery at a jewellers.

The caged hood arranged for flowers showing off items in a nod to Matthew Ferry’s terrifying raid at the Laing store in Edinburgh nine years ago.

Gangster paid thousands for robber cousin's funeral wreaths

These included a balaclava, bolt cutters, Rolex watch and mobile phone. Colourful “Laings” and “Cartier” designs were also made up.

Other tributes also spelt out “Smash n Grab” and “Bandits” as well as “Cuz”, “Friend” and “Ma Boy”.

A machine gun wreath was also made to acknowledge the weapon cops found stashed at Ferry’s grandmother’s house.

The Celtic fan - who stole almost £250,000 of gear in the heist - was found dead last month at HMP Edinburgh where he was serving 13 years.

A source said: “Richardson and Ferry were tight, they were more like brothers than cousins.

“Richardson wanted to pay tribute to him in his own way and show that he could still get it done even though he’s in jail.”

An unsigned card was also left at the funeral.

It read: “We spoke about it since we were young offenders. Now someone better tell they other jewellers to up their security because when I’m out there’s no way you’re the only on with this on your CV.

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/ne...st-men-struck-off-performing-risky-procedure/


One message said: “Matthew for you the action was the juice. Rest in peace brother x.”

Another read: “You were too fast to live. Crime all the time! Take it easy cuz and keep me a seat, this is not goodbye x.”

Ferry’s pals also circulated a video celebrating his life which included him doing motorbike wheelies on the streets of the capital. It features the soundtrack to 1980 movie McVicar starring rocker Roger Daltrey as an armed robber.

His packed out funeral on April 12 - at the city’s Mortonhall Crematorium - saw a truck emblazoned with his name along with his date of birth and death.

Ferry was locked up in 2015 after pleading guilty to the shameless raid on Laing the Jewellers in March that year.

He was 24 at the time he bolted with a haul of watches before hijacking a taxi at gunpoint, using a replica pistol.

The driver and a passenger were still inside the private cab as he made his escape.

Armed police later detained Ferry at his grandmother’s home where they unearthed a Mac-10 submachine gun.

They also found ammo and heroin with a street value of more than £50,000.

Ferry later pleaded guilty to five charges at the High Court in Edinburgh where judge, Lord Glennie said: “It’s clear this must have been terrifying for your victims, both in the shop and the taxi.

“Offences like these can’t be tolerated.”

Richardson - who cops believed was once the biggest supplier of cocaine in Edinburgh - is currently in jail for his role in a £200 million supergang.

Didn't think I'd see anything tackier than the London mayoral candidates today yet here we are.

 

[Lunatic Fringe]

Imagine being the florist. Sweating as you carve a machine gun out of oasis in case it’s not good enough for the recipients. You do t even know what a machine gun looks like ffs. Best get a picture of one on the phone…. Will that do?

PL I know local florists personally, I think I'll do some digging because it sounds like there's a story there.

 

[Racist Trash]

I wonder if khan is going to survive his ulez extension into greater london, seriously the amount of those cameras being removed and the police not giving a shit about it is amazing.

 

[6MillionCoofs]

Well it’s nice to know the florist will probably end up being the richest florist for…reasons.

That took talent. It’s very cool.

 

[Eekum Bokum]

I wonder if khan is going to survive his ulez extension into greater london, seriously the amount of those cameras being removed and the police not giving a shit about it is amazing.

Its London. He'll either survive or get replaced by someone worse. That's how Britain works.

 

[AssignedEva]

It was St George's Day yesterday and there was effectively a little St George's Day party on Whitehall

However the event was originally planned to be held on Richmond Terrace (a turning off of Whitehall) and there was a bit of a clash with police when people tried to move over early.

There's a lot of buzz going on about "far right thugs" and "media silence" (there is no media silence, all the main papers are reporting on this), but it's also worth noting the police were more happy to get shovey-punchy with this crowd than any time the Palestinian protesters turn on en masse, because they're less scared of people waving St George's flags. There's also some pearl clutching about animal cruelty because someone hit a police horse with a brolly.
Sadly going unremarked upon were the Ewell St. Mary's Morris Men, who were waving around their sticks and jingling bells while all this was going on.

 

[Whoopsie Daisy]

I would say it's two-tier policing, but it isn't. One is a protest, one is a celebration of the National Patriarch. Blocking a celebration while allowing protests is madness. Both should be allowed.

I wonder what would happen if those St George enthusiasts started waving around Swastikas like the palestinians do...

 

[SirCliveSinclairdabbing]

I would say it's two-tier policing, but it isn't. One is a protest, one is a celebration of the National Patriarch. Blocking a celebration while allowing protests is madness. Both should be allowed.

I wonder what would happen if those St George enthusiasts started waving around Swastikas like the palestinians do...

Side note, almost every street in London on Sunday had Palestine flags on lampposts.

 

[AssignedEva]

Side note, almost every street in London on Sunday had Palestine flags on lampposts.

Must be a different London to the one I'm in. There was a protest outside the US embassy and you do see the odd Palestinian flag out in Whitechapel, but I don't see it in most of London.

That said I think there's supposed to be a really big protest in Hyde Park this weekend.

 

[SirCliveSinclairdabbing]

Must be a different London to the one I'm in. There was a protest outside the US embassy and you do see the odd Palestinian flag out in Whitechapel, but I don't see it in most of London.

That said I think there's supposed to be a really big protest in Hyde Park this weekend.

I ran through 26 miles of London on sunday. Aside from locals waving that flag there were identical size ones at the same height on lampposts regularly spaced throughout the event.