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.

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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.

 

[HairyBadger]

builders tend to be quite principled,

If you can get them to show up on the right day at the right time.

When you find a good builder / contractor you protect them like a cherished pet. You only recommend them to people you trust that won't screw them around as you hope they would not screw you around.

They tend to be small, long established family firms that have been around for many years, generations as is the case of the one I use. Having spoken to my contractor about it, he is quite particular in which Eastern Europeans he will and will not employ.

 

[Made In Wales]

Farage is clearly living rent-free in Starmer's head...

'Farage hates Britain, waaah!'

Christ, please don't soil your nappy on stage, this is already cringe of cringeworthiness.

Other associated daily Starmer logic:

Up is actually down
Left is actually right
Fish are homosexual
The Quantocks are where the sausages (hostages) will return to
Debt is wealth
A triangle combined with a rhombus equals fascism.

I have a song about such nonsense:

 

[HairyBadger]

They apply the law as they see fit, or not. If they did their job and actually investigated and arrested criminals, things might be a bit better here. As it is, the police usually have enormous blind spots to certain crimes, while hyperfocusing ridiculously on others (the whole ‘hate speech’ thing is a great example).

The legal system is uninterested in most prosecutions anyway, and things only go to trial if the Crown Prosecution Service believe it’s in the public interest for such cases to be prosecuted. That’s just part of the reason why prosecution rates for rape here are only a little over 1%, for example. Why should the police bother chasing criminals and doing all that paperwork if the Crown Prosecution Service or other legal bullshit can’t be bothered to take the case on?

Take a wild guess at our esteemed Prime Minister’s previous employment*. It makes perfect sense, if you think about it. Depressing.

* He was head of the Crown Prosecution Service.

When you start focusing on crime clearance statistics over the actual solving of crimes, it just becomes human nature to focus the path of least resistance.
If next years budget is prevalent on having a clearance rate at a certain level, then why not bulk your figures out with Social Media hate crimes as opposed to immigrant thefts and rapes, especially if you can avoid being called a RACIST, so target the victim communities over the minority communities that are protecting the monsters.

You also have the politicisation of the Police. Local Mayors setting Police policy, The Scottish Nazi Party hand picking their Chief Police and Judiciary figures, it all removes, brick by brick, the social trust in favour of politically motivated biases that are now fairly blatant in the UK.

 

[There She Glows]

I have been informed that imgur has blocked access to the UK. Search is down so I don't know where the SUFFA BRITOIDS thread might exist now, this was the only thread I could find.

 

[East_Clintwood]

so, for the Brits: how weak really is your police? i've never seen guns on them, even during riots. the only exception is near 10 downing street.

As others have said armed police in the UK are a rarity. Day to day they mostly carry a baton, pepper spray and maybe tasers. However depending on where you live you might see them more frequently as they often end up on regular foot patrol in certain areas while waiting for a call. I used to see them quite often when passing through Manchester city centre.

 

[teriyakiburns]

I have been informed that imgur has blocked access to the UK. Search is down so I don't know where the SUFFA BRITOIDS thread might exist now, this was the only thread I could find.

Confirmed. They didn't want to risk fines. Maybe they'll do the smart thing and throw in with Shitposters v OFCOM. Probably not, though. Can't risk being associated with icky kiwis and channers.

 

[Overly Serious]

If you can get them to show up on the right day at the right time.

My experience of British builders themselves has been very positive. People who know their business and take pride in their work. However, some of the firms that employ them will cheerfully overbook everything and then ditch the less lucrative jobs (usually a private home owner) or give them the runaround the moment something worth more money shows up.

If you can employ a builder directly or find a small family-run firm, that's usually best. Just might have to take care of insurance differently if it's a drastic job and they're an individual working direct.

 

[StimulatedOrb]

Since Royal Mail has been in terminal decline

They were highly profitable about 20 years ago. They were on the ball with communications, telephone, internet broadband, they invested in smart areas and say returns, they were more than happy to be the backbone of online delivery. Then David Shitbag and his Tories decided to turn it all private, sell off all the highly profitable parts to their chums for well below market value, then re-nationalise all the parts that were not profitable. Cam and some of his other buddies got really good jobs that paid well once he stepped down, at plenty of the places he sold parts of the post office off to.

People shit on the queers in power now, but Conservatives are just as bad, and should be consigned to history, and all the MPs regarded as parasites who people spit on in the streets.

 

[Kofi Drinka]

I have been informed that imgur has blocked access to the UK. Search is down so I don't know where the SUFFA BRITOIDS thread might exist now, this was the only thread I could find.
View attachment 7980752
View attachment 7980754

Oh no. Now we can't access a site with nothing but ORANGE MAN BAD pictures to scroll through. What will we do between fat fucking Americans posting the same bullshit every time they join the thread? I need my orange man bad doom scrolling!

 

[BongoMongo]

I forget where but you can opt out of receiving junk mail from Royal Mail. Be part of the change you want to see in the world.

It depends on the nature of the junk mail. If it's stiff posted and addressed to you then you needs the Mail Preference Service. If it's those shitey leaflets which aren't addressed to you (called "Door to Doors") that your postie puts through your letter box then trust me, as a former Postie ( albeit many years ago) they hate them as much as you do, the rate per item to deliver we got paid was 1.67pence per item,then the procedure was (again,this is many years back) you need to contact Royal Mail directly to opt out.

Your mileage may vary on putting a note on your door but when I worked for them we would get a bollocking for not delivering them even to people who clearly didn't want them.

 

[Made In Wales]

My experience of British builders themselves has been very positive. People who know their business and take pride in their work. However, some of the firms that employ them will cheerfully overbook everything and then ditch the less lucrative jobs (usually a private home owner) or give them the runaround the moment something worth more money shows up.

If you can employ a builder directly or find a small family-run firm, that's usually best. Just might have to take care of insurance differently if it's a drastic job and they're an individual working direct.

Agreed.

I employ a local business for any building/gardening needs and they are fantastic.

Nothing is too much effort, and they refuse to take on graduates unless they can actually do the job.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFUfA9Nuzwo

Some of these builders graduated from the University of South Wales, by the way.

 

[HairyBadger]

As others have said armed police in the UK are a rarity. Day to day they mostly carry a baton, pepper spray and maybe tasers. However depending on where you live you might see them more frequently as they often end up on regular foot patrol in certain areas while waiting for a call. I used to see them quite often when passing through Manchester city centre.

Armed Police are around in the UK, they are just not on display.
All the airports, major rail hubs, most major Political / Military / Security significant facilities have officers openly carrying small carbines and hand guns.
All cities and major towns have roaming Armed Response Units on duty.

All police carry an extendable metal baton, pepper-type spray, hand restraints and most, if not all these days, a taser type unit.

 

[Miles Gloriosus]

The UK’s public sector borrowing is running at more than £130 billion a year, with debt close to 96 per cent of GDP. That gap cannot be closed without very large tax rises or sharp cuts in spending. In reality the only levers big enough are the unglamorous ones: holding income tax thresholds down, widening VAT, or (never happen) fucking spend less.

This is where the Digital ID Act comes in. It will be framed as a crackdowns on barbers, candy shops and informal remittance networks. The government imply the burden will fall on cheats and shadow operators, while the real revenue comes from mainstream taxpayers. It’s all bollocks but they have to keep the plates spinning until 2029.

Draft Speech Excerpt – Home Secretary, House of Commons

“Some Honourable Members will say that a digital identity system is a surveillance tool. And I will not stand here and pretend otherwise. It is surveillance — but targeted surveillance, in a society where trust is too often abused. The choice before us is not between surveillance and no surveillance. The choice is between a clear, regulated system under law, and the patchwork of loopholes and shadow economies we live with now.

Others will say it will be used against migrants. Again, let us be honest. At present, too many migrant communities are left vulnerable because parallel, unlicensed credit and money-transfer networks operate in their midst. Those systems are not accountable, they are not safe, and they leave honest people at the mercy of those who exploit them. A digital identity ensures that everyone — migrant or native-born, new arrival or long-standing citizen — is treated fairly and held to the same standard.

This is not about targeting the innocent. It is about closing the loopholes that enable phoenix companies to dodge their taxes, cash-only fronts to launder criminal money, and traffickers to exploit undocumented workers. A digital ID is the stake in the heart of that parallel economy. It will not be popular with fraudsters, but it will protect the overwhelming majority who play by the rules.

Yes, it is intrusive. But so is a landlord photocopying your passport, so is filling out the same form at three different government departments, so is being asked to prove again and again that you are who you say you are. A single, secure identity is more efficient, more transparent, and ultimately less intrusive than the chaos we have now. And it comes with oversight, with audit, and with strict limits in law.

So I say plainly: this is not a tool for Big Brother. It is a tool for fairness. It is a way to restore trust in a low-trust world. And if we are serious about stopping the shadow economy from hollowing out our towns and high streets, if we are serious about fighting human traffickers, then we cannot shrink from that responsibility.”

 

[Tony Martin's Force Ghost]

Alright bud, but how can you maintain that? You just cannot put HMRC or DWP staff on it as;
a) Not relevant training, and the team will need to know about handling extremely sensitive data.
b) Not enough staff, both mentioned services are grossly understaffed to the point of collapse.
c) The depth of the screen on your staff will have to be incredibly stringent to the point that they will have to be native, trained in sensitive data use, and in financial auditing. The government does not realize that you cannot put Shumesh or any random Paki on this because if there is a legal case, it will be shredded. From a litigation standpoint point if people's data is mishandled to their knowledge, then the legal ramifications will be beyond astronomical.

Additionally, my initial cost of £10 billion is rather conservative, as they will need a few large data centres for this, and a large data centre is a couple of billion minimum. On top of that, the power requirements are something the UK does not have. We are talking about multiple data centres surveying 75 million people 24/7/ A 50-70 MW data centre in 24 hours uses the same power as a small city in a day. This I cost as an interviewer said in the estimate, it was about £100 to put someone on this digital ID. I plugged the daily cost into Google AI as it was informative.


The daily cost of running a large data center in the UK can range from tens of thousands to over £600,000, depending on its size and power usage. For instance, a very large facility could have annual operating costs between £8 million and £20 million (approximately $10 million to $25 million), or higher for hyperscale providers.
Daily costs for a representative large data center
Based on data from 2022, a 100-megawatt (MW) facility could have daily costs exceeding £600,000. These costs are primarily driven by energy prices and other operational expenditures.
Breakdown of UK data center running costs
Energy consumption
Power is the single largest operational expense for a data center and is used for both the IT equipment and cooling systems.

• Per kW per day: As of early 2023, the cost was estimated at £7.40 per kilowatt (kW) per day.
• Total energy cost: A very large data center could consume 30 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power in a year, costing millions in electricity alone. For hyperscale facilities, this is a much larger figure.

Personnel
As facilities become more complex, the cost of skilled labor is a significant factor.

• Labor can account for 40% to 60% of overall operational expenditure for some data centers.
• Staff salaries, training, and benefits are all included in this category.

Maintenance and hardware
The costs associated with keeping equipment running and up-to-date are substantial.

• Ongoing upgrades: Many centers allocate about 30% of their budget to modernization and upgrades.
• Hardware refresh cycles: Hardware, including servers and storage, typically needs to be replaced every 3 to 5 years.
• Maintenance of infrastructure: Other equipment, such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), generators, and fire suppression systems, also requires regular maintenance.

Connectivity and bandwidth
Expenses for network connectivity can vary based on the amount of data transferred and the type of network access required. Dedicated internet connections can cost thousands of pounds per month.
Property and taxes
The cost of renting or owning the facility, as well as business rates and other property taxes, contribute to the daily operating cost. Rental rates in major UK markets like London are also a factor.
Contingency and downtime costs
Data centers must factor in the cost of potential downtime. The average cost of a single data center outage is estimated at around £4,300 per minute, which can translate to hundreds of thousands of pounds for an extended event.

It is simply unsustainable on all fronts.

 

[EddyRooney]

They were highly profitable about 20 years ago. They were on the ball with communications, telephone, internet broadband, they invested in smart areas and say returns, they were more than happy to be the backbone of online delivery. Then David Shitbag and his Tories decided to turn it all private, sell off all the highly profitable parts to their chums for well below market value, then re-nationalise all the parts that were not profitable. Cam and some of his other buddies got really good jobs that paid well once he stepped down, at plenty of the places he sold parts of the post office off to.

People shit on the queers in power now, but Conservatives are just as bad, and should be consigned to history, and all the MPs regarded as parasites who people spit on in the streets.

I sympathise with what you're saying.
My issue is however that in one case you have a party that supports a system that works, but whose worst excesses ( greedy cheating bastards ) have to be reigned in and punished.
The other party supports a system that has never been successful ( it has failed everywhere it has been attempted - Russia, China, Korea ) and is also implemented by greedy cheating bastards ( I give you the former Deputy Prime Minister and her tax issues ).
If you need further evidence wait until the Budget, when Labour drives the economy off the edge of a cliff. The socialist obsession with an ever growing and interfering state will necessitate flat out refusal to reduce public spending and will bankrupt this country.

I'm not a cold hearted capitalist as such, I understand the absolute necessity of a welfare state as a safety net for people who are unfortunate, but the realisation amongst the public has to be that work is virtuous and being a net contributor to society even more so. The many should fund a very small percentage of people unable to work to a comfortable, but not luxurious lifestyle.

My firm belief is that one of the biggest issues we have now is that politicians no longer fear the public. The fact that the cabinet is so comfortable with going as close as possible to declare all Reform supporters racist, shows they think the public pose no threat and they have a right to issue moral lectures.
This also explains why the contemptible behaviour of all politicians ( be it to cheat their taxes or selling publicly owned utilities to profit their friends ) is common place - there seem to be no consequences for their actions - did Cameron do anything illegal or was it just an absolutely abhorrent example of a lack of principles, or should Streeting already be calling for Rayner to be admitted back into the fold at the party conference this afternoon ?

 

[Muad'Dick]

The daily cost of running a large data center in the UK can range from tens of thousands to over £600,000, depending on its size and power usage.

Shhhh... Don't say that too loud. We don't want NVidia finding out what all of those Blackwell GPUs are really going to get used for.

 

[HairyBadger]

Alright bud, but how can you maintain that? You just cannot put HMRC or DWP staff on it as;

Have worked or worked with both.
DWP people are fucking morons, HMRC live in straight lines.

 

[HairyBadger]

My firm belief is that one of the biggest issues we have now is that politicians no longer fear the public. The fact that the cabinet is so comfortable with going as close as possible to declare all Reform supporters racist, shows they think the public pose no threat and they have a right to issue moral lectures.

This.

 

[Kofi Drinka]

My firm belief is that one of the biggest issues we have now is that politicians no longer fear the public. The fact that the cabinet is so comfortable with going as close as possible to declare all Reform supporters racist, shows they think the public pose no threat and they have a right to issue moral lectures.
This also explains why the contemptible behaviour of all politicians ( be it to cheat their taxes or selling publicly owned utilities to profit their friends ) is common place - there seem to be no consequences for their actions - did Cameron do anything illegal or was it just an absolutely abhorrent example of a lack of principles, or should Streeting already be calling for Rayner to be admitted back into the fold at the party conference this afternoon ?

So how do we force consequences for them acting badly?

 

[HairyBadger]

So how do we force consequences for them acting badly?

You do deep dives into their backgrounds and you target constituents.