BRFR Cake Stop 'breaking news' miscellany

[Pblakeney]

A lot depends on the nature of your property. In my case takes ½hr on the phone to get a house insurance quote (often they have to put he on hold and reference risk assessment specialists). Quite a few companies to go through the ½+ hr and get a "sorry we can't cover the nature of your property".

You use a phone to get quotes? 🤔
It's not 1999 anymore.

 

[briantrumpet]

Not breaking news, but a good read about how the barbarians are not 'at the gate', but 'within the citadel', and potentially we become the barbarians. Woolf (Leonard, husband of Virgina) wrote the original book in 1939.

For Woolf, to be modern, to be civilised, required an acceptance of universal truths, of democratic norms and of the rule of law in nations as in individuals. In these ancient civilisations, learning was prized, art and culture were venerated, though admittedly not for everyone.

What he saw in Nazism was a rejection of these norms and a nastier, narrower kind of man being formed. A man who eschewed learning as irrelevant, art as dangerous, notions of truth as smug and irrelevant. Is this sounding familiar yet?

https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/katherine-cooper-the-barbarians-in-your-phone/

 

[Rusty Nails]

A Scarborough businessman has been left "disgusted" after being fined more than £2,300 for erecting England and Union flags in North Yorkshire.
William Haylett, the owner of 'Squeeky Clean Scarborough' used his cherry picking vans, which are normally used for high-level property maintenance, to string up flags across the town, along with tying England and Union flags to lampposts across Filey and Whitby.

The 42-year-old business owner told GB News he erected flags in order to bring the community together and foster a sense of national pride, but says that he is now being fined thousands of pounds by the council for allegedly flying 64 flags.
It comes after North Yorkshire Council directed contractors in October to remove flags displayed across Scarborough, including those along Marine Drive, and further informed residents and businesses that these flags are considered "unauthorised".
"The flags were not political, offensive, or harmful in any way," William Haylett said.
"They were a source of pride, unity, and hope, symbols that brought our community together at a time when many people are struggling, feeling anxious, and seeking connection.
"Removing them does not protect the public. It sends a very different message - one of division and unnecessary control over community expression.
"Our history and our families have given much for the freedoms we have today, including the right to stand proudly under our flag.

"To take that away without consultation or explanation shows a profound disconnect from the people this council is meant to represent."
Mr Haylett is challenging the fine, issued under section 132 of the Highways Act, and he has contacted North Yorkshire Council this week, asking for evidence that he is responsible for each flag and their locations, including CCTV and witness statements and has questioned the legal basis for the allegation.

A letter from North Yorkshire Council to William Haylett, with a separate invoice for £2,321.28, dated 18 November, reads: "The display of flags on our infrastructure without our consent, authorisation under an enactment, or reasonable excuse is an offence under section 132 of the Highways Act.
"The council can seek to recover costs incurred in removing such unauthorised enactments.


"On October 30/31, we removed 64 flags in the Scarborough area, believed to be your property and that you may wish us to return them.
"I attach a notice imposing an Obligation to Collect Goods which states that the council will only be prepared to return your flags on the basis that you reimburse the council with the costs of removal.


"On the basis that the flags were yours, this equates to £36.27 per flag plus VAT.
"To be clear, whether you wish to retrieve your flags or not, the council is seeking to pursue the total costs of their removal. An invoice will be sent to you under separate cover."

The letter adds that no further flags should be erected to "avoid further safety issues".
It continues: "Additionally, the outcome we are also seeking is that no further flags are erected, to avoid further safety issues and so that we do not have to spend more of our limited resources on this issue, which would be better deployed elsewhere.
"Should Squeeky Clean erect further flags, then we reserve the right to seek to reclaim the cost of the removal of flags."
In response to the fine and removal of the flags, Mr Haylett says he is "disgusted" and added: "All over the country, everyone is down and depressed - putting flags up was to pick ourselves back up and to get spring back in our step.
"The Union flag means everything to me - it means pride, freedom and unity.
"Look at America with flags, they fly their flag proudly everywhere, all across the country and all across the world, but here, national pride is being erased and our identity.

"We should be able to fly our flags and be proud, but I've had enough of the Government. It feels like nobody is here for us, and we work hard every day to make ends meet and pay bills, but can't even fly our own flag.
"I think it's an absolute disgrace that we can't fly our own flag and put a smile on our faces - the community should be coming together back to values, and raising the flag is part of that.
"I've been out early every morning and late every night in this cold weather, helping the homeless in these cold conditions and more should be done to help those in need in this country.
"The system is failing English people, and I'm not being racist saying that."
Mr Haylett has also asked North Yorkshire Council to explain why flags were removed, under what specific policy or authority this action was taken, why "no community consultation or notice was provided" and how the council "intend to repair the damage done to community trust".
A North Yorkshire Council spokesman said: "We are proud to support big national and regional occasions by flying a St George’s Cross or Union flag.

"However, we are aware of some residents across North Yorkshire feeling uncomfortable with the number of flags as well as graffiti.
"This does not reflect the inclusive and celebratory tone in which displaying the flags should be intended.
"We have also seen numerous examples of people putting themselves at risk to display flags on highways, bridges, and lampposts.
"We respect individuals' rights to fly and paint flags on their own private property, but any unauthorised flags or markings on roundabouts and street furniture will be removed when resources allow, focusing on those which are a safety issue."

I want to celebrate my sense of pride, gratitude and love in being part of the cycling community that is helping to save the country from harmful vehicle emissions and wish to demonstrate it by getting some paint and painting new cycle lanes around the streets in my town.

Who could doubt my motives, and I am sure the council will go along with this initiative.

 

[Beebo]

"We should be able to fly our flags and be proud, but I've had enough of the Government. It feels like nobody is here for us, and we work hard every day to make ends meet and pay bills, but can't even fly our own flag.

It’s just such bollox. No one is stopping anyone from flying a flag.
You can fly a flag anywhere you like on private property and no one can do anything about it.
But using road furniture on public land is clearly not allowed.

 

[icowden]

What's wrong with having a sensible immigration policy based on criteria such as skills requirements and ability to contribute financially?

You mean like the one we already have?

 

[icowden]

Isn’t that just acknowledging the differing risk in keeping the black box or removing it though? Either way it seems very cheap from what I remember my eldest paying.

In one sense yes. In another sense they deliberately wrote to her suggesting that because her driving is so safe, she no longer needs the black box. That was a lie, as they offer a cheaper premium if you keep the box, regardless of how safe you are as a driver.

 

[Stevo 666]

You mean like the one we already have?

Not necessarily the criteria we have now - it could be improved. Or do you think that it is perfect?

 

[Pross]

Not necessarily the criteria we have now - it could be improved. Or do you think that it is perfect?

You didn’t seem so bothered when the Tories relaxed the rules and waved in more people on visas a couple of years ago. Why the sudden concern and change of heart?

 

[Stevo 666]

You didn’t seem so bothered when the Tories relaxed the rules and waved in more people on visas a couple of years ago. Why the sudden concern and change of heart?

Did I ever say that they got it right? Feel free to quote me if so.

 

[icowden]

Not necessarily the criteria we have now - it could be improved. Or do you think that it is perfect?

Nope. It's hard to achieve perfect, but it seems reasonably good. The problem is that we have a lot of fascist racist xenophobes who say things like " we want the right sort of immigrants and in sensible numbers" when what they are, in fact, referring to is refugees seeking asylum who have arrived "illegally" due to there being no legal route to process their claims.

Refugees are a tiny, tiny, part of net migration but are used as a scapegoat for all the ills in society. The Greens now have an excellent, progressive immigration and asylum policy that would solve the asylum problems and greatly reduce the costs of housing refugees. It's pretty much what I have posted several times - you let asylum seekers work and pay taxes whilst claims are processed. You also process claims faster. It's a no brainer.

 

[Pross]

Did I ever say that they got it right? Feel free to quote me if so.

You certainly never criticised them for it (or anything else that you seem to have got issues with since July 2024 that were the same previously).

 

[briantrumpet]

I think this might not be too far off the truth, and deeper analysis might be missing the point.

 

[Stevo 666]

You certainly never criticised them for it (or anything else that you seem to have got issues with since July 2024 that were the same previously).

So I guess you can't quote me then...

 

[briantrumpet]

As I'm self-employed, does this mean that I'll have to snoop on myself now?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdof...ng-all-your-text-messages-with-your-employer/

As reported by Android Authority, “Google is rolling out Android RCS Archival on Pixel (and other Android) phones, allowing employers to intercept and archive RCS chats on work-managed devices. In simpler terms, your employer will now be able to read your RCS chats in Google Messages despite end-to-end encryption.”

 

[briantrumpet]

The average IQ of the Tory Party has just jumped several points.

Jonathan Gullis has defected to Reform. (I wonder what took him so long...)

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/former-tory-mp-jonathan-gullis-090341752.html