Slashdot Mirror

Irish / English law are often alike: https://www.gov.uk/right-of-wa...

There's no territory in the world where it's illegal to carry a modest-size knife.

https://www.gov.uk/find-out-if...

More fracking please! The UK Government agrees: Fracking UK shale: climate change.

But by blocking the road, which is explicitly illegal - at least according to the UK Government's own interpretation:
https://www.gov.uk/industrial-...
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/b...

more to the point, there are currently certificates for 1.8 million "firearms and shotguns" in the UK, with the bulk being 1.3 million shotguns

https://www.gov.uk/government/...

The linked story is Sensationist Bullshit, there is no such measure announced in the Queens speech, (Queens-Speech-2014-The-full-transcript)

The planned "Serious Crime Bill" will ensure sentences for attacks on computer systems fully reflect the damage they cause.

Given the current Computer Misuse act is absolutely useless this is a good move.

In the UK, road tax has not been linked to displacement since March 2001 - it's all about emissions (CO2 in g/km) these days. See https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax...

You keep asking it and you keep getting the same answer because you're not supplying any constraints. It's quite disingenuous that you don't seem to be doing any of the research yourself. This kind of thing is not a secret; why would it be? Countries that have an immigration policy more inclusive than 'nobody ever' are going to make their requirements well-known to attract immigration of skilled talent. (Or, if they lack unskilled talent, visas may be available in that category instead.)

That's really the most vague wording of that question you've tried yet, and I answered it fully in another one of your comments, but just for you here's the UK's details.

Let's take a typical case. A skilled worker defined is by the UK in the folowing document:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-gene...

The list of occupations with exceptionally desirable skills is given:
https://www.gov.uk/government/...

On page 6, you'll find:

2136 Programmers and software development professionals:
The following jobs in visual effects and 2d/3d computer animation for the film, television or video games sectors:
- software developer
- shader writer
- games designer

The following jobs in the electronics systems industry:
- driver developer
- embedded communications engineer

Eligibility is described in this document:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-gene...

- certificate of sponsorship reference number
- an ‘appropriate’ salary
- meet the English requirement
- £900 in savings (£945 from 1 July) - this is to prove you can support yourself and you must have had this in your bank account for 90 days before you apply. You don’t need to have £900 in savings (£945 from 1 July) if your sponsor is fully approved (‘A-rated) and they have stated on your certificate of sponsorship that you won’t claim benefits during your stay.

If you are a graduate with a credible business idea, you would look here instead:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-1-grad...

There are other pages for industry captains, exemplar scientists, artists, sportspeople and so on.

So, for the last time: Find a list of countries that meet your own personal requirements (common language, firstly). Discover their requirements by searching online, or telephone them (information can be found from your local library). If you don't have a library, or a phone, or a workplace, or an internet connection, you are poorly equipped to attempt this. Contact their immigration offices to get a definite list with some solid crunchy numbers and facts for you to use as milestones for your application. Determine what businesses are located in your target country that would be hiring peoples with your (verifiable, i.e. certificated) skill set. You will have to search online, or in electronic or paper trade directories/journals, or speak to acquaintances, friends or colleagues. Contact the necessary businesses for information, and eventually interviews, this may cost money; get a part time job. No, this won't be easy if you're too young to work at an adult level, but if you're too young to work you probably don't have the certifications either (there will possibly be age restrictions for minors too) so it's a non-issue. If and when you are conditionally hired and sponsored (if required) by the company in the target country, organise necessary paperwork, double check all prerequisites (housing, medical registration, for example), and execute the plan.

You keep asking it and you keep getting the same answer because you're not supplying any constraints. It's quite disingenuous that you don't seem to be doing any of the research yourself. This kind of thing is not a secret; why would it be? Countries that have an immigration policy more inclusive than 'nobody ever' are going to make their requirements well-known to attract immigration of skilled talent. (Or, if they lack unskilled talent, visas may be available in that category instead.)

That's really the most vague wording of that question you've tried yet, and I answered it fully in another one of your comments, but just for you here's the UK's details.

Let's take a typical case. A skilled worker defined is by the UK in the folowing document:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-gene...

The list of occupations with exceptionally desirable skills is given:
https://www.gov.uk/government/...

On page 6, you'll find:

2136 Programmers and software development professionals:
The following jobs in visual effects and 2d/3d computer animation for the film, television or video games sectors:
- software developer
- shader writer
- games designer

The following jobs in the electronics systems industry:
- driver developer
- embedded communications engineer

Eligibility is described in this document:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-gene...

- certificate of sponsorship reference number
- an ‘appropriate’ salary
- meet the English requirement
- £900 in savings (£945 from 1 July) - this is to prove you can support yourself and you must have had this in your bank account for 90 days before you apply. You don’t need to have £900 in savings (£945 from 1 July) if your sponsor is fully approved (‘A-rated) and they have stated on your certificate of sponsorship that you won’t claim benefits during your stay.

If you are a graduate with a credible business idea, you would look here instead:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-1-grad...

There are other pages for industry captains, exemplar scientists, artists, sportspeople and so on.

So, for the last time: Find a list of countries that meet your own personal requirements (common language, firstly). Discover their requirements by searching online, or telephone them (information can be found from your local library). If you don't have a library, or a phone, or a workplace, or an internet connection, you are poorly equipped to attempt this. Contact their immigration offices to get a definite list with some solid crunchy numbers and facts for you to use as milestones for your application. Determine what businesses are located in your target country that would be hiring peoples with your (verifiable, i.e. certificated) skill set. You will have to search online, or in electronic or paper trade directories/journals, or speak to acquaintances, friends or colleagues. Contact the necessary businesses for information, and eventually interviews, this may cost money; get a part time job. No, this won't be easy if you're too young to work at an adult level, but if you're too young to work you probably don't have the certifications either (there will possibly be age restrictions for minors too) so it's a non-issue. If and when you are conditionally hired and sponsored (if required) by the company in the target country, organise necessary paperwork, double check all prerequisites (housing, medical registration, for example), and execute the plan.

You keep asking it and you keep getting the same answer because you're not supplying any constraints. It's quite disingenuous that you don't seem to be doing any of the research yourself. This kind of thing is not a secret; why would it be? Countries that have an immigration policy more inclusive than 'nobody ever' are going to make their requirements well-known to attract immigration of skilled talent. (Or, if they lack unskilled talent, visas may be available in that category instead.)

That's really the most vague wording of that question you've tried yet, and I answered it fully in another one of your comments, but just for you here's the UK's details.

Let's take a typical case. A skilled worker defined is by the UK in the folowing document:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-gene...

The list of occupations with exceptionally desirable skills is given:
https://www.gov.uk/government/...

On page 6, you'll find:

2136 Programmers and software development professionals:
The following jobs in visual effects and 2d/3d computer animation for the film, television or video games sectors:
- software developer
- shader writer
- games designer

The following jobs in the electronics systems industry:
- driver developer
- embedded communications engineer

Eligibility is described in this document:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-gene...

- certificate of sponsorship reference number
- an ‘appropriate’ salary
- meet the English requirement
- £900 in savings (£945 from 1 July) - this is to prove you can support yourself and you must have had this in your bank account for 90 days before you apply. You don’t need to have £900 in savings (£945 from 1 July) if your sponsor is fully approved (‘A-rated) and they have stated on your certificate of sponsorship that you won’t claim benefits during your stay.

If you are a graduate with a credible business idea, you would look here instead:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-1-grad...

There are other pages for industry captains, exemplar scientists, artists, sportspeople and so on.

So, for the last time: Find a list of countries that meet your own personal requirements (common language, firstly). Discover their requirements by searching online, or telephone them (information can be found from your local library). If you don't have a library, or a phone, or a workplace, or an internet connection, you are poorly equipped to attempt this. Contact their immigration offices to get a definite list with some solid crunchy numbers and facts for you to use as milestones for your application. Determine what businesses are located in your target country that would be hiring peoples with your (verifiable, i.e. certificated) skill set. You will have to search online, or in electronic or paper trade directories/journals, or speak to acquaintances, friends or colleagues. Contact the necessary businesses for information, and eventually interviews, this may cost money; get a part time job. No, this won't be easy if you're too young to work at an adult level, but if you're too young to work you probably don't have the certifications either (there will possibly be age restrictions for minors too) so it's a non-issue. If and when you are conditionally hired and sponsored (if required) by the company in the target country, organise necessary paperwork, double check all prerequisites (housing, medical registration, for example), and execute the plan.

You keep asking it and you keep getting the same answer because you're not supplying any constraints. It's quite disingenuous that you don't seem to be doing any of the research yourself. This kind of thing is not a secret; why would it be? Countries that have an immigration policy more inclusive than 'nobody ever' are going to make their requirements well-known to attract immigration of skilled talent. (Or, if they lack unskilled talent, visas may be available in that category instead.)

That's really the most vague wording of that question you've tried yet, and I answered it fully in another one of your comments, but just for you here's the UK's details.

Let's take a typical case. A skilled worker defined is by the UK in the folowing document:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-gene...

The list of occupations with exceptionally desirable skills is given:
https://www.gov.uk/government/...

On page 6, you'll find:

2136 Programmers and software development professionals:
The following jobs in visual effects and 2d/3d computer animation for the film, television or video games sectors:
- software developer
- shader writer
- games designer

The following jobs in the electronics systems industry:
- driver developer
- embedded communications engineer

Eligibility is described in this document:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-gene...

- certificate of sponsorship reference number
- an ‘appropriate’ salary
- meet the English requirement
- £900 in savings (£945 from 1 July) - this is to prove you can support yourself and you must have had this in your bank account for 90 days before you apply. You don’t need to have £900 in savings (£945 from 1 July) if your sponsor is fully approved (‘A-rated) and they have stated on your certificate of sponsorship that you won’t claim benefits during your stay.

If you are a graduate with a credible business idea, you would look here instead:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-1-grad...

There are other pages for industry captains, exemplar scientists, artists, sportspeople and so on.

So, for the last time: Find a list of countries that meet your own personal requirements (common language, firstly). Discover their requirements by searching online, or telephone them (information can be found from your local library). If you don't have a library, or a phone, or a workplace, or an internet connection, you are poorly equipped to attempt this. Contact their immigration offices to get a definite list with some solid crunchy numbers and facts for you to use as milestones for your application. Determine what businesses are located in your target country that would be hiring peoples with your (verifiable, i.e. certificated) skill set. You will have to search online, or in electronic or paper trade directories/journals, or speak to acquaintances, friends or colleagues. Contact the necessary businesses for information, and eventually interviews, this may cost money; get a part time job. No, this won't be easy if you're too young to work at an adult level, but if you're too young to work you probably don't have the certifications either (there will possibly be age restrictions for minors too) so it's a non-issue. If and when you are conditionally hired and sponsored (if required) by the company in the target country, organise necessary paperwork, double check all prerequisites (housing, medical registration, for example), and execute the plan.

Of course it is.

e.g.

https://www.gov.uk/government/...

People need to stop distracting themselves while driving. Better yet, make sure that anyone who causes damage, injury, or deaths due to their negligence while driving is fully prosecuted under the law.

You mean something like this ?

It's illegal to ride a motorcycle or drive using hand-held phones or similar devices. The rules are the same if you're stopped at traffic lights or queuing in traffic.

You can get an automatic fixed penalty notice if you're caught using a hand-held phone while driving or riding. You'll get 3 penalty points on your licence and a fine of £100.

Your case could also go to court and you could be disqualified from driving or riding and get a maximum fine of £1,000. Drivers of buses or goods vehicles could get a maximum fine of £2,500.

You needed to show then the Government's own report on OSS and security

particularly note 2:

Given that no one type of software is inherently more secure than another, neither open source nor
closed proprietary software should be excluded from an options analysis for security reasons.

Oh, dear...

For a laugh I just googled the average number off attempts needed to pass the driving test.

The UK government actually publishes statistics of "pass rate by ethnicity of candidate", and.... Asians and blacks are more likely to fail the test than whites.

https://www.gov.uk/government/...

That doesn't tell you much unless you cross-reference with other data (are they taking it at a later age, maybe more immigrants in this group) and other factors (like are they immigrants who take the test early because they have driven in other countries), and motivation (my wife was very relaxed about her test as she could drive for a year on an overseas license before passing. It was quite amusing when she failed first time, said thanks, and drove off!).

Oh, dear...

For a laugh I just googled the average number off attempts needed to pass the driving test.

The UK government actually publishes statistics of "pass rate by ethnicity of candidate", and.... Asians and blacks are more likely to fail the test than whites.

https://www.gov.uk/government/...

Just the part the limits a way for people to sneak drugs and all kinds of shit in.

Ignore the minister's political excuses, and look at the complete set of changes in rules. They are here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/...

As you see, they are all about the restriction of privileges. The ministers comment about searching parcels for drugs is just a red herring. A lie. You should have been able to tell - his lips moved.

The problem that has been highlighted is that reading should not be considered to be a privilege, but part of rehabilitation.

A full review of the policy – the first for 10 years – was ordered by Minsters last year and was completed in April. From today the absence of bad behaviour will no longer be enough to earn privileges – prisoners must also actively work towards their own rehabilitation.

Other key changes include:

The introduction of a new IEP level – “Entry” – where privileges are restricted.

Certificate 18 DVDs and subscription channels banned from all prisons.

A national standardised list of items available for each level.

An automatic IEP review for bad behaviour, with a presumption of downgrading.

TVs turned off when prisoners should be engaged in work or other productive activity.

Prisoners who misbehave will lose their TV.

Again, that all seems fairly reasonable. The new entry level and no 18 films might be a bit off but they are there as a punishment as well as rehabilitation. Prison isn't a place to enjoy leisurely activities, you're supposed to not want to go back. Still, I don't see where it says that they're not allowed to read or having access to books pulled. One avenue sure but there are plenty still open.

Just the part the limits a way for people to sneak drugs and all kinds of shit in.

Ignore the minister's political excuses, and look at the complete set of changes in rules. They are here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/...

As you see, they are all about the restriction of privileges. The ministers comment about searching parcels for drugs is just a red herring. A lie. You should have been able to tell - his lips moved.

The problem that has been highlighted is that reading should not be considered to be a privilege, but part of rehabilitation.

https://www.gov.uk/wills-proba...

Interestingly, digging a bit deeper and looking at the average sentences (in 2009, the most recent year available) for those given immediate custodial sentences (which is not all of those convicted), the statistics say 33.6 months was the average for robbery and 48.7 months for sexual offences (which are statistically the longest sentences on average). Of course the lengthiest of sentences for those offences will have been much longer but as a taxpayer the cost of jailing this guy Vickerman for 5 years for what was, after all, a non-violent crime doesn't sit well with me in context (although admittedly I know nothing about the details of the case). See here, page 40 for the stats.

This brings up an interesting division in how people think about crime. Some (many?) people would say that stealing a penny each from 5 million people is a crime for which a lesser punishment is justified than stealing £50,000 from one individual, despite the monetary amounts involved being the same (and the first scheme being more audacious). The debate over whether harsh penalties for infringement of IP laws are justified (leaving aside the issue of whether the existence or persistence of the IP in question is in itself just) is really another version of that debate. I wonder if perhaps a generational difference in attitudes about this aspect of morality (ie older legislators and executives appear to view infringement so much more seriously than younger people).

Because our prisons are already nearly full...

https://www.gov.uk/government/...

Doesn't America have laws against Unlawful arrest and false imprisonment?

Two points:

1) Yes. And had he been unlawfully arrested and/or falsely imprisoned, he might have recourse. But neither of those things ever actually happened; RTFA.

2) I don't know why, but you linked to a UK government document, which does not apply within the borders of the United States of America.

Doesn't America have laws against Unlawful arrest and false imprisonment?

"There's very little evidence of benefits tourism actually taking place within the EU"

With this relaxed immigration rules in the UK, you cannot make this statement.

Maybe you should have pointed to some of the evidence, then?

The EU had a look for some evidence and didn't find any, and the UK government didn't present any when asked for it (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24522653 , http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/empl_portal/facebook/20131014%20GHK%20study%20web_EU%20migration.pdf (page 163 onwards)). For working age benefits, 16.4% of working age UK citizens were claiming it compared to 6.7% of non-UK citizens: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/233032/nino-statistical-bulletin-aug-13.pdf . It looks like 2.3% of claimants are EU immigrants from that data....the best number I can find for EU nationals in the UK is 2.6% in 2009 (but that's the whole population not working age). Add to that the net fiscal contribution by EU migrants and, on the face of it, it looks like you can't just claim that it's 'obvious' and present no evidence.

Emigrating is really not an easy (or cheap) thing to do - new culture, long distances to visit family, new languages, new laws, cutting of social ties etc - and UK benefits are really not that generous or easy to access (~£70/$115 per week, plus low quality housing (which must be shared if you're under 35)). It'd hardly be a big surprise if most people who can be bothered to do it are doing it for work, not laziness.

Fraud and error statistics.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/265788/nsfr-final-291112.pdf
In 2011/12.
0.7% of total benefit paid is paid due to claimant fraud.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/222694/fem_1011_revised2.pdf

Page 17 DLA fraud 0.5%.
IB fraud 0.3%.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/222694/fem_1011_revised2.pdf
The growth in cases of DLA is largely because there were no people claiming DLA over 65 when it came in, but people eligible would continued to be paid after that time.
So, the numbers grow.

Fraud and error statistics.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/265788/nsfr-final-291112.pdf
In 2011/12.
0.7% of total benefit paid is paid due to claimant fraud.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/222694/fem_1011_revised2.pdf

Page 17 DLA fraud 0.5%.
IB fraud 0.3%.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/222694/fem_1011_revised2.pdf
The growth in cases of DLA is largely because there were no people claiming DLA over 65 when it came in, but people eligible would continued to be paid after that time.
So, the numbers grow.

Fraud and error statistics.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/265788/nsfr-final-291112.pdf
In 2011/12.
0.7% of total benefit paid is paid due to claimant fraud.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/222694/fem_1011_revised2.pdf

Page 17 DLA fraud 0.5%.
IB fraud 0.3%.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/222694/fem_1011_revised2.pdf
The growth in cases of DLA is largely because there were no people claiming DLA over 65 when it came in, but people eligible would continued to be paid after that time.
So, the numbers grow.

Where do you get your numbers?

From about 2005 to 2011 disability benefit claimaints increased by 30% even though there's no justifiable reason for this to be the case because the benefit hadn't really changed and there hadn't been any kind of mass reason for increased levels of disability in the populace.

When the government decided to reassess all claimants the initial figures showed that 37% were found to be fit for work which isn't too dissimilar to the unexplained increase, especially when you factor in appeals and so forth.

I've just found this:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/200001/esa_wca_summary_apr13.pdf

Which now states 27% of reassessments determined people were fit for work, so post-appeal this again isn't too different.

But even if you give some leeway and assume there's some bias, these figures are a long way away from your quoted 0.5% so perhaps the issue is that you're misleadingly referring to cases that were determined as outright fraud, rather than the government's reassessment which has avoided claims of fraud and acted somewhat as an amnesty.

Fundamentally though the point is valid, that there has been widescale unnecessary payments of incapacity benefit to people who simply were fit for work. Call it fraud, dishonesty, honest mistake, whatever you want, fundamentally, too many people were getting paid disability benefits unnecessarily so yes they absolutely needed to be cut.

This is of course before you factor in the work that has gone on in recent years to make workplaces more disability friendly such as mandating that all workplaces be wheelchair friendly. These sorts of things mean that incapacity benefit claims should be going down because there are ever less disabilities that outright prevent working.

I'm not a big fan of government, it rather sickens me that they do nothing to deal with benefits for millionaire pensioners who still get free bus passes and winter fuel allowances and so forth and other such stupid nonsense like that. I don't even pretend disability benefits should necessarily have been the biggest priority, but they were a problem, pretending otherwise is just dishonest and your 0.5% figure is grossly misleading relative to the 27% who were found to be fit for work when full reassessment was carried out.

I'm sure thats the law in most sensible countries. Carrying a screwdriver is also seen as bad as a knife when its not part of teh toolkit

Here's the UK version: https://www.gov.uk/find-out-if-i-can-buy-or-carry-a-knife

I've never been concerned that carrying a sharp knife to a picnic would be a problem (it isn't). Carrying one in my belt or shoe probably would be.

Ok, I'll call your bullshit. Do you realize the data you're pointing to does NOT validate your argument?

If you want to say that more guns = more safety, then compare more relevant data, like the number of homicides by fireweapon in countries with diferent approaches to gun control.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has some interesting statistics. The latest data shows there's over 3 homicides by fireweapon per 100k population in the US per year. In Canada, Australia, and every single country in Europe, that figure is way below 1.

The very definition of violent crime is so different between countries that direct comparisons are not possible. The FBI defines violent crime as one of four offences (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault), while the British Home Office defines it as a crime "where the victim is intentionally stabbed, punched, kicked, pushed, jostled, etc. or threatened with violence whether or not there is any injury".

I would expect a country that treats a threat of violence (even without actual violence) as a violent crime to be safer, but that's just speculation on my part. Feel free to disprove me, but with relevant data, please.

Is now gone? no killings no robberies, All real crime has been taken care of so they have to move to IP enforcement?

Actually, no, the City of London police had no recorded crime in categories 1, 4.1 or 4.2 (Murder, Manslaughter and Infanticide respectively) in the 2013/2014 year so far and only one crime in 2012/2013. This is not as surprising as you would think - very few people live in the City itself (remember the City is just the central square mile business district) and there aren't that many night-life venues. The Metropolitan police had 22 and 29 respectively in those categories.

Check the stats for yourself at gov.uk.

Go to Report online terrorist and extremist material and do your civic duty to report extremists websites that UK citizens should be protected from!

I myself have reported the site, http://www.jamesbrokenshire.com/ as example of a radical extremist who wants prevent British citizens from being exposed to alternative opinions and information and making up their own minds as to their validity which runs counter to government sanctioned media outlets. I encourage other people to utilize this website pronto and start identifying those freedom hating websites out there. And if you are worried about the UK government getting all in your business by reporting an extremist website? Well, don't be because the site has this disclaimer on it:

Report illegal terrorist or violent extremist information, pictures or videos on the internet. Your report will be treated anonymously.

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/09/13/jesse-kline-u-k-surveillance-state-goes-too-far-by-putting-cameras-in-school-bathrooms/

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/spy-cameras-are-used-to-target-student-protesters-2290783.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbins_v._Lower_Merion_School_District

I started out looking for a story from a few years ago. The United Kingdom child services was installing cameras into the homes of troubled youth. Has the internet been "sanitized", or was that a false story? Even false stories are usually available to find again. Things that make you go "Hmmmmm".

But, yes, the government can install surveillance equipment into your home. The UK has apparently done so.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/204775/Surveillance_Camera_Code_of_Practice_WEB.pdf That PDF only applies to surveillance in "public places". It does make reference to yet other regulations that might not be "public places".

Yeah its not as if petrol/diesel cars ever catch fire...

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/36467/FSGB_2011_to_12.pdf
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120919132719/http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/894/FireStatisticsUnitedKingdom2003PDF1724Kb_id1124894.pdf

14,000 or so in the UK last year, which is a massive drop from the 28,800 in 1993 and those are just the accidental fires...

Newsflash: technology gets more reliable over time and the Tesla is still brand new compared to internal combustion that has had over 130 years of safety problems, development work and improvements. How often do you hear of mobile phones and laptops bursting into flames these days? For a while it seemed to be happening all the time...

Around 28.7 million according to this.

We may know what happened last year https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/211553/31176_HC_547_ISC.PDF and may have some idea of what is happening of late http://isc.independent.gov.uk/ all of which might add some background to articles published by TheGuardian.

From the source, and I'll add some commentary.

We are seeking to recruit from three areas: regular personnel leaving the service; current and former reservists; and individuals with no previous military service

In other words, they take anyone.

As well as employing reserves under current terms and conditions of service, the Cyber Reserve will be running a pilot scheme to evaluate innovative and inclusive approaches to recruiting, training, and employment.

Emphasis mine, but I think that's enough to question what you are getting into.

* possess verifiable exceptional cyber skills (*)

* be aged 18 or over

* be a UK or Commonwealth Citizen

* have lived in the UK for the last 5 years

* be able to commit to the minimum annual training

* be willing to undergo and pass a security clearance process

* use spare time and weekends in order to support defence’s cyber security mission

Nothing too odd here, but it appears that you are going to working for free. Also, "cyber skills" really means squat. I'm sure they will give you a test...

The Cyber Reserve offers a challenge that you can get nowhere else.

Except for the US, the current UK version of NSA, the current version of the German NSA, the Italian version of the NSA, etc.. etc.. blah blah and yes, even Russia has one of those. Not unique, and only challenging to your morals in most cases.

It would be cool if nobody in the UK signed up, but I know that the UK plays on patriotism and "terror" as much as the USA does. So the race is full speed for who is the biggest dickhead country, the US or UK. Good luck over there across the pond.

The Cyber Reserve offers a challenge that you can get nowhere else.

ROTFLOL

My new 42" LED backlit screen consumes about 1/3rd the power (50-60W vs 140-150) of my first generation 1080p LCD, it also looks better. I probably wouldn't have upgraded if it hadn't been for a ghosting artifact caused by my HTPC menu getting burned in on the old one but now I couldn't imagine going back.

With a delta of less than 100w it will take you a lot of TV watching to come close to a break even on cost from the efficiency gain (say, 30 _thousand_ hours if you spent $350 on your tv). Efficiency is a good thing, but it is important to know the context.

Americans average 34hrs/week watching TV, so it would take 16 years (less, assuming electricity costs decrease).

British people watch less, 28hrs/week, but electricity costs more (average £0.145/kWh), so a TV costing £250 and saving 100W would take almost 12 years to pay for the saving.

My plasma TV's consuming ~350W now, with a dark sci-fi film (brighter scenes use more power for a plasma TV). The saving here would be greater: about 5 years to pay for, less since we don't just watch dark films.

Sources:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/annual-domestic-energy-price-statistics
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/communications-market-reports/cmr12/tv-audio-visual/uk-2.42/
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/americans-spend-34-hours-week-watching-tv-nielsen-numbers-article-1.1162285

The UK government is advising against travelling to any part of Japan

Read again, the UK government doesn't advise against travelling to any part of Japan, but rather against all travel to the exclusion zone around Fukushima.

One consequence is that I am now unable to get travel insurance to visit my girlfriend who lives in Japan. The UK government is advising against travelling to any part of Japan because of the on-going problems with Fukushima, so even if I have insurance it will be invalidated by visiting a country on that list.

I'm going to go anyway. Most of the country is safe, and that seems like a big over-reaction to me, but if I get ill and need medical attention I won't be insured.

There are lots of bad arguments though. The standard approach is to swiftly change the topic: Whenever the block is being discussed, rapidly turn the conversation towards child pornography or (second choice) graphically violent pornography. It's much easier to win support for blocking those. The trick is to simply ignore the existance of regular non-child pornography as much as possible.

For example, look at how Cameron announced the block officially: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-internet-and-pornography-prime-minister-calls-for-action

There's some general fluff by way of introduction in the first section that can be ignored - that's just padding about the value of the internet in a somewhat pathetic attempt to reassure people he does value free speech really. But when it comes down to the meat of the argument, approximately half of the length of the speech is about child pornography. Why? There is already a national filter for this. It's already illegal. Nothing is changing in that area beside granting the IWF permission to investigate rather than just act on reports, and a demand that google needs to do something. It's in there because it presses the 'outrage button' - after a long talk about the evils of child porn, something loathed by all, the reader is in a moral-crusadin' mood and ready to condemn just about anything given half a chance.

It's quite fun to figure out what he actually saying. It's a true political speech: Riddled with contradictions and a few outright lies. My personal favorite is 'This has never been a debate about companies or government censoring the internet but about filters to protect children at the home network level,' followed later by 'And, in a really big step forward, all the ISPs have rewired their technology so that once your filters are installed, they will cover any device connected to your home internet account.' I'm not sure if this is an attempt at doubletalk, or simply that his speechwriter doesn't actually know the definitions of 'internet,' 'home network level' or 'install.' Or 'rewire.'

I think the problem is that we just don't get enough smart people into these sorts of positions, people who can rationally weigh up the pros and cons without bias and who can genuinely take a step back and look at whether something is a good idea with no unforeseen consequences or not. Too many politicians are the type of people who are too easily caught up in sentiment, bias, and subjective personal opinion.

I take it from this that you helped out your elected reps last year when they asked for your opinions?

So many folk saying all these smart things - very little of them looking for the right place to say them...

I wondered what the regulation was like here in London.

The number of taxis isn't restricted. To drive the type you can hail on the street you must pass an extensive test of streets, junction and landmarks ("...at the north end of Kennington Road, SE1. In the terminology of The Knowledge, from here the rider can go "left - Westminster Bridge Road, forward - Baylis Road or right - Westminster Bridge Road". But as well as knowing the road names, they will be expected to know that in front is Lambeth North tube station, the stone building on the right is Christ Church and Upton Chapel and further back on the right is Kennington Police Station." here). There is a one-off fee of a few hundred pounds to do that exam, the license fees are lower (less than £500, I'm not sure which fees are necessary). There are also criminal records checks.

To drive the type you can only book in advance (by phone, or from a man with a clipboard and a radio outside a nightclub) is similar, but with a much easier test and lower fee. These drivers tend to use GPS, and IME have no idea where they're going.

https://www.gov.uk/driving-licences-private-hire-taxis-london/overview

really? england ?

what about ASBOs ?

https://www.gov.uk/asbo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-social_behaviour_order

those seem kinda of anti-freedom to me.

11. A 13-year-old was served an order banning him from using the word "grass" anywhere in England and Wales.

12. In May 2004, a 16-year-old boy was banned from behaving in an anti-social manner at school. The five year order covers the whole of England and Wales and came as a response to his disruption of a science class

19. The oldest recipient of an order to date is an 87-year-old who among other things is forbidden from being sarcastic to his neighbours (July 2003). He was subsequently found guilty of breaking the terms of his order on three separate occasions. He awaits sentencing but the judge has already made it clear that "there will be no prison for an 88 year old man".

source: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmhaff/80/80we20.htm

The right man for the job? https://www.gov.uk/government/people/stephen-kelly--2

IIRC in the UK there have also been questions about when the samples/information could be kept, at first for those who were acquitted or had charges dropped, and later for those who weren't even arrested but submitted DNA (as "requested" by the police) to exonerate themselves of any suspicion.

It went to the European Court of Human Rights and the UK lost; since then the retention periods have been reduced.

There's no 'value added' to tax here (except for the stockbrokers services). VAT is not charged on sales of second-hand assets of all kinds, which includes houses, cars and shares, for this reason. The seller has not added any value. It sounds like what you want is really just a capital gains tax. I'd agree with you: you should pay the same on capital gains as on any other kind of income. But this should be individuals only, not companies (because the companies gain will either be a loss somewhere else, or become an individual's income someday).

There are already flat taxes on share purchases (eg, in the UK: https://www.gov.uk/tax-buying-selling-shares/buying-shares ... I think the HFT people avoid it somehow, though).

This may be helpful:

Self-Defense: An Endangered Right

Is it helpful? The answer is no. I produce reputable links to show that there is a difference between what the UK & the USA classifies as Violent crime and you produce a partisan link that is long on rhetoric but short on citations. Perhaps in my (admittedly) skimming of the article I missed the citations to the raw data that was mentioned...
As for the assertion that "since handguns were banned in 1998, handgun crime has more than doubled." Do you have a citation for that? As yet, I have been unable to find any information prior to 2000/2001. The link I did find shows that there was an increase from 2000/2001 that peaked in 2003 / 2004 and has fallen substantially since then.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/116483/hosb0212.pdf (page 69)

Firearm Offences in England & Wales :
Data involves ALL crimes involving a firearm.
Page 23 of http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1109chap3.pdf
Page 5 of http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/hosb1210chap1.pdf
Page 55 of https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/116483/hosb0212.pdf

Homicide :
It is accurate to state that in England and Wales "A separate offence is recorded for each victim of homicide, so that in an incident in which several people are killed, the number of homicides counted is the total number of persons killed". However it would appear that the FBI also records Homicides based on the number of Victims, not the number of people involved in committing the Homicide, so I am not sure how we are substantially under reporting the issue when compared to the USA.

England & Wales :
Footnote 1, page 32 : https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/116483/hosb0212.pdf
USA :
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/violent-crime/murder
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-8