@matthaig1 Whenever I have difficulty writing I remember that Virgil wrote the Aeneid at a rate of 2 lines/day & hated it so much he wanted to burn it.
You're transferring a tiny fraction of your vast surplus arsenal to a democracy so that it can defend itself from the brutal thuggery of one of your geopolitical enemies, while signalling to your largest rival that the US will not abandon its friends in the face of aggression.
Not sure if Celia Richardson deserves an MBE, a PR of the Year award, or an invitation from @Aiannucci to help him write a new comedy . But she deserves something because, in the face of these absolute nonsense attacks on the National Trust, she is a bloody star.
I am gay, I am Polish and I am proud today. After eight years of hate against people like me, LGBT+ people, the creation of LGBT free zones, attacks on women and minorities, Poland is BACK on the path of democracy and the rule of law. This is also end of political trails of human rights activists. This is just the beginning of reclaiming of our country. The fight is ahead but we are breathing fresh air today. After eight years of goverment hatred, authoritarianism is over in Poland. I still can't believe it... The nightmare ends...
@SquageMcGee @ScottyGoesAgain I won't doubt the truth of this story, but I will say this is an exception to the rule - attempted murder usually does upend one's employment prospects somewhat, and only partly because you can't commute from a prison cell.
@SquageMcGee @ScottyGoesAgain Yes. Funnily enough, I'm wondering the same thing about you. You do have a very idealistic view of employment. Most people don't check refs? Haha
@SquageMcGee @ScottyGoesAgain Besides, the things you mention here are as true of countries and governments. You can change your citizenship; you can (with fellow voters) change your govt; certain countries have certain benefits; the only conditions for citizenship is that you follow the rules you agreed to.
@DarrylWhitwort2@Sourin401@MattGubba If companies can be trusted because they follow the rules, doesn't it follow that the rulemaker can be trusted too?
If it's good that companies follow the government's rules, doesn't that make governments a force for good?
@DarrylWhitwort2@Sourin401@MattGubba You're in a bit of a logical bind here - on the one hand you're saying governments can't be trusted because they make the rules, but on the other you seem to be saying companies are trustworthy because they follow the government's rules.
@DarrylWhitwort2@Sourin401@MattGubba I'm sure you'll say I have a naive view of goverments, and you might be right. But if you're going to be cynical about them, why not be equally cynical about the private sector?
@DarrylWhitwort2@Sourin401@MattGubba If we're going to be owned, I'd prefer to be owned by something created by communities for the welfare of all than something created by the rich for their own enrichment.