@HighlandLawyer@mastodon.social
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HighlandLawyer

@HighlandLawyer@mastodon.social

Law, IT, & other stuff.
North Scotland

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pluralistic, to random
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

Oh, fuck you, British Airways.

HighlandLawyer,
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@tob @pluralistic

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

UK government adviser on disruptive protest accused of conflict of interest:

John Woodcock, whose review proposes bans for protest groups, has lobbying links to firms in arms and fossil fuel sectors (and is recommending bans on protests against both those industries)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/17/government-adviser-on-disruptive-protest-accused-of-conflict-of-interest

HighlandLawyer,
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@melanie @glitzersachen @BashStKid @simon_brooke @cstross
A tangled mass of documents making up a constitution you say?

HighlandLawyer,
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@simon_brooke @BashStKid @glitzersachen @cstross
EU: the Parliament and the Council form a bicameral legislature.
Czech Republic, 1993: Deputies & Senate
Slovenia, 1991: Council & Assembly

HighlandLawyer,
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@BashStKid @glitzersachen @cstross
Well those last few words hit the nail on the neck...

Although less fatally there are two current methods to remove someone from the House of Lords: if they are convicted & sentenced to 1year+ imprisonment; or if expelled by vote of the House for misconduct.

HighlandLawyer,
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@simon_brooke @BashStKid @glitzersachen @cstross
Though having a democracy, rather than a system where less than 40% of the vote gives a massive majority in the legislature, would be a good first start

HighlandLawyer,
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@melanie @glitzersachen @BashStKid @simon_brooke @cstross
The EU bicameral legislative procedure was introduced in 1992, extended in 1999, and became the standard procedure in 2009. Prior to that the Council passed all the legislation.
I have no preference between unicameral or bicameral systems per se: another term for waste is redundancy. Question is what a 2nd chamber is meant to achieve, & what checks & balance apply to the legislature (however many chambers) in the constitution as a whole

HighlandLawyer,
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@melanie @glitzersachen @BashStKid @simon_brooke @cstross
They'd have to hope PC Peter Grant can persuade her not to do anything too destructive...

HornedLivestock, to random
@HornedLivestock@mastodon.scot avatar

I am a fair bit irritated by way too many news outlets and their insistence, either directly or by talking head, on framing the water issues in England and associated regulation as being a "UK" problem.

Gonna say it loud for the thickos:

THIS IS AN ENGLAND AND WALES PROBLEM. OFWAT DOESN'T REGULATE IN SCOTLAND. SCOTTISH WATER ISN'T A PRIVATE COMPANY.

Maybe try and stop shitting in the sea, then drinking it.

HighlandLawyer,
@HighlandLawyer@mastodon.social avatar

@HornedLivestock
It is deliberately framed like that to hide from the general public in England & Wales that there is one simple way to solve these problems; Scotland's publicly owned water provides a clear counter-example of how it could be- not perfect but a damn sight better.

(That's not the only reason why it is framed like that, but pretty certain it is one of the reasons)

Quinnypig, to random
@Quinnypig@awscommunity.social avatar

I'm sorry Slack, you're doing fucking WHAT with user DMs, messages, files, etc? I'm positive I'm not reading this correctly.

HighlandLawyer,
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@Quinnypig

RichardJMurphy, to random
@RichardJMurphy@mas.to avatar

The Greens were the biggest winners in the local elections, so why aren’t they getting fair air time? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/05/07/the-greens-were-the-biggest-winners-in-the-local-elections-so-why-arent-they-getting-fair-air-time/
Proportionately, the Greens won most seats at the recent local elections, but they are denied airtime, and we get Reform instead. Why?

HighlandLawyer,
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@steviesyerda @OliverNoble @simon_brooke @Kellys
Except the establishment in England would keep all those symbols; they've already said that England & Wales would be the "continuing state" of the UK, with Scotland as a new state, so would keep the name, flag, UN seat, treaty obligations, etc. Essentially they'd ignore Scotland, which is already happening with the common use of "UK" when they mean England only.
Any change in England would have to be pushed from the bottom up.

RejoinEU, to random
@RejoinEU@mastodon.online avatar

The Daily Heil doesn't approve of our choices of elected representatives.

This fash-rag supported the Nazis, and evidently nothing has changed except the first name of the Rothermere-of-the-day.

This front page is (yet another) subversion of our democracy, demonstrating that the time has come to take the UK print press out of the hands of press-baron "proprietor" oligarchs, in favour of Boards of Trustees.

HighlandLawyer,
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@RejoinEU
Scottish Daily Heil running a completely different story, though same politics of course.

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

"this is why any government in Holyrood is destined not to deliver. It can't, because London created a system that was bound to fail as a way of securing continuous control whilst ensuring that blame would be directed inward in Scotland itself, as might well happen now" -- @RichardJMurphy

https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/04/26/scotlands-political-problem/

HighlandLawyer,
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@Shivviness @iaruffell @MadeyeTheCarnaptious @simon_brooke @ferryoons @RichardJMurphy More importantly it explicitly establishes whether the majority support independence, which is required as the moral basis of extra-constitutional action.

HighlandLawyer,
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@MadeyeTheCarnaptious @simon_brooke @iaruffell @RichardJMurphy
The "failure" of the SNP has been (understandably) to fail to accept that Westminster isn't going to follow democracy & rule of law any more, & develop extra-constitutional tactics to make progress eg civil disobedience or whatever.
OTOH should that task fall to the SNP, or is it the job of the wider independence movement?

HighlandLawyer,
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@MadeyeTheCarnaptious @simon_brooke @iaruffell @RichardJMurphy
I'm inclined to agree; it's generally unionists who claim the SNP is the entirety of the demand for independence, attempting to lead the general population astray. But I've also seen independence supporters who seem to think the SNP should be the entirety of the independence movement.

HighlandLawyer,
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@MadeyeTheCarnaptious @iaruffell @Shivviness @simon_brooke @ferryoons @RichardJMurphy
Also on a practical note, the UK currently does not have a force like the Spanish Guardia Civil which could control the whole of Scotland by force. That could of course change under a new administration, but it would cost a lot.

HighlandLawyer, to random
@HighlandLawyer@mastodon.social avatar

Duo's been to Eastgate...

FantasticalEconomics, to Economics
@FantasticalEconomics@geekdom.social avatar

Say it with me folks, inheritance tax.

We are entering into "the great wealth transfer" where about $5.2 trillion (that's the one with more zeros than I can count) is about to pass from the, largely undeserving, super rich to their entirely undeserving heirs.

"Research by Forbes magazine found there were 15 billionaires aged 30 or under but that none had created their own wealth, instead benefitting from huge inheritances."

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/apr/03/all-billionaires-under-30-have-inherited-their-wealth-research-finds

HighlandLawyer,
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@FantasticalEconomics @GhostOnTheHalfShell

HighlandLawyer, to random
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The fact that the (Scottish/UK) media is currently full of people criticising the Scottish govt & parliament for making it illegal to organise a pogrom from the comfort of your own home, and not a peep about how the vast majority of people in Scotland have been priced out of being able to enforce their legal rights in the civil courts, tells you everything you need to know about who is driving the agenda.

dgar, to random
@dgar@aus.social avatar

It’s that time again!
Show me some memes!!

HighlandLawyer,
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@dgar

HighlandLawyer, to random
@HighlandLawyer@mastodon.social avatar

It's interesting how "Willy's Chocolate Experience" went out of it's way to avoid using the word "Wonka", but it's now being reported worldwide as a "Willy Wonka" event. Presumably because of the "AI" pictures, which seem to draw heavily on the imagery of the Willy Wonka movies.

Could that incentivise the big money media industry to start going against the "AI" industry on IP grounds?

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

It's like that embarrassing thing where you go to the supermarket and buy a six-pack of large free-range eggs because you want to make a tortilla and when you get home they start hatching and the baby velociraptors eat all the pancetta you were going to add to it and look at you with googly eyes like, "mooom! hungry!" and now you have a kitchen velociraptor infestation and they love you and refuse to move out

HighlandLawyer,
@HighlandLawyer@mastodon.social avatar

@cstross You think that's bad? Wait until the cats teach them how to hunt: start off bringing them injured mice, then taking them out the cat flap to range the nearby gardens & fields devastating the rodent population; then they're too big for the cat flap, & are nesting in the outhouse bringing back hunks of dead sheep and cows to share with their feline packmates.

HighlandLawyer, to random
@HighlandLawyer@mastodon.social avatar

The best time for the UK to have become a federal state would have been 1707. The next best time would have been 1800. The next best the 1840s then the 1890s, then 1910s, 1920s, 1950s, 1970s, or 1990s. Yet every time it was raised it never got any traction.
So tell me again exactly why independence of the constituent nations isn't a good solution & should be opposed because a federal UK would be better option & solve all the significant democratic & constitutional problems.

HighlandLawyer, to random
@HighlandLawyer@mastodon.social avatar

Merry Christmas!
A Blythe Yule!
Nollaig Chridheil!
Happy Hogswatch!
and seasonal greeting for any other post-solstice festival you may be celebrating

HighlandLawyer, to random
@HighlandLawyer@mastodon.social avatar

Does anyone know if there is a financial benefit to (Scottish) local authorities in refusing Small Business Bonus Scheme applications?
Specific case: property under renovation, council refuses SBBS because property "unoccupied"; subsequent years, used as workshop as well as being renovated, refused as "unoccupied, only use as X would be occupation", appealed; following year property opens as X, SBBS refused, no reason given except "we will not discuss this, include it in the existing appeals"

HighlandLawyer, to random
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Paging @scarfolk
"That’s why we decided to address the issue by building our own low-cost, easily accessible printer capable of creating human tissue samples using one of the world’s most popular toys."
https://www.inkl.com/news/we-built-a-human-skin-printer-from-lego-and-we-want-every-lab-to-use-our-blueprint/waopnXhqZXq

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