Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

[Sheb]

The treaties stipulate that while members state are free to set up constituencies, they cannot do so in a way that would make the distribution non-proportional. It is just that as part of the UK, Scotland get 1 MEP per 840,000 people, while as a standalone country it'd get 1 MEP for ~400,000 thousand people.

[Owlbread]

Sheb, it's a shame you deleted the link to that avatar you made. I was going to use it as soon as I got home.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

It wouldn't have been perfect without a flashing neon Scottish flag in the corner and rewritten in Papyrus.

[Owlbread]

Yes, that would be truly outstanding but I thought such things were the stuff of dreams.

[XXSockXX]

Sheb, it's a shame you deleted the link to that avatar you made. I was going to use it as soon as I got home.

I can still see it... Maybe it's just imgur not working right for you?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Sheb]

It wouldn't have been perfect without a flashing neon Scottish flag in the corner and rewritten in Papyrus.

Ask and ye shall receive. Well, at least it's flashing. Not sure about the papyrus though.

[Owlbread]

My life is complete.

[MonkeyHead]

My life is complete.

For some unknown reason, the blinking flags make me head a "NeeNawNeeNaw" sounds, as if they were the lights on a police car or somesuch.

[Owlbread]

Maybe at a certain point I will be able to just have a single stationary flag and no tagline. I'll have to wait until after September for that though.

[Helgoland]

Maybe at a certain point I will be able to just have a single stationary flag and no tagline. I'll have to wait until after September for that though.

OH GODDAMMIT GET RID OF THAT BLINKING ITS DRIVING ME bonkers.

[scriver]

scriver Heh as I said no detailed was required   One proof that he is a lair is enough. Thanks anyway

Also, why should I be offended? Yep. I have right ideology views but I very well understand what kind of rights exist around I may disagree with liberals, socialists and others but I hate 14\88* kind of rights. And it looks he is from that kind of group

*read racists

That's good to hear. I just know from experience people get the feeling I'm hostile against them at times when I'm on my side of the screen just get a bit carried away in my writing, so I thought it was better to make sure.

Also, @Sheb - I've looked for a little bit and I do have some sources. Here is the Human Rights Watch report about it that'll later be mentioned. Besides that, this is freely translated by me from this Swedish article:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Av de drygt 50.000 arbetarna kommer ungefär en tredjedel från grannländer som Tadzjikistan och Uzbekistan. För att de utländska arbetarna ska få arbetstillstånd har de lämnat in sina pass till arbetsgivaren. Passen har sedan behållits utan att arbetstillstånd har delats ut, varpå arbetarna i praktiken blivit rättslösa.

About a third of the ca 50 000 workers comes from neighbouring countries like Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. To be able to get work permits the foreign workers had to hand over their passports to their employers. The passports has since been kept without any work permits being delivered, upon which the workers in practice have become right-less.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Uteblivna löner och urusla arbetsförhållanden har i takt med att OS närmar sig blivit alltmer kontroversiellt och det är svårt att få arbetare att berätta. Men människorättsorganisationen Human Rights Watch har efter grundliga efterforskningar levererat stark kritik i en 67-sidig rapport. Där berättas att 16.000 arbetare kommit från utlandet och att de tvingats arbeta tolvtimmarspass sju dagar i veckan till låga löner eller i en del fall inga löner alls.

Snittlönen bland 66 intervjuade arbetare låg mellan elva och sexton kronor. I ett konkret fall hade 13 arbetare från Ukraina blivit utlovade 10 000 kronor i månaden, plus fri mat och bostad. När de efter två månader bara hade fått ut 2 700 kronor återvände de till hem.

Unpaid wages and lousy work conditions has become more and more controversial as the Olympic Games approaches and it's hard to get workers to tell their stories. But the human rights organisation Human Rights Watch has after research published published a 67-page rapport. There it is said that 16 000 workers has come from abroad and that they've been forced to work 12-hour shifts seven days a week for low or in some cases no pay at all.

The average wage among 66 interviewed workers was between 11 and 16 Swedish Crowns (1.68-2.45 USD). In a particular case thirteen  workers from Ukraine had been promised 10 000 Crowns (~1530 USD) a month plus free food and lodging. When after two months they had only gotten 2700 Crowns (~413 USD) they went back home.

In the video on this page a Sochi local electrician tells of how he after complaining about how he hadn't been paid he was picked up by police and tortured with the intent of forcing him to sign a confession of having stolen electronic products, culminating in the police forcing him to bend over and sticking an "iron skewer" (quotes because it's a quote) up his hind and pouring water into his face as he screamed.

Lastly, I should say that it's not putin's government per se that is getting blamed for this, but rather the thoroughly corrupt "middle management", if you wish. As I glanced over articles it also seems Russia has reacted, if a bit late, to all this sudden criticism and is trying to do something about it (but I cannot say how earnest they are about it, though - only time will tell).

[Owlbread]

The blinking was too much even for me. I saved the image and I will resurrect it in the days before the referendum.

[Sheb]

Won't you use at least the disclaimer? I mean, you might have Unionists strolling in here unaware and suddenly being turned into Scottish Nationalists...

[lordcooper]

'Bedroom tax' stuff

A couple of quick corrections here.

1. It's actually a percentage of the housing benefit (the percentage varies depending on the quantity of spare rooms) rather than a fixed figure.
2. I believe the rationale for it focuses around the present affordable housing shortage and the aim is to get people to move into smaller properties so that their current ones can be inhabited by people who actually need that many bedrooms.  I'd buy into this more if people were exempted while searching for a new residence.  As it is, finding a small house/flat that can be covered by HB isn't particularly easy.

[Graknorke]

Won't you use at least the disclaimer? I mean, you might have Unionists strolling in here unaware and suddenly being turned into Scottish Nationalists...

I am still pretty torn on the matter. On the one hand, it would be good for Scotland to go. On the other hand, I won't be going with them.