I’ll try again in reply to the roght comment: “NRS social grade” is a UK demographics thing.

The search term you’re after is NRS social grade. It’s a UK demographics thing.

I’m a mathematician too. They’re probably speaking from an intuitive grasp of utility.

I care about my friends, and if they want to talk about it, I’m happy to listen.

Depending on what the thing is (eg, potential new person) they can be inherently interesting too.

“I love life on Earth… but I love capitalism more.”

Sexy anti-woke task force officer?

Bobby Fingers has the best definition of “woke,” one that I feel all can agree with, even if they are dismayed by the quality of his dashboards.

The beeb. Interviewees were both pro-Israeli and representatives of different Palastinian groups; what could not be distinguished between them was the playground line of blaming the other for their own behaviour.

In the days following the October attacks, the media was filled with spokespeople repeatedly delivering the line, “look what they made us do”.

It comes to the same conclusion regarding the illegality of the weapons, even if it’s pretty lenient in its interpretation of how thousands of devices can be “reasonably expected” to all end up in the hands of combatants.

That’s not how legal jurisdiction works in the EU. Member states are still sovereign; if you’re liable for something in France and you get off a plane in Germany then France still needs to ask Germany nicely, and sans an extraditable conviction nothing is likely to come of it.

He’s not smart enough. More like the Grand Negus.

Experience. For what it’s worth, the instinct I distrust is absolutism.

I think it’s like the distinction between art and obscenity; it’s not a nuanced distinction in the case in question. If it were, I’d largely trust UK courts to get it right (they are by-and-large capable of this, and much less politicised than their US counterparts).

I think unqualified freedom to say anything can lead to negative utility, pragmatically speaking. Malicious lies bring less than nothing to discourse.

I’m concerned that the libel system can be abused, of course; and I don’t approve of arresting octogenerians under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for shouting “nonsense!” at Jack Straw. But I don’t see there being a need to draw a distinction between online and in person speech, and I think that incitement to riot isn’t something I’d typically defend.

Having said that: I hope the woman in question (who has a history of being a deniable pot-stirrer) gets a trial rather than copping a plea, because the bounds of these things are worth testing.

In which case, perhaps unqualified “freedom of speech” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

(I appreciate that Chomsky’s opinion resonates more with 1968 than now.)

Have you seen pictures of the sub? What makes you think the wiring was all hidden?

You joke, but watch this:

https://archive.org/details/take-me-to-titanic

from 29 minutes in. A last-minute adjustment before launch plugged in a thruster backwards; no protocol to check the behaviour prelaunch. They doscovered it when they got to the bottom.

Was at the time (as per usual).

Cf. previous comments about dogwhistles.