For me personally yes because I wouldn’t have given my informed consent to be sexually touched by someone who is male that has a gender identify of a woman.

Fortunately, the law as is stands doesn’t recognise your view as legitimate. The “case law” you cite doesn’t apply because it reflects a completely different circumstance – sex by deception. If you asked, and someone lied, then your feelings might be justified but if you don’t ask then that’s on you. And if you do ask, the question is probably so off-putting that you won’t be having sex.

If you asked everyone in the UK their opinion on ‘m > f transition does not make the transitioner a real woman’, what do you think the outcome would be?

I would need a “don’t know” option because I am torn over the issue. But I recognise that as my problem and would want a society where trans folk can get on and live whatever life they want. Personally, I find it hard to be so binary about things. Is F the same as Trans-F, is pre-op (or pre-treatment) the same as post-op? It all gets so complex when you try to define what people are on the basis of a limited number of labels.

They sent in an anaesthetist as one of the divers. Coincidence?

I’m sure I read that they were doing mild sedation and pulling the boys along. Enough to stop them panicking, not enough to turn them into a sack of potatoes. Whether that was a forum comment or news announcement, I can’t remember.

But mass arrests would probably only escalate matters. Police are probably waiting for it to fizzle out rather than poking the fire. Not pleasant for those that live there, but quite possibly the most peaceful approach when dealing with such eijits.

Stink bombs on the pavement just to make it a bit more unpleasant for the prats?

Cost savings seems to be a motivator, but because of the rigorous appeals and the high security a death sentence in the USA is more expensive than a life sentence.

Or should we go all China and do it quick and cheap (plus invoice the family).

Maybe we should do a facebook vote for every conviction?

Looks OK but cheap. Got a type approval plate and stuff so seems legit.

In any case, you won’t die. The guy following you (or overtaking you) might but you will be OK.

Easyjet will not check through anything, ever. No idea about flybe, but it doesn’t matter. Easyjet will deliver your bag to the carousel. No ifs or buts.

Easyjet don’t do connections, their flights are all standalone. If you book two easyjet flights and the first one is late, then so far as you are concerned you have turned up late for that second flight and it is your problem to solve. Been there, done that.

leave the router where it is, run ethernet to the other room.

The key is here:

The view from Vision Express is that they have daughter as the customer, even though all the paperwork was signed by me.

and you can’t discuss accounts with a third party unless you have permission to do so.

walking in Scotland with others a bit and then camping at various other places

You probably want one tent for walking and one tent for camping. Your lightweight expedition tent isn’t going to the the one you want for camping in a fixed location.

Different prescription and you need more info for specs.

Debt collectors are FCA registered and regulated. Tell them (in writing) that if they do not stop you will complain to the police, to pursue charges of harassment, and to the FCA with a view to having their licence revoked.

That’s not a lot when you are on a post 1997 licence and fancy taking bikes and all that sort of stuff with you or an awning to sit in when the kids are in bed. You end up with a massive van with loads of space but bugger all you can put in it.

Caravan shouldn’t really be laden when under tow, unless you can put the load on the axle. Gas bottle, leisure batteries and stuff is probably OK but you shouldn’t be planning to use it as a trailer. That’s just going to make the stability worse. Put your kit in the car.

Twin axles aren’t so easy to manoeuvre but are a lot more stable under tow (and you have limited redundancy if a tyre goes).

It’s basically safety vs learning to park.

42

Maybe other parties should consider walking out of the HOC

Perhaps they should all walk out – of Westminster, Holyrood, councils. Go on a nice holiday somewhere like Pluto.

Then the rest of us could get on with our lives for a while without politicians arsing everything up. I’m pretty sure that, just now, the good that they do in fixing broken things is far outweighed by them breaking things that work fine.

The only thing Ian Blackford acheived was making sure his debate on devolution didn’t get heard. He was told to wait until the end of PMQs, at which time he could have his say but chose not to. He made a headline, instead of making progress.

Yesterday was pish, but the SNP aren’t helping. And both the SNP (in Holyrood) and Labour (in Holyrood and Westminster) have previously programmed in short debates to prevent proper discussion on major issues so it is a bit of pot calling kettle black. Perhaps it is the prerogative of goverment to avoid awkward questions?

You could ask for shorter notice, or waive notice (and PILON). Company will want to see a handover, but there is often little they can do to hold you to it.

Go on sick, resign, offer them reduced notice so you can start your new job and save them paying sick leave (assuming it is paid).

Don’t be a dick.

Gazumping and gazundering are both dickish behaviour.

I fly there with work from time to time, as it is right beside where we travel to. Last trip, flights were all delayed because of a French ATC strike and we were there for five sodding hours. Fortunately, we managed to establish ourselves in a corner of a restaurant and drink beer in peace.

As long as the desire for personal transportation exists it never will die

Star Trek transporters are what we need. Have your atoms disassembled and then let a computer put them back together again at your destination.

I only ask as that is way under the threshold for making a diesel financially viable over a petrol, long term.

Well that rather depends on the car and what was around at the time it was bought.

My car is a diesel, because no petrol models are offered in the UK and we hadn’t found anything else that ticked our various boxes. My wife’s car is a diesel (a naughty, test defeating one) because only a very small number of cars met the requirements we had on that car and the one that suited us most offered a single token petrol model that didn’t really look like it was going to be useful. We didn’t really choose diesel for either car, it is just what was on offer.

On other cars, there are that many diesels around that second hand prices often favour buying diesel.

We both have eco buttons, so nothing to worry about.

Tumble dryer.

Not being so familiar with Englandshire’s right of way laws, is there an issue that a bridleway is effectively being turned into a footpath by the back door?

It’s a difficult one, and I think those arguing for a different approach need to work out what that would be. From the photos, it looks like they have done a good job but if that was a rideable trail before I probably wouldn’t be going on it now.  “Waaah I don’t like that” is a rather weak argument whereas “look, you’ve done X which means Y but if you did Z instead then that would work for everyone” might get you somewhere.

It is one of those things that is almost always OK, but sometimes (rarely) isn’t.

Usually, it is instant or same day. If it takes the full 72 hours then you will be going on your own.

Either, you should be doing this for good company practice (e.g. regulatory compliance), or your boss is a twit and is trying to preserve his empire at the expense of the company. Rigid hierarchies generally don’t help productivity.

By the look of that there is actual breaking and entering, criminal damage and possibly theft arrests possible there? Or just too much effort for very little chance of an outcome?

You would have to identify exactly which people did what. And the only witnesses won’t help you. So too much effort for no chance of getting anywhere.

the ownership end state Edinburgh Royal Infirmary is an indictment on NHS Scotland… they ran the procurement process decided the contract form….

It was NHS Lothian and I believe that NHS Scotland opposed the plans.

failure by the operator would cost them dearly the penalties would be punitive

£28 a time apparently. I’ll bet consort are quaking in their boots.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-17784981

https://www.scotsman.com/news/flies-halt-eri-operations-for-second-time-1-2672185

.

http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2013/04/23/msp-slams-disastrous-hospital-maintenance-contract-and-calls-for-debate-on-pfi/

Why don’t private organisations stop this and actually see it as their opportunity to provide service to the NHS but not take the pee.

Because the contracts and tenders are structured so poorly by the public sector that decent companies never win? If the public sector were capable of running a half decent process, most of this crap wouldn’t happen.

PFI removes the procurement shambles of NHS building projects + they get maintained and will be in very good condition at the end of the concession compared to most NHS estates which are backlog maintenance disasters

Yeah maintenance is so good that you get pigeons in operating theatres and the PFI Company will cut the power in the middle of surgery because they have planned maintenance but never bothered talking to the NHS about it.

I think there is a place for PFI. I don’t think hospitals are it.

On the PFI point – the Govt can borrow at very low rates – certainly less than 2% – whereas PFI has commercial capital costs built in – so has to deliver efficiency over public capital worth more than the difference in capital costs. This is the irredeemable economic flaw in PFI

You are forgetting that government borrowing has to go on the balance sheet as national debt/deficit and so looks bad. PFI is off the books and so you get shiny new facilities without it hitting the national accounts.

Are you insuring against public liability or damage to their facilities? £1m worth of building damage would be quite a lot. You say damage, but that doesn’t seem right.

If it is public liability then this isn’t unusual, may not be strictly necessary but it makes things easier for them. They will have cover for their public liability but that may or may not not cover you. If you (as a third party) incur a liability then they want you to deal with it.

3p on each of income tax, VAT and NI to pay for it is the solution posed in the report, other variations can acheive the same.

At least someone is now talking about the need for tax rises across the board (i.e. not just rises for “other people”).

I think the Samsung model above mine had a magnetic knob that just sat on the glass surface and twiddled like a knob, but could be removed for cleaning.

We have that on our Neff. It’s much better than the touch jobbies.

We found fife SEAT to be pretty decent, although we never did much there.

Western SEAT were brilliant, but then they closed.

The garage out at Bathgate is variable. We had a failed NOx sensor which they had to be led through, and they just did a safety recall for us.  They don’t seem to be quite as cowboy as many arnold clarks. There are only two that work the service desk – bloke is hopeless while the woman is pretty good.

We’ll be using a local garage, probably Hope Scott in Currie next year.

We went from gas to induction and I wouldn’t go back.

Very controllable, gets really hot really fast, flexible cooking zones, ceramic top for extra worktop space, I don’t see that there is much, if anything, that a gas hob does better. And I really liked my gas hob before.

Just give it to me.

Yes cretins, be thankful for what the lord has given you

Tax avoidance? Yes I am quite thankful that we have opportunities to manage how much salary the government take, although I’m not sure some imaginary being has anything to do with it.

Again, like many others, I have little issue with the principle of high earners (including my wife and I) having benefits taken away and paying a greater share of tax than lower earners. (I actually think we need to increase taxation across the board, but people will only vote for tax rises on other people not themselves). What I do have a problem with is the utterly shite way most of our tax/benefits system is implemented and administered.

The other daft thing about this charge is that it removes 1% of your child benefit per £100. So depending how many children you have, your effective marginal tax rate varies. In theory, you could have a marginal tax rate exceeding 100%.

My wife is going to be liable for the child benefit charge this year (or rather would be, if we weren’t going to put the money in a pension instead to remove the liability). It is effectively another 25% tax on top of the 42%, for a total 67% marginal rate in that 50k-60k band.

we’re in kos.  turkeys just over the water and someone else at the hotel said you have to watch that it doesnt connect to turkish network instead.  sounds feasible but thatd be the same for anyone who lives on the island which’d be a bit of a faff.

Sounds like your most plausible theory. It happens, you have to be careful. Mostly by not allowing automatic network selection.

I’d put in a complaint to 3, tell them that your phone was only ever used in Greece and so you should not have been charged. If they come back and tell you that your phone was used in Turkey, explain where you were an hope for a goodwill gesture.

Such discrimination and exclusion. STW social engineering?

I hate cycling (or doing any sport, really) in my glasses, although cycling in contact lenses during hayfever season isn’t much better. Felt distinctly puffy for the first hour or so at work this morning.

We use slug traps, like the picture above, but with cheapo lager in them. Minimum alcohol pricing is really going to hit us there…