Baht Simpson

Indeed. I remember going to school in London in the early 1960's and having to wear a full-face balaclava because of the smog. So many kids had bronchitis. The smoke here is seasonal and if you take precautions the problems can be mitigated. I'm much less happy with the rainy season, living upcountry.

Surely to God if you're asking people to look out for someone who's a transgender woman you have to describe them as they appear. Whatever your thoughts about biological sex and the transgender issues you have to give a description that will allow people to identify them. It's no good describing this person as a man because that's what he was assigned at birth.

By this measure you must agree then that Budapest Pride should go ahead, as I detailed in a previous post that 73% of Budapest residents are against banning it. It clearly doesn't offend them as it's a huge majority. Moreover, majorities aren't always morally right. Most Germans supported Naziism. Your "fire" analogy is a false equivalence as that's civil disorder and possibly a crime which free assembly isn't. Minority rights are moral and equality issues and shouldn't be beholden to the misguided. There are plenty of issues that received popular support in the past that we now see as morally reprehensible. And it's not about getting absolute freedoms but retaining equality of freedoms.

It's not about values, it's about equality and the right to free assembly. Those shouldn't be taken away because people are in the minority as you put it.

The point is that they can, not that they do. No celebration of heterosexuality or so-called "family values" in Hungary or Russia would be shut down.

But you can be straight in Russia and celebrate it. Are you being deliberately thick?

Similar to my experience. I have lovely walk in the country that only takes 10 minutes to get to. I used to go to our local temple and sit inside reading a book for an hour or so at about 9pm. But sadly they now lock the gates at 5pm because they've had some thefts. Sign of the times. I guess I could go at 6am but that's not gonna happen. Lol I recently found a little glade with a pond not far away and sat there for a while; me and the mozzies. Might have a few more outings before the rains. Nice to get some peace and quiet and dappled sunlight. Good for the soul.

It is always the last bastion of those who cannot debate properly to start the name-calling and to sneer and deride. You are the perfect example of this.

Yes it is. Cisgender is a medical term. What you used is a homosexual slur which is against forum rules. "Medical academics use the term and have recognized its importance in transgender studies since the 1990s." You know that. Stop the slurs.

It didn't take long for you to get to the gay slurs did it? "British Slang. Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a gay man. Offensive"

The stupid thing about banning Pride is that it just confirms the main reason that so many march in the first place.

I'm so fed up with these people marching and chanting and waving flags. Prancing around virtually naked, showing off their dangly bits. And even parading their half-naked children. Where will it all end? Morally outrageous. 🙂

None of what he says ever makes sense.

Don't be so dumb. Pride is not about morality, it's about equality and justice. No one's imposing their morality on you so stop pretending they are.

No sensible person is taken in by your faux outrage or your hypocrisy. I've been to a number of Pride marches as an observer and watched thousands of people and never seen any "dangly bits", much less seen any exposed to chidren. I have however seen hundreds exposed to chidren on public nudist beaches with no effect. I doubt you've ever attended a Pride march and you're just focusing on some incident shown on the internet.

It's the same old story time and time again. Say you're doing it for national security or to save the kids and you can get away with murder. Pride marches are legal assembly, a cornerstone of democracy. 78% of Budapest inhabitants polled support the retention of Pride according to Politico. https://www.politico.eu/article/orban-tries-to-ban-pride-hungary-appease-extremists-rivals-surge-polls/

Yeah, you'd never get the US President dictating what's best for Palestine or Ukraine or Canada or Mexico or Greenland and Denmark or Panama, or indeed the EU. 🙂

I shall walk down the road to the locals celebrating and tip a small saucer of water on their shoulders, like the good old days. And probably get chased home by the kids with huge water guns. Lol

Noise pollution and light pollution are a curse. No wonder we're all going mad. I live in an out of the way village upcountry. 20 years ago it was pitch black at night and so peaceful. You used to be able to go out and see billions of stars at night, now we have street lights and increased light from the nearby town. It's farm country so it's fairly peaceful after 9pm most of the time unless there's a party. I can't imagine living in a city, although you do get used to traffic noise to a certain extent.

Well put connda. I couldn't agree more.

I've been here 19 years. Just checking if I like it. 😉

There are rules against this. You have to prove that you are returning permanently to get NHS assistance. If your uncle is gaming the system then he shouldn't be. State Pension is based on contributions. If you have made sufficient contributions you are entitled to claim the pension regardless of your geographical whereabouts. That's the system. This benefit, entitlement, whatever you want to call it is based on how much you have contributed. It is not free. The pension only starts if you have contributed 10 years and is then pro rata.

In fact the State Pension is an entitlement and like any other pension is based on how much you've contributed. Social benefits are given primarily out of need or supposed need in some cases. You need 30 years of contributions to get the full State Pension.

And another thing. Lol Gays are 15.6% more fabulous than straights so they should get paid more. ✨

Useless figure. It depends on so many factors. Are the jobs exactly the same or do they have extra requirements and demands? Is there a performance element? Have the higher paid ones performed better? Have different targets been met? Is there any seniority in service that is reflected in pay? Do the figures incude bonuses? Do they all work the same hours? Are they all new DEI hires or were some existing hires? Without knowing the details relating to the jobs it's difficult to comment And 15.6% isn't a massive difference. Not all senior managers across departments are going to have the same pay packages. It's also noticeable that of the top 11 presenters at the BBC one is black and one is gay. And all but one are white.