UK becomes Unicorn Kingdom, where AI fairy dust earns King's ransom Political leaders are given to the odd flight of fancy, but yesterday UK prime minister Rishi Sunak created a whole new fantasy realm in which his dreams for the nation's future could flourish unhindered by encounters with reality. He calls it the "Unicorn Kingdom", or UK for short, where the nation leads the world in tech …
"It would all be so funny if it were not real. But it is, at least in the fact that he really did say it."
Isnt that what government is for. At least it can provide a few laughs for all the money they take.
"Teachers are striking. For more pay, yes, to make up for the inflation which has ravaged their pay packet, according to unions. But behind the dispute also lies an endemic recruitment problem in mathematics and sciences. According to the specialist publication TES"
Or as the local teachers are making their decision, if they want to meet up at cafe's or go into work when they dont have to.
@Anonymous Coward
"Clearly your teachers failed to teach oneself where to put an apostrophe. Must be very frustrating going through one's life with such an impediment."
Not frustrating for me but sorry you are afflicted with such a debilitating problem. But I assume you are making a point about the quality of the education system (I actually blame my dyslexia but carry on)
Mate you're a wanker - now the offence is out the way
Maybe score some ketamine from the deep web? It has antidepressant properties
It's just you're the kind of angry weirdo who gets dangerous
I don't seriously expect you to put yourself in a medical facility
But try having fun. Fun that makes you outside yourself
Fun that stops you swinging those arms...
Are these the same unions who were threatening to strike if we didn't have stricter lockdown in 2020 and 2021?
And those lockdowns caused a massive drop in productivity / GDP. Which then caused the banks to perform QE. Which then caused the inflation. Some of us said this would happen at the time*
You reap what you sow.
Perhaps we should just stick a Cornetto onto a horse and call it a Unicorn. It'll do.
* And we've even kept the receipts.
@Steve Button
"And those lockdowns caused a massive drop in productivity / GDP. Which then caused the banks to perform QE. Which then caused the inflation. Some of us said this would happen at the time*"
These are educators (unions). You cant expect them to understand stuff.
We have increasing number of food banks, fire and rehire practices, zero hours contracts, and an economy for a decade where people in work consistently rely on benefits.
We have the lowest number of strike days lost in the EU and our economy is now 7th or possibly 8th in world.
Somehow, i don't think it is the unions fault in any way.
These are educators (unions). You cant expect them to understand stuff.
I don't mind striking teachers, because they're not educators, they're indoctrinators. They've produced a generation of kids who are terrified of the weather and think that supergluing themselves to tarmac will save the planet.
The proximate cause of their inflated egos is the carp they've been teaching. Anyone remember the 10:10 video where schoolkids who didn't believe in the climate fairy got blown up? Here's a reminder from the adults in the room-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE3g0i2rz4w
So kids and teachers now face a glorious future of inflation caused by the insane policies they've been taught in school. Instead of the basics, like STEM or criticial thinking. This doesn't explain why the short-bus kids in Parliament don't understand our history, or the way the Age of Sail was replaced by the Age of Steam.
At least 3 people in this thread (including you) must have seen the word "unicorns" in the headline and thought your brexit fantasy was finally coming true.
Please,"The Register" staff, implement block-lists, so we can block the ignorant gammon psychos that constantly pop up around here spreading bitterness and hate.
Please,"The Register" staff, implement block-lists, so we can block the ignorant gammon psychos that constantly pop up around here spreading bitterness and hate.
What an excellent idea. Could start by allowing people with usernames to just block AC trolls. But I think our education system also needs to teach people about irony-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gammon_(insult)
n 2018, it became particularly known as a term to describe either those on the political right or those who supported Brexit.[1][4] Due to its referencing of skin colour, there is controversy as to whether the term is racist
And it probably would be, if I were Jewish or Muslim. I'm also used to seeing the word 'unicorn' because it's used a lot in reference to 'renewables'. Wonder if they could be genetically modified to produce pure H2 instead of CH4? But back to education.. See as an example-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65339214
Young people are some of the world's most powerful climate leaders and want rapid action to tackle the problem.
It makes a lot of sense. Higher temperatures and rising sea levels will impact the youngest alive today far more than older generations. But the power to act is often still in the hands of older people, including parents.
I know the Bbc has a long tradition of grooming children (see Operation Yewtree), but if it educated children in STEM, those kids may be less terrified and more likely to see through the scams that are going to result in them having a much lower standard of living than their parents.
No no no!
That would rob the rest of us to point and laugh at people with absolutely no idea of how anything works, and have wandered in here wondering why it doesn't have the Daily Hate masthead. Why even bother with reality when your days are filled with lists of things to hate.
That would rob the rest of us to point and laugh at people with absolutely no idea of how anything works,
Ah, the "I'm with stupid" ad-hom. Use the plural instead of the singular to imply that you are part of some superior group, even though the majority of the evidence is to the contrary.
So you have all the ideas about how stuff works. How about explaining..
1) If energy is an input cost to practically every economic activity, how does making it more expensive, and less reliable do anything other than drive inflation and harm the economy?
2) Explain how solar panels generate electricity at night.
3) Explain why we ditched sails for steam.
4) If we're facing 'unprecedented' and 'extreme' weather, why are we relying on ancient technology that we know from history is vulnerable to the weather?
Or as for many things in life, there's xkcd-
https://xkcd.com/1162/
So it's ironic that we're supposed to be intelligent IT types, yet many of us don't seem to understand the fundamental problems with our energy policy, and why as we've 'invested' so much in them, our energy bills have continued to increase as our energy-dependent economies collapse. If supposedly trustworthy institutions like the Bbc, or even our education system had invested in STEM instead of indoctrination, we might not be in such a mess. It's sad that a country that once was an energy pioneer has now resorted to tilting at windmills, especially as we have to import pretty much all of our 'renewable' technology.
The attitude of a psychopath.
Those lockdowns save millions of lives across Europe.
There would have been a bigger drop in productivity if more people were sick or dead.
And, If it wasn't for the plebs who never took it seriously in the first place, covid would never have gotten the hold that it did - THAT'S to blame for loses, not mitigations to stop it.
In 5 years time, when the after affects of long-covid and permanent immunity-system damage are taking their toll, you'll wish you hid those "receipts".
HIV-1 vs SARS-CoV-2: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9608044/
Heart-disease risk soars after COVID — even with a mild case: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00403-0
Severe COVID-19 symptoms lead to long-term immune damage https://www.healtheuropa.com/severe-covid-19-symptoms-lead-to-long-term-immune-damage/117850/
This post has been deleted by its author
WRONG
Sweden's population is spread differently geographically and there are other reasons why the two countries can't be compared like for like as you suggest. Can't remember and can't be arsed to look it up. Epic thread drift, now back on topic please.
How about comparing Sweden to dozens of other countries including Denmark and Norway?
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/sweden-covid-and-excess-deaths-a-look-at-the-data/
Just take a look at the graph half way down the article if you "can't be arsed" to look it up.
Now can we get back on topic? (I'm just kidding, this is far more interesting than the original article, which was something something AI something - the usual bollocks of the moment)
The spectator? You're having a laugh.
You'll be quoting Piers Corbyn and Q-Anon next!
Here's a comparison without an agenda.
The spectator? You're having a laugh.You'll be quoting Piers Corbyn and Q-Anon next!
Allow me to quote something you're probably unfamiliar with, and why poor education and policy can be dangerous-
https://gh.bmj.com/content/7/5/e008684
...While current vaccines appear to have had a significant impact on decreasing COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality burdens, we argue that current mandatory vaccine policies are scientifically questionable and are likely to cause more societal harm than good. Restricting people’s access to work, education, public transport and social life based on COVID-19 vaccination status impinges on human rights, promotes stigma and social polarisation, and adversely affects health and well-being. Current policies may lead to a widening of health and economic inequalities, detrimental long-term impacts on trust in government and scientific institutions, and reduce the uptake of future public health measures, including COVID-19 vaccines as well as routine immunisations.
Which may already be happening. We already had anti-vaxxers with irrational fears regarding routine vaccinations, eg the alleged autism link, or turning Floridians into real land-sharks due to adjuvants. Then we had more irrational fears, like 5G and nanotech. Or we had rational concerns given mRNA vaccinations and treatments had been proposed for years, yet not approved due to potential risks. Then panic, rush through emergency authorisations and make billions. Especially when you can avoid liability.
Only after the hype died down did we get more debate around the risks, the lousy way trials were conducted, and of course it's a bit late for that. Especially for the people who died as a result of vaccinations. Although very rare, that did happen. Instead we had bureaucrats like Fauci wanting to extend vaccine sales, even though he knew trials in groups like pregnant wom.. I mean birthing people were by no means adequate, or safe. For some odd reason, mot.. I mean birthing people excited about the prospect of a healthy bouncing baby were reluctant to sign up for an expermental vaccine, so the trial ended up enrolling (from memory) <50 volunteers.
And now there's news that more people are refusing the MMR vaccinations, because they've lost trust in the system that's supposed to protect them.
Probably more sensible to compare it to Denmark's or Norway's much lower deaths per million (off the top of my head 1.5k and <1k vs. 2.3k).
Also worth noting that despite the lack of an official lockdown (something quite hard to achieve with the Swedish constitution, I believe) the Swedish did not simply carry on as usual.
Comparing Sweden's unofficial lockdown with Denmark's official lockdown is one thing; comparing either to the UK's lockdown, which was both official and a complete ballsup, is not that useful.
"the Swedish did not simply carry on as usual."
Actually according to Google mobility data, they did have a slight drop off to begin with, but they pretty much did carry on as normal after a short while.
It's not really the point that they did a bit worse than Denmark and a bit better than Finland. If lockdown has saved the millions of lives that are claimed, then you'd expect Sweden to be a complete outlier and be on the worse end of the scale (across all countries) instead of one of the best.
That coupled with Sweden's lack of massive drop in GPD means on balance it seems (perhaps) that they did the right thing.
You are aware that as GDP drops, we all get poorer, right? And when we get poorer, lots of people will die or have worse life outcomes? This is far more difficult to calculate, will be spread over a much greater time, and hard to know how much to attribute to lockdowns and how much to other factors... but those people will be just as dead.
The sickness absence rate - the percentage of working hours lost because of sickness or injury rose to 2.6% in 2022, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from 2021 and the highest it has been since 2004, when it was 2.7%.
An estimated 185.6 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in 2022; this level was a record high, but the number of days lost per worker, at 5.7, was not.
The most common reason for sickness absence was minor illnesses, accounting for 29.3% of occurrences.
All age groups experienced increases in their sickness absence rate in 2022.
Groups with the highest rates of sickness absence in 2022 included women, older workers, those with long-term health conditions, people working part-time, and people working in care, leisure, or other service occupations.
No. The UK's lockdown was a fuckup due to a bumbling government who didn't care, and denialists like you.
Compare Sweden to the other Nordic countries.
They crapped out bigtime.
It seems you don't know how to do basic research.
Your move. I'm waiting.
This is a parody, right? You actually believe that lockdowns saved millions of lives? Even though Sweden had better outcomes than other countries, even their neighbours eventually?
The lockdowns only spread out the deaths a bit, if at all and caused loads of other problems. This is partly why we're still seeing excess deaths right now, which are very much not from Covid.
Every time we implemented lockdown the cases had already started falling. When we eventually gave them up, under great pressure to keep them at Christmas 2021, cases fell pretty quickly without any form of lockdown.
There's so much wrong with your arguments it's hard to know where to start, and as you've an Anonymous Coward I'll just leave it at that. If you actually believe that lockdowns saved millions of lives, then your other arguments might make some sense, but there really is no evidence that they did.
The lockdowns only spread out the deaths a bit, if at all and caused loads of other problems. This is partly why we're still seeing excess deaths right now, which are very much not from Covid.
I blame the education system. Figuring out this stuff is a wicked problem. So initially the probabilities of death or serious illness, then if people died or were hospitalised with or from Covid, and then how much of the problem was down to the cure rather than the disease.. But that requires people who can weigh up the issues, assess the evidence and make informed decisions. Instead we had a massive political and PR campaign based on some very dubious science. This has been bad for economies, not to mention trust in science, politics and the media.
Personally, I think if we're going to Make UK Great Again, we need to get back to basics and de-politicise the education system. STEM is fundamentally neutral and just a way of describing how we think reality works at this point in time. Then as our bright young minds progress through the acdemic system, they can start questioning reality, advancing our knowledge. Instead, we've allowed the creation of a highly politicised education system that demands kids obey authority, and not question it.
But that's a long-term challenge and politicians aren't great at that kind of thinking. When I was a kid, I went on a tour of a nuclear power plant and considered a career in nuclear physics or engineering. Then came CND and the ecofreaks, and a distinct lack of job opportunities in that field. Now, we 'need' low-carbon energy, which nuclear is ideal for but are told we must build windmills by the neo-luddites in charge. If our politicians aren't very well educated in relevant subjects, they're more easily conned into making terrible investments and decisions on our behalf.
(oh, ,and of course it is I, just trying to make a point.. words are more important than identities.)
'British' as the adjective of the United Kingdom has always rubbed my Asperger's up the wrong way.
I have no problem with the good folk in East Belfast saying they are loyal subjects of his Majesty and that Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom but when they say they are British, it is just geographically wrong.
They are Irish, in so far as they were born on the island of Ireland, their families have lived in Ireland for the last 300-ish years and they lived the vast majority of their lives on the island of Ireland. They are Irish, whether they like it or not. And it's not too bad, as far as stables go.
My experience was that there were some not so good people from East Belfast saying that and you'd have been at risk of getting more than your Asperger's rubbed up the wrong way had you tried to tell them that.
Identity is more complex than you allow for. However if you want to confine it to geographical terms, just look on a map for the British Isles.
It was called "This was so hugely successful, that I can't even remember its fucking name".
Unicorn Kingdom, my god it's so grimly appropriate it's not even funny, symbolizing perfectly a declining country, abysmally run by people with nothing more to offer than fantastical dreams of magical future utopias.
A few years back I walked into the Museum on the Mound in Edinburgh and they asked me what I wanted to see as it was about half an hour before closing. I said Unicorns and got some very funny looks unsurprisingly. They actually had something like three Unicorns as per the clue in the General Knowledge crossword I had done some time before. The clue was a large gold coin issued by the Kings of Scotland. Considering the reputation of the Scots I didn't think the coin was large but, then again, the Scots Kings weren't allowed much tax raising power by their lairds which is why they welcomed the Union of the Crowns to take over from the Welsh who had taken over from the French. Ultimately they got kicked out by the Dutch then the Germans.
Of course Sunak is living in this tech fantasy land, he knows we loaded the Brexit gun and the Tories pulled the trigger. Sorry but the only growth industry in the UK soon will be working for bailifs ( repo men to our American friends ) and those who do house cleareances and repossessions. Heck, that old stalwart Unipart is now going to the US or EU as the UK is in such a mess they can't make any decent profit.
Book your cardboard box soon as they'll be in short supply in the next 12 months once we all get thrown out on the streets thanks to Brexit and years of government mismanagment! Last pint is on me, switch off the lights when you leave!
Do I have to say it? Seriously, how many times.
You elected the Jimmy Saville Appreciation Society into power for almost my entire life. The last three fuhrer(in) haven't even been technically elected (including the government you can put your Truss in - thank you Pterry) and you think you're going to get a government that has a collective IQ over room temperature?
You think you're going to get good teachers, a good NHS, a good ANYTHING? I remember when I was 17 screaming at a teacher to the point she was in tears because she stood there and admitted she didn't understand what she was teaching, the college sacked the stupid cow, and we got a decent teacher.. And the *SECOND * my class left, they rehired her.
I am fighting hyper aggressive breast cancer, my chemo has been delayed multiple times. I have missed treatments because Brexit - unavailability of Nab-Paclitaxel - I have dealt with oncologists so out of date it might as well be 1985. I am not going to beat this, because my treatment is shite, the surgeons good but the chemotherapy side is still using 1950s drugs...and they're even managing to overdose people with radiotherapy which shouldn't even be possible... Because crap kit and crappier training.
Be happy, Brexiteers, you've helped kill people, congrats.
Why?
Because every single ----ing time all the Tories have to do is say "here's a tax cut". Duh-mocracy is the bed you've made and now we're all lying in it. Thanks for that.
Teachers aren't going to do their job if they don't feel valued. They aren't going to be good at it when their stressed out of their minds about how to feed their kids. Ditto nurses. And then you whine that they want kids that don't look like extras from Schindlers list. Well here's the problem. You voted for the tories, the tories trashed everything, destroyed morale, destroyed health, destroyed everything they could get their mits on. AND YOU BLAME THE NURSES/TEACHERS etc... YOU are to blame, not them.
And the best part, there isn't even a viable option. The whole edifice is rotten to the core. Starmers about as much use as a chocolate dildo and I don't even remember who's in charge of the Liberals...
YOU DON'T GET TO WHINGE when you could have stopped it, at any time in the last 45 years , when it's the result of your actions but thank you so much because there's a very good chance your selfish decisions and greed will be the reason I die instead of recovering.
Thanks so much.
@AC
"Finally after years of right-wing finger pointing at the EU, Immigrants, Jeremy Corbyn and the BBC they get it. Well done!"
Eh? Just because I attribute the failures to the right source instead of just blaming the gov for everything doesnt mean I dont blame the gov for mismanagement
That's my whole point!!! But who elected the cretins in the first place? Do you not think that bloody Brexit is a mismanagement issue?
Publius Quinctillius Boris couldn't wipe his own bum without detailed instructions and they're only getting worse... And it was Cameron if I recall who Kalkreise'd the Brexit disaster - and ffs he actually thought the people who elected HIM could do joined up thinking...
Very very soon people are going to start whining about rejoining the EU and the EU will smile sweetly and give us the middle finger.
We are now the Eric Cartman of Europe and when you break the game as badly as Brexit has; you don't get asked to play again. Even if you beg.
@Jemma
"Do you not think that bloody Brexit is a mismanagement issue?"
As I said I agree with most of your comment but not necessarily the brexit part. Brexit itself wasnt a mismanagement issue, sucking us as deep as we were into the EU without giving voters a say as promised was mismanagement. The negotiation and attempt to keep us in was mismanagement. But there dont seem many who want to rejoin, a lot of remainers seem to know we wont get back in with all the opt outs and partial participation of the project. Others seem smart enough to see the Euro is a disaster that we really dont want but would be forced on us. And finally others seem to have paid attention to the project and seen leaving was the right thing.
"We are now the Eric Cartman of Europe and when you break the game as badly as Brexit has; you don't get asked to play again. Even if you beg."
I see that as a win. We dont want back into that mess.
Sorry to hear your plight.
If "you" means the 100-200k swing voters in marginal seats that actually decide elections in the UK's bonkers First Past The Post electoral system (see also USA) then yes, have at them.
But the UK population as a whole hasn't voted more than 50% for any party since pre-WWII, and is majority non-Toey. Any system of Proportional Representation would have forced sensible compromise government for as far back as you wish to look - 2019 where Europe-friendly parties got 56% of the vote, 2005 where Labour dropped to 35% after Iraq (and imagine how low if there was a viable alternative on the left). Etc etc
"Any system of Proportional Representation would have forced sensible compromise government for as far back as you wish to look"
I remember having that hope when PR was introduced in N. Ireland.
It didn't work out that way. Instead of the moderates such as Alliance coming to the fore it meant that eventually even the existing sectarian parties were pushed aside by their more extreme rivals.
45 years takes us back to 1978. It includes the time that Gordon Brown spent getting us into a big financial hole under labour. I also remember the years that lead up to 1978 and the winter of discontent as it was called. No party in my lifetime has had a monopoly of governing the UK badly.
Unicorn Kingdom? Yeah right. Unlike Rishi Sunak, Princess Celestia is a capable leader and teacher.
Perhaps he should watch the later seasons of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, and he can learn how to actually run a country. It's almost entirely about fixing relations with neighbouring states, and building up a quality education system!
Oh yeah, and the last thing Celestia did, make way for a successor, because even if you're a near immortal unicorn, others might be better at the job than you!
Now where is my cider?
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