The way it works in the UK is you have one law firm prepare your case and do all the paperwork leading up to the hearing, and then you employ a specialist barrister to attend on your behalf. The barrister often doesn't work for that company. They just read the case as prepared and argue it.

It's a bit like an actor. Typically they don't write the script, they just interpret it and make a compelling performance from it.

The purpose of a factory is not to provide jobs.

It's intended to made widgets that can then be sold at a profit.

It's not a social welfare program.

Only kinda. Let me remind you there is no natural right to limited liability companies. They exist purely (in principle) for the benefit of society.

Correct. Breaking is entirely irrelevant to this discussion.

If something breaks, it's on me. This is about companies being able to take something away that isn't broken at all, at any time they choose, without any refund.

For any other item that'd be theft and would land them in jail.

What comes next is the realisation that the majority of the labour force is not needed, but the whole society is completely unprepared for this.

"so now we have to be okay with explicit Socialism"
what kind of strawman bullshit are you trying to pull?
extremism of any kind leads to disastrous consequences sooner or later.
you want to play that game? fine.
let's go full unrestricted free market capitalism, no government intervention

" people you're thinking of are the Rothschilds"
there were also the Sassoons who dominated the opium trade.
the Iron Bank is likely based more on the Medicis than the Rothschilds.

"You can buy power with money, but that doesn't mean you'll find anyone looking to sell as much as you want to buy"
It's never been particularly difficult though some patience is required.
I'd say Trump is a particularly greedy outlier in the Western world.
What's exceptional about him is how easily he's influenced and, of course, how much power he was handed - TWICE.
"No single person or institution holds enough US debt to wield Iron Bank influence over the US"
if the yuan continues to undercut the US greenback as a go-to currency that would be a very bad thing for the USA. Trump's boneheaded tariff war & belligerence towards America's putative allies may hasten that if he's succeeded by a like-minded Republican and the GOP retains control of Congress.

I'm not defending AI, but it's interesting to compare the price to other machines released long before AI existed.

Adjusted for inflation, the 2TB model is a bit cheaper than a Panasonic 3DO or a Neo Geo was at launch. But a lot more than any Playstation ever had been.

Consoles generally punch above their weight because games can be specifically optimized for them, compared to on PC where a compatibility is the most important thing. It will be interesting to see if developers optimize for this thing.

Yeah, there is a stigma, that if anyone deciding to commit crimes, might possibly give a little thought to the future before deciding that committing a crime is a good idea.

It's kinda like the story of would you want your daughter marrying a man who just got out of jail after killing his first wife? There is a value to having impulse control, and looking beyond what they want to do right now.

There are all manner of narratives - I guess I have one too. There are narratives that if everyone has money, free health care, and society accepted them, there would be no crime. That society forces people to perform criminal acts. It is similar to the idea that society causes insanity.

Well. we learn over time. Before Herbert Needleman, the dangers of lead poisoning were known, but it's effects upon people, who from childhood were exposed, and they ended up being violent criminals - that was fairly new, and compelling enough to knock some sense into people.

Another case I know personally, a friend had adopted a young boy, who was troubled, and the thought was a better environment would eliminate those issues. I liked the kid. Most of the time, he was great. Outgoing, friendly, smart. But he was still getting into trouble. I noticed that it was three months behaving, then a short period of bad. I mentioned it, but everyone thought that was 100 percent coincidence. Eventually they figured out I was right, by that time, he'd committed some serious crimes.

Some sort of chemical imbalance? That was my guess. Point is, yeah, we're going to find out more reasons as time goes on. The question is what makes the people in your example not cooperate?

People should not ever decide that since "the man" got away with something, so it is perfectly alright to do the same things. If that is the case, they deserve the punishment, even if "the man" is not. That. is the most masochistic example to whataboutism on their part.

It did mention they were a junior, so yes probably greatly reduced fees. This would have been County Court too, Small Claims Track, so in theory you don't even need a legal rep. For £7k you might want one anyway, especially if the case is complex.

That's how much PS5 controllers are as well. The Steam one looks better though.

Could be an interesting use for old phones. I've got a couple. I looked at using them as CCTV cameras, but the software is kinda crap. If they could run a more generic Linux distro they might be useful, low power servers.

All they need is to fully implement Monday Night Rehabilitation. Then the recidivism rate will drop to zero.

"Guaranteed income helps people leaving jail and prison, and that helps everyone"
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/b...
      "Upon coming home from prison, people face the same â" and rising â" costs of living as the rest of us. But they have to bear additional costs imposed by the criminal legal system as well, all while navigating additional and unique barriers to employment. The resulting financial insecurity makes it harder to succeed at reentry. Cash assistance (often called âoeguaranteed incomeâ) makes reentry easier by providing people with a monetary safety net, helping them get jobs, housing, and food, and fulfill any remaining court or parole obligations.
      In this piece, we explain how guaranteed income reduces recidivism and results in taxpayer savings. We highlight the work of the Just Income program in Alachua County (Gainesville), Florida as a concrete example that demonstrates cash assistance with no strings attached is a smart policy choice for supporting people in reentry. ..."

"Omega-3 and vitamin D supplementation to reduce recidivism: a pilot study"
https://link.springer.com/arti...
"These pilot data suggest that omega-3 and vitamin D supplementation, a simple and relatively cheap health intervention, could reduce 3-year recidivism by 16.6%."