tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post5753937518303443925..comments2024-03-28T09:55:42.123+00:00Comments on Capitalists@Work: Politicians @ Work: Weekend EssayCityUnslickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929544047783163175noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-56591192796794967912014-06-02T20:25:40.371+01:002014-06-02T20:25:40.371+01:00Ocado got lucky.
Morrisons, inexplicably, decide...Ocado got lucky.<br /><br /> Morrisons, inexplicably, decided against the usual supermarket trends. Loyalty cards and online shopping.They didn't want them or need them. And when they were growing it didn't matter. <br />They were the cheapest.So they rocked.<br /><br />But now they aren't they find themselves 10 years behind their rivals.<br /><br />So they signed a 25 year deal with ocado for auto catch-up.<br /><br />Both of them .. very, very lucky to get away with their lack of planning.Bill Quango MPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14861116614665461655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-80875891208762094642014-06-02T16:51:27.987+01:002014-06-02T16:51:27.987+01:00The power of tech is in allowing politicians to do...The power of tech is in allowing politicians to do what they want now. That surely is our worst nightmare.<br /><br />+1<br /><br />Many outsourcers, discounters etc etc succeed by doing <b>less</b><br /><br />Consider Tesco who started their online offering 10(?) years ago by having people go round and pick stock off shelves in shops and contrast with Ocado who spent years building some lovely regional distribution centres that will bring a profit in someday...<br /><br />andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07311993288675111834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-75909872104460574782014-06-02T16:15:39.407+01:002014-06-02T16:15:39.407+01:00'fraid I don't have a very high regard for...'fraid I don't have a very high regard for Taleb, his own self-regard is quite enough<br /><br />1st book, <i>Fooled by Randomness</i> was good but by the time of <i>Black Swan</i> he was right up himself<br /><br /><i>why do they allow so many immigrants in?</i> - VOTES! in every urban marginal, all candidates fall over themselves to outbid the others in assisting existing immigrants get their families in<br /><br />the well-organised immigrant groups are very 'transactional' and have blocks of votes on offer<br />Nick Drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13670594203660051701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-3006425521829015612014-06-02T10:01:59.045+01:002014-06-02T10:01:59.045+01:00Ossian,
Immigrants are new. there was a wave aft...Ossian, <br /><br />Immigrants are new. there was a wave after de-colonistaion - but it was around 1.5% of the population over a decade, which had high emmigration rates to Australia etc.<br /><br />Now we that every 2 years and have done since 2003. <br /><br />Even the Norman conquest was of a different order, after all it was only the lords and barons who were immigrants. CityUnslickerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15929544047783163175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-19608627125512266952014-06-02T08:05:22.502+01:002014-06-02T08:05:22.502+01:00@Roger,
The BMA vs commoner thing is one argument...@Roger,<br /><br />The BMA vs commoner thing is one argument. But when it comes to tech the politicians are so inexperienced it's amazing.<br /><br />Even if we take the medical argument then the doctors gave up trying to "cure" me when I was 12 years old and now only ever prescribe me steroids. Steroids that I can buy for cheaper over the counter but am denied quantity because they're "too dangerous".<br /><br />What's that you say? My asthma doesn't exist in the Inner Hebrides but only surfaces in England? It must be genetic bronchitis related and nothing to do with allergies! Histamines could never play a role no matter what other countries say!<br /><br />Fuck 'em all.Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-47520416817970680552014-06-02T07:30:16.742+01:002014-06-02T07:30:16.742+01:00Runciman covers a wide field in his essay. One me...Runciman covers a wide field in his essay. One message I drew from it is that western democracy may very well change into something a bit less liberal. The Americans seem well down this road and many politicians might look at China and the US and think mmmm that looks better. So can I change it? I don't practice medicine just so I can keep the doctor up to scratch, I rely on the BMA etc to do that. With politicians we are back to the old 'quis custodiat' question. I fear the dreadful reality is that there is no answer to the old 'who guards' question, if the guardians choose to snoop and control a little more there is nothing we can do. As for the techies, they will do what the money tells them to do. There used to be the piano-wire solution, but all purchases of piano-wire are closely monitored these days.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-70573654041727238412014-06-02T05:56:32.781+01:002014-06-02T05:56:32.781+01:00"But why do they allow so many immigrants in?..."But why do they allow so many immigrants in?"<br /><br />Going through Soundcloud the other day came across the Immigrant Song - the lyrics struck me as to how long this immigration issue has been with us. <br /><br />I think the rot stared in 1066 but luckily some of us have a wall to protect us.Ossiannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-75586041263660146402014-06-02T01:32:06.952+01:002014-06-02T01:32:06.952+01:00But why do they allow so many immigrants in? It...But why do they allow so many immigrants in? It's probably because they reached political maturity in the 60s-80s and still believe that the UK is 99% white and all and any immigration is required to forgive the sins of colonisation. How is that not at least 30 years out of date?<br /><br />And why don't they hear the public's complaints? It's because the similarly out of date media long denied that there was any kind of problem and blocked all complaints with cries of "racism". The politicos can then continue in their bubble as if nothing was wrong.<br /><br />The problem is not politics but the echo chamber bubble that extends around it. The bubble needs to be popped and if Runciman sees that as a threat to politics itself then that's surely an indicator of just how closed off the bubble is.<br /><br /><br />P.S. Twitter hordes are basically a part of the bubble and are often spurred and steered along by retweets from the usual suspects, who then of course write reports and editorials on this new "trend" that they helped create.<br /><br />We won't see the true effects of tech on politics until even pensioners can use it. A bunch of self fulfilling prophecies on Twitter is nothing revolutionary.Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-49185294526063094322014-06-01T22:54:17.196+01:002014-06-01T22:54:17.196+01:00the mistake of politics currently is to run too fa...the mistake of politics currently is to run too fast, not too slow. Idiotic things like letting 5 million people move into the country is not he act of people 30 yrs out of date who are too conservative to allow change. <br /><br /><br />The power of tech is in allowing politicians to do what they want now. That surely is our worst nightmate.CityUnslickerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15929544047783163175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-89718376456746933832014-06-01T18:59:57.152+01:002014-06-01T18:59:57.152+01:00I barely made it 1/3 of the way through that Runci...I barely made it 1/3 of the way through that Runciman article (why are his paragraphs so long?). Who has ever said that technology will replace politics?<br /><br />The problem with politics (and the whole bubble that goes along with it) is that it's perpetually at least 30 years out of date but they think they're cutting edge. Even revolutionary politicians like Thatcher or Lloyd-George were enacting ideas that came out of think tanks decades earlier.<br /><br />So the benefits of new tech is that it might allow us to cut down the length of the delay and bypass not politics but the right ons and conservatives who block change for as long as possible. If Runciman sees that as a bad development then it says more about him than anything.Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-90741192544299240792014-06-01T15:37:37.871+01:002014-06-01T15:37:37.871+01:00That is pretty damning. To be considered the most...That is pretty damning. To be considered the most stupid person from 1000 people but then a super stupid comes along and knocks you out in the final.Bill Quango MPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14861116614665461655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-37753789769815238862014-06-01T14:55:08.668+01:002014-06-01T14:55:08.668+01:00"I'm afraid we're stuck with politics..."I'm afraid we're stuck with politics." That is Mr Runciman talking his book of course.<br /><br />P.S. This is one of the rudest things I've seen on WKPD: "After a book review in The Guardian of Antifragility by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, that author referred to Runciman as the "second most stupid reviewer" of his works, from more than 1,000 reviewers."deariemenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32841798.post-30337871698511912792014-06-01T12:41:29.369+01:002014-06-01T12:41:29.369+01:00Google doesn't have monopoly power,as such. It...Google doesn't have monopoly power,as such. Its power stems ultimately from the fact that most people use it as a search engine and don't care too much about the information it collects from them in the process.<br /><br />If they went too far, people would switch to using DuckDuckGo or something pretty sharpish.<br /><br />Conversely, the power of the establishment is broadly speaking inescapable. A false equivalence by Runciman, I fear.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com