Chișinău

[krimster2]

and to think you come from the same stock as the "Kray brothers" and English privateers...
WOT happened to you Anglo-Saxons??

[Trenchcoat]

and to think you come from the same stock as the "Kray brothers" and English privateers...
WOT happened to you Anglo-Saxons??

They all got banged up and never saw the light of day again lol

[2tallbill]

Lol, it will eventually become a trip report, I promise Beel. If in the meantime you need Nurse Trenchie to open up the hatch up there and take a peak inside to check you're ok let me know

I want to add a poll to this thread. What comes first Christmas or Trenchy's trip.
However, this isn't my thread. I don't want to act like Moby and I don't really have
the energy to spend any effort at this. I've never been to Chișinău but I knew the
sweetest girl from there many, many years ago.

[Trenchcoat]

I want to add a poll to this thread. What comes first Christmas or Trenchy's trip.
However, this isn't my thread. I don't want to act like Moby and I don't really have
the energy to spend any effort at this. I've never been to Chișinău but I knew the
sweetest girl from there many, many years ago.

Oh please do kiss & tell Beel

Nothing wrong with a bit of gazing up the naval!

[Trenchcoat]

Well, when I've done the house conversion I could take in a hot Ukrainian Refugee chick I would be nice and freely available for her so an easy one without her having to steal me away, I'll have to be careful she doesn't take advantage of me though:

Brits who took in Ukrainians demand tougher background checks http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11946489/Ukraine-scammers.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubutton

[Trenchcoat]

you always talk about yur mummy
but never bout yur "da"
there's a story there, i'm sure
no da to kick your ass when you wuz a lad?
and mummy let ya do what ya wanted?
is that it?
or maybe it's society's fault...
alas poor trench, a fellow of infinite jest

A lot of it goes down to societal change in the 90s, unfortunately a time when I was growing up moving through secondary school (high school) eventually to Uni and to work.

In all honesty the 90s is often overlooked in terms of being a time of profound social change but I think there was more social change than any other decade. A lot of that social change was relatively low key to the social change of the 60s & 70s i.e civil rights movement, pop culture, hippies, whatever, but more change nonetheless.

In the 90s there was massive expansion in higher education (uni) in the UK and I'm guessing the same was true in the US. Most high school students who weren't dumb could now go to Uni, you no longer had to be in the top sets, etc. Not just the guys but all the girls as well. Jobs were repackaged as 'careers' and it was made out that if you go for a 'career' in any subject you will be doing well for yourself and pretty much living the dream - those specific words not necessarily exactly used but words that amounted to such. We know now though that these careers are really just jobs the same as they have always and that is evident when in them.

So it was really the government & employers that did all of that. The parents were in the dark as much as the kids. My own parents used to say, 'we didn't have all these careers in my day' but if course you don't suddenly cease having jobs and careers all pop up it's really just a repackaging effort. So as long as you were going for a 'career' then your parents were as pleased as punch especially as that often entailed getting in & going to uni, exciting times, disappointing after.

I think most people thought prospects were about equal in most fields at uni. There were Micky mouse subjects that may be dubious and stuff like Medicine if you were that way minded that likely guaranteed good pay but you really had to be that type of person. I had no idea that IT could conceivably pay so we'll I don't think many did but then again there were the top IT stuff few had an insight into and the lowly everyday IT stuff of companies, government organizations and Uni IT departments, etc where the level of wages wasn't a lot different to anywhere else.

So both my parents thought that I was and would be doing well so no arse kicking needed. I passed exams well enough, got decent enough grades, turned up regularly and learnt stuff and so in theory a good future beckoned - a well paying job I would enjoy, and the rest would then fall into place, a girl, marriage, house, etc, etc.

Instead the reverse happened, no job (career) was ever good paying nor likely to be, doing those jobs was just an ordeal - no joy at all, lots of work no real reward. Worse still the women saw you as competition and at its worst would hate your guts. Even getting a job wasn't easy, interviews with lots of candidates, lots of temping short term agency work that would fall through every few weeks after the work was done. It really was an unhappy place to be.

I'm doing ok since those days but time has passed and what my parents have had in their youth I have not. I am of course not alone in this, many others likely most have suffered at least similar elements of the same fate. Some potentially are possibly even worse off than me. I kind of wish I grew up in the world my parents knew where everything had not been messed up. UK society out there is becoming a mess, all the problems the changes of the 90s have caused are all coming home to roost. Stuff has gotten worse since then, mass migration from the EU, extortionately high house house prices and rent, and of recent all this gender rubbish as if people aren't in enough of a mess already.

So that's about the size of it, I worked hard at school & uni but the system was and still is f*cked up.

[Trenchcoat]

I mean by way of comparison my older Sister also went to Uni, she worked hard and got decent grades. However, none of the jobs (careers) she had since Uni were jobs that you needed a degree for, admin jobs, shop floor jobs, etc. She was regarded as a particularly hard worker by my parents and she was very much into study. She chose a social science degree so yeah probably not the best move commercially but sometimes results can be random and people weren't really clued up then into knowing what got what if anything as it was all new then.

So my sister has never done well jobs (career) wise either like most of the country probably. She has worked hard in her jobs but no joy and often ended feeling let down I guess before moving onto next hopeful job prospect. She has however done well property wise but that's only a result of two marriages and getting on the property ladder at the right time. If she had remained single she would likely be much as I am. Getting a house in the UK is nearly always two people needed these days. I am lucky as I got into a cheap area at the right time but they are going up here now as well a lot. Now there are very few cheap areas left in the UK. The areas that are either are remote or in real bad areas, fortunately mine not so.

So there we are, it should be remembered also that the 90s in the UK was a time of high unemployment, etc so to sone extent there wasn't a lot else for most youngsters to do other than to go to uni. People that have exceptional skills in high demand but restricted supply subject areas like Maths, Science & IT can commonly do well. Freakish but much needed talent like that is hard to come by but then so are top singers, actors, etc. My main problem was that for the rest of us everyday lot society has been messed up and it can appear bleak at times with only the legal drugs of Netflix & alcopop to distract the mind. I could understand it if I were a bald guy, a short guy, a ginger guy or anything else like that, that women hate but as a a tall guy with a full head of non ginger hair I shouldn't be having these problems.

[krimster2]

"A lot of it goes down to societal change in the 90s "
I see... so it's "society's fault"

did you consider "doing something" in response to the "societal changes"?
everyone faces some level of "resistance" from the world they live in
that resistance doesn't define who you are
it's your response to it that does
and if you essentially do nothing about this resistance
then it's not really society's fault, it's yours

you are the master of your fate, the captain of your soul
and you ran the ship aground and you became a "castaway"
with a little signal fire, struggling to find a rescuer to free ya from incel island
instead of building a raft and heading out into the tumultuous dark sea

[Trenchcoat]

"A lot of it goes down to societal change in the 90s "
I see... so it's "society's fault"

did you consider "doing something" in response to the "societal changes"?
everyone faces some level of "resistance" from the world they live in
that resistance doesn't define who you are
it's your response to it that does
and if you essentially do nothing about this resistance
then it's not really society's fault, it's yours

you are the master of your fate, the captain of your soul
and you ran the ship aground and you became a "castaway"
with a little signal fire, struggling to find a rescuer to free ya from incel island
instead of building a raft and heading out into the tumultuous dark sea

A lot of it hardly anyone was aware there would be a problem. People just put their faith in the academics and government that it would all come good 'IF' you went and studied. If you studied you learnt and if you learnt then you were useful and so not a no-hoper. It all sounded reasonable, logical enough and so seemed to be the way to go. It's not just me but many people that fell into the same trap. I was talking to a guy a few years back, his daughter studied in Law, passed, a good degree grade at least a 2:1 think it may have been a First. Anyhow, he said she couldn't get anything like she was supposed to get, I got the impression she had to settle for law admin, insurance type of work. Low pay and no assurance of anything better. Suffice to say both father and daughter were left disappointed by the whole experience and I don't blame them.

Thing is it's kind of like being in a tiny boat with bad visibility all around in stormy seas not knowing when or where the next wave is going to strike, how hard and what it might do.

Very few people foresaw the above problem with opening up access to higher education to such a huge extent, nor of repackaging of careers, not of changing to equal pay for women. These are all huge societal changes that were billed as great and for the better. In reality though there are many negatives associated with such, it was just really focusing on the headline 'positive' news headline.

The 90s of course was a time of mass unemployment in the UK so that didn't help either.

After that of course came all the mass immigration from the EU, that ensured nearly all wages would remain flat and house prices & rents pushed through the roof.

So what would you do in such a situation? No UK guy wants to move to Eastern Europe to earn less. Western Europe is much the same wages and of language barriers everywhere.

For you Krim it's easy you would have your top Maths & IT skills to call upon. If not that then you can tap into your 'bizness' ventures in the FSU or if possible in the US. I wasn't born to a bi-lingual family with access to any of that. Anything illegal wasn't the network my family existed in or had connections to nor wished to. Sure people try to get in through illegal methods in the UK but most of that is a one way ticket to a prison cell and less opportunities in life not more.

So I was pretty much stuck with the situation I had, that and lack of knowledge about the dating situation which of course had changed radically from my father's day because of all of the societal change. If I knew then what I know now I think I would have made a better go of it.

[krimster2]

whatever societal changes happen in the UK follow into the USA eventually
what you describe about the UK in the 90s, happened in a smaller way here in this time period
but is now happening in a major way due to inflation
the curent young people in the USA, millenials. gen Z
have a similar situation to yours in the 90s
reduced opportunities, higher costs

so what?
make your own opportunity and make more money
but that takes a LOT more effort than submitting your C.V. for a job application in yo mama's village
so that task is not likely to be one you'll choose

be happy with your slack
other than lack of money and a woman
you have an easy life
which is REALLY the thing you want the most
you can have slack, or money and a woman
but NOT both (unless you're a retired geezer!)

so now what Trench?
same ole, same ole

WTF have yo got to lose by changing yourself, compared to the risk of remaining as you are?
your comfort?

[Trenchcoat]

whatever societal changes happen in the UK follow into the USA eventually
what you describe about the UK in the 90s, happened in a smaller way here in this time period
but is now happening in a major way due to inflation
the curent young people in the USA, millenials. gen Z
have a similar situation to yours in the 90s
reduced opportunities, higher costs

so what?
make your own opportunity and make more money
but that takes a LOT more effort than submitting your C.V. for a job application in yo mama's village
so that task is not likely to be one you'll choose

be happy with your slack
other than lack of money and a woman
you have an easy life
which is REALLY the thing you want the most
you can have slack, or money and a woman
but NOT both (unless you're a retired geezer!)

so now what Trench?
same ole, same ole

WTF have yo got to lose by changing yourself, compared to the risk of remaining as you are?
your comfort?

Krim in about a couple of months things start to change. My house will be completed and shortly thereafter I'll start to have money coming in from it. I can then move forward from there. I'm not sure what else there would be to do, in the UK you have to be careful it's not like the US. Going out alone can end up a self-defeating situation. You can sink a lot of money into it and not get much if anything out. As you have noticed we Europeans are not so much naturals at hustling.

You call me slack but you have gotten wealthy from activities that may not all be above board. So it's hardly something that can be compared. Some people go out and get involved in the drugs trade, I wouldn't as it rarely ends well. Perhaps if someone is lucky they make a bit if money and run before they are nicked or done in. Probably very few as often once suckered in to such a trade I get the impression it's not an easy in, easy out situation. You yourself seem to allure to less risky ventures elsewhere but your wealth/position in life and opportunities aren't all necessarily from legitimate work.

I don't need to be the richest guy going, a decent life is good enough for me. I can see a degree of wealth opens up more opportunity and comfort but it's not like we aren't all after that.

Inflation and stuff now is nowhere near as bad as having no employment. Having to spend a few extra pennies to buy stuff isn't as bad as having virtually no money at all. I would gladly trade my situation back then to be a kid of today now. The main issue of today is obese women and the dating situation but with money in hand means more possibility than no money at all.

[krimster2]

some will stay home to pick the low hanging fruit no matter how scarce
while others are willing to travel to more bountiful fruit groves
with UK geography you would't had to travel far to reach bigger orchards
IF YOU WERE SO INCLINED....

also would've been a good idea to spend just a "wee bit" of thought
considering the career potential of a history degree relative to other choices
instead of relying on outdated assumptions that were already false when you made them
a day of researching this woulda showed you what a bad choice this was
which is better a degree in  Medieval  Basket weaving, or a law degree, both require the same effort and time, BUT Basket Weaving is an easier program than law

see the pattern here?
when you put the minimum effort into your life instead of the maximum
you receive the minimum results

failure to advance your career and income
is a sure fire way to remain an incel
wimmin have weighed you on the scale and found you wanting
this is the brutal REALITY that you don't wanna deal with

[Trenchcoat]

some will stay home to pick the low hanging fruit no matter how scarce
while others are willing to travel to more bountiful fruit groves
with UK geography you would't had to travel far to reach bigger orchards
IF YOU WERE SO INCLINED....

also would've been a good idea to spend just a "wee bit" of thought
considering the career potential of a history degree relative to other choices
instead of relying on outdated assumptions that were already false when you made them
a day of researching this woulda showed you what a bad choice this was
which is better a degree in  Medieval  Basket weaving, or a law degree, both require the same effort and time, BUT Basket Weaving is an easier program than law

see the pattern here?
when you put the minimum effort into your life instead of the maximum
you receive the minimum results

failure to advance your career and income
is a sure fire way to remain an incel
wimmin have weighed you on the scale and found you wanting
this is the brutal REALITY that you don't wanna deal with

Too many with useless law degrees in both the US and the UK, and a very boring subject, basket weaving would be the better choice

Well, I'm about to soon be going from a serf to a freeman

That has to have some value!

My guess with you Krim is that you're always looking to grasp the next rung up. You could have had the good life long ago but remained in the game as you wanted to climb up the social hierarchy. You don't really need any more money you got plenty of that years ago. You get off on getting more money I reckon but more than that moving up in the game. That was what Moscow was about doing what you love doing and getting up the ladder even if not directly on the front line. Putler put pay to all of that.

So now you are back in the good ol' US of A. Problem is that even with your wealth you are no big fish there, many, many millionaires in LA & Texas. So you're unhappy at being blocked by not being able to get up any higher and abhor getting looked down upon by Trump supporting billionaires, am I right?

Moscow would have seen you at the top of the hierarchy out there.

All the above worked out with my analysis skills learned during my history degree

[Boethius]

A law degree is hardly ever a waste, as it opens doors to many fields. 


The US legal market is oversaturated, but Canada isn't, probably because we restrict the number of graduates annually.  In the UK, students can go to law school directly from high school, so the quality can be subpar.


I don't think a history degree is a waste.  No education, ultimately, is a waste.  People can make a decent standard of living with history degrees.  Will they get super wealthy?  No, but they can have a comfortable middle class lifestyle. 

[krimster2]

my goal was never to be Elon Musk
instead my goal was not have to work to make people like  him wealthy while they scatter a few crumbs in my direction and be content with that
I worked that kind of life when I was young, and it turned me cynical
better to be master of a small tiny workdhop, than to be a serf in a much larger one


since you are so fond of history
look at how Britons lived pre-industrial age

all goods were manufactured locally by independent skilled artisans (and their profession became their identity (Smith, Baker, Potter)
then came the industrial age
and the artisans could't compete against the pricing power of big factories making cheap goods
so they ended up becoming unskilled laborers in the factories
and were treated like slaves

there are however paths for slaves to seek freedom
some will take these paths, and some won't
I passionately hated being a slave
and self-liberated
I never, ever, wanted to be a master of others
just free myself

Moscow was a paradise (except for the winter weather)
the discoveries I made there were freakin incredible
doubtful my family and I will return
my father's parents left Ukraine and never returned either
so maybe one day my grandchildren will read my notes
and if conditions are more favorable will decide to do as I did

[Trenchcoat]

my goal was never to be Elon Musk
instead my goal was not have to work to make people like  him wealthy while they scatter a few crumbs in my direction and be content with that
I worked that kind of life when I was young, and it turned me cynical
better to be master of a small tiny workshop, than to be a serf in a much larger one


since you are so fond of history
look at how Britons lived pre-industrial age

all goods were manufactured locally by independent skilled artisans (and their profession became their identity (Smith, Baker, Potter)
then came the industrial age
and the artisans could't compete against the pricing power of big factories making cheap goods
so they ended up becoming unskilled laborers in the factories
and were treated like slaves

there are however paths for slaves to seek freedom
some will take these paths, and some won't
I passionately hated being a slave
and self-liberated
I never, ever, wanted to be a master of others
just free myself

Moscow was a paradise (except for the winter weather)
the discoveries I made there were freakin incredible
doubtful my family and I will return
my father's parents left Ukraine and never returned either
so maybe one day my grandchildren will read my notes
and if conditions are more favorable will decide to do as I did

I get what you mean Krim, here in the UK many 'dream if being their own boss' as the saying goes. Many go into the trades or similar, but as said it's not necessarily as easy as it at first sounds and some come to realise that down the line. Problem with the trades apart from having done jobs previously to get the work in is that there can be a fair amount of competition around so pushing down asking price per job. It's pretty easy these days for customers to email around from the trades directories and get the cheapest quote to best reviewed. Do a not so great job or upset someone and that's going to affect trade through bad reviews. A changed game from when my Father worked in the trades, but not necessarily better.

In general like you say it mostly changed when factories came about with the big shift into factories of people then into offices for services, etc. I can't see any way that will change in the future but who knows. On one level I guess it's necessary to be able to churn out the volume of goods and services that people need. Some companies do a sharesave/share stakeholder scheme to incentivise and get the workforce owning sone of the company they work in but I don't think it ever really gets near the same as being your own boss. Being your own boss can be a good move provided you don't fall flat in your face and in the UK that's a real risk. So in the UK I would have to have a fair bit behind me to do so. There's always the tales of those that became millionaires from practically nothing but that's pretty rare and not something to rely upon if even strictly true (though likely a few are).

I myself used to be a fan of Marx when I was younger though I was never really the outwardly political type. I still think there is merit in a lot of his work. I've kind of always hated being on the end of needing employment and my life being at the whim of Employers on whether I have work or not. Even with the welfare state go without work a while and the money situation isn't often that comfortable.

So in theory being my own boss would be great, I've tried a couple of times in the past but as you say it's not all that easy and I guess for me was a learning experience of what not to do more than anything. At the same time Employing others has not really say well with me either. Partly as other people can be a pain but a lot as I never really wanted to become 'an Employer' and be to others that which I didn't admire.

So anyhow in the UK, yeah there are several ways to be your own boss, some can be a pain like the trades with people phoning you up all day but no guarantee of work, others possibly less so. Some I can do and I've got a few ideas but I really need the time and a steady income to fall back on as there are no guarantees really. So what was the discoveries you learnt in Moscow? It wasn't those weird books was it?

[krimster2]

in parts of the USA, a century ago, carpenters did several things
built houses and built boats and made furniture
t'was a season and time for doin one or the other
and sometimes all
they were semi-independent and not tied to one employer or task
and they were ALWAYS busy

put enough effort into your tradecraft
and you can rise above the others
then the information society can then work in your favor
when you show off your skillz

you lot in the UK are obsessed with your past glory
Georgian style architecture and furniture, etc
should be "right up your alley" if you found some niche in the market
you could even work part-time starting out

years ago in Crimea
I sponsored my brother-in-law who is the best carpenter I EVER MET
bought him the tools he needed to be independent (including an old van)
he repaid me many times with all the amzing work he did for me
and has his own business now

I will do the same for my kids

I consider myself a Marxist as well
labor should create capital
as opposed to capital creating labor
Marx was an advocate for labor owned business as I am

i'm not an expert on UK politics
but seems to me the labour party is a move in the right direction
which was part of the evolution out of a feudalistic capitalistic society
towards a more democratic society proposed by 'ole Karl himself (Das Kapital)
run by the workers and NOT oligarchs
so you can see why oligarchs are not too enamored with this idea
here in the USA oligarch owned media, will every hour remind their ignorant audience of the dangers of socialism when they're not lying about other things

2024 is gonna be a repeat of 2020
I hope I don't have to go live in a bunker again
but will prepare to be safe (I didn't mind the French army MREs)
and still have my toilette paper supply leftover from the covid bunker period

what did I learn in Moscow?
not to talk about the things I learned in Moscow

[Trenchcoat]

in parts of the USA, a century ago, carpenters did several things
built houses and built boats and made furniture
t'was a season and time for doin one or the other
and sometimes all
they were semi-independent and not tied to one employer or task
and they were ALWAYS busy

put enough effort into your tradecraft
and you can rise above the others
then the information society can then work in your favor
when you show off your skillz

you lot in the UK are obsessed with your past glory
Georgian style architecture and furniture, etc
should be "right up your alley" if you found some niche in the market
you could even work part-time starting out

years ago in Crimea
I sponsored my brother-in-law who is the best carpenter I EVER MET
bought him the tools he needed to be independent (including an old van)
he repaid me many times with all the amzing work he did for me
and has his own business now

I will do the same for my kids

I consider myself a Marxist as well
labor should create capital
as opposed to capital creating labor
Marx was an advocate for labor owned business as I am

i'm not an expert on UK politics
but seems to me the labour party is a move in the right direction
which was part of the evolution out of a feudalistic capitalistic society
towards a more democratic society proposed by 'ole Karl himself (Das Kapital)
run by the workers and NOT oligarchs
so you can see why oligarchs are not too enamored with this idea
here in the USA oligarch owned media, will every hour remind their ignorant audience of the dangers of socialism when they're not lying about other things

2024 is gonna be a repeat of 2020
I hope I don't have to go live in a bunker again
but will prepare to be safe (I didn't mind the French army MREs)
and still have my toilette paper supply leftover from the covid bunker period

what did I learn in Moscow?
not to talk about the things I learned in Moscow

If what you learned in Moscow was how to build a time machine Krim then I need to hitch a ride back a good 25 years or so in my past. Hopefully not make a load of different mistakes lol.

Well, the problem with the Labour Party in the UK is that it often feels dubious whether they represent the interests of their members but rather just take their votes for granted then do as they please. The main divide in Labour is between New Labour (Tony Blair, Kier Starmer) and Old (traditional) Labour (Jeremy Corbyn & previous Labour administrations, i.e Clement Atlee, Aneurin Bevan, etc).

Old Labour more for state housing, the welfare state, the NHS, workers & union rights, etc. New Labour for market economics, restricted union practices, globalisation, reining in of the welfare state & intervention in the economy, etc.

Not all New & Old Labour politicians will fall into exactly the same policy brackets it can vary a bit. For example, both Jeremy Corbyn & Keir Starmer seem to favour giving illegal migrants amnesty (or similar) but are at odds on most other things.

Kier Starmer is currently pretty certain to win the next General Election that will almost certainly come in 2024, most probably towards the end of 2024 as the Tories (Conservatives) are polling so badly they won't want to go early in the hope of some miraculous turn around in the mean time. It might but it's likely very doubtful to occur. Of recent with the SNP change of leadership/financial scandal and likely party in fighting that will ensue it's likely Labour will benefit at the next General Election by picking up SNP seats in Scotland in Westminster. That's going to make Labour even harder to beat.

What we will get with Kier isn't exactly certain though, he's a Solicitor like Tony Blair but without the charisma. He tends to  be a typical solicitor in being wordy and not tying himself down to much at all. In fact it's difficult to know what stuff he has come out with is just discussion and what if any are any concrete policies he will action. As a 'Remoaner' it's likely he will push the UK back towards the EU, he has said he has moved on but I'm doubtful he can be trusted. He has also said he will bring in PR (proportional representation) again I find it difficult to believe as it would mean that in most future General Elections it would likely be hard for Labour or any other single party to form a majority on its own. So that would be like giving away a prime advantage. It would almost in effect drive members and voters to smaller parties by making them viable. So almost like kind of splitting the Labour Party without an actual break away party forming. So I personally think he is just out to garner votes I am really doubtful if he will follow through when in power but likely like most solicitors wriggle his way out of his stated commitment.

So for me I don't think we'll achieve anywhere near what Marx had envisaged with Labour at present. Likely it will be more flooding the labour market with labour to make Labour cheap for the Employers.

Russia of course may go back to a new Soviet Union I think if it keeps up what it's been doing for a few years. At some point I can see the people getting fed up with the Oligarchs if no victory on the battlefield is apparent. The economy collapsing to a fraction of its previous size, the people poor, destitute and hungry, the army fed up with losses, it's officers and the oligarchs. The good old Soviet days would look like a much welcome paradise, old times, good welfare & social care, no Oligarchs, bread & butter stuff. They will know what to expect, how it will be already from their past and how to bring it about (full on revolt) so they know it's tried and tested and will work. Anything will be better than where they are now. That and/or a break up of the Russian republics.

[Trenchcoat]

Just did a quick Google and it appears Kier Starmer has already backed out of his previous position on bringing in the PR - proportional representation system. He was adamant that he would bring in PR but has now backed out as of 22nd Sept 2022. That pretty much defines how he is, you can't trust anything he says, it's not easy to get any concrete policies out of him that he'll stick to. I personally don't think he would make a good leader of the UK, I'm pretty sure he would carry on the same when in government, no one would know what is happening one day to the next if anything with him governing apart from possibly a few things. He doesn't really seem grounded in anything other than Remaining and I think he'll quickly lose popularity once in power. People really want to know what's happening and where the country is heading rather than feeling adrift.

I'm not really surprised he backed out of PR now that he is polling high in the polls. It's something where a party that looks like it will or is commanding a big majority is only going to be giving away some of it's power to smaller parties needlessly. So when in that position it's pretty against their interests to go that route.

[Trenchcoat]

Been thinking a little more today about what to do after I quit from my job after the house conversion is finished. I already have a couple of ideas and been doing some small amounts of work on them over time. I have no idea if they will work for sure or flop. My plan in general is to float these ideas and others out there and see which ones might take at all. The job I won't be quitting till I'm sure my finances are good enough and I have what I want sorted as although the house will bring in some money I don't want to rely on that too much too soon.

Going self employed will be a big sea change for me I think as I've pretty much always been an employee when I had work. I've tried a couple of self employed ventures in the past but neither with outright success, but I think I learned a lot from those attempts and feel I've got a better understanding of what to go for and what to avoid and what may be required to potentially make a go of it. I think in general that it will be a slow turnover of ideas/minor business ventures until one hopefully bites. In the meantime I will probably concentrate on getting out to Chișinău and meeting some hotties

[krimster2]

criming in the UK 101

you lot in the UK can buy red diesel for 40p a liter, filter it through kitty litter and get white diesel worth 1.50 a liter
you just need some pipes and kitty litter

filter 100 liters/week and there's 400 pounds/month

when I wuz a kid,  I taught my cousins in Rochdale how to shove tissue up the coin return slots of vending machines to trap the coins (late at night)
then come back the next night with a long hook and pull out the tissue and then a bunch of coins will fall out, and you dump them into a bucket
and move spot to spot
end of the night, you got a bucket full of coins

then move on to a new area and repeat
no way coppers would ever catch us
super alert, super fast
most amazingly, cops wuzn't even armed, but we WERE with makeshift weapons!!
WOT an EZ country to crime in
ahhhh - good times

[Trenchcoat]

criming in the UK 101

you lot in the UK can buy red diesel for 40p a liter, filter it through kitty litter and get white diesel worth 1.50 a liter
you just need some pipes and kitty litter

filter 100 liters/week and there's 400 pounds/month

when I wuz a kid,  I taught my cousins in Rochdale how to shove tissue up the coin return slots of vending machines to trap the coins (late at night)
then come back the next night with a long hook and pull out the tissue and then a bunch of coins will fall out, and you dump them into a bucket
and move spot to spot
end of the night, you got a bucket full of coins

then move on to a new area and repeat
no way coppers would ever catch us
super alert, super fast
most amazingly, cops wuzn't even armed, but we WERE with makeshift weapons!!
WOT an EZ country to crime in
ahhhh - good times

Not for me Krim, too much chance of getting caught. The coin stuff would kind of not sit well with me as I would feel bad for those everyday guys that lost their money and had a not good day of it.

UK of course today is full of CCTV cameras anyway but back then there is always a chance that you might get rumbled same day, i.e if the vending machine guy came out and discovered the deal then lay in wait and set the trap, or like you say a Copper happened to turn up. In that case you have a bucket to lug along, they usually had a truncheon. If you assault a police officer then it's a much bigger deal than an ordinary member of the public, well it was back then. They likely would have a description of you, etc. I'm not saying your risks were high, as you found out you could get away with it, but I don't think it was as necessarily risk free as you thought.

For me the whole crime scene isn't for me, it's not my personality. Most stuff these days the risks of getting caught are high enough and the punishment would likely outdo any gain. I can see why someone who starts out in crime may continue that way, they find it an easy paying game/get caught and get a criminal record but then it becomes all they know and/or find it hard to get straight work. Their mind then sets about thinking of other ways to get on a winner with some quick get rich crime scheme.

The red diesel is an interesting one as the gov here add a lot of tax onto petrol & diesel. I never knew the red could be taken out of the diesel with cats poop but there probably are ways. Again it's all down to risk of getting caught, who are you going to sell it too? You would have to be sure they aren't going to drop you in it. If the authorities found out they would want to see invoices of who you bought it off (if you were selling large quantities of it) and the only invoice you would have would be for Red diesel. Even if you had bought some clear diesel to cover you tracks if they found there was a big disparity in the volume you sold then figures again wouldn't tally. You couldn't just do your own invoices as they would go to the address you put down and investigate there, etc.

Again in theory people can get away with some stuff and you strike me as a pretty cunning guy Krim, but it's all too easy these days to stuff up. In the UK they have had for a number of years a proceeds of crime law, in short if you get caught doing crime in the UK they can hammer you for whatever money they think was generated then fines on top. For me getting involved in stuff like that is likely to be more trouble than it's worth and within a short time not lead to getting rich quick but just bother I don't need a known reputation and trouble getting legit work as well.

I can see that Russia would be a lot more lax and easier also possibility of bribing your way out as in Ukraine etc if caught, the UK though doesn't work like that and if you're mostly stuck in the UK then falling foul of the law isn't usually helpful to future prospects.

I'm assuming in all these discussions on crime of course Krim that we are talking hypothetically for theoretical discussion purposes only as I'm sure in real life you're a law abiding citizen.

[Trenchcoat]

So anyway back to ok me Yeah for me I don't really need to become a Millionaire, nice if course I guess but I'm not really up to doing anything dodgy to get there as I don't really need it that much. For me getting to the stage of being a Freeman even just bringing in enough small money to do so on a legit basis, enough to live comfortably enough of in terms of doing stuff without being tied to an Employer suits me well enough. The way I figure it is that there are enough legitimate ways to make enough money to make that a goer.

Even in my present paid Employment I just work enough hours so I don't go much over the free (of tax) income personal allowance of £12.5k per tax year, which of course is roughly the same bracket for National Insurance tax also. While I will (hopefully) soon be moving on from working for an Employer to working for myself I can still use that personal income allowance plus the government rent a room allowance of £7.5k per tax year, so £20k of income free from tax each year That's a pretty decent sum to live off. Many people go out and work full time jobs in the UK and only take that money home after tax. So if I can get it to that stage of not having to do much for similar I'll be a happy chappy.

Once free from the bonds of the Employer I'll then be able to go where I want when I want. That for me will be more than enough. Having a bolt hole somewhere like Corfu to see off the bad winters here would also be good for me. I'm a budget conscious type of guy so like to run a tight ship and get decent stuff at a good price. That I think I'm usually pretty good at so I'm quite happy living that way. In places like Chișinău a £20k a year tax free income will be a big deal so will stand me in good stead. I don't really need to go over the top I figure on that front. I'm still not sure how or if Chișinău will figure into stuff but for the moment I'm happy enough to just get out there and enjoy stuff. Getting the house done at the moment is really top priority as nothing much else can occur without that so hopefully soon it will all be complete

[Trenchcoat]

To be honest I'm not going to sweat it over Supermarket girl. Kind of easier for me to jet of to Moldova in a couple of months time than something impromptu here.

[Trenchcoat]

Ok, so finally I think I'm getting to the end of the house conversion. I'm pretty sure I can finish it off in about a month with possibly the odd small jobs left over but nothing too big.

Hopefully it won't get pushed back on the schedule this time,  I doubt think it will as it's pretty well spaced out time wise so it should about do it. That will be good news for me as it's been a long running thing so will be good to get it off my hands and time back on my hands, leisure time to do what I want with . So that's certainly something I'm looking forward to all being well. Moldova will be on the schedule along with other stuff, but mostly Moldova I think.

So depending on how Moldova goes I guess I'll see from there. Worst case scenario I end up single in life and end up on a diet of Netflix, alcopops & video games.

On the other hand if Moldova doesn't work out other than trying to improve anything I can I guess there is always other parts of the world. As you say Krim always a bigger sh*thole to try lol. If I can get travelling but that won't be such a bad thing, see different parts of the world. Who knows maybe try South America and those Hispanic chicks out Bee Farmer so readily passes over on . A different scene at least. Sometimes in life I think a fresh change can be a good thing, try something completely new and see where it goes.

Anyhow, that is about it for now, just really looking forward to getting the house done, looking good and feeling good about the job done on it. Having a decent place behind me in a decent enough area is something at least so although not a millionaire at least a freeman relatively speaking so not bad really in my book at least.