Latest news with #UK
Irish Times
33 minutes ago
- Business
- Irish Times
The Unaccountability Machine by Dan Davies: an excellent diagnosis but a depressing prognosis
The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions – and How the World Lost its Mind. Author : Dan Davies ISBN-13 : 978-1788169547 Publisher : Profile Books Guideline Price : £22 In this informative and ambitious book, Dan Davies looks at contemporary systems. He looks at economics, airlines, banks and corporations and posits that recent fiascos (the 2008 financial crash; Brexit; the rise of populism) are not the result of 'conspiracy or cock-up' but of the growing complexity of these systems. Within these systems the idea of individual decision-making is redundant because the decisions are inscribed within the system itself, which produces its own results, independent of the individuals within the systems. This may initially seem like a plea bargain and excuse for those involved in nefarious activities, but ultimately the book is an indictment of the organisation and management of these systems within a neo-liberal environment. He introduces the term 'accountability sinks' where no person has agency therefore no one is responsible. He examines specific examples: Fox News reporting of voter fraud; airline flight experiences; squirrels getting shredded at Schiphol airport. READ MORE We all know the Ryanair experience where we have a problem but the person we engage with offers the interaction of a recorded message machine. For the system to function, 'it has to prevent the feedback of the person affected by the decision from affecting the operation of the system.' This last point he sees as a primary reason why many have abandoned mainstream politics and embraced Trump and populist politics. He identifies three main revolutions that have got us here: the managerial revolution, where control was passed over from owners and capitalists to professional administrators; the 1970s neo-liberal revolution which has shaped our current society; and the aborted cybernetic revolution. [ The Irish Times view on the Ryanair wheelie case controversy: making a bags of it Opens in new window ] He explores cybernetics ('the study of decision-making systems') through the eccentric, leftist Stafford Beer. Beer held meetings that were 'unstructured, informal connections between staff at different levels and performing different functions'. He wanted to create systems that were open, as opposed to closed systems – such as banking, where a limited focus on profit ended up with an implosion that led to them being bailed out by governments: the socialisation of private debt. Cybernetically speaking, there was not enough variety in the controlling system that would have provided feedback that the system was unstable and needed readjustment. There was no feedback channel beyond the closed system with regard to wider society. This is in keeping with Milton Friedman and the Chicago school of economics (the home of neo-liberal economics), which rejected a consideration of society. This was best expressed in Margaret Thatcher 's famous claim that there is no such thing as society. She, along with Ronald Reagan , was one of the two main political enforcers of this ideology. The closed neo-liberal system has led to the insanity where people still chase profit at the expense of planetary destruction. In cybernetic terms, it's the problem of emphasising one outcome of maximisation to the detriment of others. 'Every decision-making system set up as a maximiser needs to have a higher-level system watching over it.' Davis looks at the technical aspects and details of cybernetics, which are well explained yet require an extra level of concentration if, like me, you are not familiar with it. He claims that cybernetics could have changed the way economics developed in the 1950s and 1960s, instead of creating a system that supported the neo-liberal agenda. This agenda produced models of the world which neglected so many variables that they became self-fulfilling prophecies in their results: they were models of wish fulfilment posing as science. As Stafford Beer has it: 'Where analysis fails, ideology steps in.' That ideology was neo-liberalism. The strength of this book is its ability to provide an overarching theory of why the world is in crisis and how economic and societal development has lead to this. The book wraps up by reiterating that nobody in a corporation was or is responsible. This seems to me to let too many people off the hook. What about whistleblowers? There are always people doing the right thing. Davis, though, would argue that the systems were set up without the channels for this information to reach the ears of those in power. The profit motive is amplified as information within the system to the detriment of all other information/inputs. He ends by saying that, as systems get more complicated, we need to become use to more accountability sinks: '...we cannot afford the luxury of explainability; we can't keep on demanding that an identifiable human being is available to blame when things go wrong.' So morality is out the window. Our human status declines as he sees 'the death of responsibility' coming, and that 'I blame the system is something we will have to get used to saying, and meaning it literally'. An excellent diagnosis but a depressing prognosis. Highly recommended.
Al Arabiya
40 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Al Arabiya
Five arrested in UK for disrupting film starring Israeli actor Gal Gadot
London police on Wednesday arrested five people for trying to disrupt the filming of a movie starring Israeli actor Gal Gadot, a statement said. Gadot, star of Wonder Woman and Fast and Furious, is in London to film a new thriller, The Runner. She has been criticized by pro-Palestinian groups for expressing her support of Israel since the Gaza war erupted in 2023. Police said officers were deployed to a 'filming location' in Westminster 'to identify suspects wanted in connection with offences at previous film set protests and to deal with any new offences.' The arrests were for blocking access to a place of work. Police said in a statement posted on social media that two of the arrests were for previous protests and three for action carried out Wednesday. 'While we absolutely acknowledge the importance of peaceful protest, we have a duty to intervene where it crosses the line into serious disruption or criminality,' said Superintendent Neil Holyoak in the statement. 'I hope today's operation shows we will not tolerate the harassment of or unlawful interference with those trying to go about their legitimate professional work in London,' the officer added. Pro-Palestinian protesters also disrupted a Hollywood ceremony in March when Gadot's star on the Walk of Fame was unveiled.
BBC News
an hour ago
- Business
- BBC News
Farage's Reform policies 'fantasy' economics, says Starmer
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has accused Nigel Farage of "fantasy" economics after the Reform UK leader set out a number of policies earlier this a speech later this morning, Sir Keir is expected to liken Farage to former PM Liz Truss and say that Reform's policies would lead to an increase in mortgage made big gains in the English local elections earlier this month, cementing it as a prime challenger to Britain's traditional main parties.A spokesperson for Reform dismissed the prime minister's comments as a "desperate attack" from a party "behind in the polls". Speaking at a business in the north-west of England later, Sir Keir, 62, will accuse the Reform leader of pledging unfunded tax cuts which, he will warn, could spark an economic meltdown."In opposition we said Liz Truss would crash the economy and leave you to pick up the bill," he is expected to say. "We were right. And we were elected to fix that mess."Now in government, we are once again fighting the same fantasy – this time from Nigel Farage."Farage is making the exact same bet Liz Truss did. That you can spend tens of billions on tax cuts without a proper way of paying for it. And just like Truss, he is using your family finances, your mortgage, your bills as a gambling chip on his mad experiment. The result will be the same."Thursday's speech is further evidence that right now the prime minister sees Farage as his principal political Tuesday, Farage pledged more generous benefits for pensioners and parents – but it was a commitment to raising the threshold at which someone starts to pay income tax from £12,570 to £20,000 that had some economists questioning whether his sums added Institute for Fiscal Studies said the policy could cost between £50bn and £80bn a year – and that Reform had not spelled out how they would raise the cash."Of course they don't have to do that yet – we're not at a general election," said IFS economist Stuart Adam. "But at some point, if they're going to be a party of government, they would have to make those numbers add up." In Farage's speech, the former Ukip leader, 61, said the Conservatives had become an "irrelevance", adding: "They've had a good 200 years."The local elections saw Reform make big gains at the expense of both Labour and the Conservatives – winning one by-election and two mayoral races, as well as gaining 677 new party won most votes, most seats and overall control of most councils. But, as politics professor Sir John Curtice highlighted, the party's share of the votes across all councils where elections took place was no more than 31% – so despite doing well, it secured far from a majority of those voting. A Reform spokesman said: "We will take no economic lectures from Keir Starmer."Labour's manifesto promised £10bn per year of increased spending."Their first budget raised spending by £70bn and they have added another £30bn since then for Chagos."The prime minister faces pressure from his own MPs on government spending decisions, including cuts to disability also said he would scrap the two-child benefit limit, which some Labour MPs also want to see abolished. The cap prevents most families from claiming means-tested benefits for any third or additional children born after April 2017.
Malay Mail
an hour ago
- General
- Malay Mail
UK charges misogynist influencer Andrew Tate, brother with rape and human trafficking as new details emerge
LONDON, May 29 — Avowed misogynist and radical social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother have been charged with several counts of rape, assault and trafficking, UK prosecutors said yesterday. The accusations, which date back to between 2012 to 2015, were authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service in January 2024, but have only been revealed now. 'We can confirm that we have authorised charges against Andrew and Tristan Tate for offences including rape, human trafficking, controlling prostitution and actual bodily harm against three women,' prosecutors said in a statement. Former kickboxer Tate, 38, faces 10 charges including rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution relating to all three women. His brother, Tristan, 36, has been accused of 11 similar charges against one woman. 'A European arrest warrant was issued in England in 2024, and as a result the Romanian courts ordered the extradition to the UK of Andrew and Tristan Tate,' prosecutors said. 'However, the domestic criminal matters in Romania must be settled first.' Andrew Tate faces legal action in several countries, including some cases where he is accused alongside his brother. In Romania, the Tate brothers face separate allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. Both men, who have dual British-US nationality, have denied all charges against them. Andrew Tate hit back with a post on the social network X on Wednesday. 'The UK government accuses the 'innocent' while murderers, violent illegals, and corrupt leaders walk free. This is not justice — it's betrayal!,' he wrote. Tate, the figurehead of the online masculinist movement, went to Florida with his brother in February, marking the first time they had left Romania since their 2022 arrest. They travelled to Dubai in April, but returned to Romania a few days ago to report to police as they are required to do. Justice In a separate civil case before the UK High Court, four British women have accused Andrew Tate of rape and coercive control. Tate moved to Romania years ago after first starting a webcam business in Britain. He leapt to fame in 2016 when he appeared on the 'Big Brother' UK reality television show, but was removed after a controversial video emerged. He then turned to social media platforms to promote his often misogynistic and divisive views on how to be successful. Tate is followed by more than 10.7 million people on the social network X, where he shares his vision of masculinity and often homophobic and racist posts. Lawyer Matt Jury, representing the women in the civil case, said he welcomed that 'our authorities are working to ensure the Tates face justice here in the UK — they cannot be allowed to escape extradition'. But he urged prosecutors to also charge Andrew Tate for the accusations brought by his clients, after prosecutors decided in 2019 not to proceed with a criminal case. The women 'originally filed criminal complaints against him as long ago as 2014 but were failed by the system. They deserve justice, too,' Jury said. — AFP
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Most cluttered home' hits market after major reno
Britain's most cluttered home has hit the market for £300,000 ($A627,000) after receiving a major makeover. Previous occupants had left it a mess both on the inside and out, The Sun reports. Some rooms were not even possible to access as debris piled on the floors and furniture. The house has now undergone a major transformation becoming a stunning family home, with three vibrant bedrooms and a modern kitchen. The property was auctioned off in November 2021, where the bidding started at £110,000 ($A230,000). Despite the rubbish that had accumulated throughout the property, it received offers in £5,000 ($A10,400) increments from buyers. A proxy bid finally brought the auction to £145,000 ($A303,000). Following its makeover, the property is back on the market for just over double the price. The current owner has turned the home into an ample living space with a large corner garden. There is also a large loft area above bedrooms two and three, which could be converted into a further two rooms with the necessary planning permissions. As the property description states: 'Upon entering, you are greeted by a bright and airy open-plan lounge/diner, perfect for entertaining or relaxing with the family. 'The newly fitted kitchen/breakfast room is a true highlight, boasting contemporary units and ample space for culinary creations.' The property has also been given a new roof, plumbing, gas central heating and a complete rewiring. On top of that, doors and architraves, skirting and some floors have been sanded back to their original wood. It is due to go on the market via Purplebricks after once being dubbed 'Britain's most cluttered house'.
