SleafordMod

Potentially. I think it depends on how they're used. If a country decides to completely disarm itself though, then it's entirely possible that other countries will seek to invade and subjugate.

I think ideally there would be no nukes in the world, because they are dangerous. But nukes do exist. If western countries got rid of their nukes, then the remaining nuclear countries would be able to do what they like. "Surrender to our demands or we will nuke your cities."

Exactly. If Ukraine had their own nukes by the time of 2014, or if they had been part of NATO, then maybe Russia wouldn't have invaded Ukraine.

This reminds me of a discussion I was having with Hexbear members on Lemmy recently.

I was suggesting that perhaps it makes sense for the UK to have nukes, for self-defence against other nuclear countries like Russia, China, and potentially even the US, given their unpredictable behaviour. People from Hexbear got angry at this suggestion. One of them suggested that it's immoral to have nukes because nukes are "threatening civilians".

Maybe the OP image of this thread is right though: megalomaniacs are not deterred by words, but they are deterred by weapons (such as nukes). Ukraine was invaded because they didn't have enough deterrents. Iran is currently being bombed because I suppose they also didn't have enough deterrents.

If the UK got rid of its nukes then we'd just be defenceless against Russia, China, and even the US if the US decides they don't value their old allies (which seems to be the case these days).

Defending the UK given the current state of the world is sensible, but I wonder how they'll raise the cash for this

Brit here. I think this is the most common tea-making process for Brits:

1. Use an electric kettle to boil some water (I think Americans often don't have electric kettles, but nearly all Brits have them)
2. Get your teabag(s) (often 1 teabag per mug of tea) and either put them in a teapot, or put them straight into mugs, whichever you prefer
3. Pour the boiled water into the teapot or into the mugs to brew the tea
4. Poke the teabag(s) around with a spoon (I usually use the spoon to squeeze the teabag(s) against the side of the teapot/mug because it seems to make the tea stronger)
5. If you brewed the tea in a teapot, now is the time to pour it out into your mug(s)
6. Add milk to the tea in the mugs if desired (most Brits have milk in tea)
7. Add sugar to the tea in the mugs if desired (some people have no sugar, some have 1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar, some have more)
8. Enjoy your tea, but remember that it will initially be hot

Also you need to remove the teabag from each mug if you brewed the tea straight in the mug. I usually remove it before adding milk, but I think some people remove it after adding milk.

What kind of tea

I think the most common variety of tea in the UK is called English Breakfast. If you're in another country and you find English Breakfast tea then that's probably the most similar to standard British tea. Some Brits have other types of tea like Earl Grey, but that's not as common.

condiments

See the steps about milk and sugar above.

what separates a good tea from a bad tea

I think most Brits like relatively strong tea, where the teabags have had a proper chance to brew. Some Brits might prefer weaker tea though.

whens a bad time to bring out tea versus a good one

I think a lot of Brits would say there's never a bad time for tea.

You fuck with iced tea or is that a sin?

It's not that common in the UK. You can buy bottles of iced tea in the average British supermarket, but it's a bit of a niche drink.

Maybe it could. Starmer and his government have become more critical of Israel recently.

I think the Netherlands and Germany both have proportional representation and their parliaments have a bigger mix of parties, representing the interests of different sections of society.

I don't favour PR because I think PR would be a better vehicle for my personal political views. I favour PR because I think a more democratic system is by itself a good thing. Under PR, every vote counts. But under FPTP, if you vote for a smaller party that has no chance of winning your constituency, your vote is essentially worthless.

Yeah PR probably won't happen for years at least. I hope we get it at some point though.

I think it's a good idea. People wear backpacks like that when they go hiking or running, so keeping one by your bed seems okay. But yeah you'd have to clean it out somewhat regularly. Or just have a glass of water somewhere near your bed like a lot of people do.

Maybe the president of the EU commission could be directly elected by EU citizens. I just think it might involve people a bit more in EU democracy. They might feel they have more democratic control over the EU.

As for the "travelling circus", I was just replying to a post which raised that point, but I think he makes sense by saying that moving the parliament around seems wasteful.