london nuked

[NorthernRaider]

Sorry mate I obviously accept and respect your point but I disagree, mos banks are simple parts of global conglomerates now losing London would be very disruptive but not apocalyptic. EG Yorkshire Bank, Royal Bank Of Scotland is own by an Aussie bank chain and all its accounts and records are stored in Edinburgh. If London went bang we would lose lots of people but the system has so many backups and redundancies it would soon start up.

If we lost London we would lose 900,000 Burocrats, a few thousand fat cats, 4 million immigrants a bunch of champagne socialists, three red wedge pop groups, 12 jellied eel salesman and a lot of black can drivers called Bert and hopefully about 2,000 politicians.

[Barneyboy]

well when you put it like that ,it doesn't sound that bad ,the 2000 MPs copping it makes me smile

[bigpaul]

ALL cities are artificial constructs as people came together to conduct business, participate in social interaction and benefit from efficiencies in public services, schools, sewers,public transport etc., yet cities cannot survive alone, they need resources from the countryside notably food and water. the acreage needed for food dictates no city could possibly feed all its own people, in the world today there are at least 20 cities with populations of over 10 million people.

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if London was nuked and blew away I don't think us "provincials" would even notice, much less care.

[NorthernRaider]

I know what you would love Barney, and that would be the restoration of LOCAL, Community owned banks and coops and building societies, lending and investing in local projects and schemes and employing local people, because they would be a simple natural evolution if the centralised mega banks got wiped out.

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Isnt it ODD or simply coincidental that in recent years the ologists and experts have been saying the best way forward is LOCALISM

EG
Local and SMART grids for power generation and distribution
Sustainable communities and Transition Towns
Local Community own banking and saving schemes
Local seasonal food groups and networks
Demands all new housing built from locally sourced materials
Smart mini WWW hubs
Localised rapid transit networks (super tram systems)
Separate frequencies for local and long distance cell phone systems

[Skean Dhude]

I think the issue here is;
BB is saying life as we know it will stop. It will as we will have major changes.
NR is saying who cares about those changes. We will adapt and life will go on.

You are both right. It is where the line ends up being drawn that is important and we are all guessing at that one. Just too many variables.

[NorthernRaider]

Yup cannot disagree with that summary, I can live without a banking or financial system, I can live without 900,000 burocrats, I cannot live without clean air, food, water, fuel,heat, light, clothing etc none of which come from London.

[River Song]

I was challenged recently by a statement by my OH - "Him indoors".

He said "You would actually relish a collapse would'nt you"

Made me think. I like my material comforts, my chocolate and harveys bristol cream but I am becoming so cranky in my old age that .....................

Question - seriously - are you actually relishing a collapse?

[bigpaul]

when you see what a mess the country, the nation is in and the stupidity of some of the people in it, then the answer to your question has to be YES- bring it on.

[NorthernRaider]

Oh god NO, I want a quiet, safe, secure, prosperous, healthy and successful life for my kids, I want technology and its benefits, the interweb, modern medicines, power tools and the trappings of a modern society, BUT

All of those things are very vulnerable to damage and disruption and abuse, So I want reliable alternatives and back ups, affordable renewable energy sources, useful skills etc , I want the ABSOLUTE right to protect my home and family from criminals, I want my kids to eat fresh locally produced foods and understand / respect where their food comes from.

I don't want a welfare state that pays out to non contributors or pays out for more than a year, or NHS that does not stick to treating only the British , sick, disabled and ill. I want my streets lit and bins emptied and my state schools graded to meet childrens aspirations, I don't want subsidised housing, drug rehabs, asylum seeker centres, and all the other crap I will never use also should not have to pay for.

I like the modern world and its good bits but sadly its unreliable and over subscribed.

[bigpaul]

too many people who "I want, I want, I want", the systems are too overstretched, something has to give, watch the whole sorry thing unravel like an old wool jumper.