Raithe

These days in the UK it's called "Universal Credit" with a changeable rate that's constantly being monitored depending on your needs and what you're doing to satisfy certain conditions. Depending on what your savings are, if you own or rent a place, if you have dependents, if you're married, etc. All change how much income you get from it. Also, if you're claiming because you're on the job hunt there are things like regular appointments with a job coach and a journal to keep filled out with what you're doing to find work. They try to help you (depending on how jaded and senior the job coach is), and once a certain point of time is passed they will roughly tell you to stop looking for the job you want and just to take any basic level job. There's stages to it. Stop looking for permanent jobs at the next stage, start looking for short term contracts, start looking for lower level roles, start looking for the job as a shelf-stacker at the local supermarket... There are all sorts of hoops to jump through and evidence you need to show to claim more or other benefits. But yes, there are people that have managed to steal small fortunes, but the struggle to get the basics can still be there for the majority of people going through the process. If you're claiming for sickness reasons, again, there needs to be evidence from the Doctors, x amount of time to recover, if its a permanent thing there can be continuing evidence needed. There can also be issues depending on how much NI (national insurance) you have paid in yourself over the years before you start to claim anything. It is a deeply threaded morass these days. If anyone is reaaally interested: https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit

https://frankonfraud.com/fraud-operations/12-things-only-old-timer-fraud-managers-can-appreciate/ Ah, that turn of history...

Many years ago, before there were more than three Star Wars movies, I was in a bookstore with a friend of mine and we came across a coffee table book that they wanted $80 for. Now, mind you, $80 had a lot more buying power in those days than it has today, and the book was no more than some stills from the movie and a few copy blocks. I was incensed that they would ask that much for it, but he said “No! People will pay a ton of money for Star Wars stuff. For example, did you know that for $300 you can get a life-size stuffed Yoda?” I looked at him, and I said “The only way that I would pay $300 for a life sized stuffed Yoda was if it was actually Siamese twins, female, stuffed Yodas, made in Switzerland and autographed by Dr. Seuss!” He shook his head and said “I know I’m going to regret asking this, but why would you pay $300 for life-sized stuffed Yoda female Siamese twins made in Switzerland and autographed by Dr. Seuss?” I said “Because then they’d be Yoda-lady, Yoda-lady, Whos.”

For other random things: CNN - Trump Organisations accounting firm says 10 years of financial statements are unreliable and would no longer be their accountants

Also, can we ever have Valentine's Day without reference to that greatest definition of love?

For the optimistic take:

For that Wholesome Valentine Vibe...

I have to admit, I am curious by the very Patrick Stewart sounding line there. Marvel and Sony continuing prep work to fold everything back together again?

I could see the mixture of Jonah allegory and his whole.. born again, exposed to the tribal concept of support as opposed to his lonely orphan youth and odd relationship with Cad Bane, and his shift of "you need people to support you" combining with his recognition that as a hired gun he was always stuck with the stupid decisions an employer might make. So it's easy to see that path of him deciding to want to be his own boss. His lack of any actual preparation or building of support beyond ONE person before doing so, is a little underwhelming for a character supposedly very tactically aware (at least in the EU). The original movies literally did a cool armour and "no disintegrations." You had a bit of add on with the elements of Jango Fett, but then Boba lost his teaching when he was , what, about 9? But all of the EU stuff kind of gets shunted off and no-one has any clue how valid it is in the Disney SW universe.

"Valentine's Day is very commercial so we shouldn't lose track of the real meaning of this special day. The day native Hawaiians stabbed Captain James Cook in his colonising neck on Feb 14, 1779" Note: To be fair, Cook wasn't a coloniser per se, just an explorer. But explorers of that day and age tended to get followed by the colonisers. And from what my hazey memory recalls, it was a lot of ups and downs that caused it. Crew of his ship grabbed wood for repairs, apparently not knowing it was from a sacred ritual area of the locals. The locals responded by capturing a ships cutter. Cook tried taking a local chieftain hostage for its recovery, and it all went **** up.

For an interesting take...

BBC = "Good sex can be safer sex" says WHO researchers