Best Of

Labour seeks to ban trail hunting in the New Year

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g9y20j259o

I can see no reason for this except spite.

Ineffectual governments will often poke their opponents in the eye.

I think this is completely trivial, just a piece of nastiness.

Perhaps but an equally cynical motive might be to keep backbenchers onside since they can't deliver the new Jerusalem in this parliament. If there's no money left, do something that's free.

I've advocated in the past for the government to do things that are free, but surely there are a whole bunch of law changes that could be made with zero budgetary outlay that are more consequential than banning trail hunting?

More and more they look like a tired old government that has run out of ideas, less than two years in. Which I suppose isn't that surprising since they started with no idea at all.

Looks like the Swedish have captured a shadow fleet cargo ship. Suggestions it might be broken down.

https://x.com/osinttechnical/status/2002711161574428974

The Americans have seized a shadow fleet tanker near Venezuela yesterday too.

Not a good weekend for the Russians.

The tanker off Venezuela was due for China,

There is a conspiracy theory (probably held by some here) that Trump is doing it to help Russia as if China stops buy8ng from Venezuela then they buy it from Russia.

A better conspiracy theory is that pushing up oil prices more generally is good for Russia. And Trump/Vance/ don't care about US inflation because there isn't going to be an election anyway.

The current price less discounts which Russia is getting for its crude is below production costs. So every little helps, Comrade Trump.

A

Vintage Tucker Carlson:

How I was mauled by a demon whilst asleep in bed, which left me with claw marks. It was nothing to do with the 4 dogs in bed with me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDIqoPKNhgo

Context: dogs are known to run in their sleep:
https://www.reddit.com/r/goldenretrievers/comments/1frdfln/running_while_sleeping/

Do dogs dream ? Do they go to heaven ?

They have REM sleep. Surmising, I'd say that is to "process" (whatever that means for Fido) and to recover from the previous period (also, whatever that means).

I've known cats, and they do things in their sleep.

Here imo it's about Carlson going to 0.01% explanations over 99.9% explanations, and what has created that state of mind for him. It reminds me of the one or two people I have met over the years who firmly profess that God always intervenes to save a parking space in Central London for them; I have not been able to tell whether they were joking.

You mean you’ve never heard of the catholic parking prayer?

Holy Mary, full of grace
Help me find a parking space

The charismatic evangelical one can be a little more assertive.

Presumably the Wee Free one is for an incredibly awkward parking space on a rain blasted hillside several miles from one’s destination.

Labour seeks to ban trail hunting in the New Year

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g9y20j259o

I can see no reason for this except spite.

In the words of the Labour manifesto 'it is being used as a smokescreen for the hunting of wild animals' and in fairness this is true. There have been so many examples. Only the other week hunt saboteurs recorded exactly this from a drone - clear hunting of a fox.

The hunts only have themselves to blame for this. It is a shame because a British tradition could have been kept if it had adapted, but they seem incapable of doing so and keeping to the law.

The original ban was done out of spite too and has made it difficult to keep fox numbers down and protect sheep and livestock and pet rabbits etc

They should do zoning for fox hunting. Focus on urban areas.

Plenty of potential demand for hunts here in the South East London suburbs. It seems there’s a fox in every back garden, and another rifling through every food caddy that’s not been tightly clipped shut.

The height of the walls and fences might be a challenge for the horses though.

We have to feed ours every night. It's a sort of protection racket they run. If you don't you end up having to pick up their crap in the back garden every morning.

Ours absolutely love ripping apart bags of compost. A hazard cycling back from the pub too, had a few close misses.

For the earthworms perhaps? Edit: I once woke up one morning in summer at sparrow-**** and looked out of the window and there as a fox on the grassy verge working its way systematically through the worms.

'sparrow-****' ??

Sparrowfart, on weekdays. Never heard the expression? The twilit time of dawn when Mr Passer Domesticus wakes up, stretches his legs and wings, and performs the matutidinal eructation in preparation for his first morning tweet.

Morning all

More bleating from the hospitality industry and some petty spite planning to "ban Labour MPs" from pubs, restaurants etc.

I've very little sympathy - there are two aspects to the whingeing. First, the NI increases - well, all businesses have had to pay for the elephant trap laid for the incoming Government by Sunak and Hunt.

Second, the ending of business rate relief - this was introduced by the Conservatives in 2020 during COVID (and rightly so given no one could go out initially and the virus spreader Eat Out to Help Out was a politically motivated catastrophe) but instead of a rapid removal after a year or two it was left in place for a five year timeframe and of course Reeves and Starmer have been left holding that grenade when it exploded.

I suppose Reeves could have continued with the business rates relief (not quite sure why she didn't and that's her political error) but rather like Council Tax, the political pain of revaluation isn't worth it so the sleeping dog can remain unmolested in the lounge bar by the fire.

The other side of the argument is the hospitality industry has or should have prospered from reduced business rates in a way other businesses (presumably) haven't and the end of the relief has been akin to Cleese and Palin at the end of the fish slapping dance.

Nonetheless, it's quite clear a lot of this is simply playing politics - I've not for instance heard Badenoch or Stride commit to restoring the Business Rates relief at 2020 levels should they get into power next time (and Reform's position on this is also unknown). Pubs and restaurants can choose who they wish to serve but this is petty and vindictive and one could argue it was well known the relief would last only five years.

I presume you objected to all the performative bans of politicians from other political parties?

Hunt’s “NI trap” was actually paid for by fiscal drag on the income tax rates.

Hospitality has been massively hit by the increase in employment costs since COVID. They are trapped between already high prices and rising costs. In a London pub an £18 burger is not uncommon now.

I really need to get my Water Shop project going. The idea is to show the cost per hour of a shop that, instead of coffee or whatever, gives you WiFi and a glass of tap water. The base cost of existing as a business, as it were.

The problem is a vast array of taxes, policies and government structure is based on the idea that small commercial premises are a fountain of money. That simply dipping the cup in the infinite well has no effect.

This was so, perhaps, several generations ago.

The world has changed. The high street is barely viable. If you talk to people in retail (I’ve got family working there and a friend’s wife runs HR for an outfit that owns several of the big chains) they are fighting a retreat, at the middle to low end.

Labour has always believed that dupping the cup in the infinite well has no effect - either in terms of tax or obligation or regulation.

I’d love to have a dog now I’m retired but I can’t get over the thought of pickings it’s shit up. I remember once a dog walk with my mother and her dogs. One took a runny dump and she was trying to clean it up and it was like a dirty protest in The Maize.

I was wary of it before we got ours but soon got used to it. My mother in laws dog once did a shit so runny it resembled chicken korma. No way to clear it up, so I scarpered (and felt bad, but what was I to do?)

I nearly (until a chest infection for me) was planning to dog sit this Christmas. The range of comments for this Shit-Poo (therapy) dog was quite extensive. There's quite a lot more, including a different set of required behaviours for the room used for therapy.

• Sit
• Lie down
• Spin
• Leave
• Come
• Wait
• Stay
• Walk with me
• Touch
• Hold paw.
• Sit pretty
• High ten
• Dance or wheely

When I last heard the owners were stuck at Dibai en route to Thailand.

What’s the difference between “sit” and “sit pretty”?

Or do I not want to know…

Sit pretty is sitting on their hind legs front paws up. Some think it is a bit cruel and not good for dogs. I have no idea, but we haven't taught our dog to do this.

I’d love to have a dog now I’m retired but I can’t get over the thought of pickings it’s shit up. I remember once a dog walk with my mother and her dogs. One took a runny dump and she was trying to clean it up and it was like a dirty protest in The Maize.

That's not really practical, so very brave of her to even try.

But you might also want to consider the vet bills for Fido. One reason for the increase is the moving in of big business, taking over practices on the private medical/dental industry model. I know a vet very unhappy with this - very glad to be retired now.

Lots of people have dumped Rover and Pussy on the RSPCA/SSPCA/etc in recent years because they can't afford aforesaid animals. Or just chuck them out of the car window etc.

You’ve made a great point. Anecdotal,obvs but I’ve read plenty of people grumbling about the increase in cost of pet insurance recently.

I’d have tropical fish or an Emperor Scorpion or a Chilean rose hair tarantula but her magnificence objects.