Best Of

On a happier note, and before I get down to finishing work before downing tools for the break, I was mulling over @Big_G_NorthWales 's mildly but unnecessarily apologetic comments the other day about remembering charities such as the RNLI at this time of year. They had prompted a thought that was still buzzing around - but the fly has now landed on the lampshade. It was that what is interesting about his proud reports of LittleG in his RIB or Shannon or whatever it is is that they give a sense of the activities, and just as importantly of the commitment needed, of a single person working as crew, month by month. Mostly what one gets is collective reports (and rightly so) but one is never quite sure how many people are involved.

Also reflecting on some of the discussions on here about young people, the AI problem, and education at all ages. I do worry about those issues ... I'd, as it happens, just made a donation to a group towards its fund to help students (of all ages and whether in formal courses or not) with the costs of their own projects etc. Not a big charity, quite the reverse, but as a professional body I know it'll spend the money well (and we get to see the students' short reports in the regular newsletter).

Best wishes of the season to all.

Good morning

The commitment to the RNLI by crews and shore staff is amazing and the hours in the classrooms, at sea, and at Poole and at the same time holding down a full time job is a lesson to us all

Every time they answer a shout they have no idea what they are facing, and of course they are answerable for their actions as any professional would be

Their teamwork is incredible and so are their families and employers who know they have to answer their pager immediately and leave what they are doing, and this 24/7 and of course they cannot drink in case they are called

They can and do sign themselves out of calls but most of the year they are ready to go to assist anyone in peril on the sea

We do come from a long traditon of fishermen and merchant men on both sides of the family and have experienced the loss of loved ones at sea and our son is following in the footsteps of his family by his involvement in the RNLI

It is Christmas Eve and I want to wish everyone on here the happiest of Christmases and new year

There is more that unites us than divides us

A From Balmoral nearly made it to the top of the naughty list.

Poor Archie...,.. all he had to do was find a grouse!

A from Balmoral sounds a distinctly unpheasant character.

In olden times, his brother officers would have would have left him in a locked room, with a bottle of brandy, and a revolver with a single bullet in it.

Andrew should have and will have no further role in public life but apart from being an idiot associating with Epstein and young women is there any evidence he did anything illegal? Even Giuffre was 17 not underage in the UK.

If Andrew had any sense he would quietly do volunteering work for homeless charities and food banks for the poor in Norfolk, be grateful he still has a home and spend time with his daughters and grandchildren. His ego though is too big for that

One of the biggest mysteries of the year and one that says a lot about the UK as a nation is our fixation on Andrew. I couldn't care less what he's done. I think no worse of him now than I did when he was flying hellicopters in the Falklands. I saw a child without a leg having had it amputated yesterday . One of 85,000 bits of collateral damage after Netanyahu wreaked vengiance on Gaza.

Yet Andrew is the greater villain

I agree completely and in doing so I am not condoning Andrew's behaviour in any way. But when you consider Putin's guilt in well over 1m deaths, the theft of children, the bombing of civilians and the murder of rivals it is not a fair comparison. Ditto Netanyahu and the appalling behaviour of the IDF over the last 2 years. Ditto Xi and the genocide of the Uyghurs. Ditto that lunatic Kim Jong Un. And, increasingly, ditto that increasingly murderous DJT.

There is a real difference between being delusional, self obsessed and a selfish prat who thinks he is entitled to what he wants and genuine evil. We should not lose sight of that.

A From Balmoral nearly made it to the top of the naughty list.

Poor Archie...,.. all he had to do was find a grouse!

A from Balmoral sounds a distinctly unpheasant character.

In olden times, his brother officers would have would have left him in a locked room, with a bottle of brandy, and a revolver with a single bullet in it.

Andrew should have and will have no further role in public life but apart from being an idiot associating with Epstein and young women is there any evidence he did anything illegal? Even Giuffre was 17 not underage in the UK.

If Andrew had any sense he would quietly do volunteering work for homeless charities and food banks for the poor in Norfolk, be grateful he still has a home and spend time with his daughters and grandchildren. His ego though is too big for that

One of the biggest mysteries of the year and one that says a lot about the UK as a nation is our fixation on Andrew. I couldn't care less what he's done. I think no worse of him now than I did when he was flying hellicopters in the Falklands. I saw a child without a leg having had it amputated yesterday . One of 85,000 bits of collateral damage after Netanyahu wreaked vengiance on Gaza.

Yet Andrew is the greater villain

I agree completely and in doing so I am not condoning Andrew's behaviour in any way. But when you consider Putin's guilt in well over 1m deaths, the theft of children, the bombing of civilians and the murder of rivals it is not a fair comparison. Ditto Netanyahu and the appalling behaviour of the IDF over the last 2 years. Ditto Xi and the genocide of the Uyghurs. Ditto that lunatic Kim Jong Un. And, increasingly, ditto that increasingly murderous DJT.

There is a real difference between being delusional, self obsessed and a selfish prat who thinks he is entitled to what he wants and genuine evil. We should not lose sight of that.

Perhaps if the media including the state broadcaster didn’t run PR day in, day out for the Firm, the fascination with them wouldn’t be so disproportionate. We’re conditioned all our lives to think where the monarch gives his Christmas speech is of prime importance, and that ‘the Queen’ (lol) sending a special message to the presenters of Strictly matters a fuck. If you’ve bought the box of chocolates, you can’t really complain about the coffee flavoured ones.

Coffee flavoured ones are my favourites to be honest but I do find our obsession with the Royal family and their comings and goings more than a bit tiresome. Clearly there's a market for it though.


But the difference between genuine evil and selfish prat remains an important distinction.

Agree entirely. Coffee-flavoured chocolates are the best.

Mint, nut or orange are above coffee.

We obsess about the Royals while ignoring the significant political influence granted them behind the scenes.

Fruit flavoured soft centres and hard nutty chocolates are both far better than the endless varieties of truffle that currently seem fashionable.

I'm going to suffer this Christmas.

The wine hamper that was supposed to be a present for a friend in London just turned up on my doorstep because I put the wrong address in !!!



Hiccup !

On a happier note, and before I get down to finishing work before downing tools for the break, I was mulling over @Big_G_NorthWales 's mildly but unnecessarily apologetic comments the other day about remembering charities such as the RNLI at this time of year. They had prompted a thought that was still buzzing around - but the fly has now landed on the lampshade. It was that what is interesting about his proud reports of LittleG in his RIB or Shannon or whatever it is is that they give a sense of the activities, and just as importantly of the commitment needed, of a single person working as crew, month by month. Mostly what one gets is collective reports (and rightly so) but one is never quite sure how many people are involved.

Also reflecting on some of the discussions on here about young people, the AI problem, and education at all ages. I do worry about those issues ... I'd, as it happens, just made a donation to a group towards its fund to help students (of all ages and whether in formal courses or not) with the costs of their own projects etc. Not a big charity, quite the reverse, but as a professional body I know it'll spend the money well (and we get to see the students' short reports in the regular newsletter).

Best wishes of the season to all.

My daughter explained how she was wanting to start some Christmas traditions of her own in addition to those she grew up with. She decided that they would make a family donation to a suitable charity. Her son is only 10 months old so this year she has chosen a children's charity for him but the intention is that each year as he gets older time will be spent researching and choosing that year's charity, teaching him something about those who are less fortunate. I think this is a great idea. It has clearly been influenced by her brother's interest in effective altruism but it is all the more remarkable when you appreciate that money is actually pretty tight for them. I am seriously tempted to copy their innovation. It is so more attractive than yet more stuff.

https://x.com/SecRubio/status/2003547575580815814

For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose. The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship.

Today, @StateDept will take steps to bar leading figures of the global censorship-industrial complex from entering the United States. We stand ready and willing to expand this list if others do not reverse course.

Europe (and us) are probably too censorious, but this just seems like yet another example of the Trump administration wanting to antagonise or even make enemies of it's allies, a la Denmark and Canada.

Even if you think they are being too cesnorious all the EU wants is for US social media platforms to deal with abuse and disinformation the same way that local media would have to. The US seems to have adopted a position that US companies need not comply with local laws, and should be free to act as the US alone sees fit. It's plainly nuts, and not something the US would tolerate as the TikTok debacle and others demonstrates.

I don't really see why anyone should be expected to 'deal with disinformation' on social media networks. It's an unfiltered jungle of opinion, and users should be aware of that and act accordingly. Caveat emptor.

Perhaps contradicting my own view, I think the accounts of Islamic State and similar organisations should be taken down with extreme prejudice. And any accounts publishing distressing, criminal footage should also be taken down.

Lector!

https://x.com/SecRubio/status/2003547575580815814

For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose. The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship.

Today, @StateDept will take steps to bar leading figures of the global censorship-industrial complex from entering the United States. We stand ready and willing to expand this list if others do not reverse course.

Is this a threat to the existence of PB.com?

They’ve announced sanctions on Thierry Breton and others

https://x.com/undersecpd/status/2003567947403657399

The Lib Dems even get a special mention in that rant.

"None of those sanctioned is a current UK or EU official—however, we know that foreign government officials are actively targeting the United States. This week, the UK’s Liberal Democrats claimed President’s Trump National Security Strategy amounts to “foreign interference” by a “hostile foreign state” because it correctly identifies mass migration and decaying national sovereignty as existential European security concerns."

Is that the first time the Lib Dems have been noticed by the US government? Ed should have the tweet printed and framed.