On the subject of "Conspiracy Theories", I took a few minutes to rank a few that spring to mind.
Category A, No chance:
- World run by liberal elite pedo ring. - Moon landings faked. - Covid doesn’t exist. - The Kennedys killed Marilyn.
Category B, Possible but on balance no:
- Oswald didn’t act alone. - David Kelly was murdered. - Epstein was murdered. - Covid came from a lab. - Corbyn voted Leave. - The Nazis burnt the Reichstag.
Category C, Probable, in fact almost certainly true:
- Boris Johnson despite appearances is built like a brick shithouse. He’s almost all muscle.
Happy New Year to all at PB. I think you need to split category B to create B2 "Possible and on balance yes". Covid from a lab and Corbyn voted Leave would be in there.
Serious historians are still arguing about the Reichstag. The dividing line is between those that think the Nazi's could organise a conspiracy properly, and those that think they just took advantage of events that unfolded.
Looks like PCR testing system has finally totally crashed....zero slots anywhere by 1.30pm.
So unless they scrap the isolation rule, any teacher or doctor who gets a false positive on their LFT but is otherwise perfectly fine will have to isolate for seven days.
This is not going to end well for essential services...
I thought false positives were pretty rare: false negatives are much more likely.
I've had so many experiences of both among colleagues that I've decided the only safe conclusion to draw is that LFTs are a crock of worthless rubbish.
True positive on an lft followed by a false negative on a PCR seems more likely to me than a false positive lft.
“Dr Jenny Harries has been made a Dame for her services during the pandemic, which is pretty incredible considering that her most significant contribution was basically telling us we wouldn't have one.”
Jonathan Van Tam has also been honoured. Like ms Harries he also told us: masks don’t work, don’t wear them
One reason I increasingly despise this government is the way they promote the mediocre and reward the time servers. Ugh
However if there was an election tomorrow I’d probably have to stab myself with a fork and vote Tory as I’m certain Labour would be just as bad or worse, plus they’d be even more Woke and ineffectual
Happy New Year. I'm hoping this year will be the year we finally get back to the cheerful optimistic of the 1990s.
That will require a large number of people - including many in the media - to let go of Brexit. They still think that Brexit has doomed us to perpetual pessimism....
Looking forward to Boris and the Tories saying we can forget about Brexit.
Oh, I think they are increasingly keen on the voters forgetting the polished turd that is Brexit.
You obviously didn't hear the PM'S New Year message then. Am I the only one who wasn't aware there were ever crown stamps on pint glasses?
I don't know if Scottish licensing laws are different but pint glasses here are regularly marked as such and have crown stamps. Just checked a Caley 80 shilling glass I got from a beer festival 20 years ago and lo and behold..
These rsoles are all about confected battles and synthetic victories.
An 80 Shilling pint glass!? I think that's even more Imperial than my Inch's pint glass!
Old name for a grade of beer, actually, not the glass; there might be 70/- and 80/- in the same way as the number of xxxxs reflected the grade of beer. Hence Wadworth 6X and Belhaven 80/-. TUD's Caley 80/- glass is obviously a promotional one - the point being that the Scots origin is clear from the beer being promoted.
you forgot 60/- , pale ale Carnyx
Here’s an explanation. http://www.scottishbrewing.com/history/shilling.php Apart from keg beer, the only 60/- still available is Belhaven, and that only very rarely. I haven’t seen cask 70/- or 90/- labelled as such, for a long time, either.
When I started at age 14 it was 1/10 for light , 2 shillings for heavy 2/3 for export and 2/6 for lager. So you could get 10 pints and change from a pound.
Yes, when I started pubcrawling on a Fri night in the mid 70s I used to take one pound and that was enough for many many pints and a bag of chips (with scraps) on the way home.
Are you sure?
In 1977 it was 32p a pint in local pubs and only 25p a pint in the local Club for me.
So I needed about £4 if i wanted mushrooms and Chips to follow my Gallon of Marksman
That's how I remember it - 4 or 5 pints plus the chips for a quid. And to add a detail to show authenticity. I would put the small change needed for the chips into a separate pocket at the outset so as to not get carried away and spend it. Although if you were skint you could ask for just a bag of scraps and they'd usually oblige.
Around 1990 IIRC a pint cost a pound and fish and chips cost a pound.
Fish and chips has gone up considerably in price whereas its still possible to get a pint for £2 or 99p for Ruddles at a Weatherspoons.
“Dr Jenny Harries has been made a Dame for her services during the pandemic, which is pretty incredible considering that her most significant contribution was basically telling us we wouldn't have one.”
Jonathan Van Tam has also been honoured. Like ms Harries he also told us: masks don’t work, don’t wear them
One reason I increasingly despise this government is the way they promote the mediocre and reward the time servers. Ugh
However if there was an election tomorrow I’d probably have to stab myself with a fork and vote Tory as I’m certain Labour would be just as bad or worse, plus they’d be even more Woke and ineffectual
Yes it would be ironic to vote for a party with the ultimate ineffectual, time-serving, knighted public sector non=entity at its head.
Update from Spain from a local blog in my area of Andalucia:
"Spain currently has a hospitalisation rate almost DOUBLE that of the UK. Despite carrying out about a fifth of the tests carried out in the UK, the infection rate is substantially higher. Spain has a higher vaccination rate than the UK - but a much lower third dosage rate. Less than 30% of 50-59 age. In other words - the pandemic is out of control in Spain and the government might as well admit it. Restrictions are doing bugger all to stop it, and the vaccine, which may be keeping hospitalisation rates down, is doing little to prevent community transmission. Given that there is a fixed vaccination capacity in Spain (thanks, unions!) stop faffing about vaccinating little kids and concentrate on giving OAP's their ten weekly boosters, and get rid of the restrictions for those of us in the middle who don't need them any more."
I've just run my first ever marathon: 4hr 45 minutes, with 140 metres of ascent. Mostly on road, but with some muddy and boggy sections, including one where I had to walk.
Quite pleased with the effort; half an hour faster than my target time, and I was on target for a 4hr30m before I slowed down coming up Madingley Hill at about 20 miles.
And that brings my running streak (not streaking running) to an end. I'm going to take a few days off and concentrate on something new. So you won't hear me going on about running for a bit ...
Very impressed by anyone who can manage a marathon in any time. I can do a half but I think I'd be dead on the floor trying for much more than about fifteen miles.
Klopp tests positive (after mild symptoms) and will miss the Chelsea match but no other further positives in the LFC squad but three backroom staff have returned suspected positive results.
Happy New Year. I'm hoping this year will be the year we finally get back to the cheerful optimistic of the 1990s.
That will require a large number of people - including many in the media - to let go of Brexit. They still think that Brexit has doomed us to perpetual pessimism....
Looking forward to Boris and the Tories saying we can forget about Brexit.
Oh, I think they are increasingly keen on the voters forgetting the polished turd that is Brexit.
You obviously didn't hear the PM'S New Year message then. Am I the only one who wasn't aware there were ever crown stamps on pint glasses?
I don't know if Scottish licensing laws are different but pint glasses here are regularly marked as such and have crown stamps. Just checked a Caley 80 shilling glass I got from a beer festival 20 years ago and lo and behold..
These rsoles are all about confected battles and synthetic victories.
Exactly what I was thinking re crown marks - what's all this about??
I see he wants to simplify life by bringing back pounds and ounces - presumably not compulsory.
The strange obsession with imperial measures by a portion of the Tory base is one of the more perplexing sides to Brexit. People rightly accuse the left of going down esoteric rabbit holes that the country at large doesn’t care about, but this seems to be the Tory equivalent.
In fact it’s the right wing equivalent of reopening the coal mines.
I don't understand it at all. There's so many other things going on in the country, this is such a waste of everyone's time and effort.
Yes, and I also think it's poor politics. The sort of people who are bothered about imperial measures are older folk who will vote Tory whatever. For younger people, it just seems weird. It won't win any new Tory voters.
It's a defensive move to keep the fraying Brexit coalition intact. It's a simple visual reminder that leavers can look at before brushing loose tobacco off the sleeves of their shell suits and putting a quid on the edge of the pool table.
The hit from Aukus seems to have worn off so needs must, I suppose.
You and @Dura_Ace and the other idiot Remoaners still don’t understand Brexit and you never will. It is fuck all to do with steel or cheese or whatever
What is Brexit? It is Brexit. What is the meaning and purpose of Brexit? It is Brexit. Brexit IS the great benefit of Brexiting
Look at it this way. Every time some Eurocrat appears on tv and announces a new EU law or policy or “Brussels decides” I get a reflexive desire to puke as I think: wait, I didn’t vote for this, I didn’t vote for any of them, you can’t vote for them, they just rule us forever - as that has been the case all my adult life
And then I remember: wait, we brexited. We’re out. They do not rule us. We are ruled by ourselves. Fuck them. And then I feel warm and happy about Brexit all over again. Plus Brexit annoys people like you and Emmanuel macron so that’s good as well
There will have to be a 3000 year shortage of cheese, 4 million hour queues at Heathrow, along with a successful invasion by yodelling Belgian dwarves for me to decide Brexit was a mistake
For people who make a living exporting cheese or steel you will find that Brexit very much is about those things. Still, as long as bored keyboard warriors get to Own the Libs I guess it was all worth it.
Klopp tests positive (after mild symptoms) and will miss the Chelsea match but no other further positives in the LFC squad but three backroom staff have returned suspected positive results.
St Jurgen of Vaccines? God truly works in mysterious ways!
One reason I increasingly despise this government is the way they promote the mediocre and reward the time servers. Ugh
That's how the public sector works isn't it?
It's a sociological issue of large organisations, public and private. "X is a good fit. Doesn't rock the boat. Doesn't shoot at the moon. Safe pair of hands...."
Speaking of booze and boozers: Pubs, bars and restaurants need our custom more than ever right now
So instead of Dry January or Stoptober or any of that bollocks I hereby christen january 2022 as “Drankuary” - so we all have to go to a bar or pub every single day for an eight hour session until February - or “Deathuary” as it will then be known
The 'working from home' gang should change to 'working from pub'.
Anyone suggesting a dry January after the December that hospitality has suffered, should be put up against a wall and shot. Alternatively, ask them where they work and tell them you will be boycotting their firm in the hope they go bust.
One reason I increasingly despise this government is the way they promote the mediocre and reward the time servers. Ugh
That's how the public sector works isn't it?
Yes. Which is why Labour would probably be even worse (plus all the other lefty crap) so they won’t get my vote
My argument is that I had forlorn and - it now appears - foolish hopes that Bojo’s Tories would be something new and a bit better. I know most people despise Dom Cummings but I respect his intellect and he has good ideas (along with mad ones). I hoped he would have input. Not to be
I’m not sure there is any politician in the UK that I respect right now. No one of whom I have hopes That’s kinda sad
Was it always this crap? Is Covid clouding my brain?
“Dr Jenny Harries has been made a Dame for her services during the pandemic, which is pretty incredible considering that her most significant contribution was basically telling us we wouldn't have one.”
Jonathan Van Tam has also been honoured. Like ms Harries he also told us: masks don’t work, don’t wear them
One reason I increasingly despise this government is the way they promote the mediocre and reward the time servers. Ugh
However if there was an election tomorrow I’d probably have to stab myself with a fork and vote Tory as I’m certain Labour would be just as bad or worse, plus they’d be even more Woke and ineffectual
I have plenty of forks so let me know if you need one.
Klopp tests positive (after mild symptoms) and will miss the Chelsea match but no other further positives in the LFC squad but three backroom staff have returned suspected positive results.
St Jurgen of Vaccines? God truly works in mysterious ways!
He has said vaccines doesn't stop you getting Covid-19, just reduces the severity of it.
But the antivax twats are going to have a field day with this.
“Dr Jenny Harries has been made a Dame for her services during the pandemic, which is pretty incredible considering that her most significant contribution was basically telling us we wouldn't have one.”
Jonathan Van Tam has also been honoured. Like ms Harries he also told us: masks don’t work, don’t wear them
One reason I increasingly despise this government is the way they promote the mediocre and reward the time servers. Ugh
However if there was an election tomorrow I’d probably have to stab myself with a fork and vote Tory as I’m certain Labour would be just as bad or worse, plus they’d be even more Woke and ineffectual
I have plenty of forks so let me know if you need one.
Finally a good winner. L'homme presse was very very impressive, definitely going to be a big star.
Maybe the first two home, as runner-up The Glancing Queen might go for the Mares Chase at the Festival. L'Homme Presse presumably goes for the Turners. Great jumper!
One reason I increasingly despise this government is the way they promote the mediocre and reward the time servers. Ugh
That's how the public sector works isn't it?
Yes. Which is why Labour would probably be even worse (plus all the other lefty crap) so they won’t get my vote
My argument is that I had forlorn and - it now appears - foolish hopes that Bojo’s Tories would be something new and a bit better. I know most people despise Dom Cummings but I respect his intellect and he has good ideas (along with mad ones). I hoped he would have input. Not to be
I’m not sure there is any politician in the UK that I respect right now. No one of whom I have hopes That’s kinda sad
Was it always this crap? Is Covid clouding my brain?
One difference we have now is with the widespread availability of the internet, social media, WhatsApp, things can really easily be leaked, facts checked and overall trying to control the narrative in the way that even up to New Labour via Bad Al is impossible.
Everything you have ever done or said is instantly searchable.
So, we can catch both flu and COVID simultaneously. What's news about that? They are not the same disease, as the article asserts. The viruses have not 'merged'. It is not fluroma, but a co-infection of COVID and flu.
“Dr Jenny Harries has been made a Dame for her services during the pandemic, which is pretty incredible considering that her most significant contribution was basically telling us we wouldn't have one.”
Jonathan Van Tam has also been honoured. Like ms Harries he also told us: masks don’t work, don’t wear them
One reason I increasingly despise this government is the way they promote the mediocre and reward the time servers. Ugh
However if there was an election tomorrow I’d probably have to stab myself with a fork and vote Tory as I’m certain Labour would be just as bad or worse, plus they’d be even more Woke and ineffectual
Dr Dame Jenny Harries is boss of Test and Trace. Currently no tests and never any tracing.
So, we can catch both flu and COVID simultaneously. What's news about that? They are not the same disease, as the article asserts. The viruses have not 'merged'. It is not fluroma, but a co-infection of COVID and flu.
Not just nul points, disqualified for life.
I propose the Professor Robert Peston (FRS, DIpSHit) Award, for services to stupidity in media.
LOL. In Oct 2010 Wes Streeting had only just stopped being President of the NUS.
He’d just been elected to Redbridge council in a by-election, after it emerged that the just elected councillor was a teacher and ineligible to stand. Some of the Ilford South Labour branches were known for being fairly left wing - so the question regarding his tweet is whether he himself held those views but, after election to public office, quickly worked out that the career path to senior office needed a different approach, or whether his 2010 tweets were simply being pitched to impress the people he needed to impress, to get that very first leg up the greasy pole.
Given that as NUS President he went out on limb to support Labour’s new tuition fees, yet then played a key role in securing Clegg’s ultimately fatal pledge to repeal them, my money is on the latter. Streeting is a career politician who will say and do whatever it takes to secure his own advancement.
Speaking of booze and boozers: Pubs, bars and restaurants need our custom more than ever right now
So instead of Dry January or Stoptober or any of that bollocks I hereby christen january 2022 as “Drankuary” - so we all have to go to a bar or pub every single day for an eight hour session until February - or “Deathuary” as it will then be known
The 'working from home' gang should change to 'working from pub'.
Anyone suggesting a dry January after the December that hospitality has suffered, should be put up against a wall and shot. Alternatively, ask them where they work and tell them you will be boycotting their firm in the hope they go bust.
While waiting for a prescription in the local pub (next door to the to the pharmacy) yesterday I was chatting to the manager. He really doesn't know what they'll do if there's another lockdown. Can't see how they can survive.
One reason I increasingly despise this government is the way they promote the mediocre and reward the time servers. Ugh
That's how the public sector works isn't it?
That he’d vote tomorrow for the government he despises today tells you all you need to know.
It tells you that the Opposition is even worse. Which they are. eg Starmer’s Labour would likely have already locked us down for a fourth time
I’d be delighted if I had a decent alternative to the feeble Tories. I don’t. Do you?
Faced with such a choice you have three options:
- wash your hands of it all and refuse to participate; - find a third party or minor candidate you can support so that your hands remain clean; - support the other lot who aren’t in office, on the grounds that gifting those with power a further term rarely works out well.
Voting for the feeble Tories, who you now despise, again isn’t a sensible choice.
Update from Spain from a local blog in my area of Andalucia:
"Spain currently has a hospitalisation rate almost DOUBLE that of the UK. Despite carrying out about a fifth of the tests carried out in the UK, the infection rate is substantially higher. Spain has a higher vaccination rate than the UK - but a much lower third dosage rate. Less than 30% of 50-59 age. In other words - the pandemic is out of control in Spain and the government might as well admit it. Restrictions are doing bugger all to stop it, and the vaccine, which may be keeping hospitalisation rates down, is doing little to prevent community transmission. Given that there is a fixed vaccination capacity in Spain (thanks, unions!) stop faffing about vaccinating little kids and concentrate on giving OAP's their ten weekly boosters, and get rid of the restrictions for those of us in the middle who don't need them any more."
"a fixed vaccination capacity in Spain (thanks, unions!)" - please explain more..
Looks like PCR testing system has finally totally crashed....zero slots anywhere by 1.30pm.
So unless they scrap the isolation rule, any teacher or doctor who gets a false positive on their LFT but is otherwise perfectly fine will have to isolate for seven days.
This is not going to end well for essential services...
I thought false positives were pretty rare: false negatives are much more likely.
I've had so many experiences of both among colleagues that I've decided the only safe conclusion to draw is that LFTs are a crock of worthless rubbish.
They are undoubtedly producing a lot of false negatives amongst my family members, who've subsequently had positive PCR results. My wife currently has Covid, so I am distrusting the negative LFTs I produce each morning.
UCL Cell Biologist Jennifer Rohn has urged people displaying symptoms associated with the Omicron variant to swab the back of their throat as well. This led to her testing positive after a string of negative results...
One reason I increasingly despise this government is the way they promote the mediocre and reward the time servers. Ugh
That's how the public sector works isn't it?
That he’d vote tomorrow for the government he despises today tells you all you need to know.
It tells you that the Opposition is even worse. Which they are. eg Starmer’s Labour would likely have already locked us down for a fourth time
I’d be delighted if I had a decent alternative to the feeble Tories. I don’t. Do you?
Faced with such a choice you have three options:
- wash your hands of it all and refuse to participate; - find a third party or minor candidate you can support so that your hands remain clean; - support the other lot who aren’t in office, on the grounds that gifting those with power a further term rarely works out well.
Voting for the feeble Tories, who you now despise, again isn’t a sensible choice.
Option 1 is effete and wanky, 2 is ditto, 3 is simply illogical. So I am Unpersuaded
On reflection I think I am being slightly harsh on the Tories - and our political classes. The government is pretty poor and all the other parties are as bad or worse, but this mediocrity is not unprecedented. Britain in the 60s and 70s was a shambles (and we didn’t face plague then), late stage New Labour were utter rubbish, squandering good fortune, invading Iraq, knackering the Constitution
Good governance is the exception not the rule. Thatcher and early Blair are the rarities
Concludes with this. Which gets to the heart of it, I think:
Christopher Snowdon @cjsnowdon · 1h When people say the government has done nothing to prepare for a winter wave of COVID-19, what they mean is that it hasn't introduced a fourth lockdown. That's all they're ever interested in. 16/ END
Concludes with this. Which gets to the heart of it, I think:
Christopher Snowdon @cjsnowdon · 1h When people say the government has done nothing to prepare for a winter wave of COVID-19, what they mean is that it hasn't introduced a fourth lockdown. That's all they're ever interested in. 16/ END
He’s just retweeted this more cheering news
“London still doing a good impression of the precipitous Gauteng rise & fall on Zoe”
One 'every cloud' side effect of the lfts running out is that antivaxxers can't get into any events
Perhaps a feature, not a bug?
Well, if that was the plan we might not have become the most tested major country in the world by a distance. Some people seem to have taken it up as a hobby. There will be committed daily testers in Summer 2024 defending their Pacific islands.
And of course we should always remember foreign governments can be mind-bogglingly rubbish, as well. eg Germany
The same German government which is decommissioning 3 of its 6 remaning nuclear plans 'as part of the transition to renewables'. Puton obviously not squeezing them hard enough for their masochistic taste.
And of course we should always remember foreign governments can be mind-bogglingly rubbish, as well. eg Germany
The same German government which is decommissioning 3 of its 6 remaning nuclear plans 'as part of the transition to renewables'. Puton obviously not squeezing them hard enough for their masochistic taste.
Erm. That's the North Rhine Westphalia minister. So no.
PB! - is this a real person or a clever parody of a Zero Covid Remoaner?
“I never left my home. Still don’t. Only left a handful of times since March 2020 and that’s it! I don’t need to leave as my essentials can be delivered and I can work and exercise from home. It’s not difficult!”
I’ve read dozens of her tweets and I’m still not sure. Some opinions are so insane - like this one - I’m sure she’s fake. But then many other tweets appear credible. Also odd syntax and misspellings. A Russian/Chinese bot?
Happy New Year to all PBers and Peter Hitchens. I think all can give thanks that at the end of 2021 absolutely everyone knows how to pronounce Ghislaine.
Edit: wp Quincel.
Those flags - obviously the main four are the main allies (USSR, USA, UK and China), and that is the Soviet Naval Ensign in 2/3 white above 1/3 blue, but what is the one with the radiating blue and white pattern?
Could it be gold/yellow?
The Soviet Air Forces (VVS) ensign is indeed blue and yellow, didn't think of that! Thanks.
Now we need to discuss why he's holding an SVT which were pretty fucking rare in 1945.
Then we can move briskly on and shift the focus of performative pedantry onto the question of whether 'kids' or 'guys' is the better translation for 'ребята'.
I think he's been fighting in Finland. He took the rifle back off a dead Finn.
I’ve heard it argued that without the experience gained in their bitter defeat in Finland, the Soviet Union would have been unable to repel the Nazi invasion.
Heja Finland! 🇫🇮
Great piece, Pip.
Morning, it's interesting to note which countries in Europe still have conscription.
Eastern Edge Countries, Scandinavia, Greece, Turkey, Austria and Switzerland. May have missed a couple.
Wrong coding for Sweden there. Which makes me suspect the whole map is tosh.
Sweden does have National Service, doesn't it? Reintroduced after about 2 decades off?
A minuscule number of the relevant age group participate in national service, so it is hardly “mandatory”. In fact, it is extremely hard to get in to. Most applicants are unsuccessful.
Happy New Year to all PBers and Peter Hitchens. I think all can give thanks that at the end of 2021 absolutely everyone knows how to pronounce Ghislaine.
Edit: wp Quincel.
Those flags - obviously the main four are the main allies (USSR, USA, UK and China), and that is the Soviet Naval Ensign in 2/3 white above 1/3 blue, but what is the one with the radiating blue and white pattern?
Could it be gold/yellow?
The Soviet Air Forces (VVS) ensign is indeed blue and yellow, didn't think of that! Thanks.
Now we need to discuss why he's holding an SVT which were pretty fucking rare in 1945.
Then we can move briskly on and shift the focus of performative pedantry onto the question of whether 'kids' or 'guys' is the better translation for 'ребята'.
I think he's been fighting in Finland. He took the rifle back off a dead Finn.
I’ve heard it argued that without the experience gained in their bitter defeat in Finland, the Soviet Union would have been unable to repel the Nazi invasion.
Heja Finland! 🇫🇮
Great piece, Pip.
Morning, it's interesting to note which countries in Europe still have conscription.
Eastern Edge Countries, Scandinavia, Greece, Turkey, Austria and Switzerland. May have missed a couple.
Wrong coding for Sweden there. Which makes me suspect the whole map is tosh.
This is the description of the Swedish setup. Seems about right.
Sweden Mandatory Military Service: Yes Details: 7.5 months (Army), 7-15 months (Navy), or 8-12 months (Air Force) for males and females aged 18-47, after which they become reserves until age 47. However, only a portion of those who register are selected for service 2021 Population: 10,160,169
Next one at Cheltenham is a real tough one, I have had a small punt EW on Coole Cody for an interest.
My long shot now whose actually a Dolphin I thought good if water logged. And would know how to Fin ish
Well done. A 28/1 winner on the first day of the year.
Congrats. I stuck £2 EW on, on the back of your tip, and won £70.
Your welcome 🙂
I’ll re-invest the winnings into the BFE bet I tipped earlier - 1.05 on no other EU country invoking Article 50 before the end of the year. A near-guaranteed 5% return in 12 months.
Happy New Year to all PBers and Peter Hitchens. I think all can give thanks that at the end of 2021 absolutely everyone knows how to pronounce Ghislaine.
Edit: wp Quincel.
Those flags - obviously the main four are the main allies (USSR, USA, UK and China), and that is the Soviet Naval Ensign in 2/3 white above 1/3 blue, but what is the one with the radiating blue and white pattern?
Could it be gold/yellow?
The Soviet Air Forces (VVS) ensign is indeed blue and yellow, didn't think of that! Thanks.
Now we need to discuss why he's holding an SVT which were pretty fucking rare in 1945.
Then we can move briskly on and shift the focus of performative pedantry onto the question of whether 'kids' or 'guys' is the better translation for 'ребята'.
I think he's been fighting in Finland. He took the rifle back off a dead Finn.
I’ve heard it argued that without the experience gained in their bitter defeat in Finland, the Soviet Union would have been unable to repel the Nazi invasion.
Heja Finland! 🇫🇮
Great piece, Pip.
Morning, it's interesting to note which countries in Europe still have conscription.
Eastern Edge Countries, Scandinavia, Greece, Turkey, Austria and Switzerland. May have missed a couple.
Wrong coding for Sweden there. Which makes me suspect the whole map is tosh.
This is the description of the Swedish setup. Seems about right.
Sweden Mandatory Military Service: Yes Details: 7.5 months (Army), 7-15 months (Navy), or 8-12 months (Air Force) for males and females aged 18-47, after which they become reserves until age 47. However, only a portion of those who register are selected for service 2021 Population: 10,160,169
Well, I suppose that 10% is indeed “a portion”, although how it can be categorised as “mandatory” is beyond me, as 90% don’t bother.
Is it not that 90% aren't picked?
If they volunteer, they'd presumably go into the normal recruitment system.
There used to be a militia ballot in GB in the C18 and C19 which worked on a similar basis - not many were picked but hard cheese if you were. Tho IIRC you could pay a fine or get someone to sub for you, which kept the primary essential of making sure the upper and upper middle classes didn't have to serve I imagine. Other essential feature was that the orficers were correctly Ruperts from the property-owning classes. No random democracy nonsense.
There’s a weird corner of Twitter where hardcore FBPE-Remoaners overlap with iSage pro-lockdowners. And I genuinely don’t understand the psychology behind this
Why should a dislike of Brexit make you passionately keen to lockdown the country? Is it because they are left wing NHS-lovers? Or something else?
It reminds me of that peculiar and unpleasant constituency on the Left which sides with Islamism because it dislikes Israel
As he’s laid to rest - to more recent graduates, is a 2:2 still called “a Desmond”?
Lol as if anyone even gets a Desmond these days. Universities all hand out 2:1s like fucking sweets. Even the mighty 1st has been watered down.
Indeed. Back in the day, you could rely on those bright students who spent their three years working hard coming away with a first, those bright students who enjoyed their three years of leisure enjoying themselves without unduly troubling the university library chalking up a 2:1, with a parallel split between 2:2 and third for those of more average abilities.
Who knows what employers are making of the current grade allocations?
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
Didn’t have you down as a Cromwellian. That See U Next Tuesday invaded, raped and pillaged my country. Used my school as a barracks.
Tony Benn was a big fan. Another Tuesday chap.
I am broadly a pacifist, so do not support violence, but Cromwell is an intriguing character, with his politics as interesting as his military skills.
The wars were complex, and initially the Scots Covernantors were on the side of the English Parliament, before changing sides, as did Monck in the end. Civil wars are almost all very uncivil.
Big mistake of the Covenanters to try and join up with Charles Stuart the malignant after his dad got the chop. He led them to defeat at Worcester and did them no favours after he gained power. Massacres and murders aplenty in the Killing Times.
Yes, and having reflected on @StuartDickson comments, I have changed my profile pic back to my Foxy looking dog.
I am spiritually rather a Calvinistic Puritan, but not a military one. No offence was intended by my flag pic choice to our Celtic friends. The politics of the wars of the 3 kingdoms show how persistent culture wars can be. Still sensitive topics 350 years later.
I used to think that I tended towards Calvinistic Puritanism… until I got acquainted with Scandinavians. Though they would strenuously deny it, they are the biggest bunch of judgemental puritans on the planet. With the perspective given by distance across the North Sea, one concludes that modern Scottish society has utterly abandoned Calvinism and is an attractively liberal place.
Only 1 January and already I have changed something, even if it’s only a friend’s profile pic on an obscure blog.
One 'every cloud' side effect of the lfts running out is that antivaxxers can't get into any events
Perhaps a feature, not a bug?
Well, if that was the plan we might not have become the most tested major country in the world by a distance. Some people seem to have taken it up as a hobby. There will be committed daily testers in Summer 2024 defending their Pacific islands.
Let's hope 2022 is better than 2021. Tories polling 20 points behind will help make this year better of course!
What Starmer needs to do, to rid the planet of the Tory pest, is to use 2022 to firmly embed PR as official LP policy.
There was an interesting article on quadratic voting in December in the Economist. Even a sample vote to work on. An interesting idea, even better than AV if such a thing is possible...
Didn’t have you down as a Cromwellian. That See U Next Tuesday invaded, raped and pillaged my country. Used my school as a barracks.
Tony Benn was a big fan. Another Tuesday chap.
I am broadly a pacifist, so do not support violence, but Cromwell is an intriguing character, with his politics as interesting as his military skills.
The wars were complex, and initially the Scots Covernantors were on the side of the English Parliament, before changing sides, as did Monck in the end. Civil wars are almost all very uncivil.
Big mistake of the Covenanters to try and join up with Charles Stuart the malignant after his dad got the chop. He led them to defeat at Worcester and did them no favours after he gained power. Massacres and murders aplenty in the Killing Times.
Yes, and having reflected on @StuartDickson comments, I have changed my profile pic back to my Foxy looking dog.
I am spiritually rather a Calvinistic Puritan, but not a military one. No offence was intended by my flag pic choice to our Celtic friends. The politics of the wars of the 3 kingdoms show how persistent culture wars can be. Still sensitive topics 350 years later.
I used to think that I tended towards Calvinistic Puritanism… until I got acquainted with Scandinavians. Though they would strenuously deny it, they are the biggest bunch of judgemental puritans on the planet. With the perspective given by distance across the North Sea, one concludes that modern Scottish society has utterly abandoned Calvinism and is an attractively liberal place.
Only 1 January and already I have changed something, even if it’s only a friend’s profile pic on an obscure blog.
The thing with Cromwell is that you don’t know how history mapped out in the alternative universe where the royalists won the war.
Despite the undoubtably horrible aspects of Cromwell’s rule, I strongly suspect that the seeds thereby sown, both for our country and the world, have been hugely net positive compared to the return to absolute monarchy that would have followed Charles I winning on the battlefield.
Happy New Year. I'm hoping this year will be the year we finally get back to the cheerful optimistic of the 1990s.
That will require a large number of people - including many in the media - to let go of Brexit. They still think that Brexit has doomed us to perpetual pessimism....
Looking forward to Boris and the Tories saying we can forget about Brexit.
Oh, I think they are increasingly keen on the voters forgetting the polished turd that is Brexit.
You obviously didn't hear the PM'S New Year message then. Am I the only one who wasn't aware there were ever crown stamps on pint glasses?
I don't know if Scottish licensing laws are different but pint glasses here are regularly marked as such and have crown stamps. Just checked a Caley 80 shilling glass I got from a beer festival 20 years ago and lo and behold..
These rsoles are all about confected battles and synthetic victories.
An 80 Shilling pint glass!? I think that's even more Imperial than my Inch's pint glass!
Old name for a grade of beer, actually, not the glass; there might be 70/- and 80/- in the same way as the number of xxxxs reflected the grade of beer. Hence Wadworth 6X and Belhaven 80/-. TUD's Caley 80/- glass is obviously a promotional one - the point being that the Scots origin is clear from the beer being promoted.
There were also 60/- and 90/-. I think they translated into beer names as Heavy, Scotch, and Export. 90s were wee heavies but normally had their own names. I used to drink McEwan's 80/- in my student days in Newcastle.
McEwan's 60/- was an ok pint particularly if you didn't want to get smashed, and I preferred the taste anyway. Haven't seen it in a bar for an age.
We never got it in Newcastle, just 80/- and Younger's No 3. Scottish & Newcastle at the time didn't brew any cask beer on Tyneside. A little later they started doing Exhibition on cask, but it wasn't very good, and then bought Theakstons which improved the general quality of available beer.
I remember having a cracking pint of No 3 in the bar on Cleethorpes railway station. The highlight of my trip.
80/- was the default drink in The Diggers in Edinburgh. You didn’t need to say what you wanted, just raise the appropriate number of fingers for however many pints you were getting.
Fond memories of that odd cultural curiosity at The Diggers, which was almost my local for a while. Not a Hearts fan, but you’ve got to admire a proper supporters’ pub.
PB! - is this a real person or a clever parody of a Zero Covid Remoaner?
“I never left my home. Still don’t. Only left a handful of times since March 2020 and that’s it! I don’t need to leave as my essentials can be delivered and I can work and exercise from home. It’s not difficult!”
I’ve read dozens of her tweets and I’m still not sure. Some opinions are so insane - like this one - I’m sure she’s fake. But then many other tweets appear credible. Also odd syntax and misspellings. A Russian/Chinese bot?
A real, if rather odd, person I suspect. A covid extremist - not surprising they exist in both sides of the spectrum.
At the risk of generalising, I also suspect extreme lockdowners are more likely to be Remainers and extreme anti-vaxxers are more likely to be Brexiteers.
I've no evidence to support that speculation (it would be interesting to see some polling) but my logic is that Remainers were more risk averse on average, Brexiteers more stupid.
(Sorry about that last sentence, I just couldn't help myself 😂)
One reason I increasingly despise this government is the way they promote the mediocre and reward the time servers. Ugh
That's how the public sector works isn't it?
That he’d vote tomorrow for the government he despises today tells you all you need to know.
It tells you that the Opposition is even worse. Which they are. eg Starmer’s Labour would likely have already locked us down for a fourth time
I’d be delighted if I had a decent alternative to the feeble Tories. I don’t. Do you?
Faced with such a choice you have three options:
- wash your hands of it all and refuse to participate; - find a third party or minor candidate you can support so that your hands remain clean; - support the other lot who aren’t in office, on the grounds that gifting those with power a further term rarely works out well.
Voting for the feeble Tories, who you now despise, again isn’t a sensible choice.
Option 1 is effete and wanky, 2 is ditto, 3 is simply illogical. So I am Unpersuaded
On reflection I think I am being slightly harsh on the Tories - and our political classes. The government is pretty poor and all the other parties are as bad or worse, but this mediocrity is not unprecedented. Britain in the 60s and 70s was a shambles (and we didn’t face plague then), late stage New Labour were utter rubbish, squandering good fortune, invading Iraq, knackering the Constitution
Good governance is the exception not the rule. Thatcher and early Blair are the rarities
Don't see what your problem is with this Tory government.
Delivered a Rock Hard Brexit. Constantly pissing off the EU. Nationalistic and Unwoke. Created the mighty Aukus - being Chaps We Can Trust vs the Yellow Peril. Resisted Lockdown for Omicron The Last Gasp. Changed the law to make it easier to stamp on lefty agitators. Nice 'fun' vibe in Downing St.
It's all right up your alley. Come the time, you should be voting for them again with real enthusiasm.
Interesting news about Tony Blair. The rumour has been for years that he wasn't appointed to the Garter because the Queen didn't like him and didn't want him to get the honour.
But in light of this change for no obvious reason - even allowing for his higher recent public profile - I wonder if it was Philip that was opposed to his appointment.
Or maybe Corbyn opposed any honours for him, given the main party leaders are often involved in honours for their own side and Starmer has now supported Blair's knighthood and Garter membership
I don't think so.
Doesn't the Garter comes entirely from the monarch? Its the only one with entirely no political input.
Corbyn doesn't do personal pettiness, and the Queen was unlikely to ask him anyway - and yes, no political input, it's the award for which "there's no damned merit about it" (Lord Melcourne). But there is a limited number of of Garter holders at any one time, so someone has to die to create a vacancy. I'm sure Brown, Cameron and Johnson will get theirs in due course.
The motto would be somewhat inapposite in the latter case.
Happy New Year to all PBers and Peter Hitchens. I think all can give thanks that at the end of 2021 absolutely everyone knows how to pronounce Ghislaine.
Edit: wp Quincel.
Those flags - obviously the main four are the main allies (USSR, USA, UK and China), and that is the Soviet Naval Ensign in 2/3 white above 1/3 blue, but what is the one with the radiating blue and white pattern?
Could it be gold/yellow?
The Soviet Air Forces (VVS) ensign is indeed blue and yellow, didn't think of that! Thanks.
Now we need to discuss why he's holding an SVT which were pretty fucking rare in 1945.
Then we can move briskly on and shift the focus of performative pedantry onto the question of whether 'kids' or 'guys' is the better translation for 'ребята'.
I think he's been fighting in Finland. He took the rifle back off a dead Finn.
I’ve heard it argued that without the experience gained in their bitter defeat in Finland, the Soviet Union would have been unable to repel the Nazi invasion.
Heja Finland! 🇫🇮
Great piece, Pip.
Morning, it's interesting to note which countries in Europe still have conscription.
Eastern Edge Countries, Scandinavia, Greece, Turkey, Austria and Switzerland. May have missed a couple.
Wrong coding for Sweden there. Which makes me suspect the whole map is tosh.
This is the description of the Swedish setup. Seems about right.
Sweden Mandatory Military Service: Yes Details: 7.5 months (Army), 7-15 months (Navy), or 8-12 months (Air Force) for males and females aged 18-47, after which they become reserves until age 47. However, only a portion of those who register are selected for service 2021 Population: 10,160,169
Well, I suppose that 10% is indeed “a portion”, although how it can be categorised as “mandatory” is beyond me, as 90% don’t bother.
It is not that 90% don't bother. It is that 90% don't get selected. If you are selected you have to serve under threat of a prison term. That is very clearly mandatory.
One reason I increasingly despise this government is the way they promote the mediocre and reward the time servers. Ugh
That's how the public sector works isn't it?
That he’d vote tomorrow for the government he despises today tells you all you need to know.
It tells you that the Opposition is even worse. Which they are. eg Starmer’s Labour would likely have already locked us down for a fourth time
I’d be delighted if I had a decent alternative to the feeble Tories. I don’t. Do you?
Faced with such a choice you have three options:
- wash your hands of it all and refuse to participate; - find a third party or minor candidate you can support so that your hands remain clean; - support the other lot who aren’t in office, on the grounds that gifting those with power a further term rarely works out well.
Voting for the feeble Tories, who you now despise, again isn’t a sensible choice.
Option 1 is effete and wanky, 2 is ditto, 3 is simply illogical. So I am Unpersuaded
On reflection I think I am being slightly harsh on the Tories - and our political classes. The government is pretty poor and all the other parties are as bad or worse, but this mediocrity is not unprecedented. Britain in the 60s and 70s was a shambles (and we didn’t face plague then), late stage New Labour were utter rubbish, squandering good fortune, invading Iraq, knackering the Constitution
Good governance is the exception not the rule. Thatcher and early Blair are the rarities
Don't see what your problem is with this Tory government.
Delivered a Rock Hard Brexit. Constantly pissing off the EU. Nationalistic and Unwoke. Created the mighty Aukus - being Chaps We Can Trust vs the Yellow Peril. Resisted Lockdown for Omicron The Last Gasp. Changed the law to make it easier to stamp on lefty agitators. Nice 'fun' vibe in Downing St.
It's all right up your alley. Come the time, you should be voting for them again with real enthusiasm.
But the alternatives are effete, wanky, and illogical. Thus Leon’s dilemma is laid bare.
Comments
“Dr Jenny Harries has been made a Dame for her services during the pandemic, which is pretty incredible considering that her most significant contribution was basically telling us we wouldn't have one.”
Jonathan Van Tam has also been honoured. Like ms Harries he also told us: masks don’t work, don’t wear them
One reason I increasingly despise this government is the way they promote the mediocre and reward the time servers. Ugh
https://twitter.com/drmeenalviz/status/1477208858196074499?s=21
However if there was an election tomorrow I’d probably have to stab myself with a fork and vote Tory as I’m certain Labour would be just as bad or worse, plus they’d be even more Woke and ineffectual
Fish and chips has gone up considerably in price whereas its still possible to get a pint for £2 or 99p for Ruddles at a Weatherspoons.
"Spain currently has a hospitalisation rate almost DOUBLE that of the UK.
Despite carrying out about a fifth of the tests carried out in the UK, the infection rate is substantially higher.
Spain has a higher vaccination rate than the UK - but a much lower third dosage rate. Less than 30% of 50-59 age.
In other words - the pandemic is out of control in Spain and the government might as well admit it. Restrictions are doing bugger all to stop it, and the vaccine, which may be keeping hospitalisation rates down, is doing little to prevent community transmission.
Given that there is a fixed vaccination capacity in Spain (thanks, unions!) stop faffing about vaccinating little kids and concentrate on giving OAP's their ten weekly boosters, and get rid of the restrictions for those of us in the middle who don't need them any more."
God truly works in mysterious ways!
My argument is that I had forlorn and - it now appears - foolish hopes that Bojo’s Tories would be something new and a bit better. I know most people despise Dom Cummings but I respect his intellect and he has good ideas (along with mad ones). I hoped he would have input. Not to be
I’m not sure there is any politician in the UK that I respect right now. No one of whom I have hopes That’s kinda sad
Was it always this crap? Is Covid clouding my brain?
But the antivax twats are going to have a field day with this.
Everything you have ever done or said is instantly searchable.
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/first-case-covid-flu-merging-6428524
So, we can catch both flu and COVID simultaneously. What's news about that? They are not the same disease, as the article asserts. The viruses have not 'merged'. It is not fluroma, but a co-infection of COVID and flu.
Not just nul points, disqualified for life.
This will come in a variety of levels.
Now this is a proper exit wave to ride.
Given that as NUS President he went out on limb to support Labour’s new tuition fees, yet then played a key role in securing Clegg’s ultimately fatal pledge to repeal them, my money is on the latter. Streeting is a career politician who will say and do whatever it takes to secure his own advancement.
https://twitter.com/cjsnowdon/status/1477259256978186243?s=21
Remember this is the same guy who was telling us how shit Brexit would be on the very night after he’d just gone out and voted for it.
I’d be delighted if I had a decent alternative to the feeble Tories. I don’t. Do you?
Rewarding mediocrity
- wash your hands of it all and refuse to participate;
- find a third party or minor candidate you can support so that your hands remain clean;
- support the other lot who aren’t in office, on the grounds that gifting those with power a further term rarely works out well.
Voting for the feeble Tories, who you now despise, again isn’t a sensible choice.
UCL Cell Biologist Jennifer Rohn has urged people displaying symptoms associated with the Omicron variant to swab the back of their throat as well. This led to her testing positive after a string of negative results...
https://www.joe.co.uk/news/omicron-biologist-explains-why-you-could-be-doing-your-lateral-flow-test-wrong-308903
Not quite as bad as the Harry Kane protection racket a fortnight ago but not far off.
Down to my last one.
On reflection I think I am being slightly harsh on the Tories - and our political classes. The government is pretty poor and all the other parties are as bad or worse, but this mediocrity is not unprecedented. Britain in the 60s and 70s was a shambles (and we didn’t face plague then), late stage New Labour were utter rubbish, squandering good fortune, invading Iraq, knackering the Constitution
Good governance is the exception not the rule. Thatcher and early Blair are the rarities
Concludes with this. Which gets to the heart of it, I think:
Christopher Snowdon
@cjsnowdon
·
1h
When people say the government has done nothing to prepare for a winter wave of COVID-19, what they mean is that it hasn't introduced a fourth lockdown. That's all they're ever interested in. 16/ END
“London still doing a good impression of the precipitous Gauteng rise & fall on Zoe”
https://twitter.com/v_j_freeman/status/1477285649359282186?s=21
That's the North Rhine Westphalia minister. So no.
PS: Typical of me to miss your tip
“I never left my home. Still don’t. Only left a handful of times since March 2020 and that’s it! I don’t need to leave as my essentials can be delivered and I can work and exercise from home. It’s not difficult!”
I’ve read dozens of her tweets and I’m still not sure. Some opinions are so insane - like this one - I’m sure she’s fake. But then many other tweets appear credible. Also odd syntax and misspellings. A Russian/Chinese bot?
https://twitter.com/zerocovidzoe/status/1477276059770966020?s=21
I got a 2:2 in my undergraduate degree and have never called it a "Desmond" unironically.
If they volunteer, they'd presumably go into the normal recruitment system.
There used to be a militia ballot in GB in the C18 and C19 which worked on a similar basis - not many were picked but hard cheese if you were. Tho IIRC you could pay a fine or get someone to sub for you, which kept the primary essential of making sure the upper and upper middle classes didn't have to serve I imagine. Other essential feature was that the orficers were correctly Ruperts from the property-owning classes. No random democracy nonsense.
Why should a dislike of Brexit make you passionately keen to lockdown the country? Is it because they are left wing NHS-lovers? Or something else?
It reminds me of that peculiar and unpleasant constituency on the Left which sides with Islamism because it dislikes Israel
Who knows what employers are making of the current grade allocations?
Only 1 January and already I have changed something, even if it’s only a friend’s profile pic on an obscure blog.
I had pot of other two wins riding on brewing up when it went down in lucky15. But never mind 🙄 horse and jockey they say okay.
Despite the undoubtably horrible aspects of Cromwell’s rule, I strongly suspect that the seeds thereby sown, both for our country and the world, have been hugely net positive compared to the return to absolute monarchy that would have followed Charles I winning on the battlefield.
At the risk of generalising, I also suspect extreme lockdowners are more likely to be Remainers and extreme anti-vaxxers are more likely to be Brexiteers.
I've no evidence to support that speculation (it would be interesting to see some polling) but my logic is that Remainers were more risk averse on average, Brexiteers more stupid.
(Sorry about that last sentence, I just couldn't help myself 😂)
More positive to say this thread came in at 28-1 🤗
Delivered a Rock Hard Brexit.
Constantly pissing off the EU.
Nationalistic and Unwoke.
Created the mighty Aukus - being Chaps We Can Trust vs the Yellow Peril.
Resisted Lockdown for Omicron The Last Gasp.
Changed the law to make it easier to stamp on lefty agitators.
Nice 'fun' vibe in Downing St.
It's all right up your alley. Come the time, you should be voting for them again with real enthusiasm.