I know I am going to regret this but @Malmesbury is not making a political point nor deriving a conclusion but a very simple mathematical one that you are not grasping. I'll try a silly example to demonstrate. If we all catch a deadly virus on the same day that puts us in hospital in 10 days and kills us all in 20 days, then on day 1 hospitalisations and deaths are zero, but all is not well because in 20 days we will all be dead. He is pointing out the flawed logic you are using, regardless of whether the decisions based upon that flawed logic turn out correct or not.
No, he is an ideological Covid restrictions backer no matter how many businesses it destroys or jobs it loses.
We know full well even pre vaccination Covid was not deadly for the vast majority of us, now post vaccination it is not deadly for all but a miniscule fraction.
Covid policy is no longer decided solely by science, it is decided by politics.
The right and libertarians are prepared to live with it, the statist left are not, many are ideologically committed to zero Covid whatever the cost to the economy
I'm always up for welcoming new comrades to the struggle, but @Malmesbury has never struck me as a recruit to the statist left. He's just got a slightly pessimistic view on Covid. It's possible to still be concerned about that and not yet signed up with Stalin and Pol Pot.
Comedy action film about Clint Eastwood and chums robbing a bank behind German lines.
Featuring Donald Sutherland as a demented tank commander, and the best reproduction of a Tiger 1 before Bovington got Tiger 131 running again.
Thanks! Never seen it, so must try it. Though btw Tanks for Stalin has a good try on prototype T-34s (you need to know them at the rivet level to spot the shortcuts) and has a T-35 (much better than the storyline).
We're at risk of losing our moorings here. Best, imo, if exactly where people stand on the L to R via C spectrum is determined by somebody who is known for being objective to a fault. Therefore me, I suppose. Do I have the time? Yes, I think so. And if not I'll do some juggling to create it.
But what political spectrum is that ?
Economic issues, social issues, environmental issues, international issues etc.
Which can be further subdivided for example some right wingers support low taxation above all while others support balanced budgets.
And that can be further subdivided for examples some people prefer taxation on income while others prefer taxation on wealth.
Indeed. The left right continuum is far too simplistic for modern politics, unless you view the world through HYUFD's upside down monochrome binoculars.
No, you're a 65. Nothing simplistic there.
Not sure I understand. Is that where you think I am on the continuum (15 points right of the median)?
Yep. Bringing all of your views together - each being a point in their own right - 65 emerges as the single weighted average measure. In words - an inhabitant of the centre ground just as and slightly before it starts to merge into more clearly right wing territory. House prices are quite high there, above the national average.
I noted @Scott_xP posting this morning re Boris seeking help on oil supplies from Saudi but that he did not show a similar cartoon with Germany and France as the same criticism could be directed at them for taking Russian 'blood contaminated' oil and gas
Neither is helpful at this critical time
Nobody has an obligation to be "helpful". Whatever that means. Or be in any way deferential or respectful to Johnson.
Of course nobody is obliged to deference or respect to anyone.
Some common sense might be in order though. Putin's people are scouring the internet for criticisms of Ukraine supporting Western leaders to show the Russians that those leaders get far more criticism than he does.
Some unthinking FBPE moron on twitter posted a the other day "who do you trust more; Boris Johnson or Vladmir Putin?"
Hundreds of unthinking FBPE morons voted against our PM.
My nags for Day 1 of Cheltenham... as ever back them at your own peril
Each way patent
Hms Seahorse 9/1 16:50 Cheltenham Floueur 7/1 14:50 Cheltenham Blue Lord 9/2 14:10 Cheltenham @stodge@MoonRabbit
*Betting Post 🐎
So here we are. We have finally made it. Sooo excited. Saturday afternoon escapism everyday this week.
I am betting with my heart today. 😍
13:30 constitution hill Impressed by how it won on rules debut I put it in my book. Forgot it was in there, impressed by how it won second race I added it again! It will win for me today and our hearts will beat as one. 🥰
14:10 Riviere D'etel Is there a case for A winner coming from out the top 3 candidates? Billed as Edwardstone the British challenger versus the two from Ireland. Form, going, distance, and class in this company, all three tick the boxes. But is there such a thing as horses for courses - Edwardstones three previous visits to Cheltenham are the three biggest blobs on the record. the two Irish horses blobbed on their only Cheltenham visit too. My heart says Riviere D'etel to make up for disappointment last time.
15:30 Not So Sleepy The first winner I tipped on PB? Not So Sleepy Dead-heated with Epatante in the Fighting Fifth. Betting with my heart here🤣. Except, when I done my analysis for the fighting fifth I thought it would win, and it sort of did, to give itself this moment. If you love an under dog.
16:10 Marie's Rock Going with her on basis her recent form is fine over this distance. This isn’t a 2m race my heart says trust those who love this distance not just the 2m.
Best of luck everyone!
Is the hot unbeaten fav in the Champion Hurdle not a dead cert then iyo?
I’m on not so sleepy. But the choice is yours to decide of those two horses which stands best chance. 🙂
I’m also v’s Malky’s Blue Lord in the Arkle. Game on.
Well that's a MASSIVE price. If that wins it'll buy you an awful lot of losses.
I suspect this is the long term future of Covid - not serious enough to close a production / company down but more than enough to knock someone important out for a week or more.
Neil Gaiman @neilhimself · 3m It's so strange. On the one hand, people are acting as if we're in a post-Covid world. On the other, every day shooting Anansi Boys brings another change of schedule or plan because someone vital has covid and we've lost them for a week or more.
Yes. Had a live deployment delayed from yesterday because the person who was going to test it is ill with Covid.
But then companies should be wary of people who are single points of failure. Anyone can leave for a job elsewhere at short notice.
Plus are the people being "knocked out" for a week because they're too sick to work, or because they're not working despite being healthy simply because they tested positive?
If its the latter, then its the behaviour (or restrictions where they exist) that is causing the absence, not the virus.
This is presumably the thinking behind reducing access to tests. A nudge towards normalising this virus.
Indeed. Too many people have this idea in their head that positive = sick. Cases = illness.
A direct result of the deliberate decision by the government and its advisers (and the media) to conflate infections with illnesses from the very beginning.
To be fair though at the beginning cases did lead to illnesses.
But times have changed. We have vaccines now. What was true in the very beginning is no longer true, and what was a lie at the beginning can now actually be true.
Facts change over time, but far too many people are still stuck with the same arguments they had in 2020 without realising we're not in 2020 anymore.
I just wanted to extend my condolences to you and yours on the loss of your grandmother. Your post about her was lovely. With all good wishes.
Thank you (and to everyone else who wrote replies yesterday too), it means a lot.
When the real terms pay cut begins to bite, then we will see the Tories fall into the 20s.
Why? People know Labour offer nothing different. People might not vote at all, for anybody, but the idea that Starmer gets a massive boost is highly questionable.
I know I am going to regret this but @Malmesbury is not making a political point nor deriving a conclusion but a very simple mathematical one that you are not grasping. I'll try a silly example to demonstrate. If we all catch a deadly virus on the same day that puts us in hospital in 10 days and kills us all in 20 days, then on day 1 hospitalisations and deaths are zero, but all is not well because in 20 days we will all be dead. He is pointing out the flawed logic you are using, regardless of whether the decisions based upon that flawed logic turn out correct or not.
No, he is an ideological Covid restrictions backer no matter how many businesses it destroys or jobs it loses.
We know full well even pre vaccination Covid was not deadly for the vast majority of us, now post vaccination it is not deadly for all but a miniscule fraction.
Covid policy is no longer decided solely by science, it is decided by politics.
The right and libertarians are prepared to live with it, the statist left are not, many are ideologically committed to zero Covid whatever the cost to the economy
I'm always up for welcoming new comrades to the struggle, but @Malmesbury has never struck me as a recruit to the statist left. He's just got a slightly pessimistic view on Covid. It's possible to still be concerned about that and not yet signed up with Stalin and Pol Pot.
He's just upset because I have a better tank.
Love that film! 👍🏻
Crapgame : Then make a DEAL! Big Joe : What kind of deal? Crapgame : A DEAL, deal! Maybe the guy's a Republican. "Business is business," right?
😆
Comedy action you called it, but it’s quite emotional in parts too? Draws you in. Every character in the film is very credible. Though the scenes with US commander lol funny. And funniest bit is opening, sat in his kit in middle of German held town!
My nags for Day 1 of Cheltenham... as ever back them at your own peril
Each way patent
Hms Seahorse 9/1 16:50 Cheltenham Floueur 7/1 14:50 Cheltenham Blue Lord 9/2 14:10 Cheltenham @stodge@MoonRabbit
*Betting Post 🐎
So here we are. We have finally made it. Sooo excited. Saturday afternoon escapism everyday this week.
I am betting with my heart today. 😍
13:30 constitution hill Impressed by how it won on rules debut I put it in my book. Forgot it was in there, impressed by how it won second race I added it again! It will win for me today and our hearts will beat as one. 🥰
14:10 Riviere D'etel Is there a case for A winner coming from out the top 3 candidates? Billed as Edwardstone the British challenger versus the two from Ireland. Form, going, distance, and class in this company, all three tick the boxes. But is there such a thing as horses for courses - Edwardstones three previous visits to Cheltenham are the three biggest blobs on the record. the two Irish horses blobbed on their only Cheltenham visit too. My heart says Riviere D'etel to make up for disappointment last time.
15:30 Not So Sleepy The first winner I tipped on PB? Not So Sleepy Dead-heated with Epatante in the Fighting Fifth. Betting with my heart here🤣. Except, when I done my analysis for the fighting fifth I thought it would win, and it sort of did, to give itself this moment. If you love an under dog.
16:10 Marie's Rock Going with her on basis her recent form is fine over this distance. This isn’t a 2m race my heart says trust those who love this distance not just the 2m.
Best of luck everyone!
Is the hot unbeaten fav in the Champion Hurdle not a dead cert then iyo?
I’m on not so sleepy. But the choice is yours to decide of those two horses which stands best chance. 🙂
I’m also v’s Malky’s Blue Lord in the Arkle. Game on.
Well that's a MASSIVE price. If that wins it'll buy you an awful lot of losses.
Betting with my heart today. That’s the way to go.
I noted @Scott_xP posting this morning re Boris seeking help on oil supplies from Saudi but that he did not show a similar cartoon with Germany and France as the same criticism could be directed at them for taking Russian 'blood contaminated' oil and gas
Neither is helpful at this critical time
Nobody has an obligation to be "helpful". Whatever that means. Or be in any way deferential or respectful to Johnson.
Of course nobody is obliged to deference or respect to anyone.
Some common sense might be in order though. Putin's people are scouring the internet for criticisms of Ukraine supporting Western leaders to show the Russians that those leaders get far more criticism than he does.
Some unthinking FBPE moron on twitter posted a the other day "who do you trust more; Boris Johnson or Vladmir Putin?"
Hundreds of unthinking FBPE morons voted against our PM.
That poll has featured on Russian state media.
Pull your heads out of your arses.
Nothing anybody posts on here has any effect on anything.
If "Russian State Media" is closely monitoring then I will go on the record and say, "I hope Johnson goes to Kyiv and gets hit in his fat cock with a shrapnel from a stray 82mm Russian Army mortar round."
How is levelling up going? Not well, I'd suggest. The ONS pay data published today shows that it is the lower paid (and public sector workers) whose pay is falling furthest behind inflation rates. And it is also the lower paid, of course, who suffer most from rising energy and food costs. So, levelling up isn't actually happening at all at an individual level.
This doesn't matter at all at the moment, of course. But when/if we return to normal, post-Ukraine post-Covid politics, I think the government will struggle to argue that it is levelling up by helping those in the bottom quartile of the labour market.
I noted @Scott_xP posting this morning re Boris seeking help on oil supplies from Saudi but that he did not show a similar cartoon with Germany and France as the same criticism could be directed at them for taking Russian 'blood contaminated' oil and gas
Neither is helpful at this critical time
Nobody has an obligation to be "helpful". Whatever that means. Or be in any way deferential or respectful to Johnson.
Of course nobody is obliged to deference or respect to anyone.
Some common sense might be in order though. Putin's people are scouring the internet for criticisms of Ukraine supporting Western leaders to show the Russians that those leaders get far more criticism than he does.
Some unthinking FBPE moron on twitter posted a the other day "who do you trust more; Boris Johnson or Vladmir Putin?"
Hundreds of unthinking FBPE morons voted against our PM.
That poll has featured on Russian state media.
Pull your heads out of your arses.
Nothing anybody posts on here has any effect on anything.
If "Russian State Media" is closely monitoring then I will go on the record and say, "I hope Johnson goes to Kyiv and gets hit in his fat cock with a shrapnel from a stray 82mm Russian Army mortar round."
Why not a 120mm mortar? Mixed feelings on the issue?
How is levelling up going? Not well, I'd suggest. The ONS pay data published today shows that it is the lower paid (and public sector workers) whose pay is falling furthest behind inflation rates. And it is also the lower paid, of course, who suffer most from rising energy and food costs. So, levelling up isn't actually happening at all at an individual level.
This doesn't matter at all at the moment, of course. But when/if we return to normal, post-Ukraine post-Covid politics, I think the government will struggle to argue that it is levelling up by helping those in the bottom quartile of the labour market.
And labour will propose a wealth tax to replace the current system, offering the low paid tax cuts.
Sky newsflash; Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has, her MP says, been given her British passport back. So with a bit of luck she'll be on a plane here soon.
I wonder if a new world axis is forming? It would be odd (but nice) to have the Iranians somewhat on the side of the west - although that's a long way off.
I'd also argue that the Iranian nuclear program system is solvable - perhaps this is a first step.
Also the oil would be handy.
Maybe the Iranians aren't keen on a world where redrawing borders for LOLs is a thing?
That’s a good point. But if humanity lives to write political history books of this crisis, the dash to secure oil and all the deals done with those previously frozen out, is going to be an educational read. “Oh you love me now do you? Well it’s going to cost you.”
The threat of US relations with Iran taking a turn for the better should get Saudi oil pumps going pretty quickly
LOL. 👍🏻
Don’t forget Venezuela too. And what is actually happening now. We don’t want to pour money into Moscow, do we really have no alternative to give that same money into Iran and Venezuela instead? Maybe our leaders are overreacting? Or it’s evidence we are being signed up for long haul v’s Russian people.
It's the long haul probably, Putin's not just going to retire peacefully.
Making up with Venezuela is the right move. The US simply doesn't have infinite leverage, and they want a functioning economy too. That means they have to prioritize. If Russia is literally invading democracies, that's a bigger priority for the US than human rights in Venezuela.
Of course the long-term solution is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels: They empower dictators, and there's a good argument that it's the presence of fossil fuels that creates the dictatorship, because if a country has oil it's enough for the elites to control it and suppress opponents, whereas if they don't have much the only way to get rich is to build a functioning economy. But Biden already had a policy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and it doesn't happen overnight.
I'm not sure it was human rights that so bothered them. More that Venezuela had the temerity to fight back.
Chave and Co. were running a kleptocracy behind a front of Peronism. The successors aren't much different.
EDIT: And they haven't much leverage with the Americans. They've collapsed the oil industry to the point that without massive outside help, production will only decline. And since they seized all the assets of foreign companies....
How is levelling up going? Not well, I'd suggest. The ONS pay data published today shows that it is the lower paid (and public sector workers) whose pay is falling furthest behind inflation rates. And it is also the lower paid, of course, who suffer most from rising energy and food costs. So, levelling up isn't actually happening at all at an individual level.
This doesn't matter at all at the moment, of course. But when/if we return to normal, post-Ukraine post-Covid politics, I think the government will struggle to argue that it is levelling up by helping those in the bottom quartile of the labour market.
Look at the outcry that MPs might get 3%, in today’s press. That’s well short of inflation.
BT/Openreach copper wire system being turned off from 2025. Unless people move to VOIP they will lose their phone inc their number. News to me. They say that Openreach cannot possibly service the mass change last-minute to VOIP that this will cause, so it is inevitable that some will lose their phone numbers.
Nobody wants the copper wires to be switched off. They shouldn't do it. Plus they work during power cuts.
I wonder why so many people are willing to have Ukrainians in their homes and not say people from Afghanistan or Iraq?
Thats not completely true. There were a lot of people willing to take in Syrians over the past few years.
It has been heavily criticised on here, but the requirement that people find their own refugees to house was a good idea. They can make contact on social media and decide themselves whether or not they are willing to house them and sponsor them. Makes people think a bit about what they are getting in to, and consequently the relationship is more likely to succeed. Some of these relationships will inevitably break down over time and people will fall back on the state to try and fix them; this reduces the risk of that happening.
We're at risk of losing our moorings here. Best, imo, if exactly where people stand on the L to R via C spectrum is determined by somebody who is known for being objective to a fault. Therefore me, I suppose. Do I have the time? Yes, I think so. And if not I'll do some juggling to create it.
But what political spectrum is that ?
Economic issues, social issues, environmental issues, international issues etc.
Which can be further subdivided for example some right wingers support low taxation above all while others support balanced budgets.
And that can be further subdivided for examples some people prefer taxation on income while others prefer taxation on wealth.
Indeed. The left right continuum is far too simplistic for modern politics, unless you view the world through HYUFD's upside down monochrome binoculars.
No, you're a 65. Nothing simplistic there.
Not sure I understand. Is that where you think I am on the continuum (15 points right of the median)?
Yep. Bringing all of your views together - each being a point in their own right - 65 emerges as the single weighted average measure. In words - an inhabitant of the centre ground just as and slightly before it starts to merge into more clearly right wing territory. House prices are quite high there, above the national average.
It may be a fair assessment lol. Where are you? about 45?
The right wing "mob" on here says polls don't matter yet they post them instantly when Labour is going backwards.
But a bad poll for the Tories and "more important things going on" is the reaction.
Hypocrisy.
Nonsense. There's a tiny proportion of people who obsessively post about polls, most others don't regardless of what it says.
I never post or share or comment on polls as a general rule, regardless of what it says (unless that's exceptionally interesting/about Die Hard as a Christmas movie).
Your problem too often, with respect, is you merge all right wingers together. So because one or two right wingers obsess about polls, suddenly all right wingers are hypocrites when different right wingers say polls don't matter.
Not how it works. We right wingers, just as much as you left wingers, don't operate with a hive mind. A tiny few are poll obsessives, the vast bulk are not and polls don't matter in midterms, regardless of what they say.
I suspect this is the long term future of Covid - not serious enough to close a production / company down but more than enough to knock someone important out for a week or more.
Neil Gaiman @neilhimself · 3m It's so strange. On the one hand, people are acting as if we're in a post-Covid world. On the other, every day shooting Anansi Boys brings another change of schedule or plan because someone vital has covid and we've lost them for a week or more.
Yes. Had a live deployment delayed from yesterday because the person who was going to test it is ill with Covid.
But then companies should be wary of people who are single points of failure. Anyone can leave for a job elsewhere at short notice.
Plus are the people being "knocked out" for a week because they're too sick to work, or because they're not working despite being healthy simply because they tested positive?
If its the latter, then its the behaviour (or restrictions where they exist) that is causing the absence, not the virus.
This is presumably the thinking behind reducing access to tests. A nudge towards normalising this virus.
Indeed. Too many people have this idea in their head that positive = sick. Cases = illness.
A direct result of the deliberate decision by the government and its advisers (and the media) to conflate infections with illnesses from the very beginning.
To be fair though at the beginning cases did lead to illnesses.
But times have changed. We have vaccines now. What was true in the very beginning is no longer true, and what was a lie at the beginning can now actually be true.
Facts change over time, but far too many people are still stuck with the same arguments they had in 2020 without realising we're not in 2020 anymore.
I just wanted to extend my condolences to you and yours on the loss of your grandmother. Your post about her was lovely. With all good wishes.
Thank you (and to everyone else who wrote replies yesterday too), it means a lot.
I did not see your post, but my condolences nonetheless.
Wifi and mobile reception in my bit of Surrey are occasionally a bit iffy, so I value the landline as a fallback - the BT unlimited mobile+internet deal for £28ish works for me. Unwise to be entirely dependent on the internet, I think.
You are dedependent on the "the internet" for your phone line today. BT switched to IP networking for their core network years and years ago. All that is really changing is that they will get rid of the last bits of the old network which run from local exchanges and street cabinets to customer phones.
I noted @Scott_xP posting this morning re Boris seeking help on oil supplies from Saudi but that he did not show a similar cartoon with Germany and France as the same criticism could be directed at them for taking Russian 'blood contaminated' oil and gas
Neither is helpful at this critical time
Nobody has an obligation to be "helpful". Whatever that means. Or be in any way deferential or respectful to Johnson.
Of course nobody is obliged to deference or respect to anyone.
Some common sense might be in order though. Putin's people are scouring the internet for criticisms of Ukraine supporting Western leaders to show the Russians that those leaders get far more criticism than he does.
Some unthinking FBPE moron on twitter posted a the other day "who do you trust more; Boris Johnson or Vladmir Putin?"
Hundreds of unthinking FBPE morons voted against our PM.
That poll has featured on Russian state media.
Pull your heads out of your arses.
Nothing anybody posts on here has any effect on anything.
If "Russian State Media" is closely monitoring then I will go on the record and say, "I hope Johnson goes to Kyiv and gets hit in his fat cock with a shrapnel from a stray 82mm Russian Army mortar round."
Why not a 120mm mortar? Mixed feelings on the issue?
Imagining BJ living on but libbed might indicate pretty clear feelings on the matter.
BT/Openreach copper wire system being turned off from 2025. Unless people move to VOIP they will lose their phone inc their number. News to me. They say that Openreach cannot possibly service the mass change last-minute to VOIP that this will cause, so it is inevitable that some will lose their phone numbers.
My (late 70s) mum got switched over a few weeks ago, and her landline phone hasn't worked ever since. Fortunately she has a mobile.
Oh, that's worrying. Who is her provider? I'm with Simple Telecoms (who are excellent).
When I renewed my BT contract recently (Halo 3) they provided an Advanced Digital phone with Alexa (not really very useful) and a gadget that connects to the Internet via an EE mobile connection should your router lose connectivity (which we did thanks to Storm Eunice - so we were grateful to get 10mbps instead of our usual 30). The downside though is that none of our 4 DECT phones worked any longer, so I had to buy more advanced digital handsets, and if we lose power we lose any connectivity - so no way of making an emergency call. And don't talk to me about numbers starting with 07; out here in rural Suffolk you're bloody lucky to get any mobile signal at all. (I'm surprised the EE failover thingy works, cos my phone (also EE) doesn't).
BT/Openreach copper wire system being turned off from 2025. Unless people move to VOIP they will lose their phone inc their number. News to me. They say that Openreach cannot possibly service the mass change last-minute to VOIP that this will cause, so it is inevitable that some will lose their phone numbers.
Nobody wants the copper wires to be switched off. They shouldn't do it. Plus they work during power cuts.
I suspect there's a big generation gap there between those who have always had a mobile phone as their primary phone line and those who didn't.
I know I am going to regret this but @Malmesbury is not making a political point nor deriving a conclusion but a very simple mathematical one that you are not grasping. I'll try a silly example to demonstrate. If we all catch a deadly virus on the same day that puts us in hospital in 10 days and kills us all in 20 days, then on day 1 hospitalisations and deaths are zero, but all is not well because in 20 days we will all be dead. He is pointing out the flawed logic you are using, regardless of whether the decisions based upon that flawed logic turn out correct or not.
No, he is an ideological Covid restrictions backer no matter how many businesses it destroys or jobs it loses.
We know full well even pre vaccination Covid was not deadly for the vast majority of us, now post vaccination it is not deadly for all but a miniscule fraction.
Covid policy is no longer decided solely by science, it is decided by politics.
The right and libertarians are prepared to live with it, the statist left are not, many are ideologically committed to zero Covid whatever the cost to the economy
I'm always up for welcoming new comrades to the struggle, but @Malmesbury has never struck me as a recruit to the statist left. He's just got a slightly pessimistic view on Covid. It's possible to still be concerned about that and not yet signed up with Stalin and Pol Pot.
He's just upset because I have a better tank.
Love that film! 👍🏻
Which film is that, please?
Kelly's Heroes.
Thank you!
Hard to believe it's over half a century old. I rewatched it fairly recently, and it was much, much slower than I recall, though still fairly entertaining. In contrast, I rewatched The Lady Vanishes the other day - tightly plotted, and fairly bowls along. Hitchcock was a genius.
When cinema chains owned studios there was an incentive to keep films shorter - 4 showings vs 3. But film bloat has been with us for a long time, the original "Gaslight" ran to 89 minutes, the MGM remake 4 years later added 25 minutes, for an inferior film.
Mr. Al, the public sector does, however, benefit from far better job security and pensions, though.
Gosh, I've never heard that one before Mr D! But my post was primarily about the low paid and levelling up (or not), not the public sector, as a careful reading will tell you.
I wonder why so many people are willing to have Ukrainians in their homes and not say people from Afghanistan or Iraq?
i. More culturally similar. ii. General callup for Ukranian men means the Ukr refugees fit the women/children mold that people think of typically as refugees. People are willing to help women and children more than men of fighting age. iii. The men are fighting for a gov't broadly aligned with western values. iv. If the Ukranians win, they'll want to go back. In the middle east the likely future governments are much more murky - the Iraqi gov't doesn't look too bad compared to neighbours now though. v. Plenty of economic migrants mixed in with genuine people fleeing persecution from much of the middle east and Africa - Ukrainians are very easily identified and the situation is as clear cut refugee wise as you'll ever find.
Covid anecdote. Lots of it going around where I am (Bucks). My 86yo father-in-law (triple jabbed and got Delta last Autumn) met up with 6 other friends of similar ages last week. 5 of them got Covid afterwards (not him) but are all fine. I also know quite a few people of my age (40s) who have caught it recently but all seem to be the ones who had somehow managed to avoid getting it previously. Aligns with lots of Covid cases but hopefully not going to have a massive impact on hospitalisations.
That sounds promising. The only question I have (expert anywhere?) is about vaccines waning. I had my booster over six months ago, and have some health fragilities as well as knocking on a bit. Are there any plans to add another jab for those outside the really old/vulnerable? Or should I be confident that the six-month old booster is still protecting me fine? A bit more government communication on this would be helpful.
I am due to visit Sicily in June. The Italian authorities are relaxing their rules for the six month plus boostered so long as the three vaccines have been mix and matched. I am thrice Pfizered, and will not be allowed in as fully vaccinated on current terms.
I don't know where you are getting that information from. I was recently in Italy and had no problems with my 3 Pfizers - not that anyone asked to see anything on entry, although I had to wave a QR code to get into some places.
The problem is my booster will be 9 months old by June, and it is as you say access to any venues that is the issue. I can fly into Catania no problem, it's just getting a beer afterwards that might be a trial.
I noted @Scott_xP posting this morning re Boris seeking help on oil supplies from Saudi but that he did not show a similar cartoon with Germany and France as the same criticism could be directed at them for taking Russian 'blood contaminated' oil and gas
Neither is helpful at this critical time
Nobody has an obligation to be "helpful". Whatever that means. Or be in any way deferential or respectful to Johnson.
Of course nobody is obliged to deference or respect to anyone.
Some common sense might be in order though. Putin's people are scouring the internet for criticisms of Ukraine supporting Western leaders to show the Russians that those leaders get far more criticism than he does.
Some unthinking FBPE moron on twitter posted a the other day "who do you trust more; Boris Johnson or Vladmir Putin?"
Hundreds of unthinking FBPE morons voted against our PM.
That poll has featured on Russian state media.
Pull your heads out of your arses.
Nothing anybody posts on here has any effect on anything.
If "Russian State Media" is closely monitoring then I will go on the record and say, "I hope Johnson goes to Kyiv and gets hit in his fat cock with a shrapnel from a stray 82mm Russian Army mortar round."
Yep. But as we were saying yesterday the guy is absurdly lucky. So it'll bounce off his belt buckle, take a dive down his trouser leg and cause an heroic-looking but essentially minor injury to his big toe. He gets fixed up and carries on. The polls twitch by another couple of points.
Wifi and mobile reception in my bit of Surrey are occasionally a bit iffy, so I value the landline as a fallback - the BT unlimited mobile+internet deal for £28ish works for me. Unwise to be entirely dependent on the internet, I think.
You are dedependent on the "the internet" for your phone line today. BT switched to IP networking for their core network years and years ago. All that is really changing is that they will get rid of the last bits of the old network which run from local exchanges and street cabinets to customer phones.
Indeed.
I wrote some code for digital switching. For Egypt. In 1995.
I noted @Scott_xP posting this morning re Boris seeking help on oil supplies from Saudi but that he did not show a similar cartoon with Germany and France as the same criticism could be directed at them for taking Russian 'blood contaminated' oil and gas
Neither is helpful at this critical time
Nobody has an obligation to be "helpful". Whatever that means. Or be in any way deferential or respectful to Johnson.
Of course nobody is obliged to deference or respect to anyone.
Some common sense might be in order though. Putin's people are scouring the internet for criticisms of Ukraine supporting Western leaders to show the Russians that those leaders get far more criticism than he does.
Some unthinking FBPE moron on twitter posted a the other day "who do you trust more; Boris Johnson or Vladmir Putin?"
Hundreds of unthinking FBPE morons voted against our PM.
That poll has featured on Russian state media.
Pull your heads out of your arses.
Nothing anybody posts on here has any effect on anything.
If "Russian State Media" is closely monitoring then I will go on the record and say, "I hope Johnson goes to Kyiv and gets hit in his fat cock with a shrapnel from a stray 82mm Russian Army mortar round."
Sometimes I guess it's too firmly inserted for removal.
How and why do Putin-bots appear here, interact with us, yet not report back?
In a (extremely rare open) cafe in Kyiv I ask for tea with cold milk. Eugene and Vlad are horrified: "there are other ways of proving you are not a Russian spy."
BT/Openreach copper wire system being turned off from 2025. Unless people move to VOIP they will lose their phone inc their number. News to me. They say that Openreach cannot possibly service the mass change last-minute to VOIP that this will cause, so it is inevitable that some will lose their phone numbers.
How many people still use copper wire phone numbers? Primarily the elderly I guess? And businesses I suppose.
I haven't used one in over a decade, and almost never used it in another decade before that. Businesses can probably more easily cajoled to switching over, so we just need to offer support to the elderly to switch to something 21st century.
And things like Personal Alarms will need to be upgraded to the 3G or internet models; I'm assuming AgeUK (who are the biggest commercial supplier of such tech through a subsidiary) will help with that.
In a (extremely rare open) cafe in Kyiv I ask for tea with cold milk. Eugene and Vlad are horrified: "there are other ways of proving you are not a Russian spy."
I know I am going to regret this but @Malmesbury is not making a political point nor deriving a conclusion but a very simple mathematical one that you are not grasping. I'll try a silly example to demonstrate. If we all catch a deadly virus on the same day that puts us in hospital in 10 days and kills us all in 20 days, then on day 1 hospitalisations and deaths are zero, but all is not well because in 20 days we will all be dead. He is pointing out the flawed logic you are using, regardless of whether the decisions based upon that flawed logic turn out correct or not.
No, he is an ideological Covid restrictions backer no matter how many businesses it destroys or jobs it loses.
We know full well even pre vaccination Covid was not deadly for the vast majority of us, now post vaccination it is not deadly for all but a miniscule fraction.
Covid policy is no longer decided solely by science, it is decided by politics.
The right and libertarians are prepared to live with it, the statist left are not, many are ideologically committed to zero Covid whatever the cost to the economy
I'm always up for welcoming new comrades to the struggle, but @Malmesbury has never struck me as a recruit to the statist left. He's just got a slightly pessimistic view on Covid. It's possible to still be concerned about that and not yet signed up with Stalin and Pol Pot.
Comedy action film about Clint Eastwood and chums robbing a bank behind German lines.
Featuring Donald Sutherland as a demented tank commander, and the best reproduction of a Tiger 1 before Bovington got Tiger 131 running again.
Thanks! Never seen it, so must try it. Though btw Tanks for Stalin has a good try on prototype T-34s (you need to know them at the rivet level to spot the shortcuts) and has a T-35 (much better than the storyline).
I believe the the same T34/35 conversion plays the Tiger in Saving Private Ryan. It’s the scale thing that lets it down but definitely better than an M47 with a cross on it.
We're at risk of losing our moorings here. Best, imo, if exactly where people stand on the L to R via C spectrum is determined by somebody who is known for being objective to a fault. Therefore me, I suppose. Do I have the time? Yes, I think so. And if not I'll do some juggling to create it.
But what political spectrum is that ?
Economic issues, social issues, environmental issues, international issues etc.
Which can be further subdivided for example some right wingers support low taxation above all while others support balanced budgets.
And that can be further subdivided for examples some people prefer taxation on income while others prefer taxation on wealth.
Indeed. The left right continuum is far too simplistic for modern politics, unless you view the world through HYUFD's upside down monochrome binoculars.
No, you're a 65. Nothing simplistic there.
Not sure I understand. Is that where you think I am on the continuum (15 points right of the median)?
Yep. Bringing all of your views together - each being a point in their own right - 65 emerges as the single weighted average measure. In words - an inhabitant of the centre ground just as and slightly before it starts to merge into more clearly right wing territory. House prices are quite high there, above the national average.
It may be a fair assessment lol. Where are you? about 45?
I do have a score - a fair and accurate one which is lower than 45 - but as the person running the show I have to keep it to myself. For obvious reasons. If I were to disclose it and people violently disagreed they'd start disputing their own scores and the whole system would be undermined.
BT/Openreach copper wire system being turned off from 2025. Unless people move to VOIP they will lose their phone inc their number. News to me. They say that Openreach cannot possibly service the mass change last-minute to VOIP that this will cause, so it is inevitable that some will lose their phone numbers.
How many people still use copper wire phone numbers? Primarily the elderly I guess? And businesses I suppose.
I haven't used one in over a decade, and almost never used it in another decade before that. Businesses can probably more easily cajoled to switching over, so we just need to offer support to the elderly to switch to something 21st century.
You move in different circles to me. Everyone I know still has a landline and no one has heard of VOIP. Out in the sticks up here.
In my circles everyone's phone number begins with 07
I've never used VOIP either.
Like many I'm uncomfortable with not having land line - though I'm not sure why.
It's fair to say that VOIP is now more reliable than PSTN; it's simple to switch to a different datacentre if you've got problems with your primary, so you wouldn't even notice a call drop, for example. That wasn't always the case.
Russia is preparing a mass deforestation of Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories, said the Ministry of Defense, citing a letter from Sergei Shoigu to Putin, Russia is planning to cut down greenery of “any age, regardless of ownership and land zoning.” https://mobile.twitter.com/Hromadske/status/1503694649436819463
Covid anecdote. Lots of it going around where I am (Bucks). My 86yo father-in-law (triple jabbed and got Delta last Autumn) met up with 6 other friends of similar ages last week. 5 of them got Covid afterwards (not him) but are all fine. I also know quite a few people of my age (40s) who have caught it recently but all seem to be the ones who had somehow managed to avoid getting it previously. Aligns with lots of Covid cases but hopefully not going to have a massive impact on hospitalisations.
That sounds promising. The only question I have (expert anywhere?) is about vaccines waning. I had my booster over six months ago, and have some health fragilities as well as knocking on a bit. Are there any plans to add another jab for those outside the really old/vulnerable? Or should I be confident that the six-month old booster is still protecting me fine? A bit more government communication on this would be helpful.
I am due to visit Sicily in June. The Italian authorities are relaxing their rules for the six month plus boostered so long as the three vaccines have been mix and matched. I am thrice Pfizered, and will not be allowed in as fully vaccinated on current terms.
Difficult to keep track of travel requirements. Also going to Italy in June, arriving by car via France & Switzerland. Have had the 3 jabs 2 AZ, 1 Pfizer. As it stands can I just enter Italy without doing anything but having proof of our vax? I'm being lazy you sound as though you have researched the issue!
Sky newsflash; Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has, her MP says, been given her British passport back. So with a bit of luck she'll be on a plane here soon.
I wonder if a new world axis is forming? It would be odd (but nice) to have the Iranians somewhat on the side of the west - although that's a long way off.
I'd also argue that the Iranian nuclear program system is solvable - perhaps this is a first step.
Also the oil would be handy.
Maybe the Iranians aren't keen on a world where redrawing borders for LOLs is a thing?
That’s a good point. But if humanity lives to write political history books of this crisis, the dash to secure oil and all the deals done with those previously frozen out, is going to be an educational read. “Oh you love me now do you? Well it’s going to cost you.”
The threat of US relations with Iran taking a turn for the better should get Saudi oil pumps going pretty quickly
LOL. 👍🏻
Don’t forget Venezuela too. And what is actually happening now. We don’t want to pour money into Moscow, do we really have no alternative to give that same money into Iran and Venezuela instead? Maybe our leaders are overreacting? Or it’s evidence we are being signed up for long haul v’s Russian people.
It's the long haul probably, Putin's not just going to retire peacefully.
Making up with Venezuela is the right move. The US simply doesn't have infinite leverage, and they want a functioning economy too. That means they have to prioritize. If Russia is literally invading democracies, that's a bigger priority for the US than human rights in Venezuela.
Of course the long-term solution is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels: They empower dictators, and there's a good argument that it's the presence of fossil fuels that creates the dictatorship, because if a country has oil it's enough for the elites to control it and suppress opponents, whereas if they don't have much the only way to get rich is to build a functioning economy. But Biden already had a policy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and it doesn't happen overnight.
I'm not sure it was human rights that so bothered them. More that Venezuela had the temerity to fight back.
Chave and Co. were running a kleptocracy behind a front of Peronism. The successors aren't much different.
EDIT: And they haven't much leverage with the Americans. They've collapsed the oil industry to the point that without massive outside help, production will only decline. And since they seized all the assets of foreign companies....
I don't doubt it.
Yet if Venezuela had been the archetypal corrupt military dictatorship I'm sure that American relations would have been vastly different. They might have even supplied some liquidation lists as they helpfully provided in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia....
Much like Cuba IMO American policy made this rod so belligerent.
Russia is preparing a mass deforestation of Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories, said the Ministry of Defense, citing a letter from Sergei Shoigu to Putin, Russia is planning to cut down greenery of “any age, regardless of ownership and land zoning.” https://mobile.twitter.com/Hromadske/status/1503694649436819463
That’ll make life somewhat easier for the Ukranian drones to spot the Russki tanks.
We're at risk of losing our moorings here. Best, imo, if exactly where people stand on the L to R via C spectrum is determined by somebody who is known for being objective to a fault. Therefore me, I suppose. Do I have the time? Yes, I think so. And if not I'll do some juggling to create it.
But what political spectrum is that ?
Economic issues, social issues, environmental issues, international issues etc.
Which can be further subdivided for example some right wingers support low taxation above all while others support balanced budgets.
And that can be further subdivided for examples some people prefer taxation on income while others prefer taxation on wealth.
Indeed. The left right continuum is far too simplistic for modern politics, unless you view the world through HYUFD's upside down monochrome binoculars.
No, you're a 65. Nothing simplistic there.
Not sure I understand. Is that where you think I am on the continuum (15 points right of the median)?
Yep. Bringing all of your views together - each being a point in their own right - 65 emerges as the single weighted average measure. In words - an inhabitant of the centre ground just as and slightly before it starts to merge into more clearly right wing territory. House prices are quite high there, above the national average.
It may be a fair assessment lol. Where are you? about 45?
I do have a score - a fair and accurate one which is lower than 45 - but as the person running the show I have to keep it to myself. For obvious reasons. If I were to disclose it and people violently disagreed they'd start disputing their own scores and the whole system would be undermined.
Don’t be such a tease. I’m guessing you’re a sharp 33 - solidly left wing while speaking the lingo of the centrists, yet a respectful distance from the crazies down in the <20 zone.
When the real terms pay cut begins to bite, then we will see the Tories fall into the 20s.
Why? People know Labour offer nothing different. People might not vote at all, for anybody, but the idea that Starmer gets a massive boost is highly questionable.
There are two different discussions and questions here. We need to distinguish them carefully.
What will be the polling effect of events X, Y and Z on parties A, B and C
What are the actual policies, decisions, changes which parties A, B and C actually propose which distinguish them from each other and can be implemented without logical contradiction.
PB is getting slightly shifted towards considering the first question - which is more significant for betting, guessing and general fun; while the second question is tricky and matters quite a lot. And opposition (government also) parties don't want you to ask it very much.
I know I am going to regret this but @Malmesbury is not making a political point nor deriving a conclusion but a very simple mathematical one that you are not grasping. I'll try a silly example to demonstrate. If we all catch a deadly virus on the same day that puts us in hospital in 10 days and kills us all in 20 days, then on day 1 hospitalisations and deaths are zero, but all is not well because in 20 days we will all be dead. He is pointing out the flawed logic you are using, regardless of whether the decisions based upon that flawed logic turn out correct or not.
No, he is an ideological Covid restrictions backer no matter how many businesses it destroys or jobs it loses.
We know full well even pre vaccination Covid was not deadly for the vast majority of us, now post vaccination it is not deadly for all but a miniscule fraction.
Covid policy is no longer decided solely by science, it is decided by politics.
The right and libertarians are prepared to live with it, the statist left are not, many are ideologically committed to zero Covid whatever the cost to the economy
I'm always up for welcoming new comrades to the struggle, but @Malmesbury has never struck me as a recruit to the statist left. He's just got a slightly pessimistic view on Covid. It's possible to still be concerned about that and not yet signed up with Stalin and Pol Pot.
Comedy action film about Clint Eastwood and chums robbing a bank behind German lines.
Featuring Donald Sutherland as a demented tank commander, and the best reproduction of a Tiger 1 before Bovington got Tiger 131 running again.
Thanks! Never seen it, so must try it. Though btw Tanks for Stalin has a good try on prototype T-34s (you need to know them at the rivet level to spot the shortcuts) and has a T-35 (much better than the storyline).
I believe the the same T34/35 conversion plays the Tiger in Saving Private Ryan. It’s the scale thing that lets it down but definitely better than an M47 with a cross on it.
We're at risk of losing our moorings here. Best, imo, if exactly where people stand on the L to R via C spectrum is determined by somebody who is known for being objective to a fault. Therefore me, I suppose. Do I have the time? Yes, I think so. And if not I'll do some juggling to create it.
But what political spectrum is that ?
Economic issues, social issues, environmental issues, international issues etc.
Which can be further subdivided for example some right wingers support low taxation above all while others support balanced budgets.
And that can be further subdivided for examples some people prefer taxation on income while others prefer taxation on wealth.
Indeed. The left right continuum is far too simplistic for modern politics, unless you view the world through HYUFD's upside down monochrome binoculars.
No, you're a 65. Nothing simplistic there.
Not sure I understand. Is that where you think I am on the continuum (15 points right of the median)?
Yep. Bringing all of your views together - each being a point in their own right - 65 emerges as the single weighted average measure. In words - an inhabitant of the centre ground just as and slightly before it starts to merge into more clearly right wing territory. House prices are quite high there, above the national average.
It may be a fair assessment lol. Where are you? about 45?
I do have a score - a fair and accurate one which is lower than 45 - but as the person running the show I have to keep it to myself. For obvious reasons. If I were to disclose it and people violently disagreed they'd start disputing their own scores and the whole system would be undermined.
Covid anecdote. Lots of it going around where I am (Bucks). My 86yo father-in-law (triple jabbed and got Delta last Autumn) met up with 6 other friends of similar ages last week. 5 of them got Covid afterwards (not him) but are all fine. I also know quite a few people of my age (40s) who have caught it recently but all seem to be the ones who had somehow managed to avoid getting it previously. Aligns with lots of Covid cases but hopefully not going to have a massive impact on hospitalisations.
That sounds promising. The only question I have (expert anywhere?) is about vaccines waning. I had my booster over six months ago, and have some health fragilities as well as knocking on a bit. Are there any plans to add another jab for those outside the really old/vulnerable? Or should I be confident that the six-month old booster is still protecting me fine? A bit more government communication on this would be helpful.
There is a booster scheme starting shortly for elderly and immune compromised. I also expect we may have a similar scheme in the autumn, catching those who normally get flu shots.
The current wibble from the wibblers is all about getting covid multiple times and it getting worse each time... Some evidence in some patients of damage to the immune system, which is clearly sub optimal. However for most people a couple of infections and you have pretty good baseline immunity. Later events tend to mildness. This is totally born* out by hospital data. Take note of how few are on MV beds. Take not of how many are admitted for other issues and happen to have covid. The wibblers are getting in a tizz that everyone is going to keep catching covid, that it will get worse each time as it degrades their immune system and that they are playing Russian Roulette with long covid - i.e. every infection has x chance of getting long covid, so the more times you go to the well, the greater your chance of long covid.
There is a lot we don't know. I suspect there will be high correlation between wibblers and people who have long covid. Some people suffer grievous harm from covid - organ damage etc. But others are probably more akin to CFS - they need help, but it probably won't be via a pharmaceutical treatment. It also won't help to have people dismiss it. I was interested by a long covid clinic story in the Times a week or so back. For one patient, the treatment was breathing related, and very mush like meditation/mindfullness. The implication was that he had become extremely anxious about things, which caused him to stop breathing correctly, which then made him breathless, and anxious...
As I keep saying, some long covid is clearly associated with physical damage. Some I suspect is damage to the mind. Both need our compassion, help and support.
My wife sprained her ankle in 2019. If she walks too far it becomes bruised and painful again. When she mentioned this on an NHS pain management course she was told it was impossible that she still had a physical injury, and this was all in her mind.
The treatment of people with chronic conditions by the NHS is generally disgraceful, and it's that experience which makes my wife particularly reluctant to risk adding long Covid to her existing chronic condition. (But that means she's basically trapped)
Perhaps long Covid creates an opportunity for the NHS to start again with chronic conditions, and learn how to deal with them?
Russia is preparing a mass deforestation of Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories, said the Ministry of Defense, citing a letter from Sergei Shoigu to Putin, Russia is planning to cut down greenery of “any age, regardless of ownership and land zoning.” https://mobile.twitter.com/Hromadske/status/1503694649436819463
Even Hitler would have spared the trees. Bit of a Green, Adolf
Totally off-topic but a wonderful scam. Trains from Gatwick to London. All operated by GTR who have multiple brands - Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express.
The GX train is the same rolling stock as the Southern train, takes the same time (30 mins vs 32 for the non-"express". On the screens at Gatwick both are advertised as operated by Southern. One train is red, the other white and green.
So if you get the SN train it's £9 single. If you get the GX service it's £18 single. I know trains, looked for "southern" and was surprised to see GX stock rolling in. So I changed platform for the 2 minutes slower service.
How many people are they scamming like this? You literally pay double the fare for the same train on the same route with a 2 minute time difference...
EDIT - apparently the Gatwick Express is suspended. So no double fare. But when it is running it's still double the fare to save 2 minutes
Russia is preparing a mass deforestation of Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories, said the Ministry of Defense, citing a letter from Sergei Shoigu to Putin, Russia is planning to cut down greenery of “any age, regardless of ownership and land zoning.” https://mobile.twitter.com/Hromadske/status/1503694649436819463
That’ll make life somewhat easier for the Ukranian drones to spot the Russki tanks.
This is about despoiling occupied territory. They want to sell the timber.
Totally off-topic but a wonderful scam. Trains from Gatwick to London. All operated by GTR who have multiple brands - Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express.
The GX train is the same rolling stock as the Southern train, takes the same time (30 mins vs 32 for the non-"express". On the screens at Gatwick both are advertised as operated by Southern. One train is red, the other white and green.
So if you get the SN train it's £9 single. If you get the GX service it's £18 single. I know trains, looked for "southern" and was surprised to see GX stock rolling in. So I changed platform for the 2 minutes slower service.
How many people are they scamming like this? You literally pay double the fare for the same train on the same route with a 2 minute time difference...
EDIT - apparently the Gatwick Express is suspended. So no double fare. But when it is running it's still double the fare to save 2 minutes
Using the Heathrow Express "brand" to upsell tickets...
This makes the important point about corruption in the heart of the tory party, which I acknowledge stretches back into other governments especially that of Tony Blair.
The right wing lynch mob on here who all continually like one another's posts in their echo chamber (Felix, MM, Sandpit, Foxy, StateAway, JJ, BIgG etc.) hate the spotlight to be shone on this but the fact remains that corruption runs deep in the UK. We have traded and supported utterly corrupt, evil, regimes that are not confined to Russia but certainly include Saudi Arabia and Qatar. London has become a magnet for evil money.
How do we solve the energy crisis? Gosh, there's a question from the 1970's. Nuclear power and renewables. Not raping the earth still further. We could all install solar panels and wind turbines and go off-grid. It's not that hard but it requires a lifestyle reset which you might have thought covid would have induced (it has for some).
I am *not* part of a 'right wing lynch mob'. You might wish to reconsider that.
One of Putin's little helpers has returned
I'm sure you think this is terribly smart, as Marquee Mark's little helper, but I am not a Putin troll. I loathe Putin and unlike you spineless cowards on the right I actually believe in not standing by and letting Putin pulverise Ukraine.
If anyone on here is Putin's little helper it's those who refuse to support Zelensky militarily.
You're a bunch of chickens. More concerned with your own NIMBYism than actually having the courage to stand up to Putin.
p.s. and yes I have been absolutely right on covid all the way along.
Boris is the most supportive leader militarily for Ukraine and is held in high esteem by President Zelenskyy
You throw out insults branding people on the right which is patently untrue and try to goad the UK and NATO into WW111
As for covid you have been wrong from day one
If you want people to take you seriously cut out the abuse to other posters
Boris is still the arse of arses G. He is a lying cheating mendacious crook. His play acting at Churchill cuts no mustard, anyone can lift a phone and act the tough guy, a fake fraud.
Many do not like Boris but the President of Ukraine and Ukrainians are quite the opposite and are demonstrably so
For much the same reason he was once popular in UK, Big G. He tells Ukraine exactly what they want to hear.
France and Germany dropped by before the war, after chat with Putin, and told Ukraine to adopt Minsk 2, Boris dropped by and told them exactly what they wanted to hear.
As our leader, He represents us. Where he speaks on this, Britain speaks, where he walks Britain walks. If he is a cad (partygate etc) and ultimately hated for saying what someone wants to hear and not following through on promise (weak on Oligarchs and so slow and mess on refugees Putin’s generals could be managing it) we will all be hated. 😕
I know I am going to regret this but @Malmesbury is not making a political point nor deriving a conclusion but a very simple mathematical one that you are not grasping. I'll try a silly example to demonstrate. If we all catch a deadly virus on the same day that puts us in hospital in 10 days and kills us all in 20 days, then on day 1 hospitalisations and deaths are zero, but all is not well because in 20 days we will all be dead. He is pointing out the flawed logic you are using, regardless of whether the decisions based upon that flawed logic turn out correct or not.
No, he is an ideological Covid restrictions backer no matter how many businesses it destroys or jobs it loses.
We know full well even pre vaccination Covid was not deadly for the vast majority of us, now post vaccination it is not deadly for all but a miniscule fraction.
Covid policy is no longer decided solely by science, it is decided by politics.
The right and libertarians are prepared to live with it, the statist left are not, many are ideologically committed to zero Covid whatever the cost to the economy
I'm always up for welcoming new comrades to the struggle, but @Malmesbury has never struck me as a recruit to the statist left. He's just got a slightly pessimistic view on Covid. It's possible to still be concerned about that and not yet signed up with Stalin and Pol Pot.
He's just upset because I have a better tank.
Love that film! 👍🏻
Which film is that, please?
Kelly's Heroes. Donald Sutherland is excellent as a WW2 hippy tank commander
Capture of artillery is consistent with Ukranian claims of Russian tactical reverses outside Mikolayiv.
Ukrainian forces captured four D-30A/2A18M 122mm howitzers in the vicinty of #Mykolaiv, along with large quantities of 3OF56 projectiles with propellant charges/cases; it appears that a small artillery position was abandoned. https://mobile.twitter.com/UAWeapons/status/1503667414365614080
How is levelling up going? Not well, I'd suggest. The ONS pay data published today shows that it is the lower paid (and public sector workers) whose pay is falling furthest behind inflation rates. And it is also the lower paid, of course, who suffer most from rising energy and food costs. So, levelling up isn't actually happening at all at an individual level.
This doesn't matter at all at the moment, of course. But when/if we return to normal, post-Ukraine post-Covid politics, I think the government will struggle to argue that it is levelling up by helping those in the bottom quartile of the labour market.
Look at the outcry that MPs might get 3%, in today’s press. That’s well short of inflation.
Welsh government quango has awarded Conwy councillors a 16.9% rise
Totally off-topic but a wonderful scam. Trains from Gatwick to London. All operated by GTR who have multiple brands - Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express.
The GX train is the same rolling stock as the Southern train, takes the same time (30 mins vs 32 for the non-"express". On the screens at Gatwick both are advertised as operated by Southern. One train is red, the other white and green.
So if you get the SN train it's £9 single. If you get the GX service it's £18 single. I know trains, looked for "southern" and was surprised to see GX stock rolling in. So I changed platform for the 2 minutes slower service.
How many people are they scamming like this? You literally pay double the fare for the same train on the same route with a 2 minute time difference...
EDIT - apparently the Gatwick Express is suspended. So no double fare. But when it is running it's still double the fare to save 2 minutes
It’s not just about time. Pre-COVID it got you a seat and the red 377s are fitted out for luggage.
(Ignore the irrelevant URL title, it's not about the electoral college)
Thanks to a link from Lucy last night I am now on a facebook page designed to put refugees in contact with prospective sponsors/accommodation. It is pan European with 54,000 members so far which seem to be evenly split between providers and refugees. The UK's visa requirements are definitely putting some people off but the main driver seems to be language with people prioritising destinations based on their language abilities. This seems very sensible to me as most are working age women with families who aren't just looking for charity but want to be able to pay their way and support themselves.
Russia is preparing a mass deforestation of Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories, said the Ministry of Defense, citing a letter from Sergei Shoigu to Putin, Russia is planning to cut down greenery of “any age, regardless of ownership and land zoning.” https://mobile.twitter.com/Hromadske/status/1503694649436819463
Hmmm. they can't get enough men to fight - so how exactly are they are going to find an army of lumberjacks able to cut down thousands of square kilometers of forest? The same forest that will be occupied by thousands of armed Ukranians? Doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
Totally off-topic but a wonderful scam. Trains from Gatwick to London. All operated by GTR who have multiple brands - Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express.
The GX train is the same rolling stock as the Southern train, takes the same time (30 mins vs 32 for the non-"express". On the screens at Gatwick both are advertised as operated by Southern. One train is red, the other white and green.
So if you get the SN train it's £9 single. If you get the GX service it's £18 single. I know trains, looked for "southern" and was surprised to see GX stock rolling in. So I changed platform for the 2 minutes slower service.
How many people are they scamming like this? You literally pay double the fare for the same train on the same route with a 2 minute time difference...
EDIT - apparently the Gatwick Express is suspended. So no double fare. But when it is running it's still double the fare to save 2 minutes
Using the Heathrow Express "brand" to upsell tickets...
At least Heathrow Express is an express. Comfortably the fastest way into town from Hellthrow. Not the same from Gatwick
EU diplomats "privately fuming" about the Polish, Czech and Slovenian PMs visiting Ukraine:
@DaveKeating Other EU perm reps here in Brussels privately fuming about this visit, which risks being the “spark for World War 3” as one official put it.
It was apparently both uncoordinated with other allies and, astonishingly, pre-announced before they left on the train across Ukraine.
Russia is preparing a mass deforestation of Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories, said the Ministry of Defense, citing a letter from Sergei Shoigu to Putin, Russia is planning to cut down greenery of “any age, regardless of ownership and land zoning.” https://mobile.twitter.com/Hromadske/status/1503694649436819463
Hmmm. they can't get enough men to fight - so how exactly are they are going to find an army of lumberjacks able to cut down thousands of square kilometers of forest? The same forest that will be occupied by thousands of armed Ukranians? Doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
Extermination through forced labour? It's not unknown for that part of the world.
Totally off-topic but a wonderful scam. Trains from Gatwick to London. All operated by GTR who have multiple brands - Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express.
The GX train is the same rolling stock as the Southern train, takes the same time (30 mins vs 32 for the non-"express". On the screens at Gatwick both are advertised as operated by Southern. One train is red, the other white and green.
So if you get the SN train it's £9 single. If you get the GX service it's £18 single. I know trains, looked for "southern" and was surprised to see GX stock rolling in. So I changed platform for the 2 minutes slower service.
How many people are they scamming like this? You literally pay double the fare for the same train on the same route with a 2 minute time difference...
EDIT - apparently the Gatwick Express is suspended. So no double fare. But when it is running it's still double the fare to save 2 minutes
It’s not just about time. Pre-COVID it got you a seat and the red 377s are fitted out for luggage.
The non-express call to at least Croydon and Clapham on the way, at least they did before the pandemic. The through trains from Brighton would often get held for ages at Gatwick, to let the Express out ahead of it.
Capture of artillery is consistent with Ukranian claims of Russian tactical reverses outside Mikolayiv.
Ukrainian forces captured four D-30A/2A18M 122mm howitzers in the vicinty of #Mykolaiv, along with large quantities of 3OF56 projectiles with propellant charges/cases; it appears that a small artillery position was abandoned. https://mobile.twitter.com/UAWeapons/status/1503667414365614080
Towed artillery. That's very quaint.
I'll buy one, for the front garden. That will deal with the knut who parks his P100D across the pavement....
Totally off-topic but a wonderful scam. Trains from Gatwick to London. All operated by GTR who have multiple brands - Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express.
The GX train is the same rolling stock as the Southern train, takes the same time (30 mins vs 32 for the non-"express". On the screens at Gatwick both are advertised as operated by Southern. One train is red, the other white and green.
So if you get the SN train it's £9 single. If you get the GX service it's £18 single. I know trains, looked for "southern" and was surprised to see GX stock rolling in. So I changed platform for the 2 minutes slower service.
How many people are they scamming like this? You literally pay double the fare for the same train on the same route with a 2 minute time difference...
EDIT - apparently the Gatwick Express is suspended. So no double fare. But when it is running it's still double the fare to save 2 minutes
Where were you heading in London? If it's towards the City, Thameslink is a better bet.
This makes the important point about corruption in the heart of the tory party, which I acknowledge stretches back into other governments especially that of Tony Blair.
The right wing lynch mob on here who all continually like one another's posts in their echo chamber (Felix, MM, Sandpit, Foxy, StateAway, JJ, BIgG etc.) hate the spotlight to be shone on this but the fact remains that corruption runs deep in the UK. We have traded and supported utterly corrupt, evil, regimes that are not confined to Russia but certainly include Saudi Arabia and Qatar. London has become a magnet for evil money.
How do we solve the energy crisis? Gosh, there's a question from the 1970's. Nuclear power and renewables. Not raping the earth still further. We could all install solar panels and wind turbines and go off-grid. It's not that hard but it requires a lifestyle reset which you might have thought covid would have induced (it has for some).
Foxy right wing?
I have my moments. I am dry as dust on financial matters and even voted Conservative in the 2010 GE. I can't see it happening again though.
To be serious for a sec, I'm firmly left, almost all my instincts are, but my nagging suspicion that capitalism is easier to critique than to viably replace keeps me out of the very low numbers. However I do have strong and sincere egalitarian views, some of them quite outlier, and this plops me solidly in the 20s. But I must keep the exact number a secret as explained.
Is he actually too stupid to know that he's shilling for Putin, or too stupid to care?
Exempli gratia -
The Jewish Chronicle @JewishChron In a show on Iran’s Press TV, disgraced former MP Chris Williamson asserts: “Jewish identity of President Zelensky has been used by many in the West to cover NATO's clear alliance with neo Nazi batallions in the war against Russia" https://twitter.com/JewishChron/status/1503424582354706435
This man would have been in the Cabinet if Corbyn had won in 2017.
Russia is preparing a mass deforestation of Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories, said the Ministry of Defense, citing a letter from Sergei Shoigu to Putin, Russia is planning to cut down greenery of “any age, regardless of ownership and land zoning.” https://mobile.twitter.com/Hromadske/status/1503694649436819463
Hmmm. they can't get enough men to fight - so how exactly are they are going to find an army of lumberjacks able to cut down thousands of square kilometers of forest? The same forest that will be occupied by thousands of armed Ukranians? Doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
Memories of the "Forest Soldiers"
The Operative : I'm sorry. If your quarry goes to ground, leave no ground to go to. You should have taken my offer. Or did you think none of this was your fault? Capt. Malcolm Reynolds : I don't murder children. The Operative : I do. If I have to. Capt. Malcolm Reynolds : Why? Do you even know why they sent you? The Operative : It's not my place to ask. I believe in something greater than myself. A better world. A world without sin. Capt. Malcolm Reynolds : So me and mine gotta lay down and die... so you can live in your better world?
EU diplomats "privately fuming" about the Polish, Czech and Slovenian PMs visiting Ukraine:
@DaveKeating Other EU perm reps here in Brussels privately fuming about this visit, which risks being the “spark for World War 3” as one official put it.
It was apparently both uncoordinated with other allies and, astonishingly, pre-announced before they left on the train across Ukraine.
We're at risk of losing our moorings here. Best, imo, if exactly where people stand on the L to R via C spectrum is determined by somebody who is known for being objective to a fault. Therefore me, I suppose. Do I have the time? Yes, I think so. And if not I'll do some juggling to create it.
But what political spectrum is that ?
Economic issues, social issues, environmental issues, international issues etc.
Which can be further subdivided for example some right wingers support low taxation above all while others support balanced budgets.
And that can be further subdivided for examples some people prefer taxation on income while others prefer taxation on wealth.
Indeed. The left right continuum is far too simplistic for modern politics, unless you view the world through HYUFD's upside down monochrome binoculars.
No, you're a 65. Nothing simplistic there.
Not sure I understand. Is that where you think I am on the continuum (15 points right of the median)?
Yep. Bringing all of your views together - each being a point in their own right - 65 emerges as the single weighted average measure. In words - an inhabitant of the centre ground just as and slightly before it starts to merge into more clearly right wing territory. House prices are quite high there, above the national average.
It may be a fair assessment lol. Where are you? about 45?
I do have a score - a fair and accurate one which is lower than 45 - but as the person running the show I have to keep it to myself. For obvious reasons. If I were to disclose it and people violently disagreed they'd start disputing their own scores and the whole system would be undermined.
Comments
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8396188/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
And this isn't bad -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htnHGJMNjn8
But a bad poll for the Tories and "more important things going on" is the reaction.
Hypocrisy.
Some common sense might be in order though. Putin's people are scouring the internet for criticisms of Ukraine supporting Western leaders to show the Russians that those leaders get far more criticism than he does.
Some unthinking FBPE moron on twitter posted a the other day "who do you trust more; Boris Johnson or Vladmir Putin?"
Hundreds of unthinking FBPE morons voted against our PM.
That poll has featured on Russian state media.
Pull your heads out of your arses.
Comedy action you called it, but it’s quite emotional in parts too? Draws you in. Every character in the film is very credible. Though the scenes with US commander lol funny. And funniest bit is opening, sat in his kit in middle of German held town!
https://twitter.com/mojobeirut/status/1503639952550150148
With the Ukrainians I would have to think about monitoring the levels on the spirits bottles with a marker pen and counting my wine cases.
If "Russian State Media" is closely monitoring then I will go on the record and say, "I hope Johnson goes to Kyiv and gets hit in his fat cock with a shrapnel from a stray 82mm Russian Army mortar round."
This doesn't matter at all at the moment, of course. But when/if we return to normal, post-Ukraine post-Covid politics, I think the government will struggle to argue that it is levelling up by helping those in the bottom quartile of the labour market.
The "refugees" photographed in crossings/Calais etc seem to be 90%+ young men not women or children.
Its certainly easier to appreciate the former more than the latter as genuine refugees deserving of sympathy.
That proposal might prove quite poplar.
EDIT: And they haven't much leverage with the Americans. They've collapsed the oil industry to the point that without massive outside help, production will only decline. And since they seized all the assets of foreign companies....
It has been heavily criticised on here, but the requirement that people find their own refugees to house was a good idea. They can make contact on social media and decide themselves whether or not they are willing to house them and sponsor them. Makes people think a bit about what they are getting in to, and consequently the relationship is more likely to succeed. Some of these relationships will inevitably break down over time and people will fall back on the state to try and fix them; this reduces the risk of that happening.
I never post or share or comment on polls as a general rule, regardless of what it says (unless that's exceptionally interesting/about Die Hard as a Christmas movie).
Your problem too often, with respect, is you merge all right wingers together. So because one or two right wingers obsess about polls, suddenly all right wingers are hypocrites when different right wingers say polls don't matter.
Not how it works. We right wingers, just as much as you left wingers, don't operate with a hive mind. A tiny few are poll obsessives, the vast bulk are not and polls don't matter in midterms, regardless of what they say.
ii. General callup for Ukranian men means the Ukr refugees fit the women/children mold that people think of typically as refugees. People are willing to help women and children more than men of fighting age.
iii. The men are fighting for a gov't broadly aligned with western values.
iv. If the Ukranians win, they'll want to go back. In the middle east the likely future governments are much more murky - the Iraqi gov't doesn't look too bad compared to neighbours now though.
v. Plenty of economic migrants mixed in with genuine people fleeing persecution from much of the middle east and Africa - Ukrainians are very easily identified and the situation is as clear cut refugee wise as you'll ever find.
I wrote some code for digital switching. For Egypt. In 1995.
How and why do Putin-bots appear here, interact with us, yet not report back?
#TherewillalwaysbeanEngland
https://twitter.com/johnsweeneyroar/status/1503669846940258307
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8S3WduxpZ0
Vlad might be reduced to rolling this out.
https://youtu.be/Wlv6iuLT6-s
I've picked the right side.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Hromadske/status/1503694649436819463
Yet if Venezuela had been the archetypal corrupt military dictatorship I'm sure that American relations would have been vastly different. They might have even supplied some liquidation lists as they helpfully provided in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia....
Much like Cuba IMO American policy made this rod so belligerent.
Either that or a -4.
Chinese shares fall another ~6%.
What will be the polling effect of events X, Y and Z on parties A, B and C
What are the actual policies, decisions, changes which parties A, B and C actually propose which distinguish them from each other and can be implemented without logical contradiction.
PB is getting slightly shifted towards considering the first question - which is more significant for betting, guessing and general fun; while the second question is tricky and matters quite a lot. And opposition (government also) parties don't want you to ask it very much.
Mine - https://www.politicalcompass.org/yourpoliticalcompass?ec=-2.75&soc=-5.49
The Syrians et al are largely young men fleeing a safe and civilised country.
Maybe that's it.
The treatment of people with chronic conditions by the NHS is generally disgraceful, and it's that experience which makes my wife particularly reluctant to risk adding long Covid to her existing chronic condition. (But that means she's basically trapped)
Perhaps long Covid creates an opportunity for the NHS to start again with chronic conditions, and learn how to deal with them?
The GX train is the same rolling stock as the Southern train, takes the same time (30 mins vs 32 for the non-"express". On the screens at Gatwick both are advertised as operated by Southern. One train is red, the other white and green.
So if you get the SN train it's £9 single. If you get the GX service it's £18 single. I know trains, looked for "southern" and was surprised to see GX stock rolling in. So I changed platform for the 2 minutes slower service.
How many people are they scamming like this? You literally pay double the fare for the same train on the same route with a 2 minute time difference...
EDIT - apparently the Gatwick Express is suspended. So no double fare. But when it is running it's still double the fare to save 2 minutes
Is he actually too stupid to know that he's shilling for Putin, or too stupid to care?
I tend to think folk who have a view on black Syrians wouldn’t be so ungenerous as not to apply it to brown Syrians.
They want to sell the timber.
Forget it, he's rolling
Ukrainian forces captured four D-30A/2A18M 122mm howitzers in the vicinty of #Mykolaiv, along with large quantities of 3OF56 projectiles with propellant charges/cases; it appears that a small artillery position was abandoned.
https://mobile.twitter.com/UAWeapons/status/1503667414365614080
One rule for them, another for the rest of us
@DaveKeating
Other EU perm reps here in Brussels privately fuming about this visit, which risks being the “spark for World War 3” as one official put it.
It was apparently both uncoordinated with other allies and, astonishingly, pre-announced before they left on the train across Ukraine.
https://twitter.com/DaveKeating/status/1503704317374648321
Surprised they gave that information
I'll buy one, for the front garden. That will deal with the knut who parks his P100D across the pavement....
Presumably, they’re hoping there’s still a railway line to get them out tonight?
(Sorry my quotes aren't working.)
To be serious for a sec, I'm firmly left, almost all my instincts are, but my nagging suspicion that capitalism is easier to critique than to viably replace keeps me out of the very low numbers. However I do have strong and sincere egalitarian views, some of them quite outlier, and this plops me solidly in the 20s. But I must keep the exact number a secret as explained.
The Jewish Chronicle
@JewishChron
In a show on Iran’s Press TV, disgraced former MP Chris Williamson asserts: “Jewish identity of President Zelensky has been used by many in the West to cover NATO's clear alliance with neo Nazi batallions in the war against Russia"
https://twitter.com/JewishChron/status/1503424582354706435
This man would have been in the Cabinet if Corbyn had won in 2017.
The Operative : I'm sorry. If your quarry goes to ground, leave no ground to go to. You should have taken my offer. Or did you think none of this was your fault?
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds : I don't murder children.
The Operative : I do. If I have to.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds : Why? Do you even know why they sent you?
The Operative : It's not my place to ask. I believe in something greater than myself. A better world. A world without sin.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds : So me and mine gotta lay down and die... so you can live in your better world?