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Support for Brexit drops to new low with YouGov – politicalbetting.com

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  • state_go_awaystate_go_away Posts: 5,813

    Given the state of the ambulance service, Monday and Tuesday's furnace temperatures is going to cause a massive political issue. There is bound to be a huge spike in calls for heart attacks, chest pains and the like.

    The leader's debates will be blown out of the coverage.

    My guess is this is going to be a massive and explosive issue and not in a good way for tory polling.

    I am not sure even the tories can be blamed for the weather
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 15,784

    Shaun Lintern
    @ShaunLintern
    NEW: 999 callers for suspected heart attacks or stroke in West Midlands are now being told it could be several hours before an ambulance reaches them.

    @OFFICIALWMAS
    lost 2,300 hours of ambulance time outside hospitals on Monday with 700 emergency calls waiting at one point

    Tories have really let the country go to shit.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,831
    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
  • state_go_awaystate_go_away Posts: 5,813
    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    left your fag on the sofa Leon?
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,154

    rcs1000 said:

    Phil said:

    Sandpit said:

    Pulpstar said:

    dixiedean said:

    Regarding price elasticity of petrol are there any recent figures for usage?
    Anecdotally, I've noticed no fall during peak times.
    But the dual carriageway has seemed noticeably quieter off peak.
    Or maybe I didn't pay attention before?

    My usage for one remains remarkably constant whatever the price.
    Exactly. The amount of discretionary petrol usage is tiny. The PED of 1.1 - the more notable change in behaviour is as likely to be people driving more slowly on the motorways, as opposed to not making journeys because of the petrol price.
    The mileage driven is remarkably price insensitive (although I’m sure there’s a price where that really starts to kick in!) but cutting your speed on the motorway makes a big difference to the amount of fuel used / mile, so fuel consumption is clearly much more price sensitive.

    IIRC the difference between 65mph and 80mph is > 20% increase in fuel consumption. Plus you save on tyre wear by driving slower...
    Which is why the US government set the Federal speed limit to just 55 miles per hour back in 1973.

    Of course, cars are both rather more aerodynamic and heavier than then, so the impact of speed on efficiency will be slightly reduced.
    Ooh, that's an interesting question. The increased weight will increase the rolling resistance of the tyres, so not sure how that balances out with changes in speed. And then a large factor will be the optimisation of the gearing and the engine.

    I've no idea how those have changed, so I wouldn't be certain that the improved aerodynamics would be the dominant factor.
    Drag coefficients have dropped a long way since 1973, while average weights have increased.

    Still, at 60 miles per hour, the vast majority of your energy (unless you are driving up hill) will be used to overcome wind resistance.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,064

    Given the state of the ambulance service, Monday and Tuesday's furnace temperatures is going to cause a massive political issue. There is bound to be a huge spike in calls for heart attacks, chest pains and the like.

    The leader's debates will be blown out of the coverage.

    My guess is this is going to be a massive and explosive issue and not in a good way for tory polling.

    I am not sure even the tories can be blamed for the weather
    But plans on climate change and NHS funding are relevant topics for leadership hopefuls.

  • Jim_MillerJim_Miller Posts: 2,999
    Fishing - Oh, absolutely Biden is a more competent president than Trump. Here's a telling example: Biden has managed, unlike Trump, to get a big infrastruture bill passed. This is one of the easiest things to do in the US Congress, though it is generally necessary to accept at least a few pork barrel projects in order to get the necessary votes for the whole package.

    But Mr. "Art of the Deal" couldn't get that deal done.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,831

    Given the state of the ambulance service, Monday and Tuesday's furnace temperatures is going to cause a massive political issue. There is bound to be a huge spike in calls for heart attacks, chest pains and the like.

    The leader's debates will be blown out of the coverage.

    My guess is this is going to be a massive and explosive issue and not in a good way for tory polling.

    I am not sure even the tories can be blamed for the weather
    So little imagination...
  • SelebianSelebian Posts: 8,727

    Shaun Lintern
    @ShaunLintern
    NEW: 999 callers for suspected heart attacks or stroke in West Midlands are now being told it could be several hours before an ambulance reaches them.

    @OFFICIALWMAS
    lost 2,300 hours of ambulance time outside hospitals on Monday with 700 emergency calls waiting at one point

    It's at the point where shoving someone in the car and driving to hospital (for those for whom that's a possibility) may be the better option. Trouble is, at time of calling, that's probably very hard to tell. And impossible in many cases/for people without access to a car etc.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,064
    Endillion said:

    HYUFD said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "Chris Williamson
    @ChrisWillx

    “According to Pew Research, 51% of men between the ages of 18 and 29 are single compared to 32% of women in the same age group.”

    https://twitter.com/ChrisWillx/status/1547928971718828033

    So that means some men are dating multiple women
    SeanT. It's got to be SeanT ;)

    Having said that, it does seem a large disparity.

    But what does 'single' mean in this context? Having a partner? Living with that partner?

    I would have classed myself as 'single' until I reached 27, when a girlfriend moved in with me. I had girlfriends, but we did not share our lives too much. We would meet up, have meals, go to the cinema, sleep over occasionally, have fun, etc, but we were independent of each other. This does not mean I did not cheat on them; just that we had our own independent lives and homes.
    So (one of) the question(s) is, how would your girlfriends prior to that point at age 27 have classified themselves?
    There can be differences in now people interpret the question, but I would have thought the more likely explanation is women 18-29 in relationships with men 30+.

  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,592

    Sandpit said:

    Nigelb said:

    House adds roadblock to Biden's plan to sell U.S. fighter jets to Turkey

    https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/14/house-adds-roadblock-to-bidens-quest-to-sell-u-s-fighter-jets-to-turkey-00045825
    ...It’s the latest dent in a potential sale of the Lockheed Martin-built jets to Ankara. Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), one of the four top lawmakers who must sign off on weapons sales to foreign nations, is refusing to back the transfer.

    The dual hurdles make it nearly impossible for Biden to follow through on selling the fighters to the NATO ally as lawmakers express exasperation over Ankara’s purchase of advanced Russian equipment, violating the territory of its neighbours and its drift toward autocracy under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan...


    This is not going to make Erdogan happy, after he was persuaded to back down on NATO membership for Sweden and Finland.

    Some of that 'advanced Russian equipment' are S-400 SAM systems. The same system that (allegedly) the Russians are pi**ed off about because it cannot shoot down HIMARS shells.

    Erdogan might have bought a pup...
    The S-400 is failing badly against the HIMARS. Which is hillarious, because each S400 defence rocket is an order of magnitide more expensive than the rockets the enemy is facing. They’ll be out of them soon enough, chasing rainbows.
    Sadly, the Russians appear to be using Surface-to-Air missiles in a Surface-to-Ground role. They are designed for this, but are apparently highly inaccurate.

    At this stage it seems the Russians are not even trying to pretend they are going after military targets. They just want to destroy Ukraine.
    It's hard for the media to cover the military conflict, but easier for the media to cover damage to Ukrainian civilian infrastructure behind the front lines. They want to create the sense that Ukraine is losing so that the US public will decide they don't want to waste sending more support.
    And why would the media want to do that? You are right about it being easier to film damage in Ukraine, though.
    I haven't seen any references to using SAMs (Surface-to-Air missiles) against ground targets. Linkey?

    I have seen quite a few reports of using naval Surface to Surface missiles against Ukrainian ground targets, though. The Russians have quite a lot of big anti-ship missiles, and they are fairly inaccurate against ground targets.
    Two reports using the same Ukrainian source:
    https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/russia-now-firing-s-300-surface-to-air-missiles-at-land-targets-in-ukraine-official
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/07/11/desperate-russian-troops-apparently-lobbed-anti-air-missiles-at-ukrainian-targets-on-land/?sh=72091b9a5497
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,288
    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
    I'm genuinely unsure that most of us will survive this HEAT-ATTACK; I expect millions of dead by Wednesday

    This is going to make World War One look like a laughable picnic with Nutella sandwiches and crisps and squash

    DOGS ON THE MOON
  • RogerRoger Posts: 19,913
    There you go contestants! Go for it. A door's just opened. Chase the 53%! The first to go for it can prove they'd be a shoo in.

    Starmer has his Red Wall of ageing thickos who he can't offend so it's an open goal

    Even Sterling couldn't miss!
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,288

    Given the state of the ambulance service, Monday and Tuesday's furnace temperatures is going to cause a massive political issue. There is bound to be a huge spike in calls for heart attacks, chest pains and the like.

    The leader's debates will be blown out of the coverage.

    My guess is this is going to be a massive and explosive issue and not in a good way for tory polling.

    The government should be excavating huge Death Pits in the Royal Parks, starting yesterday. Where are they going to pile the twisted, agonised, black-tongued corpses of the mighty regiments of the dead? Your nan's back garden?

    I hardly think so
  • SelebianSelebian Posts: 8,727
    IanB2 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "Chris Williamson
    @ChrisWillx

    “According to Pew Research, 51% of men between the ages of 18 and 29 are single compared to 32% of women in the same age group.”

    https://twitter.com/ChrisWillx/status/1547928971718828033

    So that means some men are dating multiple women
    Or it could mean that more young women are dating older men, than young men are dating older women.
    Or that there are more lesbian couples than male gay ones (almost certainly true)

    Or that men answering a survey are more likely to imagine they are footloose and “single” than women, in the same circumstances. Historically at least there was more stigma attached to spinsterhood.

    There are lots of potential factors
    Interested in that first point - I'd have assumed similar numbers of each, so I'm intrigued by the idea that's not true. Anything to back that up or just an assumption?

    Not enough homosexual couples to massively swing the overall numbers anyway, I'd have thought. Even is you say 10% (higher than official ONS stats still, I think) then even a big disparity there would only give youa few percentage points difference at the overall level.

    Point two more relevant, I think. And also a likely reality that women often still date someone a bit older?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,288
    DavidL said:

    rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "Chris Williamson
    @ChrisWillx

    “According to Pew Research, 51% of men between the ages of 18 and 29 are single compared to 32% of women in the same age group.”

    https://twitter.com/ChrisWillx/status/1547928971718828033

    So that means some men are dating multiple women
    Or it could mean that more young women are dating older men, than young men are dating older women.
    This is exactly the case.

    When I was 23, I was mostly single, because the 23 year old girls I knew were dating 32 year old men.
    When I was 20, I dated a 35 year-old. ;)
    When I was 23 I was dating a 24 year old. And I am still married to her.
    When I was 20 I dated a 20 year old. When I was 53 I dated a 20 year old. Stick to what you know, I say
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    That makes it difficult to nominate a competent, moderate centrist, who might actually have practical solutions to the nation's problems, for example, fentanyl.

    However bad things get, fentanyl isn't the solution.
    But if fentanyl is the problem the solution is more fentanyl.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,831
    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
    I'm genuinely unsure that most of us will survive this HEAT-ATTACK; I expect millions of dead by Wednesday

    This is going to make World War One look like a laughable picnic with Nutella sandwiches and crisps and squash

    DOGS ON THE MOON
    I was going to suggest the final countdown but I am definitely not going out to a song by Europe. It's a matter of principle.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838
    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
    I'm genuinely unsure that most of us will survive this HEAT-ATTACK; I expect millions of dead by Wednesday

    This is going to make World War One look like a laughable picnic with Nutella sandwiches and crisps and squash

    DOGS ON THE MOON
    I know we've got a Moon rabbit, but where do the lunar canids come in?
  • BartholomewRobertsBartholomewRoberts Posts: 21,971
    edited July 2022
    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
    I'm genuinely unsure that most of us will survive this HEAT-ATTACK; I expect millions of dead by Wednesday

    This is going to make World War One look like a laughable picnic with Nutella sandwiches and crisps and squash

    DOGS ON THE MOON
    If you wanted to make a rather morbid bet, I'd be willing to bet fewer people die next week than in the same week in six months time, ie the same corresponding week of January 2023.

    People always bang on about the "danger" of heat, but heat is time and again shown to be far less deadly than cold.

    Its just heat is exotic, so people talk about that more. Its like plane crashes versus car crashes. Next week's weather is still safer than bog standard normal winter weather.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,831
    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "Chris Williamson
    @ChrisWillx

    “According to Pew Research, 51% of men between the ages of 18 and 29 are single compared to 32% of women in the same age group.”

    https://twitter.com/ChrisWillx/status/1547928971718828033

    So that means some men are dating multiple women
    Or it could mean that more young women are dating older men, than young men are dating older women.
    This is exactly the case.

    When I was 23, I was mostly single, because the 23 year old girls I knew were dating 32 year old men.
    When I was 20, I dated a 35 year-old. ;)
    When I was 23 I was dating a 24 year old. And I am still married to her.
    When I was 20 I dated a 20 year old. When I was 53 I dated a 20 year old. Stick to what you know, I say
    I had an uncle like that. Can't say it ended well, sadly enough.
  • SelebianSelebian Posts: 8,727

    Given the state of the ambulance service, Monday and Tuesday's furnace temperatures is going to cause a massive political issue. There is bound to be a huge spike in calls for heart attacks, chest pains and the like.

    The leader's debates will be blown out of the coverage.

    My guess is this is going to be a massive and explosive issue and not in a good way for tory polling.

    I am not sure even the tories can be blamed for the weather
    Plenty of hot air from the candidates so far...
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,288
    The heat is ALREADY so historically bad they have started stabbing each other in the streets of Camden, at 4.17pm. I can see it from my window, FFS. Jesus Christ. BLOOD. BLOOD EVERYWHERE

    Normally this starts at about 5.30
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 27,899

    Tory donor Lord Cruddas has threatened to cut off the party's funding if the leadership contest becomes a parliamentary coronation.

    The billionaire City financier, who has given more than £3.5m to the Conservatives and £1.5m to the Vote Leave campaign, told The Telegraph that he is considering closing his wallet to the party for the first time since he began donating in 2010.

    Cash for influence. Now about those Russian donors...
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,012
    edited July 2022
    Leon said:

    The heat is ALREADY so historically bad they have started stabbing each other in the streets of Camden, at 4.17pm. I can see it from my window, FFS. Jesus Christ. BLOOD. BLOOD EVERYWHERE

    Normally this starts at about 5.30

    Knife crime seems to have very little attention in terms of media / politics these days. Might be a bit like the grooming gangs, is a huge problem which requires some difficult questions asking and controversial solutions.

    Has crime even come up in the leadership race?
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
    I'm genuinely unsure that most of us will survive this HEAT-ATTACK; I expect millions of dead by Wednesday

    This is going to make World War One look like a laughable picnic with Nutella sandwiches and crisps and squash

    DOGS ON THE MOON
    If you wanted to make a rather morbid bet, I'd be willing to bet fewer people die next week than in the same week in six months time, ie the same corresponding week of January 2023.

    People always bang on about the "danger" of heat, but heat is time and again shown to be far less deadly than cold.

    Its just heat is exotic, so people talk about that more. Its like plane crashes versus car crashes. Next week's weather is still safer than bog standard normal winter weather.
    Borderline acceptable most years, but bad taste this time round because people will be dying of not being able to afford the heating this winter.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,288
    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "Chris Williamson
    @ChrisWillx

    “According to Pew Research, 51% of men between the ages of 18 and 29 are single compared to 32% of women in the same age group.”

    https://twitter.com/ChrisWillx/status/1547928971718828033

    So that means some men are dating multiple women
    Or it could mean that more young women are dating older men, than young men are dating older women.
    This is exactly the case.

    When I was 23, I was mostly single, because the 23 year old girls I knew were dating 32 year old men.
    When I was 20, I dated a 35 year-old. ;)
    When I was 23 I was dating a 24 year old. And I am still married to her.
    When I was 20 I dated a 20 year old. When I was 53 I dated a 20 year old. Stick to what you know, I say
    I had an uncle like that. Can't say it ended well, sadly enough.
    But he had a laugh on the way, right?

    And, also, how does it end "well"? Are some people immortal? Or does it just feel like relentlessly endless life, in a marriage?
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838
    Carnyx said:

    Eabhal said:

    Leon said:

    "280 people BURNED to death - basically - as they race from their homes, pets shrieking in pain as their adorable eyes MELT

    TENS of THOUSANDS expected to DIE as extreme brutal ravaging temperatures STALK THE LANDS LIKE A DRUNKEN GORGON

    Billions of hectares of fertile land INCINERATED. Savage spires of flame eating up entire countries like huge golden cathedrals of Satan with jaws the size of Portugal and even bigger than that

    DOGS ON THE MOON

    Diane Abbot EXPLODES. Orgasmo-furnaces in HELL. AYYYYYYYYDEATHDEATH ahahahaha DEATH"

    BBC News



    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62175758


    Someone should ask the Conservative leadership candidates what they plan to do about firefighting wildfires as well as tower block fires.

    And why the MoD set fire to Salisbury Plain earlier in the week.
    https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-07-12/ministry-of-defence-issues-statement-as-wild-fires-burn-on-salisbury-plain

    Military training involves lots of things that can start wild fires. A classic is the use of smoke rounds.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-ben-wallace-visits-armed-forces-of-ukraine-as-training-programme-starts-across-the-uk
    Then military training should extend to looking at the weather forecast and the state of the grass.
    Also steam trains in the Highlands. Recent one at Glenfinnan. @Sunil_Prasannan, you have been warned.
    He's not going on that line - but to Kyle and THurso/Wick. No steamies on those at present, unless there is a one off special.
    TBF I had forgotten the Strathspey line branching northeast from Aviemore that is partly steam operated. But I daresay they take the fire risk into account when deciding to light a boiler or press the starter on a diesel.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,402
    40 000 BT workers to strike.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,664

    Shaun Lintern
    @ShaunLintern
    NEW: 999 callers for suspected heart attacks or stroke in West Midlands are now being told it could be several hours before an ambulance reaches them.

    @OFFICIALWMAS
    lost 2,300 hours of ambulance time outside hospitals on Monday with 700 emergency calls waiting at one point

    I know I shouldn't react but it's 22°C in Birmingham in the shade at the moment. Hardly heatstroke weather.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,361
    Leon said:

    Given the state of the ambulance service, Monday and Tuesday's furnace temperatures is going to cause a massive political issue. There is bound to be a huge spike in calls for heart attacks, chest pains and the like.

    The leader's debates will be blown out of the coverage.

    My guess is this is going to be a massive and explosive issue and not in a good way for tory polling.

    The government should be excavating huge Death Pits in the Royal Parks, starting yesterday. Where are they going to pile the twisted, agonised, black-tongued corpses of the mighty regiments of the dead? Your nan's back garden?

    I hardly think so
    They will be lobbed at the French by the British Army's new regiment of trebuchets, brought into service to replace the artillery sent to Ukraine.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,831

    DavidL said:

    Pulpstar said:

    What channel is tonight's beauty pageant on ?

    Channel 4.

    I'm in the Opinium panel for the snap poll on this debate.
    So who won?
    "Shock as George Osborne tops poll despite not taking part"
    I'm ok with that.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 27,899
    WATCH LIVE: Biden administration rolls out new 988 suicide and crisis hotline
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMEGpb0YpHM

    There's an idea we could pinch, even if only to the extent of a short number for Samaritans, whose adverts seem more common these days.
    https://www.samaritans.org/
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,447

    Pulpstar said:

    Personally I think we should either

    i. Leave the ECHR (YEs yes I know it's not part of the EU)
    or
    ii. Join the Euro.

    Perhaps do both :D not sure that'd be allowed by the powers that be though...

    Not sure where you get your boner for the Euro from?

    Surely, the 2010-2011 eurozone crisis, and flat-footedness of the ECB since, has shown why that'd have been a bad idea for us.

    It'd be a huge extra economic constraint for the removal of some marginal trade frictions. True, it would give us more political influence (as we'd be signed up to the whole thing) but that'd be far from decisive and only in one direction.

    If the whole thing ever fell over, and it often looks very shaky, then we'd be horribly exposed.
    By "extra economic constraint" do you really mean "one fewer thing for the government to fuck up"?
    Not really, the BoE couldn't set interest rates or do quantitative easing in future, so that would certainly be a constraint. So would the ability of sterling to act as an automatic stabiliser in responding to economic shocks. Instead, employment in the economy at large would have to take it instead.

    And, it's effectively irreversible - a decision to join could only be taken once.

    I'd never vote for it, even with a gun to my head.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,447

    Pulpstar said:

    Personally I think we should either

    i. Leave the ECHR (YEs yes I know it's not part of the EU)
    or
    ii. Join the Euro.

    Perhaps do both :D not sure that'd be allowed by the powers that be though...

    Not sure where you get your boner for the Euro from?

    Surely, the 2010-2011 eurozone crisis, and flat-footedness of the ECB since, has shown why that'd have been a bad idea for us.

    It'd be a huge extra economic constraint for the removal of some marginal trade frictions. True, it would give us more political influence (as we'd be signed up to the whole thing) but that'd be far from decisive and only in one direction.

    If the whole thing ever fell over, and it often looks very shaky, then we'd be horribly exposed.
    It's just a way of framing the question of European political integration in the starkest terms. Either all in or all out.
    But, in life, I find a good principle is that nothing is black & white.

    So it is with this too, I believe.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838
    edited July 2022
    Leon said:

    The heat is ALREADY so historically bad they have started stabbing each other in the streets of Camden, at 4.17pm. I can see it from my window, FFS. Jesus Christ. BLOOD. BLOOD EVERYWHERE

    Normally this starts at about 5.30

    Someone dropped some Baxter's Pickled Small Beets in Sweet Vinegar on the way home from WAitrose?
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,664
    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "Chris Williamson
    @ChrisWillx

    “According to Pew Research, 51% of men between the ages of 18 and 29 are single compared to 32% of women in the same age group.”

    https://twitter.com/ChrisWillx/status/1547928971718828033

    So that means some men are dating multiple women
    Or it could mean that more young women are dating older men, than young men are dating older women.
    This is exactly the case.

    When I was 23, I was mostly single, because the 23 year old girls I knew were dating 32 year old men.
    When I was 20, I dated a 35 year-old. ;)
    When I was 23 I was dating a 24 year old. And I am still married to her.
    When I was 20 I dated a 20 year old. When I was 53 I dated a 20 year old. Stick to what you know, I say
    I had an uncle like that. Can't say it ended well, sadly enough.
    But he had a laugh on the way, right?

    And, also, how does it end "well"? Are some people immortal? Or does it just feel like relentlessly endless life, in a marriage?
    I think there is a tremendous sense of contentment and happiness in spending your retirement with someone you've been with for 40 years. There is for me anyway.

    (Mrs P. declines to comment...)
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 27,899
    TfL is particularly concerned at the number of teenage schoolboys being mugged on buses for their mobile phones and gangs on e-scooters carrying out robberies outside stations.
    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/tube-london-underground-chronic-fare-dodgers-b1012572.html
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 42,592
    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Eabhal said:

    Leon said:

    "280 people BURNED to death - basically - as they race from their homes, pets shrieking in pain as their adorable eyes MELT

    TENS of THOUSANDS expected to DIE as extreme brutal ravaging temperatures STALK THE LANDS LIKE A DRUNKEN GORGON

    Billions of hectares of fertile land INCINERATED. Savage spires of flame eating up entire countries like huge golden cathedrals of Satan with jaws the size of Portugal and even bigger than that

    DOGS ON THE MOON

    Diane Abbot EXPLODES. Orgasmo-furnaces in HELL. AYYYYYYYYDEATHDEATH ahahahaha DEATH"

    BBC News



    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62175758


    Someone should ask the Conservative leadership candidates what they plan to do about firefighting wildfires as well as tower block fires.

    And why the MoD set fire to Salisbury Plain earlier in the week.
    https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-07-12/ministry-of-defence-issues-statement-as-wild-fires-burn-on-salisbury-plain

    Military training involves lots of things that can start wild fires. A classic is the use of smoke rounds.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-ben-wallace-visits-armed-forces-of-ukraine-as-training-programme-starts-across-the-uk
    Then military training should extend to looking at the weather forecast and the state of the grass.
    Also steam trains in the Highlands. Recent one at Glenfinnan. @Sunil_Prasannan, you have been warned.
    He's not going on that line - but to Kyle and THurso/Wick. No steamies on those at present, unless there is a one off special.
    TBF I had forgotten the Strathspey line branching northeast from Aviemore that is partly steam operated. But I daresay they take the fire risk into account when deciding to light a boiler or press the starter on a diesel.
    At the railway I used to volunteer at many years ago, we would go around in spring and autumn and cut down vegetation; in autumn with added controlled burning. At high-risk times, I believe they also had a large container of water in the guard's van along with a pump, so if the guard saw a fire he could at least start tackling it.

    I used to quite enjoy those work parties. One person would use a burner/flamethrower to set fire to te vegetation, and the rest of us would beat it out with beaters once it had burned enough. When it had cooled down, we would return and saw down the very wood bits.

    Since the decline of steam, the railways have really let trackside foliage become a major issue. Hence Network Rail's controversial schemes to clear much of it...
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,267

    Leon said:

    "280 people BURNED to death - basically - as they race from their homes, pets shrieking in pain as their adorable eyes MELT

    TENS of THOUSANDS expected to DIE as extreme brutal ravaging temperatures STALK THE LANDS LIKE A DRUNKEN GORGON

    Billions of hectares of fertile land INCINERATED. Savage spires of flame eating up entire countries like huge golden cathedrals of Satan with jaws the size of Portugal and even bigger than that

    DOGS ON THE MOON

    Diane Abbot EXPLODES. Orgasmo-furnaces in HELL. AYYYYYYYYDEATHDEATH ahahahaha DEATH"

    BBC News



    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62175758


    Someone should ask the Conservative leadership candidates what they plan to do about firefighting wildfires as well as tower block fires.

    And why the MoD set fire to Salisbury Plain earlier in the week.
    https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-07-12/ministry-of-defence-issues-statement-as-wild-fires-burn-on-salisbury-plain

    Military training involves lots of things that can start wild fires. A classic is the use of smoke rounds.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-ben-wallace-visits-armed-forces-of-ukraine-as-training-programme-starts-across-the-uk
    Then military training should extend to looking at the weather forecast and the state of the grass.
    Sometimes military necessity outweighs such concerns.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,831
    dixiedean said:

    40 000 BT workers to strike.

    How can you tell?
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,361

    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
    I'm genuinely unsure that most of us will survive this HEAT-ATTACK; I expect millions of dead by Wednesday

    This is going to make World War One look like a laughable picnic with Nutella sandwiches and crisps and squash

    DOGS ON THE MOON
    If you wanted to make a rather morbid bet, I'd be willing to bet fewer people die next week than in the same week in six months time, ie the same corresponding week of January 2023.

    People always bang on about the "danger" of heat, but heat is time and again shown to be far less deadly than cold.

    Its just heat is exotic, so people talk about that more. Its like plane crashes versus car crashes. Next week's weather is still safer than bog standard normal winter weather.
    I think you have the psychological reasoning wrong. The issue is control. There are a lot more things that you can do to keep warm - wear more clothes, use more blankets, star jumps, heating, fires, hot broth, insulation, etc.

    But if it is hot enough there is nothing you can do except to use air conditioning. Drinking water, and a few other things help at merely hot temperatures, but there are temperatures that are so hot that only air conditioning, and a reliable electricity supply, will save you from.

    It's the same with cars and planes - the control of driving your own car means that you believe you can avoid danger and it will be other people who will die. I can knit myself garments to keep myself warm, but I can't knit anything to help keep myself cool.

    Something out of our control is more scary than something we can influence, and that's why heat is more scary than cold.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,154

    Pulpstar said:

    Personally I think we should either

    i. Leave the ECHR (YEs yes I know it's not part of the EU)
    or
    ii. Join the Euro.

    Perhaps do both :D not sure that'd be allowed by the powers that be though...

    Not sure where you get your boner for the Euro from?

    Surely, the 2010-2011 eurozone crisis, and flat-footedness of the ECB since, has shown why that'd have been a bad idea for us.

    It'd be a huge extra economic constraint for the removal of some marginal trade frictions. True, it would give us more political influence (as we'd be signed up to the whole thing) but that'd be far from decisive and only in one direction.

    If the whole thing ever fell over, and it often looks very shaky, then we'd be horribly exposed.
    It's just a way of framing the question of European political integration in the starkest terms. Either all in or all out.
    But, in life, I find a good principle is that nothing is black & white.

    So it is with this too, I believe.
    Those Critical Race Theory classes were wasted on you :smiley:
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,565
    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
    Sorry, taken by the riots in 1981 as the Specials played Potternewton Park.....while Ghost Town was Number One
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,831

    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
    Sorry, taken by the riots in 1981 as the Specials played Potternewton Park.....while Ghost Town was Number One
    I remember. It was a great song that just hit the moment.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838
    rcs1000 said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Personally I think we should either

    i. Leave the ECHR (YEs yes I know it's not part of the EU)
    or
    ii. Join the Euro.

    Perhaps do both :D not sure that'd be allowed by the powers that be though...

    Not sure where you get your boner for the Euro from?

    Surely, the 2010-2011 eurozone crisis, and flat-footedness of the ECB since, has shown why that'd have been a bad idea for us.

    It'd be a huge extra economic constraint for the removal of some marginal trade frictions. True, it would give us more political influence (as we'd be signed up to the whole thing) but that'd be far from decisive and only in one direction.

    If the whole thing ever fell over, and it often looks very shaky, then we'd be horribly exposed.
    It's just a way of framing the question of European political integration in the starkest terms. Either all in or all out.
    But, in life, I find a good principle is that nothing is black & white.

    So it is with this too, I believe.
    Those Critical Race Theory classes were wasted on you :smiley:
    He must find chess a very difficult game to play.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,267

    Leon said:

    "280 people BURNED to death - basically - as they race from their homes, pets shrieking in pain as their adorable eyes MELT

    TENS of THOUSANDS expected to DIE as extreme brutal ravaging temperatures STALK THE LANDS LIKE A DRUNKEN GORGON

    Billions of hectares of fertile land INCINERATED. Savage spires of flame eating up entire countries like huge golden cathedrals of Satan with jaws the size of Portugal and even bigger than that

    DOGS ON THE MOON

    Diane Abbot EXPLODES. Orgasmo-furnaces in HELL. AYYYYYYYYDEATHDEATH ahahahaha DEATH"

    BBC News



    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62175758


    In really important news, it is a good idea not to serve red wine above 18c (temperature of the wine itself).

    If the ambient temperature of the wine goes above this, chill it in the fridge first.

    For light reds, consider 15-16c as a max.

    And for the love of God, don't chill white to 1c - it kills all the flavour. 6c, please
    A Red Wine Weather warning - Meaning there is a substantial danger to palates
    It is essential not to panic. It upsets the Lower Orders, and can serious endanger the curl of ones moustache.

    Etiquette for difficult times - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8Z5xMhVGg8
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,664
    24.7°C here in Dorset.

    A perfect summer's day, looking out from our kitchen towards Melbury Beacon. Is there any better place to be on such a day?

    image
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,565
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
    Sorry, taken by the riots in 1981 as the Specials played Potternewton Park.....while Ghost Town was Number One
    I remember. It was a great song that just hit the moment.
    RAR/ANL concert headlined by the Specials, with Aswad, the Au Pairs, Stiff Little Fingers, Misty in Roots. Helluva gig.
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559
    When Cassidy Hutchinson made her bombshell revelations to Congress, including that then-President Trump was going apeshit in his official limo, the Secret Service put out that this was NOT correct.

    Now it transpires, that - according to the Inspector General of US Department of Homeland Security - that relevant texts by Secret Service agents were erased as (as published in today's NYT) "as part of a device replacement program"AFTER the IG had requested them as part of IG's own inquiry.

    In addition, the IG reports that members of Secret Service have been stonewalling his investigation, by refusing to provide records until they were "reviewed" by department lawyers.

    OR - my speculation - these records can also be disposed of in some fashion? If that hasn't already happened.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,361

    Shaun Lintern
    @ShaunLintern
    NEW: 999 callers for suspected heart attacks or stroke in West Midlands are now being told it could be several hours before an ambulance reaches them.

    @OFFICIALWMAS
    lost 2,300 hours of ambulance time outside hospitals on Monday with 700 emergency calls waiting at one point

    I know I shouldn't react but it's 22°C in Birmingham in the shade at the moment. Hardly heatstroke weather.
    That's kinda the point. The NHS is already at breaking point due to Covid alone. The impact of the high temperatures next week on a system on the edge - it could be very bad indeed.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
    I'm genuinely unsure that most of us will survive this HEAT-ATTACK; I expect millions of dead by Wednesday

    This is going to make World War One look like a laughable picnic with Nutella sandwiches and crisps and squash

    DOGS ON THE MOON
    If you wanted to make a rather morbid bet, I'd be willing to bet fewer people die next week than in the same week in six months time, ie the same corresponding week of January 2023.

    People always bang on about the "danger" of heat, but heat is time and again shown to be far less deadly than cold.

    Its just heat is exotic, so people talk about that more. Its like plane crashes versus car crashes. Next week's weather is still safer than bog standard normal winter weather.
    I think you have the psychological reasoning wrong. The issue is control. There are a lot more things that you can do to keep warm - wear more clothes, use more blankets, star jumps, heating, fires, hot broth, insulation, etc.

    But if it is hot enough there is nothing you can do except to use air conditioning. Drinking water, and a few other things help at merely hot temperatures, but there are temperatures that are so hot that only air conditioning, and a reliable electricity supply, will save you from.

    It's the same with cars and planes - the control of driving your own car means that you believe you can avoid danger and it will be other people who will die. I can knit myself garments to keep myself warm, but I can't knit anything to help keep myself cool.

    Something out of our control is more scary than something we can influence, and that's why heat is more scary than cold.
    None of that is true. The Tuareg have got on fine, forever. Conversely, if you are old and poor none of your anti-cold ploys are available to you.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 27,899
    Rishi Sunak mocked by eagle-eyed viewers over spelling mistake on Tory leadership campaign banner
    The ex-Chancellor was taking part in ConservativeHome hustings on Friday when the blunder was spotted

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/rishi-sunak-spelling-mistake-campaign-tory-leadereship-contest-latest-b1012663.html
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,267
    Carnyx said:

    Sandpit said:

    Nigelb said:

    House adds roadblock to Biden's plan to sell U.S. fighter jets to Turkey

    https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/14/house-adds-roadblock-to-bidens-quest-to-sell-u-s-fighter-jets-to-turkey-00045825
    ...It’s the latest dent in a potential sale of the Lockheed Martin-built jets to Ankara. Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), one of the four top lawmakers who must sign off on weapons sales to foreign nations, is refusing to back the transfer.

    The dual hurdles make it nearly impossible for Biden to follow through on selling the fighters to the NATO ally as lawmakers express exasperation over Ankara’s purchase of advanced Russian equipment, violating the territory of its neighbours and its drift toward autocracy under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan...


    This is not going to make Erdogan happy, after he was persuaded to back down on NATO membership for Sweden and Finland.

    Some of that 'advanced Russian equipment' are S-400 SAM systems. The same system that (allegedly) the Russians are pi**ed off about because it cannot shoot down HIMARS shells.

    Erdogan might have bought a pup...
    The S-400 is failing badly against the HIMARS. Which is hillarious, because each S400 defence rocket is an order of magnitide more expensive than the rockets the enemy is facing. They’ll be out of them soon enough, chasing rainbows.
    Sadly, the Russians appear to be using Surface-to-Air missiles in a Surface-to-Ground role. They are designed for this, but are apparently highly inaccurate.

    At this stage it seems the Russians are not even trying to pretend they are going after military targets. They just want to destroy Ukraine.
    It's hard for the media to cover the military conflict, but easier for the media to cover damage to Ukrainian civilian infrastructure behind the front lines. They want to create the sense that Ukraine is losing so that the US public will decide they don't want to waste sending more support.
    And why would the media want to do that? You are right about it being easier to film damage in Ukraine, though.
    I haven't seen any references to using SAMs (Surface-to-Air missiles) against ground targets. Linkey?

    I have seen quite a few reports of using naval Surface to Surface missiles against Ukrainian ground targets, though. The Russians have quite a lot of big anti-ship missiles, and they are fairly inaccurate against ground targets.
    Seaslug surface to air (now all out of service, I think, at least in the Royal Navy) had a secondary land strike role. USN Talos, too.
    Seaslug hit the wrong island, in the Falklands campaign, IIRC.

    A barking mad system - you basically had to build the ship round it.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,431

    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "Chris Williamson
    @ChrisWillx

    “According to Pew Research, 51% of men between the ages of 18 and 29 are single compared to 32% of women in the same age group.”

    https://twitter.com/ChrisWillx/status/1547928971718828033

    So that means some men are dating multiple women
    Or it could mean that more young women are dating older men, than young men are dating older women.
    This is exactly the case.

    When I was 23, I was mostly single, because the 23 year old girls I knew were dating 32 year old men.
    When I was 20, I dated a 35 year-old. ;)
    When I was 23 I was dating a 24 year old. And I am still married to her.
    When I was 20 I dated a 20 year old. When I was 53 I dated a 20 year old. Stick to what you know, I say
    I had an uncle like that. Can't say it ended well, sadly enough.
    But he had a laugh on the way, right?

    And, also, how does it end "well"? Are some people immortal? Or does it just feel like relentlessly endless life, in a marriage?
    I think there is a tremendous sense of contentment and happiness in spending your retirement with someone you've been with for 40 years. There is for me anyway.

    (Mrs P. declines to comment...)
    Very true! Sadly Mrs C is having a bad time at the moment as I am by no means as well as I’d like to be!
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,664

    Shaun Lintern
    @ShaunLintern
    NEW: 999 callers for suspected heart attacks or stroke in West Midlands are now being told it could be several hours before an ambulance reaches them.

    @OFFICIALWMAS
    lost 2,300 hours of ambulance time outside hospitals on Monday with 700 emergency calls waiting at one point

    I know I shouldn't react but it's 22°C in Birmingham in the shade at the moment. Hardly heatstroke weather.
    That's kinda the point. The NHS is already at breaking point due to Covid alone. The impact of the high temperatures next week on a system on the edge - it could be very bad indeed.
    Fair point.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,103
    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "Chris Williamson
    @ChrisWillx

    “According to Pew Research, 51% of men between the ages of 18 and 29 are single compared to 32% of women in the same age group.”

    https://twitter.com/ChrisWillx/status/1547928971718828033

    So that means some men are dating multiple women
    Or it could mean that more young women are dating older men, than young men are dating older women.
    This is exactly the case.

    When I was 23, I was mostly single, because the 23 year old girls I knew were dating 32 year old men.
    When I was 20, I dated a 35 year-old. ;)
    When I was 23 I was dating a 24 year old. And I am still married to her.
    When I was 20 I dated a 20 year old. When I was 53 I dated a 20 year old. Stick to what you know, I say
    You're Leonardo Di Caprio?
  • ohnotnowohnotnow Posts: 3,785
    Carnyx said:

    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
    I'm genuinely unsure that most of us will survive this HEAT-ATTACK; I expect millions of dead by Wednesday

    This is going to make World War One look like a laughable picnic with Nutella sandwiches and crisps and squash

    DOGS ON THE MOON
    I know we've got a Moon rabbit, but where do the lunar canids come in?
    Tangentially - just brought this to mind. Upbeat little Japanese number https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpUyfKZYiGo
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,831
    Carnyx said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Personally I think we should either

    i. Leave the ECHR (YEs yes I know it's not part of the EU)
    or
    ii. Join the Euro.

    Perhaps do both :D not sure that'd be allowed by the powers that be though...

    Not sure where you get your boner for the Euro from?

    Surely, the 2010-2011 eurozone crisis, and flat-footedness of the ECB since, has shown why that'd have been a bad idea for us.

    It'd be a huge extra economic constraint for the removal of some marginal trade frictions. True, it would give us more political influence (as we'd be signed up to the whole thing) but that'd be far from decisive and only in one direction.

    If the whole thing ever fell over, and it often looks very shaky, then we'd be horribly exposed.
    It's just a way of framing the question of European political integration in the starkest terms. Either all in or all out.
    But, in life, I find a good principle is that nothing is black & white.

    So it is with this too, I believe.
    Those Critical Race Theory classes were wasted on you :smiley:
    He must find chess a very difficult game to play.
    Not to mention playing the piano.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,103
    edited July 2022

    Leon said:

    The heat is ALREADY so historically bad they have started stabbing each other in the streets of Camden, at 4.17pm. I can see it from my window, FFS. Jesus Christ. BLOOD. BLOOD EVERYWHERE

    Normally this starts at about 5.30

    Knife crime seems to have very little attention in terms of media / politics these days. Might be a bit like the grooming gangs, is a huge problem which requires some difficult questions asking and controversial solutions.

    Has crime even come up in the leadership race?
    I hope not. MPs of all stripes are quick to just promise new law this, and harsher punishments for that, competing with one another. Having a Tory leadership contest talk about it would be that on steroids.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,267
    rcs1000 said:

    FPT: Flatlander said: "I suspect (no calculations) that using solar roof tiles to power a reversible heat pump would be more effective.

    These are actually a thing now although they aren't cheap."

    That is, more effective than my suggestion of changing the color of color of roofs, making them more reflective in the summer, more absorbent in the winter.

    There were two qualifications in my original comment: for some buildings, in some climates. Let's say, for example, that you have a building that you plan to use for just five more years. It might make economic sense to repaint the roof twice a year, using very inexpensive paints (since they don't have to last long.

    (It is good to hear that the combination you describe is actually being installed in some places. And I can imagine it being a good choice -- for some buildings, in some climates. If not now, in the future.)

    There are quite a lot of low cost, low efficiency solar technologies out there that could have widespread usage - windows with CdTe or CIGS coverings, that would never be enough to power a building, but which could easily reduce energy consumption by 10-15%, and which (if installed when the building is built) my only add 1% to total costs.

    And there's a company that a spinout from the University of Melbourne that's hoping to launch solar paint later this year. This would only be 1-2% efficient, but which could be extremely cheap to make and install. (That being said, I do worry that in some places, it would lead to buildings absorbing more heat - so I would want to see some more work before getting too excited.)
    According to a relative, who does high-end domestic construction, solar panels on the roof not merely power the air-conditioning, they also can noticeably reduce the power required, since they act as a sun shade to the roof....
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559

    WATCH LIVE: Biden administration rolls out new 988 suicide and crisis hotline
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMEGpb0YpHM

    There's an idea we could pinch, even if only to the extent of a short number for Samaritans, whose adverts seem more common these days.
    https://www.samaritans.org/

    Surely yet another gaffe by Biden? Bet that Fox News is already proclaiming it as such!

    And can Leon (and Vicar of Bray) be far behind?
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,361

    rcs1000 said:

    FPT: Flatlander said: "I suspect (no calculations) that using solar roof tiles to power a reversible heat pump would be more effective.

    These are actually a thing now although they aren't cheap."

    That is, more effective than my suggestion of changing the color of color of roofs, making them more reflective in the summer, more absorbent in the winter.

    There were two qualifications in my original comment: for some buildings, in some climates. Let's say, for example, that you have a building that you plan to use for just five more years. It might make economic sense to repaint the roof twice a year, using very inexpensive paints (since they don't have to last long.

    (It is good to hear that the combination you describe is actually being installed in some places. And I can imagine it being a good choice -- for some buildings, in some climates. If not now, in the future.)

    There are quite a lot of low cost, low efficiency solar technologies out there that could have widespread usage - windows with CdTe or CIGS coverings, that would never be enough to power a building, but which could easily reduce energy consumption by 10-15%, and which (if installed when the building is built) my only add 1% to total costs.

    And there's a company that a spinout from the University of Melbourne that's hoping to launch solar paint later this year. This would only be 1-2% efficient, but which could be extremely cheap to make and install. (That being said, I do worry that in some places, it would lead to buildings absorbing more heat - so I would want to see some more work before getting too excited.)
    According to a relative, who does high-end domestic construction, solar panels on the roof not merely power the air-conditioning, they also can noticeably reduce the power required, since they act as a sun shade to the roof....
    Is that a physical effect, because of an air gap between the panels and the roof, or because a proportion of the energy is converted to electricity instead of heat?
  • XtrainXtrain Posts: 341
    dixiedean said:

    40 000 BT workers to strike.

    AAh I remember the last BT strike. I was on the picket line aged 22!
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838

    Carnyx said:

    Sandpit said:

    Nigelb said:

    House adds roadblock to Biden's plan to sell U.S. fighter jets to Turkey

    https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/14/house-adds-roadblock-to-bidens-quest-to-sell-u-s-fighter-jets-to-turkey-00045825
    ...It’s the latest dent in a potential sale of the Lockheed Martin-built jets to Ankara. Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), one of the four top lawmakers who must sign off on weapons sales to foreign nations, is refusing to back the transfer.

    The dual hurdles make it nearly impossible for Biden to follow through on selling the fighters to the NATO ally as lawmakers express exasperation over Ankara’s purchase of advanced Russian equipment, violating the territory of its neighbours and its drift toward autocracy under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan...


    This is not going to make Erdogan happy, after he was persuaded to back down on NATO membership for Sweden and Finland.

    Some of that 'advanced Russian equipment' are S-400 SAM systems. The same system that (allegedly) the Russians are pi**ed off about because it cannot shoot down HIMARS shells.

    Erdogan might have bought a pup...
    The S-400 is failing badly against the HIMARS. Which is hillarious, because each S400 defence rocket is an order of magnitide more expensive than the rockets the enemy is facing. They’ll be out of them soon enough, chasing rainbows.
    Sadly, the Russians appear to be using Surface-to-Air missiles in a Surface-to-Ground role. They are designed for this, but are apparently highly inaccurate.

    At this stage it seems the Russians are not even trying to pretend they are going after military targets. They just want to destroy Ukraine.
    It's hard for the media to cover the military conflict, but easier for the media to cover damage to Ukrainian civilian infrastructure behind the front lines. They want to create the sense that Ukraine is losing so that the US public will decide they don't want to waste sending more support.
    And why would the media want to do that? You are right about it being easier to film damage in Ukraine, though.
    I haven't seen any references to using SAMs (Surface-to-Air missiles) against ground targets. Linkey?

    I have seen quite a few reports of using naval Surface to Surface missiles against Ukrainian ground targets, though. The Russians have quite a lot of big anti-ship missiles, and they are fairly inaccurate against ground targets.
    Seaslug surface to air (now all out of service, I think, at least in the Royal Navy) had a secondary land strike role. USN Talos, too.
    Seaslug hit the wrong island, in the Falklands campaign, IIRC.

    A barking mad system - you basically had to build the ship round it.
    THe fascinating thing was they had to provide a sort of railway siding complex, including one on each beam for when a missile went poorly and had to be quickly sidelined (literally) lest it hold up the entire loading. In David Brown RCNC's book on the relevant period of RN construction, I think.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,103
    Xtrain said:

    dixiedean said:

    40 000 BT workers to strike.

    AAh I remember the last BT strike. I was on the picket line aged 22!
    How did it go?
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 63,044

    Shaun Lintern
    @ShaunLintern
    NEW: 999 callers for suspected heart attacks or stroke in West Midlands are now being told it could be several hours before an ambulance reaches them.

    @OFFICIALWMAS
    lost 2,300 hours of ambulance time outside hospitals on Monday with 700 emergency calls waiting at one point

    Tories have really let the country go to shit.
    Wales NHS is just as bad if not worse and that is the responsibility of Wales Labour

    Indeed all parts of the UK have the same issues with nobody able to provide an answer, other than billions more
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,831

    Carnyx said:

    Eabhal said:

    Leon said:

    "280 people BURNED to death - basically - as they race from their homes, pets shrieking in pain as their adorable eyes MELT

    TENS of THOUSANDS expected to DIE as extreme brutal ravaging temperatures STALK THE LANDS LIKE A DRUNKEN GORGON

    Billions of hectares of fertile land INCINERATED. Savage spires of flame eating up entire countries like huge golden cathedrals of Satan with jaws the size of Portugal and even bigger than that

    DOGS ON THE MOON

    Diane Abbot EXPLODES. Orgasmo-furnaces in HELL. AYYYYYYYYDEATHDEATH ahahahaha DEATH"

    BBC News



    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62175758


    Someone should ask the Conservative leadership candidates what they plan to do about firefighting wildfires as well as tower block fires.

    And why the MoD set fire to Salisbury Plain earlier in the week.
    https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-07-12/ministry-of-defence-issues-statement-as-wild-fires-burn-on-salisbury-plain

    Military training involves lots of things that can start wild fires. A classic is the use of smoke rounds.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-ben-wallace-visits-armed-forces-of-ukraine-as-training-programme-starts-across-the-uk
    Then military training should extend to looking at the weather forecast and the state of the grass.
    Also steam trains in the Highlands. Recent one at Glenfinnan. @Sunil_Prasannan, you have been warned.
    He's not going on that line - but to Kyle and THurso/Wick. No steamies on those at present, unless there is a one off special.
    Should go to Perth via Edinburgh to take in the Ladybank-Perth line too, which I am entering as I write! A lovely bit of railway through a quiet corner of Fife.
    Ladybank is a dump.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,664
    IshmaelZ said:

    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
    I'm genuinely unsure that most of us will survive this HEAT-ATTACK; I expect millions of dead by Wednesday

    This is going to make World War One look like a laughable picnic with Nutella sandwiches and crisps and squash

    DOGS ON THE MOON
    If you wanted to make a rather morbid bet, I'd be willing to bet fewer people die next week than in the same week in six months time, ie the same corresponding week of January 2023.

    People always bang on about the "danger" of heat, but heat is time and again shown to be far less deadly than cold.

    Its just heat is exotic, so people talk about that more. Its like plane crashes versus car crashes. Next week's weather is still safer than bog standard normal winter weather.
    Borderline acceptable most years, but bad taste this time round because people will be dying of not being able to afford the heating this winter.
    That will definitely be happening, sadly, unless there is something radical from the Government to get the vulnerable through through the next few winters.

    I'd slash the fuel cap to where it was in January 2019. Borrow to subsidise it if necessary. Find a way.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,267

    rcs1000 said:

    FPT: Flatlander said: "I suspect (no calculations) that using solar roof tiles to power a reversible heat pump would be more effective.

    These are actually a thing now although they aren't cheap."

    That is, more effective than my suggestion of changing the color of color of roofs, making them more reflective in the summer, more absorbent in the winter.

    There were two qualifications in my original comment: for some buildings, in some climates. Let's say, for example, that you have a building that you plan to use for just five more years. It might make economic sense to repaint the roof twice a year, using very inexpensive paints (since they don't have to last long.

    (It is good to hear that the combination you describe is actually being installed in some places. And I can imagine it being a good choice -- for some buildings, in some climates. If not now, in the future.)

    There are quite a lot of low cost, low efficiency solar technologies out there that could have widespread usage - windows with CdTe or CIGS coverings, that would never be enough to power a building, but which could easily reduce energy consumption by 10-15%, and which (if installed when the building is built) my only add 1% to total costs.

    And there's a company that a spinout from the University of Melbourne that's hoping to launch solar paint later this year. This would only be 1-2% efficient, but which could be extremely cheap to make and install. (That being said, I do worry that in some places, it would lead to buildings absorbing more heat - so I would want to see some more work before getting too excited.)
    According to a relative, who does high-end domestic construction, solar panels on the roof not merely power the air-conditioning, they also can noticeably reduce the power required, since they act as a sun shade to the roof....
    Is that a physical effect, because of an air gap between the panels and the roof, or because a proportion of the energy is converted to electricity instead of heat?
    I believe that it is the air gap - all the frequencies are blocked by the panel, not just the ones it turns into electricity. At least that is my understanding of the effect that the architects/engineers model when they design the roof setups.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,863

    24.7°C here in Dorset.

    A perfect summer's day, looking out from our kitchen towards Melbury Beacon. Is there any better place to be on such a day?

    image

    Than your kitchen? Most probably.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838
    DavidL said:

    Carnyx said:

    Eabhal said:

    Leon said:

    "280 people BURNED to death - basically - as they race from their homes, pets shrieking in pain as their adorable eyes MELT

    TENS of THOUSANDS expected to DIE as extreme brutal ravaging temperatures STALK THE LANDS LIKE A DRUNKEN GORGON

    Billions of hectares of fertile land INCINERATED. Savage spires of flame eating up entire countries like huge golden cathedrals of Satan with jaws the size of Portugal and even bigger than that

    DOGS ON THE MOON

    Diane Abbot EXPLODES. Orgasmo-furnaces in HELL. AYYYYYYYYDEATHDEATH ahahahaha DEATH"

    BBC News



    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62175758


    Someone should ask the Conservative leadership candidates what they plan to do about firefighting wildfires as well as tower block fires.

    And why the MoD set fire to Salisbury Plain earlier in the week.
    https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-07-12/ministry-of-defence-issues-statement-as-wild-fires-burn-on-salisbury-plain

    Military training involves lots of things that can start wild fires. A classic is the use of smoke rounds.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-ben-wallace-visits-armed-forces-of-ukraine-as-training-programme-starts-across-the-uk
    Then military training should extend to looking at the weather forecast and the state of the grass.
    Also steam trains in the Highlands. Recent one at Glenfinnan. @Sunil_Prasannan, you have been warned.
    He's not going on that line - but to Kyle and THurso/Wick. No steamies on those at present, unless there is a one off special.
    Should go to Perth via Edinburgh to take in the Ladybank-Perth line too, which I am entering as I write! A lovely bit of railway through a quiet corner of Fife.
    Ladybank is a dump.
    It did keep you in lighting and paper for much of your working life ...
  • ClippPClippP Posts: 1,904

    Leon said:

    "280 people BURNED to death - basically - as they race from their homes, pets shrieking in pain as their adorable eyes MELT

    TENS of THOUSANDS expected to DIE as extreme brutal ravaging temperatures STALK THE LANDS LIKE A DRUNKEN GORGON

    Billions of hectares of fertile land INCINERATED. Savage spires of flame eating up entire countries like huge golden cathedrals of Satan with jaws the size of Portugal and even bigger than that

    DOGS ON THE MOON

    Diane Abbot EXPLODES. Orgasmo-furnaces in HELL. AYYYYYYYYDEATHDEATH ahahahaha DEATH"

    BBC News



    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62175758


    Someone should ask the Conservative leadership candidates what they plan to do about firefighting wildfires as well as tower block fires.

    And why the MoD set fire to Salisbury Plain earlier in the week.
    https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-07-12/ministry-of-defence-issues-statement-as-wild-fires-burn-on-salisbury-plain

    Military training involves lots of things that can start wild fires. A classic is the use of smoke rounds.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-ben-wallace-visits-armed-forces-of-ukraine-as-training-programme-starts-across-the-uk
    Then military training should extend to looking at the weather forecast and the state of the grass.
    Sometimes military necessity outweighs such concerns.
    In Peacetime? On Salibury plain?
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,664
    IanB2 said:

    24.7°C here in Dorset.

    A perfect summer's day, looking out from our kitchen towards Melbury Beacon. Is there any better place to be on such a day?

    image

    Than your kitchen? Most probably.
    Depends what's cooking, shirley?
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,632
    God I hate people like this.

    Claire Yaxley owes her mother thousands of pounds, but has still splashed out recently on a Fitbit, an exercise bike and a trip to Butlins.

    "Things are getting more difficult every single day," the single mum-of-two admitted. "And yet I'm not putting money aside, I am spending it."

    New research seen by the BBC suggests 25% of people are similarly stretched, but reluctant to stop spending.

    The Grant Thornton and Retail Economics report surveyed 2,000 UK adults.

    Ms Yaxley, who lives near Norwich with her daughters earns around £16,000 a year through various jobs in the education sector.

    She has borrowed £6,000 from her mother to help make ends meet, and knows that she should be trying to pay her back, in addition to saving a bit every month given the rising cost of living.

    But she said this rarely happens, because she's prioritising spending on treats for her family after a tough few years during the pandemic.

    "My income fluctuates, but when I have a bit more, I do spend it rather than save it," she said.

    That has included spending £100 on a foldable exercise bike and £430 on a weekend trip to Butlins holiday resort over the school holidays.

    Ms Yaxley said she does feel "guilty" for spending on non-essential items, particularly given the rising cost of petrol and food. But after two years of Covid restrictions, she feels like the family deserves it.


    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62148525.amp

  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,723
    This poll is irrelevant. We are not going to rejoin Europe for at least c
    50 years.
  • XtrainXtrain Posts: 341
    kle4 said:

    Xtrain said:

    dixiedean said:

    40 000 BT workers to strike.

    AAh I remember the last BT strike. I was on the picket line aged 22!
    How did it go?
    We went back to work after 2 weeks. I don't think we won anything. I was just glad for the two weeks off. Sold my cortina mk v to one of my comrades.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,012
    Everyone aged 50 and over will be offered a Covid booster vaccine this autumn to top up their immunity and cut their risk of becoming severely ill.

    Younger people at high risk from Covid, as well as health and social care staff, will also get the booster.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,402

    Everyone aged 50 and over will be offered a Covid booster vaccine this autumn to top up their immunity and cut their risk of becoming severely ill.

    Younger people at high risk from Covid, as well as health and social care staff, will also get the booster.

    Was wondering when that would happen.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,012
    dixiedean said:

    Everyone aged 50 and over will be offered a Covid booster vaccine this autumn to top up their immunity and cut their risk of becoming severely ill.

    Younger people at high risk from Covid, as well as health and social care staff, will also get the booster.

    Was wondering when that would happen.
    Starting September apparently.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,361
    edited July 2022
    ClippP said:

    Leon said:

    "280 people BURNED to death - basically - as they race from their homes, pets shrieking in pain as their adorable eyes MELT

    TENS of THOUSANDS expected to DIE as extreme brutal ravaging temperatures STALK THE LANDS LIKE A DRUNKEN GORGON

    Billions of hectares of fertile land INCINERATED. Savage spires of flame eating up entire countries like huge golden cathedrals of Satan with jaws the size of Portugal and even bigger than that

    DOGS ON THE MOON

    Diane Abbot EXPLODES. Orgasmo-furnaces in HELL. AYYYYYYYYDEATHDEATH ahahahaha DEATH"

    BBC News



    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62175758


    Someone should ask the Conservative leadership candidates what they plan to do about firefighting wildfires as well as tower block fires.

    And why the MoD set fire to Salisbury Plain earlier in the week.
    https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-07-12/ministry-of-defence-issues-statement-as-wild-fires-burn-on-salisbury-plain

    Military training involves lots of things that can start wild fires. A classic is the use of smoke rounds.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-ben-wallace-visits-armed-forces-of-ukraine-as-training-programme-starts-across-the-uk
    Then military training should extend to looking at the weather forecast and the state of the grass.
    Sometimes military necessity outweighs such concerns.
    In Peacetime? On Salibury plain?
    We've been training Ukrainians how to use the artillery we're giving them on Salisbury Plain. You might have noticed that they are at war.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,962
    I believe ‘Walt’ is the term for this kind of thing.


  • jonny83jonny83 Posts: 1,270

    Everyone aged 50 and over will be offered a Covid booster vaccine this autumn to top up their immunity and cut their risk of becoming severely ill.

    Younger people at high risk from Covid, as well as health and social care staff, will also get the booster.

    I wonder if it will be the new Moderna Booster.

    Makes sense to boost heading into autumn/winter
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,310

    A very pleasant 17 degrees here in the Lakes with a light breeze and blue skies.

    Just saying.

  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,664

    rcs1000 said:

    FPT: Flatlander said: "I suspect (no calculations) that using solar roof tiles to power a reversible heat pump would be more effective.

    These are actually a thing now although they aren't cheap."

    That is, more effective than my suggestion of changing the color of color of roofs, making them more reflective in the summer, more absorbent in the winter.

    There were two qualifications in my original comment: for some buildings, in some climates. Let's say, for example, that you have a building that you plan to use for just five more years. It might make economic sense to repaint the roof twice a year, using very inexpensive paints (since they don't have to last long.

    (It is good to hear that the combination you describe is actually being installed in some places. And I can imagine it being a good choice -- for some buildings, in some climates. If not now, in the future.)

    There are quite a lot of low cost, low efficiency solar technologies out there that could have widespread usage - windows with CdTe or CIGS coverings, that would never be enough to power a building, but which could easily reduce energy consumption by 10-15%, and which (if installed when the building is built) my only add 1% to total costs.

    And there's a company that a spinout from the University of Melbourne that's hoping to launch solar paint later this year. This would only be 1-2% efficient, but which could be extremely cheap to make and install. (That being said, I do worry that in some places, it would lead to buildings absorbing more heat - so I would want to see some more work before getting too excited.)
    According to a relative, who does high-end domestic construction, solar panels on the roof not merely power the air-conditioning, they also can noticeably reduce the power required, since they act as a sun shade to the roof....
    Is that a physical effect, because of an air gap between the panels and the roof, or because a proportion of the energy is converted to electricity instead of heat?
    I believe that it is the air gap - all the frequencies are blocked by the panel, not just the ones it turns into electricity. At least that is my understanding of the effect that the architects/engineers model when they design the roof setups.
    Interesting. That would be an advantage for panels added to the roof, as opposed to those integrated into the roof tiles.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,267
    ClippP said:

    Leon said:

    "280 people BURNED to death - basically - as they race from their homes, pets shrieking in pain as their adorable eyes MELT

    TENS of THOUSANDS expected to DIE as extreme brutal ravaging temperatures STALK THE LANDS LIKE A DRUNKEN GORGON

    Billions of hectares of fertile land INCINERATED. Savage spires of flame eating up entire countries like huge golden cathedrals of Satan with jaws the size of Portugal and even bigger than that

    DOGS ON THE MOON

    Diane Abbot EXPLODES. Orgasmo-furnaces in HELL. AYYYYYYYYDEATHDEATH ahahahaha DEATH"

    BBC News



    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62175758


    Someone should ask the Conservative leadership candidates what they plan to do about firefighting wildfires as well as tower block fires.

    And why the MoD set fire to Salisbury Plain earlier in the week.
    https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-07-12/ministry-of-defence-issues-statement-as-wild-fires-burn-on-salisbury-plain

    Military training involves lots of things that can start wild fires. A classic is the use of smoke rounds.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-ben-wallace-visits-armed-forces-of-ukraine-as-training-programme-starts-across-the-uk
    Then military training should extend to looking at the weather forecast and the state of the grass.
    Sometimes military necessity outweighs such concerns.
    In Peacetime? On Salibury plain?
    There is a small war going on. You may have seen something in the news about it. We are training some of the soldiers fighting in it. See my link above.

    Imagine telling a Ukrainian recruit that we are stopping their training because the grass is too dry.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 27,899

    God I hate people like this.

    Claire Yaxley owes her mother thousands of pounds, but has still splashed out recently on a Fitbit, an exercise bike and a trip to Butlins.

    "Things are getting more difficult every single day," the single mum-of-two admitted. "And yet I'm not putting money aside, I am spending it."

    New research seen by the BBC suggests 25% of people are similarly stretched, but reluctant to stop spending.

    The Grant Thornton and Retail Economics report surveyed 2,000 UK adults.

    Ms Yaxley, who lives near Norwich with her daughters earns around £16,000 a year through various jobs in the education sector.

    She has borrowed £6,000 from her mother to help make ends meet, and knows that she should be trying to pay her back, in addition to saving a bit every month given the rising cost of living.

    But she said this rarely happens, because she's prioritising spending on treats for her family after a tough few years during the pandemic.

    "My income fluctuates, but when I have a bit more, I do spend it rather than save it," she said.

    That has included spending £100 on a foldable exercise bike and £430 on a weekend trip to Butlins holiday resort over the school holidays.

    Ms Yaxley said she does feel "guilty" for spending on non-essential items, particularly given the rising cost of petrol and food. But after two years of Covid restrictions, she feels like the family deserves it.


    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62148525.amp

    This line is interesting: earns around £16,000 a year through various jobs in the education sector

    That's part of the post-Covid jobs miracle. People having several part-time jobs adding up to not enough.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 63,044

    This poll is irrelevant. We are not going to rejoin Europe for at least c
    50 years.

    The question is not so much voter regret, but how to make it work which needs political will and sensible compromise from the extremes of both sides
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 35,990
    Interesting that Chancellor Scholz met with Starmer in Berlin today... https://twitter.com/olafscholz/status/1547969695348707328
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,267

    IshmaelZ said:

    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
    I'm genuinely unsure that most of us will survive this HEAT-ATTACK; I expect millions of dead by Wednesday

    This is going to make World War One look like a laughable picnic with Nutella sandwiches and crisps and squash

    DOGS ON THE MOON
    If you wanted to make a rather morbid bet, I'd be willing to bet fewer people die next week than in the same week in six months time, ie the same corresponding week of January 2023.

    People always bang on about the "danger" of heat, but heat is time and again shown to be far less deadly than cold.

    Its just heat is exotic, so people talk about that more. Its like plane crashes versus car crashes. Next week's weather is still safer than bog standard normal winter weather.
    Borderline acceptable most years, but bad taste this time round because people will be dying of not being able to afford the heating this winter.
    That will definitely be happening, sadly, unless there is something radical from the Government to get the vulnerable through through the next few winters.

    I'd slash the fuel cap to where it was in January 2019. Borrow to subsidise it if necessary. Find a way.
    I would rebuild the taxation of fuel so that the amount taken is fixed per litre. Yes, it is several taxes. It can be done. So the Treasury gets XXp per litre, rain or shine. This would reduce the size of the movements in fuel prices to the actual changes in cost.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,191
    edited July 2022

    Pulpstar said:

    Personally I think we should either

    i. Leave the ECHR (YEs yes I know it's not part of the EU)
    or
    ii. Join the Euro.

    Perhaps do both :D not sure that'd be allowed by the powers that be though...

    Not sure where you get your boner for the Euro from?

    Surely, the 2010-2011 eurozone crisis, and flat-footedness of the ECB since, has shown why that'd have been a bad idea for us.

    It'd be a huge extra economic constraint for the removal of some marginal trade frictions. True, it would give us more political influence (as we'd be signed up to the whole thing) but that'd be far from decisive and only in one direction.

    If the whole thing ever fell over, and it often looks very shaky, then we'd be horribly exposed.
    We have loads of contracts where we purchase in both euro and sterling.
    We can only sell in one currency, it'd knock out all currency exchange risk and expense for us
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,175
    Scott_xP said:

    Interesting that Chancellor Scholz met with Starmer in Berlin today... https://twitter.com/olafscholz/status/1547969695348707328

    I wonder if Starmer brought up Ukraine.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    This poll is irrelevant. We are not going to rejoin Europe for at least c
    50 years.

    That wasn't the question, now was it?
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 27,899

    ClippP said:

    Leon said:

    "280 people BURNED to death - basically - as they race from their homes, pets shrieking in pain as their adorable eyes MELT

    TENS of THOUSANDS expected to DIE as extreme brutal ravaging temperatures STALK THE LANDS LIKE A DRUNKEN GORGON

    Billions of hectares of fertile land INCINERATED. Savage spires of flame eating up entire countries like huge golden cathedrals of Satan with jaws the size of Portugal and even bigger than that

    DOGS ON THE MOON

    Diane Abbot EXPLODES. Orgasmo-furnaces in HELL. AYYYYYYYYDEATHDEATH ahahahaha DEATH"

    BBC News



    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62175758


    Someone should ask the Conservative leadership candidates what they plan to do about firefighting wildfires as well as tower block fires.

    And why the MoD set fire to Salisbury Plain earlier in the week.
    https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-07-12/ministry-of-defence-issues-statement-as-wild-fires-burn-on-salisbury-plain

    Military training involves lots of things that can start wild fires. A classic is the use of smoke rounds.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-ben-wallace-visits-armed-forces-of-ukraine-as-training-programme-starts-across-the-uk
    Then military training should extend to looking at the weather forecast and the state of the grass.
    Sometimes military necessity outweighs such concerns.
    In Peacetime? On Salibury plain?
    There is a small war going on. You may have seen something in the news about it. We are training some of the soldiers fighting in it. See my link above.

    Imagine telling a Ukrainian recruit that we are stopping their training because the grass is too dry.
    No need to imagine. The linked story said they did have to stop training because of the fire started by earlier training.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,402
    Paul Ryder RIP.
    Melon twisted for good.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,838
    edited July 2022

    I believe ‘Walt’ is the term for this kind of thing.


    It is the term for what is being alleged, after one W. Mitty, but I'd be very surprised in her case. So obvious a solecism. More likely that she'd been on a dive when in office at MoD and been given an honorary pair and she put them on at once, if only temporarily, by way of compliment to her hosts. She's in mufti anyway. It's not as if she is in orficer's fore and aft rig where wearing them really would be infra dig.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,361

    IshmaelZ said:

    Leon said:

    DavidL said:

    Leon said:

    You can actually feel the heat building now, in London

    This needs a sound track. Maybe the Specials and Ghost town?
    I'm genuinely unsure that most of us will survive this HEAT-ATTACK; I expect millions of dead by Wednesday

    This is going to make World War One look like a laughable picnic with Nutella sandwiches and crisps and squash

    DOGS ON THE MOON
    If you wanted to make a rather morbid bet, I'd be willing to bet fewer people die next week than in the same week in six months time, ie the same corresponding week of January 2023.

    People always bang on about the "danger" of heat, but heat is time and again shown to be far less deadly than cold.

    Its just heat is exotic, so people talk about that more. Its like plane crashes versus car crashes. Next week's weather is still safer than bog standard normal winter weather.
    Borderline acceptable most years, but bad taste this time round because people will be dying of not being able to afford the heating this winter.
    That will definitely be happening, sadly, unless there is something radical from the Government to get the vulnerable through through the next few winters.

    I'd slash the fuel cap to where it was in January 2019. Borrow to subsidise it if necessary. Find a way.
    I would rebuild the taxation of fuel so that the amount taken is fixed per litre. Yes, it is several taxes. It can be done. So the Treasury gets XXp per litre, rain or shine. This would reduce the size of the movements in fuel prices to the actual changes in cost.
    You could do that by changing it to a carbon tax, and then apply the carbon tax across the board (currently road fuels are taxed much more heavily than other sources of carbon).
This discussion has been closed.