My heating bill in New York is going to somewhere around the $2500 mark this year.
I can only guess at what it would be in London, I think something like £6000.
~£3.7k expected for my house plus electricity.
I'm currently being told anything between about 2k and 4k by my supplier, and being offered a fixed price 12 month contract which at estimated usage would be payments of £300 per month. OTOH they had to refund me £700 last January for overestimating the electric usage by 100%+.
But if I get a handle on the gas usage this winter (which means reduce it by two thirds), with Rishi's handouts and the £600 or so solar FIT payments I could end up making a profit. Current total summer bills are under £50 a month.
It's so all over the place that I can't call any of it beyond the end of the quarter.
Has anyone blamed it all on Brexit yet?
£50 is good. We're paying about £130 combined. Electric cooking and thousands of lights left on sadly.
@SouthamObserver - the Corp tax promise is MUCH cleverer that it first appears.
There are a lot of Micro businesses with single proprietors or family ownership for whom Corp tax is their biggest tax bill. Indeed, going Ltd was encouraged for lots of small traders by, inter alia, James Gordon Brown. Most will be set up to take c.12.5k as income and the remainder as dividends.
At present, the taxes on my assets are going to go up by around 25% next. It is another almightly tax grab on middle England.
I know lots of Tory members have a similar set up. Hundreds of thousands of voters will too.
Yes I come across that all the time. Obviously if you pay yourself through a company your main bill will be corporation tax. It's not obvious why people on similar income levels should pay far more tax than you do. And I don't think hundreds of thousands of people equates to an 'almighty tax grab on middle England.'
Perhaps because
1) They get holiday pay, sick pay and the like, which we don't. 2) They're not risking their money creating jobs, bringing money into the economy (exports) and serving as tax collectors for the revenue (VAT).
Possibly but it depends what you are doing. Sole traders don't get holiday pay or sick pay so far as I'm aware. Let's say you choose to freelance. Pay yourself through your own limited company, have your wife as a 50% shareholder and so you split the profits between you. I don't think 25% corporation tax which is in line with most other OECD countries is prohibitive to wealth generation.
For some, sure. But given
1) Ltd companies are businesses, and for example excluded many Directors from eg Furlough or the self employed scheme
2) I have set up a proper business, not a sole trader in a Ltd company scheme
Jolly decent of the FBI to make a horse race of this with Trump home raid.
Fired up the Repub base a treat. Even the moderates are miffed.
I totally get the argument about riling up the base but I think it's all too clever by half. "Party's likely presidential nominee subject to a federal search warrant and liable to be indicted for multiple easy-to-prove crimes" is going to be bad for the said party.
Note that law enforcement don't get to tell their story, for now. So the framing - and initial media reporting - has largely been of the aggrieved man-child type.
But that's Trump's narrative. Why play to it?
Why not just say, run if you like matey, we're confident we will beat you again on the politics. Knock yourself out. Hell I double dare you. I'll even pay your hairspray bill.
That's the way to beat Trump, surely?
What level of crime, if any, does Trump have to commit before you would accept law enforcement would need to be involved?
Posters claiming that “1980 wasn’t so bad” are truly the pits.
If folks like it so much, they might try emigrating to somewhere with 1980 levels of income. Romania perhaps.
On the other hand - I got a Scalextric set for xmas that year. So it wasn't all bad.
Relatedly, I was just looking at a property listing for the house I grew up in. Pretty much unmodernised since my family sold it, and we certainly put next to no money into it.
Pretty sure no posters would willingly return to a 1980s level of comfort, with no heating, mouldy ceilings and window frames, and a rickety death trap masquerading as a “deck”.
It's quite interesting the different perceptions. We had GFCH and 2G well before 1970, but dad was a self-renovating Council architect who had bought a semi-derelict ex-farmhouse.
1980 was the middle of the central heating revolution.
Good on him, what with the Morgan he is doing the mid life crisis properly. As you may have noticed from recent posts I'm doing the same. Motor racing lessons, Pitts special flight, looking for a classic car. Almost down to the maximum weight I'm allowed for the flight with 2 weeks to go. Good incentive to lose weight. 7 kg off so far.
I'm glad my mid life crisis consists of wearing loafers.
But your just a yoof TSE. You wait to you are really in mid life. By the way I plan to live to 134 hence why it's mid life for me
@SouthamObserver - the Corp tax promise is MUCH cleverer that it first appears.
There are a lot of Micro businesses with single proprietors or family ownership for whom Corp tax is their biggest tax bill. Indeed, going Ltd was encouraged for lots of small traders by, inter alia, James Gordon Brown. Most will be set up to take c.12.5k as income and the remainder as dividends.
At present, the taxes on my assets are going to go up by around 25% next. It is another almightly tax grab on middle England.
I know lots of Tory members have a similar set up. Hundreds of thousands of voters will too.
Yes I come across that all the time. Obviously if you pay yourself through a company your main bill will be corporation tax. It's not obvious why people on similar income levels should pay far more tax than you do. And I don't think hundreds of thousands of people equates to an 'almighty tax grab on middle England.'
Perhaps because
1) They get holiday pay, sick pay and the like, which we don't. 2) They're not risking their money creating jobs, bringing money into the economy (exports) and serving as tax collectors for the revenue (VAT).
Possibly but it depends what you are doing. Sole traders don't get holiday pay or sick pay so far as I'm aware. Let's say you choose to freelance. Pay yourself through your own limited company, have your wife as a 50% shareholder and so you split the profits between you. I don't think 25% corporation tax which is in line with most other OECD countries is prohibitive to wealth generation.
For some, sure. But given
1) Ltd companies are businesses, and for example excluded many Directors from eg Furlough or the self employed scheme
2) I have set up a proper business, not a sole trader in a Ltd company scheme
You can see why I might be sore about it?
Not really I'm afraid. You chose not to declare your income as earned but instead as coming from investment.
Just saw someone go by on a Ducati in shorts and T-shirt, earlier. Took off from the lights hard enough to lift the front wheel for a fair stretch of road. In an urban environment.
If people want to kill themselves, could they please do it on a track, where flying bits won’t hit other people?
Report slams UK plan to become 'science superpower' by 2030 Lords cite 'frequent' policy changes, lack of metrics, post-Brexit funding as top issues
How's the UK doing in its ambitions to become a sci-tech "superpower" by 2030? According to a report by the Lords Science and Technology Committee, it's currently on track to make the phrase an "empty slogan."
The peers, headed by committee chair Julia King (Baroness Brown of Cambridge), an engineer with a PhD in fracture mechanics, said there were no "specific, measurable outcomes", no delivery plan, a short-termist outlook, and "frequent policy changes." https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/09/scitech_superpower/
I'd have a bit more sympathy with their Lordships if their recommendations weren't as pathetic and wish washy as the Government's own approach:
Key recommendations
The Government should better define its science and technology strategy. It needs to set out what it wants to achieve in its priority areas, consolidating existing strategies. It should have measurable targets with a clear implementation plan. Strategies should be sustained for the long term.
The Government should explain what the “own-collaborate-access” framework means for key areas of technology and how it will be applied.
It needs to repair international relationships following the ongoing lack of association with Horizon Europe and cuts to Official Development Assistance.
The Government should set out its specific reforms to areas such as public procurement, regulations and R&D tax credits, explaining how they will support innovation. Individual taskforces in each area of reform should be accountable for these reforms, working across government, and providing a single point of contact for feedback from industry.
I mean did it take them all day to think of those?
And it's badly written. It should be 'The Government should define its science and technology strategy better.' And it's full of meaningless generalities - what does 'long term' mean?
With the legislature, federal court system and state courts all controlled by the GOP in and above GA, there's opportunity for epic shithousery.
Georgia would go GOP well before Arizona and Wisconsin do
GA is trending the hardest Dem of all states - but it's legislature above and courts are all completely GOP. It's the ripest ECVs to steal for the GOP.
Biden won Arizona and Wisconsin in 2020 by more than he won Georgia.
If he or another Democrat nominee won those 2 states again but lost Georgia he would still win the EC
@SouthamObserver - the Corp tax promise is MUCH cleverer that it first appears.
There are a lot of Micro businesses with single proprietors or family ownership for whom Corp tax is their biggest tax bill. Indeed, going Ltd was encouraged for lots of small traders by, inter alia, James Gordon Brown. Most will be set up to take c.12.5k as income and the remainder as dividends.
At present, the taxes on my assets are going to go up by around 25% next. It is another almightly tax grab on middle England.
I know lots of Tory members have a similar set up. Hundreds of thousands of voters will too.
Yes I come across that all the time. Obviously if you pay yourself through a company your main bill will be corporation tax. It's not obvious why people on similar income levels should pay far more tax than you do. And I don't think hundreds of thousands of people equates to an 'almighty tax grab on middle England.'
Perhaps because
1) They get holiday pay, sick pay and the like, which we don't. 2) They're not risking their money creating jobs, bringing money into the economy (exports) and serving as tax collectors for the revenue (VAT).
Possibly but it depends what you are doing. Sole traders don't get holiday pay or sick pay so far as I'm aware. Let's say you choose to freelance. Pay yourself through your own limited company, have your wife as a 50% shareholder and so you split the profits between you. I don't think 25% corporation tax which is in line with most other OECD countries is prohibitive to wealth generation.
If you are a sole trader working (I think) inside IR35 as a contractor or consultant, managed rather than self-managing with several clients, I think you get the benefit package of holidays, sick pay etc.
Open to correction by someone more up to date on this.
Light relief on a Tuesday pm - this time Boris Karloff's statue rather than the Elgin Marbles, but again ti is claimed that UK law doesn't allow return of stuff so there*.
(*Assuming legally acquired. In this case sounds like a genuine muddle in the States - no idea how or if it cam be resolved legally.)
Posters claiming that “1980 wasn’t so bad” are truly the pits.
If folks like it so much, they might try emigrating to somewhere with 1980 levels of income. Romania perhaps.
On the other hand - I got a Scalextric set for xmas that year. So it wasn't all bad.
Relatedly, I was just looking at a property listing for the house I grew up in. Pretty much unmodernised since my family sold it, and we certainly put next to no money into it.
Pretty sure no posters would willingly return to a 1980s level of comfort, with no heating, mouldy ceilings and window frames, and a rickety death trap masquerading as a “deck”.
It's quite interesting the different perceptions. We had GFCH and 2G well before 1970, but dad was a self-renovating Council architect who had bought a semi-derelict ex-farmhouse.
1980 was the middle of the central heating revolution.
2G?
Was he also called "The Doctor" and you had a tardis?
Posters claiming that “1980 wasn’t so bad” are truly the pits.
If folks like it so much, they might try emigrating to somewhere with 1980 levels of income. Romania perhaps.
On the other hand - I got a Scalextric set for xmas that year. So it wasn't all bad.
Relatedly, I was just looking at a property listing for the house I grew up in. Pretty much unmodernised since my family sold it, and we certainly put next to no money into it.
Pretty sure no posters would willingly return to a 1980s level of comfort, with no heating, mouldy ceilings and window frames, and a rickety death trap masquerading as a “deck”.
It's quite interesting the different perceptions. We had GFCH and 2G well before 1970, but dad was a self-renovating Council architect who had bought a semi-derelict ex-farmhouse.
1980 was the middle of the central heating revolution.
2G?
Was he also called "The Doctor" and you had a tardis?
My heating bill in New York is going to somewhere around the $2500 mark this year.
I can only guess at what it would be in London, I think something like £6000.
~£3.7k expected for my house plus electricity.
I'm currently being told anything between about 2k and 4k by my supplier, and being offered a fixed price 12 month contract which at estimated usage would be payments of £300 per month. OTOH they had to refund me £700 last January for overestimating the electric usage by 100%+.
But if I get a handle on the gas usage this winter (which means reduce it by two thirds), with Rishi's handouts and the £600 or so solar FIT payments I could end up making a profit. Current total summer bills are under £50 a month.
It's so all over the place that I can't call any of it beyond the end of the quarter.
Has anyone blamed it all on Brexit yet?
£50 is good. We're paying about £130 combined. Electric cooking and thousands of lights left on sadly.
At the risk of boring out the site, my Smart Meter has finally connected, and is no longer telling me that my gas usage has gone up by 80000% in a week. This is yesterdays electric. The middle is what solar does.
""As you understood, missiles with a range of 200-300 km are already in our arsenal and are being used, - former Ministry of Internal Affairs, Viktor Andrusiv on destruction of Russian airfield in Crimea"
Jolly decent of the FBI to make a horse race of this with Trump home raid.
Fired up the Repub base a treat. Even the moderates are miffed.
I totally get the argument about riling up the base but I think it's all too clever by half. "Party's likely presidential nominee subject to a federal search warrant and liable to be indicted for multiple easy-to-prove crimes" is going to be bad for the said party.
Note that law enforcement don't get to tell their story, for now. So the framing - and initial media reporting - has largely been of the aggrieved man-child type.
But that's Trump's narrative. Why play to it?
Why not just say, run if you like matey, we're confident we will beat you again on the politics. Knock yourself out. Hell I double dare you. I'll even pay your hairspray bill.
That's the way to beat Trump, surely?
Of course. But you are talking as if the FBI/Attorney General and the Democratic party are one and the same thing; they are not. Biden was very likely not told about the raid until it happened. It's not something the President gets to sign off on.
We went to see Top Gun averick recently and the trailer for this came on and it looked really good.
Nice to see an endorsement.
We will have to catch it.
We saw it on Sunday - it's good fun with only really obvious bit of CGI. As with Moonfall remember to leave you brain at home.
We also saw it at Catterick and were annoyed that they only had an RAF recruitment advert rather than the usual RAF, Marines and Royal Navy ones - it's fun sitting in a cinema 95% full of squaddies on basic training where the adverts are taking people who can't take the job.
""As you understood, missiles with a range of 200-300 km are already in our arsenal and are being used, - former Ministry of Internal Affairs, Viktor Andrusiv on destruction of Russian airfield in Crimea"
""As you understood, missiles with a range of 200-300 km are already in our arsenal and are being used, - former Ministry of Internal Affairs, Viktor Andrusiv on destruction of Russian airfield in Crimea"
On topic, wait for the terrible backlash against the Dems for Joe Biden personally telling the FBI to raid Mar-A-Lago.
I mean these people alternate from telling us Joe Biden is dementia ridden or an evil genius.
Funnily enough, I don't think Biden did initiate it unless he was 100% convinced he can get Trump on this and, even that, he's be worried about the precedence issue, especially given the questions that have been raised about his own behaviour.
Apparently, the raid was authorised by the Washington DC office of the FBI, the one where a whistleblower alleged agents were determined to get Trump. So it'll be something to do with the internal politics in the FBI and the agents got the warrant from a Washington DC judge. There is some talk the warrant isn't public but it's not clear if that's critical / true.
The government is preparing for a “reasonable worst case” this winter, including emergency measures in January and organised blackouts for industry and even households.
""As you understood, missiles with a range of 200-300 km are already in our arsenal and are being used, - former Ministry of Internal Affairs, Viktor Andrusiv on destruction of Russian airfield in Crimea"
The government is preparing for a “reasonable worst case” this winter, including emergency measures in January and organised blackouts for industry and even households.
Supremely popular, blackouts. Shopping by candlelight back for Christmas then
On living standards in 1980, I can't but wonder whether some posters are mistaking 1980 for 1950. As I recall, living standards were pretty good in 1980.
I'd just left university in 1980. I had my first, very low-paid, job. I recall thinking I had plenty of money. Beer was cheap, food was fine, and I don't recall worrying about my rent (I lived in a comfortable 1-bed flat in Leeds). Many of my contemporaries ran a car. Not a life of luxury, which I wouldn't expect at that age, but certainly not a life of penury. I don't recall worrying about money much at all, nor having to make agonising decisions on spending.
This is precisely my point. Living standards weren't bad at all in 1980. Yet today, according to the Financial Times, living standards are twice what they were then.
Posters claiming that “1980 wasn’t so bad” are truly the pits.
If folks like it so much, they might try emigrating to somewhere with 1980 levels of income. Romania perhaps.
I would rather live in 1980 than today. The music was better.
Thing is, your brain will retain the goods bits of that and forget the crud bits.
Reality: queuing for cash in banks twice a week, people smoking in offices, pubs, trains and restaurants, and everywhere else, a far more conformist and hierarchical office culture - often by class, poor cars by modern standards that rust in 2-3 years, ordering anything by mail order taking 28 days (at least) with a far more limited range available, more pubs but crap food in them, maybe a Berni Inn was half-acceptable, four channels (if that), no PCs, no internet for this.. strikes, communist agitation, a nasty recession etc..
Footage of the massive strike on Saki airfield in Crimea, more than 200km from the front line. Beach-goers panicking as war returns to the peninsula annexed from Ukraine in 2014. https://twitter.com/mjluxmoore/status/1557007927256530945
Jolly decent of the FBI to make a horse race of this with Trump home raid.
Fired up the Repub base a treat. Even the moderates are miffed.
I totally get the argument about riling up the base but I think it's all too clever by half. "Party's likely presidential nominee subject to a federal search warrant and liable to be indicted for multiple easy-to-prove crimes" is going to be bad for the said party.
Note that law enforcement don't get to tell their story, for now. So the framing - and initial media reporting - has largely been of the aggrieved man-child type.
But that's Trump's narrative. Why play to it?
Why not just say, run if you like matey, we're confident we will beat you again on the politics. Knock yourself out. Hell I double dare you. I'll even pay your hairspray bill.
That's the way to beat Trump, surely?
Of course. But you are talking as if the FBI/Attorney General and the Democratic party are one and the same thing; they are not. Biden was very likely not told about the raid until it happened. It's not something the President gets to sign off on.
On living standards in 1980, I can't but wonder whether some posters are mistaking 1980 for 1950. As I recall, living standards were pretty good in 1980.
I'd just left university in 1980. I had my first, very low-paid, job. I recall thinking I had plenty of money. Beer was cheap, food was fine, and I don't recall worrying about my rent (I lived in a comfortable 1-bed flat in Leeds). Many of my contemporaries ran a car. Not a life of luxury, which I wouldn't expect at that age, but certainly not a life of penury. I don't recall worrying about money much at all, nor having to make agonising decisions on spending.
This is precisely my point. Living standards weren't bad at all in 1980. Yet today, according to the Financial Times, living standards are twice what they were then.
1950 was actually pretty good, compared to the recent past.
Posters claiming that “1980 wasn’t so bad” are truly the pits.
If folks like it so much, they might try emigrating to somewhere with 1980 levels of income. Romania perhaps.
I would rather live in 1980 than today. The music was better.
Thing is, your brain will retain the goods bits of that and forget the crud bits.
Reality: queuing for cash in banks twice a week, people smoking in offices, pubs, trains and restaurants, and everywhere else, a far more conformist and hierarchical office culture - often by class, poor cars by modern standards that rust in 2-3 years, ordering anything by mail order taking 28 days (at least) with a far more limited range available, more pubs but crap food in them, maybe a Berni Inn was half-acceptable, four channels (if that), no PCs, no internet for this.. strikes, communist agitation, a nasty recession etc..
I like Gary Numan too, but still keen?
3 channels in 1980, Ch4 came in November 82 Pub food was ploughmans, pies, chicken in a basket or the berni inn. Wine choice was pretty much sweet, medium, dry.
There's a psychological aspect to attacking Crimea. There appear to be quite a few Russian holidaymakers there. A traffic jam is emerging towards the Kerch bridge. You might wonder what they are doing holidaying in sovereign Ukrainian territory at a time like this? Presumably they thought it would be safe due to the mighty Russian armed forces and the personal protection guaranteed by Mr Putin. Well it seems not.
""As you understood, missiles with a range of 200-300 km are already in our arsenal and are being used, - former Ministry of Internal Affairs, Viktor Andrusiv on destruction of Russian airfield in Crimea"
There's a psychological aspect to attacking Crimea. There appear to be quite a few Russian holidaymakers there. A traffic jam is emerging towards the Kerch bridge. You might wonder what they are doing holidaying in sovereign Ukrainian territory at a time like this? Presumably they thought it would be safe due to the mighty Russian armed forces and the personal protection guaranteed by Mr Putin. Well it seems not.
It’s quite satisfying seeing Russian holidaymakers scurry for the exits.
Good on him, what with the Morgan he is doing the mid life crisis properly. As you may have noticed from recent posts I'm doing the same. Motor racing lessons, Pitts special flight, looking for a classic car. Almost down to the maximum weight I'm allowed for the flight with 2 weeks to go. Good incentive to lose weight. 7 kg off so far.
I'm glad my mid life crisis consists of wearing loafers.
Careful, no knowing where that might end up.
'The Duke of Cambridge donned black velvet loafers by Crockett & Jones, boldly embroidered with airplanes.'
""As you understood, missiles with a range of 200-300 km are already in our arsenal and are being used, - former Ministry of Internal Affairs, Viktor Andrusiv on destruction of Russian airfield in Crimea"
Posters claiming that “1980 wasn’t so bad” are truly the pits.
If folks like it so much, they might try emigrating to somewhere with 1980 levels of income. Romania perhaps.
I would rather live in 1980 than today. The music was better.
Thing is, your brain will retain the goods bits of that and forget the crud bits.
Reality: queuing for cash in banks twice a week, people smoking in offices, pubs, trains and restaurants, and everywhere else, a far more conformist and hierarchical office culture - often by class, poor cars by modern standards that rust in 2-3 years, ordering anything by mail order taking 28 days (at least) with a far more limited range available, more pubs but crap food in them, maybe a Berni Inn was half-acceptable, four channels (if that), no PCs, no internet for this.. strikes, communist agitation, a nasty recession etc..
I like Gary Numan too, but still keen?
Yes, and this is a point Thatcher fans keep missing, which is that for all sorts of reasons that had nothing to do with the government, life just got better in the 1980s.
Cars stopped rusting as soon as they drove off the forecourt, and developments like anti-lock brakes and electric windows would trickle down car ranges.
Banks would give us proper ATM cards, replacing the ones that would be swallowed on each withdrawal and posted back to you. Credit cards were given to the masses.
Computers would invade the home and the office (which were separate places back then). Hi-fi, VCRs and colour televisions were affordable.
Foreign holidays would become an option for most, not just the jet set.
Not so much fun for Maggie's millions; I'll grant you that.
Posters claiming that “1980 wasn’t so bad” are truly the pits.
If folks like it so much, they might try emigrating to somewhere with 1980 levels of income. Romania perhaps.
I would rather live in 1980 than today. The music was better.
Thing is, your brain will retain the goods bits of that and forget the crud bits.
Reality: queuing for cash in banks twice a week, people smoking in offices, pubs, trains and restaurants, and everywhere else, a far more conformist and hierarchical office culture - often by class, poor cars by modern standards that rust in 2-3 years, ordering anything by mail order taking 28 days (at least) with a far more limited range available, more pubs but crap food in them, maybe a Berni Inn was half-acceptable, four channels (if that), no PCs, no internet for this.. strikes, communist agitation, a nasty recession etc..
I like Gary Numan too, but still keen?
Yes, and this is a point Thatcher fans keep missing, which is that for all sorts of reasons that had nothing to do with the government, life just got better in the 1980s.
Cars stopped rusting as soon as they drove off the forecourt, and developments like anti-lock brakes and electric windows would trickle down car ranges.
Banks would give us proper ATM cards, replacing the ones that would be swallowed on each withdrawal and posted back to you. Credit cards were given to the masses.
Computers would invade the home and the office (which were separate places back then). Hi-fi, VCRs and colour televisions were affordable.
Foreign holidays would become an option for most, not just the jet set.
Not so much fun for Maggie's millions; I'll grant you that.
Now do it again for 2000-2020.
And remember, we already had the net in 2000 (but not social media).
Posters claiming that “1980 wasn’t so bad” are truly the pits.
If folks like it so much, they might try emigrating to somewhere with 1980 levels of income. Romania perhaps.
I would rather live in 1980 than today. The music was better.
Thing is, your brain will retain the goods bits of that and forget the crud bits.
Reality: queuing for cash in banks twice a week, people smoking in offices, pubs, trains and restaurants, and everywhere else, a far more conformist and hierarchical office culture - often by class, poor cars by modern standards that rust in 2-3 years, ordering anything by mail order taking 28 days (at least) with a far more limited range available, more pubs but crap food in them, maybe a Berni Inn was half-acceptable, four channels (if that), no PCs, no internet for this.. strikes, communist agitation, a nasty recession etc..
I like Gary Numan too, but still keen?
3 channels in 1980, Ch4 came in November 82 Pub food was ploughmans, pies, chicken in a basket or the berni inn. Wine choice was pretty much sweet, medium, dry.
Good on him, what with the Morgan he is doing the mid life crisis properly. As you may have noticed from recent posts I'm doing the same. Motor racing lessons, Pitts special flight, looking for a classic car. Almost down to the maximum weight I'm allowed for the flight with 2 weeks to go. Good incentive to lose weight. 7 kg off so far.
I'm glad my mid life crisis consists of wearing loafers.
Careful, no knowing where that might end up.
'The Duke of Cambridge donned black velvet loafers by Crockett & Jones, boldly embroidered with airplanes.'
Evidently whoever wrote that doesn't know how to spell aeroplanes.
They look more like prancing elephants with wings to me.
Footage of the massive strike on Saki airfield in Crimea, more than 200km from the front line. Beach-goers panicking as war returns to the peninsula annexed from Ukraine in 2014. https://twitter.com/mjluxmoore/status/1557007927256530945
Hardly panicking. That's what speaking Russian sounds like.
Someone called Lake really ought to have considered the implications for their water supply...
Except she didn't.
What she said was "We must fire the Federal Government" and made mention of the 10th Amendment without any explicit comment.
Looking at the Tweeter's description as "Fmr Fed Prosecutor & Repub; now Defense Att & Democrat. Track and Report on the Right-Wing.", I suspect he has put his own spin on it
Posters claiming that “1980 wasn’t so bad” are truly the pits.
If folks like it so much, they might try emigrating to somewhere with 1980 levels of income. Romania perhaps.
I would rather live in 1980 than today. The music was better.
Thing is, your brain will retain the goods bits of that and forget the crud bits.
Reality: queuing for cash in banks twice a week, people smoking in offices, pubs, trains and restaurants, and everywhere else, a far more conformist and hierarchical office culture - often by class, poor cars by modern standards that rust in 2-3 years, ordering anything by mail order taking 28 days (at least) with a far more limited range available, more pubs but crap food in them, maybe a Berni Inn was half-acceptable, four channels (if that), no PCs, no internet for this.. strikes, communist agitation, a nasty recession etc..
I like Gary Numan too, but still keen?
3 channels in 1980, Ch4 came in November 82 Pub food was ploughmans, pies, chicken in a basket or the berni inn. Wine choice was pretty much sweet, medium, dry.
And once a year, Beaujolais Nouveau.
My uncle was one of those landlords that used to do the race back with the new seasons bottles
There's a psychological aspect to attacking Crimea. There appear to be quite a few Russian holidaymakers there. A traffic jam is emerging towards the Kerch bridge. You might wonder what they are doing holidaying in sovereign Ukrainian territory at a time like this? Presumably they thought it would be safe due to the mighty Russian armed forces and the personal protection guaranteed by Mr Putin. Well it seems not.
It’s quite satisfying seeing Russian holidaymakers scurry for the exits.
Good on him, what with the Morgan he is doing the mid life crisis properly. As you may have noticed from recent posts I'm doing the same. Motor racing lessons, Pitts special flight, looking for a classic car. Almost down to the maximum weight I'm allowed for the flight with 2 weeks to go. Good incentive to lose weight. 7 kg off so far.
I'm glad my mid life crisis consists of wearing loafers.
Careful, no knowing where that might end up.
'The Duke of Cambridge donned black velvet loafers by Crockett & Jones, boldly embroidered with airplanes.'
Evidently whoever wrote that doesn't know how to spell aeroplanes.
They look more like prancing elephants with wings to me.
Posters claiming that “1980 wasn’t so bad” are truly the pits.
If folks like it so much, they might try emigrating to somewhere with 1980 levels of income. Romania perhaps.
I would rather live in 1980 than today. The music was better.
Thing is, your brain will retain the goods bits of that and forget the crud bits.
Reality: queuing for cash in banks twice a week, people smoking in offices, pubs, trains and restaurants, and everywhere else, a far more conformist and hierarchical office culture - often by class, poor cars by modern standards that rust in 2-3 years, ordering anything by mail order taking 28 days (at least) with a far more limited range available, more pubs but crap food in them, maybe a Berni Inn was half-acceptable, four channels (if that), no PCs, no internet for this.. strikes, communist agitation, a nasty recession etc..
I like Gary Numan too, but still keen?
Yes, and this is a point Thatcher fans keep missing, which is that for all sorts of reasons that had nothing to do with the government, life just got better in the 1980s.
Cars stopped rusting as soon as they drove off the forecourt, and developments like anti-lock brakes and electric windows would trickle down car ranges.
Banks would give us proper ATM cards, replacing the ones that would be swallowed on each withdrawal and posted back to you. Credit cards were given to the masses.
Computers would invade the home and the office (which were separate places back then). Hi-fi, VCRs and colour televisions were affordable.
Foreign holidays would become an option for most, not just the jet set.
Not so much fun for Maggie's millions; I'll grant you that.
Now do it again for 2000-2020.
And remember, we already had the net in 2000 (but not social media).
The point is we had one government that is universally credited with our prosperity during the 1980s, when technological and sociological change was massive. From 2000 to 2020 there were not the same *discrete* advances, and there were two or three different governments, depending how you count them.
The problem with Liz Truss' and her tax cuts is she keeps (deliberately?) conflating two outcomes. Firstly, to encourage growth in the economy. This is entirely plausible. And secondly, and in tandem, to help with the CofL crisis. This is unarguably true. But it does nowt at all in the immediate term for those most in need of help. So she's always answering a subtly different question to the one being asked.
Here is my carefully considered insight:
Liz doesn't get it!
I think it's highly likely that in the event that energy prices rise as high as is currently predicted, the Government will step in with some form of assistance. At the moment, we don't know exactly what will happen, so it seems fair not to have a totally fleshed out policy of what that assistance will be.
On a related note, I think it would probably be a good idea to decouple any cash grant from energy - ie. people don't have to use it to purchase energy. Otherwise it's a pure bung to energy companies. It will save energy, because those who prefer an extra jumper and to spend it on food etc., will be able to do so.
Yeah. It needs to discourage use as much as possible. I never quite got why a flat £400 was chosen? It goes to everyone equally. Billionaires, second and third home owners. And single folk like me with a tiny energy efficient flat, which will cover the leccy entirely. Surely a %age discount off everyone's bills would have been just as easy to administer? And encourage lower use? Combined with a bung to the lowest paid? Of course. As matt w notes. They could always change the cap as well.
I may have argued it previously.
I would bear down on the cap (even fix it at the current level, or with a small increase), which would have a beneficial side effect of clobbering retail inflation quite significantly. And being clear political communication.
Then offer supply-side support to keep companies above water where necessary. I'm quite tempted by a low interest rate (eg base rate or base + 1%) borrowing facility against assets to be paid back over 5 years.
I'm not sure if we can buck world prices without upsetting our international contract arrangements. Though a levy or further windfall tax is perhaps attractive.
The things confusing in the windfall tax is that media-idiots are failing to report existing measures such as higher taxes for the sector, and a windfall tax already having happened, and slinging mud at companies on the basis of worldwide profits.
And it goes without saying that insulation programmes etc should have been beefed up and driven harder 18 months ago, but Big Chief Sitting Bullshitter Boris sat on his butt.
This is spot on - especially your point about bucking world prices.
Ultimately, about 10% has been taken out of world natural gas exports. That pain is going to be shared among importers. And while Germany and the EU is particularly vulnerable because it is (largely) their 10%, we are also badly impacted because we're big importers of spot LNG cargoes.
Ultimately, demand has to drop to match the drop in world exports. And we are going to have to take a share of that.
The easiest short term way to alleviate the issue is to see if we can encourage more coal... the problem is that the price of seaborne coal has increased by just as much as natural gas.
Good on him, what with the Morgan he is doing the mid life crisis properly. As you may have noticed from recent posts I'm doing the same. Motor racing lessons, Pitts special flight, looking for a classic car. Almost down to the maximum weight I'm allowed for the flight with 2 weeks to go. Good incentive to lose weight. 7 kg off so far.
I'm glad my mid life crisis consists of wearing loafers.
Careful, no knowing where that might end up.
'The Duke of Cambridge donned black velvet loafers by Crockett & Jones, boldly embroidered with airplanes.'
Evidently whoever wrote that doesn't know how to spell aeroplanes.
They look more like prancing elephants with wings to me.
I was thinking it looks like a Pokemon crossed with Buzz Lightyear (Not to be confused with his cousin Lizz Lightweight)
The problem with Liz Truss' and her tax cuts is she keeps (deliberately?) conflating two outcomes. Firstly, to encourage growth in the economy. This is entirely plausible. And secondly, and in tandem, to help with the CofL crisis. This is unarguably true. But it does nowt at all in the immediate term for those most in need of help. So she's always answering a subtly different question to the one being asked.
Here is my carefully considered insight:
Liz doesn't get it!
I think it's highly likely that in the event that energy prices rise as high as is currently predicted, the Government will step in with some form of assistance. At the moment, we don't know exactly what will happen, so it seems fair not to have a totally fleshed out policy of what that assistance will be.
On a related note, I think it would probably be a good idea to decouple any cash grant from energy - ie. people don't have to use it to purchase energy. Otherwise it's a pure bung to energy companies. It will save energy, because those who prefer an extra jumper and to spend it on food etc., will be able to do so.
Yeah. It needs to discourage use as much as possible. I never quite got why a flat £400 was chosen? It goes to everyone equally. Billionaires, second and third home owners. And single folk like me with a tiny energy efficient flat, which will cover the leccy entirely. Surely a %age discount off everyone's bills would have been just as easy to administer? And encourage lower use? Combined with a bung to the lowest paid? Of course. As matt w notes. They could always change the cap as well.
I may have argued it previously.
I would bear down on the cap (even fix it at the current level, or with a small increase), which would have a beneficial side effect of clobbering retail inflation quite significantly. And being clear political communication.
Then offer supply-side support to keep companies above water where necessary. I'm quite tempted by a low interest rate (eg base rate or base + 1%) borrowing facility against assets to be paid back over 5 years.
I'm not sure if we can buck world prices without upsetting our international contract arrangements. Though a levy or further windfall tax is perhaps attractive.
The things confusing in the windfall tax is that media-idiots are failing to report existing measures such as higher taxes for the sector, and a windfall tax already having happened, and slinging mud at companies on the basis of worldwide profits.
And it goes without saying that insulation programmes etc should have been beefed up and driven harder 18 months ago, but Big Chief Sitting Bullshitter Boris sat on his butt.
This is spot on - especially your point about bucking world prices.
Ultimately, about 10% has been taken out of world natural gas exports. That pain is going to be shared among importers. And while Germany and the EU is particularly vulnerable because it is (largely) their 10%, we are also badly impacted because we're big importers of spot LNG cargoes.
Ultimately, demand has to drop to match the drop in world exports. And we are going to have to take a share of that.
The easiest short term way to alleviate the issue is to see if we can encourage more coal... the problem is that the price of seaborne coal has increased by just as much as natural gas.
"Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost says there is no evidence world is facing ‘a climate emergency’ and Britain should end focus on ‘medieval’ wind power and go all in for nuclear and fracking
He calls change of tack with greater emphasis on fracking and nuclear power Tory peer backs Liz Truss for PM - with claims he may soon return to Government"
Posters claiming that “1980 wasn’t so bad” are truly the pits.
If folks like it so much, they might try emigrating to somewhere with 1980 levels of income. Romania perhaps.
I would rather live in 1980 than today. The music was better.
Thing is, your brain will retain the goods bits of that and forget the crud bits.
Reality: queuing for cash in banks twice a week, people smoking in offices, pubs, trains and restaurants, and everywhere else, a far more conformist and hierarchical office culture - often by class, poor cars by modern standards that rust in 2-3 years, ordering anything by mail order taking 28 days (at least) with a far more limited range available, more pubs but crap food in them, maybe a Berni Inn was half-acceptable, four channels (if that), no PCs, no internet for this.. strikes, communist agitation, a nasty recession etc..
I like Gary Numan too, but still keen?
Yes, and this is a point Thatcher fans keep missing, which is that for all sorts of reasons that had nothing to do with the government, life just got better in the 1980s.
Cars stopped rusting as soon as they drove off the forecourt, and developments like anti-lock brakes and electric windows would trickle down car ranges.
Banks would give us proper ATM cards, replacing the ones that would be swallowed on each withdrawal and posted back to you. Credit cards were given to the masses.
Computers would invade the home and the office (which were separate places back then). Hi-fi, VCRs and colour televisions were affordable.
Foreign holidays would become an option for most, not just the jet set.
Not so much fun for Maggie's millions; I'll grant you that.
Now do it again for 2000-2020.
And remember, we already had the net in 2000 (but not social media).
The point is we had one government that is universally credited with our prosperity during the 1980s, when technological and sociological change was massive. From 2000 to 2020 there were not the same *discrete* advances, and there were two or three different governments, depending how you count them.
Yes, but a large part of the sociological and technical change was driven by free market reforms which started in US and UK and spread to the rest of the West. It wasn't universally good, but the inconvenient reality for Thatcher-phobes is that much of what we now take for granted was enabled by her reforms. People like me would be working in the public sector like my dad did rather than building successful businesses. The left used to sneer at "small business" in the 80s, it was seen as something contemptible.
Good on him, what with the Morgan he is doing the mid life crisis properly. As you may have noticed from recent posts I'm doing the same. Motor racing lessons, Pitts special flight, looking for a classic car. Almost down to the maximum weight I'm allowed for the flight with 2 weeks to go. Good incentive to lose weight. 7 kg off so far.
I'm glad my mid life crisis consists of wearing loafers.
Careful, no knowing where that might end up.
'The Duke of Cambridge donned black velvet loafers by Crockett & Jones, boldly embroidered with airplanes.'
Evidently whoever wrote that doesn't know how to spell aeroplanes.
They look more like prancing elephants with wings to me.
Just saw someone go by on a Ducati in shorts and T-shirt, earlier. Took off from the lights hard enough to lift the front wheel for a fair stretch of road. In an urban environment.
If people want to kill themselves, could they please do it on a track, where flying bits won’t hit other people?
"de-glove" is a word that is often used by the medical profession when discussing motorcycle-related injuries.
Actually when I used to ride a piddly little bandit and pulled up beside (usually) mopeds with the rider in shorts and a t-shirt I used to tell them that they had better not come off.
Someone called Lake really ought to have considered the implications for their water supply...
Texas of course had been talking about moves towards secession being an actively proposed possibility before this latest development
Texas and Florida are about the only Republican states which could conceivably afford it. Though given they are only slim majority Republican, serious secession attempts (as opposed to chest thumping rhetoric) seems somewhat unlikely.
"Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost says there is no evidence world is facing ‘a climate emergency’ and Britain should end focus on ‘medieval’ wind power and go all in for nuclear and fracking
He calls change of tack with greater emphasis on fracking and nuclear power Tory peer backs Liz Truss for PM - with claims he may soon return to Government"
Someone called Lake really ought to have considered the implications for their water supply...
Florida GOP are already talking about barring feds from law enforcement activities in Florida
Can they even do that?
Human law isn't physical law. If you can get people not to believe in it then you can get them to do anything, even if it isn't allowed by law.
So you'd need to get Florida officials, state police, etc, to follow Florida State law on what the Feds could do, rather than Federal law. Them you have civil war.
This is where the Republican rhetoric of the last 30-40 years is driving the US. It just keeps on ratcheting up until we get to a point where they don't accept the election of a Democratic President and they don't accept Federal law.
Just saw someone go by on a Ducati in shorts and T-shirt, earlier. Took off from the lights hard enough to lift the front wheel for a fair stretch of road. In an urban environment.
If people want to kill themselves, could they please do it on a track, where flying bits won’t hit other people?
"de-glove" is a word that is often used by the medical profession when discussing motorcycle-related injuries.
Actually when I used to ride a piddly little bandit and pulled up beside (usually) mopeds with the rider in shorts and a t-shirt I used to tell them that they had better not come off.
I am fine with risk taking - but people should not take risks on behalf of others. If they need adrenaline on 2 wheels, there are a large number of ways to do that without endangering others.
"Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost says there is no evidence world is facing ‘a climate emergency’ and Britain should end focus on ‘medieval’ wind power and go all in for nuclear and fracking
He calls change of tack with greater emphasis on fracking and nuclear power Tory peer backs Liz Truss for PM - with claims he may soon return to Government"
"Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost says there is no evidence world is facing ‘a climate emergency’ and Britain should end focus on ‘medieval’ wind power and go all in for nuclear and fracking
He calls change of tack with greater emphasis on fracking and nuclear power Tory peer backs Liz Truss for PM - with claims he may soon return to Government"
Nuclear seems beloved and heralded as the answer by all across the political spectrum - I really don't see why, especially given recent situations in Ukraine.
Someone called Lake really ought to have considered the implications for their water supply...
Florida GOP are already talking about barring feds from law enforcement activities in Florida
Can they even do that?
Human law isn't physical law. If you can get people not to believe in it then you can get them to do anything, even if it isn't allowed by law.
So you'd need to get Florida officials, state police, etc, to follow Florida State law on what the Feds could do, rather than Federal law. Them you have civil war.
This is where the Republican rhetoric of the last 30-40 years is driving the US. It just keeps on ratcheting up until we get to a point where they don't accept the election of a Democratic President and they don't accept Federal law.
About half of all Americans now live under sanctuary policies that shield illegal immigrants from law enforcement, according to the latest tally of jurisdictions... Entire states such as California, Illinois and New York are now sanctuaries, as well as major cities and counties such as Fairfax, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and the District of Columbia in the capital region, according to the list... While there is no official definition of sanctuaries, FAIR counted any jurisdiction that bans police or other officials from asking about immigration status, forbids communication with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or refuses to hold likely deportees for pickup by ICE... California looms large on the list. More than 130 of the sanctuaries are in the state — including more than 80 that are new additions to the list, reflecting the anti-Trump sentiment of the West Coast.
Google "Not my president" if you want a correction to the other clause in your last sentence.
Sounds like their Neptune anti-ship missiles, which as described have both the range and the ground attack capability.
https://twitter.com/mattia_n/status/1557016814986661895 The Ukrainian military official with knowledge of the situation said that Ukrainian forces were behind the explosion but would not disclose the type of weapon used in the attack, saying only that “a device exclusively of Ukrainian manufacture was used.”
Jolly decent of the FBI to make a horse race of this with Trump home raid.
Fired up the Repub base a treat. Even the moderates are miffed.
I totally get the argument about riling up the base but I think it's all too clever by half. "Party's likely presidential nominee subject to a federal search warrant and liable to be indicted for multiple easy-to-prove crimes" is going to be bad for the said party.
Note that law enforcement don't get to tell their story, for now. So the framing - and initial media reporting - has largely been of the aggrieved man-child type.
But that's Trump's narrative. Why play to it?
Why not just say, run if you like matey, we're confident we will beat you again on the politics. Knock yourself out. Hell I double dare you. I'll even pay your hairspray bill.
That's the way to beat Trump, surely?
Of course. But you are talking as if the FBI/Attorney General and the Democratic party are one and the same thing; they are not. Biden was very likely not told about the raid until it happened. It's not something the President gets to sign off on.
"Let justice be done though the heavens fall".
Over and over again it is abundantly clear that a lot of people, and not all the usual suspects, think that even if someone committed crimes, they should not face legal consequences because of their politics.
It comes from both sides, of both the 'it's a witchhunt' variety and the 'we should only beat them electorally' variety. We can tell that is the true message as well, since you cannot determine if someone is guilty without an investigation, yet people object even to investigation (and actions that take place during an investigation) on the basis either it 'riles up' one side, or is unreasonable interference in politics.
So the effect of such a view is we should not even look into potential lawbreaking by powerful political figures, because it affects politics. And since such a view usually gets proposed when someone is in office or seeking office, you can never investigate so long as they are not formally retired.
"Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost says there is no evidence world is facing ‘a climate emergency’ and Britain should end focus on ‘medieval’ wind power and go all in for nuclear and fracking
He calls change of tack with greater emphasis on fracking and nuclear power Tory peer backs Liz Truss for PM - with claims he may soon return to Government"
I was vaguely hoping that these zanies from the early Boris era were shuffling out of history, but with Truss is seems they're back with a vengeance. Is the return of Dom imminent? Surely he wouldn't work under 'crackers' lady and she wouldn't appoint, but who knows?
Posters claiming that “1980 wasn’t so bad” are truly the pits.
If folks like it so much, they might try emigrating to somewhere with 1980 levels of income. Romania perhaps.
I would rather live in 1980 than today. The music was better.
Thing is, your brain will retain the goods bits of that and forget the crud bits.
Reality: queuing for cash in banks twice a week, people smoking in offices, pubs, trains and restaurants, and everywhere else, a far more conformist and hierarchical office culture - often by class, poor cars by modern standards that rust in 2-3 years, ordering anything by mail order taking 28 days (at least) with a far more limited range available, more pubs but crap food in them, maybe a Berni Inn was half-acceptable, four channels (if that), no PCs, no internet for this.. strikes, communist agitation, a nasty recession etc..
I like Gary Numan too, but still keen?
Yes, and this is a point Thatcher fans keep missing, which is that for all sorts of reasons that had nothing to do with the government, life just got better in the 1980s.
Cars stopped rusting as soon as they drove off the forecourt, and developments like anti-lock brakes and electric windows would trickle down car ranges.
Banks would give us proper ATM cards, replacing the ones that would be swallowed on each withdrawal and posted back to you. Credit cards were given to the masses.
Computers would invade the home and the office (which were separate places back then). Hi-fi, VCRs and colour televisions were affordable.
Foreign holidays would become an option for most, not just the jet set.
Not so much fun for Maggie's millions; I'll grant you that.
Maggie's millions got to buy their council houses they'd effectively been buying for decades. And they loved her for it.
"Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost says there is no evidence world is facing ‘a climate emergency’ and Britain should end focus on ‘medieval’ wind power and go all in for nuclear and fracking
He calls change of tack with greater emphasis on fracking and nuclear power Tory peer backs Liz Truss for PM - with claims he may soon return to Government"
Nuclear seems beloved and heralded as the answer by all across the political spectrum - I really don't see why, especially given recent situations in Ukraine.
Why, are you expecting a Russian invasion of Hinkley Point ?
"Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost says there is no evidence world is facing ‘a climate emergency’ and Britain should end focus on ‘medieval’ wind power and go all in for nuclear and fracking
He calls change of tack with greater emphasis on fracking and nuclear power Tory peer backs Liz Truss for PM - with claims he may soon return to Government"
"Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost says there is no evidence world is facing ‘a climate emergency’ and Britain should end focus on ‘medieval’ wind power and go all in for nuclear and fracking
He calls change of tack with greater emphasis on fracking and nuclear power Tory peer backs Liz Truss for PM - with claims he may soon return to Government"
Why on earth would Truss bring him back into government? Never mind his views, she has plenty of MPs of at least equal quality to Lord Frost to choose from, why waste even a junior ministerial role on a peer, and a figure known for rocking the boat?
"Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost says there is no evidence world is facing ‘a climate emergency’ and Britain should end focus on ‘medieval’ wind power and go all in for nuclear and fracking
He calls change of tack with greater emphasis on fracking and nuclear power Tory peer backs Liz Truss for PM - with claims he may soon return to Government"
Nuclear seems beloved and heralded as the answer by all across the political spectrum - I really don't see why, especially given recent situations in Ukraine.
Why, are you expecting a Russian invasion of Hinkley Point ?
Not imminently, but I don't relish the idea of our rainy haven being dotted with sites that could worsen the damage of an attack by Russia, or anybody else who fancies it. Quite clearly it's proving rather dangerous.
"Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost says there is no evidence world is facing ‘a climate emergency’ and Britain should end focus on ‘medieval’ wind power and go all in for nuclear and fracking
He calls change of tack with greater emphasis on fracking and nuclear power Tory peer backs Liz Truss for PM - with claims he may soon return to Government"
"Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost says there is no evidence world is facing ‘a climate emergency’ and Britain should end focus on ‘medieval’ wind power and go all in for nuclear and fracking
He calls change of tack with greater emphasis on fracking and nuclear power Tory peer backs Liz Truss for PM - with claims he may soon return to Government"
Someone called Lake really ought to have considered the implications for their water supply...
Florida GOP are already talking about barring feds from law enforcement activities in Florida
Can they even do that?
Ill try and find the tweet, but a Florida govt guy was saying that and described how.
IANAE, but wouldn't that mean every wanted felon from the rest of US would have an incentive to flee there?
Yeah i may have misread but he seemed to be intimating preventing the feds working independently of State authorities. Hmmmmm, ok i will look for the tweet but until i find it i am declaring myself FAKE NEWS
"Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost says there is no evidence world is facing ‘a climate emergency’ and Britain should end focus on ‘medieval’ wind power and go all in for nuclear and fracking
He calls change of tack with greater emphasis on fracking and nuclear power Tory peer backs Liz Truss for PM - with claims he may soon return to Government"
"Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost says there is no evidence world is facing ‘a climate emergency’ and Britain should end focus on ‘medieval’ wind power and go all in for nuclear and fracking
He calls change of tack with greater emphasis on fracking and nuclear power Tory peer backs Liz Truss for PM - with claims he may soon return to Government"
Comments
1) Ltd companies are businesses, and for example excluded many Directors from eg Furlough or the self employed scheme
2) I have set up a proper business, not a sole trader in a Ltd company scheme
You can see why I might be sore about it?
1980 was the middle of the central heating revolution.
https://twitter.com/debostic/status/1556884777424265218
My favorite film for ages I am tempted to say of 2022
If people want to kill themselves, could they please do it on a track, where flying bits won’t hit other people?
Key recommendations
The Government should better define its science and technology strategy. It needs to set out what it wants to achieve in its priority areas, consolidating existing strategies. It should have measurable targets with a clear implementation plan. Strategies should be sustained for the long term.
The Government should explain what the “own-collaborate-access” framework means for key areas of technology and how it will be applied.
It needs to repair international relationships following the ongoing lack of association with Horizon Europe and cuts to Official Development Assistance.
The Government should set out its specific reforms to areas such as public procurement, regulations and R&D tax credits, explaining how they will support innovation. Individual taskforces in each area of reform should be accountable for these reforms, working across government, and providing a single point of contact for feedback from industry.
I mean did it take them all day to think of those?
And it's badly written. It should be 'The Government should define its science and technology strategy better.' And it's full of meaningless generalities - what does 'long term' mean?
If he or another Democrat nominee won those 2 states again but lost Georgia he would still win the EC
Open to correction by someone more up to date on this.
Light relief on a Tuesday pm - this time Boris Karloff's statue rather than the Elgin Marbles, but again ti is claimed that UK law doesn't allow return of stuff so there*.
(*Assuming legally acquired. In this case sounds like a genuine muddle in the States - no idea how or if it cam be resolved legally.)
Was he also called "The Doctor" and you had a tardis?
Nice to see an endorsement.
We will have to catch it.
We also saw it at Catterick and were annoyed that they only had an RAF recruitment advert rather than the usual RAF, Marines and Royal Navy ones - it's fun sitting in a cinema 95% full of squaddies on basic training where the adverts are taking people who can't take the job.
Apparently, the raid was authorised by the Washington DC office of the FBI, the one where a whistleblower alleged agents were determined to get Trump. So it'll be something to do with the internal politics in the FBI and the agents got the warrant from a Washington DC judge. There is some talk the warrant isn't public but it's not clear if that's critical / true.
Incidentally, tthe monotonous nature of the “suicides” under Putins regimes needs work.
I think we should ask for better -
“Hmmm, he was trampled to death by a Rhinoceros?”
“Yes”
“In a 1 bed flat on the 5th floor”
“Yes”
“An extinct Rhinoceros?”
“Yes”
“On the ceiling?”
{shrugs}
Shopping by candlelight back for Christmas then
Reality: queuing for cash in banks twice a week, people smoking in offices, pubs, trains and restaurants, and everywhere else, a far more conformist and hierarchical office culture - often by class, poor cars by modern standards that rust in 2-3 years, ordering anything by mail order taking 28 days (at least) with a far more limited range available, more pubs but crap food in them, maybe a Berni Inn was half-acceptable, four channels (if that), no PCs, no internet for this.. strikes, communist agitation, a nasty recession etc..
I like Gary Numan too, but still keen?
https://twitter.com/mjluxmoore/status/1557007927256530945
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/GDP-per-capita-in-the-uk-since-1270
Which is why our grandchildren will be wondering about how anyone managed to live in the days before UBI.
Pub food was ploughmans, pies, chicken in a basket or the berni inn. Wine choice was pretty much sweet, medium, dry.
https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1557010848207470594
Local resident said there are many ambulances & police in Novofedorivka. Medical helicopters are flying over the city
Meanwhile, Russian Defense Ministry stated that "aircraft ammunition detonated" at the military airfield & no one was injured in attack
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-09/uk-braces-for-blackouts-gas-cuts-in-january-in-emergency-plan
'The Duke of Cambridge donned black velvet loafers by Crockett & Jones, boldly embroidered with airplanes.'
Cars stopped rusting as soon as they drove off the forecourt, and developments like anti-lock brakes and electric windows would trickle down car ranges.
Banks would give us proper ATM cards, replacing the ones that would be swallowed on each withdrawal and posted back to you. Credit cards were given to the masses.
Computers would invade the home and the office (which were separate places back then). Hi-fi, VCRs and colour televisions were affordable.
Foreign holidays would become an option for most, not just the jet set.
Not so much fun for Maggie's millions; I'll grant you that.
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1556814563642953728
Someone called Lake really ought to have considered the implications for their water supply...
And remember, we already had the net in 2000 (but not social media).
They look more like prancing elephants with wings to me.
What she said was "We must fire the Federal Government" and made mention of the 10th Amendment without any explicit comment.
Looking at the Tweeter's description as "Fmr Fed Prosecutor & Repub; now Defense Att & Democrat. Track and Report on the Right-Wing.", I suspect he has put his own spin on it
Could the President with a Maj in Senate appoint additional judges to the SC or could HOR block it??
https://masandpas.com/peg-airplane-craft-for-kids/
Ultimately, about 10% has been taken out of world natural gas exports. That pain is going to be shared among importers. And while Germany and the EU is particularly vulnerable because it is (largely) their 10%, we are also badly impacted because we're big importers of spot LNG cargoes.
Ultimately, demand has to drop to match the drop in world exports. And we are going to have to take a share of that.
The easiest short term way to alleviate the issue is to see if we can encourage more coal... the problem is that the price of seaborne coal has increased by just as much as natural gas.
He calls change of tack with greater emphasis on fracking and nuclear power
Tory peer backs Liz Truss for PM - with claims he may soon return to Government"
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11094685/Lord-Frost-says-theres-no-climate-emergency-Britain-end-focus-medieval-wind-power.html
Actually when I used to ride a piddly little bandit and pulled up beside (usually) mopeds with the rider in shorts and a t-shirt I used to tell them that they had better not come off.
Though given they are only slim majority Republican, serious secession attempts (as opposed to chest thumping rhetoric) seems somewhat unlikely.
Lord Frost is a twat.
So you'd need to get Florida officials, state police, etc, to follow Florida State law on what the Feds could do, rather than Federal law. Them you have civil war.
This is where the Republican rhetoric of the last 30-40 years is driving the US. It just keeps on ratcheting up until we get to a point where they don't accept the election of a Democratic President and they don't accept Federal law.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qEBA5h8RQQ (The Sun)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOf3M97FpZc (Talk TV)
Bloody hell.
"@ChrisGiles_
My column:
Let's not be naive about Russia being able to send Europe into recession this winter.
It can and it will
But it doesn't have to be a calamity and it's Putin's last economic card (so long as Europe does the right things)"
https://twitter.com/ChrisGiles_/status/1557023371560361986
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62433295
About half of all Americans now live under sanctuary policies that shield illegal immigrants from law enforcement, according to the latest tally of jurisdictions... Entire states such as California, Illinois and New York are now sanctuaries, as well as major cities and counties such as Fairfax, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and the District of Columbia in the capital region, according to the list... While there is no official definition of sanctuaries, FAIR counted any jurisdiction that bans police or other officials from asking about immigration status, forbids communication with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or refuses to hold likely deportees for pickup by ICE... California looms large on the list. More than 130 of the sanctuaries are in the state — including more than 80 that are new additions to the list, reflecting the anti-Trump sentiment of the West Coast.
Google "Not my president" if you want a correction to the other clause in your last sentence.
NASIMBY
https://twitter.com/mattia_n/status/1557016814986661895
The Ukrainian military official with knowledge of the situation said that Ukrainian forces were behind the explosion but would not disclose the type of weapon used in the attack, saying only that “a device exclusively of Ukrainian manufacture was used.”
Labour lead by 15% in the Red Wall.
Red Wall Voting Intention (8 August):
Labour 48% (+3)
Conservative 33% (-1)
Liberal Democrat 7% (-3)
Reform UK 6% (+3)
Green 5% (–)
Other 1% (-2)
Plaid Cymru 1% (–)
Changes +/- 25-26 July
https://t.co/AKcGfNNr3a https://t.co/0f7uExUIkB
It comes from both sides, of both the 'it's a witchhunt' variety and the 'we should only beat them electorally' variety. We can tell that is the true message as well, since you cannot determine if someone is guilty without an investigation, yet people object even to investigation (and actions that take place during an investigation) on the basis either it 'riles up' one side, or is unreasonable interference in politics.
So the effect of such a view is we should not even look into potential lawbreaking by powerful political figures, because it affects politics. And since such a view usually gets proposed when someone is in office or seeking office, you can never investigate so long as they are not formally retired.
And those people are about to select our next Prime Minister for us...
(Goes to find somewhere quiet and dark to go and wimper for a bit.)
Wind power medieval !! Of course it is old technology but not in the perjorative sense he means.
Some people even spoke of him as a potential Tory leader.
Frighteningly stupid.