"Our colleagues get an extra day off when their kids have their first day at school, so you may notice a different colleague in your local Timpson shop next week, helping cover for this important day in a families life."
Amongst other things it devolves and lot of power/decition making alterity to the lowest level possible. Is consistently ranked as the best or near best of all UK large company's. for looking after there employees. Actively recruits ex-convicts to give them a second chance in life.
It's also the largest UK company still owned by the founding family, and one of the last vestiges of what I consider proper capitalism, where entrappers put there name on the company, and their reputation and the companies reputation become one and the same.
Isn't family ownership put forward as a reason why German capitalism works?
The reputation thing is interesting. None of us really know who owns/runs anything in the UK, so what's the incentive for a manager to be a good steward?
Family ownership of companies is a terrible thing! Have we not seen Succession?!
I can think of a couple of examples of companies where the offspring were not up to the job, leading to serious decline.
Meritocracy over monarchy when it comes to business...
Clogs to clogs over 3 generations is often true, but the Timpsons seem to be an exception.
For smaller businesses family ownership often works down the generations as they are invested in it and the product.
For big business though you need an outside CEO and board to manage it given its scale, hence the Cohen family long since lost control of Tesco for example
Johnson likely stays in the Commons until the next election at least. If Truss has a sustained poll bounce then he will become less relevant. However if Starmer takes a clear poll lead he will remain the Prince across the water
Swapping the ousted person back in is unlikely to help. Look at Kevin Rudd. And given he was ousted over his personal conduct a lot of MPs are unlikely to want him back ever, even if Truss looks like losing.
Boris and his fans need to stop desperately hoping for the Tories to fail, and think about how they can help the party (which does not appear to be his or their focus). Perhaps he could spend his time touring the Red Wall for Liz and try to regain some of the old magic up there?
If he sits and pouts then either he doesn't care about the Tories winning if he does not get to lead them, or he actively wants them to fail as punishment.
The role that Johnson is best suited to is Party* Chair, giving boosters talks and fundraising on the rubber chicken circuit. A bit like hard work for him though, so he may prefer more renumerative after dinner speaking.
* party in the political sense rather than wine and cheese!
The trouble is being liked wasn't enough for him. He wanted power too.
"Our colleagues get an extra day off when their kids have their first day at school, so you may notice a different colleague in your local Timpson shop next week, helping cover for this important day in a families life."
Amongst other things it devolves and lot of power/decition making alterity to the lowest level possible. Is consistently ranked as the best or near best of all UK large company's. for looking after there employees. Actively recruits ex-convicts to give them a second chance in life.
It's also the largest UK company still owned by the founding family, and one of the last vestiges of what I consider proper capitalism, where entrappers put there name on the company, and their reputation and the companies reputation become one and the same.
Isn't family ownership put forward as a reason why German capitalism works?
The reputation thing is interesting. None of us really know who owns/runs anything in the UK, so what's the incentive for a manager to be a good steward?
Family ownership of companies is a terrible thing! Have we not seen Succession?!
I can think of a couple of examples of companies where the offspring were not up to the job, leading to serious decline.
Meritocracy over monarchy when it comes to business...
Clogs to clogs over 3 generations is often true, but the Timpsons seem to be an exception.
For smaller businesses family ownership often works down the generations as they are invested in it and the product.
For big business though you need an outside CEO and board to manage it given its scale, hence the Cohen family long since lost control of Tesco for example
The issue in small family businesses is often the dynamics between the generations. If Generation A gets on well with generation B then that's okay. If they see things differently then for the sake of the employees there should be a significant change.
The New York Times @nytimes Barbara Ehrenreich, a journalist, activist and author, has died at 81. Her book "Nickel and Dimed," an undercover account of the indignities of being a low-wage worker in the U.S., became a best seller and a classic in social justice literature.
"Our colleagues get an extra day off when their kids have their first day at school, so you may notice a different colleague in your local Timpson shop next week, helping cover for this important day in a families life."
Amongst other things it devolves and lot of power/decition making alterity to the lowest level possible. Is consistently ranked as the best or near best of all UK large company's. for looking after there employees. Actively recruits ex-convicts to give them a second chance in life.
It's also the largest UK company still owned by the founding family, and one of the last vestiges of what I consider proper capitalism, where entrappers put there name on the company, and their reputation and the companies reputation become one and the same.
I note they tend to have in their stores little books on fostering produced by the chairman's wife. Strong family impact on the company it seems.
I do like the company history on wikipedia - seems like a black sheep of the family ousted the current chair's dad and sold it off, until the true heir reacquired it.
In the early-1960s, family member and graduate of the University of Nottingham John Timpson returned from a post-graduate management training scheme to join the family-owned business, becoming director responsible for buying in 1970.[3] In 1973, after John's father Anthony was ousted as chairman by his uncle Geoffrey, the company was acquired for £28,600,000 by United Drapery Stores.[2] John stayed with the firm, became managing director of leather and fur retailers Swears & Wells, then in 1975; appointed managing director of the former family business, William Timpson Ltd.[3]
In 1983, John led a £42,000,000 management buyout of William Timpson from then-owners Hanson Trust plc.
I agree Timpson and his family seem like good eggs, though he was on Broadcasting House last Sunday and came away with some pretty disappointing back to the dawn of Thatcherism Trussian stuff about less government and freeing the economy to do its thing. Nobody's perfect I guess.
It is the Charles Dickens approach to social progression. The problem is not seen as the system so much as the need for wealthy benefactors to lift up the poor.
Is it not possible that there is some merit in both approaches?
As the ballot for his replacement ended at 5pm yesterday - the Conservative Party must now have the result. Why are we waiting until lunchtime on Monday for the result? When is it going to be leaked?
If last time is any guide, the result will be leaked when Old Lady tells Boris, Liz and Rishi the result, before it is announced publicly. Boris, Liz and Rishi will tell their families, staff and campaign teams, and they in turn will brief their mates in the media on a strictly confidential basis, and they will write embargoed stories.
So basically, within an hour, everyone within spitting distance of SW1 will know.
There was a guy from the 1922 on PM last night talking about this. They hired a company to do the counting/double-checking with a contract to complete over the weekend. Liz & Rishi should be told the result on Sunday - if it's very close then they get to decide if they want a recount, otherwise - that's it. Then the rest of us find out on Monday (outside of 'deeply regrettable' leaks of course)
"Our colleagues get an extra day off when their kids have their first day at school, so you may notice a different colleague in your local Timpson shop next week, helping cover for this important day in a families life."
Amongst other things it devolves and lot of power/decition making alterity to the lowest level possible. Is consistently ranked as the best or near best of all UK large company's. for looking after there employees. Actively recruits ex-convicts to give them a second chance in life.
It's also the largest UK company still owned by the founding family, and one of the last vestiges of what I consider proper capitalism, where entrappers put there name on the company, and their reputation and the companies reputation become one and the same.
"It's also the largest UK company still owned by the founding family"
I'd have thought JCB (still owned by the Bamfords as far as I am aware) would be much larger?
"Our colleagues get an extra day off when their kids have their first day at school, so you may notice a different colleague in your local Timpson shop next week, helping cover for this important day in a families life."
Amongst other things it devolves and lot of power/decition making alterity to the lowest level possible. Is consistently ranked as the best or near best of all UK large company's. for looking after there employees. Actively recruits ex-convicts to give them a second chance in life.
It's also the largest UK company still owned by the founding family, and one of the last vestiges of what I consider proper capitalism, where entrappers put there name on the company, and their reputation and the companies reputation become one and the same.
Isn't family ownership put forward as a reason why German capitalism works?
The reputation thing is interesting. None of us really know who owns/runs anything in the UK, so what's the incentive for a manager to be a good steward?
Family ownership of companies is a terrible thing! Have we not seen Succession?!
I can think of a couple of examples of companies where the offspring were not up to the job, leading to serious decline.
Meritocracy over monarchy when it comes to business...
Clogs to clogs over 3 generations is often true, but the Timpsons seem to be an exception.
I recall this japanese company supposedly going for over 1000 years, though it is no longer independent and its a brief article so whether it still has anyone of the original family name involved who knows.
The family president who ran it into the ground in 2008 was given an honorary role to offset his shame. I don’t know if he is still alive/active but assume there is no future family involvement
I’m still absolutely horrified at the thought of Rees-Mogg as BEIS. Will be a divisive period of office
It's astounding Time is fleeting Madness takes its toll But listen closely Not for very much longer I've got to keep control
As both BJO and HY praised Boris for a jump to the left (couldn’t see it myself) here comes a clear step to the right…
From Monday - Thatcherism.
Presumably rather fewer pelvic thrusts.
Though more than enough insanity to go round.
(And don't diss Thatcherism. For most of her Premiership, Maggie was a model of moderation and pragmatism, certainly compared with what seems to be incoming.)
Absolutely! Lady Thatcher would put taxes up in this situation like she did when she came into power - these tribute acts havn’t a clue how to do Thatcherism properly, with the pragmatism built in!
Most 'isms' seem to be based on isolated and out of context quotes of leaders people liked, rather than any analysis of what worked then and why, and how to adapt to the modern context.
And part of the problem the incoming government have is that they weren't really around during Thatcherism. Thatcher left office in 1990, when Liz was struggling to get GCSEs at her terrible comprehensive school or something.
I wonder if there's an echo of the way that World War II affected Boomer attitudes, and frankly sent them a bit loopy. By definition, Boomers didn't experience the War themselves- the most that can be said is that some might have concrete memories of rationing. But they will have heard all the heroic stories (probably again and again, if my experience of growing up in the 1970s was anything to go by). And those stories (incomplete and edited, as all stories are) became their foundational reference point.
We're now getting a generation of politicians who grew up with Storybook Maggie; Winter of discontent, 365 economists, Falklands, Scargill, No No No, treachery with a smile on its face, The End. And trying to build a politics on that is as unrealistic as trying to build a model of Britain's place in the world on "We will never surrender".
"Our colleagues get an extra day off when their kids have their first day at school, so you may notice a different colleague in your local Timpson shop next week, helping cover for this important day in a families life."
Amongst other things it devolves and lot of power/decition making alterity to the lowest level possible. Is consistently ranked as the best or near best of all UK large company's. for looking after there employees. Actively recruits ex-convicts to give them a second chance in life.
It's also the largest UK company still owned by the founding family, and one of the last vestiges of what I consider proper capitalism, where entrappers put there name on the company, and their reputation and the companies reputation become one and the same.
Isn't family ownership put forward as a reason why German capitalism works?
The reputation thing is interesting. None of us really know who owns/runs anything in the UK, so what's the incentive for a manager to be a good steward?
Family ownership of companies is a terrible thing! Have we not seen Succession?!
I can think of a couple of examples of companies where the offspring were not up to the job, leading to serious decline.
Meritocracy over monarchy when it comes to business...
Clogs to clogs over 3 generations is often true, but the Timpsons seem to be an exception.
For smaller businesses family ownership often works down the generations as they are invested in it and the product.
For big business though you need an outside CEO and board to manage it given its scale, hence the Cohen family long since lost control of Tesco for example
The issue in small family businesses is often the dynamics between the generations. If Generation A gets on well with generation B then that's okay. If they see things differently then for the sake of the employees there should be a significant change.
The Great Gatsby is a contemporaneous account of this phenomenon in the 1920s. Grandchildren of mid-west plutocrats leading aimless, self-destructive lives 'back east' in Long Island mansions.
"Our colleagues get an extra day off when their kids have their first day at school, so you may notice a different colleague in your local Timpson shop next week, helping cover for this important day in a families life."
Pretty in character, they make a big deal of such things on their website. How well they deliver I could not say. We pay our colleagues as much as we can afford, rather than as little as we can get away with. In addition to receiving a basic wage, every single colleague is part of a bonus scheme relevant to their part of the business.
We believe that sharing our profits with our colleagues is one of the keys to our success. We offer a wide variety of other benefits to our colleagues; from having your birthday off, to free to use holiday homes, we also offer you use of the company limousine if you get married, as well getting an extra £100 in your wages and a week off work! .
When I was living in Southampton, I discovered that John Lewis has a yacht(s) on the Hamble that are available to all staff members.
I’m still absolutely horrified at the thought of Rees-Mogg as BEIS. Will be a divisive period of office
It's astounding Time is fleeting Madness takes its toll But listen closely Not for very much longer I've got to keep control
As both BJO and HY praised Boris for a jump to the left (couldn’t see it myself) here comes a clear step to the right…
From Monday - Thatcherism.
Presumably rather fewer pelvic thrusts.
Though more than enough insanity to go round.
(And don't diss Thatcherism. For most of her Premiership, Maggie was a model of moderation and pragmatism, certainly compared with what seems to be incoming.)
Absolutely! Lady Thatcher would put taxes up in this situation like she did when she came into power - these tribute acts havn’t a clue how to do Thatcherism properly, with the pragmatism built in!
Most 'isms' seem to be based on isolated and out of context quotes of leaders people liked, rather than any analysis of what worked then and why, and how to adapt to the modern context.
And part of the problem the incoming government have is that they weren't really around during Thatcherism. Thatcher left office in 1990, when Liz was struggling to get GCSEs at her terrible comprehensive school or something.
I wonder if there's an echo of the way that World War II affected Boomer attitudes, and frankly sent them a bit loopy. By definition, Boomers didn't experience the War themselves- the most that can be said is that some might have concrete memories of rationing. But they will have heard all the heroic stories (probably again and again, if my experience of growing up in the 1970s was anything to go by). And those stories (incomplete and edited, as all stories are) became their foundational reference point.
We're now getting a generation of politicians who grew up with Storybook Maggie; Winter of discontent, 365 economists, Falklands, Scargill, No No No, treachery with a smile on its face, The End. And trying to build a politics on that is as unrealistic as trying to build a model of Britain's place in the world on "We will never surrender".
Hmm. Think you have a good point there. The politico-economic equivalent of regarding Commando magazines (@ 1/- IIRC) as serious military history?
The New York Times @nytimes Barbara Ehrenreich, a journalist, activist and author, has died at 81. Her book "Nickel and Dimed," an undercover account of the indignities of being a low-wage worker in the U.S., became a best seller and a classic in social justice literature.
I read that over the summer and really really didn’t like it.
The subject and some of her observations were interesting. But she was really unpleasantly sneering about the ordinary people that she encountered. A real theme of her own intrinsic superiority throughout. I very nearly abandoned the book (something I almost never do)
"Our colleagues get an extra day off when their kids have their first day at school, so you may notice a different colleague in your local Timpson shop next week, helping cover for this important day in a families life."
Amongst other things it devolves and lot of power/decition making alterity to the lowest level possible. Is consistently ranked as the best or near best of all UK large company's. for looking after there employees. Actively recruits ex-convicts to give them a second chance in life.
It's also the largest UK company still owned by the founding family, and one of the last vestiges of what I consider proper capitalism, where entrappers put there name on the company, and their reputation and the companies reputation become one and the same.
Isn't family ownership put forward as a reason why German capitalism works?
The reputation thing is interesting. None of us really know who owns/runs anything in the UK, so what's the incentive for a manager to be a good steward?
Family ownership of companies is a terrible thing! Have we not seen Succession?!
I can think of a couple of examples of companies where the offspring were not up to the job, leading to serious decline.
Meritocracy over monarchy when it comes to business...
Clogs to clogs over 3 generations is often true, but the Timpsons seem to be an exception.
For smaller businesses family ownership often works down the generations as they are invested in it and the product.
For big business though you need an outside CEO and board to manage it given its scale, hence the Cohen family long since lost control of Tesco for example
True, though Aldi and Lidl (to take a couple of German examples) are still privately owned.
And, yes, there are definite problems with that model as well. But some of the UK's difficulties, especially short-termism, are consistent with a model where a lot of things aren't really owned or run by anybody indentifiable- we just have ownership of tiny slices through financial institutions and management by randoms who flit from firm to firm.
Javier Blas @JavierBlas · 2h And amazing data point that shows what's coming in the inflation pipeline: the cost of turning clay into a ceramic tile has surged 1,047% over the last year. Think about it if you are planning to update your bathroom and/or kitchen (Spain is the 5th world's largest tile producer)
Nice example of how even the thoughtful media have entirely given up on the distinction between news, comment and opinion. In the long run this is sad.
I’m still absolutely horrified at the thought of Rees-Mogg as BEIS. Will be a divisive period of office
It's astounding Time is fleeting Madness takes its toll But listen closely Not for very much longer I've got to keep control
As both BJO and HY praised Boris for a jump to the left (couldn’t see it myself) here comes a clear step to the right…
From Monday - Thatcherism.
Presumably rather fewer pelvic thrusts.
Though more than enough insanity to go round.
(And don't diss Thatcherism. For most of her Premiership, Maggie was a model of moderation and pragmatism, certainly compared with what seems to be incoming.)
Absolutely! Lady Thatcher would put taxes up in this situation like she did when she came into power - these tribute acts havn’t a clue how to do Thatcherism properly, with the pragmatism built in!
Most 'isms' seem to be based on isolated and out of context quotes of leaders people liked, rather than any analysis of what worked then and why, and how to adapt to the modern context.
And part of the problem the incoming government have is that they weren't really around during Thatcherism. Thatcher left office in 1990, when Liz was struggling to get GCSEs at her terrible comprehensive school or something.
I wonder if there's an echo of the way that World War II affected Boomer attitudes, and frankly sent them a bit loopy. By definition, Boomers didn't experience the War themselves- the most that can be said is that some might have concrete memories of rationing. But they will have heard all the heroic stories (probably again and again, if my experience of growing up in the 1970s was anything to go by). And those stories (incomplete and edited, as all stories are) became their foundational reference point.
We're now getting a generation of politicians who grew up with Storybook Maggie; Winter of discontent, 365 economists, Falklands, Scargill, No No No, treachery with a smile on its face, The End. And trying to build a politics on that is as unrealistic as trying to build a model of Britain's place in the world on "We will never surrender".
Indeed. We have evidence of WWMD when taking office in a period of inflation and strikes. Double VAT. Incidentally. I have to stop myself when I read Moon talking about "Lady Thatcher". I've almost never heard her referred to as that by anyone over 50.
The New York Times @nytimes Barbara Ehrenreich, a journalist, activist and author, has died at 81. Her book "Nickel and Dimed," an undercover account of the indignities of being a low-wage worker in the U.S., became a best seller and a classic in social justice literature.
I read that over the summer and really really didn’t like it.
The subject and some of her observations were interesting. But she was really unpleasantly sneering about the ordinary people that she encountered. A real theme of her own intrinsic superiority throughout. I very nearly abandoned the book (something I almost never do)
I read it 20 years ago so can't remember, but you may be right.
I’m still absolutely horrified at the thought of Rees-Mogg as BEIS. Will be a divisive period of office
It's astounding Time is fleeting Madness takes its toll But listen closely Not for very much longer I've got to keep control
As both BJO and HY praised Boris for a jump to the left (couldn’t see it myself) here comes a clear step to the right…
From Monday - Thatcherism.
Presumably rather fewer pelvic thrusts.
Though more than enough insanity to go round.
(And don't diss Thatcherism. For most of her Premiership, Maggie was a model of moderation and pragmatism, certainly compared with what seems to be incoming.)
Absolutely! Lady Thatcher would put taxes up in this situation like she did when she came into power - these tribute acts havn’t a clue how to do Thatcherism properly, with the pragmatism built in!
Most 'isms' seem to be based on isolated and out of context quotes of leaders people liked, rather than any analysis of what worked then and why, and how to adapt to the modern context.
And part of the problem the incoming government have is that they weren't really around during Thatcherism. Thatcher left office in 1990, when Liz was struggling to get GCSEs at her terrible comprehensive school or something.
I wonder if there's an echo of the way that World War II affected Boomer attitudes, and frankly sent them a bit loopy. By definition, Boomers didn't experience the War themselves- the most that can be said is that some might have concrete memories of rationing. But they will have heard all the heroic stories (probably again and again, if my experience of growing up in the 1970s was anything to go by). And those stories (incomplete and edited, as all stories are) became their foundational reference point.
We're now getting a generation of politicians who grew up with Storybook Maggie; Winter of discontent, 365 economists, Falklands, Scargill, No No No, treachery with a smile on its face, The End. And trying to build a politics on that is as unrealistic as trying to build a model of Britain's place in the world on "We will never surrender".
Indeed. We have evidence of WWMD when taking office in a period of inflation and strikes. Double VAT. Incidentally. I have to stop myself when I read Moon talking about "Lady Thatcher". I've almost never heard her referred to as that by anyone over 50.
TBF it is a matter of avoiding anachronism. Mrs T was Mrs T when she had her impact, so it's the correct term to use in any discussion of that impact.
I don't think she had much impact as a Lady specifically?
"Our colleagues get an extra day off when their kids have their first day at school, so you may notice a different colleague in your local Timpson shop next week, helping cover for this important day in a families life."
Amongst other things it devolves and lot of power/decition making alterity to the lowest level possible. Is consistently ranked as the best or near best of all UK large company's. for looking after there employees. Actively recruits ex-convicts to give them a second chance in life.
It's also the largest UK company still owned by the founding family, and one of the last vestiges of what I consider proper capitalism, where entrappers put there name on the company, and their reputation and the companies reputation become one and the same.
Isn't family ownership put forward as a reason why German capitalism works?
The reputation thing is interesting. None of us really know who owns/runs anything in the UK, so what's the incentive for a manager to be a good steward?
Family ownership of companies is a terrible thing! Have we not seen Succession?!
I can think of a couple of examples of companies where the offspring were not up to the job, leading to serious decline.
Meritocracy over monarchy when it comes to business...
Clogs to clogs over 3 generations is often true, but the Timpsons seem to be an exception.
For smaller businesses family ownership often works down the generations as they are invested in it and the product.
For big business though you need an outside CEO and board to manage it given its scale, hence the Cohen family long since lost control of Tesco for example
True, though Aldi and Lidl (to take a couple of German examples) are still privately owned.
And, yes, there are definite problems with that model as well. But some of the UK's difficulties, especially short-termism, are consistent with a model where a lot of things aren't really owned or run by anybody indentifiable- we just have ownership of tiny slices through financial institutions and management by randoms who flit from firm to firm.
There are snags about family ownership, akin to the snags of monarchy. Yes, they are invested in it, but whether the family are any good at business is random. My father was made Export Director of Borwicks Baking Powder, which the very elderly here may recall. He hated it (but felt he had to do it to avoid upsetting the family) and said he didn't have a feeling for what worked - e.g. he cut the price, only to see sales go down because customers liked it as a quality British brand and assumed the quality had deteriorated. Eventually, the firm was taken over by a self-raising flour firm who just wanted the name. They sacked all the directors (to my father's relief - he went on to be a very successful UN translator) and ran the company much more successfully.
I’m still absolutely horrified at the thought of Rees-Mogg as BEIS. Will be a divisive period of office
It's astounding Time is fleeting Madness takes its toll But listen closely Not for very much longer I've got to keep control
As both BJO and HY praised Boris for a jump to the left (couldn’t see it myself) here comes a clear step to the right…
From Monday - Thatcherism.
Presumably rather fewer pelvic thrusts.
Though more than enough insanity to go round.
(And don't diss Thatcherism. For most of her Premiership, Maggie was a model of moderation and pragmatism, certainly compared with what seems to be incoming.)
Absolutely! Lady Thatcher would put taxes up in this situation like she did when she came into power - these tribute acts havn’t a clue how to do Thatcherism properly, with the pragmatism built in!
Most 'isms' seem to be based on isolated and out of context quotes of leaders people liked, rather than any analysis of what worked then and why, and how to adapt to the modern context.
And part of the problem the incoming government have is that they weren't really around during Thatcherism. Thatcher left office in 1990, when Liz was struggling to get GCSEs at her terrible comprehensive school or something.
I wonder if there's an echo of the way that World War II affected Boomer attitudes, and frankly sent them a bit loopy. By definition, Boomers didn't experience the War themselves- the most that can be said is that some might have concrete memories of rationing. But they will have heard all the heroic stories (probably again and again, if my experience of growing up in the 1970s was anything to go by). And those stories (incomplete and edited, as all stories are) became their foundational reference point.
We're now getting a generation of politicians who grew up with Storybook Maggie; Winter of discontent, 365 economists, Falklands, Scargill, No No No, treachery with a smile on its face, The End. And trying to build a politics on that is as unrealistic as trying to build a model of Britain's place in the world on "We will never surrender".
Indeed. We have evidence of WWMD when taking office in a period of inflation and strikes. Double VAT. Incidentally. I have to stop myself when I read Moon talking about "Lady Thatcher". I've almost never heard her referred to as that by anyone over 50.
Another confounding feature is that pretty well all males alive today who were born before World War II did compulsory military service; nobody born afterwards joined the armed services unless they wanted to!
Probably stuck trying to work out why this is the fault of Brexit.
To be fair, at the macro level, it is surprising that a state is keen to cut off its biggest single source of revenue (I vaguely asume?) Russia's finances must be getting very stretched now, presumably.
"Our colleagues get an extra day off when their kids have their first day at school, so you may notice a different colleague in your local Timpson shop next week, helping cover for this important day in a families life."
Amongst other things it devolves and lot of power/decition making alterity to the lowest level possible. Is consistently ranked as the best or near best of all UK large company's. for looking after there employees. Actively recruits ex-convicts to give them a second chance in life.
It's also the largest UK company still owned by the founding family, and one of the last vestiges of what I consider proper capitalism, where entrappers put there name on the company, and their reputation and the companies reputation become one and the same.
Isn't family ownership put forward as a reason why German capitalism works?
The reputation thing is interesting. None of us really know who owns/runs anything in the UK, so what's the incentive for a manager to be a good steward?
Family ownership of companies is a terrible thing! Have we not seen Succession?!
I can think of a couple of examples of companies where the offspring were not up to the job, leading to serious decline.
Meritocracy over monarchy when it comes to business...
Clogs to clogs over 3 generations is often true, but the Timpsons seem to be an exception.
For smaller businesses family ownership often works down the generations as they are invested in it and the product.
For big business though you need an outside CEO and board to manage it given its scale, hence the Cohen family long since lost control of Tesco for example
True, though Aldi and Lidl (to take a couple of German examples) are still privately owned.
And, yes, there are definite problems with that model as well. But some of the UK's difficulties, especially short-termism, are consistent with a model where a lot of things aren't really owned or run by anybody indentifiable- we just have ownership of tiny slices through financial institutions and management by randoms who flit from firm to firm.
There are snags about family ownership, akin to the snags of monarchy. Yes, they are invested in it, but whether the family are any good at business is random. My father was made Export Director of Borwicks Baking Powder, which the very elderly here may recall. He hated it (but felt he had to do it to avoid upsetting the family) and said he didn't have a feeling for what worked - e.g. he cut the price, only to see sales go down because customers liked it as a quality British brand and assumed the quality had deteriorated. Eventually, the firm was taken over by a self-raising flour firm who just wanted the name. They sacked all the directors (to my father's relief - he went on to be a very successful UN translator) and ran the company much more successfully.
I wonder why Father Calv crowbarred paedophillia into a tweet about transgender issues?
Only joking, I know exactly why he did!
He is wrong. In the Cost of Living crisis, people will self-identify as 70 years old to get their hands on those gold-plated, triple locked pensions they keep reading about.
Not what it sounds like - but an Anglican-tradition Catholic church* which thought that the C of E was too [edit - got completely confused by the story line] Anglo-Catholic in 1844.
@StuartDickson Scotland has plenty of energy if the the wind is blowing
That's why the new pumped storage station at Loch Lochy is interesting. Torness will close by 2030, not sure what the plan is with Peterhead.
You're applying the Scotland's geographical share of NS oil and gas doesn't really belong to them criterion I assume.
No, just pointing out that energy provision in Scotland in inextricably linked to that in RUK, unless we come up with pumped storage or lagoons.
The SG (as a green/SNP coalition) is a bit confused on the subject. Oil/gas = good for Scotland, but we are doing everything we can to avoid getting it out the ground or using it in our power stations.
Since the SG has precisely f.all remit over energy policy or oil & gas extraction I'm not quite sure what your 'doing everything we can to avoid getting it out the ground or using it in our power stations' means.
So you think the SG is wrong to oppose stuff like Cambo? To not build any new nuclear power stations? Aiui they could block them using planning laws at the moment.
What proposed nuclear power stations are being blocked by Scottish planning laws at the moment? Which specific attempts by HMG to squeeze more oil and gas out of the North Sea have been thwarted by SG opposition?
You need to decide whether Scotland's oil and gas is a relevant argument for Independence.
You can't claim Scotland would be energy self-reliant while not actually using our resources.
I don't 'need' to do anything, Sean.
Not that it is my business, but why on earth are you calling @Eabhal “Sean”?
F1: looking very close at the sharp end, no tip as the Ladbrokes market is not each way (and with potentially six drivers in it I don't feel like picking one).
How predictable that Putin shuts down the gas pipeline at the start of September.
Refusing to give in to blackmail is painful. But playing along with it usually ends up even more expensive in the long run.
An attitude which leads to the view of those trolls and Putinistas early in the war - war is terrible, mmkay, so supporting Ukraine to prolong the fight is wrong, man.
Not what it sounds like - but an Anglican-tradition Catholic church* which thought that the C of E was too [edit - got completely confused by the story line] Anglo-Catholic in 1844.
*Not RC but in the C of E s\ense.
The FCE yes is largely composed of evangelicals who left the Church of England in the 19th century as they felt the Oxford movement was making it too close to Roman Catholicism in doctrine.
Now it is linked to Gafcon and takes a conservative line on homosexuality and sexuality generally and women priests. It is not part of the Anglican communion
Probably stuck trying to work out why this is the fault of Brexit.
Brexit distracted and weakened the EUs focus, so Putin felt confident the wider West would not unify if he invaded Ukraine, so he only did it due to Brexit.
Given that she faces significant opposition (and Labour won't want her doing well, either), those figures aren't that surprising, are they? I wonder what the equivalent numbers are for her predecessors.
One take is that she can only surprise on the upside. But in general, first impressions last. Or get worse as entropy does what it does.
"Our colleagues get an extra day off when their kids have their first day at school, so you may notice a different colleague in your local Timpson shop next week, helping cover for this important day in a families life."
Amongst other things it devolves and lot of power/decition making alterity to the lowest level possible. Is consistently ranked as the best or near best of all UK large company's. for looking after there employees. Actively recruits ex-convicts to give them a second chance in life.
It's also the largest UK company still owned by the founding family, and one of the last vestiges of what I consider proper capitalism, where entrappers put there name on the company, and their reputation and the companies reputation become one and the same.
Isn't family ownership put forward as a reason why German capitalism works?
The reputation thing is interesting. None of us really know who owns/runs anything in the UK, so what's the incentive for a manager to be a good steward?
Family ownership of companies is a terrible thing! Have we not seen Succession?!
I can think of a couple of examples of companies where the offspring were not up to the job, leading to serious decline.
Meritocracy over monarchy when it comes to business...
Clogs to clogs over 3 generations is often true, but the Timpsons seem to be an exception.
For smaller businesses family ownership often works down the generations as they are invested in it and the product.
For big business though you need an outside CEO and board to manage it given its scale, hence the Cohen family long since lost control of Tesco for example
True, though Aldi and Lidl (to take a couple of German examples) are still privately owned.
And, yes, there are definite problems with that model as well. But some of the UK's difficulties, especially short-termism, are consistent with a model where a lot of things aren't really owned or run by anybody indentifiable- we just have ownership of tiny slices through financial institutions and management by randoms who flit from firm to firm.
There are snags about family ownership, akin to the snags of monarchy. Yes, they are invested in it, but whether the family are any good at business is random. My father was made Export Director of Borwicks Baking Powder, which the very elderly here may recall. He hated it (but felt he had to do it to avoid upsetting the family) and said he didn't have a feeling for what worked - e.g. he cut the price, only to see sales go down because customers liked it as a quality British brand and assumed the quality had deteriorated. Eventually, the firm was taken over by a self-raising flour firm who just wanted the name. They sacked all the directors (to my father's relief - he went on to be a very successful UN translator) and ran the company much more successfully.
Glancing at latest polls put up, Techne and Redfield showing widening gap on eve of new Leader.
But I suggest it’s not the gap we should look at, but the Tory share, currently on average herded less than 33 so the coming bounce can be measured by how it goes above 33, to the 35s and 36s.
Based on historical precedent, Will the coming bounce begin instantly next week or take a few weeks
Do we have a word for a negative bounce? A 'truss' perhaps?
Trussing something up is already a thing, is it not?
Probably stuck trying to work out why this is the fault of Brexit.
Brexit distracted and weakened the EUs focus, so Putin felt confident the wider West would not unify if he invaded Ukraine, so he only did it due to Brexit.
Given that she faces significant opposition (and Labour won't want her doing well, either), those figures aren't that surprising, are they? I wonder what the equivalent numbers are for her predecessors.
One take is that she can only surprise on the upside. But in general, first impressions last. Or get worse as entropy does what it does.
Truss will probably be the least anticipated and welcomed new PM since Callaghan or Home and the least welcomed new Conservative leader since IDS.
So yes she does have the advantage of such low expectations she can only go up
Probably stuck trying to work out why this is the fault of Brexit.
To be fair, at the macro level, it is surprising that a state is keen to cut off its biggest single source of revenue (I vaguely asume?) Russia's finances must be getting very stretched now, presumably.
Unlike us though they have been running surpluses for a long time so they can afford to be short for a while. And it is not as if they are not selling their oil in particular on the open market, they are just not selling it to us, at least not directly.
Things can only get better... if next week she seems halfway competent and proactive, people will feel quite pleasantly surprised.
I expect she will be, her JRM love notwithstanding.
But if things seem to be going to shit in the country - and they do, which will take time to address, if it can be - she will seem incompetent even if she's doing a decent job.
Such is the life of a politician at mercy of events.
Probably stuck trying to work out why this is the fault of Brexit.
To be fair, at the macro level, it is surprising that a state is keen to cut off its biggest single source of revenue (I vaguely asume?) Russia's finances must be getting very stretched now, presumably.
I understood that oil was far and away their biggest revenue source ?
This move is probably a reaction to international attempts to cap the price paid for Russian oil.
@StuartDickson Scotland has plenty of energy if the the wind is blowing
That's why the new pumped storage station at Loch Lochy is interesting. Torness will close by 2030, not sure what the plan is with Peterhead.
You're applying the Scotland's geographical share of NS oil and gas doesn't really belong to them criterion I assume.
No, just pointing out that energy provision in Scotland in inextricably linked to that in RUK, unless we come up with pumped storage or lagoons.
The SG (as a green/SNP coalition) is a bit confused on the subject. Oil/gas = good for Scotland, but we are doing everything we can to avoid getting it out the ground or using it in our power stations.
Since the SG has precisely f.all remit over energy policy or oil & gas extraction I'm not quite sure what your 'doing everything we can to avoid getting it out the ground or using it in our power stations' means.
So you think the SG is wrong to oppose stuff like Cambo? To not build any new nuclear power stations? Aiui they could block them using planning laws at the moment.
What proposed nuclear power stations are being blocked by Scottish planning laws at the moment? Which specific attempts by HMG to squeeze more oil and gas out of the North Sea have been thwarted by SG opposition?
You need to decide whether Scotland's oil and gas is a relevant argument for Independence.
You can't claim Scotland would be energy self-reliant while not actually using our resources.
I don't 'need' to do anything, Sean.
Not that it is my business, but why on earth are you calling @Eabhal “Sean”?
I didn't take it as a compliment
I'd prefer Iain, if we're going for translations of John.
The New York Times @nytimes Barbara Ehrenreich, a journalist, activist and author, has died at 81. Her book "Nickel and Dimed," an undercover account of the indignities of being a low-wage worker in the U.S., became a best seller and a classic in social justice literature.
Eric Berger @SciGuySpace · Follow Why does the SLS rocket use liquid hydrogen fuel if it leaks all the time? Well, it is very efficient, energy density-wise. But most importantly, it's what space shuttle designers used 50 years ago, and Congress mandated that the SLS rocket use those same engines.
So a fair bit of the speculative froth on the gas market is being burnt off (hopefully with a good number of the speculators) with gas futures down over 15% yesterday alone and well off over the last month. The UN index of food prices has now fallen below what it was before Russia invaded in February. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62769675
It is possible, no more, that the Truss government may find a bit of unexpected and entirely undeserved wind in its sails over the next week or two when those absurd inflationary models indicating 18 or even more than 20% are recognised as the total rubbish that they were and inflation edges down. If this is combined with a rational plan for protecting the most vulnerable from the short term pain (ideally by stealing some of Rishi's ideas) things might start to look a lot better than people were expecting in the winter of doom.
There is a potential for a relaunch of a government with a sense of purpose (lost since at least Christmas) and a plan (pretty much a total innovation). Any such plan will change frequently but one of Truss's better traits is that she has no problem discarding what doesn't work.
Eric Berger @SciGuySpace · Follow Why does the SLS rocket use liquid hydrogen fuel if it leaks all the time? Well, it is very efficient, energy density-wise. But most importantly, it's what space shuttle designers used 50 years ago, and Congress mandated that the SLS rocket use those same engines.
Senate Launch System - taking half-century-old re-useable technology, and making it the only recent rocket design that’s completely expendable.
But hey, the $23bn was spent in all 48 contiguous States, so pork all round for the Congresscritters.
Probably stuck trying to work out why this is the fault of Brexit.
To be fair, at the macro level, it is surprising that a state is keen to cut off its biggest single source of revenue (I vaguely asume?) Russia's finances must be getting very stretched now, presumably.
I understood that oil was far and away their biggest revenue source ?
This move is probably a reaction to international attempts to cap the price paid for Russian oil.
Fair enough.
I assume the price cap itself is a response to 'actually, we have enough gas now so don't need to buy the dirty stuff from Putin, unless it's at a discount.'
The New York Times @nytimes Barbara Ehrenreich, a journalist, activist and author, has died at 81. Her book "Nickel and Dimed," an undercover account of the indignities of being a low-wage worker in the U.S., became a best seller and a classic in social justice literature.
I read that over the summer and really really didn’t like it.
The subject and some of her observations were interesting. But she was really unpleasantly sneering about the ordinary people that she encountered. A real theme of her own intrinsic superiority throughout. I very nearly abandoned the book (something I almost never do)
I read it 20 years ago so can't remember, but you may be right.
It’s a shame - Heartland was really good and I’m looking forward to Hillbilly Elegy - and thought this would be similar
Eric Berger @SciGuySpace · Follow Why does the SLS rocket use liquid hydrogen fuel if it leaks all the time? Well, it is very efficient, energy density-wise. But most importantly, it's what space shuttle designers used 50 years ago, and Congress mandated that the SLS rocket use those same engines.
Senate Launch System - taking half-century-old re-useable technology, and making it the only recent rocket design that’s completely expendable.
But hey, the $23bn was spent in all 48 contiguous States, so pork all round for the Congresscritters.
Levelling up.
I can see why they've done it. They don't want an capricious alt-right shit with a hair weave having a monopoly on launch capability.
So a fair bit of the speculative froth on the gas market is being burnt off (hopefully with a good number of the speculators) with gas futures down over 15% yesterday alone and well off over the last month. The UN index of food prices has now fallen below what it was before Russia invaded in February. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62769675
It is possible, no more, that the Truss government may find a bit of unexpected and entirely undeserved wind in its sails over the next week or two when those absurd inflationary models indicating 18 or even more than 20% are recognised as the total rubbish that they were and inflation edges down. If this is combined with a rational plan for protecting the most vulnerable from the short term pain (ideally by stealing some of Rishi's ideas) things might start to look a lot better than people were expecting in the winter of doom.
There is a potential for a relaunch of a government with a sense of purpose (lost since at least Christmas) and a plan (pretty much a total innovation). Any such plan will change frequently but one of Truss's better traits is that she has no problem discarding what doesn't work.
I want Liz Truss to succeed. I like that she aims for growth rather than cuts and austerity. What I do not see is where this growth will come from. Tax cuts for the rich and hoping for the best will not cut it.
The New York Times @nytimes Barbara Ehrenreich, a journalist, activist and author, has died at 81. Her book "Nickel and Dimed," an undercover account of the indignities of being a low-wage worker in the U.S., became a best seller and a classic in social justice literature.
So a fair bit of the speculative froth on the gas market is being burnt off (hopefully with a good number of the speculators) with gas futures down over 15% yesterday alone and well off over the last month. The UN index of food prices has now fallen below what it was before Russia invaded in February. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62769675
It is possible, no more, that the Truss government may find a bit of unexpected and entirely undeserved wind in its sails over the next week or two when those absurd inflationary models indicating 18 or even more than 20% are recognised as the total rubbish that they were and inflation edges down. If this is combined with a rational plan for protecting the most vulnerable from the short term pain (ideally by stealing some of Rishi's ideas) things might start to look a lot better than people were expecting in the winter of doom.
There is a potential for a relaunch of a government with a sense of purpose (lost since at least Christmas) and a plan (pretty much a total innovation). Any such plan will change frequently but one of Truss's better traits is that she has no problem discarding what doesn't work.
IF you wanted to make the case for Reagan's famous comment on government intervention, I guess you could do worse than cite the last eight weeks.
So a fair bit of the speculative froth on the gas market is being burnt off (hopefully with a good number of the speculators) with gas futures down over 15% yesterday alone and well off over the last month. The UN index of food prices has now fallen below what it was before Russia invaded in February. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62769675
It is possible, no more, that the Truss government may find a bit of unexpected and entirely undeserved wind in its sails over the next week or two when those absurd inflationary models indicating 18 or even more than 20% are recognised as the total rubbish that they were and inflation edges down. If this is combined with a rational plan for protecting the most vulnerable from the short term pain (ideally by stealing some of Rishi's ideas) things might start to look a lot better than people were expecting in the winter of doom.
There is a potential for a relaunch of a government with a sense of purpose (lost since at least Christmas) and a plan (pretty much a total innovation). Any such plan will change frequently but one of Truss's better traits is that she has no problem discarding what doesn't work.
I want Liz Truss to succeed. I like that she aims for growth rather than cuts and austerity. What I do not see is where this growth will come from. Tax cuts for the rich and hoping for the best will not cut it.
When VAT was last raised, those against the rise attacked it from the left as being the most regressive of all taxes.
Hopefully, if VAT is cut, they will reminded of what was said back then.
I happen to disagree that VAT is hugely regressive, AIUI the bottom decile spend very little that attracts VAT, other than fuel and alcohol.
The most regressive tax of all - that will be the TV licence.
Eric Berger @SciGuySpace · Follow Why does the SLS rocket use liquid hydrogen fuel if it leaks all the time? Well, it is very efficient, energy density-wise. But most importantly, it's what space shuttle designers used 50 years ago, and Congress mandated that the SLS rocket use those same engines.
Eric Berger *used* to be a good space journalist. Since he wrote his book on the early days of SpaceX, however, he's been a cranky pro-Space prat; talking everyone else down. It's almost as though he knew the market for his book were the SpaceX-obsessed fans who have zero idea of what else was going on in the industry.
I'm serious. The time he started routinely dissing everyone who wasn't SpaceX was around the time his book was released. I wonder if a deal was done in return for access...
Just severed the top joint of my left middle finger in a hydraulic press so I've come out of the workshop and come on here for a bit. Fucking LOL.
Ouch. No way to stitch it back on?
It's in the bin now. I'm waiting for Mrs DA to come home so she can stitch the stump up. I have a self applied dressing of a micro-fibre secured with a hose clamp. 👍
The New York Times @nytimes Barbara Ehrenreich, a journalist, activist and author, has died at 81. Her book "Nickel and Dimed," an undercover account of the indignities of being a low-wage worker in the U.S., became a best seller and a classic in social justice literature.
So a fair bit of the speculative froth on the gas market is being burnt off (hopefully with a good number of the speculators) with gas futures down over 15% yesterday alone and well off over the last month. The UN index of food prices has now fallen below what it was before Russia invaded in February. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62769675
It is possible, no more, that the Truss government may find a bit of unexpected and entirely undeserved wind in its sails over the next week or two when those absurd inflationary models indicating 18 or even more than 20% are recognised as the total rubbish that they were and inflation edges down. If this is combined with a rational plan for protecting the most vulnerable from the short term pain (ideally by stealing some of Rishi's ideas) things might start to look a lot better than people were expecting in the winter of doom.
There is a potential for a relaunch of a government with a sense of purpose (lost since at least Christmas) and a plan (pretty much a total innovation). Any such plan will change frequently but one of Truss's better traits is that she has no problem discarding what doesn't work.
I want Liz Truss to succeed. I like that she aims for growth rather than cuts and austerity. What I do not see is where this growth will come from. Tax cuts for the rich and hoping for the best will not cut it.
I think that she thinks that tax cuts for corporations is going to encourage a lot of new investment generating growth. I fear that this is optimistic for a variety of reasons. (1) investing anything right now takes serious cahones. The medium term outlook is as uncertain as it has been at any time since at least 2008. (2) CT is practically a voluntary tax for multinationals anyway, they don't care what the rate is. (3) we already have pretty full employment and a serious lack of skills, who is going to man these new industries? (4) inflation makes profitability a bit of a lottery.
There are a load of other reasons too but that is probably enough to be going on with.
I hereby inaugurate the annual @Dura_Ace Hydraulic Stamp Trophy, given to the commenter who manages to comment despite being significantly injured or severely ill as he or she types. Bonus points for the most spectacular injuries or incapacitation
Anyone who actually dies while commenting gets a Lifetime Achievement Award
More thoughts on why Putin is snubbing Gorby's send-off:
1. Gorby ended the 1979-89 war in Afghanistan. If Putin were to say "Let's hear it for Gorby - here's what he achieved", he could hardly avoid mentioning Afghanistan.
2. He doesn't want to upset China. Never mind that the withdrawal from Afghanistan helped normalise Sino-Soviet relations, which was one of Gorby's great diplomatic achievements. Gorby was a westerniser. The Chinese government doesn't want the Kremlin to have time for westernisers.
So a fair bit of the speculative froth on the gas market is being burnt off (hopefully with a good number of the speculators) with gas futures down over 15% yesterday alone and well off over the last month. The UN index of food prices has now fallen below what it was before Russia invaded in February. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62769675
It is possible, no more, that the Truss government may find a bit of unexpected and entirely undeserved wind in its sails over the next week or two when those absurd inflationary models indicating 18 or even more than 20% are recognised as the total rubbish that they were and inflation edges down. If this is combined with a rational plan for protecting the most vulnerable from the short term pain (ideally by stealing some of Rishi's ideas) things might start to look a lot better than people were expecting in the winter of doom.
There is a potential for a relaunch of a government with a sense of purpose (lost since at least Christmas) and a plan (pretty much a total innovation). Any such plan will change frequently but one of Truss's better traits is that she has no problem discarding what doesn't work.
I want Liz Truss to succeed. I like that she aims for growth rather than cuts and austerity. What I do not see is where this growth will come from. Tax cuts for the rich and hoping for the best will not cut it.
I think that she thinks that tax cuts for corporations is going to encourage a lot of new investment generating growth. I fear that this is optimistic for a variety of reasons. (1) investing anything right now takes serious cahones. The medium term outlook is as uncertain as it has been at any time since at least 2008. (2) CT is practically a voluntary tax for multinationals anyway, they don't care what the rate is. (3) we already have pretty full employment and a serious lack of skills, who is going to man these new industries? (4) inflation makes profitability a bit of a lottery.
There are a load of other reasons too but that is probably enough to be going on with.
Yes. I think Rishi had it right. Our experiment with low CT has not produced anything this past decade so Liz Truss's faith in it looks misplaced; Rishi increasing it a bit and giving allowances for investment and R&D looks worth trying. There is the impression Team Truss is still planning for the last century.
More thoughts on why Putin is snubbing Gorby's send-off:
1. Gorby ended the 1979-89 war in Afghanistan. If Putin were to say "Let's hear it for Gorby - here's what he achieved", he could hardly avoid mentioning Afghanistan.
2. He doesn't want to upset China. Never mind that the withdrawal from Afghanistan helped normalise Sino-Soviet relations, which was one of Gorby's great diplomatic achievements. Gorby was a westerniser. The Chinese government doesn't want the Kremlin to have time for westernisers.
3. Putin hates Gorbachev for “Breaking up the Soviet Union”, at a time when he’s losing a significant part of his own military trying to re-constitute it?
Mr. Ace, not worth packing it in ice for the chance of it being re-attached?
The "bit" was completely smashed to fuck. I've broken my left wrist so many times I only have limited used of that hand anyway so fuck it.
Just the tip, or all the way to the first joint ?
Kind of hard to say. I only got a minute glimpse of bone before it all looked like Kemi Badenoch's mooncup. The whole bit with the fingernail is gone because I threw that in the bin as well.
More thoughts on why Putin is snubbing Gorby's send-off:
1. Gorby ended the 1979-89 war in Afghanistan. If Putin were to say "Let's hear it for Gorby - here's what he achieved", he could hardly avoid mentioning Afghanistan.
2. He doesn't want to upset China. Never mind that the withdrawal from Afghanistan helped normalise Sino-Soviet relations, which was one of Gorby's great diplomatic achievements. Gorby was a westerniser. The Chinese government doesn't want the Kremlin to have time for westernisers.
3. Putin hates Gorbachev for “Breaking up the Soviet Union”, at a time when he’s losing a significant part of his own military trying to re-constitute it?
Does he blame Gorbachev for Chernobyl? What does he think Gorbachev should have done when 92% of Ukrainians voted for independence? Ultimately Putin has no answer to this.
One of the best-written and saddest pieces of journalism I have read for a long time.
I finished the article in tears.
Indeed. A heartbreaking story.
Incidentally, it leads into one of my beliefs: if you're in *any* medical system, and you think the doctors are either blundering around without a clue, or doing the wrong thing, get a second opinion. Politely argue with them. Be difficult.
There's a time when, if my family had done so, I might not have suffered ten years of on-and-off pain. And there's a time when they did exactly that (a surgeon wanted to operate on my lower back, when the 'obvious' problem was a previous ankle operation) and I ended up eventually being fixed.
I hereby inaugurate the annual @Dura_Ace Hydraulic Stamp Trophy, given to the commenter who manages to comment despite being significantly injured or severely ill as he or she types. Bonus points for the most spectacular injuries or incapacitation
Anyone who actually dies while commenting gets a Lifetime Achievement Award
It's a nice idea but I have a couple of quibbles. First, "significantly injured" or "severely ill" - I think we'd need @Foxy to adjudicate on the real seriousness. Having a leg drop off is pretty serious but a headache or chest pain could also be serious.
As for the "Lifetime Achievement Award", apart from the notion the last thing you do in your life is to write a comment on PB and press SEND sounds a little trite, you may be surprised to hear we've had people come on this forum with one identity and suddenly depart. Yet, and this is the strange bit, a new poster comes on who writes in exactly the same style as the person who departed - what a coincidence.
We would need some solid proof said poster is no more and hasn't just faked their own demise like John Stonehouse or Reggie Perrin.
In all fairness, we have lost some fine posters down the years - we all have our favourites among the departed - mine was @MarkSenior
I hereby inaugurate the annual @Dura_Ace Hydraulic Stamp Trophy, given to the commenter who manages to comment despite being significantly injured or severely ill as he or she types. Bonus points for the most spectacular injuries or incapacitation
Anyone who actually dies while commenting gets a Lifetime Achievement Award
It's a nice idea but I have a couple of quibbles. First, "significantly injured" or "severely ill" - I think we'd need @Foxy to adjudicate on the real seriousness. Having a leg drop off is pretty serious but a headache or chest pain could also be serious.
As for the "Lifetime Achievement Award", apart from the notion the last thing you do in your life is to write a comment on PB and press SEND sounds a little trite, you may be surprised to hear we've had people come on this forum with one identity and suddenly depart. Yet, and this is the strange bit, a new poster comes on who writes in exactly the same style as the person who departed - what a coincidence.
We would need some solid proof said poster is no more and hasn't just faked their own demise like John Stonehouse or Reggie Perrin.
In all fairness, we have lost some fine posters down the years - we all have our favourites among the departed - mine was @MarkSenior
@SeanT was a sad loss. I miss his wit, humour and enthusiasms. Sometimes it seems that there are still echoes on the site but it is not the same.
I hereby inaugurate the annual @Dura_Ace Hydraulic Stamp Trophy, given to the commenter who manages to comment despite being significantly injured or severely ill as he or she types. Bonus points for the most spectacular injuries or incapacitation
Anyone who actually dies while commenting gets a Lifetime Achievement Award
It's a nice idea but I have a couple of quibbles. First, "significantly injured" or "severely ill" - I think we'd need @Foxy to adjudicate on the real seriousness. Having a leg drop off is pretty serious but a headache or chest pain could also be serious.
As for the "Lifetime Achievement Award", apart from the notion the last thing you do in your life is to write a comment on PB and press SEND sounds a little trite, you may be surprised to hear we've had people come on this forum with one identity and suddenly depart. Yet, and this is the strange bit, a new poster comes on who writes in exactly the same style as the person who departed - what a coincidence.
We would need some solid proof said poster is no more and hasn't just faked their own demise like John Stonehouse or Reggie Perrin.
In all fairness, we have lost some fine posters down the years - we all have our favourites among the departed - mine was @MarkSenior
Mr. Ace, not worth packing it in ice for the chance of it being re-attached?
The "bit" was completely smashed to fuck. I've broken my left wrist so many times I only have limited used of that hand anyway so fuck it.
Just the tip, or all the way to the first joint ?
Kind of hard to say. I only got a minute glimpse of bone before it all looked like Kemi Badenoch's mooncup. The whole bit with the fingernail is gone because I threw that in the bin as well.
Painful.
On the upside it might give you a particular insight into yakuza movies. And there's always the Dave Allen impressions.
More thoughts on why Putin is snubbing Gorby's send-off:
1. Gorby ended the 1979-89 war in Afghanistan. If Putin were to say "Let's hear it for Gorby - here's what he achieved", he could hardly avoid mentioning Afghanistan.
2. He doesn't want to upset China. Never mind that the withdrawal from Afghanistan helped normalise Sino-Soviet relations, which was one of Gorby's great diplomatic achievements. Gorby was a westerniser. The Chinese government doesn't want the Kremlin to have time for westernisers.
3. Putin hates Gorbachev for “Breaking up the Soviet Union”, at a time when he’s losing a significant part of his own military trying to re-constitute it?
Does he blame Gorbachev for Chernobyl? What does he think Gorbachev should have done when 92% of Ukrainians voted for independence? Ultimately Putin has no answer to this.
I'd also like to know whether western leaders called him out on his b/s or if they indulged him.
I don't know whether Stephen Harper ever sidled up to Putin in 2012 or whatever and said, "hey, Vlad, what aboot the 1991 Ukrainian Independence referendum result, eh?"
I do know it would have made f*** all difference had he done so. "Calling out" tyrants isn't a massively powerful weapon in the diplomatic arsenal - you're not going to win them round with a good argument. Threats and incentives are what you need.
That poll is so awful for Truss I actually wonder whether it might be a rogue one. The most alarming thing would have to be the surprisingly few don't knows. She doesn't even have her feet under the desk.
Comments
For big business though you need an
outside CEO and board to manage it given its scale, hence the Cohen family long since lost control of Tesco for example
But playing along with it usually ends up even more expensive in the long run.
@nytimes
Barbara Ehrenreich, a journalist, activist and author, has died at 81. Her book "Nickel and Dimed," an undercover account of the indignities of being a low-wage worker in the U.S., became a best seller and a classic in social justice literature.
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1565761476928872450
I'd have thought JCB (still owned by the Bamfords as far as I am aware) would be much larger?
I wonder if there's an echo of the way that World War II affected Boomer attitudes, and frankly sent them a bit loopy. By definition, Boomers didn't experience the War themselves- the most that can be said is that some might have concrete memories of rationing. But they will have heard all the heroic stories (probably again and again, if my experience of growing up in the 1970s was anything to go by). And those stories (incomplete and edited, as all stories are) became their foundational reference point.
We're now getting a generation of politicians who grew up with Storybook Maggie; Winter of discontent, 365 economists, Falklands, Scargill, No No No, treachery with a smile on its face, The End. And trying to build a politics on that is as unrealistic as trying to build a model of Britain's place in the world on "We will never surrender".
Some bloke called Arthur is in the Liverpool squad. Amazingly he's not an Englishman but a Brazilian.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2005/jun/06/careers.theguardian5
The subject and some of her observations were interesting. But she was really unpleasantly sneering about the ordinary people that she encountered. A real theme of her own intrinsic superiority throughout. I very nearly abandoned the book (something I almost never do)
And, yes, there are definite problems with that model as well. But some of the UK's difficulties, especially short-termism, are consistent with a model where a lot of things aren't really owned or run by anybody indentifiable- we just have ownership of tiny slices through financial institutions and management by randoms who flit from firm to firm.
@JavierBlas
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2h
And amazing data point that shows what's coming in the inflation pipeline: the cost of turning clay into a ceramic tile has surged 1,047% over the last year. Think about it if you are planning to update your bathroom and/or kitchen (Spain is the 5th world's largest tile producer)
https://twitter.com/JavierBlas
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/03/jacob-rees-mogg-blocking-major-uk-tourism-campaign
Only joking, I know exactly why he did!
Double VAT.
Incidentally. I have to stop myself when I read Moon talking about "Lady Thatcher". I've almost never heard her referred to as that by anyone over 50.
I don't think she had much impact as a Lady specifically?
Russia's finances must be getting very stretched now, presumably.
On this Gordon Ghekko had a point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF_iorX_MAw
Not what it sounds like - but an Anglican-tradition Catholic church* which thought that the C of E was too [edit - got completely confused by the story line] Anglo-Catholic in 1844.
*Not RC but in the C of E s\ense.
https://enormo-haddock.blogspot.com/2022/09/the-netherlands-pre-qualifying-2022.html
https://twitter.com/AdamBienkov/status/1565955017810628609?s=20&t=8WK0GjsJphE7QmaAAJxroQ
Now it is linked to Gafcon and takes a conservative line on homosexuality and sexuality generally and women priests. It is not part of the Anglican communion
Done.
One take is that she can only surprise on the upside. But in general, first impressions last. Or get worse as entropy does what it does.
So yes she does have the advantage of such low expectations she can only go up
But if things seem to be going to shit in the country - and they do, which will take time to address, if it can be - she will seem incompetent even if she's doing a decent job.
Such is the life of a politician at mercy of events.
If you really think she will under-perform, 50-55% is available at 11/1...
https://twitter.com/AdamBienkov/status/1565969503757934592?s=20&t=5UlIIZHsIO9Bvfl9iAaqfQ
This move is probably a reaction to international attempts to cap the price paid for Russian oil.
I'd prefer Iain, if we're going for translations of John.
I used to have a cleaner.
After I read 'Nickel and Dimed ...' I felt that cleaning my house was something I really ought to do myself.
Eric Berger
@SciGuySpace
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Why does the SLS rocket use liquid hydrogen fuel if it leaks all the time? Well, it is very efficient, energy density-wise. But most importantly, it's what space shuttle designers used 50 years ago, and Congress mandated that the SLS rocket use those same engines.
The UN index of food prices has now fallen below what it was before Russia invaded in February.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62769675
It is possible, no more, that the Truss government may find a bit of unexpected and entirely undeserved wind in its sails over the next week or two when those absurd inflationary models indicating 18 or even more than 20% are recognised as the total rubbish that they were and inflation edges down. If this is combined with a rational plan for protecting the most vulnerable from the short term pain (ideally by stealing some of Rishi's ideas) things might start to look a lot better than people were expecting in the winter of doom.
There is a potential for a relaunch of a government with a sense of purpose (lost since at least Christmas) and a plan (pretty much a total innovation). Any such plan will change frequently but one of Truss's better traits is that she has no problem discarding what doesn't work.
But hey, the $23bn was spent in all 48 contiguous States, so pork all round for the Congresscritters.
I assume the price cap itself is a response to 'actually, we have enough gas now so don't need to buy the dirty stuff from Putin, unless it's at a discount.'
I can see why they've done it. They don't want an capricious alt-right shit with a hair weave having a monopoly on launch capability.
My approach has been to pay generously and tip well
IF you wanted to make the case for Reagan's famous comment on government intervention, I guess you could do worse than cite the last eight weeks.
Hopefully, if VAT is cut, they will reminded of what was said back then.
I happen to disagree that VAT is hugely regressive, AIUI the bottom decile spend very little that attracts VAT, other than fuel and alcohol.
The most regressive tax of all - that will be the TV licence.
I'm serious. The time he started routinely dissing everyone who wasn't SpaceX was around the time his book was released. I wonder if a deal was done in return for access...
You may bleed out even as you write, but at least you’ll have told us the specs on your new Austin Allegro 3.2
(1) investing anything right now takes serious cahones. The medium term outlook is as uncertain as it has been at any time since at least 2008.
(2) CT is practically a voluntary tax for multinationals anyway, they don't care what the rate is.
(3) we already have pretty full employment and a serious lack of skills, who is going to man these new industries?
(4) inflation makes profitability a bit of a lottery.
There are a load of other reasons too but that is probably enough to be going on with.
Anyone who actually dies while commenting gets a Lifetime Achievement Award
1. Gorby ended the 1979-89 war in Afghanistan.
If Putin were to say "Let's hear it for Gorby - here's what he achieved", he could hardly avoid mentioning Afghanistan.
2. He doesn't want to upset China.
Never mind that the withdrawal from Afghanistan helped normalise Sino-Soviet relations, which was one of Gorby's great diplomatic achievements. Gorby was a westerniser. The Chinese government doesn't want the Kremlin to have time for westernisers.
https://tinyurl.com/4th6na9p
One of the best-written and saddest pieces of journalism I have read for a long time.
I finished the article in tears.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Ukrainian_independence_referendum
I'd also like to know whether western leaders called him out on his b/s or if they indulged him.
Anything about dying/suffering kids makes me blub
But OK. Here goes
Incidentally, it leads into one of my beliefs: if you're in *any* medical system, and you think the doctors are either blundering around without a clue, or doing the wrong thing, get a second opinion. Politely argue with them. Be difficult.
There's a time when, if my family had done so, I might not have suffered ten years of on-and-off pain. And there's a time when they did exactly that (a surgeon wanted to operate on my lower back, when the 'obvious' problem was a previous ankle operation) and I ended up eventually being fixed.
As for the "Lifetime Achievement Award", apart from the notion the last thing you do in your life is to write a comment on PB and press SEND sounds a little trite, you may be surprised to hear we've had people come on this forum with one identity and suddenly depart. Yet, and this is the strange bit, a new poster comes on who writes in exactly the same style as the person who departed - what a coincidence.
We would need some solid proof said poster is no more and hasn't just faked their own demise like John Stonehouse or Reggie Perrin.
In all fairness, we have lost some fine posters down the years - we all have our favourites among the departed - mine was @MarkSenior
On the upside it might give you a particular insight into yakuza movies.
And there's always the Dave Allen impressions.
I do know it would have made f*** all difference had he done so. "Calling out" tyrants isn't a massively powerful weapon in the diplomatic arsenal - you're not going to win them round with a good argument. Threats and incentives are what you need.
And angering