Whoever wins England vs France instantly becomes a strong second favourite. Frankly I think either would have the beating of Brazil.
As for GB Utd, it might annoy some to say so but is there a single Welsh or Scotsman that would make it into the football side right now? Possibly a fit Kieran Tierney at left back. But not Bale or Ramsay anymore. The squad would have more depth I grant you.
Intriguing too that the Wales wonder decade has not just coincided with the Bale era but also Swansea and Cardiff being premier league regulars. Proud Scots take note and try again to get the Old Firm in the pyramid south of the border to make a true British Premier League.
Couldn't give much of a feck about which league Celtic and Rangers play in (aside from making parking easier in my bit a few days a year) but it'd be lovely to see the proud Brits that make up much of the Rangers' support exporting their culture to English cities on away days.
The recent decline of Scottish football ought to concern the Scottish Government. Scottish teams no longer dominate Europe; Scottish players are no longer significant in the EPL. What's gone wrong up there? School playing fields sold off? It cannot be money or size because Wales is still there.
It’s odd isn’t it. The premier league / first division always used to have a good number of Scots playing for the top sides.
MONEY
Scots don’t like it? Or people with effectively unlimited budgets will hire elsewhere?
Premier league and even some of teh lower leagues have teh money to buy the best abroad nowadays. Scots going to play in the top English leagues years ago meant a much stronger pool of players and hence national team. Also fact that Scottish teams also buy more foreign players does not help either. A sad reflection on the modern game, it is all just money. Used to love teh FA cup and Fair Cups , etc , the big teams had to go to all sorts of places and face tough games in fields etc. Now they are all pampered , seeded to make sure no tough games till the selected few meet in later rounds so more money can be made. News today that Rashford had to fly home as over 300K of watches were nicked from his house says it all.
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
It's an absolutely false economy to not have the heating on overnight when it's forecast to be sub-zero.
Assuming you run the heating during the day, your house would have to be really badly insulated to drop below 0 during a single night. I have mine set to a lower temp overnight and it typically only goes from 19C to 15C by morning, so although the heating is technically "on" the boiler never fires up. Anyway, if you have a thermostat with a 'frost protection' setting, use it; otherwise set it to 5-7C rather than turning it off.
Pipes through the loft (or just through any cold space) can be enough on a cold night.
The interesting part is if the batsman had their legh in front and the umpire gave out it would be out on review. But if the ball hits the bails and they stick it's not out.
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
Given that there's no mention of introducing an English government, I'm sure you're right.
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
It's this kind of thinking that has made England a highly centralised and poorly run country. We need far more local powers and local accountability so that we can try new approaches to things. I'd much rather live in an England that has been carved into bits if that means that each of the bits is better run.
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
It's this kind of thinking that has made England a highly centralised and poorly run country. We need far more local powers and local accountability so that we can try new approaches to things. I'd much rather live in an England that has been carved into bits if that means that each of the bits is better run.
Devolution to English regions should only be done by an English government.
It's an absolutely false economy to not have the heating on overnight when it's forecast to be sub-zero.
Assuming you run the heating during the day, your house would have to be really badly insulated to drop below 0 during a single night. I have mine set to a lower temp overnight and it typically only goes from 19C to 15C by morning, so although the heating is technically "on" the boiler never fires up. Anyway, if you have a thermostat with a 'frost protection' setting, use it; otherwise set it to 5-7C rather than turning it off.
Pipes through the loft (or just through any cold space) can be enough on a cold night.
On boilers - I wonder if anyone has any knowledge or expertise or advice on my combi boiler, which now seems to need the pressure adjusting most days. It got a service from a British Gas engineer in the summer, who announced himself satisfied with it, and before that a look from a friend of mine who used to be a gas engineer. But it surely shouldn't be making the noises it does whenever anything is asked for it and it's not been topped up? It's about ten years old, but I would have thought it had a few years left in it yet. May be approaching time to look at ground source heat pumps.
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
It's this kind of thinking that has made England a highly centralised and poorly run country. We need far more local powers and local accountability so that we can try new approaches to things. I'd much rather live in an England that has been carved into bits if that means that each of the bits is better run.
It won't though. They will be corrupt and mostly unaccountable boondoggles for incompetents who can't make it on the national stage, just like in Scotland and Wales and most American states and city governments, without even the bonus of representing communities with strong cohesion or historic identity.
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
It's this kind of thinking that has made England a highly centralised and poorly run country. We need far more local powers and local accountability so that we can try new approaches to things. I'd much rather live in an England that has been carved into bits if that means that each of the bits is better run.
Devolution to English regions should only be done by an English government.
Fine, if you really think that England needs 4 or 5 layers of government. An English government would be just as remote and out of touch as a UK government as England is 90% odd of the UK population-wise. As a Londoners I would really like to have a much more powerful government for our city-region. I grew up in the NE of England (as well as Scotland) and I know how remote and out of touch the UK government seems there. Our governance system has comprehensively failed. It's time for a break with the past.
It's an absolutely false economy to not have the heating on overnight when it's forecast to be sub-zero.
Assuming you run the heating during the day, your house would have to be really badly insulated to drop below 0 during a single night. I have mine set to a lower temp overnight and it typically only goes from 19C to 15C by morning, so although the heating is technically "on" the boiler never fires up. Anyway, if you have a thermostat with a 'frost protection' setting, use it; otherwise set it to 5-7C rather than turning it off.
Pipes through the loft (or just through any cold space) can be enough on a cold night.
On boilers - I wonder if anyone has any knowledge or expertise or advice on my combi boiler, which now seems to need the pressure adjusting most days. It got a service from a British Gas engineer in the summer, who announced himself satisfied with it, and before that a look from a friend of mine who used to be a gas engineer. But it surely shouldn't be making the noises it does whenever anything is asked for it and it's not been topped up? It's about ten years old, but I would have thought it had a few years left in it yet. May be approaching time to look at ground source heat pumps.
Not really - but I had a (possibly) similar sounding problem with my system when the expansion vessel* in the boiler failed. The plumber fitted a larger external one, which solved it.
It's an absolutely false economy to not have the heating on overnight when it's forecast to be sub-zero.
Assuming you run the heating during the day, your house would have to be really badly insulated to drop below 0 during a single night. I have mine set to a lower temp overnight and it typically only goes from 19C to 15C by morning, so although the heating is technically "on" the boiler never fires up. Anyway, if you have a thermostat with a 'frost protection' setting, use it; otherwise set it to 5-7C rather than turning it off.
Pipes through the loft (or just through any cold space) can be enough on a cold night.
On boilers - I wonder if anyone has any knowledge or expertise or advice on my combi boiler, which now seems to need the pressure adjusting most days. It got a service from a British Gas engineer in the summer, who announced himself satisfied with it, and before that a look from a friend of mine who used to be a gas engineer. But it surely shouldn't be making the noises it does whenever anything is asked for it and it's not been topped up? It's about ten years old, but I would have thought it had a few years left in it yet. May be approaching time to look at ground source heat pumps.
If you're having to top it up frequently, then like the expansion vessel has gone (effectively a balloon inside that can expand and contract to maintain fairly constant pressure). If that's perished then there's no expansion, if pressure is high it will vent through the pressure release outside, when pressure drops it gets too low for boiler to work and you have to top up.
Can be replaced (inside boiler, might be expensive/fiddly if the whole thing needs taking to bits) or have an external one fitted near the boiler if there's somewhere you can tuck it away. There are flat ones not much bigger than a large frying pan. We had this done on our old boiler (external) which got us another three years out of it. Mind, if it's ten years old and you've got the cash it might be more economic to replace with the latest and greatest, be worth comparing quoted efficiencies.
ETA: I see Nigelb put the same thing more succinctly
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
It's this kind of thinking that has made England a highly centralised and poorly run country. We need far more local powers and local accountability so that we can try new approaches to things. I'd much rather live in an England that has been carved into bits if that means that each of the bits is better run.
Devolution to English regions should only be done by an English government.
Fine, if you really think that England needs 4 or 5 layers of government. An English government would be just as remote and out of touch as a UK government as England is 90% odd of the UK population-wise. As a Londoners I would really like to have a much more powerful government for our city-region. I grew up in the NE of England (as well as Scotland) and I know how remote and out of touch the UK government seems there. Our governance system has comprehensively failed. It's time for a break with the past.
Covid showed that England needs a government - the UK government having a dual role caused major problems.
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
It's this kind of thinking that has made England a highly centralised and poorly run country. We need far more local powers and local accountability so that we can try new approaches to things. I'd much rather live in an England that has been carved into bits if that means that each of the bits is better run.
Devolution to English regions should only be done by an English government.
Fine, if you really think that England needs 4 or 5 layers of government. An English government would be just as remote and out of touch as a UK government as England is 90% odd of the UK population-wise. As a Londoners I would really like to have a much more powerful government for our city-region. I grew up in the NE of England (as well as Scotland) and I know how remote and out of touch the UK government seems there. Our governance system has comprehensively failed. It's time for a break with the past.
Indeed. Devolution within all the regions, and a new federated structure between the nations.
That's in fact the only thing that will hold the UK together in the long-term, much to the chagrin of Putin.
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
It's this kind of thinking that has made England a highly centralised and poorly run country. We need far more local powers and local accountability so that we can try new approaches to things. I'd much rather live in an England that has been carved into bits if that means that each of the bits is better run.
It won't though. They will be corrupt and mostly unaccountable boondoggles for incompetents who can't make it on the national stage, just like in Scotland and Wales and most American states and city governments, without even the bonus of representing communities with strong cohesion or historic identity.
And that's if we're lucky.
The problem with local and Scottish/Welsh governments is that they lack accountability as they don't raise their own taxes. Not sure if you've ever lived in the States but State and Local government is far from how you describe it, and Americans are mostly very glad to live in a system which devolves power to as local a level as possible. The current system is crap. Nothing is working, and Westminster politicians are too remote to care, while local politicians have no power to change anything.
It's an absolutely false economy to not have the heating on overnight when it's forecast to be sub-zero.
Assuming you run the heating during the day, your house would have to be really badly insulated to drop below 0 during a single night. I have mine set to a lower temp overnight and it typically only goes from 19C to 15C by morning, so although the heating is technically "on" the boiler never fires up. Anyway, if you have a thermostat with a 'frost protection' setting, use it; otherwise set it to 5-7C rather than turning it off.
Pipes through the loft (or just through any cold space) can be enough on a cold night.
On boilers - I wonder if anyone has any knowledge or expertise or advice on my combi boiler, which now seems to need the pressure adjusting most days. It got a service from a British Gas engineer in the summer, who announced himself satisfied with it, and before that a look from a friend of mine who used to be a gas engineer. But it surely shouldn't be making the noises it does whenever anything is asked for it and it's not been topped up? It's about ten years old, but I would have thought it had a few years left in it yet. May be approaching time to look at ground source heat pumps.
I had this problem with a combi boiler (in the UK). It turned out that there is a kind of "air tank" with a diaphragm which helps keep the pressure stable. This can start leaking very slightly, so the water pressure needs to be regularly adjusted. A plumber replaced this part for me and wasn't too expensive, and it sorted the problem.
It's an absolutely false economy to not have the heating on overnight when it's forecast to be sub-zero.
Assuming you run the heating during the day, your house would have to be really badly insulated to drop below 0 during a single night. I have mine set to a lower temp overnight and it typically only goes from 19C to 15C by morning, so although the heating is technically "on" the boiler never fires up. Anyway, if you have a thermostat with a 'frost protection' setting, use it; otherwise set it to 5-7C rather than turning it off.
Pipes through the loft (or just through any cold space) can be enough on a cold night.
On boilers - I wonder if anyone has any knowledge or expertise or advice on my combi boiler, which now seems to need the pressure adjusting most days. It got a service from a British Gas engineer in the summer, who announced himself satisfied with it, and before that a look from a friend of mine who used to be a gas engineer. But it surely shouldn't be making the noises it does whenever anything is asked for it and it's not been topped up? It's about ten years old, but I would have thought it had a few years left in it yet. May be approaching time to look at ground source heat pumps.
I had this problem with a combi boiler (in the UK). It turned out that there is a kind of "air tank" with a diaphragm which helps keep the pressure stable. This can start leaking very slightly, so the water pressure needs to be regularly adjusted. A plumber replaced this part for me and wasn't too expensive, and it sorted the problem.
Thanks (and also to @nigelb and @Selebian) - this place really does know everything pretty much instantly. Astonishing.
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
It's this kind of thinking that has made England a highly centralised and poorly run country. We need far more local powers and local accountability so that we can try new approaches to things. I'd much rather live in an England that has been carved into bits if that means that each of the bits is better run.
It won't though. They will be corrupt and mostly unaccountable boondoggles for incompetents who can't make it on the national stage, just like in Scotland and Wales and most American states and city governments, without even the bonus of representing communities with strong cohesion or historic identity.
And that's if we're lucky.
The problem with local and Scottish/Welsh governments is that they lack accountability as they don't raise their own taxes. Not sure if you've ever lived in the States but State and Local government is far from how you describe it, and Americans are mostly very glad to live in a system which devolves power to as local a level as possible. The current system is crap. Nothing is working, and Westminster politicians are too remote to care, while local politicians have no power to change anything.
It always struck me as strange that many Brexiteers would complain that political power in the UK was too Westminster centric, but were nevertheless campaining for something which passed even more power to Westminster.
Mbappe to be topscorer looks good value to me. He has 5 goals vs. 3 for the nearest, and also has 2 assists in case of a tiebreak. 66% return - it's not a dead cert, but it's fairly safe.
Whoever wins England vs France instantly becomes a strong second favourite. Frankly I think either would have the beating of Brazil.
As for GB Utd, it might annoy some to say so but is there a single Welsh or Scotsman that would make it into the football side right now? Possibly a fit Kieran Tierney at left back. But not Bale or Ramsay anymore. The squad would have more depth I grant you.
Intriguing too that the Wales wonder decade has not just coincided with the Bale era but also Swansea and Cardiff being premier league regulars. Proud Scots take note and try again to get the Old Firm in the pyramid south of the border to make a true British Premier League.
Couldn't give much of a feck about which league Celtic and Rangers play in (aside from making parking easier in my bit a few days a year) but it'd be lovely to see the proud Brits that make up much of the Rangers' support exporting their culture to English cities on away days.
The recent decline of Scottish football ought to concern the Scottish Government. Scottish teams no longer dominate Europe; Scottish players are no longer significant in the EPL. What's gone wrong up there? School playing fields sold off? It cannot be money or size because Wales is still there.
It’s odd isn’t it. The premier league / first division always used to have a good number of Scots playing for the top sides.
Scotland is to ban professional footballers from heading balls before and after matches
If this becomes the norm it is only a short step away from banning heading in football and the end of the game as we know it today
Whoever wins England vs France instantly becomes a strong second favourite. Frankly I think either would have the beating of Brazil.
As for GB Utd, it might annoy some to say so but is there a single Welsh or Scotsman that would make it into the football side right now? Possibly a fit Kieran Tierney at left back. But not Bale or Ramsay anymore. The squad would have more depth I grant you.
Intriguing too that the Wales wonder decade has not just coincided with the Bale era but also Swansea and Cardiff being premier league regulars. Proud Scots take note and try again to get the Old Firm in the pyramid south of the border to make a true British Premier League.
Couldn't give much of a feck about which league Celtic and Rangers play in (aside from making parking easier in my bit a few days a year) but it'd be lovely to see the proud Brits that make up much of the Rangers' support exporting their culture to English cities on away days.
The recent decline of Scottish football ought to concern the Scottish Government. Scottish teams no longer dominate Europe; Scottish players are no longer significant in the EPL. What's gone wrong up there? School playing fields sold off? It cannot be money or size because Wales is still there.
It’s odd isn’t it. The premier league / first division always used to have a good number of Scots playing for the top sides.
Scotland is to ban professional footballers from heading balls before and after matches
If this becomes the norm it is only a short step away from banning heading in football and the end of the game as we know it today
Whoever wins England vs France instantly becomes a strong second favourite. Frankly I think either would have the beating of Brazil.
As for GB Utd, it might annoy some to say so but is there a single Welsh or Scotsman that would make it into the football side right now? Possibly a fit Kieran Tierney at left back. But not Bale or Ramsay anymore. The squad would have more depth I grant you.
Intriguing too that the Wales wonder decade has not just coincided with the Bale era but also Swansea and Cardiff being premier league regulars. Proud Scots take note and try again to get the Old Firm in the pyramid south of the border to make a true British Premier League.
Couldn't give much of a feck about which league Celtic and Rangers play in (aside from making parking easier in my bit a few days a year) but it'd be lovely to see the proud Brits that make up much of the Rangers' support exporting their culture to English cities on away days.
The recent decline of Scottish football ought to concern the Scottish Government. Scottish teams no longer dominate Europe; Scottish players are no longer significant in the EPL. What's gone wrong up there? School playing fields sold off? It cannot be money or size because Wales is still there.
It’s odd isn’t it. The premier league / first division always used to have a good number of Scots playing for the top sides.
Scotland is to ban professional footballers from heading balls before and after matches
If this becomes the norm it is only a short step away from banning heading in football and the end of the game as we know it today
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
It's this kind of thinking that has made England a highly centralised and poorly run country. We need far more local powers and local accountability so that we can try new approaches to things. I'd much rather live in an England that has been carved into bits if that means that each of the bits is better run.
It won't though. They will be corrupt and mostly unaccountable boondoggles for incompetents who can't make it on the national stage, just like in Scotland and Wales and most American states and city governments, without even the bonus of representing communities with strong cohesion or historic identity.
And that's if we're lucky.
The problem with local and Scottish/Welsh governments is that they lack accountability as they don't raise their own taxes. Not sure if you've ever lived in the States but State and Local government is far from how you describe it, and Americans are mostly very glad to live in a system which devolves power to as local a level as possible. The current system is crap. Nothing is working, and Westminster politicians are too remote to care, while local politicians have no power to change anything.
It always struck me as strange that many Brexiteers would complain that political power in the UK was too Westminster centric, but were nevertheless campaining for something which passed even more power to Westminster.
The power should be as close as possible to those affected by it. Powers returned from the EU, should be given to counties and districts.
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
It's this kind of thinking that has made England a highly centralised and poorly run country. We need far more local powers and local accountability so that we can try new approaches to things. I'd much rather live in an England that has been carved into bits if that means that each of the bits is better run.
It won't though. They will be corrupt and mostly unaccountable boondoggles for incompetents who can't make it on the national stage, just like in Scotland and Wales and most American states and city governments, without even the bonus of representing communities with strong cohesion or historic identity.
And that's if we're lucky.
The problem with local and Scottish/Welsh governments is that they lack accountability as they don't raise their own taxes. Not sure if you've ever lived in the States but State and Local government is far from how you describe it, and Americans are mostly very glad to live in a system which devolves power to as local a level as possible. The current system is crap. Nothing is working, and Westminster politicians are too remote to care, while local politicians have no power to change anything.
It always struck me as strange that many Brexiteers would complain that political power in the UK was too Westminster centric, but were nevertheless campaining for something which passed even more power to Westminster.
Not that strange at all. Power should be as close to the voters as possible. Moving power from Brussels to Westminster brings it closer to the voters. In theory moving it from Westminster to Local Authorities, even more so.
As it happens, I'm no fan of local authorities. I think that given the voters aren't that interested in local politics they're easily hijacked by NIMBYs and other disreputable busybodies that push their pet projects in a way they wouldn't get away with it at Westminster.
Though of course if local authorities matters more, people might pay more attention, but I for one won't be holding my breath on that.
Interesting point about copyright. The flip side of which is that AIs can create vast amounts of text, over which copyright could possibly be claimed. Could potentially make it very hard for human writers to work at all.
Something similar is already happening with musical composition.
To prove copyright infringement you have to show deliberate copying. It’s a high bar. Can machines have intent?
Isn’t the issue the other way around, that the AI can churn out a billion words of text for which it can receive the copyright, so that a future human author finds it almost impossible to avoid infringement?
"overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out."
So having scrapped the hereditary peers when last in power Labour wants to pursue more constitutional vandalism and scrap the House of Lords completely. However replacing it with a fully elected upper house will see the second chamber much more willing to delay and try and block House of Commons legislation.
A few good points about more powers for Mayors, local authorities and devolved parliaments but overshadowed by the Lords plan
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
It's this kind of thinking that has made England a highly centralised and poorly run country. We need far more local powers and local accountability so that we can try new approaches to things. I'd much rather live in an England that has been carved into bits if that means that each of the bits is better run.
It won't though. They will be corrupt and mostly unaccountable boondoggles for incompetents who can't make it on the national stage, just like in Scotland and Wales and most American states and city governments, without even the bonus of representing communities with strong cohesion or historic identity.
And that's if we're lucky.
The problem with local and Scottish/Welsh governments is that they lack accountability as they don't raise their own taxes. Not sure if you've ever lived in the States but State and Local government is far from how you describe it, and Americans are mostly very glad to live in a system which devolves power to as local a level as possible. The current system is crap. Nothing is working, and Westminster politicians are too remote to care, while local politicians have no power to change anything.
Also wondering if it was a good idea to wheel out Gordon Brown yet again, certainly in Scotland. He has a back history of being used to front unfulfilled Westminster promises for devomax/federalism (not necessarily his direct fault, but he shouldn't make promises he can't fulfil). That will to some extent count against anything he is promising, offsetting the remaining and certainly not negligible regard for him in Scotland. And that latter regard is confined to an element of the Labour side of matters, after repeated Tory attacks re 2008-10.
So having scrapped the hereditary peers when last in power Labour wants to pursue more constitutional vandalism and scrap the House of Lords completely. However replacing it with a fully elected upper house will see the second chamber much more willing to delay and try and block House of Commons legislation.
A few good points about more powers for Mayors, local authorities and devolved parliaments but overshadowed by the Lords plan
The Tories should have done their own constitutional reform to resolve the House of Lords issue on their own terms, rather than leave it to Labour to deal with.
So having scrapped the hereditary peers when last in power Labour wants to pursue more constitutional vandalism and scrap the House of Lords completely. However replacing it with a fully elected upper house will see the second chamber much more willing to delay and try and block House of Commons legislation.
A few good points about more powers for Mayors, local authorities and devolved parliaments but overshadowed by the Lords plan
Not really - as the Lords plan is very much a 2nd term issue.
Interesting point about copyright. The flip side of which is that AIs can create vast amounts of text, over which copyright could possibly be claimed. Could potentially make it very hard for human writers to work at all.
Something similar is already happening with musical composition.
To prove copyright infringement you have to show deliberate copying. It’s a high bar. Can machines have intent?
Isn’t the issue the other way around, that the AI can churn out a billion words of text for which it can receive the copyright, so that a future human author finds it almost impossible to avoid infringement?
"overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out."
Ah yes. I read that when I was about 13 and have never forgotten that.
If they can hit that, and Ryazan, how far out of their range is Moscow? Must be getting a bit close...
I will actually wet myself laughing if they can hit the Kremlin. That would be genuinely funny.
Especially if they confine themselves to hitting that and leave the ordinary people of Moscow untouched...
Obviously, there are plenty of weapons out there that can hit the Kremlin. The only reason the West hasn’t bombed the hell out of the place, is the fear of repercussions. A fear which is quickly diminishing as the Russian army is shown to be a paper tiger bear.
That said, I doubt it was a missile from Ukraine. Surely the Russians can monitor long-range missiles heading in their direction? Oh…
Ukraine had a substantial chunk of the Soviet era missile design, development and production infrastructure.
The nuclear capable missiles with the concrete warheads were actually built in Ukraine and many were part of the handover of nuclear weapons to Russia, way back.
Given their access to mini turbojets, airframes, guidance systems etc, building a stretched version of something with bigger fuel tanks doesn’t seem especially incredible.
So having scrapped the hereditary peers when last in power Labour wants to pursue more constitutional vandalism and scrap the House of Lords completely. However replacing it with a fully elected upper house will see the second chamber much more willing to delay and try and block House of Commons legislation.
A few good points about more powers for Mayors, local authorities and devolved parliaments but overshadowed by the Lords plan
The Tories should have done their own constitutional reform to resolve the House of Lords issue on their own terms, rather than leave it to Labour to deal with.
No they shouldn't it was fine as it was and still is fine.
Labour will always try and wreck it whatever the Tories do.
However ironically we might get a majority Tory elected upper house if they push their plans through despite a Labour majority Commons if Labour win the next election and push this through. The Tory Upper House could then of course try and block and delay every single piece of legislation proposed by the Labour government and commons with an elected mandate to do so
Looking like an inspired declaration now from Stokes.
Win, lose or draw it was an inspired declaration.
Better to have a chance, than to bat it out and have none.
Absolutely. Even if we’d lost, going into the last session of the match with all three results possible makes the declaration worth it.
It’s been a very exciting match. But it’s still been a dreadful pitch.
Only 390 overs, or so played. They've lost nearly 60 overs to not paying attention to the time of sunset, which makes the victory and runs record, given the pitch, even more amazing.
So having scrapped the hereditary peers when last in power Labour wants to pursue more constitutional vandalism and scrap the House of Lords completely. However replacing it with a fully elected upper house will see the second chamber much more willing to delay and try and block House of Commons legislation.
A few good points about more powers for Mayors, local authorities and devolved parliaments but overshadowed by the Lords plan
I think it's always worth stepping back and asking, if we were to design a constitutional arrangement from scratch, would it look anything like what we have now? I'm not sure anyone could honestly answer yes to that question when it comes to the HOL. I'm not in favour of constitutional tinkering for the sake of it, but there are so many obvious problems with how it's set up right now that I think a change is warranted. I would like to go down a Rotlyal Commission kind of route to draw up something that works and has cross party support to endure, based on a thorough examination of what works in other countries and taken in concert with other constitutional changes.
"Cold weather in Winter shock horror"... headline should be more "UK cocks up winter again". Apropos of nothing and FWIW Helsinki airport has never closed for weather, no matter what the conditions. Proper Preparation Prevents Piss-Poor Performance.
Meh.
I slipped on the runway there once and ruined a perfectly serviceable suit.
"Police investigating a break-in at the home of England star Raheem Sterling have confirmed jewellery and watches were reported stolen.
Surrey Police said no-one was at home at the time and no threats of violence were involved."
So not quite as previously reported.
Trouble is, burglary can leave people, especially lady people, feeling very vulnerable afterwards. I've known families move home afterwards. But yes, at least the family was not staring down a 12-bore.
Interesting point about copyright. The flip side of which is that AIs can create vast amounts of text, over which copyright could possibly be claimed. Could potentially make it very hard for human writers to work at all.
Something similar is already happening with musical composition.
To prove copyright infringement you have to show deliberate copying. It’s a high bar. Can machines have intent?
Isn’t the issue the other way around, that the AI can churn out a billion words of text for which it can receive the copyright, so that a future human author finds it almost impossible to avoid infringement?
Copyright necessarily involves artistic skill (I forget the precise wording). Even if we are glorified monkeys on glorified typewriters. And creation by a person. And, crucially, legal ownership by the creator, who therefore has to be a person or someone or some body else to which the copyright has been formally assigned. AI can't do that. So the programme would be copyright but not the output.
THe Graun article is raising the rather different issues of student essay plagiarism and 'copyright laundering'.
If AI is used as a tool to create text, does not copyright lie with the tool user ? As we've seen from Leon's examples, there is 'skill' involved in getting it to produce interesting stuff.
Hmm. Um.
I'm using this thing [PC] to create text on a Microsoft programme. But the result is copyright only because of my conscious input. Same with Leon and his travel writing.
Leon putting (eg) "chickens discussing Wittgenstein" into a screen prompt, I'm not so sure about the result. The AI certainly can't claim the copyright itself, any more than its programmers (else Mr Gates would claim copyright on what I am writing). And I'm unconvinced that the consciious creative element is there in the stuff the AI disgorges.
The lawyers are goingt o have fun - until they, or some of them, are replaced.
Jill Scott I'd have thought should be overwhelming favourite. Unless the men's team win the WC.
EDIT: No, Beth Mead is the Lioness the bookies have, her then.
It is dangerous to bet on SPotY until the BBC issues the shortlist, which invariably omits your inspired 50/1 shot or even your odds-on good thing. That said, I would not mind being whoever got 1000 against Rashford. To take your example, Beth Mead is a very hot favourite but the BBC could easily shortlist a different lioness instead. Not sure about Scott though: did she even play?
Jill Scott I'd have thought should be overwhelming favourite. Unless the men's team win the WC.
Well, given that I don’t know Jill Scott, and that I lost a bet to you on this competition last year…
Euro 2022 winning Lioness, and also 'Queen of the Jungle'.
But only one of the team will be nominated, and the bookies thing it will be Beth Mead it seems, who was the top scorer of the tournament. Unless the men's team wins the WC, I suspect whoever of the women's team is nominated will with SPOTY ahead of any other sport.
A year ago, the lexicographic grandees at Oxford Languages dutifully stuck out their arms and chose “vax” as the 2021 Word of the Year.
But this year, the venerable publisher behind the Oxford English Dictionary has — like the rest of us, apparently — gone full goblin mode.
“Goblin mode” — a slang term referring to “a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations” — has been named Oxford’s 2022 Word of the Year.
Whoever wins England vs France instantly becomes a strong second favourite. Frankly I think either would have the beating of Brazil.
As for GB Utd, it might annoy some to say so but is there a single Welsh or Scotsman that would make it into the football side right now? Possibly a fit Kieran Tierney at left back. But not Bale or Ramsay anymore. The squad would have more depth I grant you.
Intriguing too that the Wales wonder decade has not just coincided with the Bale era but also Swansea and Cardiff being premier league regulars. Proud Scots take note and try again to get the Old Firm in the pyramid south of the border to make a true British Premier League.
Couldn't give much of a feck about which league Celtic and Rangers play in (aside from making parking easier in my bit a few days a year) but it'd be lovely to see the proud Brits that make up much of the Rangers' support exporting their culture to English cities on away days.
The recent decline of Scottish football ought to concern the Scottish Government. Scottish teams no longer dominate Europe; Scottish players are no longer significant in the EPL. What's gone wrong up there? School playing fields sold off? It cannot be money or size because Wales is still there.
It’s odd isn’t it. The premier league / first division always used to have a good number of Scots playing for the top sides.
MONEY
Scots don’t like it? Or people with effectively unlimited budgets will hire elsewhere?
Premier league and even some of teh lower leagues have teh money to buy the best abroad nowadays. Scots going to play in the top English leagues years ago meant a much stronger pool of players and hence national team. Also fact that Scottish teams also buy more foreign players does not help either. A sad reflection on the modern game, it is all just money. Used to love teh FA cup and Fair Cups , etc , the big teams had to go to all sorts of places and face tough games in fields etc. Now they are all pampered , seeded to make sure no tough games till the selected few meet in later rounds so more money can be made. News today that Rashford had to fly home as over 300K of watches were nicked from his house says it all.
The fact you can't get Raheem Sterling's name right says all we need to know about you.
Not for long. Important to remember that mask mandate for kids in England was a matter of weeks. In Scotland children were forced to wear masks for over a year. It was horrible.
UK ministers were bounced into a U-turn over face masks in schools during the pandemic because Nicola Sturgeon unilaterally announced her policy in an “egregious attempt at one-upmanship”.
Matt Hancock, the former UK health secretary, claimed that the government in London introduced a requirement for secondary school pupils to wear face masks in England because Sturgeon announced the measure in Scotland.
He said that ministers were “blindsided” by her announcement in August 2020 and changed tack in order to avoid “a big spat with the Scots”.
The UK government’s original guidance on face coverings excluded schools but then instructed secondary pupils to wear them in corridors after Sturgeon’s intervention.
Whoever wins England vs France instantly becomes a strong second favourite. Frankly I think either would have the beating of Brazil.
As for GB Utd, it might annoy some to say so but is there a single Welsh or Scotsman that would make it into the football side right now? Possibly a fit Kieran Tierney at left back. But not Bale or Ramsay anymore. The squad would have more depth I grant you.
Intriguing too that the Wales wonder decade has not just coincided with the Bale era but also Swansea and Cardiff being premier league regulars. Proud Scots take note and try again to get the Old Firm in the pyramid south of the border to make a true British Premier League.
Couldn't give much of a feck about which league Celtic and Rangers play in (aside from making parking easier in my bit a few days a year) but it'd be lovely to see the proud Brits that make up much of the Rangers' support exporting their culture to English cities on away days.
The recent decline of Scottish football ought to concern the Scottish Government. Scottish teams no longer dominate Europe; Scottish players are no longer significant in the EPL. What's gone wrong up there? School playing fields sold off? It cannot be money or size because Wales is still there.
It’s odd isn’t it. The premier league / first division always used to have a good number of Scots playing for the top sides.
MONEY
Scots don’t like it? Or people with effectively unlimited budgets will hire elsewhere?
Premier league and even some of teh lower leagues have teh money to buy the best abroad nowadays. Scots going to play in the top English leagues years ago meant a much stronger pool of players and hence national team. Also fact that Scottish teams also buy more foreign players does not help either. A sad reflection on the modern game, it is all just money. Used to love teh FA cup and Fair Cups , etc , the big teams had to go to all sorts of places and face tough games in fields etc. Now they are all pampered , seeded to make sure no tough games till the selected few meet in later rounds so more money can be made. News today that Rashford had to fly home as over 300K of watches were nicked from his house says it all.
Sterling
Not all English people look the same
Another Fcuking arsehole, it was an overpaid arsehole football player who cares which one it was you cretin , crawl back under your rock.
It's an absolutely false economy to not have the heating on overnight when it's forecast to be sub-zero.
Assuming you run the heating during the day, your house would have to be really badly insulated to drop below 0 during a single night. I have mine set to a lower temp overnight and it typically only goes from 19C to 15C by morning, so although the heating is technically "on" the boiler never fires up. Anyway, if you have a thermostat with a 'frost protection' setting, use it; otherwise set it to 5-7C rather than turning it off.
Pipes through the loft (or just through any cold space) can be enough on a cold night.
On boilers - I wonder if anyone has any knowledge or expertise or advice on my combi boiler, which now seems to need the pressure adjusting most days. It got a service from a British Gas engineer in the summer, who announced himself satisfied with it, and before that a look from a friend of mine who used to be a gas engineer. But it surely shouldn't be making the noises it does whenever anything is asked for it and it's not been topped up? It's about ten years old, but I would have thought it had a few years left in it yet. May be approaching time to look at ground source heat pumps.
My daugher had problems with pressure dropping a lot recently , think it turned out to be heat exchanger. Exceedingly expensive if she had not had cover.
Whoever wins England vs France instantly becomes a strong second favourite. Frankly I think either would have the beating of Brazil.
As for GB Utd, it might annoy some to say so but is there a single Welsh or Scotsman that would make it into the football side right now? Possibly a fit Kieran Tierney at left back. But not Bale or Ramsay anymore. The squad would have more depth I grant you.
Intriguing too that the Wales wonder decade has not just coincided with the Bale era but also Swansea and Cardiff being premier league regulars. Proud Scots take note and try again to get the Old Firm in the pyramid south of the border to make a true British Premier League.
Couldn't give much of a feck about which league Celtic and Rangers play in (aside from making parking easier in my bit a few days a year) but it'd be lovely to see the proud Brits that make up much of the Rangers' support exporting their culture to English cities on away days.
The recent decline of Scottish football ought to concern the Scottish Government. Scottish teams no longer dominate Europe; Scottish players are no longer significant in the EPL. What's gone wrong up there? School playing fields sold off? It cannot be money or size because Wales is still there.
Wales also cannily increased their FIFA ranking some time ago by not playing friendlies (which would dilute the decent results points they did earn), got a high seeding for a couple of UEFA Euros and had one particularily good year, beating and drawing with Belgium. Matches in Major Championships (WC, Euros), especially the finals, are worth 3 and 4x the rates for ordinary matches.
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
It's this kind of thinking that has made England a highly centralised and poorly run country. We need far more local powers and local accountability so that we can try new approaches to things. I'd much rather live in an England that has been carved into bits if that means that each of the bits is better run.
It won't though. They will be corrupt and mostly unaccountable boondoggles for incompetents who can't make it on the national stage, just like in Scotland and Wales and most American states and city governments, without even the bonus of representing communities with strong cohesion or historic identity.
And that's if we're lucky.
The devolved governments are pale imitations of the crooks in Westminster
Not for long. Important to remember that mask mandate for kids in England was a matter of weeks. In Scotland children were forced to wear masks for over a year. It was horrible.
UK ministers were bounced into a U-turn over face masks in schools during the pandemic because Nicola Sturgeon unilaterally announced her policy in an “egregious attempt at one-upmanship”.
Matt Hancock, the former UK health secretary, claimed that the government in London introduced a requirement for secondary school pupils to wear face masks in England because Sturgeon announced the measure in Scotland.
He said that ministers were “blindsided” by her announcement in August 2020 and changed tack in order to avoid “a big spat with the Scots”.
The UK government’s original guidance on face coverings excluded schools but then instructed secondary pupils to wear them in corridors after Sturgeon’s intervention.
Health is devolved and she was right not to follow those cretins. If the arseholes had bothered to discuss matters rather than thinking they were the bigshoits there would not have been so many thousand dead. Fact she was crap compared to the English minister's absolutely crap is no great consolation. Hancock was and still is a tosser.
SKS gives a speech on policy, and PB is talking about cricket.
I certainly wasn't, as I stated his proposal to scrap the Lords and replace it with a directly elected Upper House could lead to a Tory upper house elected midterm using its mandate to block and delay as much legislation passed by a Labour government with a majority in the House of Commons as possible and vice versa.
It would move us much more to the US model of gridlock than we are now.
It's an absolutely false economy to not have the heating on overnight when it's forecast to be sub-zero.
Assuming you run the heating during the day, your house would have to be really badly insulated to drop below 0 during a single night. I have mine set to a lower temp overnight and it typically only goes from 19C to 15C by morning, so although the heating is technically "on" the boiler never fires up. Anyway, if you have a thermostat with a 'frost protection' setting, use it; otherwise set it to 5-7C rather than turning it off.
Pipes through the loft (or just through any cold space) can be enough on a cold night.
On boilers - I wonder if anyone has any knowledge or expertise or advice on my combi boiler, which now seems to need the pressure adjusting most days. It got a service from a British Gas engineer in the summer, who announced himself satisfied with it, and before that a look from a friend of mine who used to be a gas engineer. But it surely shouldn't be making the noises it does whenever anything is asked for it and it's not been topped up? It's about ten years old, but I would have thought it had a few years left in it yet. May be approaching time to look at ground source heat pumps.
If you're having to top it up frequently, then like the expansion vessel has gone (effectively a balloon inside that can expand and contract to maintain fairly constant pressure). If that's perished then there's no expansion, if pressure is high it will vent through the pressure release outside, when pressure drops it gets too low for boiler to work and you have to top up.
Can be replaced (inside boiler, might be expensive/fiddly if the whole thing needs taking to bits) or have an external one fitted near the boiler if there's somewhere you can tuck it away. There are flat ones not much bigger than a large frying pan. We had this done on our old boiler (external) which got us another three years out of it. Mind, if it's ten years old and you've got the cash it might be more economic to replace with the latest and greatest, be worth comparing quoted efficiencies.
ETA: I see Nigelb put the same thing more succinctly
. We had that exact problem in our office. Cost £150 for the exrternal expansion vessel.
Comments
Not all English people look the same
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63851922
"The report will put forward 40 recommendations, including proposals for handing new economic powers to English mayors, local authorities and devolved governments."
My suspicion is he might attempt to carve England into bits. Labour have form on that.
And that's if we're lucky.
*
https://www.vaillant.co.uk/homeowners/advice-and-knowledge/what-is-an-expansion-vessel-1769634.html
Can be replaced (inside boiler, might be expensive/fiddly if the whole thing needs taking to bits) or have an external one fitted near the boiler if there's somewhere you can tuck it away. There are flat ones not much bigger than a large frying pan. We had this done on our old boiler (external) which got us another three years out of it. Mind, if it's ten years old and you've got the cash it might be more economic to replace with the latest and greatest, be worth comparing quoted efficiencies.
ETA: I see Nigelb put the same thing more succinctly
That's in fact the only thing that will hold the UK together in the long-term, much to the chagrin of Putin.
Not sure if you've ever lived in the States but State and Local government is far from how you describe it, and Americans are mostly very glad to live in a system which devolves power to as local a level as possible.
The current system is crap. Nothing is working, and Westminster politicians are too remote to care, while local politicians have no power to change anything.
Better to have a chance, than to bat it out and have none.
"Police investigating a break-in at the home of England star Raheem Sterling have confirmed jewellery and watches were reported stolen.
Surrey Police said no-one was at home at the time and no threats of violence were involved."
So not quite as previously reported.
As it happens, I'm no fan of local authorities. I think that given the voters aren't that interested in local politics they're easily hijacked by NIMBYs and other disreputable busybodies that push their pet projects in a way they wouldn't get away with it at Westminster.
Though of course if local authorities matters more, people might pay more attention, but I for one won't be holding my breath on that.
A few good points about more powers for Mayors, local authorities and devolved parliaments but overshadowed by the Lords plan
The nuclear capable missiles with the concrete warheads were actually built in Ukraine and many were part of the handover of nuclear weapons to Russia, way back.
Given their access to mini turbojets, airframes, guidance systems etc, building a stretched version of something with bigger fuel tanks doesn’t seem especially incredible.
Was in the MCG when the Aussies did something like this to us.
Labour will always try and wreck it whatever the Tories do.
However ironically we might get a majority Tory elected upper house if they push their plans through despite a Labour majority Commons if Labour win the next election and push this through. The Tory Upper House could then of course try and block and delay every single piece of legislation proposed by the Labour government and commons with an elected mandate to do so
What an extraordinary match.
I would like to go down a Rotlyal Commission kind of route to draw up something that works and has cross party support to endure, based on a thorough examination of what works in other countries and taken in concert with other constitutional changes.
Great for me, who got to see loads of live cricket, but crap for Pakistan fans in Pakistan. Great that they’re now getting to watch cricket live.
[Subject to review]
What a game this has been.
EDIT: Oops, I forgot I'd paused it when my phone rang earlier.
Ben Stokes - 9 tests as captain, 7 wins.
That’s more wins than David Gower managed in 31 attempts.
What a turnaround.
I slipped on the runway there once and ruined a perfectly serviceable suit.
EDIT: No, Beth Mead is the Lioness the bookies have, her then.
Edit: Not quite - England @ Headingley scored 861 in 1948.
https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;result=2;template=results;type=team;view=match
I'm using this thing [PC] to create text on a Microsoft programme. But the result is copyright only because of my conscious input. Same with Leon and his travel writing.
Leon putting (eg) "chickens discussing Wittgenstein" into a screen prompt, I'm not so sure about the result. The AI certainly can't claim the copyright itself, any more than its programmers (else Mr Gates would claim copyright on what I am writing). And I'm unconvinced that the consciious creative element is there in the stuff the AI disgorges.
The lawyers are goingt o have fun - until they, or some of them, are replaced.
But only one of the team will be nominated, and the bookies thing it will be Beth Mead it seems, who was the top scorer of the tournament. Unless the men's team wins the WC, I suspect whoever of the women's team is nominated will with SPOTY ahead of any other sport.
That's why Test cricket is the best.
Also the pitch would have worn some more - so England would likely have had a more comfortable victory with an appropriate start time.
Health policy by “getting one over on England”
Not for long. Important to remember that mask mandate for kids in England was a matter of weeks. In Scotland children were forced to wear masks for over a year. It was horrible.
https://twitter.com/MerrynSW/status/1599668009798336512
UK ministers were bounced into a U-turn over face masks in schools during the pandemic because Nicola Sturgeon unilaterally announced her policy in an “egregious attempt at one-upmanship”.
Matt Hancock, the former UK health secretary, claimed that the government in London introduced a requirement for secondary school pupils to wear face masks in England because Sturgeon announced the measure in Scotland.
He said that ministers were “blindsided” by her announcement in August 2020 and changed tack in order to avoid “a big spat with the Scots”.
The UK government’s original guidance on face coverings excluded schools but then instructed secondary pupils to wear them in corridors after Sturgeon’s intervention.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sturgeon-forced-uk-to-reverse-policy-on-masks-xfhz8mc3k
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/how-wales-went-117-top-9605270
And, as ever, the contents have been widely trailed in advance.
Hancock was and still is a tosser.
It would move us much more to the US model of gridlock than we are now.
We had that exact problem in our office. Cost £150 for the exrternal expansion vessel.
Q: Why is the Government having problems with their version of the Christmas nativity?
A: They can't find three wise men.
Q: Why does Kate Bush need to turn her heating off?
A: Because she's running up that bill.