Actually I'd say that private e-scooters are de jure banned, but de facto permitted. Judging by the number of them I see around...
The law was never written with stand-on electric scooters in mind and they fall into a gap in categorisation, so there seems to be a deep reluctance to prosecute anyone for riding one.
E-scooters should strictly be classified as Light Motorcycles given the current regulations. That would put them in the same bracket as sit-on scooters, so a rider would need a registration plate, insurance, tax, MOT, an approved helmet, a provisional license and a Compulsory Basic Training certificate to ride legally. And the rider would be expected to obey the Highway Code, so no riding on pavements, etc.
Which clearly isn't feasible, so people ignore the questionable legality and just use them anyway,
No, they are actually defined as being illegal to use (note: my wife was a traffic police officer until recently, she had to deal with this). They do fall into a gap in classification, but that means that one part of government (can't remember which way around this is) says they are vehicles, so can't be used on pavements, while another part says they aren't vehicles, so can't be taxed or insured, or ridden on roads. So whichever you try to do, you're breaking the law.
Honestly, slagging off the national treasure Sir David Attenborough is going to be a huge vote loser for the Tories.
That was the BBC's decision not the Government's and the backlash more likely to be from RefUK, Farage, GB News and the populist right press than the Sunak and Hunt Government which is pro action to protect the environment and natural world like Attenborough
Come off it. When the RNLI was attacked, the most vicious attack was by the Tory Government putting laws in place in the relevant Parliamentary Bill to make its rescuing the Wrong People seriously illegal. Edit: wothdrawn, but not till after a very long time. The threat was very clear.
That was under the Johnson government, not the Sunak government
Honestly, slagging off the national treasure Sir David Attenborough is going to be a huge vote loser for the Tories.
WTFAF ?
I suspect the Guardian are being a bit mischievous here, unless someone can find some evidence that the "sixth" episode originally was intended for terrestrial broadcast and actually got "cancelled".
No, it's normal to have a supplementary film on conservation issues in those series.
And making and then not broadcasting a DA nature film? Come off it, it's like not broadcasting a Cup Final. Pure ratings gold for the BBC.
So the supplementary film would be a DVD extra ?
I think this is all good publicity for the BBC and will help viewing figures which, let’s face it, for the main channels have been in decline for a while now.
Honestly, slagging off the national treasure Sir David Attenborough is going to be a huge vote loser for the Tories.
WTFAF ?
I suspect the Guardian are being a bit mischievous here, unless someone can find some evidence that the "sixth" episode originally was intended for terrestrial broadcast and actually got "cancelled".
No, it's normal to have a supplementary film on conservation issues in those series.
And making and then not broadcasting a DA nature film? Come off it, it's like not broadcasting a Cup Final. Pure ratings gold for the BBC.
OK I'm probably wrong, haven't watched broadcast TV for so long!
I now worry that my memory is weong too ... TV has changed so much lately. So let's see what comes out, so to speak. But I really can't see why they wouldn't broadcast his last (I believe) series in full.
I'm just surprised by the idea that the BBC would be so pathetic as to cancel the broadcast of a DAVID ATTENBOROUGH program because it might upset a few idiots
About $40 billion was wiped off the value of British and European lenders after a chaotic sell-off in the US banking sector spread to Europe.
Investors have taken fright after Silicon Valley Bank, a little-known American lender focused on the technology sector, warned yesterday that it had suffered a $1.8 billion loss following a firesale of its bond portfolio.
This has raised investor concerns that there might be similar problems hiding in the debt portfolios of other lenders, causing a sharp fall in shares across the American banking sector. It comes as central bankers in the US, UK and Europe have raced to raise interest rates over the past year in a rush to tighten monetary policy that has hit bond markets.
After the US rout, investors in Europe have now also been spooked and have dumped banking shares.
HSBC slumped by 5.8 per cent, Standard Chartered lost 4.9 per cent and Barclays slid by 4.9 per cent. The domestic-focused lenders Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest were also caught in the rout and fell by 4 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively
Not an accountant, but the problem, as I understand it, is related to accountancy procedures regarding ringfenced funds.
Since the 2008 crash, banks have been obliged to hold customer deposits in a ringfenced structure, which essentially involves the purchase of treasury bills. The problem is that these bills are now held at a loss due to rising interest rates, devaluing earlier bonds purchased at a lower rate.
Now, the problem is that investors are realising they can get better rates by withdrawing their money from banks and purchasing t-bills directly. This means that the banks are being forced to sell off their devalued bonds at a loss in order to meet redemptions.
Accountancy procedures allow banks to "carry forward" losses on their bonds - however those losses are realised when they're forced to liquidate these bonds in order to meet customer redemptions.
It's essentially a bank run. The question is how deep it goes and just how big the losses banks are carrying on their balance sheets.
Is it time to panic, withdraw all your money and stash it under the mattress? Probably not. Could we see a couple of smaller, weaker banks (like SVB) go under? Possibly. Worth mentioning that the alternative narrative on some of the wilder corners of fintwit is that the problem is much deeper than most banks are admitting and losses are far greater (think what happened in the UK during Trussonomics).
Actually I'd say that private e-scooters are de jure banned, but de facto permitted. Judging by the number of them I see around...
The law was never written with stand-on electric scooters in mind and they fall into a gap in categorisation, so there seems to be a deep reluctance to prosecute anyone for riding one.
E-scooters should strictly be classified as Light Motorcycles given the current regulations. That would put them in the same bracket as sit-on scooters, so a rider would need a registration plate, insurance, tax, MOT, an approved helmet, a provisional license and a Compulsory Basic Training certificate to ride legally. And the rider would be expected to obey the Highway Code, so no riding on pavements, etc.
Which clearly isn't feasible, so people ignore the questionable legality and just use them anyway,
No, they are actually defined as being illegal to use (note: my wife was a traffic police officer until recently, she had to deal with this). They do fall into a gap in classification, but that means that one part of government (can't remember which way around this is) says they are vehicles, so can't be used on pavements, while another part says they aren't vehicles, so can't be taxed or insured, or ridden on roads. So whichever you try to do, you're breaking the law.
Yet we have a council-sanctions scheme where branded e-scooters are using roads (as they are urged to do rather than pavements) and need wear no helmets or have any form of insurance. Some are using pavements.
If I was to use one (I've enrolled in the APP but not actually needed to use one yet) I would prefer to be on the pavement (but this is not allowed though many do) or go on the road (which seems less safe) without a helmet. (Insisting on a helmet on one of these would defeat the object of the things from a convenience point of view.)
Has anyone had a go at the British Citizenship test? There are some quite difficult questions like "who built the Tower of London?" or "what year was the Turner Prize established?"
And you need to get 75% to pass.
The German test is way easier eg "what was the Stasi?" And you only need to get 50%.
Also interesting: none of the German questions about history go back further than the 1930s, whereas UK ones go back to at least Julius Caesar. Lots of questions about the Nazis and about the DDR and the Cold War. History questions are numbers 151-211 here: https://oet.bamf.de/ords/oetut/f?p=514:30:0::NO:::
You also find the answer to the question: What was the hallmark of National Socialism? A policy of state racism (Question 161).
There's always examples someone born to it likely wouldn't get. But then it is probably meant to be tougher, and if everyone had to be tested they'd pay better attention in school.
Also, people aren't exactly sent in cold. You get a small booklet with what you need to know and you can cover it in a couple of weekends. Especially as there aren't many hard questions and the pass mark is only 25%.
Sure, just find it interesting that knowing when the Turner prize started is considered important to being a good citizen.
It would be much more valuable to be grilling people on what freedom of speech, freedom of religion and equality of the sexes means. Then ensure they swear an oath to them once through the test.
Which is exact what most of the German citizenship questions are about. Though not exactly grilling, just multiple choice where the answers are obvious with a bit of common sense
You could put scenarios in.
"Naila is a 20-year old woman who wishes to marry her boyfriend, Angelo. However, Naila's father, Sharif, opposes this relationship as Angelo is from a different religious background. He insists Angelo should have to convert to Naila's childhood religion before the marriage should be allowed to go ahead.
Given UK culture and law, which of the following are protected in the UK?
- Naila's right to marry who she wishes. - Angelo's right to maintain his religion in an interfaith marriage. - Sharif's right to protect the continuation of his family's religion. - Sharif's right to determine the best match for his children.
I like it, though might need to adjust the names to avoid accusations of bias!. As I remember one of the German questions is something like: Which of the following is allowed in Germany:
- Otto and Peter are 2 men who want to get married to each other. - Fritz and Sabine are brother and sister who want to get married to each other. - Ben is married to Silke and wants to marry Claudia as well. Can't remember the 4th option
Pedantically, they're all prsumably allowed to want to get married to each other? As long as Fritz, Sabine, Ben and Claudia don't actually go through with it?
Ah yes, this sounds like my old argument that gays were never prevented from getting married.
Honestly, slagging off the national treasure Sir David Attenborough is going to be a huge vote loser for the Tories.
That was the BBC's decision not the Government's and the backlash more likely to be from RefUK, Farage, GB News and the populist right press than the Sunak and Hunt Government which is pro action to protect the environment and natural world like Attenborough
Come off it. When the RNLI was attacked, the most vicious attack was by the Tory Government putting laws in place in the relevant Parliamentary Bill to make its rescuing the Wrong People seriously illegal. Edit: wothdrawn, but not till after a very long time. The threat was very clear.
That was under the Johnson government, not the Sunak government
Honestly, slagging off the national treasure Sir David Attenborough is going to be a huge vote loser for the Tories.
That was the BBC's decision not the Government's and the backlash more likely to be from RefUK, Farage, GB News and the populist right press than the Sunak and Hunt Government which is pro action to protect the environment and natural world like Attenborough
Come off it. When the RNLI was attacked, the most vicious attack was by the Tory Government putting laws in place in the relevant Parliamentary Bill to make its rescuing the Wrong People seriously illegal. Edit: wothdrawn, but not till after a very long time. The threat was very clear.
That was under the Johnson government, not the Sunak government
At the risk of being told Im stating the bleedin’ obvious our colleague said it was a Tory government. As far as I’m aware, we’ve had a Tory government since 2015 and a Tory dominated one for five years before that.
Rishi's fanclub has a membership of 1 and they are trying their best
You are so predictable
Maybe you should respond to to todays press conference and the new entente cordial with France and the EU as Starmer continues his pro Brexit stance
The "New Entente Cordiale" = paying the French half a billion in an attempt to improve the Tories' chances of survival?
I hardly think that will impress the xenophobes. Still, maybe a step in the right direction on that basis?
You need to listen to the whole press conference which not only addresses the boat crossings and a new detention centre near Dunkirk, but was wide ranging issues including Ukraine, security and cooperation on climate change, and the development of the new External Europe Council promoted by Macron to enable countries outside the EU to develop close ties and improve trade
As far as the conservative party's election chances are concerned I am told daily on here it is over, so nothing for Starmer to worry about
Britain will give almost half a billion pounds to France to set up a migrant detention centre and a dedicated small boats police force (Chris Smyth writes).
Rishi Sunak said the money was needed to “break” people smuggling gangs as he struck a new deal with President Macron in Paris that will cost far more than expected.
Under the deal Britain will send €541m to Paris over the next three years to allow French officials to step up their efforts to stop small boats carrying migrants across the Channel.
Honestly, slagging off the national treasure Sir David Attenborough is going to be a huge vote loser for the Tories.
WTFAF ?
I suspect the Guardian are being a bit mischievous here, unless someone can find some evidence that the "sixth" episode originally was intended for terrestrial broadcast and actually got "cancelled".
No, it's normal to have a supplementary film on conservation issues in those series.
And making and then not broadcasting a DA nature film? Come off it, it's like not broadcasting a Cup Final. Pure ratings gold for the BBC.
OK I'm probably wrong, haven't watched broadcast TV for so long!
I now worry that my memory is weong too ... TV has changed so much lately. So let's see what comes out, so to speak. But I really can't see why they wouldn't broadcast his last (I believe) series in full.
I'm just surprised by the idea that the BBC would be so pathetic as to cancel the broadcast of a DAVID ATTENBOROUGH program because it might upset a few idiots
I'm wondering if the BBC, seeing how the wind has been blowing over the Lineker row, is feeling a bit more confident about taking on their critics in the government and right wing press. Not confident to stand up directly, but enough to put this rumour out so they can u-turn and face down the critics who won't like the programme message.
THIS episode on Hue (about 40km from where I am now) is just superb TV. One of the greatest presenters ever. Able to tell entire histories through food. And he loved Indochina and he loved Vietnam as any wise traveler does, and likewise he loved Vietnamese noodle soups
Why the F did he top himself? All that wisdom. Sad
Loved Glasgow too, so top man obviously. In the sadly departed Rogano’s in which my newly married folks dined on their way to their honeymoon. The honeymoon was in Belfast, the marriage was doomed from the start.
About $40 billion was wiped off the value of British and European lenders after a chaotic sell-off in the US banking sector spread to Europe.
Investors have taken fright after Silicon Valley Bank, a little-known American lender focused on the technology sector, warned yesterday that it had suffered a $1.8 billion loss following a firesale of its bond portfolio.
This has raised investor concerns that there might be similar problems hiding in the debt portfolios of other lenders, causing a sharp fall in shares across the American banking sector. It comes as central bankers in the US, UK and Europe have raced to raise interest rates over the past year in a rush to tighten monetary policy that has hit bond markets.
After the US rout, investors in Europe have now also been spooked and have dumped banking shares.
HSBC slumped by 5.8 per cent, Standard Chartered lost 4.9 per cent and Barclays slid by 4.9 per cent. The domestic-focused lenders Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest were also caught in the rout and fell by 4 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively
SVB is somewhat unusual in that it massively increased its balance sheet near the top of the bond market. It argued that the subsequent paper losses on its bonds didn't matter as it intended to hold them to maturity. Which would have been fine had it not then been forced to raise capital...
Very good thread here on the ensuing arguments about the serious inadvisability of depositors being made to take a haircut. The US banking system is built on the expectation that equity and bond holders accept the bank economic risk and depositors, particularly the small folks, do not.
Honestly, slagging off the national treasure Sir David Attenborough is going to be a huge vote loser for the Tories.
That was the BBC's decision not the Government's and the backlash more likely to be from RefUK, Farage, GB News and the populist right press than the Sunak and Hunt Government which is pro action to protect the environment and natural world like Attenborough
Come off it. When the RNLI was attacked, the most vicious attack was by the Tory Government putting laws in place in the relevant Parliamentary Bill to make its rescuing the Wrong People seriously illegal. Edit: wothdrawn, but not till after a very long time. The threat was very clear.
That was under the Johnson government, not the Sunak government
Honestly, slagging off the national treasure Sir David Attenborough is going to be a huge vote loser for the Tories.
That was the BBC's decision not the Government's and the backlash more likely to be from RefUK, Farage, GB News and the populist right press than the Sunak and Hunt Government which is pro action to protect the environment and natural world like Attenborough
Come off it. When the RNLI was attacked, the most vicious attack was by the Tory Government putting laws in place in the relevant Parliamentary Bill to make its rescuing the Wrong People seriously illegal. Edit: wothdrawn, but not till after a very long time. The threat was very clear.
That was under the Johnson government, not the Sunak government
At the risk of being told Im stating the bleedin’ obvious our colleague said it was a Tory government. As far as I’m aware, we’ve had a Tory government since 2015 and a Tory dominated one for five years before that.
Mr Sunak is evidently the Wrong Sort of Tory for Mr HYUFD.
Has anyone had a go at the British Citizenship test? There are some quite difficult questions like "who built the Tower of London?" or "what year was the Turner Prize established?"
And you need to get 75% to pass.
The German test is way easier eg "what was the Stasi?" And you only need to get 50%.
Also interesting: none of the German questions about history go back further than the 1930s, whereas UK ones go back to at least Julius Caesar. Lots of questions about the Nazis and about the DDR and the Cold War. History questions are numbers 151-211 here: https://oet.bamf.de/ords/oetut/f?p=514:30:0::NO:::
You also find the answer to the question: What was the hallmark of National Socialism? A policy of state racism (Question 161).
There's always examples someone born to it likely wouldn't get. But then it is probably meant to be tougher, and if everyone had to be tested they'd pay better attention in school.
"Who built the Tower of London" shouldn't a difficult question to a native Brit, unless they stopped mentioning that in schools in the last 30 years. That said, I believe the citizenship test is multiple choice and therefore the difficulty of the questions is determined in large part by which wrong answers are used as options.
I reckon most people wouldn't know the answer to that.
Not a scooby do who built it but then again I am not a native Brit.
Cancel culture. (When I saw the Twitter, I thought it was an early April 1 spoof; but no.)
"The BBC has decided not to broadcast an episode of David Attenborough’s flagship new series on British wildlife because of fears its themes of the destruction of nature would risk a backlash from Tory politicians and the rightwing press, the Guardian has been told."
Spooky. Me yesterday: "Best for the Tories to move on, I think. What will their next cunning PR plan be, after the nurses and Gary Lineker? Why not pick a fight with David Attenborough? "
THIS episode on Hue (about 40km from where I am now) is just superb TV. One of the greatest presenters ever. Able to tell entire histories through food. And he loved Indochina and he loved Vietnam as any wise traveler does, and likewise he loved Vietnamese noodle soups
Russia is offering Georgians advice it seems to think they can't refuse.
Protests against “foreign agents" bill, erupted in #Tbilisi🇬🇪, result in demands for the resignation of the government. We recommend to the georgian people to recall a similar situation in Ukraine🇺🇦 in 2014 and what it finally led to!#ThinkTwice https://mobile.twitter.com/PMSimferopol/status/1634111915596173312
About $40 billion was wiped off the value of British and European lenders after a chaotic sell-off in the US banking sector spread to Europe.
Investors have taken fright after Silicon Valley Bank, a little-known American lender focused on the technology sector, warned yesterday that it had suffered a $1.8 billion loss following a firesale of its bond portfolio.
This has raised investor concerns that there might be similar problems hiding in the debt portfolios of other lenders, causing a sharp fall in shares across the American banking sector. It comes as central bankers in the US, UK and Europe have raced to raise interest rates over the past year in a rush to tighten monetary policy that has hit bond markets.
After the US rout, investors in Europe have now also been spooked and have dumped banking shares.
HSBC slumped by 5.8 per cent, Standard Chartered lost 4.9 per cent and Barclays slid by 4.9 per cent. The domestic-focused lenders Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest were also caught in the rout and fell by 4 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively
Honestly, slagging off the national treasure Sir David Attenborough is going to be a huge vote loser for the Tories.
That was the BBC's decision not the Government's and the backlash more likely to be from RefUK, Farage, GB News and the populist right press than the Sunak and Hunt Government which is pro action to protect the environment and natural world like Attenborough
Come off it. When the RNLI was attacked, the most vicious attack was by the Tory Government putting laws in place in the relevant Parliamentary Bill to make its rescuing the Wrong People seriously illegal. Edit: wothdrawn, but not till after a very long time. The threat was very clear.
That was under the Johnson government, not the Sunak government
THIS episode on Hue (about 40km from where I am now) is just superb TV. One of the greatest presenters ever. Able to tell entire histories through food. And he loved Indochina and he loved Vietnam as any wise traveler does, and likewise he loved Vietnamese noodle soups
THIS episode on Hue (about 40km from where I am now) is just superb TV. One of the greatest presenters ever. Able to tell entire histories through food. And he loved Indochina and he loved Vietnam as any wise traveler does, and likewise he loved Vietnamese noodle soups
Why the F did he top himself? All that wisdom. Sad
Loved Glasgow too, so top man obviously. In the sadly departed Rogano’s in which my newly married folks dined on their way to their honeymoon. The honeymoon was in Belfast, the marriage was doomed from the start.
TUD, Don't tell me Rogano's is closed. I have not been in Glasgow for some time. My wife and I used to frequent it a lot , especially Friday's for a glass or two of champagne.
Labour down 2% and now this afternoon we find Rishi has successfully agreed a deal to fund a migrant detention centre in France to reduce Channel crossings https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-64914564
I think the news that Sunak is giving more of our money to the French may not go down as well as you expect.
Indeed. He’s just given the French half a billion to do fuck all. Stupid micro-twat
A bargain. Didnt the UK Gov give Dido Harding 37 billion to do fuck all?
Has anyone had a go at the British Citizenship test? There are some quite difficult questions like "who built the Tower of London?" or "what year was the Turner Prize established?"
And you need to get 75% to pass.
The German test is way easier eg "what was the Stasi?" And you only need to get 50%.
Also interesting: none of the German questions about history go back further than the 1930s, whereas UK ones go back to at least Julius Caesar. Lots of questions about the Nazis and about the DDR and the Cold War. History questions are numbers 151-211 here: https://oet.bamf.de/ords/oetut/f?p=514:30:0::NO:::
You also find the answer to the question: What was the hallmark of National Socialism? A policy of state racism (Question 161).
There's always examples someone born to it likely wouldn't get. But then it is probably meant to be tougher, and if everyone had to be tested they'd pay better attention in school.
"Who built the Tower of London" shouldn't a difficult question to a native Brit, unless they stopped mentioning that in schools in the last 30 years. That said, I believe the citizenship test is multiple choice and therefore the difficulty of the questions is determined in large part by which wrong answers are used as options.
I reckon most people wouldn't know the answer to that.
Not a scooby do who built it but then again I am not a native Brit.
About $40 billion was wiped off the value of British and European lenders after a chaotic sell-off in the US banking sector spread to Europe.
Investors have taken fright after Silicon Valley Bank, a little-known American lender focused on the technology sector, warned yesterday that it had suffered a $1.8 billion loss following a firesale of its bond portfolio.
This has raised investor concerns that there might be similar problems hiding in the debt portfolios of other lenders, causing a sharp fall in shares across the American banking sector. It comes as central bankers in the US, UK and Europe have raced to raise interest rates over the past year in a rush to tighten monetary policy that has hit bond markets.
After the US rout, investors in Europe have now also been spooked and have dumped banking shares.
HSBC slumped by 5.8 per cent, Standard Chartered lost 4.9 per cent and Barclays slid by 4.9 per cent. The domestic-focused lenders Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest were also caught in the rout and fell by 4 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively
THIS episode on Hue (about 40km from where I am now) is just superb TV. One of the greatest presenters ever. Able to tell entire histories through food. And he loved Indochina and he loved Vietnam as any wise traveler does, and likewise he loved Vietnamese noodle soups
Why the F did he top himself? All that wisdom. Sad
Loved Glasgow too, so top man obviously. In the sadly departed Rogano’s in which my newly married folks dined on their way to their honeymoon. The honeymoon was in Belfast, the marriage was doomed from the start.
I discovered something today re Glasgow and food that really got me hooping and hollering. The Doner Kebab Pie! Is that a product from the gods or what.
About $40 billion was wiped off the value of British and European lenders after a chaotic sell-off in the US banking sector spread to Europe.
Investors have taken fright after Silicon Valley Bank, a little-known American lender focused on the technology sector, warned yesterday that it had suffered a $1.8 billion loss following a firesale of its bond portfolio.
This has raised investor concerns that there might be similar problems hiding in the debt portfolios of other lenders, causing a sharp fall in shares across the American banking sector. It comes as central bankers in the US, UK and Europe have raced to raise interest rates over the past year in a rush to tighten monetary policy that has hit bond markets.
After the US rout, investors in Europe have now also been spooked and have dumped banking shares.
HSBC slumped by 5.8 per cent, Standard Chartered lost 4.9 per cent and Barclays slid by 4.9 per cent. The domestic-focused lenders Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest were also caught in the rout and fell by 4 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively
SVB is somewhat unusual in that it massively increased its balance sheet near the top of the bond market. It argued that the subsequent paper losses on its bonds didn't matter as it intended to hold them to maturity. Which would have been fine had it not then been forced to raise capital...
Very good thread here on the ensuing arguments about the serious inadvisability of depositors being made to take a haircut. The US banking system is built on the expectation that equity and bond holders accept the bank economic risk and depositors, particularly the small folks, do not.
Actually I'd say that private e-scooters are de jure banned, but de facto permitted. Judging by the number of them I see around...
The law was never written with stand-on electric scooters in mind and they fall into a gap in categorisation, so there seems to be a deep reluctance to prosecute anyone for riding one.
E-scooters should strictly be classified as Light Motorcycles given the current regulations. That would put them in the same bracket as sit-on scooters, so a rider would need a registration plate, insurance, tax, MOT, an approved helmet, a provisional license and a Compulsory Basic Training certificate to ride legally. And the rider would be expected to obey the Highway Code, so no riding on pavements, etc.
Which clearly isn't feasible, so people ignore the questionable legality and just use them anyway,
No, they are actually defined as being illegal to use (note: my wife was a traffic police officer until recently, she had to deal with this). They do fall into a gap in classification, but that means that one part of government (can't remember which way around this is) says they are vehicles, so can't be used on pavements, while another part says they aren't vehicles, so can't be taxed or insured, or ridden on roads. So whichever you try to do, you're breaking the law.
Like the Segway, but just too many of them to stop.
Has anyone had a go at the British Citizenship test? There are some quite difficult questions like "who built the Tower of London?" or "what year was the Turner Prize established?"
And you need to get 75% to pass.
The German test is way easier eg "what was the Stasi?" And you only need to get 50%.
Also interesting: none of the German questions about history go back further than the 1930s, whereas UK ones go back to at least Julius Caesar. Lots of questions about the Nazis and about the DDR and the Cold War. History questions are numbers 151-211 here: https://oet.bamf.de/ords/oetut/f?p=514:30:0::NO:::
You also find the answer to the question: What was the hallmark of National Socialism? A policy of state racism (Question 161).
There's always examples someone born to it likely wouldn't get. But then it is probably meant to be tougher, and if everyone had to be tested they'd pay better attention in school.
"Who built the Tower of London" shouldn't a difficult question to a native Brit, unless they stopped mentioning that in schools in the last 30 years. That said, I believe the citizenship test is multiple choice and therefore the difficulty of the questions is determined in large part by which wrong answers are used as options.
I reckon most people wouldn't know the answer to that.
Not a scooby do who built it but then again I am not a native Brit.
Has anyone had a go at the British Citizenship test? There are some quite difficult questions like "who built the Tower of London?" or "what year was the Turner Prize established?"
And you need to get 75% to pass.
The German test is way easier eg "what was the Stasi?" And you only need to get 50%.
Also interesting: none of the German questions about history go back further than the 1930s, whereas UK ones go back to at least Julius Caesar. Lots of questions about the Nazis and about the DDR and the Cold War. History questions are numbers 151-211 here: https://oet.bamf.de/ords/oetut/f?p=514:30:0::NO:::
You also find the answer to the question: What was the hallmark of National Socialism? A policy of state racism (Question 161).
There's always examples someone born to it likely wouldn't get. But then it is probably meant to be tougher, and if everyone had to be tested they'd pay better attention in school.
"Who built the Tower of London" shouldn't a difficult question to a native Brit, unless they stopped mentioning that in schools in the last 30 years. That said, I believe the citizenship test is multiple choice and therefore the difficulty of the questions is determined in large part by which wrong answers are used as options.
I reckon most people wouldn't know the answer to that.
Not a scooby do who built it but then again I am not a native Brit.
Were you born before the Act of Union, malc ?
Nigel, I am Scottish , never British.
PS: some days I feel like I was born before it right enough.
What I don’t understand about Bourdain’s suicide - speaking as someone who has led a remarkably similar life - is, if it was that bad, why not just go back on the hezza? Chase the dragon again? Lose a couple of years to The Beige? What does it matter?
Then clean up and return to normal life, or not. As you wish. That’s better than DYING
About $40 billion was wiped off the value of British and European lenders after a chaotic sell-off in the US banking sector spread to Europe.
Investors have taken fright after Silicon Valley Bank, a little-known American lender focused on the technology sector, warned yesterday that it had suffered a $1.8 billion loss following a firesale of its bond portfolio.
This has raised investor concerns that there might be similar problems hiding in the debt portfolios of other lenders, causing a sharp fall in shares across the American banking sector. It comes as central bankers in the US, UK and Europe have raced to raise interest rates over the past year in a rush to tighten monetary policy that has hit bond markets.
After the US rout, investors in Europe have now also been spooked and have dumped banking shares.
HSBC slumped by 5.8 per cent, Standard Chartered lost 4.9 per cent and Barclays slid by 4.9 per cent. The domestic-focused lenders Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest were also caught in the rout and fell by 4 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively
SVB is somewhat unusual in that it massively increased its balance sheet near the top of the bond market. It argued that the subsequent paper losses on its bonds didn't matter as it intended to hold them to maturity. Which would have been fine had it not then been forced to raise capital...
Very good thread here on the ensuing arguments about the serious inadvisability of depositors being made to take a haircut. The US banking system is built on the expectation that equity and bond holders accept the bank economic risk and depositors, particularly the small folks, do not.
About $40 billion was wiped off the value of British and European lenders after a chaotic sell-off in the US banking sector spread to Europe.
Investors have taken fright after Silicon Valley Bank, a little-known American lender focused on the technology sector, warned yesterday that it had suffered a $1.8 billion loss following a firesale of its bond portfolio.
This has raised investor concerns that there might be similar problems hiding in the debt portfolios of other lenders, causing a sharp fall in shares across the American banking sector. It comes as central bankers in the US, UK and Europe have raced to raise interest rates over the past year in a rush to tighten monetary policy that has hit bond markets.
After the US rout, investors in Europe have now also been spooked and have dumped banking shares.
HSBC slumped by 5.8 per cent, Standard Chartered lost 4.9 per cent and Barclays slid by 4.9 per cent. The domestic-focused lenders Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest were also caught in the rout and fell by 4 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively
Long time since I heard skelping but seems spot on
Afternoon G , hpoe you and family are well. Beautiful day up here. I had a day off , lazed about in morning and washed the car after lunch. Very pleasant.
Has anyone had a go at the British Citizenship test? There are some quite difficult questions like "who built the Tower of London?" or "what year was the Turner Prize established?"
And you need to get 75% to pass.
The German test is way easier eg "what was the Stasi?" And you only need to get 50%.
Also interesting: none of the German questions about history go back further than the 1930s, whereas UK ones go back to at least Julius Caesar. Lots of questions about the Nazis and about the DDR and the Cold War. History questions are numbers 151-211 here: https://oet.bamf.de/ords/oetut/f?p=514:30:0::NO:::
You also find the answer to the question: What was the hallmark of National Socialism? A policy of state racism (Question 161).
There's always examples someone born to it likely wouldn't get. But then it is probably meant to be tougher, and if everyone had to be tested they'd pay better attention in school.
"Who built the Tower of London" shouldn't a difficult question to a native Brit, unless they stopped mentioning that in schools in the last 30 years. That said, I believe the citizenship test is multiple choice and therefore the difficulty of the questions is determined in large part by which wrong answers are used as options.
I reckon most people wouldn't know the answer to that.
Not a scooby do who built it but then again I am not a native Brit.
Were you born before the Act of Union, malc ?
It wouldn't matter if he had been - the Union is a political entity. Britain is a geographical expression. If you're born here, you're British. The same way we're still European even if we've left the EU.
Has anyone had a go at the British Citizenship test? There are some quite difficult questions like "who built the Tower of London?" or "what year was the Turner Prize established?"
And you need to get 75% to pass.
The German test is way easier eg "what was the Stasi?" And you only need to get 50%.
Also interesting: none of the German questions about history go back further than the 1930s, whereas UK ones go back to at least Julius Caesar. Lots of questions about the Nazis and about the DDR and the Cold War. History questions are numbers 151-211 here: https://oet.bamf.de/ords/oetut/f?p=514:30:0::NO:::
You also find the answer to the question: What was the hallmark of National Socialism? A policy of state racism (Question 161).
There's always examples someone born to it likely wouldn't get. But then it is probably meant to be tougher, and if everyone had to be tested they'd pay better attention in school.
"Who built the Tower of London" shouldn't a difficult question to a native Brit, unless they stopped mentioning that in schools in the last 30 years. That said, I believe the citizenship test is multiple choice and therefore the difficulty of the questions is determined in large part by which wrong answers are used as options.
I reckon most people wouldn't know the answer to that.
Not a scooby do who built it but then again I am not a native Brit.
Were you born before the Act of Union, malc ?
Nigel, I am Scottish , never British.
I thought that would be the case, but could not resist.
Labour down 2% and now this afternoon we find Rishi has successfully agreed a deal to fund a migrant detention centre in France to reduce Channel crossings https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-64914564
I think the news that Sunak is giving more of our money to the French may not go down as well as you expect.
Giving money to the French may be slightly more sensible than to the Rwandans. The policing may have some actual effect on numbers crossing. The French might be persuadable it's in their interest for migrants not to turn up in Calais.
Neither the French nor the Rwandans are being paid on results of course.
About $40 billion was wiped off the value of British and European lenders after a chaotic sell-off in the US banking sector spread to Europe.
Investors have taken fright after Silicon Valley Bank, a little-known American lender focused on the technology sector, warned yesterday that it had suffered a $1.8 billion loss following a firesale of its bond portfolio.
This has raised investor concerns that there might be similar problems hiding in the debt portfolios of other lenders, causing a sharp fall in shares across the American banking sector. It comes as central bankers in the US, UK and Europe have raced to raise interest rates over the past year in a rush to tighten monetary policy that has hit bond markets.
After the US rout, investors in Europe have now also been spooked and have dumped banking shares.
HSBC slumped by 5.8 per cent, Standard Chartered lost 4.9 per cent and Barclays slid by 4.9 per cent. The domestic-focused lenders Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest were also caught in the rout and fell by 4 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively
Long time since I heard skelping but seems spot on
Afternoon G , hpoe you and family are well. Beautiful day up here. I had a day off , lazed about in morning and washed the car after lunch. Very pleasant.
Thanks and yes we have recovered after a protracted chest infection
Lots of snow and schools closed just inland from us on the coast, but the mountains look beautiful in clear sunny skies but still cold
"... electric bikes are known as ‘electrically assisted pedal cycles’ (EAPCs). You do not need a licence to ride one and it does not need to be registered, taxed or insured."
According to James May the pedal is the important bit there.
If the electric motor only runs when you pedal, it's a bike.
If it runs without you pedaling, it's a motorbike, and not only needs tax and insurance, it needs a license plate as well
Most electric bicycles are power assisted; another word you have to pedal, but the electric motor makes it a lot easier
Yes, much easier for feckwads to mow down pedestrians, they are a menace in downtown Seattle these days.
THIS episode on Hue (about 40km from where I am now) is just superb TV. One of the greatest presenters ever. Able to tell entire histories through food. And he loved Indochina and he loved Vietnam as any wise traveler does, and likewise he loved Vietnamese noodle soups
So trump wins the presidency next year, cuts support for Ukraine and quits NATO. What do we do?
Try governing ourselves again?
And if Putin then walks into Poland or the Baltic states?
He would get his arse kicked. Post Ukraine he will no longer have a functioning army for at least a decade. Which is an interesting context for the article @Nigelb linked to in the last thread: what is the British army for?
Easy peasy: crushing rebellious Scots.
Protecting the Falklands and Gibraltar.
Plus taking part in UN and NATO operations
The British Empire going out in a whimper.
Bit like the SNP post Sturgeon!!!
SNP 47% Lab 28% Con 8% Grn 6% LD 6% Ref 3%
(PeoplePolling/GB News; 1,231; 8 March)
Tories in single figures and the SNP near 50%, after 15 years in government and eleven election victories in a row.
The lack of self-awareness is stunning.
TBF to BigG, he's sometimes not a Tory (and never by the standards of our local Tory officeholder).
I was responding to FUDHY, not BigG.
Mind you, Mini Franco is also sometimes not a Tory, when he’s a Plaid Cymru voter.
I voted for every Tory candidate on that Aberystwyth Town Council ballot paper, I just on principle use all my votes and there were only 4 Tory candidates but 6 seats to vote for
Wow! I thought you had only voted once for a Plaid candidate, but twice? That's almost painting your car green and daubing " Free Wales Army" on a motorway parapet sort of commitment.
What I don’t understand about Bourdain’s suicide - speaking as someone who has led a remarkably similar life - is, if it was that bad, why not just go back on the hezza? Chase the dragon again? Lose a couple of years to The Beige? What does it matter?
Then clean up and return to normal life, or not. As you wish. That’s better than DYING
That sounds like quite a fine line between self preservation and self destruction. I think you might be better at it than you give yourself credit for ?
What I don’t understand about Bourdain’s suicide - speaking as someone who has led a remarkably similar life - is, if it was that bad, why not just go back on the hezza? Chase the dragon again? Lose a couple of years to The Beige? What does it matter?
Then clean up and return to normal life, or not. As you wish. That’s better than DYING
There is a conspiracy theory that he was suicided as he was looking into child trafficking and other areas of grim international human trade. Something based on his trips to the far east and the prospect of him speaking up wasn’t popular with certain parties.
Has anyone had a go at the British Citizenship test? There are some quite difficult questions like "who built the Tower of London?" or "what year was the Turner Prize established?"
And you need to get 75% to pass.
The German test is way easier eg "what was the Stasi?" And you only need to get 50%.
Also interesting: none of the German questions about history go back further than the 1930s, whereas UK ones go back to at least Julius Caesar. Lots of questions about the Nazis and about the DDR and the Cold War. History questions are numbers 151-211 here: https://oet.bamf.de/ords/oetut/f?p=514:30:0::NO:::
You also find the answer to the question: What was the hallmark of National Socialism? A policy of state racism (Question 161).
There's always examples someone born to it likely wouldn't get. But then it is probably meant to be tougher, and if everyone had to be tested they'd pay better attention in school.
"Who built the Tower of London" shouldn't a difficult question to a native Brit, unless they stopped mentioning that in schools in the last 30 years. That said, I believe the citizenship test is multiple choice and therefore the difficulty of the questions is determined in large part by which wrong answers are used as options.
I reckon most people wouldn't know the answer to that.
Not a scooby do who built it but then again I am not a native Brit.
Were you born before the Act of Union, malc ?
It wouldn't matter if he had been - the Union is a political entity. Britain is a geographical expression. If you're born here, you're British. The same way we're still European even if we've left the EU.
THIS episode on Hue (about 40km from where I am now) is just superb TV. One of the greatest presenters ever. Able to tell entire histories through food. And he loved Indochina and he loved Vietnam as any wise traveler does, and likewise he loved Vietnamese noodle soups
Why the F did he top himself? All that wisdom. Sad
Loved Glasgow too, so top man obviously. In the sadly departed Rogano’s in which my newly married folks dined on their way to their honeymoon. The honeymoon was in Belfast, the marriage was doomed from the start.
TUD, Don't tell me Rogano's is closed. I have not been in Glasgow for some time. My wife and I used to frequent it a lot , especially Friday's for a glass or two of champagne.
Unfortunately yes, Covid did it in. I keep hearing noises that it's going to reopen but it was still boarded up last time I walked past. As Leon suggests their oysters were the best.
My conclusion about the Bourdain suicide is that he was broken hearted. That’s what happened to me. Broke up with my beloved young Corbynite wife mid-Covid due to different desires re kids due to massive age difference. That’s the price you pay for much younger lovers
Even heroin can’t assuage that kind of grief. So you contemplate self-murder to swerve the pain
Otherwise it’s inexplicable outside a diagnosis of terminal illness. Or his manic depression was wayyyyyyyy more severe than anyone realised
Has anyone had a go at the British Citizenship test? There are some quite difficult questions like "who built the Tower of London?" or "what year was the Turner Prize established?"
And you need to get 75% to pass.
The German test is way easier eg "what was the Stasi?" And you only need to get 50%.
Also interesting: none of the German questions about history go back further than the 1930s, whereas UK ones go back to at least Julius Caesar. Lots of questions about the Nazis and about the DDR and the Cold War. History questions are numbers 151-211 here: https://oet.bamf.de/ords/oetut/f?p=514:30:0::NO:::
You also find the answer to the question: What was the hallmark of National Socialism? A policy of state racism (Question 161).
There's always examples someone born to it likely wouldn't get. But then it is probably meant to be tougher, and if everyone had to be tested they'd pay better attention in school.
"Who built the Tower of London" shouldn't a difficult question to a native Brit, unless they stopped mentioning that in schools in the last 30 years. That said, I believe the citizenship test is multiple choice and therefore the difficulty of the questions is determined in large part by which wrong answers are used as options.
I reckon most people wouldn't know the answer to that.
Not a scooby do who built it but then again I am not a native Brit.
Were you born before the Act of Union, malc ?
Birth is always after the act of union, surely? Normally by about 9 months?
So trump wins the presidency next year, cuts support for Ukraine and quits NATO. What do we do?
Try governing ourselves again?
And if Putin then walks into Poland or the Baltic states?
He would get his arse kicked. Post Ukraine he will no longer have a functioning army for at least a decade. Which is an interesting context for the article @Nigelb linked to in the last thread: what is the British army for?
Easy peasy: crushing rebellious Scots.
Protecting the Falklands and Gibraltar.
Plus taking part in UN and NATO operations
The British Empire going out in a whimper.
Bit like the SNP post Sturgeon!!!
SNP 47% Lab 28% Con 8% Grn 6% LD 6% Ref 3%
(PeoplePolling/GB News; 1,231; 8 March)
Tories in single figures and the SNP near 50%, after 15 years in government and eleven election victories in a row.
The lack of self-awareness is stunning.
TBF to BigG, he's sometimes not a Tory (and never by the standards of our local Tory officeholder).
I was responding to FUDHY, not BigG.
Mind you, Mini Franco is also sometimes not a Tory, when he’s a Plaid Cymru voter.
I voted for every Tory candidate on that Aberystwyth Town Council ballot paper, I just on principle use all my votes and there were only 4 Tory candidates but 6 seats to vote for
Wow! I thought you had only voted once for a Plaid candidate, but twice? That's almost painting your car green and daubing " Free Wales Army" on a motorway parapet sort of commitment.
Do you have a collection of Meic Stevens records?
Don't forget going into the garage for a jerrican of petrol. That's apparently the correct thing to do to forward the political process. (Not that I understand it.)
THIS episode on Hue (about 40km from where I am now) is just superb TV. One of the greatest presenters ever. Able to tell entire histories through food. And he loved Indochina and he loved Vietnam as any wise traveler does, and likewise he loved Vietnamese noodle soups
Why the F did he top himself? All that wisdom. Sad
Loved Glasgow too, so top man obviously. In the sadly departed Rogano’s in which my newly married folks dined on their way to their honeymoon. The honeymoon was in Belfast, the marriage was doomed from the start.
I discovered something today re Glasgow and food that really got me hooping and hollering. The Doner Kebab Pie! Is that a product from the gods or what.
New one on me but I like the sound of it. If it'll go in a pie or between 2 halves of a roll, we'll do it. In fact..
No, they are actually defined as being illegal to use (note: my wife was a traffic police officer until recently, she had to deal with this). They do fall into a gap in classification, but that means that one part of government (can't remember which way around this is) says they are vehicles, so can't be used on pavements, while another part says they aren't vehicles, so can't be taxed or insured, or ridden on roads. So whichever you try to do, you're breaking the law.
I'd be very interested to know what legislation the Police are being advised covers e-scooters. My understanding is that any two-wheeled, powered vehicle where the motor can move the vehicle on its own at speeds above 8mph is counted as a motorcycle. There isn't as far as I know (and I'm happy to be proved wrong, my knowledge may be out of date) any legislation to differentiate between an e-scooter and a normal road-going 50cc (or electric equivalent) scooter - the latter of which is definitely considered a Light Motorcycle, and needs all the usual gubbins to ride legally.
Honestly, slagging off the national treasure Sir David Attenborough is going to be a huge vote loser for the Tories.
WTFAF ?
I suspect the Guardian are being a bit mischievous here, unless someone can find some evidence that the "sixth" episode originally was intended for terrestrial broadcast and actually got "cancelled".
No, it's normal to have a supplementary film on conservation issues in those series.
And making and then not broadcasting a DA nature film? Come off it, it's like not broadcasting a Cup Final. Pure ratings gold for the BBC.
OK I'm probably wrong, haven't watched broadcast TV for so long!
I now worry that my memory is weong too ... TV has changed so much lately. So let's see what comes out, so to speak. But I really can't see why they wouldn't broadcast his last (I believe) series in full.
I'm just surprised by the idea that the BBC would be so pathetic as to cancel the broadcast of a DAVID ATTENBOROUGH program because it might upset a few idiots
This Tory government seeks to have the BBC cowering in a corner, scared to offend, policed from within by its placemen.
Labour down 2% and now this afternoon we find Rishi has successfully agreed a deal to fund a migrant detention centre in France to reduce Channel crossings https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-64914564
I think the news that Sunak is giving more of our money to the French may not go down as well as you expect.
Giving money to the French may be slightly more sensible than to the Rwandans. The policing may have some actual effect on numbers crossing. The French might be persuadable it's in their interest for migrants not to turn up in Calais.
Neither the French nor the Rwandans are being paid on results of course.
In the conference Macron acknowledged this was a problem across Europe and that the UK and EU will be working together as part of this agreement to address the wider issue of migration into Europe which is affecting many European countries
Sunak has changed the relationships with France and the EU with Macron very pleased that the WF has been agreed
I know some are trying to dismiss today due to party politics but for me just the fact Sunak has taken these steps is satisfying and such a change from Johnson and Truss
Yes, it looks like Starmer will win in 24 but that should not prevent anyone of any political persuasion to welcome todays events, unless maybe supporters of the dreadful Farage
THIS episode on Hue (about 40km from where I am now) is just superb TV. One of the greatest presenters ever. Able to tell entire histories through food. And he loved Indochina and he loved Vietnam as any wise traveler does, and likewise he loved Vietnamese noodle soups
Why the F did he top himself? All that wisdom. Sad
You're very like him, you think, isn't it?
He’s a trillion times more famous than me, but there are uncanny and undeniable echoes
"uncanny and undeniable echoes" ... yes I bet.
Rather like with me and Sean Bean.
You’re a retired accountant, Sean Bean is a famous actor
I’m a person paid to travel the world luxuriously and tell the world about it, aaaand… that’s what Bourdain did (more famously, coz he was on TV and I’m in print)
He was also an ex smack addict with a criminal record. Ditto ditto ditto
He wrote a bestselling book. Er, ditto
And so on. Like I say, he was and is billions of times more famous than me, but there ARE similarities. You and Sean Bean, not so much. To be fair
About $40 billion was wiped off the value of British and European lenders after a chaotic sell-off in the US banking sector spread to Europe.
Investors have taken fright after Silicon Valley Bank, a little-known American lender focused on the technology sector, warned yesterday that it had suffered a $1.8 billion loss following a firesale of its bond portfolio.
This has raised investor concerns that there might be similar problems hiding in the debt portfolios of other lenders, causing a sharp fall in shares across the American banking sector. It comes as central bankers in the US, UK and Europe have raced to raise interest rates over the past year in a rush to tighten monetary policy that has hit bond markets.
After the US rout, investors in Europe have now also been spooked and have dumped banking shares.
HSBC slumped by 5.8 per cent, Standard Chartered lost 4.9 per cent and Barclays slid by 4.9 per cent. The domestic-focused lenders Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest were also caught in the rout and fell by 4 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively
SVB is somewhat unusual in that it massively increased its balance sheet near the top of the bond market. It argued that the subsequent paper losses on its bonds didn't matter as it intended to hold them to maturity. Which would have been fine had it not then been forced to raise capital...
Very good thread here on the ensuing arguments about the serious inadvisability of depositors being made to take a haircut. The US banking system is built on the expectation that equity and bond holders accept the bank economic risk and depositors, particularly the small folks, do not.
LA Times (via Seattle Times) - A Black couple settles lawsuit over a home valuation that rose when a white friend posed as owner
A Black couple has settled a lawsuit against a real estate company that appraised the value of their Marin City, Calif., home nearly half a million dollars higher when a white friend posed as the property owner.
Tenisha Tate-Austin and Paul Austin bought the home in December 2016, then made a series of renovations. When they decided to refinance their home in 2020, the appraiser estimated the home to be worth $995,000.
Three weeks later, the couple had a different appraiser evaluate the home but, this time, the couple removed all family photos and African-themed art. A white friend posed as the owner and placed pictures of his family around the home.
The home was valued at $1,482,500, according to the suit filed by the couple, claiming housing discrimination due to their race.
The lawsuit names the original appraisal firm, Miller and Perotti Real Estate Appraisals, as well as AMC Links, which contracted with Miller and Perotti to do the appraisal.
Earlier this week, the couple announced, through their attorneys, that they had reached a settlement with the appraiser.
“Having to erase our identity to get a better appraisal was a wrenching experience,” Tenisha Tate-Austin said in a statement. “Neighborhoods of color have been historically undervalued due to deliberate racist housing policies, such as redlining. The ongoing undervaluation of homes in Black neighborhoods perpetuates the wealth gap between Black and white families.”
According to a statement, the couple settled the lawsuit with both companies for an undisclosed amount. The appraisers are also required to attend training that includes the history of segregation and real estate discrimination, and to watch a documentary, “Our America: Lowballed,” which features the Austins’ story.
“We’re glad that we can put this lawsuit behind us,” Paul Austin said in the statement. “Having to experience everything that came with receiving the lowballed appraisal was overwhelming. Being able to tell our story and knowing we had legal recourse helped.”
The Austins’ case, and their decision to get a second appraisal with a white friend posing as the owner of their home, garnered nationwide headlines, but their story also drew attention to housing discrimination still faced by minorities.
SSI - of course, this could NEVER happen in the UK! Or could it?
What I don’t understand about Bourdain’s suicide - speaking as someone who has led a remarkably similar life - is, if it was that bad, why not just go back on the hezza? Chase the dragon again? Lose a couple of years to The Beige? What does it matter?
Then clean up and return to normal life, or not. As you wish. That’s better than DYING
There is a conspiracy theory that he was suicided as he was looking into child trafficking and other areas of grim international human trade. Something based on his trips to the far east and the prospect of him speaking up wasn’t popular with certain parties.
Ye gods, that’s awful. Worse than the suicide theory, maybe
On the Attenborough story, it's obvious to anyone who watches it and has half a brain that the BBC is increasingly in the pocket of the Tory government. They've hardly hidden it, with the appointment of the Chair and the D-G. To give a couple of examples, Fiona Bruce really struggles to disguise her Tory values on QT, and news outputs have been ordered not to publicise any perceived downsides of Brexit. Of course the BBC is huge, and many corners of it are resisting the top-down instructions.
Still amusing to read, however, that the hotbed of woke radicalism known as the RSPB is now on the 'enemies of the people' list in the DT, if the Guardian is correct. The world just gets weirder.
Has anyone had a go at the British Citizenship test? There are some quite difficult questions like "who built the Tower of London?" or "what year was the Turner Prize established?"
And you need to get 75% to pass.
The German test is way easier eg "what was the Stasi?" And you only need to get 50%.
Also interesting: none of the German questions about history go back further than the 1930s, whereas UK ones go back to at least Julius Caesar. Lots of questions about the Nazis and about the DDR and the Cold War. History questions are numbers 151-211 here: https://oet.bamf.de/ords/oetut/f?p=514:30:0::NO:::
You also find the answer to the question: What was the hallmark of National Socialism? A policy of state racism (Question 161).
There's always examples someone born to it likely wouldn't get. But then it is probably meant to be tougher, and if everyone had to be tested they'd pay better attention in school.
"Who built the Tower of London" shouldn't a difficult question to a native Brit, unless they stopped mentioning that in schools in the last 30 years. That said, I believe the citizenship test is multiple choice and therefore the difficulty of the questions is determined in large part by which wrong answers are used as options.
I reckon most people wouldn't know the answer to that.
Not a scooby do who built it but then again I am not a native Brit.
Were you born before the Act of Union, malc ?
Birth is always after the act of union, surely? Normally by about 9 months?
THIS episode on Hue (about 40km from where I am now) is just superb TV. One of the greatest presenters ever. Able to tell entire histories through food. And he loved Indochina and he loved Vietnam as any wise traveler does, and likewise he loved Vietnamese noodle soups
Why the F did he top himself? All that wisdom. Sad
You're very like him, you think, isn't it?
He’s a trillion times more famous than me, but there are uncanny and undeniable echoes
"uncanny and undeniable echoes" ... yes I bet.
Rather like with me and Sean Bean.
You’re a retired accountant, Sean Bean is a famous actor
I’m a person paid to travel the world luxuriously and tell the world about it, aaaand… that’s what Bourdain did (more famously, coz he was on TV and I’m in print)
He was also an ex smack addict with a criminal record. Ditto ditto ditto
He wrote a bestselling book. Er, ditto
And so on. Like I say, he was and is billions of times more famous than me, but there ARE similarities. You and Sean Bean, not so much. To be fair
Oooh, you wrote a book and your name is Leon? Did you write Exodus or are you Donna Leon?
THIS episode on Hue (about 40km from where I am now) is just superb TV. One of the greatest presenters ever. Able to tell entire histories through food. And he loved Indochina and he loved Vietnam as any wise traveler does, and likewise he loved Vietnamese noodle soups
Why the F did he top himself? All that wisdom. Sad
Loved Glasgow too, so top man obviously. In the sadly departed Rogano’s in which my newly married folks dined on their way to their honeymoon. The honeymoon was in Belfast, the marriage was doomed from the start.
I discovered something today re Glasgow and food that really got me hooping and hollering. The Doner Kebab Pie! Is that a product from the gods or what.
New one on me but I like the sound of it. If it'll go in a pie or between 2 halves of a roll, we'll do it. In fact..
Oy veh! Spookily this just popped up on my instagram.
Re; motorized/weaponized motor bikes/scooters, police of more than one land obviously can NOT be bothered to try to enforce whatever laws/ordinances there are that ostensibly regulate their use.
Certainly the case in Seattle, where they are OFFICIALLY banned from sidewalks, and where scooter drivers are OFFICIALLY required to wear a helmet. And where in REALITY both these alleged offenses are not just common, but downright ubiquitous.
About $40 billion was wiped off the value of British and European lenders after a chaotic sell-off in the US banking sector spread to Europe.
Investors have taken fright after Silicon Valley Bank, a little-known American lender focused on the technology sector, warned yesterday that it had suffered a $1.8 billion loss following a firesale of its bond portfolio.
This has raised investor concerns that there might be similar problems hiding in the debt portfolios of other lenders, causing a sharp fall in shares across the American banking sector. It comes as central bankers in the US, UK and Europe have raced to raise interest rates over the past year in a rush to tighten monetary policy that has hit bond markets.
After the US rout, investors in Europe have now also been spooked and have dumped banking shares.
HSBC slumped by 5.8 per cent, Standard Chartered lost 4.9 per cent and Barclays slid by 4.9 per cent. The domestic-focused lenders Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest were also caught in the rout and fell by 4 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively
Not an accountant, but the problem, as I understand it, is related to accountancy procedures regarding ringfenced funds.
Since the 2008 crash, banks have been obliged to hold customer deposits in a ringfenced structure, which essentially involves the purchase of treasury bills. The problem is that these bills are now held at a loss due to rising interest rates, devaluing earlier bonds purchased at a lower rate.
Now, the problem is that investors are realising they can get better rates by withdrawing their money from banks and purchasing t-bills directly. This means that the banks are being forced to sell off their devalued bonds at a loss in order to meet redemptions.
Accountancy procedures allow banks to "carry forward" losses on their bonds - however those losses are realised when they're forced to liquidate these bonds in order to meet customer redemptions.
It's essentially a bank run. The question is how deep it goes and just how big the losses banks are carrying on their balance sheets.
Is it time to panic, withdraw all your money and stash it under the mattress? Probably not. Could we see a couple of smaller, weaker banks (like SVB) go under? Possibly. Worth mentioning that the alternative narrative on some of the wilder corners of fintwit is that the problem is much deeper than most banks are admitting and losses are far greater (think what happened in the UK during Trussonomics).
This is a great comment, to which I should add a little more colour.
SVB primary business is something called venture debt.
This meant that venture backed companies, when they get (say) $20m from Kleiner Perkins, then SVB follows that with $5-6m of venture debt. (And SVB, in return, gets share options - warrants - that pay off if the company does well.)
SVB has therefore lent money to a lot of very risky early stage companies. And while venture was on a tear, this worked. Essentially, the share options more than made up for any losses from firms that didn't make it.
Now virtually nothing is getting done in VC land. This means that lots of SVB's share options are now worthless, while a lot of the firms they've backed will be forced to close.
And that means they are at the nexus of two negative trends: rising interest rates and serious problems in VC land.
We've heard from one of our VC backers that their investments (who banked with SVB) have been trying to withdraw funds from SVB and have been unable to. That's a very serious situation to be in. It's entirely possible that a whole chunk of VC land is going to be in pain next week.
THIS episode on Hue (about 40km from where I am now) is just superb TV. One of the greatest presenters ever. Able to tell entire histories through food. And he loved Indochina and he loved Vietnam as any wise traveler does, and likewise he loved Vietnamese noodle soups
Why the F did he top himself? All that wisdom. Sad
Loved Glasgow too, so top man obviously. In the sadly departed Rogano’s in which my newly married folks dined on their way to their honeymoon. The honeymoon was in Belfast, the marriage was doomed from the start.
I discovered something today re Glasgow and food that really got me hooping and hollering. The Doner Kebab Pie! Is that a product from the gods or what.
New one on me but I like the sound of it. If it'll go in a pie or between 2 halves of a roll, we'll do it. In fact..
Pie night down here. Out to 27 in Kingsbridge tonight. Soup, pie and a pud, £20 - for Jamie's soon-to-be-Michelin-starred quality food.
About $40 billion was wiped off the value of British and European lenders after a chaotic sell-off in the US banking sector spread to Europe.
Investors have taken fright after Silicon Valley Bank, a little-known American lender focused on the technology sector, warned yesterday that it had suffered a $1.8 billion loss following a firesale of its bond portfolio.
This has raised investor concerns that there might be similar problems hiding in the debt portfolios of other lenders, causing a sharp fall in shares across the American banking sector. It comes as central bankers in the US, UK and Europe have raced to raise interest rates over the past year in a rush to tighten monetary policy that has hit bond markets.
After the US rout, investors in Europe have now also been spooked and have dumped banking shares.
HSBC slumped by 5.8 per cent, Standard Chartered lost 4.9 per cent and Barclays slid by 4.9 per cent. The domestic-focused lenders Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest were also caught in the rout and fell by 4 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively
Not an accountant, but the problem, as I understand it, is related to accountancy procedures regarding ringfenced funds.
Since the 2008 crash, banks have been obliged to hold customer deposits in a ringfenced structure, which essentially involves the purchase of treasury bills. The problem is that these bills are now held at a loss due to rising interest rates, devaluing earlier bonds purchased at a lower rate.
Now, the problem is that investors are realising they can get better rates by withdrawing their money from banks and purchasing t-bills directly. This means that the banks are being forced to sell off their devalued bonds at a loss in order to meet redemptions.
Accountancy procedures allow banks to "carry forward" losses on their bonds - however those losses are realised when they're forced to liquidate these bonds in order to meet customer redemptions.
It's essentially a bank run. The question is how deep it goes and just how big the losses banks are carrying on their balance sheets.
Is it time to panic, withdraw all your money and stash it under the mattress? Probably not. Could we see a couple of smaller, weaker banks (like SVB) go under? Possibly. Worth mentioning that the alternative narrative on some of the wilder corners of fintwit is that the problem is much deeper than most banks are admitting and losses are far greater (think what happened in the UK during Trussonomics).
SVB was a lender to plenty of small caps and start ups in Silicon Valley. Many of whom are now faced with having to find other sources of finance to meet payroll.
Hopefully it won’t go to deep due to banks capitalisation and stress tests and it shouldn’t be 2008 again but who knows.
SSI - of course, this could NEVER happen in the UK! Or could it?
It sounds like they were just trying it on. People often have to "erase their identity" to get the best sale price for a house by dressing it to fit their target market.
Yeah but there's good free speech and there's bad free speech.
For someone who as a child was tearful when Morecambe and Wise left for Thames, I now detest the Johnsonian BBC. I hope he tells them to **** right off and becomes Labour MP for Leicester East.
Labour down 2% and now this afternoon we find Rishi has successfully agreed a deal to fund a migrant detention centre in France to reduce Channel crossings https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-64914564
I think the news that Sunak is giving more of our money to the French may not go down as well as you expect.
The snippets I hear from the "real world" are that the French are the arch-villains of the piece, and deliberately letting the boats across to get the migrants off their hands. Unless one takes the view that RefUK is essentially a Tory front organisation, intended to lull the Labout Party into a false sense of security and withdraw their candidates at the last minute, paying the French half a billion pounds to do what they should have been doing all along (according to the narrative) is not going to go down with the people who have been persuaded that the French are the villains.
LA Times (via Seattle Times) - A Black couple settles lawsuit over a home valuation that rose when a white friend posed as owner
I see racism is alive and well at the LA and/or Seattle Times.
The story is an interesting one that I'd been following.
A (black) couple got their house valued by a firm of house valuers for a mortgage. They got a number back that was very significantly (like 25% lower) than the value that their neighbours had sold their home for. And they'd done a massive amount of work to their house, adding 1,000 square feet and major renovations.
They then got a white friend to pretend to be the owner, and removed any pictures of their family and replaced them with photos of generic white people.
They then got the house revalued.
The difference in the valuation was astonishing: $1.5m vs $0.995m.
Now; is this a common thing with house appraisers putting in lower values for homes owned by black families? Is this simply unconscious bias?
We'd need to do a proper study to see, and it would be great if we could say it would have been the case that this appraiser just had a different opinion. But in due diligence, this appraiser appeared to consistently price black and latino owned homes well below white owned ones.
Yeah but there's good free speech and there's bad free speech.
For someone who as a child was tearful when Morecambe and Wise left for Thames, I now detest the Johnsonian BBC. I hope he tells them to **** right off and becomes Labour MP for Leicester East.
So the sound of ‘here they are now, Morecambe and wise’ to the Thames ident triggers you somewhat !!
Comments
I think this is all good publicity for the BBC and will help viewing figures which, let’s face it, for the main channels have been in decline for a while now.
Since the 2008 crash, banks have been obliged to hold customer deposits in a ringfenced structure, which essentially involves the purchase of treasury bills. The problem is that these bills are now held at a loss due to rising interest rates, devaluing earlier bonds purchased at a lower rate.
Now, the problem is that investors are realising they can get better rates by withdrawing their money from banks and purchasing t-bills directly. This means that the banks are being forced to sell off their devalued bonds at a loss in order to meet redemptions.
Accountancy procedures allow banks to "carry forward" losses on their bonds - however those losses are realised when they're forced to liquidate these bonds in order to meet customer redemptions.
It's essentially a bank run. The question is how deep it goes and just how big the losses banks are carrying on their balance sheets.
Is it time to panic, withdraw all your money and stash it under the mattress? Probably not. Could we see a couple of smaller, weaker banks (like SVB) go under? Possibly. Worth mentioning that the alternative narrative on some of the wilder corners of fintwit is that the problem is much deeper than most banks are admitting and losses are far greater (think what happened in the UK during Trussonomics).
If I was to use one (I've enrolled in the APP but not actually needed to use one yet) I would prefer to be on the pavement (but this is not allowed though many do) or go on the road (which seems less safe) without a helmet. (Insisting on a helmet on one of these would defeat the object of the things from a convenience point of view.)
I hardly think that will impress the xenophobes. Still, maybe a step in the right direction on that basis?
Think of it as a cross between Bloomberg and gonzo journalism.
As far as the conservative party's election chances are concerned I am told daily on here it is over, so nothing for Starmer to worry about
His suicide troubles me in several ways. As a bon viveur professional traveler with a history of heroin addiction and risk-taking… hmmmpft
It argued that the subsequent paper losses on its bonds didn't matter as it intended to hold them to maturity. Which would have been fine had it not then been forced to raise capital...
Very good thread here on the ensuing arguments about the serious inadvisability of depositors being made to take a haircut.
The US banking system is built on the expectation that equity and bond holders accept the bank economic risk and depositors, particularly the small folks, do not.
While that is not legally the structure, it's important to keep in mind that's functionally how it works. Thread.
https://mobile.twitter.com/BobEUnlimited/status/1634179356779065345
"Best for the Tories to move on, I think. What will their next cunning PR plan be, after the nurses and Gary Lineker? Why not pick a fight with David Attenborough? "
Long time since I heard skelping but seems spot on
Then clean up and return to normal life, or not. As you wish. That’s better than DYING
Neither the French nor the Rwandans are being paid on results of course.
Lots of snow and schools closed just inland from us on the coast, but the mountains look beautiful in clear sunny skies but still cold
Rather like with me and Sean Bean.
Do you have a collection of Meic Stevens records?
I think you might be better at it than you give yourself credit for ?
Even heroin can’t assuage that kind of grief. So you contemplate self-murder to swerve the pain
Otherwise it’s inexplicable outside a diagnosis of terminal illness. Or his manic depression was wayyyyyyyy more severe than anyone realised
(Unless, of course, Malc is actually Jesus
Sunak has changed the relationships with France and the EU with Macron very pleased that the WF has been agreed
I know some are trying to dismiss today due to party politics but for me just the fact Sunak has taken these steps is satisfying and such a change from Johnson and Truss
Yes, it looks like Starmer will win in 24 but that should not prevent anyone of any political persuasion to welcome todays events, unless maybe supporters of the dreadful Farage
I’m a person paid to travel the world luxuriously and tell the world about it, aaaand… that’s what Bourdain did (more famously, coz he was on TV and I’m in print)
He was also an ex smack addict with a criminal record. Ditto ditto ditto
He wrote a bestselling book. Er, ditto
And so on. Like I say, he was and is billions of times more famous than me, but there ARE similarities. You and Sean Bean, not so much. To be fair
And compared that to aggregate bank equity?
https://mobile.twitter.com/AppleHelix/status/1634223075238502402
A Black couple has settled a lawsuit against a real estate company that appraised the value of their Marin City, Calif., home nearly half a million dollars higher when a white friend posed as the property owner.
Tenisha Tate-Austin and Paul Austin bought the home in December 2016, then made a series of renovations. When they decided to refinance their home in 2020, the appraiser estimated the home to be worth $995,000.
Three weeks later, the couple had a different appraiser evaluate the home but, this time, the couple removed all family photos and African-themed art. A white friend posed as the owner and placed pictures of his family around the home.
The home was valued at $1,482,500, according to the suit filed by the couple, claiming housing discrimination due to their race.
The lawsuit names the original appraisal firm, Miller and Perotti Real Estate Appraisals, as well as AMC Links, which contracted with Miller and Perotti to do the appraisal.
Earlier this week, the couple announced, through their attorneys, that they had reached a settlement with the appraiser.
“Having to erase our identity to get a better appraisal was a wrenching experience,” Tenisha Tate-Austin said in a statement. “Neighborhoods of color have been historically undervalued due to deliberate racist housing policies, such as redlining. The ongoing undervaluation of homes in Black neighborhoods perpetuates the wealth gap between Black and white families.”
According to a statement, the couple settled the lawsuit with both companies for an undisclosed amount. The appraisers are also required to attend training that includes the history of segregation and real estate discrimination, and to watch a documentary, “Our America: Lowballed,” which features the Austins’ story.
“We’re glad that we can put this lawsuit behind us,” Paul Austin said in the statement. “Having to experience everything that came with receiving the lowballed appraisal was overwhelming. Being able to tell our story and knowing we had legal recourse helped.”
The Austins’ case, and their decision to get a second appraisal with a white friend posing as the owner of their home, garnered nationwide headlines, but their story also drew attention to housing discrimination still faced by minorities.
SSI - of course, this could NEVER happen in the UK! Or could it?
Still amusing to read, however, that the hotbed of woke radicalism known as the RSPB is now on the 'enemies of the people' list in the DT, if the Guardian is correct. The world just gets weirder.
@maitlis
Roughly translates as £350 million. Funny.. don’t remember seeing this one on the side of a bus …
https://twitter.com/maitlis/status/1634209059120246784
Gary Lineker to step back from presenting Match of the Day until agreement reached on social media use - BBC statement
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64920557
Certainly the case in Seattle, where they are OFFICIALLY banned from sidewalks, and where scooter drivers are OFFICIALLY required to wear a helmet. And where in REALITY both these alleged offenses are not just common, but downright ubiquitous.
Good. Twat
SVB primary business is something called venture debt.
This meant that venture backed companies, when they get (say) $20m from Kleiner Perkins, then SVB follows that with $5-6m of venture debt. (And SVB, in return, gets share options - warrants - that pay off if the company does well.)
SVB has therefore lent money to a lot of very risky early stage companies. And while venture was on a tear, this worked. Essentially, the share options more than made up for any losses from firms that didn't make it.
Now virtually nothing is getting done in VC land. This means that lots of SVB's share options are now worthless, while a lot of the firms they've backed will be forced to close.
And that means they are at the nexus of two negative trends: rising interest rates and serious problems in VC land.
We've heard from one of our VC backers that their investments (who banked with SVB) have been trying to withdraw funds from SVB and have been unable to. That's a very serious situation to be in. It's entirely possible that a whole chunk of VC land is going to be in pain next week.
Hopefully it won’t go to deep due to banks capitalisation and stress tests and it shouldn’t be 2008 again but who knows.
For someone who as a child was tearful when Morecambe and Wise left for Thames, I now detest the Johnsonian BBC. I hope he tells them to **** right off and becomes Labour MP for Leicester East.
He’s a soccer pundit not a politician. He’s allowed his opinion.
I think the guy is a grade a bellend. Easy solution. Block him.
A (black) couple got their house valued by a firm of house valuers for a mortgage. They got a number back that was very significantly (like 25% lower) than the value that their neighbours had sold their home for. And they'd done a massive amount of work to their house, adding 1,000 square feet and major renovations.
They then got a white friend to pretend to be the owner, and removed any pictures of their family and replaced them with photos of generic white people.
They then got the house revalued.
The difference in the valuation was astonishing: $1.5m vs $0.995m.
Now; is this a common thing with house appraisers putting in lower values for homes owned by black families? Is this simply unconscious bias?
We'd need to do a proper study to see, and it would be great if we could say it would have been the case that this appraiser just had a different opinion. But in due diligence, this appraiser appeared to consistently price black and latino owned homes well below white owned ones.