More interesting to me in the tech wars is the call for a six month freeze in advanced AI development.
How can there be trust that rivals would respect such a freeze? What economic compensation could/should be offered to those we are asking not to undertake profitable innovation? Are the US and Chinese militaries likely to be developing their own AIs in parallel (or ahead of) what is commercially available?
I fear this ends badly as can see close to zero chance of an effective freeze or global agreement, and a high chance that an AI that is profitable in the short term but very damaging to the long term of humanity gets created at some point. Not sure if I'm just a modern day luddite though....
No you’re absolutely right. Trying to stop AI now is like trying to stop the Manhattan project in about 1944 and just hoping Hitler or Stalin won’t simply carry on and make the bomb. And then defeat us completely
It’s too late now. We have to complete the journey
And as you say there is no guarantee the US government/military wouldn’t continue development anyway. Just keep it out of the hands of the people
All we can do is advance from here. And pray. And the UK should be exploiting its relative advantage
Why should we do something if it may make life worse for most/many people? Seems like the definition of stupidity.
For clarification the present members of the CPTPP are
Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam
UK will make it 12
CPTPP has a combined GDP of 9 trillion and 500 million people in 2021
Our exports of goods and services to the EU are 5 times our exports of goods and services to this group of countries. Our exports to just one EU country (Germany) are of the same magnitude as our exports to all of these countries.
Location, location, location.
Replacing the EU with CPTPP? It's like me switching my weekly "big" shop from Tesco, Bridgend to a corner shop in Inverness. Makes no economic or logistical sense whatsoever.
I never understand this stick to the backyard argument.
For the EU the top 10 trading partners include China, Japan, South Korea and India.
Invalid comparison. That doesn't allow for trade *within* the EU. Which, for the UK, was and will be much larger than with the CPTPP.
It also flags up the lie that EU membership was stopping the UK trading with the rest of the world.
Could we have signed with CPTPP while in the EU? I believe the answer is no
Do we need to be in the organisation to trade with them? I believe the answer is no.
Will CPTPP membership boost trade? I believe the answer is "a bit, but not very much";
CPTPP member countries have a combined population of 500 million and GDP of £9 trillion. For reference, although the EU is a similar size, with a GDP of £11 trillion, the value of our total trade to the EU is much higher, at £557 billion.1 CPTPP as an area makes up 7.8% of the UK’s total trade. In 2019, UK service suppliers exported £28.8 billion worth of services to CPTPP members, and average annual growth in trade between 2016-2019 with members was 8%. We already have bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with seven of the eleven countries, and digital economy agreements with Singapore and Japan...
UK companies still rely on the long established links they have with EU markets, which are directly on our doorstep and with whom they have closer historical ties. The Indo-Pacific strategy will open up important opportunities for UK businesses, but the government must not forfeit the significance of our relationship with the EU in order to do so.
Guess the identity of the one single US President, in recent history, who has been entirely dismissive about UFOs/aliens. When all the others have made suggestive remarks, hints, policy decisions, implying that something IS out there
Yes, it's Donald Trump. As far as I can tell, Trump is the only one who has said Nah, it's all bollocks
Why would Trump be the ONLY American President not to drop hefty hints that Them Aliens Are Out There. Just coz he's contrary? Because he refuses to play the psy-ops game? Or because he's so mad the FBI and NASA won't show him the evidence there IS something out there?
Because, as is becoming ever clearer with recent events, there is NOTHING out there. Nothing. Just misidentified birds, starts (out of focus as triangles), balloons etc. All those posters who said we were on the brink of a big revelation have been utterly wrong.
So it was all a big psy-ops, or a hoax, or just a lot of politicians and intelligence bigwigs going a bit Cold War mad? Or what? A stunt to freak out the Chinese?
Genuine questions, btw. I have always focused on the strange behaviour of the American elite not the frankly dismal "evidence" of actual UFOs/UAPs
Some folk involved with the Skinwalker nonsense (endless TV shows) and a few who have made a career our of bullshit (Luis Elizondo) etc and it caught the attention of a few senators who ought to know better. The military are quite happy to have 'threats' that keep the budget increasing.
The fact that people started seeing 'saucers' after Kenneth Arnold in 1947 was revealing - Arnold never said that he saw saucers, he said what he saw moved like saucers. And yet suddening people were reporting saucers.
Its a lovely idea that alien races have travelled to Earth and every now and again we catch sight of an alien space craft, sadly the evidence is damning that they haven't and we don't.
If you are ever interested in how a UFO flap can arise from nothing and be sustained for years, read 'In Alien Heat - The Warminster Mystery Revisited' by Steve Dewy and Joh n Ries.
Its a great book about the Warminster UFO story (if you don't know - huge UFO flap in the mid 1960's through to the mid 70's). The book is really about people and how flaps start and sustain. I have a personal interest because I am hugely into the Fortean and live in Warminster...
I am certainly open to the idea of it being a big flap, though questions remain
It is noticeable that this latest flap is the biggest since the late 40s, early 50s, and there are striking similarities between the two. Both happened when Cold War rivalries were really kicking off - back then it was USA/USSR, now it is USA/China. And both happened just as we evolved game-changing, potentially apocalyptic technology - then it was nukes, now it is AI
So a similar psychology might cause similar "panics"
One probably rather boring element can be a component.
We tend to think people high up are in the know and very clever. When in reality, they've usually got a summary knowledge at best and often not the domain background to know more. Meaning that those who are smart and aware will often hedge what they say (they know where they are on the Dunning-Kruger curve).
Minor anecdote: I recall an Air Commodore talking about space warfare, and discussing the option of ramming one satellite into another to deny comms. It swiftly became apparent he couldn't even conceive of the sheer volume of space involved (like ramming one fly into another somewhere over the UK), and he had a very garbled idea of the velocities involved (he quoted "seven thousand kilometres per second" and it wasn't misspeaking - he went on to describe analogies for seven thousand kilometres and the idea of travelling that far every second).
He was a smart guy, but didn't know what he didn't know. He was simply a pilot who'd been promoted a lot with no background in physics or space, but was involved in it.
For clarification the present members of the CPTPP are
Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam
UK will make it 12
CPTPP has a combined GDP of 9 trillion and 500 million people in 2021
Our exports of goods and services to the EU are 5 times our exports of goods and services to this group of countries. Our exports to just one EU country (Germany) are of the same magnitude as our exports to all of these countries.
Location, location, location.
Replacing the EU with CPTPP? It's like me switching my weekly "big" shop from Tesco, Bridgend to a corner shop in Inverness. Makes no economic or logistical sense whatsoever.
I never understand this stick to the backyard argument.
For the EU the top 10 trading partners include China, Japan, South Korea and India.
Invalid comparison. That doesn't allow for trade *within* the EU. Which, for the UK, was and will be much larger than with the CPTPP.
It also flags up the lie that EU membership was stopping the UK trading with the rest of the world.
Could we have signed with CPTPP while in the EU? I believe the answer is no
Do we need to be in the organisation to trade with them? I believe the answer is no.
Will CPTPP membership boost trade? I believe the answer is "a bit, but not very much";
CPTPP member countries have a combined population of 500 million and GDP of £9 trillion. For reference, although the EU is a similar size, with a GDP of £11 trillion, the value of our total trade to the EU is much higher, at £557 billion.1 CPTPP as an area makes up 7.8% of the UK’s total trade. In 2019, UK service suppliers exported £28.8 billion worth of services to CPTPP members, and average annual growth in trade between 2016-2019 with members was 8%. We already have bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with seven of the eleven countries, and digital economy agreements with Singapore and Japan...
UK companies still rely on the long established links they have with EU markets, which are directly on our doorstep and with whom they have closer historical ties. The Indo-Pacific strategy will open up important opportunities for UK businesses, but the government must not forfeit the significance of our relationship with the EU in order to do so.
The UK already has a free trade agreement with the EU. This is another free trade agreement of similar size.
More interesting to me in the tech wars is the call for a six month freeze in advanced AI development.
How can there be trust that rivals would respect such a freeze? What economic compensation could/should be offered to those we are asking not to undertake profitable innovation? Are the US and Chinese militaries likely to be developing their own AIs in parallel (or ahead of) what is commercially available?
I fear this ends badly as can see close to zero chance of an effective freeze or global agreement, and a high chance that an AI that is profitable in the short term but very damaging to the long term of humanity gets created at some point. Not sure if I'm just a modern day luddite though....
No you’re absolutely right. Trying to stop AI now is like trying to stop the Manhattan project in about 1944 and just hoping Hitler or Stalin won’t simply carry on and make the bomb. And then defeat us completely
It’s too late now. We have to complete the journey
And as you say there is no guarantee the US government/military wouldn’t continue development anyway. Just keep it out of the hands of the people
All we can do is advance from here. And pray. And the UK should be exploiting its relative advantage
Why should we do something if it may make life worse for most/many people? Seems like the definition of stupidity.
Negative sum prisoners dilemna. For once I fear Leon is right in his analysis of doom. Just hope it takes quite a few decades to play out.
More interesting to me in the tech wars is the call for a six month freeze in advanced AI development.
How can there be trust that rivals would respect such a freeze? What economic compensation could/should be offered to those we are asking not to undertake profitable innovation? Are the US and Chinese militaries likely to be developing their own AIs in parallel (or ahead of) what is commercially available?
I fear this ends badly as can see close to zero chance of an effective freeze or global agreement, and a high chance that an AI that is profitable in the short term but very damaging to the long term of humanity gets created at some point. Not sure if I'm just a modern day luddite though....
No you’re absolutely right. Trying to stop AI now is like trying to stop the Manhattan project in about 1944 and just hoping Hitler or Stalin won’t simply carry on and make the bomb. And then defeat us completely
It’s too late now. We have to complete the journey
And as you say there is no guarantee the US government/military wouldn’t continue development anyway. Just keep it out of the hands of the people
All we can do is advance from here. And pray. And the UK should be exploiting its relative advantage
Would you say that inventing AI is very much like having a baby?
And in any case: if there was any plausible evidence of alien life, NASA would be up on Capitol Hill in five seconds flat with a massive budget request.
More interesting to me in the tech wars is the call for a six month freeze in advanced AI development.
How can there be trust that rivals would respect such a freeze? What economic compensation could/should be offered to those we are asking not to undertake profitable innovation? Are the US and Chinese militaries likely to be developing their own AIs in parallel (or ahead of) what is commercially available?
I fear this ends badly as can see close to zero chance of an effective freeze or global agreement, and a high chance that an AI that is profitable in the short term but very damaging to the long term of humanity gets created at some point. Not sure if I'm just a modern day luddite though....
No you’re absolutely right. Trying to stop AI now is like trying to stop the Manhattan project in about 1944 and just hoping Hitler or Stalin won’t simply carry on and make the bomb. And then defeat us completely
It’s too late now. We have to complete the journey
And as you say there is no guarantee the US government/military wouldn’t continue development anyway. Just keep it out of the hands of the people
All we can do is advance from here. And pray. And the UK should be exploiting its relative advantage
Would you say that inventing AI is very much like having a baby?
I am hoping we get more than 9 months before it takes over our lives.
Probably fair to say today’s polling continues the herding of recent days with Labour solidly at or around 45%, the Conservatives around or just below 30% and the LDs around 10%.
I would therefore expect improved Conservative ratings in the next YouGov and People Polling surveys.
Sounds rather downbeat to be honest, that if Corbyn stands lots of people will back him, get expelled, and that's what Starmer (or rather 'the faction Keir Starmer has put in charge') wants.
Having said that if you lived in fort william you would certainly notice it raining a lot. West highlands are a whole different ballgame.
Yes, Manchester gets a lot of, as you say, raindays, but not actually an excessive amount of rain. It's drier than Plymouth and considerably drier than Swansea and Glasgow. ISTR there are only around 50 days a year on which it's possible to see the top of Ben Nevis.
The problem with NW England (and most of the British Isles) is not so much the rainfall - there are many many much rainier places - it is the lack of sunshine hours. Few places in the world are as grey and sunless as northern/western Britain. The Aleutian Islands maybe. That's about it
Manchester gets 1265 hours of sun a year (and it is worse further north)
Even Greenland is sunnier, even the Falkland Islands are sunnier. Even Reykjavik
I do like a bit of sunshine. But order that list of cities by total yearly sunshine; there is a very inverse correlation between cities I would like to live in and amount of sunshine. I don't know whether that's just a human tendency to value what one has over what one could have or whether gloom and quality of life are both influenced by a third factor, or less probably, whether gloom promotes quality of life.
Yes, who would want to live in sunny Barcelona, Rome, Lisbon or Lugano, when you can live in the year round dishcloth greyness of Stockport?
One noticeable oddity is the utter sunlessness of Lima, Peru: at 1230 hours it is even grimmer than Manchester, despite being near the equator and all that
I can vouch for this. I've spent a fair bit of time in Lima and the climate is horrifically depressing. Grey sea fogs half the year, and cloudy mild dankness the other half
Also shows just how cloudy much of North and Central Europe is: Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Prague, Sarajevo etc - all fewer than 1,800 hours per year or roughly 5 per day.
All but 4 North American cities on that list are sunnier than any of those places.
Yes, and you REALLY notice it
On my recent trip to Colorado, Utah and Arizona - three weeks of constantly moving - I experienced 1 and a half days of cloudiness. And it wasn't high summer
The one thing that might attract me to live in America is the sunshine. It is glorious
This map is instructive:
It is incredible, the difference
Even European cities which we think of as southern and sunny - Biarritz, San Sebastian - get less sun than basically anywhere in the USA
The Basque country is notoriously damp and mizzly though. I think the most arresting one is almost the whole of Italy, with its Mediterranean climate and dolce vita. Worse than most of the US.
Yes, the French Riviera is sunnier than almost all of Italy.
That said, the French Riviera has probably the best climate of anywhere in the world.
It's gorgeous but I'm not sure it is the absolute best. The Italian lakes, the Algarve, the Croatian coast down to Albania, much of coastal Greece, they are generally wet enough to be green but sunny enough to be mmmm
And it also depends if you want seasons, or you want to skip cold rainy winters altogether
Surely the canary islands have the best climate in the world. Highs around 70 in winter 80 to 85 in summer with abundant sunshine year round.
Certainly very pleasant if you pick the right spot on the right island. But a bit dry and desert like
My ideal climate would be nine months of consistent blue skies and warmth - 25-32C every day and warm enough to drink outside easily and comfortably in shirtsleeves. If it rains it is brief and usually at 4am. Then a month of a colourful wet autumn, a month of a sharp snowy winter, and a month of pretty spring
Of course this climate does not exist
Caribbean is pretty much like that, but for 12 months. A hurricane every 4-5 years maybe.
Socal like that too if you are willing to drive 2 hours to get to the mountains
More interesting to me in the tech wars is the call for a six month freeze in advanced AI development.
How can there be trust that rivals would respect such a freeze? What economic compensation could/should be offered to those we are asking not to undertake profitable innovation? Are the US and Chinese militaries likely to be developing their own AIs in parallel (or ahead of) what is commercially available?
I fear this ends badly as can see close to zero chance of an effective freeze or global agreement, and a high chance that an AI that is profitable in the short term but very damaging to the long term of humanity gets created at some point. Not sure if I'm just a modern day luddite though....
No you’re absolutely right. Trying to stop AI now is like trying to stop the Manhattan project in about 1944 and just hoping Hitler or Stalin won’t simply carry on and make the bomb. And then defeat us completely
It’s too late now. We have to complete the journey
And as you say there is no guarantee the US government/military wouldn’t continue development anyway. Just keep it out of the hands of the people
All we can do is advance from here. And pray. And the UK should be exploiting its relative advantage
Why should we do something if it may make life worse for most/many people? Seems like the definition of stupidity.
Negative sum prisoners dilemna. For once I fear Leon is right in his analysis of doom. Just hope it takes quite a few decades to play out.
I’m not predicting doom at all. I’m saying Yes AI is scary and yes it might be apocalyptic - but equally it might lead to utopia and global peace. Or a bit of everything
My point is you can’t stop the tech now. The rewards for those who successfully take it further - financial, political, economic, personal - are just too enormous. Overwhelming
What purpose would this pause serve. Why should we trust the Chinese to agree rather than lie and say OK, when we know they are desperate to catch up with the west on this front
And can the big tech giant companies really trust each other to down tools? Don’t think so. Whoever wins this race wins the world
For clarification the present members of the CPTPP are
Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam
UK will make it 12
CPTPP has a combined GDP of 9 trillion and 500 million people in 2021
Our exports of goods and services to the EU are 5 times our exports of goods and services to this group of countries. Our exports to just one EU country (Germany) are of the same magnitude as our exports to all of these countries.
Location, location, location.
Replacing the EU with CPTPP? It's like me switching my weekly "big" shop from Tesco, Bridgend to a corner shop in Inverness. Makes no economic or logistical sense whatsoever.
I never understand this stick to the backyard argument.
For the EU the top 10 trading partners include China, Japan, South Korea and India.
Invalid comparison. That doesn't allow for trade *within* the EU. Which, for the UK, was and will be much larger than with the CPTPP.
It also flags up the lie that EU membership was stopping the UK trading with the rest of the world.
Could we have signed with CPTPP while in the EU? I believe the answer is no
Do we need to be in the organisation to trade with them? I believe the answer is no.
Will CPTPP membership boost trade? I believe the answer is "a bit, but not very much";
CPTPP member countries have a combined population of 500 million and GDP of £9 trillion. For reference, although the EU is a similar size, with a GDP of £11 trillion, the value of our total trade to the EU is much higher, at £557 billion.1 CPTPP as an area makes up 7.8% of the UK’s total trade. In 2019, UK service suppliers exported £28.8 billion worth of services to CPTPP members, and average annual growth in trade between 2016-2019 with members was 8%. We already have bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with seven of the eleven countries, and digital economy agreements with Singapore and Japan...
UK companies still rely on the long established links they have with EU markets, which are directly on our doorstep and with whom they have closer historical ties. The Indo-Pacific strategy will open up important opportunities for UK businesses, but the government must not forfeit the significance of our relationship with the EU in order to do so.
No we probably don't have to though we might get better deals being in. However it is also an association that is not malign enough that it demands political integration unlike the EU
More interesting to me in the tech wars is the call for a six month freeze in advanced AI development.
How can there be trust that rivals would respect such a freeze? What economic compensation could/should be offered to those we are asking not to undertake profitable innovation? Are the US and Chinese militaries likely to be developing their own AIs in parallel (or ahead of) what is commercially available?
I fear this ends badly as can see close to zero chance of an effective freeze or global agreement, and a high chance that an AI that is profitable in the short term but very damaging to the long term of humanity gets created at some point. Not sure if I'm just a modern day luddite though....
No you’re absolutely right. Trying to stop AI now is like trying to stop the Manhattan project in about 1944 and just hoping Hitler or Stalin won’t simply carry on and make the bomb. And then defeat us completely
It’s too late now. We have to complete the journey
And as you say there is no guarantee the US government/military wouldn’t continue development anyway. Just keep it out of the hands of the people
All we can do is advance from here. And pray. And the UK should be exploiting its relative advantage
Why should we do something if it may make life worse for most/many people? Seems like the definition of stupidity.
Why did we develop nukes? Because we had to. Because if we hadn’t Hitler might have. Or the commies
The Chinese are all over this. If they develop AGI as we unilaterally disarm GPT5 they will rule the world with ease
We should be repatriating these criminals to their host country.
It’s the trolley boy from Hot Fuzz.
Send him back to Sandford.
A 21 stone thug from Essex dumped in England's colony.
Sandford is in Dorset not Essex and Wales has its own Parliament unlike England and also elects MPs so is hardly a colony
Ireland elected MPs throughout the nineteenth century. It does not change the fact that Ireland was a colony, that Irish affairs and the Irish economy were subservient to British (primarily English) interests.
Wales had 40 (soon to be 32) MPs. They count for nothing in a 650 MP Parliament.
The drowning of Trywern happened despite every single Welsh MP (bar one) voting against it.
Wales is a colony.
Not least because the Senedd can be shut down at any moment if the London Tories decide to do so. Powers "devolved" are not truly handed over.
So there are no steps in between 'colony' and 'independence' then?
For the moment yes, but legally and constitutionally we could be back in the days when we had unelected* satraps in charge of Scotland just like that [snaps fingers].
*Except by their constituents. Which were voters in only one Scottish constituency. And increasingly often of a party which had lost the election in Scotland as a whole. Though tbf the time when the Tory Sec of State was a MP for Weston-Super-Mare or somewhere in that airt was after the reconvention of the Scottish Parliament in 1997 (or so memory seems to indicate).
More interesting to me in the tech wars is the call for a six month freeze in advanced AI development.
How can there be trust that rivals would respect such a freeze? What economic compensation could/should be offered to those we are asking not to undertake profitable innovation? Are the US and Chinese militaries likely to be developing their own AIs in parallel (or ahead of) what is commercially available?
I fear this ends badly as can see close to zero chance of an effective freeze or global agreement, and a high chance that an AI that is profitable in the short term but very damaging to the long term of humanity gets created at some point. Not sure if I'm just a modern day luddite though....
No you’re absolutely right. Trying to stop AI now is like trying to stop the Manhattan project in about 1944 and just hoping Hitler or Stalin won’t simply carry on and make the bomb. And then defeat us completely
It’s too late now. We have to complete the journey
And as you say there is no guarantee the US government/military wouldn’t continue development anyway. Just keep it out of the hands of the people
All we can do is advance from here. And pray. And the UK should be exploiting its relative advantage
Why should we do something if it may make life worse for most/many people? Seems like the definition of stupidity.
Negative sum prisoners dilemna. For once I fear Leon is right in his analysis of doom. Just hope it takes quite a few decades to play out.
I’m not predicting doom at all. I’m saying Yes AI is scary and yes it might be apocalyptic - but equally it might lead to utopia and global peace. Or a bit of everything
My point is you can’t stop the tech now. The rewards for those who successfully take it further - financial, political, economic, personal - are just too enormous. Overwhelming
What purpose would this pause serve. Why should we trust the Chinese to agree rather than lie and say OK, when we know they are desperate to catch up with the west on this front
And can the big tech giant companies really trust each other to down tools? Don’t think so. Whoever wins this race wins the world
Probably fair to say today’s polling continues the herding of recent days with Labour solidly at or around 45%, the Conservatives around or just below 30% and the LDs around 10%.
I would therefore expect improved Conservative ratings in the next YouGov and People Polling surveys.
I'm sure it's very possible though I can't see any reason why?
Awww. But why does it work for overseas visitors but not us?
"Plans to boost domestic tourism by introducing a rail pass for British staycationers have been axed, the Guardian can reveal.
The idea was initially heralded by the government as a way to help struggling businesses get back on their feet as the final Covid restrictions were being lifted in the summer of 2021, but extensive consultations since have found that the plan would not be commercially viable.
[...]
The special ticket was intended to be modelled on the BritRail pass, which is sold through VisitBritain and allows foreign tourists unlimited journeys on most train lines across England, Wales and Scotland."
More interesting to me in the tech wars is the call for a six month freeze in advanced AI development.
How can there be trust that rivals would respect such a freeze? What economic compensation could/should be offered to those we are asking not to undertake profitable innovation? Are the US and Chinese militaries likely to be developing their own AIs in parallel (or ahead of) what is commercially available?
I fear this ends badly as can see close to zero chance of an effective freeze or global agreement, and a high chance that an AI that is profitable in the short term but very damaging to the long term of humanity gets created at some point. Not sure if I'm just a modern day luddite though....
No you’re absolutely right. Trying to stop AI now is like trying to stop the Manhattan project in about 1944 and just hoping Hitler or Stalin won’t simply carry on and make the bomb. And then defeat us completely
It’s too late now. We have to complete the journey
And as you say there is no guarantee the US government/military wouldn’t continue development anyway. Just keep it out of the hands of the people
All we can do is advance from here. And pray. And the UK should be exploiting its relative advantage
Why should we do something if it may make life worse for most/many people? Seems like the definition of stupidity.
Negative sum prisoners dilemna. For once I fear Leon is right in his analysis of doom. Just hope it takes quite a few decades to play out.
I’m not predicting doom at all. I’m saying Yes AI is scary and yes it might be apocalyptic - but equally it might lead to utopia and global peace. Or a bit of everything
My point is you can’t stop the tech now. The rewards for those who successfully take it further - financial, political, economic, personal - are just too enormous. Overwhelming
What purpose would this pause serve. Why should we trust the Chinese to agree rather than lie and say OK, when we know they are desperate to catch up with the west on this front
And can the big tech giant companies really trust each other to down tools? Don’t think so. Whoever wins this race wins the world
Buying ICE vehicles now is like buying analog film cameras 20 years ago. Soon the ICE for personal transport will be as obsolete as cassette tapes or CDs.
Analog (sic) film cameras are trendy right now, and CDs are still viable.
Cassette tapes are more niche
Not the mass market by a long way, despite the hipster interest in vinyl.
Sure, ICE vehicles have some advantages still, particularly for rural areas. We have an ICE hybrid as well as an EV. Increasingly though EVs have the advantage. I think it will be my last ever ICE vehicle.
Currently EVs are 3% of the UK car fleet, but by Dec 22 had 30% of new sales. This is being driven by demand, and is only heading one way. The manufacturers see this too, which is why so much of the new design and engineering is centered on them, with ICE vehicle increasingly neglected.
There is an issue with any technological change of when to jump to the new tech, but as EV prices drop, practicality increases, and psychological barriers drop, it is only going one way.
I largely agree. My reservation is how much the prices of EVs will drop. It's one of those things I've been waiting for for some time and doesn't appear to be happening...
Largely because demand greatly exceeds supply, so manufacturers have no incentive to make cheaper models. That will change in the next 3-5 years, looking at the number of factories being built now and in planning.
And both batteries and motors are steadily getting cheaper to make, alongside the increase in capacity.
I will never have an electric car until they solve the charging issue ie having to wait to get to a charging point and. Then 40 mins for a half charge....I suspect I will have met my maker by then.
You can do 10-80% in about 25 min on the latest chargers. To get to half should be a fraction of that - the charging is faster on an empty battery.
Not what my pal tells me. They have had nightmares queuing and it's 40.mins min to charge his ev f pace
Probably fair to say today’s polling continues the herding of recent days with Labour solidly at or around 45%, the Conservatives around or just below 30% and the LDs around 10%.
I would therefore expect improved Conservative ratings in the next YouGov and People Polling surveys.
A handy cut out and keep guide to the meaning of leads. (Kellner, January this year).
Another success for Rishi, albeit a lot of the work was done under Johnson.
Dare I say it, but CP-TPP membership was Liz Truss’s flagship project as trade minister and foreign secretary. Huzzah for Liz Truss!
Fair comment and the fury from remainers on twitter is a sight to behold
Sunak taking us closer to Europe and Macron's EPC as supported by Truss, plus the announcement we are to join the CPTPP opens immense new trading possibilities and ends rejoining the EU as a practical proposition
Indeed in this weeks Deltapoll rejoin led by just 1% - 42/41
Hardly ends rejoin. We would have to end our membership of CPTPP to rejoin just like we ended our prerential trade arrangements with the Commonwealth to join the Common Market. If the benefits of being in the EU SM were bigger than those of being in CPTPP - which they probably would be by a significant margin - I would assume we would happily switch.
Unfortunately rejoining for those who want to rejoin the time is ebbing away as both the EPC and CPTPP point to the future of our trading relationships worldwide
This is not an either or argument it is the benefits of both
Because as a country we are more likely to prosper by deepening service trade with our neighbours rather than trying to overcome economic gravity and comparative advantage at the same time.
The latest polls show the numbers thinking 'Leave' was a mistake is now overwhelming. That coupled with the disgrace of those like Boris Johnson who led us in is likely to make holding the LEAVE line extremely difficult when the Tories are booted out. I'd expect Starmer with the support of all parts of the kingdom and all parties except for the rump Tory Party to put a lot of pressure on for a quick second referendum
Yesterday's Deltapoll on rejoining the EU down to just 1% difference - 42%/41%
While numbers thinking leaving was a mistake, it is wrong to assume they want to rejoin
As I have posted for quite some time the future relationship with the EU is through Macron's EPC which meets in London next year
And Starmer suggesting a second referendum is as likely as him welcoming Corbyn as his deputy leader
Deltapoll are a bit... outliery at the moment, you have to acknowledge. And even that poll has Rejoin ahead of Stay Out.
The last time that Stay Out actually had a lead over Rejoin was April 2022, if I've read this right;
It's not settled or substantial yet. But do you really think that, in the event that Stay Out remains a minority opinion, the county should stay out forever?
(Note, this isn't about whether the country should have that opinion, but how the government should respond if it turns out to be the opinion.)
With a large majority of non Tory MP's the pressure to rejoin would in my opinion become overwhelming. And it's not just MPs. Almost all organisations apart from the Tory cliques and elderly supporters who are dying out it will be very difficult to hold the line.
My guess is Starmer will use it as his BIG IDEA within the first couple of years of government and support from a country that has seen the hardships of Leaving will be behind him all the way. Having every party except the rump Tories on board will do him no harm at all. Voting reform is likely to be another big idea.
Another success for Rishi, albeit a lot of the work was done under Johnson.
Dare I say it, but CP-TPP membership was Liz Truss’s flagship project as trade minister and foreign secretary. Huzzah for Liz Truss!
Fair comment and the fury from remainers on twitter is a sight to behold
Sunak taking us closer to Europe and Macron's EPC as supported by Truss, plus the announcement we are to join the CPTPP opens immense new trading possibilities and ends rejoining the EU as a practical proposition
Indeed in this weeks Deltapoll rejoin led by just 1% - 42/41
Hardly ends rejoin. We would have to end our membership of CPTPP to rejoin just like we ended our prerential trade arrangements with the Commonwealth to join the Common Market. If the benefits of being in the EU SM were bigger than those of being in CPTPP - which they probably would be by a significant margin - I would assume we would happily switch.
Unfortunately rejoining for those who want to rejoin the time is ebbing away as both the EPC and CPTPP point to the future of our trading relationships worldwide
This is not an either or argument it is the benefits of both
Because as a country we are more likely to prosper by deepening service trade with our neighbours rather than trying to overcome economic gravity and comparative advantage at the same time.
The latest polls show the numbers thinking 'Leave' was a mistake is now overwhelming. That coupled with the disgrace of those like Boris Johnson who led us in is likely to make holding the LEAVE line extremely difficult when the Tories are booted out. I'd expect Starmer with the support of all parts of the kingdom and all parties except for the rump Tory Party to put a lot of pressure on for a quick second referendum
Yesterday's Deltapoll on rejoining the EU down to just 1% difference - 42%/41%
While numbers thinking leaving was a mistake, it is wrong to assume they want to rejoin
As I have posted for quite some time the future relationship with the EU is through Macron's EPC which meets in London next year
And Starmer suggesting a second referendum is as likely as him welcoming Corbyn as his deputy leader
Deltapoll are a bit... outliery at the moment, you have to acknowledge. And even that poll has Rejoin ahead of Stay Out.
The last time that Stay Out actually had a lead over Rejoin was April 2022, if I've read this right;
It's not settled or substantial yet. But do you really think that, in the event that Stay Out remains a minority opinion, the county should stay out forever?
(Note, this isn't about whether the country should have that opinion, but how the government should respond if it turns out to be the opinion.)
With a large majority of non Tory MP's the pressure to rejoin would in my opinion become overwhelming. And it's not just MPs. Almost all organisations apart from the Tory cliques and elderly supporters who are dying out it will be very difficult to hold the line.
My guess is Starmer will use it as his BIG IDEA within the first couple of years of government and support from a country that has seen the hardships of Leaving will be behind him all the way. Having every party except the rump Tories on board will do him no harm at all. Voting reform is likely to be another big idea.
You are going to be very disappointed.
SKS won't touch either of these "big ideas".
On Europe, he will move gently. On voting reform, he won't move at all.
However, on Jeremy Corbyn, SKS will announce a public crucifixion. He hasn't apologised
Another success for Rishi, albeit a lot of the work was done under Johnson.
Dare I say it, but CP-TPP membership was Liz Truss’s flagship project as trade minister and foreign secretary. Huzzah for Liz Truss!
Fair comment and the fury from remainers on twitter is a sight to behold
Sunak taking us closer to Europe and Macron's EPC as supported by Truss, plus the announcement we are to join the CPTPP opens immense new trading possibilities and ends rejoining the EU as a practical proposition
Indeed in this weeks Deltapoll rejoin led by just 1% - 42/41
Hardly ends rejoin. We would have to end our membership of CPTPP to rejoin just like we ended our prerential trade arrangements with the Commonwealth to join the Common Market. If the benefits of being in the EU SM were bigger than those of being in CPTPP - which they probably would be by a significant margin - I would assume we would happily switch.
Unfortunately rejoining for those who want to rejoin the time is ebbing away as both the EPC and CPTPP point to the future of our trading relationships worldwide
This is not an either or argument it is the benefits of both
Because as a country we are more likely to prosper by deepening service trade with our neighbours rather than trying to overcome economic gravity and comparative advantage at the same time.
The latest polls show the numbers thinking 'Leave' was a mistake is now overwhelming. That coupled with the disgrace of those like Boris Johnson who led us in is likely to make holding the LEAVE line extremely difficult when the Tories are booted out. I'd expect Starmer with the support of all parts of the kingdom and all parties except for the rump Tory Party to put a lot of pressure on for a quick second referendum
Yesterday's Deltapoll on rejoining the EU down to just 1% difference - 42%/41%
While numbers thinking leaving was a mistake, it is wrong to assume they want to rejoin
As I have posted for quite some time the future relationship with the EU is through Macron's EPC which meets in London next year
And Starmer suggesting a second referendum is as likely as him welcoming Corbyn as his deputy leader
Deltapoll are a bit... outliery at the moment, you have to acknowledge. And even that poll has Rejoin ahead of Stay Out.
The last time that Stay Out actually had a lead over Rejoin was April 2022, if I've read this right;
It's not settled or substantial yet. But do you really think that, in the event that Stay Out remains a minority opinion, the county should stay out forever?
(Note, this isn't about whether the country should have that opinion, but how the government should respond if it turns out to be the opinion.)
With a large majority of non Tory MP's the pressure to rejoin would in my opinion become overwhelming. And it's not just MPs. Almost all organisations apart from the Tory cliques and elderly supporters who are dying out it will be very difficult to hold the line.
My guess is Starmer will use it as his BIG IDEA within the first couple of years of government and support from a country that has seen the hardships of Leaving will be behind him all the way. Having every party except the rump Tories on board will do him no harm at all. Voting reform is likely to be another big idea.
As a matter of interest do you know anything about EPC and the move between Sunak and Macron to embrace it leading to the summit in London next year or are you just in denial how unlikely rejoining is especially as we join the CPTPP shortly
Eighteen female staff at a jail which has pioneered a liberal approach have had relationships with prisoners since it opened, data obtained under Freedom of Information laws has revealed.
The 18 women including full-time officers and contract staff at HMP Berwyn in north Wales have been sacked or resigned after their affairs were exposed during its first six years of operation. Three have been jailed for misconduct in a public office.
The prison which opened in 2017 as Britain’s second biggest with space for 2,000 offenders pioneered a liberal approach to create a more “domestic” environment to aid rehabilitation with cells rebranded as rooms, prison blocks known as “communities” and inmates provided with laptops when they arrive.
However, the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said inexperienced officers had been exploited by “very experienced” offenders amid flaws in recruitment which meant that governors were not able to have face-to-face interviews to select their own staff. Instead, they were recruited centrally through assessment tests and Zoom interviews.
It comes as figures show a record 36 female prison officers have been sacked over relationships in the past three years, nearly double the 19 in the previous four years.
Another success for Rishi, albeit a lot of the work was done under Johnson.
Dare I say it, but CP-TPP membership was Liz Truss’s flagship project as trade minister and foreign secretary. Huzzah for Liz Truss!
Fair comment and the fury from remainers on twitter is a sight to behold
Sunak taking us closer to Europe and Macron's EPC as supported by Truss, plus the announcement we are to join the CPTPP opens immense new trading possibilities and ends rejoining the EU as a practical proposition
Indeed in this weeks Deltapoll rejoin led by just 1% - 42/41
Hardly ends rejoin. We would have to end our membership of CPTPP to rejoin just like we ended our prerential trade arrangements with the Commonwealth to join the Common Market. If the benefits of being in the EU SM were bigger than those of being in CPTPP - which they probably would be by a significant margin - I would assume we would happily switch.
Unfortunately rejoining for those who want to rejoin the time is ebbing away as both the EPC and CPTPP point to the future of our trading relationships worldwide
This is not an either or argument it is the benefits of both
Because as a country we are more likely to prosper by deepening service trade with our neighbours rather than trying to overcome economic gravity and comparative advantage at the same time.
The latest polls show the numbers thinking 'Leave' was a mistake is now overwhelming. That coupled with the disgrace of those like Boris Johnson who led us in is likely to make holding the LEAVE line extremely difficult when the Tories are booted out. I'd expect Starmer with the support of all parts of the kingdom and all parties except for the rump Tory Party to put a lot of pressure on for a quick second referendum
Yesterday's Deltapoll on rejoining the EU down to just 1% difference - 42%/41%
While numbers thinking leaving was a mistake, it is wrong to assume they want to rejoin
As I have posted for quite some time the future relationship with the EU is through Macron's EPC which meets in London next year
And Starmer suggesting a second referendum is as likely as him welcoming Corbyn as his deputy leader
Not belonging to the EU in financial terms is costing us a phenomenal amount of money. We are 4% poorer than where we would have been if we'd remained in. That will not be made good by belonging to a talking shop once a year. But perhaps more importantly as young people gain their majority and the old die out the demographics are moving rapidly in one direction.
Buying ICE vehicles now is like buying analog film cameras 20 years ago. Soon the ICE for personal transport will be as obsolete as cassette tapes or CDs.
Analog (sic) film cameras are trendy right now, and CDs are still viable.
Cassette tapes are more niche
Not the mass market by a long way, despite the hipster interest in vinyl.
Sure, ICE vehicles have some advantages still, particularly for rural areas. We have an ICE hybrid as well as an EV. Increasingly though EVs have the advantage. I think it will be my last ever ICE vehicle.
Currently EVs are 3% of the UK car fleet, but by Dec 22 had 30% of new sales. This is being driven by demand, and is only heading one way. The manufacturers see this too, which is why so much of the new design and engineering is centered on them, with ICE vehicle increasingly neglected.
There is an issue with any technological change of when to jump to the new tech, but as EV prices drop, practicality increases, and psychological barriers drop, it is only going one way.
I largely agree. My reservation is how much the prices of EVs will drop. It's one of those things I've been waiting for for some time and doesn't appear to be happening...
Largely because demand greatly exceeds supply, so manufacturers have no incentive to make cheaper models. That will change in the next 3-5 years, looking at the number of factories being built now and in planning.
And both batteries and motors are steadily getting cheaper to make, alongside the increase in capacity.
I will never have an electric car until they solve the charging issue ie having to wait to get to a charging point and. Then 40 mins for a half charge....I suspect I will have met my maker by then.
You can do 10-80% in about 25 min on the latest chargers. To get to half should be a fraction of that - the charging is faster on an empty battery.
Not what my pal tells me. They have had nightmares queuing and it's 40.mins min to charge his ev f pace
I thought the first rule of politics was “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”.
Nah, that's the second rule.
First rule is to be able to count.
Third rule is to try and convert enemies into partners. A big tent, full of people pissing *out*
That was Sturgeon's genius. Keeping Forbes and Humza in the same tent. You could get away with that for as long as independence was just round the corner. But, whilst la Sturge got support for Sindy higher, she couldn't get it high enough for long enough.
So now, there ain't no tent, just quite a lot of urine. The only question is whether we've witnessed a lefty takeover of a historically centre-right party or the penultimate heave of a right wing takeover.
Another success for Rishi, albeit a lot of the work was done under Johnson.
Dare I say it, but CP-TPP membership was Liz Truss’s flagship project as trade minister and foreign secretary. Huzzah for Liz Truss!
Fair comment and the fury from remainers on twitter is a sight to behold
Sunak taking us closer to Europe and Macron's EPC as supported by Truss, plus the announcement we are to join the CPTPP opens immense new trading possibilities and ends rejoining the EU as a practical proposition
Indeed in this weeks Deltapoll rejoin led by just 1% - 42/41
Hardly ends rejoin. We would have to end our membership of CPTPP to rejoin just like we ended our prerential trade arrangements with the Commonwealth to join the Common Market. If the benefits of being in the EU SM were bigger than those of being in CPTPP - which they probably would be by a significant margin - I would assume we would happily switch.
Unfortunately rejoining for those who want to rejoin the time is ebbing away as both the EPC and CPTPP point to the future of our trading relationships worldwide
This is not an either or argument it is the benefits of both
Because as a country we are more likely to prosper by deepening service trade with our neighbours rather than trying to overcome economic gravity and comparative advantage at the same time.
The latest polls show the numbers thinking 'Leave' was a mistake is now overwhelming. That coupled with the disgrace of those like Boris Johnson who led us in is likely to make holding the LEAVE line extremely difficult when the Tories are booted out. I'd expect Starmer with the support of all parts of the kingdom and all parties except for the rump Tory Party to put a lot of pressure on for a quick second referendum
Yesterday's Deltapoll on rejoining the EU down to just 1% difference - 42%/41%
While numbers thinking leaving was a mistake, it is wrong to assume they want to rejoin
As I have posted for quite some time the future relationship with the EU is through Macron's EPC which meets in London next year
And Starmer suggesting a second referendum is as likely as him welcoming Corbyn as his deputy leader
Not belonging to the EU in financial terms is costing us a phenomenal amount of money. We are 4% poorer than where we would have been if we'd remained in. That will not be made good by belonging to a talking shop once a year. But perhaps more importantly as young people gain their majority and the old die out the demographics are moving rapidly in one direction.
Not sure what talking shop you are talking about, but you are one of a group who simply cannot come to terms that we have left the EU and there is no way back under Starmer and now apparently Davey who only seeks closer alignment with the single market
Eighteen female staff at a jail which has pioneered a liberal approach have had relationships with prisoners since it opened, data obtained under Freedom of Information laws has revealed.
The 18 women including full-time officers and contract staff at HMP Berwyn in north Wales have been sacked or resigned after their affairs were exposed during its first six years of operation. Three have been jailed for misconduct in a public office.
The prison which opened in 2017 as Britain’s second biggest with space for 2,000 offenders pioneered a liberal approach to create a more “domestic” environment to aid rehabilitation with cells rebranded as rooms, prison blocks known as “communities” and inmates provided with laptops when they arrive.
However, the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said inexperienced officers had been exploited by “very experienced” offenders amid flaws in recruitment which meant that governors were not able to have face-to-face interviews to select their own staff. Instead, they were recruited centrally through assessment tests and Zoom interviews.
It comes as figures show a record 36 female prison officers have been sacked over relationships in the past three years, nearly double the 19 in the previous four years.
Another success for Rishi, albeit a lot of the work was done under Johnson.
Dare I say it, but CP-TPP membership was Liz Truss’s flagship project as trade minister and foreign secretary. Huzzah for Liz Truss!
Fair comment and the fury from remainers on twitter is a sight to behold
Sunak taking us closer to Europe and Macron's EPC as supported by Truss, plus the announcement we are to join the CPTPP opens immense new trading possibilities and ends rejoining the EU as a practical proposition
Indeed in this weeks Deltapoll rejoin led by just 1% - 42/41
Hardly ends rejoin. We would have to end our membership of CPTPP to rejoin just like we ended our prerential trade arrangements with the Commonwealth to join the Common Market. If the benefits of being in the EU SM were bigger than those of being in CPTPP - which they probably would be by a significant margin - I would assume we would happily switch.
Unfortunately rejoining for those who want to rejoin the time is ebbing away as both the EPC and CPTPP point to the future of our trading relationships worldwide
This is not an either or argument it is the benefits of both
Because as a country we are more likely to prosper by deepening service trade with our neighbours rather than trying to overcome economic gravity and comparative advantage at the same time.
The latest polls show the numbers thinking 'Leave' was a mistake is now overwhelming. That coupled with the disgrace of those like Boris Johnson who led us in is likely to make holding the LEAVE line extremely difficult when the Tories are booted out. I'd expect Starmer with the support of all parts of the kingdom and all parties except for the rump Tory Party to put a lot of pressure on for a quick second referendum
Yesterday's Deltapoll on rejoining the EU down to just 1% difference - 42%/41%
While numbers thinking leaving was a mistake, it is wrong to assume they want to rejoin
As I have posted for quite some time the future relationship with the EU is through Macron's EPC which meets in London next year
And Starmer suggesting a second referendum is as likely as him welcoming Corbyn as his deputy leader
Not belonging to the EU in financial terms is costing us a phenomenal amount of money. We are 4% poorer than where we would have been if we'd remained in. That will not be made good by belonging to a talking shop once a year. But perhaps more importantly as young people gain their majority and the old die out the demographics are moving rapidly in one direction.
Bollocks. The 4% prediction is:
a) A future prediction, not something which has happened; b) Based on a theory we will have vastly lower immigration, which we have not; c) related to b) about GDP not GDP per capita, so doesn't make individual people "poorer" necessarily; d) Not the OBR's work, but a simple average of a table of other people's predictions, and the OBR have changed the makeup of that table between runs; e) If one removes the outlier figures, World Gymnastics judging style, the average of that table comes out at less that 2% anyway, and that still is based on lower immigration and GDP not GDP per capita.
The head of the OBR is either dense or biased, and he doesn't seem dense.
The 18 women including full-time officers and contract staff at HMP Berwyn in north Wales have been sacked or resigned after their affairs were exposed during its first six years of operation. Three have been jailed for misconduct in a public office.
If it were a female prison, that would be one way to move in together.
Another success for Rishi, albeit a lot of the work was done under Johnson.
Dare I say it, but CP-TPP membership was Liz Truss’s flagship project as trade minister and foreign secretary. Huzzah for Liz Truss!
Fair comment and the fury from remainers on twitter is a sight to behold
Sunak taking us closer to Europe and Macron's EPC as supported by Truss, plus the announcement we are to join the CPTPP opens immense new trading possibilities and ends rejoining the EU as a practical proposition
Indeed in this weeks Deltapoll rejoin led by just 1% - 42/41
Hardly ends rejoin. We would have to end our membership of CPTPP to rejoin just like we ended our prerential trade arrangements with the Commonwealth to join the Common Market. If the benefits of being in the EU SM were bigger than those of being in CPTPP - which they probably would be by a significant margin - I would assume we would happily switch.
Unfortunately rejoining for those who want to rejoin the time is ebbing away as both the EPC and CPTPP point to the future of our trading relationships worldwide
This is not an either or argument it is the benefits of both
Because as a country we are more likely to prosper by deepening service trade with our neighbours rather than trying to overcome economic gravity and comparative advantage at the same time.
The latest polls show the numbers thinking 'Leave' was a mistake is now overwhelming. That coupled with the disgrace of those like Boris Johnson who led us in is likely to make holding the LEAVE line extremely difficult when the Tories are booted out. I'd expect Starmer with the support of all parts of the kingdom and all parties except for the rump Tory Party to put a lot of pressure on for a quick second referendum
Yesterday's Deltapoll on rejoining the EU down to just 1% difference - 42%/41%
While numbers thinking leaving was a mistake, it is wrong to assume they want to rejoin
As I have posted for quite some time the future relationship with the EU is through Macron's EPC which meets in London next year
And Starmer suggesting a second referendum is as likely as him welcoming Corbyn as his deputy leader
Not belonging to the EU in financial terms is costing us a phenomenal amount of money. We are 4% poorer than where we would have been if we'd remained in. That will not be made good by belonging to a talking shop once a year. But perhaps more importantly as young people gain their majority and the old die out the demographics are moving rapidly in one direction.
Rog, it is over, we left. We are not going back anytime soon however mad that may sound in the EU language of your choice.
There is nothing to stop us calling out the lying halfwits who got us where we are now. And for them to try and sell some pan-Pacific trade group as an adequate replacement for what we have already lost compounds the lie.
I don't want to trigger @Leon but the Old Vic is woke as fuck.
The new Soho Place theatre performance of As You Like It that I saw was wonderfully woke
There were trans and non-binary actors (they're all that now, right?) (except the ones that want to be called actresses), some of them playing the cross-dressing parts. They were all very good
None of them quite as good as Rose Ayling-Ellis, whose energetic performance was quite compelling
The show was stolen from her, though, by Hollywood
For clarification the present members of the CPTPP are
Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam
UK will make it 12
CPTPP has a combined GDP of 9 trillion and 500 million people in 2021
Our exports of goods and services to the EU are 5 times our exports of goods and services to this group of countries. Our exports to just one EU country (Germany) are of the same magnitude as our exports to all of these countries.
Location, location, location.
Replacing the EU with CPTPP? It's like me switching my weekly "big" shop from Tesco, Bridgend to a corner shop in Inverness. Makes no economic or logistical sense whatsoever.
I think we'll all breathe a sigh of relief when the Tories take an extended time out. Twenty years preferably
Eighteen female staff at a jail which has pioneered a liberal approach have had relationships with prisoners since it opened, data obtained under Freedom of Information laws has revealed.
The 18 women including full-time officers and contract staff at HMP Berwyn in north Wales have been sacked or resigned after their affairs were exposed during its first six years of operation. Three have been jailed for misconduct in a public office.
The prison which opened in 2017 as Britain’s second biggest with space for 2,000 offenders pioneered a liberal approach to create a more “domestic” environment to aid rehabilitation with cells rebranded as rooms, prison blocks known as “communities” and inmates provided with laptops when they arrive.
However, the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said inexperienced officers had been exploited by “very experienced” offenders amid flaws in recruitment which meant that governors were not able to have face-to-face interviews to select their own staff. Instead, they were recruited centrally through assessment tests and Zoom interviews.
It comes as figures show a record 36 female prison officers have been sacked over relationships in the past three years, nearly double the 19 in the previous four years.
I had a semi-regular model I worked with when I did photography who's day-job was working in a prison. She prided herself on not wearing a bra but with a very tight t-shirt at work. So this doesn't really surprise me.
I thought the first rule of politics was “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”.
Precisely. Stupid move.
I’ve been told by an insider that he is genuinely thick
'Nice but dim' is the summary I'd give after talking to people who have worked with him. On the other hand 'he won' - so maybe, like GWB, he'll be able to pick a decent group to get things done.
We should be repatriating these criminals to their host country.
It’s the trolley boy from Hot Fuzz.
Send him back to Sandford.
A 21 stone thug from Essex dumped in England's colony.
Sandford is in Dorset not Essex and Wales has its own Parliament unlike England and also elects MPs so is hardly a colony
Ireland elected MPs throughout the nineteenth century. It does not change the fact that Ireland was a colony, that Irish affairs and the Irish economy were subservient to British (primarily English) interests.
Wales had 40 (soon to be 32) MPs. They count for nothing in a 650 MP Parliament.
The drowning of Trywern happened despite every single Welsh MP (bar one) voting against it.
Wales is a colony.
Rubbish. Ireland never had its own Parliament like Wales does and was not a colony either as it elected MPs.
Indeed it is not impossible Sunak wins most seats in England in 2024 but Starmer becomes PM thanks to Welsh and Scottish Labour MPs
I think the SNP activists have made a choice that they prefer to be a "progressive", i.e. left wing party, rather than a national movement of both left and right. That more or less guarantees that voters who believe in liberal economics will have no reason to vote for them and businesses no reason to fund them, and equally voters who are left wing may choose to vote for an actual, "genuine", left wing party, i.e. Labour.
Independence as an issue has fallen in popularity, and the sense of the inevitability or even desirability of separation has fallen quite sharply (somewhat ironically, this seems to be a result of the negative impact of the Brexit separation).
The SNP was a political juggernaut, but a combination of bad judgement, an air of sleaze and real questions about the viability of independence seems set to give the party a significant knock back at the next GE, though FPTP might save several SNP MPs. Come the next Scottish Parliament elections however, the lack of funds and turmoil in the party´s organization, after the departure of Murell, not to mention growing personal and political divisions, as well as the passing of a political generation, could even see the Nats knocked out of power at Holyrood.
[cue: Ayrshire´s little ray of sunshine in total fulmination mode]
You have a high opinion of your perceptions but sadly lacking in reading of people and myself in particular. The desirability is still there but many realise it will not be the SNP that achieve it , certainly in current shape. Westminster is of no importance to Scotland, the deal is in Holyrood and likliehood is that people will bite their tongues and vote SNP / ALBA or ISP and so instead of loads of duff unionists getting the list seats , many will go to independence parties and give them a big majority. However the fly in the ointment is Useless and the old Murrells mafia who currently run the cartel. We shall see if they choose to live or die by the sword. Long time till 2026 if Useless avoids getting booted out. The first chance to kick these lowlifes is the foreign vote for Westminster.
I think the SNP may well receive a gubbing at the next GE. But Holyrood in 2026 is a different kettle of fish. By then we'll be into a mid-term Starmer Govt which may well impact SLAB's chances and the SNP may have replaced Yousaf with someone electable. But really, who knows?
I agree and think that is the way it will go. Key at Holyrood will be if the duffers vote SNP1/2 again and allow shedloads of unionists in or the idiots get over their ego's and use 2nd vote for an independence party. That was key re sturgeon having no interest in Independence last time as she promoted people to vote for unionists to get into Holyrood by urging people to waste their second vote on SNP.
Maybe she went off the idea when she realised it was supported by two braincell turnip shagging little fascists like yourself?
Ha Ha Ha, burst a blood vessel yet loser. Take off those bicycle clips you silly boy.
Sorry I have the measure of you Malcolm. When you call people "loser" it is psychological projection. It is because you know that is what you have turned out to be in your sad old age. It is why you believe in the fairytale charter for losers called Scottish Nationalism. It is why you are soooo angry and generally rude to anyone who holds a different view, though this is, obviously also in part because you are really very very thick.
Get some therapy you sad angry little man.
The irony of the uneducated Buster Bloodvessel.
Oh dear, more psychological projection from Malcolm. Were you not educated in "The University of Life" I seem to remember you saying lol? That is the university that so often puts out poor performance, of which you are clearly a prime example.
Malcolm, I am delighted you are on this platform. You underline the average nationalist (or should I say mean): uneducated, unpleasant, unhinged, unintelligent, unloved, underperforming and unhappy.
Have a pleasant evening arguing with your wife. I should feel sorry for you, but I can't ever feel sorry for an obnoxious fascist c*nt.
Ha Ha, sad lonely git is spitting feathers. Get help sunshine, try to stop making such a fool of yourself @foremain
This ought to get lawyers excited. A real life case in prospect, turning on the application of the rule against perpetuities.
The day before Florida lawmakers voted to create a new board overseeing Disney, the Disney-aligned old board passed an agreement basically neutering the new one, to be in effect until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of King Charles (?!?) https://mobile.twitter.com/PoliticsReid/status/1641178185109831680
The British royalty angle is just the cherry on top.
Comments
Will CPTPP membership boost trade? I believe the answer is "a bit, but not very much";
https://www.iod.com/news/global-business/flying-the-flag-for-global-britain-how-valuable-is-cptpp-for-the-uk-really/
CPTPP member countries have a combined population of 500 million and GDP of £9 trillion. For reference, although the EU is a similar size, with a GDP of £11 trillion, the value of our total trade to the EU is much higher, at £557 billion.1 CPTPP as an area makes up 7.8% of the UK’s total trade. In 2019, UK service suppliers exported £28.8 billion worth of services to CPTPP members, and average annual growth in trade between 2016-2019 with members was 8%. We already have bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with seven of the eleven countries, and digital economy agreements with Singapore and Japan...
UK companies still rely on the long established links they have with EU markets, which are directly on our doorstep and with whom they have closer historical ties. The Indo-Pacific strategy will open up important opportunities for UK businesses, but the government must not forfeit the significance of our relationship with the EU in order to do so.
We tend to think people high up are in the know and very clever. When in reality, they've usually got a summary knowledge at best and often not the domain background to know more. Meaning that those who are smart and aware will often hedge what they say (they know where they are on the Dunning-Kruger curve).
Minor anecdote: I recall an Air Commodore talking about space warfare, and discussing the option of ramming one satellite into another to deny comms. It swiftly became apparent he couldn't even conceive of the sheer volume of space involved (like ramming one fly into another somewhere over the UK), and he had a very garbled idea of the velocities involved (he quoted "seven thousand kilometres per second" and it wasn't misspeaking - he went on to describe analogies for seven thousand kilometres and the idea of travelling that far every second).
He was a smart guy, but didn't know what he didn't know. He was simply a pilot who'd been promoted a lot with no background in physics or space, but was involved in it.
Probably fair to say today’s polling continues the herding of recent days with Labour solidly at or around 45%, the Conservatives around or just below 30% and the LDs around 10%.
I would therefore expect improved Conservative ratings in the next YouGov and People Polling surveys.
https://labourlist.org/2023/03/barring-corbyn-is-wholly-unjustified-but-i-hope-he-wont-stand-as-an-independent/
Sounds rather downbeat to be honest, that if Corbyn stands lots of people will back him, get expelled, and that's what Starmer (or rather 'the faction Keir Starmer has put in charge') wants.
My point is you can’t stop the tech now. The rewards for those who successfully take it further - financial, political, economic, personal - are just too enormous. Overwhelming
What purpose would this pause serve. Why should we trust the Chinese to agree rather than lie and say OK, when we know they are desperate to catch up with the west on this front
And can the big tech giant companies really trust each other to down tools? Don’t think so. Whoever wins this race wins the world
First rule is to be able to count.
The Chinese are all over this. If they develop AGI as we unilaterally disarm GPT5 they will rule the world with ease
*Except by their constituents. Which were voters in only one Scottish constituency. And increasingly often of a party which had lost the election in Scotland as a whole. Though tbf the time when the Tory Sec of State was a MP for Weston-Super-Mare or somewhere in that airt was after the reconvention of the Scottish Parliament in 1997 (or so memory seems to indicate).
https://youtube.com/watch?v=L_Guz73e6fw
The second rule is to be able to count.
That covers all five rules.
Awww. But why does it work for overseas visitors but not us?
"Plans to boost domestic tourism by introducing a rail pass for British staycationers have been axed, the Guardian can reveal.
The idea was initially heralded by the government as a way to help struggling businesses get back on their feet as the final Covid restrictions were being lifted in the summer of 2021, but extensive consultations since have found that the plan would not be commercially viable.
[...]
The special ticket was intended to be modelled on the BritRail pass, which is sold through VisitBritain and allows foreign tourists unlimited journeys on most train lines across England, Wales and Scotland."
Useful even if wrong.
https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/the-next-general-election-will-be-labours-to-lose
My guess is Starmer will use it as his BIG IDEA within the first couple of years of government and support from a country that has seen the hardships of Leaving will be behind him all the way. Having every party except the rump Tories on board will do him no harm at all. Voting reform is likely to be another big idea.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2023/03/29/first-portrait-king-charles-iii-released-alastair-barford/
SKS won't touch either of these "big ideas".
On Europe, he will move gently. On voting reform, he won't move at all.
However, on Jeremy Corbyn, SKS will announce a public crucifixion. He hasn't apologised
Eighteen female staff at a jail which has pioneered a liberal approach have had relationships with prisoners since it opened, data obtained under Freedom of Information laws has revealed.
The 18 women including full-time officers and contract staff at HMP Berwyn in north Wales have been sacked or resigned after their affairs were exposed during its first six years of operation. Three have been jailed for misconduct in a public office.
The prison which opened in 2017 as Britain’s second biggest with space for 2,000 offenders pioneered a liberal approach to create a more “domestic” environment to aid rehabilitation with cells rebranded as rooms, prison blocks known as “communities” and inmates provided with laptops when they arrive.
However, the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said inexperienced officers had been exploited by “very experienced” offenders amid flaws in recruitment which meant that governors were not able to have face-to-face interviews to select their own staff. Instead, they were recruited centrally through assessment tests and Zoom interviews.
It comes as figures show a record 36 female prison officers have been sacked over relationships in the past three years, nearly double the 19 in the previous four years.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/03/29/18-female-employees-jail-relationships-prisoners-foi/
So now, there ain't no tent, just quite a lot of urine. The only question is whether we've witnessed a lefty takeover of a historically centre-right party or the penultimate heave of a right wing takeover.
I don't find it surprising, Mr Blimey.
'Did you go to the ULEZ protest at the weekend?'
'No....'
'I could only stand there for an hour until the fumes from all the idling cars got to me.'
No words.
a) A future prediction, not something which has happened;
b) Based on a theory we will have vastly lower immigration, which we have not;
c) related to b) about GDP not GDP per capita, so doesn't make individual people "poorer" necessarily;
d) Not the OBR's work, but a simple average of a table of other people's predictions, and the OBR have changed the makeup of that table between runs;
e) If one removes the outlier figures, World Gymnastics judging style, the average of that table comes out at less that 2% anyway, and that still is based on lower immigration and GDP not GDP per capita.
The head of the OBR is either dense or biased, and he doesn't seem dense.
Surely it can find some strands of moral fibre. (There's a fruit 'n' fibre joke there somewhere)
Wagner Forces are reported to currently be Storming the Center of Bakhmut near the Administration and City Council Building.
https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1641130873054543874?s=20
NEW THREAD
There is nothing to stop us calling out the lying halfwits who got us where we are now. And for them to try and sell some pan-Pacific trade group as an adequate replacement for what we have already lost compounds the lie.
There were trans and non-binary actors (they're all that now, right?) (except the ones that want to be called actresses), some of them playing the cross-dressing parts. They were all very good
None of them quite as good as Rose Ayling-Ellis, whose energetic performance was quite compelling
The show was stolen from her, though, by Hollywood
Martha Plimpton was just exceptional as Jacques
I'm not hugely optimistic mind you.
Indeed it is not impossible Sunak wins most seats in England in 2024 but Starmer becomes PM thanks to Welsh and Scottish Labour MPs
A real life case in prospect, turning on the application of the rule against perpetuities.
The day before Florida lawmakers voted to create a new board overseeing Disney, the Disney-aligned old board passed an agreement basically neutering the new one, to be in effect until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of King Charles (?!?)
https://mobile.twitter.com/PoliticsReid/status/1641178185109831680
The British royalty angle is just the cherry on top.