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Labour could be the main threat in Mid Beds – politicalbetting.com

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  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,772
    Miklosvar said:

    I assume that Sunak is already rehearsing his answer to the question how much his family will save from the abolition of IHT.

    Yes. The LOL is that the actual answer is Not one penny, because we are far too smart and well-advised to have any liability for it in the first place. But not easy for a PM to say that.
    The actual answer is even worse: 'Not one penny because it's all overseas.'
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,395

    Miklosvar said:

    kle4 said:

    Peck said:

    I assume that Sunak is already rehearsing his answer to the question how much his family will save from the abolition of IHT.

    The filthy rich don't pay IHT.
    The richer you become the more unfair it becomes to tax you, and suddenly looking at the raw amount paid becomes fairer.

    Weirdly, taxing rich people less makes them likely to thrive and end up paying more, whereas taxing poorer people less is just an idea that we'll get to if we can, maybe.
    The most extreme example of this, is the payments out of income exemption. If joe Bloggs who is worth £500,000 gives his child £50,000, that's capital, and IHTable unless Joe lives 7 years. If a billionaire gives his child £50,000 a month out of income, it's not capital from his POV so it is IHT exempt.
    I'd not heard of that exemption, and I don't think my Dad had when he was doing probate on my Grandad's estate, as he was asking for all the details of all our Christmas/birthday gifts from Grandad, and I'm fairly confident his pension was absurdly generous enough that they would have come out of income rather than capital - he'd given us all lump sums when he sold his house and moved into sheltered accommodation, so he wasn't holding onto much capital.

    I guess that's another exemption that would disappear if you switched IHT from an estate tax to a recipient tax.
    Christmas and birthday (and some wedding) gifts out of income are exempt today - not sure about whenever it was in the past your dad did it, but IIRC that's been thje case for some time.

    Also any gifts of up to £250 pp, plus one of 3 grand.

    https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/gifts

    I suspect those would be carried on for a wider CTT - they are mostly not, after all, capital by definition.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,395
    MattW said:

    Carnyx said:

    rcs1000 said:

    malcolmg said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    Baseball is a superior game, both to play and watch, than cricket but it would just look wrong in the UK. LIke wearing fringed chaps in M&S.

    I've tried watching it and it's useless compared to cricket IMO. But then I am probably the world's biggest cricket fan so I'm a bit biased. 😊
    On the other hand I would not watch cricket even if you attached electrodes to my knackers but I would watch baseball.
    Really? There's almost nothing I wouldn't do if the alternative was fried testicles.
    Very popular, fried testicles, amongst the connoisseurs of rognons blanc.
    That reminds me I have some Lorne sausage leftover in the fridge.

    Time to make a pizza.
    Yum. Mrs C will soon be putting the Stornoway black pudding on for our Sunday lunchtime pudden and egg rolls, with home made soup.
  • MiklosvarMiklosvar Posts: 1,855
    The exemption

    The exemption, which is in Inheritance Tax Act 1984 s 21, is available:

    ‘if, or to the extent that, it is shown:

    that it was made as part of the normal expenditure of the transferor; and
    that (taking one year with another) it was made out of his income; and
    that, after allowing for all transfers of value forming part of his normal expenditure, the transferor was left with sufficient income to maintain his usual standard of living…’

    https://www.taxadvisermagazine.com/article/normal-expenditure-out-income-exemption
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,232

    kle4 said:

    Heathener said:

    It's actually quite sad to see older folk in reactionary mode: raging against the dying of the light.

    You don't have to live this way. It is possible to move with the times and be happy.

    Enlarge your horizons. Embrace change.

    Have a nice day ;) xx

    You realise that it is young people driving the rise in support for what you would call reactionary politics on the continent?
    That does seem to be true in a number of places. I think we can too easily assume our own divisions, and particular the age division (itself not that longstanding) is the case everywhere.

    I assume that Sunak is already rehearsing his answer to the question how much his family will save from the abolition of IHT.

    And yet I would bet the answer still looks clumsy and evasive when he delivers it, and has no alternative phrasing when pushed.
    Lot of young people joined the Hitler Youth. ‘Thing’s can get better and here’s someone with a way to do it.’
    First step on the path to the papacy.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,395
    MattW said:

    Carnyx said:

    eek said:

    Taz said:

    So much for a consultation.

    Rail staff have been told to prepare for 2,000 job cuts from the closure of ticket offices — even though their fate has not been officially decided yet.

    The Sunday Times has seen confidential documents setting out proposals by the train operators to cut staffing at stations by October, as part of a plan by the Rail Delivery Group to close hundreds of ticket offices.

    Huw Merriman, the rail minister, has justified the closures on the ground that only one in ten tickets are bought in offices, down from a third a decade ago.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/2000-job-cuts-train-ticket-offices-uk-consultation-closures-tltbg0qz6

    Presumably there’ll be a legal challenge then.
    Oh there will be a lot of legal challenges - but it's the lies that are so annoying..

    Also it's stupid because although it may be 10% of tickets its something like 25% of all revenue - most tickets bought are for immediate travel so way more expensive than tickets bought earlier).
    And season tickets for short distance repetitive travel to known locations on known trains distorts the stats too.
    There are also discrimination problems with these proposals, which are a warmed over Grant Shapps project.

    The Office of Rail Regulation and EHRC have been excluded from consultations.

    For example, I have a friend who is unable to walk, and travels using the 50% discount on a normal walk-up ticket when you remain in your wheelchair on the train. AIUI the discounted tickets are only available from ticket offices, not the ticket machines.

    That imposes a substantial disadvantage on people with a protected characteristic in their use of a service provided to the public.

    If Harper wanted to be rational, he would have addressed such questions first, but imo this is cynical, and Harper is proving himself to be the next Shapps.

    I think there's already a Judicial Review running from a transport user organisation, but I can't find it.

    There is, however, a petition from organisations for disabled people running, here:
    https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/636542?reveal_response=yes

    The Government response so far parrots the industry group Rail Delivery Group, even down to the same misleading stats.
    To emphasise the issue, the Disabled Persons Railcard allows a companion at the same half price, e.g for someone with a wheelchair, and also defines disability by specific criteria

    https://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/are-you-eligible/

    Eg if you are partly/wholly blind you have to show them, the first time you get a card

    "Social Services official stamp in the space allocated on the downloadable form if applying online or on a paper application form

    OR

    A copy of your Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI), BP1 Certificate (Scotland) or BD8 Certificate for being registered blind or partially-sighted"

    https://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/are-you-eligible/

    Absolutely no argument about whether the punters are disabled or not, there!
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,772

    kle4 said:

    Heathener said:

    It's actually quite sad to see older folk in reactionary mode: raging against the dying of the light.

    You don't have to live this way. It is possible to move with the times and be happy.

    Enlarge your horizons. Embrace change.

    Have a nice day ;) xx

    You realise that it is young people driving the rise in support for what you would call reactionary politics on the continent?
    That does seem to be true in a number of places. I think we can too easily assume our own divisions, and particular the age division (itself not that longstanding) is the case everywhere.

    I assume that Sunak is already rehearsing his answer to the question how much his family will save from the abolition of IHT.

    And yet I would bet the answer still looks clumsy and evasive when he delivers it, and has no alternative phrasing when pushed.
    Lot of young people joined the Hitler Youth. ‘Thing’s can get better and here’s someone with a way to do it.’
    First step on the path to the papacy.
    Ratzinger, whatever his other faults, did not join the Hitler Youth because he wanted to but because otherwise his parents would have been arrested.

    He spent less time working with Hitler than Stalin did.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,395
    Carnyx said:

    Miklosvar said:

    kle4 said:

    Peck said:

    I assume that Sunak is already rehearsing his answer to the question how much his family will save from the abolition of IHT.

    The filthy rich don't pay IHT.
    The richer you become the more unfair it becomes to tax you, and suddenly looking at the raw amount paid becomes fairer.

    Weirdly, taxing rich people less makes them likely to thrive and end up paying more, whereas taxing poorer people less is just an idea that we'll get to if we can, maybe.
    The most extreme example of this, is the payments out of income exemption. If joe Bloggs who is worth £500,000 gives his child £50,000, that's capital, and IHTable unless Joe lives 7 years. If a billionaire gives his child £50,000 a month out of income, it's not capital from his POV so it is IHT exempt.
    I'd not heard of that exemption, and I don't think my Dad had when he was doing probate on my Grandad's estate, as he was asking for all the details of all our Christmas/birthday gifts from Grandad, and I'm fairly confident his pension was absurdly generous enough that they would have come out of income rather than capital - he'd given us all lump sums when he sold his house and moved into sheltered accommodation, so he wasn't holding onto much capital.

    I guess that's another exemption that would disappear if you switched IHT from an estate tax to a recipient tax.
    Christmas and birthday (and some wedding) gifts out of income are exempt today - not sure about whenever it was in the past your dad did it, but IIRC that's been thje case for some time.

    Also any gifts of up to £250 pp, plus one of 3 grand.

    https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/gifts

    I suspect those would be carried on for a wider CTT - they are mostly not, after all, capital by definition.
    Edit: the 3K can be out of capital.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,509

    malcolmg said:

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    YouGov have just sent me a survey and guess what one of the questions is about?



    If it is good enough for YouGov and Tiger Woods then it is good enough for me.

    Except they have to specify when and where it is. So obviously not good enough to call it the Open tout court. Needs to be distinguished from the Open at Berwick upon Tweed Magdalene Fields Golf Club, no?
    I started playing golf at Magdalene Fields Golf Club when I was 11
    Well, quite. So we must be quite clear about which Open this is.

    "Open" could be the one down the road on Saturday week.
    From the nation that gets its knickers in a twist over the spelling of whisk(e)y.
    Whisky is Scottish

    Whiskey is Irish
    Hard for some people to take that in
    malcolmg said:

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    YouGov have just sent me a survey and guess what one of the questions is about?



    If it is good enough for YouGov and Tiger Woods then it is good enough for me.

    Except they have to specify when and where it is. So obviously not good enough to call it the Open tout court. Needs to be distinguished from the Open at Berwick upon Tweed Magdalene Fields Golf Club, no?
    I started playing golf at Magdalene Fields Golf Club when I was 11
    Well, quite. So we must be quite clear about which Open this is.

    "Open" could be the one down the road on Saturday week.
    From the nation that gets its knickers in a twist over the spelling of whisk(e)y.
    Whisky is Scottish

    Whiskey is Irish
    Hard for some people to take that in
    I can happily ‘take in’ either!
    Nice one
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,395
    PS Update on the ticket office situation from a specialist mag.

    https://www.modernrailways.com/article/mass-ticket-office-closures-proposed
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,395
    And one sneaky thing about the official consultation - it makes you enter your local station so obviouslu will try to discredit those whose offices are remaining open, even if they are worried about journeys through/back from stations elsewhere or elderly relatives elsewhere sans internet.
  • PeckPeck Posts: 517
    edited July 2023
    For those who want to hear RFKJr's exact words that have caused the ruckus:

    https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/videos\/6hlBZwMX-RyIcpnTz.mp4

    For bonus points, what does the photograph show on the wall behind him? Does it show a riot or uprising from the late 1960s? I thought at first it was Paris '68, but AFAIAA the police cars didn't have big numbers on them like that. Detroit '67? Watts '65?
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,232
    I was about to suggest combining the ticket office and coffee shack, but then I remembered being stuck behind someone trying to purchase a student railcard and discounted season ticket when I was trying to pay for a coffee at Southport, where such an arrangement exists.

    In the end I just had to drop some coins* on the counter and leg it for my train.

    *Yes, cash to the rescue!
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 72,263
    Nigelb said:

    Peck said:

    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Idiot conspiracy theorist denies antisemitism.

    RFK Jr. denies comments on ‘ethnically targeted’ Covid-19 were anti-Semitic
    The longshot presidential candidate suggested that the virus could have been engineered to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.
    https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/15/rfk-jr-covid-19-ethnically-targeted-00106478

    And no, it couldn’t.

    Well, he has kind of got a point provided you accept prior conspiracy theories. If China had been engineering Covid for biological warfare, it would make sense to seek a variant that did not affect their own people. Not sure where the Jews come in, mind.
    No, he doesn't. Even if you believe China deliberately engineered the virus, which is highly improbable, such targeting is simply not possible.
    Which is why he's an idiot too.
    Nature manages it. There are diseases (not necessarily virus-borne) that affect some ethnic groups more than others. The poster child would be sickle cell anaemia. And possible or not, that does not preclude Biowarfare Research Group Number 17 aiming for ethnic specificity.
    In 1998 the Sunday Times published the following article, giving their sources as Israeli military and western intelligence sources and people from the BMA and Porton Down:

    https://homepages.uc.edu/~chengy/times.html

    More on the BMA report:

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1114775/

    AFAIAA that report is not available for free online. It's at Amazon for £4.99.

    If only you'd been around then, eh, NigelB? You could have screamed at everyone that such targeting isn't possible and that everyone who said it was (e.g. people at the BMA, Porton Down, in the Israeli military, and in western intelligence services) were anti-Semites or idiots. Or maybe they weren't saying what they really thought, and were in a conspiracy to delude everyone else. No flies on you, eh, Nige?
    And how does that relate to engineering a pandemic virus ?

    What you're talking about remains a theoretic possibility (as you'll see the articles you cite describe it), but bears no relation at all to creating such a virus.
    Just in case Peck is missing the point, targeting particular genetic elements isn't particularly difficult: it's the basis for a great deal of recent medical treatments - though it still requires a great deal of effort, and getting the desired result isn't trivial.
    Delivering a pathogenic payload is also entirely possible. But doing so by way of a virus in a targeted and controllable manner is way beyond current technology.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,937
    edited July 2023
    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Carnyx said:

    eek said:

    Taz said:

    So much for a consultation.

    Rail staff have been told to prepare for 2,000 job cuts from the closure of ticket offices — even though their fate has not been officially decided yet.

    The Sunday Times has seen confidential documents setting out proposals by the train operators to cut staffing at stations by October, as part of a plan by the Rail Delivery Group to close hundreds of ticket offices.

    Huw Merriman, the rail minister, has justified the closures on the ground that only one in ten tickets are bought in offices, down from a third a decade ago.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/2000-job-cuts-train-ticket-offices-uk-consultation-closures-tltbg0qz6

    Presumably there’ll be a legal challenge then.
    Oh there will be a lot of legal challenges - but it's the lies that are so annoying..

    Also it's stupid because although it may be 10% of tickets its something like 25% of all revenue - most tickets bought are for immediate travel so way more expensive than tickets bought earlier).
    And season tickets for short distance repetitive travel to known locations on known trains distorts the stats too.
    There are also discrimination problems with these proposals, which are a warmed over Grant Shapps project.

    The Office of Rail Regulation and EHRC have been excluded from consultations.

    For example, I have a friend who is unable to walk, and travels using the 50% discount on a normal walk-up ticket when you remain in your wheelchair on the train. AIUI the discounted tickets are only available from ticket offices, not the ticket machines.

    That imposes a substantial disadvantage on people with a protected characteristic in their use of a service provided to the public.

    If Harper wanted to be rational, he would have addressed such questions first, but imo this is cynical, and Harper is proving himself to be the next Shapps.

    I think there's already a Judicial Review running from a transport user organisation, but I can't find it.

    There is, however, a petition from organisations for disabled people running, here:
    https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/636542?reveal_response=yes

    The Government response so far parrots the industry group Rail Delivery Group, even down to the same misleading stats.
    To emphasise the issue, the Disabled Persons Railcard allows a companion at the same half price, e.g for someone with a wheelchair, and also defines disability by specific criteria

    https://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/are-you-eligible/

    Eg if you are partly/wholly blind you have to show them, the first time you get a card

    "Social Services official stamp in the space allocated on the downloadable form if applying online or on a paper application form

    OR

    A copy of your Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI), BP1 Certificate (Scotland) or BD8 Certificate for being registered blind or partially-sighted"

    https://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/are-you-eligible/

    Absolutely no argument about whether the punters are disabled or not, there!
    The problem is the assessment process in order to get the stamp or the card, and also definitions of "disabled" - which does not align with the entitlement.

    I am disabled as Type I Diabetic (a condition specifically listed as such on the Govt website due to long-term impact), but not currently mobility impaired or requiring assistance, so I don't think I will get a half-price companion on the railway. Though I have never applied.

    "Partly blind" is very .. er .. unclear (!) as a definition. I don't know what that means, but I know people who are visually impaired who can see enough to get around on foot usually - but eg not at night. Or can see enough to prepare and eat a meal, but have no eg sight beyond 5-10m or no peripheral vision. So no chance of a driving licence, but do they qualify as "partly blind"?

    My friend did not get PIP, and therefore cannot get the Disabled Persons' Railcard. It was to do with the problematic assessment process for PIP - which as we all know has been a mess for a decade, especially since outsourced (did that happen in Scotland?). Just listening to You and Yours, In Touch or various other radio programmes illustrates that.

    The whole area is a minefield, but definitions are needed.
  • MiklosvarMiklosvar Posts: 1,855
    Carnyx said:

    And one sneaky thing about the official consultation - it makes you enter your local station so obviouslu will try to discredit those whose offices are remaining open, even if they are worried about journeys through/back from stations elsewhere or elderly relatives elsewhere sans internet.

    It does sound like the planning consultation at the beginning of Hitchhiker's Guide.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,937
    ydoethur said:

    kle4 said:

    Heathener said:

    It's actually quite sad to see older folk in reactionary mode: raging against the dying of the light.

    You don't have to live this way. It is possible to move with the times and be happy.

    Enlarge your horizons. Embrace change.

    Have a nice day ;) xx

    You realise that it is young people driving the rise in support for what you would call reactionary politics on the continent?
    That does seem to be true in a number of places. I think we can too easily assume our own divisions, and particular the age division (itself not that longstanding) is the case everywhere.

    I assume that Sunak is already rehearsing his answer to the question how much his family will save from the abolition of IHT.

    And yet I would bet the answer still looks clumsy and evasive when he delivers it, and has no alternative phrasing when pushed.
    Lot of young people joined the Hitler Youth. ‘Thing’s can get better and here’s someone with a way to do it.’
    First step on the path to the papacy.
    Ratzinger, whatever his other faults, did not join the Hitler Youth because he wanted to but because otherwise his parents would have been arrested.

    He spent less time working with Hitler than Stalin did.
    I think he was 14, and joining was compulsory.

    Not that that got in the way of the rhetoric of Dawkins and Co !

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/09/joining-the-hitler-youth-was-not-a-choice-it-was-mandatory
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 17,246
    ydoethur said:

    Miklosvar said:

    I assume that Sunak is already rehearsing his answer to the question how much his family will save from the abolition of IHT.

    Yes. The LOL is that the actual answer is Not one penny, because we are far too smart and well-advised to have any liability for it in the first place. But not easy for a PM to say that.
    The actual answer is even worse: 'Not one penny because it's all overseas.'
    Not so much a "Citizen of Nowhere" as a Citizen of Somewhere else.
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 13,778
    Peck said:

    For those who want to hear RFKJr's exact words that have caused the ruckus:

    https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/videos\/6hlBZwMX-RyIcpnTz.mp4

    For bonus points, what does the photograph show on the wall behind him? Does it show a riot or uprising from the late 1960s? I thought at first it was Paris '68, but AFAIAA the police cars didn't have big numbers on them like that. Detroit '67? Watts '65?

    Fucking hell, how bad are your car identification skills? It's obviously a photo from a running of the Mille Miglia in the 50s which used numbers of that style in that era. Car #505 is a 1956 Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta. Not typically used as police cars. Fuck me.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,395
    MattW said:

    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Carnyx said:

    eek said:

    Taz said:

    So much for a consultation.

    Rail staff have been told to prepare for 2,000 job cuts from the closure of ticket offices — even though their fate has not been officially decided yet.

    The Sunday Times has seen confidential documents setting out proposals by the train operators to cut staffing at stations by October, as part of a plan by the Rail Delivery Group to close hundreds of ticket offices.

    Huw Merriman, the rail minister, has justified the closures on the ground that only one in ten tickets are bought in offices, down from a third a decade ago.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/2000-job-cuts-train-ticket-offices-uk-consultation-closures-tltbg0qz6

    Presumably there’ll be a legal challenge then.
    Oh there will be a lot of legal challenges - but it's the lies that are so annoying..

    Also it's stupid because although it may be 10% of tickets its something like 25% of all revenue - most tickets bought are for immediate travel so way more expensive than tickets bought earlier).
    And season tickets for short distance repetitive travel to known locations on known trains distorts the stats too.
    There are also discrimination problems with these proposals, which are a warmed over Grant Shapps project.

    The Office of Rail Regulation and EHRC have been excluded from consultations.

    For example, I have a friend who is unable to walk, and travels using the 50% discount on a normal walk-up ticket when you remain in your wheelchair on the train. AIUI the discounted tickets are only available from ticket offices, not the ticket machines.

    That imposes a substantial disadvantage on people with a protected characteristic in their use of a service provided to the public.

    If Harper wanted to be rational, he would have addressed such questions first, but imo this is cynical, and Harper is proving himself to be the next Shapps.

    I think there's already a Judicial Review running from a transport user organisation, but I can't find it.

    There is, however, a petition from organisations for disabled people running, here:
    https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/636542?reveal_response=yes

    The Government response so far parrots the industry group Rail Delivery Group, even down to the same misleading stats.
    To emphasise the issue, the Disabled Persons Railcard allows a companion at the same half price, e.g for someone with a wheelchair, and also defines disability by specific criteria

    https://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/are-you-eligible/

    Eg if you are partly/wholly blind you have to show them, the first time you get a card

    "Social Services official stamp in the space allocated on the downloadable form if applying online or on a paper application form

    OR

    A copy of your Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI), BP1 Certificate (Scotland) or BD8 Certificate for being registered blind or partially-sighted"

    https://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/are-you-eligible/

    Absolutely no argument about whether the punters are disabled or not, there!
    The problem is the assessment process in order to get the stamp or the card, and also definitions of "disabled" - which does not align with the entitlement.

    I am disabled as Type I Diabetic (a condition specifically listed as such on the Govt website due to long-term impact), but not currently mobility impaired or requiring assistance, so I don't think I will get a half-price companion on the railway. Though I have never applied.

    "Partly blind" is very .. er .. unclear (!) as a definition. I don't know what that means, but I know people who are visually impaired who can see enough to get around on foot usually - but eg not at night. Or can see enough to prepare and eat a meal, but have no eg sight beyond 5-10m or no peripheral vision. So no chance of a driving licence, but do they qualify as "partly blind"?

    My friend did not get PIP, and therefore cannot get the Disabled Persons' Railcard. It was to do with the problematic assessment process for PIP - which as we all know has been a mess for a decade, especially since outsourced (did that happen in Scotland?). Just listening to You and Yours, In Touch or various other radio programmes illustrates that.

    The whole area is a minefield, but definitions are need.
    Oh no, I hadn't known that! That really is dreadful.

    'Partly blind' was my wording - the actual heading is "Have a visual Impairment" which isn't much clearer ...

    The railcard is 1/3 off and what my relative has but allows a companion anyway - no restrictions on what disability gets the latter.

    As regards PIP, it's ADP in Scotland. Not familiar with it myself. C urrently changing over so early days. THough the decisions seem to be more humane and sensible with far fewer challenges albeit currently much too slow during the changeover.

    https://www.mygov.scot/adult-disability-payment
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65611514
    https://news.stv.tv/scotland/adult-disability-payment-scots-waiting-twice-as-long-for-disability-payments-as-those-in-england
  • Jim_MillerJim_Miller Posts: 3,039
    A day or two ago, I saw an article on the NYT dropping their sports department -- and a retired sports reporter for the newspaper saying the newspaper had failed to cover sports well, because the editors were more interested in soccer (as we call it) than baseball. (The NYT will now use the sports reporting from the company they bought recently.)

    For the record: I don't pay much attention to either sport. (I do find the growing internatonalization of baseball of interest, culturally and politically.)
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,491

    I assume that Sunak is already rehearsing his answer to the question how much his family will save from the abolition of IHT.

    I bet he isn’t. He’s repeatedly shown himself to be inept at politics!
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 72,263
    An account from one of the several thousand foreign volunteers fighting in Ukraine.

    https://whowhatwhy.org/politics/ukraine/the-war-in-ukraine-is-much-worse-than-the-war-on-terror/
    SOMEWHERE IN THE DONBAS, Ukraine — From his position on the Humvee, manning his 50-caliber machine gun, Paul Smith was firing steadily at the Russian positions when a ball of light appeared on the horizon. It was like a flashlight.

    A strong light staring at him through the darkness.

    Smith, who had his night vision on, felt that the light was frozen on the horizon.

    “For me, it didn’t look like it was moving. It looked like somebody was shining a light on me. I decided to bend my head. I started shouting to warn others,” says Paul Smith about the incident this winter at the front line in Ukraine. “About seven seconds later, it hit.”

    The shockwave pushed Smith down in the Humvee. A piece of shrapnel got stuck in his hand between his knuckles, and it felt like bones were breaking in his face due to the pressure of the Russian missile. He later found out that his left eye socket was fractured...

    ...Smith told WhoWhatWhy that he often receives messages on social media from people who want to come and fight alongside him. They see the videos and photos on his Instagram account and get inspired. Many are 19 or 20 years old.

    “First, I ask them, do you have military experience? And if they say no, I just say, ‘Look, I can’t use you. And most of the Ukrainian units out here can’t use you,’” he said...

  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,772
    MattW said:

    ydoethur said:

    kle4 said:

    Heathener said:

    It's actually quite sad to see older folk in reactionary mode: raging against the dying of the light.

    You don't have to live this way. It is possible to move with the times and be happy.

    Enlarge your horizons. Embrace change.

    Have a nice day ;) xx

    You realise that it is young people driving the rise in support for what you would call reactionary politics on the continent?
    That does seem to be true in a number of places. I think we can too easily assume our own divisions, and particular the age division (itself not that longstanding) is the case everywhere.

    I assume that Sunak is already rehearsing his answer to the question how much his family will save from the abolition of IHT.

    And yet I would bet the answer still looks clumsy and evasive when he delivers it, and has no alternative phrasing when pushed.
    Lot of young people joined the Hitler Youth. ‘Thing’s can get better and here’s someone with a way to do it.’
    First step on the path to the papacy.
    Ratzinger, whatever his other faults, did not join the Hitler Youth because he wanted to but because otherwise his parents would have been arrested.

    He spent less time working with Hitler than Stalin did.
    I think he was 14, and joining was compulsory.

    Not that that got in the way of the rhetoric of Dawkins and Co !

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/09/joining-the-hitler-youth-was-not-a-choice-it-was-mandatory
    It was actually compulsory from the age of 10 that boys had to join the Jungvolk, which was to the Hitler Youth what the Cubs are to the Scouts.

    I don't know if Ratzinger ever joined the Jungvolk, but I don't believe he did. His father was a committed anti-Nazi and the family had been harassed by the SA for non-compliance with a number of edicts. That might have been one.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 63,137
    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Miklosvar said:

    kle4 said:

    Peck said:

    I assume that Sunak is already rehearsing his answer to the question how much his family will save from the abolition of IHT.

    The filthy rich don't pay IHT.
    The richer you become the more unfair it becomes to tax you, and suddenly looking at the raw amount paid becomes fairer.

    Weirdly, taxing rich people less makes them likely to thrive and end up paying more, whereas taxing poorer people less is just an idea that we'll get to if we can, maybe.
    The most extreme example of this, is the payments out of income exemption. If joe Bloggs who is worth £500,000 gives his child £50,000, that's capital, and IHTable unless Joe lives 7 years. If a billionaire gives his child £50,000 a month out of income, it's not capital from his POV so it is IHT exempt.
    I'd not heard of that exemption, and I don't think my Dad had when he was doing probate on my Grandad's estate, as he was asking for all the details of all our Christmas/birthday gifts from Grandad, and I'm fairly confident his pension was absurdly generous enough that they would have come out of income rather than capital - he'd given us all lump sums when he sold his house and moved into sheltered accommodation, so he wasn't holding onto much capital.

    I guess that's another exemption that would disappear if you switched IHT from an estate tax to a recipient tax.
    Christmas and birthday (and some wedding) gifts out of income are exempt today - not sure about whenever it was in the past your dad did it, but IIRC that's been thje case for some time.

    Also any gifts of up to £250 pp, plus one of 3 grand.

    https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/gifts

    I suspect those would be carried on for a wider CTT - they are mostly not, after all, capital by definition.
    Edit: the 3K can be out of capital.
    You can also give away income:

    "You can make regular payments to another person, for example to help with their living costs. There’s no limit to how much you can give tax free, as long as:

    you can afford the payments after meeting your usual living costs
    you pay from your regular monthly income"
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,679
    Peck said:

    For those who want to hear RFKJr's exact words that have caused the ruckus:

    https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/videos\/6hlBZwMX-RyIcpnTz.mp4

    For bonus points, what does the photograph show on the wall behind him? Does it show a riot or uprising from the late 1960s? I thought at first it was Paris '68, but AFAIAA the police cars didn't have big numbers on them like that. Detroit '67? Watts '65?

    I'm so bored with these 'out of the box' individuals. Often you can't tell if they are genuinely hard of thinking or whether it's about seeking attention - and I can no longer be bothered to try. I just wish they came with an off switch (in the middle of their forehead or something) that could be pressed whenever their mouth starts to open.
  • FishingFishing Posts: 5,136
    kinabalu said:

    Peck said:

    For those who want to hear RFKJr's exact words that have caused the ruckus:

    https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/videos\/6hlBZwMX-RyIcpnTz.mp4

    For bonus points, what does the photograph show on the wall behind him? Does it show a riot or uprising from the late 1960s? I thought at first it was Paris '68, but AFAIAA the police cars didn't have big numbers on them like that. Detroit '67? Watts '65?

    I'm so bored with these 'out of the box' individuals. Often you can't tell if they are genuinely hard of thinking or whether it's about seeking attention - and I can no longer be bothered to try. I just wish they came with an off switch (in the middle of their forehead or something) that could be pressed whenever their mouth starts to open.
    I don't agree, for two reasons. People who hold ridiculous, even offensive, views are the canary in the coalmine that shows we live in free and still tolerant societies. It is easy to agree with freedom of speech for those you agree with yourself, and then you're on the slippery slope to Russia, China or North Korea. Freedom is, in part, the right to be wrong.

    And, secondly, about one in 500 of these ridiculous views or conspiracy theories ends up being right, or partially so.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,395
    Miklosvar said:

    Carnyx said:

    And one sneaky thing about the official consultation - it makes you enter your local station so obviouslu will try to discredit those whose offices are remaining open, even if they are worried about journeys through/back from stations elsewhere or elderly relatives elsewhere sans internet.

    It does sound like the planning consultation at the beginning of Hitchhiker's Guide.
    ‘There’s no point acting all surprised about it. All the planning charts and demolition orders have been on display in your local planning
    department in Alpha Centauri for fifty of your Earth years, so you’ve had plenty of time to lodge any formal complaint and it’s far too late to start
    making a fuss about it now.’[...]

    ‘What do you mean you’ve never been to Alpha Centauri? For heaven’s sake mankind, it’s only four light years away you know. I’m sorry, but if
    you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs that’s your own lookout.

    ‘Energize the demolition beams.’
  • MiklosvarMiklosvar Posts: 1,855
    Jane Birkin non plus.
  • PeckPeck Posts: 517
    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 22,417
    edited July 2023
    Dura_Ace said:

    Peck said:

    For those who want to hear RFKJr's exact words that have caused the ruckus:

    https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/videos\/6hlBZwMX-RyIcpnTz.mp4

    For bonus points, what does the photograph show on the wall behind him? Does it show a riot or uprising from the late 1960s? I thought at first it was Paris '68, but AFAIAA the police cars didn't have big numbers on them like that. Detroit '67? Watts '65?

    Fucking hell, how bad are your car identification skills? It's obviously a photo from a running of the Mille Miglia in the 50s which used numbers of that style in that era. Car #505 is a 1956 Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta. Not typically used as police cars. Fuck me.
    Good morning @Peck and @Dura_Ace

    The video in question[1] was taken from a New York Post article[2] about a press event on Tuesday[2] 12Jul2023 with RFK Jr. The article says it is in "Tony’s Di Napoli on East 63d Street", which is specifically Tony’s Di Napoli 1081 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10065, United States. It has a dining area and function rooms[3][5], the latter of which includes a room called "The Wine Room". In that room[3] can be found the photo poster in question[4]. As can be seen from photos of that[4] and other[5] rooms, the function rooms are decorated with photo posters of 1950s/60s car races, presumably to give ambience.

    I leave it to @Dura_Ace to deduce the specific event in question

    Notes
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 43,504
    "Former Somerton and Frome MP David Warburton says allegations of sexual misconduct against him have been withdrawn.

    Mr Warburton was suspended by the Conservative party in April 2022 when claims of sexual misconduct were made against him."

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-66215351
  • MiklosvarMiklosvar Posts: 1,855
    Peck said:

    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?

    Rome and Berlin.

    reserve the right to amend when I discover what a primacy factor is.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 63,137
    steve richards
    @steverichards14
    ·
    2h
    This is the weakest article I’ve read from a Labour leader for a long time..all lifted from T Blair in a different era-‘comfort zone’ , ‘bold’, ‘new country’, ‘bespoke’ ,‘one size fits all’..copying a previous leader however successful is weird..and these terms were vacuous then
  • PeckPeck Posts: 517
    Miklosvar said:

    Peck said:

    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?

    Rome and Berlin.

    reserve the right to amend when I discover what a primacy factor is.
    Nope. Neither of those is right.

    I only learnt the definition of primacy factor when I couldn't resist finding out what a "primate city" was, suspecting at first that somebody might have vandalised a Wikipedia article.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,679
    Fishing said:

    kinabalu said:

    Peck said:

    For those who want to hear RFKJr's exact words that have caused the ruckus:

    https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/videos\/6hlBZwMX-RyIcpnTz.mp4

    For bonus points, what does the photograph show on the wall behind him? Does it show a riot or uprising from the late 1960s? I thought at first it was Paris '68, but AFAIAA the police cars didn't have big numbers on them like that. Detroit '67? Watts '65?

    I'm so bored with these 'out of the box' individuals. Often you can't tell if they are genuinely hard of thinking or whether it's about seeking attention - and I can no longer be bothered to try. I just wish they came with an off switch (in the middle of their forehead or something) that could be pressed whenever their mouth starts to open.
    I don't agree, for two reasons. People who hold ridiculous, even offensive, views are the canary in the coalmine that shows we live in free and still tolerant societies. It is easy to agree with freedom of speech for those you agree with yourself, and then you're on the slippery slope to Russia, China or North Korea. Freedom is, in part, the right to be wrong.

    And, secondly, about one in 500 of these ridiculous views or conspiracy theories ends up being right, or partially so.
    I was joking about the 'off switch' - I know one has to tolerate drivel - but oh god it'd be nice. So much time wasted and damage done in this world by 'colourful' narcissistic inadequates.
  • PeckPeck Posts: 517
    viewcode said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    Peck said:

    For those who want to hear RFKJr's exact words that have caused the ruckus:

    https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/videos\/6hlBZwMX-RyIcpnTz.mp4

    For bonus points, what does the photograph show on the wall behind him? Does it show a riot or uprising from the late 1960s? I thought at first it was Paris '68, but AFAIAA the police cars didn't have big numbers on them like that. Detroit '67? Watts '65?

    Fucking hell, how bad are your car identification skills? It's obviously a photo from a running of the Mille Miglia in the 50s which used numbers of that style in that era. Car #505 is a 1956 Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta. Not typically used as police cars. Fuck me.
    Good morning @Peck and @Dura_Ace

    The video in question[1] was taken from a New York Post article[2] about a press event on Tuesday[2] 12Jul2023 with RFK Jr. The article says it is in "Tony’s Di Napoli on East 63d Street", which is specifically Tony’s Di Napoli 1081 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10065, United States. It has a dining area and function rooms[3][5], the latter of which includes a room called "The Wine Room". In that room[3] can be found the photo poster in question[4]. As can be seen from photos of that[4] and other[5] rooms, the function rooms are decorated with photo posters of 1950s/60s car races, presumably to give ambience.

    I leave it to @Dura_Ace to deduce the specific event in question

    Notes
    Big thank you to @Dura_Ace and @viewcode.
    My car identification skills are practically non-existent and I also have 1960s riots on the brain...
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,772
    Peck said:

    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?

    I would have thought Moscow and Istanbul, but that's a guess.
  • eekeek Posts: 28,592
    Is it me or is every single Government decision I've seen in the past month a scorched earth policy of destroying or starting things now so they can't be reversed.

    We have rail ticket offices being closed, pay offers without any money to pay for them and insane road schemes like £1.7bn round stonehenge. When even in the height of summer the road isn't that bad and doesn't go close anymore..
  • numbertwelvenumbertwelve Posts: 6,927
    I am starting to dare to dream that Starmer is waking up to the need for the next Labour government to pursue genuine institutional and structural reform in order to build the foundations of a fairer society, rather than relying on old shibboleths like turning on the spending taps.

    There were already positive signs in respect of the house building/planning policies and from the tone of his interview this morning it feels like he is laying the groundwork for more where that came from.

    The big test will be the NHS. In many ways we need a Labour government to reform it, because like Nixon and China there is a route for Labour to do so without being seen with the same level of suspicion as the Tories. We will see what comes out in the manifestos.

    The next government will not be viewed kindly by history if it fails to get a grasp on some big underlying issues in the way the country and its institutions are run. I wasn’t terribly convinced Starmer got this, but I am starting to think he may. Whether the wider Labour Party have woken up to this yet is still up for debate.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,679
    So, anyone for tennis? I stand by my prediction. There's no way this can be anything but one of the all time great finals and for me it's Alcaraz to win it, probably in 4. I know it's Djoko, and he's the GOAT, and he's as good as ever, but that's how I see it.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,772
    kinabalu said:

    So, anyone for tennis? I stand by my prediction. There's no way this can be anything but one of the all time great finals and for me it's Alcaraz to win it, probably in 4. I know it's Djoko, and he's the GOAT, and he's as good as ever, but that's how I see it.

    I never bet on tennis. I never trust anything that's dominated by players' rackets.
  • PeckPeck Posts: 517
    kinabalu said:

    Peck said:

    For those who want to hear RFKJr's exact words that have caused the ruckus:

    https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/videos\/6hlBZwMX-RyIcpnTz.mp4

    For bonus points, what does the photograph show on the wall behind him? Does it show a riot or uprising from the late 1960s? I thought at first it was Paris '68, but AFAIAA the police cars didn't have big numbers on them like that. Detroit '67? Watts '65?

    I'm so bored with these 'out of the box' individuals. Often you can't tell if they are genuinely hard of thinking or whether it's about seeking attention - and I can no longer be bothered to try. I just wish they came with an off switch (in the middle of their forehead or something) that could be pressed whenever their mouth starts to open.
    If your only issue is that you're bored with them - and that's the only issue you mention - then just don't pay attention to them, rather than wishing they could be silenced so that nobody else can listen to them even if they want to. I find most things to do with sporting events boring, so I rarely pay attention to them.

    RFKJr's book "The Real Anthony Fauci" is well-intentioned IMO, but my God is it boringly written. Somebody really should have told him, look mate, good book idea but FFS change how you're writing it.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 28,437
    Peck said:

    viewcode said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    Peck said:

    For those who want to hear RFKJr's exact words that have caused the ruckus:

    https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/videos\/6hlBZwMX-RyIcpnTz.mp4

    For bonus points, what does the photograph show on the wall behind him? Does it show a riot or uprising from the late 1960s? I thought at first it was Paris '68, but AFAIAA the police cars didn't have big numbers on them like that. Detroit '67? Watts '65?

    Fucking hell, how bad are your car identification skills? It's obviously a photo from a running of the Mille Miglia in the 50s which used numbers of that style in that era. Car #505 is a 1956 Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta. Not typically used as police cars. Fuck me.
    Good morning @Peck and @Dura_Ace

    The video in question[1] was taken from a New York Post article[2] about a press event on Tuesday[2] 12Jul2023 with RFK Jr. The article says it is in "Tony’s Di Napoli on East 63d Street", which is specifically Tony’s Di Napoli 1081 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10065, United States. It has a dining area and function rooms[3][5], the latter of which includes a room called "The Wine Room". In that room[3] can be found the photo poster in question[4]. As can be seen from photos of that[4] and other[5] rooms, the function rooms are decorated with photo posters of 1950s/60s car races, presumably to give ambience.

    I leave it to @Dura_Ace to deduce the specific event in question

    Notes
    Big thank you to @Dura_Ace and @viewcode.
    My car identification skills are practically non-existent and I also have 1960s riots on the brain...
    Never mind the cars, there is no sign of a riot in the picture.
  • eekeek Posts: 28,592
    Miklosvar said:

    Peck said:

    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?

    Rome and Berlin.

    reserve the right to amend when I discover what a primacy factor is.
    Primacy Factor is the scale of the population of the biggest city say Rome / Berlin to the next biggest city in that Country. For instance London is 3.9 times the size of Birmingham.

    Rome will be relatively small due to Milan and likewise Berlin due to Hamburg/ Munich.

    Hence you would be looking at Athens as that is obvious as would Istanbul population over 13m, but Ankara has 4.5m

    However is Turkey in Europe given that Ankara is definitely in Asia...
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,772
    eek said:

    Miklosvar said:

    Peck said:

    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?

    Rome and Berlin.

    reserve the right to amend when I discover what a primacy factor is.
    Primacy Factor is the scale of the population of the biggest city say Rome / Berlin to the next biggest city in that Country. For instance London is 3.9 times the size of Birmingham.

    Rome will be relatively small due to Milan and likewise Berlin due to Hamburg/ Munich.

    Hence you would be looking at Athens as that is obvious as would Istanbul population over 13m, but Ankara has 4.5m

    However is Turkey in Europe given that Ankara is definitely in Asia...
    There aren't however many other cities in Europe with a population of over 3 million. Madrid, perhaps.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 52,149
    ydoethur said:

    kinabalu said:

    So, anyone for tennis? I stand by my prediction. There's no way this can be anything but one of the all time great finals and for me it's Alcaraz to win it, probably in 4. I know it's Djoko, and he's the GOAT, and he's as good as ever, but that's how I see it.

    I never bet on tennis. I never trust anything that's dominated by players' rackets.
    YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!
  • StockyStocky Posts: 10,234
    kinabalu said:

    So, anyone for tennis? I stand by my prediction. There's no way this can be anything but one of the all time great finals and for me it's Alcaraz to win it, probably in 4. I know it's Djoko, and he's the GOAT, and he's as good as ever, but that's how I see it.

    Just turned it on. Good grief - Clare Balding presenting yet another sporting event. Anyone else share my dislike?
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,491
    Peck said:

    kinabalu said:

    Peck said:

    For those who want to hear RFKJr's exact words that have caused the ruckus:

    https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/videos\/6hlBZwMX-RyIcpnTz.mp4

    For bonus points, what does the photograph show on the wall behind him? Does it show a riot or uprising from the late 1960s? I thought at first it was Paris '68, but AFAIAA the police cars didn't have big numbers on them like that. Detroit '67? Watts '65?

    I'm so bored with these 'out of the box' individuals. Often you can't tell if they are genuinely hard of thinking or whether it's about seeking attention - and I can no longer be bothered to try. I just wish they came with an off switch (in the middle of their forehead or something) that could be pressed whenever their mouth starts to open.
    If your only issue is that you're bored with them - and that's the only issue you mention - then just don't pay attention to them, rather than wishing they could be silenced so that nobody else can listen to them even if they want to. I find most things to do with sporting events boring, so I rarely pay attention to them.

    RFKJr's book "The Real Anthony Fauci" is well-intentioned IMO, but my God is it boringly written. Somebody really should have told him, look mate, good book idea but FFS change how you're writing it.
    Well-intentioned?!?!?!@%#!!!? It’s a collection of new and old conspiracy theories, including denying HIV causes AIDS.

    Are there any conspiracy theories you don’t buy into, Peck?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,772

    ydoethur said:

    kinabalu said:

    So, anyone for tennis? I stand by my prediction. There's no way this can be anything but one of the all time great finals and for me it's Alcaraz to win it, probably in 4. I know it's Djoko, and he's the GOAT, and he's as good as ever, but that's how I see it.

    I never bet on tennis. I never trust anything that's dominated by players' rackets.
    YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!
    No need to make an row.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 52,149
    edited July 2023
    Peck said:

    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?

    What the hell is a "primacy factor"?

    London's metropolitan area is 14.2 million BTW.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_metropolitan_area
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,679
    Peck said:

    kinabalu said:

    Peck said:

    For those who want to hear RFKJr's exact words that have caused the ruckus:

    https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/videos\/6hlBZwMX-RyIcpnTz.mp4

    For bonus points, what does the photograph show on the wall behind him? Does it show a riot or uprising from the late 1960s? I thought at first it was Paris '68, but AFAIAA the police cars didn't have big numbers on them like that. Detroit '67? Watts '65?

    I'm so bored with these 'out of the box' individuals. Often you can't tell if they are genuinely hard of thinking or whether it's about seeking attention - and I can no longer be bothered to try. I just wish they came with an off switch (in the middle of their forehead or something) that could be pressed whenever their mouth starts to open.
    If your only issue is that you're bored with them - and that's the only issue you mention - then just don't pay attention to them, rather than wishing they could be silenced so that nobody else can listen to them even if they want to. I find most things to do with sporting events boring, so I rarely pay attention to them.

    RFKJr's book "The Real Anthony Fauci" is well-intentioned IMO, but my God is it boringly written. Somebody really should have told him, look mate, good book idea but FFS change how you're writing it.
    I know. I was fantasizing. I sometimes like to transport myself (just for a short while) to a more amenable world that isn't knee deep in drivel masquerading as 'food for thought'.
  • StockyStocky Posts: 10,234
    kinabalu said:

    So, anyone for tennis? I stand by my prediction. There's no way this can be anything but one of the all time great finals and for me it's Alcaraz to win it, probably in 4. I know it's Djoko, and he's the GOAT, and he's as good as ever, but that's how I see it.

    Worth a punt at 2.75 then?
  • PeckPeck Posts: 517
    RIP Jane Birkin.
  • eekeek Posts: 28,592
    ydoethur said:

    eek said:

    Miklosvar said:

    Peck said:

    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?

    Rome and Berlin.

    reserve the right to amend when I discover what a primacy factor is.
    Primacy Factor is the scale of the population of the biggest city say Rome / Berlin to the next biggest city in that Country. For instance London is 3.9 times the size of Birmingham.

    Rome will be relatively small due to Milan and likewise Berlin due to Hamburg/ Munich.

    Hence you would be looking at Athens as that is obvious as would Istanbul population over 13m, but Ankara has 4.5m

    However is Turkey in Europe given that Ankara is definitely in Asia...
    There aren't however many other cities in Europe with a population of over 3 million. Madrid, perhaps.
    Oh I found the actual answer but given that I googled it I'm going to leave it for others to guess.

    A clue - I believe a former poster here has a house there (or at least in that country)...
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,772
    eek said:

    ydoethur said:

    eek said:

    Miklosvar said:

    Peck said:

    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?

    Rome and Berlin.

    reserve the right to amend when I discover what a primacy factor is.
    Primacy Factor is the scale of the population of the biggest city say Rome / Berlin to the next biggest city in that Country. For instance London is 3.9 times the size of Birmingham.

    Rome will be relatively small due to Milan and likewise Berlin due to Hamburg/ Munich.

    Hence you would be looking at Athens as that is obvious as would Istanbul population over 13m, but Ankara has 4.5m

    However is Turkey in Europe given that Ankara is definitely in Asia...
    There aren't however many other cities in Europe with a population of over 3 million. Madrid, perhaps.
    Oh I found the actual answer but given that I googled it I'm going to leave it for others to guess.

    A clue - I believe a former poster here has a house there (or at least in that country)...
    If you're thinking Budapest, it meets the primacy factor but it doesn't have a population of >3 million.
  • felixfelix Posts: 15,175
    eek said:

    ydoethur said:

    eek said:

    Miklosvar said:

    Peck said:

    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?

    Rome and Berlin.

    reserve the right to amend when I discover what a primacy factor is.
    Primacy Factor is the scale of the population of the biggest city say Rome / Berlin to the next biggest city in that Country. For instance London is 3.9 times the size of Birmingham.

    Rome will be relatively small due to Milan and likewise Berlin due to Hamburg/ Munich.

    Hence you would be looking at Athens as that is obvious as would Istanbul population over 13m, but Ankara has 4.5m

    However is Turkey in Europe given that Ankara is definitely in Asia...
    There aren't however many other cities in Europe with a population of over 3 million. Madrid, perhaps.
    Oh I found the actual answer but given that I googled it I'm going to leave it for others to guess.

    A clue - I believe a former poster here has a house there (or at least in that country)...
    Must be Budapest - alistair meeks has a gaff in the country.
  • PeckPeck Posts: 517

    Peck said:

    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?

    What the hell is a "primacy factor"?

    London's metropolitan area is 14.2 million BTW.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_metropolitan_area
    But its primacy factor or relative primacy is 3.9. Paris's is 5.5.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primate_city
  • eekeek Posts: 28,592
    ydoethur said:

    eek said:

    ydoethur said:

    eek said:

    Miklosvar said:

    Peck said:

    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?

    Rome and Berlin.

    reserve the right to amend when I discover what a primacy factor is.
    Primacy Factor is the scale of the population of the biggest city say Rome / Berlin to the next biggest city in that Country. For instance London is 3.9 times the size of Birmingham.

    Rome will be relatively small due to Milan and likewise Berlin due to Hamburg/ Munich.

    Hence you would be looking at Athens as that is obvious as would Istanbul population over 13m, but Ankara has 4.5m

    However is Turkey in Europe given that Ankara is definitely in Asia...
    There aren't however many other cities in Europe with a population of over 3 million. Madrid, perhaps.
    Oh I found the actual answer but given that I googled it I'm going to leave it for others to guess.

    A clue - I believe a former poster here has a house there (or at least in that country)...
    If you're thinking Budapest, it meets the primacy factor but it doesn't have a population of >3 million.
    Don't forget it's total metropolitan area not just the City itself..
  • TimSTimS Posts: 13,215
    eek said:

    ydoethur said:

    eek said:

    Miklosvar said:

    Peck said:

    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?

    Rome and Berlin.

    reserve the right to amend when I discover what a primacy factor is.
    Primacy Factor is the scale of the population of the biggest city say Rome / Berlin to the next biggest city in that Country. For instance London is 3.9 times the size of Birmingham.

    Rome will be relatively small due to Milan and likewise Berlin due to Hamburg/ Munich.

    Hence you would be looking at Athens as that is obvious as would Istanbul population over 13m, but Ankara has 4.5m

    However is Turkey in Europe given that Ankara is definitely in Asia...
    There aren't however many other cities in Europe with a population of over 3 million. Madrid, perhaps.
    Oh I found the actual answer but given that I googled it I'm going to leave it for others to guess.

    A clue - I believe a former poster here has a house there (or at least in that country)...
    I’m going with:

    Moscow
    Kyiv
    Istanbul (on basis Turkey treated as Europe)
  • TimSTimS Posts: 13,215
    Second day running of almost entirely renewable or low carbon electricity generation in GB. Wind and solar hovering around 20-21gw, nuclear 5 and gas making up the tiny gap.

    I expect we’ll hear a new record for renewable generation was reached at some point yesterday or today.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 52,149
    Peck said:

    Peck said:

    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?

    What the hell is a "primacy factor"?

    London's metropolitan area is 14.2 million BTW.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_metropolitan_area
    But its primacy factor or relative primacy is 3.9. Paris's is 5.5.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primate_city
    Sounds arbitrary to me.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 42,167
    Nigelb said:

    An account from one of the several thousand foreign volunteers fighting in Ukraine.

    https://whowhatwhy.org/politics/ukraine/the-war-in-ukraine-is-much-worse-than-the-war-on-terror/
    SOMEWHERE IN THE DONBAS, Ukraine — From his position on the Humvee, manning his 50-caliber machine gun, Paul Smith was firing steadily at the Russian positions when a ball of light appeared on the horizon. It was like a flashlight.

    A strong light staring at him through the darkness.

    Smith, who had his night vision on, felt that the light was frozen on the horizon.

    “For me, it didn’t look like it was moving. It looked like somebody was shining a light on me. I decided to bend my head. I started shouting to warn others,” says Paul Smith about the incident this winter at the front line in Ukraine. “About seven seconds later, it hit.”

    The shockwave pushed Smith down in the Humvee. A piece of shrapnel got stuck in his hand between his knuckles, and it felt like bones were breaking in his face due to the pressure of the Russian missile. He later found out that his left eye socket was fractured...

    ...Smith told WhoWhatWhy that he often receives messages on social media from people who want to come and fight alongside him. They see the videos and photos on his Instagram account and get inspired. Many are 19 or 20 years old.

    “First, I ask them, do you have military experience? And if they say no, I just say, ‘Look, I can’t use you. And most of the Ukrainian units out here can’t use you,’” he said...

    Can we look forward to a Paul Smith camo & combat fatigues range (he's probably done similar already over the years)?
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,679
    Stocky said:

    kinabalu said:

    So, anyone for tennis? I stand by my prediction. There's no way this can be anything but one of the all time great finals and for me it's Alcaraz to win it, probably in 4. I know it's Djoko, and he's the GOAT, and he's as good as ever, but that's how I see it.

    Worth a punt at 2.75 then?
    Yes imo. He's fav for me. I'm on at 7 and not hedging.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,679
    Stocky said:

    kinabalu said:

    So, anyone for tennis? I stand by my prediction. There's no way this can be anything but one of the all time great finals and for me it's Alcaraz to win it, probably in 4. I know it's Djoko, and he's the GOAT, and he's as good as ever, but that's how I see it.

    Just turned it on. Good grief - Clare Balding presenting yet another sporting event. Anyone else share my dislike?
    Not my favourite presenter but I don't mind her.
  • pigeonpigeon Posts: 4,840

    I am starting to dare to dream that Starmer is waking up to the need for the next Labour government to pursue genuine institutional and structural reform in order to build the foundations of a fairer society, rather than relying on old shibboleths like turning on the spending taps.

    There were already positive signs in respect of the house building/planning policies and from the tone of his interview this morning it feels like he is laying the groundwork for more where that came from.

    The big test will be the NHS. In many ways we need a Labour government to reform it, because like Nixon and China there is a route for Labour to do so without being seen with the same level of suspicion as the Tories. We will see what comes out in the manifestos.

    The next government will not be viewed kindly by history if it fails to get a grasp on some big underlying issues in the way the country and its institutions are run. I wasn’t terribly convinced Starmer got this, but I am starting to think he may. Whether the wider Labour Party have woken up to this yet is still up for debate.

    Governmental reform is half of the equation but redistribution is the other. Starmer and Reeves can waffle all they like about there being no money and this being the fault of the Tories, but there's plenty of money swilling around and the fact that they won't redirect some of it reveals how in thrall Labour is to Conservative ideas and the Conservative core vote.

    Labour won't do anything significant to alter the balance of taxation between earned incomes and asset wealth: it won't equalise rates and bands for CGT with income tax. It won't tax properties more. It won't tax legacies more. It insists that it can solve the housing crisis without spending money on social housing, simply by fiddling with the planning regulations, which is obvious bollocks. In a country where a quarter of all pensioner households are now asset millionaires, it still insists on maintaining universal triple locked state pensions. Labour's offer is about the abandonment of hope. It says "everything will still be shit after we take over, but we'll manage decline less incompetently." It's about buttering up the elderly and giving them some confidence that the state won't completely collapse until after they are safely dead, whilst the rest of us are left to rot. It's continuity Toryism. It's worthless.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 42,167
    kinabalu said:

    Stocky said:

    kinabalu said:

    So, anyone for tennis? I stand by my prediction. There's no way this can be anything but one of the all time great finals and for me it's Alcaraz to win it, probably in 4. I know it's Djoko, and he's the GOAT, and he's as good as ever, but that's how I see it.

    Just turned it on. Good grief - Clare Balding presenting yet another sporting event. Anyone else share my dislike?
    Not my favourite presenter but I don't mind her.
    There's just an AWFUL lot of her. Amol Rajan and Clive Myrie coming up fast on the inside mind.

    Can't make up my mind whether she's a pleasantly normal person friendly to everyone, or it's part of the professional persona. Her comments about Liam Treadwell's teeth were a tad revealing.
  • stodgestodge Posts: 13,992
    felix said:

    Must be Budapest - alistair meeks has a gaff in the country.

    Looking at the Spanish polls, PP have a healthy lead but both they and PSOE seem to be gaining at the expense of VOX and SUMAR. I now expect PP to win big next weekend and be perhaps in a position where they don't need VOX and will govern as a minority administration.

  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,679

    kinabalu said:

    Stocky said:

    kinabalu said:

    So, anyone for tennis? I stand by my prediction. There's no way this can be anything but one of the all time great finals and for me it's Alcaraz to win it, probably in 4. I know it's Djoko, and he's the GOAT, and he's as good as ever, but that's how I see it.

    Just turned it on. Good grief - Clare Balding presenting yet another sporting event. Anyone else share my dislike?
    Not my favourite presenter but I don't mind her.
    There's just an AWFUL lot of her. Amol Rajan and Clive Myrie coming up fast on the inside mind.

    Can't make up my mind whether she's a pleasantly normal person friendly to everyone, or it's part of the professional persona. Her comments about Liam Treadwell's teeth were a tad revealing.
    Yes that was mean. Condescending and classist.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,937
    edited July 2023
    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Carnyx said:

    eek said:

    Taz said:

    So much for a consultation.

    Rail staff have been told to prepare for 2,000 job cuts from the closure of ticket offices — even though their fate has not been officially decided yet.

    The Sunday Times has seen confidential documents setting out proposals by the train operators to cut staffing at stations by October, as part of a plan by the Rail Delivery Group to close hundreds of ticket offices.

    Huw Merriman, the rail minister, has justified the closures on the ground that only one in ten tickets are bought in offices, down from a third a decade ago.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/2000-job-cuts-train-ticket-offices-uk-consultation-closures-tltbg0qz6

    Presumably there’ll be a legal challenge then.
    Oh there will be a lot of legal challenges - but it's the lies that are so annoying..

    Also it's stupid because although it may be 10% of tickets its something like 25% of all revenue - most tickets bought are for immediate travel so way more expensive than tickets bought earlier).
    And season tickets for short distance repetitive travel to known locations on known trains distorts the stats too.
    There are also discrimination problems with these proposals, which are a warmed over Grant Shapps project.

    The Office of Rail Regulation and EHRC have been excluded from consultations.

    For example, I have a friend who is unable to walk, and travels using the 50% discount on a normal walk-up ticket when you remain in your wheelchair on the train. AIUI the discounted tickets are only available from ticket offices, not the ticket machines.

    That imposes a substantial disadvantage on people with a protected characteristic in their use of a service provided to the public.

    If Harper wanted to be rational, he would have addressed such questions first, but imo this is cynical, and Harper is proving himself to be the next Shapps.

    I think there's already a Judicial Review running from a transport user organisation, but I can't find it.

    There is, however, a petition from organisations for disabled people running, here:
    https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/636542?reveal_response=yes

    The Government response so far parrots the industry group Rail Delivery Group, even down to the same misleading stats.
    To emphasise the issue, the Disabled Persons Railcard allows a companion at the same half price, e.g for someone with a wheelchair, and also defines disability by specific criteria

    https://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/are-you-eligible/

    Eg if you are partly/wholly blind you have to show them, the first time you get a card

    "Social Services official stamp in the space allocated on the downloadable form if applying online or on a paper application form

    OR

    A copy of your Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI), BP1 Certificate (Scotland) or BD8 Certificate for being registered blind or partially-sighted"

    https://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/are-you-eligible/

    Absolutely no argument about whether the punters are disabled or not, there!
    The problem is the assessment process in order to get the stamp or the card, and also definitions of "disabled" - which does not align with the entitlement.

    I am disabled as Type I Diabetic (a condition specifically listed as such on the Govt website due to long-term impact), but not currently mobility impaired or requiring assistance, so I don't think I will get a half-price companion on the railway. Though I have never applied.

    "Partly blind" is very .. er .. unclear (!) as a definition. I don't know what that means, but I know people who are visually impaired who can see enough to get around on foot usually - but eg not at night. Or can see enough to prepare and eat a meal, but have no eg sight beyond 5-10m or no peripheral vision. So no chance of a driving licence, but do they qualify as "partly blind"?

    My friend did not get PIP, and therefore cannot get the Disabled Persons' Railcard. It was to do with the problematic assessment process for PIP - which as we all know has been a mess for a decade, especially since outsourced (did that happen in Scotland?). Just listening to You and Yours, In Touch or various other radio programmes illustrates that.

    The whole area is a minefield, but definitions are need.
    Oh no, I hadn't known that! That really is dreadful.

    'Partly blind' was my wording - the actual heading is "Have a visual Impairment" which isn't much clearer ...

    The railcard is 1/3 off and what my relative has but allows a companion anyway - no restrictions on what disability gets the latter.

    As regards PIP, it's ADP in Scotland. Not familiar with it myself. C urrently changing over so early days. THough the decisions seem to be more humane and sensible with far fewer challenges albeit currently much too slow during the changeover.

    https://www.mygov.scot/adult-disability-payment
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65611514
    https://news.stv.tv/scotland/adult-disability-payment-scots-waiting-twice-as-long-for-disability-payments-as-those-in-england
    Cheers. Suspect Scotland might do this better, due to not having the same anti-State tradition, or not to the same extent.

    The process got into a mess when people with insufficient expertise were doing the assessments, and things like "can you walk X metres" had literal interpretations around the experience on a particular day for a condition that varies by day. So if the interview desk is placed X+5 m from the entrance, it means that people who just about struggle in can be written off. Not sure if it is quite *that* cynical, but hearing experiences on sanctioning wrt eg job applications to keep unemployment benefits suggests it is possible.

    It's not helped by some lobbying groups wanting to represent "the disabled" who include groups from everyone who needs glasses down, or use them (us?) as human shields for a different cause - currently anti-LTN quite noisily are bigging up those disabled people who can drive, but there are other groups who now feel intimidated off the road where LTNs have been removed.

    I know various people who can cycle miles but only walk metres (different levels of effort and types of movement), and some are scared that if it is discovered they can cycle fairly well they will lose their PIP. That's a problem when Council Officials demand that they get off their bike and walk through a town centre, while a disabled person with a mobility aid is a pedestrian.

    The greyness of it all will create havoc at Hammersmith & Fulham Clowncil with their attempts to ban "E-Bikes" (a category which does not exist) from parts of the Thames Path.

    All complicated, and never easy.
  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 8,475

    Tony Blair saying the private sector should not be a dirty word in respect of the NHS

    For fun - the NHS is already private. They don’t build hospitals, make beds or syringes or drugs. Or anything else.

    They buy everything from the private sector, including hiring a lot of staff for admin work from contracting companies.

    And that’s before you get to agency staff.

    Using private hospitals etc isn’t a solution. Most of the staff also work in the NHS.

    What makes sense, as with private schools, is looking at what they are doing, and why some things work better.

    Testing, for example. I’m trying to find the study in the US - essentially , if there was any doubt about diagnosis at the initial stage, test for everything, MRI, the works. This saved money, IIRC, though faster diagnosis of complicated cases and earlier treatment.
    More investment required:

    The UK has 6.1 MRI systems per million people, fewer than countries including Estonia and Slovenia. By comparison, the US has 38.1 scanners per million and Germany has 30.5

    https://www.rcr.ac.uk/posts/nhs-must-do-more-future-proof-its-mri-capacity-say-imaging-experts#:~:text=The UK has 6.1
    %20MRI,to%20estimate%20future%20MRI%20workload.
    Does that include just the NHS owned one? Or also the Alliance Medical/Phillips ones?

    The UK contracts a lot of its MRI services out
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,937

    Tony Blair saying the private sector should not be a dirty word in respect of the NHS

    For fun - the NHS is already private. They don’t build hospitals, make beds or syringes or drugs. Or anything else.

    They buy everything from the private sector, including hiring a lot of staff for admin work from contracting companies.

    And that’s before you get to agency staff.

    Using private hospitals etc isn’t a solution. Most of the staff also work in the NHS.

    What makes sense, as with private schools, is looking at what they are doing, and why some things work better.

    Testing, for example. I’m trying to find the study in the US - essentially , if there was any doubt about diagnosis at the initial stage, test for everything, MRI, the works. This saved money, IIRC, though faster diagnosis of complicated cases and earlier treatment.
    More investment required:

    The UK has 6.1 MRI systems per million people, fewer than countries including Estonia and Slovenia. By comparison, the US has 38.1 scanners per million and Germany has 30.5

    https://www.rcr.ac.uk/posts/nhs-must-do-more-future-proof-its-mri-capacity-say-imaging-experts#:~:text=The UK has 6.1
    %20MRI,to%20estimate%20future%20MRI%20workload.
    Does that include just the NHS owned one? Or also the Alliance Medical/Phillips ones?

    The UK contracts a lot of its MRI services out
    We need numbers for how many scans do they carry out.

    My recent experience of NHS scanners included one (Ultrasound not MRI) at 7pm on a Friday evening? Do NHS use them more efficiently ie longer hours?

    And 90 minutes in an MRI more recently - yuk.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,869
    edited July 2023
    Eye catching statement from the Institute of Exports upon our CPTPP accession:

    “We can fly the flag for brand Britain with our desirable fashion lines. Clotted cream from Corn­­wall, shortbread from Scotland and, of course, delicious Welsh cakes will be readily available to a new audience.”

    Is Wales famous for its cake exports? Was the man just reaching for something to say and his eye fell on the buffet?
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 52,149
    kinabalu said:

    Stocky said:

    kinabalu said:

    So, anyone for tennis? I stand by my prediction. There's no way this can be anything but one of the all time great finals and for me it's Alcaraz to win it, probably in 4. I know it's Djoko, and he's the GOAT, and he's as good as ever, but that's how I see it.

    Just turned it on. Good grief - Clare Balding presenting yet another sporting event. Anyone else share my dislike?
    Not my favourite presenter but I don't mind her.
    She looks borderline OK.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,232
    Off topic, the Coop have followed Tesco in introducing Members' Prices on some items. Not something I am in favour of, but needs must, so yesterday I signed up to the scheme.

    Anyway, today, even without buying any items with two-tier pricing, I was "rewarded" with £4.25 off my shopping. Which was nice.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,395
    eek said:

    Is it me or is every single Government decision I've seen in the past month a scorched earth policy of destroying or starting things now so they can't be reversed.

    We have rail ticket offices being closed, pay offers without any money to pay for them and insane road schemes like £1.7bn round stonehenge. When even in the height of summer the road isn't that bad and doesn't go close anymore..

    I'm already wondering that, though it won't be any consolation.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,546
    Nigelb said:

    An account from one of the several thousand foreign volunteers fighting in Ukraine.

    https://whowhatwhy.org/politics/ukraine/the-war-in-ukraine-is-much-worse-than-the-war-on-terror/
    SOMEWHERE IN THE DONBAS, Ukraine — From his position on the Humvee, manning his 50-caliber machine gun, Paul Smith was firing steadily at the Russian positions when a ball of light appeared on the horizon. It was like a flashlight.

    A strong light staring at him through the darkness.

    Smith, who had his night vision on, felt that the light was frozen on the horizon.

    “For me, it didn’t look like it was moving. It looked like somebody was shining a light on me. I decided to bend my head. I started shouting to warn others,” says Paul Smith about the incident this winter at the front line in Ukraine. “About seven seconds later, it hit.”

    The shockwave pushed Smith down in the Humvee. A piece of shrapnel got stuck in his hand between his knuckles, and it felt like bones were breaking in his face due to the pressure of the Russian missile. He later found out that his left eye socket was fractured...

    ...Smith told WhoWhatWhy that he often receives messages on social media from people who want to come and fight alongside him. They see the videos and photos on his Instagram account and get inspired. Many are 19 or 20 years old.

    “First, I ask them, do you have military experience? And if they say no, I just say, ‘Look, I can’t use you. And most of the Ukrainian units out here can’t use you,’” he said...

    If you don't have military experience, you're a positive danger to your own side on the battlefield.

    But, I'm sure the Ukrainians would welcome people working in support roles.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,395
    MattW said:

    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Carnyx said:

    eek said:

    Taz said:

    So much for a consultation.

    Rail staff have been told to prepare for 2,000 job cuts from the closure of ticket offices — even though their fate has not been officially decided yet.

    The Sunday Times has seen confidential documents setting out proposals by the train operators to cut staffing at stations by October, as part of a plan by the Rail Delivery Group to close hundreds of ticket offices.

    Huw Merriman, the rail minister, has justified the closures on the ground that only one in ten tickets are bought in offices, down from a third a decade ago.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/2000-job-cuts-train-ticket-offices-uk-consultation-closures-tltbg0qz6

    Presumably there’ll be a legal challenge then.
    Oh there will be a lot of legal challenges - but it's the lies that are so annoying..

    Also it's stupid because although it may be 10% of tickets its something like 25% of all revenue - most tickets bought are for immediate travel so way more expensive than tickets bought earlier).
    And season tickets for short distance repetitive travel to known locations on known trains distorts the stats too.
    There are also discrimination problems with these proposals, which are a warmed over Grant Shapps project.

    The Office of Rail Regulation and EHRC have been excluded from consultations.

    For example, I have a friend who is unable to walk, and travels using the 50% discount on a normal walk-up ticket when you remain in your wheelchair on the train. AIUI the discounted tickets are only available from ticket offices, not the ticket machines.

    That imposes a substantial disadvantage on people with a protected characteristic in their use of a service provided to the public.

    If Harper wanted to be rational, he would have addressed such questions first, but imo this is cynical, and Harper is proving himself to be the next Shapps.

    I think there's already a Judicial Review running from a transport user organisation, but I can't find it.

    There is, however, a petition from organisations for disabled people running, here:
    https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/636542?reveal_response=yes

    The Government response so far parrots the industry group Rail Delivery Group, even down to the same misleading stats.
    To emphasise the issue, the Disabled Persons Railcard allows a companion at the same half price, e.g for someone with a wheelchair, and also defines disability by specific criteria

    https://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/are-you-eligible/

    Eg if you are partly/wholly blind you have to show them, the first time you get a card

    "Social Services official stamp in the space allocated on the downloadable form if applying online or on a paper application form

    OR

    A copy of your Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI), BP1 Certificate (Scotland) or BD8 Certificate for being registered blind or partially-sighted"

    https://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/are-you-eligible/

    Absolutely no argument about whether the punters are disabled or not, there!
    The problem is the assessment process in order to get the stamp or the card, and also definitions of "disabled" - which does not align with the entitlement.

    I am disabled as Type I Diabetic (a condition specifically listed as such on the Govt website due to long-term impact), but not currently mobility impaired or requiring assistance, so I don't think I will get a half-price companion on the railway. Though I have never applied.

    "Partly blind" is very .. er .. unclear (!) as a definition. I don't know what that means, but I know people who are visually impaired who can see enough to get around on foot usually - but eg not at night. Or can see enough to prepare and eat a meal, but have no eg sight beyond 5-10m or no peripheral vision. So no chance of a driving licence, but do they qualify as "partly blind"?

    My friend did not get PIP, and therefore cannot get the Disabled Persons' Railcard. It was to do with the problematic assessment process for PIP - which as we all know has been a mess for a decade, especially since outsourced (did that happen in Scotland?). Just listening to You and Yours, In Touch or various other radio programmes illustrates that.

    The whole area is a minefield, but definitions are need.
    Oh no, I hadn't known that! That really is dreadful.

    'Partly blind' was my wording - the actual heading is "Have a visual Impairment" which isn't much clearer ...

    The railcard is 1/3 off and what my relative has but allows a companion anyway - no restrictions on what disability gets the latter.

    As regards PIP, it's ADP in Scotland. Not familiar with it myself. C urrently changing over so early days. THough the decisions seem to be more humane and sensible with far fewer challenges albeit currently much too slow during the changeover.

    https://www.mygov.scot/adult-disability-payment
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65611514
    https://news.stv.tv/scotland/adult-disability-payment-scots-waiting-twice-as-long-for-disability-payments-as-those-in-england
    Cheers. Suspect Scotland might do this better, due to not having the same anti-State tradition, or not to the same extent.

    The process got into a mess when people with insufficient expertise were doing the assessments, and things like "can you walk X metres" had literal interpretations around the experience on a particular day for a condition that varies by day. So if the interview desk is placed X+5 m from the entrance, it means that people who just about struggle in can be written off. Not sure if it is quite *that* cynical, but hearing experiences on sanctioning wrt eg job applications to keep unemployment benefits suggests it is possible.

    It's not helped by some lobbying groups wanting to represent "the disabled" who include groups from everyone who needs glasses down, or use them (us?) as human shields for a different cause - currently anti-LTN quite noisily are bigging up those disabled people who can drive, but there are other groups who now feel intimidated off the road where LTNs have been removed.

    I know various people who can cycle miles but only walk metres (different levels of effort and types of movement), and some are scared that if it is discovered they can cycle fairly well they will lose their PIP. That's a problem when Council Officials demand that they get off their bike and walk through a town centre, while a disabled person with a mobility aid is a pedestrian.

    The greyness of it all will create havoc at Hammersmith & Fulham Clowncil with their attempts to ban "E-Bikes" (a category which does not exist) from parts of the Thames Path.

    All complicated, and never easy.
    Absolutely fascinating re the can cycle but not walk people. No wonder they are frightened.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,546

    I assume that Sunak is already rehearsing his answer to the question how much his family will save from the abolition of IHT.

    Probably nothing at all, as they'll already be using good lawyers and accountants.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,395
    eek said:

    Is it me or is every single Government decision I've seen in the past month a scorched earth policy of destroying or starting things now so they can't be reversed.

    We have rail ticket offices being closed, pay offers without any money to pay for them and insane road schemes like £1.7bn round stonehenge. When even in the height of summer the road isn't that bad and doesn't go close anymore..

    Rather reminiscent, on further reflection, of Operation Alberich: the sudden German move back to the Hindenburg Line in the Great War, leaving a booby-trapped wasteland. Wiki:

    "A move back to the Siegfriedstellung would generate reserves by shortening the front and the defensive strength of the new positions, built in depth, on reverse positions, behind wide belts of barbed wire and studded with machine-gun nests, would allow divisions to hold a wider frontage. Before the British and French could attack the new defences, they would have to rebuild the communications between the Somme and Siegfriedstellung, comprehensively destroyed by the Germans before the retirement. The Germans planned to waste the land; villages demolished, bridges blown, roads and railways dug up, wells tainted and the population carried off."
  • stodgestodge Posts: 13,992
    Afternoon all :)

    When ticket offices were closed at London Underground stations, we were told two things - first, staff would be about to help prospective travellers purchase tickets and second, the spaces formerly occupied by the ticket offices would be redeveloped as exciting new retail opportunities.

    My experience at East Ham and certainly at many other stations is neither has happened - fare evasion is endemic on many parts of the Underground (mainly young men it has to be said) about which Khan seems ignorant or devoid of any solution while the spaces where the ticket offices were located have been bricked up and left.

    It's not the same as on the trains of course - most people in London have Oyster cards and these can be topped up at many local shops so it has just about worked.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 52,149
    READY.... PLAY!
  • stodgestodge Posts: 13,992

    kinabalu said:

    Stocky said:

    kinabalu said:

    So, anyone for tennis? I stand by my prediction. There's no way this can be anything but one of the all time great finals and for me it's Alcaraz to win it, probably in 4. I know it's Djoko, and he's the GOAT, and he's as good as ever, but that's how I see it.

    Just turned it on. Good grief - Clare Balding presenting yet another sporting event. Anyone else share my dislike?
    Not my favourite presenter but I don't mind her.
    There's just an AWFUL lot of her. Amol Rajan and Clive Myrie coming up fast on the inside mind.

    Can't make up my mind whether she's a pleasantly normal person friendly to everyone, or it's part of the professional persona. Her comments about Liam Treadwell's teeth were a tad revealing.
    I used to like her presenting the horse racing - given her background, it was a subject on which she could speak with considerable knowledge. Of course, when the BBC gave up on racing, she could and perhaps should have got the ITV job rather than Ed Chamberlin.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,395
    edited July 2023

    Eye catching statement from the Institute of Exports upon our CPTPP accession:

    “We can fly the flag for brand Britain with our desirable fashion lines. Clotted cream from Corn­­wall, shortbread from Scotland and, of course, delicious Welsh cakes will be readily available to a new audience.”

    Is Wales famous for its cake exports? Was the man just reaching for something to say and his eye fell on the buffet?

    You'll be telling us you've never had caul mamgu and laverbread.

    Welsh cakes are a kind of in between a fruit scone, drop scone (Scots pancake) and biscuit cooked on a girdle. I suppose they are a form of bannock, actually.

    When hiking in Wales I used to buy a bag fresh from the baker ideally early in the morning and nibble them as I walked.

    https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/welsh-cakes

    Great plain food. But I'm not sure they are quite enough of a delicacy to export, esp if they have to be kept fresh. Laverbread would be more it.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,772

    READY.... PLAY!

    You watching videos of Deltics again, Sunil?
  • FrankBoothFrankBooth Posts: 9,929
    pigeon said:

    I am starting to dare to dream that Starmer is waking up to the need for the next Labour government to pursue genuine institutional and structural reform in order to build the foundations of a fairer society, rather than relying on old shibboleths like turning on the spending taps.

    There were already positive signs in respect of the house building/planning policies and from the tone of his interview this morning it feels like he is laying the groundwork for more where that came from.

    The big test will be the NHS. In many ways we need a Labour government to reform it, because like Nixon and China there is a route for Labour to do so without being seen with the same level of suspicion as the Tories. We will see what comes out in the manifestos.

    The next government will not be viewed kindly by history if it fails to get a grasp on some big underlying issues in the way the country and its institutions are run. I wasn’t terribly convinced Starmer got this, but I am starting to think he may. Whether the wider Labour Party have woken up to this yet is still up for debate.

    Governmental reform is half of the equation but redistribution is the other. Starmer and Reeves can waffle all they like about there being no money and this being the fault of the Tories, but there's plenty of money swilling around and the fact that they won't redirect some of it reveals how in thrall Labour is to Conservative ideas and the Conservative core vote.

    Labour won't do anything significant to alter the balance of taxation between earned incomes and asset wealth: it won't equalise rates and bands for CGT with income tax. It won't tax properties more. It won't tax legacies more. It insists that it can solve the housing crisis without spending money on social housing, simply by fiddling with the planning regulations, which is obvious bollocks. In a country where a quarter of all pensioner households are now asset millionaires, it still insists on maintaining universal triple locked state pensions. Labour's offer is about the abandonment of hope. It says "everything will still be shit after we take over, but we'll manage decline less incompetently." It's about buttering up the elderly and giving them some confidence that the state won't completely collapse until after they are safely dead, whilst the rest of us are left to rot. It's continuity Toryism. It's worthless.
    Why don't you tell us what you really think?

    Seriously though I'd suggest Labour would be better off showing they can govern competently for 3-4 years before trying to end all human suffering.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 28,437

    Off topic, the Coop have followed Tesco in introducing Members' Prices on some items. Not something I am in favour of, but needs must, so yesterday I signed up to the scheme.

    Anyway, today, even without buying any items with two-tier pricing, I was "rewarded" with £4.25 off my shopping. Which was nice.

    Sainsbury's too. I've duly signed up for Nectar but they've not sent me the card yet.

    Nothing new under the sun nostalgia: in the old days, you (or your family) had a Co-op number which you'd recite at the cash register, and once a year or so they'd give you some money.
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,569

    I am starting to dare to dream that Starmer is waking up to the need for the next Labour government to pursue genuine institutional and structural reform in order to build the foundations of a fairer society, rather than relying on old shibboleths like turning on the spending taps.

    There were already positive signs in respect of the house building/planning policies and from the tone of his interview this morning it feels like he is laying the groundwork for more where that came from.

    The big test will be the NHS. In many ways we need a Labour government to reform it, because like Nixon and China there is a route for Labour to do so without being seen with the same level of suspicion as the Tories. We will see what comes out in the manifestos.

    The next government will not be viewed kindly by history if it fails to get a grasp on some big underlying issues in the way the country and its institutions are run. I wasn’t terribly convinced Starmer got this, but I am starting to think he may. Whether the wider Labour Party have woken up to this yet is still up for debate.

    I think most of the party is in "This looks difficult, let's hope Starmer can sort it out" mode, and he'll have a honeymoon of a year or two to lay down the direction before there's a significant revolt on anything. I know lots of members with a definite view on a specific policy, but even the far left don't seem especially convinced that they have an overall strategy.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 52,149
    stodge said:

    Afternoon all :)

    When ticket offices were closed at London Underground stations, we were told two things - first, staff would be about to help prospective travellers purchase tickets and second, the spaces formerly occupied by the ticket offices would be redeveloped as exciting new retail opportunities.

    My experience at East Ham and certainly at many other stations is neither has happened - fare evasion is endemic on many parts of the Underground (mainly young men it has to be said) about which Khan seems ignorant or devoid of any solution while the spaces where the ticket offices were located have been bricked up and left.

    It's not the same as on the trains of course - most people in London have Oyster cards and these can be topped up at many local shops so it has just about worked.

    I haven't used an Oyster since 2015, when I first got a contactless bank card.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,915
    TimS said:

    Second day running of almost entirely renewable or low carbon electricity generation in GB. Wind and solar hovering around 20-21gw, nuclear 5 and gas making up the tiny gap.

    I expect we’ll hear a new record for renewable generation was reached at some point yesterday or today.

    I'm still amazed every time I look at how fast Britain has reduced carbon emissions from its electricity generation. When there's a discussion about electric cars you will still often hear people say that they're not that green, because fossil fuels are still burned to generate electricity, but how many people know that in 2023 the average carbon intensity of British grid electricity is 154g/kWh, compared to 505g/kWh in 2012 - a reduction of 70% in a little over a decade?
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 28,437
    MattW said:

    Tony Blair saying the private sector should not be a dirty word in respect of the NHS

    For fun - the NHS is already private. They don’t build hospitals, make beds or syringes or drugs. Or anything else.

    They buy everything from the private sector, including hiring a lot of staff for admin work from contracting companies.

    And that’s before you get to agency staff.

    Using private hospitals etc isn’t a solution. Most of the staff also work in the NHS.

    What makes sense, as with private schools, is looking at what they are doing, and why some things work better.

    Testing, for example. I’m trying to find the study in the US - essentially , if there was any doubt about diagnosis at the initial stage, test for everything, MRI, the works. This saved money, IIRC, though faster diagnosis of complicated cases and earlier treatment.
    More investment required:

    The UK has 6.1 MRI systems per million people, fewer than countries including Estonia and Slovenia. By comparison, the US has 38.1 scanners per million and Germany has 30.5

    https://www.rcr.ac.uk/posts/nhs-must-do-more-future-proof-its-mri-capacity-say-imaging-experts#:~:text=The UK has 6.1
    %20MRI,to%20estimate%20future%20MRI%20workload.
    Does that include just the NHS owned one? Or also the Alliance Medical/Phillips ones?

    The UK contracts a lot of its MRI services out
    We need numbers for how many scans do they carry out.

    My recent experience of NHS scanners included one (Ultrasound not MRI) at 7pm on a Friday evening? Do NHS use them more efficiently ie longer hours?

    And 90 minutes in an MRI more recently - yuk.
    The pharmacy up the road has a sign advertising various scans for a couple of hundred quid a time, presumably in the private sector.
  • FairlieredFairliered Posts: 5,067

    Off topic, the Coop have followed Tesco in introducing Members' Prices on some items. Not something I am in favour of, but needs must, so yesterday I signed up to the scheme.

    Anyway, today, even without buying any items with two-tier pricing, I was "rewarded" with £4.25 off my shopping. Which was nice.

    Sainsbury's too. I've duly signed up for Nectar but they've not sent me the card yet.

    Nothing new under the sun nostalgia: in the old days, you (or your family) had a Co-op number which you'd recite at the cash register, and once a year or so they'd give you some money.
    My Mum’s was 3780 and and my Aunt Fanny’s was 2989. If you were sent to the Co-op, the first question when you returned was “did you tell them the divi number”?
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 52,149
    Novax gets an early break - 2-0.
  • sarissasarissa Posts: 2,004
    eek said:

    ydoethur said:

    eek said:

    ydoethur said:

    eek said:

    Miklosvar said:

    Peck said:

    Where's the Sunday open thread?

    Off-topic, exciting for nerds:

    the only three cities in the world with a population >10m (for the greater urban region) and a primacy factor >5 are Paris, Kinshasa, and Bangkok.

    There are four in Europe with populations >3m and primacy factor >3.
    Two are London and Paris.
    What are the other two?

    Rome and Berlin.

    reserve the right to amend when I discover what a primacy factor is.
    Primacy Factor is the scale of the population of the biggest city say Rome / Berlin to the next biggest city in that Country. For instance London is 3.9 times the size of Birmingham.

    Rome will be relatively small due to Milan and likewise Berlin due to Hamburg/ Munich.

    Hence you would be looking at Athens as that is obvious as would Istanbul population over 13m, but Ankara has 4.5m

    However is Turkey in Europe given that Ankara is definitely in Asia...
    There aren't however many other cities in Europe with a population of over 3 million. Madrid, perhaps.
    Oh I found the actual answer but given that I googled it I'm going to leave it for others to guess.

    A clue - I believe a former poster here has a house there (or at least in that country)...
    If you're thinking Budapest, it meets the primacy factor but it doesn't have a population of >3 million.
    Don't forget it's total metropolitan area not just the City itself..
    Vienna and Warsaw?
  • Simon_PeachSimon_Peach Posts: 424
    If we are listing the Government’s scorched-earth actions, have we discussed the Sunday Times report that the new head of OFSTED is to be the current CEO of Outwood Grange Academies Trust… @ydoethur view will be interesting to hear
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,915

    Eye catching statement from the Institute of Exports upon our CPTPP accession:

    “We can fly the flag for brand Britain with our desirable fashion lines. Clotted cream from Corn­­wall, shortbread from Scotland and, of course, delicious Welsh cakes will be readily available to a new audience.”

    Is Wales famous for its cake exports? Was the man just reaching for something to say and his eye fell on the buffet?

    It's Welsh cakes, as in a specific type of baked product that originates in Wales, as opposed to Welsh cakes, as in a variety of types of baked products that happen to be produced in Wales.
  • felixfelix Posts: 15,175
    stodge said:

    felix said:

    Must be Budapest - alistair meeks has a gaff in the country.

    Looking at the Spanish polls, PP have a healthy lead but both they and PSOE seem to be gaining at the expense of VOX and SUMAR. I now expect PP to win big next weekend and be perhaps in a position where they don't need VOX and will govern as a minority administration.

    I'm still unsure and down here in SE Spain there's very little sign of the GE, way less than all the posters and loudspeaker vans we got for the locals. Unless Sánchez gets a late boost, some sort of PP victory does look likely.
  • northern_monkeynorthern_monkey Posts: 1,640
    eek said:

    Is it me or is every single Government decision I've seen in the past month a scorched earth policy of destroying or starting things now so they can't be reversed.

    We have rail ticket offices being closed, pay offers without any money to pay for them and insane road schemes like £1.7bn round stonehenge. When even in the height of summer the road isn't that bad and doesn't go close anymore..

    Of course. They’re salting the earth. Two minutes into a Labour government (Dear God please let it be a Labour government. Or a Lab/Lib coalition) the Tories and their media shills will be attacking Labour for everything being shit, even though it’s all their fault. That’s politics, I suppose.

    Heard Badenoch on the radio earlier, lauding this Pacific rimming bullshit the government have signed us up to, which is forecast to add a mighty 0.08% to the economy over the next decade. Wittering on about an expanding market of 500m people. She was saying it’s up to British businesses to make it work, otherwise the puny economic benefit will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

    So all the countless businesses and industries that are suffering because of leaving the EU, and that huge, rich market on our doorstep, that market we get shit tons of food from - which will become markedly more expensive from October - all they have to do is trade with fucking Indonesia or some such bollocks. It’s insane.

    The Tories know it’s insane. But they’re salting the earth, making it harder for the next government to tack back towards the EU.

    It’s government by swivel-eyed ideologue fucking mentalists. They’re impoverishing the country and they don’t give a flying fuck.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 42,167
    edited July 2023
    @northern_monkey
    Does Pacific rimming refer to the UK being willing to do anything for a microscopically beneficial trade deal?
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 21,318

    A day or two ago, I saw an article on the NYT dropping their sports department -- and a retired sports reporter for the newspaper saying the newspaper had failed to cover sports well, because the editors were more interested in soccer (as we call it) than baseball. (The NYT will now use the sports reporting from the company they bought recently.)

    For the record: I don't pay much attention to either sport. (I do find the growing internatonalization of baseball of interest, culturally and politically.)

    I work in digital, so with lots of smart bright things, and to the extent there is sports chatter it’s about the Premiership.

    Only gauche provincials who grew up in Cincinnati talk about baseball.
This discussion has been closed.