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Today PB celebrates its 20th birthday – politicalbetting.com

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Comments

  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 8,239
    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    SPACs have been falling 90% on approval. But Trump is different maybe

    The incentive to the promoters is to absolutely maximize the first print.

    For what it's worth, it's hard to believe that a subscale Twitter, dependent on a single (far from young) "Truther" to draw people in, is a particularly viable business. Your 90% drop number is probably absolutely right.
    The issue is that the Trust money isn’t committed and I’d be stunned if anyone backed a PIPE here.

    So it ends up public but with minimal cash.
  • rkrkrkrkrkrk Posts: 8,293
    Thanks so much for running the site Mike, best wishes to you and your family.

    It's got me through many a dull work day, motivated me to look up all kinds of bizarre things to prove a point to Internet strangers and introduced me (online only) to a level of political/general geekery I never knew existed.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,700
    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    In any event, according to the Graun it won't be realisable by Trump for 6 months:

    If the merger goes ahead and Trump Media goes public as soon as next week, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee would not be able to cash in any of his potential paper wealth immediately. The merger document contains a provision that blocks major shareholders from selling stock for six months.
    NY Times says there are ways for him to get around this as he has such a large stockholding and is the key person.
    Some people engage in "cap and collar" strategies which involves selling a call and buying a put to effectively sell shares without appearing to.

    However... While I suspect he might be able to (at great cost) do that for some portion of his holding, I'm not sure anyone would underwrite more than $100m or so.
    Times says he could persuade the board to waive his restriction. The board includes his own son.
    Even if they did, how much of a market is there for people wanting to buy DJT's shares from him? Every one he sells will push the price down.
    Maybe MAGA nutters will all buy them to show support for their brave hero?
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,071

    Update on NY AG property seizure

    To be clear: This would allow New York AG James to move to take possession of Trump National Golf Course in Briarcliff Manor and Seven Springs if Trump fails to secure a bond

    Just think, if Trump wins, we might have an administration that uses the justice system against its political opponents!
    Well if they commit crimes what is the alternative?

    Of course, under Trump's own logic Biden at least would be safe after he is defeated - from prosecution at least, not from assassination by the new President's order, which he would be immune from consequence so long as 41 senators do not convict.
  • Pro_RataPro_Rata Posts: 5,286

    rcs1000 said:

    Many ancient PB threads (if anyone's feeling nostalgic) can be accessed via the Wayback Machine on the Internet Archive, though its search and indexing is somewhat haphazard. For example, here are some threads from 2005:

    https://web.archive.org/web/20060107142811/http://politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2005/06/

    The comments are still there, too, from stalwarts such as Roger, Andrea, Nick Palmer and Andy Cooke, among others.

    Wow, what a great find.

    I spotted SeanF, JackW and a few others who are still here today.

    I also spotted Squadron Leader Rik Willis!
    Names to be reckoned with - is JackW really still around? Andrea (an Italian man) had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the internal machinations of the Labour Party. He could give chapter and verse as soon as the rumour first appeared.
    The photo links in the PB gathering article link through as well, though the captioning is somewhat awry on my phone.
  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 8,239

    Nikki Haley, who's no longer running, reported more cash on hand at the end of February than the RNC.

    President Biden has a major fundraising advantage over Trump, according to the latest FEC filings. In February:

    • Biden's campaign raised $21.3 million. It has $71 million in cash on hand.
    • Trump's campaign raised $10.9 million. It has $33.5 million in cash on hand.
    • The DNC raised $16.6 million. Cash on hand: $26.5 million.
    • The RNC raised $10.7 million. Cash on hand: $11.3 million


    https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1770918531846000985

    So how much campaign cash, does Nikki Haley for President campaign still have in its coffers?

    Significant amount of COH, left unspent at end of a competitive - and unsuccessful - campaign, is one of the classic signs in US politics, of less-than-optimal campaign management and/or strategy.
    She had money because she was hoping to run all the way to the finish
  • No_Offence_AlanNo_Offence_Alan Posts: 4,513

    Nikki Haley, who's no longer running, reported more cash on hand at the end of February than the RNC.

    President Biden has a major fundraising advantage over Trump, according to the latest FEC filings. In February:

    • Biden's campaign raised $21.3 million. It has $71 million in cash on hand.
    • Trump's campaign raised $10.9 million. It has $33.5 million in cash on hand.
    • The DNC raised $16.6 million. Cash on hand: $26.5 million.
    • The RNC raised $10.7 million. Cash on hand: $11.3 million


    https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1770918531846000985

    So how much campaign cash, does Nikki Haley for President campaign still have in its coffers?

    Significant amount of COH, left unspent at end of a competitive - and unsuccessful - campaign, is one of the classic signs in US politics, of less-than-optimal campaign management and/or strategy.
    Unless the campaign is re-opened.
  • TimSTimS Posts: 12,984

    Responding to
    @thesun
    ’s interview this evening, Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said:

    “Keir Starmer still can’t define what a woman is and he clearly has no regrets for choosing to provide a business service giving legal advice to dangerous terrorists.”

    https://x.com/MrHarryCole/status/1770930142337974512

    ROFL the Tories are done.

    They’re such children.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,071

    Responding to
    @thesun
    ’s interview this evening, Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said:

    “Keir Starmer still can’t define what a woman is and he clearly has no regrets for choosing to provide a business service giving legal advice to dangerous terrorists.”

    https://x.com/MrHarryCole/status/1770930142337974512

    ROFL the Tories are done.

    Culture war stuff, yes, it can help a bit sometimes. But it won't eclipse all other concerns.

    And trying to paint Sir Keir Starmer KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions, as giving succour to extremists is even less likely to succeed that the sporadic attempts to say Khan is an extremist.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,071

    Nikki Haley, who's no longer running, reported more cash on hand at the end of February than the RNC.

    President Biden has a major fundraising advantage over Trump, according to the latest FEC filings. In February:

    • Biden's campaign raised $21.3 million. It has $71 million in cash on hand.
    • Trump's campaign raised $10.9 million. It has $33.5 million in cash on hand.
    • The DNC raised $16.6 million. Cash on hand: $26.5 million.
    • The RNC raised $10.7 million. Cash on hand: $11.3 million


    https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1770918531846000985

    So how much campaign cash, does Nikki Haley for President campaign still have in its coffers?

    Significant amount of COH, left unspent at end of a competitive - and unsuccessful - campaign, is one of the classic signs in US politics, of less-than-optimal campaign management and/or strategy.
    She had money because she was hoping to run all the way to the finish
    So she was delusional?
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,129

    Update on NY AG property seizure

    To be clear: This would allow New York AG James to move to take possession of Trump National Golf Course in Briarcliff Manor and Seven Springs if Trump fails to secure a bond

    Just think, if Trump wins, we might have an administration that uses the justice system against its political opponents!
    I don't think the Biden administration has done that all: indeed Garland has been incredibly cautious. What has happened, though, is that elected prosecutors have gone after Trump, because that is what their voters want.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,129

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    SPACs have been falling 90% on approval. But Trump is different maybe

    The incentive to the promoters is to absolutely maximize the first print.

    For what it's worth, it's hard to believe that a subscale Twitter, dependent on a single (far from young) "Truther" to draw people in, is a particularly viable business. Your 90% drop number is probably absolutely right.
    The issue is that the Trust money isn’t committed and I’d be stunned if anyone backed a PIPE here.

    So it ends up public but with minimal cash.
    Phew: in which case it's time as a public company is likely to be brief indeed.
  • Jim_MillerJim_Miller Posts: 2,998
    Thanks, Mike, and best wishes from Kirkland, Washington.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,555
    rcs1000 said:

    Update on NY AG property seizure

    To be clear: This would allow New York AG James to move to take possession of Trump National Golf Course in Briarcliff Manor and Seven Springs if Trump fails to secure a bond

    Just think, if Trump wins, we might have an administration that uses the justice system against its political opponents!
    I don't think the Biden administration has done that all: indeed Garland has been incredibly cautious. What has happened, though, is that elected prosecutors have gone after Trump, because that is what their voters want.
    It is Grand Juries that have gone after Trump.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,129
    kle4 said:

    Letitia James is going to grab Donald Trump by the pussy.

    Oops, I meant property

    Not so fast Tonto...


    "Shares of former President Donald J. Trump’s social mediacompany could start trading on the stock market as early as Monday, immediately raising his net worth by around $3 billion — wealth that Mr. Trump may be able to tap to pay his mounting legal bills as he seeks a second presidential term."

    NY Times
    Even with the point about not being able to access it immediately, it is amazing to think he might get so a huge boost to his wealth, without so many of the caveats people raised about his properties and his own estimation of brand value, and from a social media site with a limited audience reach and shelflife.

    I mean, when the big man eventually goes to the golden palace in the sky, does anyone think Trump Jr, Eric, or Ivanka are going to energise the MAGA grifter economy? Selling tokens of their departed demigod, maybe, but none of them can hold a candle next to his flame.
    I might make an incredibly speculative short sell...
  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 8,239
    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    SPACs have been falling 90% on approval. But Trump is different maybe

    The incentive to the promoters is to absolutely maximize the first print.

    For what it's worth, it's hard to believe that a subscale Twitter, dependent on a single (far from young) "Truther" to draw people in, is a particularly viable business. Your 90% drop number is probably absolutely right.
    The issue is that the Trust money isn’t committed and I’d be stunned if anyone backed a PIPE here.

    So it ends up public but with minimal cash.
    Phew: in which case it's time as a public company is likely to be brief indeed.
    The best description I heard of a SPAC was it follows the classic British-American pattern: the Brits come up with a really bad idea and the Americans make it worse.

    SPACs are the ginger haired bastard step children of the cash shell
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,129
    Pro_Rata said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Many ancient PB threads (if anyone's feeling nostalgic) can be accessed via the Wayback Machine on the Internet Archive, though its search and indexing is somewhat haphazard. For example, here are some threads from 2005:

    https://web.archive.org/web/20060107142811/http://politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2005/06/

    The comments are still there, too, from stalwarts such as Roger, Andrea, Nick Palmer and Andy Cooke, among others.

    Wow, what a great find.

    I spotted SeanF, JackW and a few others who are still here today.

    I also spotted Squadron Leader Rik Willis!
    Names to be reckoned with - is JackW really still around? Andrea (an Italian man) had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the internal machinations of the Labour Party. He could give chapter and verse as soon as the rumour first appeared.
    The photo links in the PB gathering article link through as well, though the captioning is somewhat awry on my phone.
    I am slimmer and greyer these days!
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,399
    World Cup qualifiers news...
    A 5-0 win for Palestine over Bangladesh.
    And a 0-2 home defeat for Taiwan at the hands of the mighty Kyrgyzstan.
    Not sure if there is a political message there.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,814

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    SPACs have been falling 90% on approval. But Trump is different maybe

    The incentive to the promoters is to absolutely maximize the first print.

    For what it's worth, it's hard to believe that a subscale Twitter, dependent on a single (far from young) "Truther" to draw people in, is a particularly viable business. Your 90% drop number is probably absolutely right.
    The issue is that the Trust money isn’t committed and I’d be stunned if anyone backed a PIPE here.

    So it ends up public but with minimal cash.
    Phew: in which case it's time as a public company is likely to be brief indeed.
    The best description I heard of a SPAC was it follows the classic British-American pattern: the Brits come up with a really bad idea and the Americans make it worse.

    SPACs are the ginger haired bastard step children of the cash shell
    Tut, some of us are gingers. Not nice to make that comparison. So uncalled for.
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559

    Nikki Haley, who's no longer running, reported more cash on hand at the end of February than the RNC.

    President Biden has a major fundraising advantage over Trump, according to the latest FEC filings. In February:

    • Biden's campaign raised $21.3 million. It has $71 million in cash on hand.
    • Trump's campaign raised $10.9 million. It has $33.5 million in cash on hand.
    • The DNC raised $16.6 million. Cash on hand: $26.5 million.
    • The RNC raised $10.7 million. Cash on hand: $11.3 million


    https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1770918531846000985

    So how much campaign cash, does Nikki Haley for President campaign still have in its coffers?

    Significant amount of COH, left unspent at end of a competitive - and unsuccessful - campaign, is one of the classic signs in US politics, of less-than-optimal campaign management and/or strategy.
    Unless the campaign is re-opened.
    You MAY have a good point.

    Say "may" because

    > Doubt very much that Nikki Haley will do what Republican John Anderson did in 1980: run in GOP caucuses & primaries, then after losing nomination, run as an independent in fall.

    > US campaign finance laws are somewhat byzantine . . . with apologies to actual byzantines. So not sure re: fiscal legal position in terms of raising money for party POTUS nomination, then running AGAINST the nominee of that party.
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559
    rcs1000 said:

    Pro_Rata said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Many ancient PB threads (if anyone's feeling nostalgic) can be accessed via the Wayback Machine on the Internet Archive, though its search and indexing is somewhat haphazard. For example, here are some threads from 2005:

    https://web.archive.org/web/20060107142811/http://politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2005/06/

    The comments are still there, too, from stalwarts such as Roger, Andrea, Nick Palmer and Andy Cooke, among others.

    Wow, what a great find.

    I spotted SeanF, JackW and a few others who are still here today.

    I also spotted Squadron Leader Rik Willis!
    Names to be reckoned with - is JackW really still around? Andrea (an Italian man) had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the internal machinations of the Labour Party. He could give chapter and verse as soon as the rumour first appeared.
    The photo links in the PB gathering article link through as well, though the captioning is somewhat awry on my phone.
    I am slimmer and greyer these days!
    Those darn kids of yours?

    Perhaps show them that pic . . . then say, look what you little feckers have done to your dear old dad!
  • BurgessianBurgessian Posts: 2,747
    Anecdote alert. Currently in London for a few days being a tourist. While waiting to go up The Monument was surprised to see a security guard hanging around. A few minutes later and a bunch of primary school kids and their teachers came down. Most of the kids were wearing peaked caps. One had evidently forgotten or lost his - so I could see he was wearing a skull cap. Then the penny dropped. A Jewish school group. Hence the security guard. Sobering.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,239
    Well, this is awkward





    Also hilarious. hahahahaha
  • If somebody could explain why this change to the England kit is woke please speak
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,061
    IanB2 said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Leon said:

    carnforth said:

    Leon said:

    Well this is both sad and touching. Thank-you, Our Most Genial of Hosts, I hope your health somehow allows you to return, occasionally

    It’s been a privilege to comment on this site these past 15, sorry 9, sorry 4, sorry 2 and a half, sorry 2 years. It really is like a pub except the locals wear terrifying masks and Hitler occasionally plays the piano

    Its also kept me sane and prevented me dying of loneliness on long foreign trips - such as this one right now

    Cheers to all of us, mods and commenters, anarchists and atheists, kippers and Communists, lurkers, lefties, LadyGs and lunatics, from the hot and cloudy jungles of Colombia






    They couldn’t come up with anything better than a wine so popular it’s in every Tesco in Britain? Is there any Colombian wine?
    No

    At least I haven’t found any

    I am extremely grateful for the existence of Chilean and Argentine wine - in Colombia. Otherwise it would be Californian or European and twice as pricey
    It exists! According to Google anyway:

    https://www.madalyneloree.com/post/explore-colombian-wine-country
    I may have spoken too soon:

    “INSIDER TIP: we found the wine in La Union to be quite sweet or dulce. They explained during the tour that while they do make drier wines (seco) the majority of their customer base in Colombia (mostly Colombians) instead like the sweet wines. In fact, we read that the majority of wine from Colombia is on the sweeter side (due to the elevation and climate). If you are like us and prefer drier wines, still definitely try the sweet wine - it is quite refreshing and delicious. “
    Almost every country I visit these days produces some kind of wine

    I’ve had Thai wine (not great). I’ve had Ethiopian wine (not bad at all). I’ve had Indian wine (meh but improving). I’ve had Egyptian wine (tolerable)

    It’s actually rare to find a country that doesn’t make wine

    Eg Denmark makes wine. Yes, Denmark

    https://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/things-do/danish-food/vineyards

    Greenland. Iceland. Parts of west and central Africa - no wine
    As wine has become a mass market beverage it’s inevitable that it’s become much more widely produced, although it’s not yet as globalisable as beer.

    The distinction I’d make is between new wine regions that are able to reproduce, with effort, a palatable wine that tastes not dissimilar to other international wines, and new regions that manage to make wines that are distinct, and truly new, and reflect their terroir.

    Many (hot) countries have been able to do the former with some judicious coaxing by international winemakers. China to great success. But the really novel innovations have come from cooler places - either because they’re high latitude, or high altitude.

    Marlborough and North Otago, the higher bits of Mendoza, Southern Chile, British Columbia and Oregon, Ontario, Southern England and Wales, Tasmania, all regions that have brought something new and exciting to wine in the last few decades. I could well imagine Ethiopia having some interesting terroir given its climate. Bolivia should do too. But both Chile and Argentina are only just scratching the surface of their cooler climates further into Patagonia.

    I’ve had Bolivian wine - in Bolivia. And yes it was surprisingly good - like Ethiopia

    Japan stretches from virtual tundra to subtropics, with all kind of altitudes. Why aren’t they making great wine? They must have some suitable spots
    There are some. I follow one on Insta. Near Sapporo I think. Very stylish looking, rather like their whiskies.
    Ah. Then that proves the rule. Almost every country now makes wine
    So, quiz time: what country would be the most theoretically promising but is not currently a producer? Actually 2 countries.
    Iran and Algeria?
    Algeria does produce wine, I had some in Algiers. It was ok - French style rose/gris.
    Ah!

    Libya might also make good wine if it was allowed

    It was known for wine in the Roman era

    So was Yorkshire
    Yes, but Yorkshire makes wine now, too.
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559

    Nikki Haley, who's no longer running, reported more cash on hand at the end of February than the RNC.

    President Biden has a major fundraising advantage over Trump, according to the latest FEC filings. In February:

    • Biden's campaign raised $21.3 million. It has $71 million in cash on hand.
    • Trump's campaign raised $10.9 million. It has $33.5 million in cash on hand.
    • The DNC raised $16.6 million. Cash on hand: $26.5 million.
    • The RNC raised $10.7 million. Cash on hand: $11.3 million


    https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1770918531846000985

    So how much campaign cash, does Nikki Haley for President campaign still have in its coffers?

    Significant amount of COH, left unspent at end of a competitive - and unsuccessful - campaign, is one of the classic signs in US politics, of less-than-optimal campaign management and/or strategy.
    She had money because she was hoping to run all the way to the finish
    That really ain't the way it works. Because national party nominees can not only raise MORE money AFTER they win nomination, but also have access to OTHER sources of money, for example from their party.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,239

    If somebody could explain why this change to the England kit is woke please speak

    You must ask “rent-a-gob” Sir Kier “royale” Starmer
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,129
    Carnyx said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    SPACs have been falling 90% on approval. But Trump is different maybe

    The incentive to the promoters is to absolutely maximize the first print.

    For what it's worth, it's hard to believe that a subscale Twitter, dependent on a single (far from young) "Truther" to draw people in, is a particularly viable business. Your 90% drop number is probably absolutely right.
    The issue is that the Trust money isn’t committed and I’d be stunned if anyone backed a PIPE here.

    So it ends up public but with minimal cash.
    Phew: in which case it's time as a public company is likely to be brief indeed.
    The best description I heard of a SPAC was it follows the classic British-American pattern: the Brits come up with a really bad idea and the Americans make it worse.

    SPACs are the ginger haired bastard step children of the cash shell
    Tut, some of us are gingers. Not nice to make that comparison. So uncalled for.
    Both @StillWaters and I are gingers too!
  • ohnotnowohnotnow Posts: 3,779
    Nigelb said:

    IanB2 said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Leon said:

    carnforth said:

    Leon said:

    Well this is both sad and touching. Thank-you, Our Most Genial of Hosts, I hope your health somehow allows you to return, occasionally

    It’s been a privilege to comment on this site these past 15, sorry 9, sorry 4, sorry 2 and a half, sorry 2 years. It really is like a pub except the locals wear terrifying masks and Hitler occasionally plays the piano

    Its also kept me sane and prevented me dying of loneliness on long foreign trips - such as this one right now

    Cheers to all of us, mods and commenters, anarchists and atheists, kippers and Communists, lurkers, lefties, LadyGs and lunatics, from the hot and cloudy jungles of Colombia






    They couldn’t come up with anything better than a wine so popular it’s in every Tesco in Britain? Is there any Colombian wine?
    No

    At least I haven’t found any

    I am extremely grateful for the existence of Chilean and Argentine wine - in Colombia. Otherwise it would be Californian or European and twice as pricey
    It exists! According to Google anyway:

    https://www.madalyneloree.com/post/explore-colombian-wine-country
    I may have spoken too soon:

    “INSIDER TIP: we found the wine in La Union to be quite sweet or dulce. They explained during the tour that while they do make drier wines (seco) the majority of their customer base in Colombia (mostly Colombians) instead like the sweet wines. In fact, we read that the majority of wine from Colombia is on the sweeter side (due to the elevation and climate). If you are like us and prefer drier wines, still definitely try the sweet wine - it is quite refreshing and delicious. “
    Almost every country I visit these days produces some kind of wine

    I’ve had Thai wine (not great). I’ve had Ethiopian wine (not bad at all). I’ve had Indian wine (meh but improving). I’ve had Egyptian wine (tolerable)

    It’s actually rare to find a country that doesn’t make wine

    Eg Denmark makes wine. Yes, Denmark

    https://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/things-do/danish-food/vineyards

    Greenland. Iceland. Parts of west and central Africa - no wine
    As wine has become a mass market beverage it’s inevitable that it’s become much more widely produced, although it’s not yet as globalisable as beer.

    The distinction I’d make is between new wine regions that are able to reproduce, with effort, a palatable wine that tastes not dissimilar to other international wines, and new regions that manage to make wines that are distinct, and truly new, and reflect their terroir.

    Many (hot) countries have been able to do the former with some judicious coaxing by international winemakers. China to great success. But the really novel innovations have come from cooler places - either because they’re high latitude, or high altitude.

    Marlborough and North Otago, the higher bits of Mendoza, Southern Chile, British Columbia and Oregon, Ontario, Southern England and Wales, Tasmania, all regions that have brought something new and exciting to wine in the last few decades. I could well imagine Ethiopia having some interesting terroir given its climate. Bolivia should do too. But both Chile and Argentina are only just scratching the surface of their cooler climates further into Patagonia.

    I’ve had Bolivian wine - in Bolivia. And yes it was surprisingly good - like Ethiopia

    Japan stretches from virtual tundra to subtropics, with all kind of altitudes. Why aren’t they making great wine? They must have some suitable spots
    There are some. I follow one on Insta. Near Sapporo I think. Very stylish looking, rather like their whiskies.
    Ah. Then that proves the rule. Almost every country now makes wine
    So, quiz time: what country would be the most theoretically promising but is not currently a producer? Actually 2 countries.
    Iran and Algeria?
    Algeria does produce wine, I had some in Algiers. It was ok - French style rose/gris.
    Ah!

    Libya might also make good wine if it was allowed

    It was known for wine in the Roman era

    So was Yorkshire
    Yes, but Yorkshire makes wine now, too.
    Yorkshire has been making wine since at least Roman times afiak. Around Sheffield at least.
  • ohnotnowohnotnow Posts: 3,779
    rcs1000 said:

    Pro_Rata said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Many ancient PB threads (if anyone's feeling nostalgic) can be accessed via the Wayback Machine on the Internet Archive, though its search and indexing is somewhat haphazard. For example, here are some threads from 2005:

    https://web.archive.org/web/20060107142811/http://politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2005/06/

    The comments are still there, too, from stalwarts such as Roger, Andrea, Nick Palmer and Andy Cooke, among others.

    Wow, what a great find.

    I spotted SeanF, JackW and a few others who are still here today.

    I also spotted Squadron Leader Rik Willis!
    Names to be reckoned with - is JackW really still around? Andrea (an Italian man) had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the internal machinations of the Labour Party. He could give chapter and verse as soon as the rumour first appeared.
    The photo links in the PB gathering article link through as well, though the captioning is somewhat awry on my phone.
    I am slimmer and greyer these days!
    'Svelte and dashing' is how I'd phrase it if I was in charge of your social media.
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559
    rcs1000 said:

    Carnyx said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    SPACs have been falling 90% on approval. But Trump is different maybe

    The incentive to the promoters is to absolutely maximize the first print.

    For what it's worth, it's hard to believe that a subscale Twitter, dependent on a single (far from young) "Truther" to draw people in, is a particularly viable business. Your 90% drop number is probably absolutely right.
    The issue is that the Trust money isn’t committed and I’d be stunned if anyone backed a PIPE here.

    So it ends up public but with minimal cash.
    Phew: in which case it's time as a public company is likely to be brief indeed.
    The best description I heard of a SPAC was it follows the classic British-American pattern: the Brits come up with a really bad idea and the Americans make it worse.

    SPACs are the ginger haired bastard step children of the cash shell
    Tut, some of us are gingers. Not nice to make that comparison. So uncalled for.
    Both @StillWaters and I are gingers too!
    "Gingers" is a term unknown to, and thus unsaid by, 99.46% of Americans. Unless of course they are anglophile twits such as yours truly - I know what you mean, but never say it that way.

    "Redheads" is the way we say in the USA.

    However, possible that in future the g-word may become more common on this side of the Atlantic AND the Pacific. Not sure what situation is up in the Great White North?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,239
    Just appalling. We will look back on this and weep at the madness

    NEW: NHS England has announced that new youth gender services will provide masculinising and feminising hormones to children from ‘around their 16th birthday.’ This goes further than GIDS ever did: YPs cld only access hormones at 16 if they’d been on puberty blockers for 1 year🧵

    https://x.com/hannahsbee/status/1770913390896070658?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    How has a tiny band of crazy trans activists captured our entire health service? Indeed the entire establishment?
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,354

    If somebody could explain why this change to the England kit is woke please speak

    I think people might complain because they simply want a red cross, because that's the symbol on the English flag, and they kinda expected the English flag to be on the shirt.

    Whether Nike thought they'd do something to be Woke, or just to be different, is neither here nor there.

    But if you do want a reason, I suspect the code colour is pink*. Pink is woke, unless it's on something related to women, in which case it's misogynist. I think that's the reasoning.

    * Disclaimer: I'm wearing pink socks today because it's a damn sight more interesting than effing navy blue.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,128

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    SPACs have been falling 90% on approval. But Trump is different maybe

    The incentive to the promoters is to absolutely maximize the first print.

    For what it's worth, it's hard to believe that a subscale Twitter, dependent on a single (far from young) "Truther" to draw people in, is a particularly viable business. Your 90% drop number is probably absolutely right.
    I thought he was the only person on it to be honest.
    Can the New York DA (or E Jean Carroll?) pre-emptively put a lien on that "asset" at a discounted value?

    Since the SPAC is on the NEW YORK stock exchange.

    Is this within the scope of supervision by the Court appointed "Monitor" in the Trump organisations?
  • TimSTimS Posts: 12,984
    ohnotnow said:

    Nigelb said:

    IanB2 said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Leon said:

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Leon said:

    carnforth said:

    Leon said:

    Well this is both sad and touching. Thank-you, Our Most Genial of Hosts, I hope your health somehow allows you to return, occasionally

    It’s been a privilege to comment on this site these past 15, sorry 9, sorry 4, sorry 2 and a half, sorry 2 years. It really is like a pub except the locals wear terrifying masks and Hitler occasionally plays the piano

    Its also kept me sane and prevented me dying of loneliness on long foreign trips - such as this one right now

    Cheers to all of us, mods and commenters, anarchists and atheists, kippers and Communists, lurkers, lefties, LadyGs and lunatics, from the hot and cloudy jungles of Colombia






    They couldn’t come up with anything better than a wine so popular it’s in every Tesco in Britain? Is there any Colombian wine?
    No

    At least I haven’t found any

    I am extremely grateful for the existence of Chilean and Argentine wine - in Colombia. Otherwise it would be Californian or European and twice as pricey
    It exists! According to Google anyway:

    https://www.madalyneloree.com/post/explore-colombian-wine-country
    I may have spoken too soon:

    “INSIDER TIP: we found the wine in La Union to be quite sweet or dulce. They explained during the tour that while they do make drier wines (seco) the majority of their customer base in Colombia (mostly Colombians) instead like the sweet wines. In fact, we read that the majority of wine from Colombia is on the sweeter side (due to the elevation and climate). If you are like us and prefer drier wines, still definitely try the sweet wine - it is quite refreshing and delicious. “
    Almost every country I visit these days produces some kind of wine

    I’ve had Thai wine (not great). I’ve had Ethiopian wine (not bad at all). I’ve had Indian wine (meh but improving). I’ve had Egyptian wine (tolerable)

    It’s actually rare to find a country that doesn’t make wine

    Eg Denmark makes wine. Yes, Denmark

    https://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/things-do/danish-food/vineyards

    Greenland. Iceland. Parts of west and central Africa - no wine
    As wine has become a mass market beverage it’s inevitable that it’s become much more widely produced, although it’s not yet as globalisable as beer.

    The distinction I’d make is between new wine regions that are able to reproduce, with effort, a palatable wine that tastes not dissimilar to other international wines, and new regions that manage to make wines that are distinct, and truly new, and reflect their terroir.

    Many (hot) countries have been able to do the former with some judicious coaxing by international winemakers. China to great success. But the really novel innovations have come from cooler places - either because they’re high latitude, or high altitude.

    Marlborough and North Otago, the higher bits of Mendoza, Southern Chile, British Columbia and Oregon, Ontario, Southern England and Wales, Tasmania, all regions that have brought something new and exciting to wine in the last few decades. I could well imagine Ethiopia having some interesting terroir given its climate. Bolivia should do too. But both Chile and Argentina are only just scratching the surface of their cooler climates further into Patagonia.

    I’ve had Bolivian wine - in Bolivia. And yes it was surprisingly good - like Ethiopia

    Japan stretches from virtual tundra to subtropics, with all kind of altitudes. Why aren’t they making great wine? They must have some suitable spots
    There are some. I follow one on Insta. Near Sapporo I think. Very stylish looking, rather like their whiskies.
    Ah. Then that proves the rule. Almost every country now makes wine
    So, quiz time: what country would be the most theoretically promising but is not currently a producer? Actually 2 countries.
    Iran and Algeria?
    Algeria does produce wine, I had some in Algiers. It was ok - French style rose/gris.
    Ah!

    Libya might also make good wine if it was allowed

    It was known for wine in the Roman era

    So was Yorkshire
    Yes, but Yorkshire makes wine now, too.
    Yorkshire has been making wine since at least Roman times afiak. Around Sheffield at least.
    Vale of York is the main region now. Dry enough. It’s North of the Solaris line though: wine regions that are still too cold for most traditional vinifera varieties but can ripen hybrids like Solaris. See Denmark, Netherlands, Poland etc too.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,061
    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    In any event, according to the Graun it won't be realisable by Trump for 6 months:

    If the merger goes ahead and Trump Media goes public as soon as next week, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee would not be able to cash in any of his potential paper wealth immediately. The merger document contains a provision that blocks major shareholders from selling stock for six months.
    NY Times says there are ways for him to get around this as he has such a large stockholding and is the key person.
    Some people engage in "cap and collar" strategies which involves selling a call and buying a put to effectively sell shares without appearing to.

    However... While I suspect he might be able to (at great cost) do that for some portion of his holding, I'm not sure anyone would underwrite more than $100m or so.
    Times says he could persuade the board to waive his restriction. The board includes his own son.
    Even if they did, how much of a market is there for people wanting to buy DJT's shares from him? Every one he sells will push the price down.
    A company with $5m in sales.
  • Leon said:

    If somebody could explain why this change to the England kit is woke please speak

    You must ask “rent-a-gob” Sir Kier “royale” Starmer
    Well SKS is an idiot then. Changing a colour is not “woke”.

    Since you don’t know, it’s just the right wing gutter press making shit up again
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,128

    If somebody could explain why this change to the England kit is woke please speak

    I think people might complain because they simply want a red cross, because that's the symbol on the English flag, and they kinda expected the English flag to be on the shirt.

    Whether Nike thought they'd do something to be Woke, or just to be different, is neither here nor there.

    But if you do want a reason, I suspect the code colour is pink*. Pink is woke, unless it's on something related to women, in which case it's misogynist. I think that's the reasoning.

    * Disclaimer: I'm wearing pink socks today because it's a damn sight more interesting than effing navy blue.
    I sincerely hope you are wearing those pink socks with white shoes.

    Otherwise @TSE will be mortified.
  • Leon said:

    Just appalling. We will look back on this and weep at the madness

    NEW: NHS England has announced that new youth gender services will provide masculinising and feminising hormones to children from ‘around their 16th birthday.’ This goes further than GIDS ever did: YPs cld only access hormones at 16 if they’d been on puberty blockers for 1 year🧵

    https://x.com/hannahsbee/status/1770913390896070658?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    How has a tiny band of crazy trans activists captured our entire health service? Indeed the entire establishment?

    These are human beings.
  • TimSTimS Posts: 12,984

    If somebody could explain why this change to the England kit is woke please speak

    I think people might complain because they simply want a red cross, because that's the symbol on the English flag, and they kinda expected the English flag to be on the shirt.

    Whether Nike thought they'd do something to be Woke, or just to be different, is neither here nor there.

    But if you do want a reason, I suspect the code colour is pink*. Pink is woke, unless it's on something related to women, in which case it's misogynist. I think that's the reasoning.

    * Disclaimer: I'm wearing pink socks today because it's a damn sight more interesting than effing navy blue.
    Men who wear pink shirts earn more.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/in-the-pink-researchers-claim-men-who-wear-pink-shirts-earn-ps1-000-a-year-more-than-those-who-don-t-8343364.html

    I wore a pink shirt today, but earned the same as I do on other days when I wear white or blue.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,128

    rcs1000 said:

    Carnyx said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    SPACs have been falling 90% on approval. But Trump is different maybe

    The incentive to the promoters is to absolutely maximize the first print.

    For what it's worth, it's hard to believe that a subscale Twitter, dependent on a single (far from young) "Truther" to draw people in, is a particularly viable business. Your 90% drop number is probably absolutely right.
    The issue is that the Trust money isn’t committed and I’d be stunned if anyone backed a PIPE here.

    So it ends up public but with minimal cash.
    Phew: in which case it's time as a public company is likely to be brief indeed.
    The best description I heard of a SPAC was it follows the classic British-American pattern: the Brits come up with a really bad idea and the Americans make it worse.

    SPACs are the ginger haired bastard step children of the cash shell
    Tut, some of us are gingers. Not nice to make that comparison. So uncalled for.
    Both @StillWaters and I are gingers too!
    "Gingers" is a term unknown to, and thus unsaid by, 99.46% of Americans. Unless of course they are anglophile twits such as yours truly - I know what you mean, but never say it that way.

    "Redheads" is the way we say in the USA.

    However, possible that in future the g-word may become more common on this side of the Atlantic AND the Pacific. Not sure what situation is up in the Great White North?
    We have been educating Usonians, as Usonians, since 1777.

    There's no reason to stop now !

    Even though some of it has been implemented by "do the opposite".
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,354
    MattW said:

    If somebody could explain why this change to the England kit is woke please speak

    I think people might complain because they simply want a red cross, because that's the symbol on the English flag, and they kinda expected the English flag to be on the shirt.

    Whether Nike thought they'd do something to be Woke, or just to be different, is neither here nor there.

    But if you do want a reason, I suspect the code colour is pink*. Pink is woke, unless it's on something related to women, in which case it's misogynist. I think that's the reasoning.

    * Disclaimer: I'm wearing pink socks today because it's a damn sight more interesting than effing navy blue.
    I sincerely hope you are wearing those pink socks with white shoes.

    Otherwise @TSE will be mortified.
    I wouldn't want to say anything that might lead to a banning under the new regime.
  • londonpubmanlondonpubman Posts: 3,639
    ❤️ to PB
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,129
    Nigelb said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    In any event, according to the Graun it won't be realisable by Trump for 6 months:

    If the merger goes ahead and Trump Media goes public as soon as next week, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee would not be able to cash in any of his potential paper wealth immediately. The merger document contains a provision that blocks major shareholders from selling stock for six months.
    NY Times says there are ways for him to get around this as he has such a large stockholding and is the key person.
    Some people engage in "cap and collar" strategies which involves selling a call and buying a put to effectively sell shares without appearing to.

    However... While I suspect he might be able to (at great cost) do that for some portion of his holding, I'm not sure anyone would underwrite more than $100m or so.
    Times says he could persuade the board to waive his restriction. The board includes his own son.
    Even if they did, how much of a market is there for people wanting to buy DJT's shares from him? Every one he sells will push the price down.
    A company with $5m in sales.
    And presumably heavily loss making.
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559
    MattW said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Carnyx said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    SPACs have been falling 90% on approval. But Trump is different maybe

    The incentive to the promoters is to absolutely maximize the first print.

    For what it's worth, it's hard to believe that a subscale Twitter, dependent on a single (far from young) "Truther" to draw people in, is a particularly viable business. Your 90% drop number is probably absolutely right.
    The issue is that the Trust money isn’t committed and I’d be stunned if anyone backed a PIPE here.

    So it ends up public but with minimal cash.
    Phew: in which case it's time as a public company is likely to be brief indeed.
    The best description I heard of a SPAC was it follows the classic British-American pattern: the Brits come up with a really bad idea and the Americans make it worse.

    SPACs are the ginger haired bastard step children of the cash shell
    Tut, some of us are gingers. Not nice to make that comparison. So uncalled for.
    Both @StillWaters and I are gingers too!
    "Gingers" is a term unknown to, and thus unsaid by, 99.46% of Americans. Unless of course they are anglophile twits such as yours truly - I know what you mean, but never say it that way.

    "Redheads" is the way we say in the USA.

    However, possible that in future the g-word may become more common on this side of the Atlantic AND the Pacific. Not sure what situation is up in the Great White North?
    We have been educating Usonians, as Usonians, since 1777.

    There's no reason to stop now !

    Even though some of it has been implemented by "do the opposite".
    My guess is that UKers like "ginger" because it can be hurled as an insult and is thus useful for typical UK bullying.

    In USA we can sputter, your red-headed SOB! But somehow lacks the venom so beloved by UKers.
  • No_Offence_AlanNo_Offence_Alan Posts: 4,513
    TimS said:

    If somebody could explain why this change to the England kit is woke please speak

    I think people might complain because they simply want a red cross, because that's the symbol on the English flag, and they kinda expected the English flag to be on the shirt.

    Whether Nike thought they'd do something to be Woke, or just to be different, is neither here nor there.

    But if you do want a reason, I suspect the code colour is pink*. Pink is woke, unless it's on something related to women, in which case it's misogynist. I think that's the reasoning.

    * Disclaimer: I'm wearing pink socks today because it's a damn sight more interesting than effing navy blue.
    Men who wear pink shirts earn more.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/in-the-pink-researchers-claim-men-who-wear-pink-shirts-earn-ps1-000-a-year-more-than-those-who-don-t-8343364.html

    I wore a pink shirt today, but earned the same as I do on other days when I wear white or blue.
    Admittedly, when I wash my white England shirt with a red cross, it does tend to go pink.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,061

    Nikki Haley, who's no longer running, reported more cash on hand at the end of February than the RNC.

    President Biden has a major fundraising advantage over Trump, according to the latest FEC filings. In February:

    • Biden's campaign raised $21.3 million. It has $71 million in cash on hand.
    • Trump's campaign raised $10.9 million. It has $33.5 million in cash on hand.
    • The DNC raised $16.6 million. Cash on hand: $26.5 million.
    • The RNC raised $10.7 million. Cash on hand: $11.3 million


    https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1770918531846000985

    So how much campaign cash, does Nikki Haley for President campaign still have in its coffers?

    Significant amount of COH, left unspent at end of a competitive - and unsuccessful - campaign, is one of the classic signs in US politics, of less-than-optimal campaign management and/or strategy.
    It wasn’t a particularly competitive campaign.
    Keeping some dry powder for what might happen next, though, is probably a smart move.

  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,354
    edited March 21
    rcs1000 said:

    Nigelb said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    In any event, according to the Graun it won't be realisable by Trump for 6 months:

    If the merger goes ahead and Trump Media goes public as soon as next week, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee would not be able to cash in any of his potential paper wealth immediately. The merger document contains a provision that blocks major shareholders from selling stock for six months.
    NY Times says there are ways for him to get around this as he has such a large stockholding and is the key person.
    Some people engage in "cap and collar" strategies which involves selling a call and buying a put to effectively sell shares without appearing to.

    However... While I suspect he might be able to (at great cost) do that for some portion of his holding, I'm not sure anyone would underwrite more than $100m or so.
    Times says he could persuade the board to waive his restriction. The board includes his own son.
    Even if they did, how much of a market is there for people wanting to buy DJT's shares from him? Every one he sells will push the price down.
    A company with $5m in sales.
    And presumably heavily loss making.
    Presumably, though, if you wanted to funnel some money to Trump, without it being a political donation, or some other transfer that might trigger some interest, them buying a worthless asset from him at an absurd price might seem like just the way to achieve that end.
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559

    If somebody could explain why this change to the England kit is woke please speak

    I think people might complain because they simply want a red cross, because that's the symbol on the English flag, and they kinda expected the English flag to be on the shirt.

    Whether Nike thought they'd do something to be Woke, or just to be different, is neither here nor there.

    But if you do want a reason, I suspect the code colour is pink*. Pink is woke, unless it's on something related to women, in which case it's misogynist. I think that's the reasoning.

    * Disclaimer: I'm wearing pink socks today because it's a damn sight more interesting than effing navy blue.
    In USA the color pink is frequently worn as part of campaigns for breast cancer awareness, research & treatment.

    NOT exclusively female concern, but definitely NOT misogynist.
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559
    TimS said:

    If somebody could explain why this change to the England kit is woke please speak

    I think people might complain because they simply want a red cross, because that's the symbol on the English flag, and they kinda expected the English flag to be on the shirt.

    Whether Nike thought they'd do something to be Woke, or just to be different, is neither here nor there.

    But if you do want a reason, I suspect the code colour is pink*. Pink is woke, unless it's on something related to women, in which case it's misogynist. I think that's the reasoning.

    * Disclaimer: I'm wearing pink socks today because it's a damn sight more interesting than effing navy blue.
    Men who wear pink shirts earn more.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/in-the-pink-researchers-claim-men-who-wear-pink-shirts-earn-ps1-000-a-year-more-than-those-who-don-t-8343364.html

    I wore a pink shirt today, but earned the same as I do on other days when I wear white or blue.
    How poetic!
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,129

    rcs1000 said:

    Nigelb said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    In any event, according to the Graun it won't be realisable by Trump for 6 months:

    If the merger goes ahead and Trump Media goes public as soon as next week, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee would not be able to cash in any of his potential paper wealth immediately. The merger document contains a provision that blocks major shareholders from selling stock for six months.
    NY Times says there are ways for him to get around this as he has such a large stockholding and is the key person.
    Some people engage in "cap and collar" strategies which involves selling a call and buying a put to effectively sell shares without appearing to.

    However... While I suspect he might be able to (at great cost) do that for some portion of his holding, I'm not sure anyone would underwrite more than $100m or so.
    Times says he could persuade the board to waive his restriction. The board includes his own son.
    Even if they did, how much of a market is there for people wanting to buy DJT's shares from him? Every one he sells will push the price down.
    A company with $5m in sales.
    And presumably heavily loss making.
    Presumably, though, if you wanted to funnel some money to Trump, without it being a political donation, or some other transfer that might trigger some interest, them buying a worthless asset from him at an absurd price might seem like just the way to achieve that end.
    That's a very good point. And you will, of course, get a tax write off when you sell your shares at a massive discount.
  • ohnotnowohnotnow Posts: 3,779

    MattW said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Carnyx said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    SPACs have been falling 90% on approval. But Trump is different maybe

    The incentive to the promoters is to absolutely maximize the first print.

    For what it's worth, it's hard to believe that a subscale Twitter, dependent on a single (far from young) "Truther" to draw people in, is a particularly viable business. Your 90% drop number is probably absolutely right.
    The issue is that the Trust money isn’t committed and I’d be stunned if anyone backed a PIPE here.

    So it ends up public but with minimal cash.
    Phew: in which case it's time as a public company is likely to be brief indeed.
    The best description I heard of a SPAC was it follows the classic British-American pattern: the Brits come up with a really bad idea and the Americans make it worse.

    SPACs are the ginger haired bastard step children of the cash shell
    Tut, some of us are gingers. Not nice to make that comparison. So uncalled for.
    Both @StillWaters and I are gingers too!
    "Gingers" is a term unknown to, and thus unsaid by, 99.46% of Americans. Unless of course they are anglophile twits such as yours truly - I know what you mean, but never say it that way.

    "Redheads" is the way we say in the USA.

    However, possible that in future the g-word may become more common on this side of the Atlantic AND the Pacific. Not sure what situation is up in the Great White North?
    We have been educating Usonians, as Usonians, since 1777.

    There's no reason to stop now !

    Even though some of it has been implemented by "do the opposite".
    My guess is that UKers like "ginger" because it can be hurled as an insult and is thus useful for typical UK bullying.

    In USA we can sputter, your red-headed SOB! But somehow lacks the venom so beloved by UKers.
    'Ginger' == 'Celt' == 'suss/backwards'. At least I suspect that's somewhere dangling in the collective unconsciousness.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,128
    edited March 21

    MattW said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Carnyx said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    SPACs have been falling 90% on approval. But Trump is different maybe

    The incentive to the promoters is to absolutely maximize the first print.

    For what it's worth, it's hard to believe that a subscale Twitter, dependent on a single (far from young) "Truther" to draw people in, is a particularly viable business. Your 90% drop number is probably absolutely right.
    The issue is that the Trust money isn’t committed and I’d be stunned if anyone backed a PIPE here.

    So it ends up public but with minimal cash.
    Phew: in which case it's time as a public company is likely to be brief indeed.
    The best description I heard of a SPAC was it follows the classic British-American pattern: the Brits come up with a really bad idea and the Americans make it worse.

    SPACs are the ginger haired bastard step children of the cash shell
    Tut, some of us are gingers. Not nice to make that comparison. So uncalled for.
    Both @StillWaters and I are gingers too!
    "Gingers" is a term unknown to, and thus unsaid by, 99.46% of Americans. Unless of course they are anglophile twits such as yours truly - I know what you mean, but never say it that way.

    "Redheads" is the way we say in the USA.

    However, possible that in future the g-word may become more common on this side of the Atlantic AND the Pacific. Not sure what situation is up in the Great White North?
    We have been educating Usonians, as Usonians, since 1777.

    There's no reason to stop now !

    Even though some of it has been implemented by "do the opposite".
    My guess is that UKers like "ginger" because it can be hurled as an insult and is thus useful for typical UK bullying.

    In USA we can sputter, your red-headed SOB! But somehow lacks the venom so beloved by UKers.
    I tend to be more venomous about Usonians than Gingers, tbh.

    Especially when they say things (as one did on a civilised corner of social media the other day) like this about the expendability of pedestrians:

    "Roundabouts are for the convenience of motorists, not the safety of pedestrians."

    The mind boggles.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,700

    If somebody could explain why this change to the England kit is woke please speak

    I think people might complain because they simply want a red cross, because that's the symbol on the English flag, and they kinda expected the English flag to be on the shirt.

    Whether Nike thought they'd do something to be Woke, or just to be different, is neither here nor there.

    But if you do want a reason, I suspect the code colour is pink*. Pink is woke, unless it's on something related to women, in which case it's misogynist. I think that's the reasoning.

    * Disclaimer: I'm wearing pink socks today because it's a damn sight more interesting than effing navy blue.
    In USA the color pink is frequently worn as part of campaigns for breast cancer awareness, research & treatment.

    NOT exclusively female concern, but definitely NOT misogynist.

    Sam Freedman
    @Samfr
    ·
    39m
    Of course a tiny flag in the lining of a shirt being a different colour to normal gets more coverage than record levels of child poverty. Of course it does.

    https://twitter.com/Samfr/status/1770939335811985858
  • bigglesbiggles Posts: 6,051
    Thank you, and best wishes. You know, a number of us have made some cash over the years because of this site. Now and again there has been a donation button to reflect that and keep it going.

    Maybe there might be another one to buy a metaphorical pint, or donate to a charity of OGH’s choice?
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559
    Nigelb said:

    Nikki Haley, who's no longer running, reported more cash on hand at the end of February than the RNC.

    President Biden has a major fundraising advantage over Trump, according to the latest FEC filings. In February:

    • Biden's campaign raised $21.3 million. It has $71 million in cash on hand.
    • Trump's campaign raised $10.9 million. It has $33.5 million in cash on hand.
    • The DNC raised $16.6 million. Cash on hand: $26.5 million.
    • The RNC raised $10.7 million. Cash on hand: $11.3 million


    https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1770918531846000985

    So how much campaign cash, does Nikki Haley for President campaign still have in its coffers?

    Significant amount of COH, left unspent at end of a competitive - and unsuccessful - campaign, is one of the classic signs in US politics, of less-than-optimal campaign management and/or strategy.
    It wasn’t a particularly competitive campaign.
    Keeping some dry powder for what might happen next, though, is probably a smart move.

    Good points. But just sayin'.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,061
    rcs1000 said:

    Update on NY AG property seizure

    To be clear: This would allow New York AG James to move to take possession of Trump National Golf Course in Briarcliff Manor and Seven Springs if Trump fails to secure a bond

    Just think, if Trump wins, we might have an administration that uses the justice system against its political opponents!
    I don't think the Biden administration has done that all: indeed Garland has been incredibly cautious. What has happened, though, is that elected prosecutors have gone after Trump, because that is what their voters want.
    The administration has been notably arms length towards any of the criminal investigations and prosecutions - see also Hunter Biden.
    William’s whataboutery doesn’t fly.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,239
    Fascinating interview of Sam Altman by Lex Fridman

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvqFAi7vkBc

    GPT5 sounds pretty intense. GPT4 “sucks” in comparison. Says they will release several amazing things this year. Altman is also aware of the risks to himself (which I have speculated about on here)

    “There is a non zero risk that someone will shoot me”
  • Thanks for PB, Mike. And thanks to Kerry Katona too.
  • sladeslade Posts: 2,039
    I am poised to give you the latest local election news but must give thanks to Mike and the team for the best discussion group on the internet. As an aside I did a series of talks to local councillors in 2007 to 2011 on digital politics and always mentioned PB. I wonder how many of my audience are now with us.
  • bigglesbiggles Posts: 6,051
    Leon said:

    Fascinating interview of Sam Altman by Lex Fridman

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvqFAi7vkBc

    GPT5 sounds pretty intense. GPT4 “sucks” in comparison. Says they will release several amazing things this year. Altman is also aware of the risks to himself (which I have speculated about on here)

    “There is a non zero risk that someone will shoot me”

    Strictly speaking that statement is true for every human on the planet.

    Doubly so for us pedantic smart arses.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,061

    rcs1000 said:

    Nigelb said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    In any event, according to the Graun it won't be realisable by Trump for 6 months:

    If the merger goes ahead and Trump Media goes public as soon as next week, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee would not be able to cash in any of his potential paper wealth immediately. The merger document contains a provision that blocks major shareholders from selling stock for six months.
    NY Times says there are ways for him to get around this as he has such a large stockholding and is the key person.
    Some people engage in "cap and collar" strategies which involves selling a call and buying a put to effectively sell shares without appearing to.

    However... While I suspect he might be able to (at great cost) do that for some portion of his holding, I'm not sure anyone would underwrite more than $100m or so.
    Times says he could persuade the board to waive his restriction. The board includes his own son.
    Even if they did, how much of a market is there for people wanting to buy DJT's shares from him? Every one he sells will push the price down.
    A company with $5m in sales.
    And presumably heavily loss making.
    Presumably, though, if you wanted to funnel some money to Trump, without it being a political donation, or some other transfer that might trigger some interest, them buying a worthless asset from him at an absurd price might seem like just the way to achieve that end.
    Possibly tough to get around the sale prohibition so quickly, though - and borrowing against such an asset poor entity might be similarly problematic.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,952
    Happy retirement Mike. You created a cracking site.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,128
    edited March 21
    Nigelb said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Update on NY AG property seizure

    To be clear: This would allow New York AG James to move to take possession of Trump National Golf Course in Briarcliff Manor and Seven Springs if Trump fails to secure a bond

    Just think, if Trump wins, we might have an administration that uses the justice system against its political opponents!
    I don't think the Biden administration has done that all: indeed Garland has been incredibly cautious. What has happened, though, is that elected prosecutors have gone after Trump, because that is what their voters want.
    The administration has been notably arms length towards any of the criminal investigations and prosecutions - see also Hunter Biden.
    William’s whataboutery doesn’t fly.
    Also consider Hur who was investigating Biden - a Trump appointee left in place from the previous administration.

    Who then published a report (The Hur Report) including comments about Biden's "memory".

    The actual transcripts have now been published, and it turns out he made - and left out of his report - comments about Biden's memory being "photographic".

    It's not Biden doing the political manipulation.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,239
    It’s that strange human pleasure again

    “Looking at animals and birds”

    I was having a quiet gin and tonic on the terrace and then the monkeys showed up


  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,814

    MattW said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Carnyx said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    BREAKING: Trump’s property holdings

    NY AG moves on Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County north of NYC, to start satisfying the $464 million judgment against the Trumps

    Trump claimed the property was worth $291 million — when it’s actually worth $25-50 million max

    If there is debt secured on that property, then things could go very wrong, very fast for DJT.
    What about the potential $3.4bn of Trump Media he owns, is this going to rescue him?:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/21/donald-trump-wealth-to-rise-by-more-than-3bn-if-shareholders-back-plan
    We'll see, but do remember that is very much paper wealth. How realizable it is an entirely different matter.
    SPACs have been falling 90% on approval. But Trump is different maybe

    The incentive to the promoters is to absolutely maximize the first print.

    For what it's worth, it's hard to believe that a subscale Twitter, dependent on a single (far from young) "Truther" to draw people in, is a particularly viable business. Your 90% drop number is probably absolutely right.
    The issue is that the Trust money isn’t committed and I’d be stunned if anyone backed a PIPE here.

    So it ends up public but with minimal cash.
    Phew: in which case it's time as a public company is likely to be brief indeed.
    The best description I heard of a SPAC was it follows the classic British-American pattern: the Brits come up with a really bad idea and the Americans make it worse.

    SPACs are the ginger haired bastard step children of the cash shell
    Tut, some of us are gingers. Not nice to make that comparison. So uncalled for.
    Both @StillWaters and I are gingers too!
    "Gingers" is a term unknown to, and thus unsaid by, 99.46% of Americans. Unless of course they are anglophile twits such as yours truly - I know what you mean, but never say it that way.

    "Redheads" is the way we say in the USA.

    However, possible that in future the g-word may become more common on this side of the Atlantic AND the Pacific. Not sure what situation is up in the Great White North?
    We have been educating Usonians, as Usonians, since 1777.

    There's no reason to stop now !

    Even though some of it has been implemented by "do the opposite".
    My guess is that UKers like "ginger" because it can be hurled as an insult and is thus useful for typical UK bullying.

    In USA we can sputter, your red-headed SOB! But somehow lacks the venom so beloved by UKers.
    USAers can't play FOOTball properly :lol:
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    edited March 21
    Leon said:

    Just appalling. We will look back on this and weep at the madness

    NEW: NHS England has announced that new youth gender services will provide masculinising and feminising hormones to children from ‘around their 16th birthday.’ This goes further than GIDS ever did: YPs cld only access hormones at 16 if they’d been on puberty blockers for 1 year🧵

    https://x.com/hannahsbee/status/1770913390896070658?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    How has a tiny band of crazy trans activists captured our entire health service? Indeed the entire establishment?

    Interview with a psychologist who has just retired from Tavistock

    https://www.channel4.com/news/children-have-been-very-seriously-damaged-by-nhs-gender-clinic-says-former-tavistock-staff-governor
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,239
    edited March 21
    This place is WAY cool. You just sit at the bar with your drink and you can watch monkeys and iguanas and parrots and hummingbirds. Superb

    https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g1600802-d3455974-Reviews-Villa_Maria_Tayrona_a_Kali_Hotel-Tayrona_National_Park_Santa_Marta_Municipality_Magda.html

    Hard recommend

    Colombia is FANTASTIC
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,061
    Going to bed now, but I’ve tried to give a like to all those who dropped by to say nice stuff about Mike and his site.

    Slightly disappointed Tridentsubcommander didn’t surface.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,128
    I'm also sparing a thought for Smithson Junior, and the pressures of living distanced from parents in what may be a time of need.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,239
    isam said:

    Leon said:

    Just appalling. We will look back on this and weep at the madness

    NEW: NHS England has announced that new youth gender services will provide masculinising and feminising hormones to children from ‘around their 16th birthday.’ This goes further than GIDS ever did: YPs cld only access hormones at 16 if they’d been on puberty blockers for 1 year🧵

    https://x.com/hannahsbee/status/1770913390896070658?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    How has a tiny band of crazy trans activists captured our entire health service? Indeed the entire establishment?

    Interview with a psychologist who has just retired from Tavistock

    https://www.channel4.com/news/children-have-been-very-seriously-damaged-by-nhs-gender-clinic-says-former-tavistock-staff-governor
    I thought we were rolling back this madness, now the NHS is going even FURTHER. It is bleak

    And this is at a time when the entire health service is under intense pressure, yet they are making sure they can give double mastectomies to troubled teens who might just need therapy and counselling
  • madmacsmadmacs Posts: 92
    Thank you from a fellow Lib Dem. I wish you well for the future> As Dave Allen used to say "Thank you and may your God go with you."
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,239
    MattW said:

    I'm also sparing a thought for Smithson Junior, and the pressures of living distanced from parents in what may be a time of need.

    Yes, thoughts for @rcs1000

    it must be consoling, however - to all the Smithsons - to have created something as widely beloved as PB. To make a successful place for lots of smart but diverse people to chat, argue, debate, reminisce and generally witter away, for 20 years, is no small thing

    I know I moan about PB, from time to time, but the salient reason I have never successfully left, despite trying to do so 4,982 times, and announcing I am about to do so 9,220 times, is that there is nowhere else like it
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    Just appalling. We will look back on this and weep at the madness

    NEW: NHS England has announced that new youth gender services will provide masculinising and feminising hormones to children from ‘around their 16th birthday.’ This goes further than GIDS ever did: YPs cld only access hormones at 16 if they’d been on puberty blockers for 1 year🧵

    https://x.com/hannahsbee/status/1770913390896070658?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    How has a tiny band of crazy trans activists captured our entire health service? Indeed the entire establishment?

    Interview with a psychologist who has just retired from Tavistock

    https://www.channel4.com/news/children-have-been-very-seriously-damaged-by-nhs-gender-clinic-says-former-tavistock-staff-governor
    I thought we were rolling back this madness, now the NHS is going even FURTHER. It is bleak

    And this is at a time when the entire health service is under intense pressure, yet they are making sure they can give double mastectomies to troubled teens who might just need therapy and counselling
    Absolute insanity
  • sladeslade Posts: 2,039
    Lib Dem gain in Cambridgeshire. Com majority last time was 718 with just over 2000 votes cast.
  • nico679nico679 Posts: 6,275
    A great site and many thanks to MS . The level of debate is the best, and there’s nowhere else like it.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,239
    isam said:

    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    Just appalling. We will look back on this and weep at the madness

    NEW: NHS England has announced that new youth gender services will provide masculinising and feminising hormones to children from ‘around their 16th birthday.’ This goes further than GIDS ever did: YPs cld only access hormones at 16 if they’d been on puberty blockers for 1 year🧵

    https://x.com/hannahsbee/status/1770913390896070658?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    How has a tiny band of crazy trans activists captured our entire health service? Indeed the entire establishment?

    Interview with a psychologist who has just retired from Tavistock

    https://www.channel4.com/news/children-have-been-very-seriously-damaged-by-nhs-gender-clinic-says-former-tavistock-staff-governor
    I thought we were rolling back this madness, now the NHS is going even FURTHER. It is bleak

    And this is at a time when the entire health service is under intense pressure, yet they are making sure they can give double mastectomies to troubled teens who might just need therapy and counselling
    Absolute insanity
    The weirdest thing about the Trans stuff is that almost no one believes it over the age of 30, apart from a few ultra Woke-oids

    I mean, I have lots of left wing friends who believe all kinds of left wing shit, bless them, but none of them approves of this; everyone on the right loathes it

    It is some young people who have been brain washed, and don’t know what to think, so go along with it, and a tiny core of Trans cadres - and yet they successfully intimidate millions of people into staying silent for a quiet life

    I am trying to remember which despotic leader it was, who said, All you need to capture a country is a few thousand dedicated followers, who will go to any lengths, the apathetic majority will yield. Either Mao or Mussolini. Maybe they both said it in different ways

    We are seeing that truth evidenced here
  • sladeslade Posts: 2,039
    Lab gain in Flintshire.
  • glwglw Posts: 9,906
    Thank you Mike. Best wishes to you and your family.
  • CookieCookie Posts: 13,773
    rcs1000 said:

    Pro_Rata said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Many ancient PB threads (if anyone's feeling nostalgic) can be accessed via the Wayback Machine on the Internet Archive, though its search and indexing is somewhat haphazard. For example, here are some threads from 2005:

    https://web.archive.org/web/20060107142811/http://politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2005/06/

    The comments are still there, too, from stalwarts such as Roger, Andrea, Nick Palmer and Andy Cooke, among others.

    Wow, what a great find.

    I spotted SeanF, JackW and a few others who are still here today.

    I also spotted Squadron Leader Rik Willis!
    Names to be reckoned with - is JackW really still around? Andrea (an Italian man) had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the internal machinations of the Labour Party. He could give chapter and verse as soon as the rumour first appeared.
    The photo links in the PB gathering article link through as well, though the captioning is somewhat awry on my phone.
    I am slimmer and greyer these days!
    Ooh, how exciting! I have tracked down my first post back in the summer of 2005. Febrile days detailed in the headers, looking back - "Could a toff become leader of the Cinservative Party" - with a very young David Cameron pictured. And similar speculation about similarly young looking Barack Obama and Angela Merkel. And by elections and leadership speculation, and a referendum on the EU constitution - or not. Fun times.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,603
    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    Just appalling. We will look back on this and weep at the madness

    NEW: NHS England has announced that new youth gender services will provide masculinising and feminising hormones to children from ‘around their 16th birthday.’ This goes further than GIDS ever did: YPs cld only access hormones at 16 if they’d been on puberty blockers for 1 year🧵

    https://x.com/hannahsbee/status/1770913390896070658?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    How has a tiny band of crazy trans activists captured our entire health service? Indeed the entire establishment?

    Interview with a psychologist who has just retired from Tavistock

    https://www.channel4.com/news/children-have-been-very-seriously-damaged-by-nhs-gender-clinic-says-former-tavistock-staff-governor
    I thought we were rolling back this madness, now the NHS is going even FURTHER. It is bleak

    And this is at a time when the entire health service is under intense pressure, yet they are making sure they can give double mastectomies to troubled teens who might just need therapy and counselling
    Absolute insanity
    The weirdest thing about the Trans stuff is that almost no one believes it over the age of 30, apart from a few ultra Woke-oids

    I mean, I have lots of left wing friends who believe all kinds of left wing shit, bless them, but none of them approves of this; everyone on the right loathes it

    It is some young people who have been brain washed, and don’t know what to think, so go along with it, and a tiny core of Trans cadres - and yet they successfully intimidate millions of people into staying silent for a quiet life

    I am trying to remember which despotic leader it was, who said, All you need to capture a country is a few thousand dedicated followers, who will go to any lengths, the apathetic majority will yield. Either Mao or Mussolini. Maybe they both said it in different ways

    We are seeing that truth evidenced here
    Often the people in positions of influence who are driving it seem to have been bullied into it by their own 'trans' children.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    Just appalling. We will look back on this and weep at the madness

    NEW: NHS England has announced that new youth gender services will provide masculinising and feminising hormones to children from ‘around their 16th birthday.’ This goes further than GIDS ever did: YPs cld only access hormones at 16 if they’d been on puberty blockers for 1 year🧵

    https://x.com/hannahsbee/status/1770913390896070658?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    How has a tiny band of crazy trans activists captured our entire health service? Indeed the entire establishment?

    Interview with a psychologist who has just retired from Tavistock

    https://www.channel4.com/news/children-have-been-very-seriously-damaged-by-nhs-gender-clinic-says-former-tavistock-staff-governor
    I thought we were rolling back this madness, now the NHS is going even FURTHER. It is bleak

    And this is at a time when the entire health service is under intense pressure, yet they are making sure they can give double mastectomies to troubled teens who might just need therapy and counselling
    Absolute insanity
    The weirdest thing about the Trans stuff is that almost no one believes it over the age of 30, apart from a few ultra Woke-oids

    I mean, I have lots of left wing friends who believe all kinds of left wing shit, bless them, but none of them approves of this; everyone on the right loathes it

    It is some young people who have been brain washed, and don’t know what to think, so go along with it, and a tiny core of Trans cadres - and yet they successfully intimidate millions of people into staying silent for a quiet life

    I am trying to remember which despotic leader it was, who said, All you need to capture a country is a few thousand dedicated followers, who will go to any lengths, the apathetic majority will yield. Either Mao or Mussolini. Maybe they both said it in different ways

    We are seeing that truth evidenced here
    I was talking about it earlier with my Mum; High court judges saying ‘she penetrated her with her erect penis’, and it being reported as easily as someone saying ‘it’s just gone ten to twelve on Thursday night’. At one point I actually had to stop and have a reality check that I hadn’t lost my mind and this was actually the world we are living in
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,479
    TOPPING said:

    Happy retirement Mike. You created a cracking site.

    Twenty glorious years. All my best to Mike upon his retirement and all PBers who have made this site what it is over the years. Bravo!
  • sladeslade Posts: 2,039
    Con just hold on in North Kesteven.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,627
    edited March 22
    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    Just appalling. We will look back on this and weep at the madness

    NEW: NHS England has announced that new youth gender services will provide masculinising and feminising hormones to children from ‘around their 16th birthday.’ This goes further than GIDS ever did: YPs cld only access hormones at 16 if they’d been on puberty blockers for 1 year🧵

    https://x.com/hannahsbee/status/1770913390896070658?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    How has a tiny band of crazy trans activists captured our entire health service? Indeed the entire establishment?

    Interview with a psychologist who has just retired from Tavistock

    https://www.channel4.com/news/children-have-been-very-seriously-damaged-by-nhs-gender-clinic-says-former-tavistock-staff-governor
    I thought we were rolling back this madness, now the NHS is going even FURTHER. It is bleak

    And this is at a time when the entire health service is under intense pressure, yet they are making sure they can give double mastectomies to troubled teens who might just need therapy and counselling
    Absolute insanity
    The weirdest thing about the Trans stuff is that almost no one believes it over the age of 30, apart from a few ultra Woke-oids

    I mean, I have lots of left wing friends who believe all kinds of left wing shit, bless them, but none of them approves of this; everyone on the right loathes it

    It is some young people who have been brain washed, and don’t know what to think, so go along with it, and a tiny core of Trans cadres - and yet they successfully intimidate millions of people into staying silent for a quiet life

    I am trying to remember which despotic leader it was, who said, All you need to capture a country is a few thousand dedicated followers, who will go to any lengths, the apathetic majority will yield. Either Mao or Mussolini. Maybe they both said it in different ways

    We are seeing that truth evidenced here
    This simply isn't true if you look at the polling.

    "in all age groups, Britons tend to believe people should be able to socially identify as a different gender to the one they had recorded at birth. However, while this figure is 62% for those aged 18-24, and 61% for those aged 25-49, it falls to 54% of those aged 50-64 and 42% of those aged 65 and above (although for this oldest age group this opinion is still more common than the opposite, with only 33% thinking people should not be able to identify as they wish socially)."

    https://yougov.co.uk/society/articles/43194-where-does-british-public-stand-transgender-rights-1

    It is also true that women are more supportive of Trans rights than men, including use of facilities like changing rooms ets

  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559
    slade said:

    Lab gain in Flintshire.

    Flint-knapping dildo-mongers please explain?
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,479
    Foxy said:

    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    Just appalling. We will look back on this and weep at the madness

    NEW: NHS England has announced that new youth gender services will provide masculinising and feminising hormones to children from ‘around their 16th birthday.’ This goes further than GIDS ever did: YPs cld only access hormones at 16 if they’d been on puberty blockers for 1 year🧵

    https://x.com/hannahsbee/status/1770913390896070658?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    How has a tiny band of crazy trans activists captured our entire health service? Indeed the entire establishment?

    Interview with a psychologist who has just retired from Tavistock

    https://www.channel4.com/news/children-have-been-very-seriously-damaged-by-nhs-gender-clinic-says-former-tavistock-staff-governor
    I thought we were rolling back this madness, now the NHS is going even FURTHER. It is bleak

    And this is at a time when the entire health service is under intense pressure, yet they are making sure they can give double mastectomies to troubled teens who might just need therapy and counselling
    Absolute insanity
    The weirdest thing about the Trans stuff is that almost no one believes it over the age of 30, apart from a few ultra Woke-oids

    I mean, I have lots of left wing friends who believe all kinds of left wing shit, bless them, but none of them approves of this; everyone on the right loathes it

    It is some young people who have been brain washed, and don’t know what to think, so go along with it, and a tiny core of Trans cadres - and yet they successfully intimidate millions of people into staying silent for a quiet life

    I am trying to remember which despotic leader it was, who said, All you need to capture a country is a few thousand dedicated followers, who will go to any lengths, the apathetic majority will yield. Either Mao or Mussolini. Maybe they both said it in different ways

    We are seeing that truth evidenced here
    This simply isnt true if you look at the polling.

    "n all age groups, Britons tend to believe people should be able to socially identify as a different gender to the one they had recorded at birth. However, while this figure is 62% for those aged 18-24, and 61% for those aged 25-49, it falls to 54% of those aged 50-64 and 42% of those aged 65 and above (although for this oldest age group this opinion is still more common than the opposite, with only 33% thinking people should not be able to identify as they wish socially)."

    https://yougov.co.uk/society/articles/43194-where-does-british-public-stand-transgender-rights-1

    ….

  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,129
    Foxy said:

    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    Just appalling. We will look back on this and weep at the madness

    NEW: NHS England has announced that new youth gender services will provide masculinising and feminising hormones to children from ‘around their 16th birthday.’ This goes further than GIDS ever did: YPs cld only access hormones at 16 if they’d been on puberty blockers for 1 year🧵

    https://x.com/hannahsbee/status/1770913390896070658?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    How has a tiny band of crazy trans activists captured our entire health service? Indeed the entire establishment?

    Interview with a psychologist who has just retired from Tavistock

    https://www.channel4.com/news/children-have-been-very-seriously-damaged-by-nhs-gender-clinic-says-former-tavistock-staff-governor
    I thought we were rolling back this madness, now the NHS is going even FURTHER. It is bleak

    And this is at a time when the entire health service is under intense pressure, yet they are making sure they can give double mastectomies to troubled teens who might just need therapy and counselling
    Absolute insanity
    The weirdest thing about the Trans stuff is that almost no one believes it over the age of 30, apart from a few ultra Woke-oids

    I mean, I have lots of left wing friends who believe all kinds of left wing shit, bless them, but none of them approves of this; everyone on the right loathes it

    It is some young people who have been brain washed, and don’t know what to think, so go along with it, and a tiny core of Trans cadres - and yet they successfully intimidate millions of people into staying silent for a quiet life

    I am trying to remember which despotic leader it was, who said, All you need to capture a country is a few thousand dedicated followers, who will go to any lengths, the apathetic majority will yield. Either Mao or Mussolini. Maybe they both said it in different ways

    We are seeing that truth evidenced here
    This simply isn't true if you look at the polling.

    "in all age groups, Britons tend to believe people should be able to socially identify as a different gender to the one they had recorded at birth. However, while this figure is 62% for those aged 18-24, and 61% for those aged 25-49, it falls to 54% of those aged 50-64 and 42% of those aged 65 and above (although for this oldest age group this opinion is still more common than the opposite, with only 33% thinking people should not be able to identify as they wish socially)."

    https://yougov.co.uk/society/articles/43194-where-does-british-public-stand-transgender-rights-1

    It is also true that women are more supportive of Trans rights than men, including use of facilities like changing rooms ets

    However, there is - I suspect - a wide range of opinions inside those. For example, I am fully onboard with people being able to choose their pronouns. You want me to call you Miss Foxy, totally ok with me.

    But I'm much less happy with - for example - people being able to access women only spaces purely on the basis of self ID.
  • RogerRoger Posts: 19,897
    viewcode said:

    Reflecting back over the years, RIP to those former posters who were a significant part of the site, but, sadly, are not with us to mark the 20 year milestone.

    I remember when you were Yanis Varoufakis. Anyhoo...

    Left whilst still alive

    @RodCrosby (Holocaust remarks)
    @isam (argued with hosts, since returned)
    @antifrank aka @AlistairMeeks (argued with others, now blog author)
    @Charles (argued with others),
    @TissuePrice (works in a big shed somewhere)
    @SeanT (left, never to return)
    @IshmaelZ (argued with others)
    @MrEd (argued with hosts, thought to have returned)
    @CorrectHorseBattery (argued with others, thought to have returned)

    Left on death

    @SBS (died 2009)
    @PLATO (died 2017estimated)
    @MARKSENIOR (died 2017)
    @CALUM (died 2019)
    @NICHOMAR (died 2021)

    There have been others which I can't recall, and I know that at least one other has died, so if anybody can add more names I would be grateful.
    Stuart
    James Kelly
    (First column I hope!)
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,627
    edited March 22
    rcs1000 said:

    Foxy said:

    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    Just appalling. We will look back on this and weep at the madness

    NEW: NHS England has announced that new youth gender services will provide masculinising and feminising hormones to children from ‘around their 16th birthday.’ This goes further than GIDS ever did: YPs cld only access hormones at 16 if they’d been on puberty blockers for 1 year🧵

    https://x.com/hannahsbee/status/1770913390896070658?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    How has a tiny band of crazy trans activists captured our entire health service? Indeed the entire establishment?

    Interview with a psychologist who has just retired from Tavistock

    https://www.channel4.com/news/children-have-been-very-seriously-damaged-by-nhs-gender-clinic-says-former-tavistock-staff-governor
    I thought we were rolling back this madness, now the NHS is going even FURTHER. It is bleak

    And this is at a time when the entire health service is under intense pressure, yet they are making sure they can give double mastectomies to troubled teens who might just need therapy and counselling
    Absolute insanity
    The weirdest thing about the Trans stuff is that almost no one believes it over the age of 30, apart from a few ultra Woke-oids

    I mean, I have lots of left wing friends who believe all kinds of left wing shit, bless them, but none of them approves of this; everyone on the right loathes it

    It is some young people who have been brain washed, and don’t know what to think, so go along with it, and a tiny core of Trans cadres - and yet they successfully intimidate millions of people into staying silent for a quiet life

    I am trying to remember which despotic leader it was, who said, All you need to capture a country is a few thousand dedicated followers, who will go to any lengths, the apathetic majority will yield. Either Mao or Mussolini. Maybe they both said it in different ways

    We are seeing that truth evidenced here
    This simply isn't true if you look at the polling.

    "in all age groups, Britons tend to believe people should be able to socially identify as a different gender to the one they had recorded at birth. However, while this figure is 62% for those aged 18-24, and 61% for those aged 25-49, it falls to 54% of those aged 50-64 and 42% of those aged 65 and above (although for this oldest age group this opinion is still more common than the opposite, with only 33% thinking people should not be able to identify as they wish socially)."

    https://yougov.co.uk/society/articles/43194-where-does-british-public-stand-transgender-rights-1

    It is also true that women are more supportive of Trans rights than men, including use of facilities like changing rooms ets

    However, there is - I suspect - a wide range of opinions inside those. For example, I am fully onboard with people being able to choose their pronouns. You want me to call you Miss Foxy, totally ok with me.

    But I'm much less happy with - for example - people being able to access women only spaces purely on the basis of self ID.
    Yes, there is certainly a shift when that is the case, but it is far from a decisive shift: From that Yougov poll:

    "Subsequently asking the same questions about toilets and changing rooms – but this time specifying trans people who had not undergone gender reassignment surgery – sees permissiveness decline. In the case of allowing such trans women to use women’s toilets, willingness falls from 38% in the generic question to 29%, and in the case of changing rooms, from 34% to 25%.

    Belief that transgender men who have not undergone gender reassignment surgery should be allowed to use men’s toilets falls from 42% in the generic question to 32%, and changing rooms from 40% to 28%.

    In all of these cases, the shift is not directly from being willing to unwilling to grant access to gendered spaces once it is specified the transgender person has not had reassignment surgery. About half of those who change their minds go into outright opposition, while the other are half unsure of how they feel."

    No need to call me Miss Foxy, Dr is a gender neutral title :smile:
  • Test
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,627

    Test

    Was this test also a damp squib?
  • FlatlanderFlatlander Posts: 4,664

    Test

    Third time lucky?
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,479
    isam said:

    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    Just appalling. We will look back on this and weep at the madness

    NEW: NHS England has announced that new youth gender services will provide masculinising and feminising hormones to children from ‘around their 16th birthday.’ This goes further than GIDS ever did: YPs cld only access hormones at 16 if they’d been on puberty blockers for 1 year🧵

    https://x.com/hannahsbee/status/1770913390896070658?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    How has a tiny band of crazy trans activists captured our entire health service? Indeed the entire establishment?

    Interview with a psychologist who has just retired from Tavistock

    https://www.channel4.com/news/children-have-been-very-seriously-damaged-by-nhs-gender-clinic-says-former-tavistock-staff-governor
    I thought we were rolling back this madness, now the NHS is going even FURTHER. It is bleak

    And this is at a time when the entire health service is under intense pressure, yet they are making sure they can give double mastectomies to troubled teens who might just need therapy and counselling
    Absolute insanity
    The weirdest thing about the Trans stuff is that almost no one believes it over the age of 30, apart from a few ultra Woke-oids

    I mean, I have lots of left wing friends who believe all kinds of left wing shit, bless them, but none of them approves of this; everyone on the right loathes it

    It is some young people who have been brain washed, and don’t know what to think, so go along with it, and a tiny core of Trans cadres - and yet they successfully intimidate millions of people into staying silent for a quiet life

    I am trying to remember which despotic leader it was, who said, All you need to capture a country is a few thousand dedicated followers, who will go to any lengths, the apathetic majority will yield. Either Mao or Mussolini. Maybe they both said it in different ways

    We are seeing that truth evidenced here
    I was talking about it earlier with my Mum; High court judges saying ‘she penetrated her with her erect penis’, and it being reported as easily as someone saying ‘it’s just gone ten to twelve on Thursday night’. At one point I actually had to stop and have a reality check that I hadn’t lost my mind and this was actually the world we are living in
    That’s an extreme example. But, in my experience, people back away from it even when the mundane is expressed. I once suggested to my female friends that I could be a woman and to be honest they just LOLed, in a really awkward, slightly disgusted, way. 🤷‍♂️
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,603
    Evidence that sanctions aren’t preventing Russians getting western consumer goods:

    https://x.com/aaronbastani/status/1770959640198520883
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,239
    rcs1000 said:

    Foxy said:

    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    isam said:

    Leon said:

    Just appalling. We will look back on this and weep at the madness

    NEW: NHS England has announced that new youth gender services will provide masculinising and feminising hormones to children from ‘around their 16th birthday.’ This goes further than GIDS ever did: YPs cld only access hormones at 16 if they’d been on puberty blockers for 1 year🧵

    https://x.com/hannahsbee/status/1770913390896070658?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    How has a tiny band of crazy trans activists captured our entire health service? Indeed the entire establishment?

    Interview with a psychologist who has just retired from Tavistock

    https://www.channel4.com/news/children-have-been-very-seriously-damaged-by-nhs-gender-clinic-says-former-tavistock-staff-governor
    I thought we were rolling back this madness, now the NHS is going even FURTHER. It is bleak

    And this is at a time when the entire health service is under intense pressure, yet they are making sure they can give double mastectomies to troubled teens who might just need therapy and counselling
    Absolute insanity
    The weirdest thing about the Trans stuff is that almost no one believes it over the age of 30, apart from a few ultra Woke-oids

    I mean, I have lots of left wing friends who believe all kinds of left wing shit, bless them, but none of them approves of this; everyone on the right loathes it

    It is some young people who have been brain washed, and don’t know what to think, so go along with it, and a tiny core of Trans cadres - and yet they successfully intimidate millions of people into staying silent for a quiet life

    I am trying to remember which despotic leader it was, who said, All you need to capture a country is a few thousand dedicated followers, who will go to any lengths, the apathetic majority will yield. Either Mao or Mussolini. Maybe they both said it in different ways

    We are seeing that truth evidenced here
    This simply isn't true if you look at the polling.

    "in all age groups, Britons tend to believe people should be able to socially identify as a different gender to the one they had recorded at birth. However, while this figure is 62% for those aged 18-24, and 61% for those aged 25-49, it falls to 54% of those aged 50-64 and 42% of those aged 65 and above (although for this oldest age group this opinion is still more common than the opposite, with only 33% thinking people should not be able to identify as they wish socially)."

    https://yougov.co.uk/society/articles/43194-where-does-british-public-stand-transgender-rights-1

    It is also true that women are more supportive of Trans rights than men, including use of facilities like changing rooms ets

    However, there is - I suspect - a wide range of opinions inside those. For example, I am fully onboard with people being able to choose their pronouns. You want me to call you Miss Foxy, totally ok with me.

    But I'm much less happy with - for example - people being able to access women only spaces purely on the basis of self ID.
    Yep, pronouns, cool, I maybe think it’s mad but I’m an old gammon, but it is basic politeness to address people how they wish to be addressed. I am right now in Colombia and I am saying “senor!” or “senora!” not “oi, you”

    However I am considerably less comfortable with biological men accessing female only spaces and I am frankly repelled at the idea of giving puberty blockers and radical gender swap surgery to anyone under 18 and even more so under 16

    Notice the weasel words “around 16” in the NHS statement. So does that include people who are actually 15? 14?? What?
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,603
    First use of AI by an active politician?

    Marion Marechal Le Pen posts a video of herself dubbed into English by AI.

    https://x.com/marionmarechal/status/1770894693481537884
This discussion has been closed.