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The worst appointment since Incitatus – politicalbetting.com

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  • sarissasarissa Posts: 1,982
    Selebian said:

    ToryJim said:
    It all sounds rather pointlessly icky. Why would you want to eat sushi off a scantily clad man and woman? Wouldn't it be better, and indeed racier, to have scantily-clad sushi-servers moving around? This is just a vulgar display of wealth and power. These people are arranged as human tables not because it is attractive but because someone has paid them enough money to do it.
    Race to the bottom :hushed:
    You have to put the forks somewhere...
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,480
    Leon said:

    On a related note I’m reading Conquistadors by Fernando Cervantes. A refreshingly unwoke history of the early Spanish Empire

    Apparently Christopher Columbus had a lifelong motto: “the more you travel, the more you know”

    So true

    Stop the boats! Says the native American population 500 years ago.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 49,586
    Foxy said:

    TimS said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Stop The Boats

    @SkyNews

    BREAKING: A record number of migrants have crossed the English Channel so far this year, according to provisional Home Office figures

    Bop the stoats.

    On a related topic I was faced with quite a depressing sight last night outside Oxford Street John Lewis. At least 8 or 9 men, in blankets sleeping rough, out of the rain. These were not wan heroin addicts, kids looking like they'd run away from home or bearded tramps with cans of special brew. They were young, fit and healthy Middle Eastern (I'd guess Kurdish or Iranian) men. A couple were looking at iPhones. None were begging.

    I can only assume they're recent arrivals whom the home office is not housing, and who are unable to get work or private accommodation. The whole thing looked very...avoidable.
    Most likely people who have been granted leave to remain.

    https://www.redcross.org.uk/stories/migration-and-displacement/refugees-and-asylum-seekers/move-on-period-more-than-50000-refugees-could-be-homeless-by-end-of-year
    Shades of the homeless looking guys who used to queue next to the Polish centre in Hammersmith for day labouring jobs.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,322
    Taz said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Stop The Boats

    @SkyNews

    BREAKING: A record number of migrants have crossed the English Channel so far this year, according to provisional Home Office figures

    Bop the stoats.

    On a related topic I was faced with quite a depressing sight last night outside Oxford Street John Lewis. At least 8 or 9 men, in blankets sleeping rough, out of the rain. These were not wan heroin addicts, kids looking like they'd run away from home or bearded tramps with cans of special brew. They were young, fit and healthy Middle Eastern (I'd guess Kurdish or Iranian) men. A couple were looking at iPhones. None were begging.

    I can only assume they're recent arrivals whom the home office is not housing, and who are unable to get work or private accommodation. The whole thing looked very...avoidable.
    Well then get a grip and stop the fucking boats and aim for zero immigration. This shit isn’t hard
    Stopping bogus asylum seekers rocking up and gaming the system, absolutely. But we need immigration and will do for the foreseeable future. We should be managing it better but not zero immigration.
    It’s a choice, not a necessity.
  • sarissasarissa Posts: 1,982
    Leon said:

    On a brighter note OMFG why isn’t the movie THE CREATOR more celebrated? Its fantastic. Saw it on the plane from Colombia

    Brave, clever, moving, nicely plotted, magnificent cinematography, and very very apposite - all about war between AI and humans, Asia and the west

    The acting is great, the robots are brilliantly done, it’s full of ideas, it’s twice as good as Oppenheimer and fifty eight times as good as that last bit of overlong dreck from Scorsese

    Am I the only person that realises this? Fantastic movie

    Godzilla Minus One had a similar low cost well executed CGI with good human character backgrounds.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 54,679
    Foxy said:

    Leon said:

    On a related note I’m reading Conquistadors by Fernando Cervantes. A refreshingly unwoke history of the early Spanish Empire

    Apparently Christopher Columbus had a lifelong motto: “the more you travel, the more you know”

    So true

    Stop the boats! Says the native American population 500 years ago.
    It’s hard to argue that life in Haiti is better now than it was before Columbus arrived. Tho I see they have resorted to their native cannibalism. So at least they have the consolation of tradition
  • Peter_the_PunterPeter_the_Punter Posts: 14,281
    May I request the assistance of the PB Brains Trust?

    Mrs PtP has a bijou flat in Hampstead. The remaining lease is approximately 100 years. She wishes to extend it. The landlord, Camden Council, is remarkably diffident. She has found a local lawyer who is used to dealing with them (and clearly holds them in low esteem) and thinks it will cost about £8k all told to secure a 90 year extension. I'm inclined to tell her to go ahead but am dimly aware of changes proposed to alter the law on leaseholds. I am too lazy to research the implications and thought I would ask you lot instead, especially as I'm likely to get the kind of frankness you cannot expect from professional scribes on the subject.

    Any thought, anyone?
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,480
    Taz said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Stop The Boats

    @SkyNews

    BREAKING: A record number of migrants have crossed the English Channel so far this year, according to provisional Home Office figures

    Bop the stoats.

    On a related topic I was faced with quite a depressing sight last night outside Oxford Street John Lewis. At least 8 or 9 men, in blankets sleeping rough, out of the rain. These were not wan heroin addicts, kids looking like they'd run away from home or bearded tramps with cans of special brew. They were young, fit and healthy Middle Eastern (I'd guess Kurdish or Iranian) men. A couple were looking at iPhones. None were begging.

    I can only assume they're recent arrivals whom the home office is not housing, and who are unable to get work or private accommodation. The whole thing looked very...avoidable.
    Well then get a grip and stop the fucking boats and aim for zero immigration. This shit isn’t hard
    Stopping bogus asylum seekers rocking up and gaming the system, absolutely. But we need immigration and will do for the foreseeable future. We should be managing it better but not zero immigration.
    As most get asylum, why do you suggest that they are bogus?
  • BarnesianBarnesian Posts: 8,551

    Barnesian said:

    Eabhal said:

    Carnyx said:

    Eabhal said:

    More good news for the government:

    Raw sewage spills into England rivers and seas doubles in 2023

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68665335

    It is simple.

    Either you demand "no more infrastructure, because Green NIMBY + not wanting to invest"

    or you celebrate infrastructure like this

    image
    Could you provide an example of NIMBYism stopping investment in sewage and water infrastructure?

    The country is begging for the rivers and seas to be cleaned up. It's about the most YIMBY topic imaginable.
    Even sorting out the leaks in the water supply would be Nimby-neutral at worst.
    Sorting out the leaks means digging up the roads. The moment they start doing that, what do you think happens?
    Bunch of motorists lose their minds. Finally, we have our culprit ;)
    OAPs complaint because the buses are disrupted. Cyclists complaining the cycle lanes are dug up. Fun for everyone.

    Construction projects are a bit shit to live next to. But that is part of the price of infrastructure.

    The problem is the idea that no wheel should squeak. So rebuilding Hammersmith bridge has been held up to avoid making life shit for a small number of people.

    I'd have bought the properties at 2x market value. Given tenants a pile of cash plus free moving service. For a handful of money, the project could be underway by now.
    Repair of Hammersmith Bridge is not held up by NIMBYs. It's not a planning issue. It is held up by lack of funding. £200 million.
    It was a mixture of all 3.

    The temporary bridge plan will swallow all that cash, and will never be removed.
    It's not held up by NIMBYs. They don't feature. I live 100 yards from the Bridge and follow every twist and turn.

    I don't think the temporary bridge will ever be put in place. 20,000 cars used to cross the bridge daily. Since then Hammersmith Broadway has been made cycle friendly, car unfriendly and is regularly jammed. Add an extra 20,000 cars and traffic would be at a permanent standstill. A high toll might help by reducing car usage and paying interest on the debt.

    It's been a political football. Zac Goldsmith running as MP in 2019 promised to get the funds to repair it. When Zac was kicked out, Boris his friend and bridge lover, went cold on the idea. Foot dragging ever since.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 49,586
    edited March 27

    May I request the assistance of the PB Brains Trust?

    Mrs PtP has a bijou flat in Hampstead. The remaining lease is approximately 100 years. She wishes to extend it. The landlord, Camden Council, is remarkably diffident. She has found a local lawyer who is used to dealing with them (and clearly holds them in low esteem) and thinks it will cost about £8k all told to secure a 90 year extension. I'm inclined to tell her to go ahead but am dimly aware of changes proposed to alter the law on leaseholds. I am too lazy to research the implications and thought I would ask you lot instead, especially as I'm likely to get the kind of frankness you cannot expect from professional scribes on the subject.

    Any thought, anyone?

    Is there any need to extend now?
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,162

    Taz said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Stop The Boats

    @SkyNews

    BREAKING: A record number of migrants have crossed the English Channel so far this year, according to provisional Home Office figures

    Bop the stoats.

    On a related topic I was faced with quite a depressing sight last night outside Oxford Street John Lewis. At least 8 or 9 men, in blankets sleeping rough, out of the rain. These were not wan heroin addicts, kids looking like they'd run away from home or bearded tramps with cans of special brew. They were young, fit and healthy Middle Eastern (I'd guess Kurdish or Iranian) men. A couple were looking at iPhones. None were begging.

    I can only assume they're recent arrivals whom the home office is not housing, and who are unable to get work or private accommodation. The whole thing looked very...avoidable.
    Well then get a grip and stop the fucking boats and aim for zero immigration. This shit isn’t hard
    Stopping bogus asylum seekers rocking up and gaming the system, absolutely. But we need immigration and will do for the foreseeable future. We should be managing it better but not zero immigration.
    It’s a choice, not a necessity.
    A choice the vast majority of us support where skilled or filling a needed gap such as in rNHS

    Are we not told rNHS would collapse if it was not for immgrants after all ?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 54,679
    Flight from Amsterdam delayed due to “bad weather at Heathrow”

    Check the app. Persistent rain, “10C and feels like 7C”

    A raw winter day. On the cusp of April

  • stodgestodge Posts: 13,800
    Looking ahead to the round of elections on May 2nd, I make it 2,695 seats up for grabs including Mayors, PCCs and Councillors in England and Wales (not counting any by-elections on that day).

    According to Wiki, the Conservatives won 985 last time, Labour 966, the LDs 410 and Greens 107.

    I've mentioned a few councils worth keeping an eye on - Dudley, Solihull. Walsall and Dorset while currently all bar five PCCs are Conservatives. In 2023, Conservatives lost 30% of their seats so that would imply 300 losses while Rallings & Thrasher are suggesting 500 losses.
  • Peter_the_PunterPeter_the_Punter Posts: 14,281

    May I request the assistance of the PB Brains Trust?

    Mrs PtP has a bijou flat in Hampstead. The remaining lease is approximately 100 years. She wishes to extend it. The landlord, Camden Council, is remarkably diffident. She has found a local lawyer who is used to dealing with them (and clearly holds them in low esteem) and thinks it will cost about £8k all told to secure a 90 year extension. I'm inclined to tell her to go ahead but am dimly aware of changes proposed to alter the law on leaseholds. I am too lazy to research the implications and thought I would ask you lot instead, especially as I'm likely to get the kind of frankness you cannot expect from professional scribes on the subject.

    Any thought, anyone?

    Is there any need to extend now?
    No. It's just that she has the funds and feels it would enhance the value of the flat. It is probably worth about £500k (tiny flat but near the Heath).
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 49,586
    Barnesian said:

    Barnesian said:

    Eabhal said:

    Carnyx said:

    Eabhal said:

    More good news for the government:

    Raw sewage spills into England rivers and seas doubles in 2023

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68665335

    It is simple.

    Either you demand "no more infrastructure, because Green NIMBY + not wanting to invest"

    or you celebrate infrastructure like this

    image
    Could you provide an example of NIMBYism stopping investment in sewage and water infrastructure?

    The country is begging for the rivers and seas to be cleaned up. It's about the most YIMBY topic imaginable.
    Even sorting out the leaks in the water supply would be Nimby-neutral at worst.
    Sorting out the leaks means digging up the roads. The moment they start doing that, what do you think happens?
    Bunch of motorists lose their minds. Finally, we have our culprit ;)
    OAPs complaint because the buses are disrupted. Cyclists complaining the cycle lanes are dug up. Fun for everyone.

    Construction projects are a bit shit to live next to. But that is part of the price of infrastructure.

    The problem is the idea that no wheel should squeak. So rebuilding Hammersmith bridge has been held up to avoid making life shit for a small number of people.

    I'd have bought the properties at 2x market value. Given tenants a pile of cash plus free moving service. For a handful of money, the project could be underway by now.
    Repair of Hammersmith Bridge is not held up by NIMBYs. It's not a planning issue. It is held up by lack of funding. £200 million.
    It was a mixture of all 3.

    The temporary bridge plan will swallow all that cash, and will never be removed.
    It's not held up by NIMBYs. They don't feature. I live 100 yards from the Bridge and follow every twist and turn.

    I don't think the temporary bridge will ever be put in place. 20,000 cars used to cross the bridge daily. Since then Hammersmith Broadway has been made cycle friendly, car unfriendly and is regularly jammed. Add an extra 20,000 cars and traffic would be at a permanent standstill. A high toll might help by reducing car usage and paying interest on the debt.

    It's been a political football. Zac Goldsmith running as MP in 2019 promised to get the funds to repair it. When Zac was kicked out, Boris his friend and bridge lover, went cold on the idea. Foot dragging ever since.
    The NIMBYs, IIRC killed all the plans to put in a temporary bridge parallel to the old.

    The the temporary bridge plan seems to be

    1) Remove the failing old bridge
    2) Put in the new "temporary bridge"
    3) Hand the restoration of the bridge over to the guys who did Bluebird.
    4) 30 years later it won't be quite finished, but utterly concoursed.
    5) Forget about actually putting it back.
  • numbertwelvenumbertwelve Posts: 6,772

    May I request the assistance of the PB Brains Trust?

    Mrs PtP has a bijou flat in Hampstead. The remaining lease is approximately 100 years. She wishes to extend it. The landlord, Camden Council, is remarkably diffident. She has found a local lawyer who is used to dealing with them (and clearly holds them in low esteem) and thinks it will cost about £8k all told to secure a 90 year extension. I'm inclined to tell her to go ahead but am dimly aware of changes proposed to alter the law on leaseholds. I am too lazy to research the implications and thought I would ask you lot instead, especially as I'm likely to get the kind of frankness you cannot expect from professional scribes on the subject.

    Any thought, anyone?

    £8k seems high, even if factoring in slowness/delay at the Council end. I think I’d want an agreement on fixed costs from the lawyers before anything is done, whatever the merits.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 27,576
    Taz said:

    But But But Labour said it would not affect investment !!!!

    Ithaca Energy cuts UK investment as windfall tax hits bottom line

    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/ithaca-energy-cuts-uk-investment-as-windfall-tax-hits-bottom-line/ar-BB1kCrS6?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=315d6a998e354f44910f218cae02ff7d&ei=34

    Jeremy Hunt, Jeremy Corbyn, easily confused (deliberate ambiguity there).
  • BarnesianBarnesian Posts: 8,551

    Barnesian said:

    Barnesian said:

    Eabhal said:

    Carnyx said:

    Eabhal said:

    More good news for the government:

    Raw sewage spills into England rivers and seas doubles in 2023

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68665335

    It is simple.

    Either you demand "no more infrastructure, because Green NIMBY + not wanting to invest"

    or you celebrate infrastructure like this

    image
    Could you provide an example of NIMBYism stopping investment in sewage and water infrastructure?

    The country is begging for the rivers and seas to be cleaned up. It's about the most YIMBY topic imaginable.
    Even sorting out the leaks in the water supply would be Nimby-neutral at worst.
    Sorting out the leaks means digging up the roads. The moment they start doing that, what do you think happens?
    Bunch of motorists lose their minds. Finally, we have our culprit ;)
    OAPs complaint because the buses are disrupted. Cyclists complaining the cycle lanes are dug up. Fun for everyone.

    Construction projects are a bit shit to live next to. But that is part of the price of infrastructure.

    The problem is the idea that no wheel should squeak. So rebuilding Hammersmith bridge has been held up to avoid making life shit for a small number of people.

    I'd have bought the properties at 2x market value. Given tenants a pile of cash plus free moving service. For a handful of money, the project could be underway by now.
    Repair of Hammersmith Bridge is not held up by NIMBYs. It's not a planning issue. It is held up by lack of funding. £200 million.
    It was a mixture of all 3.

    The temporary bridge plan will swallow all that cash, and will never be removed.
    It's not held up by NIMBYs. They don't feature. I live 100 yards from the Bridge and follow every twist and turn.

    I don't think the temporary bridge will ever be put in place. 20,000 cars used to cross the bridge daily. Since then Hammersmith Broadway has been made cycle friendly, car unfriendly and is regularly jammed. Add an extra 20,000 cars and traffic would be at a permanent standstill. A high toll might help by reducing car usage and paying interest on the debt.

    It's been a political football. Zac Goldsmith running as MP in 2019 promised to get the funds to repair it. When Zac was kicked out, Boris his friend and bridge lover, went cold on the idea. Foot dragging ever since.
    The NIMBYs, IIRC killed all the plans to put in a temporary bridge parallel to the old.

    The the temporary bridge plan seems to be

    1) Remove the failing old bridge
    2) Put in the new "temporary bridge"
    3) Hand the restoration of the bridge over to the guys who did Bluebird.
    4) 30 years later it won't be quite finished, but utterly concoursed.
    5) Forget about actually putting it back.
    No

    Details here
    https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/hammersmith-bridge
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,322
    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Stop The Boats

    @SkyNews

    BREAKING: A record number of migrants have crossed the English Channel so far this year, according to provisional Home Office figures

    Bop the stoats.

    On a related topic I was faced with quite a depressing sight last night outside Oxford Street John Lewis. At least 8 or 9 men, in blankets sleeping rough, out of the rain. These were not wan heroin addicts, kids looking like they'd run away from home or bearded tramps with cans of special brew. They were young, fit and healthy Middle Eastern (I'd guess Kurdish or Iranian) men. A couple were looking at iPhones. None were begging.

    I can only assume they're recent arrivals whom the home office is not housing, and who are unable to get work or private accommodation. The whole thing looked very...avoidable.
    Well then get a grip and stop the fucking boats and aim for zero immigration. This shit isn’t hard
    Stopping bogus asylum seekers rocking up and gaming the system, absolutely. But we need immigration and will do for the foreseeable future. We should be managing it better but not zero immigration.
    As most get asylum, why do you suggest that they are bogus?
    It’s really the system that is bogus rather than the individuals. People are being given asylum who then freely travel back home without any fear of ending up like Alexey Navalny.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 10,696
    edited March 27

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Stop The Boats

    @SkyNews

    BREAKING: A record number of migrants have crossed the English Channel so far this year, according to provisional Home Office figures

    Bop the stoats.

    On a related topic I was faced with quite a depressing sight last night outside Oxford Street John Lewis. At least 8 or 9 men, in blankets sleeping rough, out of the rain. These were not wan heroin addicts, kids looking like they'd run away from home or bearded tramps with cans of special brew. They were young, fit and healthy Middle Eastern (I'd guess Kurdish or Iranian) men. A couple were looking at iPhones. None were begging.

    I can only assume they're recent arrivals whom the home office is not housing, and who are unable to get work or private accommodation. The whole thing looked very...avoidable.
    Well then get a grip and stop the fucking boats and aim for zero immigration. This shit isn’t hard
    Stopping bogus asylum seekers rocking up and gaming the system, absolutely. But we need immigration and will do for the foreseeable future. We should be managing it better but not zero immigration.
    As most get asylum, why do you suggest that they are bogus?
    It’s really the system that is bogus rather than the individuals. People are being given asylum who then freely travel back home without any fear of ending up like Alexey Navalny.
    Do you have evidence for this claim? How many people? 1%, 10%, 50%?
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,302

    NEW THREAD

  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 49,586
    Barnesian said:

    Barnesian said:

    Barnesian said:

    Eabhal said:

    Carnyx said:

    Eabhal said:

    More good news for the government:

    Raw sewage spills into England rivers and seas doubles in 2023

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68665335

    It is simple.

    Either you demand "no more infrastructure, because Green NIMBY + not wanting to invest"

    or you celebrate infrastructure like this

    image
    Could you provide an example of NIMBYism stopping investment in sewage and water infrastructure?

    The country is begging for the rivers and seas to be cleaned up. It's about the most YIMBY topic imaginable.
    Even sorting out the leaks in the water supply would be Nimby-neutral at worst.
    Sorting out the leaks means digging up the roads. The moment they start doing that, what do you think happens?
    Bunch of motorists lose their minds. Finally, we have our culprit ;)
    OAPs complaint because the buses are disrupted. Cyclists complaining the cycle lanes are dug up. Fun for everyone.

    Construction projects are a bit shit to live next to. But that is part of the price of infrastructure.

    The problem is the idea that no wheel should squeak. So rebuilding Hammersmith bridge has been held up to avoid making life shit for a small number of people.

    I'd have bought the properties at 2x market value. Given tenants a pile of cash plus free moving service. For a handful of money, the project could be underway by now.
    Repair of Hammersmith Bridge is not held up by NIMBYs. It's not a planning issue. It is held up by lack of funding. £200 million.
    It was a mixture of all 3.

    The temporary bridge plan will swallow all that cash, and will never be removed.
    It's not held up by NIMBYs. They don't feature. I live 100 yards from the Bridge and follow every twist and turn.

    I don't think the temporary bridge will ever be put in place. 20,000 cars used to cross the bridge daily. Since then Hammersmith Broadway has been made cycle friendly, car unfriendly and is regularly jammed. Add an extra 20,000 cars and traffic would be at a permanent standstill. A high toll might help by reducing car usage and paying interest on the debt.

    It's been a political football. Zac Goldsmith running as MP in 2019 promised to get the funds to repair it. When Zac was kicked out, Boris his friend and bridge lover, went cold on the idea. Foot dragging ever since.
    The NIMBYs, IIRC killed all the plans to put in a temporary bridge parallel to the old.

    The the temporary bridge plan seems to be

    1) Remove the failing old bridge
    2) Put in the new "temporary bridge"
    3) Hand the restoration of the bridge over to the guys who did Bluebird.
    4) 30 years later it won't be quite finished, but utterly concoursed.
    5) Forget about actually putting it back.
    No

    Details here
    https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/hammersmith-bridge
    Thats what they say. Removing the exiting bridge could easily swallow millions. The proposed temporary bridge *will* go over budget. At which point the old bridge would be a pile of bits in a warehouse.....
  • CookieCookie Posts: 13,585
    Eabhal said:

    More good news for the government:

    Raw sewage spills into England rivers and seas doubles in 2023

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68665335

    It is simple.

    Either you demand "no more infrastructure, because Green NIMBY + not wanting to invest"

    or you celebrate infrastructure like this

    image
    Could you provide an example of NIMBYism stopping investment in sewage and water infrastructure?

    The country is begging for the rivers and seas to be cleaned up. It's about the most YIMBY topic imaginable.
    Didn't Layla Moran campaign againsta new reservoir in her constituency, because she's as in thrall to the Nimby vote as anyone else?
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 70,513
    Justices were skeptical of abortion pills arguments. Anti-abortion groups have backup plans.

    https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/27/conservative-abortion-pill-restriction-efforts-00149199
    ..“We need to be doing more,” Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who leads the House’s Pro-Life Caucus, told POLITICO. “Dobbs, in my opinion, began the national debate on abortion. It didn’t end it.”..
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 21,965

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Stop The Boats

    @SkyNews

    BREAKING: A record number of migrants have crossed the English Channel so far this year, according to provisional Home Office figures

    Bop the stoats.

    On a related topic I was faced with quite a depressing sight last night outside Oxford Street John Lewis. At least 8 or 9 men, in blankets sleeping rough, out of the rain. These were not wan heroin addicts, kids looking like they'd run away from home or bearded tramps with cans of special brew. They were young, fit and healthy Middle Eastern (I'd guess Kurdish or Iranian) men. A couple were looking at iPhones. None were begging.

    I can only assume they're recent arrivals whom the home office is not housing, and who are unable to get work or private accommodation. The whole thing looked very...avoidable.
    Well then get a grip and stop the fucking boats and aim for zero immigration. This shit isn’t hard
    Stopping bogus asylum seekers rocking up and gaming the system, absolutely. But we need immigration and will do for the foreseeable future. We should be managing it better but not zero immigration.
    As most get asylum, why do you suggest that they are bogus?
    It’s really the system that is bogus rather than the individuals. People are being given asylum who then freely travel back home without any fear of ending up like Alexey Navalny.
    They can spread Jesus' message when they go back too, after their recent conversions to Christianity.
  • wooliedyedwooliedyed Posts: 10,037
    stodge said:

    Looking ahead to the round of elections on May 2nd, I make it 2,695 seats up for grabs including Mayors, PCCs and Councillors in England and Wales (not counting any by-elections on that day).

    According to Wiki, the Conservatives won 985 last time, Labour 966, the LDs 410 and Greens 107.

    I've mentioned a few councils worth keeping an eye on - Dudley, Solihull. Walsall and Dorset while currently all bar five PCCs are Conservatives. In 2023, Conservatives lost 30% of their seats so that would imply 300 losses while Rallings & Thrasher are suggesting 500 losses.

    2021 NEV was 40 Tory 30 Lab, I suspect a direct inversion very possible with Tory perhaps even lower, anything under 50% losses and I think he'll be a bit relieved, especially if Hall outperforms polling and Street somehow hangs on. On the converse, over 500 losses, towards low 20s for Hall and Steeet gone and the knives are out.
    Workers Party are scouting for council candidates, their performance might give an indication of any issue Labour might face over Gaza etc
  • anothernickanothernick Posts: 3,591

    May I request the assistance of the PB Brains Trust?

    Mrs PtP has a bijou flat in Hampstead. The remaining lease is approximately 100 years. She wishes to extend it. The landlord, Camden Council, is remarkably diffident. She has found a local lawyer who is used to dealing with them (and clearly holds them in low esteem) and thinks it will cost about £8k all told to secure a 90 year extension. I'm inclined to tell her to go ahead but am dimly aware of changes proposed to alter the law on leaseholds. I am too lazy to research the implications and thought I would ask you lot instead, especially as I'm likely to get the kind of frankness you cannot expect from professional scribes on the subject.

    Any thought, anyone?

    Is there any need to extend now?
    No. It's just that she has the funds and feels it would enhance the value of the flat. It is probably worth about £500k (tiny flat but near the Heath).
    Would it enhance the value by more than the cost of the lease extension? 100 years is still adequately long, mortgage companies only start getting cold feet when you get below 90. Bearing in mind that leasehold reform is in the air and any reform will be likely to benefit leaseholders I think I'd sit it out at least until Labour has made clear what it might do in the next parliament.
  • Alphabet_SoupAlphabet_Soup Posts: 3,183

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Stop The Boats

    @SkyNews

    BREAKING: A record number of migrants have crossed the English Channel so far this year, according to provisional Home Office figures

    Bop the stoats.

    On a related topic I was faced with quite a depressing sight last night outside Oxford Street John Lewis. At least 8 or 9 men, in blankets sleeping rough, out of the rain. These were not wan heroin addicts, kids looking like they'd run away from home or bearded tramps with cans of special brew. They were young, fit and healthy Middle Eastern (I'd guess Kurdish or Iranian) men. A couple were looking at iPhones. None were begging.

    I can only assume they're recent arrivals whom the home office is not housing, and who are unable to get work or private accommodation. The whole thing looked very...avoidable.
    Well then get a grip and stop the fucking boats and aim for zero immigration. This shit isn’t hard
    Stopping bogus asylum seekers rocking up and gaming the system, absolutely. But we need immigration and will do for the foreseeable future. We should be managing it better but not zero immigration.
    As most get asylum, why do you suggest that they are bogus?
    It’s really the system that is bogus rather than the individuals. People are being given asylum who then freely travel back home without any fear of ending up like Alexey Navalny.
    They can spread Jesus' message when they go back too, after their recent conversions to Christianity.
    And when they get nicked for apostasy they can use the old 'there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth' defence.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,314

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Andy_JS said:

    After the Tampa Bridge disaster in 1980, they re-built the bridge with so-called "dolphins" next to the bridge columns to stop boats from hitting the columns. It's interesting that they didn't add them to the Baltimore bridge around the same time.

    There were dolphins for the bridge. See the round object next to the ship here -

    image
    May be wrong but I think those are actually dolphins for power lines next to the bridge, not the bridge itself. (I saw a photo earlier from an angle that seemed to show this pretty clearly, but I can't remember how/where to find the image again to post a link).
    If you look at the links I shared a few posts below, the puny round dolphins predate the pylons by many years. The power pylons have cutwater-like structures around them.

    I wonder what the 'overhang' (*) on the container ships are - i.e. the difference between beam at water level and maximum beam.

    (*) Don't know correct term
    There’s a whole load of conspiracy theories going around about ships’ systems getting hacked. I think like most others I’ll wait and see what the NTSB* has to say first! Occam’s Razor says some sort of mechanical failure in an environment of strong winds and tides.

    *National Transportation Safety Board, the government agency charged with investigating transport accidents in the US https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Transportation_Safety_Board
    The hacking conspiracy theories are almost certainly not true, for the reasons I gave yesterday. People spreading it are idiots, and/or have their own agenda to fill.
    Yes most of them are coming from political people rather than marine people. The same political people who have spent the last week talking about the latest cyber threats from Russia and China - so they see an accident, put two and two together and make five.

    It’s not impossible it was a deliberate attack, but it’s very unlikely especially with a local pilot on board.

    Terrible bridge design though, let’s hope modern standards are considerably higher.
    When I descend into this cesspool on Twitter, I don't see 'political people' spreading this: it's no-name accounts that are spreading this sh*t. I've no idea if there are even real people behind some of the accounts.
    Oh, the no-name accounts are almost certainly untrustworthy. They’re either bots, mass-signup accounts, or brand new users who haven’t yet figured out how to create an actual username.
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 21,794

    May I request the assistance of the PB Brains Trust?

    Mrs PtP has a bijou flat in Hampstead. The remaining lease is approximately 100 years. She wishes to extend it. The landlord, Camden Council, is remarkably diffident. She has found a local lawyer who is used to dealing with them (and clearly holds them in low esteem) and thinks it will cost about £8k all told to secure a 90 year extension. I'm inclined to tell her to go ahead but am dimly aware of changes proposed to alter the law on leaseholds. I am too lazy to research the implications and thought I would ask you lot instead, especially as I'm likely to get the kind of frankness you cannot expect from professional scribes on the subject.

    Any thought, anyone?

    I extended the lease on my leasehold flat by about a century and reduced the ground rent to a peppercorn. You have the statutory right to do this. A lawyer handles the paperwork and it took me about two years as the freehold company were awkward. It cost me about £9k. I think it was worth it. Future legislation changes *may* affect this but that's true of everything.
This discussion has been closed.