Proof were it needed that Truss hasn't a clue about Conservatives.
'Polling expert: Nearly two-thirds of public back smoking ban We find that nearly two-thirds of the public back a ban and what's particularly interesting is among those who voted Conservative in 2019, support is even higher, 71 per cent of that group back a ban'
Interesting that R&W have Andy Street trailing by 14% for WM Mayor while the Cons at the GE are 28% down in the WM. That is a comparison with London where the Mayor is also notably under-performing his party's GE position.
I had assumed it was down to the unpopularity of Sadiq Khan but perhaps I was looking at it the wrong way. In fact what we are looking at is the depth of Con unpopularity at national level compared to local level. A little bit of hope for the Cons in the Locals perhaps but given the low level of Con performance in 2022 and 2023 Locals it could easily be overstated.
I love analysis like this. It’s not to say it’s necessarily correct but it’s brilliant to have this kind of thought-prompt on a political betting site and you could well be right here.
I’ve made much of my betting money panning for insightful comments like this.
Has anyone ever had gruel? I haven't, and I don't know anyone that has. And you don't often see it in restaurants these days, as a main or even a starter - "Gruel"
Also, why don't they just thicken it a bit? With some cornflour? Does it have to be thin? The gruel industry just needs some imagination and it could make a major comeback
If you thicken it you couldn't drink it. Gruel is a food consisting of some type of cereal—such as ground oats, wheat, rye, or rice—heated or boiled in water or milk. It is a thinner version of porridge that may be more often drunk rather than eaten. ..
Think of it as a very boring smoothie.
I’m reminded about Grape Nuts. They have been extremely popular as a breakfast cereal in the US. The one thing you can say about Grape Nuts is that they contain neither grapes nor nuts.
"created in Battle Creek, Michigan, by Charles W Post, who also thought up the rather unusual name" (that's from memory - I was big into them as a kid once I graduated from soggy rice krispies or cornflakes). Haven't had them in years, though.
I have them most days as a top-up to muesli (I only need sandals and I can qualify to be a LibDem). They're amazingly expensive for the small packets, but still quite distinctive.
I love grape nuts, and I don't quite know why. I generally eat them with raisins and a small spoonful of sugar.
The only other cereal I really like is Weetabix (also with raisins). I could never stand Shredded Wheat, and am not a massive fan of porridge.
Has anyone ever had gruel? I haven't, and I don't know anyone that has. And you don't often see it in restaurants these days, as a main or even a starter - "Gruel"
Also, why don't they just thicken it a bit? With some cornflour? Does it have to be thin? The gruel industry just needs some imagination and it could make a major comeback
I found out yesterday that it was on the Titanic's menu
How did you find that out as a matter of interest?
Proof were it needed that Truss hasn't a clue about Conservatives.
'Polling expert: Nearly two-thirds of public back smoking ban We find that nearly two-thirds of the public back a ban and what's particularly interesting is among those who voted Conservative in 2019, support is even higher, 71 per cent of that group back a ban'
Yep. She has an extraordinarily tin ear for public sentiment or, indeed, politics full stop. Dominic Cummings nicknamed her The Human Hand Grenade with good reason.
Proof were it needed that Truss hasn't a clue about Conservatives.
'Polling expert: Nearly two-thirds of public back smoking ban We find that nearly two-thirds of the public back a ban and what's particularly interesting is among those who voted Conservative in 2019, support is even higher, 71 per cent of that group back a ban'
Has anyone ever had gruel? I haven't, and I don't know anyone that has. And you don't often see it in restaurants these days, as a main or even a starter - "Gruel"
Also, why don't they just thicken it a bit? With some cornflour? Does it have to be thin? The gruel industry just needs some imagination and it could make a major comeback
If you thicken it you couldn't drink it. Gruel is a food consisting of some type of cereal—such as ground oats, wheat, rye, or rice—heated or boiled in water or milk. It is a thinner version of porridge that may be more often drunk rather than eaten. ..
Think of it as a very boring smoothie.
I’m reminded about Grape Nuts. They have been extremely popular as a breakfast cereal in the US. The one thing you can say about Grape Nuts is that they contain neither grapes nor nuts.
"created in Battle Creek, Michigan, by Charles W Post, who also thought up the rather unusual name" (that's from memory - I was big into them as a kid once I graduated from soggy rice krispies or cornflakes). Haven't had them in years, though.
I have them most days as a top-up to muesli (I only need sandals and I can qualify to be a LibDem). They're amazingly expensive for the small packets, but still quite distinctive.
I love grape nuts, and I don't quite know why. I generally eat them with raisins and a small spoonful of sugar.
The only other cereal I really like is Weetabix (also with raisins). I could never stand Shredded Wheat, and am not a massive fan of porridge.
Crunchy nut cornflakes are manna from heaven, especially with a touch of cream added.
Proof were it needed that Truss hasn't a clue about Conservatives.
'Polling expert: Nearly two-thirds of public back smoking ban We find that nearly two-thirds of the public back a ban and what's particularly interesting is among those who voted Conservative in 2019, support is even higher, 71 per cent of that group back a ban'
Yep. She has an extraordinarily tin ear for public sentiment or, indeed, politics full stop. Dominic Cummings nicknamed her The Human Hand Grenade with good reason.
I liked the City's nickname - "Daggers" as in Dagenham, two stops beyond Barking....
Proof were it needed that Truss hasn't a clue about Conservatives.
'Polling expert: Nearly two-thirds of public back smoking ban We find that nearly two-thirds of the public back a ban and what's particularly interesting is among those who voted Conservative in 2019, support is even higher, 71 per cent of that group back a ban'
I get the same vibe with mess of pottage. I can't remember the last time I had a decent mess of pottage, when dining out. It's weird how that goes. One day everyone is eating endless messes of pottage, then a month later, it's all smashed avos on sourdough
My daughter's primary school made her class cook pottage, and they had to be in Tudor dress for the experience. A definite step up on gruel in my view, but sort of in the way that having a finger amputated is preferable to losing a hand.
Is it related in any way to Pease Pudding (hot, cold, or 9-day aged)?
No. The clue is in the name. It is pretty bloody awful though if I remember school dinners correctly; pease pudding was not a fan favourite.
So Pease Pottage (Sussex village and motorway services): pottage, but made with peas(s)? Rather than an archaic name for pease pudding.
Yes, that's right. They used to feed it to prisoners there during the stop-off from London to the court at Lewis.
Lewis? That's a long way to go, what with the ferry and all. No wonder they needed pease pottage - plenty of it too I should think.
I started smoking at 14 and only stopped when my daughter told both myself and her husband we could not hold her first born daughter (now 21)
I stopped immediately and it was the most difficult thing I have done but my COPD nurse told me 4 years ago that that action most certainly was a life saver for me
I cannot stand the smell or smoke, including from vapes, anywhere near me and as some have said, if this ban is Sunak's legacy then it is one he can be proud of
Of course we have the likes of Johnson and Truss furious about it, but with 71% of the public in favour we have another demonstration of how out of touch they are
I am pleased Starmer supports it so it will become law and in time save the NHS billions and very many lives
Proof were it needed that Truss hasn't a clue about Conservatives.
'Polling expert: Nearly two-thirds of public back smoking ban We find that nearly two-thirds of the public back a ban and what's particularly interesting is among those who voted Conservative in 2019, support is even higher, 71 per cent of that group back a ban'
Yep. She has an extraordinarily tin ear for public sentiment or, indeed, politics full stop. Dominic Cummings nicknamed her The Human Hand Grenade with good reason.
That is not the thing that jumps out from the link. Nigel Farage is a terrible human being and pathetic shill for Vladimir Putin. But shutting down a conference because he is speaking is outrageous. It's a massive insult to free speech. Thank God we are no longer entering political union with these European countries who want to outlaw views that disagree with.
Proof were it needed that Truss hasn't a clue about Conservatives.
'Polling expert: Nearly two-thirds of public back smoking ban We find that nearly two-thirds of the public back a ban and what's particularly interesting is among those who voted Conservative in 2019, support is even higher, 71 per cent of that group back a ban'
Yet the same people often want to legalise drug taking. Very strange.
The long term trend may well be toward medicalisation of both tobacco and currently illegal drugs. A 'Smoke room' where they'll dish out a solitary Benson next to the methadone room at the local clinic awaits..
I started smoking at 14 and only stopped when my daughter told both myself and her husband we could not hold her first born daughter (now 21)
I stopped immediately and it was the most difficult thing I have done but my COPD nurse told me 4 years ago that that action most certainly was a life saver for me
I cannot stand the smell or smoke, including from vapes, anywhere near me and as some have said, if this ban is Sunak's legacy then it is one he can be proud of
Of course we have the likes of Johnson and Truss furious about it, but with 71% of the public in favour we have another demonstration of how out of touch they are
I am pleased Starmer supports it so it will become law and in time save the NHS billions and very many lives
Dramatic fall in hate in Scotland. Alternatively the moronic timewasters have no stamina.
The people who thought they could get the collars felt of those that disagreed with them, have found out that they can’t.
Key metric is how much nasty stuff is being said. Will there be less of it? Will the law have its desired chilling effect on the saying of nasty stuff?
One identifiable example not far from me, though no doubt there are those that think discouraging people from singing about being 'up to our knees in Fenian blood' is a terrible blow against free speech.
Its almost as if the principal owner appearing in a criminal court is not a good thing for the stock.
Trump Social "stock" just a means to an end . . . which is for various international bad-actors to shovel (yet more) money in Donald Trump's direction . . . in hope of future non-stock dividends.
At least that's MY hypothesis.
Anybody think that is NOT happening, or NOT the main aim of this "free enterprise" scam?
If it makes the awful Rayner be in the news for all the wrong reasons, then it's job done. Whether she has been economical with the truth is secondary, not withstanding evidence from her neighbours and others.
Well, if had been foolish enough to answer the question put to him by, for example, alleging that there had been some evasion of tax she could sue him if that turned out not to be an accurate statement of fact.
As the interviewer knew full well of course.
Hmmm..."I reported Angela Rayner to the police on the basis that I suspected there may have been a contravention of [x] but it is up to the police to determine whether there is evidence to proceed" would not be a statement that would cause someone to think less of Angela Rayner, furthermore it is presumably an honest opinion, and he himself has stated it was a matter of public interest. So, no. That doesn't fly.
I was taking it seriously until the "presumably an honest opinion" bit.
One telling statistic is that they elect 543 MPs with an electorate of 1.4bn whilst we seem to think we need 650 for 5% of that number.
I think they have stronger regional governments though. There comes a point where you have to have a greater number of voters per MP though as having 13000 MPs would be unwieldy to say the least.
Proof were it needed that Truss hasn't a clue about Conservatives.
'Polling expert: Nearly two-thirds of public back smoking ban We find that nearly two-thirds of the public back a ban and what's particularly interesting is among those who voted Conservative in 2019, support is even higher, 71 per cent of that group back a ban'
Yep. She has an extraordinarily tin ear for public sentiment or, indeed, politics full stop. Dominic Cummings nicknamed her The Human Hand Grenade with good reason.
I started smoking at 14 and only stopped when my daughter told both myself and her husband we could not hold her first born daughter (now 21)
I stopped immediately and it was the most difficult thing I have done but my COPD nurse told me 4 years ago that that action most certainly was a life saver for me
I cannot stand the smell or smoke, including from vapes, anywhere near me and as some have said, if this ban is Sunak's legacy then it is one he can be proud of
Of course we have the likes of Johnson and Truss furious about it, but with 71% of the public in favour we have another demonstration of how out of touch they are
I am pleased Starmer supports it so it will become law and in time save the NHS billions and very many lives
My daughter and her husband stopped smoking at the beginning of February and are both keeping at it. One thing that I thought was interesting was that she stopped drinking then too. Apparently drink is pretty much the most common reason for those seeking to give up smoking to fail.
(I am also beginning to wonder if I might become a granddad at some point in the not too distant future).
Both my parents and my brother died prematurely with tobacco playing a major role in their demise. It is an evil thing and I would be delighted if we got rid of it.
He's the sort of Conservative who thinks you can only be a Conservative if you join it and then spend your time attacking other Conservatives.
If the Tories are going to gain power again. which I suspect they will before 2035, they will need to choose between those a bit like Boles and those a bit like Farage to join forces with.
I started smoking at 14 and only stopped when my daughter told both myself and her husband we could not hold her first born daughter (now 21)
I stopped immediately and it was the most difficult thing I have done but my COPD nurse told me 4 years ago that that action most certainly was a life saver for me
I cannot stand the smell or smoke, including from vapes, anywhere near me and as some have said, if this ban is Sunak's legacy then it is one he can be proud of
Of course we have the likes of Johnson and Truss furious about it, but with 71% of the public in favour we have another demonstration of how out of touch they are
I am pleased Starmer supports it so it will become law and in time save the NHS billions and very many lives
Hello Big G. I met the youngest nephew in the supermarket earlier today - only five months old - and your comment reminded me of his happy smile and lively eyes.
I think the health of the nation would be better if no-one smoked - tobacco or cannabis - but I'm not convinced that criminalization has been such a roaring success in the case of one that we should follow it with the other.
Legalisation, regulation, and encouragement to desist seem like the optimal approach.
I've found the story far too boring to even follow. FWIW, from what I've heard, I couldn't care less.
But, its not just that: it's the fawning over the Opposition and the relish with which he attacks his colleagues that I find so nauseating.
There's a cadre of Conservatives who are, socially, deeply embarrassed to be so and these sort of pieces are entirely self-centred ones written for their benefit, and not the party, as they exploit it for their own ends.
He's the sort of Conservative who thinks you can only be a Conservative if you join it and then spend your time attacking other Conservatives.
If the Tories are going to gain power again. which I suspect they will before 2035, they will need to choose between those a bit like Boles and those a bit like Farage to join forces with.
Has anyone ever had gruel? I haven't, and I don't know anyone that has. And you don't often see it in restaurants these days, as a main or even a starter - "Gruel"
Also, why don't they just thicken it a bit? With some cornflour? Does it have to be thin? The gruel industry just needs some imagination and it could make a major comeback
If you thicken it you couldn't drink it. Gruel is a food consisting of some type of cereal—such as ground oats, wheat, rye, or rice—heated or boiled in water or milk. It is a thinner version of porridge that may be more often drunk rather than eaten. ..
Think of it as a very boring smoothie.
I’m reminded about Grape Nuts. They have been extremely popular as a breakfast cereal in the US. The one thing you can say about Grape Nuts is that they contain neither grapes nor nuts.
"created in Battle Creek, Michigan, by Charles W Post, who also thought up the rather unusual name" (that's from memory - I was big into them as a kid once I graduated from soggy rice krispies or cornflakes). Haven't had them in years, though.
I have them most days as a top-up to muesli (I only need sandals and I can qualify to be a LibDem). They're amazingly expensive for the small packets, but still quite distinctive.
I love grape nuts, and I don't quite know why. I generally eat them with raisins and a small spoonful of sugar.
The only other cereal I really like is Weetabix (also with raisins). I could never stand Shredded Wheat, and am not a massive fan of porridge.
I enjoy them immensely, but find them hard to find.
Its almost as if the principal owner appearing in a criminal court is not a good thing for the stock.
Trump Social "stock" just a means to an end . . . which is for various international bad-actors to shovel (yet more) money in Donald Trump's direction . . . in hope of future non-stock dividends.
At least that's MY hypothesis.
Anybody think that is NOT happening, or NOT the main aim of this "free enterprise" scam?
Yes I am sure there are various shady russian investors in the stock. They will want payback of course.
Proof were it needed that Truss hasn't a clue about Conservatives.
'Polling expert: Nearly two-thirds of public back smoking ban We find that nearly two-thirds of the public back a ban and what's particularly interesting is among those who voted Conservative in 2019, support is even higher, 71 per cent of that group back a ban'
Yep. She has an extraordinarily tin ear for public sentiment or, indeed, politics full stop. Dominic Cummings nicknamed her The Human Hand Grenade with good reason.
The public has grown extremely cowed in recent times. It's sad. So many people for example wanted lockdowns to be longer and more severe. An essential part of getting the economy going again will be working on how people themselves can grow in character and self-confidence again.
I'm not clear on this Rayner business either. Dodging CGT on the sale of a property - I thought this is what she's being accused of. A matter between her and HMRC. So what are the police looking at?
I would think that they are looking at the possibility of criminality, obviously. While it is difficult for you to grasp, it is entirely possible that like anyone, a Labour MP could be guilty of this, but is, like anyone, innocent until proven guilty.
I would hope that the HMRC are looking closely at CGT. It is my understanding that evasion of CGT is a criminal offence.
She is definitely IMO guilty of monumental hypocrisy. Whatever she says to cover her guilty arse about not being against the right to buy, she is a senior member of a party that has opposed it in vociferous terms in the past. If she alone had benefitted from the policy that would be one thing, but the reality is that she and her husband/partner have gamed the system twice. She is a massive hypocrite, but Labour supporters are as determined as MAGAs to suggest that it must be a "witch hunt".
I've found the story far too boring to even follow. FWIW, from what I've heard, I couldn't care less.
But, its not just that: it's the fawning over the Opposition and the relish with which he attacks his colleagues that I find so nauseating.
There's a cadre of Conservatives who are, socially, deeply embarrassed to be so and these sort of pieces are entirely self-centred ones written for their benefit, and not the party, as they exploit it for their own ends.
At least he had enough class and self-awareness to leave the Tories. It's the ones still within and maniacally determined to 'modernise the party' so that it looks and sounds exactly like the three other parties that I can't get my head around.
I started smoking at 14 and only stopped when my daughter told both myself and her husband we could not hold her first born daughter (now 21)
I stopped immediately and it was the most difficult thing I have done but my COPD nurse told me 4 years ago that that action most certainly was a life saver for me
I cannot stand the smell or smoke, including from vapes, anywhere near me and as some have said, if this ban is Sunak's legacy then it is one he can be proud of
Of course we have the likes of Johnson and Truss furious about it, but with 71% of the public in favour we have another demonstration of how out of touch they are
I am pleased Starmer supports it so it will become law and in time save the NHS billions and very many lives
Chess in public parks was another good proposal. I can't stand smoke either. Good for Sunak. Of course it's one of the down ramps towards everyone having to identify themselves when they go into a shop, or other public area, but...that's coming anyway. At least in Invasions of the Bodysnatchers world it won't be smoky. Smoking is a disgustingly filthy habit.
Salvia may be the strongest naturally occurring hallucinogen in some sense or other, but smoking it is out of the question.
Proof were it needed that Truss hasn't a clue about Conservatives.
'Polling expert: Nearly two-thirds of public back smoking ban We find that nearly two-thirds of the public back a ban and what's particularly interesting is among those who voted Conservative in 2019, support is even higher, 71 per cent of that group back a ban'
Yep. She has an extraordinarily tin ear for public sentiment or, indeed, politics full stop. Dominic Cummings nicknamed her The Human Hand Grenade with good reason.
The public has grown extremely cowed in recent times. It's sad. So many people for example wanted lockdowns to be longer and more severe. An essential part of getting the economy going again will be working on how people themselves can grow in character and self-confidence again.
Dont think thats modern britain sadly. People want a big state to look after them. However it was the establishment who deliberately frightened people with covid so they can hardly complain now everyones signing off work with mental health problems. You reap what you sow.
One of the problems with smoking is that it affects others as @Big_G_NorthWales has just illustrated.
My father chain smoked and all of us have health issues, almost certainly as a result. Even outdoors I can’t stand smoke and vapes but that’s probably because of what happened to us. It is almost certainly what caused my mother’s cancer which killed her too before her time.
A good friend of mine has just been diagnosed with emphysema (COPD) and some iffy shadows where they shouldn’t be which she puts down to too much time spent playing in smoky clubs.
So it’s all rather classic J.S. Mill stuff really.
Its almost as if the principal owner appearing in a criminal court is not a good thing for the stock.
Trump Social "stock" just a means to an end . . . which is for various international bad-actors to shovel (yet more) money in Donald Trump's direction . . . in hope of future non-stock dividends.
At least that's MY hypothesis.
Anybody think that is NOT happening, or NOT the main aim of this "free enterprise" scam?
Indeed - but the timing could be awkward for them. SEC rules mean they can't just issue more stock and sell it on a whim that day. If the price continues to crater then the value of the stock they're planning to issue does too.
Much depends on the proportion of those who bought it thinking it was worth something, and those who just see a convenient channel of money to Trump outside of election regulations.
Its almost as if the principal owner appearing in a criminal court is not a good thing for the stock.
Trump Social "stock" just a means to an end . . . which is for various international bad-actors to shovel (yet more) money in Donald Trump's direction . . . in hope of future non-stock dividends.
At least that's MY hypothesis.
Anybody think that is NOT happening, or NOT the main aim of this "free enterprise" scam?
@rcs1000 and I were discussing this last night. He made the excellent point that losses on these shares make your contributions to DJT tax deductible.
The slight flaw is that the capitalisation of the company is falling fast, down to $3.26bn now, making Trump's share $1.9bn. If it continues to fall at this rate there will be very little left for him to sell in a few months time.
I notice a recent poll looks difficult for Andy Street and assuming he loses in May, what chance of him standing in GE24, winning, and being the next leader of the conservative party
Interesting that R&W have Andy Street trailing by 14% for WM Mayor while the Cons at the GE are 28% down in the WM. That is a comparison with London where the Mayor is also notably under-performing his party's GE position.
I had assumed it was down to the unpopularity of Sadiq Khan but perhaps I was looking at it the wrong way. In fact what we are looking at is the depth of Con unpopularity at national level compared to local level. A little bit of hope for the Cons in the Locals perhaps but given the low level of Con performance in 2022 and 2023 Locals it could easily be overstated.
I love analysis like this. It’s not to say it’s necessarily correct but it’s brilliant to have this kind of thought-prompt on a political betting site and you could well be right here.
I’ve made much of my betting money panning for insightful comments like this.
With the exception of Wales, everyone seems to want to vote against whoever is in power, locally or nationally, at the moment.
I notice a recent poll looks difficult for Andy Street and assuming he loses in May, what chance of him standing in GE24, winning, and being the next leader of the conservative party
Personally I think he’s a strange person. My brother knows him and thinks the same. And is another loser a good prospect for leader?
His life partner doesn’t exactly help the cause either.
I don’t think he is the solution to the impending tory party wilderness.
If it makes the awful Rayner be in the news for all the wrong reasons, then it's job done. Whether she has been economical with the truth is secondary, not withstanding evidence from her neighbours and others.
To translate, the main thing is it makes life unpleasant for someone you don't like, regardless of whether she is guilty of anything?
Its almost as if the principal owner appearing in a criminal court is not a good thing for the stock.
Trump Social "stock" just a means to an end . . . which is for various international bad-actors to shovel (yet more) money in Donald Trump's direction . . . in hope of future non-stock dividends.
At least that's MY hypothesis.
Anybody think that is NOT happening, or NOT the main aim of this "free enterprise" scam?
@rcs1000 and I were discussing this last night. He made the excellent point that losses on these shares make your contributions to DJT tax deductible.
The slight flaw is that the capitalisation of the company is falling fast, down to $3.26bn now, making Trump's share $1.9bn. If it continues to fall at this rate there will be very little left for him to sell in a few months time.
Even at a tenth of the current price his holding (114.8m shares) would be worth nearly $300m
And if it fell so far, the price would be far easier to manipulate by his billionaire backers.
He’s in a fury with me but I’m not the first on here to be on the receiving end.
I think we could all do with a decent sense of humour in the run up to the GE. Following your example would see the place remain civil even when opinions differ.
It now looks likely that an ice-free Arctic in September is inevitable and could happen pretty much any year from now, though might not happen for a few decades.
Where we can make a difference is in reducing how long the ice-free period becomes each year. If we can stop it from extending into July and June then we can reduce the extent of the positive feedback, where an ice-free Arctic absorbs the summer Arctic sunlight.
Has anyone ever had gruel? I haven't, and I don't know anyone that has. And you don't often see it in restaurants these days, as a main or even a starter - "Gruel"
Also, why don't they just thicken it a bit? With some cornflour? Does it have to be thin? The gruel industry just needs some imagination and it could make a major comeback
Just dipping in, so I don’t know what brought gruel up but the other evening I came across (on the internet obvs) the menus for what turned out to be the last day on the Titanic.
1st class was very grand of course, oysters and filets mignons etc. but 3rd class included, guess what:
Well, if had been foolish enough to answer the question put to him by, for example, alleging that there had been some evasion of tax she could sue him if that turned out not to be an accurate statement of fact.
As the interviewer knew full well of course.
I'm not convinced that's true. He can word a reply cautiously -- "I saw information that might suggest offence X and passed this over to the police. It's up to them to investigate" -- and he'd be safe from a defamation suit (unless the information he saw/passed over is so crap that it was obviously not incriminating).
If it makes the awful Rayner be in the news for all the wrong reasons, then it's job done. Whether she has been economical with the truth is secondary, not withstanding evidence from her neighbours and others.
The point is the one who looks ridiculous is Daly rather than Rayner. And as for evidence, Daly couldn't remember what evidence he had uncovered and complained about in the first place.
The "evidence" from neighbours would I suspect be no more than hearsay, unless GMP say otherwise.
Today's news is that Nads thinks GMP are bad actors and the Gestapo should be employed in the interests of balance.
I started smoking at 14 and only stopped when my daughter told both myself and her husband we could not hold her first born daughter (now 21)
I stopped immediately and it was the most difficult thing I have done but my COPD nurse told me 4 years ago that that action most certainly was a life saver for me
I cannot stand the smell or smoke, including from vapes, anywhere near me and as some have said, if this ban is Sunak's legacy then it is one he can be proud of
Of course we have the likes of Johnson and Truss furious about it, but with 71% of the public in favour we have another demonstration of how out of touch they are
I am pleased Starmer supports it so it will become law and in time save the NHS billions and very many lives
My daughter and her husband stopped smoking at the beginning of February and are both keeping at it. One thing that I thought was interesting was that she stopped drinking then too. Apparently drink is pretty much the most common reason for those seeking to give up smoking to fail.
(I am also beginning to wonder if I might become a granddad at some point in the not too distant future).
Both my parents and my brother died prematurely with tobacco playing a major role in their demise. It is an evil thing and I would be delighted if we got rid of it.
Cigs are unusual - a drug with no upside. They make you smell, get crinkly face, get yellow fingers, make you anxious, cost you a small fortune, ruin your health, shorten your life. They'll be gone here within 20 years, I think, and I support this law which will provide a helping boot towards the door.
I've quit at last but only by cheating - I do vapes now which leaves me still a slave to nicotine. Have to deal with it at some point. Can't go into old age using these stupid things. If I do have grandkids that's all they'll remember me as - a silly old geezer forever sucking on a fluorescent tube.
He’s in a fury with me but I’m not the first on here to be on the receiving end.
I think we could all do with a decent sense of humour in the run up to the GE. Following your example would see the place remain civil even when opinions differ.
Casino had a sense of humour bypass a year or two back, I seem to recall.
Interesting that R&W have Andy Street trailing by 14% for WM Mayor while the Cons at the GE are 28% down in the WM. That is a comparison with London where the Mayor is also notably under-performing his party's GE position.
I had assumed it was down to the unpopularity of Sadiq Khan but perhaps I was looking at it the wrong way. In fact what we are looking at is the depth of Con unpopularity at national level compared to local level. A little bit of hope for the Cons in the Locals perhaps but given the low level of Con performance in 2022 and 2023 Locals it could easily be overstated.
I love analysis like this. It’s not to say it’s necessarily correct but it’s brilliant to have this kind of thought-prompt on a political betting site and you could well be right here.
I’ve made much of my betting money panning for insightful comments like this.
With the exception of Wales, everyone seems to want to vote against whoever is in power, locally or nationally, at the moment.
I started smoking at 14 and only stopped when my daughter told both myself and her husband we could not hold her first born daughter (now 21)
I stopped immediately and it was the most difficult thing I have done but my COPD nurse told me 4 years ago that that action most certainly was a life saver for me
I cannot stand the smell or smoke, including from vapes, anywhere near me and as some have said, if this ban is Sunak's legacy then it is one he can be proud of
Of course we have the likes of Johnson and Truss furious about it, but with 71% of the public in favour we have another demonstration of how out of touch they are
I am pleased Starmer supports it so it will become law and in time save the NHS billions and very many lives
My daughter and her husband stopped smoking at the beginning of February and are both keeping at it. One thing that I thought was interesting was that she stopped drinking then too. Apparently drink is pretty much the most common reason for those seeking to give up smoking to fail.
(I am also beginning to wonder if I might become a granddad at some point in the not too distant future).
Both my parents and my brother died prematurely with tobacco playing a major role in their demise. It is an evil thing and I would be delighted if we got rid of it.
Cigs are unusual - a drug with no upside. They make you smell, get crinkly face, get yellow fingers, make you anxious, cost you a small fortune, ruin your health, shorten your life. They'll be gone here within 20 years, I think, and I support this law which will provide a helping boot towards the door.
I've quit at last but only by cheating - I do vapes now which leaves me still a slave to nicotine. Have to deal with it at some point. Can't go into old age using these stupid things. If I do have grandkids that's all they'll remember me as - a silly old geezer forever sucking on a fluorescent tube.
I am extremely fortunate in that I don't have an addictive personality (despite over 50K comments on here). I have no right to any credit for that, it is pure good fortune. I have great sympathy for those who don't. It cannot be easy.
I notice a recent poll looks difficult for Andy Street and assuming he loses in May, what chance of him standing in GE24, winning, and being the next leader of the conservative party
The point would appear, that he is barely more popular than the Government.
Well, if had been foolish enough to answer the question put to him by, for example, alleging that there had been some evasion of tax she could sue him if that turned out not to be an accurate statement of fact.
As the interviewer knew full well of course.
I'm not convinced that's true. He can word a reply cautiously -- "I saw information that might suggest offence X and passed this over to the police. It's up to them to investigate" -- and he'd be safe from a defamation suit (unless the information he saw/passed over is so crap that it was obviously not incriminating).
Yeah, he probably could but he was clearly nervous about it. Its what we call the chilling effect. See also Scotland's Hate law.
I started smoking at 14 and only stopped when my daughter told both myself and her husband we could not hold her first born daughter (now 21)
I stopped immediately and it was the most difficult thing I have done but my COPD nurse told me 4 years ago that that action most certainly was a life saver for me
I cannot stand the smell or smoke, including from vapes, anywhere near me and as some have said, if this ban is Sunak's legacy then it is one he can be proud of
Of course we have the likes of Johnson and Truss furious about it, but with 71% of the public in favour we have another demonstration of how out of touch they are
I am pleased Starmer supports it so it will become law and in time save the NHS billions and very many lives
My daughter and her husband stopped smoking at the beginning of February and are both keeping at it. One thing that I thought was interesting was that she stopped drinking then too. Apparently drink is pretty much the most common reason for those seeking to give up smoking to fail.
(I am also beginning to wonder if I might become a granddad at some point in the not too distant future).
Both my parents and my brother died prematurely with tobacco playing a major role in their demise. It is an evil thing and I would be delighted if we got rid of it.
Cigs are unusual - a drug with no upside. They make you smell, get crinkly face, get yellow fingers, make you anxious, cost you a small fortune, ruin your health, shorten your life. They'll be gone here within 20 years, I think, and I support this law which will provide a helping boot towards the door.
I've quit at last but only by cheating - I do vapes now which leaves me still a slave to nicotine. Have to deal with it at some point. Can't go into old age using these stupid things. If I do have grandkids that's all they'll remember me as - a silly old geezer forever sucking on a fluorescent tube.
if nicotine has no upside how was it that three-quarters of the male population at one point used the drug? There has to be some benefit.
Proof were it needed that Truss hasn't a clue about Conservatives.
'Polling expert: Nearly two-thirds of public back smoking ban We find that nearly two-thirds of the public back a ban and what's particularly interesting is among those who voted Conservative in 2019, support is even higher, 71 per cent of that group back a ban'
Yep. She has an extraordinarily tin ear for public sentiment or, indeed, politics full stop. Dominic Cummings nicknamed her The Human Hand Grenade with good reason.
That is not the thing that jumps out from the link. Nigel Farage is a terrible human being and pathetic shill for Vladimir Putin. But shutting down a conference because he is speaking is outrageous. It's a massive insult to free speech. Thank God we are no longer entering political union with these European countries who want to outlaw views that disagree with.
They're not shutting down the conference because Farage is speaking. They are shutting down a conference at which Farage is speaking because of other people who are speaking there.
It now looks likely that an ice-free Arctic in September is inevitable and could happen pretty much any year from now, though might not happen for a few decades.
Where we can make a difference is in reducing how long the ice-free period becomes each year. If we can stop it from extending into July and June then we can reduce the extent of the positive feedback, where an ice-free Arctic absorbs the summer Arctic sunlight.
The sooner we get going with those pumps that were to spray sea water onto the existing ice and thicken it the better. Its going to get harder and harder as the ice recedes.
I notice a recent poll looks difficult for Andy Street and assuming he loses in May, what chance of him standing in GE24, winning, and being the next leader of the conservative party
Personally I think he’s a strange person. My brother knows him and thinks the same. And is another loser a good prospect for leader?
His life partner doesn’t exactly help the cause either.
I don’t think he is the solution to the impending tory party wilderness.
I only today realised what no doubt W Mids politicos have known for years. That his deputy mayor is called Bob Sleigh.
One telling statistic is that they elect 543 MPs with an electorate of 1.4bn whilst we seem to think we need 650 for 5% of that number.
Oh golly gosh - Luxembourg should obviously have a parliament consisting of just somebody's arm or a leg.
The stupidity of some people.
Indeed, it's not something that linearly scales. I believe empirically observation suggests it scales with the cube root of the population.
The UK, however, is something of an outlier compared to other countries, which is possible a consequent of us using FPTP, because FPTP's disproportionality increases as the Parliament size decreases. This exerts an upwards pressure on the Commons' size.
Interesting that R&W have Andy Street trailing by 14% for WM Mayor while the Cons at the GE are 28% down in the WM. That is a comparison with London where the Mayor is also notably under-performing his party's GE position.
I had assumed it was down to the unpopularity of Sadiq Khan but perhaps I was looking at it the wrong way. In fact what we are looking at is the depth of Con unpopularity at national level compared to local level. A little bit of hope for the Cons in the Locals perhaps but given the low level of Con performance in 2022 and 2023 Locals it could easily be overstated.
I love analysis like this. It’s not to say it’s necessarily correct but it’s brilliant to have this kind of thought-prompt on a political betting site and you could well be right here.
I’ve made much of my betting money panning for insightful comments like this.
With the exception of Wales, everyone seems to want to vote against whoever is in power, locally or nationally, at the moment.
The Conservatives in opposition in Wales is led by a weapons grade moron in the rotund form of Andrew R T Davies who makes an incompetent administration appear competent.
I started smoking at 14 and only stopped when my daughter told both myself and her husband we could not hold her first born daughter (now 21)
I stopped immediately and it was the most difficult thing I have done but my COPD nurse told me 4 years ago that that action most certainly was a life saver for me
I cannot stand the smell or smoke, including from vapes, anywhere near me and as some have said, if this ban is Sunak's legacy then it is one he can be proud of
Of course we have the likes of Johnson and Truss furious about it, but with 71% of the public in favour we have another demonstration of how out of touch they are
I am pleased Starmer supports it so it will become law and in time save the NHS billions and very many lives
My daughter and her husband stopped smoking at the beginning of February and are both keeping at it. One thing that I thought was interesting was that she stopped drinking then too. Apparently drink is pretty much the most common reason for those seeking to give up smoking to fail.
(I am also beginning to wonder if I might become a granddad at some point in the not too distant future).
Both my parents and my brother died prematurely with tobacco playing a major role in their demise. It is an evil thing and I would be delighted if we got rid of it.
Cigs are unusual - a drug with no upside. They make you smell, get crinkly face, get yellow fingers, make you anxious, cost you a small fortune, ruin your health, shorten your life. They'll be gone here within 20 years, I think, and I support this law which will provide a helping boot towards the door.
I've quit at last but only by cheating - I do vapes now which leaves me still a slave to nicotine. Have to deal with it at some point. Can't go into old age using these stupid things. If I do have grandkids that's all they'll remember me as - a silly old geezer forever sucking on a fluorescent tube.
An interesting idea would be to ban tobacco but regulate ecstasy. There would doubtless be social and health benefits too, as people drink much less when taking MDMA on a night out than they otherwise would.
Its almost as if the principal owner appearing in a criminal court is not a good thing for the stock.
Trump Social "stock" just a means to an end . . . which is for various international bad-actors to shovel (yet more) money in Donald Trump's direction . . . in hope of future non-stock dividends.
At least that's MY hypothesis.
Anybody think that is NOT happening, or NOT the main aim of this "free enterprise" scam?
@rcs1000 and I were discussing this last night. He made the excellent point that losses on these shares make your contributions to DJT tax deductible.
The slight flaw is that the capitalisation of the company is falling fast, down to $3.26bn now, making Trump's share $1.9bn. If it continues to fall at this rate there will be very little left for him to sell in a few months time.
Even at a tenth of the current price his holding (114.8m shares) would be worth nearly $300m
And if it fell so far, the price would be far easier to manipulate by his billionaire backers.
Mr Chump has been indulging in the kind of disclosures that are not acceptable for someone running or owning a publicly listed company.
And the regulators in New York are not backward in coming forward to spank those who do such things.
Did the Special Purpose Vehicle not get fined nearly $20 million last year.
Trump is collecting a fleet of Special Purpose Vehicles - dodgy businesses, Black Marias, and one assumes more on the way.
Presumably even more laws that don't exist in his head, or based on today, in his dreams.
I notice a recent poll looks difficult for Andy Street and assuming he loses in May, what chance of him standing in GE24, winning, and being the next leader of the conservative party
The point would appear, that he is barely more popular than the Government.
On the basis of that poll? In order to draw that conclusion we'd have to know how the West Midlands urban area intended to vote at the GE. Instinctively I would have thought it above-averagely Labour - so if Andy Street is doing better than the Conservatives there then well done him. I may be wrong however. From what I've seen of Andy Street he seems the sort of non-tribal politician we need more of.
Interesting that R&W have Andy Street trailing by 14% for WM Mayor while the Cons at the GE are 28% down in the WM. That is a comparison with London where the Mayor is also notably under-performing his party's GE position.
I had assumed it was down to the unpopularity of Sadiq Khan but perhaps I was looking at it the wrong way. In fact what we are looking at is the depth of Con unpopularity at national level compared to local level. A little bit of hope for the Cons in the Locals perhaps but given the low level of Con performance in 2022 and 2023 Locals it could easily be overstated.
I love analysis like this. It’s not to say it’s necessarily correct but it’s brilliant to have this kind of thought-prompt on a political betting site and you could well be right here.
I’ve made much of my betting money panning for insightful comments like this.
With the exception of Wales, everyone seems to want to vote against whoever is in power, locally or nationally, at the moment.
The Conservatives in opposition in Wales is led by a weapons grade moron in the rotund form of Andrew R T Davies who makes an incompetent administration appear competent.
As I have said many times before we agree on ARTD
Indeed if the conservatives had a leader of even modest talent the next Senedd election would be very interesting
I notice a recent poll looks difficult for Andy Street and assuming he loses in May, what chance of him standing in GE24, winning, and being the next leader of the conservative party
Haven't candidates already been selected? So someone else would have to stand down as candidate. And he'd need to find a winnable seat!
Its almost as if the principal owner appearing in a criminal court is not a good thing for the stock.
Trump Social "stock" just a means to an end . . . which is for various international bad-actors to shovel (yet more) money in Donald Trump's direction . . . in hope of future non-stock dividends.
At least that's MY hypothesis.
Anybody think that is NOT happening, or NOT the main aim of this "free enterprise" scam?
@rcs1000 and I were discussing this last night. He made the excellent point that losses on these shares make your contributions to DJT tax deductible.
The slight flaw is that the capitalisation of the company is falling fast, down to $3.26bn now, making Trump's share $1.9bn. If it continues to fall at this rate there will be very little left for him to sell in a few months time.
Even at a tenth of the current price his holding (114.8m shares) would be worth nearly $300m
And if it fell so far, the price would be far easier to manipulate by his billionaire backers.
At the current rate it will be down to a tenth of the current price in just over a week.
It now looks likely that an ice-free Arctic in September is inevitable and could happen pretty much any year from now, though might not happen for a few decades.
Where we can make a difference is in reducing how long the ice-free period becomes each year. If we can stop it from extending into July and June then we can reduce the extent of the positive feedback, where an ice-free Arctic absorbs the summer Arctic sunlight.
The sooner we get going with those pumps that were to spray sea water onto the existing ice and thicken it the better. Its going to get harder and harder as the ice recedes.
The eventual full melting is inevitable but the albedo effect in summer is already much reduced and vertical mixing as a result of the Atlanticisation of the Arctic ocean is already increasing, but the closer we get to zero ice, the more marginal the additional positive feedback. We may just need to accept that the Arctic ice is gone, long term.
There was a period in the early-to-mid 2010s when it looked like it had already entered a death spiral and would melt out much more quickly than models, but that was weather. We had a series of summers with negative Arctic Oscillation and high pressure in all the right places for rapid melting. The rate of change has reverted back to the longer term trend since because we've had a few years with a cloudy stormy Arctic basin.
The most depressing aspect of cryosphere melting is the much more visible loss of glaciers in our mountains. The Alps have already lost dozens of small glaciers and ice patches and most valley glaciers have shrunk to a shadow of their former selves. It's even worse in parts of the Andes, and of course Africa which may well be entirely glacier free within a decade or two.
The one part of Europe where glaciers haven't been retreating, bizarrely, is the relatively low and wonderfully named Accursed Mountains in Albania. It's so wet there, and has got wetter, that the rate of winter accumulation (something mad like 10 metres a season in the glacial corries) is keeping up with the rate of summer melting.
I started smoking at 14 and only stopped when my daughter told both myself and her husband we could not hold her first born daughter (now 21)
I stopped immediately and it was the most difficult thing I have done but my COPD nurse told me 4 years ago that that action most certainly was a life saver for me
I cannot stand the smell or smoke, including from vapes, anywhere near me and as some have said, if this ban is Sunak's legacy then it is one he can be proud of
Of course we have the likes of Johnson and Truss furious about it, but with 71% of the public in favour we have another demonstration of how out of touch they are
I am pleased Starmer supports it so it will become law and in time save the NHS billions and very many lives
My daughter and her husband stopped smoking at the beginning of February and are both keeping at it. One thing that I thought was interesting was that she stopped drinking then too. Apparently drink is pretty much the most common reason for those seeking to give up smoking to fail.
(I am also beginning to wonder if I might become a granddad at some point in the not too distant future).
Both my parents and my brother died prematurely with tobacco playing a major role in their demise. It is an evil thing and I would be delighted if we got rid of it.
Cigs are unusual - a drug with no upside. They make you smell, get crinkly face, get yellow fingers, make you anxious, cost you a small fortune, ruin your health, shorten your life. They'll be gone here within 20 years, I think, and I support this law which will provide a helping boot towards the door.
I've quit at last but only by cheating - I do vapes now which leaves me still a slave to nicotine. Have to deal with it at some point. Can't go into old age using these stupid things. If I do have grandkids that's all they'll remember me as - a silly old geezer forever sucking on a fluorescent tube.
An interesting idea would be to ban tobacco but regulate ecstasy. There would doubtless be social and health benefits too, as people drink much less when taking MDMA on a night out than they otherwise would.
We need to think through the unintended consequences...I mean...I'm not suggesting giving out free cigarettes to beat the obesity epidemic...but I'm not not exactly NOT suggesting it either...
I notice a recent poll looks difficult for Andy Street and assuming he loses in May, what chance of him standing in GE24, winning, and being the next leader of the conservative party
The point would appear, that he is barely more popular than the Government.
On the basis of that poll? In order to draw that conclusion we'd have to know how the West Midlands urban area intended to vote at the GE. Instinctively I would have thought it above-averagely Labour - so if Andy Street is doing better than the Conservatives there then well done him. I may be wrong however. From what I've seen of Andy Street he seems the sort of non-tribal politician we need more of.
Labour are on 52% in Westminster VI for W Midlands, and Tories on 24% I think. So Street is doing better than the party and/or the Labour candidate is doing worse than his party.
Its almost as if the principal owner appearing in a criminal court is not a good thing for the stock.
Trump Social "stock" just a means to an end . . . which is for various international bad-actors to shovel (yet more) money in Donald Trump's direction . . . in hope of future non-stock dividends.
At least that's MY hypothesis.
Anybody think that is NOT happening, or NOT the main aim of this "free enterprise" scam?
@rcs1000 and I were discussing this last night. He made the excellent point that losses on these shares make your contributions to DJT tax deductible.
The slight flaw is that the capitalisation of the company is falling fast, down to $3.26bn now, making Trump's share $1.9bn. If it continues to fall at this rate there will be very little left for him to sell in a few months time.
Even at a tenth of the current price his holding (114.8m shares) would be worth nearly $300m
And if it fell so far, the price would be far easier to manipulate by his billionaire backers.
At the current rate it will be down to a tenth of the current price in just over a week.
Is it possible to short these shares, or buy a put option or something?
I started smoking at 14 and only stopped when my daughter told both myself and her husband we could not hold her first born daughter (now 21)
I stopped immediately and it was the most difficult thing I have done but my COPD nurse told me 4 years ago that that action most certainly was a life saver for me
I cannot stand the smell or smoke, including from vapes, anywhere near me and as some have said, if this ban is Sunak's legacy then it is one he can be proud of
Of course we have the likes of Johnson and Truss furious about it, but with 71% of the public in favour we have another demonstration of how out of touch they are
I am pleased Starmer supports it so it will become law and in time save the NHS billions and very many lives
My daughter and her husband stopped smoking at the beginning of February and are both keeping at it. One thing that I thought was interesting was that she stopped drinking then too. Apparently drink is pretty much the most common reason for those seeking to give up smoking to fail.
(I am also beginning to wonder if I might become a granddad at some point in the not too distant future).
Both my parents and my brother died prematurely with tobacco playing a major role in their demise. It is an evil thing and I would be delighted if we got rid of it.
Cigs are unusual - a drug with no upside. They make you smell, get crinkly face, get yellow fingers, make you anxious, cost you a small fortune, ruin your health, shorten your life. They'll be gone here within 20 years, I think, and I support this law which will provide a helping boot towards the door.
I've quit at last but only by cheating - I do vapes now which leaves me still a slave to nicotine. Have to deal with it at some point. Can't go into old age using these stupid things. If I do have grandkids that's all they'll remember me as - a silly old geezer forever sucking on a fluorescent tube.
if nicotine has no upside how was it that three-quarters of the male population at one point used the drug? There has to be some benefit.
No, it feels great as you puff but that 'pleasure' is just the relief of the withdrawal pangs from the addiction itself (to nicotine). Why do people get hooked in the first place? Image, I'd say is the main thing. That's why I started. The perception of looking cool, which the marketing cleverly plays into. It's insidious and powerful. Eg I still think it looks cool.
I notice a recent poll looks difficult for Andy Street and assuming he loses in May, what chance of him standing in GE24, winning, and being the next leader of the conservative party
The point would appear, that he is barely more popular than the Government.
On the basis of that poll? In order to draw that conclusion we'd have to know how the West Midlands urban area intended to vote at the GE. Instinctively I would have thought it above-averagely Labour - so if Andy Street is doing better than the Conservatives there then well done him. I may be wrong however. From what I've seen of Andy Street he seems the sort of non-tribal politician we need more of.
Labour are on 52% in Westminster VI for W Midlands, and Tories on 24% I think. So Street is doing better than the party and/or the Labour candidate is doing worse than his party.
Is that West Midlands region, or West Midlands urban area? (Possibly the most unhelpfully named subdivision in the country).
I started smoking at 14 and only stopped when my daughter told both myself and her husband we could not hold her first born daughter (now 21)
I stopped immediately and it was the most difficult thing I have done but my COPD nurse told me 4 years ago that that action most certainly was a life saver for me
I cannot stand the smell or smoke, including from vapes, anywhere near me and as some have said, if this ban is Sunak's legacy then it is one he can be proud of
Of course we have the likes of Johnson and Truss furious about it, but with 71% of the public in favour we have another demonstration of how out of touch they are
I am pleased Starmer supports it so it will become law and in time save the NHS billions and very many lives
My daughter and her husband stopped smoking at the beginning of February and are both keeping at it. One thing that I thought was interesting was that she stopped drinking then too. Apparently drink is pretty much the most common reason for those seeking to give up smoking to fail.
(I am also beginning to wonder if I might become a granddad at some point in the not too distant future).
Both my parents and my brother died prematurely with tobacco playing a major role in their demise. It is an evil thing and I would be delighted if we got rid of it.
Cigs are unusual - a drug with no upside. They make you smell, get crinkly face, get yellow fingers, make you anxious, cost you a small fortune, ruin your health, shorten your life. They'll be gone here within 20 years, I think, and I support this law which will provide a helping boot towards the door.
I've quit at last but only by cheating - I do vapes now which leaves me still a slave to nicotine. Have to deal with it at some point. Can't go into old age using these stupid things. If I do have grandkids that's all they'll remember me as - a silly old geezer forever sucking on a fluorescent tube.
An interesting idea would be to ban tobacco but regulate ecstasy. There would doubtless be social and health benefits too, as people drink much less when taking MDMA on a night out than they otherwise would.
Nice idea.
Even better, legalise Ecstasy in Israel and the Palestinian territories and flood the market. War over and everyone hugging within days.
Its almost as if the principal owner appearing in a criminal court is not a good thing for the stock.
Trump Social "stock" just a means to an end . . . which is for various international bad-actors to shovel (yet more) money in Donald Trump's direction . . . in hope of future non-stock dividends.
At least that's MY hypothesis.
Anybody think that is NOT happening, or NOT the main aim of this "free enterprise" scam?
@rcs1000 and I were discussing this last night. He made the excellent point that losses on these shares make your contributions to DJT tax deductible.
The slight flaw is that the capitalisation of the company is falling fast, down to $3.26bn now, making Trump's share $1.9bn. If it continues to fall at this rate there will be very little left for him to sell in a few months time.
Even at a tenth of the current price his holding (114.8m shares) would be worth nearly $300m
And if it fell so far, the price would be far easier to manipulate by his billionaire backers.
At the current rate it will be down to a tenth of the current price in just over a week.
Stock prices don't usually move in straight lines; though DJT is challenging that truism.
I started smoking at 14 and only stopped when my daughter told both myself and her husband we could not hold her first born daughter (now 21)
I stopped immediately and it was the most difficult thing I have done but my COPD nurse told me 4 years ago that that action most certainly was a life saver for me
I cannot stand the smell or smoke, including from vapes, anywhere near me and as some have said, if this ban is Sunak's legacy then it is one he can be proud of
Of course we have the likes of Johnson and Truss furious about it, but with 71% of the public in favour we have another demonstration of how out of touch they are
I am pleased Starmer supports it so it will become law and in time save the NHS billions and very many lives
I notice a recent poll looks difficult for Andy Street and assuming he loses in May, what chance of him standing in GE24, winning, and being the next leader of the conservative party
The point would appear, that he is barely more popular than the Government.
On the basis of that poll? In order to draw that conclusion we'd have to know how the West Midlands urban area intended to vote at the GE. Instinctively I would have thought it above-averagely Labour - so if Andy Street is doing better than the Conservatives there then well done him. I may be wrong however. From what I've seen of Andy Street he seems the sort of non-tribal politician we need more of.
Labour are on 52% in Westminster VI for W Midlands, and Tories on 24% I think. So Street is doing better than the party and/or the Labour candidate is doing worse than his party.
Is that West Midlands region, or West Midlands urban area? (Possibly the most unhelpfully named subdivision in the country).
It now looks likely that an ice-free Arctic in September is inevitable and could happen pretty much any year from now, though might not happen for a few decades.
Where we can make a difference is in reducing how long the ice-free period becomes each year. If we can stop it from extending into July and June then we can reduce the extent of the positive feedback, where an ice-free Arctic absorbs the summer Arctic sunlight.
The sooner we get going with those pumps that were to spray sea water onto the existing ice and thicken it the better. Its going to get harder and harder as the ice recedes.
The eventual full melting is inevitable but the albedo effect in summer is already much reduced and vertical mixing as a result of the Atlanticisation of the Arctic ocean is already increasing, but the closer we get to zero ice, the more marginal the additional positive feedback. We may just need to accept that the Arctic ice is gone, long term.
There was a period in the early-to-mid 2010s when it looked like it had already entered a death spiral and would melt out much more quickly than models, but that was weather. We had a series of summers with negative Arctic Oscillation and high pressure in all the right places for rapid melting. The rate of change has reverted back to the longer term trend since because we've had a few years with a cloudy stormy Arctic basin.
The most depressing aspect of cryosphere melting is the much more visible loss of glaciers in our mountains. The Alps have already lost dozens of small glaciers and ice patches and most valley glaciers have shrunk to a shadow of their former selves. It's even worse in parts of the Andes, and of course Africa which may well be entirely glacier free within a decade or two.
The one part of Europe where glaciers haven't been retreating, bizarrely, is the relatively low and wonderfully named Accursed Mountains in Albania. It's so wet there, and has got wetter, that the rate of winter accumulation (something mad like 10 metres a season in the glacial corries) is keeping up with the rate of summer melting.
I find your tears on this topic rather crocodile-esque, given that sea temperatures have seen an unprecedented rise recently in response to legislation to alter maritime fuel, and you are against looking for solutions to reverse the problem, preferring to (as I recall) 'rip off the plaster'.
Being anti-tobacco and pro-cannabis at the same time is something I can't understand.
The logical scientific answer would be to ban combustion products involving inhalation of carcinogens, and legalise and regulate the same products consumed in other ways unless there is a similar level of demonstrated risk.
Its almost as if the principal owner appearing in a criminal court is not a good thing for the stock.
Trump Social "stock" just a means to an end . . . which is for various international bad-actors to shovel (yet more) money in Donald Trump's direction . . . in hope of future non-stock dividends.
At least that's MY hypothesis.
Anybody think that is NOT happening, or NOT the main aim of this "free enterprise" scam?
@rcs1000 and I were discussing this last night. He made the excellent point that losses on these shares make your contributions to DJT tax deductible.
The slight flaw is that the capitalisation of the company is falling fast, down to $3.26bn now, making Trump's share $1.9bn. If it continues to fall at this rate there will be very little left for him to sell in a few months time.
Even at a tenth of the current price his holding (114.8m shares) would be worth nearly $300m
And if it fell so far, the price would be far easier to manipulate by his billionaire backers.
At the current rate it will be down to a tenth of the current price in just over a week.
Is it possible to short these shares, or buy a put option or something?
I notice a recent poll looks difficult for Andy Street and assuming he loses in May, what chance of him standing in GE24, winning, and being the next leader of the conservative party
The point would appear, that he is barely more popular than the Government.
On the basis of that poll? In order to draw that conclusion we'd have to know how the West Midlands urban area intended to vote at the GE. Instinctively I would have thought it above-averagely Labour - so if Andy Street is doing better than the Conservatives there then well done him. I may be wrong however. From what I've seen of Andy Street he seems the sort of non-tribal politician we need more of.
Labour are on 52% in Westminster VI for W Midlands, and Tories on 24% I think. So Street is doing better than the party and/or the Labour candidate is doing worse than his party.
Is that West Midlands region, or West Midlands urban area? (Possibly the most unhelpfully named subdivision in the country).
Redfield polled for the mayoral race and asked the same people general election intentions. Street was doing 4pp better than the GE Tory vote.
Our Ange is Labour's not-so-secret weapon to win back the Red Wall. I can't imagine why there's a number of right-wing chaps on here (and elsewhere) who find a bolshie, working-class woman who speaks her mind, doesn't take any prisoners, didn't have a private education (or much of an education at all until later in life) a bit threatening to their sense of manhood. Baffling.
Its almost as if the principal owner appearing in a criminal court is not a good thing for the stock.
Trump Social "stock" just a means to an end . . . which is for various international bad-actors to shovel (yet more) money in Donald Trump's direction . . . in hope of future non-stock dividends.
At least that's MY hypothesis.
Anybody think that is NOT happening, or NOT the main aim of this "free enterprise" scam?
@rcs1000 and I were discussing this last night. He made the excellent point that losses on these shares make your contributions to DJT tax deductible.
The slight flaw is that the capitalisation of the company is falling fast, down to $3.26bn now, making Trump's share $1.9bn. If it continues to fall at this rate there will be very little left for him to sell in a few months time.
Even at a tenth of the current price his holding (114.8m shares) would be worth nearly $300m
And if it fell so far, the price would be far easier to manipulate by his billionaire backers.
At the current rate it will be down to a tenth of the current price in just over a week.
Stock prices don't usually move in straight lines; though DJT is challenging that truism.
Its a really weird stock. On fundamentals its value is probably a maximum of 1% of its current value and most likely nothing at all. There seem to be a lot of people who are determined to buy more shares to show their loyalty etc and a lot of market based traders who see this as a one way street. Its not impossible the former will prove the latter wrong for a considerable period.
Its almost as if the principal owner appearing in a criminal court is not a good thing for the stock.
Trump Social "stock" just a means to an end . . . which is for various international bad-actors to shovel (yet more) money in Donald Trump's direction . . . in hope of future non-stock dividends.
At least that's MY hypothesis.
Anybody think that is NOT happening, or NOT the main aim of this "free enterprise" scam?
@rcs1000 and I were discussing this last night. He made the excellent point that losses on these shares make your contributions to DJT tax deductible.
The slight flaw is that the capitalisation of the company is falling fast, down to $3.26bn now, making Trump's share $1.9bn. If it continues to fall at this rate there will be very little left for him to sell in a few months time.
Even at a tenth of the current price his holding (114.8m shares) would be worth nearly $300m
And if it fell so far, the price would be far easier to manipulate by his billionaire backers.
At the current rate it will be down to a tenth of the current price in just over a week.
Is it possible to short these shares, or buy a put option or something?
Yes.
Thank you! I must have a word with my man on Wall Street.
Comments
Its almost as if the principal owner appearing in a criminal court is not a good thing for the stock.
Former prime minister Liz Truss is making a rare Commons intervention to speak against the government's legislation to ban smoking."
https://news.sky.com/story/politics-latest-uk-politics-sunak-starmer-general-election-vote-labour-tories-sky-news-politics-hub-12593360
But ALFA is, of course an acronym for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili.
'Polling expert: Nearly two-thirds of public back smoking ban We find that nearly two-thirds of the public back a ban and what's particularly interesting is among those who voted Conservative in 2019, support is even higher, 71 per cent of that group back a ban'
https://tinyurl.com/yx9zf58x
I’ve made much of my betting money panning for insightful comments like this.
The only other cereal I really like is Weetabix (also with raisins). I could never stand Shredded Wheat, and am not a massive fan of porridge.
No venison….
I stopped immediately and it was the most difficult thing I have done but my COPD nurse told me 4 years ago that that action most certainly was a life saver for me
I cannot stand the smell or smoke, including from vapes, anywhere near me and as some have said, if this ban is Sunak's legacy then it is one he can be proud of
Of course we have the likes of Johnson and Truss furious about it, but with 71% of the public in favour we have another demonstration of how out of touch they are
I am pleased Starmer supports it so it will become law and in time save the NHS billions and very many lives
https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1780157811575452069?t=DqsqEa5MZFrCLEr8YS7zvQ&s=19
A 'Smoke room' where they'll dish out a solitary Benson next to the methadone room at the local clinic awaits..
At least that's MY hypothesis.
Anybody think that is NOT happening, or NOT the main aim of this "free enterprise" scam?
He's the sort of Conservative who thinks you can only be a Conservative if you join it and then spend your time attacking other Conservatives.
(I am also beginning to wonder if I might become a granddad at some point in the not too distant future).
Both my parents and my brother died prematurely with tobacco playing a major role in their demise. It is an evil thing and I would be delighted if we got rid of it.
I think the health of the nation would be better if no-one smoked - tobacco or cannabis - but I'm not convinced that criminalization has been such a roaring success in the case of one that we should follow it with the other.
Legalisation, regulation, and encouragement to desist seem like the optimal approach.
But, its not just that: it's the fawning over the Opposition and the relish with which he attacks his colleagues that I find so nauseating.
There's a cadre of Conservatives who are, socially, deeply embarrassed to be so and these sort of pieces are entirely self-centred ones written for their benefit, and not the party, as they exploit it for their own ends.
The stupidity of some people.
I would hope that the HMRC are looking closely at CGT. It is my understanding that evasion of CGT is a criminal offence.
She is definitely IMO guilty of monumental hypocrisy. Whatever she says to cover her guilty arse about not being against the right to buy, she is a senior member of a party that has opposed it in vociferous terms in the past. If she alone had benefitted from the policy that would be one thing, but the reality is that she and her husband/partner have gamed the system twice. She is a massive hypocrite, but Labour supporters are as determined as MAGAs to suggest that it must be a "witch hunt".
I can't stand smoke either.
Good for Sunak.
Of course it's one of the down ramps towards everyone having to identify themselves when they go into a shop, or other public area, but...that's coming anyway. At least in Invasions of the Bodysnatchers world it won't be smoky. Smoking is a disgustingly filthy habit.
Salvia may be the strongest naturally occurring hallucinogen in some sense or other, but smoking it is out of the question.
My father chain smoked and all of us have health issues, almost certainly as a result. Even outdoors I can’t stand smoke and vapes but that’s probably because of what happened to us. It is almost certainly what caused my mother’s cancer which killed her too before her time.
A good friend of mine has just been diagnosed with emphysema (COPD) and some iffy shadows where they shouldn’t be which she puts down to too much time spent playing in smoky clubs.
So it’s all rather classic J.S. Mill stuff really.
SEC rules mean they can't just issue more stock and sell it on a whim that day. If the price continues to crater then the value of the stock they're planning to issue does too.
Much depends on the proportion of those who bought it thinking it was worth something, and those who just see a convenient channel of money to Trump outside of election regulations.
The slight flaw is that the capitalisation of the company is falling fast, down to $3.26bn now, making Trump's share $1.9bn. If it continues to fall at this rate there will be very little left for him to sell in a few months time.
His life partner doesn’t exactly help the cause either.
I don’t think he is the solution to the impending tory party wilderness.
And if it fell so far, the price would be far easier to manipulate by his billionaire backers.
I think we could all do with a decent sense of humour in the run up to the GE. Following your example would see the place remain civil even when opinions differ.
It now looks likely that an ice-free Arctic in September is inevitable and could happen pretty much any year from now, though might not happen for a few decades.
Where we can make a difference is in reducing how long the ice-free period becomes each year. If we can stop it from extending into July and June then we can reduce the extent of the positive feedback, where an ice-free Arctic absorbs the summer Arctic sunlight.
1st class was very grand of course, oysters and filets mignons etc. but 3rd class included, guess what:
SUPPER (April 14, 1912)
Gruel Cabin Biscuits Cheese
The "evidence" from neighbours would I suspect be no more than hearsay, unless GMP say otherwise.
Today's news is that Nads thinks GMP are bad actors and the Gestapo should be employed in the interests of balance.
I've quit at last but only by cheating - I do vapes now which leaves me still a slave to nicotine. Have to deal with it at some point. Can't go into old age using these stupid things. If I do have grandkids that's all they'll remember me as - a silly old geezer forever sucking on a fluorescent tube.
Or was. Sob. Will we ever see his like again?
Mike Johnson unveils complex plan for Israel and Ukraine aid as pressure rises
Speaker rejects pressure to approve package sent over by Senate, leaving its path to passage deeply uncertain
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/15/mike-johnson-plan-aid-israel-ukraine-taiwan
Which will cost lives and territory.
The UK, however, is something of an outlier compared to other countries, which is possible a consequent of us using FPTP, because FPTP's disproportionality increases as the Parliament size decreases. This exerts an upwards pressure on the Commons' size.
And the regulators in New York are not backward in coming forward to spank those who do such things.
Did the Special Purpose Vehicle not get fined nearly $20 million last year.
Trump is collecting a fleet of Special Purpose Vehicles - dodgy businesses, Black Marias, and one assumes more on the way.
Presumably even more laws that don't exist in his head, or based on today, in his dreams.
From what I've seen of Andy Street he seems the sort of non-tribal politician we need more of.
Indeed if the conservatives had a leader of even modest talent the next Senedd election would be very interesting
There was a period in the early-to-mid 2010s when it looked like it had already entered a death spiral and would melt out much more quickly than models, but that was weather. We had a series of summers with negative Arctic Oscillation and high pressure in all the right places for rapid melting. The rate of change has reverted back to the longer term trend since because we've had a few years with a cloudy stormy Arctic basin.
The most depressing aspect of cryosphere melting is the much more visible loss of glaciers in our mountains. The Alps have already lost dozens of small glaciers and ice patches and most valley glaciers have shrunk to a shadow of their former selves. It's even worse in parts of the Andes, and of course Africa which may well be entirely glacier free within a decade or two.
The one part of Europe where glaciers haven't been retreating, bizarrely, is the relatively low and wonderfully named Accursed Mountains in Albania. It's so wet there, and has got wetter, that the rate of winter accumulation (something mad like 10 metres a season in the glacial corries) is keeping up with the rate of summer melting.
Even better, legalise Ecstasy in Israel and the Palestinian territories and flood the market. War over and everyone hugging within days.