We’re travelling to Pwllheli from Durham tomorrow. Be an interesting journey once we get into Wales. Or maybe not.
It literally bounces around between 60, 40, 30 and 20 - not always in any logical progression and not always for more than a few tens of metres - along that Pwllheli road. Enjoy. Try not to come back with 6 penalty points....
See also Vance’s recent repetition of “they” tried to assassinate President Trump.
There was a lot of “would somebody rid me of this troublesome populist” from senior figures.
There you go, trying to justify that crap. The claim that “they tried to assassinate Donald Trump” - which he made in a speech this week - is simply a lie, and it risks inciting further violence.
There's been more than one assassination attempt against him and the rhetoric of many people verged into 'stochastic terrorism' territory.
I never understand why many anti-Trumpsters try to deny the logic here.
If you are equating the man to Hitler - as many did - and saying it would be a catastrophe if he was re-elected, why would there NOT be an assassination attempt made against him? You’ve essentially said the man is pure evil and - implied at the very least and more often stated outright - he needs to be stopped at all costs. Assassination is only the most radical of those options.
Perhaps because you’re a fool who doesn’t understand the opposition to him ? You only defeat such a danger to democracy at the ballot box. Or if he’s a criminal, through the courts.
Do you really need reminding that there’s only one party which celebrates those who take the law into their own hands with a gun.
We’re travelling to Pwllheli from Durham tomorrow. Be an interesting journey once we get into Wales. Or maybe not.
If you are travelling down the A55 towards Bangor and Caernarfon it is likely to be very busy as it is the last holiday weekend of the year
Thanks Big G, I was more worried about the M62 but I’m resigned to a shit journey and currently wishing we’d never booked this 😂😂
North Wales is hugely arrractive to many and the A55 is the main road into and down to the Llyn Peninsula and Anglesey which becomes notoriously busy on fridays before Bank Holidays
Leave early and hopefully it will be OK
But most of all, enjoy our wonderful North Wales
A friend has just had a break in Llandudno. She was impressed that the beach cafe served both Horlicks and Bovril.
So, today I drove through Llangollen, Glyndyfrdwy and Corwen. These are villages on the A5, quite congested, slow - actually, you wouldn't be going much faster than 20mph through them anyway.
All three were switched from 30mph to 20mph in September last year. I have confirmed that.
Only Glyndyfrdwy is marked as a change on your map.
So it is incomplete, and you should not rely on it.
This need not be a conspiracy. As I said, the civil servants in Cardiff are thick and know very little about Wales outwith the Valleys.
But - before you make statements about the small number of places affected, please be aware your data set is flawed.
Have you raised a complaint with the Welsh Government then? Because until it's challenged and changed, it remains the evidence on which we have to rely.
It might be to do with inconsistent reporting by councils too, if you have a scan through the notes. It remains the case that there are hundreds of exceptions detailed on the map.
I really cannot understand why you just seem to ignore the fact that those living in Wales and using the roads, the politicians from all parties, and the Welsh government itself has concluded it was badly implemented and will change from next month
Talk about flogging a dead horse and frankly it is becoming boring
Chill out one-gear Glyndwr. For every political obsessive there is an equal and opposite.
We’re travelling to Pwllheli from Durham tomorrow. Be an interesting journey once we get into Wales. Or maybe not.
Journeys in Wales are always interesting.
Sometimes in good ways.
Sometimes not.
In your case, I would expect it to be good ways as you will presumably be coming along the A55 to Bangor, then pick up the new (very good) Caernarfon bypass and then take the road to Afon Wen before having a pleasant amble along the coast of Tremadoc Bay.
Those are decent roads, although they may get busy in the afternoon.
The snag is how few roads in Wales are like that. The A55 is I think the only dual carriageway north of Merthyr and west of Rhyl.
One of the bottlenecks can be where the traffic turns to cross the Britannia Bridge to Anglesey with the traffic continuing down to the Llyn
As you say the Caernarfon bypass is excellent
They did the Newtown bypass at the same time to the same standard. Makes a huge difference to everything.
Then came the moratorium on new roads because they want to encourage walking, cycling and public transport.
Do they not actually grasp those are not options in the north and west of Wales, which has three railway lines, no bus services to speak of and where distance cycling is stymied by these big things called ‘hills?’
"Michelin star restaurant turns prices back 30 years
One of London's most lauded Michelin star restaurants is turning the clock back on its prices by 30 years next month.
The nose-to-tail cooking specialists at St John, in Smithfield, will charge diners what they would have paid when the eatery first opened its doors in 1994.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, St John will offer the same dishes it served up in the mid-90s for as little as £3.50 (Welsh rarebit, if you were wondering).
Roast bone marrow and parsley salad will set you back just £4.20, while pheasant and trotter pie comes in at a very reasonable £18 between 9 and 27 September.
The Michelin Guide describes the restaurant as creating a "joyful experience" with "very little ceremony".
"As one of the foremost proponents of nose-to-tail cooking, this is the place to try new things," it reads.
The restaurant puts seasonality "at its core", said the guide, which recommends ordering the warm madeleines for the journey home."
Fair play to them, that’s a very good idea. Suspect it was totally sold out within an hour or two of the announcement though! (And the drinks will be very much 2024 high-end restaurant prices).
The Democrats have a whole roster of talented public speakers, but Buttigieg is the master of the media interview, both hostile and, like here, friendly.
The Democrats have a whole roster of talented public speakers, but Buttigieg is the master of the media interview, both hostile and, like here, friendly.
The Democrats have a whole roster of talented public speakers, but Buttigieg is the master of the media interview, both hostile and, like here, friendly.
Very good at speeches and interviews, but somewhere between crap and sh!t at his current day-job running transport.
e.g. $80bn rural broadband scheme has been an absolute disaster.
And his ignoring for weeks of the East Palestine train crash, that has ended up leaving the area with a serious amount of contaminated land and sick people.
"Michelin star restaurant turns prices back 30 years
One of London's most lauded Michelin star restaurants is turning the clock back on its prices by 30 years next month.
The nose-to-tail cooking specialists at St John, in Smithfield, will charge diners what they would have paid when the eatery first opened its doors in 1994.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, St John will offer the same dishes it served up in the mid-90s for as little as £3.50 (Welsh rarebit, if you were wondering).
Roast bone marrow and parsley salad will set you back just £4.20, while pheasant and trotter pie comes in at a very reasonable £18 between 9 and 27 September.
The Michelin Guide describes the restaurant as creating a "joyful experience" with "very little ceremony".
"As one of the foremost proponents of nose-to-tail cooking, this is the place to try new things," it reads.
The restaurant puts seasonality "at its core", said the guide, which recommends ordering the warm madeleines for the journey home."
Fair play to them, that’s a very good idea. Suspect it was totally sold out within an hour or two of the announcement though! (And the drinks will be very much 2024 high-end restaurant prices).
"Michelin star restaurant turns prices back 30 years
One of London's most lauded Michelin star restaurants is turning the clock back on its prices by 30 years next month.
The nose-to-tail cooking specialists at St John, in Smithfield, will charge diners what they would have paid when the eatery first opened its doors in 1994.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, St John will offer the same dishes it served up in the mid-90s for as little as £3.50 (Welsh rarebit, if you were wondering).
Roast bone marrow and parsley salad will set you back just £4.20, while pheasant and trotter pie comes in at a very reasonable £18 between 9 and 27 September.
The Michelin Guide describes the restaurant as creating a "joyful experience" with "very little ceremony".
"As one of the foremost proponents of nose-to-tail cooking, this is the place to try new things," it reads.
The restaurant puts seasonality "at its core", said the guide, which recommends ordering the warm madeleines for the journey home."
Fair play to them, that’s a very good idea. Suspect it was totally sold out within an hour or two of the announcement though! (And the drinks will be very much 2024 high-end restaurant prices).
Worked round the corner for 5 years and never went. Should do.
Should I feel guilty that I don't give a flying fuck about speed limits on Welsh roads?
No but the fact people feel strongly about things like this is an interesting facet of democracy. Very few people get similarly engaged in, for example, health policy, industrial policy ....
Should I feel guilty that I don't give a flying fuck about speed limits on Welsh roads?
No but the fact people feel strongly about things like this is an interesting facet of democracy. Very few people get similarly engaged in, for example, health policy, industrial policy ....
Suspect part of the answer is to do with the number of layers between the policy and the voter. If you want to drive down a road faster, or are blocked from going down it at all, it's very visible and personal.
Health policy doesn't affect most of us, most of the time, because we're generally healthy. Industrial policy affects us in terms of making us richer or poorer, but with several layers of indirectness, so we don't notice it.
See the abortion debate in the US. The mistake anti-abortion people made was to get their policy ambition to the point where it did affect people's lives directly, and hey presto there's massive enormous pushback.
(That might affect how the Wales 20mph policy review plays out. Political nature being what it is, the most likely response is "faster roads please, except for the ones within walking distance of me".)
Should I feel guilty that I don't give a flying fuck about speed limits on Welsh roads?
No but the fact people feel strongly about things like this is an interesting facet of democracy. Very few people get similarly engaged in, for example, health policy, industrial policy ....
True. But stuff like this does matter to people.
My next big campaign is against the millions of cables that hang off the front of tenements in Scotland. They are ugly, damage the masonry and rattle off the windows in the wind. Only about 20% are actually doing anything and utility companies have no obligation to remove or tidy them up, so the street ends up looking like a third world country.
This plus street scars (where they tear up the setts/paving stones and replace with tarmac) make telecoms companies worse than the water companies in my eyes.
Ta. So the states confirmed (and current poll averages from 270towin if I've read it correctly) are: Arizona (Harris +1.4) Arkansas (safe Trump) Colorado (likely Harris) Florida (Trump +5) Maryland (safe Harris) Missouri (safe Trump) Montana (Trump +15) Nebraska (safe Trump, NE2 likely Harris) Nevada (Trump +0.4) New York (Harris +14) South Dakota (safe Trump)
Looking at those, Biden won Arizona and Nevada last time. Florida would be a helluva gain for Harris, but a five point lead looks like a lot to be closed by differential enthusiasm.
The interesting one there is New York which Biden won by 23%.
A 4.5% swing to Trump in New York would follow the swing to the GOP there in the mid terms and would be big enough to have an effect on the national popular vote without, of course, any effect on the electoral votes.
We’re travelling to Pwllheli from Durham tomorrow. Be an interesting journey once we get into Wales. Or maybe not.
If you are travelling down the A55 towards Bangor and Caernarfon it is likely to be very busy as it is the last holiday weekend of the year
Thanks Big G, I was more worried about the M62 but I’m resigned to a shit journey and currently wishing we’d never booked this 😂😂
North Wales is hugely arrractive to many and the A55 is the main road into and down to the Llyn Peninsula and Anglesey which becomes notoriously busy on fridays before Bank Holidays
Leave early and hopefully it will be OK
But most of all, enjoy our wonderful North Wales
Thank you. Portmeirion on Saturday (Prisoner and Dr Who), Caernarfon Castle on Sunday.
We’re travelling to Pwllheli from Durham tomorrow. Be an interesting journey once we get into Wales. Or maybe not.
If you are travelling down the A55 towards Bangor and Caernarfon it is likely to be very busy as it is the last holiday weekend of the year
Thanks Big G, I was more worried about the M62 but I’m resigned to a shit journey and currently wishing we’d never booked this 😂😂
North Wales is hugely arrractive to many and the A55 is the main road into and down to the Llyn Peninsula and Anglesey which becomes notoriously busy on fridays before Bank Holidays
Leave early and hopefully it will be OK
But most of all, enjoy our wonderful North Wales
Thank you. Portmeirion on Saturday (Prisoner and Dr Who), Caernarfon Castle on Sunday.
Good luck we went to Llandudno last weekend and it took us 5 hours to get there - now most of the problem was various issues earlier on ( A1M accident, A66 blocked, traffic round Manchester/ Warrington) but the A55 was slow for no reason I could identify..
Will add for BigG that the Magic Bar Live does a rather fun table magic show on a Friday night...
John Rentoul @JohnRentoul · 1h In conclusion, therefore, and bearing in mind that Trump is preferred on the economy, I would say Harris is currently heading for defeat
Republicans against Trump @RpsAgainstTrump · 2h Trump is not going to like it.
Chris Wallace: “More than 20 million people watched. And by comparison, 14 million plus watched the Republican Convention on the second night. So, people are watching this convention…”
John Rentoul @JohnRentoul · 1h In conclusion, therefore, and bearing in mind that Trump is preferred on the economy, I would say Harris is currently heading for defeat
Should I feel guilty that I don't give a flying fuck about speed limits on Welsh roads?
No but the fact people feel strongly about things like this is an interesting facet of democracy. Very few people get similarly engaged in, for example, health policy, industrial policy ....
True. But stuff like this does matter to people.
My next big campaign is against the millions of cables that hang off the front of tenements in Scotland. They are ugly, damage the masonry and rattle off the windows in the wind. Only about 20% are actually doing anything and utility companies have no obligation to remove or tidy them up, so the street ends up looking like a third world country.
This plus street scars (where they tear up the setts/paving stones and replace with tarmac) make telecoms companies worse than the water companies in my eyes.
Why on earth do they have no obligation to tidy up when they presumably have fitted new ones?
John Rentoul @JohnRentoul · 1h In conclusion, therefore, and bearing in mind that Trump is preferred on the economy, I would say Harris is currently heading for defeat
We’re travelling to Pwllheli from Durham tomorrow. Be an interesting journey once we get into Wales. Or maybe not.
If you are travelling down the A55 towards Bangor and Caernarfon it is likely to be very busy as it is the last holiday weekend of the year
Thanks Big G, I was more worried about the M62 but I’m resigned to a shit journey and currently wishing we’d never booked this 😂😂
North Wales is hugely arrractive to many and the A55 is the main road into and down to the Llyn Peninsula and Anglesey which becomes notoriously busy on fridays before Bank Holidays
Leave early and hopefully it will be OK
But most of all, enjoy our wonderful North Wales
Thank you. Portmeirion on Saturday (Prisoner and Dr Who), Caernarfon Castle on Sunday.
Can recommend the hotel for a meal at Portmeirion. Probably need to book.
See also Vance’s recent repetition of “they” tried to assassinate President Trump.
There was a lot of “would somebody rid me of this troublesome populist” from senior figures.
There you go, trying to justify that crap. The claim that “they tried to assassinate Donald Trump” - which he made in a speech this week - is simply a lie, and it risks inciting further violence.
There's been more than one assassination attempt against him and the rhetoric of many people verged into 'stochastic terrorism' territory.
I never understand why many anti-Trumpsters try to deny the logic here.
If you are equating the man to Hitler - as many did - and saying it would be a catastrophe if he was re-elected, why would there NOT be an assassination attempt made against him? You’ve essentially said the man is pure evil and - implied at the very least and more often stated outright - he needs to be stopped at all costs. Assassination is only the most radical of those options.
Perhaps because you’re a fool who doesn’t understand the opposition to him ? You only defeat such a danger to democracy at the ballot box. Or if he’s a criminal, through the courts.
Do you really need reminding that there’s only one party which celebrates those who take the law into their own hands with a gun.
The Hitler argument is incoherent anyway. Would it have been justifiable to assassinate him in 1935? Bear in mind that Yes with the benefit of hindsight is not a permitted answer, because precogs aside nobody has ever done anything with the benefit of hindsight. So the answer was probably no, defeat him at the ballot box.
John Rentoul @JohnRentoul · 1h In conclusion, therefore, and bearing in mind that Trump is preferred on the economy, I would say Harris is currently heading for defeat
Quite often the BBC has main stories about people I've never heard of, like this football presenter.
The BBC likes nothing more than leading the news with a story about the BBC.
Its the lead story in the Mail and Sun.
BBC aren't leading with it, but it is their most read story, which is probably an indication of whether people are interested or not.
But hey, lets just have a cheap pop at the beeb.
The point that it's self-referential is an entirely valid one.
When its peers are leading with the story, and the BBC are not leading with the story, it is entirely valid to complain about the BBC liking to lead with BBC trivia? Of course.
See also Vance’s recent repetition of “they” tried to assassinate President Trump.
There was a lot of “would somebody rid me of this troublesome populist” from senior figures.
There you go, trying to justify that crap. The claim that “they tried to assassinate Donald Trump” - which he made in a speech this week - is simply a lie, and it risks inciting further violence.
There's been more than one assassination attempt against him and the rhetoric of many people verged into 'stochastic terrorism' territory.
I never understand why many anti-Trumpsters try to deny the logic here.
If you are equating the man to Hitler - as many did - and saying it would be a catastrophe if he was re-elected, why would there NOT be an assassination attempt made against him? You’ve essentially said the man is pure evil and - implied at the very least and more often stated outright - he needs to be stopped at all costs. Assassination is only the most radical of those options.
Perhaps because you’re a fool who doesn’t understand the opposition to him ? You only defeat such a danger to democracy at the ballot box. Or if he’s a criminal, through the courts.
Do you really need reminding that there’s only one party which celebrates those who take the law into their own hands with a gun.
The Hitler argument is incoherent anyway. Would it have been justifiable to assassinate him in 1935? Bear in mind that Yes with the benefit of hindsight is not a permitted answer, because precogs aside nobody has ever done anything with the benefit of hindsight. So the answer was probably no, defeat him at the ballot box.
However now we have the lessons of history available to us, and we endlessly see people arguing that 'this is how it starts'.
The last time that there was a poll that had Trump in the lead that wasn't Rasmussen was the Harvard Harris poll on the 26th to 28th July. All of the polls since then with Trump in the lead have been Rasmussen and those polls are why the "average" lead is so much less than all the recent polls by everyone else.
Quite often the BBC has main stories about people I've never heard of, like this football presenter.
The BBC likes nothing more than leading the news with a story about the BBC.
Its the lead story in the Mail and Sun.
BBC aren't leading with it, but it is their most read story, which is probably an indication of whether people are interested or not.
But hey, lets just have a cheap pop at the beeb.
The point that it's self-referential is an entirely valid one.
When its peers are leading with the story, and the BBC are not leading with the story, it is entirely valid to complain about the BBC liking to lead with BBC trivia? Of course.
It’s not the lead on the BBC homepage - but it’s currently the most read story. Is he something to do with football ? Then it’s news in this country,
I could care less… though it would be a serious effort.
But I’m pretty sure if they hadn’t given it a certain amount of prominence, some people would be complaining about a coverup,
Quite often the BBC has main stories about people I've never heard of, like this football presenter.
The BBC likes nothing more than leading the news with a story about the BBC.
Its the lead story in the Mail and Sun.
BBC aren't leading with it, but it is their most read story, which is probably an indication of whether people are interested or not.
But hey, lets just have a cheap pop at the beeb.
The point that it's self-referential is an entirely valid one.
When its peers are leading with the story, and the BBC are not leading with the story, it is entirely valid to complain about the BBC liking to lead with BBC trivia? Of course.
It’s not the lead on the BBC homepage - but it’s currently the most read story. Is he something to do with football ? Then it’s news in this country,
I could care less… though it would be a serious effort.
But I’m pretty sure if they hadn’t given it a certain amount of prominence, some people would be complaining about a coverup,
The original point is true though. The BBC does generally give a LOT of airtime to stories about itself, whether positive or negative. Hard to see what the substance of this one is, yet.
Quite often the BBC has main stories about people I've never heard of, like this football presenter.
The BBC likes nothing more than leading the news with a story about the BBC.
Its the lead story in the Mail and Sun.
BBC aren't leading with it, but it is their most read story, which is probably an indication of whether people are interested or not.
But hey, lets just have a cheap pop at the beeb.
The point that it's self-referential is an entirely valid one.
When its peers are leading with the story, and the BBC are not leading with the story, it is entirely valid to complain about the BBC liking to lead with BBC trivia? Of course.
It’s not the lead on the BBC homepage - but it’s currently the most read story. Is he something to do with football ? Then it’s news in this country,
I could care less… though it would be a serious effort.
But I’m pretty sure if they hadn’t given it a certain amount of prominence, some people would be complaining about a coverup,
The original point is true though. The BBC does generally give a LOT of airtime to stories about itself, whether positive or negative. Hard to see what the substance of this one is, yet.
The number of "Must watch this Season!" puff-pieces they do about their own shows is getting a bit much. Also 'investigative' pieces about old crimes which then - surprise! - turn out to be a forthcoming dramatisation on one of their channels.
I pay my license fee more in faint hope than anything these days. I don't think I've watched any BBC TV output so far this year. Radio-wise just PM and BH on radio 4.
It's really a struggle to keep my intrinsic 'pro BBC' bias going.
Some quite wild rumours coming over the border from Russia in Tallinn tonight. Emergency meetings, plots and counter plots. The Rouble seems to have gone over the edge and even Elvira Nabiullina seems unable to bring it back, basically the government has run out of cash. Putin is AWOL and despite his doubles making an appearance, the real thing, when he has appeared, seems like a rabbit in the headlights. Big decisions seem to be in train, but neither the army nor the FSB seems in control of events, even while they are at daggers drawn with each other.
Rumours are swirling about trouble in Belarus as the regime there is cracking down still further on dissent.
August is a dangerous time in Russian history, it feels like something might be about to break.
Some quite wild rumours coming over the border from Russia in Tallinn tonight. Emergency meetings, plots and counter plots. The Rouble seems to have gone over the edge and even Elvira Nabiullina seems unable to bring it back, basically the government has run out of cash. Putin is AWOL and despite his doubles making an appearance, the real thing, when he has appeared, seems like a rabbit in the headlights. Big decisions seem to be in train, but neither the army nor the FSB seems in control of events, even while they are at daggers drawn with each other.
Rumours are swirling about trouble in Belarus as the regime there is cracking down still further on dissent.
August is a dangerous time in Russian history, it feels like something might be about to break.
Some quite wild rumours coming over the border from Russia in Tallinn tonight. Emergency meetings, plots and counter plots. The Rouble seems to have gone over the edge and even Elvira Nabiullina seems unable to bring it back, basically the government has run out of cash. Putin is AWOL and despite his doubles making an appearance, the real thing, when he has appeared, seems like a rabbit in the headlights. Big decisions seem to be in train, but neither the army nor the FSB seems in control of events, even while they are at daggers drawn with each other.
Rumours are swirling about trouble in Belarus as the regime there is cracking down still further on dissent.
August is a dangerous time in Russian history, it feels like something might be about to break.
Oohhh, this could be fun!
Zelensky announced as the new president and the SMO to unify the two countries declared a full success.
Some quite wild rumours coming over the border from Russia in Tallinn tonight. Emergency meetings, plots and counter plots. The Rouble seems to have gone over the edge and even Elvira Nabiullina seems unable to bring it back, basically the government has run out of cash. Putin is AWOL and despite his doubles making an appearance, the real thing, when he has appeared, seems like a rabbit in the headlights. Big decisions seem to be in train, but neither the army nor the FSB seems in control of events, even while they are at daggers drawn with each other.
Rumours are swirling about trouble in Belarus as the regime there is cracking down still further on dissent.
August is a dangerous time in Russian history, it feels like something might be about to break.
Oohhh, this could be fun!
Zelensky announced as the new president and the SMO to unify the two countries declared a full success.
Like it!
Amazingly, it now appears that the Russian army has nothing left to give, we’re now 18 days into the Ukranian invasion of Russia and there’s nothing coming to rescue them bar conscripts waving white flags.
Some quite wild rumours coming over the border from Russia in Tallinn tonight. Emergency meetings, plots and counter plots. The Rouble seems to have gone over the edge and even Elvira Nabiullina seems unable to bring it back, basically the government has run out of cash. Putin is AWOL and despite his doubles making an appearance, the real thing, when he has appeared, seems like a rabbit in the headlights. Big decisions seem to be in train, but neither the army nor the FSB seems in control of events, even while they are at daggers drawn with each other.
Rumours are swirling about trouble in Belarus as the regime there is cracking down still further on dissent.
August is a dangerous time in Russian history, it feels like something might be about to break.
Some quite wild rumours coming over the border from Russia in Tallinn tonight. Emergency meetings, plots and counter plots. The Rouble seems to have gone over the edge and even Elvira Nabiullina seems unable to bring it back, basically the government has run out of cash. Putin is AWOL and despite his doubles making an appearance, the real thing, when he has appeared, seems like a rabbit in the headlights. Big decisions seem to be in train, but neither the army nor the FSB seems in control of events, even while they are at daggers drawn with each other.
Rumours are swirling about trouble in Belarus as the regime there is cracking down still further on dissent.
August is a dangerous time in Russian history, it feels like something might be about to break.
Should I feel guilty that I don't give a flying fuck about speed limits on Welsh roads?
No but the fact people feel strongly about things like this is an interesting facet of democracy. Very few people get similarly engaged in, for example, health policy, industrial policy ....
True. But stuff like this does matter to people.
My next big campaign is against the millions of cables that hang off the front of tenements in Scotland. They are ugly, damage the masonry and rattle off the windows in the wind. Only about 20% are actually doing anything and utility companies have no obligation to remove or tidy them up, so the street ends up looking like a third world country.
This plus street scars (where they tear up the setts/paving stones and replace with tarmac) make telecoms companies worse than the water companies in my eyes.
Why on earth do they have no obligation to tidy up when they presumably have fitted new ones?
In practice they don't in England either. The obligation is to restore the surface (it couldn't really be anything else, could it) but once the Wild West had been created starting with Mrs Thatcher's day, there was no capacity for regulation so we now have a version of chaos.
Of course there is no coordination, so it is normal for brand new high quality surfaces to be wrecked by Rush, Bodge and Carapulator who come along to install something soon after the project has finished.
There are several roads in my town where I have cycle in the middle of the lane for tens or hundreds of metres because the line I would like to follow is either sunken enough due to the installation of pipes / cables which have not been made sufficiently good to be dangerous, or are bumpy because there are sunken surfaces of refilled holes every few metres created looking for a gas or water leak.
It's a shit rules, planning, capacity of LHAs to manage, and couldn't give a damn by the contractors issue.
On topic - the Dems are running a very smart campaign but at the end of the day their biggest plus is one Donald Trump. He just cannot help himself. They push his buttons and he does just what they need him to.
Some quite wild rumours coming over the border from Russia in Tallinn tonight. Emergency meetings, plots and counter plots. The Rouble seems to have gone over the edge and even Elvira Nabiullina seems unable to bring it back, basically the government has run out of cash. Putin is AWOL and despite his doubles making an appearance, the real thing, when he has appeared, seems like a rabbit in the headlights. Big decisions seem to be in train, but neither the army nor the FSB seems in control of events, even while they are at daggers drawn with each other.
Rumours are swirling about trouble in Belarus as the regime there is cracking down still further on dissent.
August is a dangerous time in Russian history, it feels like something might be about to break.
Some quite wild rumours coming over the border from Russia in Tallinn tonight. Emergency meetings, plots and counter plots. The Rouble seems to have gone over the edge and even Elvira Nabiullina seems unable to bring it back, basically the government has run out of cash. Putin is AWOL and despite his doubles making an appearance, the real thing, when he has appeared, seems like a rabbit in the headlights. Big decisions seem to be in train, but neither the army nor the FSB seems in control of events, even while they are at daggers drawn with each other.
Rumours are swirling about trouble in Belarus as the regime there is cracking down still further on dissent.
August is a dangerous time in Russian history, it feels like something might be about to break.
Some quite wild rumours coming over the border from Russia in Tallinn tonight. Emergency meetings, plots and counter plots. The Rouble seems to have gone over the edge and even Elvira Nabiullina seems unable to bring it back, basically the government has run out of cash. Putin is AWOL and despite his doubles making an appearance, the real thing, when he has appeared, seems like a rabbit in the headlights. Big decisions seem to be in train, but neither the army nor the FSB seems in control of events, even while they are at daggers drawn with each other.
Rumours are swirling about trouble in Belarus as the regime there is cracking down still further on dissent.
August is a dangerous time in Russian history, it feels like something might be about to break.
Oohhh, this could be fun!
Zelensky announced as the new president and the SMO to unify the two countries declared a full success.
Like it!
Amazingly, it now appears that the Russian army has nothing left to give, we’re now 18 days into the Ukranian invasion of Russia and there’s nothing coming to rescue them bar conscripts waving white flags.
Be bloody funny if Putin falls before his mate Trump can get his hands on the oval office desk again and bail him out.
See also Vance’s recent repetition of “they” tried to assassinate President Trump.
There was a lot of “would somebody rid me of this troublesome populist” from senior figures.
There you go, trying to justify that crap. The claim that “they tried to assassinate Donald Trump” - which he made in a speech this week - is simply a lie, and it risks inciting further violence.
There's been more than one assassination attempt against him and the rhetoric of many people verged into 'stochastic terrorism' territory.
I never understand why many anti-Trumpsters try to deny the logic here.
If you are equating the man to Hitler - as many did - and saying it would be a catastrophe if he was re-elected, why would there NOT be an assassination attempt made against him? You’ve essentially said the man is pure evil and - implied at the very least and more often stated outright - he needs to be stopped at all costs. Assassination is only the most radical of those options.
Perhaps because you’re a fool who doesn’t understand the opposition to him ? You only defeat such a danger to democracy at the ballot box. Or if he’s a criminal, through the courts.
Do you really need reminding that there’s only one party which celebrates those who take the law into their own hands with a gun.
The Hitler argument is incoherent anyway. Would it have been justifiable to assassinate him in 1935? Bear in mind that Yes with the benefit of hindsight is not a permitted answer, because precogs aside nobody has ever done anything with the benefit of hindsight. So the answer was probably no, defeat him at the ballot box.
An offer was also made in spring 1939 by Lieutenant General Sir Frank Noel Mason-MacFarlane, who was Liltary Attache at the British Embassy in Berlin. He was turned down by Lord Halifax.
Mason-MacFarlane proposed the assassination of Adolf Hitler, an offer turned down by his superiors. The Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax said of Mason-MacFarlane's plan to assassinate Hitler while he was on a stand reviewing the Wehrmacht for his 50th birthday celebrations on 20 April 1939: "We have not reached that stage … when we have to use assassination as a substitute for diplomacy." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Mason-MacFarlane
An interesting man - he was Governor of Gibralter in WW2.
The last time that there was a poll that had Trump in the lead that wasn't Rasmussen was the Harvard Harris poll on the 26th to 28th July. All of the polls since then with Trump in the lead have been Rasmussen and those polls are why the "average" lead is so much less than all the recent polls by everyone else.
Yeh, but we have to abandon five way voting surveys now as Kennedy is dropping out tomorrow in exchange for being Trump's vaccine Czar.
Comments
Beautiful though.
You only defeat such a danger to democracy at the ballot box. Or if he’s a criminal, through the courts.
Do you really need reminding that there’s only one party which celebrates those who take the law into their own hands with a gun.
Then came the moratorium on new roads because they want to encourage walking, cycling and public transport.
Do they not actually grasp those are not options in the north and west of Wales, which has three railway lines, no bus services to speak of and where distance cycling is stymied by these big things called ‘hills?’
https://www.theguardian.com/food/article/2024/aug/22/london-restaurant-st-john-offers-its-nose-to-tail-food-at-1994-prices
Maine District 2:
2024 UNH poll: Harris 52, Trump 47
2020 Result: Trump 52, Biden 45
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/
Incidentally the 'dyvr' bit is the original Welsh/Brithonic form of Dover...
Is this a "sacking" or was his contract just not renewed?
Health policy doesn't affect most of us, most of the time, because we're generally healthy. Industrial policy affects us in terms of making us richer or poorer, but with several layers of indirectness, so we don't notice it.
See the abortion debate in the US. The mistake anti-abortion people made was to get their policy ambition to the point where it did affect people's lives directly, and hey presto there's massive enormous pushback.
(That might affect how the Wales 20mph policy review plays out. Political nature being what it is, the most likely response is "faster roads please, except for the ones within walking distance of me".)
BBC aren't leading with it, but it is their most read story, which is probably an indication of whether people are interested or not.
But hey, lets just have a cheap pop at the beeb.
My next big campaign is against the millions of cables that hang off the front of tenements in Scotland. They are ugly, damage the masonry and rattle off the windows in the wind. Only about 20% are actually doing anything and utility companies have no obligation to remove or tidy them up, so the street ends up looking like a third world country.
This plus street scars (where they tear up the setts/paving stones and replace with tarmac) make telecoms companies worse than the water companies in my eyes.
A 4.5% swing to Trump in New York would follow the swing to the GOP there in the mid terms and would be big enough to have an effect on the national popular vote without, of course, any effect on the electoral votes.
Russian train ferry across the Kerch Straait is well and truly f*cked. Apparently this is the only large train ferry on the route.
https://x.com/The_Real_ITDUDE/status/1826667183780544977
(The f*cks are a homage to the Russian who described a Ukrainian attack on an airfield last night.)
Will add for BigG that the Magic Bar Live does a rather fun table magic show on a Friday night...
Have you seen them?
@RpsAgainstTrump
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2h
Trump is not going to like it.
Chris Wallace: “More than 20 million people watched. And by comparison, 14 million plus watched the Republican Convention on the second night. So, people are watching this convention…”
https://x.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1826651676205613533
Perhaps the wrong word.
They wont respond to poll companies believing they are part of the fake news industry as they have been brainwashed by the Cult.
Allegedly full of fuel tankers, which seems somewhat obvious from the pictures.
Just the bridge to go.
Oh sorry, you said Cult.
Or just lots of ice cream, if you prefer.
The evidence is the evidence.
Ukraine is the biggest testing ground for NATO kit ever.
When it's deployed in scale the Russians have no answer.
https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/president/general/2024/trump-vs-harris-vs-kennedy-vs-stein-vs-west
The last time that there was a poll that had Trump in the lead that wasn't Rasmussen was the Harvard Harris poll on the 26th to 28th July. All of the polls since then with Trump in the lead have been Rasmussen and those polls are why the "average" lead is so much less than all the recent polls by everyone else.
Is he something to do with football ? Then it’s news in this country,
I could care less… though it would be a serious effort.
But I’m pretty sure if they hadn’t given it a certain amount of prominence, some people would be complaining about a coverup,
Hard to see what the substance of this one is, yet.
What could possibly go wrong?
North Carolina Harris 46 Trump 45
I pay my license fee more in faint hope than anything these days. I don't think I've watched any BBC TV output so far this year. Radio-wise just PM and BH on radio 4.
It's really a struggle to keep my intrinsic 'pro BBC' bias going.
Crowdstrike hits out at their competitors for their commentary on the CS outage on 19th July.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/08/crowdstrike-unhappy-with-shady-commentary-from-competitors-after-outage/
Well Crowdstrike can f*** off, and then f*** off some more. Some of us didn’t even get the offer of the $10 gift voucher.
(Did you ever doubt that Y Doethur ('the Doctor') was a pun?)
Rumours are swirling about trouble in Belarus as the regime there is cracking down still further on dissent.
August is a dangerous time in Russian history, it feels like something might be about to break.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2444394-part-of-the-atlantic-is-cooling-at-record-speed-and-nobody-knows-why/
Amazingly, it now appears that the Russian army has nothing left to give, we’re now 18 days into the Ukranian invasion of Russia and there’s nothing coming to rescue them bar conscripts waving white flags.
Of course there is no coordination, so it is normal for brand new high quality surfaces to be wrecked by Rush, Bodge and Carapulator who come along to install something soon after the project has finished.
There are several roads in my town where I have cycle in the middle of the lane for tens or hundreds of metres because the line I would like to follow is either sunken enough due to the installation of pipes / cables which have not been made sufficiently good to be dangerous, or are bumpy because there are sunken surfaces of refilled holes every few metres created looking for a gas or water leak.
It's a shit rules, planning, capacity of LHAs to manage, and couldn't give a damn by the contractors issue.
The dildo of consequences rarely arrives lubed.
https://x.com/DarthPutinKGB/status/1826612181057876248
At least it means we get to see some of his gags.
Mason-MacFarlane proposed the assassination of Adolf Hitler, an offer turned down by his superiors. The Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax said of Mason-MacFarlane's plan to assassinate Hitler while he was on a stand reviewing the Wehrmacht for his 50th birthday celebrations on 20 April 1939: "We have not reached that stage … when we have to use assassination as a substitute for diplomacy."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Mason-MacFarlane
An interesting man - he was Governor of Gibralter in WW2.
Allie Hodgkins-Brown
@AllieHBNews
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Friday’s FINANCIAL Times: “AstraZeneca threatens vaccine plant shift to US after Reeves weighs aid cut” ##TomorrowsPapersToday
https://x.com/AllieHBNews