Unsurprising (now) news from the USA - Mr Trump has pulled out of yet another interview. That is I think four or five in a week. He also pulled out of a NRA rally. I've made a joke of this but it really is quite notable. Are they trying to cruise to victory or is he really so weak and vulnerable that his staff don't trust hium out on his own and are able to stop him over-ruling them. Just very odd. Meanwhile Harris and camp seem to be doing exactly what you would expect a campaign to do in a tight race. Even if you think you are ahead you should work and act like you are behind.
I expect Mordaunt to be Tory leader within 18 months, genuinely.
There are no other obvious candidates that spring to mind that pass the public's "could you imagine them as Prime Minister" test mentioned below.
Nige is as likely as anyone, including the current two candidates.
He has the advantage of currently being an MP.
Mordaunt's difficulty is that she would have to win a by-election first. There is a window of opportunity between "Conservatives doing badly enough to want to change their leader" and "Conservatives doing well enough to hold a seat at a by-election", but it's not a massive one.
Talking of which, Techne's out. Depending on how you want to read it, either MOE noise-Labour still ahead or a bit more drift away from the government.
SPLORG 47. Up from 41 at the 2024 GE. The current trend is disastrous for both Labour and Conservatives. Neither party ever mentions it, which is unreal.
A swing of 3.5% from Labour to Tory since the GE is hardly disastrous
Last night's results (as per Mark Pack) seem reasonably good for the Conservatives. Unfortunately he doesn't always show turnout.
Average results last night:
Lab: -10.0 defending average PNV of 34.5 Con: +4.3 defending average PNV of 27.0
Unsurprising (now) news from the USA - Mr Trump has pulled out of yet another interview. That is I think four or five in a week. He also pulled out of a NRA rally. I've made a joke of this but it really is quite notable. Are they trying to cruise to victory or is he really so weak and vulnerable that his staff don't trust hium out on his own and are able to stop him over-ruling them. Just very odd. Meanwhile Harris and camp seem to be doing exactly what you would expect a campaign to do in a tight race. Even if you think you are ahead you should work and act like you are behind.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
Yeah, standards are typically good things.
Standards are good things, but mandatory standards less so. I'm all in favour of USB Type-C replacing things like Micro-B USB on devices that have held off changing, but I do wonder how something like Lightning, which was genuinely superior and innovative when it came out, would be released in a world where USB-C is now mandatory on a whole range of devices.
What are your thoughts on the BS 1363 standard?
Stifled all sorts of innovation
On standards, an LED floor lamp we bought a few years back had insufficient (low voltage, might be 5V, I'd have to check) cable to go from the nearest power socket to its position. Luckily the power adapter end just plugged in with... DIN 41529 (of course). So I was able to run a low V extension cable by buying some suitable plugs and sockets to make my own extension lead. Took me ages to identify the connector though (this was before Google lens and the like, which I guess would probably have done it).
WTF was wrong with one of the myriad barrel DC connectors, if they wouldn't use USB? (Of course, if not 5V I guess they couldn't/shouldn't use USB).
ETA: Wikipedia does reference its use on LED lamps, so mine can't be unique.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
Yeah, standards are typically good things.
Standards are good things, but mandatory standards less so. I'm all in favour of USB Type-C replacing things like Micro-B USB on devices that have held off changing, but I do wonder how something like Lightning, which was genuinely superior and innovative when it came out, would be released in a world where USB-C is now mandatory on a whole range of devices.
What are your thoughts on the BS 1363 standard?
Funnily enough I remember years and years ago, certainly pre-iPhone talking about why something like USB might eventually replace many of the sockets in the home. This has sort of happened, it's just that we have chargers all over the place bridging the socket to the device, or we have sockets with usually crappy USB-A ports at about 2A. What would be better is making something like USB Type-C PD3.1 at 240W a standard. That would power almost everything most homes need bar kitchen appliances.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
I am not convinced that it is really a problem now. Apple were playing silly buggers but with combination of EU regulation and that the fact USB-C is just better in terms of bandwidth, the whole industry is moving to that anyway.
Harris's Fox interviewer effectively admits he's a liar. An honest journalist would have apologised straight afterwards; in the unlikely event it was an honest mistake, they'd have known very quickly.
Damn these infernal Nipponese, but that really is the best beef I’ve ever had
I’ve always been unimpressed by Wagyu until now. But never had it in Japan. I guess when you are very near Kobe…..
That is probably because you haven't had the proper stuff....Stuff labelled as Wagyu in the West is commonly not real Wagyu. In the 80s the Japanese exported a small number of their cattle to the West, which were then interbred and allowed producers to call it Wagyu despite neither the same conditions and now being about as Wagyu as Elizabeth Warren is Native American.
I think Badenoch will be a bit like Hague. Brilliant at PMQs, hammered in the GE. At least they're skipping the IDS/Jenrick stage this time.
Wasn't IDS what happened after Hague lost? The loser's cycle in both 1997 and 2010 was "plausible but wrong junior Cabinet minister" followed by "unelectable fruitloop".
With Badenochv looks they are going straight to unelectable fruitloop. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.
IDS's big drawback wasn't fruitloopery but because he was electorally unattractive - looked odd, didn't smile much, not particularly gifted rhetorically. Politically he was little different from Hague - Hague was just more articulate (in its broadest sense).
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
I am not convinced that it is really a problem now. Apple were playing silly buggers but with combination of EU regulation and that the fact USB-C is just better in terms of bandwidth, the whole industry is moving to that anyway.
The issue is not now. It's in 20 years time when we have ultra fast charging, wireless charging, or ultra fast wireless charging as a defacto standard (all technically possible) but every device's design is compromised by the mandatory insertion of an unused USB C port.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
I am not convinced that it is really a problem now. Apple were playing silly buggers but with combination of EU regulation and that the fact USB-C is just better in terms of bandwidth, the whole industry is moving to that anyway.
The issue is not now. It's in 20 years time when we have ultra fast charging, wireless charging, or ultra fast wireless charging as a defacto standard (all technically possible) but every device's design is compromised by the mandatory insertion of an unused USB C port.
Is it mandatory in that way, or is it that if a port is used it must be USB-C. e.g, there are devices that only have wireless charging options.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
I get the impression that some people would still prefer we had a regional time difference for Bristol.
Standardization is generally good and helped drive the industrial revelution.
One of my heroes is Joseph Whitworth.
Blanche would be screaming: "Why standardise screw threads!!! They're stifling innovation!"
Just been reading the latest Aeroplane Monthly. Canadians restoring a DH Mosquito with the greatest care. Having to go to an Austrian factory to get the right British Standard screws ...
Damn these infernal Nipponese, but that really is the best beef I’ve ever had
I’ve always been unimpressed by Wagyu until now. But never had it in Japan. I guess when you are very near Kobe…..
That is probably because you haven't had the proper stuff....Stuff labelled as Wagyu in the West is commonly not real Wagyu. In the 80s the Japanese exported a small number of their cattle to the West, which were then interbred and allowed producers to call it Wagyu despite neither the same conditions and now being about as Wagyu as Elizabeth Warren is Native American.
I clearly haven’t
This is a different breed of meat, entirely, literally and metaphorically
it’s like steak times a million, in the fever dream of a Highlands starveling. So soft and so rich, intense in the best way
If I may elevate the tone, this steak is to normal steak what a blow job is to a wank. With this one you just lie back and sigh with pleasure….
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
I am not convinced that it is really a problem now. Apple were playing silly buggers but with combination of EU regulation and that the fact USB-C is just better in terms of bandwidth, the whole industry is moving to that anyway.
Back in the day I used to sell camera films. 120, 620, 127, then Kodak brought out Instamatics. The serious photographers, of course, used 35mm. Still available, of course except 620.
Unsurprising (now) news from the USA - Mr Trump has pulled out of yet another interview. That is I think four or five in a week. He also pulled out of a NRA rally. I've made a joke of this but it really is quite notable. Are they trying to cruise to victory or is he really so weak and vulnerable that his staff don't trust hium out on his own and are able to stop him over-ruling them. Just very odd. Meanwhile Harris and camp seem to be doing exactly what you would expect a campaign to do in a tight race. Even if you think you are ahead you should work and act like you are behind.
The 538 figures this morning are 52:48 in favour of Harris, the lowest I have seen for some considerable time. Those numbers do ring a bell though...
C’mon, PB, who doesn’t like a nice matsuba needle, especially with persimmon fu
What is it? Pine?
If I google it I get a load of stuff about decorative arts and crafts.
I’ve no idea, I just wolfed it all down like a pleb, and it was good
I was hungry
However my hunger slowed enough for me to acknowledge one singular truth: I will never understand the Asian culinary worship of the abalone. It’s a rubbery piece of fuck. It’s like eating an old bathtoy. Always
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
I am not convinced that it is really a problem now. Apple were playing silly buggers but with combination of EU regulation and that the fact USB-C is just better in terms of bandwidth, the whole industry is moving to that anyway.
The issue is not now. It's in 20 years time when we have ultra fast charging, wireless charging, or ultra fast wireless charging as a defacto standard (all technically possible) but every device's design is compromised by the mandatory insertion of an unused USB C port.
Yes that is the obvious downside and why politicians and technology should never mix.
I think there could have been some smarter thinking about legalisation around right to repair, availability of choice, parts, etc. Because this is the real problem, the likes of Apple deliberately make their devices basically unrepairable by anybody but them with nonsense like if you replace a part that really is a few cents with not the official certified one it basically goes into limp mode.
"If you’re a registered Pennsylvania voter, you & whoever referred you will now get $100 for signing our petition in support of free speech & right to bear arms.
Earn money for supporting something you already believe in!
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
I am not convinced that it is really a problem now. Apple were playing silly buggers but with combination of EU regulation and that the fact USB-C is just better in terms of bandwidth, the whole industry is moving to that anyway.
The issue is not now. It's in 20 years time when we have ultra fast charging, wireless charging, or ultra fast wireless charging as a defacto standard (all technically possible) but every device's design is compromised by the mandatory insertion of an unused USB C port.
Is it mandatory in that way, or is it that if a port is used it must be USB-C. e.g, there are devices that only have wireless charging options.
Don't know. You can read the directive here (or ask GPT to summarise of course). I don't intend to. But point is it'll be USB-C not just "a connection that is physically identical to USB C". So limited to 240 Watts. Which sounds like loads now of course, but who knows what super fast charging we could be missing out in time...
This is more "regulation is innovation" bollocks. I do partly blame Apple for taking the piss though.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
I get the impression that some people would still prefer we had a regional time difference for Bristol.
Standardization is generally good and helped drive the industrial revelution.
One of my heroes is Joseph Whitworth.
Blanche would be screaming: "Why standardise screw threads!!! They're stifling innovation!"
Whitworth screw threads succeeded because they were well thought out and easy to produce.
As a counter example, in the US, there was an attempt at standardising on a EV plug. The standard chosen and backed by government subsidies was terrible. As a result of that and a low build out rate, it is being ditched for J3400 NACS
Of course they won't revive HS2. There will, however, be an additional speedy railway between our second cities.
In the same way that the next Labour leader after Starmer will negotiate a market union and single customs arrangement with the EU. Because that will definitely be totally different.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
I am not convinced that it is really a problem now. Apple were playing silly buggers but with combination of EU regulation and that the fact USB-C is just better in terms of bandwidth, the whole industry is moving to that anyway.
The issue is not now. It's in 20 years time when we have ultra fast charging, wireless charging, or ultra fast wireless charging as a defacto standard (all technically possible) but every device's design is compromised by the mandatory insertion of an unused USB C port.
Is it mandatory in that way, or is it that if a port is used it must be USB-C. e.g, there are devices that only have wireless charging options.
Don't know. You can read the directive here (or ask GPT to summarise of course). I don't intend to. But point is it'll be USB-C not just "a connection that is physically identical to USB C". So limited to 240 Watts. Which sounds like loads now of course, but who knows what super fast charging we could be missing out in time...
This is more "regulation is innovation" bollocks. I do partly blame Apple for taking the piss though.
To be fair to Apple, they came up with their connector back when everyone else was using Mini-USB. Which was one of the worst connectors of modern times.
There was, IIRC, an attempt to mandate Mini-USB as a mandatory standard. Which died because of the evident insanity of the connector as a standard.
I believe that there are executions - if your device is wireless only charging, for example, the EU regulations don't demand a physical charging port.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
I get the impression that some people would still prefer we had a regional time difference for Bristol.
Standardization is generally good and helped drive the industrial revelution.
One of my heroes is Joseph Whitworth.
Blanche would be screaming: "Why standardise screw threads!!! They're stifling innovation!"
Whitworth screw threads succeeded because they were well thought out and easy to produce.
As a counter example, in the US, there was an attempt at standardising on a EV plug. The standard chosen and backed by government subsidies was terrible. As a result of that and a low build out rate, it is being ditched for J3400 NACS
Plus there is a big difference between standardisation and mandatory standards. We were already converging on "Apple" and "USB-C" without the EU fiddling. This was being driven for good technical reasons, not bureaucratic wankers. All they've achieved is an obstacle if/when there is a good technical reason to diverge to some other different standard.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
I am not convinced that it is really a problem now. Apple were playing silly buggers but with combination of EU regulation and that the fact USB-C is just better in terms of bandwidth, the whole industry is moving to that anyway.
The issue is not now. It's in 20 years time when we have ultra fast charging, wireless charging, or ultra fast wireless charging as a defacto standard (all technically possible) but every device's design is compromised by the mandatory insertion of an unused USB C port.
Is it mandatory in that way, or is it that if a port is used it must be USB-C. e.g, there are devices that only have wireless charging options.
Don't know. You can read the directive here (or ask GPT to summarise of course). I don't intend to. But point is it'll be USB-C not just "a connection that is physically identical to USB C". So limited to 240 Watts. Which sounds like loads now of course, but who knows what super fast charging we could be missing out in time...
This is more "regulation is innovation" bollocks. I do partly blame Apple for taking the piss though.
To be fair to Apple, they came up with their connector back when everyone else was using Mini-USB. Which was one of the worst connectors of modern times.
There was, IIRC, an attempt to mandate Mini-USB as a mandatory standard. Which died because of the evident insanity of the connector as a standard.
I believe that there are executions - if your device is wireless only charging, for example, the EU regulations don't demand a physical charging port.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
I am not convinced that it is really a problem now. Apple were playing silly buggers but with combination of EU regulation and that the fact USB-C is just better in terms of bandwidth, the whole industry is moving to that anyway.
The issue is not now. It's in 20 years time when we have ultra fast charging, wireless charging, or ultra fast wireless charging as a defacto standard (all technically possible) but every device's design is compromised by the mandatory insertion of an unused USB C port.
Is it mandatory in that way, or is it that if a port is used it must be USB-C. e.g, there are devices that only have wireless charging options.
Don't know. You can read the directive here (or ask GPT to summarise of course). I don't intend to. But point is it'll be USB-C not just "a connection that is physically identical to USB C". So limited to 240 Watts. Which sounds like loads now of course, but who knows what super fast charging we could be missing out in time...
This is more "regulation is innovation" bollocks. I do partly blame Apple for taking the piss though.
The EU is, to a superb extent, the proverbial “eunuch in a harem”
It cannot actually do anything, by itself, nothing exciting. But it can run around squealing and stop others doing things, for a while
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
I am not convinced that it is really a problem now. Apple were playing silly buggers but with combination of EU regulation and that the fact USB-C is just better in terms of bandwidth, the whole industry is moving to that anyway.
The issue is not now. It's in 20 years time when we have ultra fast charging, wireless charging, or ultra fast wireless charging as a defacto standard (all technically possible) but every device's design is compromised by the mandatory insertion of an unused USB C port.
Is it mandatory in that way, or is it that if a port is used it must be USB-C. e.g, there are devices that only have wireless charging options.
Don't know. You can read the directive here (or ask GPT to summarise of course). I don't intend to. But point is it'll be USB-C not just "a connection that is physically identical to USB C". So limited to 240 Watts. Which sounds like loads now of course, but who knows what super fast charging we could be missing out in time...
This is more "regulation is innovation" bollocks. I do partly blame Apple for taking the piss though.
To be fair to Apple, they came up with their connector back when everyone else was using Mini-USB. Which was one of the worst connectors of modern times.
There was, IIRC, an attempt to mandate Mini-USB as a mandatory standard. Which died because of the evident insanity of the connector as a standard.
I believe that there are executions - if your device is wireless only charging, for example, the EU regulations don't demand a physical charging port.
Damn these infernal Nipponese, but that really is the best beef I’ve ever had
I’ve always been unimpressed by Wagyu until now. But never had it in Japan. I guess when you are very near Kobe…..
That is probably because you haven't had the proper stuff....Stuff labelled as Wagyu in the West is commonly not real Wagyu. In the 80s the Japanese exported a small number of their cattle to the West, which were then interbred and allowed producers to call it Wagyu despite neither the same conditions and now being about as Wagyu as Elizabeth Warren is Native American.
I clearly haven’t
This is a different breed of meat, entirely, literally and metaphorically
it’s like steak times a million, in the fever dream of a Highlands starveling. So soft and so rich, intense in the best way
If I may elevate the tone, this steak is to normal steak what a blow job is to a wank. With this one you just lie back and sigh with pleasure….
WOW
Dunno, I've had a few terrible blow jobs in my time.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
I am not convinced that it is really a problem now. Apple were playing silly buggers but with combination of EU regulation and that the fact USB-C is just better in terms of bandwidth, the whole industry is moving to that anyway.
A lot of cheapo toys (are they covered?) still use micro-B (or even mini-B) for charging, which is a bit of a pain. Presumably those ports are cheaper (still, though?) or they're old designs that no one has bothered to update.
To be fair to Apple, they came up with their connector back when everyone else was using Mini-USB. Which was one of the worst connectors of modern times.
There was, IIRC, an attempt to mandate Mini-USB as a mandatory standard. Which died because of the evident insanity of the connector as a standard.
I believe that there are executions - if your device is wireless only charging, for example, the EU regulations don't demand a physical charging port.
It was Micro-B USB that was proposed as the standard and widely adopted, Mini-B USB was rarer and even worse. But imagine devices being stuck on Micro-B because it is the law, and that introducing devices with only USB Type-C would be illegal.
A presenter on BBC Radio 4's flagship Today programme has apologised for mispronouncing the surname of shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt as a rude word. Nick Robinson made the error while interviewing employment minister Alison McGovern on the programme on Friday morning.
Its really odd how it is only the Jeremy version of Hunt the BBC have this mishap with....
Damn these infernal Nipponese, but that really is the best beef I’ve ever had
I’ve always been unimpressed by Wagyu until now. But never had it in Japan. I guess when you are very near Kobe…..
That is probably because you haven't had the proper stuff....Stuff labelled as Wagyu in the West is commonly not real Wagyu. In the 80s the Japanese exported a small number of their cattle to the West, which were then interbred and allowed producers to call it Wagyu despite neither the same conditions and now being about as Wagyu as Elizabeth Warren is Native American.
I clearly haven’t
This is a different breed of meat, entirely, literally and metaphorically
it’s like steak times a million, in the fever dream of a Highlands starveling. So soft and so rich, intense in the best way
If I may elevate the tone, this steak is to normal steak what a blow job is to a wank. With this one you just lie back and sigh with pleasure….
WOW
Dunno, I've had a few terrible blow jobs in my time.
Yes. I was gonna put that in - “good” blow job - (looking at you, that girl in Camaguey, Cuba, after the disco) - but it would have ruined the rhythm of my prose. Sometimes, something has to give
Damn these infernal Nipponese, but that really is the best beef I’ve ever had
I’ve always been unimpressed by Wagyu until now. But never had it in Japan. I guess when you are very near Kobe…..
That is probably because you haven't had the proper stuff....Stuff labelled as Wagyu in the West is commonly not real Wagyu. In the 80s the Japanese exported a small number of their cattle to the West, which were then interbred and allowed producers to call it Wagyu despite neither the same conditions and now being about as Wagyu as Elizabeth Warren is Native American.
I clearly haven’t
This is a different breed of meat, entirely, literally and metaphorically
it’s like steak times a million, in the fever dream of a Highlands starveling. So soft and so rich, intense in the best way
If I may elevate the tone, this steak is to normal steak what a blow job is to a wank. With this one you just lie back and sigh with pleasure….
WOW
Have you and Swiss Toni ever been seen in the same room together?
This is why we needed a directly elected dictator elected on a 15 year term.
Any government that changes council tax bands/valuations will lose the next election.
Ditto any government that tries to merge income tax and NI.
So why didn't the last government just do it ?
I've never understood why dying government with a couple of years to go to what's almost certainly going to be an electoral thrashing, don't have a look at stuff like this.
There's stuff that almost everyone agrees would be a good idea, but is just 'too unpopular in the short term'. Why don't they just do it, and get the plaudits of the historians ?
I suspect two groups that don't really exist in UK politics but do in the US
Non partisans who admire any business leader Those who don't want a female leader
Trump gets similar voters as Boris did ie Leave voting white working class voters who wouldn't dream of voting Tory or GOP if not led by Boris or Trump (the type of people Nigel wouldn't be seen dead mixing socially with so it comes as a bit of a surprise to him they exist)
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
Yeah, standards are typically good things.
Standards are good things, but mandatory standards less so. I'm all in favour of USB Type-C replacing things like Micro-B USB on devices that have held off changing, but I do wonder how something like Lightning, which was genuinely superior and innovative when it came out, would be released in a world where USB-C is now mandatory on a whole range of devices.
The problem is that, with USB-C established as the legal standard, how do you ever change the legal standard to a better one?
Damn these infernal Nipponese, but that really is the best beef I’ve ever had
I’ve always been unimpressed by Wagyu until now. But never had it in Japan. I guess when you are very near Kobe…..
That is probably because you haven't had the proper stuff....Stuff labelled as Wagyu in the West is commonly not real Wagyu. In the 80s the Japanese exported a small number of their cattle to the West, which were then interbred and allowed producers to call it Wagyu despite neither the same conditions and now being about as Wagyu as Elizabeth Warren is Native American.
I clearly haven’t
This is a different breed of meat, entirely, literally and metaphorically
it’s like steak times a million, in the fever dream of a Highlands starveling. So soft and so rich, intense in the best way
If I may elevate the tone, this steak is to normal steak what a blow job is to a wank. With this one you just lie back and sigh with pleasure….
WOW
Dunno, I've had a few terrible blow jobs in my time.
Yes. I was gonna put that in - “good” blow job - (looking at you, that girl in Camaguey, Cuba, after the disco) - but it would have ruined the rhythm of my prose. Sometimes, something has to give
Always tricky when the 'blower' thinks they're doing you an almighty favour.
'No luv, it's just TOO exciting, let's try something else.'
Another excellent set of local by election results for the Conservatives But probably the main feature was the power of Reform against Labour, over 20% starting from scratch, they are just a stones throw away from breaking through. Next years County Council elections could be good for them, the Greens and the Tories, bad for Labour and a holding operation for the Lib Dems.
I think next year Reform and the Tories could gain from Labour as might the Greens, however I would expect some Tory losses to LDs and Independents given the Tories won the 2021 local elections NEV under Boris
Damn these infernal Nipponese, but that really is the best beef I’ve ever had
I’ve always been unimpressed by Wagyu until now. But never had it in Japan. I guess when you are very near Kobe…..
That is probably because you haven't had the proper stuff....Stuff labelled as Wagyu in the West is commonly not real Wagyu. In the 80s the Japanese exported a small number of their cattle to the West, which were then interbred and allowed producers to call it Wagyu despite neither the same conditions and now being about as Wagyu as Elizabeth Warren is Native American.
I clearly haven’t
This is a different breed of meat, entirely, literally and metaphorically
it’s like steak times a million, in the fever dream of a Highlands starveling. So soft and so rich, intense in the best way
If I may elevate the tone, this steak is to normal steak what a blow job is to a wank. With this one you just lie back and sigh with pleasure….
WOW
Have you and Swiss Toni ever been seen in the same room together?
Yes, but you really don't want to know what they were doing!
C’mon, PB, who doesn’t like a nice matsuba needle, especially with persimmon fu
What is it? Pine?
If I google it I get a load of stuff about decorative arts and crafts.
I’ve no idea, I just wolfed it all down like a pleb, and it was good
I was hungry
However my hunger slowed enough for me to acknowledge one singular truth: I will never understand the Asian culinary worship of the abalone. It’s a rubbery piece of fuck. It’s like eating an old bathtoy. Always
Yet they pay squiillions for it
We in the west have happily adopted Asian flavours into our culinary palette. But we are still (and I include myself in this) wary of Asian textures, many of which remain odd and alien.
A presenter on BBC Radio 4's flagship Today programme has apologised for mispronouncing the surname of shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt as a rude word. Nick Robinson made the error while interviewing employment minister Alison McGovern on the programme on Friday morning.
Its really odd how it is only the Jeremy version of Hunt the BBC have this mishap with....
David Hunt retired from the cabinet thirty years ago. More innocent times...
(And if you are thinking of Tristam, he left politics in 2017. Standards of language and journalism have slipped a fair bit even since then.)
A presenter on BBC Radio 4's flagship Today programme has apologised for mispronouncing the surname of shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt as a rude word. Nick Robinson made the error while interviewing employment minister Alison McGovern on the programme on Friday morning.
Its really odd how it is only the Jeremy version of Hunt the BBC have this mishap with....
David Hunt retired from the cabinet thirty years ago. More innocent times...
(And if you are thinking of Tristam, he left politics in 2017. Standards of language and journalism have slipped a fair bit even since then.)
Not the only Hunt's e.g. their own racing correspondent is John Hunt. 1000s and 1000s of on-air hand overs / references, never an issue.
Damn these infernal Nipponese, but that really is the best beef I’ve ever had
I’ve always been unimpressed by Wagyu until now. But never had it in Japan. I guess when you are very near Kobe…..
That is probably because you haven't had the proper stuff....Stuff labelled as Wagyu in the West is commonly not real Wagyu. In the 80s the Japanese exported a small number of their cattle to the West, which were then interbred and allowed producers to call it Wagyu despite neither the same conditions and now being about as Wagyu as Elizabeth Warren is Native American.
I clearly haven’t
This is a different breed of meat, entirely, literally and metaphorically
it’s like steak times a million, in the fever dream of a Highlands starveling. So soft and so rich, intense in the best way
If I may elevate the tone, this steak is to normal steak what a blow job is to a wank. With this one you just lie back and sigh with pleasure….
WOW
Dunno, I've had a few terrible blow jobs in my time.
Yes. I was gonna put that in - “good” blow job - (looking at you, that girl in Camaguey, Cuba, after the disco) - but it would have ruined the rhythm of my prose. Sometimes, something has to give
Always tricky when the 'blower' thinks they're doing you an almighty favour.
'No luv, it's just TOO exciting, let's try something else.'
There’s a really fine line between “it’s clear you have never done this before, YOU DON’T USE TEETH” and “wow, you’ve obviously given a lot of blow jobs…?”
*awkward pause*
I don’t envy the blowjobber, perhaps it’s just better if everyone has excellent Kobe Wagyu steak teppanyaki
A presenter on BBC Radio 4's flagship Today programme has apologised for mispronouncing the surname of shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt as a rude word. Nick Robinson made the error while interviewing employment minister Alison McGovern on the programme on Friday morning.
Its really odd how it is only the Jeremy version of Hunt the BBC have this mishap with....
David Hunt retired from the cabinet thirty years ago. More innocent times...
(And if you are thinking of Tristam, he left politics in 2017. Standards of language and journalism have slipped a fair bit even since then.)
The idea that Robinson would be preternaturally prejudiced against Tories (or favour Labour) is an entertaining one.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
Yeah, standards are typically good things.
Standards are good things, but mandatory standards less so. I'm all in favour of USB Type-C replacing things like Micro-B USB on devices that have held off changing, but I do wonder how something like Lightning, which was genuinely superior and innovative when it came out, would be released in a world where USB-C is now mandatory on a whole range of devices.
The problem is that, with USB-C established as the legal standard, how do you ever change the legal standard to a better one?
I'm trying to recall which industry guru, who pointed out that this would *guarantee* a move to wireless charging. Since if you had an exemption for wireless charge only devices, the best way to get rid of the USB-C port would be....
Damn these infernal Nipponese, but that really is the best beef I’ve ever had
I’ve always been unimpressed by Wagyu until now. But never had it in Japan. I guess when you are very near Kobe…..
That is probably because you haven't had the proper stuff....Stuff labelled as Wagyu in the West is commonly not real Wagyu. In the 80s the Japanese exported a small number of their cattle to the West, which were then interbred and allowed producers to call it Wagyu despite neither the same conditions and now being about as Wagyu as Elizabeth Warren is Native American.
I clearly haven’t
This is a different breed of meat, entirely, literally and metaphorically
it’s like steak times a million, in the fever dream of a Highlands starveling. So soft and so rich, intense in the best way
If I may elevate the tone, this steak is to normal steak what a blow job is to a wank. With this one you just lie back and sigh with pleasure….
WOW
Dunno, I've had a few terrible blow jobs in my time.
Another excellent set of local by election results for the Conservatives But probably the main feature was the power of Reform against Labour, over 20% starting from scratch, they are just a stones throw away from breaking through. Next years County Council elections could be good for them, the Greens and the Tories, bad for Labour and a holding operation for the Lib Dems.
I think next year Reform and the Tories could gain from Labour as might the Greens, however I would expect some Tory losses to LDs and Independents given the Tories won the 2021 local elections NEV under Boris
I think Durham will be interesting. If Reform stand I think they will make a fair few gains but I also expect a few Green gains as well.
I had expected, prior to the GE, Labour to romp it but I cannot see that now unless something radical changes.
A presenter on BBC Radio 4's flagship Today programme has apologised for mispronouncing the surname of shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt as a rude word. Nick Robinson made the error while interviewing employment minister Alison McGovern on the programme on Friday morning.
Its really odd how it is only the Jeremy version of Hunt the BBC have this mishap with....
It's sort of understandable, as it became a national running joke, so the association is deeply ingrained.
Damn these infernal Nipponese, but that really is the best beef I’ve ever had
I’ve always been unimpressed by Wagyu until now. But never had it in Japan. I guess when you are very near Kobe…..
That is probably because you haven't had the proper stuff....Stuff labelled as Wagyu in the West is commonly not real Wagyu. In the 80s the Japanese exported a small number of their cattle to the West, which were then interbred and allowed producers to call it Wagyu despite neither the same conditions and now being about as Wagyu as Elizabeth Warren is Native American.
I clearly haven’t
This is a different breed of meat, entirely, literally and metaphorically
it’s like steak times a million, in the fever dream of a Highlands starveling. So soft and so rich, intense in the best way
If I may elevate the tone, this steak is to normal steak what a blow job is to a wank. With this one you just lie back and sigh with pleasure….
WOW
Dunno, I've had a few terrible blow jobs in my time.
Like bad steak, overly chewy ?
That’s what I was trying to convey in my metaphor!
OK now I am off to look at naked Japanese men in a hot tub
Damn these infernal Nipponese, but that really is the best beef I’ve ever had
I’ve always been unimpressed by Wagyu until now. But never had it in Japan. I guess when you are very near Kobe…..
That is probably because you haven't had the proper stuff....Stuff labelled as Wagyu in the West is commonly not real Wagyu. In the 80s the Japanese exported a small number of their cattle to the West, which were then interbred and allowed producers to call it Wagyu despite neither the same conditions and now being about as Wagyu as Elizabeth Warren is Native American.
I clearly haven’t
This is a different breed of meat, entirely, literally and metaphorically
it’s like steak times a million, in the fever dream of a Highlands starveling. So soft and so rich, intense in the best way
If I may elevate the tone, this steak is to normal steak what a blow job is to a wank. With this one you just lie back and sigh with pleasure….
WOW
Have you and Swiss Toni ever been seen in the same room together?
Posting on Politicalbetting is very much like making love to a beautiful woman.....
They are the people PB can't fathom. The people for whom Trump is a reason to vote Republican. The reason why any other Republican would quite possibly lose this Presidential election quite handily, rather than romp home as per the PB consensus.
I think that an overlooked outcome is one where the Democrats take the House, hold the Senate, but Trump wins the Presidency.
The polls seem to be pointing to Trump outperforming Republican Senate candidates in quite a large number of states. I guess the alternative outcomes are that the Senate candidates ride Trump's coattails to victory (despite the polls), or it's only the Presidential polls that are being distorted in Trump's favour, and we're about to see a Democrat landslide that might give them control of Presidency, House and Senate.
Notable largely for having the lowest LabCon score of any poll yet. 53% vs 47% for the SPLORG.
The SPLORG is drawing closer.
And SPLORG is a monster that Lab/Con do not wish to discuss or draw attention to.
While I think it is improbable that this massive downward trend for Lab+Con will continue - they are already down 6 points since the 2024 election and 29 points down from the 2017 GE, it is not at all impossible. A next thinkable phase is that just as the populist opinion has switched to declaring it will vote Reform, centrist opinion could combine around the LDs. If tnat occurred SPLORG could go over 50, and at that figure there is something like a tipping point which gets noticed more widely than the wonks and anoraks.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
Yeah, standards are typically good things.
Standards are good things, but mandatory standards less so. I'm all in favour of USB Type-C replacing things like Micro-B USB on devices that have held off changing, but I do wonder how something like Lightning, which was genuinely superior and innovative when it came out, would be released in a world where USB-C is now mandatory on a whole range of devices.
The problem is that, with USB-C established as the legal standard, how do you ever change the legal standard to a better one?
Regulations change to reflect changes in the real world. Weren't HID headlights not technically legal under UK law when developed (but covered by EU regulation, which we had to accept at the time?). Likewise flashing bike lights weren't legal when first available, were they?
If the USB consortium come up with an improved USB-D connector (as opposed to new standards, i.e. USB-5 using USB-C connector, which is presumably covered already if it's only about the connector form) then that's likely to be made legal, probably with a changeover period where both are permitted.
It does make it harder for $manufacturer to differentiate by a better connector unique to their products and so reduces the incentive to try (but could you have USB-C and $betterconnector - that would be permitted?).
Boris Johnson’s memoir, Unleashed, sold 42,528 copies in its opening week after being published on 10 October, making it the bestselling book of last week.
I am sure our correspondent from the Flint Knappers Weekly told us this was flying off the shelves at a rate similar to Prince Harry's Spare....which sold 10x in the first week. I think might have fallen for some spin from the insiders trying to save face.
40k is more than Cameron and everybody since, but its not Thatcher or Blair level. They are never getting their £3 million back.
I suspect two groups that don't really exist in UK politics but do in the US
Non partisans who admire any business leader Those who don't want a female leader
Trump gets similar voters as Boris did ie Leave voting white working class voters who wouldn't dream of voting Tory or GOP if not led by Boris or Trump (the type of people Nigel wouldn't be seen dead mixing socially with so it comes as a bit of a surprise to him they exist)
You'd be surprised, young HY.
It's obvious why they might vote for Trump. But you still don't explain why they'd vote for the Senate Democrat, not the MAGA one.
Damn these infernal Nipponese, but that really is the best beef I’ve ever had
I’ve always been unimpressed by Wagyu until now. But never had it in Japan. I guess when you are very near Kobe…..
That is probably because you haven't had the proper stuff....Stuff labelled as Wagyu in the West is commonly not real Wagyu. In the 80s the Japanese exported a small number of their cattle to the West, which were then interbred and allowed producers to call it Wagyu despite neither the same conditions and now being about as Wagyu as Elizabeth Warren is Native American.
I clearly haven’t
This is a different breed of meat, entirely, literally and metaphorically
it’s like steak times a million, in the fever dream of a Highlands starveling. So soft and so rich, intense in the best way
If I may elevate the tone, this steak is to normal steak what a blow job is to a wank. With this one you just lie back and sigh with pleasure….
WOW
Have you and Swiss Toni ever been seen in the same room together?
Posting on Politicalbetting is very much like making love to a beautiful woman.....
How to say "I haven't done X" without saying "I haven't done X"
C’mon, PB, who doesn’t like a nice matsuba needle, especially with persimmon fu
What is it? Pine?
If I google it I get a load of stuff about decorative arts and crafts.
I’ve no idea, I just wolfed it all down like a pleb, and it was good
I was hungry
However my hunger slowed enough for me to acknowledge one singular truth: I will never understand the Asian culinary worship of the abalone. It’s a rubbery piece of fuck. It’s like eating an old bathtoy. Always
Yet they pay squiillions for it
We in the west have happily adopted Asian flavours into our culinary palette. But we are still (and I include myself in this) wary of Asian textures, many of which remain odd and alien.
Short personal list:
Anything chewy but savory. Things which claim to be sweet but are only slightly sweet. Glutinous sauces, especially if transparent. Glasses of warm water. Vegetable dishes served accidentally cold. Congee.
They are the people PB can't fathom. The people for whom Trump is a reason to vote Republican. The reason why any other Republican would quite possibly lose this Presidential election quite handily, rather than romp home as per the PB consensus...
The Trump/Senate difference isn't hard to explain.
But it's harder to account for those Trump voters who might also go to the trouble of expressing a Senate preference - and prefer the Democrat.
I suspect two groups that don't really exist in UK politics but do in the US
Non partisans who admire any business leader Those who don't want a female leader
Trump gets similar voters as Boris did ie Leave voting white working class voters who wouldn't dream of voting Tory or GOP if not led by Boris or Trump (the type of people Nigel wouldn't be seen dead mixing socially with so it comes as a bit of a surprise to him they exist)
You'd be surprised, young HY.
It's obvious why they might vote for Trump. But you still don't explain why they'd vote for the Senate Democrat, not the MAGA one.
As they voted Democrat before Trump, are often Irish or Italian America from families which revered FDR and JFK and voted for Clinton, Obama, Gore and mostly even Kerry. So when Trump is not on the ballot they go back to their natural Democrat allegiance.
There will also be a few macho black men who prefer Trump to Harris even if they still vote Democrat otherwise
One of the more famous ryokans in the country. That’s the famous snow crab steaming away there
My room in peak season costs £2000 a night
I love the way they measure it in "clusters" of three legs and a claw:
One of these clusters comprises three legs and a claw plus the meaty shoulder and will provide two starters or a generous serving for one. They make an impressive sight, are fun to eat and include the star prize of sweet white meat.
It's like my favourite joke from the Soaraway Sun's old Rotspot (now American Bully spot):
This is why we needed a directly elected dictator elected on a 15 year term.
Any government that changes council tax bands/valuations will lose the next election.
Ditto any government that tries to merge income tax and NI.
So why didn't the last government just do it ?
I've never understood why dying government with a couple of years to go to what's almost certainly going to be an electoral thrashing, don't have a look at stuff like this.
There's stuff that almost everyone agrees would be a good idea, but is just 'too unpopular in the short term'. Why don't they just do it, and get the plaudits of the historians ?
I guess there are two issues. In the particular of the Sunak government the evidence seems to be that he genuinely believed he could turn things around and when he realised he couldn't it was too late and he threw in the towel.
And more generally, there's a big perceived difference between losing narrowly and losing heavily (or a heavy defeat and a wipeout). It would have been better for the country if Sunak had reformed council tax and merged NI with income tax, but pissing off his asset-owning pensioner core vote in that way would have risked sending the Tories down to low double-figure seats behind the Lib Dems and Reform. 121 MPs was a horrendous result, but they're still the official opposition.
Did I read the other day (on Beeb website I think) that the government is considering copying the EU in banning the sale of devices that don't have standard charging cables?
I really don't understand why anyone would be so keen to retard technological progress
It isn't really retarding technological progress. It is removing a perceived profit centre for the manufacturers, reducing electronic waste, and dramatically helping consumers though.
Yeah, standards are typically good things.
Standards are good things, but mandatory standards less so. I'm all in favour of USB Type-C replacing things like Micro-B USB on devices that have held off changing, but I do wonder how something like Lightning, which was genuinely superior and innovative when it came out, would be released in a world where USB-C is now mandatory on a whole range of devices.
The problem is that, with USB-C established as the legal standard, how do you ever change the legal standard to a better one?
Regulations change to reflect changes in the real world. Weren't HID headlights not technically legal under UK law when developed (but covered by EU regulation, which we had to accept at the time?). Likewise flashing bike lights weren't legal when first available, were they?
If the USB consortium come up with an improved USB-D connector (as opposed to new standards, i.e. USB-5 using USB-C connector, which is presumably covered already if it's only about the connector form) then that's likely to be made legal, probably with a changeover period where both are permitted.
It does make it harder for $manufacturer to differentiate by a better connector unique to their products and so reduces the incentive to try (but could you have USB-C and $betterconnector - that would be permitted?).
Which is why mandatory standards need careful review and updating.
See the example of US EV charging standards. Which tried to standardise on "Anything but the standard used by the market leader in fast chargers". With a plug that might be the worst standard this century.
Notable largely for having the lowest LabCon score of any poll yet. 53% vs 47% for the SPLORG.
The SPLORG is drawing closer.
And SPLORG is a monster that Lab/Con do not wish to discuss or draw attention to.
While I think it is improbable that this massive downward trend for Lab+Con will continue - they are already down 6 points since the 2024 election and 29 points down from the 2017 GE, it is not at all impossible. A next thinkable phase is that just as the populist opinion has switched to declaring it will vote Reform, centrist opinion could combine around the LDs. If tnat occurred SPLORG could go over 50, and at that figure there is something like a tipping point which gets noticed more widely than the wonks and anoraks.
I doubt it, the LDs are not trusted by centre left voters after the coalition and right of centre opponents of Labour will vote Tory or Reform still.
At general elections the LD vote remains largely upper middle class centrist Remainers, it is Reform eating into the white working class vote however
I suspect two groups that don't really exist in UK politics but do in the US
Non partisans who admire any business leader Those who don't want a female leader
Trump gets similar voters as Boris did ie Leave voting white working class voters who wouldn't dream of voting Tory or GOP if not led by Boris or Trump (the type of people Nigel wouldn't be seen dead mixing socially with so it comes as a bit of a surprise to him they exist)
You'd be surprised, young HY.
It's obvious why they might vote for Trump. But you still don't explain why they'd vote for the Senate Democrat, not the MAGA one.
As they voted Democrat before Trump, are often Irish or Italian America from families which revered FDR and JFK and voted for Clinton, Obama, Gore and mostly even Kerry. So when Trump is not on the ballot they go back to their natural Democrat allegiance.
There will also be a few macho black men who prefer Trump to Harris even if they still vote Democrat otherwise
I recall the accounts of the Trump Whitehouse on election night - insiders noted the number of rap stars on the invite list for the party.
They are the people PB can't fathom. The people for whom Trump is a reason to vote Republican. The reason why any other Republican would quite possibly lose this Presidential election quite handily, rather than romp home as per the PB consensus.
I think that an overlooked outcome is one where the Democrats take the House, hold the Senate, but Trump wins the Presidency.
The polls seem to be pointing to Trump outperforming Republican Senate candidates in quite a large number of states. I guess the alternative outcomes are that the Senate candidates ride Trump's coattails to victory (despite the polls), or it's only the Presidential polls that are being distorted in Trump's favour, and we're about to see a Democrat landslide that might give them control of Presidency, House and Senate.
I think Haley would have outperformed Trump as she does better with Independents and white women than him but yes De Santis or Pence would probably have underperformed Trump as they have less appeal than him with Independents and the white working class and African American and Latino men
I suspect two groups that don't really exist in UK politics but do in the US
Non partisans who admire any business leader Those who don't want a female leader
Trump gets similar voters as Boris did ie Leave voting white working class voters who wouldn't dream of voting Tory or GOP if not led by Boris or Trump (the type of people Nigel wouldn't be seen dead mixing socially with so it comes as a bit of a surprise to him they exist)
You'd be surprised, young HY.
It's obvious why they might vote for Trump. But you still don't explain why they'd vote for the Senate Democrat, not the MAGA one.
As they voted Democrat before Trump, are often Irish or Italian America from families which revered FDR and JFK and voted for Clinton, Obama, Gore and mostly even Kerry. So when Trump is not on the ballot they go back to their natural Democrat allegiance.
There will also be a few macho black men who prefer Trump to Harris even if they still vote Democrat otherwise
A far more parsimonious explanation is that it's a polling artefact. In the current hyper polarised US political environment, I don't buy yours.
Boris Johnson’s memoir, Unleashed, sold 42,528 copies in its opening week after being published on 10 October, making it the bestselling book of last week.
I am sure our correspondent from the Flint Knappers Weekly told us this was flying off the shelves at a rate similar to Prince Harry's Spare....which sold 10x in the first week. I think might have fallen for some spin from the insiders trying to save face.
40k is more than Cameron and everybody since, but its not Thatcher or Blair level. They are never getting their £3 million back.
Currently half price on Amazon.
Who is the publisher that swallowed Johnson's shtick?
This is why we needed a directly elected dictator elected on a 15 year term.
Any government that changes council tax bands/valuations will lose the next election.
Ditto any government that tries to merge income tax and NI.
So why didn't the last government just do it ?
I've never understood why dying government with a couple of years to go to what's almost certainly going to be an electoral thrashing, don't have a look at stuff like this.
There's stuff that almost everyone agrees would be a good idea, but is just 'too unpopular in the short term'. Why don't they just do it, and get the plaudits of the historians ?
I guess there are two issues. In the particular of the Sunak government the evidence seems to be that he genuinely believed he could turn things around and when he realised he couldn't it was too late and he threw in the towel.
And more generally, there's a big perceived difference between losing narrowly and losing heavily (or a heavy defeat and a wipeout). It would have been better for the country if Sunak had reformed council tax and merged NI with income tax, but pissing off his asset-owning pensioner core vote in that way would have risked sending the Tories down to low double-figure seats behind the Lib Dems and Reform. 121 MPs was a horrendous result, but they're still the official opposition.
It's worth considering that the final result showed that it wasn't impossible for the Conservatives to have won the election. Unlikely, given the competence of the front bench, but not physically impossible. Gaining 5% from Labour is not in Venus-de-Milo-grows-arms-and-waves territory.
Such a turn around would have had to have happened well before the election, of course.
Unsurprising (now) news from the USA - Mr Trump has pulled out of yet another interview. That is I think four or five in a week. He also pulled out of a NRA rally. I've made a joke of this but it really is quite notable. Are they trying to cruise to victory or is he really so weak and vulnerable that his staff don't trust hium out on his own and are able to stop him over-ruling them. Just very odd. Meanwhile Harris and camp seem to be doing exactly what you would expect a campaign to do in a tight race. Even if you think you are ahead you should work and act like you are behind.
The 538 figures this morning are 52:48 in favour of Harris, the lowest I have seen for some considerable time. Those numbers do ring a bell though...
They are the people PB can't fathom. The people for whom Trump is a reason to vote Republican. The reason why any other Republican would quite possibly lose this Presidential election quite handily, rather than romp home as per the PB consensus.
I think that an overlooked outcome is one where the Democrats take the House, hold the Senate, but Trump wins the Presidency.
The polls seem to be pointing to Trump outperforming Republican Senate candidates in quite a large number of states. I guess the alternative outcomes are that the Senate candidates ride Trump's coattails to victory (despite the polls), or it's only the Presidential polls that are being distorted in Trump's favour, and we're about to see a Democrat landslide that might give them control of Presidency, House and Senate.
There's also the phenomenon of people deliberately splitting their vote. And in US politics, Senators often have a personal vote that crosses party affiliation.
(Background: it's time to stock up with berries for the winter/spring for things that did badly, and the Chuckleberries are £38 for 12 kg, which is inexpensive enough that I can make about a year's worth of Chuckleberry Vinegar with half of them. Blueberries are £18 for 2kg. Quite the difference.)
Boris Johnson’s memoir, Unleashed, sold 42,528 copies in its opening week after being published on 10 October, making it the bestselling book of last week.
I am sure our correspondent from the Flint Knappers Weekly told us this was flying off the shelves at a rate similar to Prince Harry's Spare....which sold 10x in the first week. I think might have fallen for some spin from the insiders trying to save face.
40k is more than Cameron and everybody since, but its not Thatcher or Blair level. They are never getting their £3 million back.
Number 5 (Bunny vs Monkey: The Great Big Glitch) is a better read.
Boris Johnson’s memoir, Unleashed, sold 42,528 copies in its opening week after being published on 10 October, making it the bestselling book of last week.
I am sure our correspondent from the Flint Knappers Weekly told us this was flying off the shelves at a rate similar to Prince Harry's Spare....which sold 10x in the first week. I think might have fallen for some spin from the insiders trying to save face.
40k is more than Cameron and everybody since, but its not Thatcher or Blair level. They are never getting their £3 million back.
Currently half price on Amazon.
Who is the publisher that swallowed Johnson's shtick?
There is a long, long history of publishers paying well over the odds for political memoirs.
It might be linked {Innocent face} to the phenomenon of people paying vast sums for ex-politicians to speak at their events.
Boris Johnson’s memoir, Unleashed, sold 42,528 copies in its opening week after being published on 10 October, making it the bestselling book of last week.
I am sure our correspondent from the Flint Knappers Weekly told us this was flying off the shelves at a rate similar to Prince Harry's Spare....which sold 10x in the first week. I think might have fallen for some spin from the insiders trying to save face.
40k is more than Cameron and everybody since, but its not Thatcher or Blair level. They are never getting their £3 million back.
Currently half price on Amazon.
Who is the publisher that swallowed Johnson's shtick?
Damn these infernal Nipponese, but that really is the best beef I’ve ever had
I’ve always been unimpressed by Wagyu until now. But never had it in Japan. I guess when you are very near Kobe…..
That is probably because you haven't had the proper stuff....Stuff labelled as Wagyu in the West is commonly not real Wagyu. In the 80s the Japanese exported a small number of their cattle to the West, which were then interbred and allowed producers to call it Wagyu despite neither the same conditions and now being about as Wagyu as Elizabeth Warren is Native American.
I clearly haven’t
This is a different breed of meat, entirely, literally and metaphorically
it’s like steak times a million, in the fever dream of a Highlands starveling. So soft and so rich, intense in the best way
If I may elevate the tone, this steak is to normal steak what a blow job is to a wank. With this one you just lie back and sigh with pleasure….
WOW
Dunno, I've had a few terrible blow jobs in my time.
Like bad steak, overly chewy ?
That’s what I was trying to convey in my metaphor!
OK now I am off to look at naked Japanese men in a hot tub
My lad went off by himself to a couple of sento while we were in Japan. The first one was a small one full of locals in a quiet part of Kyoto. He said it was really peaceful and relaxing, and that he was the only Westerner there. The next evening, he went to a more upmarket one, but when he got back, he complained that there were loud tourists there who weren't behaving properly. I think he must have a Japanese soul.
They are the people PB can't fathom. The people for whom Trump is a reason to vote Republican. The reason why any other Republican would quite possibly lose this Presidential election quite handily, rather than romp home as per the PB consensus.
I think that an overlooked outcome is one where the Democrats take the House, hold the Senate, but Trump wins the Presidency.
The polls seem to be pointing to Trump outperforming Republican Senate candidates in quite a large number of states. I guess the alternative outcomes are that the Senate candidates ride Trump's coattails to victory (despite the polls), or it's only the Presidential polls that are being distorted in Trump's favour, and we're about to see a Democrat landslide that might give them control of Presidency, House and Senate.
There's also the phenomenon of people deliberately splitting their vote. And in US politics, Senators often have a personal vote that crosses party affiliation.
People are willing to head over from their "natural" party for Governor, less so for the senate and not really at all for the presidency.
They are the people PB can't fathom. The people for whom Trump is a reason to vote Republican. The reason why any other Republican would quite possibly lose this Presidential election quite handily, rather than romp home as per the PB consensus.
I think that an overlooked outcome is one where the Democrats take the House, hold the Senate, but Trump wins the Presidency.
The polls seem to be pointing to Trump outperforming Republican Senate candidates in quite a large number of states. I guess the alternative outcomes are that the Senate candidates ride Trump's coattails to victory (despite the polls), or it's only the Presidential polls that are being distorted in Trump's favour, and we're about to see a Democrat landslide that might give them control of Presidency, House and Senate.
There's also the phenomenon of people deliberately splitting their vote. And in US politics, Senators often have a personal vote that crosses party affiliation.
People are willing to head over from their "natural" party for Governor, less so for the senate and not really at all for the presidency.
Yes. For example there was some hilarious polling/focus group stuff around Bernie Sanders, back when he The Thing, from his home state. Essentially, a chunk of MAGA "Handed my soul to Trump" types had voted for Sanders in every Senatorial race....
C’mon, PB, who doesn’t like a nice matsuba needle, especially with persimmon fu
What is it? Pine?
If I google it I get a load of stuff about decorative arts and crafts.
I’ve no idea, I just wolfed it all down like a pleb, and it was good
I was hungry
However my hunger slowed enough for me to acknowledge one singular truth: I will never understand the Asian culinary worship of the abalone. It’s a rubbery piece of fuck. It’s like eating an old bathtoy. Always
Yet they pay squiillions for it
We in the west have happily adopted Asian flavours into our culinary palette. But we are still (and I include myself in this) wary of Asian textures, many of which remain odd and alien.
Short personal list:
Anything chewy but savory. Things which claim to be sweet but are only slightly sweet. Glutinous sauces, especially if transparent. Glasses of warm water. Vegetable dishes served accidentally cold. Congee.
How many of these tastes originated from foods of necessity ? Intestine based dishes, for example, (like the stuffed intestine Korean 'sundae'), are hugely popular in a way they just aren't (andouillette notwithstanding) in the west.
S Korea has restaurants which specialise in beef innards.
Boris Johnson’s memoir, Unleashed, sold 42,528 copies in its opening week after being published on 10 October, making it the bestselling book of last week.
I am sure our correspondent from the Flint Knappers Weekly told us this was flying off the shelves at a rate similar to Prince Harry's Spare....which sold 10x in the first week. I think might have fallen for some spin from the insiders trying to save face.
40k is more than Cameron and everybody since, but its not Thatcher or Blair level. They are never getting their £3 million back.
Currently half price on Amazon.
Who is the publisher that swallowed Johnson's shtick?
There is a long, long history of publishers paying well over the odds for political memoirs.
It might be linked {Innocent face} to the phenomenon of people paying vast sums for ex-politicians to speak at their events.
Hardly surprising, Ascot is contained within Windsor constituency, the one remaining Tory seat in Berkshire. It was one of the few remaining Tory council wards which survived the libdem onslaught on W&M council election.
Comments
Lab: -10.0 defending average PNV of 34.5
Con: +4.3 defending average PNV of 27.0
Decent Con round.
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/sphere-las-vegas-abu-dhabi-b2630074.html
Bit more of a wow investment that some rip off EV charging stations at Road Chefs.
Non partisans who admire any business leader
Those who don't want a female leader
I’ve always been unimpressed by Wagyu until now. But never had it in Japan. I guess when you are very near Kobe…..
On standards, an LED floor lamp we bought a few years back had insufficient (low voltage, might be 5V, I'd have to check) cable to go from the nearest power socket to its position. Luckily the power adapter end just plugged in with... DIN 41529 (of course). So I was able to run a low V extension cable by buying some suitable plugs and sockets to make my own extension lead. Took me ages to identify the connector though (this was before Google lens and the like, which I guess would probably have done it).
WTF was wrong with one of the myriad barrel DC connectors, if they wouldn't use USB?
(Of course, if not 5V I guess they couldn't/shouldn't use USB).
ETA: Wikipedia does reference its use on LED lamps, so mine can't be unique.
If I google it I get a load of stuff about decorative arts and crafts.
Dan Neidle
@DanNeidle
It is the year 3000. Council tax applies on all colonised planets based on valuations from 1991. Or we could reform property tax.
https://x.com/DanNeidle/status/1847186366666338419
(a similar report) https://legionmagazine.com/the-calgary-mosquito-project-resurrecting-a-ww-ii-legend-in-nanton-alta/
This is a different breed of meat, entirely, literally and metaphorically
it’s like steak times a million, in the fever dream of a Highlands starveling. So soft and so rich, intense in the best way
If I may elevate the tone, this steak is to normal steak what a blow job is to a wank. With this one you just lie back and sigh with pleasure….
WOW
Any government that changes council tax bands/valuations will lose the next election.
Ditto any government that tries to merge income tax and NI.
Still available, of course except 620.
I was hungry
However my hunger slowed enough for me to acknowledge one singular truth: I will never understand the Asian culinary worship of the abalone. It’s a rubbery piece of fuck. It’s like eating an old bathtoy. Always
Yet they pay squiillions for it
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/no-plan-to-revive-hs2-rail-link-to-northern-england-govt-source-says/ar-AA1sqVs5?ocid=BingNewsVerp
I think there could have been some smarter thinking about legalisation around right to repair, availability of choice, parts, etc. Because this is the real problem, the likes of Apple deliberately make their devices basically unrepairable by anybody but them with nonsense like if you replace a part that really is a few cents with not the official certified one it basically goes into limp mode.
This is more "regulation is innovation" bollocks. I do partly blame Apple for taking the piss though.
Whitworth screw threads succeeded because they were well thought out and easy to produce.
As a counter example, in the US, there was an attempt at standardising on a EV plug. The standard chosen and backed by government subsidies was terrible. As a result of that and a low build out rate, it is being ditched for J3400 NACS
In the same way that the next Labour leader after Starmer will negotiate a market union and single customs arrangement with the EU. Because that will definitely be totally different.
There was, IIRC, an attempt to mandate Mini-USB as a mandatory standard. Which died because of the evident insanity of the connector as a standard.
I believe that there are executions - if your device is wireless only charging, for example, the EU regulations don't demand a physical charging port.
It cannot actually do anything, by itself, nothing exciting. But it can run around squealing and stop others doing things, for a while
Its really odd how it is only the Jeremy version of Hunt the BBC have this mishap with....
I've never understood why dying government with a couple of years to go to what's almost certainly going to be an electoral thrashing, don't have a look at stuff like this.
There's stuff that almost everyone agrees would be a good idea, but is just 'too unpopular in the short term'. Why don't they just do it, and get the plaudits of the historians ?
LAB: 28% (-1)
CON: 25% (+1)
RFM: 19% (=)
LDM: 13% (+1)
GRN: 7% (=)
SNP: 2% (=)
Via @techneUK, 16-17 Oct.
Changes w/ 9-10 Oct.
https://x.com/electionmapsuk/status/1847231455258124325?s=46
Notable largely for having the lowest LabCon score of any poll yet. 53% vs 47% for the SPLORG.
The SPLORG is drawing closer.
'No luv, it's just TOO exciting, let's try something else.'
(And if you are thinking of Tristam, he left politics in 2017. Standards of language and journalism have slipped a fair bit even since then.)
*awkward pause*
I don’t envy the blowjobber, perhaps it’s just better if everyone has excellent Kobe Wagyu steak teppanyaki
Is the Cross Over Klaxon all polished and checked out?
I had expected, prior to the GE, Labour to romp it but I cannot see that now unless something radical changes.
OK now I am off to look at naked Japanese men in a hot tub
I think that an overlooked outcome is one where the Democrats take the House, hold the Senate, but Trump wins the Presidency.
The polls seem to be pointing to Trump outperforming Republican Senate candidates in quite a large number of states. I guess the alternative outcomes are that the Senate candidates ride Trump's coattails to victory (despite the polls), or it's only the Presidential polls that are being distorted in Trump's favour, and we're about to see a Democrat landslide that might give them control of Presidency, House and Senate.
While I think it is improbable that this massive downward trend for Lab+Con will continue - they are already down 6 points since the 2024 election and 29 points down from the 2017 GE, it is not at all impossible. A next thinkable phase is that just as the populist opinion has switched to declaring it will vote Reform, centrist opinion could combine around the LDs. If tnat occurred SPLORG could go over 50, and at that figure there is something like a tipping point which gets noticed more widely than the wonks and anoraks.
If the USB consortium come up with an improved USB-D connector (as opposed to new standards, i.e. USB-5 using USB-C connector, which is presumably covered already if it's only about the connector form) then that's likely to be made legal, probably with a changeover period where both are permitted.
It does make it harder for $manufacturer to differentiate by a better connector unique to their products and so reduces the incentive to try (but could you have USB-C and $betterconnector - that would be permitted?).
I am sure our correspondent from the Flint Knappers Weekly told us this was flying off the shelves at a rate similar to Prince Harry's Spare....which sold 10x in the first week. I think might have fallen for some spin from the insiders trying to save face.
40k is more than Cameron and everybody since, but its not Thatcher or Blair level. They are never getting their £3 million back.
It's obvious why they might vote for Trump.
But you still don't explain why they'd vote for the Senate Democrat, not the MAGA one.
Anything chewy but savory.
Things which claim to be sweet but are only slightly sweet.
Glutinous sauces, especially if transparent.
Glasses of warm water.
Vegetable dishes served accidentally cold.
Congee.
But it's harder to account for those Trump voters who might also go to the trouble of expressing a Senate preference - and prefer the Democrat.
There will also be a few macho black men who prefer Trump to Harris even if they still vote Democrat otherwise
One of these clusters comprises three legs and a claw plus the meaty shoulder and will provide two starters or a generous serving for one. They make an impressive sight, are fun to eat and include the star prize of sweet white meat.
It's like my favourite joke from the Soaraway Sun's old Rotspot (now American Bully spot):
What's got four legs and an arm?
And more generally, there's a big perceived difference between losing narrowly and losing heavily (or a heavy defeat and a wipeout). It would have been better for the country if Sunak had reformed council tax and merged NI with income tax, but pissing off his asset-owning pensioner core vote in that way would have risked sending the Tories down to low double-figure seats behind the Lib Dems and Reform. 121 MPs was a horrendous result, but they're still the official opposition.
See the example of US EV charging standards. Which tried to standardise on "Anything but the standard used by the market leader in fast chargers". With a plug that might be the worst standard this century.
At general elections the LD vote remains largely upper middle class centrist Remainers, it is Reform eating into the white working class vote however
I bet that Mr Diddy votes MAGA.
In the current hyper polarised US political environment, I don't buy yours.
Who is the publisher that swallowed Johnson's shtick?
The barman says "What'll you have Donald".
Such a turn around would have had to have happened well before the election, of course.
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1847240260327018686?t=-05GD4QjXiGfrdKKaB3eDw&s=19
What are they like?
(Background: it's time to stock up with berries for the winter/spring for things that did badly, and the Chuckleberries are £38 for 12 kg, which is inexpensive enough that I can make about a year's worth of Chuckleberry Vinegar with half of them. Blueberries are £18 for 2kg. Quite the difference.)
It might be linked {Innocent face} to the phenomenon of people paying vast sums for ex-politicians to speak at their events.
Aggregate Result of the 92 Council By-Elections (for 94 Seats) Since the 2024 General Election:
LAB: 34 (-17)
CON: 28 (+12)
LDM: 14 (-1)
GRN: 6 (+3)
IND: 5 (-2)
SNP: 4 (+3)
PLC: 2 (+1)
RFM: 1 (+1)
https://x.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1847236476498522321
Intestine based dishes, for example, (like the stuffed intestine Korean 'sundae'), are hugely popular in a way they just aren't (andouillette notwithstanding) in the west.
S Korea has restaurants which specialise in beef innards.