Biden should have stood down a lot earlier to give Harris more time to prepare for the election.
Biden should have stood by his promise in 2020 to be a bridge to future generations and prepared the way for a high-quality primary contest to find his successor.
Some of us said this at the time and pointed out that Biden was obviously fucking gaga, and would end up resigning at the worst time, meaning the Dems would be left with Kamala as a far less than optimum candidate
But the Regiment of Centrist Idiot Dads on PB went into full on denial. “Biden is fine”, “he likes falling over”, “he’s always dribbled a lot”. And here we are
This would not have mattered if the actual US Democrats weren’t as feebly stupid as the PB Centrist Dads. But it seems they are
I was concerned at the time that it was going to be Harris by default as the whole Primary process had been wasted by Biden's conceit. But Harris has proven to be a way better candidate than I expected. She demolished Trump in the debate, she has been clear and confident in her speeches, she has handled a range of interviews well. To me she looks more Presidential by the day. The Democrats got seriously lucky. It could have been a disaster.
Biden should have stood down a lot earlier to give Harris more time to prepare for the election.
Biden should have stood by his promise in 2020 to be a bridge to future generations and prepared the way for a high-quality primary contest to find his successor.
Some of us said this at the time and pointed out that Biden was obviously fucking gaga, and would end up resigning at the worst time, meaning the Dems would be left with Kamala as a far less than optimum candidate
But the Regiment of Centrist Idiot Dads on PB went into full on denial. “Biden is fine”, “he likes falling over”, “he’s always dribbled a lot”. And here we are
This would not have mattered if the actual US Democrats weren’t as feebly stupid as the PB Centrist Dads. But it seems they are
Still nobody on PB said PM Liz Truss would surprise on the upside, that would be a sign of being feebly stupid.
I am finding the premature obituary writing of Harris’ presidential campaign from several quarters quite amusing.
There’s an ultra close election coming up. The polling suggests it could go either way. But I cannot call it with any certainty whatsoever and a lot of journalists and commentators are going to have some serious egg on their faces if it’s President Harris in 12 days time.
I'm not phased by the tight polling but this Nevada thing is bugging me. Ralston crunching the early data and reporting a significant swing to the GOP. That's a worry, not because of Nevada, which is only 6 votes, but that it might be saying something about the election as a whole.
Just to keep everyone informed on my state of mind it is now cautiously optimistic having previously been quietly confident. If it changes again, either up or down, I'll be sure to post an update. But that's where I am right now. I'm very very optimistic but in a restrained and cagey way.
It's really Konigsberg and should either be a German exclave, or quasi Polish, or a new EU microstate.
Where Kant lived all his life, never leaving. The greatest philosopher since Aristotle deserves better. (He would have loved the EU, as the start of a global project for peaceful coexistence)
Angela Merkel's memoirs are out next month. This week's Charlemagne revisits her legacy. She led Germany - and thus Europe - as if in a make-believe world, letting it enjoy an extended geopolitical and economic nap from which it still needs to wake up.
Biden should have stood down a lot earlier to give Harris more time to prepare for the election.
Biden should have stood by his promise in 2020 to be a bridge to future generations and prepared the way for a high-quality primary contest to find his successor.
Some of us said this at the time and pointed out that Biden was obviously fucking gaga, and would end up resigning at the worst time, meaning the Dems would be left with Kamala as a far less than optimum candidate
But the Regiment of Centrist Idiot Dads on PB went into full on denial. “Biden is fine”, “he likes falling over”, “he’s always dribbled a lot”. And here we are
This would not have mattered if the actual US Democrats weren’t as feebly stupid as the PB Centrist Dads. But it seems they are
Still nobody on PB said PM Liz Truss would surprise on the upside, that would be a sign of being feebly stupid.
The evidence still suggests a dead heat. My instinct suggests Trump might shade the swing states, and he could take them all by a percentage point. But I am a natural pessimist in contrast to the PB Trump wishcasters who are convinced he is already a shoo in.
So 269-269 and it goes to the House where Trump likely wins?
It would be amusing if it was 269-269, Kamala wins the popular vote. And enough republicans use the latter as an excuse to knife Trump.
Rural Japanese towns are brilliant. Everyone is about 87 years old but they love drinking and they do it in tiny izakayas run by 95 year old women and their 307 year old fathers and they serve “drinking food” which quite frankly is haute cuisine anywhere else in the world and it’s all done in a low slung tiny bar with one weird dude who likes big titted Colombian girls obsessively talking to himself in the corner so it’s like PB except @Scott_P is talking about Colombian girls rather than Brexit
Eg tonight I had skewered beef hearts, deep fried shark cheeks and “firefly fish in soy”
(Bioluminescent fish served with daikon)
Then we had pickled cheese omelette tofu dancing steaks
My guide Ayato toasting me after I introduced him to Claude
What if Labour are actually preparing a secret Truss for this budget next week and it's actually worse than expected and a complete disaster?
Keir Major. The '92 parliament showed growth every quarter (but one) of its life and Major still lost. And it's not like Labour doesn't have it's own internal and external culture war issues...
err, that did come at the tail end of an 18-year Cons government and people were sick and tired of them (see also: 2024).
Lab will get away with any god damn thing they choose to do and will still likely win a second term.
Look at the Cons now and tell me whether anyone will be so put off whatever Lab does now that they will think they are a viable alternative. The Cons have two years (ie three years before the next GE) to find their Tone and they don't look like doing so.
While I'm on the subject, the only hope for the Cons would be that after Kemi or BobbyJ for a few months everyone realises what a disaster it is for them to keep tacking right and some kind of charismatic White or indeed Of Colour Centrist Knight comes along and pitches themselves against the right and makes a plea for a return to the centre and brings enough people with them to re-orientate the party in that direction. Just as Kinnock and then Blair did to the Left back in the day.
But this takes time and I don't expect it before 2029. Nor can I see who that person might be because the Cons are in a death spiral where the seeming aim is to appeal to every last Reform voter by increasingly bonkers right wing policies which are not those of a government in waiting.
We now live in a political system where party loyalties are fraying and a party can win a landslide majority on 33-34% of the vote.
The fact of the matter is that people don’t need to like the Tories (or AN Other). They just need to muster enough support in enough places to pull off a win. The Tories hovered around 33% of the vote in the 1997-2005 elections and were hardly universally loved at that point.
If Labour can demonstrate measurable improvement over the next 4 years then they will probably be given another go. But there’s no certainty to that, particularly given the start they’ve had.
Biden should have stood down a lot earlier to give Harris more time to prepare for the election.
Biden should have stood by his promise in 2020 to be a bridge to future generations and prepared the way for a high-quality primary contest to find his successor.
Some of us said this at the time and pointed out that Biden was obviously fucking gaga, and would end up resigning at the worst time, meaning the Dems would be left with Kamala as a far less than optimum candidate
But the Regiment of Centrist Idiot Dads on PB went into full on denial. “Biden is fine”, “he likes falling over”, “he’s always dribbled a lot”. And here we are
This would not have mattered if the actual US Democrats weren’t as feebly stupid as the PB Centrist Dads. But it seems they are
Especially when the same sort of thing had happened previously with Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
Presumably Pope was playing as a night watchman? Otherwise we would have had someone like Gus Atkinson in instead.
I think Crawley and Pope are playing as Key’s mates.
That's surely the end of the road for Pope, at least for now.
Nope, Jamie Smith is likely to miss the first two New Zealand tests so Jordan Cox is coming in for Smith and leaving Pope in situ.
If Cox is a success then in the third test then Smith comes in for Pope.
England batting without Smith is a serious worry. Stokes is so out of form its painful to watch. Crawley is about a 1 in 10 strike rate, Pope plays like a tail ender and even Brook is starting to believe his own PR. When you see what this NZ side is doing to India it makes you a tad apprehensive.
Labour are also starting to come unstuck due to their unwise, inexact language.
They really shouldn’t have started this whole “working people” stuff. Because now they’re being forced to define working people every time they get interviewed. It would have been far better to make the specific tax pledges and avoid the window dressing. That wasn’t very lawyerly of super lawyer SKS.
It's really Konigsberg and should either be a German exclave, or quasi Polish, or a new EU microstate.
Where Kant lived all his life, never leaving. The greatest philosopher since Aristotle deserves better. (He would have loved the EU, as the start of a global project for peaceful coexistence)
Angela Merkel's memoirs are out next month. This week's Charlemagne revisits her legacy. She led Germany - and thus Europe - as if in a make-believe world, letting it enjoy an extended geopolitical and economic nap from which it still needs to wake up.
Merkel was Germany’s Baldwin, and that is no compliment.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
Biden should have stood down a lot earlier to give Harris more time to prepare for the election.
Biden should have stood by his promise in 2020 to be a bridge to future generations and prepared the way for a high-quality primary contest to find his successor.
Some of us said this at the time and pointed out that Biden was obviously fucking gaga, and would end up resigning at the worst time, meaning the Dems would be left with Kamala as a far less than optimum candidate
But the Regiment of Centrist Idiot Dads on PB went into full on denial. “Biden is fine”, “he likes falling over”, “he’s always dribbled a lot”. And here we are
This would not have mattered if the actual US Democrats weren’t as feebly stupid as the PB Centrist Dads. But it seems they are
When you say ‘some of us,’ which one out of Eadric, LadyG, Byronic, Fitz and The One Who Shall Not Be Named was *not* saying it?
Starmer’s latest tactic: “Tell Sid he’s not a working person.”
SKS is turning out to be as crap at government politics as Rishi.
Even if he’s being wilfully misquoted/misinterpreted, the correct response to an “is X a working person?” Is “I’m not going into hypotheticals, wait for the budget and you’ll see what gets announced. I’m confident I’m approaching this fairly.” It is not “well I’m not sure X would fit in my definition”. Facepalm.
It's really Konigsberg and should either be a German exclave, or quasi Polish, or a new EU microstate.
Where Kant lived all his life, never leaving. The greatest philosopher since Aristotle deserves better. (He would have loved the EU, as the start of a global project for peaceful coexistence)
Angela Merkel's memoirs are out next month. This week's Charlemagne revisits her legacy. She led Germany - and thus Europe - as if in a make-believe world, letting it enjoy an extended geopolitical and economic nap from which it still needs to wake up.
Merkel was Germany’s Baldwin, and that is no compliment.
To be fair to Baldwin, he actually started re-armament. The mythology that nothing was done is incorrect.
From 1932 (the Pocket battleships are laid down by the German government, before Hitler) the Treasury was actively looking for places to spend money on rearmament.
The issue was that the end of WWI and the Depression had massively reduced the capacity of UK Industry for armaments. So the money was spent on paying for carburising ovens to make armour plate (for example). Which isn't sexy and isn't going to lead to lots of weapons (immediately) to put in a parade.
Biden should have stood down a lot earlier to give Harris more time to prepare for the election.
Biden should have stood by his promise in 2020 to be a bridge to future generations and prepared the way for a high-quality primary contest to find his successor.
Some of us said this at the time and pointed out that Biden was obviously fucking gaga, and would end up resigning at the worst time, meaning the Dems would be left with Kamala as a far less than optimum candidate
But the Regiment of Centrist Idiot Dads on PB went into full on denial. “Biden is fine”, “he likes falling over”, “he’s always dribbled a lot”. And here we are
This would not have mattered if the actual US Democrats weren’t as feebly stupid as the PB Centrist Dads. But it seems they are
I was concerned at the time that it was going to be Harris by default as the whole Primary process had been wasted by Biden's conceit. But Harris has proven to be a way better candidate than I expected. She demolished Trump in the debate, she has been clear and confident in her speeches, she has handled a range of interviews well. To me she looks more Presidential by the day. The Democrats got seriously lucky. It could have been a disaster.
I agree. She's good. However it still would have been better for Joe to have announced earlier that he was one term only leaving time and space for a proper Dem primary.
Biden should have stood down a lot earlier to give Harris more time to prepare for the election.
Biden should have stood by his promise in 2020 to be a bridge to future generations and prepared the way for a high-quality primary contest to find his successor.
Some of us said this at the time and pointed out that Biden was obviously fucking gaga, and would end up resigning at the worst time, meaning the Dems would be left with Kamala as a far less than optimum candidate
But the Regiment of Centrist Idiot Dads on PB went into full on denial. “Biden is fine”, “he likes falling over”, “he’s always dribbled a lot”. And here we are
This would not have mattered if the actual US Democrats weren’t as feebly stupid as the PB Centrist Dads. But it seems they are
When you say ‘some of us,’ which one out of Eadric, LadyG, Byronic, Fitz and The One Who Shall Not Be Named was *not* saying it?
Starmer’s latest tactic: “Tell Sid he’s not a working person.”
SKS is turning out to be as crap at government politics as Rishi.
Even if he’s being wilfully misquoted/misinterpreted, the correct response to an “is X a working person?” Is “I’m not going into hypotheticals, wait for the budget and you’ll see what gets announced. I’m confident I’m approaching this fairly.” It is not “well I’m not sure X would fit in my definition”. Facepalm.
Is it me or does Starmer look increasingly haunted and sad in photos? Something has happened
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
Why so insecure?
Just honest advice. There are - I’m guessing - younger people that read this forum without commenting
They should follow my path, not yours, if life thus enables them. Especially in the light of technology coming our way which will destroy most jobs
Just get out there and travel. Find the world. Yes I know it’s been easy for me and I’m privileged blah blah but it is still enormously true
You have one life and there is one universe. DISCOVER IT
I bet there are some tweets from the past about this.
"Freeports are shit" was the universal response (from supporters of other parties) to Conservative attempts at creating them, IIRC.
Well all they do is move work from outside the freeport into it but the bunch of cowboys at Teesport have set things up so that no-one sane would go near it thankfully.
Checked the employer NI side of things it saves a company about £2194 per worker per year - that adds up quick if the freeport doesn't shaft you on other costs...
Its finance chief Alastair Cochran said that the UK government is aware of the firm's position and has kept in close contact during the negotiations over the new loan.
No-one is going to lend Thames sixpence on any ordinary risk terms. I'm just wondering who will be left paying various bills in due course. There's bill payers, there's tax payers........that just about covers it.
It is obvious to anyone and everyone that what is meant is that working people won't pay more taxes on their wages.
Who gives a shit anyway. I'm totally uninterested in budget speculation. You can't bet on it and there's only a few days to wait before we know what's in it.
In her Morning Edition interview, the Wall Street Journal’s editor in chief dismisses criticism of the paper’s coverage of Trump, saying they don’t want to be “truth nannies”
Starmer’s latest tactic: “Tell Sid he’s not a working person.”
SKS is turning out to be as crap at government politics as Rishi.
Even if he’s being wilfully misquoted/misinterpreted, the correct response to an “is X a working person?” Is “I’m not going into hypotheticals, wait for the budget and you’ll see what gets announced. I’m confident I’m approaching this fairly.” It is not “well I’m not sure X would fit in my definition”. Facepalm.
Is it me or does Starmer look increasingly haunted and sad in photos? Something has happened
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
After a couple of months, it’s good to be coming home. But also good to be planning the next trip.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
A fair and articulate point
For all my travels I do still have a home - or rather, a nest of homes. I’m a white Anglo-Celtic European with great loyalties to Britain, England, London, Cornwall, Christianity, whiteness, the Enlightenment, Herefordshire, Regents Park
That’s me. My identity and my sense of “home”. And yes it is nice to come home. But I couldn’t do a what3words on where home is, except maybe my kitchen in Camden cooking a laksa with a g&t on the go and good music on Alexa and a friend to meet in the Groucho tomorrow
I’m happy to do that four times a year, then light out again
It turns out that appalling cliche is true. The best friends are the ones you meet on the way to somewhere else
Biden should have stood down a lot earlier to give Harris more time to prepare for the election.
Biden should have stood by his promise in 2020 to be a bridge to future generations and prepared the way for a high-quality primary contest to find his successor.
Some of us said this at the time and pointed out that Biden was obviously fucking gaga, and would end up resigning at the worst time, meaning the Dems would be left with Kamala as a far less than optimum candidate
But the Regiment of Centrist Idiot Dads on PB went into full on denial. “Biden is fine”, “he likes falling over”, “he’s always dribbled a lot”. And here we are
This would not have mattered if the actual US Democrats weren’t as feebly stupid as the PB Centrist Dads. But it seems they are
Especially when the same sort of thing had happened previously with Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020.
So, @Andy_JS, who did Leon put down as Dem nominee in your beginning of year predictions comp, then?
Its finance chief Alastair Cochran said that the UK government is aware of the firm's position and has kept in close contact during the negotiations over the new loan.
No-one is going to lend Thames sixpence on any ordinary risk terms. I'm just wondering who will be left paying various bills in due course. There's bill payers, there's tax payers........that just about covers it.
Anyone recall the loan to Barclays in 2008? The one where the government tried to take over the bank, by trying to get the share price down (to make a complete set of the major banks) but found out that under the terms of the loan, the lower the shares in the bank went, the more of the bank the people making the loan possessed.
In her Morning Edition interview, the Wall Street Journal’s editor in chief dismisses criticism of the paper’s coverage of Trump, saying they don’t want to be “truth nannies”
Starmer’s latest tactic: “Tell Sid he’s not a working person.”
SKS is turning out to be as crap at government politics as Rishi.
Even if he’s being wilfully misquoted/misinterpreted, the correct response to an “is X a working person?” Is “I’m not going into hypotheticals, wait for the budget and you’ll see what gets announced. I’m confident I’m approaching this fairly.” It is not “well I’m not sure X would fit in my definition”. Facepalm.
Is it me or does Starmer look increasingly haunted and sad in photos? Something has happened
He looks like he's aged.
That is for sure. But I sense something else as well
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
A fair and articulate point
For all my travels I do still have a home - or rather, a nest of homes. I’m a white Anglo-Celtic European with great loyalties to Britain, England, London, Cornwall, Christianity, whiteness, the Enlightenment, Herefordshire, Regents Park
That’s me. My identity and my sense of “home”. And yes it is nice to come home. But I couldn’t do a what3words on where home is, except maybe my kitchen in Camden cooking a laksa with a g&t on the go and good music on Alexa and a friend to meet in the Groucho tomorrow
I’m happy to do that four times a year, then light out again
It turns out that appalling cliche is true. The best friends are the ones you meet on the way to somewhere else
I dispute that last bit. A best friend is someone you know you can call and tell all to when you need to tell someone all. And for it to land. That is, you can tell all to the person sitting next to you on the train to Siem Reap but it won't mean anything. Might as well tell your shaving mirror. Or the moon. A best friend, like home, anchors you to the world and provides a platform wherefrom you can fly. Without that platform it is ephemera. A series of experiences rather than an accumulation.
But that is a) I think who you are and that again is far from a criticism or judgement; and b) none of my business.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
Much as I like to travel I really enjoy coming home. I get bored when away too long. My wife is even less tolerant at being away for too long. I would miss friends, the local, the garden and gardening, my small orchard, enjoying the patio and BBQ, cooking, celebrations such as firework night, Christmas, pantomime, etc and working for the LDs, enjoying our 2nd home, projects, looking at classic cars, etc etc.
I have done 3 states in America, cycled in France and relaxed in Portugal this year. We were going to do Copenhagen and 3 Spanish cities but on return from Portugal we couldn't be bothered and wanted to relax at home.
My travel in the past was solely for activities; cycling, sailing and skiing. Not a beach person and get bored quickly with sightseeing.
Interesting Steve Rosenberg question to Vlad the other day at the BRIICS conference. I think Vlad set out quite clearly his justification for Russia's actions although how that justifies the SMO I'm not particularly sure but it ties back to what I wrote about it many moons ago shortly after Feb 2022 in their perception of eg NATO.
More than a dozen former Trump administration officials on Friday came out in support of former chief of staff John Kelly, who went on the record this week to say the former president fits the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator and has no concept of the Constitution.
In a new letter, shared exclusively with POLITICO, the former Trump administration officials — some of the officials have been outspoken Trump critics for years — stated, “this is who Donald Trump is.”
Starmer’s latest tactic: “Tell Sid he’s not a working person.”
SKS is turning out to be as crap at government politics as Rishi.
Even if he’s being wilfully misquoted/misinterpreted, the correct response to an “is X a working person?” Is “I’m not going into hypotheticals, wait for the budget and you’ll see what gets announced. I’m confident I’m approaching this fairly.” It is not “well I’m not sure X would fit in my definition”. Facepalm.
Is it me or does Starmer look increasingly haunted and sad in photos? Something has happened
He looks like he's aged.
That is for sure. But I sense something else as well
He visibly bristles when he comes under scrutiny. He largely had an easy ride as LOTO because we were all watching the Tories implode. Perhaps he isn’t quite enjoying being in the spotlight as much as he expected. I do sense he thought he’d have a much easier ride from the press than he’s getting.
I’ve realised what it is that Skyr Toolmakersson is evincing in these sad photos (and there have been a few now, in multiple journals)
His face says “this job isn’t remotely as fun as I expected, I’m not very good at it, and I don’t want to do it”
He could’ve just chilled as head of CPS, bought his own Taylor Swift and Arsenal tickets and had as complicated a private life as he wished. Hard to understand the mentality of life’s greasy pole climbers.
Starmer’s latest tactic: “Tell Sid he’s not a working person.”
SKS is turning out to be as crap at government politics as Rishi.
Even if he’s being wilfully misquoted/misinterpreted, the correct response to an “is X a working person?” Is “I’m not going into hypotheticals, wait for the budget and you’ll see what gets announced. I’m confident I’m approaching this fairly.” It is not “well I’m not sure X would fit in my definition”. Facepalm.
Is it me or does Starmer look increasingly haunted and sad in photos? Something has happened
He looks like he's aged.
That is for sure. But I sense something else as well
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
A fair and articulate point
For all my travels I do still have a home - or rather, a nest of homes. I’m a white Anglo-Celtic European with great loyalties to Britain, England, London, Cornwall, Christianity, whiteness, the Enlightenment, Herefordshire, Regents Park
That’s me. My identity and my sense of “home”. And yes it is nice to come home. But I couldn’t do a what3words on where home is, except maybe my kitchen in Camden cooking a laksa with a g&t on the go and good music on Alexa and a friend to meet in the Groucho tomorrow
I’m happy to do that four times a year, then light out again
It turns out that appalling cliche is true. The best friends are the ones you meet on the way to somewhere else
I dispute that last bit. A best friend is someone you know you can call and tell all to when you need to tell someone all. And for it to land. That is, you can tell all to the person sitting next to you on the train to Siem Reap but it won't mean anything. Might as well tell your shaving mirror. Or the moon. A best friend, like home, anchors you to the world and provides a platform wherefrom you can fly. Without that platform it is ephemera. A series of experiences rather than an accumulation.
But that is a) I think who you are and that again is far from a criticism or judgement; and b) none of my business.
So Trump, eh...
You misconstrue
I was using friends in a different sense
I am blessed with 7 or 8 friends (more or less) like you describe. Sadly one or two are now seriously ill. Age, ah, my god
The misunderstanding is my fault. What I meant is: some of the most profound human connections you can make are often the most transient
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
Why so insecure?
Just honest advice. There are - I’m guessing - younger people that read this forum without commenting
They should follow my path, not yours, if life thus enables them. Especially in the light of technology coming our way which will destroy most jobs
Just get out there and travel. Find the world. Yes I know it’s been easy for me and I’m privileged blah blah but it is still enormously true
You have one life and there is one universe. DISCOVER IT
But constantly preening about yourself is going to put them off, all these vibrant young people who are devouring this blog in their spare time. That and your hackneyed reactionary politics is not an appealing package.
I do like this comment online because I'm sure we've all been guilty of it ourselves at some point as well. Saying you do not agree can itself form such a conversation, if views are that clear cut about something nothing is being gained by 'extending' it beyond that however. https://nitter.poast.org/BDSixsmith/status/1849778864563638740#m
Starmer’s latest tactic: “Tell Sid he’s not a working person.”
SKS is turning out to be as crap at government politics as Rishi.
Even if he’s being wilfully misquoted/misinterpreted, the correct response to an “is X a working person?” Is “I’m not going into hypotheticals, wait for the budget and you’ll see what gets announced. I’m confident I’m approaching this fairly.” It is not “well I’m not sure X would fit in my definition”. Facepalm.
Is it me or does Starmer look increasingly haunted and sad in photos? Something has happened
He looks like he's aged.
I would expect thar it's more that he's worried about how things are going internationally.
However bumpy things are on a national stage, he knows he still has a long time to prove himself, on that.
So basically Elon Musk is a traitor working with America's enemies, he's also the main funder and proponent of Donald Trump's campaign, and he controls a bunch of our communications and national security infrastructure. And is the richest guy on earth, to boot. Seems bad
I suspect this is a desperate load of bollocks confected by the democrats in fear of Trump winning. Recall they suppressed lab leak - the origins of a global pandemic, arguably the most important peacetime FACT in history - to help Biden
Something about Elon causes people to completely take leave of their mental faculties. Was there ever a time when people recognised that all human beings are flawed but deserving of judgement in the round? All this tribalism for its own sake is so tedious.
He's an extremely rich and powerful man, with an ego to match, of course opinions of and about him will tend towards the more definitive or extreme, be it seeing him as an aspiring cyberpunk corporacrat, or as Steve Jobs crossed with Jesus crossed with Tony Stark.
It is obvious to anyone and everyone that what is meant is that working people won't pay more taxes on their wages.
Who gives a shit anyway. I'm totally uninterested in budget speculation. You can't bet on it and there's only a few days to wait before we know what's in it.
Well, yes, but people are weighing up whether to make adjustments in anticipation of what might happen, and I think this is understandable and damaging.
If, for example, a person is 60 and planning to retire in, say, 2 or 3 years time, do they crystallise their pension now and release their tax free cash or do they risk it (i.e. Reeves changing the rules on Budget Day, from immediate effect)?
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
A fair and articulate point
For all my travels I do still have a home - or rather, a nest of homes. I’m a white Anglo-Celtic European with great loyalties to Britain, England, London, Cornwall, Christianity, whiteness, the Enlightenment, Herefordshire, Regents Park
That’s me. My identity and my sense of “home”. And yes it is nice to come home. But I couldn’t do a what3words on where home is, except maybe my kitchen in Camden cooking a laksa with a g&t on the go and good music on Alexa and a friend to meet in the Groucho tomorrow
I’m happy to do that four times a year, then light out again
It turns out that appalling cliche is true. The best friends are the ones you meet on the way to somewhere else
I dispute that last bit. A best friend is someone you know you can call and tell all to when you need to tell someone all. And for it to land. That is, you can tell all to the person sitting next to you on the train to Siem Reap but it won't mean anything. Might as well tell your shaving mirror. Or the moon. A best friend, like home, anchors you to the world and provides a platform wherefrom you can fly. Without that platform it is ephemera. A series of experiences rather than an accumulation.
But that is a) I think who you are and that again is far from a criticism or judgement; and b) none of my business.
So Trump, eh...
You misconstrue
I was using friends in a different sense
I am blessed with 7 or 8 friends (more or less) like you describe. Sadly one or two are now seriously ill. Age, ah, my god
The misunderstanding is my fault. What I meant is: some of the most profound human connections you can make are often the most transient
What makes a human connection profound. I believe it is when you are affected to a very great deal and then can consolidate that feeling with the person concerned. Otherwise it's like reading one of those "It's Wine O'Clock Somewhere" table mats in novelty/gift shops. Human interaction is indeed profound but it's not a connection if it's not a connection.
Suppose you meet the love of your life on a six-hour train journey then you never see each other again. I don't think that is profound. Or rather, it is of course your profound. To me, however, which echoes my thoughts about, and perhaps our conflicting attitudes to home, it is ephemera.
More than a dozen former Trump administration officials on Friday came out in support of former chief of staff John Kelly, who went on the record this week to say the former president fits the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator and has no concept of the Constitution.
In a new letter, shared exclusively with POLITICO, the former Trump administration officials — some of the officials have been outspoken Trump critics for years — stated, “this is who Donald Trump is.”
It's quite odd that people like Kelly have not been more vocal if that is the way they feel about things. If he and others think like that being coy or even silent until things are dragged out of you is an odd way to react.
It's silly enough when people like Romney who clearly despise Trump won't say they vote Harris because they want future influence in the party, even though he's not standing again, and sitting on the fence like that doesn't fool Trump fans or Trump haters, so he pisses off both.
Starmer’s latest tactic: “Tell Sid he’s not a working person.”
SKS is turning out to be as crap at government politics as Rishi.
Even if he’s being wilfully misquoted/misinterpreted, the correct response to an “is X a working person?” Is “I’m not going into hypotheticals, wait for the budget and you’ll see what gets announced. I’m confident I’m approaching this fairly.” It is not “well I’m not sure X would fit in my definition”. Facepalm.
Is it me or does Starmer look increasingly haunted and sad in photos? Something has happened
He looks like he's aged.
That is for sure. But I sense something else as well
He's read the forthcoming Budget.
They've done a good job forecasting absolute doom from it, even a halfway competent presentation should seem positive by comparison.
I’ve realised what it is that Skyr Toolmakersson is evincing in these sad photos (and there have been a few now, in multiple journals)
His face says “this job isn’t remotely as fun as I expected, I’m not very good at it, and I don’t want to do it”
He could’ve just chilled as head of CPS, bought his own Taylor Swift and Arsenal tickets and had as complicated a private life as he wished. Hard to understand the mentality of life’s greasy pole climbers.
I read an essay (FT?) which said his big final ambition after CPS was to be Attorney General in a new Labour govt. So still a lawyer, still able to pontificate, still vain and narcissistic but without any harsh critiques (which he can’t abide) but he has accidentally ended up PM
These images are striking. He looks deeply unhappy
There may be VALUE in a punt on a Starmer resignation before the next GE
It is obvious to anyone and everyone that what is meant is that working people won't pay more taxes on their wages.
Who gives a shit anyway. I'm totally uninterested in budget speculation. You can't bet on it and there's only a few days to wait before we know what's in it.
And half it it will be aspirational fluff that won't happen, or just completely wrong in its predictions anyway, necessitating change.
It is obvious to anyone and everyone that what is meant is that working people won't pay more taxes on their wages.
Who gives a shit anyway. I'm totally uninterested in budget speculation. You can't bet on it and there's only a few days to wait before we know what's in it.
Well, yes, but people are weighing up whether to make adjustments in anticipation of what might happen, and I think this is understandable and damaging.
If, for example, a person is 60 and planning to retire in, say, 2 or 3 years time, do they crystallise their pension now and release their tax free cash or do they risk it (i.e. Reeves changing the rules on Budget Day, from immediate effect)?
Don't forget that kini has plenty of money so he really doesn't give a shit about what is or isn't in the budget as it affects people who might not be as fortunate, clever, and previously hardworking as he is and was.
I’m just about to travel from Olhão to Vila Real de Santa Antonio.
By train.
Which has beautiful new overhead cabling everywhere along the route.
And the train I’m taking is a clapped out two car diesel that would make a 158 look modern.
It’s good to know it’s not just Britain that’s totally sodding useless at infrastructure.
Something often missed when people criticise the UK. Often we compare the best of elsewhere with the worst at home. And very often people report on holiday experience vs actually living somewhere else. I spent a year in NZ and grew to understand the place far better than I ever would have if it had just been a holiday.
Biden should have stood down a lot earlier to give Harris more time to prepare for the election.
Biden should have stood by his promise in 2020 to be a bridge to future generations and prepared the way for a high-quality primary contest to find his successor.
Some of us said this at the time and pointed out that Biden was obviously fucking gaga, and would end up resigning at the worst time, meaning the Dems would be left with Kamala as a far less than optimum candidate
But the Regiment of Centrist Idiot Dads on PB went into full on denial. “Biden is fine”, “he likes falling over”, “he’s always dribbled a lot”. And here we are
This would not have mattered if the actual US Democrats weren’t as feebly stupid as the PB Centrist Dads. But it seems they are
Especially when the same sort of thing had happened previously with Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020.
So, @Andy_JS, who did Leon put down as Dem nominee in your beginning of year predictions comp, then?
You must be mixing me up with someone else, I didn't run a predictions comp.
So basically Elon Musk is a traitor working with America's enemies, he's also the main funder and proponent of Donald Trump's campaign, and he controls a bunch of our communications and national security infrastructure. And is the richest guy on earth, to boot. Seems bad
I suspect this is a desperate load of bollocks confected by the democrats in fear of Trump winning. Recall they suppressed lab leak - the origins of a global pandemic, arguably the most important peacetime FACT in history - to help Biden
Something about Elon causes people to completely take leave of their mental faculties. Was there ever a time when people recognised that all human beings are flawed but deserving of judgement in the round? All this tribalism for its own sake is so tedious.
He's an extremely rich and powerful man, with an ego to match, of course opinions of and about him will tend towards the more definitive or extreme, be it seeing him as an aspiring cyberpunk corporacrat, or as Steve Jobs crossed with Jesus crossed with Tony Stark.
Well, what the WSJ reports today about his communications on and off with Putin, and trying to pour oil on the fires of a civil war on August, you'd have.to say many people would have a reasonable case to be concerned.
I think he's beginning to partialy esembles the child hacker who almost destroyed the world in the earjy 80's American film, War Games.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
A fair and articulate point
For all my travels I do still have a home - or rather, a nest of homes. I’m a white Anglo-Celtic European with great loyalties to Britain, England, London, Cornwall, Christianity, whiteness, the Enlightenment, Herefordshire, Regents Park
That’s me. My identity and my sense of “home”. And yes it is nice to come home. But I couldn’t do a what3words on where home is, except maybe my kitchen in Camden cooking a laksa with a g&t on the go and good music on Alexa and a friend to meet in the Groucho tomorrow
I’m happy to do that four times a year, then light out again
It turns out that appalling cliche is true. The best friends are the ones you meet on the way to somewhere else
I dispute that last bit. A best friend is someone you know you can call and tell all to when you need to tell someone all. And for it to land. That is, you can tell all to the person sitting next to you on the train to Siem Reap but it won't mean anything. Might as well tell your shaving mirror. Or the moon. A best friend, like home, anchors you to the world and provides a platform wherefrom you can fly. Without that platform it is ephemera. A series of experiences rather than an accumulation.
But that is a) I think who you are and that again is far from a criticism or judgement; and b) none of my business.
So Trump, eh...
You misconstrue
I was using friends in a different sense
I am blessed with 7 or 8 friends (more or less) like you describe. Sadly one or two are now seriously ill. Age, ah, my god
The misunderstanding is my fault. What I meant is: some of the most profound human connections you can make are often the most transient
David Attenborough wrote about meeting a native tribe that had never before encountered outsiders. One chap, notably shy and reticent spent most of the time on the fringes, but at one point shared a simple human acknowledgment with Attenborough that stayed with him for the rest of his life. It was just a simple facial 'hi' moment, but for whatever reason, felt like so much more.
Biden should have stood down a lot earlier to give Harris more time to prepare for the election.
Biden should have stood by his promise in 2020 to be a bridge to future generations and prepared the way for a high-quality primary contest to find his successor.
Some of us said this at the time and pointed out that Biden was obviously fucking gaga, and would end up resigning at the worst time, meaning the Dems would be left with Kamala as a far less than optimum candidate
But the Regiment of Centrist Idiot Dads on PB went into full on denial. “Biden is fine”, “he likes falling over”, “he’s always dribbled a lot”. And here we are
This would not have mattered if the actual US Democrats weren’t as feebly stupid as the PB Centrist Dads. But it seems they are
I was concerned at the time that it was going to be Harris by default as the whole Primary process had been wasted by Biden's conceit. But Harris has proven to be a way better candidate than I expected. She demolished Trump in the debate, she has been clear and confident in her speeches, she has handled a range of interviews well. To me she looks more Presidential by the day. The Democrats got seriously lucky. It could have been a disaster.
Whilst you cannot really avoid it (except in these very unique circumstances) primaries might not be that effective at identifying who might make a better president. How often will a President have to do anything like that kind of thing if they win after all? Harris has looked better as a pseudo-incumbent than a primary contender back in the day.
Just got off a company EDI call. And for the first time ever 2 or 3 of us were openly challenging it, including me.
Sands are shifting.
Well done, I sat through a mandated black history month workshop yesterday given by... you guessed it, a white person! It was such a load of nonsense. Enough to make me start looking for another job, I don't think I can stick around here.
Just going to add into the mix that the River Thames is the cleanest river going through any large conurbation in the world. Thames Water might be run by a bunch of spivs who have used all kinds of financial instruments to avoid taxation which is crashing down around them, but at their core job they have played a blinder. Unpopular opinion/fact: the UK has *the* cleanest water in the world (well in fact its joint clean with a few nordic countries), has the cleanest beaches it ever has had (some way to go compared to seaside tourist countries who have seen a clean coast as more of a priority, and the rivers in general are top notch.
It is obvious to anyone and everyone that what is meant is that working people won't pay more taxes on their wages.
Who gives a shit anyway. I'm totally uninterested in budget speculation. You can't bet on it and there's only a few days to wait before we know what's in it.
Well, yes, but people are weighing up whether to make adjustments in anticipation of what might happen, and I think this is understandable and damaging.
If, for example, a person is 60 and planning to retire in, say, 2 or 3 years time, do they crystallise their pension now and release their tax free cash or do they risk it?
I guess that is betting on it in a sense. But yes ok it's probably just because the US is consuming all my mental energy atm. Eg I even struggled to get into Bake Off on Tuesday.
So basically Elon Musk is a traitor working with America's enemies, he's also the main funder and proponent of Donald Trump's campaign, and he controls a bunch of our communications and national security infrastructure. And is the richest guy on earth, to boot. Seems bad
I suspect this is a desperate load of bollocks confected by the democrats in fear of Trump winning. Recall they suppressed lab leak - the origins of a global pandemic, arguably the most important peacetime FACT in history - to help Biden
Something about Elon causes people to completely take leave of their mental faculties. Was there ever a time when people recognised that all human beings are flawed but deserving of judgement in the round? All this tribalism for its own sake is so tedious.
He's an extremely rich and powerful man, with an ego to match, of course opinions of and about him will tend towards the more definitive or extreme, be it seeing him as an aspiring cyberpunk corporacrat, or as Steve Jobs crossed with Jesus crossed with Tony Stark.
Well, what the WSJ reports today about his communications on and off with Putin, and trying to pour oil on the fires of a civil war on August, you'd have.to say many people would have a reasonable case to be concerned.
I think he's beginning to partialy esembles the child hacker who almost destroyed the world in the earjy 80's American film, War Games.
Actually that character *saved* the world. The computer was bound to try to "win" Global Thermonuclear War eventually. He convinced the computer that the "Winning move was not to play".
Being a Japanese opposition politician feels like a very frustrating choice to make, when the real Opposition is within the factions of the LDP (albeit there is some thought they possibly might not get a majority outright this time).
It is obvious to anyone and everyone that what is meant is that working people won't pay more taxes on their wages.
Who gives a shit anyway. I'm totally uninterested in budget speculation. You can't bet on it and there's only a few days to wait before we know what's in it.
Well, yes, but people are weighing up whether to make adjustments in anticipation of what might happen, and I think this is understandable and damaging.
If, for example, a person is 60 and planning to retire in, say, 2 or 3 years time, do they crystallise their pension now and release their tax free cash or do they risk it?
I guess that is betting on it in a sense. But yes ok it's probably just because the US is consuming all my mental energy atm. Eg I even struggled to get into Bake Off on Tuesday.
That hairy young skateboarder is going to win isn't he? (I've taken against him because my daughter fancies him.)
Just got off a company EDI call. And for the first time ever 2 or 3 of us were openly challenging it, including me.
Sands are shifting.
Well done, I sat through a mandated black history month workshop yesterday given by... you guessed it, a white person! It was such a load of nonsense. Enough to make me start looking for another job, I don't think I can stick around here.
Umming and ahhinng about telling the Black History Month workshop that this workshop is wasted on me because I had a lot of black friends growing up, well I did until my father sold them.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
A fair and articulate point
For all my travels I do still have a home - or rather, a nest of homes. I’m a white Anglo-Celtic European with great loyalties to Britain, England, London, Cornwall, Christianity, whiteness, the Enlightenment, Herefordshire, Regents Park
That’s me. My identity and my sense of “home”. And yes it is nice to come home. But I couldn’t do a what3words on where home is, except maybe my kitchen in Camden cooking a laksa with a g&t on the go and good music on Alexa and a friend to meet in the Groucho tomorrow
I’m happy to do that four times a year, then light out again
It turns out that appalling cliche is true. The best friends are the ones you meet on the way to somewhere else
I dispute that last bit. A best friend is someone you know you can call and tell all to when you need to tell someone all. And for it to land. That is, you can tell all to the person sitting next to you on the train to Siem Reap but it won't mean anything. Might as well tell your shaving mirror. Or the moon. A best friend, like home, anchors you to the world and provides a platform wherefrom you can fly. Without that platform it is ephemera. A series of experiences rather than an accumulation.
But that is a) I think who you are and that again is far from a criticism or judgement; and b) none of my business.
So Trump, eh...
You misconstrue
I was using friends in a different sense
I am blessed with 7 or 8 friends (more or less) like you describe. Sadly one or two are now seriously ill. Age, ah, my god
The misunderstanding is my fault. What I meant is: some of the most profound human connections you can make are often the most transient
What makes a human connection profound. I believe it is when you are affected to a very great deal and then can consolidate that feeling with the person concerned. Otherwise it's like reading one of those "It's Wine O'Clock Somewhere" table mats in novelty/gift shops. Human interaction is indeed profound but it's not a connection if it's not a connection.
Suppose you meet the love of your life on a six-hour train journey then you never see each other again. I don't think that is profound. Or rather, it is of course your profound. To me, however, which echoes my thoughts about, and perhaps our conflicting attitudes to home, it is ephemera.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
A fair and articulate point
For all my travels I do still have a home - or rather, a nest of homes. I’m a white Anglo-Celtic European with great loyalties to Britain, England, London, Cornwall, Christianity, whiteness, the Enlightenment, Herefordshire, Regents Park
That’s me. My identity and my sense of “home”. And yes it is nice to come home. But I couldn’t do a what3words on where home is, except maybe my kitchen in Camden cooking a laksa with a g&t on the go and good music on Alexa and a friend to meet in the Groucho tomorrow
I’m happy to do that four times a year, then light out again
It turns out that appalling cliche is true. The best friends are the ones you meet on the way to somewhere else
I dispute that last bit. A best friend is someone you know you can call and tell all to when you need to tell someone all. And for it to land. That is, you can tell all to the person sitting next to you on the train to Siem Reap but it won't mean anything. Might as well tell your shaving mirror. Or the moon. A best friend, like home, anchors you to the world and provides a platform wherefrom you can fly. Without that platform it is ephemera. A series of experiences rather than an accumulation.
But that is a) I think who you are and that again is far from a criticism or judgement; and b) none of my business.
So Trump, eh...
You misconstrue
I was using friends in a different sense
I am blessed with 7 or 8 friends (more or less) like you describe. Sadly one or two are now seriously ill. Age, ah, my god
The misunderstanding is my fault. What I meant is: some of the most profound human connections you can make are often the most transient
What makes a human connection profound. I believe it is when you are affected to a very great deal and then can consolidate that feeling with the person concerned. Otherwise it's like reading one of those "It's Wine O'Clock Somewhere" table mats in novelty/gift shops. Human interaction is indeed profound but it's not a connection if it's not a connection.
Suppose you meet the love of your life on a six-hour train journey then you never see each other again. I don't think that is profound. Or rather, it is of course your profound. To me, however, which echoes my thoughts about, and perhaps our conflicting attitudes to home, it is ephemera.
Completely disagree. Some of my best fucks have been one night stands where we didn’t even remember each other’s name
The transience is KEY. The ephemerality is the POINT. However I accept this is likely above your intellectual pay grade so I won’t push it
So basically Elon Musk is a traitor working with America's enemies, he's also the main funder and proponent of Donald Trump's campaign, and he controls a bunch of our communications and national security infrastructure. And is the richest guy on earth, to boot. Seems bad
I suspect this is a desperate load of bollocks confected by the democrats in fear of Trump winning. Recall they suppressed lab leak - the origins of a global pandemic, arguably the most important peacetime FACT in history - to help Biden
Something about Elon causes people to completely take leave of their mental faculties. Was there ever a time when people recognised that all human beings are flawed but deserving of judgement in the round? All this tribalism for its own sake is so tedious.
He's an extremely rich and powerful man, with an ego to match, of course opinions of and about him will tend towards the more definitive or extreme, be it seeing him as an aspiring cyberpunk corporacrat, or as Steve Jobs crossed with Jesus crossed with Tony Stark.
Well, what the WSJ reports today about his communications on and off with Putin, and trying to pour oil on the fires of a civil war on August, you'd have.to say many people would have a reasonable case to be concerned.
I think he's beginning to partialy esembles the child hacker who almost destroyed the world in the earjy 80's American film, War Games.
Actually that character *saved* the world. The computer was bound to try to "win" Global Thermonuclear War eventually. He convinced the computer that the "Winning move was not to play".
Hmm, much wiser than Musk, then.
Perhaps a more apt comparison would be with Richard Prior in Superman 3.
Just going to add into the mix that the River Thames is the cleanest river going through any large conurbation in the world. Thames Water might be run by a bunch of spivs who have used all kinds of financial instruments to avoid taxation which is crashing down around them, but at their core job they have played a blinder. Unpopular opinion/fact: the UK has *the* cleanest water in the world (well in fact its joint clean with a few nordic countries), has the cleanest beaches it ever has had (some way to go compared to seaside tourist countries who have seen a clean coast as more of a priority, and the rivers in general are top notch.
There was a scientist in the field on recently who said exactly this. We have confused vastly increased knowledge of a problem (yes, we do still have a pollution problem with our water) to be conflated into a mirage that our water quality has become substantially worse in recent times, which is not really true. Many of our larger rivers were dead zones for many years owing to pollution - this is vastly improved and wildlife has returned. We have issues around agricultural run-off, certain drugs entering the rivers from sewers and a lack of capacity when we get (seemingly increasingly frequently) heavy rain. All of these need to be tackled, but the idea that somehow our rivers are worse than they were say 25 years ago is simply not true.
Biden should have stood down a lot earlier to give Harris more time to prepare for the election.
Biden should have stood by his promise in 2020 to be a bridge to future generations and prepared the way for a high-quality primary contest to find his successor.
Some of us said this at the time and pointed out that Biden was obviously fucking gaga, and would end up resigning at the worst time, meaning the Dems would be left with Kamala as a far less than optimum candidate
But the Regiment of Centrist Idiot Dads on PB went into full on denial. “Biden is fine”, “he likes falling over”, “he’s always dribbled a lot”. And here we are
This would not have mattered if the actual US Democrats weren’t as feebly stupid as the PB Centrist Dads. But it seems they are
Still nobody on PB said PM Liz Truss would surprise on the upside, that would be a sign of being feebly stupid.
A PB Centrist Dad speaks
It was pointed out at the time, to our soi disant superforecaster, just how difficult it is to get a president to step down, and so it proved.
Just got off a company EDI call. And for the first time ever 2 or 3 of us were openly challenging it, including me.
Sands are shifting.
Well done, I sat through a mandated black history month workshop yesterday given by... you guessed it, a white person! It was such a load of nonsense. Enough to make me start looking for another job, I don't think I can stick around here.
Umming and ahhinng about telling the Black History Month workshop that this workshop is wasted on me because I had a lot of black friends growing up, well I did until my father sold them.
Your father sold them? What an idiot.
What he should have done is created Collateralised Indentured Servant Obligations, redeemable offshore, in a low/no tax country. Then sold the CISOs OTC, in a third country.
Selling them like that created an immediate CGT issue.
Just got off a company EDI call. And for the first time ever 2 or 3 of us were openly challenging it, including me.
Sands are shifting.
I attended an actually decent session (for such things), as it felt like an actual conversation with some practical examples of things that could (not must) be considered, and an admission of difficulties with some in practice (how do you give consideration to someone's cultural background in how they are responding at interview, without presuming what their background is based on characteristics like race or name?), so it was reasonably positive.
But I did challenge them strongly after the playing of a video which was just a propaganda piece, which directly said that working hard was (not could be, was) a sign of trying to make up for childhoold trauma, and a bunch of openly anti-capitalist sloganeering. Whether everyone felt the same way as me I cannot say, but certainly a number of others agreed vocally - it was very out of character for me to speak up about such a thing but it was so insulting I cannot think why the otherwise decent presenters used it.
Has it come up that long term gilfts are now higher than under dear old Liz, and we've notably diverged in last few weeks as investors spot what Labour are planning?
I do like this comment online because I'm sure we've all been guilty of it ourselves at some point as well. Saying you do not agree can itself form such a conversation, if views are that clear cut about something nothing is being gained by 'extending' it beyond that however. https://nitter.poast.org/BDSixsmith/status/1849778864563638740#m
"You're just not engaging. You're arguing with a caricature of what I said rather than what I actually said. What's the point? I mean, seriously, what's the point?"
Just going to add into the mix that the River Thames is the cleanest river going through any large conurbation in the world. Thames Water might be run by a bunch of spivs who have used all kinds of financial instruments to avoid taxation which is crashing down around them, but at their core job they have played a blinder. Unpopular opinion/fact: the UK has *the* cleanest water in the world (well in fact its joint clean with a few nordic countries), has the cleanest beaches it ever has had (some way to go compared to seaside tourist countries who have seen a clean coast as more of a priority, and the rivers in general are top notch.
There was a scientist in the field on recently who said exactly this. We have confused vastly increased knowledge of a problem (yes, we do still have a pollution problem with our water) to be conflated into a mirage that our water quality has become substantially worse in recent times, which is not really true. Many of our larger rivers were dead zones for many years owing to pollution - this is vastly improved and wildlife has returned. We have issues around agricultural run-off, certain drugs entering the rivers from sewers and a lack of capacity when we get (seemingly increasingly frequently) heavy rain. All of these need to be tackled, but the idea that somehow our rivers are worse than they were say 25 years ago is simply not true.
Interestingly, this is what the guy who was doing the lifeguarding for the Hammersmith wild swimmers said. He does the water quality tests before each outing, so he would know.
Chemical pollution has collapsed, which means that people are using the river more. Which means, in turn they are more aware of the solution that remains.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
A fair and articulate point
For all my travels I do still have a home - or rather, a nest of homes. I’m a white Anglo-Celtic European with great loyalties to Britain, England, London, Cornwall, Christianity, whiteness, the Enlightenment, Herefordshire, Regents Park
That’s me. My identity and my sense of “home”. And yes it is nice to come home. But I couldn’t do a what3words on where home is, except maybe my kitchen in Camden cooking a laksa with a g&t on the go and good music on Alexa and a friend to meet in the Groucho tomorrow
I’m happy to do that four times a year, then light out again
It turns out that appalling cliche is true. The best friends are the ones you meet on the way to somewhere else
I dispute that last bit. A best friend is someone you know you can call and tell all to when you need to tell someone all. And for it to land. That is, you can tell all to the person sitting next to you on the train to Siem Reap but it won't mean anything. Might as well tell your shaving mirror. Or the moon. A best friend, like home, anchors you to the world and provides a platform wherefrom you can fly. Without that platform it is ephemera. A series of experiences rather than an accumulation.
But that is a) I think who you are and that again is far from a criticism or judgement; and b) none of my business.
So Trump, eh...
You misconstrue
I was using friends in a different sense
I am blessed with 7 or 8 friends (more or less) like you describe. Sadly one or two are now seriously ill. Age, ah, my god
The misunderstanding is my fault. What I meant is: some of the most profound human connections you can make are often the most transient
What makes a human connection profound. I believe it is when you are affected to a very great deal and then can consolidate that feeling with the person concerned. Otherwise it's like reading one of those "It's Wine O'Clock Somewhere" table mats in novelty/gift shops. Human interaction is indeed profound but it's not a connection if it's not a connection.
Suppose you meet the love of your life on a six-hour train journey then you never see each other again. I don't think that is profound. Or rather, it is of course your profound. To me, however, which echoes my thoughts about, and perhaps our conflicting attitudes to home, it is ephemera.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
A fair and articulate point
For all my travels I do still have a home - or rather, a nest of homes. I’m a white Anglo-Celtic European with great loyalties to Britain, England, London, Cornwall, Christianity, whiteness, the Enlightenment, Herefordshire, Regents Park
That’s me. My identity and my sense of “home”. And yes it is nice to come home. But I couldn’t do a what3words on where home is, except maybe my kitchen in Camden cooking a laksa with a g&t on the go and good music on Alexa and a friend to meet in the Groucho tomorrow
I’m happy to do that four times a year, then light out again
It turns out that appalling cliche is true. The best friends are the ones you meet on the way to somewhere else
I dispute that last bit. A best friend is someone you know you can call and tell all to when you need to tell someone all. And for it to land. That is, you can tell all to the person sitting next to you on the train to Siem Reap but it won't mean anything. Might as well tell your shaving mirror. Or the moon. A best friend, like home, anchors you to the world and provides a platform wherefrom you can fly. Without that platform it is ephemera. A series of experiences rather than an accumulation.
But that is a) I think who you are and that again is far from a criticism or judgement; and b) none of my business.
So Trump, eh...
You misconstrue
I was using friends in a different sense
I am blessed with 7 or 8 friends (more or less) like you describe. Sadly one or two are now seriously ill. Age, ah, my god
The misunderstanding is my fault. What I meant is: some of the most profound human connections you can make are often the most transient
What makes a human connection profound. I believe it is when you are affected to a very great deal and then can consolidate that feeling with the person concerned. Otherwise it's like reading one of those "It's Wine O'Clock Somewhere" table mats in novelty/gift shops. Human interaction is indeed profound but it's not a connection if it's not a connection.
Suppose you meet the love of your life on a six-hour train journey then you never see each other again. I don't think that is profound. Or rather, it is of course your profound. To me, however, which echoes my thoughts about, and perhaps our conflicting attitudes to home, it is ephemera.
Completely disagree. Some of my best fucks have been one night stands where we didn’t even remember each other’s name
The transience is KEY. The ephemerality is the POINT. However I accept this is likely above your intellectual pay grade so I won’t push it
I think you are proving my point. Aside from the fact as to whether a fuck, as you term it, is "profound", you/your personality is such that ephemera is what drives and satisfies you. Dislocated experiences one after another with each taken in isolation from the rest.
Others, me for example, want to relate all our experiences to a central thread or strand in our lives which those experiences serve to enhance.
You've gone all defensive which is fine and I understand it but you shouldn't take our disagreement as a value judgement by me of who you are. I have repeatedly said far from it.
But because perhaps each of your experiences is singular, and you move on after each, you take exception to criticism, whereas others, me again for example, draw on the totality of our experiences each of which have contributed to who we are and are therefore much less sensitive to criticism because we have "strength in depth".
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
There is something very precious about "coming home". Not as in to your family - although I'm sure that is good also - but to wherever you believe is home in a socio-cultural-political sense. Without invoking "citizens of nowhere", nevertheless to be always travelling is certainly great for new experiences and broadening the mind (not 100% sure how broadened your mind will be after a trip to rural Japan, that said) but, as Lau Tse and indeed Kant as we have just heard, attest, you can gain enlightenment by never leaving your village.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
A fair and articulate point
For all my travels I do still have a home - or rather, a nest of homes. I’m a white Anglo-Celtic European with great loyalties to Britain, England, London, Cornwall, Christianity, whiteness, the Enlightenment, Herefordshire, Regents Park
That’s me. My identity and my sense of “home”. And yes it is nice to come home. But I couldn’t do a what3words on where home is, except maybe my kitchen in Camden cooking a laksa with a g&t on the go and good music on Alexa and a friend to meet in the Groucho tomorrow
I’m happy to do that four times a year, then light out again
It turns out that appalling cliche is true. The best friends are the ones you meet on the way to somewhere else
I dispute that last bit. A best friend is someone you know you can call and tell all to when you need to tell someone all. And for it to land. That is, you can tell all to the person sitting next to you on the train to Siem Reap but it won't mean anything. Might as well tell your shaving mirror. Or the moon. A best friend, like home, anchors you to the world and provides a platform wherefrom you can fly. Without that platform it is ephemera. A series of experiences rather than an accumulation.
But that is a) I think who you are and that again is far from a criticism or judgement; and b) none of my business.
So Trump, eh...
You misconstrue
I was using friends in a different sense
I am blessed with 7 or 8 friends (more or less) like you describe. Sadly one or two are now seriously ill. Age, ah, my god
The misunderstanding is my fault. What I meant is: some of the most profound human connections you can make are often the most transient
I think you're both right, but the balance is different from person to person.
I would, by nature, be very footloose. (I'm currently in a Spanish taxi). But, having tried the life Leon advocates for, I eventually found the doscovery of the new per se didn't fulfil me as much as the relationships along the way. So, for example, getting into scrapes with good friends whilst travelling somewhere forgettable is far more rewarding than visiting even the most incredible place alone. And a summer in a campervan meandering through Germany with family is more appealing than eg returning to Colombia, even though it's probably my favourite place on earth.
That's not to knock others' choices in any way, but Leon your advice is too strident - I'd temper it a bit by saying everyone should try your lifestyle if they can - and most will benefit from your strident tone because most are too scared to try getting out there, alone or otherwise.
Just going to add into the mix that the River Thames is the cleanest river going through any large conurbation in the world. Thames Water might be run by a bunch of spivs who have used all kinds of financial instruments to avoid taxation which is crashing down around them, but at their core job they have played a blinder. Unpopular opinion/fact: the UK has *the* cleanest water in the world (well in fact its joint clean with a few nordic countries), has the cleanest beaches it ever has had (some way to go compared to seaside tourist countries who have seen a clean coast as more of a priority, and the rivers in general are top notch.
There was a scientist in the field on recently who said exactly this. We have confused vastly increased knowledge of a problem (yes, we do still have a pollution problem with our water) to be conflated into a mirage that our water quality has become substantially worse in recent times, which is not really true. Many of our larger rivers were dead zones for many years owing to pollution - this is vastly improved and wildlife has returned. We have issues around agricultural run-off, certain drugs entering the rivers from sewers and a lack of capacity when we get (seemingly increasingly frequently) heavy rain. All of these need to be tackled, but the idea that somehow our rivers are worse than they were say 25 years ago is simply not true.
Interestingly, this is what the guy who was doing the lifeguarding for the Hammersmith wild swimmers said. He does the water quality tests before each outing, so he would know.
Chemical pollution has collapsed, which means that people are using the river more. Which means, in turn they are more aware of the solution that remains.
Yes yes yes... Ive gone blue in the face so many times trying to explain how water (and air) quality improvements are an example of how public policy can improve things. And yes, agricultural run off is the one big bogeyman still out there, and that sticks out because all the other stuff is so much cleaner.
Has it come up that long term gilfts are now higher than under dear old Liz, and we've notably diverged in last few weeks as investors spot what Labour are planning?
Yes, it has been noted in the city. There was a bond rally on Wednesday that the UK didn't benefit from. There's a realisation that there's going to be a huge increase in gilt supply over the next 5 years so bond prices are falling despite the likelihood of interest rates dropping to ~2.5% within the next year or so.
Just got off a company EDI call. And for the first time ever 2 or 3 of us were openly challenging it, including me.
Sands are shifting.
I attended an actually decent session (for such things), as it felt like an actual conversation with some practical examples of things that could (not must) be considered, and an admission of difficulties with some in practice (how do you give consideration to someone's cultural background in how they are responding at interview, without presuming what their background is based on characteristics like race or name?), so it was reasonably positive.
But I did challenge them strongly after the playing of a video which was just a propaganda piece, which directly said that working hard was (not could be, was) a sign of trying to make up for childhoold trauma, and a bunch of openly anti-capitalist sloganeering. Whether everyone felt the same way as me I cannot say, but certainly a number of others agreed vocally - it was very out of character for me to speak up about such a thing but it was so insulting I cannot think why the otherwise decent presenters used it.
I actually nuked the inclusion clowns at my bank - from the other direction.
I pointed out that their policies didn't include anything to deal with the issue of non-degreed people. Or the fact that there were zero hires from the long term UK located Afro-Carribean community. And that inviting people to bring children of *friends* to the bank to learn about it and get internships was the reverse of inclusion.
Comments
Just to keep everyone informed on my state of mind it is now cautiously optimistic having previously been quietly confident. If it changes again, either up or down, I'll be sure to post an update. But that's where I am right now. I'm very very optimistic but in a restrained and cagey way.
https://x.com/spignal/status/1849724903685013580
Angela Merkel's memoirs are out next month. This week's Charlemagne revisits her legacy. She led Germany - and thus Europe - as if in a make-believe world, letting it enjoy an extended geopolitical and economic nap from which it still needs to wake up.
Rural Japanese towns are brilliant. Everyone is about 87 years old but they love drinking and they do it in tiny izakayas run by 95 year old women and their 307 year old fathers and they serve “drinking food” which quite frankly is haute cuisine anywhere else in the world and it’s all done in a low slung tiny bar with one weird dude who likes big titted Colombian girls obsessively talking to himself in the corner so it’s like PB except @Scott_P is talking about Colombian girls rather than Brexit
Eg tonight I had skewered beef hearts, deep fried shark cheeks and “firefly fish in soy”
(Bioluminescent fish served with daikon)
Then we had pickled cheese omelette tofu dancing steaks
My guide Ayato toasting me after I introduced him to Claude
The fact of the matter is that people don’t need to like the Tories (or AN Other). They just need to muster enough support in enough places to pull off a win. The Tories hovered around 33% of the vote in the 1997-2005 elections and were hardly universally loved at that point.
If Labour can demonstrate measurable improvement over the next 4 years then they will probably be given another go. But there’s no certainty to that, particularly given the start they’ve had.
If Cox is a success then in the third test then Smith comes in for Pope.
EVERYONE SHOULD TRAVEL ALL THE TIME
It is the best existence, if you can hack it. Life becomes a fountain, a wild Heraclitean fire, a glittering cataract of constant change and beautiful newness
Alternatively you could be a mid level banker in Sheffield or maybe a retired accountant in Gospel Oak, with the occasional trip to Tenerife, and then you die
They really shouldn’t have started this whole “working people” stuff. Because now they’re being forced to define working people every time they get interviewed. It would have been far better to make the specific tax pledges and avoid the window dressing. That wasn’t very lawyerly of super lawyer SKS.
Sands are shifting.
Sure you go to see the wonders of the world but without a solid anchor then it is just ephemera and a new hit for the sake of a new hit with the only groundedness happening when you have to distil the experience such that a retired colonel (or now as you assure us Bright Young Thing) Speccie reader will relate to it.
But that part is critical. And paradoxical. You are bringing new experiences to those people who have a sense of place and belonging, thereby expanding their minds, while you yourself, who largely eschew place and belonging are unable likewise to benefit.
Not by any means a criticism, just an observation. And of course you do it so well. So enjoy.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0j8w73pdn8o
I bet there are some tweets from the past about this.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2024-election-forecast/
Even if he’s being wilfully misquoted/misinterpreted, the correct response to an “is X a working person?” Is “I’m not going into hypotheticals, wait for the budget and you’ll see what gets announced. I’m confident I’m approaching this fairly.” It is not “well I’m not sure X would fit in my definition”. Facepalm.
From 1932 (the Pocket battleships are laid down by the German government, before Hitler) the Treasury was actively looking for places to spend money on rearmament.
The issue was that the end of WWI and the Depression had massively reduced the capacity of UK Industry for armaments. So the money was spent on paying for carburising ovens to make armour plate (for example). Which isn't sexy and isn't going to lead to lots of weapons (immediately) to put in a parade.
I’m just about to travel from Olhão to Vila Real de Santa Antonio.
By train.
Which has beautiful new overhead cabling everywhere along the route.
And the train I’m taking is a clapped out two car diesel that would make a 158 look modern.
It’s good to know it’s not just Britain that’s totally sodding useless at infrastructure.
Thames Water secures £3bn loan to survive into 2025
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c704wzx38p1o
Just honest advice. There are - I’m guessing - younger people that read this forum without commenting
They should follow my path, not yours, if life thus enables them. Especially in the light of technology coming our way which will destroy most jobs
Just get out there and travel. Find the world. Yes I know it’s been easy for me and I’m privileged blah blah but it is still enormously true
You have one life and there is one universe. DISCOVER IT
Checked the employer NI side of things it saves a company about £2194 per worker per year - that adds up quick if the freeport doesn't shaft you on other costs...
It is obvious to anyone and everyone that what is meant is that working people won't pay more taxes on their wages.
Its finance chief Alastair Cochran said that the UK government is aware of the firm's position and has kept in close contact during the negotiations over the new loan.
No-one is going to lend Thames sixpence on any ordinary risk terms. I'm just wondering who will be left paying various bills in due course. There's bill payers, there's tax payers........that just about covers it.
https://x.com/iapolls2022/status/1849765572298313844
FINAL NATIONAL POLL: NYT/Siena
2-WAY
🟥 Trump: 48%
🟦 Harris: 48%
Last poll (9/26-10/6) - 🔵 Harris+3
——
FULL FIELD
🟥 Trump: 47%
🟦 Harris: 46%
🟩 Stein: 2%
🟪 Other: 2%
Last poll - 🔵 Harris +3
——
Crosstabs (2-way)
• Did not vote in 2020: Trump 47-43%
• Biden 2020 voters: Harris 92-5%
• Trump 2020 voters: Trump 97-2%
*non-stories are those carried, as stories, in the BBC, Guardian, Sky etc etc.
For all my travels I do still have a home - or rather, a nest of homes. I’m a white Anglo-Celtic European with great loyalties to Britain, England, London, Cornwall, Christianity, whiteness, the Enlightenment, Herefordshire, Regents Park
That’s me. My identity and my sense of “home”. And yes it is nice to come home. But I couldn’t do a what3words on where home is, except maybe my kitchen in Camden cooking a laksa with a g&t on the go and good music on Alexa and a friend to meet in the Groucho tomorrow
I’m happy to do that four times a year, then light out again
It turns out that appalling cliche is true. The best friends are the ones you meet on the way to somewhere else
I hope it's not some cutesy justification for giving lies equal billing to facts in the name of "balance".
His face says “this job isn’t remotely as fun as I expected, I’m not very good at it, and I don’t want to do it”
But that is a) I think who you are and that again is far from a criticism or judgement; and b) none of my business.
So Trump, eh...
I have done 3 states in America, cycled in France and relaxed in Portugal this year. We were going to do Copenhagen and 3 Spanish cities but on return from Portugal we couldn't be bothered and wanted to relax at home.
My travel in the past was solely for activities; cycling, sailing and skiing. Not a beach person and get bored quickly with sightseeing.
In a new letter, shared exclusively with POLITICO, the former Trump administration officials — some of the officials have been outspoken Trump critics for years — stated, “this is who Donald Trump is.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/25/never-trump-former-officials-back-kelly-warning-00185435
I was using friends in a different sense
I am blessed with 7 or 8 friends (more or less) like you describe. Sadly one or two are now seriously ill. Age, ah, my god
The misunderstanding is my fault. What I meant is: some of the most profound human connections you can make are often the most transient
https://nitter.poast.org/BDSixsmith/status/1849778864563638740#m
However bumpy things are on a national stage, he knows he still has a long time to prove himself, on that.
If, for example, a person is 60 and planning to retire in, say, 2 or 3 years time, do they crystallise their pension now and release their tax free cash or do they risk it (i.e. Reeves changing the rules on Budget Day, from immediate effect)?
Suppose you meet the love of your life on a six-hour train journey then you never see each other again. I don't think that is profound. Or rather, it is of course your profound. To me, however, which echoes my thoughts about, and perhaps our conflicting attitudes to home, it is ephemera.
It's silly enough when people like Romney who clearly despise Trump won't say they vote Harris because they want future influence in the party, even though he's not standing again, and sitting on the fence like that doesn't fool Trump fans or Trump haters, so he pisses off both.
These images are striking. He looks deeply unhappy
There may be VALUE in a punt on a Starmer resignation before the next GE
I think he's beginning to partialy esembles the child hacker who almost destroyed the world in the earjy 80's American film, War Games.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Japanese_general_election
Still likely to be a loser, unfortunately.
Unpopular opinion/fact: the UK has *the* cleanest water in the world (well in fact its joint clean with a few nordic countries), has the cleanest beaches it ever has had (some way to go compared to seaside tourist countries who have seen a clean coast as more of a priority, and the rivers in general are top notch.
Time to put a stop to the mobile hilarity again for the day.
The transience is KEY. The ephemerality is the POINT. However I accept this is likely above your intellectual pay grade so I won’t push it
Perhaps a more apt comparison would be with Richard Prior in Superman 3.
And no, he's not gaga. Just decrepit.
What he should have done is created Collateralised Indentured Servant Obligations, redeemable offshore, in a low/no tax country. Then sold the CISOs OTC, in a third country.
Selling them like that created an immediate CGT issue.
But I did challenge them strongly after the playing of a video which was just a propaganda piece, which directly said that working hard was (not could be, was) a sign of trying to make up for childhoold trauma, and a bunch of openly anti-capitalist sloganeering. Whether everyone felt the same way as me I cannot say, but certainly a number of others agreed vocally - it was very out of character for me to speak up about such a thing but it was so insulting I cannot think why the otherwise decent presenters used it.
Chemical pollution has collapsed, which means that people are using the river more. Which means, in turn they are more aware of the solution that remains.
Others, me for example, want to relate all our experiences to a central thread or strand in our lives which those experiences serve to enhance.
You've gone all defensive which is fine and I understand it but you shouldn't take our disagreement as a value judgement by me of who you are. I have repeatedly said far from it.
But because perhaps each of your experiences is singular, and you move on after each, you take exception to criticism, whereas others, me again for example, draw on the totality of our experiences each of which have contributed to who we are and are therefore much less sensitive to criticism because we have "strength in depth".
I would, by nature, be very footloose. (I'm currently in a Spanish taxi). But, having tried the life Leon advocates for, I eventually found the doscovery of the new per se didn't fulfil me as much as the relationships along the way. So, for example, getting into scrapes with good friends whilst travelling somewhere forgettable is far more rewarding than visiting even the most incredible place alone. And a summer in a campervan meandering through Germany with family is more appealing than eg returning to Colombia, even though it's probably my favourite place on earth.
That's not to knock others' choices in any way, but Leon your advice is too strident - I'd temper it a bit by saying everyone should try your lifestyle if they can - and most will benefit from your strident tone because most are too scared to try getting out there, alone or otherwise.
I pointed out that their policies didn't include anything to deal with the issue of non-degreed people. Or the fact that there were zero hires from the long term UK located Afro-Carribean community. And that inviting people to bring children of *friends* to the bank to learn about it and get internships was the reverse of inclusion.
By the end of it, they just sat there.