How can you despise Poirot? He's fantastic. Nothing more relaxing that watching a Poirot.
The Poirot series with David Suchet was hardly well-lit enough to see what was happening. At the time, I read somewhere that the producers wanted to be reasonably accurate about the lighting levels in those days. But it made watching very hard work.
I never detected that at all.
David Suchet was perfect as Poirot.
Me neither - it seemed very well lit. The later mess with John Malkovich was afaicr quite poorly lit.
God, that was poor.
Why on earth did he even try?
He can only ever play John Malkovich.
Kenneth Branagh's ghastly overwrought attempts where everyone cries and he inserts bit of Shakespeare aren't much better.
I find myself a bit baffled by the Branagh ones. A large chunk of television output is dedicated to crime procedurals of all types, I have watched police officers, consultants, medical examiners, fake psychics, whatever, solve murders in every way imaginable, in ways surprising and predictable - what's the point of spending $100m for what basically amounts to an extended episode of one of those?
I've no issue with Branagh himself, though as I've only read a little Poirot I did find myself asking if he was as much a miserable sad sack as Branagh portrays him.
The first Branagh Poirot was OK. Nothing great, or anything, but a perfectly entertaining couple of hours of entertainment. I'd give it a sold 5.5/10.
The second one was dire: an expensive cast utterly wasted in a dull and pedestrian telling of a story told better so many times before. 2/10.
The third crashed and burned at the cinema. But you know what? It was by far the best of the bunch. It was imaginative, well acted, and - because it took on a lesser known Christie work - you didn't already "know the answer". I'd give it 7.5/10.
On the subject of Poirot.
I will always have a soft spot for the Peter Ustinov Death on the Nile, not least because of Angela Lansbury as the drunken writer.
How can you despise Poirot? He's fantastic. Nothing more relaxing that watching a Poirot.
The Poirot series with David Suchet was hardly well-lit enough to see what was happening. At the time, I read somewhere that the producers wanted to be reasonably accurate about the lighting levels in those days. But it made watching very hard work.
I never detected that at all.
David Suchet was perfect as Poirot.
Me neither - it seemed very well lit. The later mess with John Malkovich was afaicr quite poorly lit.
God, that was poor.
Why on earth did he even try?
He can only ever play John Malkovich.
Kenneth Branagh's ghastly overwrought attempts where everyone cries and he inserts bit of Shakespeare aren't much better.
I find myself a bit baffled by the Branagh ones. A large chunk of television output is dedicated to crime procedurals of all types, I have watched police officers, consultants, medical examiners, fake psychics, whatever, solve murders in every way imaginable, in ways surprising and predictable - what's the point of spending $100m for what basically amounts to an extended episode of one of those?
I've no issue with Branagh himself, though as I've only read a little Poirot I did find myself asking if he was as much a miserable sad sack as Branagh portrays him.
The first Branagh Poirot was OK. Nothing great, or anything, but a perfectly entertaining couple of hours of entertainment. I'd give it a sold 5.5/10.
The second one was dire: an expensive cast utterly wasted in a dull and pedestrian telling of a story told better so many times before. 2/10.
The third crashed and burned at the cinema. But you know what? It was by far the best of the bunch. It was imaginative, well acted, and - because it took on a lesser known Christie work - you didn't already "know the answer". I'd give it 7.5/10.
I feel asleep on the first one. The second one I had to leave about one third in - I just wasn't prepared to lose further brain cells. I'll take your word for it that the third was better.
The third is very different - almost a soft horror rather than a twee murder mystery. Which is why it's the best of the three, but also probably why it did badly at the box office as neither one thing nor the other so did not have an inbuilt audience.
How can you despise Poirot? He's fantastic. Nothing more relaxing that watching a Poirot.
The Poirot series with David Suchet was hardly well-lit enough to see what was happening. At the time, I read somewhere that the producers wanted to be reasonably accurate about the lighting levels in those days. But it made watching very hard work.
I never detected that at all.
David Suchet was perfect as Poirot.
Me neither - it seemed very well lit. The later mess with John Malkovich was afaicr quite poorly lit.
God, that was poor.
Why on earth did he even try?
He can only ever play John Malkovich.
Kenneth Branagh's ghastly overwrought attempts where everyone cries and he inserts bit of Shakespeare aren't much better.
I find myself a bit baffled by the Branagh ones. A large chunk of television output is dedicated to crime procedurals of all types, I have watched police officers, consultants, medical examiners, fake psychics, whatever, solve murders in every way imaginable, in ways surprising and predictable - what's the point of spending $100m for what basically amounts to an extended episode of one of those?
I've no issue with Branagh himself, though as I've only read a little Poirot I did find myself asking if he was as much a miserable sad sack as Branagh portrays him.
The first Branagh Poirot was OK. Nothing great, or anything, but a perfectly entertaining couple of hours of entertainment. I'd give it a sold 5.5/10.
The second one was dire: an expensive cast utterly wasted in a dull and pedestrian telling of a story told better so many times before. 2/10.
The third crashed and burned at the cinema. But you know what? It was by far the best of the bunch. It was imaginative, well acted, and - because it took on a lesser known Christie work - you didn't already "know the answer". I'd give it 7.5/10.
I feel asleep on the first one. The second one I had to leave about one third in - I just wasn't prepared to lose further brain cells. I'll take your word for it that the third was better.
The third is very different - almost a soft horror rather than a twee murder mystery. Which is why it's the best of the three, but also probably why it did badly at the box office as neither one thing nor the other so did not have an inbuilt audience.
I imagine it was also something to do with the other two being shit. That would certainly put me off.
The first Branagh Poirot was OK. Nothing great, or anything, but a perfectly entertaining couple of hours of entertainment. I'd give it a sold 5.5/10.
The second one was dire: an expensive cast utterly wasted in a dull and pedestrian telling of a story told better so many times before. 2/10.
The third crashed and burned at the cinema. But you know what? It was by far the best of the bunch. It was imaginative, well acted, and - because it took on a lesser known Christie work - you didn't already "know the answer". I'd give it 7.5/10.
I'd broadly agree with that although I didn't like the third as much as you did. Even though they aren't great films I do like the fact that such films are being made. Most thrillers tend towards a contemporary setting, and try to be a bit too cool, too violent, and too process/tech obsessed. Fincher's The Killer being an example that was disappointing.
That Branagh is making old-fashioned thrillers and having fun doing it is something that I hope we see more of.
I remember Dead Again with some fondness. His version of Wallander were also quite enjoyable, if not inventive.
This is the modern GOP. How can so many of the old school people remain in this party?
Why are so many people supporting them? That's the big question.
He will massively cut taxes with not tax on tips he has just said, plus a tax credit for family care givers and tax deductible car loans for cars made in America
Oh indeed. Cameron surrounded himself with Old Etonians. And so many read PPE at Oxford (in the media too).
With local newspapers going the way of the dodo and many positions London based but pay poorly as they struggle to adapt to the new landscape, I think it was only get worse in the media.
The Port of Osaka is something else. Brilliantly it featured in Shogun which I watched last night - showing how important the port of Osaka was in the 17th century
Japanese industrial muscle is still mightily impressive. Much of Japan is still impressive. 110m high IQ people who work incredibly hard
If they can sort out their demographic nightmare they have a grand future. But how do you do that without important millions of low quality migrants who will destroy much of what makes the host society great in the first place?
Britain provides a melancholy example of how it can go badly wrong
The Port of Osaka is something else. Brilliantly it featured in Shogun which I watched last night - showing how important the port of Osaka was in the 17th century
Japanese industrial muscle is still mightily impressive. Much of Japan is still impressive. 110m high IQ people who work incredibly hard
If they can sort out their demographic nightmare they have a grand future. But how do you do that without important millions of low quality migrants who will destroy much of what makes the host society great in the first place?
Britain provides a melancholy example of how it can go badly wrong
Shogun is very good tv show, or maybe so much telly is shit these days, that somebody making something half decent, sticking to the source material and with Japanese characters speaking Japanese, while not inserting nonsense "for modern audiences" stuff, makes it stand out more.
The Port of Osaka is something else. Brilliantly it featured in Shogun which I watched last night - showing how important the port of Osaka was in the 17th century
Japanese industrial muscle is still mightily impressive. Much of Japan is still impressive. 110m high IQ people who work incredibly hard
If they can sort out their demographic nightmare they have a grand future. But how do you do that without important millions of low quality migrants who will destroy much of what makes the host society great in the first place?
Britain provides a melancholy example of how it can go badly wrong
Shogun is very good tv show, or maybe so much telly is shit these days, that somebody making something half decent, sticking to the source material and with Japanese characters speaking Japanese, while not inserting nonsense "for modern audiences" stuff, makes it stand out more.
Yes it’s really good
If you want Japanese drama I also recommend “blue eyed samurai” on Netflix
It’s animated and it’s brilliant. Created by a Japanese American couple
The Port of Osaka is something else. Brilliantly it featured in Shogun which I watched last night - showing how important the port of Osaka was in the 17th century
Japanese industrial muscle is still mightily impressive. Much of Japan is still impressive. 110m high IQ people who work incredibly hard
If they can sort out their demographic nightmare they have a grand future. But how do you do that without important millions of low quality migrants who will destroy much of what makes the host society great in the first place?
Britain provides a melancholy example of how it can go badly wrong
Shogun is very good tv show, or maybe so much telly is shit these days, that somebody making something half decent, sticking to the source material and with Japanese characters speaking Japanese, while not inserting nonsense "for modern audiences" stuff, makes it stand out more.
Yes it’s really good
If you want Japanese drama I also recommend “blue eyed samurai” on Netflix
It’s animated and it’s brilliant. Created by a Japanese American couple
Look at those ratings. They don’t lie. 97% approval
Apparently Shogun was also very well received by Japanese audiences. My only worry is they have committed to a Season 2 and 3, but there isn't any source material, they did the book in Season 1.
The real life of the individual who the main character was based on actually far wilder than the fictional account in the book.
How can you despise Poirot? He's fantastic. Nothing more relaxing that watching a Poirot.
The Poirot series with David Suchet was hardly well-lit enough to see what was happening. At the time, I read somewhere that the producers wanted to be reasonably accurate about the lighting levels in those days. But it made watching very hard work.
I never detected that at all.
David Suchet was perfect as Poirot.
Me neither - it seemed very well lit. The later mess with John Malkovich was afaicr quite poorly lit.
God, that was poor.
Why on earth did he even try?
He can only ever play John Malkovich.
Kenneth Branagh's ghastly overwrought attempts where everyone cries and he inserts bit of Shakespeare aren't much better.
I enjoyed that Malkovich Poirot. It had nothing to do with the books but the background of incipient fascism was interesting and it was refreshing to have a rather shabby inter war milieu rather than flappers and cocktails. My husband is an Agathe Christie purist and hated it though.
I don't think you have to be a purist to be pulled out of the moment by John Malkovich's dire cod-French accent, but hey, if you found something to enjoy, well done.
Well cod Belgian technically but I take your point. I just thought it was a bit different although far from perfect. We seem to be happy to accept unusual adaptations of Sherlock Holmes (I'm a massive Holmes fan and I really liked the Robert Downey JR movies) but not with Christie. The first two Branagh Poirots were just terminally boring.
The Port of Osaka is something else. Brilliantly it featured in Shogun which I watched last night - showing how important the port of Osaka was in the 17th century
Japanese industrial muscle is still mightily impressive. Much of Japan is still impressive. 110m high IQ people who work incredibly hard
If they can sort out their demographic nightmare they have a grand future. But how do you do that without important millions of low quality migrants who will destroy much of what makes the host society great in the first place?
Britain provides a melancholy example of how it can go badly wrong
Shogun is very good tv show, or maybe so much telly is shit these days, that somebody making something half decent, sticking to the source material and with Japanese characters speaking Japanese, while not inserting nonsense "for modern audiences" stuff, makes it stand out more.
Yes it’s really good
If you want Japanese drama I also recommend “blue eyed samurai” on Netflix
It’s animated and it’s brilliant. Created by a Japanese American couple
Look at those ratings. They don’t lie. 97% approval
Apparently Shogun was also very well received by Japanese audiences. My only worry is they have committed to a Season 2 and 3, but there isn't any source material, they did the book in Season 1.
The real life of the individual who the main character was based on actually far wilder than the fictional account in the book.
The Port of Osaka is something else. Brilliantly it featured in Shogun which I watched last night - showing how important the port of Osaka was in the 17th century
Japanese industrial muscle is still mightily impressive. Much of Japan is still impressive. 110m high IQ people who work incredibly hard
If they can sort out their demographic nightmare they have a grand future. But how do you do that without important millions of low quality migrants who will destroy much of what makes the host society great in the first place?
Britain provides a melancholy example of how it can go badly wrong
Shogun is very good tv show, or maybe so much telly is shit these days, that somebody making something half decent, sticking to the source material and with Japanese characters speaking Japanese, while not inserting nonsense "for modern audiences" stuff, makes it stand out more.
Yes it’s really good
If you want Japanese drama I also recommend “blue eyed samurai” on Netflix
It’s animated and it’s brilliant. Created by a Japanese American couple
Look at those ratings. They don’t lie. 97% approval
Apparently Shogun was also very well received by Japanese audiences. My only worry is they have committed to a Season 2 and 3, but there isn't any source material, they did the book in Season 1.
The real life of the individual who the main character was based on actually far wilder than the fictional account in the book.
The Port of Osaka is something else. Brilliantly it featured in Shogun which I watched last night - showing how important the port of Osaka was in the 17th century
Japanese industrial muscle is still mightily impressive. Much of Japan is still impressive. 110m high IQ people who work incredibly hard
If they can sort out their demographic nightmare they have a grand future. But how do you do that without important millions of low quality migrants who will destroy much of what makes the host society great in the first place?
Britain provides a melancholy example of how it can go badly wrong
Shogun is very good tv show, or maybe so much telly is shit these days, that somebody making something half decent, sticking to the source material and with Japanese characters speaking Japanese, while not inserting nonsense "for modern audiences" stuff, makes it stand out more.
Yes it’s really good
If you want Japanese drama I also recommend “blue eyed samurai” on Netflix
It’s animated and it’s brilliant. Created by a Japanese American couple
Look at those ratings. They don’t lie. 97% approval
Apparently Shogun was also very well received by Japanese audiences. My only worry is they have committed to a Season 2 and 3, but there isn't any source material, they did the book in Season 1.
The real life of the individual who the main character was based on actually far wilder than the fictional account in the book.
The Port of Osaka is something else. Brilliantly it featured in Shogun which I watched last night - showing how important the port of Osaka was in the 17th century
Japanese industrial muscle is still mightily impressive. Much of Japan is still impressive. 110m high IQ people who work incredibly hard
If they can sort out their demographic nightmare they have a grand future. But how do you do that without important millions of low quality migrants who will destroy much of what makes the host society great in the first place?
Britain provides a melancholy example of how it can go badly wrong
Shogun is very good tv show, or maybe so much telly is shit these days, that somebody making something half decent, sticking to the source material and with Japanese characters speaking Japanese, while not inserting nonsense "for modern audiences" stuff, makes it stand out more.
Yes it’s really good
If you want Japanese drama I also recommend “blue eyed samurai” on Netflix
It’s animated and it’s brilliant. Created by a Japanese American couple
Look at those ratings. They don’t lie. 97% approval
Apparently Shogun was also very well received by Japanese audiences. My only worry is they have committed to a Season 2 and 3, but there isn't any source material, they did the book in Season 1.
The real life of the individual who the main character was based on actually far wilder than the fictional account in the book.
Fought the armada under Drake, went to the Arctic, all before he went anywhere near the Pacific and becoming a Samurai.
Superb
No more info tho as I don’t want spoilers! Amazingly I don’t know the story
I had never heard of him before the tv show, but apparently he is really quite famous in Japan, most people know the tale.
The lack of Woke bullshit in shogun does make it stand out
I hope you aren't suggesting that having a black trans body positivity activist educating the warlords about pronouns and dangers of climate change crow-barred into the story wouldn't have improved the show for modern audiences...
Shogun was an FX show, which doesn't seem to suffer as much from this.
The Port of Osaka is something else. Brilliantly it featured in Shogun which I watched last night - showing how important the port of Osaka was in the 17th century
Japanese industrial muscle is still mightily impressive. Much of Japan is still impressive. 110m high IQ people who work incredibly hard
If they can sort out their demographic nightmare they have a grand future. But how do you do that without important millions of low quality migrants who will destroy much of what makes the host society great in the first place?
Britain provides a melancholy example of how it can go badly wrong
Shogun is very good tv show, or maybe so much telly is shit these days, that somebody making something half decent, sticking to the source material and with Japanese characters speaking Japanese, while not inserting nonsense "for modern audiences" stuff, makes it stand out more.
Yes it’s really good
If you want Japanese drama I also recommend “blue eyed samurai” on Netflix
It’s animated and it’s brilliant. Created by a Japanese American couple
Look at those ratings. They don’t lie. 97% approval
Apparently Shogun was also very well received by Japanese audiences. My only worry is they have committed to a Season 2 and 3, but there isn't any source material, they did the book in Season 1.
The real life of the individual who the main character was based on actually far wilder than the fictional account in the book.
Fought the armada under Drake, went to the Arctic, all before he went anywhere near the Pacific and becoming a Samurai.
Superb
No more info tho as I don’t want spoilers! Amazingly I don’t know the story
I had never heard of him before the tv show, but apparently he is really quite famous in Japan, most people know the tale.
The lack of Woke bullshit in shogun does make it stand out
I hope you aren't suggesting that having a black trans body positivity activist educating the warlords about pronouns and dangers of climate change crow-barred into the story wouldn't have improved the show for modern audiences...
I was actually outraged by the lack of BLACK actors. We all know that, like Tudor England, shogunate Japan was about 45% BAME and Global Majority in population, yet the entire cast was ethnically Nipponese. Disgraceful
The Port of Osaka is something else. Brilliantly it featured in Shogun which I watched last night - showing how important the port of Osaka was in the 17th century
Japanese industrial muscle is still mightily impressive. Much of Japan is still impressive. 110m high IQ people who work incredibly hard
If they can sort out their demographic nightmare they have a grand future. But how do you do that without important millions of low quality migrants who will destroy much of what makes the host society great in the first place?
Britain provides a melancholy example of how it can go badly wrong
Shogun is very good tv show, or maybe so much telly is shit these days, that somebody making something half decent, sticking to the source material and with Japanese characters speaking Japanese, while not inserting nonsense "for modern audiences" stuff, makes it stand out more.
Yes it’s really good
If you want Japanese drama I also recommend “blue eyed samurai” on Netflix
It’s animated and it’s brilliant. Created by a Japanese American couple
Look at those ratings. They don’t lie. 97% approval
Apparently Shogun was also very well received by Japanese audiences. My only worry is they have committed to a Season 2 and 3, but there isn't any source material, they did the book in Season 1.
The real life of the individual who the main character was based on actually far wilder than the fictional account in the book.
Fought the armada under Drake, went to the Arctic, all before he went anywhere near the Pacific and becoming a Samurai.
Superb
No more info tho as I don’t want spoilers! Amazingly I don’t know the story
I had never heard of him before the tv show, but apparently he is really quite famous in Japan, most people know the tale.
The lack of Woke bullshit in shogun does make it stand out
I hope you aren't suggesting that having a black trans body positivity activist educating the warlords about pronouns and dangers of climate change crow-barred into the story wouldn't have improved the show for modern audiences...
I was actually outraged by the lack of BLACK actors. We all know that, like Tudor England, shogunate Japan was about 45% BAME and Global Majority in population, yet the entire cast was ethnically Nipponese. Disgraceful
I presume you heard the shit show of Ubisoft game where they have taken their Assassin Creed game to Japan and for some unknown reason made the main character a black dude (when previous games that have gone to ancient Egypt and Greece have native characters), and when challenged tried rewriting history to claim he was a famous Samurai, when it appears he was a slave (its all based on about 2 lines in some historic text).
Well the Japanese haven't taken very kindly to all of this cultural appropriation of their history. Two things you don't mess with in Japan, video games and the history of Samurai.
To be honest, the Telegraph I think have run an article on how it will be devastating for every group, I mean it probably will be bad for everybody. But it was police officers yesterday....
That’s lamentably stupid. Could cost Trump any chance of the election. Blows Pennsylvania
Worse yet, it blows Florida wide open.
This is what happens when you let racist gobshites share your stage. "Oh, but we were only having a laugh..."
Immigrants vote.
Legally.
Now Trump has pissed off a whole new swathe of Latinos. Do you think they might just be getting the message that he thinks they are shit under his shoe?
But in an effort to reassure the bond markets, she is set to limit herself to borrowing only £20bn-£25bn more than currently forecast.
The extra money will help pay for an additional £1.4bn to repair school buildings, as well as two carbon capture and storage sites in the north of England, and a plan to regenerate Euston station and complete the high-speed rail link with Old Oak Common.
That’s lamentably stupid. Could cost Trump any chance of the election. Blows Pennsylvania
Worse yet, it blows Florida wide open.
This is what happens when you let racist gobshites share your stage. "Oh, but we were only having a laugh..."
Immigrants vote.
Legally.
Now Trump has pissed off a whole new swathe of Latinos. Do you think they might just be getting the message that he thinks they are shit under his shoe?
Dunno. You’re horrendously biased on this and seize on anything anti Trump and exaggerate it absurdly (otherwise I find your commentary always engaging! - sincerely)
This *could* be really bad for Trump. I doubt it’s that bad it loses Florida. But there are 400,000 Puerto Ricans in PA. Ouch
As I said the Trump team needs to accept that this is potentially massive fuck up and quickly say or do something even more outrageous (but less damaging) so the convo moves on
IIRC we’ve gone straight from “I’m giving away 600,000sq km of sovereign British seas to China, and YOU’RE paying China” to “I want to feel good about slavery so YOU’RE paying six trillion quid for something you didn’t do” to “I haven’t got a fucking clue about anything but I do know YOU’RE paying loads more taxes”
IIRC we’ve gone straight from “I’m giving away 600,000sq km of sovereign British seas to China, and YOU’RE paying China” to “I want to feel good about slavery so YOU’RE paying six trillion quid for something you didn’t do” to “I haven’t got a fucking clue about anything but I do know YOU’RE paying loads more taxes”
His poor personal polling is a mystery
They did try for a week, a relaunch of upbeat Starmer.
IIRC we’ve gone straight from “I’m giving away 600,000sq km of sovereign British seas to China, and YOU’RE paying China” to “I want to feel good about slavery so YOU’RE paying six trillion quid for something you didn’t do” to “I haven’t got a fucking clue about anything but I do know YOU’RE paying loads more taxes”
His poor personal polling is a mystery
They did try for a week, a relaunch of upbeat Starmer.
That’s like a relaunch of the “new, sensible Liz Truss - and this time she’s not kinky!”
A row has broken out between the UK's financial watchdog and former Conservative chancellor Jeremy Hunt over a review into the so-called £22bn "black hole" in the public finances Labour claims it has inherited.
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is expected to raise several taxes in her Budget on Wednesday to cover the claimed shortfall.
But Hunt says a report to be released on the same day by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which is independent of the government, will criticise his party and help make the case for Labour's tax rises.
The OBR will publish its assessment of the chancellor's economic policies and also release forecasts of their impact on the UK economy over the next five years. But it is also preparing to release an additional report, commissioned earlier this year, on the "adequacy of information" supplied to it by the previous Tory government.
Perhaps not the best choice to go with a comedian famous for roasting and insulting everyone, when you know your opponents will clip it and can’t take a joke.
That’s lamentably stupid. Could cost Trump any chance of the election. Blows Pennsylvania
Worse yet, it blows Florida wide open.
This is what happens when you let racist gobshites share your stage. "Oh, but we were only having a laugh..."
Immigrants vote.
Legally.
Now Trump has pissed off a whole new swathe of Latinos. Do you think they might just be getting the message that he thinks they are shit under his shoe?
Dunno. You’re horrendously biased on this and seize on anything anti Trump and exaggerate it absurdly (otherwise I find your commentary always engaging! - sincerely)
This *could* be really bad for Trump. I doubt it’s that bad it loses Florida. But there are 400,000 Puerto Ricans in PA. Ouch
As I said the Trump team needs to accept that this is potentially massive fuck up and quickly say or do something even more outrageous (but less damaging) so the convo moves on
A row has broken out between the UK's financial watchdog and former Conservative chancellor Jeremy Hunt over a review into the so-called £22bn "black hole" in the public finances Labour claims it has inherited.
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is expected to raise several taxes in her Budget on Wednesday to cover the claimed shortfall.
But Hunt says a report to be released on the same day by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which is independent of the government, will criticise his party and help make the case for Labour's tax rises.
The OBR will publish its assessment of the chancellor's economic policies and also release forecasts of their impact on the UK economy over the next five years. But it is also preparing to release an additional report, commissioned earlier this year, on the "adequacy of information" supplied to it by the previous Tory government.
Speaking of inadequate information, the FT had a piece on how bad our job market stats are. Respondents to the Labour Force Survey have fallen so now no-one is sure what the job market looks like. Anecdotally, it is very tight with jobseekers being ghosted by employers across many sectors.
As this week's budget is expected to make a number of changes that will directly (NI, minimum wage) or indirectly (CGT, stability) affect the job market, it would be nice to think the Treasury was doing more than taking stabs in the dark.
OBR's media team will be earning their money this week.
This is going to be the most fascinating week in British politics since the election.
One can only think that the Chancellor hopes to surprise on the upside, by her measures not being quite as bad as everything that’s been trailed in advance.
A row has broken out between the UK's financial watchdog and former Conservative chancellor Jeremy Hunt over a review into the so-called £22bn "black hole" in the public finances Labour claims it has inherited.
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is expected to raise several taxes in her Budget on Wednesday to cover the claimed shortfall.
But Hunt says a report to be released on the same day by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which is independent of the government, will criticise his party and help make the case for Labour's tax rises.
The OBR will publish its assessment of the chancellor's economic policies and also release forecasts of their impact on the UK economy over the next five years. But it is also preparing to release an additional report, commissioned earlier this year, on the "adequacy of information" supplied to it by the previous Tory government.
The OBR works for the Treasury. It's funded by the Treasury and the three members of the Budget Responsibility Committee (BRC) are appointed by the Chancellor.
Perhaps not the best choice to go with a comedian famous for roasting and insulting everyone, when you know your opponents will clip it and can’t take a joke.
An interesting characterisation. Is he also famous for being shit ? Because he was, along with the racism stuff.
I saw an article the other week where Sandi Toksvig was laying forth on why it wasn't possible to be "Too Woke".
It's no wonder they've folded. They laid it on with a shovel in a crowded market, and it says everything about their platform that they allied with the Greens.
That ship sailed a while back. It's interesting to speculate whether some of them also saw it as a political rather than financial investment. It's not as though (for example) the Saudis couldn't afford to blow a few billion to further their interests.
They probably didn't expect to wreck it at the same time, though.
Perhaps not the best choice to go with a comedian famous for roasting and insulting everyone, when you know your opponents will clip it and can’t take a joke.
An interesting characterisation. Is he also famous for being shit ? Because he was, along with the racism stuff.
He hosts the #1 live comedy podcast, called Kill Tony, which sells out arenas in the US and gets millions of YouTube views.
But as I said, possibly not the best choice of comic for a political rally.
The closest UK equivalent to Tony Hinchcliffe is probably Jimmy Carr.
OBR's media team will be earning their money this week.
It's Osborneism. He set up this body to turn the guns on Labour but now they've been turned on him.
You shouldn't play games by setting up new "independent" quangos, and they're a complete waste of money.
Announced in the budget is going to be another independent quango, Office for Value of Money. I wonder which Labour party family member or donor will get the job heading it up?
Perhaps not the best choice to go with a comedian famous for roasting and insulting everyone, when you know your opponents will clip it and can’t take a joke.
An interesting characterisation. Is he also famous for being shit ? Because he was, along with the racism stuff.
He hosts the #1 live comedy podcast, called Kill Tony, which sells out arenas in the US and gets millions of YouTube views.
But as I said, possibly not the best choice of comic for a political rally.
The closest UK equivalent to Tony Hinchcliffe is probably Jimmy Carr.
Whoever he is, he was utterly shit. Reduced to laughing at his own jokes.
Perhaps not the best choice to go with a comedian famous for roasting and insulting everyone, when you know your opponents will clip it and can’t take a joke.
An interesting characterisation. Is he also famous for being shit ? Because he was, along with the racism stuff.
He hosts the #1 live comedy podcast, called Kill Tony, which sells out arenas in the US and gets millions of YouTube views.
But as I said, possibly not the best choice of comic for a political rally.
The closest UK equivalent to Tony Hinchcliffe is probably Jimmy Carr.
Whoever he is, he was utterly shit. Reduced to laughing at his own jokes.
Not watched the whole thing yet, but he won’t be the first comedian to have bombed in front of the wrong crowd, and he won’t be the last!
OBR's media team will be earning their money this week.
It's Osborneism. He set up this body to turn the guns on Labour but now they've been turned on him.
You shouldn't play games by setting up new "independent" quangos, and they're a complete waste of money.
Announced in the budget is going to be another independent quango, Office for Value of Money. I wonder which Labour party family member or donor will get the job heading it up?
I saw an article the other week where Sandi Toksvig was laying forth on why it wasn't possible to be "Too Woke".
It's no wonder they've folded. They laid it on with a shovel in a crowded market, and it says everything about their platform that they allied with the Greens.
Their main electoral success was giving UKIP an extra London Assembly member instead of the LibDems in the 2016 election.
The Trump campaign, one of Florida’s Republican senators, a New York congressman in a tight race and this Trump-world ally are now all distancing themselves and disavowing the speaker who kicked off today’s rally at MSG.
When they fist built it, they engineered it so the structures could cope with the expected settlement. It has not gone as expected:
"The island had been predicted to sink 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in) by the most optimistic estimate as the weight of the material used for construction compressed the seabed silts. However, by 1999, the island had sunk 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in) – almost 50% more than predicted. "
OBR's media team will be earning their money this week.
This is going to be the most fascinating week in British politics since the election.
One can only think that the Chancellor hopes to surprise on the upside, by her measures not being quite as bad as everything that’s been trailed in advance.
And, is there any reason they couldn't have delivered this budget in August or September rather than the very end of October?
It feels like they fucked around all summer and then only really started to seriously look at it in October when they realised much of their stuff was fantasy.
OBR's media team will be earning their money this week.
This is going to be the most fascinating week in British politics since the election.
One can only think that the Chancellor hopes to surprise on the upside, by her measures not being quite as bad as everything that’s been trailed in advance.
And, is there any reason they couldn't have delivered this budget in August or September rather than the very end of October?
It feels like they fucked around all summer and then only really started to seriously look at it in October when they realised much of their stuff was fantasy.
Did so little preparation in opposition.
The summer is due to the recess, and a July election.
OBR's media team will be earning their money this week.
This is going to be the most fascinating week in British politics since the election.
One can only think that the Chancellor hopes to surprise on the upside, by her measures not being quite as bad as everything that’s been trailed in advance.
And, is there any reason they couldn't have delivered this budget in August or September rather than the very end of October?
It feels like they fucked around all summer and then only really started to seriously look at it in October when they realised much of their stuff was fantasy.
Did so little preparation in opposition.
The summer is due to the recess, and a July election.
When they fist built it, they engineered it so the structures could cope with the expected settlement. It has not gone as expected:
"The island had been predicted to sink 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in) by the most optimistic estimate as the weight of the material used for construction compressed the seabed silts. However, by 1999, the island had sunk 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in) – almost 50% more than predicted. "
OBR's media team will be earning their money this week.
This is going to be the most fascinating week in British politics since the election.
One can only think that the Chancellor hopes to surprise on the upside, by her measures not being quite as bad as everything that’s been trailed in advance.
And, is there any reason they couldn't have delivered this budget in August or September rather than the very end of October?
It feels like they fucked around all summer and then only really started to seriously look at it in October when they realised much of their stuff was fantasy.
Did so little preparation in opposition.
The summer is due to the recess, and a July election.
Yeah bollocks. Work over the summer.
It’s been one of many major errors they made from the get go. Fools
And now the pressure is on them to deliver something epochal. If it is just endless pain then I reckon they will never recover
When they fist built it, they engineered it so the structures could cope with the expected settlement. It has not gone as expected:
"The island had been predicted to sink 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in) by the most optimistic estimate as the weight of the material used for construction compressed the seabed silts. However, by 1999, the island had sunk 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in) – almost 50% more than predicted. "
I actually went to a talk about it at the Institution of Civil engineers back in the day. A fascinating project, but perhaps not as geotechnically advanced as it should have been. Instead of trying to reduce settlement as much as possible (something time does best...), they decided to try and manage the settlement.
It *may* have been the wrong choice in the long term.
OBR's media team will be earning their money this week.
This is going to be the most fascinating week in British politics since the election.
One can only think that the Chancellor hopes to surprise on the upside, by her measures not being quite as bad as everything that’s been trailed in advance.
And, is there any reason they couldn't have delivered this budget in August or September rather than the very end of October?
It feels like they fucked around all summer and then only really started to seriously look at it in October when they realised much of their stuff was fantasy.
Did so little preparation in opposition.
The summer is due to the recess, and a July election.
Yeah bollocks. Work over the summer.
We'll, yes. But that's how the political year works. And they will certainly have pissed off the civil servants working on any sort of policy. Personally I think it was probably part of the reason for Sunak calling the election when he did
The American right wing has gone wrong, how does the British right insulate and distance itself from them? Is there a movement on the right with the energy, numbers and intelligence to move beyond this?
When they fist built it, they engineered it so the structures could cope with the expected settlement. It has not gone as expected:
"The island had been predicted to sink 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in) by the most optimistic estimate as the weight of the material used for construction compressed the seabed silts. However, by 1999, the island had sunk 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in) – almost 50% more than predicted. "
I actually went to a talk about it at the Institution of Civil engineers back in the day. A fascinating project, but perhaps not as geotechnically advanced as it should have been. Instead of trying to reduce settlement as much as possible (something time does best...), they decided to try and manage the settlement.
It *may* have been the wrong choice in the long term.
Still quite an achievement, though.
The Ekofisk field in Norway has sunk about 6m since oil extraction began. It had been assumed that the chalk reservoir would behave in a similar way to sand reservoirs where the oil is in the spaces between the grains and plays no real part in the compressional strength. But the extraction of oil meant that compaction occured at a much faster rate than expected even though there was 10,000 feet of overrburden which was assumed to prevent any transmission of subsidence to the surface. A number of structures have had to be abandoned as they are now within the wave height of a major storm.
The American right wing has gone wrong, how does the British right insulate and distance itself from them? Is there a movement on the right with the energy, numbers and intelligence to move beyond this?
Go FURTHER to the right. Outflank Trump. Be even crazier. Expel all the Abkhazians from Wales
2. It's classic 'boy crying wolf' stuff. For many voters, Trump was President before and it didn't lead to a dictatorship. What has changed now will be the attitude of many voters;
When they fist built it, they engineered it so the structures could cope with the expected settlement. It has not gone as expected:
"The island had been predicted to sink 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in) by the most optimistic estimate as the weight of the material used for construction compressed the seabed silts. However, by 1999, the island had sunk 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in) – almost 50% more than predicted. "
I actually went to a talk about it at the Institution of Civil engineers back in the day. A fascinating project, but perhaps not as geotechnically advanced as it should have been. Instead of trying to reduce settlement as much as possible (something time does best...), they decided to try and manage the settlement.
It *may* have been the wrong choice in the long term.
Still quite an achievement, though.
B1M did a video on this very subject, only a couple of weeks ago.
OBR's media team will be earning their money this week.
This is going to be the most fascinating week in British politics since the election.
One can only think that the Chancellor hopes to surprise on the upside, by her measures not being quite as bad as everything that’s been trailed in advance.
And, is there any reason they couldn't have delivered this budget in August or September rather than the very end of October?
It feels like they fucked around all summer and then only really started to seriously look at it in October when they realised much of their stuff was fantasy.
Did so little preparation in opposition.
The summer is due to the recess, and a July election.
Yeah bollocks. Work over the summer.
We'll, yes. But that's how the political year works. And they will certainly have pissed off the civil servants working on any sort of policy. Personally I think it was probably part of the reason for Sunak calling the election when he did
It's how parliamentary recesses work, not government.
Reeves was capable of making many early spending decisions in July, and also could have got out an emergency budget if she'd wanted to do so.
The truth is they weren't prepared, don't know what they're doing and have made it up as they go along.
On the election, I think @MoonRabbit is spot on to say you look at the campaigns' actions and not the polling (why the hell would you trust something that has been wrong so much before BTW?). Michelle Obama's speech yesterday, with its demand that men should do what their women tell them, felt very much like preparing the ground for the post-mortem examination. I've suggested before that the Democrats at some point may have to make the choice as to pivot to a "vote for a Democrat Congress to stop a President Trump" and I wonder whether this is what we are seeing.
Of course, Harris still has a chance but it feels a very narrow one - at this point, it looks like NC, GA, AZ and NV are more likely to be gone so it's a strategy of protect the Blue Wall at all costs and hope there are no other unexpected results that stop a 270-268 style victory (the last NH poll had her lead there at only +3).
On the election, I think @MoonRabbit is spot on to say you look at the campaigns' actions and not the polling (why the hell would you trust something that has been wrong so much before BTW?). Michelle Obama's speech yesterday, with its demand that men should do what their women tell them, felt very much like preparing the ground for the post-mortem examination. I've suggested before that the Democrats at some point may have to make the choice as to pivot to a "vote for a Democrat Congress to stop a President Trump" and I wonder whether this is what we are seeing.
Of course, Harris still has a chance but it feels a very narrow one - at this point, it looks like NC, GA, AZ and NV are more likely to be gone so it's a strategy of protect the Blue Wall at all costs and hope there are no other unexpected results that stop a 270-268 style victory (the last NH poll had her lead there at only +3).
Congress is going GOP regardless. In actual fact some Independents voting Harris are still voting GOP for Congress. They want to stop Trump but also are fiscally conservative and want the Republicans to get the economy growing faster without Trump's tariffs.
Given Trump was in New York yesterday but Harris Pennsylvania there is also a chance Trump wins the popular vote but Harris the EC this time
Perhaps not the best choice to go with a comedian famous for roasting and insulting everyone, when you know your opponents will clip it and can’t take a joke.
Comments
Aaron Rupar
@atrupar
Elon Musk, having a normal one
https://x.com/atrupar/status/1850674808737890553
One total whacko after another.
This is the modern GOP. How can so many of the old school people remain in this party?
Sir Geoffrey Boycott - England’s brainless Bazballers are just flat-track bullies
*sob*
Everyone should calm down. Harris is going to win
Japanese industrial muscle is still mightily impressive. Much of Japan is still impressive. 110m high IQ people who work incredibly hard
If they can sort out their demographic nightmare they have a grand future. But how do you do that without important millions of low quality migrants who will destroy much of what makes the host society great in the first place?
Britain provides a melancholy example of how it can go badly wrong
If you want Japanese drama I also recommend “blue eyed samurai” on Netflix
It’s animated and it’s brilliant. Created by a Japanese American couple
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/blue_eye_samurai/s01
Look at those ratings. They don’t lie. 97% approval
The real life of the individual who the main character was based on actually far wilder than the fictional account in the book.
William Adams
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Adams_(samurai)
Fought the armada under Drake, went to the Arctic, all before he went anywhere near the Pacific and becoming a Samurai.
No more info tho as I don’t want spoilers! Amazingly I don’t know the story
They did it. Boris island
Shogun was an FX show, which doesn't seem to suffer as much from this.
https://x.com/JHWeissmann/status/1850670295763349555
Well the Japanese haven't taken very kindly to all of this cultural appropriation of their history. Two things you don't mess with in Japan, video games and the history of Samurai.
They need a dead cat on the table. Preferably six metres long and made of red neon and talking in Taiwanese
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/labour-budget-it-landed-gentry-apr-bpr-impact/
This is what happens when you let racist gobshites share your stage. "Oh, but we were only having a laugh..."
Immigrants vote.
Legally.
Now Trump has pissed off a whole new swathe of Latinos. Do you think they might just be getting the message that he thinks they are shit under his shoe?
The extra money will help pay for an additional £1.4bn to repair school buildings, as well as two carbon capture and storage sites in the north of England, and a plan to regenerate Euston station and complete the high-speed rail link with Old Oak Common.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/oct/27/keir-starmer-budget-speech-harsh-light-of-fiscal-reality
This *could* be really bad for Trump. I doubt it’s that bad it loses Florida. But there are 400,000 Puerto Ricans in PA. Ouch
As I said the Trump team needs to accept that this is potentially massive fuck up and quickly say or do something even more outrageous (but less damaging) so the convo moves on
Keir Starmer vows to ‘embrace harsh light of fiscal reality’
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/oct/27/keir-starmer-budget-speech-harsh-light-of-fiscal-reality
IIRC we’ve gone straight from “I’m giving away 600,000sq km of sovereign British seas to China, and YOU’RE paying China” to “I want to feel good about slavery so YOU’RE paying six trillion quid for something you didn’t do” to “I haven’t got a fucking clue about anything but I do know YOU’RE paying loads more taxes”
His poor personal polling is a mystery
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is expected to raise several taxes in her Budget on Wednesday to cover the claimed shortfall.
But Hunt says a report to be released on the same day by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which is independent of the government, will criticise his party and help make the case for Labour's tax rises.
The OBR will publish its assessment of the chancellor's economic policies and also release forecasts of their impact on the UK economy over the next five years. But it is also preparing to release an additional report, commissioned earlier this year, on the "adequacy of information" supplied to it by the previous Tory government.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgr00vewpxno
Perhaps not the best choice to go with a comedian famous for roasting and insulting everyone, when you know your opponents will clip it and can’t take a joke.
Since the tycoon took Twitter private it is estimated to have lost four fifths of its value
https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/companies/article/are-investors-in-x-having-second-thoughts-about-elon-musk-npkhczn8p (£££)
Dominic Caddick believes successive chancellors were incentivised to cut spending
https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/economics/article/obr-enabled-tory-austerity-economist-claims-bgt8cjwqg (£££)
Jeremy Hunt accuses spending watchdog of ‘political bias’ over critical report
The former chancellor says he has not been able to respond to an OBR review that the Tories say will be ‘weaponised’ by Labour on budget day
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/jeremy-hunt-accuses-spending-watchdog-of-political-bias-over-critical-report-mrcvk96bz (£££)
OBR's media team will be earning their money this week.
Yet.
As this week's budget is expected to make a number of changes that will directly (NI, minimum wage) or indirectly (CGT, stability) affect the job market, it would be nice to think the Treasury was doing more than taking stabs in the dark.
One can only think that the Chancellor hopes to surprise on the upside, by her measures not being quite as bad as everything that’s been trailed in advance.
We all know that.
Is he also famous for being shit ? Because he was, along with the racism stuff.
It's no wonder they've folded. They laid it on with a shovel in a crowded market, and it says everything about their platform that they allied with the Greens.
You shouldn't play games by setting up new "independent" quangos, and they're a complete waste of money.
It's interesting to speculate whether some of them also saw it as a political rather than financial investment. It's not as though (for example) the Saudis couldn't afford to blow a few billion to further their interests.
They probably didn't expect to wreck it at the same time, though.
But as I said, possibly not the best choice of comic for a political rally.
The closest UK equivalent to Tony Hinchcliffe is probably Jimmy Carr.
Reduced to laughing at his own jokes.
What's Going On With 'Nonplussed'?
https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/nonplussed
Actually, we've already got several of those.
The Trump campaign, one of Florida’s Republican senators, a New York congressman in a tight race and this Trump-world ally are now all distancing themselves and disavowing the speaker who kicked off today’s rally at MSG.
https://x.com/kaitlancollins/status/1850721085248979083
When they fist built it, they engineered it so the structures could cope with the expected settlement. It has not gone as expected:
"The island had been predicted to sink 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in) by the most optimistic estimate as the weight of the material used for construction compressed the seabed silts. However, by 1999, the island had sunk 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in) – almost 50% more than predicted. "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansai_International_Airport
and:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/japan-airport-built-on-water-is-sinking-into-sea-all-about-kansai-internationl-airport-engineering-marvel/articleshow/106644731.cms?from=mdr
It feels like they fucked around all summer and then only really started to seriously look at it in October when they realised much of their stuff was fantasy.
Did so little preparation in opposition.
Mono-no-aware
And now the pressure is on them to deliver something epochal. If it is just endless pain then I reckon they will never recover
It *may* have been the wrong choice in the long term.
Still quite an achievement, though.
NEW THREAD
1. Trust in the media is at historic lows. Crucially, independents tend to view the issue more like Republicans than Democrats (https://news.gallup.com/poll/651977/americans-trust-media-remains-trend-low.aspx);
2. It's classic 'boy crying wolf' stuff. For many voters, Trump was President before and it didn't lead to a dictatorship. What has changed now will be the attitude of many voters;
“Japan’s $40bn Kansai Airport is Sinking”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec37fkICRF8
Reeves was capable of making many early spending decisions in July, and also could have got out an emergency budget if she'd wanted to do so.
The truth is they weren't prepared, don't know what they're doing and have made it up as they go along.
Of course, Harris still has a chance but it feels a very narrow one - at this point, it looks like NC, GA, AZ and NV are more likely to be gone so it's a strategy of protect the Blue Wall at all costs and hope there are no other unexpected results that stop a 270-268 style victory (the last NH poll had her lead there at only +3).
Given Trump was in New York yesterday but Harris Pennsylvania there is also a chance Trump wins the popular vote but Harris the EC this time
I’m going to be grossly offensive to a whole class of people but it’s their fault that they “can’t take a joke”