Has anyone given any thought to how the electricity will be generated to power this new fleet of EV cars that will be tearing up and down the country.
Especially in winter when those batteries will be less efficient and have more demands for the power - lights, heating, demisting etc etc.
A few more offshore wind turbines ?
Scotland currently has 50GW of renewable capacity in development, including 24GW of pumped hydro and battery which helps with intermittency. That's in addition to our 15GW of current capacity.
Given our average consumption is about 16GW at the moment, I think we'll be fine.
Has anyone given any thought to how the electricity will be generated to power this new fleet of EV cars that will be tearing up and down the country.
Especially in winter when those batteries will be less efficient and have more demands for the power - lights, heating, demisting etc etc.
A few more offshore wind turbines ?
Lots of people are giving lots of thought to that. Shedloads more offshore turbines (we should be targeting increasing them at least 5-fold), onshore turbines, way more solar, maintaining and extending nuclear life, a European grid with more interconnectors, gas generation in high demand or low supply periods, smart charging for times when there is surplus electricity instead of making constraint payments, grid scale battery storage.
The good news is we'll not need to worry so much about bad boys like Putin or MBS or the Houthis ramping up the oil price.
The other good news is that electrification of the economy means way better overall energy efficiency. Grid electricity is much more efficient per unit of output than localised combustion.
The biggest demand side shock for electricity generation and transmission at the moment though is not EVs, by a long way, it's datacentres. Even when we're 100% EV it'll still be the massive expansion of datacentres causing the biggest headaches.
Has anyone given any thought to how the electricity will be generated to power this new fleet of EV cars that will be tearing up and down the country.
Especially in winter when those batteries will be less efficient and have more demands for the power - lights, heating, demisting etc etc.
A few more offshore wind turbines ?
Lots of people are giving lots of thought to that. Shedloads more offshore turbines (we should be targeting increasing them at least 5-fold), onshore turbines, way more solar, maintaining and extending nuclear life, a European grid with more interconnectors, gas generation in high demand or low supply periods, smart charging for times when there is surplus electricity instead of making constraint payments, grid scale battery storage.
The good news is we'll not need to worry so much about bad boys like Putin or MBS or the Houthis ramping up the oil price.
That is good news.
Presumably they are also looking at other methods of generation for when the sun doesnt shine or the wind doesn't blow to satisfy demand.
When is it happening given the interminable length of time it takes to get stuff done here.
Or are we at the "mission statement" and "ground rules" stage ? I agree all of this is good but there seems to be little concrete going on at the moment. Perhaps there is and in my line of work I am blissfully unaware of it.
Has anyone given any thought to how the electricity will be generated to power this new fleet of EV cars that will be tearing up and down the country.
Especially in winter when those batteries will be less efficient and have more demands for the power - lights, heating, demisting etc etc.
A few more offshore wind turbines ?
Scotland currently has 50GW of renewable capacity in development, including 24GW of pumped hydro and battery which helps with intermittency. That's in addition to our 15GW of current capacity.
Given our average consumption is about 16GW at the moment, I think we'll be fine.
Is "our" in relation to Scotland or The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ?
The Saudis have been giving immense bribes to the Trump extended family for some time now. So I think we might see a little more help from them on oil prices -- in return for no complaints about human rights.
Fascinating stuff. Please forgive me if this has already been covered, but does anyone have any recommendations on how best to follow the Irish General Election count when it starts? Is the RTE coverage any good, or is it best to try somewhere else? I am assuming, of course, that I will be able to follow it on the internet somehow, rather than on free TV.
RTE would be very good, however Twitter is the best to ger the unofficial results whenever they call the seat early.
The Saudis have been giving immense bribes to the Trump extended family for some time now. So I think we might see a little more help from them on oil prices -- in return for no complaints about human rights.
The US supports Israel attacking Iran ?
Although that would go against Trump's anti war stance.
Having watched poor old Kemi try to attack Starmer for a policy he rightly confirmed she had introduced as Business Secretary, you would have thought that would be the Badenoch Tory blooper for the week. Another poor week for poor old Kemi at PMQs.
However fast forward to 1240pm on BBC 2 Politics Show and lister to Helen Foot in Mouth Whately come up with "We reduced the debt in the past 14 years" even Jo Coburn nearly fell off her chair.
When question FIM Helen then confirmed that it seems no Tory Minister actually grasps the difference between debt and deficit.
God help the Tory Party with this utter shower in charge.
Fascinating stuff. Please forgive me if this has already been covered, but does anyone have any recommendations on how best to follow the Irish General Election count when it starts? Is the RTE coverage any good, or is it best to try somewhere else? I am assuming, of course, that I will be able to follow it on the internet somehow, rather than on free TV.
RTE would be very good, however Twitter is the best to ger the unofficial results whenever they call the seat early.
Fascinating stuff. Please forgive me if this has already been covered, but does anyone have any recommendations on how best to follow the Irish General Election count when it starts? Is the RTE coverage any good, or is it best to try somewhere else? I am assuming, of course, that I will be able to follow it on the internet somehow, rather than on free TV.
RTE would be very good, however Twitter is the best to ger the unofficial results whenever they call the seat early.
Has anyone given any thought to how the electricity will be generated to power this new fleet of EV cars that will be tearing up and down the country.
Especially in winter when those batteries will be less efficient and have more demands for the power - lights, heating, demisting etc etc.
A few more offshore wind turbines ?
Scotland currently has 50GW of renewable capacity in development, including 24GW of pumped hydro and battery which helps with intermittency. That's in addition to our 15GW of current capacity.
Given our average consumption is about 16GW at the moment, I think we'll be fine.
Is "our" in relation to Scotland or The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ?
Just Scotland. Of that 51GW, 5GW is under construction at the moment, 18GW is approved, and 28GW is in planning.
The Canadian government expects 4.9 million people to leave voluntarily when their visas expire.
The UK faces a similar question over the people given visas by Boris Johnson’s government. If they are not renewed then a lot of people will need to leave.
They won't leave, because there's an entire legal industry that will use the law (at the taxpayer's expense) to prevent them having to leave. Modern slavery, sudden conversion to Christianity (home country Muslim), realisation of being gay (home country Muslim). Rates of return for visa overstayers are through the floor.
The Conservative government was, yes, very poor at deporting anyone.
I don't see any actual evidence to back up this claim around visa overstayers making claims around slavery/religion/sexuality in large numbers.
The Conservatives were very poor on immigration, as you will have found me saying both at the time and since. However, Conservative Home Secretaries also existed within an ever-growing thicket of laws (May's modern slavery law amongst them) whose increasing use makes operating the immigration system effectively an impossibility. The Tories did fail to grasp the nettle, leave the ECHR, reform the Human Rights Act, repeal the Modern Slavery Act, but would you be a fan of that?
I feel what you're really trying to say is that deportation/returns figures are what they are because Suella Braverman forgot to ask the Home Office to deport people because she's stooopid. Which is glib nonsense.
I didn't say anything about Braverman or her intelligence. Why deportations fell so much under the Tories is not completely clear, but part of it appears to be because funding for the Immigration Enforcement Department fell by 11% in real terms between 2015-16 and 2019-20, as the NAO noted, and the obsession with the Rwanda scheme over more successful methods.
You suggest what happened was caused by a "thicket of laws". However, you haven't shown any evidence that more visa overstayers are making claims along the lines you described.
Having watched poor old Kemi try to attack Starmer for a policy he rightly confirmed she had introduced as Business Secretary, you would have thought that would be the Badenoch Tory blooper for the week. Another poor week for poor old Kemi at PMQs.
However fast forward to 1240pm on BBC 2 Politics Show and lister to Helen Foot in Mouth Whately come up with "We reduced the debt in the past 14 years" even Jo Coburn nearly fell off her chair.
When question FIM Helen then confirmed that it seems no Tory Minister actually grasps the difference between debt and deficit.
God help the Tory Party with this utter shower in charge.
Perhaps you could start a petition asking for a rerun of their recent leadership election. Although I wouldn't bother as recently it only takes a year or so before the next one anyway.
Quite spectacularly, 1 Russian Ruble now equals 0.0091 United States Dollar.
This has been quite a collapse over the last few months, and especially the last few days. This *might* be getting to the point where it becomes significant in a larger sense.
It’s 10% in a week, interest rates are heading for 30%, and inflation is supposedly 5-6% per month on most average household expenditure. The collapse of the Russian economy has been predicted many times, but it looks closer today than at any point in the past few years.
A bit of American drilling to get the official oil price down near $50, and Putin’s screwed.
I'm a bit surprised by the Saudis. They can't be happy with Russia cosying up to Iran and perhaps even the Houthis. What are they and Egypt doing about the Red Sea?
I wonder if they are waiting for Biden to go before pumping more oil?
The Saudis just passed a government budget with a $27bn deficit, they’re frantically trying to do Dubai on steroids and need the oil price high.
A lot of the US production, which can be expected to increase this year, also needs prices above around $60 to be viable.
Today’s price is $73 though, so there’s an amount of headroom.
What do they do with all their military spending? Any ships in the Red Sea? Likewise Egypt.
The Saudi western fleet covers the Red Sea and included, according to Wikipedia, 4 frigates, 2 missile boats, 1 replenishing ship and 1 patrol minesweeper.
"I am pleased to announce that our new Chancellor will be Lord Hague of Richmond, having achieved over 50% of the votes in the final stage of the election."
No dice for Mandelson in Oxford.
"in the final stage" -- so after transferring preferences?
Having watched poor old Kemi try to attack Starmer for a policy he rightly confirmed she had introduced as Business Secretary, you would have thought that would be the Badenoch Tory blooper for the week. Another poor week for poor old Kemi at PMQs.
However fast forward to 1240pm on BBC 2 Politics Show and lister to Helen Foot in Mouth Whately come up with "We reduced the debt in the past 14 years" even Jo Coburn nearly fell off her chair.
When question FIM Helen then confirmed that it seems no Tory Minister actually grasps the difference between debt and deficit.
God help the Tory Party with this utter shower in charge.
Well this conservative is perfectly happy with the party and leader and but I can understand Starmer will be grateful for your contribution in view of the present state of his popularity in the county and as the saying goes, every little helps !!!!!
Why was Daisy (LD Deputy Leader?) first, before Kemikaze, or was that just the stars of chance aligning?
The first question is almost always asking the Prime Minister to list their engagements for the day. The MP is then allowed to ask a supplementary question on their matter of concern - which in Daisey's case was a hospital in her constituency. I assume she was first on the Speakers list and nothing to do with being Deputy Leader.
The Rest is Entertainment (not Politics) examines whether a celebrity could become Prime Minister, as Trump has in America.
Or, indeed, and rather more successfully, Zelenskyy in Ukraine.
How are you defining success?
a) Proportion of contested Presidential elections the individual has won.
b) Respect from PBers.
Trump - contested 3, won 2. Not bad. Zelensky - contested 1, won 1 very good! However - Trump - refused to leave after his term was up - bad. Zelensky is still in power after his term - good. PBers don't know shit.
Churchill was PM for the vast majority of WW2 but he never actually won a general election until 1951.
The Pauls, father and son, Ron and Rand, are an interesting pair. I think it fair to describe them as Neo-Confederate libertarians. That's an odd combination, but, from what I can tell, more common than one might guess, without such examples.
(Ron had a newsletter with some racist content. Rand hired a couple of aides who had been Neo-Confederate shock jocks.)
Has anyone given any thought to how the electricity will be generated to power this new fleet of EV cars that will be tearing up and down the country.
Especially in winter when those batteries will be less efficient and have more demands for the power - lights, heating, demisting etc etc.
A few more offshore wind turbines ?
Scotland currently has 50GW of renewable capacity in development, including 24GW of pumped hydro and battery which helps with intermittency. That's in addition to our 15GW of current capacity.
Given our average consumption is about 16GW at the moment, I think we'll be fine.
Is "our" in relation to Scotland or The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ?
Just Scotland. Of that 51GW, 5GW is under construction at the moment, 18GW is approved, and 28GW is in planning.
UK capacity is ~30GW, I believe, which shows the importance of Scotland in wind power generation (~50% at present). I don't know what's planned for rUK, may be that Scotland's share will become substantially bigger.
Will be interesting to see whether that has any impact on Scottish nationalism as, arguably, oil revenues did in the past.
Revolting weather this morning seems to be giving way to a modicum of brightness in the sky. Such are the micro-happinesses of life in November Britain.
Not a cloud in the sky in Manchester. Also pleasant yesterday. Sunday was quite nice too.
"I am pleased to announce that our new Chancellor will be Lord Hague of Richmond, having achieved over 50% of the votes in the final stage of the election."
No dice for Mandelson in Oxford.
"in the final stage" -- so after transferring preferences?
Full result:
First Stage
Lord Hague: 9,589 Lady Elish Angiolini: 6,296 Baroness Jan Royall: 3,599 Lord Peter Mandelson: 2,940 Rt Hon Dominic Grieve: 2,484 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Second Stage
Lord Hague: 10,472 Lady Elish Angiolini: 6,915 Baroness Jan Royall: 3,945 Lord Peter Mandelson: 3,344 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Third Stage
Lord Hague: 11,766 Lady Elish Angiolini: 7,727 Baroness Jan Royall: 4,662 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Final Stage
Lord Hague: 12,609 (Elected) Lady Elish Angiolini: 11,006
Mandy flopped somewhat. I think he has his hat in the ring for Ambassador to US though.
Related, very loosely, to the header: For some time I have been speculating that national flags with specific meanings -- for example, those of the US and the UK -- belong to nations that are proud of their history, while anonymous tri-colors belong to nations that aren't.
The Rest is Entertainment (not Politics) examines whether a celebrity could become Prime Minister, as Trump has in America.
Or, indeed, and rather more successfully, Zelenskyy in Ukraine.
How are you defining success?
a) Proportion of contested Presidential elections the individual has won.
b) Respect from PBers.
Trump - contested 3, won 2. Not bad. Zelensky - contested 1, won 1 very good! However - Trump - refused to leave after his term was up - bad. Zelensky is still in power after his term - good. PBers don't know shit.
Churchill was PM for the vast majority of WW2 but he never actually won a general election until 1951.
Even in 1951, Labour got more votes than Churchill's Conservatives but (obviously, since the Tories won the election) fewer seats.
The Canadian government expects 4.9 million people to leave voluntarily when their visas expire.
The UK faces a similar question over the people given visas by Boris Johnson’s government. If they are not renewed then a lot of people will need to leave.
They won't leave, because there's an entire legal industry that will use the law (at the taxpayer's expense) to prevent them having to leave. Modern slavery, sudden conversion to Christianity (home country Muslim), realisation of being gay (home country Muslim). Rates of return for visa overstayers are through the floor.
The Conservative government was, yes, very poor at deporting anyone.
I don't see any actual evidence to back up this claim around visa overstayers making claims around slavery/religion/sexuality in large numbers.
The Conservatives were very poor on immigration, as you will have found me saying both at the time and since. However, Conservative Home Secretaries also existed within an ever-growing thicket of laws (May's modern slavery law amongst them) whose increasing use makes operating the immigration system effectively an impossibility. The Tories did fail to grasp the nettle, leave the ECHR, reform the Human Rights Act, repeal the Modern Slavery Act, but would you be a fan of that?
I feel what you're really trying to say is that deportation/returns figures are what they are because Suella Braverman forgot to ask the Home Office to deport people because she's stooopid. Which is glib nonsense.
I didn't say anything about Braverman or her intelligence. Why deportations fell so much under the Tories is not completely clear, but part of it appears to be because funding for the Immigration Enforcement Department fell by 11% in real terms between 2015-16 and 2019-20, as the NAO noted, and the obsession with the Rwanda scheme over more successful methods.
You suggest what happened was caused by a "thicket of laws". However, you haven't shown any evidence that more visa overstayers are making claims along the lines you described.
Deportations fell because failing to deal with asylum effeciently made the right more popular. It worked for a good few years until Reform split the rights vote largely over exploiting this failure and the Tories had nowhere to go.
Having watched poor old Kemi try to attack Starmer for a policy he rightly confirmed she had introduced as Business Secretary, you would have thought that would be the Badenoch Tory blooper for the week. Another poor week for poor old Kemi at PMQs.
However fast forward to 1240pm on BBC 2 Politics Show and lister to Helen Foot in Mouth Whately come up with "We reduced the debt in the past 14 years" even Jo Coburn nearly fell off her chair.
When question FIM Helen then confirmed that it seems no Tory Minister actually grasps the difference between debt and deficit.
God help the Tory Party with this utter shower in charge.
They would certainly benefit from a few by-election wins bringing back in some experienced hands. Mordaunt and Shapps (I know, I know) obvious ones who could handle a brief and put ministers under pressure.
No doubt, Boris might still be scenting the air but that would be a wholly different ball-game if he came back.
Related, very loosely, to the header: For some time I have been speculating that national flags with specific meanings -- for example, those of the US and the UK -- belong to nations that are proud of their history, while anonymous tri-colors belong to nations that aren't.
A well confirmed hypothesis, true beyond all doubt. At this moment there isn't a single thing in the whole of the last 3000 years of history that any Italian or French person could take the smallest bit of pride in.
Related, very loosely, to the header: For some time I have been speculating that national flags with specific meanings -- for example, those of the US and the UK -- belong to nations that are proud of their history, while anonymous tri-colors belong to nations that aren't.
If the US are proud of their history why did they vote for a Putinista insurgent?
"I am pleased to announce that our new Chancellor will be Lord Hague of Richmond, having achieved over 50% of the votes in the final stage of the election."
No dice for Mandelson in Oxford.
"in the final stage" -- so after transferring preferences?
Full result:
First Stage
Lord Hague: 9,589 Lady Elish Angiolini: 6,296 Baroness Jan Royall: 3,599 Lord Peter Mandelson: 2,940 Rt Hon Dominic Grieve: 2,484 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Second Stage
Lord Hague: 10,472 Lady Elish Angiolini: 6,915 Baroness Jan Royall: 3,945 Lord Peter Mandelson: 3,344 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Third Stage
Lord Hague: 11,766 Lady Elish Angiolini: 7,727 Baroness Jan Royall: 4,662 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Final Stage
Lord Hague: 12,609 (Elected) Lady Elish Angiolini: 11,006
Mandy flopped somewhat. I think he has his hat in the ring for Ambassador to US though.
It wouldn't surprise me if the former Foreign Secretary hadn't quietly suggested Mandy for Washington and allowed the new Labour fan club to do the rest of the dirty work. Bad luck for Lady Elish, who would have been just as good if not better. I suspect the result reflects the gender balance in the electorate which has not quite yet reached equality.
"I am pleased to announce that our new Chancellor will be Lord Hague of Richmond, having achieved over 50% of the votes in the final stage of the election."
No dice for Mandelson in Oxford.
"in the final stage" -- so after transferring preferences?
Should make fresher's week more interesting from now on, what with him being able to down 14 pints at one sitting.
Having watched poor old Kemi try to attack Starmer for a policy he rightly confirmed she had introduced as Business Secretary, you would have thought that would be the Badenoch Tory blooper for the week. Another poor week for poor old Kemi at PMQs.
However fast forward to 1240pm on BBC 2 Politics Show and lister to Helen Foot in Mouth Whately come up with "We reduced the debt in the past 14 years" even Jo Coburn nearly fell off her chair.
When question FIM Helen then confirmed that it seems no Tory Minister actually grasps the difference between debt and deficit.
God help the Tory Party with this utter shower in charge.
Well this conservative is perfectly happy with the party and leader and but I can understand Starmer will be grateful for your contribution in view of the present state of his popularity in the county and as the saying goes, every little helps !!!!!
If you are happy for poor old Kemi to regularly attack Starmer only to be told that she is actually attacking a policy she introduced, then you'll probably agree when she announces the earth is flat.
If you can support a 2nd Tory Minister who clearly does not understand basic economics then so be it.
It would appear that the FBIs most wanted man has been walking around Snowdonia for the past decade or so, may be there is a vortex in that wonderful part of the world when the past 14 years have just vanished in to a black hole deeper than the void masquerading for Tory Ministers brains and the increase in the national debt from 800 billion to well over 2 trillion on their watch.
The Tories are clearly clueless rudderless and sinking fast and the graves danger for us all with no credible opposition is that the likes of Farage will be only too happy to fill the void
Over lunch I saw a few morning Youtube snippits. No. 10 seem to be spinning some movement on IHT for farms after discussions with the President of the NFU. I don't quite understand the mood music over this. As a life-long member of the NFU until I retired last year and former Branch Chairman, twice I probably know that organisation better than most here.
If 2TK thinks he can smooze the NFU with a minor change of wording then he is in for a shock. Unlike Trade Unions the NFU has three or four more militant competitor organisations the Tenant Farmers, NFU Scotland etc. If the President gets anything less that an 80% backdown then he will be out on his arse faster than Sue Gray come 30 January - the NFU Conference.
Of course it won't save Labour Councillors next May. When you have threatened to blow someone's head off with a twelve bore shotgun they tend not to hold entirely good thoughts about you, even if you don't do it.
An example of how this government is a disappointment. Millions of people voted Labour because the Tory government was intolerable, and Labour promised better. We knew that there is a mess and there was no expectation that it would all be sorted out overnight.
However our expectation was this: That the new government would not only be honest about the mess (the easy bit - blame the Tories) but that they would excel at two things, for which they have had years of opposition to prepare, namely:
What is the destination and How are we going to get there.
Take dentistry as one tiny example which has been an unconscionable mess for years, as Labour has known well. Following a NAO criticism of the Tory plan (from Feb 2024) the government has exactly this to offer: That they need a plan but don't know what it is.
“This government is committed to rebuilding dentistry, but it will take time. We are working on further measures, prioritising initiatives that will see the biggest impact on access to NHS dental care."
Ladbrokes are offering odds on the following constituencies
Cork South West (3 Seats) Donegal (5 Seats) Dublin Bay South (4 Seats) Dublin Rathdown (4 Seats) Galway West (5 Seats) Kerry (5 Seats) Limerick City (4 Seats) Mayo (5 Seats) Meath East (4 Seats) Wicklow (4 Seats) Dublin West (5 Seats) Dublin South West (5 Seats) Dublin Central (4 Seats)
Having watched poor old Kemi try to attack Starmer for a policy he rightly confirmed she had introduced as Business Secretary, you would have thought that would be the Badenoch Tory blooper for the week. Another poor week for poor old Kemi at PMQs.
However fast forward to 1240pm on BBC 2 Politics Show and lister to Helen Foot in Mouth Whately come up with "We reduced the debt in the past 14 years" even Jo Coburn nearly fell off her chair.
When question FIM Helen then confirmed that it seems no Tory Minister actually grasps the difference between debt and deficit.
God help the Tory Party with this utter shower in charge.
Saying "the whole system is broken" is not the greatest line of attack when Labour have just taken over after 14 years of the Conservatives.
Has anyone given any thought to how the electricity will be generated to power this new fleet of EV cars that will be tearing up and down the country.
Especially in winter when those batteries will be less efficient and have more demands for the power - lights, heating, demisting etc etc.
A few more offshore wind turbines ?
Scotland currently has 50GW of renewable capacity in development, including 24GW of pumped hydro and battery which helps with intermittency. That's in addition to our 15GW of current capacity.
Given our average consumption is about 16GW at the moment, I think we'll be fine.
Is "our" in relation to Scotland or The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ?
Just Scotland. Of that 51GW, 5GW is under construction at the moment, 18GW is approved, and 28GW is in planning.
UK capacity is ~30GW, I believe, which shows the importance of Scotland in wind power generation (~50% at present). I don't know what's planned for rUK, may be that Scotland's share will become substantially bigger.
Will be interesting to see whether that has any impact on Scottish nationalism as, arguably, oil revenues did in the past.
Scotland share is currently 42% of wind capacity, will decrease to 38% taking into account everything approved or under construction. If you take into account everything in planning, 48% Scotland.
Revolting weather this morning seems to be giving way to a modicum of brightness in the sky. Such are the micro-happinesses of life in November Britain.
Not a cloud in the sky in Manchester. Also pleasant yesterday. Sunday was quite nice too.
Normally just a single cloud in the sky above Manchester...
...stretching from one horizon to the other.
Also beautifully sunny on the drier side of the Pennines.
Related, very loosely, to the header: For some time I have been speculating that national flags with specific meanings -- for example, those of the US and the UK -- belong to nations that are proud of their history, while anonymous tri-colors belong to nations that aren't.
A well confirmed hypothesis, true beyond all doubt. At this moment there isn't a single thing in the whole of the last 3000 years of history that any Italian or French person could take the smallest bit of pride in.
Lots of colonialism and neo-colonialism, racism (see colonialism)....
Suggesting that there is anything to be proud of in that history makes you literally worse than that guy who is literally worse than Hitler.
Related, very loosely, to the header: For some time I have been speculating that national flags with specific meanings -- for example, those of the US and the UK -- belong to nations that are proud of their history, while anonymous tri-colors belong to nations that aren't.
From memory, both the French and Irish tricolours have specific meanings. The French one stands for liberte, egalite, fraternite, and the Irish one stands for the Catholic (green) and Protestant (orange) populations, with the white strip representing the gap between them.
It also has to be pointed out that Italy as a distinct state has only existed since March 1861 and hasn't really got a lot of history, prideful or otherwise.
Well I certainly hope that nobody starts any rumours about bank runs in Russia.
What, you mean that there might be a solvency problems at Russian banks and all Russians should go and try to get all their money out? Well, yes. I hope no-one would ever suggest that, after all, Russia and its currency is he stronkiest of stronk.
In the meantime, instead of Battleship Potemkin, I hope Russian TV shows 'It's a Wonderful Life'. Followed by Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.
Related, very loosely, to the header: For some time I have been speculating that national flags with specific meanings -- for example, those of the US and the UK -- belong to nations that are proud of their history, while anonymous tri-colors belong to nations that aren't.
A well confirmed hypothesis, true beyond all doubt. At this moment there isn't a single thing in the whole of the last 3000 years of history that any Italian or French person could take the smallest bit of pride in.
Isn't the French flag based on the revolution (blue & red) with the white bit meaning loyalty to the state, or some such. Tbh I've no knowledge of French history but am vaguely recalling a video about the RAF roundel (a ww1 French invention apparently to prevent friendly fire from the ground).
1 Russian Ruble now equals 0.0089 United States Dollar.
It's quite fun watching this.
Is this ACTUALLY the Ruble declining, or it the Dollar appreciating?
The dollar is having a good day, but the ruble is in free fall against all major currencies.
Suggestion is that the Russian Central Bank is basically out of foreign exchange reserves it can sell to prop up the ruble.
Most of the commentary I have seen suggests that Putin will be the beneficiary if the war drags on ad infinitum: Ukraine will be ground down. Does this not contradict that presumption? Or does the collapse in currency not really affect the Russian war economy?
Related, very loosely, to the header: For some time I have been speculating that national flags with specific meanings -- for example, those of the US and the UK -- belong to nations that are proud of their history, while anonymous tri-colors belong to nations that aren't.
A well confirmed hypothesis, true beyond all doubt. At this moment there isn't a single thing in the whole of the last 3000 years of history that any Italian or French person could take the smallest bit of pride in.
Isn't the French flag based on the revolution (blue & red) with the white bit meaning loyalty to the state, or some such. Tbh I've no knowledge of French history but am vaguely recalling a video about the RAF roundel (a ww1 French invention apparently to prevent friendly fire from the ground).
I thought the white bit was from the royal flag, which they kept in to keep the traditionalists happy.
Related, very loosely, to the header: For some time I have been speculating that national flags with specific meanings -- for example, those of the US and the UK -- belong to nations that are proud of their history, while anonymous tri-colors belong to nations that aren't.
A well confirmed hypothesis, true beyond all doubt. At this moment there isn't a single thing in the whole of the last 3000 years of history that any Italian or French person could take the smallest bit of pride in.
Isn't the French flag based on the revolution (blue & red) with the white bit meaning loyalty to the state, or some such. Tbh I've no knowledge of French history but am vaguely recalling a video about the RAF roundel (a ww1 French invention apparently to prevent friendly fire from the ground).
I thought the white bit was from the royal flag, which they kept in to keep the traditionalists happy.
You take the traditional white and add the red and blue used by the Paris militia in the revolution (the traditional colours of Paris). Voilà.
Retrospectively, some claim the three colours line up with liberté (blue), égalité (white) and fraternité (red).
Related, very loosely, to the header: For some time I have been speculating that national flags with specific meanings -- for example, those of the US and the UK -- belong to nations that are proud of their history, while anonymous tri-colors belong to nations that aren't.
A well confirmed hypothesis, true beyond all doubt. At this moment there isn't a single thing in the whole of the last 3000 years of history that any Italian or French person could take the smallest bit of pride in.
Lots of colonialism and neo-colonialism, racism (see colonialism)....
Suggesting that there is anything to be proud of in that history makes you literally worse than that guy who is literally worse than Hitler.
Many tricolours do have specific meanings. France: Liberty, equality, fraternity. Germany: The colours of the army which fought against Napoleon Belgium: Three of the 7(?) provinces which made up Belgium, I think? (What about the other four?) Ireland: Catholics, Protestants and the hope that they can live in peace together.
Good morning. Thanks to the Daily Mail I now know that it is Labour's fault that the EV sales mandates set by the Tories are unachievable.
There is something distasteful about legislation which fines manufacturers because their customers want, or don't want, to buy particular numbers of a lawful product.
The trouble is the alternative is some sort of taxation on ICE cars (an effective subsidy for EVs), which most voters would be extremely pissed about. Hence the tax rise on employer NICs rather than income tax, and the incoherent freezing of fuel duty.
I think the work needs to be done on why people are resistant to move to EVs. Needs a proper survey but speaking for myself:
1) Nice ones aren’t cheap, especially vs. nearly new normal cars - Gvt can help by subsidising if we want to increase take up.
2) I am nervous of second hand batteries. More so than of engines. I might need educating.
3) I am not convinced the recharging infrastructure is in place and don’t want to wait to recharge. Gvt can fix this.
4) I like powerful cars that go vroom. Gvt cannot fix this.
Because of number 4 I am unlikely to switch in my lifetime. And I’m only 40.
I think that's a good list.
The government cut subsidy too early.
On the second-hand batteries I would like to see a standard battery test that could be done and could form the basis of an insurance-backed guarantee. I think that would create confidence in second-hand battery electric car sales.
On the recharging infrastructure this is exactly like home insulation. Governments love to talk about doing it and it never seems to happen in the volume required to make a difference. It's so frustrating because it's so obvious.
On the vroom, from what I've heard the pickup and acceleration on electric cars can be impressive. Give a good one a test drive and you might surprise yourself and be won over. I've heard from a few people who were sceptical but we're strong converts after direct experience.
"I am pleased to announce that our new Chancellor will be Lord Hague of Richmond, having achieved over 50% of the votes in the final stage of the election."
No dice for Mandelson in Oxford.
"in the final stage" -- so after transferring preferences?
Indeed. I wondered how Elish Angiolini did, being a Scots lawyer and former Solicitor General etc. at Holyrood, and on investigation she was coming very fast up the last straight behind Lord H when they passed the post.
Related, very loosely, to the header: For some time I have been speculating that national flags with specific meanings -- for example, those of the US and the UK -- belong to nations that are proud of their history, while anonymous tri-colors belong to nations that aren't.
A well confirmed hypothesis, true beyond all doubt. At this moment there isn't a single thing in the whole of the last 3000 years of history that any Italian or French person could take the smallest bit of pride in.
Isn't the French flag based on the revolution (blue & red) with the white bit meaning loyalty to the state, or some such. Tbh I've no knowledge of French history but am vaguely recalling a video about the RAF roundel (a ww1 French invention apparently to prevent friendly fire from the ground).
It was - though the original name for the roundel was cockade (ex Fr. Cocarde), hence Cross and Cockade being the name of the Great War aviation society.
The British had the red outer to begin with before settling on blue outers.
Good morning. Thanks to the Daily Mail I now know that it is Labour's fault that the EV sales mandates set by the Tories are unachievable.
There is something distasteful about legislation which fines manufacturers because their customers want, or don't want, to buy particular numbers of a lawful product.
The trouble is the alternative is some sort of taxation on ICE cars (an effective subsidy for EVs), which most voters would be extremely pissed about. Hence the tax rise on employer NICs rather than income tax, and the incoherent freezing of fuel duty.
I think the work needs to be done on why people are resistant to move to EVs. Needs a proper survey but speaking for myself:
1) Nice ones aren’t cheap, especially vs. nearly new normal cars - Gvt can help by subsidising if we want to increase take up.
2) I am nervous of second hand batteries. More so than of engines. I might need educating.
3) I am not convinced the recharging infrastructure is in place and don’t want to wait to recharge. Gvt can fix this.
4) I like powerful cars that go vroom. Gvt cannot fix this.
Because of number 4 I am unlikely to switch in my lifetime. And I’m only 40.
I think that's a good list.
The government cut subsidy too early.
On the second-hand batteries I would like to see a standard battery test that could be done and could form the basis of an insurance-backed guarantee. I think that would create confidence in second-hand battery electric car sales.
On the recharging infrastructure this is exactly like home insulation. Governments love to talk about doing it and it never seems to happen in the volume required to make a difference. It's so frustrating because it's so obvious.
On the vroom, from what I've heard the pickup and acceleration on electric cars can be impressive. Give a good one a test drive and you might surprise yourself and be won over. I've heard from a few people who were sceptical but we're strong converts after direct experience.
The acceleration on most modern electric cars is devastating.
This is a function of having a flat torque curve - max torque is available from zero.
And, to get decent range, regenerative brakes. That is, the motor runs in reverse to put leccy back in the battery. This requires a powerful motor and the ability for the electronics to handle a big current going in/out of the battery.
This is why a number of electric 4 door saloons are 4 second cars.
At this point, someone often asks if using a smaller motor would increase range or decrease power usage. The answer is “not really” - electric motors are a fraction of the weight of ICE engines. Making them a bit smaller has next to no effect on overall weight.
Having watched poor old Kemi try to attack Starmer for a policy he rightly confirmed she had introduced as Business Secretary, you would have thought that would be the Badenoch Tory blooper for the week. Another poor week for poor old Kemi at PMQs.
However fast forward to 1240pm on BBC 2 Politics Show and lister to Helen Foot in Mouth Whately come up with "We reduced the debt in the past 14 years" even Jo Coburn nearly fell off her chair.
When question FIM Helen then confirmed that it seems no Tory Minister actually grasps the difference between debt and deficit.
God help the Tory Party with this utter shower in charge.
Well this conservative is perfectly happy with the party and leader and but I can understand Starmer will be grateful for your contribution in view of the present state of his popularity in the county and as the saying goes, every little helps !!!!!
If you are happy for poor old Kemi to regularly attack Starmer only to be told that she is actually attacking a policy she introduced, then you'll probably agree when she announces the earth is flat.
If you can support a 2nd Tory Minister who clearly does not understand basic economics then so be it.
It would appear that the FBIs most wanted man has been walking around Snowdonia for the past decade or so, may be there is a vortex in that wonderful part of the world when the past 14 years have just vanished in to a black hole deeper than the void masquerading for Tory Ministers brains and the increase in the national debt from 800 billion to well over 2 trillion on their watch.
The Tories are clearly clueless rudderless and sinking fast and the graves danger for us all with no credible opposition is that the likes of Farage will be only too happy to fill the void
In Wales it is labour who is in government and responsible for policing and it is Reeves who is clueless on basic economics and taking a wrecking ball to business confidence
Anyway, with a 19% approval rate maybe you should be more concerned how labour are cratering
Good morning. Thanks to the Daily Mail I now know that it is Labour's fault that the EV sales mandates set by the Tories are unachievable.
There is something distasteful about legislation which fines manufacturers because their customers want, or don't want, to buy particular numbers of a lawful product.
The trouble is the alternative is some sort of taxation on ICE cars (an effective subsidy for EVs), which most voters would be extremely pissed about. Hence the tax rise on employer NICs rather than income tax, and the incoherent freezing of fuel duty.
I think the work needs to be done on why people are resistant to move to EVs. Needs a proper survey but speaking for myself:
1) Nice ones aren’t cheap, especially vs. nearly new normal cars - Gvt can help by subsidising if we want to increase take up.
2) I am nervous of second hand batteries. More so than of engines. I might need educating.
3) I am not convinced the recharging infrastructure is in place and don’t want to wait to recharge. Gvt can fix this.
4) I like powerful cars that go vroom. Gvt cannot fix this.
Because of number 4 I am unlikely to switch in my lifetime. And I’m only 40.
I think that's a good list.
The government cut subsidy too early.
On the second-hand batteries I would like to see a standard battery test that could be done and could form the basis of an insurance-backed guarantee. I think that would create confidence in second-hand battery electric car sales.
On the recharging infrastructure this is exactly like home insulation. Governments love to talk about doing it and it never seems to happen in the volume required to make a difference. It's so frustrating because it's so obvious.
On the vroom, from what I've heard the pickup and acceleration on electric cars can be impressive. Give a good one a test drive and you might surprise yourself and be won over. I've heard from a few people who were sceptical but we're strong converts after direct experience.
Even the humble Leaf has pretty brisk acceleration. It's rather satisfying to quietly and smoothly slip in front of some kid vroom vrooming away in his ICE hatchback as you pull away from the lights.
Edit: As far as practicality goes, the deal breaker is a home charger. If I hadn't been able to fit one, I doubt I'd have bought an EV; with one, and most of the potential issues go away.
The Rest is Entertainment (not Politics) examines whether a celebrity could become Prime Minister, as Trump has in America.
On the other hand, Boris Johnson.
Comparisons are drawn, although they do not really count Boris as a celebrity, between the journalism backgrounds of Boris & Clarkson.
It is also suggested that politics is far more open now, witness Reform's 4 million votes but also that even in the old parties it can be a very short greasy pole. Starmer was MP for just five years before leading his party; Cameron similar.
I don't have a high opinion of the leadership abilities of either Cameron or Starmer.
Also interesting in light of Kamala's defeat was the notion of bundling beliefs (so that if you think X you must also think Y and Z or you are wrong) especially on the left, and that real voters are not like that, hence huge support for both gay rights and the death penalty. Recently others have said the same.
What I'd not heard before was Marina's suggestion that inter-class interactions are common in the countryside whereas cities are more stratified. I'd need to think about that.
Good morning. Thanks to the Daily Mail I now know that it is Labour's fault that the EV sales mandates set by the Tories are unachievable.
There is something distasteful about legislation which fines manufacturers because their customers want, or don't want, to buy particular numbers of a lawful product.
The trouble is the alternative is some sort of taxation on ICE cars (an effective subsidy for EVs), which most voters would be extremely pissed about. Hence the tax rise on employer NICs rather than income tax, and the incoherent freezing of fuel duty.
I think the work needs to be done on why people are resistant to move to EVs. Needs a proper survey but speaking for myself:
1) Nice ones aren’t cheap, especially vs. nearly new normal cars - Gvt can help by subsidising if we want to increase take up.
2) I am nervous of second hand batteries. More so than of engines. I might need educating.
3) I am not convinced the recharging infrastructure is in place and don’t want to wait to recharge. Gvt can fix this.
4) I like powerful cars that go vroom. Gvt cannot fix this.
Because of number 4 I am unlikely to switch in my lifetime. And I’m only 40.
I think that's a good list.
The government cut subsidy too early.
On the second-hand batteries I would like to see a standard battery test that could be done and could form the basis of an insurance-backed guarantee. I think that would create confidence in second-hand battery electric car sales.
On the recharging infrastructure this is exactly like home insulation. Governments love to talk about doing it and it never seems to happen in the volume required to make a difference. It's so frustrating because it's so obvious.
On the vroom, from what I've heard the pickup and acceleration on electric cars can be impressive. Give a good one a test drive and you might surprise yourself and be won over. I've heard from a few people who were sceptical but we're strong converts after direct experience.
The acceleration on most modern electric cars is devastating.
This is a function of having a flat torque curve - max torque is available from zero.
And, to get decent range, regenerative brakes. That is, the motor runs in reverse to put leccy back in the battery. This requires a powerful motor and the ability for the electronics to handle a big current going in/out of the battery.
This is why a number of electric 4 door saloons are 4 second cars.
At this point, someone often asks if using a smaller motor would increase range or decrease power usage. The answer is “not really” - electric motors are a fraction of the weight of ICE engines. Making them a bit smaller has next to no effect on overall weight.
Acceleration is the most effing pointless metric in cars; almost all cars nowadays have an acceleration that is perfectly acceptable for everyday use. Those who obsess about acceleration tend to be rather (ahem) silly.
(I was saying this before the advent of electric cars, ever since my brother bought one of the first Lotus Elise's.... )
During PMQs today, I asked the Prime Minister to introduce measures to prohibit desecration of religious texts and targeted vilification of all the prophets of the Abrahamic faiths.
As November marks Islamophobia Awareness Month, it is vital the Government takes clear and measurable steps to prevent acts that fuel hatred in society. https://x.com/TahirAliMP/status/1861765654178640014
Tell me without telling me that your question calling for an actual blasphemy law was not cleared with the party whips.
Good morning. Thanks to the Daily Mail I now know that it is Labour's fault that the EV sales mandates set by the Tories are unachievable.
There is something distasteful about legislation which fines manufacturers because their customers want, or don't want, to buy particular numbers of a lawful product.
The trouble is the alternative is some sort of taxation on ICE cars (an effective subsidy for EVs), which most voters would be extremely pissed about. Hence the tax rise on employer NICs rather than income tax, and the incoherent freezing of fuel duty.
I think the work needs to be done on why people are resistant to move to EVs. Needs a proper survey but speaking for myself:
1) Nice ones aren’t cheap, especially vs. nearly new normal cars - Gvt can help by subsidising if we want to increase take up.
2) I am nervous of second hand batteries. More so than of engines. I might need educating.
3) I am not convinced the recharging infrastructure is in place and don’t want to wait to recharge. Gvt can fix this.
4) I like powerful cars that go vroom. Gvt cannot fix this.
Because of number 4 I am unlikely to switch in my lifetime. And I’m only 40.
I think that's a good list.
The government cut subsidy too early.
On the second-hand batteries I would like to see a standard battery test that could be done and could form the basis of an insurance-backed guarantee. I think that would create confidence in second-hand battery electric car sales.
On the recharging infrastructure this is exactly like home insulation. Governments love to talk about doing it and it never seems to happen in the volume required to make a difference. It's so frustrating because it's so obvious.
On the vroom, from what I've heard the pickup and acceleration on electric cars can be impressive. Give a good one a test drive and you might surprise yourself and be won over. I've heard from a few people who were sceptical but we're strong converts after direct experience.
Even the humble Leaf has pretty brisk acceleration. It's rather satisfying to quietly and smoothly slip in front of some kid vroom vrooming away in his ICE hatchback as you pull away from the lights.
Perhaps, but that kid is having way more fun than you are, with his manual gearbox, two wheel drive, no nannies like lane assist or stability control. That kid enjoys driving, and he has little interest in an electric toy car.
Good morning. Thanks to the Daily Mail I now know that it is Labour's fault that the EV sales mandates set by the Tories are unachievable.
There is something distasteful about legislation which fines manufacturers because their customers want, or don't want, to buy particular numbers of a lawful product.
The trouble is the alternative is some sort of taxation on ICE cars (an effective subsidy for EVs), which most voters would be extremely pissed about. Hence the tax rise on employer NICs rather than income tax, and the incoherent freezing of fuel duty.
I think the work needs to be done on why people are resistant to move to EVs. Needs a proper survey but speaking for myself:
1) Nice ones aren’t cheap, especially vs. nearly new normal cars - Gvt can help by subsidising if we want to increase take up.
2) I am nervous of second hand batteries. More so than of engines. I might need educating.
3) I am not convinced the recharging infrastructure is in place and don’t want to wait to recharge. Gvt can fix this.
4) I like powerful cars that go vroom. Gvt cannot fix this.
Because of number 4 I am unlikely to switch in my lifetime. And I’m only 40.
I think that's a good list.
The government cut subsidy too early.
On the second-hand batteries I would like to see a standard battery test that could be done and could form the basis of an insurance-backed guarantee. I think that would create confidence in second-hand battery electric car sales.
On the recharging infrastructure this is exactly like home insulation. Governments love to talk about doing it and it never seems to happen in the volume required to make a difference. It's so frustrating because it's so obvious.
On the vroom, from what I've heard the pickup and acceleration on electric cars can be impressive. Give a good one a test drive and you might surprise yourself and be won over. I've heard from a few people who were sceptical but we're strong converts after direct experience.
The acceleration on most modern electric cars is devastating.
This is a function of having a flat torque curve - max torque is available from zero.
And, to get decent range, regenerative brakes. That is, the motor runs in reverse to put leccy back in the battery. This requires a powerful motor and the ability for the electronics to handle a big current going in/out of the battery.
This is why a number of electric 4 door saloons are 4 second cars.
At this point, someone often asks if using a smaller motor would increase range or decrease power usage. The answer is “not really” - electric motors are a fraction of the weight of ICE engines. Making them a bit smaller has next to no effect on overall weight.
Acceleration is the most effing pointless metric in cars; almost all cars nowadays have an acceleration that is perfectly acceptable for everyday use. Those who obsess about acceleration tend to be rather (ahem) silly.
(I was saying this before the advent of electric cars, ever since my brother bought one of the first Lotus Elise's.... )
An S1 Elise is the most fun you can have with ~100bhp and a roof. Drop the roof requirement and you can have a 500kg Caterham.
Good morning. Thanks to the Daily Mail I now know that it is Labour's fault that the EV sales mandates set by the Tories are unachievable.
There is something distasteful about legislation which fines manufacturers because their customers want, or don't want, to buy particular numbers of a lawful product.
The trouble is the alternative is some sort of taxation on ICE cars (an effective subsidy for EVs), which most voters would be extremely pissed about. Hence the tax rise on employer NICs rather than income tax, and the incoherent freezing of fuel duty.
I think the work needs to be done on why people are resistant to move to EVs. Needs a proper survey but speaking for myself:
1) Nice ones aren’t cheap, especially vs. nearly new normal cars - Gvt can help by subsidising if we want to increase take up.
2) I am nervous of second hand batteries. More so than of engines. I might need educating.
3) I am not convinced the recharging infrastructure is in place and don’t want to wait to recharge. Gvt can fix this.
4) I like powerful cars that go vroom. Gvt cannot fix this.
Because of number 4 I am unlikely to switch in my lifetime. And I’m only 40.
I think that's a good list.
The government cut subsidy too early.
On the second-hand batteries I would like to see a standard battery test that could be done and could form the basis of an insurance-backed guarantee. I think that would create confidence in second-hand battery electric car sales.
On the recharging infrastructure this is exactly like home insulation. Governments love to talk about doing it and it never seems to happen in the volume required to make a difference. It's so frustrating because it's so obvious.
On the vroom, from what I've heard the pickup and acceleration on electric cars can be impressive. Give a good one a test drive and you might surprise yourself and be won over. I've heard from a few people who were sceptical but we're strong converts after direct experience.
Even the humble Leaf has pretty brisk acceleration. It's rather satisfying to quietly and smoothly slip in front of some kid vroom vrooming away in his ICE hatchback as you pull away from the lights.
Perhaps, but that kid is having way more fun than you are, with his manual gearbox, two wheel drive, no nannies like lane assist or stability control. That kid enjoys driving, and he has little interest in an electric toy car.
Hard to see how that fact that is doesn't go vroom makes it a toy car. Rather the reverse, I'd have thought.
Edit: FWIW, I used to ride a CBX1000 when I was young. That was a toy, and no car can ever match the fun and exhilaration of a litre motorbike.
Good morning. Thanks to the Daily Mail I now know that it is Labour's fault that the EV sales mandates set by the Tories are unachievable.
There is something distasteful about legislation which fines manufacturers because their customers want, or don't want, to buy particular numbers of a lawful product.
The trouble is the alternative is some sort of taxation on ICE cars (an effective subsidy for EVs), which most voters would be extremely pissed about. Hence the tax rise on employer NICs rather than income tax, and the incoherent freezing of fuel duty.
I think the work needs to be done on why people are resistant to move to EVs. Needs a proper survey but speaking for myself:
1) Nice ones aren’t cheap, especially vs. nearly new normal cars - Gvt can help by subsidising if we want to increase take up.
2) I am nervous of second hand batteries. More so than of engines. I might need educating.
3) I am not convinced the recharging infrastructure is in place and don’t want to wait to recharge. Gvt can fix this.
4) I like powerful cars that go vroom. Gvt cannot fix this.
Because of number 4 I am unlikely to switch in my lifetime. And I’m only 40.
I think that's a good list.
The government cut subsidy too early.
On the second-hand batteries I would like to see a standard battery test that could be done and could form the basis of an insurance-backed guarantee. I think that would create confidence in second-hand battery electric car sales.
On the recharging infrastructure this is exactly like home insulation. Governments love to talk about doing it and it never seems to happen in the volume required to make a difference. It's so frustrating because it's so obvious.
On the vroom, from what I've heard the pickup and acceleration on electric cars can be impressive. Give a good one a test drive and you might surprise yourself and be won over. I've heard from a few people who were sceptical but we're strong converts after direct experience.
The acceleration on most modern electric cars is devastating.
This is a function of having a flat torque curve - max torque is available from zero.
And, to get decent range, regenerative brakes. That is, the motor runs in reverse to put leccy back in the battery. This requires a powerful motor and the ability for the electronics to handle a big current going in/out of the battery.
This is why a number of electric 4 door saloons are 4 second cars.
At this point, someone often asks if using a smaller motor would increase range or decrease power usage. The answer is “not really” - electric motors are a fraction of the weight of ICE engines. Making them a bit smaller has next to no effect on overall weight.
Acceleration is the most effing pointless metric in cars; almost all cars nowadays have an acceleration that is perfectly acceptable for everyday use. Those who obsess about acceleration tend to be rather (ahem) silly.
(I was saying this before the advent of electric cars, ever since my brother bought one of the first Lotus Elise's.... )
An S1 Elise is the most fun you can have with ~100bhp and a roof. Drop the roof requirement and you can have a 500kg Caterham.
He was offered a lot more than it was worth for his place on the waiting list when it was released. He refused.
I think he's on his second now, along with a mini fleet of classic cars, including a couple of pre-war MGs.
Related, very loosely, to the header: For some time I have been speculating that national flags with specific meanings -- for example, those of the US and the UK -- belong to nations that are proud of their history, while anonymous tri-colors belong to nations that aren't.
A well confirmed hypothesis, true beyond all doubt. At this moment there isn't a single thing in the whole of the last 3000 years of history that any Italian or French person could take the smallest bit of pride in.
Isn't the French flag based on the revolution (blue & red) with the white bit meaning loyalty to the state, or some such. Tbh I've no knowledge of French history but am vaguely recalling a video about the RAF roundel (a ww1 French invention apparently to prevent friendly fire from the ground).
I thought the white bit was from the royal flag, which they kept in to keep the traditionalists happy.
You take the traditional white and add the red and blue used by the Paris militia in the revolution (the traditional colours of Paris). Voilà.
Retrospectively, some claim the three colours line up with liberté (blue), égalité (white) and fraternité (red).
Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Bank Rossii, was looking pretty grim a few days ago. Interest rates at 21% and set to rise further in December. Meanwhile massive and unsustainable hikes in military spending, the economy overheating and even more sanctions. It looks like they have run out of reserves to defend the currency.
If the RUR collapses against the Yuan then it could well be game over.
Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Bank Rossii, was looking pretty grim a few days ago. Interest rates at 21% and set to rise further in December. Meanwhile massive and unsustainable hikes in military spending, the economy overheating and even more sanctions. It looks like they have run out of reserves to defend the currency.
If the RUR collapses against the Yuan then it could well be game over.
That is a real concern and what would you expect to follow that event ?
"I am pleased to announce that our new Chancellor will be Lord Hague of Richmond, having achieved over 50% of the votes in the final stage of the election."
No dice for Mandelson in Oxford.
"in the final stage" -- so after transferring preferences?
Full result:
First Stage
Lord Hague: 9,589 Lady Elish Angiolini: 6,296 Baroness Jan Royall: 3,599 Lord Peter Mandelson: 2,940 Rt Hon Dominic Grieve: 2,484 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Second Stage
Lord Hague: 10,472 Lady Elish Angiolini: 6,915 Baroness Jan Royall: 3,945 Lord Peter Mandelson: 3,344 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Third Stage
Lord Hague: 11,766 Lady Elish Angiolini: 7,727 Baroness Jan Royall: 4,662 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Final Stage
Lord Hague: 12,609 (Elected) Lady Elish Angiolini: 11,006
Mandy flopped somewhat. I think he has his hat in the ring for Ambassador to US though.
Excellent result for Lord Hague who clearly loves Oxford University and will do a great job
Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Bank Rossii, was looking pretty grim a few days ago. Interest rates at 21% and set to rise further in December. Meanwhile massive and unsustainable hikes in military spending, the economy overheating and even more sanctions. It looks like they have run out of reserves to defend the currency.
If the RUR collapses against the Yuan then it could well be game over.
That is a real concern and what would you expect to follow that event ?
Even Putin and Russia's harshest critics seem to have a respect for Nabiullina's work. As I think was noted below it is alleged she tried to quit her job and Putin did not allow her; she also allegedly stopped him from calling a wider mobilisation, saying she would definitely quit if he did.
Having said that, I can see a metaphorical or literal defenestration happening to her.
Has anyone given any thought to how the electricity will be generated to power this new fleet of EV cars that will be tearing up and down the country.
Especially in winter when those batteries will be less efficient and have more demands for the power - lights, heating, demisting etc etc.
A few more offshore wind turbines ?
Scotland currently has 50GW of renewable capacity in development, including 24GW of pumped hydro and battery which helps with intermittency. That's in addition to our 15GW of current capacity.
Given our average consumption is about 16GW at the moment, I think we'll be fine.
Why, England will steal it for sure and make us pay 3x to get any back.
Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Bank Rossii, was looking pretty grim a few days ago. Interest rates at 21% and set to rise further in December. Meanwhile massive and unsustainable hikes in military spending, the economy overheating and even more sanctions. It looks like they have run out of reserves to defend the currency.
If the RUR collapses against the Yuan then it could well be game over.
That is a real concern and what would you expect to follow that event ?
The Rouble falls apart and they can not pay the bills. China could step in to rescue, but that is quite a risky option.
Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Bank Rossii, was looking pretty grim a few days ago. Interest rates at 21% and set to rise further in December. Meanwhile massive and unsustainable hikes in military spending, the economy overheating and even more sanctions. It looks like they have run out of reserves to defend the currency.
If the RUR collapses against the Yuan then it could well be game over.
That is a real concern and what would you expect to follow that event ?
they start killing each other wholesale and leave Ukraine alone, poetic justice.
Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Bank Rossii, was looking pretty grim a few days ago. Interest rates at 21% and set to rise further in December. Meanwhile massive and unsustainable hikes in military spending, the economy overheating and even more sanctions. It looks like they have run out of reserves to defend the currency.
If the RUR collapses against the Yuan then it could well be game over.
That is a real concern and what would you expect to follow that event ?
The Rouble falls apart and they can not pay the bills. China could step in to rescue, but that is quite a risky option.
Then what happens to Russia and the wider consequences for Europe ?
Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Bank Rossii, was looking pretty grim a few days ago. Interest rates at 21% and set to rise further in December. Meanwhile massive and unsustainable hikes in military spending, the economy overheating and even more sanctions. It looks like they have run out of reserves to defend the currency.
If the RUR collapses against the Yuan then it could well be game over.
I hope she stays clear of 5th floor windows and balconeys.
Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Bank Rossii, was looking pretty grim a few days ago. Interest rates at 21% and set to rise further in December. Meanwhile massive and unsustainable hikes in military spending, the economy overheating and even more sanctions. It looks like they have run out of reserves to defend the currency.
If the RUR collapses against the Yuan then it could well be game over.
That is a real concern and what would you expect to follow that event ?
Even Putin and Russia's harshest critics seem to have a respect for Nabiullina's work. As I think was noted below it is alleged she tried to quit her job and Putin did not allow her; she also allegedly stopped him from calling a wider mobilisation, saying she would definitely quit if he did.
Having said that, I can see a metaphorical or literal defenestration happening to her.
I would like your comment but not your last sentence
Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Bank Rossii, was looking pretty grim a few days ago. Interest rates at 21% and set to rise further in December. Meanwhile massive and unsustainable hikes in military spending, the economy overheating and even more sanctions. It looks like they have run out of reserves to defend the currency.
If the RUR collapses against the Yuan then it could well be game over.
That is a real concern and what would you expect to follow that event ?
The Rouble falls apart and they can not pay the bills. China could step in to rescue, but that is quite a risky option.
I think a much bigger problem for Russia is the extent to which production and distribution of basic foodstuffs has been affected by the war. Putin's desire to shield the youth in St Petersberg and Moscow from conscription has meant that Russia has had to rely on the rural young, and that's having a significant impact on farm production. The prices of fresh vegetables have nearly doubled this year.
"I am pleased to announce that our new Chancellor will be Lord Hague of Richmond, having achieved over 50% of the votes in the final stage of the election."
No dice for Mandelson in Oxford.
"in the final stage" -- so after transferring preferences?
Full result:
First Stage
Lord Hague: 9,589 Lady Elish Angiolini: 6,296 Baroness Jan Royall: 3,599 Lord Peter Mandelson: 2,940 Rt Hon Dominic Grieve: 2,484 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Second Stage
Lord Hague: 10,472 Lady Elish Angiolini: 6,915 Baroness Jan Royall: 3,945 Lord Peter Mandelson: 3,344 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Third Stage
Lord Hague: 11,766 Lady Elish Angiolini: 7,727 Baroness Jan Royall: 4,662 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Final Stage
Lord Hague: 12,609 (Elected) Lady Elish Angiolini: 11,006
Mandy flopped somewhat. I think he has his hat in the ring for Ambassador to US though.
Excellent result for Lord Hague who clearly loves Oxford University and will do a great job
Hague picked up 3020 second...and third etc preference votes. Lady Angiolini 4710 such. Hardly a ringing endorsement.
Has anyone given any thought to how the electricity will be generated to power this new fleet of EV cars that will be tearing up and down the country.
Especially in winter when those batteries will be less efficient and have more demands for the power - lights, heating, demisting etc etc.
A few more offshore wind turbines ?
Solar. Solar. Solar.
You think I'm joking, but panel prices have absolutely collapsed, and it's getting economic to put them up pretty much everywhere now.
And electric cars are the perfect complement to intermittent power generation, because they can soak up excess power produced by renewables thanks to their batteries.
Just heard that one of my oldest and best friends is aiming to become a Tory MP in 2028-9!
Completely out of the blue. But she could easily do it. Very clever, very shrewd, strategically smart, a gift for geting on with anyone, and a book of contacts to kill for
"I am pleased to announce that our new Chancellor will be Lord Hague of Richmond, having achieved over 50% of the votes in the final stage of the election."
No dice for Mandelson in Oxford.
"in the final stage" -- so after transferring preferences?
Full result:
First Stage
Lord Hague: 9,589 Lady Elish Angiolini: 6,296 Baroness Jan Royall: 3,599 Lord Peter Mandelson: 2,940 Rt Hon Dominic Grieve: 2,484 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Second Stage
Lord Hague: 10,472 Lady Elish Angiolini: 6,915 Baroness Jan Royall: 3,945 Lord Peter Mandelson: 3,344 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Third Stage
Lord Hague: 11,766 Lady Elish Angiolini: 7,727 Baroness Jan Royall: 4,662 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Final Stage
Lord Hague: 12,609 (Elected) Lady Elish Angiolini: 11,006
Mandy flopped somewhat. I think he has his hat in the ring for Ambassador to US though.
Excellent result for Lord Hague who clearly loves Oxford University and will do a great job
Hague picked up 3020 second...and third etc preference votes. Lady Angiolini 4710 such. Hardly a ringing endorsement.
On the other hand, he won every round, and it ended up better than 52:48.
The Canadian government expects 4.9 million people to leave voluntarily when their visas expire.
The UK faces a similar question over the people given visas by Boris Johnson’s government. If they are not renewed then a lot of people will need to leave.
They won't leave, because there's an entire legal industry that will use the law (at the taxpayer's expense) to prevent them having to leave. Modern slavery, sudden conversion to Christianity (home country Muslim), realisation of being gay (home country Muslim). Rates of return for visa overstayers are through the floor.
The Conservative government was, yes, very poor at deporting anyone.
I don't see any actual evidence to back up this claim around visa overstayers making claims around slavery/religion/sexuality in large numbers.
The Conservatives were very poor on immigration, as you will have found me saying both at the time and since. However, Conservative Home Secretaries also existed within an ever-growing thicket of laws (May's modern slavery law amongst them) whose increasing use makes operating the immigration system effectively an impossibility. The Tories did fail to grasp the nettle, leave the ECHR, reform the Human Rights Act, repeal the Modern Slavery Act, but would you be a fan of that?
I feel what you're really trying to say is that deportation/returns figures are what they are because Suella Braverman forgot to ask the Home Office to deport people because she's stooopid. Which is glib nonsense.
I didn't say anything about Braverman or her intelligence. Why deportations fell so much under the Tories is not completely clear, but part of it appears to be because funding for the Immigration Enforcement Department fell by 11% in real terms between 2015-16 and 2019-20, as the NAO noted, and the obsession with the Rwanda scheme over more successful methods.
You suggest what happened was caused by a "thicket of laws". However, you haven't shown any evidence that more visa overstayers are making claims along the lines you described.
My understanding is that deportations have sharply stepped up since Labour took over.
"I am pleased to announce that our new Chancellor will be Lord Hague of Richmond, having achieved over 50% of the votes in the final stage of the election."
No dice for Mandelson in Oxford.
"in the final stage" -- so after transferring preferences?
Full result:
First Stage
Lord Hague: 9,589 Lady Elish Angiolini: 6,296 Baroness Jan Royall: 3,599 Lord Peter Mandelson: 2,940 Rt Hon Dominic Grieve: 2,484 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Second Stage
Lord Hague: 10,472 Lady Elish Angiolini: 6,915 Baroness Jan Royall: 3,945 Lord Peter Mandelson: 3,344 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Third Stage
Lord Hague: 11,766 Lady Elish Angiolini: 7,727 Baroness Jan Royall: 4,662 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Final Stage
Lord Hague: 12,609 (Elected) Lady Elish Angiolini: 11,006
Mandy flopped somewhat. I think he has his hat in the ring for Ambassador to US though.
Excellent result for Lord Hague who clearly loves Oxford University and will do a great job
Hague picked up 3020 second...and third etc preference votes. Lady Angiolini 4710 such. Hardly a ringing endorsement.
She was the local candidate, having been Principal of St Hugh's for over a decade. So not a surprise she picked up a heap of third preferences. Hague's big lead on first preferences is a pretty strong endorsement for a Tory politician, in the wake of the last decade of government.
The Canadian government expects 4.9 million people to leave voluntarily when their visas expire.
The UK faces a similar question over the people given visas by Boris Johnson’s government. If they are not renewed then a lot of people will need to leave.
They won't leave, because there's an entire legal industry that will use the law (at the taxpayer's expense) to prevent them having to leave. Modern slavery, sudden conversion to Christianity (home country Muslim), realisation of being gay (home country Muslim). Rates of return for visa overstayers are through the floor.
The Conservative government was, yes, very poor at deporting anyone.
I don't see any actual evidence to back up this claim around visa overstayers making claims around slavery/religion/sexuality in large numbers.
The Conservatives were very poor on immigration, as you will have found me saying both at the time and since. However, Conservative Home Secretaries also existed within an ever-growing thicket of laws (May's modern slavery law amongst them) whose increasing use makes operating the immigration system effectively an impossibility. The Tories did fail to grasp the nettle, leave the ECHR, reform the Human Rights Act, repeal the Modern Slavery Act, but would you be a fan of that?
I feel what you're really trying to say is that deportation/returns figures are what they are because Suella Braverman forgot to ask the Home Office to deport people because she's stooopid. Which is glib nonsense.
I didn't say anything about Braverman or her intelligence. Why deportations fell so much under the Tories is not completely clear, but part of it appears to be because funding for the Immigration Enforcement Department fell by 11% in real terms between 2015-16 and 2019-20, as the NAO noted, and the obsession with the Rwanda scheme over more successful methods.
You suggest what happened was caused by a "thicket of laws". However, you haven't shown any evidence that more visa overstayers are making claims along the lines you described.
My understanding is that deportations have sharply stepped up since Labour took over.
What gives you that understanding, do you have something to link to?
The Canadian government expects 4.9 million people to leave voluntarily when their visas expire.
The UK faces a similar question over the people given visas by Boris Johnson’s government. If they are not renewed then a lot of people will need to leave.
They won't leave, because there's an entire legal industry that will use the law (at the taxpayer's expense) to prevent them having to leave. Modern slavery, sudden conversion to Christianity (home country Muslim), realisation of being gay (home country Muslim). Rates of return for visa overstayers are through the floor.
The Conservative government was, yes, very poor at deporting anyone.
I don't see any actual evidence to back up this claim around visa overstayers making claims around slavery/religion/sexuality in large numbers.
The Conservatives were very poor on immigration, as you will have found me saying both at the time and since. However, Conservative Home Secretaries also existed within an ever-growing thicket of laws (May's modern slavery law amongst them) whose increasing use makes operating the immigration system effectively an impossibility. The Tories did fail to grasp the nettle, leave the ECHR, reform the Human Rights Act, repeal the Modern Slavery Act, but would you be a fan of that?
I feel what you're really trying to say is that deportation/returns figures are what they are because Suella Braverman forgot to ask the Home Office to deport people because she's stooopid. Which is glib nonsense.
I didn't say anything about Braverman or her intelligence. Why deportations fell so much under the Tories is not completely clear, but part of it appears to be because funding for the Immigration Enforcement Department fell by 11% in real terms between 2015-16 and 2019-20, as the NAO noted, and the obsession with the Rwanda scheme over more successful methods.
You suggest what happened was caused by a "thicket of laws". However, you haven't shown any evidence that more visa overstayers are making claims along the lines you described.
My understanding is that deportations have sharply stepped up since Labour took over.
Starmer did run on a pro-deportation, anti-immigration platform. We had a swing to the right disguised in red colours.
Just heard that one of my oldest and best friends is aiming to become a Tory MP in 2028-9!
Completely out of the blue. But she could easily do it. Very clever, very shrewd, strategically smart, a gift for geting on with anyone, and a book of contacts to kill for
Watch that space
Sounds a bit over-qualified to be an MP these days.
Has anyone given any thought to how the electricity will be generated to power this new fleet of EV cars that will be tearing up and down the country.
Especially in winter when those batteries will be less efficient and have more demands for the power - lights, heating, demisting etc etc.
A few more offshore wind turbines ?
Lights ? How much juice do you think LED consumes ?
There is huge grid capacity available between 11:30pm and 6:30AM every day of the year.
Probably enough to fully charge 7 million cars a week already.
A more relevant question is what do we do when there no wind.
We recently had 14 days when our solar panels struggled and the blades on the wind farm in the Irish sea barely turned
I just do not understand why nuclear and tidal haven't been the same priority
Because nuclear is extremely expensive, and historically has had poor uptime.
You want dispatchable power to combine with intermittent power generation - and that makes gas by far the best back up option.
Gas really needs to be the last resort though. We should only be burning gas when weather conditions are such that all other options - storage, demand management, etc - have reached their limit. Ideally the large power surplus at other times can then be used to extract CO2 from the atmosphere to acheive net zero emissions.
Comments
Given our average consumption is about 16GW at the moment, I think we'll be fine.
The biggest demand side shock for electricity generation and transmission at the moment though is not EVs, by a long way, it's datacentres. Even when we're 100% EV it'll still be the massive expansion of datacentres causing the biggest headaches.
Presumably they are also looking at other methods of generation for when the sun doesnt shine or the wind doesn't blow to satisfy demand.
When is it happening given the interminable length of time it takes to get stuff done here.
Or are we at the "mission statement" and "ground rules" stage ? I agree all of this is good but there seems to be little concrete going on at the moment. Perhaps there is and in my line of work I am blissfully unaware of it.
Although that would go against Trump's anti war stance.
However fast forward to 1240pm on BBC 2 Politics Show and lister to Helen Foot in Mouth Whately come up with "We reduced the debt in the past 14 years" even Jo Coburn nearly fell off her chair.
When question FIM Helen then confirmed that it seems no Tory Minister actually grasps the difference between debt and deficit.
God help the Tory Party with this utter shower in charge.
You suggest what happened was caused by a "thicket of laws". However, you haven't shown any evidence that more visa overstayers are making claims along the lines you described.
Just 19% approval for labour
https://x.com/YouGov/status/1861407905330663441?t=reiiDcmNqJlvaD4EcZxxNw&s=19
1 Russian Ruble now equals 0.0088 United States Dollar
(Yes, I know it'll probably recover a little, but I'm enjoying it in the meantime.)
(Ron had a newsletter with some racist content. Rand hired a couple of aides who had been Neo-Confederate shock jocks.)
Will be interesting to see whether that has any impact on Scottish nationalism as, arguably, oil revenues did in the past.
% of 2 party turnout from last time:
88.99% CA
90.00% HI
92.44% NY
92.94% IL
92.94% OR
93.16% NJ
93.19% MA
93.48% MS
93.54% LA
93.85% DC
94.26% AK
First Stage
Lord Hague: 9,589
Lady Elish Angiolini: 6,296
Baroness Jan Royall: 3,599
Lord Peter Mandelson: 2,940
Rt Hon Dominic Grieve: 2,484 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Second Stage
Lord Hague: 10,472
Lady Elish Angiolini: 6,915
Baroness Jan Royall: 3,945
Lord Peter Mandelson: 3,344 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Third Stage
Lord Hague: 11,766
Lady Elish Angiolini: 7,727
Baroness Jan Royall: 4,662 (eliminated and votes transferred)
Final Stage
Lord Hague: 12,609 (Elected)
Lady Elish Angiolini: 11,006
Mandy flopped somewhat. I think he has his hat in the ring for Ambassador to US though.
No doubt, Boris might still be scenting the air but that would be a wholly different ball-game if he came back.
https://www.xe.com/en-gb/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=RUB&To=EUR
And interestingly, the Chinese Yuan:
https://www.xe.com/en-gb/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=RUB&To=CNY
If you can support a 2nd Tory Minister who clearly does not understand basic economics then so be it.
It would appear that the FBIs most wanted man has been walking around Snowdonia for the past decade or so, may be there is a vortex in that wonderful part of the world when the past 14 years have just vanished in to a black hole deeper than the void masquerading for Tory Ministers brains and the increase in the national debt from 800 billion to well over 2 trillion on their watch.
The Tories are clearly clueless rudderless and sinking fast and the graves danger for us all with no credible opposition is that the likes of Farage will be only too happy to fill the void
If 2TK thinks he can smooze the NFU with a minor change of wording then he is in for a shock. Unlike Trade Unions the NFU has three or four more militant competitor organisations the Tenant Farmers, NFU Scotland etc. If the President gets anything less that an 80% backdown then he will be out on his arse faster than Sue Gray come 30 January - the NFU Conference.
Of course it won't save Labour Councillors next May. When you have threatened to blow someone's head off with a twelve bore shotgun they tend not to hold entirely good thoughts about you, even if you don't do it.
However our expectation was this: That the new government would not only be honest about the mess (the easy bit - blame the Tories) but that they would excel at two things, for which they have had years of opposition to prepare, namely:
What is the destination
and
How are we going to get there.
Take dentistry as one tiny example which has been an unconscionable mess for years, as Labour has known well. Following a NAO criticism of the Tory plan (from Feb 2024) the government has exactly this to offer: That they need a plan but don't know what it is.
“This government is committed to rebuilding dentistry, but it will take time. We are working on further measures, prioritising initiatives that will see the biggest impact on access to NHS dental care."
Cork South West (3 Seats)
Donegal (5 Seats)
Dublin Bay South (4 Seats)
Dublin Rathdown (4 Seats)
Galway West (5 Seats)
Kerry (5 Seats)
Limerick City (4 Seats)
Mayo (5 Seats)
Meath East (4 Seats)
Wicklow (4 Seats)
Dublin West (5 Seats)
Dublin South West (5 Seats)
Dublin Central (4 Seats)
https://sports.ladbrokes.com/event/politics/international/politics-ireland/next-irish-general-election-constituency-betting/247540921/main-markets
https://sports.ladbrokes.com/competitions/politics/international/politics-ireland
...stretching from one horizon to the other.
Also beautifully sunny on the drier side of the Pennines.
Suggesting that there is anything to be proud of in that history makes you literally worse than that guy who is literally worse than Hitler.
It also has to be pointed out that Italy as a distinct state has only existed since March 1861 and hasn't really got a lot of history, prideful or otherwise.
In the meantime, instead of Battleship Potemkin, I hope Russian TV shows 'It's a Wonderful Life'. Followed by Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj2c6vJvyPA
Suggestion is that the Russian Central Bank is basically out of foreign exchange reserves it can sell to prop up the ruble.
Retrospectively, some claim the three colours line up with liberté (blue), égalité (white) and fraternité (red).
France: Liberty, equality, fraternity.
Germany: The colours of the army which fought against Napoleon
Belgium: Three of the 7(?) provinces which made up Belgium, I think? (What about the other four?)
Ireland: Catholics, Protestants and the hope that they can live in peace together.
I'm sure there are many more.
The government cut subsidy too early.
On the second-hand batteries I would like to see a standard battery test that could be done and could form the basis of an insurance-backed guarantee. I think that would create confidence in second-hand battery electric car sales.
On the recharging infrastructure this is exactly like home insulation. Governments love to talk about doing it and it never seems to happen in the volume required to make a difference. It's so frustrating because it's so obvious.
On the vroom, from what I've heard the pickup and acceleration on electric cars can be impressive. Give a good one a test drive and you might surprise yourself and be won over. I've heard from a few people who were sceptical but we're strong converts after direct experience.
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2024-11-27-lord-hague-richmond-elected-new-chancellor-oxford-university
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has told Russians not to think about interest rates continuing to rise, "otherwise it will come true"
The British had the red outer to begin with before settling on blue outers.
https://x.com/itvnewspolitics/status/1861745564393603546
This is a function of having a flat torque curve - max torque is available from zero.
And, to get decent range, regenerative brakes. That is, the motor runs in reverse to put leccy back in the battery. This requires a powerful motor and the ability for the electronics to handle a big current going in/out of the battery.
This is why a number of electric 4 door saloons are 4 second cars.
At this point, someone often asks if using a smaller motor would increase range or decrease power usage. The answer is “not really” - electric motors are a fraction of the weight of ICE engines. Making them a bit smaller has next to no effect on overall weight.
Anyway, with a 19% approval rate maybe you should be more concerned how labour are cratering
Edit: As far as practicality goes, the deal breaker is a home charger. If I hadn't been able to fit one, I doubt I'd have bought an EV; with one, and most of the potential issues go away.
(I was saying this before the advent of electric cars, ever since my brother bought one of the first Lotus Elise's....
As November marks Islamophobia Awareness Month, it is vital the Government takes clear and measurable steps to prevent acts that fuel hatred in society.
https://x.com/TahirAliMP/status/1861765654178640014
Tell me without telling me that your question calling for an actual blasphemy law was not cleared with the party whips.
Edit: FWIW, I used to ride a CBX1000 when I was young. That was a toy, and no car can ever match the fun and exhilaration of a litre motorbike.
I think he's on his second now, along with a mini fleet of classic cars, including a couple of pre-war MGs.
Then there's me, with a VW Passat...
Though I am sure the White in the Irish Flag represents the DMZ and watchtowers.
If the RUR collapses against the Yuan then it could well be game over.
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1861601483504185774
Having said that, I can see a metaphorical or literal defenestration happening to her.
There is huge grid capacity available between 11:30pm and 6:30AM every day of the year.
Probably enough to fully charge 7 million cars a week already.
A more relevant question is what do we do when there no wind.
On 2020 dems are down 6,887,121
Trump is up 2,655,662
Votes cast 2020 158,427,986 65.8% turnout
2024 155,803,701 63.7%
It was actually a tight election.
I don't think that's sustainable.
Lady Angiolini 4710 such.
Hardly a ringing endorsement.
I just do not understand why nuclear and tidal haven't been the same priority
You think I'm joking, but panel prices have absolutely collapsed, and it's getting economic to put them up pretty much everywhere now.
And electric cars are the perfect complement to intermittent power generation, because they can soak up excess power produced by renewables thanks to their batteries.
Completely out of the blue. But she could easily do it. Very clever, very shrewd, strategically smart, a gift for geting on with anyone, and a book of contacts to kill for
Watch that space
You want dispatchable power to combine with intermittent power generation - and that makes gas by far the best back up option.
So not a surprise she picked up a heap of third preferences. Hague's big lead on first preferences is a pretty strong endorsement for a Tory politician, in the wake of the last decade of government.