Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 4m Conservative shadow business minister Andrew Griffith has urged Elon Musk to take another look at the Tories before donating to Reform UK, highlighting his party’s low-tax and anti-woke credentials
The Treasury has drawn up detailed plans for closer economic ties with China
They focus on financial services and clean energy, draft policy proposals seen by Bloomberg show
Comes ahead of Rachel Reeves’ trip there next month
I think the inevitable consequence of Trump's tariff policies will be to push the rest of the world into the hands of China.
The funny thing is if Trump was just targeting China with tariffs then he might get others to join in on his side. Create a narrative around state subsidies distorting markets etc.
But because he wants to pick a fight with everyone, he'll end up alienating everyone.
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Actually....
We put out fly traps occasionally to do species monitoring in a local NNR and to see if any rarities turn up.
The standard method is to use ... apple vinegar.
Maybe it depends what sort of fly you want to catch.
This is a genuinely odd conversation.
Do I get exiled to ConHome if I suggest that when it comes to fly killing methods, it would be better if we zipped it?
I was in a silly mood...but then this is a silly conversation.
Xi is quite obviously far worse than Trump is or is ever likely to be. Yes, Trump says stupid things and is an ugly person but he is a long way from committing genocide.
There seems to be this silly idea that we can cosy up to China and somehow take advantage of them without any negative side effects. Seems rather too optimistic to me.
Also, Trump will be gone in four years.
But at the same time, if Trump makes demands of the UK - in the way that he has made demands of Canada - then what is HMG to do? Does it suck it up, and do what its told?
Or does it say "fuck off".
If we are forced to pick either China or the US in some kind of trade war then we surely have to pick the US but with as little enthusiasm as we can get away with.
We've tried the 'trade with China and eventually it will turn into a democracy of sorts when everyone gets rich' route and that seems to be leading nowhere good.
Admittedly any re-balancing would be better done slower rather than via an immediate crash, but the current situation is unsustainable in more than one sense.
Perhaps Ed Miliband can drum up enthusiasm for some sort of embedded carbon tariff?
Is it right that there wasn't supposed to be much rain today according to yesterday's weather forecasts? I didn't see them. But it's raining a lot round here.
I would be surprised. It rained a lot over Ireland yesterday, moving in your direction. I would have expected that to be well forecast nearly a week in advance.
It is absolutely spot on about the production prowess of China, and it is also correct about the requirement of China to increase domestic consumption.
Because the sweet spot for the world is for China to simply consume a much greater proportion of what they produce. The current imbalance is good for neither them, or for the world.
It is great. Also chilling. And entirely accurate from what I saw in Japan and Korea in oct-nov. East Asia is determined to beat the baby bust not with mass migration, but with robotics and AI. They won’t attack your Christmas market
Britain hasn’t even done FAST trains yet and we are still spending £3trn on doing one fast line even as everyone else shifts to the NEXT technology. It’s like we spent £3bn on the worlds best horse-drawn omnibuses in 1910
Embarrassing
Europe is finished. It’s a museum
It happens to everyone eventually: Japan was the first country to become a museum; Europe is next. The US is going for freak show, rather than museum, but faces all the same challenges.
And then China will no doubt follow the Japanese path.
Because it's easy to work 100 hour weeks when you're digging yourself out of poverty.
And it's a lot harder when you have all your material needs met.
The article mentions "9-9-6". 9am - 9pm for six days a week - a very common working pattern in China apparently.
Is it right that there wasn't supposed to be much rain today according to yesterday's weather forecasts? I didn't see them. But it's raining a lot round here.
The Treasury has drawn up detailed plans for closer economic ties with China
They focus on financial services and clean energy, draft policy proposals seen by Bloomberg show
Comes ahead of Rachel Reeves’ trip there next month
I think the inevitable consequence of Trump's tariff policies will be to push the rest of the world into the hands of China.
The funny thing is if Trump was just targeting China with tariffs then he might get others to join in on his side. Create a narrative around state subsidies distorting markets etc.
But because he wants to pick a fight with everyone, he'll end up alienating everyone.
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Actually....
We put out fly traps occasionally to do species monitoring in a local NNR and to see if any rarities turn up.
The standard method is to use ... apple vinegar.
Maybe it depends what sort of fly you want to catch.
This is a genuinely odd conversation.
Do I get exiled to ConHome if I suggest that when it comes to fly killing methods, it would be better if we zipped it?
I was in a silly mood...but then this is a silly conversation.
Xi is quite obviously far worse than Trump is or is ever likely to be. Yes, Trump says stupid things and is an ugly person but he is a long way from committing genocide.
There seems to be this silly idea that we can cosy up to China and somehow take advantage of them without any negative side effects. Seems rather too optimistic to me.
Also, Trump will be gone in four years.
But at the same time, if Trump makes demands of the UK - in the way that he has made demands of Canada - then what is HMG to do? Does it suck it up, and do what its told?
Or does it say "fuck off".
If we are forced to pick either China or the US in some kind of trade war then we surely have to pick the US but with as little enthusiasm as we can get away with.
We've tried the 'trade with China and eventually it will turn into a democracy of sorts when everyone gets rich' route and that seems to be leading nowhere good.
Admittedly any re-balancing would be better done slower rather than via an immediate crash, but the current situation is unsustainable in more than one sense.
Perhaps Ed Miliband can drum up enthusiasm for some sort of embedded carbon tariff?
We trade with China on the same basis that we always have, in what we perceive as our best interests at the time. Indeed its how we trade with all countries. Its not about democracy, or human rights, it never has been.
I have banged on about this next likely pandemic on PB off and on for ages. I usually get poo-poo-ed by someone or other.
RFK will look after us all though, so it is going to be fine.
My Trust has restarted a mask mandate in public facing areas. There are lots of nasty bugs out there, and its not helped by staff going down too. I will be masked up until February it seems.
The Treasury has drawn up detailed plans for closer economic ties with China
They focus on financial services and clean energy, draft policy proposals seen by Bloomberg show
Comes ahead of Rachel Reeves’ trip there next month
I think the inevitable consequence of Trump's tariff policies will be to push the rest of the world into the hands of China.
The funny thing is if Trump was just targeting China with tariffs then he might get others to join in on his side. Create a narrative around state subsidies distorting markets etc.
But because he wants to pick a fight with everyone, he'll end up alienating everyone.
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Actually....
We put out fly traps occasionally to do species monitoring in a local NNR and to see if any rarities turn up.
The standard method is to use ... apple vinegar.
Maybe it depends what sort of fly you want to catch.
This is a genuinely odd conversation.
Do I get exiled to ConHome if I suggest that when it comes to fly killing methods, it would be better if we zipped it?
I was in a silly mood...but then this is a silly conversation.
Xi is quite obviously far worse than Trump is or is ever likely to be. Yes, Trump says stupid things and is an ugly person but he is a long way from committing genocide.
There seems to be this silly idea that we can cosy up to China and somehow take advantage of them without any negative side effects. Seems rather too optimistic to me.
Also, Trump will be gone in four years.
But at the same time, if Trump makes demands of the UK - in the way that he has made demands of Canada - then what is HMG to do? Does it suck it up, and do what its told?
Or does it say "fuck off".
If we are forced to pick either China or the US in some kind of trade war then we surely have to pick the US but with as little enthusiasm as we can get away with.
We've tried the 'trade with China and eventually it will turn into a democracy of sorts when everyone gets rich' route and that seems to be leading nowhere good.
Admittedly any re-balancing would be better done slower rather than via an immediate crash, but the current situation is unsustainable in more than one sense.
Perhaps Ed Miliband can drum up enthusiasm for some sort of embedded carbon tariff?
We trade with China on the same basis that we always have, in what we perceive as our best interests at the time. Indeed its how we trade with all countries. Its not about democracy, or human rights, it never has been.
Best interests in the long term surely include democracy and human rights.
The Treasury has drawn up detailed plans for closer economic ties with China
They focus on financial services and clean energy, draft policy proposals seen by Bloomberg show
Comes ahead of Rachel Reeves’ trip there next month
I think the inevitable consequence of Trump's tariff policies will be to push the rest of the world into the hands of China.
The funny thing is if Trump was just targeting China with tariffs then he might get others to join in on his side. Create a narrative around state subsidies distorting markets etc.
But because he wants to pick a fight with everyone, he'll end up alienating everyone.
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Actually....
We put out fly traps occasionally to do species monitoring in a local NNR and to see if any rarities turn up.
The standard method is to use ... apple vinegar.
Maybe it depends what sort of fly you want to catch.
This is a genuinely odd conversation.
Do I get exiled to ConHome if I suggest that when it comes to fly killing methods, it would be better if we zipped it?
I was in a silly mood...but then this is a silly conversation.
Xi is quite obviously far worse than Trump is or is ever likely to be. Yes, Trump says stupid things and is an ugly person but he is a long way from committing genocide.
There seems to be this silly idea that we can cosy up to China and somehow take advantage of them without any negative side effects. Seems rather too optimistic to me.
Also, Trump will be gone in four years.
But at the same time, if Trump makes demands of the UK - in the way that he has made demands of Canada - then what is HMG to do? Does it suck it up, and do what its told?
Or does it say "fuck off".
If we are forced to pick either China or the US in some kind of trade war then we surely have to pick the US but with as little enthusiasm as we can get away with.
We've tried the 'trade with China and eventually it will turn into a democracy of sorts when everyone gets rich' route and that seems to be leading nowhere good.
Admittedly any re-balancing would be better done slower rather than via an immediate crash, but the current situation is unsustainable in more than one sense.
Perhaps Ed Miliband can drum up enthusiasm for some sort of embedded carbon tariff?
We trade with China on the same basis that we always have, in what we perceive as our best interests at the time. Indeed its how we trade with all countries. Its not about democracy, or human rights, it never has been.
Best interests in the long term surely include democracy and human rights.
Is that our policy when selling arms to Saudi and the Gulf States?
The Treasury has drawn up detailed plans for closer economic ties with China
They focus on financial services and clean energy, draft policy proposals seen by Bloomberg show
Comes ahead of Rachel Reeves’ trip there next month
I think the inevitable consequence of Trump's tariff policies will be to push the rest of the world into the hands of China.
The funny thing is if Trump was just targeting China with tariffs then he might get others to join in on his side. Create a narrative around state subsidies distorting markets etc.
But because he wants to pick a fight with everyone, he'll end up alienating everyone.
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Actually....
We put out fly traps occasionally to do species monitoring in a local NNR and to see if any rarities turn up.
The standard method is to use ... apple vinegar.
Maybe it depends what sort of fly you want to catch.
This is a genuinely odd conversation.
Do I get exiled to ConHome if I suggest that when it comes to fly killing methods, it would be better if we zipped it?
I was in a silly mood...but then this is a silly conversation.
Xi is quite obviously far worse than Trump is or is ever likely to be. Yes, Trump says stupid things and is an ugly person but he is a long way from committing genocide.
There seems to be this silly idea that we can cosy up to China and somehow take advantage of them without any negative side effects. Seems rather too optimistic to me.
Also, Trump will be gone in four years.
But at the same time, if Trump makes demands of the UK - in the way that he has made demands of Canada - then what is HMG to do? Does it suck it up, and do what its told?
Or does it say "fuck off".
If we are forced to pick either China or the US in some kind of trade war then we surely have to pick the US but with as little enthusiasm as we can get away with.
We've tried the 'trade with China and eventually it will turn into a democracy of sorts when everyone gets rich' route and that seems to be leading nowhere good.
Admittedly any re-balancing would be better done slower rather than via an immediate crash, but the current situation is unsustainable in more than one sense.
Perhaps Ed Miliband can drum up enthusiasm for some sort of embedded carbon tariff?
We trade with China on the same basis that we always have, in what we perceive as our best interests at the time. Indeed its how we trade with all countries. Its not about democracy, or human rights, it never has been.
We, and Europe, and the US, are dangerously reliant on Chinese manufacturing in a number of sectors. Getting into a trade war with them isn’t a particularly good way of remedying that. In fact it’s a really stupid one.
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 4m Conservative shadow business minister Andrew Griffith has urged Elon Musk to take another look at the Tories before donating to Reform UK, highlighting his party’s low-tax and anti-woke credentials
If Reform are going to be the party of big donations, the Tories should lean into being the party of (relatively well off) members. That means embracing the democratisation agenda of Campbell-Bannerman and Patel.
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 4m Conservative shadow business minister Andrew Griffith has urged Elon Musk to take another look at the Tories before donating to Reform UK, highlighting his party’s low-tax and anti-woke credentials
It is absolutely spot on about the production prowess of China, and it is also correct about the requirement of China to increase domestic consumption.
Because the sweet spot for the world is for China to simply consume a much greater proportion of what they produce. The current imbalance is good for neither them, or for the world.
It is great. Also chilling. And entirely accurate from what I saw in Japan and Korea in oct-nov. East Asia is determined to beat the baby bust not with mass migration, but with robotics and AI. They won’t attack your Christmas market
Britain hasn’t even done FAST trains yet and we are still spending £3trn on doing one fast line even as everyone else shifts to the NEXT technology. It’s like we spent £3bn on the worlds best horse-drawn omnibuses in 1910
Embarrassing
Europe is finished. It’s a museum
At 600mph, the energy expended in pushing air out of the way makes your train need insane amounts of energy.
This is why planes fly at altitude - at 35,000 feet, much less air.
Not to mention the violent air impulses you will create - it will be utterly unliveable next to a surface track, for a mile. A local tornado every time the train passes.
A tunnel increases the air problem. But if you partially evacuated the tunnel….
It is absolutely spot on about the production prowess of China, and it is also correct about the requirement of China to increase domestic consumption.
Because the sweet spot for the world is for China to simply consume a much greater proportion of what they produce. The current imbalance is good for neither them, or for the world.
It is great. Also chilling. And entirely accurate from what I saw in Japan and Korea in oct-nov. East Asia is determined to beat the baby bust not with mass migration, but with robotics and AI. They won’t attack your Christmas market
Britain hasn’t even done FAST trains yet and we are still spending £3trn on doing one fast line even as everyone else shifts to the NEXT technology. It’s like we spent £3bn on the worlds best horse-drawn omnibuses in 1910
Embarrassing
Europe is finished. It’s a museum
MAGLEV aren't REAL trains - they FLOAT, instead of running ON rails.
What he says may not end up being true, but the Syrian ex Al Qaeda rebel leader is clearly smarter than ones who came before in even making the effort, which in part helped the offensive succeed.
Sharaa said HTS was not a terrorist group.
They did not target civilians or civilian areas, he said. In fact, they considered themselves to be victim of the crimes of the Assad regime. The victims, he said, should not be treated the same way as the oppressors.
He denied that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan.
Sharaa said the countries were very different, with different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there was a different mindset. He said he believed in education for women.
Sharaa was relaxed throughout the interview, wearing civilian clothes, and tried to offer reassurance to all those who believe his group has not broken with its extremist past.
The Treasury has drawn up detailed plans for closer economic ties with China
They focus on financial services and clean energy, draft policy proposals seen by Bloomberg show
Comes ahead of Rachel Reeves’ trip there next month
I think the inevitable consequence of Trump's tariff policies will be to push the rest of the world into the hands of China.
The funny thing is if Trump was just targeting China with tariffs then he might get others to join in on his side. Create a narrative around state subsidies distorting markets etc.
But because he wants to pick a fight with everyone, he'll end up alienating everyone.
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Actually....
We put out fly traps occasionally to do species monitoring in a local NNR and to see if any rarities turn up.
The standard method is to use ... apple vinegar.
Maybe it depends what sort of fly you want to catch.
This is a genuinely odd conversation.
Do I get exiled to ConHome if I suggest that when it comes to fly killing methods, it would be better if we zipped it?
I was in a silly mood...but then this is a silly conversation.
Xi is quite obviously far worse than Trump is or is ever likely to be. Yes, Trump says stupid things and is an ugly person but he is a long way from committing genocide.
There seems to be this silly idea that we can cosy up to China and somehow take advantage of them without any negative side effects. Seems rather too optimistic to me.
Also, Trump will be gone in four years.
But at the same time, if Trump makes demands of the UK - in the way that he has made demands of Canada - then what is HMG to do? Does it suck it up, and do what its told?
Or does it say "fuck off".
If we are forced to pick either China or the US in some kind of trade war then we surely have to pick the US but with as little enthusiasm as we can get away with.
We've tried the 'trade with China and eventually it will turn into a democracy of sorts when everyone gets rich' route and that seems to be leading nowhere good.
Admittedly any re-balancing would be better done slower rather than via an immediate crash, but the current situation is unsustainable in more than one sense.
Perhaps Ed Miliband can drum up enthusiasm for some sort of embedded carbon tariff?
We trade with China on the same basis that we always have, in what we perceive as our best interests at the time. Indeed its how we trade with all countries. Its not about democracy, or human rights, it never has been.
We, and Europe, and the US, are dangerously reliant on Chinese manufacturing in a number of sectors. Getting into a trade war with them isn’t a particularly good way of remedying that. In fact it’s a really stupid one.
Even US Artillery Shell production is rather dependant on imported components:
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 4m Conservative shadow business minister Andrew Griffith has urged Elon Musk to take another look at the Tories before donating to Reform UK, highlighting his party’s low-tax and anti-woke credentials
Do they really want the kind of grovelling relationship that the GOP has already adopted ? This, from the leader of the House of Representatives, is just pathetic stuff.
Musk is opposing the interim spending bill. Johnson on Fox: I was communicating with Elon last night. Elon and Vivek and I are on a text chain together, and I was explaining to them the background of this and the week. And I talked last night about almost midnight… https://x.com/ChadPergram/status/1869384847673745746
It is absolutely spot on about the production prowess of China, and it is also correct about the requirement of China to increase domestic consumption.
Because the sweet spot for the world is for China to simply consume a much greater proportion of what they produce. The current imbalance is good for neither them, or for the world.
It is great. Also chilling. And entirely accurate from what I saw in Japan and Korea in oct-nov. East Asia is determined to beat the baby bust not with mass migration, but with robotics and AI. They won’t attack your Christmas market
Britain hasn’t even done FAST trains yet and we are still spending £3trn on doing one fast line even as everyone else shifts to the NEXT technology. It’s like we spent £3bn on the worlds best horse-drawn omnibuses in 1910
Embarrassing
Europe is finished. It’s a museum
Superfast rail lines may not be the best example, as given our size it may never been cost effective to do such a thing anyway so why bother, but the sentiment that we do things far too slowly and too expensively, missing out on the next thing, still seems sound.
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 4m Conservative shadow business minister Andrew Griffith has urged Elon Musk to take another look at the Tories before donating to Reform UK, highlighting his party’s low-tax and anti-woke credentials
Do they really want the kind of grovelling relationship that the GOP has already adopted ? This, from the leader of the House of Representatives, is just pathetic stuff.
Musk is opposing the interim spending bill. Johnson on Fox: I was communicating with Elon last night. Elon and Vivek and I are on a text chain together, and I was explaining to them the background of this and the week. And I talked last night about almost midnight… https://x.com/ChadPergram/status/1869384847673745746
I know in the USA they spend obscene money on TV ads and the like, but we don't have that here so I'm not entirely clear on what our political parties spend their money on, and whether it would really affect their (effective) operations that much if they had to cut it by 90%. Say if large donations (from individuals and companies/unions) were cut back, as I would prefer.
I am very disappointed there's still not been any new guidance on masts published. We really must allow them up to 50m and without planning in urban (and ideally rural) areas. If this government won't do it, then frankly their majority is pointless.
160 feet... ludicrous.
If they get much bigger, you might as well string wires between them and use them as radar stations. Be very patriotic and popular with a certain element.
It is absolutely spot on about the production prowess of China, and it is also correct about the requirement of China to increase domestic consumption.
Because the sweet spot for the world is for China to simply consume a much greater proportion of what they produce. The current imbalance is good for neither them, or for the world.
It is great. Also chilling. And entirely accurate from what I saw in Japan and Korea in oct-nov. East Asia is determined to beat the baby bust not with mass migration, but with robotics and AI. They won’t attack your Christmas market
Britain hasn’t even done FAST trains yet and we are still spending £3trn on doing one fast line even as everyone else shifts to the NEXT technology. It’s like we spent £3bn on the worlds best horse-drawn omnibuses in 1910
Embarrassing
Europe is finished. It’s a museum
At 600mph, the energy expended in pushing air out of the way makes your train need insane amounts of energy.
This is why planes fly at altitude - at 35,000 feet, much less air.
Not to mention the violent air impulses you will create - it will be utterly unliveable next to a surface track, for a mile. A local tornado every time the train passes.
A tunnel increases the air problem. But if you partially evacuated the tunnel….
The Treasury has drawn up detailed plans for closer economic ties with China
They focus on financial services and clean energy, draft policy proposals seen by Bloomberg show
Comes ahead of Rachel Reeves’ trip there next month
I think the inevitable consequence of Trump's tariff policies will be to push the rest of the world into the hands of China.
The funny thing is if Trump was just targeting China with tariffs then he might get others to join in on his side. Create a narrative around state subsidies distorting markets etc.
But because he wants to pick a fight with everyone, he'll end up alienating everyone.
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Actually....
We put out fly traps occasionally to do species monitoring in a local NNR and to see if any rarities turn up.
The standard method is to use ... apple vinegar.
Maybe it depends what sort of fly you want to catch.
This is a genuinely odd conversation.
Do I get exiled to ConHome if I suggest that when it comes to fly killing methods, it would be better if we zipped it?
I was in a silly mood...but then this is a silly conversation.
Xi is quite obviously far worse than Trump is or is ever likely to be. Yes, Trump says stupid things and is an ugly person but he is a long way from committing genocide.
There seems to be this silly idea that we can cosy up to China and somehow take advantage of them without any negative side effects. Seems rather too optimistic to me.
Also, Trump will be gone in four years.
But at the same time, if Trump makes demands of the UK - in the way that he has made demands of Canada - then what is HMG to do? Does it suck it up, and do what its told?
Or does it say "fuck off".
If we are forced to pick either China or the US in some kind of trade war then we surely have to pick the US but with as little enthusiasm as we can get away with.
We've tried the 'trade with China and eventually it will turn into a democracy of sorts when everyone gets rich' route and that seems to be leading nowhere good.
Admittedly any re-balancing would be better done slower rather than via an immediate crash, but the current situation is unsustainable in more than one sense.
Perhaps Ed Miliband can drum up enthusiasm for some sort of embedded carbon tariff?
We trade with China on the same basis that we always have, in what we perceive as our best interests at the time. Indeed its how we trade with all countries. Its not about democracy, or human rights, it never has been.
Best interests in the long term surely include democracy and human rights.
Is that our policy when selling arms to Saudi and the Gulf States?
The Gulf is a good example of why we shouldn't end up reliant on places with less than stellar records of democracy.
We are slowly doing something about that.
We ought to do something about being quite so reliant on China, too.
A trade war would be stupid but is anything going to change otherwise?
It is absolutely spot on about the production prowess of China, and it is also correct about the requirement of China to increase domestic consumption.
Because the sweet spot for the world is for China to simply consume a much greater proportion of what they produce. The current imbalance is good for neither them, or for the world.
It is great. Also chilling. And entirely accurate from what I saw in Japan and Korea in oct-nov. East Asia is determined to beat the baby bust not with mass migration, but with robotics and AI. They won’t attack your Christmas market
Britain hasn’t even done FAST trains yet and we are still spending £3trn on doing one fast line even as everyone else shifts to the NEXT technology. It’s like we spent £3bn on the worlds best horse-drawn omnibuses in 1910
Embarrassing
Europe is finished. It’s a museum
Superfast rail lines may not be the best example, as given our size it may never been cost effective to do such a thing anyway so why bother, but the sentiment that we do things far too slowly and too expensively, missing out on the next thing, still seems sound.
One of the new MPs has a bee in her bonnet about stopping the emerging electric aircraft industry. Think people carrying drones. Good enough for crude to the airport from a heli-pad, quite soon.
We are actually doing some work on this, in this country.
It is absolutely spot on about the production prowess of China, and it is also correct about the requirement of China to increase domestic consumption.
Because the sweet spot for the world is for China to simply consume a much greater proportion of what they produce. The current imbalance is good for neither them, or for the world.
It is great. Also chilling. And entirely accurate from what I saw in Japan and Korea in oct-nov. East Asia is determined to beat the baby bust not with mass migration, but with robotics and AI. They won’t attack your Christmas market
Britain hasn’t even done FAST trains yet and we are still spending £3trn on doing one fast line even as everyone else shifts to the NEXT technology. It’s like we spent £3bn on the worlds best horse-drawn omnibuses in 1910
Embarrassing
Europe is finished. It’s a museum
Superfast rail lines may not be the best example, as given our size it may never been cost effective to do such a thing anyway so why bother, but the sentiment that we do things far too slowly and too expensively, missing out on the next thing, still seems sound.
One of the new MPs has a bee in her bonnet about stopping the emerging electric aircraft industry. Think people carrying drones. Good enough for crude to the airport from a heli-pad, quite soon.
We are actually doing some work on this, in this country.
I wonder if the electric airship factory allegedly being built here in the Flatlands will ever get off the ground.
It is absolutely spot on about the production prowess of China, and it is also correct about the requirement of China to increase domestic consumption.
Because the sweet spot for the world is for China to simply consume a much greater proportion of what they produce. The current imbalance is good for neither them, or for the world.
It is great. Also chilling. And entirely accurate from what I saw in Japan and Korea in oct-nov. East Asia is determined to beat the baby bust not with mass migration, but with robotics and AI. They won’t attack your Christmas market
Britain hasn’t even done FAST trains yet and we are still spending £3trn on doing one fast line even as everyone else shifts to the NEXT technology. It’s like we spent £3bn on the worlds best horse-drawn omnibuses in 1910
Embarrassing
Europe is finished. It’s a museum
At 600mph, the energy expended in pushing air out of the way makes your train need insane amounts of energy.
This is why planes fly at altitude - at 35,000 feet, much less air.
Not to mention the violent air impulses you will create - it will be utterly unliveable next to a surface track, for a mile. A local tornado every time the train passes.
A tunnel increases the air problem. But if you partially evacuated the tunnel….
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 4m Conservative shadow business minister Andrew Griffith has urged Elon Musk to take another look at the Tories before donating to Reform UK, highlighting his party’s low-tax and anti-woke credentials
If Reform are going to be the party of big donations, the Tories should lean into being the party of (relatively well off) members. That means embracing the democratisation agenda of Campbell-Bannerman and Patel.
Reform are going to be the party of ONE big donation.
One of the new MPs has a bee in her bonnet about stopping the emerging electric aircraft industry. Think people carrying drones. Good enough for crude to the airport from a heli-pad, quite soon.
We are actually doing some work on this, in this country.
We have people carrying drones already. Drones carrying people, on the other hand, might take a little longer...
It is absolutely spot on about the production prowess of China, and it is also correct about the requirement of China to increase domestic consumption.
Because the sweet spot for the world is for China to simply consume a much greater proportion of what they produce. The current imbalance is good for neither them, or for the world.
It is great. Also chilling. And entirely accurate from what I saw in Japan and Korea in oct-nov. East Asia is determined to beat the baby bust not with mass migration, but with robotics and AI. They won’t attack your Christmas market
Britain hasn’t even done FAST trains yet and we are still spending £3trn on doing one fast line even as everyone else shifts to the NEXT technology. It’s like we spent £3bn on the worlds best horse-drawn omnibuses in 1910
Embarrassing
Europe is finished. It’s a museum
Superfast rail lines may not be the best example, as given our size it may never been cost effective to do such a thing anyway so why bother, but the sentiment that we do things far too slowly and too expensively, missing out on the next thing, still seems sound.
One of the new MPs has a bee in her bonnet about stopping the emerging electric aircraft industry. Think people carrying drones. Good enough for crude to the airport from a heli-pad, quite soon.
We are actually doing some work on this, in this country.
I wonder if the electric airship factory allegedly being built here in the Flatlands will ever get off the ground.
Not seen any turf turned over yet...
Airships are playthings of the wind. A big blow - barely a storm - will always smash them up.
People carrying drones are already in use on Ukrainian battlefields - think flying stretcher. The next step is helicopter type operations -
The Treasury has drawn up detailed plans for closer economic ties with China
They focus on financial services and clean energy, draft policy proposals seen by Bloomberg show
Comes ahead of Rachel Reeves’ trip there next month
I think the inevitable consequence of Trump's tariff policies will be to push the rest of the world into the hands of China.
The funny thing is if Trump was just targeting China with tariffs then he might get others to join in on his side. Create a narrative around state subsidies distorting markets etc.
But because he wants to pick a fight with everyone, he'll end up alienating everyone.
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Actually....
We put out fly traps occasionally to do species monitoring in a local NNR and to see if any rarities turn up.
The standard method is to use ... apple vinegar.
Maybe it depends what sort of fly you want to catch.
This is a genuinely odd conversation.
Do I get exiled to ConHome if I suggest that when it comes to fly killing methods, it would be better if we zipped it?
I was in a silly mood...but then this is a silly conversation.
Xi is quite obviously far worse than Trump is or is ever likely to be. Yes, Trump says stupid things and is an ugly person but he is a long way from committing genocide.
There seems to be this silly idea that we can cosy up to China and somehow take advantage of them without any negative side effects. Seems rather too optimistic to me.
Also, Trump will be gone in four years.
But at the same time, if Trump makes demands of the UK - in the way that he has made demands of Canada - then what is HMG to do? Does it suck it up, and do what its told?
It is absolutely spot on about the production prowess of China, and it is also correct about the requirement of China to increase domestic consumption.
Because the sweet spot for the world is for China to simply consume a much greater proportion of what they produce. The current imbalance is good for neither them, or for the world.
It is great. Also chilling. And entirely accurate from what I saw in Japan and Korea in oct-nov. East Asia is determined to beat the baby bust not with mass migration, but with robotics and AI. They won’t attack your Christmas market
Britain hasn’t even done FAST trains yet and we are still spending £3trn on doing one fast line even as everyone else shifts to the NEXT technology. It’s like we spent £3bn on the worlds best horse-drawn omnibuses in 1910
Embarrassing
Europe is finished. It’s a museum
Superfast rail lines may not be the best example, as given our size it may never been cost effective to do such a thing anyway so why bother, but the sentiment that we do things far too slowly and too expensively, missing out on the next thing, still seems sound.
One of the new MPs has a bee in her bonnet about stopping the emerging electric aircraft industry. Think people carrying drones. Good enough for crude to the airport from a heli-pad, quite soon.
We are actually doing some work on this, in this country.
I wonder if the electric airship factory allegedly being built here in the Flatlands will ever get off the ground.
Not seen any turf turned over yet...
Airships hopefully so. Factories I i believe should stay on the ground.
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 4m Conservative shadow business minister Andrew Griffith has urged Elon Musk to take another look at the Tories before donating to Reform UK, highlighting his party’s low-tax and anti-woke credentials
I have banged on about this next likely pandemic on PB off and on for ages. I usually get poo-poo-ed by someone or other.
RFK will look after us all though, so it is going to be fine.
My Trust has restarted a mask mandate in public facing areas. There are lots of nasty bugs out there, and its not helped by staff going down too. I will be masked up until February it seems.
Are hospitals going to be reaching for masks every winter now until kingdom come? Will this ‘mandate’ also apply to in-patients?
It is absolutely spot on about the production prowess of China, and it is also correct about the requirement of China to increase domestic consumption.
Because the sweet spot for the world is for China to simply consume a much greater proportion of what they produce. The current imbalance is good for neither them, or for the world.
It is great. Also chilling. And entirely accurate from what I saw in Japan and Korea in oct-nov. East Asia is determined to beat the baby bust not with mass migration, but with robotics and AI. They won’t attack your Christmas market
Britain hasn’t even done FAST trains yet and we are still spending £3trn on doing one fast line even as everyone else shifts to the NEXT technology. It’s like we spent £3bn on the worlds best horse-drawn omnibuses in 1910
Embarrassing
Europe is finished. It’s a museum
Superfast rail lines may not be the best example, as given our size it may never been cost effective to do such a thing anyway so why bother, but the sentiment that we do things far too slowly and too expensively, missing out on the next thing, still seems sound.
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 4m Conservative shadow business minister Andrew Griffith has urged Elon Musk to take another look at the Tories before donating to Reform UK, highlighting his party’s low-tax and anti-woke credentials
If Reform are going to be the party of big donations, the Tories should lean into being the party of (relatively well off) members. That means embracing the democratisation agenda of Campbell-Bannerman and Patel.
Reform are going to be the party of ONE big donation.
Too late, Nick Candy has already pledged a cool mill, and has another 3 mill pledged from his mates. They don't need Musk.
Alex Hollings of Sandboxx News has poo on his face. He fucked up the drone story (he got a date wrong and confused a Nasa program with a Air Force program with the same name) and has withdrawn the "It's NASA" theory.
It’s very clear that Labour wants to get all of the bad news out of the way by the end of this year.
That appears to be the plan. There will be lots of whining about local government reorganisation when plans for mergers come next year but most people don’t care that much.
That said, the government needs a clear positive message (beyond the NMW rise) to focus on in the spring.
It’s very clear that Labour wants to get all of the bad news out of the way by the end of this year.
That assumes this is all the bad news there is to be, or that it will be within their power to prevent future bad news.
But hopefully you are correct and they are using their large majority and shorter-than-expected honeymoon to get some unpopular stuff done before they get unaccountably nervous about things.
I have banged on about this next likely pandemic on PB off and on for ages. I usually get poo-poo-ed by someone or other.
RFK will look after us all though, so it is going to be fine.
My Trust has restarted a mask mandate in public facing areas. There are lots of nasty bugs out there, and its not helped by staff going down too. I will be masked up until February it seems.
Are hospitals going to be reaching for masks every winter now until kingdom come? Will this ‘mandate’ also apply to in-patients?
It's binding for staff, optional for patients and their families.
There isn't a bed free in the hospital and we have patients on their third day in the Emergency Dept.
It really is not a good time to be sick, so take care out there.
Other than that - what of Liz? She brought ... a table? Not quite fully assembled, but still! It had growth potential! Missing one screw and an extra Alen Key. But other than that...
I have banged on about this next likely pandemic on PB off and on for ages. I usually get poo-poo-ed by someone or other.
RFK will look after us all though, so it is going to be fine.
My Trust has restarted a mask mandate in public facing areas. There are lots of nasty bugs out there, and its not helped by staff going down too. I will be masked up until February it seems.
Are hospitals going to be reaching for masks every winter now until kingdom come? Will this ‘mandate’ also apply to in-patients?
It's binding for staff, optional for patients and their families.
There isn't a bed free in the hospital and we have patients on their third day in the Emergency Dept.
It really is not a good time to be sick, so take care out there.
Does masking even work when it’s not universal? (Beyond placebo effect)
It is absolutely spot on about the production prowess of China, and it is also correct about the requirement of China to increase domestic consumption.
Because the sweet spot for the world is for China to simply consume a much greater proportion of what they produce. The current imbalance is good for neither them, or for the world.
It is great. Also chilling. And entirely accurate from what I saw in Japan and Korea in oct-nov. East Asia is determined to beat the baby bust not with mass migration, but with robotics and AI. They won’t attack your Christmas market
Britain hasn’t even done FAST trains yet and we are still spending £3trn on doing one fast line even as everyone else shifts to the NEXT technology. It’s like we spent £3bn on the worlds best horse-drawn omnibuses in 1910
Embarrassing
Europe is finished. It’s a museum
Superfast rail lines may not be the best example, as given our size it may never been cost effective to do such a thing anyway so why bother, but the sentiment that we do things far too slowly and too expensively, missing out on the next thing, still seems sound.
One of the new MPs has a bee in her bonnet about stopping the emerging electric aircraft industry. Think people carrying drones. Good enough for crude to the airport from a heli-pad, quite soon.
We are actually doing some work on this, in this country.
Britain is quite good at doing the early work in new industries, and then seems to sort of give up at the stage where it takes serious investment and commitment to bring it to the mass market.
Loads of bright people doing clever things, but the people with the money to invest are only interested in rent-seeking.
Somewhat in Williams defence - I don't think I've ever stood around signing bits of paper saying "This is my 100% belief - vote for me!" either. Or taken the knee. Or stabbed my former 'friend and leader' in the back.
But he's head boy now. So we'll see how things pan out on the truth-train.
I have banged on about this next likely pandemic on PB off and on for ages. I usually get poo-poo-ed by someone or other.
RFK will look after us all though, so it is going to be fine.
My Trust has restarted a mask mandate in public facing areas. There are lots of nasty bugs out there, and its not helped by staff going down too. I will be masked up until February it seems.
Are hospitals going to be reaching for masks every winter now until kingdom come? Will this ‘mandate’ also apply to in-patients?
It's binding for staff, optional for patients and their families.
There isn't a bed free in the hospital and we have patients on their third day in the Emergency Dept.
It really is not a good time to be sick, so take care out there.
Does masking even work when it’s not universal? (Beyond placebo effect)
Yes, of course it does. Obviously it works better the more people wear masks, the better those masks are, etc.
Masks seem to be better at preventing influenza spread than they are at preventing Covid spread.
Terrible economic news here this morning with GDP down 1% in the three months to September following a 1.1% drop in the three months to June.
Worth mentioning at this point the New Zealand Government is a coalition led by National and including ACT and New Zealand First so “Centre Right” is the term usually used.
Perhaps those who on a daily basis bemoan how bad Labour are doing in the UK might consider the possibility the alternative would be doing equally badly or perhaps it may be economic ineptitude transcends political philosophy.
To be honest, Nicola Willis does a passable Rachel Reeves while Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has all the comic timing of a plank of wood (if you want a political joke over here, apart from Winston Peters whose act stopped being funny in 2015, Chloe Swarbrick of the Greens does a decent self-righteous indignation).
New Zealand would benefit from a long distance high speed rail network but only when there are 20 million people here, not five and a half million. It’s 650 miles from Picton to Invercargill on the South Island - to be able to do that on a train in a couple of hours would be huge.
The emergence of the Pacific Rim as the economic and geopolitical centre of the world has long been prophesied and may well happen as the century progresses.
Somewhat in Williams defence - I don't think I've ever stood around signing bits of paper saying "This is my 100% belief - vote for me!" either. Or taken the knee. Or stabbed my former 'friend and leader' in the back.
But he's head boy now. So we'll see how things pan out on the truth-train.
William spent years - literally years - on here as a vocal eurofederalist. Until, one day, he wasn’t - for reasons best known to his controllers.
Somewhat in Williams defence - I don't think I've ever stood around signing bits of paper saying "This is my 100% belief - vote for me!" either. Or taken the knee. Or stabbed my former 'friend and leader' in the back.
But he's head boy now. So we'll see how things pan out on the truth-train.
William spent years - literally years - on here as a vocal eurofederalist. Until, one day, he wasn’t - for reasons best known to his controllers.
I have banged on about this next likely pandemic on PB off and on for ages. I usually get poo-poo-ed by someone or other.
RFK will look after us all though, so it is going to be fine.
My Trust has restarted a mask mandate in public facing areas. There are lots of nasty bugs out there, and its not helped by staff going down too. I will be masked up until February it seems.
Are hospitals going to be reaching for masks every winter now until kingdom come? Will this ‘mandate’ also apply to in-patients?
It's binding for staff, optional for patients and their families.
There isn't a bed free in the hospital and we have patients on their third day in the Emergency Dept.
It really is not a good time to be sick, so take care out there.
Does masking even work when it’s not universal? (Beyond placebo effect)
Yes, of course it does. Obviously it works better the more people wear masks, the better those masks are, etc.
Masks seem to be better at preventing influenza spread than they are at preventing Covid spread.
That’s the assumption - but is there much evidence for it (beyond placebo)? I’d guess it’s more effective when medical professionals are using medical standard masks properly, than Joe Public, however.
I have banged on about this next likely pandemic on PB off and on for ages. I usually get poo-poo-ed by someone or other.
RFK will look after us all though, so it is going to be fine.
My Trust has restarted a mask mandate in public facing areas. There are lots of nasty bugs out there, and its not helped by staff going down too. I will be masked up until February it seems.
Are hospitals going to be reaching for masks every winter now until kingdom come? Will this ‘mandate’ also apply to in-patients?
It's binding for staff, optional for patients and their families.
There isn't a bed free in the hospital and we have patients on their third day in the Emergency Dept.
It really is not a good time to be sick, so take care out there.
Does masking even work when it’s not universal? (Beyond placebo effect)
Yes, of course it does. Obviously it works better the more people wear masks, the better those masks are, etc.
Masks seem to be better at preventing influenza spread than they are at preventing Covid spread.
Yes, it's better for droplet spread than aerosols.
But it's Trust policy, so I just have to follow it. It's not worth arguing about.
Some scary stuff is going to happen these next few weeks. There's only so many corridors you can fill with trolleys.
Terrible economic news here this morning with GDP down 1% in the three months to September following a 1.1% drop in the three months to June.
Worth mentioning at this point the New Zealand Government is a coalition led by National and including ACT and New Zealand First so “Centre Right” is the term usually used.
Perhaps those who on a daily basis bemoan how bad Labour are doing in the UK might consider the possibility the alternative would be doing equally badly or perhaps it may be economic ineptitude transcends political philosophy.
To be honest, Nicola Willis does a passable Rachel Reeves while Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has all the comic timing of a plank of wood (if you want a political joke over here, apart from Winston Peters whose act stopped being funny in 2015, Chloe Swarbrick of the Greens does a decent self-righteous indignation).
New Zealand would benefit from a long distance high speed rail network but only when there are 20 million people here, not five and a half million. It’s 650 miles from Picton to Invercargill on the South Island - to be able to do that on a train in a couple of hours would be huge.
The emergence of the Pacific Rim as the economic and geopolitical centre of the world has long been prophesied and may well happen as the century progresses.
It's pretty tough being in office at the moment, whether Left, Right or even Assad. Everyone blames the government and wants to kick them out.
Here's one I'm not sure about though. The editorial line of Guido Fawkes was not pro-brexit until some weeks after the result, as far as I remember. Can anyone confirm?
It is absolutely spot on about the production prowess of China, and it is also correct about the requirement of China to increase domestic consumption.
Because the sweet spot for the world is for China to simply consume a much greater proportion of what they produce. The current imbalance is good for neither them, or for the world.
It is great. Also chilling. And entirely accurate from what I saw in Japan and Korea in oct-nov. East Asia is determined to beat the baby bust not with mass migration, but with robotics and AI. They won’t attack your Christmas market
Britain hasn’t even done FAST trains yet and we are still spending £3trn on doing one fast line even as everyone else shifts to the NEXT technology. It’s like we spent £3bn on the worlds best horse-drawn omnibuses in 1910
Embarrassing
Europe is finished. It’s a museum
Superfast rail lines may not be the best example, as given our size it may never been cost effective to do such a thing anyway so why bother, but the sentiment that we do things far too slowly and too expensively, missing out on the next thing, still seems sound.
One of the new MPs has a bee in her bonnet about stopping the emerging electric aircraft industry. Think people carrying drones. Good enough for crude to the airport from a heli-pad, quite soon.
We are actually doing some work on this, in this country.
Britain is quite good at doing the early work in new industries, and then seems to sort of give up at the stage where it takes serious investment and commitment to bring it to the mass market.
Loads of bright people doing clever things, but the people with the money to invest are only interested in rent-seeking.
Yes.
What nearly no one seems to understand is that between the mad boffin in the white coat and production, there is a vast field of endeavour.
The UK is collectively rubbish at this. Print out the following and give it to every politician you meet.
I have banged on about this next likely pandemic on PB off and on for ages. I usually get poo-poo-ed by someone or other.
RFK will look after us all though, so it is going to be fine.
My Trust has restarted a mask mandate in public facing areas. There are lots of nasty bugs out there, and its not helped by staff going down too. I will be masked up until February it seems.
Are hospitals going to be reaching for masks every winter now until kingdom come? Will this ‘mandate’ also apply to in-patients?
It's binding for staff, optional for patients and their families.
There isn't a bed free in the hospital and we have patients on their third day in the Emergency Dept.
It really is not a good time to be sick, so take care out there.
Does masking even work when it’s not universal? (Beyond placebo effect)
Yes, of course it does. Obviously it works better the more people wear masks, the better those masks are, etc.
Masks seem to be better at preventing influenza spread than they are at preventing Covid spread.
That’s the assumption - but is there much evidence for it (beyond placebo)? I’d guess it’s more effective when medical professionals are using medical standard masks properly, than Joe Public, however.
The top end disposable (and non disposable) masks are used in the building industry. Strangely, house painters, who are not rocket scientists manage to put them on with a good seal every day. Carpenters, insulation, welding (high chrome)….
The idea that only trained medical people can wear such masks properly is horse shit. They are designed to be worn and used by people who left school at 16, pretty much.
I have banged on about this next likely pandemic on PB off and on for ages. I usually get poo-poo-ed by someone or other.
RFK will look after us all though, so it is going to be fine.
My Trust has restarted a mask mandate in public facing areas. There are lots of nasty bugs out there, and its not helped by staff going down too. I will be masked up until February it seems.
Are hospitals going to be reaching for masks every winter now until kingdom come? Will this ‘mandate’ also apply to in-patients?
It's binding for staff, optional for patients and their families.
There isn't a bed free in the hospital and we have patients on their third day in the Emergency Dept.
It really is not a good time to be sick, so take care out there.
Does masking even work when it’s not universal? (Beyond placebo effect)
Yes, of course it does. Obviously it works better the more people wear masks, the better those masks are, etc.
Masks seem to be better at preventing influenza spread than they are at preventing Covid spread.
That’s the assumption - but is there much evidence for it (beyond placebo)? I’d guess it’s more effective when medical professionals are using medical standard masks properly, than Joe Public, however.
I have banged on about this next likely pandemic on PB off and on for ages. I usually get poo-poo-ed by someone or other.
RFK will look after us all though, so it is going to be fine.
My Trust has restarted a mask mandate in public facing areas. There are lots of nasty bugs out there, and its not helped by staff going down too. I will be masked up until February it seems.
Are hospitals going to be reaching for masks every winter now until kingdom come? Will this ‘mandate’ also apply to in-patients?
It's binding for staff, optional for patients and their families.
There isn't a bed free in the hospital and we have patients on their third day in the Emergency Dept.
It really is not a good time to be sick, so take care out there.
Does masking even work when it’s not universal? (Beyond placebo effect)
Yes, of course it does. Obviously it works better the more people wear masks, the better those masks are, etc.
Masks seem to be better at preventing influenza spread than they are at preventing Covid spread.
That’s the assumption - but is there much evidence for it (beyond placebo)? I’d guess it’s more effective when medical professionals are using medical standard masks properly, than Joe Public, however.
The top end disposable (and non disposable) masks are used in the building industry. Strangely, house painters, who are not rocket scientists manage to put them on with a good seal every day. Carpenters, insulation, welding (high chrome)….
The idea that only trained medical people can wear such masks properly is horse shit. They are designed to be worn and used by people who left school at 16, pretty much.
This much I know. But my understanding is that most masks on general sale are (or were, during covid) flimsy pieces of landfill that were, if not quite useless, rather ineffective when slung over the nose by Joe Public.
I have banged on about this next likely pandemic on PB off and on for ages. I usually get poo-poo-ed by someone or other.
RFK will look after us all though, so it is going to be fine.
My Trust has restarted a mask mandate in public facing areas. There are lots of nasty bugs out there, and its not helped by staff going down too. I will be masked up until February it seems.
Are hospitals going to be reaching for masks every winter now until kingdom come? Will this ‘mandate’ also apply to in-patients?
It's binding for staff, optional for patients and their families.
There isn't a bed free in the hospital and we have patients on their third day in the Emergency Dept.
It really is not a good time to be sick, so take care out there.
Does masking even work when it’s not universal? (Beyond placebo effect)
Yes, of course it does. Obviously it works better the more people wear masks, the better those masks are, etc.
Masks seem to be better at preventing influenza spread than they are at preventing Covid spread.
That’s the assumption - but is there much evidence for it (beyond placebo)? I’d guess it’s more effective when medical professionals are using medical standard masks properly, than Joe Public, however.
The top end disposable (and non disposable) masks are used in the building industry. Strangely, house painters, who are not rocket scientists manage to put them on with a good seal every day. Carpenters, insulation, welding (high chrome)….
The idea that only trained medical people can wear such masks properly is horse shit. They are designed to be worn and used by people who left school at 16, pretty much.
This much I know. But my understanding is that most masks on general sale are (or were, during covid) flimsy pieces of landfill that were, if not quite useless, rather ineffective when slung over the nose by Joe Public.
A piece of cloth over your face is actually surprisingly effective against droplets you are *breathing out*
FFP3 etc protects against pretty much anything, in both directions.
I have banged on about this next likely pandemic on PB off and on for ages. I usually get poo-poo-ed by someone or other.
RFK will look after us all though, so it is going to be fine.
My Trust has restarted a mask mandate in public facing areas. There are lots of nasty bugs out there, and its not helped by staff going down too. I will be masked up until February it seems.
Are hospitals going to be reaching for masks every winter now until kingdom come? Will this ‘mandate’ also apply to in-patients?
It's binding for staff, optional for patients and their families.
There isn't a bed free in the hospital and we have patients on their third day in the Emergency Dept.
It really is not a good time to be sick, so take care out there.
Does masking even work when it’s not universal? (Beyond placebo effect)
Yes, of course it does. Obviously it works better the more people wear masks, the better those masks are, etc.
Masks seem to be better at preventing influenza spread than they are at preventing Covid spread.
That’s the assumption - but is there much evidence for it (beyond placebo)? I’d guess it’s more effective when medical professionals are using medical standard masks properly, than Joe Public, however.
The top end disposable (and non disposable) masks are used in the building industry. Strangely, house painters, who are not rocket scientists manage to put them on with a good seal every day. Carpenters, insulation, welding (high chrome)….
The idea that only trained medical people can wear such masks properly is horse shit. They are designed to be worn and used by people who left school at 16, pretty much.
This much I know. But my understanding is that most masks on general sale are (or were, during covid) flimsy pieces of landfill that were, if not quite useless, rather ineffective when slung over the nose by Joe Public.
The main factor is as mentioned by Foxy. Masks don't need to be that good to be effective against droplet transmission, which is how influenza spreads. Preventing aerosol transmission is harder, and that's how Covid spread.
We would do better to add air filtration to public buildings to reduce aerosol transmission of viruses.
It is absolutely spot on about the production prowess of China, and it is also correct about the requirement of China to increase domestic consumption.
Because the sweet spot for the world is for China to simply consume a much greater proportion of what they produce. The current imbalance is good for neither them, or for the world.
It is great. Also chilling. And entirely accurate from what I saw in Japan and Korea in oct-nov. East Asia is determined to beat the baby bust not with mass migration, but with robotics and AI. They won’t attack your Christmas market
Britain hasn’t even done FAST trains yet and we are still spending £3trn on doing one fast line even as everyone else shifts to the NEXT technology. It’s like we spent £3bn on the worlds best horse-drawn omnibuses in 1910
Embarrassing
Europe is finished. It’s a museum
Looks like East Asia is continuing to be a world leader in new innovations, though am not sure I would want to be on one of those 600mph trains if it ever crashed. I also like museums, so living in one could be worse
I have banged on about this next likely pandemic on PB off and on for ages. I usually get poo-poo-ed by someone or other.
RFK will look after us all though, so it is going to be fine.
My Trust has restarted a mask mandate in public facing areas. There are lots of nasty bugs out there, and its not helped by staff going down too. I will be masked up until February it seems.
Are hospitals going to be reaching for masks every winter now until kingdom come? Will this ‘mandate’ also apply to in-patients?
It's binding for staff, optional for patients and their families.
There isn't a bed free in the hospital and we have patients on their third day in the Emergency Dept.
It really is not a good time to be sick, so take care out there.
Does masking even work when it’s not universal? (Beyond placebo effect)
Anything which reduces the ability of disease carriers to infect others will have an impact on the viral reproductive rate in the population as a whole.
In a setting like a hospital, where there are lots of vulnerable people, it does not seem like an excessive response.
"Cowardly Assad 'gave Israel the locations of his weapon depots and missile systems in return for them letting him flee Syria - which helped IDF launch airstrike blitz'"
"I learned a new term on this visit: “dark factory.” A retired Chinese official mentioned to me in passing over dinner that she wanted to buy a new high-tech bed and decided to go see the offerings at the factory. When she arrived, though, she found it was a “dark factory” — so the lights were turned on just for her. It wasn’t dark because it was out of business, she told me. It was dark because it was so fully roboticized that the company doesn’t waste electricity keeping the lights on for any humans..."
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 4m Conservative shadow business minister Andrew Griffith has urged Elon Musk to take another look at the Tories before donating to Reform UK, highlighting his party’s low-tax and anti-woke credentials
Comments
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social
·
4m
Conservative shadow business minister Andrew Griffith has urged Elon Musk to take another look at the Tories before donating to Reform UK, highlighting his party’s low-tax and anti-woke credentials
https://bsky.app/profile/pickardje.bsky.social/post/3ldmde4acxc2p
We've tried the 'trade with China and eventually it will turn into a democracy of sorts when everyone gets rich' route and that seems to be leading nowhere good.
Admittedly any re-balancing would be better done slower rather than via an immediate crash, but the current situation is unsustainable in more than one sense.
Perhaps Ed Miliband can drum up enthusiasm for some sort of embedded carbon tariff?
Doubt it is "easy to work" though.
RFK will look after us all though, so it is going to be fine.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GfHDHXXWQAAsefk?format=jpg&name=medium
Getting into a trade war with them isn’t a particularly good way of remedying that. In fact it’s a really stupid one.
If Reform are going to be the party of big donations, the Tories should lean into being the party of (relatively well off) members. That means embracing the democratisation agenda of Campbell-Bannerman and Patel.
This is why planes fly at altitude - at 35,000 feet, much less air.
Not to mention the violent air impulses you will create - it will be utterly unliveable next to a surface track, for a mile. A local tornado every time the train passes.
A tunnel increases the air problem. But if you partially evacuated the tunnel….
@{ @JosiasJessop achieves fusion}
Sharaa said HTS was not a terrorist group.
They did not target civilians or civilian areas, he said. In fact, they considered themselves to be victim of the crimes of the Assad regime. The victims, he said, should not be treated the same way as the oppressors.
He denied that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan.
Sharaa said the countries were very different, with different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there was a different mindset. He said he believed in education for women.
Sharaa was relaxed throughout the interview, wearing civilian clothes, and tried to offer reassurance to all those who believe his group has not broken with its extremist past.
Many Syrians do not believe him.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c05p9g2nqmeo
This, from the leader of the House of Representatives, is just pathetic stuff.
Musk is opposing the interim spending bill. Johnson on Fox: I was communicating with Elon last night. Elon and Vivek and I are on a text chain together, and I was explaining to them the background of this and the week. And I talked last night about almost midnight…
https://x.com/ChadPergram/status/1869384847673745746
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kG1jXRyV3A
We are slowly doing something about that.
We ought to do something about being quite so reliant on China, too.
A trade war would be stupid but is anything going to change otherwise?
We are actually doing some work on this, in this country.
Not seen any turf turned over yet...
Looked at the article - and others - they even mention Hyperloop.
People carrying drones are already in use on Ukrainian battlefields - think flying stretcher. The next step is helicopter type operations -
It won't.
Although I think everyone is now agreed that Kemi is a dud.
So, the interesting question is: who next?
I know what many of you are thinking: could a resurgent Liz Truss be ennobled, and lead from the Lords?
It’s a fascinating prospect, I grant you, and one worthy of further discussion.
nature
@Nature
China’s low-altitude aviation economy is poised to become a trillion-yuan industry in 2025 — if safety and security challenges can be overcome
https://x.com/Nature/status/1869450557955674329
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK6kQfxOYL0
That said, the government needs a clear positive message (beyond the NMW rise) to focus on in the spring.
But hopefully you are correct and they are using their large majority and shorter-than-expected honeymoon to get some unpopular stuff done before they get unaccountably nervous about things.
There isn't a bed free in the hospital and we have patients on their third day in the Emergency Dept.
It really is not a good time to be sick, so take care out there.
What could possibly go wrong?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL41EXic65g
Other than that - what of Liz? She brought ... a table? Not quite fully assembled, but still! It had growth potential! Missing one screw and an extra Alen Key. But other than that...
Loads of bright people doing clever things, but the people with the money to invest are only interested in rent-seeking.
But he's head boy now. So we'll see how things pan out on the truth-train.
Masks seem to be better at preventing influenza spread than they are at preventing Covid spread.
Terrible economic news here this morning with GDP down 1% in the three months to September following a 1.1% drop in the three months to June.
Worth mentioning at this point the New Zealand Government is a coalition led by National and including ACT and New Zealand First so “Centre Right” is the term usually used.
Perhaps those who on a daily basis bemoan how bad Labour are doing in the UK might consider the possibility the alternative would be doing equally badly or perhaps it may be economic ineptitude transcends political philosophy.
To be honest, Nicola Willis does a passable Rachel Reeves while Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has all the comic timing of a plank of wood (if you want a political joke over here, apart from Winston Peters whose act stopped being funny in 2015, Chloe Swarbrick of the Greens does a decent self-righteous indignation).
New Zealand would benefit from a long distance high speed rail network but only when there are 20 million people here, not five and a half million. It’s 650 miles from Picton to Invercargill on the South Island - to be able to do that on a train in a couple of hours would be huge.
The emergence of the Pacific Rim as the economic and geopolitical centre of the world has long been prophesied and may well happen as the century progresses.
But it's Trust policy, so I just have to follow it. It's not worth arguing about.
Some scary stuff is going to happen these next few weeks. There's only so many corridors you can fill with trolleys.
What nearly no one seems to understand is that between the mad boffin in the white coat and production, there is a vast field of endeavour.
The UK is collectively rubbish at this. Print out the following and give it to every politician you meet.
The idea that only trained medical people can wear such masks properly is horse shit. They are designed to be worn and used by people who left school at 16, pretty much.
FFP3 etc protects against pretty much anything, in both directions.
We would do better to add air filtration to public buildings to reduce aerosol transmission of viruses.
https://x.com/sahilkapur/status/1869531847107158191
https://x.com/bbcnewsnight/status/1869519042035265962
In a setting like a hospital, where there are lots of vulnerable people, it does not seem like an excessive response.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14205975/Cowardly-Assad-gave-Israel-locations-weapon-depots-missile-systems-return-letting-flee-Syria-helped-IDF-launch-airstrike-blitz.html