BBC bloke wittering on about how our defence % spending compares with other eu countries.
What matters is we are at war with Russia and we should be upping our defence immediately. How we compare in some stupid league table is very secondary.
What matters is what Senior Sources have told them. Unnamed obviously. Live and die by the tittle-tattle said over unattributed WhatsApp messages.
Imagine the glassy-eyed panting at the prospect of the shallow reporting opportunities of a proper Europe-wide war. The podcasts it could spawn. The Red Button Extras. The away-days analysing focus-group results.
Does anybody have a sufficient level of cognitive dissonance to explain why, if the armed forces of the Russian Federation can't even secure their own territorial integrity by kicking the Mazepists out of Kursk, they are such a conventional threat to Britain that we need to embark on a massive, ruinously expensive and socially destructive re-armament program?
What specific threat are we gunning up to counter? Amphibious invasion of Norfolk?
It’s an important point, which is why it makes way more sense arming Eastern European states and letting them do the dirty work for us.
If Russia doesn't threaten us militarily, why is it 'our work' to contain it?
They are clearly not a nice regime. Being their neighbour must be hell. Living there must be very disagreeable. But why 'them' especially, not Xi, not Erdogan, not the Saudis, not Al Shabab in Mozambique? The reason is because Russia has been the USA's number one foe, regardless of Republican or Democrat, for the past 15 years or so. The others, regardless of their evil, their brutality, their invasions, their scant regard for peoples' freedoms, have not. That is why Putin is public enemy No. 1, not just another gargoyle in a whole unpleasant gallery of them.
If the USA vs. Russia situation changes, as it looks like it might, it's quite awkward for Europe's leaders, because it's no longer a competition to declare how dangerous Putin is (despite his failure to conquer Ukraine) because now the US doesn't give a shit. Just like it has never given a shit about the Saudis chopping people up, so you don't hear a peep about that from anyone.
In the long run, if it sticks, we will all care about Russia a lot less, and move on to hating whoever is at the top of America's shitlist next. And Jessop will be haranguing us all to declare war on whoever that is.
Neither Erdoğan nor Al Shabab have invaded several of their neighbouring countries, all in Europe, used chemical weapons and nuclear materials on our territory, regularly buzzed our air defences, sailed their naval assets into our waters, nor threate9ned to cut our communication cables, launch a rain of hypersonic missiles down on the UK or drop a small nuke into the North Sea to "see what happens".
What planet do you live on?
Al Shabab aren't in Europe you utter loon. Erdogan's Turkey is illegally occupying parts of Syria, and part of Cyprus, which if my geography serves is both in Europe, and close to actual British interests, so you can't even get your stupid 'list of things showing they're baddies' right. Turkey is also a safe haven for the Muslim Brotherhood, an organisation that is so cuddly that even Saudi Arabia considers them terrorists, and which has a very significant and seemingly very malign influence in the UK. That is what I would call an *actual* security risk, but hey, I am sure your great list of 'and they have to have a name that rhymes with 'Badimir Flutin' is the definitive guide to who we should consider threat numero uno.
Ummm: I don't think Erdogan invaded Northern Cyprus.
How many? Where does he find those numbers from? In the medium term, the hollowed out army will presumably have to be expanded, but by how much? How much is this all going to cost? And who is he going to piss off by getting them to pay for it all, either through tax rises or spending cuts elsewhere?
Hopefully this is being worked on at pace, because answers to these questions are needed soon, not after three years of reviews and other generalised paper shuffling.
It's probably a revival of an old Cold war idea: the tripwire force.
Although, it is worth noting that NATO forces were designed in Western Germany to win.
There were up to 400k NATO troops at peak in and around West Germany, and nearly half a million Bundeswehr (peacetime only) so almost a million Western troops backed by defensive tactical nuclear weapons, with plans to mobilise far more in the event of war.
That was much more than a tripwire.
Yet it was meant to be a 'tripwire'.
Hence its name. And the US's massive heavy-lift systems to get forces over to Europe PDQ.
Russia is not the old USSR, as we see currently in Ukraine. A tripwire force does not need to be at the same scale as it was in 1988.
But a great help would be supposedly anti-Russian countries not giving succour to Russia.
The calculations in the early 1970s was that NATO forces could hold the Red Army for about 3 weeks but after that there would either be an armistice or nuclear war. It is that kind of thinking that is still behind the absolutely desperate shortage of munitions that we have in store to this day. Ukraine has shown how painfully insufficient that is and one priority amongst many must be to massively increase our logistics and capability of fighting a longer war should we need that option. (Snip).
Which is rather disproved by the air and sea heavy lift that the US invested in.
And people forget that until ~1989, Ukraine was part of the USSR, however unwillingly.
Russia is not the USSR. And we should hope it does not become such.
I think that I have told this story before but in 1973 my father attended a high level NATO conference in Germany where they were gaming a conventional war. It was all about where units were going to pull back to once their initial positions were overrun. Although the Regiment that my father was attached to had powerful self propelled guns that fired shells the weight of a small car no one thought that they could stop the advance of the huge numbers of Russian tanks (many of which are seeing service now in Ukraine 50 years on) through the Fulda gap.
Only the Germans were silent. When someone asked them what their plans were they said they were going to Berlin. They weren't joking.
Anyhow, I've been in the clinic this afternoon for an eye injection (into the jelly to reduce fluid).
Interesting (horrid - I flinch badly) experience and the first one I have had.
Another 4 to go at 4 week intervals.
Sounds lovely. Best of luck with it all.
It was *not* lovely.
About 8 or 9 sets of eye drops. I got worried when they said that one was "iodine".
My memory of iodine is an account in a bit of James Herriott where he impressed a farmer because he sterilised a wound on an animal with iodine + something else, that gave off a big cloud of vapour from the reaction. It was less dramatic.
What I do know is that I think I will be OK to drive after a short time.
I need to find out whether my £100 a time out patient or day patient cash grant from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) Cash Plan applies to this, then see who I need to sign it .
My memory of Iodine was being bathed, and then having my leg shaved, before my first op, aged 15. I had fuck-all idea what was going on. The yellowish hue was still visible a few months later when they removed the first cast.
If you want 'not lovely'...
When I had meningitis, I was lying in bed when the paramedic arrived. He said into his phone he would not take me into Addenbrookes until I was 'stabilised'. By that time I was under morphine, and still screaming. But I wondered how 'stable' I needed to be before they would take me in.
Mrs J still has nightmares from their failures to take a lumbar puncture. Thanks to the morphine, I was immune.
I've been having bone marrow biopsies in the last year or two, too. But they are only 15-20 minutes.
Those match the Mash Song:
"It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin"
TBH my worst overall is probably still the 2 weeks on two different antibiotic transfusions at 8 hour intervals 6am, 2pm, 10pm which took 2-3 hours to drip in each time - in 2023.
I would give that a like, except it feels wrong to give pain a like.
With my meningitis, I was too out of it on morphine. I hate morphine, but it has its uses.
Anyhow, I've been in the clinic this afternoon for an eye injection (into the jelly to reduce fluid).
Interesting (horrid - I flinch badly) experience and the first one I have had.
Another 4 to go at 4 week intervals.
Sounds lovely. Best of luck with it all.
It was *not* lovely.
About 8 or 9 sets of eye drops. I got worried when they said that one was "iodine".
My memory of iodine is an account in a bit of James Herriott where he impressed a farmer because he sterilised a wound on an animal with iodine + something else, that gave off a big cloud of vapour from the reaction. It was less dramatic.
What I do know is that I think I will be OK to drive after a short time.
I need to find out whether my £100 a time out patient or day patient cash grant from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) Cash Plan applies to this, then see who I need to sign it .
My memory of Iodine was being bathed, and then having my leg shaved, before my first op, aged 15. I had fuck-all idea what was going on. The yellowish hue was still visible a few months later when they removed the first cast.
If you want 'not lovely'...
When I had meningitis, I was lying in bed when the paramedic arrived. He said into his phone he would not take me into Addenbrookes until I was 'stabilised'. By that time I was under morphine, and still screaming. But I wondered how 'stable' I needed to be before they would take me in.
Mrs J still has nightmares from their failures to take a lumbar puncture. Thanks to the morphine, I was immune.
I've been having bone marrow biopsies in the last year or two, too. But they are only 15-20 minutes.
Those match the Mash Song:
"It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin"
TBH my worst overall is probably still the 2 weeks on two different antibiotic transfusions at 8 hour intervals 6am, 2pm, 10pm which took 2-3 hours to drip in each time - in 2023.
Dura and Luckyguy are basically arguing NATO hasn’t been necessary for seven decades. Which is obvious bollocks.
Russia has taken a pasting - but so has Ukraine, and European arms stock have been depleted too. It’s fairly obvious that the cost of another war would quite likely exceed that of deterring one. And a stable, democratic Ukraine would make a large future economic contribution to Europe - rather than providing resources for the authoritarian, military expansionist empire to the east.
I believe one of them is sincere and not juvenille trolling at least.
Anyhow, I've been in the clinic this afternoon for an eye injection (into the jelly to reduce fluid).
Interesting (horrid - I flinch badly) experience and the first one I have had.
Another 4 to go at 4 week intervals.
Sounds lovely. Best of luck with it all.
It was *not* lovely.
About 8 or 9 sets of eye drops. I got worried when they said that one was "iodine".
My memory of iodine is an account in a bit of James Herriott where he impressed a farmer because he sterilised a wound on an animal with iodine + something else, that gave off a big cloud of vapour from the reaction. It was less dramatic.
What I do know is that I think I will be OK to drive after a short time.
I need to find out whether my £100 a time out patient or day patient cash grant from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) Cash Plan applies to this, then see who I need to sign it .
My memory of Iodine was being bathed, and then having my leg shaved, before my first op, aged 15. I had fuck-all idea what was going on. The yellowish hue was still visible a few months later when they removed the first cast.
If you want 'not lovely'...
When I had meningitis, I was lying in bed when the paramedic arrived. He said into his phone he would not take me into Addenbrookes until I was 'stabilised'. By that time I was under morphine, and still screaming. But I wondered how 'stable' I needed to be before they would take me in.
Mrs J still has nightmares from their failures to take a lumbar puncture. Thanks to the morphine, I was immune.
I've been having bone marrow biopsies in the last year or two, too. But they are only 15-20 minutes.
Those match the Mash Song:
"It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin"
TBH my worst overall is probably still the 2 weeks on two different antibiotic transfusions at 8 hour intervals 6am, 2pm, 10pm which took 2-3 hours to drip in each time - in 2023.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the motivation I confess this is another of those topics that just riles me up irrationally - let the poor buggers in hospital keep their bloody sausages.
These people are insane. How do we get rid of them?
Switching to a carnivore diet has done wonders for my health. Down 70 pounds now since I made the switch, pretty close to my goal weight now, and health is far better than it was. Get rid of plant-based crap.
I don't think one has to share your carnivore based tastes to think letting people enjoy some fried breakfasts when very ill or dying is perhaps worth the risks.
Or that its good for you.
With the fried breakfast, I think it's more the vast amounts of salt and vegetable oil sometimes used in its creation that are the primary health risks, rather than the existence of meat in there.
Indeed. Putting the meat in the air fryer is how I cook mine, no oil necessary then.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the motivation I confess this is another of those topics that just riles me up irrationally - let the poor buggers in hospital keep their bloody sausages.
These people are insane. How do we get rid of them?
Switching to a carnivore diet has done wonders for my health. Down 70 pounds now since I made the switch, pretty close to my goal weight now, and health is far better than it was. Get rid of plant-based crap.
I’m intrigued how fat you were. So you have lost 5 stone, unless you are a big big chap that’s a huge amount of weight to lose voluntarily, what weight are you now?
I peaked at 252lbs during lockdown. When I started my carnivore diet (Oct 2023) I was on 247 lbs.
I'm now 177 lbs, so 70 down since I switched diet, 75 down from my peak.
Can I ask how tall you are? Just seems like a massive weight shift. I’m guessing you aren’t looking anorexic at 12.5 stone?
5'8" so, no, not anorexic. Gone from BMI of 38 to 27.
…………… 38??????
😳
Fucking hell
But bravo on bringing that down to 27. That’s seriously impressive work, my dude
👏
Thanks. No drugs or surgery, just a diet of the five important food groups: meat, cheese, eggs, milk and coffee.
Do you know how/why your weight got so out of hand?
You are under no obligation to answer. I’ve no desire to push buttons
You should be on telly. That’s incredible weight loss, and without ozempic!
Thanks. I've long struggled with my weight, the last time I weighed what I do now was about 15 years ago. I was typically around 220 and would diet and get it close to 200 but never got it down below 200.
I was always active despite being overweight so never too concerned. Lockdown was bad for my health. Went from doing upto 20k steps a day to sub 4k. That's when my weight went up to 252 and I struggled to get it back down again before I switched my diet.
Despite it being rather American, I took a long time ago to weighing in pounds alone. Easier to keep track using that as a decimal rather than messing around with stone conversions, and easier to notice differences when dieting than dealing with kg.
But you calculate bmi with imperial units..?
Just Google a calculator and it does it for you.
I prefer metric on a philosophical basis, but know my height in an imperial one so what difference does it make. I could do the maths but it is easy enough to find a calculator online that takes weight in pounds and height in feet and inches.
It would be nice to have a calculator get the square of height calculating only in feet and inches
Nobody should get too hung up on BMI in any case. It is a poor measure.
Well yes, but I was interested solely in the calculation - what is the square of 5'10" ?
a*a + 2ab + b*b
or (60+10)(60-10)
Try again
Ooops. Base 14 .
It will need an interesting constant to bodge the units, or a different target range calibration.
That's why metric is best.
Even then your expression wouldn't work, would it?
a^2 + 2ab + b^2 factorises to (a+b)^2 which is what I assume you wanted.
But you added a minus sign in to the factorised form. (a+b)(a-b) = a^2 - b^2 so the difference of two squares, not the perfect square.
I don't think any European military alliance could work through the apparatus of the EU for either political or military agility reasons.
I suspect it would need to be established through a new treaty.
It can't be the EU (for the reasons you set out, plus problem states like Hungary) and it can't be NATO (no France, needs to be outside the US).
So agreed it'll be a new treaty of willing European nations. And, as someone pointed out on another thread, we should force Ireland's hand to stop being neutral and pay up their fair share for defence if they want to retain their current benefit.
But I can't really think of any European nations that are significant, willing and trustworthy on Ukraine, with the possible exception of the Poles. The Frogs are led by a posturing, erratic clown who doesn't can't even form a lasting government, sucked up to Putin both before and after he invaded, did much to undermine NATO by describing it as brain dead, they have just been thrashed in Mali, and they actually walked away from NATO in the 1960s. Most Krauts are obviously desperate to get back to buying cheap Russian gas, don't want to give the Ukrainians serious weaponsand the AfD is about the most pro-Putin party on the continent. The Italians and Spanish don't care and their militaries are in a much worse state even than ours. The Austrians, Slovaks and Hungarians made Trump look anti-Putin. The Balts are stalwart, for obvious reasons, but their combined population is less than Greater London's. The Swedes and the Finns were neutral until a few months ago.
I think either it's just us, the Poles and a few hangers-on, in which case what could we do collectively that we can't do already, or any new alliance would be a pointless talking shop and would probably fall apart pretty quickly.
Anyhow, I've been in the clinic this afternoon for an eye injection (into the jelly to reduce fluid).
Interesting (horrid - I flinch badly) experience and the first one I have had.
Another 4 to go at 4 week intervals.
Sounds lovely. Best of luck with it all.
It was *not* lovely.
About 8 or 9 sets of eye drops. I got worried when they said that one was "iodine".
My memory of iodine is an account in a bit of James Herriott where he impressed a farmer because he sterilised a wound on an animal with iodine + something else, that gave off a big cloud of vapour from the reaction. It was less dramatic.
What I do know is that I think I will be OK to drive after a short time.
I need to find out whether my £100 a time out patient or day patient cash grant from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) Cash Plan applies to this, then see who I need to sign it .
My memory of Iodine was being bathed, and then having my leg shaved, before my first op, aged 15. I had fuck-all idea what was going on. The yellowish hue was still visible a few months later when they removed the first cast.
If you want 'not lovely'...
When I had meningitis, I was lying in bed when the paramedic arrived. He said into his phone he would not take me into Addenbrookes until I was 'stabilised'. By that time I was under morphine, and still screaming. But I wondered how 'stable' I needed to be before they would take me in.
Mrs J still has nightmares from their failures to take a lumbar puncture. Thanks to the morphine, I was immune.
I've been having bone marrow biopsies in the last year or two, too. But they are only 15-20 minutes.
Those match the Mash Song:
"It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin"
TBH my worst overall is probably still the 2 weeks on two different antibiotic transfusions at 8 hour intervals 6am, 2pm, 10pm which took 2-3 hours to drip in each time - in 2023.
I've had a lot of pain in my life, but meningitis was the worst. Pain caused by light and movement.
Besides, pain is subjective and varies from person to person. The father of a schoolfriend of mine had his arm ripped off in a bailer, and he walked half a mile home carrying his arm. I cannot imagine that. I'd just die on the spot.
Anyhow, I've been in the clinic this afternoon for an eye injection (into the jelly to reduce fluid).
Interesting (horrid - I flinch badly) experience and the first one I have had.
Another 4 to go at 4 week intervals.
Sounds lovely. Best of luck with it all.
It was *not* lovely.
About 8 or 9 sets of eye drops. I got worried when they said that one was "iodine".
My memory of iodine is an account in a bit of James Herriott where he impressed a farmer because he sterilised a wound on an animal with iodine + something else, that gave off a big cloud of vapour from the reaction. It was less dramatic.
What I do know is that I think I will be OK to drive after a short time.
I need to find out whether my £100 a time out patient or day patient cash grant from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) Cash Plan applies to this, then see who I need to sign it .
My memory of Iodine was being bathed, and then having my leg shaved, before my first op, aged 15. I had fuck-all idea what was going on. The yellowish hue was still visible a few months later when they removed the first cast.
If you want 'not lovely'...
When I had meningitis, I was lying in bed when the paramedic arrived. He said into his phone he would not take me into Addenbrookes until I was 'stabilised'. By that time I was under morphine, and still screaming. But I wondered how 'stable' I needed to be before they would take me in.
Mrs J still has nightmares from their failures to take a lumbar puncture. Thanks to the morphine, I was immune.
I've been having bone marrow biopsies in the last year or two, too. But they are only 15-20 minutes.
Those match the Mash Song:
"It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin"
TBH my worst overall is probably still the 2 weeks on two different antibiotic transfusions at 8 hour intervals 6am, 2pm, 10pm which took 2-3 hours to drip in each time. I've had a couple of other 2 week hospital stays - T1D diagnosis, and one more since, but it's only been about once per decade overall.
I lost count of how many bone marrow biopsies I had, but it was every three months for three years, plus more at the time of diagnosis and treatment. I also have rather thick bones, and being about 40 at the time it was a tough old job getting through to the marrow. No fun. Worst moments include they day they used both sides to get the sample and the time they sent the sample to the wrong place and wanted another sample two days later.
Anyhow, I've been in the clinic this afternoon for an eye injection (into the jelly to reduce fluid).
Interesting (horrid - I flinch badly) experience and the first one I have had.
Another 4 to go at 4 week intervals.
Sounds lovely. Best of luck with it all.
It was *not* lovely.
About 8 or 9 sets of eye drops. I got worried when they said that one was "iodine".
My memory of iodine is an account in a bit of James Herriott where he impressed a farmer because he sterilised a wound on an animal with iodine + something else, that gave off a big cloud of vapour from the reaction. It was less dramatic.
What I do know is that I think I will be OK to drive after a short time.
I need to find out whether my £100 a time out patient or day patient cash grant from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) Cash Plan applies to this, then see who I need to sign it .
My memory of Iodine was being bathed, and then having my leg shaved, before my first op, aged 15. I had fuck-all idea what was going on. The yellowish hue was still visible a few months later when they removed the first cast.
If you want 'not lovely'...
When I had meningitis, I was lying in bed when the paramedic arrived. He said into his phone he would not take me into Addenbrookes until I was 'stabilised'. By that time I was under morphine, and still screaming. But I wondered how 'stable' I needed to be before they would take me in.
Mrs J still has nightmares from their failures to take a lumbar puncture. Thanks to the morphine, I was immune.
I've been having bone marrow biopsies in the last year or two, too. But they are only 15-20 minutes.
Those match the Mash Song:
"It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin"
TBH my worst overall is probably still the 2 weeks on two different antibiotic transfusions at 8 hour intervals 6am, 2pm, 10pm which took 2-3 hours to drip in each time - in 2023.
Anyhow, I've been in the clinic this afternoon for an eye injection (into the jelly to reduce fluid).
Interesting (horrid - I flinch badly) experience and the first one I have had.
Another 4 to go at 4 week intervals.
Sounds lovely. Best of luck with it all.
It was *not* lovely.
About 8 or 9 sets of eye drops. I got worried when they said that one was "iodine".
My memory of iodine is an account in a bit of James Herriott where he impressed a farmer because he sterilised a wound on an animal with iodine + something else, that gave off a big cloud of vapour from the reaction. It was less dramatic.
What I do know is that I think I will be OK to drive after a short time.
I need to find out whether my £100 a time out patient or day patient cash grant from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) Cash Plan applies to this, then see who I need to sign it .
My memory of Iodine was being bathed, and then having my leg shaved, before my first op, aged 15. I had fuck-all idea what was going on. The yellowish hue was still visible a few months later when they removed the first cast.
If you want 'not lovely'...
When I had meningitis, I was lying in bed when the paramedic arrived. He said into his phone he would not take me into Addenbrookes until I was 'stabilised'. By that time I was under morphine, and still screaming. But I wondered how 'stable' I needed to be before they would take me in.
Mrs J still has nightmares from their failures to take a lumbar puncture. Thanks to the morphine, I was immune.
I've been having bone marrow biopsies in the last year or two, too. But they are only 15-20 minutes.
Those match the Mash Song:
"It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin"
TBH my worst overall is probably still the 2 weeks on two different antibiotic transfusions at 8 hour intervals 6am, 2pm, 10pm which took 2-3 hours to drip in each time - in 2023.
I don't think any European military alliance could work through the apparatus of the EU for either political or military agility reasons.
I suspect it would need to be established through a new treaty.
It can't be the EU (for the reasons you set out, plus problem states like Hungary) and it can't be NATO (no France, needs to be outside the US).
So agreed it'll be a new treaty of willing European nations. And, as someone pointed out on another thread, we should force Ireland's hand to stop being neutral and pay up their fair share for defence if they want to retain their current benefit.
But I can't really think of any European nations that are significant, willing and trustworthy on Ukraine, with the possible exception of the Poles. The Frogs are led by a posturing, erratic clown who doesn't can't even form a lasting government, sucked up to Putin both before and after he invaded, did much to undermine NATO by describing it as brain dead, they have just been thrashed in Mali, and they actually walked away from NATO in the 1960s. Most Krauts are obviously desperate to get back to buying cheap Russian gas, and the AfD is about the most pro-Putin party on the continent. The Italians and Spanish don't care and their militaries are in a much worse state even than ours. The Austrians, Slovaks and Hungarians made Trump look anti-Putin. The Balts are stalwart, for obvious reasons, but their combined population is less than Greater London's. The Swedes and the Finns were neutral until a few months ago.
I think either it's just us, the Poles and a few hangers-on or any new alliance would probably fall apart pretty quickly.
In defence of Macron, he tried to dissuade Putin from war. I was very against Macron until I saw the videos of him when Russia invaded, and I could see what he was trying to do. France under Macron has very much been Ukraine's friend.
It's interested that on PB these days we often only have one thread each day, whereas it used to be at least 3. Maybe that's because the servers are better able to cope with a large number of comments compared to 10 or 15 years ago? I used to like the "Night Hawks" thread in particular.
It's interested that on PB these days we often only have one thread each day, whereas it used to be at least 3. Maybe that's because the servers are better able to cope with a large number of comments compared to 10 or 15 years ago? I used to like the "Night Hawks" thread in particular.
Write a threader. TSE is on holiday, and RCS is busy making money.
Anyhow, I've been in the clinic this afternoon for an eye injection (into the jelly to reduce fluid).
Interesting (horrid - I flinch badly) experience and the first one I have had.
Another 4 to go at 4 week intervals.
Sounds lovely. Best of luck with it all.
It was *not* lovely.
About 8 or 9 sets of eye drops. I got worried when they said that one was "iodine".
My memory of iodine is an account in a bit of James Herriott where he impressed a farmer because he sterilised a wound on an animal with iodine + something else, that gave off a big cloud of vapour from the reaction. It was less dramatic.
What I do know is that I think I will be OK to drive after a short time.
I need to find out whether my £100 a time out patient or day patient cash grant from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) Cash Plan applies to this, then see who I need to sign it .
My memory of Iodine was being bathed, and then having my leg shaved, before my first op, aged 15. I had fuck-all idea what was going on. The yellowish hue was still visible a few months later when they removed the first cast.
If you want 'not lovely'...
When I had meningitis, I was lying in bed when the paramedic arrived. He said into his phone he would not take me into Addenbrookes until I was 'stabilised'. By that time I was under morphine, and still screaming. But I wondered how 'stable' I needed to be before they would take me in.
Mrs J still has nightmares from their failures to take a lumbar puncture. Thanks to the morphine, I was immune.
I've been having bone marrow biopsies in the last year or two, too. But they are only 15-20 minutes.
Those match the Mash Song:
"It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin"
TBH my worst overall is probably still the 2 weeks on two different antibiotic transfusions at 8 hour intervals 6am, 2pm, 10pm which took 2-3 hours to drip in each time - in 2023.
I get cluster headaches. About one cluster every 2 years, usually in October-November. Tend to happen once a day for a month then disappear.
They are terrible and make you pace the room, grind your teeth, yell at God and want to headbutt the wall. They are definitely worse than most other forms of pain I’ve experienced, but personally I don’t think they are as bad as really intense abdominal pain. I’ve not had appendicitis but assume it would be worse than a cluster headache.
Anyhow, I've been in the clinic this afternoon for an eye injection (into the jelly to reduce fluid).
Interesting (horrid - I flinch badly) experience and the first one I have had.
Another 4 to go at 4 week intervals.
Sounds lovely. Best of luck with it all.
It was *not* lovely.
About 8 or 9 sets of eye drops. I got worried when they said that one was "iodine".
My memory of iodine is an account in a bit of James Herriott where he impressed a farmer because he sterilised a wound on an animal with iodine + something else, that gave off a big cloud of vapour from the reaction. It was less dramatic.
What I do know is that I think I will be OK to drive after a short time.
I need to find out whether my £100 a time out patient or day patient cash grant from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) Cash Plan applies to this, then see who I need to sign it .
My memory of Iodine was being bathed, and then having my leg shaved, before my first op, aged 15. I had fuck-all idea what was going on. The yellowish hue was still visible a few months later when they removed the first cast.
If you want 'not lovely'...
When I had meningitis, I was lying in bed when the paramedic arrived. He said into his phone he would not take me into Addenbrookes until I was 'stabilised'. By that time I was under morphine, and still screaming. But I wondered how 'stable' I needed to be before they would take me in.
Mrs J still has nightmares from their failures to take a lumbar puncture. Thanks to the morphine, I was immune.
I've been having bone marrow biopsies in the last year or two, too. But they are only 15-20 minutes.
Those match the Mash Song:
"It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin"
TBH my worst overall is probably still the 2 weeks on two different antibiotic transfusions at 8 hour intervals 6am, 2pm, 10pm which took 2-3 hours to drip in each time - in 2023.
I had the kidney pain, though in my case it was a completely blocked ureter, which required an operation. Definitely the second worst pain I’ve ever experienced.
The worst was from internal bleeding after the operation, after they failed properly to cauterise stuff. That was something else again. I had to wait for several hours before the surgeon turned up again to reopen me.
Does anybody have a sufficient level of cognitive dissonance to explain why, if the armed forces of the Russian Federation can't even secure their own territorial integrity by kicking the Mazepists out of Kursk, they are such a conventional threat to Britain that we need to embark on a massive, ruinously expensive and socially destructive re-armament program?
What specific threat are we gunning up to counter? Amphibious invasion of Norfolk?
It’s an important point, which is why it makes way more sense arming Eastern European states and letting them do the dirty work for us.
If Russia doesn't threaten us militarily, why is it 'our work' to contain it?
They are clearly not a nice regime. Being their neighbour must be hell. Living there must be very disagreeable. But why 'them' especially, not Xi, not Erdogan, not the Saudis, not Al Shabab in Mozambique? The reason is because Russia has been the USA's number one foe, regardless of Republican or Democrat, for the past 15 years or so. The others, regardless of their evil, their brutality, their invasions, their scant regard for peoples' freedoms, have not. That is why Putin is public enemy No. 1, not just another gargoyle in a whole unpleasant gallery of them.
If the USA vs. Russia situation changes, as it looks like it might, it's quite awkward for Europe's leaders, because it's no longer a competition to declare how dangerous Putin is (despite his failure to conquer Ukraine) because now the US doesn't give a shit. Just like it has never given a shit about the Saudis chopping people up, so you don't hear a peep about that from anyone.
In the long run, if it sticks, we will all care about Russia a lot less, and move on to hating whoever is at the top of America's shitlist next. And Jessop will be haranguing us all to declare war on whoever that is.
Neither Erdoğan nor Al Shabab have invaded several of their neighbouring countries, all in Europe, used chemical weapons and nuclear materials on our territory, regularly buzzed our air defences, sailed their naval assets into our waters, nor threate9ned to cut our communication cables, launch a rain of hypersonic missiles down on the UK or drop a small nuke into the North Sea to "see what happens".
What planet do you live on?
Al Shabab aren't in Europe you utter loon. Erdogan's Turkey is illegally occupying parts of Syria, and part of Cyprus, which if my geography serves is both in Europe, and close to actual British interests, so you can't even get your stupid 'list of things showing they're baddies' right. Turkey is also a safe haven for the Muslim Brotherhood, an organisation that is so cuddly that even Saudi Arabia considers them terrorists, and which has a very significant and seemingly very malign influence in the UK. That is what I would call an *actual* security risk, but hey, I am sure your great list of 'and they have to have a name that rhymes with 'Badimir Flutin' is the definitive guide to who we should consider threat numero uno.
Ummm: I don't think Erdogan invaded Northern Cyprus.
No but Turkey did in 1974 and only the British sovereign bases really stopped them from overrunning the entire island. Certainly the Greeks weren't going to stop them.
(Interesting snippet "Turkey" is now red underlined and "Türkiye" suggested instead.)
Anyhow, I've been in the clinic this afternoon for an eye injection (into the jelly to reduce fluid).
Interesting (horrid - I flinch badly) experience and the first one I have had.
Another 4 to go at 4 week intervals.
Sounds lovely. Best of luck with it all.
It was *not* lovely.
About 8 or 9 sets of eye drops. I got worried when they said that one was "iodine".
My memory of iodine is an account in a bit of James Herriott where he impressed a farmer because he sterilised a wound on an animal with iodine + something else, that gave off a big cloud of vapour from the reaction. It was less dramatic.
What I do know is that I think I will be OK to drive after a short time.
I need to find out whether my £100 a time out patient or day patient cash grant from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) Cash Plan applies to this, then see who I need to sign it .
My memory of Iodine was being bathed, and then having my leg shaved, before my first op, aged 15. I had fuck-all idea what was going on. The yellowish hue was still visible a few months later when they removed the first cast.
If you want 'not lovely'...
When I had meningitis, I was lying in bed when the paramedic arrived. He said into his phone he would not take me into Addenbrookes until I was 'stabilised'. By that time I was under morphine, and still screaming. But I wondered how 'stable' I needed to be before they would take me in.
Mrs J still has nightmares from their failures to take a lumbar puncture. Thanks to the morphine, I was immune.
I've been having bone marrow biopsies in the last year or two, too. But they are only 15-20 minutes.
Those match the Mash Song:
"It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin"
TBH my worst overall is probably still the 2 weeks on two different antibiotic transfusions at 8 hour intervals 6am, 2pm, 10pm which took 2-3 hours to drip in each time - in 2023.
I've been looking unsuccessfully on YouTube for Chubby Brown saying to women something like:- ... but you all go back and have another baby. We get our foreskin caught in our zip once and we get our mam to sew buttons on our trousers.
Anyhow, I've been in the clinic this afternoon for an eye injection (into the jelly to reduce fluid).
Interesting (horrid - I flinch badly) experience and the first one I have had.
Another 4 to go at 4 week intervals.
Sounds lovely. Best of luck with it all.
It was *not* lovely.
About 8 or 9 sets of eye drops. I got worried when they said that one was "iodine".
My memory of iodine is an account in a bit of James Herriott where he impressed a farmer because he sterilised a wound on an animal with iodine + something else, that gave off a big cloud of vapour from the reaction. It was less dramatic.
What I do know is that I think I will be OK to drive after a short time.
I need to find out whether my £100 a time out patient or day patient cash grant from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) Cash Plan applies to this, then see who I need to sign it .
My memory of Iodine was being bathed, and then having my leg shaved, before my first op, aged 15. I had fuck-all idea what was going on. The yellowish hue was still visible a few months later when they removed the first cast.
If you want 'not lovely'...
When I had meningitis, I was lying in bed when the paramedic arrived. He said into his phone he would not take me into Addenbrookes until I was 'stabilised'. By that time I was under morphine, and still screaming. But I wondered how 'stable' I needed to be before they would take me in.
Mrs J still has nightmares from their failures to take a lumbar puncture. Thanks to the morphine, I was immune.
I've been having bone marrow biopsies in the last year or two, too. But they are only 15-20 minutes.
Those match the Mash Song:
"It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin"
TBH my worst overall is probably still the 2 weeks on two different antibiotic transfusions at 8 hour intervals 6am, 2pm, 10pm which took 2-3 hours to drip in each time - in 2023.
I get cluster headaches. About one cluster every 2 years, usually in October-November. Tend to happen once a day for a month then disappear.
They are terrible and make you pace the room, grind your teeth, yell at God and want to headbutt the wall. They are definitely worse than most other forms of pain I’ve experienced, but personally I don’t think they are as bad as really intense abdominal pain. I’ve not had appendicitis but assume it would be worse than a cluster headache.
I’ve never had a cluster headache, but I do know that the internal bleeding hurt a LOT more than the kidney (which was excruciating).
Anyhow, I've been in the clinic this afternoon for an eye injection (into the jelly to reduce fluid).
Interesting (horrid - I flinch badly) experience and the first one I have had.
Another 4 to go at 4 week intervals.
Sounds lovely. Best of luck with it all.
It was *not* lovely.
About 8 or 9 sets of eye drops. I got worried when they said that one was "iodine".
My memory of iodine is an account in a bit of James Herriott where he impressed a farmer because he sterilised a wound on an animal with iodine + something else, that gave off a big cloud of vapour from the reaction. It was less dramatic.
What I do know is that I think I will be OK to drive after a short time.
I need to find out whether my £100 a time out patient or day patient cash grant from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) Cash Plan applies to this, then see who I need to sign it .
My memory of Iodine was being bathed, and then having my leg shaved, before my first op, aged 15. I had fuck-all idea what was going on. The yellowish hue was still visible a few months later when they removed the first cast.
If you want 'not lovely'...
When I had meningitis, I was lying in bed when the paramedic arrived. He said into his phone he would not take me into Addenbrookes until I was 'stabilised'. By that time I was under morphine, and still screaming. But I wondered how 'stable' I needed to be before they would take me in.
Mrs J still has nightmares from their failures to take a lumbar puncture. Thanks to the morphine, I was immune.
I've been having bone marrow biopsies in the last year or two, too. But they are only 15-20 minutes.
Those match the Mash Song:
"It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin"
TBH my worst overall is probably still the 2 weeks on two different antibiotic transfusions at 8 hour intervals 6am, 2pm, 10pm which took 2-3 hours to drip in each time - in 2023.
I've been looking unsuccessfully on YouTube for Chubby Brown saying to women something like:- ... but you all go back and have another baby. We get our foreskin caught in our zip once and we get our mam to sew buttons on our trousers.
I did that 2x as a kid, the memory of the pain is vivid. On the list the highest I have been is gallstones which I have had on a few occasions now. I have no aspirations to go any higher, I can tell you.
Anyhow, I've been in the clinic this afternoon for an eye injection (into the jelly to reduce fluid).
Interesting (horrid - I flinch badly) experience and the first one I have had.
Another 4 to go at 4 week intervals.
Sounds lovely. Best of luck with it all.
It was *not* lovely.
About 8 or 9 sets of eye drops. I got worried when they said that one was "iodine".
My memory of iodine is an account in a bit of James Herriott where he impressed a farmer because he sterilised a wound on an animal with iodine + something else, that gave off a big cloud of vapour from the reaction. It was less dramatic.
What I do know is that I think I will be OK to drive after a short time.
I need to find out whether my £100 a time out patient or day patient cash grant from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) Cash Plan applies to this, then see who I need to sign it .
My memory of Iodine was being bathed, and then having my leg shaved, before my first op, aged 15. I had fuck-all idea what was going on. The yellowish hue was still visible a few months later when they removed the first cast.
If you want 'not lovely'...
When I had meningitis, I was lying in bed when the paramedic arrived. He said into his phone he would not take me into Addenbrookes until I was 'stabilised'. By that time I was under morphine, and still screaming. But I wondered how 'stable' I needed to be before they would take me in.
Mrs J still has nightmares from their failures to take a lumbar puncture. Thanks to the morphine, I was immune.
I've been having bone marrow biopsies in the last year or two, too. But they are only 15-20 minutes.
Those match the Mash Song:
"It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin"
TBH my worst overall is probably still the 2 weeks on two different antibiotic transfusions at 8 hour intervals 6am, 2pm, 10pm which took 2-3 hours to drip in each time - in 2023.
I get cluster headaches. About one cluster every 2 years, usually in October-November. Tend to happen once a day for a month then disappear.
They are terrible and make you pace the room, grind your teeth, yell at God and want to headbutt the wall. They are definitely worse than most other forms of pain I’ve experienced, but personally I don’t think they are as bad as really intense abdominal pain. I’ve not had appendicitis but assume it would be worse than a cluster headache.
My father suffered from them, and found that eating fresh grapefruit (Florida Pinks), cured them.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the motivation I confess this is another of those topics that just riles me up irrationally - let the poor buggers in hospital keep their bloody sausages.
These people are insane. How do we get rid of them?
Switching to a carnivore diet has done wonders for my health. Down 70 pounds now since I made the switch, pretty close to my goal weight now, and health is far better than it was. Get rid of plant-based crap.
I don't think one has to share your carnivore based tastes to think letting people enjoy some fried breakfasts when very ill or dying is perhaps worth the risks.
Or that its good for you.
With the fried breakfast, I think it's more the vast amounts of salt and vegetable oil sometimes used in its creation that are the primary health risks, rather than the existence of meat in there.
Indeed. Putting the meat in the air fryer is how I cook mine, no oil necessary then.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the motivation I confess this is another of those topics that just riles me up irrationally - let the poor buggers in hospital keep their bloody sausages.
These people are insane. How do we get rid of them?
Switching to a carnivore diet has done wonders for my health. Down 70 pounds now since I made the switch, pretty close to my goal weight now, and health is far better than it was. Get rid of plant-based crap.
I’m intrigued how fat you were. So you have lost 5 stone, unless you are a big big chap that’s a huge amount of weight to lose voluntarily, what weight are you now?
I peaked at 252lbs during lockdown. When I started my carnivore diet (Oct 2023) I was on 247 lbs.
I'm now 177 lbs, so 70 down since I switched diet, 75 down from my peak.
Can I ask how tall you are? Just seems like a massive weight shift. I’m guessing you aren’t looking anorexic at 12.5 stone?
5'8" so, no, not anorexic. Gone from BMI of 38 to 27.
…………… 38??????
😳
Fucking hell
But bravo on bringing that down to 27. That’s seriously impressive work, my dude
👏
Thanks. No drugs or surgery, just a diet of the five important food groups: meat, cheese, eggs, milk and coffee.
Do you know how/why your weight got so out of hand?
You are under no obligation to answer. I’ve no desire to push buttons
You should be on telly. That’s incredible weight loss, and without ozempic!
Thanks. I've long struggled with my weight, the last time I weighed what I do now was about 15 years ago. I was typically around 220 and would diet and get it close to 200 but never got it down below 200.
I was always active despite being overweight so never too concerned. Lockdown was bad for my health. Went from doing upto 20k steps a day to sub 4k. That's when my weight went up to 252 and I struggled to get it back down again before I switched my diet.
Despite it being rather American, I took a long time ago to weighing in pounds alone. Easier to keep track using that as a decimal rather than messing around with stone conversions, and easier to notice differences when dieting than dealing with kg.
But you calculate bmi with imperial units..?
Just Google a calculator and it does it for you.
I prefer metric on a philosophical basis, but know my height in an imperial one so what difference does it make. I could do the maths but it is easy enough to find a calculator online that takes weight in pounds and height in feet and inches.
It would be nice to have a calculator get the square of height calculating only in feet and inches
Nobody should get too hung up on BMI in any case. It is a poor measure.
Well yes, but I was interested solely in the calculation - what is the square of 5'10" ?
a*a + 2ab + b*b
or (60+10)(60-10)
Try again
Ooops. Base 14 .
It will need an interesting constant to bodge the units, or a different target range calibration.
That's why metric is best.
Even then your expression wouldn't work, would it?
a^2 + 2ab + b^2 factorises to (a+b)^2 which is what I assume you wanted.
But you added a minus sign in to the factorised form. (a+b)(a-b) = a^2 - b^2 so the difference of two squares, not the perfect square.
(We are a bit off the question here !)
Actually - no. It's simplifying so I can do it more easily in my head.
(And you're right I mean base 12 not base 14, which would be weight not height.)
If I were dealing with needing to square a tricky number - say 5'7", which is 67 inches, I will do that by 60*60 + 2*60*7 + 7*7, which by mental inspection is 3600 + 840 + 49 = 4489.
I might also treat it as 70 minus 3 and use the difference of 2 squares in that case.
There may be better ways; this has worked for me forever as a way of reforming expressions, especially getting quite close approximations.
Though here 5'10" is actually just 70 inches, which is an easy one.
Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63 · 6h Rubio is a ghost already, passing through the halls of power without leaving a trace. This Saudi thing looks like a sideshow. The real action is Trump and Musk lifting sanctions and normalizing Putin's terrorist regime while getting nothing in return without explaining why.
Stathis Kalyvas @SKalyvas · 8h There is now total clarity, no matter how unimaginable things might seem. And they amount to this: The U.S. government has been taken over by a clique of extremists who have embarked on a process of regime change in the world's oldest democracy. 1/n
Stathis Kalyvas @SKalyvas · 8h There is now total clarity, no matter how unimaginable things might seem. And they amount to this: The U.S. government has been taken over by a clique of extremists who have embarked on a process of regime change in the world's oldest democracy. 1/n
Stathis Kalyvas @SKalyvas · 8h There is now total clarity, no matter how unimaginable things might seem. And they amount to this: The U.S. government has been taken over by a clique of extremists who have embarked on a process of regime change in the world's oldest democracy. 1/n
Stathis Kalyvas @SKalyvas · 8h There is now total clarity, no matter how unimaginable things might seem. And they amount to this: The U.S. government has been taken over by a clique of extremists who have embarked on a process of regime change in the world's oldest democracy. 1/n
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the motivation I confess this is another of those topics that just riles me up irrationally - let the poor buggers in hospital keep their bloody sausages.
These people are insane. How do we get rid of them?
Switching to a carnivore diet has done wonders for my health. Down 70 pounds now since I made the switch, pretty close to my goal weight now, and health is far better than it was. Get rid of plant-based crap.
I don't think one has to share your carnivore based tastes to think letting people enjoy some fried breakfasts when very ill or dying is perhaps worth the risks.
Or that its good for you.
With the fried breakfast, I think it's more the vast amounts of salt and vegetable oil sometimes used in its creation that are the primary health risks, rather than the existence of meat in there.
Indeed. Putting the meat in the air fryer is how I cook mine, no oil necessary then.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the motivation I confess this is another of those topics that just riles me up irrationally - let the poor buggers in hospital keep their bloody sausages.
These people are insane. How do we get rid of them?
Switching to a carnivore diet has done wonders for my health. Down 70 pounds now since I made the switch, pretty close to my goal weight now, and health is far better than it was. Get rid of plant-based crap.
I’m intrigued how fat you were. So you have lost 5 stone, unless you are a big big chap that’s a huge amount of weight to lose voluntarily, what weight are you now?
I peaked at 252lbs during lockdown. When I started my carnivore diet (Oct 2023) I was on 247 lbs.
I'm now 177 lbs, so 70 down since I switched diet, 75 down from my peak.
Can I ask how tall you are? Just seems like a massive weight shift. I’m guessing you aren’t looking anorexic at 12.5 stone?
5'8" so, no, not anorexic. Gone from BMI of 38 to 27.
…………… 38??????
😳
Fucking hell
But bravo on bringing that down to 27. That’s seriously impressive work, my dude
👏
Thanks. No drugs or surgery, just a diet of the five important food groups: meat, cheese, eggs, milk and coffee.
Do you know how/why your weight got so out of hand?
You are under no obligation to answer. I’ve no desire to push buttons
You should be on telly. That’s incredible weight loss, and without ozempic!
Thanks. I've long struggled with my weight, the last time I weighed what I do now was about 15 years ago. I was typically around 220 and would diet and get it close to 200 but never got it down below 200.
I was always active despite being overweight so never too concerned. Lockdown was bad for my health. Went from doing upto 20k steps a day to sub 4k. That's when my weight went up to 252 and I struggled to get it back down again before I switched my diet.
Despite it being rather American, I took a long time ago to weighing in pounds alone. Easier to keep track using that as a decimal rather than messing around with stone conversions, and easier to notice differences when dieting than dealing with kg.
But you calculate bmi with imperial units..?
Just Google a calculator and it does it for you.
I prefer metric on a philosophical basis, but know my height in an imperial one so what difference does it make. I could do the maths but it is easy enough to find a calculator online that takes weight in pounds and height in feet and inches.
It would be nice to have a calculator get the square of height calculating only in feet and inches
Nobody should get too hung up on BMI in any case. It is a poor measure.
Well yes, but I was interested solely in the calculation - what is the square of 5'10" ?
a*a + 2ab + b*b
or (60+10)(60-10)
Try again
Ooops. Base 14 .
It will need an interesting constant to bodge the units, or a different target range calibration.
That's why metric is best.
Even then your expression wouldn't work, would it?
a^2 + 2ab + b^2 factorises to (a+b)^2 which is what I assume you wanted.
But you added a minus sign in to the factorised form. (a+b)(a-b) = a^2 - b^2 so the difference of two squares, not the perfect square.
(We are a bit off the question here !)
Actually - no. It's simplifying so I can do it more easily in my head.
(And you're right I mean base 12 not base 14, which would be weight not height.)
If I were dealing with needing to square a tricky number - say 5'7", which is 67 inches, I will do that by 60*60 + 2*60*7 + 7*7, which by mental inspection is 3600 + 840 + 49 = 4489.
I might also treat it as 70 minus 3 and use the difference of 2 squares in that case.
There may be better ways; this has worked for me forever as a way of reforming expressions, especially getting quite close approximations.
Though here 5'10" is actually just 70 inches, which is an easy one.
Does anybody have a sufficient level of cognitive dissonance to explain why, if the armed forces of the Russian Federation can't even secure their own territorial integrity by kicking the Mazepists out of Kursk, they are such a conventional threat to Britain that we need to embark on a massive, ruinously expensive and socially destructive re-armament program?
What specific threat are we gunning up to counter? Amphibious invasion of Norfolk?
Spot on.
War mongers of the world unite to defend us against f**k all
You are in favour of the warmongers in Russia and the warmongers of Hamas.
You have no consistency on war and peace; only a nasty political viewpoint that leads to more deaths.
No I am not.
How many times do I have to post I oppose them both but I also oppose the war mongers of the West and its "allies" before you can get it into your skull?
Which war have you ever opposed?
Is Putin a war monger?
Yes
Next
So why do you support a war monger who's invaded and occupied parts of both Georgia AND Ukraine?
I don't
I think you are mixing me up with Tony Blair and Peter Mandleson.
The Messiah that is Jeremy Corbyn has been the most consistently critical politician of Putin.
Pity you chose to support those who backed Putin when it was trendy to do so.
Next
You are in perfect symmetry with William Glenn. His boys are always anti-Putin and pro-Ukraine, although the evidence would appear to the contrary.
Is it time to replace Sir Neville Starmer with your "levelling up" other hero Sir Boris Johnson? He did win the Second World War for us. I read it in a book called the Churchill Factor, or it might have been the Johnson Factor, I don't recall.
Stathis Kalyvas @SKalyvas · 8h There is now total clarity, no matter how unimaginable things might seem. And they amount to this: The U.S. government has been taken over by a clique of extremists who have embarked on a process of regime change in the world's oldest democracy. 1/n
Stathis Kalyvas @SKalyvas · 8h There is now total clarity, no matter how unimaginable things might seem. And they amount to this: The U.S. government has been taken over by a clique of extremists who have embarked on a process of regime change in the world's oldest democracy. 1/n
Stathis Kalyvas @SKalyvas · 8h There is now total clarity, no matter how unimaginable things might seem. And they amount to this: The U.S. government has been taken over by a clique of extremists who have embarked on a process of regime change in the world's oldest democracy. 1/n
Stathis Kalyvas @SKalyvas · 8h There is now total clarity, no matter how unimaginable things might seem. And they amount to this: The U.S. government has been taken over by a clique of extremists who have embarked on a process of regime change in the world's oldest democracy. 1/n
Stathis Kalyvas @SKalyvas · 8h There is now total clarity, no matter how unimaginable things might seem. And they amount to this: The U.S. government has been taken over by a clique of extremists who have embarked on a process of regime change in the world's oldest democracy. 1/n
I went to see "Captain America: Brave New World": it wasn't too bad. The north American grosses for are in. The predicted 3-day gross was $82m domestically, but it actually did $88m. There's a similar slight overperformance for the four-day (F/S/Su/M) which was predicted to be in the 90s but actually scraped $100m. So that's good,..albeit reflective of past US morality, not the present mess.
Harrison Ford was surprisingly good. He's aging rapidly, and it affects his performance, becoming quite frail which suits his character in the movie. It's a bit worrying tho; he's in his mid-80s and it's noticable...
Extraordinary period of history we are living through.
Domestically, Trump has set about amassing extra-constitutional power, per “Project 2025”, sacking potential enemies in the bureaucracy, suborning political opposition in the Republican Party, and subverting the media with lawfare. He has installed a crypto-fascist, ie Musk, as a kind of internal Prime Minister to oversee his purges. Various hacks, freaks, and sycophants are now in post across the Cabinet, the better to avoid any internal dissent.
Overseas, it seems that Trump has near-as torn up the 80 year security guarantee for Europe, and appears to see no real difference between Europe, Ukraine, or Russia, in terms of their claims on American favour. His opening gambit to Ukraine, which is fighting a war for its survival, was an attempt to pillage Ukrainian mineral rights. His overtures to Putin make me reach for the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as an analogy.
Vance’s speech in Munich was a pathetic hack attempt to find some kind of justification for this new, anti-European (or anti-Western) policy. As someone much more pithily put it, the US notion of free speech means to hand over your media into the hands of Elon Musk.
These are hugely troubling times for those who believe in a liberal democracy and the rule of law, which is most of us on this board. Europe is highly vulnerable, on one hand to being stripped for parts by predatory American techno-industrialists, and on the other hand to increased political subversion and an increased military threat from Russia and other fascist powers.
I went to see "Captain America: Brave New World": it wasn't too bad. The north American grosses for are in. The predicted 3-day gross was $82m domestically, but it actually did $88m. There's a similar slight overperformance for the four-day (F/S/Su/M) which was predicted to be in the 90s but actually scraped $100m. So that's good,..albeit reflective of past US morality, not the present mess.
Harrison Ford was surprisingly good. He's aging rapidly, and it affects his performance, becoming quite frail which suits his character in the movie. It's a bit worrying tho; he's in his mid-80s and it's noticable...
The US is unlikely to get those mineral rights in Ukraine. The bros have to give their idiot the idea of something sweet. Cf. the artist's impression of tall Trumpy buildings in Pyongyang dwarfing the 105 Building, so he could imagine he was amogging Kim Jong-Un. (As if!) But the policy of concentrating on competing with China while having good relations with Russia and letting western and central and east-central Europe go hang (possibly excluding Italy and Hungary) seems rational enough.
Great Power relations change. Many are still in the 1930s or WW2 or at Yalta or in the Cold War in their minds. NATO was never going to last forever
Goodness knows what the position will be like a year from now. Many would agree that Trump, Vance, Musk and the techboy Nazis have really got it f***ing coming to them, but we shall see.
But if things continue in the same direction, the existing concept of "the West" will no longer apply. Instead, the part of Eurasia outside China could be called the East, and the Americas the West.
I went to see "Captain America: Brave New World": it wasn't too bad. The north American grosses for are in. The predicted 3-day gross was $82m domestically, but it actually did $88m. There's a similar slight overperformance for the four-day (F/S/Su/M) which was predicted to be in the 90s but actually scraped $100m. So that's good,..albeit reflective of past US morality, not the present mess.
Harrison Ford was surprisingly good. He's aging rapidly, and it affects his performance, becoming quite frail which suits his character in the movie. It's a bit worrying tho; he's in his mid-80s and it's noticable...
Follow NEW: Tesla’s board chair has sold most of her shares in the EV maker in the past year
Robyn Denholm, who’s led the board since 2018, made $168 million in the past year exercising stock options in the company, including sales worth $43 million last week #tesla
How many? Where does he find those numbers from? In the medium term, the hollowed out army will presumably have to be expanded, but by how much? How much is this all going to cost? And who is he going to piss off by getting them to pay for it all, either through tax rises or spending cuts elsewhere?
Hopefully this is being worked on at pace, because answers to these questions are needed soon, not after three years of reviews and other generalised paper shuffling.
It's probably a revival of an old Cold war idea: the tripwire force.
Although, it is worth noting that NATO forces were designed in Western Germany to win.
There were up to 400k NATO troops at peak in and around West Germany, and nearly half a million Bundeswehr (peacetime only) so almost a million Western troops backed by defensive tactical nuclear weapons, with plans to mobilise far more in the event of war.
That was much more than a tripwire.
Yet it was meant to be a 'tripwire'.
Hence its name. And the US's massive heavy-lift systems to get forces over to Europe PDQ.
Russia is not the old USSR, as we see currently in Ukraine. A tripwire force does not need to be at the same scale as it was in 1988.
But a great help would be supposedly anti-Russian countries not giving succour to Russia.
The calculations in the early 1970s was that NATO forces could hold the Red Army for about 3 weeks but after that there would either be an armistice or nuclear war. It is that kind of thinking that is still behind the absolutely desperate shortage of munitions that we have in store to this day. Ukraine has shown how painfully insufficient that is and one priority amongst many must be to massively increase our logistics and capability of fighting a longer war should we need that option. (Snip).
Which is rather disproved by the air and sea heavy lift that the US invested in.
And people forget that until ~1989, Ukraine was part of the USSR, however unwillingly.
Russia is not the USSR. And we should hope it does not become such.
The Ukraine declared independence in August 1991 shortly after the Kriuchkov coup attempt against Gorbachev and five months later it was one of the parties that formally dissolved the USSR and set up the CIS.
Russia will no more become the USSR than Austria will become Austria-Hungary, East Prussia will be re-established as part of Germany, or the 26 counties will rejoin the UK. Nor will Russia re-invade Afghanistan. (Trust me on this.)
Follow NEW: Tesla’s board chair has sold most of her shares in the EV maker in the past year
Robyn Denholm, who’s led the board since 2018, made $168 million in the past year exercising stock options in the company, including sales worth $43 million last week #tesla
UK employers are preparing for the biggest redundancy round in a decade amid collapsing business confidence as firms brace for tax increases from April that Rachel Reeves announced in her autumn budget.
In a fresh blow for the chancellor, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which represents human resources professionals, said a survey of 2,000 employers showed redundancy intentions at their highest level in 10 years, barring the Covid pandemic.
Follow NEW: Tesla’s board chair has sold most of her shares in the EV maker in the past year
Robyn Denholm, who’s led the board since 2018, made $168 million in the past year exercising stock options in the company, including sales worth $43 million last week #tesla
TL:DR. He’s never seen the industry in such a poor state in the past 40 years. The UK gov need to embrace hybrids as an interim measure, unless they want to watch sales (and VAT revenues) either fall off a cliff completely or go just to the Chinese. The EU appears determined to want to eat its own car industry. Most of the rest of the world (except perhaps California) doesn’t care about pushing EVs on consumers who don’t yet want them.
Catching up over the weekend, what the hell is that very weird story about the woman claiming she had a baby with Elon Musk all about?
Way more questions than answers there, just about all we actually know for sure is that the two of them have known each other for a couple of years, and that she definitely can’t afford her current lifestyle on her income.
Surely Musk isn’t silly enough to get a random girl allegedly half his age pregnant the old-fashioned way, without having a totally watertight contract set up? There’s dozens more questions about both of them, as well as the timing of the story. She appears to have a very interesting internet history and back story…
UK employers are preparing for the biggest redundancy round in a decade amid collapsing business confidence as firms brace for tax increases from April that Rachel Reeves announced in her autumn budget.
In a fresh blow for the chancellor, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which represents human resources professionals, said a survey of 2,000 employers showed redundancy intentions at their highest level in 10 years, barring the Covid pandemic.
Labour hardly had a glittering economic legacy but their stewardship of the economy, so far, has been dreadful. Far too much doom and gloom messaging at the start. Consumer confidence collapsing and a jobs destroying budget.
We have the so-called workers rights bill which many businesses are worried about too.
They really need to turn it around.
You cannot tax your way to growth or regulate your way to prosperity.
UK employers are preparing for the biggest redundancy round in a decade amid collapsing business confidence as firms brace for tax increases from April that Rachel Reeves announced in her autumn budget.
In a fresh blow for the chancellor, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which represents human resources professionals, said a survey of 2,000 employers showed redundancy intentions at their highest level in 10 years, barring the Covid pandemic.
Labour hardly had a glittering economic legacy but their stewardship of the economy, so far, has been dreadful. Far too much doom and gloom messaging at the start. Consumer confidence collapsing and a jobs destroying budget.
We have the so-called workers rights bill which many businesses are worried about too.
They really need to turn it around.
You cannot tax your way to growth or regulate your way to prosperity.
The full force of the impact of all these changes haven't been felt. So far its all down to mood music. Not exactly positive vibes.
If we get AGI in the next 3 years it won't matter anyway...throws hand grenade and runs away.
Most of Europe is there already, as is China, UK has been flat at best for the past year, and if the new US government cuts $1trn of public spending that’s 3% of GDP.
Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special, the opening act was a duet between Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter.
Simon says that he first sang this song, “Homeward Bound” on SNL in 1976. Miss Carpenter replies that she wasn’t born then - and neither were her parents!
Most of Europe is there already, as is China, UK has been flat at best for the past year, and if the new US government cuts $1trn of public spending that’s 3% of GDP.
It’s coming. The corporation I work for is expecting it and doing everything it can to preserve cash. Reduced inventory, extended payment terms etc etc.
Mind you if it was not for the aerospace side of the business, growing 14% year in year, the company would be struggling. Sales down 6% usa and 4% Europe year on year.
Most of Europe is there already, as is China, UK has been flat at best for the past year, and if the new US government cuts $1trn of public spending that’s 3% of GDP.
Yes, im not usually one for dire predictions, but pretty sure 2025 is going to be a real shitter.
Extraordinary period of history we are living through.
Domestically, Trump has set about amassing extra-constitutional power, per “Project 2025”, sacking potential enemies in the bureaucracy, suborning political opposition in the Republican Party, and subverting the media with lawfare. He has installed a crypto-fascist, ie Musk, as a kind of internal Prime Minister to oversee his purges. Various hacks, freaks, and sycophants are now in post across the Cabinet, the better to avoid any internal dissent.
Overseas, it seems that Trump has near-as torn up the 80 year security guarantee for Europe, and appears to see no real difference between Europe, Ukraine, or Russia, in terms of their claims on American favour. His opening gambit to Ukraine, which is fighting a war for its survival, was an attempt to pillage Ukrainian mineral rights. His overtures to Putin make me reach for the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as an analogy.
Vance’s speech in Munich was a pathetic hack attempt to find some kind of justification for this new, anti-European (or anti-Western) policy. As someone much more pithily put it, the US notion of free speech means to hand over your media into the hands of Elon Musk.
These are hugely troubling times for those who believe in a liberal democracy and the rule of law, which is most of us on this board. Europe is highly vulnerable, on one hand to being stripped for parts by predatory American techno-industrialists, and on the other hand to increased political subversion and an increased military threat from Russia and other fascist powers.
Most of Europe is there already, as is China, UK has been flat at best for the past year, and if the new US government cuts $1trn of public spending that’s 3% of GDP.
It’s coming. The corporation I work for is expecting it and doing everything it can to preserve cash. Reduced inventory, extended payment terms etc etc.
Mind you if it was not for the aerospace side of the business, growing 14% year in year, the company would be struggling. Sales down 6% usa and 4% Europe year on year.
Yes that appears to be the trajectory. Where I am specificallly is unlikely to get caught up in a recession, as it’s benefitting from all of the instability in the wider region, but the oil price is coming down which does make a difference to revenues out here.
My current company is a PPP which is mostly immune from the direct effects of recession, but there could be plenty of secondary effects of wider global issues.
Discretionary spending is clearly down considerably even in a usually flamboyant city, we were at a gig on Saturday night that unusually wasn’t sold out. Personally the savings account balance is going up and the current account spending is going down. S&P is likely to take a bath at some point soon given the US situation, so looking to gold and even cash at the moment.
Anyhow, I've been in the clinic this afternoon for an eye injection (into the jelly to reduce fluid).
Interesting (horrid - I flinch badly) experience and the first one I have had.
Another 4 to go at 4 week intervals.
Sounds lovely. Best of luck with it all.
It was *not* lovely.
About 8 or 9 sets of eye drops. I got worried when they said that one was "iodine".
My memory of iodine is an account in a bit of James Herriott where he impressed a farmer because he sterilised a wound on an animal with iodine + something else, that gave off a big cloud of vapour from the reaction. It was less dramatic.
What I do know is that I think I will be OK to drive after a short time.
I need to find out whether my £100 a time out patient or day patient cash grant from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF) Cash Plan applies to this, then see who I need to sign it .
My memory of Iodine was being bathed, and then having my leg shaved, before my first op, aged 15. I had fuck-all idea what was going on. The yellowish hue was still visible a few months later when they removed the first cast.
If you want 'not lovely'...
When I had meningitis, I was lying in bed when the paramedic arrived. He said into his phone he would not take me into Addenbrookes until I was 'stabilised'. By that time I was under morphine, and still screaming. But I wondered how 'stable' I needed to be before they would take me in.
Mrs J still has nightmares from their failures to take a lumbar puncture. Thanks to the morphine, I was immune.
I've been having bone marrow biopsies in the last year or two, too. But they are only 15-20 minutes.
Those match the Mash Song:
"It doesn't hurt when it begins But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger, watch it grin"
TBH my worst overall is probably still the 2 weeks on two different antibiotic transfusions at 8 hour intervals 6am, 2pm, 10pm which took 2-3 hours to drip in each time - in 2023.
I've had cluster headaches, they are blindingly horrible, but I've also had kidney stones, which are indescribably worse
My pain was so bad I
1. Wanted to die, actively moaning for someone to kill me
2. I started crying for my Mummy as I lay on the floor of my flat at 5am in the cold and the dark
3. The pain was so bad I vomited, producing an Exorcist-type jet of puke which shot the length of my apartment, the vom was so violent it
4. Dislodged (I think) the kidney stone, or shifted it, so then I lapsed into a kind of sleep-coma, covered in spew, and woke up at 10am feeling... alright
Sam Altman has said as much. A large stealthy upgrade. Meantime today - or today 8pm Pacific Time USA IIRC - Musk is gonna launch Grok 3. He claims it will be the best AI yet. As this is Musk, this requires a bucket-sized chaser of Halen Mon salt, but who knows. Could be real
Whatever the case the AI race is only hotting up - DeepSeek has boosted it as Sputnik put a bomb under NASA - and we are all seeing the benefits. For those despairing of the state of the world, here is one very real source of hope
I don't think any European military alliance could work through the apparatus of the EU for either political or military agility reasons.
I suspect it would need to be established through a new treaty.
It can't be the EU (for the reasons you set out, plus problem states like Hungary) and it can't be NATO (no France, needs to be outside the US).
So agreed it'll be a new treaty of willing European nations. And, as someone pointed out on another thread, we should force Ireland's hand to stop being neutral and pay up their fair share for defence if they want to retain their current benefit.
But I can't really think of any European nations that are significant, willing and trustworthy on Ukraine, with the possible exception of the Poles. The Frogs are led by a posturing, erratic clown who doesn't can't even form a lasting government, sucked up to Putin both before and after he invaded, did much to undermine NATO by describing it as brain dead, they have just been thrashed in Mali, and they actually walked away from NATO in the 1960s. Most Krauts are obviously desperate to get back to buying cheap Russian gas, and the AfD is about the most pro-Putin party on the continent. The Italians and Spanish don't care and their militaries are in a much worse state even than ours. The Austrians, Slovaks and Hungarians made Trump look anti-Putin. The Balts are stalwart, for obvious reasons, but their combined population is less than Greater London's. The Swedes and the Finns were neutral until a few months ago.
I think either it's just us, the Poles and a few hangers-on or any new alliance would probably fall apart pretty quickly.
In defence of Macron, he tried to dissuade Putin from war. I was very against Macron until I saw the videos of him when Russia invaded, and I could see what he was trying to do. France under Macron has very much been Ukraine's friend.
Really? Macron flipflopped several times, and France has provided a fraction of the support of Germany or the UK.
I don't think any European military alliance could work through the apparatus of the EU for either political or military agility reasons.
I suspect it would need to be established through a new treaty.
It can't be the EU (for the reasons you set out, plus problem states like Hungary) and it can't be NATO (no France, needs to be outside the US).
So agreed it'll be a new treaty of willing European nations. And, as someone pointed out on another thread, we should force Ireland's hand to stop being neutral and pay up their fair share for defence if they want to retain their current benefit.
But I can't really think of any European nations that are significant, willing and trustworthy on Ukraine, with the possible exception of the Poles. The Frogs are led by a posturing, erratic clown who doesn't can't even form a lasting government, sucked up to Putin both before and after he invaded, did much to undermine NATO by describing it as brain dead, they have just been thrashed in Mali, and they actually walked away from NATO in the 1960s. Most Krauts are obviously desperate to get back to buying cheap Russian gas, and the AfD is about the most pro-Putin party on the continent. The Italians and Spanish don't care and their militaries are in a much worse state even than ours. The Austrians, Slovaks and Hungarians made Trump look anti-Putin. The Balts are stalwart, for obvious reasons, but their combined population is less than Greater London's. The Swedes and the Finns were neutral until a few months ago.
I think either it's just us, the Poles and a few hangers-on or any new alliance would probably fall apart pretty quickly.
In defence of Macron, he tried to dissuade Putin from war. I was very against Macron until I saw the videos of him when Russia invaded, and I could see what he was trying to do. France under Macron has very much been Ukraine's friend.
Really? Macron flipflopped several times, and France has provided a fraction of the support of Germany or the UK.
IIRC we found out later that Macron had been asked by Zelensky to beg Putin not to invade. To do that convincingly would have involved looking like an equivocator.
Having said that, he did do the typically french "We'll only pay for weapons if they're manufactured in Europe" shite.
That piece is a bit garbled but it looks very much like an extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds until, well, probably forever this time. That was wholly predictable:
1. The Chancellor going Gor incomes rather than assets or pension handouts. Again. 2. Fiscal drag is so easy. Put a penny on the basic rate and everyone screams about it. Freeze the bands until 2250 and they're somehow always allowed to get away with it.
And so, our wages keep shrinking, the asset rich and rentiers keep getting richer, and the reverse acceleration into the 18th Century gains even more momentum. We might as well have the Tories back at this rate - at least with them they don't bother to conceal that they only care about the rich.
That piece is a bit garbled but it looks very much like an extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds until, well, probably forever this time. That was wholly predictable:
1. The Chancellor going Gor incomes rather than assets or pension handouts. Again. 2. Fiscal drag is so easy. Put a penny on the basic rate and everyone screams about it. Freeze the bands until 2250 and they're somehow always allowed to get away with it.
And so, our wages keep shrinking, the asset rich and rentiers keep getting richer, and the reverse acceleration into the 18th Century gains even more momentum. We might as well have the Tories back at this rate - at least with them they don't bother to conceal that they only care about the rich.
Once more and more nurses and teachers and police officers find out they're paying 40% on some of their income, they might become rather more susceptible to the Tory message. Long term, Labour will have a problem if, say, 1/3 of wage earners end up earning more than the threshold.
Extraordinary period of history we are living through.
Domestically, Trump has set about amassing extra-constitutional power, per “Project 2025”, sacking potential enemies in the bureaucracy, suborning political opposition in the Republican Party, and subverting the media with lawfare. He has installed a crypto-fascist, ie Musk, as a kind of internal Prime Minister to oversee his purges. Various hacks, freaks, and sycophants are now in post across the Cabinet, the better to avoid any internal dissent.
Overseas, it seems that Trump has near-as torn up the 80 year security guarantee for Europe, and appears to see no real difference between Europe, Ukraine, or Russia, in terms of their claims on American favour. His opening gambit to Ukraine, which is fighting a war for its survival, was an attempt to pillage Ukrainian mineral rights. His overtures to Putin make me reach for the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as an analogy.
Vance’s speech in Munich was a pathetic hack attempt to find some kind of justification for this new, anti-European (or anti-Western) policy. As someone much more pithily put it, the US notion of free speech means to hand over your media into the hands of Elon Musk.
These are hugely troubling times for those who believe in a liberal democracy and the rule of law, which is most of us on this board. Europe is highly vulnerable, on one hand to being stripped for parts by predatory American techno-industrialists, and on the other hand to increased political subversion and an increased military threat from Russia and other fascist powers.
And william has become the this is fine dog incarnate.
We came down from the mountains in the rain. The river was high and fast, and the trout were small and sweet, caught that morning by the mill. We ate them with our fingers. The old man was dead by then. He had been dying all winter, and now he was gone. There was nothing else to do.
Someone poured the Fernet-Branca. It smelled of camphor and earth, like a medicine no one believed in. We drank it anyway. It was bitter and cold and reminded me of the war. Of iodine. Of the taste of metal in the mouth after a fight. The others grimaced, but I did not.
The bull had already gored one horse. The crowd did not cheer. They watched the man in the suit of lights, the man called Señor NigelB, who stood very still. His hand shook when he raised the montera to his head. He was afraid.
Someone passed him the Malört. He drank. It tasted of rotten citrus and poison. It was like drinking the last dregs of a dead soldier’s canteen, the water spoiled with oil and something worse. It burned, but he did not cough.
"Good?" someone asked.
"No," he said. "Leon lied. Why do I believe him."
"Because he is a clever man, Signor?"
NigelB grimaced, and handed the bottle back. The crowd roared. The bull was coming.
That piece is a bit garbled but it looks very much like an extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds until, well, probably forever this time. That was wholly predictable:
1. The Chancellor going Gor incomes rather than assets or pension handouts. Again. 2. Fiscal drag is so easy. Put a penny on the basic rate and everyone screams about it. Freeze the bands until 2250 and they're somehow always allowed to get away with it.
And so, our wages keep shrinking, the asset rich and rentiers keep getting richer, and the reverse acceleration into the 18th Century gains even more momentum. We might as well have the Tories back at this rate - at least with them they don't bother to conceal that they only care about the rich.
Once more and more nurses and teachers and police officers find out they're paying 40% on some of their income, they might become rather more susceptible to the Tory message. Long term, Labour will have a problem if, say, 1/3 of wage earners end up earning more than the threshold.
That piece is a bit garbled but it looks very much like an extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds until, well, probably forever this time. That was wholly predictable:
1. The Chancellor going Gor incomes rather than assets or pension handouts. Again. 2. Fiscal drag is so easy. Put a penny on the basic rate and everyone screams about it. Freeze the bands until 2250 and they're somehow always allowed to get away with it.
And so, our wages keep shrinking, the asset rich and rentiers keep getting richer, and the reverse acceleration into the 18th Century gains even more momentum. We might as well have the Tories back at this rate - at least with them they don't bother to conceal that they only care about the rich.
Reforming the triple lock is one thing they should do.
There is little excuse now and no electoral disadvantage given that group overwhelmingly supports other parties.
I’d expect the next state pension age review to pull forward the increase to 68 for the state pension too.
They should reform the statutory requirement on councils to ferry some kids to school. Means test it.
I cannot understand why they didn’t bite the bullet. Get the difficult decisions out of the way now and by the time the election comes around it will be a distant memory.
The bull had already gored one horse. The crowd did not cheer. They watched the man in the suit of lights, the man called Señor NigelB, who stood very still. His hand shook when he raised the montera to his head. He was afraid.
Someone passed him the Malört. He drank. It tasted of rotten citrus and poison. It was like drinking the last dregs of a dead soldier’s canteen, the water spoiled with oil and something worse. It burned, but he did not cough.
"Good?" someone asked.
"No," he said. "Leon lied. Why do I believe him."
"Because he is a clever man, Signor?"
NigelB grimaced, and handed the bottle back. The crowd roared. The bull was coming.
Nice try - but I believe Malort is more recent than Hemingway
That piece is a bit garbled but it looks very much like an extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds until, well, probably forever this time. That was wholly predictable:
1. The Chancellor going Gor incomes rather than assets or pension handouts. Again. 2. Fiscal drag is so easy. Put a penny on the basic rate and everyone screams about it. Freeze the bands until 2250 and they're somehow always allowed to get away with it.
And so, our wages keep shrinking, the asset rich and rentiers keep getting richer, and the reverse acceleration into the 18th Century gains even more momentum. We might as well have the Tories back at this rate - at least with them they don't bother to conceal that they only care about the rich.
Once more and more nurses and teachers and police officers find out they're paying 40% on some of their income, they might become rather more susceptible to the Tory message. Long term, Labour will have a problem if, say, 1/3 of wage earners end up earning more than the threshold.
Why should they turn Tory. Reeves has just continued the Fiscal Drag that Hunt planned until 2028.
Want shiny new tanks and planes? The money has to come from somewhere.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX team will visit the FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Virginia on Monday, according to a social media post by USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy.
The bull had already gored one horse. The crowd did not cheer. They watched the man in the suit of lights, the man called Señor NigelB, who stood very still. His hand shook when he raised the montera to his head. He was afraid.
Someone passed him the Malört. He drank. It tasted of rotten citrus and poison. It was like drinking the last dregs of a dead soldier’s canteen, the water spoiled with oil and something worse. It burned, but he did not cough.
"Good?" someone asked.
"No," he said. "Leon lied. Why do I believe him."
"Because he is a clever man, Signor?"
NigelB grimaced, and handed the bottle back. The crowd roared. The bull was coming.
Nice try - but I believe Malort is more recent than Hemingway
I've done a Hemingway on @Gardenwalker's bedwetting lament:
The trout flopped once, then stopped. The old man gutted it with his short knife. The guts spilled out, slick and bright, like Trump’s strategic realignment of the Republican Party to ensure no internal dissent. Miguel looked away.
“You do not like the sight of blood?” the old man asked.
Miguel took a drink. “I do not like sycophants installed across the cabinet for the better avoidance of internal debate.”
The donkey coughed. It sounded weak, like Europe’s ability to resist economic subjugation by American techno-industrialists. Miguel spat into the dust.
The wind came down hard from the mountains. The bulls in the pens could smell the morning. They were strong and cruel and ready to break free.
“Like the last vestiges of democratic integrity in the face of Project 2025,” the old man said, watching them.
Miguel wiped his mouth. “What will the Germans do?”
“They will wait.” The old man gutted another trout. “Like Musk, when he took over the free press and placed it under the control of a single oligarch whose commitment to liberal democracy is dubious at best.”
The donkey coughed again. Miguel kicked a stone into the river.
“The English?”
“They will drink.” The old man took a sip of wine. It was thin and harsh, like the pretense that Trump sees any distinction between Ukraine, Russia, or the European security apparatus as a whole.
Miguel lit a cigarette. “And the Russians?”
The old man wiped his knife. The blade was clean, but the stain remained.
“They are sharpening their knives,” he said. “Like the predatory economic forces that see Europe as a ripe carcass, stripped for parts by those with the power and will to do so.”
The bulls stamped. The river kept moving. The donkey coughed. The sun went down.
That piece is a bit garbled but it looks very much like an extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds until, well, probably forever this time. That was wholly predictable:
1. The Chancellor going Gor incomes rather than assets or pension handouts. Again. 2. Fiscal drag is so easy. Put a penny on the basic rate and everyone screams about it. Freeze the bands until 2250 and they're somehow always allowed to get away with it.
And so, our wages keep shrinking, the asset rich and rentiers keep getting richer, and the reverse acceleration into the 18th Century gains even more momentum. We might as well have the Tories back at this rate - at least with them they don't bother to conceal that they only care about the rich.
Once more and more nurses and teachers and police officers find out they're paying 40% on some of their income, they might become rather more susceptible to the Tory message. Long term, Labour will have a problem if, say, 1/3 of wage earners end up earning more than the threshold.
They're doing all this to line the nests of rent seekers and pensioners, i.e. fucking over their own core vote to enrich that of Kemi Badenoch. She comes in for a lot of flack for being rubbish but, then again, on one level she doesn't need to bother to do anything when the Government is so extraordinarily inept that it butters up Tory England on her behalf.
The latest wheeze we have coming concerns the housebuilding drive, and an abomination called build-to-let which the Government is rumoured to be looking at to deliver a large chunk of the new builds. Rent farming in Britain has hitherto been a cottage industry for small investors; the idea now is to bring in pension funds and big corporates to build entire estates and bleed thousands of tenants at a time white. It's all very reminiscent of medieval barons extorting big bags of coins from their captive villeins, in exchange for the dubious privilege of working their land for them. I despair.
I don't think any European military alliance could work through the apparatus of the EU for either political or military agility reasons.
I suspect it would need to be established through a new treaty.
It can't be the EU (for the reasons you set out, plus problem states like Hungary) and it can't be NATO (no France, needs to be outside the US).
So agreed it'll be a new treaty of willing European nations. And, as someone pointed out on another thread, we should force Ireland's hand to stop being neutral and pay up their fair share for defence if they want to retain their current benefit.
But I can't really think of any European nations that are significant, willing and trustworthy on Ukraine, with the possible exception of the Poles. The Frogs are led by a posturing, erratic clown who doesn't can't even form a lasting government, sucked up to Putin both before and after he invaded, did much to undermine NATO by describing it as brain dead, they have just been thrashed in Mali, and they actually walked away from NATO in the 1960s. Most Krauts are obviously desperate to get back to buying cheap Russian gas, and the AfD is about the most pro-Putin party on the continent. The Italians and Spanish don't care and their militaries are in a much worse state even than ours. The Austrians, Slovaks and Hungarians made Trump look anti-Putin. The Balts are stalwart, for obvious reasons, but their combined population is less than Greater London's. The Swedes and the Finns were neutral until a few months ago.
I think either it's just us, the Poles and a few hangers-on or any new alliance would probably fall apart pretty quickly.
In defence of Macron, he tried to dissuade Putin from war. I was very against Macron until I saw the videos of him when Russia invaded, and I could see what he was trying to do. France under Macron has very much been Ukraine's friend.
Really? Macron flipflopped several times, and France has provided a fraction of the support of Germany or the UK.
Yes, really. There's a couple of good videos online showing Macron at the start of the war, including one (IIRC) where he talks to Putin. He tried to get peace, with Big Z's support. When those attempts failed, he has been fairly solidly pro-Ukraine.
Compare and contrast with Germany's political messaging...
And as for weapons; France has provided some really important kit. Their Stormshadows being one example, and now Mirage jets.
I was really critical of Macron early on in the war; when I saw those videos, I realised what he had been doing.
That piece is a bit garbled but it looks very much like an extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds until, well, probably forever this time. That was wholly predictable:
1. The Chancellor going Gor incomes rather than assets or pension handouts. Again. 2. Fiscal drag is so easy. Put a penny on the basic rate and everyone screams about it. Freeze the bands until 2250 and they're somehow always allowed to get away with it.
And so, our wages keep shrinking, the asset rich and rentiers keep getting richer, and the reverse acceleration into the 18th Century gains even more momentum. We might as well have the Tories back at this rate - at least with them they don't bother to conceal that they only care about the rich.
Once more and more nurses and teachers and police officers find out they're paying 40% on some of their income, they might become rather more susceptible to the Tory message. Long term, Labour will have a problem if, say, 1/3 of wage earners end up earning more than the threshold.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX team will visit the FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Virginia on Monday, according to a social media post by USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy.
Sounds like Duffy has been told to get on with modernising their systems, after way too many near-misses that led up to the midair crash in Washington last month, possibly the most high-profile of locations for such an accident to occur.
They’ve been having meetings about having meetings about airspace modernisation for at least the last five years. https://www.faa.gov/nextgen
I don't think any European military alliance could work through the apparatus of the EU for either political or military agility reasons.
I suspect it would need to be established through a new treaty.
It can't be the EU (for the reasons you set out, plus problem states like Hungary) and it can't be NATO (no France, needs to be outside the US).
So agreed it'll be a new treaty of willing European nations. And, as someone pointed out on another thread, we should force Ireland's hand to stop being neutral and pay up their fair share for defence if they want to retain their current benefit.
But I can't really think of any European nations that are significant, willing and trustworthy on Ukraine, with the possible exception of the Poles. The Frogs are led by a posturing, erratic clown who doesn't can't even form a lasting government, sucked up to Putin both before and after he invaded, did much to undermine NATO by describing it as brain dead, they have just been thrashed in Mali, and they actually walked away from NATO in the 1960s. Most Krauts are obviously desperate to get back to buying cheap Russian gas, and the AfD is about the most pro-Putin party on the continent. The Italians and Spanish don't care and their militaries are in a much worse state even than ours. The Austrians, Slovaks and Hungarians made Trump look anti-Putin. The Balts are stalwart, for obvious reasons, but their combined population is less than Greater London's. The Swedes and the Finns were neutral until a few months ago.
I think either it's just us, the Poles and a few hangers-on or any new alliance would probably fall apart pretty quickly.
In defence of Macron, he tried to dissuade Putin from war. I was very against Macron until I saw the videos of him when Russia invaded, and I could see what he was trying to do. France under Macron has very much been Ukraine's friend.
Really? Macron flipflopped several times, and France has provided a fraction of the support of Germany or the UK.
Yes, really. There's a couple of good videos online showing Macron at the start of the war, including one (IIRC) where he talks to Putin. He tried to get peace, with Big Z's support. When those attempts failed, he has been fairly solidly pro-Ukraine.
Compare and contrast with Germany's political messaging...
And as for weapons; France has provided some really important kit. Their Stormshadows being one example, and now Mirage jets.
I was really critical of Macron early on in the war; when I saw those videos, I realised what he had been doing.
Are you on drugs? France has given less then half the military aid that Denmark (!) has given.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX team will visit the FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Virginia on Monday, according to a social media post by USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy.
Sounds like Duffy has been told to get on with modernising their systems, after way too many near-misses that led up to the midair crash in Washington last month, possibly the most high-profile of locations for such an accident to occur.
They’ve been having meetings about having meetings about airspace modernisation for at least the last five years. https://www.faa.gov/nextgen
Hang on, I thought the crashes were because of DEI?
That piece is a bit garbled but it looks very much like an extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds until, well, probably forever this time. That was wholly predictable:
1. The Chancellor going Gor incomes rather than assets or pension handouts. Again. 2. Fiscal drag is so easy. Put a penny on the basic rate and everyone screams about it. Freeze the bands until 2250 and they're somehow always allowed to get away with it.
And so, our wages keep shrinking, the asset rich and rentiers keep getting richer, and the reverse acceleration into the 18th Century gains even more momentum. We might as well have the Tories back at this rate - at least with them they don't bother to conceal that they only care about the rich.
Once more and more nurses and teachers and police officers find out they're paying 40% on some of their income, they might become rather more susceptible to the Tory message. Long term, Labour will have a problem if, say, 1/3 of wage earners end up earning more than the threshold.
The bull had already gored one horse. The crowd did not cheer. They watched the man in the suit of lights, the man called Señor NigelB, who stood very still. His hand shook when he raised the montera to his head. He was afraid.
Someone passed him the Malört. He drank. It tasted of rotten citrus and poison. It was like drinking the last dregs of a dead soldier’s canteen, the water spoiled with oil and something worse. It burned, but he did not cough.
"Good?" someone asked.
"No," he said. "Leon lied. Why do I believe him."
"Because he is a clever man, Signor?"
NigelB grimaced, and handed the bottle back. The crowd roared. The bull was coming.
Nice try - but I believe Malort is more recent than Hemingway
I've done a Hemingway on @Gardenwalker's bedwetting lament:
The trout flopped once, then stopped. The old man gutted it with his short knife. The guts spilled out, slick and bright, like Trump’s strategic realignment of the Republican Party to ensure no internal dissent. Miguel looked away.
“You do not like the sight of blood?” the old man asked.
Miguel took a drink. “I do not like sycophants installed across the cabinet for the better avoidance of internal debate.”
The donkey coughed. It sounded weak, like Europe’s ability to resist economic subjugation by American techno-industrialists. Miguel spat into the dust.
The wind came down hard from the mountains. The bulls in the pens could smell the morning. They were strong and cruel and ready to break free.
“Like the last vestiges of democratic integrity in the face of Project 2025,” the old man said, watching them.
Miguel wiped his mouth. “What will the Germans do?”
“They will wait.” The old man gutted another trout. “Like Musk, when he took over the free press and placed it under the control of a single oligarch whose commitment to liberal democracy is dubious at best.”
The donkey coughed again. Miguel kicked a stone into the river.
“The English?”
“They will drink.” The old man took a sip of wine. It was thin and harsh, like the pretense that Trump sees any distinction between Ukraine, Russia, or the European security apparatus as a whole.
Miguel lit a cigarette. “And the Russians?”
The old man wiped his knife. The blade was clean, but the stain remained.
“They are sharpening their knives,” he said. “Like the predatory economic forces that see Europe as a ripe carcass, stripped for parts by those with the power and will to do so.”
The bulls stamped. The river kept moving. The donkey coughed. The sun went down.
The issue being it's indistinguishable in style from its other literary attempts.
The bull had already gored one horse. The crowd did not cheer. They watched the man in the suit of lights, the man called Señor NigelB, who stood very still. His hand shook when he raised the montera to his head. He was afraid.
Someone passed him the Malört. He drank. It tasted of rotten citrus and poison. It was like drinking the last dregs of a dead soldier’s canteen, the water spoiled with oil and something worse. It burned, but he did not cough.
"Good?" someone asked.
"No," he said. "Leon lied. Why do I believe him."
"Because he is a clever man, Signor?"
NigelB grimaced, and handed the bottle back. The crowd roared. The bull was coming.
Nice try - but I believe Malort is more recent than Hemingway
I've done a Hemingway on @Gardenwalker's bedwetting lament:
The trout flopped once, then stopped. The old man gutted it with his short knife. The guts spilled out, slick and bright, like Trump’s strategic realignment of the Republican Party to ensure no internal dissent. Miguel looked away.
“You do not like the sight of blood?” the old man asked.
Miguel took a drink. “I do not like sycophants installed across the cabinet for the better avoidance of internal debate.”
The donkey coughed. It sounded weak, like Europe’s ability to resist economic subjugation by American techno-industrialists. Miguel spat into the dust.
The wind came down hard from the mountains. The bulls in the pens could smell the morning. They were strong and cruel and ready to break free.
“Like the last vestiges of democratic integrity in the face of Project 2025,” the old man said, watching them.
Miguel wiped his mouth. “What will the Germans do?”
“They will wait.” The old man gutted another trout. “Like Musk, when he took over the free press and placed it under the control of a single oligarch whose commitment to liberal democracy is dubious at best.”
The donkey coughed again. Miguel kicked a stone into the river.
“The English?”
“They will drink.” The old man took a sip of wine. It was thin and harsh, like the pretense that Trump sees any distinction between Ukraine, Russia, or the European security apparatus as a whole.
Miguel lit a cigarette. “And the Russians?”
The old man wiped his knife. The blade was clean, but the stain remained.
“They are sharpening their knives,” he said. “Like the predatory economic forces that see Europe as a ripe carcass, stripped for parts by those with the power and will to do so.”
The bulls stamped. The river kept moving. The donkey coughed. The sun went down.
The issue being it's indistinguishable in style from its other literary attempts.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX team will visit the FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Virginia on Monday, according to a social media post by USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy.
Sounds like Duffy has been told to get on with modernising their systems, after way too many near-misses that led up to the midair crash in Washington last month, possibly the most high-profile of locations for such an accident to occur.
They’ve been having meetings about having meetings about airspace modernisation for at least the last five years. https://www.faa.gov/nextgen
Hang on, I thought the crashes were because of DEI?
That piece is a bit garbled but it looks very much like an extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds until, well, probably forever this time. That was wholly predictable:
1. The Chancellor going Gor incomes rather than assets or pension handouts. Again. 2. Fiscal drag is so easy. Put a penny on the basic rate and everyone screams about it. Freeze the bands until 2250 and they're somehow always allowed to get away with it.
And so, our wages keep shrinking, the asset rich and rentiers keep getting richer, and the reverse acceleration into the 18th Century gains even more momentum. We might as well have the Tories back at this rate - at least with them they don't bother to conceal that they only care about the rich.
Don't worry, Ukraine's future mineral rights should be sufficient to recoup this in the long run
Comments
Imagine the glassy-eyed panting at the prospect of the shallow reporting opportunities of a proper Europe-wide war. The podcasts it could spawn. The Red Button Extras. The away-days analysing focus-group results.
Only the Germans were silent. When someone asked them what their plans were they said they were going to Berlin. They weren't joking.
With my meningitis, I was too out of it on morphine. I hate morphine, but it has its uses.
how can something that helps cause so much pain?
https://www.thesun.co.uk/health/33375444/worst-types-pain-ranked-cluster-headaches-childbirth-heart-attack/
https://headachejournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/head.14021
a^2 + 2ab + b^2 factorises to (a+b)^2 which is what I assume you wanted.
But you added a minus sign in to the factorised form. (a+b)(a-b) = a^2 - b^2 so the difference of two squares, not the perfect square.
I think either it's just us, the Poles and a few hangers-on, in which case what could we do collectively that we can't do already, or any new alliance would be a pointless talking shop and would probably fall apart pretty quickly.
I've had a lot of pain in my life, but meningitis was the worst. Pain caused by light and movement.
Besides, pain is subjective and varies from person to person. The father of a schoolfriend of mine had his arm ripped off in a bailer, and he walked half a mile home carrying his arm. I cannot imagine that. I'd just die on the spot.
Worst moments include they day they used both sides to get the sample and the time they sent the sample to the wrong place and wanted another sample two days later.
Maybe best to wish everyone a really good night's rest, as I cannot predict what is coming next each morning when I catch the headlines
I cannot recall a time with so much uncertainty, angst, dismay and concern for the world we all live in
Good night
Seriously: write a threader.
I get cluster headaches. About one cluster
every 2 years, usually in October-November. Tend to happen once a day for a month then disappear.
They are terrible and make you pace the room, grind your teeth, yell at God and want to headbutt the wall. They are definitely worse than most other forms of pain I’ve experienced, but personally I don’t think they are as bad as really intense abdominal pain. I’ve not had appendicitis but assume it would be worse than a cluster headache.
The worst was from internal bleeding after the operation, after they failed properly to cauterise stuff. That was something else again.
I had to wait for several hours before the surgeon turned up again to reopen me.
(Interesting snippet "Turkey" is now red underlined and "Türkiye" suggested instead.)
... but you all go back and have another baby. We get our foreskin caught in our zip once and we get our mam to sew buttons on our trousers.
Pretty interesting.
For centuries, coal heated homes near the places it was dug.
Then, suddenly, in the 1570s it was rapidly adopted by Londoners, unleashing massive ripples through the economy.
Why?
The answer involves religious refugees, German mercenaries, and beer
https://x.com/antonhowes/status/1890767472766202052
Actually - no. It's simplifying so I can do it more easily in my head.
(And you're right I mean base 12 not base 14, which would be weight not height.)
If I were dealing with needing to square a tricky number - say 5'7", which is 67 inches, I will do that by 60*60 + 2*60*7 + 7*7, which by mental inspection is 3600 + 840 + 49 = 4489.
I might also treat it as 70 minus 3 and use the difference of 2 squares in that case.
There may be better ways; this has worked for me forever as a way of reforming expressions, especially getting quite close approximations.
Though here 5'10" is actually just 70 inches, which is an easy one.
Garry Kasparov
@Kasparov63
·
6h
Rubio is a ghost already, passing through the halls of power without leaving a trace. This Saudi thing looks like a sideshow. The real action is Trump and Musk lifting sanctions and normalizing Putin's terrorist regime while getting nothing in return without explaining why.
Büyük Britanya ve Kuzey İrlanda Birleşik Krallığı.
https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birleşik_Krallık
Stathis Kalyvas
@SKalyvas
·
8h
There is now total clarity, no matter how unimaginable things might seem. And they amount to this: The U.S. government has been taken over by a clique of extremists who have embarked on a process of regime change in the world's oldest democracy. 1/n
https://x.com/SKalyvas
https://x.com/SKalyvas/status/1891139133013172297
60*60 + 2*60*10 + 10*10 = (60+10)^2 = 70^2 = 5'10" squared.
(60+10)(60-10) = 60^2 - 10^2 which doesn't really work.
Is it time to replace Sir Neville Starmer with your "levelling up" other hero Sir Boris Johnson? He did win the Second World War for us. I read it in a book called the Churchill Factor, or it might have been the Johnson Factor, I don't recall.
The stuff that is causing fear is all the illegal things he has done in breach of law and Constitution.
(No, I'm not typing out a list.)
But he can't be bothered with the little people who actually represent the people.
Rick Wilson
@TheRickWilson
My message to Europe: build nukes.
Do it fast.
Harrison Ford was surprisingly good. He's aging rapidly, and it affects his performance, becoming quite frail which suits his character in the movie. It's a bit worrying tho; he's in his mid-80s and it's noticable...
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2597421825/
https://www.the-numbers.com/news/258710830-Weekend-projections-Captain-America-lands-with-100-million-over-four-days-on-busy-weekend-in-theaters
https://www.the-numbers.com/news/258700830-Weekend-predictions-Captain-America-looking-at-solid-opening-for-Marvel
Domestically, Trump has set about amassing extra-constitutional power, per “Project 2025”, sacking potential enemies in the bureaucracy, suborning political opposition in the Republican Party, and subverting the media with lawfare. He has installed a crypto-fascist, ie Musk, as a kind of internal Prime Minister to oversee his purges. Various hacks, freaks, and sycophants are now in post across the Cabinet, the better to avoid any internal dissent.
Overseas, it seems that Trump has near-as torn up the 80 year security guarantee for Europe, and appears to see no real difference between Europe, Ukraine, or Russia, in terms of their claims on American favour. His opening gambit to Ukraine, which is fighting a war for its survival, was an attempt to pillage Ukrainian mineral rights. His overtures to Putin make me reach for the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as an analogy.
Vance’s speech in Munich was a pathetic hack attempt to find some kind of justification for this new, anti-European (or anti-Western) policy. As someone much more pithily put it, the US notion of free speech means to hand over your media into the hands of Elon Musk.
These are hugely troubling times for those who believe in a liberal democracy and the rule of law, which is most of us on this board. Europe is highly vulnerable, on one hand to being stripped for parts by predatory American techno-industrialists, and on the other hand to increased political subversion and an increased military threat from Russia and other fascist powers.
https://goodallandgoodluck.substack.com/p/we-need-to-listen-to-what-trump-and
https://www.nevermindthebarcharts.com/
Tommy Lee Jones was only 45 when it was filmed - 4 years younger than Ford - but he looks like a decade older.
Great Power relations change. Many are still in the 1930s or WW2 or at Yalta or in the Cold War in their minds. NATO was never going to last forever
Goodness knows what the position will be like a year from now. Many would agree that Trump, Vance, Musk and the techboy Nazis have really got it f***ing coming to them, but we shall see.
But if things continue in the same direction, the existing concept of "the West" will no longer apply. Instead, the part of Eurasia outside China could be called the East, and the Americas the West.
Russia will no more become the USSR than Austria will become Austria-Hungary, East Prussia will be re-established as part of Germany, or the 26 counties will rejoin the UK. Nor will Russia re-invade Afghanistan. (Trust me on this.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUhyFS8eHQU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DEmkEJz664
If I had a big stake in a Western legacy car company like VW I would be crapping it.
In a fresh blow for the chancellor, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which represents human resources professionals, said a survey of 2,000 employers showed redundancy intentions at their highest level in 10 years, barring the Covid pandemic.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/17/uk-firms-mull-biggest-layoffs-in-a-decade-as-business-confidence-slumps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhi7zldGjBo
TL:DR. He’s never seen the industry in such a poor state in the past 40 years. The UK gov need to embrace hybrids as an interim measure, unless they want to watch sales (and VAT revenues) either fall off a cliff completely or go just to the Chinese. The EU appears determined to want to eat its own car industry. Most of the rest of the world (except perhaps California) doesn’t care about pushing EVs on consumers who don’t yet want them.
Way more questions than answers there, just about all we actually know for sure is that the two of them have known each other for a couple of years, and that she definitely can’t afford her current lifestyle on her income.
Surely Musk isn’t silly enough to get a random girl allegedly half his age pregnant the old-fashioned way, without having a totally watertight contract set up? There’s dozens more questions about both of them, as well as the timing of the story. She appears to have a very interesting internet history and back story…
Inflation is expected to show an increase this week as is unemployment.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/17/uk-firms-mull-biggest-layoffs-in-a-decade-as-business-confidence-slumps
Labour hardly had a glittering economic legacy but their stewardship of the economy, so far, has been dreadful. Far too much doom and gloom messaging at the start. Consumer confidence collapsing and a jobs destroying budget.
We have the so-called workers rights bill which many businesses are worried about too.
They really need to turn it around.
You cannot tax your way to growth or regulate your way to prosperity.
If we get AGI in the next 3 years it won't matter anyway...throws hand grenade and runs away.
Most of Europe is there already, as is China, UK has been flat at best for the past year, and if the new US government cuts $1trn of public spending that’s 3% of GDP.
https://x.com/spenceralthouse/status/1891292733156794406
Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special, the opening act was a duet between Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter.
Simon says that he first sang this song, “Homeward Bound” on SNL in 1976. Miss Carpenter replies that she wasn’t born then - and neither were her parents!
Mind you if it was not for the aerospace side of the business, growing 14% year in year, the company would be struggling. Sales down 6% usa and 4% Europe year on year.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20g0dxkv3mo
I suggest Boris doesn't think of making a come back in the Singapore parliament.
My current company is a PPP which is mostly immune from the direct effects of recession, but there could be plenty of secondary effects of wider global issues.
Discretionary spending is clearly down considerably even in a usually flamboyant city, we were at a gig on Saturday night that unusually wasn’t sold out. Personally the savings account balance is going up and the current account spending is going down. S&P is likely to take a bath at some point soon given the US situation, so looking to gold and even cash at the moment.
Income tax increases likely to be announced in March.
Another winner from the Chancellor to get Britain going again.
https://www.cityam.com/reeves-expected-to-float-income-tax-hikes-next-month/
My pain was so bad I
1. Wanted to die, actively moaning for someone to kill me
2. I started crying for my Mummy as I lay on the floor of my flat at 5am in the cold and the dark
3. The pain was so bad I vomited, producing an Exorcist-type jet of puke which shot the length of my apartment, the vom was so violent it
4. Dislodged (I think) the kidney stone, or shifted it, so then I lapsed into a kind of sleep-coma, covered in spew, and woke up at 10am feeling... alright
Apparently Malort has changed recipes and is no longer so bad.
Whatever the case the AI race is only hotting up - DeepSeek has boosted it as Sputnik put a bomb under NASA - and we are all seeing the benefits. For those despairing of the state of the world, here is one very real source of hope
* for non-science people it is a way of writing scientific documents.
Having said that, he did do the typically french "We'll only pay for weapons if they're manufactured in Europe" shite.
1. The Chancellor going Gor incomes rather than assets or pension handouts. Again.
2. Fiscal drag is so easy. Put a penny on the basic rate and everyone screams about it. Freeze the bands until 2250 and they're somehow always allowed to get away with it.
And so, our wages keep shrinking, the asset rich and rentiers keep getting richer, and the reverse acceleration into the 18th Century gains even more momentum. We might as well have the Tories back at this rate - at least with them they don't bother to conceal that they only care about the rich.
Full* set of links for ep9 of Undercutters, looking at whether 2025 can actually live up to the hype:
Podbean: https://undercutters.podbean.com/e/will-the-2025-formula-1-season-live-up-to-the-hype/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1g2gzjAtxjRjZ6AxakwcFg
Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/bcfe213b-55fb-408a-a823-dc6693ee9f78/episodes/7fdecbb2-83b2-4672-a6e7-9b9b2699681c/undercutters---f1-podcast-will-the-2025-formula-1-season-live-up-to-the-hype
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-the-2025-formula-1-season-live-up-to-the-hype/id1786574257?i=1000692740517
Transcript: https://morrisf1.blogspot.com/2025/02/will-2025-formula-1-season-live-up-to.html
*Not actually full, there are other places it's distributed but that list would be a little bit ridiculous. The set of podcast links in full is here: https://morrisf1.blogspot.com/2024/12/undercutters-link-hub.html
Someone poured the Fernet-Branca. It smelled of camphor and earth, like a medicine no one believed in. We drank it anyway. It was bitter and cold and reminded me of the war. Of iodine. Of the taste of metal in the mouth after a fight. The others grimaced, but I did not.
"You like it?" Miguel asked.
"No," I said.
He poured another
Someone passed him the Malört. He drank. It tasted of rotten citrus and poison. It was like drinking the last dregs of a dead soldier’s canteen, the water spoiled with oil and something worse. It burned, but he did not cough.
"Good?" someone asked.
"No," he said. "Leon lied. Why do I believe him."
"Because he is a clever man, Signor?"
NigelB grimaced, and handed the bottle back. The crowd roared. The bull was coming.
Official figures from HMRC: source https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/number-of-individual-income-taxpayers-by-marginal-rate-gender-and-age
There is little excuse now and no electoral disadvantage given that group overwhelmingly supports other parties.
I’d expect the next state pension age review to pull forward the increase to 68 for the state pension too.
They should reform the statutory requirement on councils to ferry some kids to school. Means test it.
I cannot understand why they didn’t bite the bullet. Get the difficult decisions out of the way now and by the time the election comes around it will be a distant memory.
Want shiny new tanks and planes? The money has to come from somewhere.
The trout flopped once, then stopped. The old man gutted it with his short knife. The guts spilled out, slick and bright, like Trump’s strategic realignment of the Republican Party to ensure no internal dissent. Miguel looked away.
“You do not like the sight of blood?” the old man asked.
Miguel took a drink. “I do not like sycophants installed across the cabinet for the better avoidance of internal debate.”
The donkey coughed. It sounded weak, like Europe’s ability to resist economic subjugation by American techno-industrialists. Miguel spat into the dust.
The wind came down hard from the mountains. The bulls in the pens could smell the morning. They were strong and cruel and ready to break free.
“Like the last vestiges of democratic integrity in the face of Project 2025,” the old man said, watching them.
Miguel wiped his mouth. “What will the Germans do?”
“They will wait.” The old man gutted another trout. “Like Musk, when he took over the free press and placed it under the control of a single oligarch whose commitment to liberal democracy is dubious at best.”
The donkey coughed again. Miguel kicked a stone into the river.
“The English?”
“They will drink.” The old man took a sip of wine. It was thin and harsh, like the pretense that Trump sees any distinction between Ukraine, Russia, or the European security apparatus as a whole.
Miguel lit a cigarette. “And the Russians?”
The old man wiped his knife. The blade was clean, but the stain remained.
“They are sharpening their knives,” he said. “Like the predatory economic forces that see Europe as a ripe carcass, stripped for parts by those with the power and will to do so.”
The bulls stamped. The river kept moving. The donkey coughed. The sun went down.
The latest wheeze we have coming concerns the housebuilding drive, and an abomination called build-to-let which the Government is rumoured to be looking at to deliver a large chunk of the new builds. Rent farming in Britain has hitherto been a cottage industry for small investors; the idea now is to bring in pension funds and big corporates to build entire estates and bleed thousands of tenants at a time white. It's all very reminiscent of medieval barons extorting big bags of coins from their captive villeins, in exchange for the dubious privilege of working their land for them. I despair.
Compare and contrast with Germany's political messaging...
And as for weapons; France has provided some really important kit. Their Stormshadows being one example, and now Mirage jets.
I was really critical of Macron early on in the war; when I saw those videos, I realised what he had been doing.
Sounds like Duffy has been told to get on with modernising their systems, after way too many near-misses that led up to the midair crash in Washington last month, possibly the most high-profile of locations for such an accident to occur.
They’ve been having meetings about having meetings about airspace modernisation for at least the last five years. https://www.faa.gov/nextgen
It should actually be your (6310 + 1130)/37400 which is 20%.
Let me take something else