"Trump’s soft power grab In an age of brutality, the vibe shift orchestrated by the Maga regime is the US president’s greatest victory yet. By John Gray" (£)
My take is that the collision was an accident, not deliberate, despite the captain being Russian. Why?
*) It was foggy (see video). *) The container ship was making the same journey it had made several times over the last month. *) The container ship apparently just ploughed straight on into the moored ship, and did not turn.
It is quite a pool shot to go for dozens of miles and hit a relatively small target directly amidships.
The crew were complacent. Also, the ship was not as well-maintained as it should have been.
I read somewhere that in the 1700s and 1800s the Ordnance Survey would send surveyors out all over the country. They would arrive in a small hamlet and ask to see a senior personage - say, a vicar, or head farmer, or the lord of the manor. They would then ask that person what each place in the area was called. The surveyors would then try to spell what they were told, as many of the names had never been written down, or not for centuries.
Except the vicar might be an incomer himself, and not know the proper name and spelling. And the lord might call places different names to the people who lived there.
Talking of vibe shifts ... reposted to 220m twitter accounts.
Extraordinary. Or perhaps no longer extraordinary.
It's a clear attempt to make people believe that the people at the top are not responsible for the actions of the people under them. An attempt made by people at the top, who are currently telling the people under them to do some fairly disastrous things.
I would have thought people would not fall for it; but given what's happened in America, perhaps many will.
F1: just seen Leclerc a nudge ahead of Piastri and Norris who are very close together in FP2. Mostly the same chaps in the top four of FP2 in first practice with some chap called Carlos Sainz in 2nd. That's faintly ridiculous. But also just practice.
Pre-qualifying should be up later this morning or so. Not anticipating a bet but I'll browse the markets just in case.
I read somewhere that in the 1700s and 1800s the Ordnance Survey would send surveyors out all over the country. They would arrive in a small hamlet and ask to see a senior personage - say, a vicar, or head farmer, or the lord of the manor. They would then ask that person what each place in the area was called. The surveyors would then try to spell what they were told, as many of the names had never been written down, or not for centuries.
Except the vicar might be an incomer himself, and not know the proper name and spelling. And the lord might call places different names to the people who lived there.
I remember reading the same about France in early Napoleonic times. Much of the country was unmapped back then, and next to nothing was ‘known’ about them in Paris, not even what dialect or languages the surveyors would encounter
I read somewhere that in the 1700s and 1800s the Ordnance Survey would send surveyors out all over the country. They would arrive in a small hamlet and ask to see a senior personage - say, a vicar, or head farmer, or the lord of the manor. They would then ask that person what each place in the area was called. The surveyors would then try to spell what they were told, as many of the names had never been written down, or not for centuries.
Except the vicar might be an incomer himself, and not know the proper name and spelling. And the lord might call places different names to the people who lived there.
It's a strange idea that local place-names wouldn't have been written down for centuries before the Ordnance Survey starting mapping England in the 1790s. Local place-names would have been written down in all kinds of records - not least records relating to land tenure - and by that time antiquarians had been diligently transcribing that kind of information and in many cases publishing it in county histories.
You're being harsh. Who could possibly have foreseen that allowing a public utility to load itself up with tens of billions of debt, all paid out to the owners in dividends, with the debt burden sustained by the difference between what they could get away with charging the public and the then historically low gilt rates was a risk? Surely it was sensible to assume that debt would remain at historically low interest rates indefinitely and that when it came time to roll over that debt they would be able to borrow at the same low rate? How could it have been foreseen when the price of that debt went up the company would be desperate to squeeze its poor customers even harder?
I mean, its not like OFWAT employed teams of well paid economists or could be realistically expected to reach a judgement on all of this, is it? As long as the forms were filled and the boxes ticked and the public sector pensions accrued what was there to worry about?
I read somewhere that in the 1700s and 1800s the Ordnance Survey would send surveyors out all over the country. They would arrive in a small hamlet and ask to see a senior personage - say, a vicar, or head farmer, or the lord of the manor. They would then ask that person what each place in the area was called. The surveyors would then try to spell what they were told, as many of the names had never been written down, or not for centuries.
Except the vicar might be an incomer himself, and not know the proper name and spelling. And the lord might call places different names to the people who lived there.
It's a strange idea that local place-names wouldn't have been written down for centuries before the Ordnance Survey starting mapping England in the 1790s. Local place-names would have been written down in all kinds of records - not least records relating to land tenure - and by that time antiquarians had been diligently transcribing that kind of information and in many cases publishing it in county histories.
The place names of larger settlements, sure. But smaller ones, or even hills and fields? Not every estate had a map, and the OS were detailing the land in a way that had never been done before. Also, names changed over time, and ones recorded years ago might not be the same as the locals called them now.
Nottingham was famously Snotengaham in anglo-Saxon times, and changed over the years before settling as Nottingham in Medieval times. Cambridge was Grantabrycge in anglo-Saxon times, became Cantebrige under the Normans, and Cambridge in later Medieval times.
Then you get accent difficulties. "What's that hill called?" "Whi siree, tha' 'ill o'er be t'trees ees Whey Hill." Surveyor writes down Wye Hill.
In Uttoxeter, many locals, especially from families that have been in the area for generations, call it "Utchetter".
Tracking what proportion of DOGE’s claimed savings are true.
It needs to evaluate "legal" as well as "true", whether the reason is accurate (eg transgender mice for transgenic mice), and take into account the cost of alternatives. Otherwise it will just be fodder for lazy media idiots.
eg Stopping vaccination research is not a saving, other than on this year's budget.
In fairness, compared to what Trump has achieved in the US, that isn't too bad. Its just a pity that it is unsustainable levels of public spending that is holding the economy together.
In Dundee the latest crisis is the state of the University's finances. They have indicated that they are looking at over 600 redundancies. The growth of both Dundee University and Abertay University has been the one bright spot in a bleak outlook over the last decade as skilled manufacturing jobs have left the city. Many dilapidated parts of the city now have shiny new blocks of flats for students in them. A swathe of coffee shops, pubs and nightclubs cluster around them like hens around a bag of seed. If that bag of seed is withdrawn the consequences are going to be extremely negative. We are at risk locally of going from recession into depression.
Tracking what proportion of DOGE’s claimed savings are true.
Isn't an efficiency saving when you produce the same useful output for less input? not just not giving medical care. Generaly unchecked vandalism results in useful output falling more than the input.
You're being harsh. Who could possibly have foreseen that allowing a public utility to load itself up with tens of billions of debt, all paid out to the owners in dividends, with the debt burden sustained by the difference between what they could get away with charging the public and the then historically low gilt rates was a risk? Surely it was sensible to assume that debt would remain at historically low interest rates indefinitely and that when it came time to roll over that debt they would be able to borrow at the same low rate? How could it have been foreseen when the price of that debt went up the company would be desperate to squeeze its poor customers even harder?
I mean, its not like OFWAT employed teams of well paid economists or could be realistically expected to reach a judgement on all of this, is it? As long as the forms were filled and the boxes ticked and the public sector pensions accrued what was there to worry about?
OFWAT isn't redundant though is it. Just ineffective. Should never have been privatised in the first place, like putting an XL bully in charge of childcare.
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Kemi hasn't said anything about it, Davey backs Starmer's decision despite the fact it was the Coalition government he was in that created NHS England in the first place so day to day running of the NHS was overseen by an independent body not the Department of Health.
In fact 'Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart cast doubts over the decision, saying Sir Keir Starmer has yet to set out "how this is going to make life better for patients" or "how much money he is going to save by doing it".
I just heard it on the BBC R4 6 o clock news. Kemi is on board. She said the Government will now be measured on NHS progress as they are now directly in the driving seat They can't blame anyone else.
So no she is NOT on board as such she said it was Starmer and Streeting's decision not hers and if it fails to make life better for patients or significant savings then the Opposition will blame the government
She ( and Hunt) seemed less hostile than you do to overturning Lansley's reforms.
Not their decision, though Kemi was notably less enthusiastic than Hunt anyway it is LABOUR who scrapped it and LABOUR who will be responsible for ALL the job losses and LABOUR who will be responsible for lack of NHS improvement
This is a rather bizarre outburst from you on the subject of NHS ENGLAND of all things. The Department of Health is quite capable of running the NHS which is also managed at a regional level by trusts before you even get near a hospital. Is someone you know concerned?
NHS England was created in 2012 precisely as the Dept of Health wasn't, we will see if any different this time
As his term of office fades into the past, Cameron increasingly looks like one of the worst prime ministers in our history. The British Obama.
Wrong on both counts. Have you already forgotten Johnson and Trump?
I read somewhere that in the 1700s and 1800s the Ordnance Survey would send surveyors out all over the country. They would arrive in a small hamlet and ask to see a senior personage - say, a vicar, or head farmer, or the lord of the manor. They would then ask that person what each place in the area was called. The surveyors would then try to spell what they were told, as many of the names had never been written down, or not for centuries.
Except the vicar might be an incomer himself, and not know the proper name and spelling. And the lord might call places different names to the people who lived there.
The 19th century OS Name Books are now on line for Scotland, at any rate. Listing which place was called what and who the authority/bloke down the bottom of the field was.
Comments
"Trump’s soft power grab
In an age of brutality, the vibe shift orchestrated by the Maga regime is the US president’s greatest victory yet.
By John Gray" (£)
https://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2025/03/trumps-soft-power-grab
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMWwImDX3ks
My take is that the collision was an accident, not deliberate, despite the captain being Russian. Why?
*) It was foggy (see video).
*) The container ship was making the same journey it had made several times over the last month.
*) The container ship apparently just ploughed straight on into the moored ship, and did not turn.
It is quite a pool shot to go for dozens of miles and hit a relatively small target directly amidships.
The crew were complacent. Also, the ship was not as well-maintained as it should have been.
I read somewhere that in the 1700s and 1800s the Ordnance Survey would send surveyors out all over the country. They would arrive in a small hamlet and ask to see a senior personage - say, a vicar, or head farmer, or the lord of the manor. They would then ask that person what each place in the area was called. The surveyors would then try to spell what they were told, as many of the names had never been written down, or not for centuries.
Except the vicar might be an incomer himself, and not know the proper name and spelling. And the lord might call places different names to the people who lived there.
I would have thought people would not fall for it; but given what's happened in America, perhaps many will.
F1: just seen Leclerc a nudge ahead of Piastri and Norris who are very close together in FP2. Mostly the same chaps in the top four of FP2 in first practice with some chap called Carlos Sainz in 2nd. That's faintly ridiculous. But also just practice.
Pre-qualifying should be up later this morning or so. Not anticipating a bet but I'll browse the markets just in case.
Zak Crawley has announced he will play in their first six matches.
https://x.com/sentdefender/status/1900206044682637798
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c86pvye8850o
And while you're about it, Ofgem are just as bad.
Tracking what proportion of DOGE’s claimed savings are true.
I mean, its not like OFWAT employed teams of well paid economists or could be realistically expected to reach a judgement on all of this, is it? As long as the forms were filled and the boxes ticked and the public sector pensions accrued what was there to worry about?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgq9e4nx5d2o
Nottingham was famously Snotengaham in anglo-Saxon times, and changed over the years before settling as Nottingham in Medieval times. Cambridge was Grantabrycge in anglo-Saxon times, became Cantebrige under the Normans, and Cambridge in later Medieval times.
Then you get accent difficulties.
"What's that hill called?"
"Whi siree, tha' 'ill o'er be t'trees ees Whey Hill."
Surveyor writes down Wye Hill.
In Uttoxeter, many locals, especially from families that have been in the area for generations, call it "Utchetter".
eg Stopping vaccination research is not a saving, other than on this year's budget.
In Dundee the latest crisis is the state of the University's finances. They have indicated that they are looking at over 600 redundancies. The growth of both Dundee University and Abertay University has been the one bright spot in a bleak outlook over the last decade as skilled manufacturing jobs have left the city. Many dilapidated parts of the city now have shiny new blocks of flats for students in them. A swathe of coffee shops, pubs and nightclubs cluster around them like hens around a bag of seed. If that bag of seed is withdrawn the consequences are going to be extremely negative. We are at risk locally of going from recession into depression.
NEW THREAD
not just not giving medical care.
Generaly unchecked vandalism results in useful output falling more than the input.
Should never have been privatised in the first place, like putting an XL bully in charge of childcare.
https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/about
Edit: one at random from a popular valley walk in the Pentlands (Howlet = owlet).
https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/digital-volumes/ordnance-survey-name-books/midlothian-os-name-books-1852-1853/midlothian-volume-33/4