individuals suspected of using confidential information – specifically advance knowledge of the proposed election date – to gain an unfair advantage in betting markets”
have any impact on people who bet to skew the market without expectation of winning - eg to get media coverage overstating their political position?
I think today was an inflection point - maybe small, but real.
The President, having launched a global trade war, feted in the Oval Office a Central American dictator who runs a mega-prison known for starvation and torture - a prison to which our government has, by its own admission, sent at least one person "in error."
They disappeared a man without a single criminal charge who's lived and worked here for 15 years - who was alleged to be a member of a gang based in a state he never lived by one anonymous informant. No other evidence. No trial. No conviction. Nothing but a legal order that he not be deported to El Salvador, where he's now serving a life sentence.
The Supreme Court just ruled, without any noted dissent, that the government must facilitate the man's release.
But Trump and his dictator friend said no. They laughed. They mocked the journalist who asked whether they'd abide by the Court's order. The Attorney General, the Secretary of State, and the White House Deputy Chief all lied about the facts of the case. Then the President repeated his proposal to send American citizens to the dictator's prison, and asked him to build five more.
The same day we found out that the government knowingly disappeared a PhD student for nothing but an op-ed, a man's 19-year old son who agents admitted was the wrong kid, and a visa-holding Russian scientist at Harvard who forgot to declare frog embryos at the border.
But: it's all breaking through. It's getting more coverage. More people are paying attention. More elected Democrats are speaking up. More conservative pundits and legal scholars are speaking up. Even Joe Rogan thinks it's bullshit.
Now we have to keep pushing. This is much bigger than immigration or deportation policy - this is about whether we live in a free country or a police state. It's the whole ballgame. https://x.com/jonfavs/status/1911995867407827204
Apparently Mr Trump's dictator friend wasn't wearing a suit for his visit, but nobody objected this time.
Good morning, everybody.
He was wearing a suit, but not a shirt and tie under it. Looks like some kind of woolly pullover.
The whole effect made him look like a refugee from a charity shop.
It's the Andrew Tate look, with spray on beard too.
Over tight suit, with deliberate undersizing in an attempt to emphasise the torso.
One thing he got right was the black* shirt, as the prime function of a suit is to direct the gaze to the wearers face and with a high contrast face this works.
*right in so many ways...
Black shorts would have been more appropriate.
In P G Wodehouse's spoof of Mosley, his supporters were called the BlackShorts.
Difficult to imagine a fictional representation of Trump and his coterie that could be more farcical than the reality though.
'The Code of the Woosters' is the book where all this happens. Many think it's the best, though not me. It's one of the best but lacks the 100% plotless pointlessness and perfect writing of 'Right Ho Jeeves' which, along with Austen's 'Emma' is the best book I know about nothing at all.
That's a revelation for me - that PG Wodehouse books are supposed to be about nothing. I've tried several of his books but none of them make me laugh, even though they have such a high reputation for doing so for others.
I think today was an inflection point - maybe small, but real.
The President, having launched a global trade war, feted in the Oval Office a Central American dictator who runs a mega-prison known for starvation and torture - a prison to which our government has, by its own admission, sent at least one person "in error."
They disappeared a man without a single criminal charge who's lived and worked here for 15 years - who was alleged to be a member of a gang based in a state he never lived by one anonymous informant. No other evidence. No trial. No conviction. Nothing but a legal order that he not be deported to El Salvador, where he's now serving a life sentence.
The Supreme Court just ruled, without any noted dissent, that the government must facilitate the man's release.
But Trump and his dictator friend said no. They laughed. They mocked the journalist who asked whether they'd abide by the Court's order. The Attorney General, the Secretary of State, and the White House Deputy Chief all lied about the facts of the case. Then the President repeated his proposal to send American citizens to the dictator's prison, and asked him to build five more.
The same day we found out that the government knowingly disappeared a PhD student for nothing but an op-ed, a man's 19-year old son who agents admitted was the wrong kid, and a visa-holding Russian scientist at Harvard who forgot to declare frog embryos at the border.
But: it's all breaking through. It's getting more coverage. More people are paying attention. More elected Democrats are speaking up. More conservative pundits and legal scholars are speaking up. Even Joe Rogan thinks it's bullshit.
Now we have to keep pushing. This is much bigger than immigration or deportation policy - this is about whether we live in a free country or a police state. It's the whole ballgame. https://x.com/jonfavs/status/1911995867407827204
The 19-year old is like something out of a film.
“The officers grabbed him and two other boys right at the entrance to our building. One said, ‘No, he’s not the one,’ like they were looking for someone else. But the other said, ‘Take him anyway.’ “
The next non-MAGA administration is going to need a South African-style Truth and Reconciliation Committee to fix the USA.
After they've had the show trials.
Morning all.
Dreadfully sorry for the poor souls on the wrong end of this, especially those sent to the wildly misnamed, at the moment anyway, El Salvador. I suppose they might get some financial compensation in 4 years time, but, as with the sub-postmasters here, will it get bogged down in legal wrangling?
The US debt market is steadily losing altitude and that is going to add to American problems.
After the near death experience in Treasuries, it is now clear that US high yield debt markets have basically shut. That is going to lead to increasing problems for corporate finance across the board. Investment confidence is already low, but the actual ability to even transact is also in trouble. Demand for US goods has fallen sharply, US tourism is facing a major fall in overseas visitors. Multi national firms like Boeing can not offer accurate delivery times because their supply chains are being snarled up with tariffs. Inflation and interest rates are set to rise very sharply.
So, reduced demand, higher costs, reduced debt capacity. The only real question now is how deep the US depression will get, and to what degree that leads to civil unrest.
BTW, Britain should not be signing anything economic with the Trump regime unless it is literally the USA rolling over on every point of discussion.
Well lets see how long the tariffs last and what further exemptions are offered. There was talk on social media last night of exemptions coming in for car parts.
This will be a bureaucratic nightmare for those administering it.
Best leave it to the private sector, and jigsaw identification. Oh, hold on:-
Hertz confirms customer info, drivers' licenses stolen in data breach ... The company says that the data varies per individual but could contain customers' names, contact information, date of birth, credit card information, driver's license information, and information related to workers' compensation claims.
Sigh - it's not complex, these days to encrypt everything in storage. Quite a few databases do this out of the box. So if someone steals backups (not uncommon as a hack) or accesses the live data - they get a pile of essentially random numbers.
I think today was an inflection point - maybe small, but real.
The President, having launched a global trade war, feted in the Oval Office a Central American dictator who runs a mega-prison known for starvation and torture - a prison to which our government has, by its own admission, sent at least one person "in error."
They disappeared a man without a single criminal charge who's lived and worked here for 15 years - who was alleged to be a member of a gang based in a state he never lived by one anonymous informant. No other evidence. No trial. No conviction. Nothing but a legal order that he not be deported to El Salvador, where he's now serving a life sentence.
The Supreme Court just ruled, without any noted dissent, that the government must facilitate the man's release.
But Trump and his dictator friend said no. They laughed. They mocked the journalist who asked whether they'd abide by the Court's order. The Attorney General, the Secretary of State, and the White House Deputy Chief all lied about the facts of the case. Then the President repeated his proposal to send American citizens to the dictator's prison, and asked him to build five more.
The same day we found out that the government knowingly disappeared a PhD student for nothing but an op-ed, a man's 19-year old son who agents admitted was the wrong kid, and a visa-holding Russian scientist at Harvard who forgot to declare frog embryos at the border.
But: it's all breaking through. It's getting more coverage. More people are paying attention. More elected Democrats are speaking up. More conservative pundits and legal scholars are speaking up. Even Joe Rogan thinks it's bullshit.
Now we have to keep pushing. This is much bigger than immigration or deportation policy - this is about whether we live in a free country or a police state. It's the whole ballgame. https://x.com/jonfavs/status/1911995867407827204
The 19-year old is like something out of a film.
“The officers grabbed him and two other boys right at the entrance to our building. One said, ‘No, he’s not the one,’ like they were looking for someone else. But the other said, ‘Take him anyway.’ “
The next non-MAGA administration is going to need a South African-style Truth and Reconciliation Committee to fix the USA.
After they've had the show trials.
Morning all.
Dreadfully sorry for the poor souls on the wrong end of this, especially those sent to the wildly misnamed, at the moment anyway, El Salvador. I suppose they might get some financial compensation in 4 years time, but, as with the sub-postmasters here, will it get bogged down in legal wrangling?
Given the pre-existing US system, 40 years would be about how long it will take to get compensation. See the long efforts of the WWII Japanese detainees.
Do we yet know which of the following are grounds for deportation from Murica:
Dissent about Deltics
That can't be grounds for deportation, as there is no dissent about the awesomeness of Deltics.
The rare incidents of people who struggle with this are treated medically.
Deltics were cr@p. They wee only in service for less than twenty years, which compared to their predecessors and successors was a ludicrously short period. They were also temperamental and, though it is in the eye of the beholder, ugly.
Deltics are only liked by people who know nothing about locomotives. Those who do love the likes of the Class 28, class 17 or the superb Fell 10100. Or anything produced at Derby.
Heretic.
When they replaced the diesels on a German E boat with Deltics, they had a problem. They were *too light* and *too powerful*. In the end, they had to change the propellors and add ballast. And the boat was about 10 knots faster, even then. Oh, and they had lots of spare space in the engine room.
There are many statistics for an engine. Weight is one. Power is another.
Another is reliability.
There's a serious point to be made. Engines designed for maritime use have been used in locos often have problems with the duty cycle: in ships, you generally set a power level and leave it at that level for long periods; in trains, the power level demand fluctuates by the minute, or even by the second. If the engine was not thoroughly designed for that demand, it can cause problems.
The Deltics were famed for engine problems, and also were difficult to maintain. Their only saving grace was having two engines, so if one failed, they could limp home on the other...
In UK news, ONS report that average wages rose by a healthy 5.9%, unemployment remained static at 4.4%, and while job vacancies dropped there are still 781,000 vacancies.
I'm beginning to wonder if the hype about the devastating effects of the NI employer rise and minimum wage rise was overblown. Even though these have only just been implemented, employers have had 6 months to prepare.
British businesses have been left in a “state of despondency” by Donald Trump’s trade wars and Rachel Reeves’s tax rises, with confidence at its lowest level since the mini-Budget crisis.
Companies are scaling back recruitment and slashing staff training budgets to cope with rising costs rather than raising prices, the survey noted, in a boost to rate cut hopes.
While the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.4pc, an early estimate showed the number of payrolled employees fell by 78,000 in March from the previous month, a drop of 0.3pc.
The US debt market is steadily losing altitude and that is going to add to American problems.
After the near death experience in Treasuries, it is now clear that US high yield debt markets have basically shut. That is going to lead to increasing problems for corporate finance across the board. Investment confidence is already low, but the actual ability to even transact is also in trouble. Demand for US goods has fallen sharply, US tourism is facing a major fall in overseas visitors. Multi national firms like Boeing can not offer accurate delivery times because their supply chains are being snarled up with tariffs. Inflation and interest rates are set to rise very sharply.
So, reduced demand, higher costs, reduced debt capacity. The only real question now is how deep the US depression will get, and to what degree that leads to civil unrest.
BTW, Britain should not be signing anything economic with the Trump regime unless it is literally the USA rolling over on every point of discussion.
Well lets see how long the tariffs last and what further exemptions are offered. There was talk on social media last night of exemptions coming in for car parts.
This will be a bureaucratic nightmare for those administering it.
It is surely a stroke of good fortune that the US government values back office admin roles very highly and has plenty of them already motivated and available.
Holy crap - posters don’t like a poster and happy he isn’t hear cluttering up the site then feel the need to come on and post about said poster and clutter up the site with posts about evil drunk/fascist poster.
Here’s an idea, if you don’t like Leon then skip his posts, don’t respond, don’t post about him not being here.
It’s like saying Beetlejuice/candyman three times then moaning when he shows up.
Tragic.
The tragedy is that you are the only person who has mentioned him!
He appears to be serious about the unilateral imposition of reparations.
https://x.com/JayinKyiv/status/1911784481465245987 Trump is apparently considering sanctioning Ukrainian government officials to force them to sign over Ukraine's oil, gas, minerals and infrastructure.
Time for the EU to reconstruct adding the UK and Ukraine. Then we can tell Trump what to do with his mineral grab
Imagine the turmoil if a New York hood was elected Leader of the Free World. What could possibly go wrong? Keep on Rockin' in the Free World!
It does feel like that but maybe not New York hood. It gives it a certain mystique which this tawdry Trump clan doesn't have.
Holy crap - posters don’t like a poster and happy he isn’t hear cluttering up the site then feel the need to come on and post about said poster and clutter up the site with posts about evil drunk/fascist poster.
Here’s an idea, if you don’t like Leon then skip his posts, don’t respond, don’t post about him not being here.
It’s like saying Beetlejuice/candyman three times then moaning when he shows up.
Tragic.
The tragedy is that you are the only person who has mentioned him!
In UK news, ONS report that average wages rose by a healthy 5.9%, unemployment remained static at 4.4%, and while job vacancies dropped there are still 781,000 vacancies.
I'm beginning to wonder if the hype about the devastating effects of the NI employer rise and minimum wage rise was overblown. Even though these have only just been implemented, employers have had 6 months to prepare.
British businesses have been left in a “state of despondency” by Donald Trump’s trade wars and Rachel Reeves’s tax rises, with confidence at its lowest level since the mini-Budget crisis.
Companies are scaling back recruitment and slashing staff training budgets to cope with rising costs rather than raising prices, the survey noted, in a boost to rate cut hopes.
While the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.4pc, an early estimate showed the number of payrolled employees fell by 78,000 in March from the previous month, a drop of 0.3pc.
And yet, pay is increasing faster than prices and (so far) there's no sign of unemployment going up. That 0.3% is a rounding error. Overall, something must be going right.
How much of the problem is the right wing media talking the country down?
[Andrew Bridgen's] Libel claim against Matt Hancock can go to trial ... The High Court previously heard that Mr Bridgen shared a link to an article that "concerned data about deaths and other adverse reactions linked to Covid vaccines".
Mr Bridgen, who was MP for North West Leicestershire from 2010 to 2024, wrote: "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust."
Hours later, Mr Hancock shared a video, captioned: "The disgusting and dangerous antisemitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories spouted by a sitting MP this morning are unacceptable and have absolutely no place in our society." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg83nl00vqo
Former Tory MPs to go toe-to-toe. TwiX, anti-vax, anti-semitism, and did I mention Tories? Huzzah for libel lawyers. Huzzah for free speech. Or not.
Holy crap - posters don’t like a poster and happy he isn’t hear cluttering up the site then feel the need to come on and post about said poster and clutter up the site with posts about evil drunk/fascist poster.
Here’s an idea, if you don’t like Leon then skip his posts, don’t respond, don’t post about him not being here.
It’s like saying Beetlejuice/candyman three times then moaning when he shows up.
Tragic.
The tragedy is that you are the only person who has mentioned him!
You really MUST be obsessed
Boulay did get a dozen likes for his defence of the PB One (whoever that might be). Perhaps we could have a regular themed event on the lines of Fox and friends. Fash and friends?
Holy crap - posters don’t like a poster and happy he isn’t hear cluttering up the site then feel the need to come on and post about said poster and clutter up the site with posts about evil drunk/fascist poster.
Here’s an idea, if you don’t like Leon then skip his posts, don’t respond, don’t post about him not being here.
It’s like saying Beetlejuice/candyman three times then moaning when he shows up.
Tragic.
The tragedy is that you are the only person who has mentioned him!
That's more than Ange & Rachel combined, but less than Rishi.
More than Boris, too, surely. And as for Farage.....
Boris, quit possibly, beat Ken Livingstone, because he deliberately didn't minimise his taxes. The fact that he didn't use a shell company for his journalism was so surprising that Ken kept repeating the untruth. He simply couldn't believe it.
That's more than Ange & Rachel combined, but less than Rishi.
More than Boris, too, surely. And as for Farage.....
Boris, quit possibly, beat Ken Livingstone, because he deliberately didn't minimise his taxes. The fact that he didn't use a shell company for his journalism was so surprising that Ken kept repeating the untruth. He simply couldn't believe it.
Boris is so lazy he probably couldn't be bothered. The media couldn't believe it either because obviously they all use service companies as a tax efficiency vehicle.
The US debt market is steadily losing altitude and that is going to add to American problems.
After the near death experience in Treasuries, it is now clear that US high yield debt markets have basically shut. That is going to lead to increasing problems for corporate finance across the board. Investment confidence is already low, but the actual ability to even transact is also in trouble. Demand for US goods has fallen sharply, US tourism is facing a major fall in overseas visitors. Multi national firms like Boeing can not offer accurate delivery times because their supply chains are being snarled up with tariffs. Inflation and interest rates are set to rise very sharply.
So, reduced demand, higher costs, reduced debt capacity. The only real question now is how deep the US depression will get, and to what degree that leads to civil unrest.
BTW, Britain should not be signing anything economic with the Trump regime unless it is literally the USA rolling over on every point of discussion.
This is surely a disaster for Boeing and can only accelerate what was already becoming a tendency for airlines to switch to Airbus following the Max 8 fiasco.
[Andrew Bridgen's] Libel claim against Matt Hancock can go to trial ... The High Court previously heard that Mr Bridgen shared a link to an article that "concerned data about deaths and other adverse reactions linked to Covid vaccines".
Mr Bridgen, who was MP for North West Leicestershire from 2010 to 2024, wrote: "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust."
Hours later, Mr Hancock shared a video, captioned: "The disgusting and dangerous antisemitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories spouted by a sitting MP this morning are unacceptable and have absolutely no place in our society." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg83nl00vqo
Former Tory MPs to go toe-to-toe. TwiX, anti-vax, anti-semitism, and did I mention Tories? Huzzah for libel lawyers. Huzzah for free speech. Or not.
It's a sad day when one finds themselves rooting for Matt Hancock.
[Andrew Bridgen's] Libel claim against Matt Hancock can go to trial ... The High Court previously heard that Mr Bridgen shared a link to an article that "concerned data about deaths and other adverse reactions linked to Covid vaccines".
Mr Bridgen, who was MP for North West Leicestershire from 2010 to 2024, wrote: "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust."
Hours later, Mr Hancock shared a video, captioned: "The disgusting and dangerous antisemitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories spouted by a sitting MP this morning are unacceptable and have absolutely no place in our society." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg83nl00vqo
Former Tory MPs to go toe-to-toe. TwiX, anti-vax, anti-semitism, and did I mention Tories? Huzzah for libel lawyers. Huzzah for free speech. Or not.
I hope Bridgen is awarded a risibly tiny amount of damages and both wankers have to pay their no doubt substantial costs. Win-win for the rest of us.
That's more than Ange & Rachel combined, but less than Rishi.
More than Boris, too, surely. And as for Farage.....
Boris, quit possibly, beat Ken Livingstone, because he deliberately didn't minimise his taxes. The fact that he didn't use a shell company for his journalism was so surprising that Ken kept repeating the untruth. He simply couldn't believe it.
Boris is so lazy he probably couldn't be bothered. The media couldn't believe it either because obviously they all use service companies as a tax efficiency vehicle.
The problem with the "too lazy" idea is that he had to do some paperwork to get paid PAYE - it was easier to get paid via a service company. Which you can get setup yourself in a hour - or get a solicitor to do for you.
Holy crap - posters don’t like a poster and happy he isn’t hear cluttering up the site then feel the need to come on and post about said poster and clutter up the site with posts about evil drunk/fascist poster.
Here’s an idea, if you don’t like Leon then skip his posts, don’t respond, don’t post about him not being here.
It’s like saying Beetlejuice/candyman three times then moaning when he shows up.
Tragic.
The tragedy is that you are the only person who has mentioned him!
I notice from my direct debits this morning that a 1 bedroom flat (with single person discount) is now more than £100 a month in council tax, at least where I am.
Holy crap - posters don’t like a poster and happy he isn’t hear cluttering up the site then feel the need to come on and post about said poster and clutter up the site with posts about evil drunk/fascist poster.
Here’s an idea, if you don’t like Leon then skip his posts, don’t respond, don’t post about him not being here.
It’s like saying Beetlejuice/candyman three times then moaning when he shows up.
Tragic.
The tragedy is that you are the only person who has mentioned him!
You really MUST be obsessed
Boulay did get a dozen likes for his defence of the PB One (whoever that might be). Perhaps we could have a regular themed event on the lines of Fox and friends. Fash and friends?
Now that's funny! 12 'likes' for saying he likes Leon!
[Andrew Bridgen's] Libel claim against Matt Hancock can go to trial ... The High Court previously heard that Mr Bridgen shared a link to an article that "concerned data about deaths and other adverse reactions linked to Covid vaccines".
Mr Bridgen, who was MP for North West Leicestershire from 2010 to 2024, wrote: "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust."
Hours later, Mr Hancock shared a video, captioned: "The disgusting and dangerous antisemitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories spouted by a sitting MP this morning are unacceptable and have absolutely no place in our society." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg83nl00vqo
Former Tory MPs to go toe-to-toe. TwiX, anti-vax, anti-semitism, and did I mention Tories? Huzzah for libel lawyers. Huzzah for free speech. Or not.
It's a sad day when one finds themselves rooting for Matt Hancock.
Are these claims about the vaccines entirely nonsense? I’ve had sane friends claim there is genuine evidence of harm, and incautious use
Holy crap - posters don’t like a poster and happy he isn’t hear cluttering up the site then feel the need to come on and post about said poster and clutter up the site with posts about evil drunk/fascist poster.
Here’s an idea, if you don’t like Leon then skip his posts, don’t respond, don’t post about him not being here.
It’s like saying Beetlejuice/candyman three times then moaning when he shows up.
Tragic.
The tragedy is that you are the only person who has mentioned him!
You really MUST be obsessed
Boulay did get a dozen likes for his defence of the PB One (whoever that might be). Perhaps we could have a regular themed event on the lines of Fox and friends. Fash and friends?
Now that's funny! 12 'likes' for saying he likes Leon!
He should become an influencer
Either that or Leon has used his 12 identities to demonstrate his gratitude.
Do we yet know which of the following are grounds for deportation from Murica:
Dissent about Deltics
That can't be grounds for deportation, as there is no dissent about the awesomeness of Deltics.
The rare incidents of people who struggle with this are treated medically.
Deltics were cr@p. They wee only in service for less than twenty years, which compared to their predecessors and successors was a ludicrously short period. They were also temperamental and, though it is in the eye of the beholder, ugly.
Deltics are only liked by people who know nothing about locomotives. Those who do love the likes of the Class 28, class 17 or the superb Fell 10100. Or anything produced at Derby.
What is this heretical nonsense? Criticising Deltics for their short career while lauding locos that had all been retired by 1970!
[Andrew Bridgen's] Libel claim against Matt Hancock can go to trial ... The High Court previously heard that Mr Bridgen shared a link to an article that "concerned data about deaths and other adverse reactions linked to Covid vaccines".
Mr Bridgen, who was MP for North West Leicestershire from 2010 to 2024, wrote: "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust."
Hours later, Mr Hancock shared a video, captioned: "The disgusting and dangerous antisemitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories spouted by a sitting MP this morning are unacceptable and have absolutely no place in our society." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg83nl00vqo
Former Tory MPs to go toe-to-toe. TwiX, anti-vax, anti-semitism, and did I mention Tories? Huzzah for libel lawyers. Huzzah for free speech. Or not.
It's a sad day when one finds themselves rooting for Matt Hancock.
Are these claims about the vaccines entirely nonsense? I’ve had sane friends claim there is genuine evidence of harm, and incautious use
I confess I haven’t examined any of it myself
My hilarious point was Hancock is considerably less obnoxious than Bridgen.
Do we yet know which of the following are grounds for deportation from Murica:
Dissent about Deltics
That can't be grounds for deportation, as there is no dissent about the awesomeness of Deltics.
The rare incidents of people who struggle with this are treated medically.
Deltics were cr@p. They wee only in service for less than twenty years, which compared to their predecessors and successors was a ludicrously short period. They were also temperamental and, though it is in the eye of the beholder, ugly.
Deltics are only liked by people who know nothing about locomotives. Those who do love the likes of the Class 28, class 17 or the superb Fell 10100. Or anything produced at Derby.
What is this heretical nonsense? Criticising Deltics for their short career while lauding locos that had all been retired by 1970!
There might be reason why I chose the Class 28, 17 and Fell...
Though the Deltics were cr@p. Not a patch on the 45s or 37s...
When God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window.
Don't Boeing doors open on their own, mid flight?
And they've got toilet problems on the 787s:
"According to the FAA, the corrosion, caused by “the galvanic interaction of aluminum and carbon fiber as a result of the wet environment at the lavatory,” could result in the aircraft’s lavatories breaking free from the lower mounts during an event with high g-forces."
That's more than Ange & Rachel combined, but less than Rishi.
More than Boris, too, surely. And as for Farage.....
Boris, quit possibly, beat Ken Livingstone, because he deliberately didn't minimise his taxes. The fact that he didn't use a shell company for his journalism was so surprising that Ken kept repeating the untruth. He simply couldn't believe it.
Boris is so lazy he probably couldn't be bothered. The media couldn't believe it either because obviously they all use service companies as a tax efficiency vehicle.
The problem with the "too lazy" idea is that he had to do some paperwork to get paid PAYE - it was easier to get paid via a service company. Which you can get setup yourself in a hour - or get a solicitor to do for you.
Yes and no. I have during my career done the lot from PAYE to owner of companies. PAYE once setup you don't have to worry about anything, you get money in your account every month. Having a limited service company does still require a level of ongoing proactiveness and organisation to ensure you / your accountant does all the paperwork in a timely fashion every year and need to organise your outgoings around the scheme via which you decide to pay yourself.
Boris life is always chaotic and unorganised. I can see him thinking all that being careful with spending, putting money away for taxes etc being too much like hard work. Look how he has got hinself in financial difficulties, yes thats the shagging around and divorces, but he was having to take freebies from JCB family for even a roof over his head.
When God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window.
Don't Boeing doors open on their own, mid flight?
And they've got toilet problems on the 787s:
"According to the FAA, the corrosion, caused by “the galvanic interaction of aluminum and carbon fiber as a result of the wet environment at the lavatory,” could result in the aircraft’s lavatories breaking free from the lower mounts during an event with high g-forces."
I’d guess when it comes to spares and aftermarket products the Chinese ability of reverse engineering will see them okay.
Last year, Boeing's China backlog was 148 aircraft. Boeing's total backlog is well over 5,000 aircraft - and they only delivered ~350 last year. (Airbus delivered over 750, with ~8,500 backlog.)
As Boeing get many parts from around the world, I expect the import tariffs will really screw them - unless plane components are another (of the many things) exempted.
That's more than Ange & Rachel combined, but less than Rishi.
More than Boris, too, surely. And as for Farage.....
Boris, quit possibly, beat Ken Livingstone, because he deliberately didn't minimise his taxes. The fact that he didn't use a shell company for his journalism was so surprising that Ken kept repeating the untruth. He simply couldn't believe it.
Boris is so lazy he probably couldn't be bothered. The media couldn't believe it either because obviously they all use service companies as a tax efficiency vehicle.
The problem with the "too lazy" idea is that he had to do some paperwork to get paid PAYE - it was easier to get paid via a service company. Which you can get setup yourself in a hour - or get a solicitor to do for you.
Yes and no. I have during my career done the lot from PAYE to owner of companies. PAYE once setup you don't have to worry about anything, you get money in your account every month. Having a limited service company does still require a level of ongoing proactiveness and organisation to ensure you / your accountant does all the paperwork in a timely fashion every year and need to organise your outgoings around the scheme via which you decide to pay yourself.
Boris life is always chaotic and unorganised. I can see him thinking all that being careful with spending, putting money away for taxes etc being too much like hard work. Look how he has got hinself in financial difficulties, yes thats the shagging around and divorces, but he was having to take freebies from JCB family for even a roof over his head.
My wife is terrible at paperwork - she used an umbrella outfit when she was contracting, precisely because they took care of everything for a monthly fee.
That's more than Ange & Rachel combined, but less than Rishi.
More than Boris, too, surely. And as for Farage.....
Boris, quit possibly, beat Ken Livingstone, because he deliberately didn't minimise his taxes. The fact that he didn't use a shell company for his journalism was so surprising that Ken kept repeating the untruth. He simply couldn't believe it.
Boris is so lazy he probably couldn't be bothered. The media couldn't believe it either because obviously they all use service companies as a tax efficiency vehicle.
The problem with the "too lazy" idea is that he had to do some paperwork to get paid PAYE - it was easier to get paid via a service company. Which you can get setup yourself in a hour - or get a solicitor to do for you.
Yes and no. I have during my career done the lot from PAYE to owner of companies. PAYE once setup you don't have to worry about anything, you get money in your account every month. Having a limited service company does still require a level of ongoing proactiveness and organisation to ensure you / your accountant does all the paperwork in a timely fashion every year and need to organise your outgoings around the scheme via which you decide to pay yourself.
Boris life is always chaotic and unorganised. I can see him thinking all that being careful with spending, putting money away for taxes etc being too much like hard work. Look how he has got hinself in financial difficulties, yes thats the shagging around and divorces, but he was having to take freebies from JCB family for even a roof over his head.
My wife is terrible at paperwork - she used an umbrella outfit when she was contracting, precisely because they took care of everything for a monthly fee.
Yes but this is Boris who used to write his columns hours before the deadline on whichever person computer was visiting for Sunday lunch using their email address...That is how forward thinking and organised he was.
When God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window.
Don't Boeing doors open on their own, mid flight?
And they've got toilet problems on the 787s:
"According to the FAA, the corrosion, caused by “the galvanic interaction of aluminum and carbon fiber as a result of the wet environment at the lavatory,” could result in the aircraft’s lavatories breaking free from the lower mounts during an event with high g-forces."
That's more than Ange & Rachel combined, but less than Rishi.
More than Boris, too, surely. And as for Farage.....
Boris, quit possibly, beat Ken Livingstone, because he deliberately didn't minimise his taxes. The fact that he didn't use a shell company for his journalism was so surprising that Ken kept repeating the untruth. He simply couldn't believe it.
Boris is so lazy he probably couldn't be bothered. The media couldn't believe it either because obviously they all use service companies as a tax efficiency vehicle.
The problem with the "too lazy" idea is that he had to do some paperwork to get paid PAYE - it was easier to get paid via a service company. Which you can get setup yourself in a hour - or get a solicitor to do for you.
Yes and no. I have during my career done the lot from PAYE to owner of companies. PAYE once setup you don't have to worry about anything, you get money in your account every month. Having a limited service company does still require a level of ongoing proactiveness and organisation to ensure you / your accountant does all the paperwork in a timely fashion every year and need to organise your outgoings around the scheme via which you decide to pay yourself.
Boris life is always chaotic and unorganised. I can see him thinking all that being careful with spending, putting money away for taxes etc being too much like hard work. Look how he has got hinself in financial difficulties, yes thats the shagging around and divorces, but he was having to take freebies from JCB family for even a roof over his head.
It isn't really a problem for him, historically he has enjoyed the finer things in life without the income to sustain such opulent living. Although there seem to be plenty of wealthy benefactors happy to help him out of his many financial scrapes. So why should he worry?
I notice from my direct debits this morning that a 1 bedroom flat (with single person discount) is now more than £100 a month in council tax, at least where I am.
That's more than Ange & Rachel combined, but less than Rishi.
More than Boris, too, surely. And as for Farage.....
Boris, quit possibly, beat Ken Livingstone, because he deliberately didn't minimise his taxes. The fact that he didn't use a shell company for his journalism was so surprising that Ken kept repeating the untruth. He simply couldn't believe it.
Boris is so lazy he probably couldn't be bothered. The media couldn't believe it either because obviously they all use service companies as a tax efficiency vehicle.
The problem with the "too lazy" idea is that he had to do some paperwork to get paid PAYE - it was easier to get paid via a service company. Which you can get setup yourself in a hour - or get a solicitor to do for you.
Yes and no. I have during my career done the lot from PAYE to owner of companies. PAYE once setup you don't have to worry about anything, you get money in your account every month. Having a limited service company does still require a level of ongoing proactiveness and organisation to ensure you / your accountant does all the paperwork in a timely fashion every year and need to organise your outgoings around the scheme via which you decide to pay yourself.
Boris life is always chaotic and unorganised. I can see him thinking all that being careful with spending, putting money away for taxes etc being too much like hard work. Look how he has got hinself in financial difficulties, yes thats the shagging around and divorces, but he was having to take freebies from JCB family for even a roof over his head.
It isn't really a problem for him, historically he has enjoyed the finer things in life without the income to sustain such opulent living. Although there seem to be plenty of wealthy benefactors happy to help him out of his many financial scrapes. So why should he worry?
That's it. He just spaffs money without a care because he knows that he can always do more columns, books or speaking tours. And even when it goes tits up, he has wealthy friends to help him out.
Having a service company for your income, if you want to it to be tax efficient, you have to have some financial discipline in your life. Hence why we see celebrities going busto so often. If not you might as well just do PAYE and not have to worry yourself about keeping receipts, tax bills, share dividends, etc.
I notice from my direct debits this morning that a 1 bedroom flat (with single person discount) is now more than £100 a month in council tax, at least where I am.
In UK news, ONS report that average wages rose by a healthy 5.9%, unemployment remained static at 4.4%, and while job vacancies dropped there are still 781,000 vacancies.
I'm beginning to wonder if the hype about the devastating effects of the NI employer rise and minimum wage rise was overblown. Even though these have only just been implemented, employers have had 6 months to prepare.
British businesses have been left in a “state of despondency” by Donald Trump’s trade wars and Rachel Reeves’s tax rises, with confidence at its lowest level since the mini-Budget crisis.
Companies are scaling back recruitment and slashing staff training budgets to cope with rising costs rather than raising prices, the survey noted, in a boost to rate cut hopes.
While the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.4pc, an early estimate showed the number of payrolled employees fell by 78,000 in March from the previous month, a drop of 0.3pc.
And yet, pay is increasing faster than prices and (so far) there's no sign of unemployment going up. That 0.3% is a rounding error. Overall, something must be going right.
How much of the problem is the right wing media talking the country down?
Well they were well led in this by Rachel and Keir! How quickly you forget!
I think today was an inflection point - maybe small, but real.
The President, having launched a global trade war, feted in the Oval Office a Central American dictator who runs a mega-prison known for starvation and torture - a prison to which our government has, by its own admission, sent at least one person "in error."
They disappeared a man without a single criminal charge who's lived and worked here for 15 years - who was alleged to be a member of a gang based in a state he never lived by one anonymous informant. No other evidence. No trial. No conviction. Nothing but a legal order that he not be deported to El Salvador, where he's now serving a life sentence.
The Supreme Court just ruled, without any noted dissent, that the government must facilitate the man's release.
But Trump and his dictator friend said no. They laughed. They mocked the journalist who asked whether they'd abide by the Court's order. The Attorney General, the Secretary of State, and the White House Deputy Chief all lied about the facts of the case. Then the President repeated his proposal to send American citizens to the dictator's prison, and asked him to build five more.
The same day we found out that the government knowingly disappeared a PhD student for nothing but an op-ed, a man's 19-year old son who agents admitted was the wrong kid, and a visa-holding Russian scientist at Harvard who forgot to declare frog embryos at the border.
But: it's all breaking through. It's getting more coverage. More people are paying attention. More elected Democrats are speaking up. More conservative pundits and legal scholars are speaking up. Even Joe Rogan thinks it's bullshit.
Now we have to keep pushing. This is much bigger than immigration or deportation policy - this is about whether we live in a free country or a police state. It's the whole ballgame. https://x.com/jonfavs/status/1911995867407827204
The 19-year old is like something out of a film.
“The officers grabbed him and two other boys right at the entrance to our building. One said, ‘No, he’s not the one,’ like they were looking for someone else. But the other said, ‘Take him anyway.’ “
The next non-MAGA administration is going to need a South African-style Truth and Reconciliation Committee to fix the USA.
After they've had the show trials.
Morning all.
Dreadfully sorry for the poor souls on the wrong end of this, especially those sent to the wildly misnamed, at the moment anyway, El Salvador. I suppose they might get some financial compensation in 4 years time, but, as with the sub-postmasters here, will it get bogged down in legal wrangling?
That's more than Ange & Rachel combined, but less than Rishi.
More than Boris, too, surely. And as for Farage.....
Boris, quit possibly, beat Ken Livingstone, because he deliberately didn't minimise his taxes. The fact that he didn't use a shell company for his journalism was so surprising that Ken kept repeating the untruth. He simply couldn't believe it.
Boris is so lazy he probably couldn't be bothered. The media couldn't believe it either because obviously they all use service companies as a tax efficiency vehicle.
The problem with the "too lazy" idea is that he had to do some paperwork to get paid PAYE - it was easier to get paid via a service company. Which you can get setup yourself in a hour - or get a solicitor to do for you.
Yes and no. I have during my career done the lot from PAYE to owner of companies. PAYE once setup you don't have to worry about anything, you get money in your account every month. Having a limited service company does still require a level of ongoing proactiveness and organisation to ensure you / your accountant does all the paperwork in a timely fashion every year and need to organise your outgoings around the scheme via which you decide to pay yourself.
Boris life is always chaotic and unorganised. I can see him thinking all that being careful with spending, putting money away for taxes etc being too much like hard work. Look how he has got hinself in financial difficulties, yes thats the shagging around and divorces, but he was having to take freebies from JCB family for even a roof over his head.
My wife is terrible at paperwork - she used an umbrella outfit when she was contracting, precisely because they took care of everything for a monthly fee.
Yes but this is Boris who used to write his columns hours before the deadline on whichever person computer was visiting for Sunday lunch using their email address...That is how forward thinking and organised he was.
I didn't realise he wrote them 'hours' before the deadline.
That's more than Ange & Rachel combined, but less than Rishi.
More than Boris, too, surely. And as for Farage.....
Boris, quit possibly, beat Ken Livingstone, because he deliberately didn't minimise his taxes. The fact that he didn't use a shell company for his journalism was so surprising that Ken kept repeating the untruth. He simply couldn't believe it.
Boris is so lazy he probably couldn't be bothered. The media couldn't believe it either because obviously they all use service companies as a tax efficiency vehicle.
The problem with the "too lazy" idea is that he had to do some paperwork to get paid PAYE - it was easier to get paid via a service company. Which you can get setup yourself in a hour - or get a solicitor to do for you.
Yes and no. I have during my career done the lot from PAYE to owner of companies. PAYE once setup you don't have to worry about anything, you get money in your account every month. Having a limited service company does still require a level of ongoing proactiveness and organisation to ensure you / your accountant does all the paperwork in a timely fashion every year and need to organise your outgoings around the scheme via which you decide to pay yourself.
Boris life is always chaotic and unorganised. I can see him thinking all that being careful with spending, putting money away for taxes etc being too much like hard work. Look how he has got hinself in financial difficulties, yes thats the shagging around and divorces, but he was having to take freebies from JCB family for even a roof over his head.
My wife is terrible at paperwork - she used an umbrella outfit when she was contracting, precisely because they took care of everything for a monthly fee.
Yes but this is Boris who used to write his columns hours before the deadline on whichever person computer was visiting for Sunday lunch using their email address...That is how forward thinking and organised he was.
I didn't realise he wrote them 'hours' before the deal;ine.
That was the story a former editor told (so not a Boris tall tale). That it drove them mad that the thing never arrived until last minute and came from all sorts of email addresses.
I notice from my direct debits this morning that a 1 bedroom flat (with single person discount) is now more than £100 a month in council tax, at least where I am.
£160 Band C over here
Nowt compared to north of Nottinghamshire.
Styrrup with Oldcotes - Annual charge: (My parish)
A : 1,697.73 B : 1,980.68 C : 2,263.63 D : 2,546.59 E : 3,112.50 F : 3,678.40 G : 4,244.32 H : 5,093.18
Tuxford must be just about the highest in the country:
Tuxford
A : 1,787.63 B : 2,085.57 C : 2,383.50 D : 2,681.45 E : 3,277.33 F : 3,873.20 G : 4,469.08 H : 5,362.90
That's more than Ange & Rachel combined, but less than Rishi.
More than Boris, too, surely. And as for Farage.....
Boris, quit possibly, beat Ken Livingstone, because he deliberately didn't minimise his taxes. The fact that he didn't use a shell company for his journalism was so surprising that Ken kept repeating the untruth. He simply couldn't believe it.
Boris is so lazy he probably couldn't be bothered. The media couldn't believe it either because obviously they all use service companies as a tax efficiency vehicle.
The problem with the "too lazy" idea is that he had to do some paperwork to get paid PAYE - it was easier to get paid via a service company. Which you can get setup yourself in a hour - or get a solicitor to do for you.
Yes and no. I have during my career done the lot from PAYE to owner of companies. PAYE once setup you don't have to worry about anything, you get money in your account every month. Having a limited service company does still require a level of ongoing proactiveness and organisation to ensure you / your accountant does all the paperwork in a timely fashion every year and need to organise your outgoings around the scheme via which you decide to pay yourself.
Boris life is always chaotic and unorganised. I can see him thinking all that being careful with spending, putting money away for taxes etc being too much like hard work. Look how he has got hinself in financial difficulties, yes thats the shagging around and divorces, but he was having to take freebies from JCB family for even a roof over his head.
It isn't really a problem for him, historically he has enjoyed the finer things in life without the income to sustain such opulent living. Although there seem to be plenty of wealthy benefactors happy to help him out of his many financial scrapes. So why should he worry?
That's it. He just spaffs money without a care because he knows that he can always do more columns, books or speaking tours. And even when it goes tits up, he has wealthy friends to help him out.
Having a service company for your income, if you want to it to be tax efficient, you have to have some financial discipline in your life. Hence why we see celebrities going busto so often. If not you might as well just do PAYE and not have to worry yourself about keeping receipts, tax bills, share dividends, etc.
That's it. Run out of cash, get an advance from a publisher to write some old nonsense on Shakespeare, forget to write aforementioned nonsense, panic, write nonsense on Shakespeare to appease the publisher instead of chairing COBRA meetings.
That's more than Ange & Rachel combined, but less than Rishi.
More than Boris, too, surely. And as for Farage.....
Boris, quit possibly, beat Ken Livingstone, because he deliberately didn't minimise his taxes. The fact that he didn't use a shell company for his journalism was so surprising that Ken kept repeating the untruth. He simply couldn't believe it.
Boris is so lazy he probably couldn't be bothered. The media couldn't believe it either because obviously they all use service companies as a tax efficiency vehicle.
The problem with the "too lazy" idea is that he had to do some paperwork to get paid PAYE - it was easier to get paid via a service company. Which you can get setup yourself in a hour - or get a solicitor to do for you.
Yes and no. I have during my career done the lot from PAYE to owner of companies. PAYE once setup you don't have to worry about anything, you get money in your account every month. Having a limited service company does still require a level of ongoing proactiveness and organisation to ensure you / your accountant does all the paperwork in a timely fashion every year and need to organise your outgoings around the scheme via which you decide to pay yourself.
Boris life is always chaotic and unorganised. I can see him thinking all that being careful with spending, putting money away for taxes etc being too much like hard work. Look how he has got hinself in financial difficulties, yes thats the shagging around and divorces, but he was having to take freebies from JCB family for even a roof over his head.
My wife is terrible at paperwork - she used an umbrella outfit when she was contracting, precisely because they took care of everything for a monthly fee.
Yes but this is Boris who used to write his columns hours before the deadline on whichever person computer was visiting for Sunday lunch using their email address...That is how forward thinking and organised he was.
I didn't realise he wrote them 'hours' before the deal;ine.
That was the story a former editor told (so not a Boris tall tale). That it drove them mad that the thing never arrived until last minute and came from all sorts of email addresses.
If the deadline wasn't actually the deadline but after the deadline then they should have moved the deadline to an earlier point.
That's more than Ange & Rachel combined, but less than Rishi.
More than Boris, too, surely. And as for Farage.....
Boris, quit possibly, beat Ken Livingstone, because he deliberately didn't minimise his taxes. The fact that he didn't use a shell company for his journalism was so surprising that Ken kept repeating the untruth. He simply couldn't believe it.
Boris is so lazy he probably couldn't be bothered. The media couldn't believe it either because obviously they all use service companies as a tax efficiency vehicle.
The problem with the "too lazy" idea is that he had to do some paperwork to get paid PAYE - it was easier to get paid via a service company. Which you can get setup yourself in a hour - or get a solicitor to do for you.
Yes and no. I have during my career done the lot from PAYE to owner of companies. PAYE once setup you don't have to worry about anything, you get money in your account every month. Having a limited service company does still require a level of ongoing proactiveness and organisation to ensure you / your accountant does all the paperwork in a timely fashion every year and need to organise your outgoings around the scheme via which you decide to pay yourself.
Boris life is always chaotic and unorganised. I can see him thinking all that being careful with spending, putting money away for taxes etc being too much like hard work. Look how he has got hinself in financial difficulties, yes thats the shagging around and divorces, but he was having to take freebies from JCB family for even a roof over his head.
My wife is terrible at paperwork - she used an umbrella outfit when she was contracting, precisely because they took care of everything for a monthly fee.
Yes but this is Boris who used to write his columns hours before the deadline on whichever person computer was visiting for Sunday lunch using their email address...That is how forward thinking and organised he was.
I didn't realise he wrote them 'hours' before the deal;ine.
That was the story a former editor told (so not a Boris tall tale). That it drove them mad that the thing never arrived until last minute and came from all sorts of email addresses.
If the deadline wasn't actually the deadline but after the deadline then they should have moved the deadline to an earlier point.
I suspect Boris being Boris probably worked on the assumption Sunday afternoon is before Monday when the paper comes out, so that will be ok....regardless of what deadline you officially set.
I’d guess when it comes to spares and aftermarket products the Chinese ability of reverse engineering will see them okay.
In recent years, as is the playbook witrh China, having stolen a load of IP, they now have a growing domestic plane manufacturing via COMAC.
The stolen IP line is a pretty lazy one these days. Apart from the fact that a significant proportion of the IP was effectively gifted by a number of very naive western companies who were anxious to get not the Chinese market, a couple of decades back, it's increasingly the case that their own R&D is fully competitive with what goes on over in the US and Europe.
Our aero engine manufacturers were among the least naive, which is one of the reasons is taken so long for China to make progress there.
[Andrew Bridgen's] Libel claim against Matt Hancock can go to trial ... The High Court previously heard that Mr Bridgen shared a link to an article that "concerned data about deaths and other adverse reactions linked to Covid vaccines".
Mr Bridgen, who was MP for North West Leicestershire from 2010 to 2024, wrote: "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust."
Hours later, Mr Hancock shared a video, captioned: "The disgusting and dangerous antisemitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories spouted by a sitting MP this morning are unacceptable and have absolutely no place in our society." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg83nl00vqo
Former Tory MPs to go toe-to-toe. TwiX, anti-vax, anti-semitism, and did I mention Tories? Huzzah for libel lawyers. Huzzah for free speech. Or not.
It's a sad day when one finds themselves rooting for Matt Hancock.
Are these claims about the vaccines entirely nonsense? I’ve had sane friends claim there is genuine evidence of harm, and incautious use
I confess I haven’t examined any of it myself
It will be interesting to see if it comes to trial. And if it does come to trial to see if the evidence is reported in the press, allowed to be reported in the press. I know nothing about the subject except what happened to me. I took the vaccine every time, just about the first day it became available. But near the end I got covid TWICE within three months and have never recovered.
There was endless reverse ferreting.
Firstly they said the vaccine would stop you getting covid. And getting covid would stop you getting it again. Those two were not true as I know from personal experience.
Then, it would stop you getting it as bad. And they said the vaccine was safe completely but by the end they stopped giving the UK version to anyone under 18.
I don't know if 1) I would have died without the vaccine or 2) it made no difference or 3) it made me more vulnerable to the mutated forms.
I didn't party, take risks, flout the rules, although I did eat out to help out when that was the thing we were told to do.
Boris all but died. Many old people did die.
Covid might be funny for some, but not for me. At least Bridgen was prepared to ask, and still is. He had more right to call himself a micro-biologist than Reeves has to call herself an economist or the Business secretary a solicitor.
Holy crap - posters don’t like a poster and happy he isn’t hear cluttering up the site then feel the need to come on and post about said poster and clutter up the site with posts about evil drunk/fascist poster.
Here’s an idea, if you don’t like Leon then skip his posts, don’t respond, don’t post about him not being here.
It’s like saying Beetlejuice/candyman three times then moaning when he shows up.
Tragic.
The tragedy is that you are the only person who has mentioned him!
You really MUST be obsessed
Boulay did get a dozen likes for his defence of the PB One (whoever that might be). Perhaps we could have a regular themed event on the lines of Fox and friends. Fash and friends?
Now that's funny! 12 'likes' for saying he likes Leon!
He should become an influencer
Either that or Leon has used his 12 identities to demonstrate his gratitude.
I see Leon's continued descent down the rabbit hole has reached the anti-vax stage this morning.
I’d guess when it comes to spares and aftermarket products the Chinese ability of reverse engineering will see them okay.
Last year, Boeing's China backlog was 148 aircraft. Boeing's total backlog is well over 5,000 aircraft - and they only delivered ~350 last year. (Airbus delivered over 750, with ~8,500 backlog.)
As Boeing get many parts from around the world, I expect the import tariffs will really screw them - unless plane components are another (of the many things) exempted.
Just realised that my water monthly DD has nearly doubled. Christ
Thank the ghost of Mrs Thatcher, and those who followed in her dogma. The privatised monopoly utilities became a very effective way of exporting capital out of the country. And we're starting the same cycle all over again, as far as I can see.
I’d guess when it comes to spares and aftermarket products the Chinese ability of reverse engineering will see them okay.
In recent years, as is the playbook witrh China, having stolen a load of IP, they now have a growing domestic plane manufacturing via COMAC.
The stolen IP line is a pretty lazy one these days. Apart from the fact that a significant proportion of the IP was effectively gifted by a number of very naive western companies who were anxious to get not the Chinese market, a couple of decades back, it's increasingly the case that their own R&D is fully competitive with what goes on over in the US and Europe.
Our aero engine manufacturers were among the least naive, which is one of the reasons is taken so long for China to make progress there.
It is still happening now....
How China built a domestic airliner with potentially stolen American expertise April 19, 2023
Comac, a Chinese state-owned aerospace company, developed the Comac C919 to rival the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737. It is a respectable opening effort, but the C919 lacks the passenger capacity and range to be a competitive alternative to Western offerings. The development of the Comac jet was troubled....
More information came to light after the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Xu Yanjun, a Chinese intelligence officer, while he was attempting to steal information from a GE aviation engineer in 2018. Xu was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to 20 years in prison late last year. Prosecutors stated that two state-owned companies involved in the C919's developments received technical information from Xu.
[Andrew Bridgen's] Libel claim against Matt Hancock can go to trial ... The High Court previously heard that Mr Bridgen shared a link to an article that "concerned data about deaths and other adverse reactions linked to Covid vaccines".
Mr Bridgen, who was MP for North West Leicestershire from 2010 to 2024, wrote: "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust."
Hours later, Mr Hancock shared a video, captioned: "The disgusting and dangerous antisemitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories spouted by a sitting MP this morning are unacceptable and have absolutely no place in our society." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg83nl00vqo
Former Tory MPs to go toe-to-toe. TwiX, anti-vax, anti-semitism, and did I mention Tories? Huzzah for libel lawyers. Huzzah for free speech. Or not.
It's a sad day when one finds themselves rooting for Matt Hancock.
Are these claims about the vaccines entirely nonsense? I’ve had sane friends claim there is genuine evidence of harm, and incautious use
I confess I haven’t examined any of it myself
"I’ve had sane friends"
We hear some rubbish on here, but the idea that you've got sane friends is more unbelievable than thinking Deltics are good engines...
I notice from my direct debits this morning that a 1 bedroom flat (with single person discount) is now more than £100 a month in council tax, at least where I am.
£100 a month. If only !
Ours is well over £400/month. For which rapacious impost, close to SFA gets done.
Do we yet know which of the following are grounds for deportation from Murica:
Dissent about Deltics
That can't be grounds for deportation, as there is no dissent about the awesomeness of Deltics.
The rare incidents of people who struggle with this are treated medically.
Deltics were cr@p. They wee only in service for less than twenty years, which compared to their predecessors and successors was a ludicrously short period. They were also temperamental and, though it is in the eye of the beholder, ugly.
Deltics are only liked by people who know nothing about locomotives. Those who do love the likes of the Class 28, class 17 or the superb Fell 10100. Or anything produced at Derby.
What is this heretical nonsense? Criticising Deltics for their short career while lauding locos that had all been retired by 1970!
There might be reason why I chose the Class 28, 17 and Fell...
Though the Deltics were cr@p. Not a patch on the 45s or 37s...
Well I did wonder if it was a windup... Deltics were like a stable of beautiful racehorses (after which the Finsbury Park locos were named, of course), a little temperamental, hard to maintain in peak condition, but unmatched for their speed and performance (top recorded speed 125mph). 45s are like shirehorses by comparison. Also bear in mind the Deltics were in service for only 20 years but owing to their intensity of service ran up huge mileage in that comparatively short period - most of the fleet surpassed the 3 million mile mark.
I notice from my direct debits this morning that a 1 bedroom flat (with single person discount) is now more than £100 a month in council tax, at least where I am.
£160 Band C over here
You prompted me to check - I'm Band A. Also, turns out I'm talking shite. Only the first payment is £100.26. The other 11 (yes, not 9) are £93.
I’d guess when it comes to spares and aftermarket products the Chinese ability of reverse engineering will see them okay.
In recent years, as is the playbook witrh China, having stolen a load of IP, they now have a growing domestic plane manufacturing via COMAC.
The stolen IP line is a pretty lazy one these days. Apart from the fact that a significant proportion of the IP was effectively gifted by a number of very naive western companies who were anxious to get not the Chinese market, a couple of decades back, it's increasingly the case that their own R&D is fully competitive with what goes on over in the US and Europe.
Our aero engine manufacturers were among the least naive, which is one of the reasons is taken so long for China to make progress there.
It is still happening now....
How China built a domestic airliner with potentially stolen American expertise April 19, 2023
Comac, a Chinese state-owned aerospace company, developed the Comac C919 to rival the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737. It is a respectable opening effort, but the C919 lacks the passenger capacity and range to be a competitive alternative to Western offerings. The development of the Comac jet was troubled....
More information came to light after the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Xu Yanjun, a Chinese intelligence officer, while he was attempting to steal information from a GE aviation engineer in 2018. Xu was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to 20 years in prison late last year. Prosecutors stated that two state-owned companies involved in the C919's developments received technical information from Xu.
I'm no fan of China, and quite aware of such practices. I just think it a lazy generalisation, when there are industries where they now lead the world.
As I said, the aero engine manufacturers were less naive.
Do we yet know which of the following are grounds for deportation from Murica:
Dissent about Deltics
That can't be grounds for deportation, as there is no dissent about the awesomeness of Deltics.
The rare incidents of people who struggle with this are treated medically.
Deltics were cr@p. They wee only in service for less than twenty years, which compared to their predecessors and successors was a ludicrously short period. They were also temperamental and, though it is in the eye of the beholder, ugly.
Deltics are only liked by people who know nothing about locomotives. Those who do love the likes of the Class 28, class 17 or the superb Fell 10100. Or anything produced at Derby.
What is this heretical nonsense? Criticising Deltics for their short career while lauding locos that had all been retired by 1970!
There might be reason why I chose the Class 28, 17 and Fell...
Though the Deltics were cr@p. Not a patch on the 45s or 37s...
Well I did wonder if it was a windup... Deltics were like a stable of beautiful racehorses (after which the Finsbury Park locos were named, of course), a little temperamental, hard to maintain in peak condition, but unmatched for their speed and performance (top recorded speed 125mph). 45s are like shirehorses by comparison. Also bear in mind the Deltics were in service for only 20 years but owing to their intensity of service ran up huge mileage in that comparatively short period - most of the fleet surpassed the 3 million mile mark.
You need racehorses and shirehorses. Though TBF, locos like the 45s did both passenger and freight workings, so were brilliant all-rounders. And they lasted about ten years longer in service than the Deltics.
(Incidentally, AIUI the two suviving 44's - Great Gable and Penyghent - are together at Peak Rail in Matlock this weekend.)
I notice from my direct debits this morning that a 1 bedroom flat (with single person discount) is now more than £100 a month in council tax, at least where I am.
£160 Band C over here
You prompted me to check - I'm Band A. Also, turns out I'm talking shite. Only the first payment is £100.26. The other 11 (yes, not 9) are £93.
Do we yet know which of the following are grounds for deportation from Murica:
Dissent about Deltics
That can't be grounds for deportation, as there is no dissent about the awesomeness of Deltics.
The rare incidents of people who struggle with this are treated medically.
Deltics were cr@p. They wee only in service for less than twenty years, which compared to their predecessors and successors was a ludicrously short period. They were also temperamental and, though it is in the eye of the beholder, ugly.
Deltics are only liked by people who know nothing about locomotives. Those who do love the likes of the Class 28, class 17 or the superb Fell 10100. Or anything produced at Derby.
What is this heretical nonsense? Criticising Deltics for their short career while lauding locos that had all been retired by 1970!
There might be reason why I chose the Class 28, 17 and Fell...
Though the Deltics were cr@p. Not a patch on the 45s or 37s...
Well I did wonder if it was a windup... Deltics were like a stable of beautiful racehorses (after which the Finsbury Park locos were named, of course), a little temperamental, hard to maintain in peak condition, but unmatched for their speed and performance (top recorded speed 125mph). 45s are like shirehorses by comparison. Also bear in mind the Deltics were in service for only 20 years but owing to their intensity of service ran up huge mileage in that comparatively short period - most of the fleet surpassed the 3 million mile mark.
You need racehorses and shirehorses. Though TBF, locos like the 45s did both passenger and freight workings, so were brilliant all-rounders. And they lasted about ten years longer in service than the Deltics.
(Incidentally, AIUI the two suviving 44's - Great Gable and Penyghent - are together at Peak Rail in Matlock this weekend.)
[Andrew Bridgen's] Libel claim against Matt Hancock can go to trial ... The High Court previously heard that Mr Bridgen shared a link to an article that "concerned data about deaths and other adverse reactions linked to Covid vaccines".
Mr Bridgen, who was MP for North West Leicestershire from 2010 to 2024, wrote: "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust."
Hours later, Mr Hancock shared a video, captioned: "The disgusting and dangerous antisemitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories spouted by a sitting MP this morning are unacceptable and have absolutely no place in our society." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg83nl00vqo
Former Tory MPs to go toe-to-toe. TwiX, anti-vax, anti-semitism, and did I mention Tories? Huzzah for libel lawyers. Huzzah for free speech. Or not.
It's a sad day when one finds themselves rooting for Matt Hancock.
Are these claims about the vaccines entirely nonsense? I’ve had sane friends claim there is genuine evidence of harm, and incautious use
I confess I haven’t examined any of it myself
It will be interesting to see if it comes to trial. And if it does come to trial to see if the evidence is reported in the press, allowed to be reported in the press. I know nothing about the subject except what happened to me. I took the vaccine every time, just about the first day it became available. But near the end I got covid TWICE within three months and have never recovered.
There was endless reverse ferreting.
Firstly they said the vaccine would stop you getting covid. And getting covid would stop you getting it again. Those two were not true as I know from personal experience.
Then, it would stop you getting it as bad. And they said the vaccine was safe completely but by the end they stopped giving the UK version to anyone under 18.
I don't know if 1) I would have died without the vaccine or 2) it made no difference or 3) it made me more vulnerable to the mutated forms.
I didn't party, take risks, flout the rules, although I did eat out to help out when that was the thing we were told to do.
Boris all but died. Many old people did die.
Covid might be funny for some, but not for me. At least Bridgen was prepared to ask, and still is. He had more right to call himself a micro-biologist than Reeves has to call herself an economist or the Business secretary a solicitor.
No doubt Matt Hancock was set up as well.
Far be it for me to defend the Conservative Government over COVID but I'd rather follow their lead than Andrew Bridgen (with or without his micro- biology degree).
I notice from my direct debits this morning that a 1 bedroom flat (with single person discount) is now more than £100 a month in council tax, at least where I am.
£100 a month. If only !
Ours is well over £400/month. For which rapacious impost, close to SFA gets done.
I notice from my direct debits this morning that a 1 bedroom flat (with single person discount) is now more than £100 a month in council tax, at least where I am.
£160 Band C over here
You prompted me to check - I'm Band A. Also, turns out I'm talking shite. Only the first payment is £100.26. The other 11 (yes, not 9) are £93.
My poll tax in pembs is band C £1850, so 10x185.
Mine in Conwy is £3,880 paid twice a year and up from £3,568 last year
At least it's not a holiday home
I understand from local Estate Agents many new homes coming in the market are by second homeowners hit by the holiday home surcharge {which I approve of}
Father of Daisy, the second little girl to die of measles in Texas, tells Robert F. Kennedy Jr-founded anti-vaccine group, Children's Health Defense, that he doesn't regret not getting her vaccinated, and won't vaccinate any future children. CHD turns it into propaganda. https://x.com/BrandyZadrozny/status/1911816671653970297
She would not have died had she had the MMR vaccine.
I notice from my direct debits this morning that a 1 bedroom flat (with single person discount) is now more than £100 a month in council tax, at least where I am.
£160 Band C over here
You prompted me to check - I'm Band A. Also, turns out I'm talking shite. Only the first payment is £100.26. The other 11 (yes, not 9) are £93.
My poll tax in pembs is band C £1850, so 10x185.
The most annoying bit about my council tax is the fact that the next dwelling north of my property in Tickhill which is less than a mile north over a bunch of fields would be £500 less a year. It's not the first £2600 I object to but the last £500 !
Father of Daisy, the second little girl to die of measles in Texas, tells Robert F. Kennedy Jr-founded anti-vaccine group, Children's Health Defense, that he doesn't regret not getting her vaccinated, and won't vaccinate any future children. CHD turns it into propaganda. https://x.com/BrandyZadrozny/status/1911816671653970297
She would not have died had she had the MMR vaccine.
Interesting how many of the most virulent Brexiteers are conspicuous by their absence.
The incoherence of their arguments are now plain to see.
It was all about sovereignty......
Brexit in itself was not and is not incoherent, even though many Brexiteers were and are, as were and are remainers.
In 2016 it was not incoherent to prefer to be outside the 'ever closer union'. All you had to be was someone who did not wish to part of a movement towards further political union of most of Europe. Once the Euro and FoM and elected parliament were in place it was not possible to overlook the ultimate intention, even though Remain tried hard to do so.
A Norway/Swiss style Brexit solution was and still is the best available.
The Swiss and Norwegian situations are very different.
The EU have explicitly ruled out a Swiss solution about twenty thousand times (they're trying to bully the Swiss into abandoning it too) and the Norwegian situation would last about five minutes as it is incompatible with any kind of sovereignty. "Government by fax" and all that.
You correctly point out that there were and are no very good solutions. Only sub-optimal and worse ones. That is sometimes the case when you have got somewhere you should have avoided being in the first place. Which is where we were in 2016, and a fortiori where we are now.
Do we yet know which of the following are grounds for deportation from Murica:
Dissent about Deltics
That can't be grounds for deportation, as there is no dissent about the awesomeness of Deltics.
The rare incidents of people who struggle with this are treated medically.
Deltics were cr@p. They wee only in service for less than twenty years, which compared to their predecessors and successors was a ludicrously short period. They were also temperamental and, though it is in the eye of the beholder, ugly.
Deltics are only liked by people who know nothing about locomotives. Those who do love the likes of the Class 28, class 17 or the superb Fell 10100. Or anything produced at Derby.
What is this heretical nonsense? Criticising Deltics for their short career while lauding locos that had all been retired by 1970!
There might be reason why I chose the Class 28, 17 and Fell...
Though the Deltics were cr@p. Not a patch on the 45s or 37s...
Well I did wonder if it was a windup... Deltics were like a stable of beautiful racehorses (after which the Finsbury Park locos were named, of course), a little temperamental, hard to maintain in peak condition, but unmatched for their speed and performance (top recorded speed 125mph). 45s are like shirehorses by comparison. Also bear in mind the Deltics were in service for only 20 years but owing to their intensity of service ran up huge mileage in that comparatively short period - most of the fleet surpassed the 3 million mile mark.
You need racehorses and shirehorses. Though TBF, locos like the 45s did both passenger and freight workings, so were brilliant all-rounders. And they lasted about ten years longer in service than the Deltics.
(Incidentally, AIUI the two suviving 44's - Great Gable and Penyghent - are together at Peak Rail in Matlock this weekend.)
Interesting how many of the most virulent Brexiteers are conspicuous by their absence.
The incoherence of their arguments are now plain to see.
It was all about sovereignty......
Brexit in itself was not and is not incoherent, even though many Brexiteers were and are, as were and are remainers.
In 2016 it was not incoherent to prefer to be outside the 'ever closer union'. All you had to be was someone who did not wish to part of a movement towards further political union of most of Europe. Once the Euro and FoM and elected parliament were in place it was not possible to overlook the ultimate intention, even though Remain tried hard to do so.
A Norway/Swiss style Brexit solution was and still is the best available.
The Swiss and Norwegian situations are very different.
The EU have explicitly ruled out a Swiss solution about twenty thousand times (they're trying to bully the Swiss into abandoning it too) and the Norwegian situation would last about five minutes as it is incompatible with any kind of sovereignty. "Government by fax" and all that.
You correctly point out that there were and are no very good solutions. Only sub-optimal and worse ones. That is sometimes the case when you have got somewhere you should have avoided being in the first place. Which is where we were in 2016, and a fortiori where we are now.
A referendum on Maastricht, which would have lost, would have been in everyone's benefit.
Just realised that my water monthly DD has nearly doubled. Christ
Mine was the same this month as last. Have Anglia made a mistake, I wonder.
Are you deemed or metered ?
If you're metered, take a reading now if it's not automated.
My DD is up 20ish% (£10) which is in line with Severn Trent's general increase.
Metered. Might ask my son to read it when he comes on Friday, although I seem to recall Anglia have said they're doing some readings in the area and do we want to submit one. Sadly, while reading the thing ought to be with my capabilities fiddling around with the cover isn't.
I’d guess when it comes to spares and aftermarket products the Chinese ability of reverse engineering will see them okay.
In recent years, as is the playbook witrh China, having stolen a load of IP, they now have a growing domestic plane manufacturing via COMAC.
The stolen IP line is a pretty lazy one these days. Apart from the fact that a significant proportion of the IP was effectively gifted by a number of very naive western companies who were anxious to get not the Chinese market, a couple of decades back, it's increasingly the case that their own R&D is fully competitive with what goes on over in the US and Europe.
Our aero engine manufacturers were among the least naive, which is one of the reasons is taken so long for China to make progress there.
It is still happening now....
How China built a domestic airliner with potentially stolen American expertise April 19, 2023
Comac, a Chinese state-owned aerospace company, developed the Comac C919 to rival the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737. It is a respectable opening effort, but the C919 lacks the passenger capacity and range to be a competitive alternative to Western offerings. The development of the Comac jet was troubled....
More information came to light after the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Xu Yanjun, a Chinese intelligence officer, while he was attempting to steal information from a GE aviation engineer in 2018. Xu was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to 20 years in prison late last year. Prosecutors stated that two state-owned companies involved in the C919's developments received technical information from Xu.
I'm no fan of China, and quite aware of such practices. I just think it a lazy generalisation, when there are industries where they now lead the world.
As I said, the aero engine manufacturers were less naive.
My original statement is true. They stolen a load of IP for aircrafts after they got stuck.They have done that with a load of other industries e.g. they stole the wind turbine tech. They are still doing, remember the recent hack of a software provider to all these sensitive industries which gave a backdoor into them.
Then when they get a foothold, they throw huge resources at it e.g. BYD have 100k strong R&D section and the innovative then comes fast. The West could certainly learn by prioritising STEM education more.
[Andrew Bridgen's] Libel claim against Matt Hancock can go to trial ... The High Court previously heard that Mr Bridgen shared a link to an article that "concerned data about deaths and other adverse reactions linked to Covid vaccines".
Mr Bridgen, who was MP for North West Leicestershire from 2010 to 2024, wrote: "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust."
Hours later, Mr Hancock shared a video, captioned: "The disgusting and dangerous antisemitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories spouted by a sitting MP this morning are unacceptable and have absolutely no place in our society." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg83nl00vqo
Former Tory MPs to go toe-to-toe. TwiX, anti-vax, anti-semitism, and did I mention Tories? Huzzah for libel lawyers. Huzzah for free speech. Or not.
It's a sad day when one finds themselves rooting for Matt Hancock.
Are these claims about the vaccines entirely nonsense? I’ve had sane friends claim there is genuine evidence of harm, and incautious use
I confess I haven’t examined any of it myself
It will be interesting to see if it comes to trial. And if it does come to trial to see if the evidence is reported in the press, allowed to be reported in the press. I know nothing about the subject except what happened to me. I took the vaccine every time, just about the first day it became available. But near the end I got covid TWICE within three months and have never recovered.
There was endless reverse ferreting.
Firstly they said the vaccine would stop you getting covid. And getting covid would stop you getting it again. Those two were not true as I know from personal experience.
Then, it would stop you getting it as bad. And they said the vaccine was safe completely but by the end they stopped giving the UK version to anyone under 18.
I don't know if 1) I would have died without the vaccine or 2) it made no difference or 3) it made me more vulnerable to the mutated forms.
I didn't party, take risks, flout the rules, although I did eat out to help out when that was the thing we were told to do.
Boris all but died. Many old people did die.
Covid might be funny for some, but not for me. At least Bridgen was prepared to ask, and still is. He had more right to call himself a micro-biologist than Reeves has to call herself an economist or the Business secretary a solicitor.
No doubt Matt Hancock was set up as well.
Why wouldn't the evidence be allowed to be reported in the press? The evidence is all published in medical journals. It's not secret.
Vaccines, like other medications, are rarely 100% effective. They may work for most people, but you might be the unlucky one they don't work for. Effectiveness decreased with new variants circulating. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2116063 is a 2021 example of a paper describing effectiveness ("The effectiveness of the three vaccines against Covid-19 declined after the delta variant became predominant. The effectiveness against hospitalization remained high, with modest declines limited to BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 recipients 65 years of age or older").
So ChatGPT 4.1 is supposedly much better than 4.5 so they are withdrawing 4.5.....
Any details? I've noticed more techies complaining it generates code which is flat out wrong but that's just anecdata (although there are lots of techies where ChatGPT comes from).
Comments
Do the charges per the Graun:
individuals suspected of using confidential information – specifically advance knowledge of the proposed election date – to gain an unfair advantage in betting markets”
have any impact on people who bet to skew the market without expectation of winning - eg to get media coverage overstating their political position?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-15/china-tells-airlines-stop-taking-boeing-jets-as-trump-tariffs-expand-trade-war
Dreadfully sorry for the poor souls on the wrong end of this, especially those sent to the wildly misnamed, at the moment anyway, El Salvador.
I suppose they might get some financial compensation in 4 years time, but, as with the sub-postmasters here, will it get bogged down in legal wrangling?
This will be a bureaucratic nightmare for those administering it.
Post Trump - who knows?
I’d guess when it comes to spares and aftermarket products the Chinese ability of reverse engineering will see them okay.
Another is reliability.
There's a serious point to be made. Engines designed for maritime use have been used in locos often have problems with the duty cycle: in ships, you generally set a power level and leave it at that level for long periods; in trains, the power level demand fluctuates by the minute, or even by the second. If the engine was not thoroughly designed for that demand, it can cause problems.
The Deltics were famed for engine problems, and also were difficult to maintain. Their only saving grace was having two engines, so if one failed, they could limp home on the other...
Companies are scaling back recruitment and slashing staff training budgets to cope with rising costs rather than raising prices, the survey noted, in a boost to rate cut hopes.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/04/15/business-in-state-of-despondency-as-confidence-plummets/
While the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.4pc, an early estimate showed the number of payrolled employees fell by 78,000 in March from the previous month, a drop of 0.3pc.
You really MUST be obsessed
The path to net zero councillors.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgnvqvx7dvo
That's more than Ange & Rachel combined, but less than Rishi.
How much of the problem is the right wing media talking the country down?
IrishChinese......
The High Court previously heard that Mr Bridgen shared a link to an article that "concerned data about deaths and other adverse reactions linked to Covid vaccines".
Mr Bridgen, who was MP for North West Leicestershire from 2010 to 2024, wrote: "As one consultant cardiologist said to me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust."
Hours later, Mr Hancock shared a video, captioned: "The disgusting and dangerous antisemitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories spouted by a sitting MP this morning are unacceptable and have absolutely no place in our society."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg83nl00vqo
Former Tory MPs to go toe-to-toe. TwiX, anti-vax, anti-semitism, and did I mention Tories? Huzzah for libel lawyers. Huzzah for free speech. Or not.
Win-win for the rest of us.
He should become an influencer
I confess I haven’t examined any of it myself
(Other things Trump is doing might, but not this)
Though the Deltics were cr@p. Not a patch on the 45s or 37s...
"According to the FAA, the corrosion, caused by “the galvanic interaction of aluminum and carbon fiber as a result of the wet environment at the lavatory,” could result in the aircraft’s lavatories breaking free from the lower mounts during an event with high g-forces."
https://simpleflying.com/faa-boeing-787-dreamliner-corrosion-lavatories-break-free/
Boris life is always chaotic and unorganised. I can see him thinking all that being careful with spending, putting money away for taxes etc being too much like hard work. Look how he has got hinself in financial difficulties, yes thats the shagging around and divorces, but he was having to take freebies from JCB family for even a roof over his head.
As Boeing get many parts from around the world, I expect the import tariffs will really screw them - unless plane components are another (of the many things) exempted.
https://platform.airfinanceglobal.com/articles/3594319/boeings-china-backlog-falls-to-148-aircraft
Although there's somebody on this thread who is, with heretical remarks about Deltics.
he has enjoyed the finer things in life without the income to sustain such opulent living. Although there seem to be plenty of wealthy benefactors happy to help him out of his many financial scrapes. So why should he worry?
Having a service company for your income, if you want to it to be tax efficient, you have to have some financial discipline in your life. Hence why we see celebrities going busto so often. If not you might as well just do PAYE and not have to worry yourself about keeping receipts, tax bills, share dividends, etc.
Styrrup with Oldcotes - Annual charge: (My parish)
A : 1,697.73
B : 1,980.68
C : 2,263.63
D : 2,546.59
E : 3,112.50
F : 3,678.40
G : 4,244.32
H : 5,093.18
Tuxford must be just about the highest in the country:
Tuxford
A : 1,787.63
B : 2,085.57
C : 2,383.50
D : 2,681.45
E : 3,277.33
F : 3,873.20
G : 4,469.08
H : 5,362.90
Apart from the fact that a significant proportion of the IP was effectively gifted by a number of very naive western companies who were anxious to get not the Chinese market, a couple of decades back, it's increasingly the case that their own R&D is fully competitive with what goes on over in the US and Europe.
Our aero engine manufacturers were among the least naive, which is one of the reasons is taken so long for China to make progress there.
There was endless reverse ferreting.
Firstly they said the vaccine would stop you getting covid. And getting covid would stop you getting it again. Those two were not true as I know from personal experience.
Then, it would stop you getting it as bad. And they said the vaccine was safe completely but by the end they stopped giving the UK version to anyone under 18.
I don't know if 1) I would have died without the vaccine or 2) it made no difference or 3) it made me more vulnerable to the mutated forms.
I didn't party, take risks, flout the rules, although I did eat out to help out when that was the thing we were told to do.
Boris all but died. Many old people did die.
Covid might be funny for some, but not for me. At least Bridgen was prepared to ask, and still is. He had more right to call himself a micro-biologist than Reeves has to call herself an economist or the Business secretary a solicitor.
No doubt Matt Hancock was set up as well.
The privatised monopoly utilities became a very effective way of exporting capital out of the country. And we're starting the same cycle all over again, as far as I can see.
How China built a domestic airliner with potentially stolen American expertise
April 19, 2023
Comac, a Chinese state-owned aerospace company, developed the Comac C919 to rival the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737. It is a respectable opening effort, but the C919 lacks the passenger capacity and range to be a competitive alternative to Western offerings. The development of the Comac jet was troubled....
More information came to light after the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Xu Yanjun, a Chinese intelligence officer, while he was attempting to steal information from a GE aviation engineer in 2018. Xu was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to 20 years in prison late last year. Prosecutors stated that two state-owned companies involved in the C919's developments received technical information from Xu.
https://www.jalopnik.com/how-china-built-a-domestic-airliner-with-potentially-st-1850323211/
If you're metered, take a reading now if it's not automated.
My DD is up 20ish% (£10) which is in line with Severn Trent's general increase.
We hear some rubbish on here, but the idea that you've got sane friends is more unbelievable than thinking Deltics are good engines...
Deltics were like a stable of beautiful racehorses (after which the Finsbury Park locos were named, of course), a little temperamental, hard to maintain in peak condition, but unmatched for their speed and performance (top recorded speed 125mph). 45s are like shirehorses by comparison.
Also bear in mind the Deltics were in service for only 20 years but owing to their intensity of service ran up huge mileage in that comparatively short period - most of the fleet surpassed the 3 million mile mark.
I just think it a lazy generalisation, when there are industries where they now lead the world.
As I said, the aero engine manufacturers were less naive.
(Incidentally, AIUI the two suviving 44's - Great Gable and Penyghent - are together at Peak Rail in Matlock this weekend.)
At least it's not a holiday home
I understand from local Estate Agents many new homes coming in the market are by second homeowners hit by the holiday home surcharge {which I approve of}
CHD turns it into propaganda.
https://x.com/BrandyZadrozny/status/1911816671653970297
She would not have died had she had the MMR vaccine.
Or parental negligence. Take your pick.
Unfortunately it never happened.
Sadly, while reading the thing ought to be with my capabilities fiddling around with the cover isn't.
Then when they get a foothold, they throw huge resources at it e.g. BYD have 100k strong R&D section and the innovative then comes fast. The West could certainly learn by prioritising STEM education more.
Vaccines, like other medications, are rarely 100% effective. They may work for most people, but you might be the unlucky one they don't work for. Effectiveness decreased with new variants circulating. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2116063 is a 2021 example of a paper describing effectiveness ("The effectiveness of the three vaccines against Covid-19 declined after the delta variant became predominant. The effectiveness against hospitalization remained high, with modest declines limited to BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 recipients 65 years of age or older").
Adverse effects of the vaccines have been studied and published, e.g. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2787361 Bridgen is a conspiracist, trying to muddy the waters when all this stuff is out in the open.