As a result of the investigation, we now know it was the Russian Secret Services that commissioned the blast of the Polish railway and recruited two Ukrainians to do it. We also know the identities of the perpetrators who immediately fled Poland for Belarus. https://x.com/donaldtusk/status/1990818892491395549
The most dangerous thing Europe has done over the last decade is let Russia do stuff like this without a response. Now we have no idea where the line will be drawn, and so the risk of miscalculation and escalation is much higher.
I'm fed up with our timorous leaders. This sabotage is a direct result of us doing nothing about the repeated intrusions into NATO airspace. Next it will be a few metres of Estonia.
I don't recollect that we did much about the Salisbury 'tourists'.
Wasn't much, IIRC, we could have done. Those responsible had b******d off out of the country well before anything was found. All we could do was fume impotently and, IIRC blame Jeremy Corbyn for not fuming similarly.
It wasn't 'not fuming,' it was denying Russian involvement while hinting the British government had carried out the operation itself.
Which was a totally insane position to adopt, and along with the increasingly damaging revelations about his long history of antisemitic behaviour did a great deal to explode the nice guy image he had been carefully building up.
Your memory is better than mine. Must be my age!
I've still got a soft 'political' spot for Corbyn, though, I don't think he's seriously anti-semitic. Remember, Arabs are Semitic.
I remember that Jeremy Corbyn's comments that caused significant trouble were his initial refusal to unequivocally and immediately blame the Russian state. He wanted evidence first.
He wanted to send the samples to Russia for testing.
That's true. I remember. A bit bizarre. I think the Russians asked for samples. I don't know what their game was.
To create false “results” that they could then throw into the social media machine to create doubt and confusion
The speaker went on to announce that MI6 has recently determined the the potentate of a small Italian microstate is a Catholic.
Is this not about some MPs being asleep or having blind spots, so MI6 has repeatedly to explain that one plus one equals two, and that yes that is an elephant sitting in the corner of the room?
Some people snuck phones in that played the sounds of women orgasming into the HOC. Talk about blind spots.
Oh, you know *exactly* what the noises were? You must have some very interesting, or at least naughty, friends.
As an Arsenal fan I’m very happy for Kieran Tierney who was never given a chance at the club. Well done Scotland . But OMG the poor fans must be emotionally shattered . What a rollercoaster!
That was one of the best football matches for a long time.
It was and the Danes played their part. They were very lucky to get the penalty and they were extremely unlucky to go down to 10 men. They had a lot of chances, Hojland especially. Could have gone either way to be honest. Just a complete roller coaster.
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the World Cup, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the World Cup, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Behave, tonight isn’t about politics.
Something to remember the next time Scotland fans are cheering England's opposition.
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Don't be ridiculous
Scotland qualifying for the World Cup is the news tonight and especially the way it was won
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the World Cup, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Behave, tonight isn’t about politics.
Something to remember the next time Scotland fans are cheering England's opposition.
Scotland story is a bigger one than the Epstein release - no doubt that is the right news choice by BBC. Apart from anything else Epstein has to make it through the Senate yet.
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Don't be ridiculous
Scotland qualifying for the World Cup is the news tonight and especially the way it was won
For Scots maybe, I doubt the average England football fan will see it as the main news but the BBC put it as such anyway.
I highly doubt Scottish football fans cared when England qualified for the WC but given the BBC have made it the main story they can hardly complain next time a big England football win leads the news at least
For those recovering from football, the algorithm threw an interesting video at me about the taxonomy of different head coverings worn by women in the Hasidic Jewish community, and their significance.
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Don't be ridiculous
Scotland qualifying for the World Cup is the news tonight and especially the way it was won
For Scots maybe, I doubt the average England football fan will see it as the main news but the BBC put it as such anyway.
I highly doubt Scottish football fans cared when England qualified for the WC but given the BBC have made it the main story they can hardly complain next time a big England football win leads the news at least
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Don't be ridiculous
Scotland qualifying for the World Cup is the news tonight and especially the way it was won
For Scots maybe, I doubt the average England football fan will see it as the main news but the BBC put it as such anyway.
I highly doubt Scottish football fans cared when England qualified for the WC but given the BBC have made it the main story they can hardly complain next time a big England football win leads the news at least
Well, I'm an average England fan and I think it's fantastic news and deserves to be top of the running board.
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Don't be ridiculous
Scotland qualifying for the World Cup is the news tonight and especially the way it was won
For Scots maybe, I doubt the average England football fan will see it as the main news but the BBC put it as such anyway.
I highly doubt Scottish football fans cared when England qualified for the WC but given the BBC have made it the main story they can hardly complain next time a big England football win leads the news at least
You need to understand everything is not always about politics and your little Englander anti Scots views
Trump calling a reporter "insubordinate" for asking him a question - the same question most of the country is asking - is perhaps the single defining image of his presidency.
Having watched coverage tonight of Trump's press conference with the Saudi Crown Prince it only confirms my opinion of Trump. He is a vile human being. His treatment of the reporter for asking about the murder of Khashoggi was appalling. I don't know how the rest of the press corp just stood by and said nothing.
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Sorry, friend @HYUFD , but I can’t make that promise.
I can understand most of the complaints here, but it really loses me on the final sentence. If only the twitter handle could have warned me.
Not letting your (surprise) delegates know about the conference you've been planning for months until 10 (ten) days before an event is quite hard to wrap your head around.
And we still don't know what the agenda is for the conference! Will it be a discussion on perspectives and programme for the international class struggle? Will it debate questions of state power, strategy, world relations, and the economic crisis? Or will it be more organisational bickering?
How can this be in any way described as democratic or member-led?
I'm starting to notice a pattern on the left: those who talk the most and shout the loudest about organisational democracy are often the ones who struggle the most to implement it.
Trump calling a reporter "insubordinate" for asking him a question - the same question most of the country is asking - is perhaps the single defining image of his presidency.
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Sorry, friend @HYUFD , but I can’t make that promise.
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Don't be ridiculous
Scotland qualifying for the World Cup is the news tonight and especially the way it was won
For Scots maybe, I doubt the average England football fan will see it as the main news but the BBC put it as such anyway.
I highly doubt Scottish football fans cared when England qualified for the WC but given the BBC have made it the main story they can hardly complain next time a big England football win leads the news at least
Well, I'm an average England fan and I think it's fantastic news and deserves to be top of the running board.
It's self evidently more notable and therefore newsworthy!
Trump calling a reporter "insubordinate" for asking him a question - the same question most of the country is asking - is perhaps the single defining image of his presidency.
Having watched coverage tonight of Trump's press conference with the Saudi Crown Prince it only confirms my opinion of Trump. He is a vile human being. His treatment of the reporter for asking about the murder of Khashoggi was appalling. I don't know how the rest of the press corp just stood by and said nothing.
Human beings can get used to awful things very quickly, it is one of our great strengths and weakness.
I'm not sure how much I'd have to like someone's actions to look past that level of behaviour, but quite a bit. Of the Trump fans I do know only one is a full throated MAGA level fan, the other few tend to be more of the type to not comment on him as a person and just mildly raise how he is right about the important things.
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Sorry, friend @HYUFD , but I can’t make that promise.
Very odd comment from HYUFD. I couldn't care a monkey's about the football, and it's not ignoring that I complain about - it's the shite the BBC produce about Scotland.
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Don't be ridiculous
Scotland qualifying for the World Cup is the news tonight and especially the way it was won
For Scots maybe, I doubt the average England football fan will see it as the main news but the BBC put it as such anyway.
I highly doubt Scottish football fans cared when England qualified for the WC but given the BBC have made it the main story they can hardly complain next time a big England football win leads the news at least
To be fair sometimes the news can lead with pretty tedious sporting stories relating to England from time to time, news at 10 would lead on an England story on the physios girlfriend if she got a new cat. Time for another home nation to bask in success for the evening, Scotland is in the UK, Epstein was American
It's not like Scotland will win the whole thing*
*reverse psychology obvs. Actually I think Trump should engineer a final between his 2 home nations, USA and Scotland
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Sorry, friend @HYUFD , but I can’t make that promise.
Very odd comment from HYUFD. I couldn't care a monkey's about the football, and it's not ignoring that I complain about - it's the shite the BBC produce about Scotland.
Most of their stories on Scotland are objective, except for diehard Nats like you!
Trump calling a reporter "insubordinate" for asking him a question - the same question most of the country is asking - is perhaps the single defining image of his presidency.
(Praising a guy, who had another journalist murdered and dismembered, for his human rights record is probably up there, too.)
How much longer will the GOP collaborate in the national humiliation ?
Trump would have done a deal with Hitler if it was worth enough . As for the GOP the search party is still out looking for their spine .
For the first time I think they might just 25th him, for fear of how much worse it might get.
Of course that puts them in the same bind the Democrats were with Biden - but his senility, if that's what it was, wasn't accompanied by reckless adventurism, or completely untethered by either law or morality.
If they don't, the blue wave next year threatens to be a tsunami.
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Sorry, friend @HYUFD , but I can’t make that promise.
Very odd comment from HYUFD. I couldn't care a monkey's about the football, and it's not ignoring that I complain about - it's the shite the BBC produce about Scotland.
Most of their stories on Scotland are objective, except for diehard Nats like you!
Well, just take this prize one which we discussed recently:
Interesting column on Sir Keir’s troubles by Daniel Finkelstein, inspired by Steven Pinker’s new book. I’ve always liked Pinker, it surprised me that he is thought of as some kind of dangerous right winger. He thinks a lot about thinking and why choose to say what we say in the way we say it, which has always fascinated me
Brilliant, typically subtle, column by @Dannythefink on what’s changed for the prime minister in the past week:
It’s now common knowledge: Keir Starmer’s on the rocks
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Don't be ridiculous
Scotland qualifying for the World Cup is the news tonight and especially the way it was won
For Scots maybe, I doubt the average England football fan will see it as the main news but the BBC put it as such anyway.
I highly doubt Scottish football fans cared when England qualified for the WC but given the BBC have made it the main story they can hardly complain next time a big England football win leads the news at least
To be fair sometimes the news can lead with pretty tedious sporting stories relating to England from time to time, news at 10 would lead on an England story on the physios girlfriend if she got a new cat. Time for another home nation to bask in success for the evening, Scotland is in the UK, Epstein was American
It's not like Scotland will win the whole thing*
*reverse psychology obvs. Actually I think Trump should engineer a final between his 2 home nations, USA and Scotland
Epstein a never-ending source of fascination for our Royalists such as HYUFD, though. Sort of honorary Brit from that point of view. So you can see why HYUFD is upset. No Pri-, sorry, Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor news this evening.
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Sorry, friend @HYUFD , but I can’t make that promise.
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Sorry, friend @HYUFD , but I can’t make that promise.
Very odd comment from HYUFD. I couldn't care a monkey's about the football, and it's not ignoring that I complain about - it's the shite the BBC produce about Scotland.
Most of their stories on Scotland are objective, except for diehard Nats like you!
I doubt you watch BBC Scotland to make that unnecessary comment
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Sorry, friend @HYUFD , but I can’t make that promise.
I know you can't but it is hypocritical
HYUFD would insist that if the BBC mention the Auchtermuchty Tiddlywinks Championship or the Stone Pile Making Championship (peripatetic) then we have a duty to accept every single thing the BBC says in all its Reithian mythos.
So the BBC news main story tonight across the UK is that Scotland have qualified for the football World Cup, not won the World Cup but qualified which England already did anyway, pushing even the Epstein files release vote to no 2 story.
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Don't be ridiculous
Scotland qualifying for the World Cup is the news tonight and especially the way it was won
For Scots maybe, I doubt the average England football fan will see it as the main news but the BBC put it as such anyway.
I highly doubt Scottish football fans cared when England qualified for the WC but given the BBC have made it the main story they can hardly complain next time a big England football win leads the news at least
To be fair sometimes the news can lead with pretty tedious sporting stories relating to England from time to time, news at 10 would lead on an England story on the physios girlfriend if she got a new cat. Time for another home nation to bask in success for the evening, Scotland is in the UK, Epstein was American
It's not like Scotland will win the whole thing*
*reverse psychology obvs. Actually I think Trump should engineer a final between his 2 home nations, USA and Scotland
Epstein a never-ending source of fascination for our Royalists such as HYUFD, though. Sort of honorary Brit from that point of view. So you can see why HYUFD is upset. No Pri-, sorry, Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor news this evening.
No and of course plenty of Presidents, a PM and a former Cabinet minister and billionaires and an actor or 2 also in the files I suspect but it was the main current affairs story of the day. Other than Trump raging against an ABC news reporter for asking a horrible question of the Crown Prince of Saudi and disrespecting him too '“I think you are a terrible reporter. It's the way you ask these questions. You start off with a man who is highly respected, asking him a horrible, insubordinate and just a terrible question. You could even ask that same exact question nicely.”
By unanimous consent, the Senate will pass H.R. 4405 - Epstein Files Transparency Act as soon as the bill is received from the House.
The process for a bill to be transmitted from the House to the Senate typically takes a few hours and is overseen by the House clerk. Now that the Senate has agreed to automatically advance the bill to the president’s desk, it is possible that President Trump will have the opportunity to sign it into law this evening.
Trump calling a reporter "insubordinate" for asking him a question - the same question most of the country is asking - is perhaps the single defining image of his presidency.
(Praising a guy, who had another journalist murdered and dismembered, for his human rights record is probably up there, too.)
How much longer will the GOP collaborate in the national humiliation ?
Trump would have done a deal with Hitler if it was worth enough . As for the GOP the search party is still out looking for their spine .
For the first time I think they might just 25th him, for fear of how much worse it might get.
Of course that puts them in the same bind the Democrats were with Biden - but his senility, if that's what it was, wasn't accompanied by reckless adventurism, or completely untethered by either law or morality.
If they don't, the blue wave next year threatens to be a tsunami.
Trump calling a reporter "insubordinate" for asking him a question - the same question most of the country is asking - is perhaps the single defining image of his presidency.
(Praising a guy, who had another journalist murdered and dismembered, for his human rights record is probably up there, too.)
How much longer will the GOP collaborate in the national humiliation ?
Trump would have done a deal with Hitler if it was worth enough . As for the GOP the search party is still out looking for their spine .
For the first time I think they might just 25th him, for fear of how much worse it might get.
Of course that puts them in the same bind the Democrats were with Biden - but his senility, if that's what it was, wasn't accompanied by reckless adventurism, or completely untethered by either law or morality.
If they don't, the blue wave next year threatens to be a tsunami.
If so I fear what they'll do to prevent it.
The 25th needs the Cabinet to remove him. They are all hand picked loyalists.
Apparently Michael Prescott has issued a quickly-drafted complaint tonight about systematic pro-Scottish bias on the BBC. But Trump, who has been contacted for comment, says it's okay because he likes Scotland and has never heard of Denmark.
Trump calling a reporter "insubordinate" for asking him a question - the same question most of the country is asking - is perhaps the single defining image of his presidency.
(Praising a guy, who had another journalist murdered and dismembered, for his human rights record is probably up there, too.)
How much longer will the GOP collaborate in the national humiliation ?
Trump would have done a deal with Hitler if it was worth enough . As for the GOP the search party is still out looking for their spine .
For the first time I think they might just 25th him, for fear of how much worse it might get.
Of course that puts them in the same bind the Democrats were with Biden - but his senility, if that's what it was, wasn't accompanied by reckless adventurism, or completely untethered by either law or morality.
If they don't, the blue wave next year threatens to be a tsunami.
If so I fear what they'll do to prevent it.
The 25th needs the Cabinet to remove him. They are all hand picked loyalists.
A lot of his first Cabinet actually had some lines they wouldn't cross it turned out, even if they were a long way off. He wasn't making that mistake again.
At current demand levels, before we advance to EVs and heat pumps at every home run by solar and batteries, the known global copper reserves will run out in thirty years
These known reserves will become much more expensive and environmentally damaging to extract well before they run out
Unless we can develop an easily manufacturable and sustainable superconductor in the next decade, then copper prices will skyrocket
Does anyone want to help me start a company that buys and stores copper?
Known reserves?
This is a classic piece of nonsense. Known reserves for lots of things are a few decades. This is because finding resources and *proving* them is expensive. So the next few decades are mapped out - to mine and plan mining. No one bothers to spend millions to prove the potential copper mines for 100 years time.
The classic of this genre was Peak Oil. Then we had Rare Earths (Not Rare, Not earths and Not Lithium).
Do you know of anywhere else with a sniff of copper? And is it copper that can be easily extracted without massive hydrocarbon burning or chemical pollution on an unprecedented scale right where those huge copper reserves lie hidden?
The copper crisis isn’t a marketing tool, it’s real and imminent
Sigh. You need to look at how resources are found, identified and *proven*
Proven is very expensive. Because regulators get upset if you float a company based on a *proven* deposit of Illudium Phosdex and it turns out there is none there. So you have to do all kind of geologic surveys, lots of samples etc etc. A *proven* reserve is nearly as good as cash.
Are the vast reserves of copper that we’ll need very soon undiscovered or hidden?
OK.
We know (roughly) where copper deposits are because of Induced Polarization - you go where metal might be, and they you apply a current. If it charges up and shows low resistivity, then you know it is highly likely you have found a copper deposit.
Now you need to drill a bunch of core samples to delineate exactly what the extent of the find is. Then you need to work out whether it's economic to dig up the overburden (i.e. the ground ont top of the deposit).
There is lots of copper. It's less common than silicon, aluminium or iron, but it's massively more common than -say- lead, silver or gold.
We could almost certainly dig up - should we so desire - 10-100x as much copper annually as we do currently. It's just there's no need currently.
'An MP who popped the question in the House of Commons says he and his partner "couldn't be happier".
Josh Babarinde, the MP for Eastbourne, proposed to his partner Connor after official business had finished for the day.
The Liberal Democrat, who has represented his home town in East Sussex since July last year, says he planned the surprise proposal after securing permission from the Commons' Speaker.
Babarinde says he and Connor "will never forget" their engagement day.
He said: "A big thank you to Mr Speaker and the team in parliament for helping to make this happen, together with fellow Sussex [Chichester] MP Jess Brown-Fuller, who helped me plan an unforgettable marriage proposal!"
I have been a principled “NO” on this bill from the beginning. What was wrong with the bill three months ago is still wrong today. It abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America. As written, this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people – witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc. If enacted in its current form, this type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt. Not by my vote. The Oversight Committee is conducting a thorough investigation that has already released well over 60,000 pages of documents from the Epstein case. That effort will continue in a manner that provides all due protections for innocent Americans. If the Senate amends the bill to properly address privacy of victims and other Americans, who are named but not criminally implicated, then I will vote for that bill when it comes back to the House."
Apparently Michael Prescott has issued a quickly-drafted complaint tonight about systematic pro-Scottish bias on the BBC. But Trump, who has been contacted for comment, says it's okay because he likes Scotland and has never heard of Denmark.
I half wonder if Trump asked Denmark to go easy on his mother's homeland and he will let them keep Greenland
Is there any living ex PM with more gravitas and authority now than Major? Nobody would have believed that in 1997 and he certainly has more authority than Starmer now too
Having watched coverage tonight of Trump's press conference with the Saudi Crown Prince it only confirms my opinion of Trump. He is a vile human being. His treatment of the reporter for asking about the murder of Khashoggi was appalling. I don't know how the rest of the press corp just stood by and said nothing.
Most journalists are morally compromised by the need to maintain access to politicians, and by the need to stay in the good books of the people who own their employers. Trump has been treated with kid gloves by most of the press for the last decade or so, the press made his victories easier than they should have been. The sanewashing of Trump, done in the UK as well, has been reprehensible.
Is there any living ex PM with more gravitas and authority now than Major? Nobody would have believed that in 1997 and he certainly has more authority than Starmer now too
It alarms and depresses me that the 'comedy PM' of 'Cones Hotline' fame is now our senior elder statesman. And yet here we are.
"If Keir Starmer were a household appliance, what household appliance would he be? “An ironing board. Stiff and lifeless. Things just run over him and he gets flattened;” “A Hoover that cleans up the small things, but the big issues are always still there;” “A whisk, because he keeps going round in circles;” “A hairdryer on a very low setting.”
What about Kemi Badenoch? “A rolling pin. She’s trying to smooth everything out, but the pastry’s breaking because it’s full of cracks;” “A breadmaker. It’s there in the cupboard but you never take it out.”
And Nigel Farage? “A ninja blender. He’d get things done quicker;” “A car alarm that keeps going off;” “One of those hobs where you can’t tell if it’s still really hot. If you put your hand on it, you’re going to get burned;” “An air fryer. It’s new and everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. But there are still a few people that are a bit unsure and want to stick to their old oven.”
Is there any living ex PM with more gravitas and authority now than Major? Nobody would have believed that in 1997 and he certainly has more authority than Starmer now too
Is there any living ex PM with more gravitas and authority now than Major? Nobody would have believed that in 1997 and he certainly has more authority than Starmer now too
It alarms and depresses me that the 'comedy PM' of 'Cones Hotline' fame is now our senior elder statesman. And yet here we are.
Looking back on it his premiership was overall relatively successful, he left low inflation, a balanced budget and low unemployment and a growing economy for New Labour and when he went to war with Saddam in 1990 it was with a UN mandate. Plus he started the NI peace process, got an opt out from the Euro and left the National Lottery which has made a big difference to our Olympians and boosted cultural causes too.
At current demand levels, before we advance to EVs and heat pumps at every home run by solar and batteries, the known global copper reserves will run out in thirty years
These known reserves will become much more expensive and environmentally damaging to extract well before they run out
Unless we can develop an easily manufacturable and sustainable superconductor in the next decade, then copper prices will skyrocket
Does anyone want to help me start a company that buys and stores copper?
Known reserves?
This is a classic piece of nonsense. Known reserves for lots of things are a few decades. This is because finding resources and *proving* them is expensive. So the next few decades are mapped out - to mine and plan mining. No one bothers to spend millions to prove the potential copper mines for 100 years time.
The classic of this genre was Peak Oil. Then we had Rare Earths (Not Rare, Not earths and Not Lithium).
Do you know of anywhere else with a sniff of copper? And is it copper that can be easily extracted without massive hydrocarbon burning or chemical pollution on an unprecedented scale right where those huge copper reserves lie hidden?
The copper crisis isn’t a marketing tool, it’s real and imminent
Sigh. You need to look at how resources are found, identified and *proven*
Proven is very expensive. Because regulators get upset if you float a company based on a *proven* deposit of Illudium Phosdex and it turns out there is none there. So you have to do all kind of geologic surveys, lots of samples etc etc. A *proven* reserve is nearly as good as cash.
Are the vast reserves of copper that we’ll need very soon undiscovered or hidden?
Is there any living ex PM with more gravitas and authority now than Major? Nobody would have believed that in 1997 and he certainly has more authority than Starmer now too
It alarms and depresses me that the 'comedy PM' of 'Cones Hotline' fame is now our senior elder statesman. And yet here we are.
Looking back on it his premiership was overall relatively successful, he left low inflation, a balanced budget and low unemployment and a growing economy for New Labour and when he went to war with Saddam in 1990 it was with a UN mandate. Plus he started the NI peace process, got an opt out from the Euro and left the National Lottery which has made a big difference to our Olympians and boosted cultural causes too.
got an opt out from the Euro
How do you get an opt out from something which didn't exist ?
Not joining the Euro was the default situation, opting into the Euro would have been the change.
Having watched coverage tonight of Trump's press conference with the Saudi Crown Prince it only confirms my opinion of Trump. He is a vile human being. His treatment of the reporter for asking about the murder of Khashoggi was appalling. I don't know how the rest of the press corp just stood by and said nothing.
I think it's because their jobs depend on them being spoon-fed a diet of 'here's what Trump said' or "he said she said they said'.
And of course storing quotes for their hoped-for post-Trump podcast series.
Comments
WIN
I'm not.
We're the lads we're Ally's army, we're going to the Argentine. And we'll really shake 'em up when we win the World Cup...
So can we have no more whinging from Scottish nats that the BBC ignores Scotland!
Scotland qualifying for the World Cup is the news tonight and especially the way it was won
I highly doubt Scottish football fans cared when England qualified for the WC but given the BBC have made it the main story they can hardly complain next time a big England football win leads the news at least
A bit like Bill Cli... [That's enough - Ed]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpvxg8DEjVI
This is absolutely historic. Unbelievable. Listen to what this president say. I honestly think this press meeting is the end of him.
https://x.com/Ryder56004614/status/1990845102470713699
(Praising a guy, who had another journalist murdered and dismembered, for his human rights record is probably up there, too.)
How much longer will the GOP collaborate in the national humiliation ?
PS - Iraq are possibly only one game away from qualifying…
Not letting your (surprise) delegates know about the conference you've been planning for months until 10 (ten) days before an event is quite hard to wrap your head around.
And we still don't know what the agenda is for the conference! Will it be a discussion on perspectives and programme for the international class struggle? Will it debate questions of state power, strategy, world relations, and the economic crisis? Or will it be more organisational bickering?
How can this be in any way described as democratic or member-led?
I'm starting to notice a pattern on the left: those who talk the most and shout the loudest about organisational democracy are often the ones who struggle the most to implement it.
All of this has given me a newfound appreciation for the necessity of genuine democratic centralism. Lenin was right 100 years ago, and he is right today.
https://nitter.poast.org/bolsh3vik/status/1990813822714556924#m
By unanimous consent, the Senate will pass H.R. 4405 - Epstein Files Transparency Act as soon as the bill is received from the House.
I'm not sure how much I'd have to like someone's actions to look past that level of behaviour, but quite a bit. Of the Trump fans I do know only one is a full throated MAGA level fan, the other few tend to be more of the type to not comment on him as a person and just mildly raise how he is right about the important things.
It's not like Scotland will win the whole thing*
*reverse psychology obvs. Actually I think Trump should engineer a final between his 2 home nations, USA and Scotland
Of course that puts them in the same bind the Democrats were with Biden - but his senility, if that's what it was, wasn't accompanied by reckless adventurism, or completely untethered by either law or morality.
If they don't, the blue wave next year threatens to be a tsunami.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/25596066.bbc-scotland-admits-error-copying-tories-anti-snp-ferry-claims/
Brilliant, typically subtle, column by @Dannythefink on what’s changed for the prime minister in the past week:
It’s now common knowledge: Keir Starmer’s on the rocks
thetimes.com/article/d6dc2a…
https://x.com/alexmassie/status/1990859156383727639?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
The BBC Scotland commentary for Kenny McLean’s halfway line goal is glorious. Stuff of dreams. 🔥https://x.com/eddieburfi/status/1990902487402926568?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
Trump continued: “You're all psyched. Somebody psychs you over at ABC, they're going to psych it — you're a terrible person and a terrible reporter. As far as the Epstein files is, I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. I threw him out of my club many years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-abc-reporter-saudi-arabia-epstein-question-b2867669.html
NY Times blog
So he can just protectively mark anything he doesn't want released
There has definitely been a shift this week
But Trump, who has been contacted for comment, says it's okay because he likes Scotland and has never heard of Denmark.
But this will all look terrible - blocking the will of Congress etc etc.
Option 2 . The files are released with anything incriminating for Trump removed and shredded .
We know (roughly) where copper deposits are because of Induced Polarization - you go where metal might be, and they you apply a current. If it charges up and shows low resistivity, then you know it is highly likely you have found a copper deposit.
Now you need to drill a bunch of core samples to delineate exactly what the extent of the find is. Then you need to work out whether it's economic to dig up the overburden (i.e. the ground ont top of the deposit).
There is lots of copper. It's less common than silicon, aluminium or iron, but it's massively more common than -say- lead, silver or gold.
We could almost certainly dig up - should we so desire - 10-100x as much copper annually as we do currently. It's just there's no need currently.
Josh Babarinde, the MP for Eastbourne, proposed to his partner Connor after official business had finished for the day.
The Liberal Democrat, who has represented his home town in East Sussex since July last year, says he planned the surprise proposal after securing permission from the Commons' Speaker.
Babarinde says he and Connor "will never forget" their engagement day.
He said: "A big thank you to Mr Speaker and the team in parliament for helping to make this happen, together with fellow Sussex [Chichester] MP Jess Brown-Fuller, who helped me plan an unforgettable marriage proposal!"
Babarinde says it was "so special to ask a personal question" in the House of Commons, having asked hundreds as Eastbourne's MP.'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwvgg9vnv4o
If the law loses its authority, the bully walks tall & the lawless walk free..
https://x.com/Haggis_UK/status/1990870610059165972
3h
I have been a principled “NO” on this bill from the beginning. What was wrong with the bill three months ago is still wrong today. It abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America. As written, this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people – witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc. If enacted in its current form, this type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt. Not by my vote. The Oversight Committee is conducting a thorough investigation that has already released well over 60,000 pages of documents from the Epstein case. That effort will continue in a manner that provides all due protections for innocent Americans. If the Senate amends the bill to properly address privacy of victims and other Americans, who are named but not criminally implicated, then I will vote for that bill when it comes back to the House."
https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanClayHiggins/posts/i-have-been-a-principled-no-on-this-bill-from-the-beginning-what-was-wrong-with-/1404849451013106
NY Times blog
What about Kemi Badenoch? “A rolling pin. She’s trying to smooth everything out, but the pastry’s breaking because it’s full of cracks;” “A breadmaker. It’s there in the cupboard but you never take it out.”
And Nigel Farage? “A ninja blender. He’d get things done quicker;” “A car alarm that keeps going off;” “One of those hobs where you can’t tell if it’s still really hot. If you put your hand on it, you’re going to get burned;” “An air fryer. It’s new and everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. But there are still a few people that are a bit unsure and want to stick to their old oven.”
How about Ed Davey? “A comfy armchair;” “One of those singing fish things. A Billy Bass. It makes you laugh for a minute or so but then you forget about it because the battery’s gone.”
https://conservativehome.com/2025/11/18/lord-ashcroft-theyre-going-to-tax-everyone-thats-doing-well-you-think-whats-the-point-of-trying-my-latest-focus-groups/
Scotland 1 : 1 Northern Ireland
Scotland 1 : 1 Wales
Scotland 0 : 1 England
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977–78_British_Home_Championship
How do you get an opt out from something which didn't exist ?
Not joining the Euro was the default situation, opting into the Euro would have been the change.
And of course storing quotes for their hoped-for post-Trump podcast series.