Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to make the connection could the biggest mistake
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise an overseas leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has ever faced in its modern times.
As opposed to our Prime Minister who is today idolising an overseas leader who is brutally implementing authoritarian rule?
He has at no time described him, or the Chinese political system, as a model to enulate.
One can put the details together reasonably easily but hey.
I work for a bank that closed a lot of branches. Each time there was a big wave of closures they told us the same thing, no-one wants to use them any more, mobile banking, blah blah footfall down blah, and essentially the more branches they closed then the further people had to travel to a branch anyway so the more likely they were to stop using the branch network so it was a feedback loop.
Our bank was bought over by a big building society. Said building society has exactly the opposite philosophy to the extent of guaranteeing branches staying open, for a few years at least, and extending that guarantee to the branches of the bank it has bought.
So for me as an employee it's been interesting to watch the 180-degree total volte-face in attitude towards celebrating and promoting the branch network because the customers want and need it instead of saying it needs hacked and slashed because the customers don't want and need it.
Some of it can probably be put down to shareholders vs. mutual but I assume some of it simply has to be an entirely different view on what customers want.
It is also a paradox but both can be entirely rational and correct.
The banks are probably right that (most) customers don't want branches and that with there being multiple banks and associated branches that cutting them bank is rational.
OTOH the building society has probably rightly spotted an opportunity in going against the trend and thus seeking to attract those (fewer) customers that do want branches.
Alternatively- pretty much everyone wants bank branches and not just for the idea... there are a handful of transactions which everyone wants to do face-to-face. However, the profits to be made from that are less than the profits to be made by cutting branch networks even if it mildly annoys most customers.
It's like neighbourhood shops, or pubs. The threshold isn't between want and don't want, it's between lukewarm wanting and wanting intensely. And that's a much tougher criterion.
Pretty much everyone seems a wild overestimate.
I have not done a single face to face bank transaction, or been to a branch, this decade.
The last cheques I wrote were for the cattery. (Old school, in their 70s/80s, don’t have a card machine.) Our last bank branch is closing in June. We had six banks until recently. Therefore payments are now cash only.
We have been refused a banking hub because our population is too small; it is 11,000. I thought the minimum population size for a banking hub was 10,000.
I expect the next stage to be removing free ATMs, thereby making it more expensive for those that still want to use cash in some circumstances, such as tipping. Our town is also a magnet for elderly day trippers, who will no doubt spend less in the local businesses that rely on them.
What a shit country we have become, in order to ensure foreign shareholders get their dividends and directors get their bonuses.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to make the connection could the biggest mistake
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise an overseas leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has ever faced in its modern times.
As opposed to our Prime Minister who is today idolising an overseas leader who is brutally implementing authoritarian rule?
He has at no time described him, or the Chinese political system, as a model to enulate.
Incidentially, Australian politics are quite interesting at the moment.
The long-standing coalition of the Liberal and National parties appears to be over and Liberal leader Sussan Ley is likely to be challenged for the leadership by Angus Taylor following Andrew Hastie's decision not to contest any leadership election.
Meanwhile, Pauline Hanson's One Nation has surged to second place in the polls following the Bondi Beach attack and the travails of the Liberals but this only likely strengthens Albanese's Labour in the two party preferred (2PP) polling.
Yes. It seems like the right are having a Jeremy Corbyn moment after a surprisingly heavy defeat. The 2pp shows that being repeated, or even worse as it stands.
The banking sector needs to do a deal for banking centres that cope with all the main banks.
Banking hubs already exist. There is one in Lutterworth with a different bank each day. Wednesday is Santander for example. Leics has a lot of Santander account holders inherited from the Alliance and Leicester, but few branches now.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to make the connection could the biggest mistake
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise an overseas leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has ever faced in its modern times.
As opposed to our Prime Minister who is today idolising an overseas leader who is brutally implementing authoritarian rule?
He has at no time described him, or the Chinese political system, as a model to enulate.
There are even rumours that General Zhang has been assassinated but what is missing is the usual chorus that "welcomes" such moves. It is the sound of one hand clapping so far.
I have a lecture where I teach the students about statistical process control. I do an exercise where I get the class flipping coins in order to generate a random number. When I developed this exercise, it worked fine. When I did it this week, I had to take a big handful of coppers in with me because none of the students have coins. Well, a few did, but only the mature students!
Yeah people have moved on. I never carry any.
It is amusing how cultural changes can affect lessons or lectures.
I spoke to a Maths teacher who said that when they started teaching probability they would regularly use concepts like dice and a deck of cards for questions, but that now they never use cards as an example any more.
So few kids play with cards nowadays that knowledge of eg how many cards are in a deck, or the suits, or even the numbers and face cards is just not common knowledge anymore. Questions like 'a card is drawn from a normal deck, what is the probability of a black number 7 card' no longer make sense.
I'm currently teaching my 4-year-old grandson to play cards. He's mastered Snap, and knows all the cards and their worth. I'll have him playing bridge by age 8. Interestingly, he's loving it, and has lost interest in watching TV and other mundane activities.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to make the connection could the biggest mistake
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise an overseas leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has ever faced in its modern times.
As opposed to our Prime Minister who is today idolising an overseas leader who is brutally implementing authoritarian rule?
He has at no time described him, or the Chinese political system, as a model to enulate.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to make the connection could the biggest mistake
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise an overseas leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has ever faced in its modern times.
As opposed to our Prime Minister who is today idolising an overseas leader who is brutally implementing authoritarian rule?
He has at no time described him, or the Chinese political system, as a model to enulate.
He’s too busy kissing Xi’s butt to do that.
Much as Cameron did.
Who ?
A chap who used to wear Converse trainers. and thought he had "detoxified" his party.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to make the connection could the biggest mistake
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise an overseas leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has ever faced in its modern times.
As opposed to our Prime Minister who is today idolising an overseas leader who is brutally implementing authoritarian rule?
He has at no time described him, or the Chinese political system, as a model to enulate.
There are even rumours that General Zhang has been assassinated but what is missing is the usual chorus that "welcomes" such moves. It is the sound of one hand clapping so far.
Ooh, that’s interesting. I’d not seen that. I had seen the story about the arrest.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to make the connection could the biggest mistake
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise an overseas leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has ever faced in its modern times.
As opposed to our Prime Minister who is today idolising an overseas leader who is brutally implementing authoritarian rule?
He has at no time described him, or the Chinese political system, as a model to enulate.
He’s too busy kissing Xi’s butt to do that.
Much as Cameron did.
Who ?
A chap who used to wear Converse trainers. and thought he had "detoxified" his party.
@TheScreamingEagles Have you got a pair of these ‘converse’ trainers. Not a brand I know. I’m more a Skechers dude
At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack (sic) on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/2017238803639845115
One can put the details together reasonably easily but hey.
I work for a bank that closed a lot of branches. Each time there was a big wave of closures they told us the same thing, no-one wants to use them any more, mobile banking, blah blah footfall down blah, and essentially the more branches they closed then the further people had to travel to a branch anyway so the more likely they were to stop using the branch network so it was a feedback loop.
Our bank was bought over by a big building society. Said building society has exactly the opposite philosophy to the extent of guaranteeing branches staying open, for a few years at least, and extending that guarantee to the branches of the bank it has bought.
So for me as an employee it's been interesting to watch the 180-degree total volte-face in attitude towards celebrating and promoting the branch network because the customers want and need it instead of saying it needs hacked and slashed because the customers don't want and need it.
Some of it can probably be put down to shareholders vs. mutual but I assume some of it simply has to be an entirely different view on what customers want.
It is also a paradox but both can be entirely rational and correct.
The banks are probably right that (most) customers don't want branches and that with there being multiple banks and associated branches that cutting them bank is rational.
OTOH the building society has probably rightly spotted an opportunity in going against the trend and thus seeking to attract those (fewer) customers that do want branches.
Alternatively- pretty much everyone wants bank branches and not just for the idea... there are a handful of transactions which everyone wants to do face-to-face. However, the profits to be made from that are less than the profits to be made by cutting branch networks even if it mildly annoys most customers.
It's like neighbourhood shops, or pubs. The threshold isn't between want and don't want, it's between lukewarm wanting and wanting intensely. And that's a much tougher criterion.
Another factor may be that old banks are often formidable buildings suitable for conversion to luxury flats, whereas building society branches are usually just a couple of shop units knocked together.
BIG news from @bloomberg.com, which confirms that ICE has gone ahead and *purchased* multiple commercial warehouses with the aim of converting them into mass detention camps.
This is likely to be the big detention story of 2026 — literal warehousing of people. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
I still say Kemi Badenoch’a biggest mistake to date is that she wants a UK ICE, those comments are going to haunt her.
It was a very clear and specific policy from the Conservative Party - UK ICE to remove 700,000 people from the UK - identically matching the Farage proposal.
There’s a clear strategy the longer Badenoch’s leadership continues, is there not? Abandon the UK’s political centre, match all Farage’s commitments word for word.
Is Kemi a full u-turn type of person? The only down ramp I see for the Party to junk this policy, is change of leader.
Nobody seems to know how many illegal or undocumented migrants there are in the UK, let alone who they are and where they are. IF there are 700,000 (and I've seen estimates of up to double that number) , you would need to recruit and train specialist officers and provide a new infrastructure of detention centres - is any UK ICE system going to operate on the principle that unless you can prove you are here illegally, you will be considered to be here illegally and be liable for deportation - that seems to suggest some form of ID to prove your immigration status.
All this will cost and will require robust legislation to ensure there's no repetition of what happened when the previous Government tried to implement the Rwanda solution.
The Windrush scandal says Hi. To the letter of the law they are undocumented - hand cuffs, straight jacket and plane required for repatriation.
IF we're lucky and given the competencies of those likely to be involved, the UK version of ICE will be an expensive, bureaucratic nightmare which will cost tens of millions and never really get off the ground.
IF we're unlucky, semi trained officers will blunder into parts of our cities, cause no end of trouble, some innocent individual will end up dead and the result will be an outbreak of civil disorder which will also cost tens of millions, sour community relations for a decade and cost the jobs of a couple of Cabinet Ministers (that last bit should probably be in the previous paragraph).
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to make the connection could the biggest mistake
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise an overseas leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has ever faced in its modern times.
As opposed to our Prime Minister who is today idolising an overseas leader who is brutally implementing authoritarian rule?
Jeffrey Epstein arranged for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a 26-year-old Russian woman in 2010
Pizza Express?
It's difficult to get excied about any of these Andrew stories. I can't see what he's supposed to have done. I have worked with two of his ex'es and both are far more interesting than any of those being linked to him. Also in my experience when it comes to male celebs they are far more chased than chasing and I'm sure he would rate very highly on the desirability pecking order.
Seems like you are excusing reprehensible behaviour
I would suggest you read and listen to tonight's revelation on the disgraced Andrew and reconsider
I am really sorry for his daughters in all this
Then you can answer my question. Have you any idea how many times he would have been propositioned on any given evening in any club you care to mention?
That's easy
Just say no
Read Bob Geldof's autobiography. I suspect their lived experiences are very different to yours. Not better or worse just different. But he's being pilloried you aren't. If his immorality in your book is his infidelity I don't think he had a partner at the time.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to make the connection could the biggest mistake
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise an overseas leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has ever faced in its modern times.
As opposed to our Prime Minister who is today idolising an overseas leader who is brutally implementing authoritarian rule?
Another country which you're pontificating about and which you have no knowkledge of and which you have never been to.
I went to the bank this morning to pay in a cheque of all things. The branch was bustling. Mind you, there are fewer of them now so the ones that are left will still be busy.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to draw that connection could the biggest mistake.
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise a foreign leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has faced in the modern era.
I think that Reform would be dire, in government. But, nothing suggests to me that they represent an existential threat to democracy.
Gordon Brown is wishing he had had some silver to sell three years ago.
Brown is, was and always will be a c*nt of the first order. Sell.our gold and signal to the market first. Anyone who does that is MAJOR C*NT
He lacks the depth and warmth.
Jeremy Hunt has recently said, now he is away from the front line, that on becoming Chancellor he was surprised to find how highly Gordon Brown was regarded at HMT.
Jeffrey Epstein arranged for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a 26-year-old Russian woman in 2010
Pizza Express?
It's difficult to get excied about any of these Andrew stories. I can't see what he's supposed to have done. I have worked with two of his ex'es and both are far more interesting than any of those being linked to him. Also in my experience when it comes to male celebs they are far more chased than chasing and I'm sure he would rate very highly on the desirability pecking order.
Seems like you are excusing reprehensible behaviour
I would suggest you read and listen to tonight's revelation on the disgraced Andrew and reconsider
I am really sorry for his daughters in all this
Then you can answer my question. Have you any idea how many times he would have been propositioned on any given evening in any club you care to mention?
That's easy
Just say no
Well, we can add Andrew Windsor to the list
Weinstein Roman Polanski Paula Vennels
My chronicler. I wondered if you'd taken the evening off
He’s going to dine out on this for the rest of his life.
The thing about precious metals and why they have real value, unlike vapourcoins, is they have a practical use.
Not just in jewellry, but in manufacturing, medicines, electronics and much more.
They are far more than shiny metals.
They are also driven by speculation as much as actual use. Trump's announcement of a new man at the Fed has seen precipitate falls in both gold and silver today.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to draw that connection could the biggest mistake.
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise a foreign leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has faced in the modern era.
I think that Reform would be dire, in government. But, nothing suggests to me that they represent an existential threat to democracy.
He’s going to dine out on this for the rest of his life.
The thing about precious metals and why they have real value, unlike vapourcoins, is they have a practical use.
Not just in jewellry, but in manufacturing, medicines, electronics and much more.
They are far more than shiny metals.
Well aware having worked in manufacturing and agree about the value relative to coins.
The last time silver and copper spiked about 15 years ago it caused me, professionally, a big headache as I used to buy welding products which took silver and copper for fabrication into heated water tanks. Both sheet and fittings. We even had a break in where copper fittings were nicked.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to draw that connection could the biggest mistake.
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise a foreign leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has faced in the modern era.
I think that Reform would be dire, in government. But, nothing suggests to me that they represent an existential threat to democracy.
I don’t know whether or not they’d be dire but I’ve not seen anything to tell me what they’d be like in govt.
What I do know is if we keep voting for the same old parties we will keep getting the same old outcomes.
For areas like mine it is all managed decline in all but name.
I’ve also seen nothing to show they are an existential threat and just disregard such unsupported hyperbole as pure politicking.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to draw that connection could the biggest mistake.
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise a foreign leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has faced in the modern era.
I think that Reform would be dire, in government. But, nothing suggests to me that they represent an existential threat to democracy.
Why not?
Trump and his supporters have shown a complete disregard for law, and democratic norms. And, they are well-armed.
He’s going to dine out on this for the rest of his life.
The thing about precious metals and why they have real value, unlike vapourcoins, is they have a practical use.
Not just in jewellry, but in manufacturing, medicines, electronics and much more.
They are far more than shiny metals.
They are also driven by speculation as much as actual use. Trump's announcement of a new man at the Fed has seen precipitate falls in both gold and silver today.
Oh, absolutely, speculation is involved.
But at their core though, they are legitimately precious.
Gordon Brown is wishing he had had some silver to sell three years ago.
Brown is, was and always will be a c*nt of the first order. Sell.our gold and signal to the market first. Anyone who does that is MAJOR C*NT
He lacks the depth and warmth.
Jeremy Hunt has recently said, now he is away from the front line, that on becoming Chancellor he was surprised to find how highly Gordon Brown was regarded at HMT.
It was Brown that gave the Treasury so much power and control over the rest of Westminster and the government as a whole. He gave and took away at a whim making some Ministers and destroying others. Blair, who became increasingly obsessed with international affairs, especially after 9/11, did nothing to stop him. Its not hard to see why Treasury Mandarins might hark back to the glory days of almost total domestic control. I think that the consensus now is that this was not a good thing.
Jeffrey Epstein arranged for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a 26-year-old Russian woman in 2010
Pizza Express?
It's difficult to get excied about any of these Andrew stories. I can't see what he's supposed to have done. I have worked with two of his ex'es and both are far more interesting than any of those being linked to him. Also in my experience when it comes to male celebs they are far more chased than chasing and I'm sure he would rate very highly on the desirability pecking order.
Seems like you are excusing reprehensible behaviour
I would suggest you read and listen to tonight's revelation on the disgraced Andrew and reconsider
I am really sorry for his daughters in all this
Then you can answer my question. Have you any idea how many times he would have been propositioned on any given evening in any club you care to mention?
That's easy
Just say no
Read Bob Geldof's autobiography. I suspect their lived experiences are very different to yours. Not better or worse just different. But he's being pilloried you aren't. If his immorality in your book is his infidelity I don't think he had a partner at the time.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to make the connection could the biggest mistake
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise an overseas leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has ever faced in its modern times.
As opposed to our Prime Minister who is today idolising an overseas leader who is brutally implementing authoritarian rule?
Another country which you're pontificating about and which you have no knowkledge of and which you have never been to.
He’s going to dine out on this for the rest of his life.
The thing about precious metals and why they have real value, unlike vapourcoins, is they have a practical use.
Not just in jewellry, but in manufacturing, medicines, electronics and much more.
They are far more than shiny metals.
They are also driven by speculation as much as actual use. Trump's announcement of a new man at the Fed has seen precipitate falls in both gold and silver today.
Oh, absolutely, speculation is involved.
But at their core though, they are legitimately precious.
Yes they are and they have a value to them and a use in many applications.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to draw that connection could the biggest mistake.
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise a foreign leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has faced in the modern era.
I think that Reform would be dire, in government. But, nothing suggests to me that they represent an existential threat to democracy.
Why not?
Trump and his supporters have shown a complete disregard for law, and democratic norms. And, they are well-armed.
I see no evidence that that is true of Reform.
However, Farage is very open in telling us that Trump is his hero and his role model. Why would he tell us that if he doesn't also have an underlying disregard for the law ? As well as that, he has also in the past advocated for a more armed society.
So we could be looking there at a question of time rather than intention.
Gordon Brown is wishing he had had some silver to sell three years ago.
Brown is, was and always will be a c*nt of the first order. Sell.our gold and signal to the market first. Anyone who does that is MAJOR C*NT
He lacks the depth and warmth.
Jeremy Hunt has recently said, now he is away from the front line, that on becoming Chancellor he was surprised to find how highly Gordon Brown was regarded at HMT.
It was Brown that gave the Treasury so much power and control over the rest of Westminster and the government as a whole. He gave and took away at a whim making some Ministers and destroying others. Blair, who became increasingly obsessed with international affairs, especially after 9/11, did nothing to stop him. Its not hard to see why Treasury Mandarins might hark back to the glory days of almost total domestic control. I think that the consensus now is that this was not a good thing.
It's a cliche, but civil servants in the treasury are absolute fuckers for knowing the cost of everything and understanding the value of nothing. Certainly understanding the value of nothing outside of London.
Gordon Brown is wishing he had had some silver to sell three years ago.
Brown is, was and always will be a c*nt of the first order. Sell.our gold and signal to the market first. Anyone who does that is MAJOR C*NT
He lacks the depth and warmth.
Jeremy Hunt has recently said, now he is away from the front line, that on becoming Chancellor he was surprised to find how highly Gordon Brown was regarded at HMT.
It was Brown that gave the Treasury so much power and control over the rest of Westminster and the government as a whole. He gave and took away at a whim making some Ministers and destroying others. Blair, who became increasingly obsessed with international affairs, especially after 9/11, did nothing to stop him. Its not hard to see why Treasury Mandarins might hark back to the glory days of almost total domestic control. I think that the consensus now is that this was not a good thing.
Gordon Brown is wishing he had had some silver to sell three years ago.
Brown is, was and always will be a c*nt of the first order. Sell.our gold and signal to the market first. Anyone who does that is MAJOR C*NT
He lacks the depth and warmth.
Jeremy Hunt has recently said, now he is away from the front line, that on becoming Chancellor he was surprised to find how highly Gordon Brown was regarded at HMT.
It was Brown that gave the Treasury so much power and control over the rest of Westminster and the government as a whole. He gave and took away at a whim making some Ministers and destroying others. Blair, who became increasingly obsessed with international affairs, especially after 9/11, did nothing to stop him. Its not hard to see why Treasury Mandarins might hark back to the glory days of almost total domestic control. I think that the consensus now is that this was not a good thing.
It's a cliche, but civil servants in the treasury are absolute fuckers for knowing the cost of everything and understanding the value of nothing. Certainly understanding the value of nothing outside of London.
That's been the case since the green book was first created - the formulas are based on total improvement so rich area *50% is better than poor area * 100% even if the reality would be different.
This might seem like a frivolous example - one thing that really annoys me about cashless payments is illustrated by ice cream vans: if it's a cashless business, a lot of them won't hand you the ice cream until they've seen the payment go through on their payment device. If they're accepting cash from you, they usually hand you the ice cream first, and you give them the money next. It's really offputting the first time you experience the "not giving you the food yet" version because it's as if they're assuming you might be some sort of swindler who's trying to take it without paying for it.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to draw that connection could the biggest mistake.
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise a foreign leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has faced in the modern era.
I think that Reform would be dire, in government. But, nothing suggests to me that they represent an existential threat to democracy.
Why not?
Trump and his supporters have shown a complete disregard for law, and democratic norms. And, they are well-armed.
I see no evidence that that is true of Reform.
Lacking the same level of arms should make the first two at least a little harder if they are so inclined and they get in.
Gordon Brown is wishing he had had some silver to sell three years ago.
Brown is, was and always will be a c*nt of the first order. Sell.our gold and signal to the market first. Anyone who does that is MAJOR C*NT
He lacks the depth and warmth.
Jeremy Hunt has recently said, now he is away from the front line, that on becoming Chancellor he was surprised to find how highly Gordon Brown was regarded at HMT.
It was Brown that gave the Treasury so much power and control over the rest of Westminster and the government as a whole. He gave and took away at a whim making some Ministers and destroying others. Blair, who became increasingly obsessed with international affairs, especially after 9/11, did nothing to stop him. Its not hard to see why Treasury Mandarins might hark back to the glory days of almost total domestic control. I think that the consensus now is that this was not a good thing.
It's a cliche, but civil servants in the treasury are absolute fuckers for knowing the cost of everything and understanding the value of nothing. Certainly understanding the value of nothing outside of London.
That's been the case since the green book was first created - the formulas are based on total improvement so rich area *50% is better than poor area * 100% even if the reality would be different.
The Green Book also sets out that jobs can't be created, only moved around - so if you inveat transport in area x - let's say, Goole - that results in jobs moving from highly connected, hifg employment areas - i.e. London - to Goole - and because average salaries in Goole are less than they are in London, it is assumed you are replacing a high earning job with a low earning job (because, if a Goolian wanted a high earning job, well, they would move to London, wouldn't they?). This then has to be added to the disbenefits of any investment you are making. Naturally this makes arguing the case for investment outside London quite challenging.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to draw that connection could the biggest mistake.
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise a foreign leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has faced in the modern era.
I think that Reform would be dire, in government. But, nothing suggests to me that they represent an existential threat to democracy.
Why not?
Trump and his supporters have shown a complete disregard for law, and democratic norms. And, they are well-armed.
I see no evidence that that is true of Reform.
However, Farage is very open in telling us that Trump is his hero and his role model. Why would he tell us that if he doesn't also have an underlying disregard for the law ? As well as that, he has also in the past advocated for a more armed society.
So we could be looking there at a question of time rather than intention.
There are even less checks and balances in the UK . If you get a bad actor they could do a lot of damage . Reform should be nowhere near power and Labour need to sort themselves out before they end up being handmaidens to a far right takeover .
Am I alone in my weird moral universe where I think that when Gates is weighed and measured that his shenanigans with Russian pros is far outweighed by his efforts to rid Africa of Malaria?
I’m not someone who gets remotely bothered by famous people’s sexual kicks but I do appreciate that they can have other sides that use their wealth and influence for something that is a huge benefit to the world. I don’t think anyone who will be alive in the future because Gates had loads of money and had dodgy behaviour will begrudge him getting syph or crabs.
Maybe my moral compass is wrong (in fact I know it’s wonky) but I’m ok with this as long as the hookers were of age and not trafficked.
Am I alone in my weird moral universe where I think that when Gates is weighed and measured that his shenanigans with Russian pros is far outweighed by his efforts to rid Africa of Malaria?
I’m not someone who gets remotely bothered by famous people’s sexual kicks but I do appreciate that they can have other sides that use their wealth and influence for something that is a huge benefit to the world. I don’t think anyone who will be alive in the future because Gates had loads of money and had dodgy behaviour will begrudge him getting syph or crabs.
Maybe my moral compass is wrong (in fact I know it’s wonky) but I’m ok with this as long as the hookers were of age and not trafficked.
Entirely agree. I confess to enjoying a moment of prurient enjoyment at the revelation - but still from what I know about him, Gates remains one of the world's heroes.
Off topic, but a US person I was chatting to was talking about their folklore tales of people singing, dancing, being tricked by the devil and it faintly rung a bell about a recent BBC news article about "Tam O 'Shanter". I thought I'd look it out to pass along to them and - foolishly read it.
I am - even as a sad watcher of the decline - quite 'impressed' by how bad the article is.
"Burns Suppers are now held every year, all over the world, to mark his birthday. The guests drink whisky (not "whiskey", please – that's the Irish and US spelling), they eat haggis, tatties and neeps (don't ask)"
If I was a suspicious sort of person who used LLM's a lot - I might think that the article had been 'influenced' by such. But thankfully I'm not. So it's just human-slop rather than AI-slop.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to draw that connection could the biggest mistake.
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise a foreign leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has faced in the modern era.
I think that Reform would be dire, in government. But, nothing suggests to me that they represent an existential threat to democracy.
Why not?
Trump and his supporters have shown a complete disregard for law, and democratic norms. And, they are well-armed.
I see no evidence that that is true of Reform.
However, Farage is very open in telling us that Trump is his hero and his role model. Why would he tell us that if he doesn't also have an underlying disregard for the law ? As well as that, he has also in the past advocated for a more armed society.
So we could be looking there at a question of time rather than intention.
There are even less checks and balances in the UK . If you get a bad actor they could do a lot of damage . Reform should be nowhere near power and Labour need to sort themselves out before they end up being handmaidens to a far right takeover .
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to draw that connection could the biggest mistake.
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise a foreign leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has faced in the modern era.
I think that Reform would be dire, in government. But, nothing suggests to me that they represent an existential threat to democracy.
Why not?
Trump and his supporters have shown a complete disregard for law, and democratic norms. And, they are well-armed.
I see no evidence that that is true of Reform.
However, Farage is very open in telling us that Trump is his hero and his role model. Why would he tell us that if he doesn't also have an underlying disregard for the law ? As well as that, he has also in the past advocated for a more armed society.
So we could be looking there at a question of time rather than intention.
There are even less checks and balances in the UK . If you get a bad actor they could do a lot of damage . Reform should be nowhere near power and Labour need to sort themselves out before they end up being handmaidens to a far right takeover .
Andy Burnham anyone
All he’s doing is trashing Labour and making it even harder for them to win the by-election .
He’s going to dine out on this for the rest of his life.
Ha, that once in a blue moon that he got one right?
Or did he also say gold and silver were a buy, so he’d be right one way or the other?
I had a quick look at his feed. He’s a bull on gold but bearish on silver for a while.
Stopped clock and all that !
Silvers worst day since, and no one is going to remember this, 1792.
Silver down 20%, back to where it was, err, checks notes, three weeks ago!
If I’d bought some for Christmas I’d still be 20% up, that’s how crazy the market has been this month.
In numeric terms it’s fallen more today than its value was 12 months ago. 😀
The market is nuts but the new Fed Chair pick seems quite a good one from Trump.
Yeah totally crazy markets, silver especially had to correct at some point, and probably has some way to fall still.
Not done too much research into new Fed guy yet, but the general reaction seems positive. Powell is best out, he’s made the position too political, basically refusing to cut rates because he disagrees with Trump on tariffs and thinks there’s inflation just around the corner. US inflation is under 3% and falling.
Am I alone in my weird moral universe where I think that when Gates is weighed and measured that his shenanigans with Russian pros is far outweighed by his efforts to rid Africa of Malaria?
I’m not someone who gets remotely bothered by famous people’s sexual kicks but I do appreciate that they can have other sides that use their wealth and influence for something that is a huge benefit to the world. I don’t think anyone who will be alive in the future because Gates had loads of money and had dodgy behaviour will begrudge him getting syph or crabs.
Maybe my moral compass is wrong (in fact I know it’s wonky) but I’m ok with this as long as the hookers were of age and not trafficked.
Epstein, so who knows about the "of age" bit, but I'm not sure I can disagree.
I guess the church took the same view - that you could cancel out past misdemeanors by repenting and doing good.
Unfortunately the doing good part became a grift, but the principle presumably stands.
Randy Andy, on the other hand, does not seem to have found much repentance.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to draw that connection could the biggest mistake.
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise a foreign leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has faced in the modern era.
I think that Reform would be dire, in government. But, nothing suggests to me that they represent an existential threat to democracy.
Why not?
Trump and his supporters have shown a complete disregard for law, and democratic norms. And, they are well-armed.
I see no evidence that that is true of Reform.
However, Farage is very open in telling us that Trump is his hero and his role model. Why would he tell us that if he doesn't also have an underlying disregard for the law ? As well as that, he has also in the past advocated for a more armed society.
So we could be looking there at a question of time rather than intention.
There are even less checks and balances in the UK . If you get a bad actor they could do a lot of damage . Reform should be nowhere near power and Labour need to sort themselves out before they end up being handmaidens to a far right takeover .
Andy Burnham anyone
All he’s doing is trashing Labour and making it even harder for them to win the by-election .
I think Starmer and his cohort did that entirely by themselves
Am I alone in my weird moral universe where I think that when Gates is weighed and measured that his shenanigans with Russian pros is far outweighed by his efforts to rid Africa of Malaria?
I’m not someone who gets remotely bothered by famous people’s sexual kicks but I do appreciate that they can have other sides that use their wealth and influence for something that is a huge benefit to the world. I don’t think anyone who will be alive in the future because Gates had loads of money and had dodgy behaviour will begrudge him getting syph or crabs.
Maybe my moral compass is wrong (in fact I know it’s wonky) but I’m ok with this as long as the hookers were of age and not trafficked.
Epstein, so who knows about the "of age" bit, but I'm not sure I can disagree.
I guess the church took the same view - that you could cancel out past misdemeanors by repenting and doing good.
Unfortunately the doing good part became a grift, but the principle presumably stands.
Randy Andy, on the other hand, does not seem to have found much repentance.
I think that if Randy Andy had been running around doing good for popular charities he might have got away with it but he is such an entitled rude bum that his good works in the Falklands were forgotten through time, not understood by most and so he was just seen as a grim perv understandably.
Am I alone in my weird moral universe where I think that when Gates is weighed and measured that his shenanigans with Russian pros is far outweighed by his efforts to rid Africa of Malaria?
I’m not someone who gets remotely bothered by famous people’s sexual kicks but I do appreciate that they can have other sides that use their wealth and influence for something that is a huge benefit to the world. I don’t think anyone who will be alive in the future because Gates had loads of money and had dodgy behaviour will begrudge him getting syph or crabs.
Maybe my moral compass is wrong (in fact I know it’s wonky) but I’m ok with this as long as the hookers were of age and not trafficked.
Hmm, I wouldn’t look too closely at what he’s up to in Africa. Nor in the US for that matter, where he’s been buying up farmland in huge quantities.
He’s going to dine out on this for the rest of his life.
Ha, that once in a blue moon that he got one right?
Or did he also say gold and silver were a buy, so he’d be right one way or the other?
I had a quick look at his feed. He’s a bull on gold but bearish on silver for a while.
Stopped clock and all that !
Silvers worst day since, and no one is going to remember this, 1792.
Silver down 20%, back to where it was, err, checks notes, three weeks ago!
If I’d bought some for Christmas I’d still be 20% up, that’s how crazy the market has been this month.
In numeric terms it’s fallen more today than its value was 12 months ago. 😀
The market is nuts but the new Fed Chair pick seems quite a good one from Trump.
Yeah totally crazy markets, silver especially had to correct at some point, and probably has some way to fall still.
Powell is best out, he’s made the position too political, basically refusing to cut rates because he disagrees with Trump on tariffs and thinks there’s inflation just around the corner.
That doesn't sound political, it sounds like a judgement call about the economic situation, right or wrong, which is the job isn't it? And he's not the only one on the board?
Am I alone in my weird moral universe where I think that when Gates is weighed and measured that his shenanigans with Russian pros is far outweighed by his efforts to rid Africa of Malaria?
I’m not someone who gets remotely bothered by famous people’s sexual kicks but I do appreciate that they can have other sides that use their wealth and influence for something that is a huge benefit to the world. I don’t think anyone who will be alive in the future because Gates had loads of money and had dodgy behaviour will begrudge him getting syph or crabs.
Maybe my moral compass is wrong (in fact I know it’s wonky) but I’m ok with this as long as the hookers were of age and not trafficked.
Entirely agree. I confess to enjoying a moment of prurient enjoyment at the revelation - but still from what I know about him, Gates remains one of the world's heroes.
Is that really what you think? For example I have an age old friend with a chateau in France. We all go down for fun weekends that can be anything from family groups to wild grown up parties. Sometimes a mix and match. There will be people who are loosely associated who get invited and they will say “btw, we are bringing some/all the kids, they are x y z ages” so that the hosts have an idea about food, events, general heads up to other invitees.
It's embarrassing that every major network is not covering the shocking and terrible revelations about Donald Trump that were released today by the Dept of Justice. https://x.com/donwinslow/status/2017323351866544447
It's embarrassing that every major network is not covering the shocking and terrible revelations about Donald Trump that were released today by the Dept of Justice. https://x.com/donwinslow/status/2017323351866544447
It's embarrassing that every major network is not covering the shocking and terrible revelations about Donald Trump that were released today by the Dept of Justice. https://x.com/donwinslow/status/2017323351866544447
What are the revelations - nothing so far on the live feed on guardian. Hoping for a magic bullet but also wary of small beer being hyped and then lessening the effect if something substantial comes.
BREAKING: The Trump DOJ screwed up the release of the Epstein files so badly, that they seem to have accidentally allowed the photos and text to be displayed -- divulging the ID's of Epstein's employees and girlfriends.
It's embarrassing that every major network is not covering the shocking and terrible revelations about Donald Trump that were released today by the Dept of Justice. https://x.com/donwinslow/status/2017323351866544447
What are the revelations - nothing so far on the live feed on guardian. Hoping for a magic bullet but also wary of small beer being hyped and then lessening the effect if something substantial comes.
The DOJ posted a number of files including serious allegations about Trump, and took them down shortly after.
Quite what's going on is hard to say - and they've taken weeks to plan this release (in violation of the law passed by Congress), so it's possible that this is deliberate disinformation - but it's being given very little notice.
It's embarrassing that every major network is not covering the shocking and terrible revelations about Donald Trump that were released today by the Dept of Justice. https://x.com/donwinslow/status/2017323351866544447
What are the revelations - nothing so far on the live feed on guardian. Hoping for a magic bullet but also wary of small beer being hyped and then lessening the effect if something substantial comes.
I remain of the opinion that there’s no way anything serious on Trump wouldn’t have found its way out of the DOJ to a friendly newspaper before the election. He publicly disassociated himself from Epstein more than two decades ago.
Not to say there might not be a load of dirt on politicians and political donors, that could be very embarrassing for Republicans and Democrats,
It's embarrassing that every major network is not covering the shocking and terrible revelations about Donald Trump that were released today by the Dept of Justice. https://x.com/donwinslow/status/2017323351866544447
What are the revelations - nothing so far on the live feed on guardian. Hoping for a magic bullet but also wary of small beer being hyped and then lessening the effect if something substantial comes.
It's embarrassing that every major network is not covering the shocking and terrible revelations about Donald Trump that were released today by the Dept of Justice. https://x.com/donwinslow/status/2017323351866544447
What are the revelations - nothing so far on the live feed on guardian. Hoping for a magic bullet but also wary of small beer being hyped and then lessening the effect if something substantial comes.
I went to the bank this morning to pay in a cheque of all things. The branch was bustling. Mind you, there are fewer of them now so the ones that are left will still be busy.
Am I alone in my weird moral universe where I think that when Gates is weighed and measured that his shenanigans with Russian pros is far outweighed by his efforts to rid Africa of Malaria?
I’m not someone who gets remotely bothered by famous people’s sexual kicks but I do appreciate that they can have other sides that use their wealth and influence for something that is a huge benefit to the world. I don’t think anyone who will be alive in the future because Gates had loads of money and had dodgy behaviour will begrudge him getting syph or crabs.
Maybe my moral compass is wrong (in fact I know it’s wonky) but I’m ok with this as long as the hookers were of age and not trafficked.
How naive to think that hookers are not trafficked, raped, coerced and beaten up and bused in multiple ways by their pimps and traffickers, as well as their clients.
Am I alone in my weird moral universe where I think that when Gates is weighed and measured that his shenanigans with Russian pros is far outweighed by his efforts to rid Africa of Malaria?
I’m not someone who gets remotely bothered by famous people’s sexual kicks but I do appreciate that they can have other sides that use their wealth and influence for something that is a huge benefit to the world. I don’t think anyone who will be alive in the future because Gates had loads of money and had dodgy behaviour will begrudge him getting syph or crabs.
Maybe my moral compass is wrong (in fact I know it’s wonky) but I’m ok with this as long as the hookers were of age and not trafficked.
How naive to think that hookers are not trafficked, raped, coerced and beaten up and bused in multiple ways by their pimps and traffickers, as well as their clients.
The quote says 'as long as' of age and not trafficked etc, not presuming they definitely were not.
BIG news from @bloomberg.com, which confirms that ICE has gone ahead and *purchased* multiple commercial warehouses with the aim of converting them into mass detention camps.
This is likely to be the big detention story of 2026 — literal warehousing of people. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
If you think that is comparable to what ICE are planning then you are dumber than a box of rocks.
We're further to the right of the Trump administration in terms of having zero tolerance for local government standing in the way of immigration enforcement. There's no place for santuary cities in the UK.
On the other hand, we don't have random executions of immigration protestors, or a loony paramiilitary group behind them, that I know of. The U.S. is beginning to look like Brazil in the 1970s.
Although we did randomly execute one Brazilian on a tube train.
At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack (sic) on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/2017238803639845115
It's embarrassing that every major network is not covering the shocking and terrible revelations about Donald Trump that were released today by the Dept of Justice. https://x.com/donwinslow/status/2017323351866544447
What are the revelations - nothing so far on the live feed on guardian. Hoping for a magic bullet but also wary of small beer being hyped and then lessening the effect if something substantial comes.
Those sound like the Katie Johnson allegations. If there is something in the Epstein files to corroborate what she said Trump and Epsten did then it is pretty explosive.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to draw that connection could the biggest mistake.
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise a foreign leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has faced in the modern era.
I think that Reform would be dire, in government. But, nothing suggests to me that they represent an existential threat to democracy.
Why not?
Trump and his supporters have shown a complete disregard for law, and democratic norms. And, they are well-armed.
Comments
We have been refused a banking hub because our population is too small; it is 11,000. I thought the minimum population size for a banking hub was 10,000.
I expect the next stage to be removing free ATMs, thereby making it more expensive for those that still want to use cash in some circumstances, such as tipping. Our town is also a magnet for elderly day trippers, who will no doubt spend less in the local businesses that rely on them.
What a shit country we have become, in order to ensure foreign shareholders get their dividends and directors get their bonuses.
It seems like the right are having a Jeremy Corbyn moment after a surprisingly heavy defeat.
The 2pp shows that being repeated, or even worse as it stands.
Yesterday from Cramer !!!!
https://x.com/jimcramer/status/2016900960073777372?s=61
He’s going to dine out on this for the rest of his life.
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/did-xi-jinping-foil-coup-attempt-two-hours-before-it-happened-arrests-allegedly-reach-thousands-1773842
There are even rumours that General Zhang has been assassinated but what is missing is the usual chorus that "welcomes" such moves. It is the sound of one hand clapping so far.
This is definitely something for Kemi to calmly, forensically probe at PMQs. What were you told, when were you told it?
https://www.silentpower.tech/products/lan-ipurifier-pro
At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack (sic) on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/2017238803639845115
But then asking Epstein to supply some anti biotics? Does that sound remotely believable?
Something is fishy about these emails. Unlike what happened on the island… let’s not rush to swallow all this. 🤔
IF we're unlucky, semi trained officers will blunder into parts of our cities, cause no end of trouble, some innocent individual will end up dead and the result will be an outbreak of civil disorder which will also cost tens of millions, sour community relations for a decade and cost the jobs of a couple of Cabinet Ministers (that last bit should probably be in the previous paragraph).
Wonder why that is.
https://x.com/Angry_Staffer/status/2017307449259168184
Not just in jewellry, but in manufacturing, medicines, electronics and much more.
They are far more than shiny metals.
Starmer a messenger perhaps? On eve of a major war in Middle East? That’s how these things work, isn’t it?
The last time silver and copper spiked about 15 years ago it caused me, professionally, a big headache as I used to buy welding products which took silver and copper for fabrication into heated water tanks. Both sheet and fittings. We even had a break in where copper fittings were nicked.
Nickel goes into grades of stainless steel.
In manufacturing these metals have a lot of uses.
So it could be existential in two ways, in fact.
What I do know is if we keep voting for the same old parties we will keep getting the same old outcomes.
For areas like mine it is all managed decline in all but name.
I’ve also seen nothing to show they are an existential threat and just disregard such unsupported hyperbole as pure politicking.
The Centre 30%
The left 12%
And on that note, I have to put my boots back on and check on some sheep.
Or did he also say gold and silver were a buy, so he’d be right one way or the other?
I see no evidence that that is true of Reform.
We were both taken aback. By the time the shock went he’s ran off 😀
The buskers these days have card machines.
But at their core though, they are legitimately precious.
Stopped clock and all that !
Silvers worst day since, and no one is going to remember this, 1792.
Typical Rogerdamus.
We will need more of them in the future too.
So we could be looking there at a question of time rather than intention.
If I’d bought some for Christmas I’d still be 20% up, that’s how crazy the market has been this month.
The market is nuts but the new Fed Chair pick seems quite a good one from Trump.
I am not a fan.
I’m not someone who gets remotely bothered by famous people’s sexual kicks but I do appreciate that they can have other sides that use their wealth and influence for something that is a huge benefit to the world. I don’t think anyone who will be alive in the future because Gates had loads of money and had dodgy behaviour will begrudge him getting syph or crabs.
Maybe my moral compass is wrong (in fact I know it’s wonky) but I’m ok with this as long as the hookers were of age and not trafficked.
I am - even as a sad watcher of the decline - quite 'impressed' by how bad the article is.
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260122-why-this-robert-burns-poem-is-a-masterpiece
"Burns Suppers are now held every year, all over the world, to mark his birthday. The guests drink whisky (not "whiskey", please – that's the Irish and US spelling), they eat haggis, tatties and neeps (don't ask)"
If I was a suspicious sort of person who used LLM's a lot - I might think that the article had been 'influenced' by such. But thankfully I'm not. So it's just human-slop rather than AI-slop.
Not done too much research into new Fed guy yet, but the general reaction seems positive. Powell is best out, he’s made the position too political, basically refusing to cut rates because he disagrees with Trump on tariffs and thinks there’s inflation just around the corner. US inflation is under 3% and falling.
I guess the church took the same view - that you could cancel out past misdemeanors by repenting and doing good.
Unfortunately the doing good part became a grift, but the principle presumably stands.
Randy Andy, on the other hand, does not seem to have found much repentance.
Talk about shooting oneself in the foot
https://bsky.app/profile/mikebaker.bsky.social/post/3mdo5crko5k24
I don’t think that email is a menu for peeds.
It's embarrassing that every major network is not covering the shocking and terrible revelations about Donald Trump that were released today by the Dept of Justice.
https://x.com/donwinslow/status/2017323351866544447
It really is powerful stuff.
BREAKING: The Trump DOJ screwed up the release of the Epstein files so badly, that they seem to have accidentally allowed the photos and text to be displayed -- divulging the ID's of Epstein's employees and girlfriends.
https://x.com/EdKrassen/status/2017327789397905614?s=20
https://x.com/jaketapper/status/2017303445322059847
The DOJ posted a number of files including serious allegations about Trump, and took them down shortly after.
Quite what's going on is hard to say - and they've taken weeks to plan this release (in violation of the law passed by Congress), so it's possible that this is deliberate disinformation - but it's being given very little notice.
Not to say there might not be a load of dirt on politicians and political donors, that could be very embarrassing for Republicans and Democrats,
BREAKING: MSNBC just confirmed it.
The Epstein release included a spreadsheet of allegations involving Trump and other powerful figures.
Then it disappeared.
Not disproven. Not corrected. Removed.
I saved it before they could delete it
https://x.com/allenanalysis/status/2017329366439494073?s=20
Santander, Brentwood High St??!
Trump swore he cut off contact with Epstein before he was arrested in 2006. So why would Epstein be calling Trump in 2011?
https://x.com/SarahLongwell25/status/2017323769245700581?s=20
Joseph Gwinn: Why it’s not impossible for the Tories to poll higher than Reform as early as April
https://conservativehome.com/2026/01/30/joseph-gwinn-why-its-not-impossible-for-the-tories-to-poll-higher-than-reform-as-early-as-april/?utm_campaign=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter
https://x.com/afneil/status/2017327900794474634