1. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the House? 19 2. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the Senate? 2 3. Number of MSPs won by the SNP at the Holyrood election? 46 4. Number of AMs won by Plaid Cymru at the Senedd election? 22 5. UK Party recording the largest poll lead during 2026 and by what percentage? (British Polling Council registered pollsters only). Reform, 17% 6. Labour’s Projected National Share of the vote based on the 2026 local elections according to the BBC? 17% 7. Number of Reform MPs on the 31st December 2026? 12 8. The name of the UK Prime Minister on 31st December 2026? Emmanuel Macron 9. Will Andy Burnham will be an MP on 31st December 2026? No 10. UK borrowing in the financial year to November 2026 (£132.3bn to November 2025). £165bn 11. UK GDP growth in the 12 months to October 2026 (1.1% to October 2025). 1.7% 12. Winners of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. England!
I'd love to see your workings for Q8!
My entry which I will post on Monday has the PM as Mark Carney.
Basically my working is Trump continues to be a dickhead and the Anglo-Canadian Union is formed, Robert might be using the same logic and we have the Anglo-French Union.
By the year end ?
It's an interesting question. I recognise there's a very large component of normalcy bias in my (and most other) guesses, and I'm troubled by the.
OTOH, while I confidently expect to be WAY out on some predictions, it's far harder to say which way, by the year end.
Yes, my view was Trump in a fit of pique ends up not supporting Ukraine/backing Russia (I mean how could we tell?) and before we know the Russia bear expands its tentacles much further across Europe, and Trump buggering NATO, we might end up like the Franco-British Union Churchill proposed in 1940.
1. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the House? 19 2. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the Senate? 2 3. Number of MSPs won by the SNP at the Holyrood election? 46 4. Number of AMs won by Plaid Cymru at the Senedd election? 22 5. UK Party recording the largest poll lead during 2026 and by what percentage? (British Polling Council registered pollsters only). Reform, 17% 6. Labour’s Projected National Share of the vote based on the 2026 local elections according to the BBC? 17% 7. Number of Reform MPs on the 31st December 2026? 12 8. The name of the UK Prime Minister on 31st December 2026? Emmanuel Macron 9. Will Andy Burnham will be an MP on 31st December 2026? No 10. UK borrowing in the financial year to November 2026 (£132.3bn to November 2025). £165bn 11. UK GDP growth in the 12 months to October 2026 (1.1% to October 2025). 1.7% 12. Winners of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. England!
I'd love to see your workings for Q8!
My entry which I will post on Monday has the PM as Mark Carney.
Basically my working is Trump continues to be a dickhead and the Anglo-Canadian Union is formed, Robert might be using the same logic and we have the Anglo-French Union.
By the year end ?
It's an interesting question. I recognise there's a very large component of normalcy bias in my (and most other) guesses, and I'm troubled by the.
OTOH, while I confidently expect to be WAY out on some predictions, it's far harder to say which way, by the year end.
Yes, my view was Trump in a fit of pique ends up not supporting Ukraine/backing Russia (I mean how could we tell?) and before we know the Russia bear expands its tentacles much further across Europe, and Trump buggering NATO, we might end up like the Franco-British Union Churchill proposed in 1940.
1. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the House? 19 2. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the Senate? 2 3. Number of MSPs won by the SNP at the Holyrood election? 46 4. Number of AMs won by Plaid Cymru at the Senedd election? 22 5. UK Party recording the largest poll lead during 2026 and by what percentage? (British Polling Council registered pollsters only). Reform, 17% 6. Labour’s Projected National Share of the vote based on the 2026 local elections according to the BBC? 17% 7. Number of Reform MPs on the 31st December 2026? 12 8. The name of the UK Prime Minister on 31st December 2026? Emmanuel Macron 9. Will Andy Burnham will be an MP on 31st December 2026? No 10. UK borrowing in the financial year to November 2026 (£132.3bn to November 2025). £165bn 11. UK GDP growth in the 12 months to October 2026 (1.1% to October 2025). 1.7% 12. Winners of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. England!
I'd love to see your workings for Q8!
My entry which I will post on Monday has the PM as Mark Carney.
Basically my working is Trump continues to be a dickhead and the Anglo-Canadian Union is formed, Robert might be using the same logic and we have the Anglo-French Union.
By the year end ?
It's an interesting question. I recognise there's a very large component of normalcy bias in my (and most other) guesses, and I'm troubled by the.
OTOH, while I confidently expect to be WAY out on some predictions, it's far harder to say which way, by the year end.
Yes, my view was Trump in a fit of pique ends up not supporting Ukraine/backing Russia (I mean how could we tell?) and before we know the Russia bear expands its tentacles much further across Europe, and Trump buggering NATO, we might end up like the Franco-British Union Churchill proposed in 1940.
We seemed to be getting mixed messages. Some polls have Reform down and their lead not that large over Labour. Others have Reform up and still very significant lead over the 2nd party.
But Delta fist class isn’t Emirates first class, let alone BA first class.
He isn't wrong on BA though. I had the misfortune flying with them once last year, never again. Victor Meldrew attitude from staff, appalling food, no proper internet, and planes that appear like they haven't been upgraded for 20 years.
Then you fly Qater or Emirates or Singapore...and you are like never ever ever again on BA. The low cost Chinese carrier I flew on internally in China were better than bloody BA.
OT. Labour and Green have chosen very appealing local candidates and Reform a jackass! I notice that Labour's candidate and Green's are from Manchester Metropolitan University which boast such alumni as Angela Rayner Julie Walters and Steve Coogan. Here's the Green. Favourite I would say
Last I night I gave a speech to the National Haemorrhoids Society, they gave me standing ovation all the way through my speech.
Having fessed up to suffering from excessive boredom during his umpteen overseas sorties, PB's resident flint-knapper @Leon was commissioned by CCHQ to knap the perfect sculpture of Liz Truss! Finally able to take a break from knapping strangely shaped sex-toys, he accepted the work in a heartbeat, and got to sculpting the same day. Arduous work, but he felt that, over the course of several weeks of almost continuous knapping, that he got it almost completely spot on with just Truss's necklace left to finish off.
However, Leon had found that he had knapped so meticulously that his hands were thoroughly knackered and sore. He wondered about taking some time off in order to finish off his masterpiece at a later date. Truss's office phoned him back reasonably promptly, but to Leon's horror, he was told in no uncertain terms that he would lose his fee if he stopped work!
"Why?" asked Leon on the phone incredulously.
"Simple!" Truss's underling replied. "You're not entitled to any..." He paused for effect. "...Statue-Tory Sick Pay!"
"Power with responsibility Britain has built a governing system in which officials exercise immense power yet face no consequences. Could that be about to change?
At the top level, a good idea to increase accountability in public officials, but the specific proposal depressingly narrow and one-sided in scope. One of the thoughts I had for a Labour government with little cash to spare to increase the numerical generosity of the welfare state was a chartered status for those public officials who were front facing to the general public - a lot of my thinking was around fairness in benefits and disability determinations, a fairness in the individuals interaction with the state, a thinking that clearly had a left leaning hat on, but recklessness with public funds and public safety could certainly be a part of the remit - though I feel Reform's exact proposal could be used for a specific kind of Trumpist targeting of officials.
Chartered systems and the bodies that run them are not, by any means, perfect - both the BMA and the SRA have got things wrong, but they are better than nothing and I feel could be applied to governance.
Leaving aside the Reform stuff - which is an attempt to frighten the civil service into acquiescence - there is something sensible to your suggestion.
I note that a register for NHS managers was introduced so those dismissed for gross incompetence, criminal behaviour etc could be “struck off” - rather than step into the next job.
Sadly, the Reform stuff will poison the well.
Your idea of a Chartered system has merit. But like a gradual reform and process improvement from within (which I advocate) vs DOGE crap, the difference will be lost.
A falling out between NVidia and OpenAI, who have ordered a substantial amount of the world’s supply of chips this year, and might not have the cash to pay for them…
NVIDIA isn’t investing enough of the money they get from OpenAI, in OpenAI to buy the chips from NVIDIA so that NVIDIA invests the money in OpenAI….
There’s an issue there. Can’t quite put my finger on it. Anyone can help?
But Delta fist class isn’t Emirates first class, let alone BA first class.
He isn't wrong on BA though. I had the misfortune flying with them once last year, never again. Victor Meldrew attitude from staff, appalling food, no proper internet, and planes that appear like they haven't been upgraded for 20 years.
Then you fly Qater or Emirates or Singapore...and you are like never ever ever again on BA. The low cost Chinese carrier I flew on internally in China were better than bloody BA.
BA aren't very good, particularly in the back where I belong. However they are several notches above Delta, United or American.
But Delta fist class isn’t Emirates first class, let alone BA first class.
He isn't wrong on BA though. I had the misfortune flying with them once last year, never again. Victor Meldrew attitude from staff, appalling food, no proper internet, and planes that appear like they haven't been upgraded for 20 years.
Then you fly Qater or Emirates or Singapore...and you are like never ever ever again on BA.
I used to like flying BA, when they had the 747s with biz class upstairs, or their 777s that were 9-across in economy vs Emirates being 10-across.
But yes, their service is well down, and pretty much all airlines have now screwed up their loyalty schemes to everyone but their top 5% of pax.
Their economy business could also be about to be eaten by the new “long-short-haul” services, for example Air Arabia flying from Sharjah to Gatwick for £400 return, on an A321. Now I don’t particularly want to spend seven hours in an A321, but if it’s half the price of a BA or Emirates 777, and I’m paying the fare myself…
1. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the House? 19 2. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the Senate? 2 3. Number of MSPs won by the SNP at the Holyrood election? 46 4. Number of AMs won by Plaid Cymru at the Senedd election? 22 5. UK Party recording the largest poll lead during 2026 and by what percentage? (British Polling Council registered pollsters only). Reform, 17% 6. Labour’s Projected National Share of the vote based on the 2026 local elections according to the BBC? 17% 7. Number of Reform MPs on the 31st December 2026? 12 8. The name of the UK Prime Minister on 31st December 2026? Emmanuel Macron 9. Will Andy Burnham will be an MP on 31st December 2026? No 10. UK borrowing in the financial year to November 2026 (£132.3bn to November 2025). £165bn 11. UK GDP growth in the 12 months to October 2026 (1.1% to October 2025). 1.7% 12. Winners of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. England!
I'd love to see your workings for Q8!
My entry which I will post on Monday has the PM as Mark Carney.
Basically my working is Trump continues to be a dickhead and the Anglo-Canadian Union is formed, Robert might be using the same logic and we have the Anglo-French Union.
By the year end ?
It's an interesting question. I recognise there's a very large component of normalcy bias in my (and most other) guesses, and I'm troubled by the.
OTOH, while I confidently expect to be WAY out on some predictions, it's far harder to say which way, by the year end.
Yes, my view was Trump in a fit of pique ends up not supporting Ukraine/backing Russia (I mean how could we tell?) and before we know the Russia bear expands its tentacles much further across Europe, and Trump buggering NATO, we might end up like the Franco-British Union Churchill proposed in 1940.
Bears have tentacles?
Following the success of the brilliant Sharktopus…
But Delta fist class isn’t Emirates first class, let alone BA first class.
He isn't wrong on BA though. I had the misfortune flying with them once last year, never again. Victor Meldrew attitude from staff, appalling food, no proper internet, and planes that appear like they haven't been upgraded for 20 years.
Then you fly Qater or Emirates or Singapore...and you are like never ever ever again on BA. The low cost Chinese carrier I flew on internally in China were better than bloody BA.
The comment from a friend who works as BA cabin crew is that they are trying to run a high end airline with Ryan air style pay and conditions but without the shiny new planes.
OT. Labour and Green have chosen very appealing local candidates and Reform a jackass! I notice that Labour's candidate and Green's are from Manchester Metropolitan University which boast such alumni as Angela Rayner Julie Walters and Steve Coogan. Here's the Green. Favourite I would say
But Delta fist class isn’t Emirates first class, let alone BA first class.
He isn't wrong on BA though. I had the misfortune flying with them once last year, never again. Victor Meldrew attitude from staff, appalling food, no proper internet, and planes that appear like they haven't been upgraded for 20 years.
Then you fly Qater or Emirates or Singapore...and you are like never ever ever again on BA. The low cost Chinese carrier I flew on internally in China were better than bloody BA.
The comment from a friend who works as BA cabin crew is that they are trying to run a high end airline with Ryan air style pay and conditions but without the shiny new planes.
Its the nickel and diming of everything. Pay for your luggage, pay for the internet (that is shit), desparately trying to avoid giving you more than one drink etc. And still not even cheap.
Reform council spends £600,000 on free parking for its leaders
Kent county council has plans to charge employees £4 a day for parking, weeks after it renovated a courtyard to provide private spaces for top officials
It’s quite complex, but the short version is a combination of Heathrow being full, a lot of legacy union staffing contracts, and that they are paying for more retired pilots’ pensions than they have active pilots on the line.
1. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the House? 19 2. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the Senate? 2 3. Number of MSPs won by the SNP at the Holyrood election? 46 4. Number of AMs won by Plaid Cymru at the Senedd election? 22 5. UK Party recording the largest poll lead during 2026 and by what percentage? (British Polling Council registered pollsters only). Reform, 17% 6. Labour’s Projected National Share of the vote based on the 2026 local elections according to the BBC? 17% 7. Number of Reform MPs on the 31st December 2026? 12 8. The name of the UK Prime Minister on 31st December 2026? Emmanuel Macron 9. Will Andy Burnham will be an MP on 31st December 2026? No 10. UK borrowing in the financial year to November 2026 (£132.3bn to November 2025). £165bn 11. UK GDP growth in the 12 months to October 2026 (1.1% to October 2025). 1.7% 12. Winners of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. England!
I'd love to see your workings for Q8!
Oh, it won't be the French Emmanuel Macron. It will all be part of a big rebranding exercise: Starmer wants to look like a winner. Who is a winner? Macron. How can Starmer be more like Macron... well... he can't change his personality, but he can change his name.
If Burnham was a Labour Party MP, then he wouldn't -thanks to Party Rules- be able to continue serving as Mayor of Manchester. But if he was an Independent, then he wouldn't have that issue, right?
Airlines peak and trough, it can be financial or cultural. I used to fly a lot to South Africa from childhood and used to use South African Airways during the apartheid times. It was a smart airline. The planes were immaculate and the service and staffing were fantastic - very serious and polished. When they changed after apartheid ended they had a different approach and corporate culture that felt very different and I switched to BA. I tried SAA again years later and they were still sloppy which was a great shame.
I think the Mid east airlines will keep up their standards because they are an advert for the states so worth keeping the prestige but flag carriers elsewhere will reflect the needs and mores of the nation and the financial concerns of the shareholders.
1. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the House? 19 2. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the Senate? 2 3. Number of MSPs won by the SNP at the Holyrood election? 46 4. Number of AMs won by Plaid Cymru at the Senedd election? 22 5. UK Party recording the largest poll lead during 2026 and by what percentage? (British Polling Council registered pollsters only). Reform, 17% 6. Labour’s Projected National Share of the vote based on the 2026 local elections according to the BBC? 17% 7. Number of Reform MPs on the 31st December 2026? 12 8. The name of the UK Prime Minister on 31st December 2026? Emmanuel Macron 9. Will Andy Burnham will be an MP on 31st December 2026? No 10. UK borrowing in the financial year to November 2026 (£132.3bn to November 2025). £165bn 11. UK GDP growth in the 12 months to October 2026 (1.1% to October 2025). 1.7% 12. Winners of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. England!
I'd love to see your workings for Q8!
Oh, it won't be the French Emmanuel Macron. It will all be part of a big rebranding exercise: Starmer wants to look like a winner. Who is a winner? Macron. How can Starmer be more like Macron... well... he can't change his personality, but he can change his name.
It's brilliant, really.
Didn't we have a poster like that called SeanT who after a previously successful career as a novelist went tits up reinvented himself as a male model called Byronic?
1. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the House? 19 2. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the Senate? 2 3. Number of MSPs won by the SNP at the Holyrood election? 46 4. Number of AMs won by Plaid Cymru at the Senedd election? 22 5. UK Party recording the largest poll lead during 2026 and by what percentage? (British Polling Council registered pollsters only). Reform, 17% 6. Labour’s Projected National Share of the vote based on the 2026 local elections according to the BBC? 17% 7. Number of Reform MPs on the 31st December 2026? 12 8. The name of the UK Prime Minister on 31st December 2026? Emmanuel Macron 9. Will Andy Burnham will be an MP on 31st December 2026? No 10. UK borrowing in the financial year to November 2026 (£132.3bn to November 2025). £165bn 11. UK GDP growth in the 12 months to October 2026 (1.1% to October 2025). 1.7% 12. Winners of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. England!
I'd love to see your workings for Q8!
Oh, it won't be the French Emmanuel Macron. It will all be part of a big rebranding exercise: Starmer wants to look like a winner. Who is a winner? Macron. How can Starmer be more like Macron... well... he can't change his personality, but he can change his name.
It's brilliant, really.
Christ, there is some old teacher of his worrying right now.
If Burnham was a Labour Party MP, then he wouldn't -thanks to Party Rules- be able to continue serving as Mayor of Manchester. But if he was an Independent, then he wouldn't have that issue, right?
Not until the Police and Crime Commissioner role is abolished, no. Because he holds that simultaneously ex officio and they are not permitted to be members of the Commons.
Reform council spends £600,000 on free parking for its leaders
Kent county council has plans to charge employees £4 a day for parking, weeks after it renovated a courtyard to provide private spaces for top officials
Identikit populism, what populist regimes always do. 💁♀️. just look at the Trump Regime. Just look at Jo Jo Rabbit eating scrapings out bottom of bins, whilst Adolf Hitler was eating unicorn roast.
Trump is Farage, Farage is Trump. Simples.
Only mugs will fall for Reform have answers to complex problems, and will be strong not weak on value for money.
If Burnham was a Labour Party MP, then he wouldn't -thanks to Party Rules- be able to continue serving as Mayor of Manchester. But if he was an Independent, then he wouldn't have that issue, right?
He can’t be an MP and Mayor of Manchester, because of the latter’s role as Police & Crime Commissioner of GM Police. If elected to Palrliament his role as Mayor will be vacated.
One Harris error I haven't seen mentioned: The Democratic Party did not provide for voters to have a say in her choice, through primaries and caucuses.
It was her turn. She was entitled. They needed to shut up and suck it up.
Actually, I don't think most of the Senior Dems really wanted Harris; I think they just knew that trying to do a Primary in just three weeks was going to be next to impossible. (Remember, they couldn't even do the Iowa caucuses right in 2020.)
If Burnham was a Labour Party MP, then he wouldn't -thanks to Party Rules- be able to continue serving as Mayor of Manchester. But if he was an Independent, then he wouldn't have that issue, right?
If he'd resigned as Mayor and then thrown his hat in the ring I suspect that would have been accepted.
Reform council spends £600,000 on free parking for its leaders
Kent county council has plans to charge employees £4 a day for parking, weeks after it renovated a courtyard to provide private spaces for top officials
Identikit populism, what populist regimes always do. 💁♀️. just look at the Trump Regime. Just look at Jo Jo Rabbit eating scrapings out bottom of bins, whilst Adolf Hitler was eating unicorn roast.
Trump is Farage, Farage is Trump. Simples.
Only mugs will fall for Reform have answers to complex problems, and will be strong not weak on value for money.
In the words of Alan Partridge, that was just a noise.
Absolutely nothing confirmed and currently zero on the mainstream TV channels. But news of multiple bombings targeting IRGC strongholds is flooding in on the Telegram channels. At the risk of sounding like Gillette soccer Saturday, these are the cities:
Bandar Abbas Ahvaz Khorramshahr Abadan Qasr-e Shirin Parand Qeshm Dezful Reports of explosions in places like Qeshm and at the Qom Governor's Office building.
Just to cover my tracks currently waiting for Chris Kamara to verify.
So what sparked the recent unrest in Iran? Could it have been foreign interference? My Dad has these books in his office room I read when I was small, where, before Sov Bloc attacked Mega City One, they sowed chaos and lawlessness in Mega City One, to soften it up and it take its eye off what they were up to.
But Delta fist class isn’t Emirates first class, let alone BA first class.
He isn't wrong on BA though. I had the misfortune flying with them once last year, never again. Victor Meldrew attitude from staff, appalling food, no proper internet, and planes that appear like they haven't been upgraded for 20 years.
Then you fly Qater or Emirates or Singapore...and you are like never ever ever again on BA. The low cost Chinese carrier I flew on internally in China were better than bloody BA.
The comment from a friend who works as BA cabin crew is that they are trying to run a high end airline with Ryan air style pay and conditions but without the shiny new planes.
Its the nickel and diming of everything. Pay for your luggage, pay for the internet (that is shit), desparately trying to avoid giving you more than one drink etc. And still not even cheap.
So they manage to piss off the staff and the customers.
Reform council spends £600,000 on free parking for its leaders
Kent county council has plans to charge employees £4 a day for parking, weeks after it renovated a courtyard to provide private spaces for top officials
Identikit populism, what populist regimes always do. 💁♀️. just look at the Trump Regime. Just look at Jo Jo Rabbit eating scrapings out bottom of bins, whilst Adolf Hitler was eating unicorn roast.
Trump is Farage, Farage is Trump. Simples.
Only mugs will fall for Reform have answers to complex problems, and will be strong not weak on value for money.
In the words of Alan Partridge, that was just a noise.
But Delta fist class isn’t Emirates first class, let alone BA first class.
He isn't wrong on BA though. I had the misfortune flying with them once last year, never again. Victor Meldrew attitude from staff, appalling food, no proper internet, and planes that appear like they haven't been upgraded for 20 years.
Then you fly Qater or Emirates or Singapore...and you are like never ever ever again on BA. The low cost Chinese carrier I flew on internally in China were better than bloody BA.
The comment from a friend who works as BA cabin crew is that they are trying to run a high end airline with Ryan air style pay and conditions but without the shiny new planes.
Its the nickel and diming of everything. Pay for your luggage, pay for the internet (that is shit), desparately trying to avoid giving you more than one drink etc. And still not even cheap.
So they manage to piss off the staff and the customers.
What a recipe for success.
Yes, because the alternative is pissing off the owners and pensioners.
Very good profile on Stephen Miller on radio 4 now.
Not a nice man!
I think it comes down to being bullied as a child for looking like one of those ugly hairless cats. He’s taking out his unpleasant appearance on the world through abuse of power.
One Harris error I haven't seen mentioned: The Democratic Party did not provide for voters to have a say in her choice, through primaries and caucuses.
It was her turn. She was entitled. They needed to shut up and suck it up.
Actually, I don't think most of the Senior Dems really wanted Harris; I think they just knew that trying to do a Primary in just three weeks was going to be next to impossible. (Remember, they couldn't even do the Iowa caucuses right in 2020.)
Yes the problems started when they insisted that Biden was running again, well beyond the point where it was clear he was too old.
Then the debate happened, when the President was barely coherent, and they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The blame lies with those around Biden who quite liked having the power to themselves, with an old man as the figurehead not challenging them at all.
Absolutely nothing confirmed and currently zero on the mainstream TV channels. But news of multiple bombings targeting IRGC strongholds is flooding in on the Telegram channels. At the risk of sounding like Gillette soccer Saturday, these are the cities:
Bandar Abbas Ahvaz Khorramshahr Abadan Qasr-e Shirin Parand Qeshm Dezful Reports of explosions in places like Qeshm and at the Qom Governor's Office building.
Just to cover my tracks currently waiting for Chris Kamara to verify.
So what sparked the recent unrest in Iran? Could it have been foreign interference? My Dad has these books in his office room I read when I was small, where, before Sov Bloc attacked Mega City One, they sowed chaos and lawlessness in Mega City One, to soften it up and it take its eye off what they were up to.
Well, the regime is only in place because (a) they don't allow opponents to stand in elections, and (b) they have a highly efficient security service that tortures and kills opponents. (Come to mention it, that sounds a bit like Russia too.)
Add to which, over the past 20 years, Iranians have gotten poorer and even less free.
The proximate cause of unrest is the fact that oil prices have come down, the regime was weakened by US strikes, and sanctions are biting. There have also been a lot of protests in recent years -such as the one over the killing of the girl by the religious police- so the anger (particularly in urban Iran) is palpable.
And at some point resisting the regime becomes less painful than sticking with it.
"Power with responsibility Britain has built a governing system in which officials exercise immense power yet face no consequences. Could that be about to change?
At the top level, a good idea to increase accountability in public officials, but the specific proposal depressingly narrow and one-sided in scope. One of the thoughts I had for a Labour government with little cash to spare to increase the numerical generosity of the welfare state was a chartered status for those public officials who were front facing to the general public - a lot of my thinking was around fairness in benefits and disability determinations, a fairness in the individuals interaction with the state, a thinking that clearly had a left leaning hat on, but recklessness with public funds and public safety could certainly be a part of the remit - though I feel Reform's exact proposal could be used for a specific kind of Trumpist targeting of officials.
Chartered systems and the bodies that run them are not, by any means, perfect - both the BMA and the SRA have got things wrong, but they are better than nothing and I feel could be applied to governance.
Leaving aside the Reform stuff - which is an attempt to frighten the civil service into acquiescence - there is something sensible to your suggestion.
I note that a register for NHS managers was introduced so those dismissed for gross incompetence, criminal behaviour etc could be “struck off” - rather than step into the next job.
Sadly, the Reform stuff will poison the well.
Your idea of a Chartered system has merit. But like a gradual reform and process improvement from within (which I advocate) vs DOGE crap, the difference will be lost.
In and amongst police regionalisation, I note there was also something of this ilk proposed for police officers, The current vetting systems are simultaneously quite invasive but horrendously ramshackle - classic process state.
One Harris error I haven't seen mentioned: The Democratic Party did not provide for voters to have a say in her choice, through primaries and caucuses.
It was her turn. She was entitled. They needed to shut up and suck it up.
Actually, I don't think most of the Senior Dems really wanted Harris; I think they just knew that trying to do a Primary in just three weeks was going to be next to impossible. (Remember, they couldn't even do the Iowa caucuses right in 2020.)
Yes the problems started when they insisted that Biden was running again, well beyond the point where it was clear he was too old.
Then the debate happened, when the President was barely coherent, and they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The blame lies with those around Biden who quite liked having the power to themselves, with an old man as the figurehead not challenging them at all.
Basically, no one wanted to be the person that stuck the knife in, and so they decided that the easiest way to get rid of Biden was for him to make a fool of himself on national TV.
Which is a pretty stupid strategy, when you think of it.
If one of them had some courage earler -particularly Harris- then there would have a competitive primary, and who knows what would have happened then.
But Delta fist class isn’t Emirates first class, let alone BA first class.
He isn't wrong on BA though. I had the misfortune flying with them once last year, never again. Victor Meldrew attitude from staff, appalling food, no proper internet, and planes that appear like they haven't been upgraded for 20 years.
Then you fly Qater or Emirates or Singapore...and you are like never ever ever again on BA. The low cost Chinese carrier I flew on internally in China were better than bloody BA.
The comment from a friend who works as BA cabin crew is that they are trying to run a high end airline with Ryan air style pay and conditions but without the shiny new planes.
If you’re BA cabin crew, you have no idea what Ryanair cabin crew Ts&Cs actually look like.
Experienced BA CC make £60k+, Ryanair CC make minimum wage.
One Harris error I haven't seen mentioned: The Democratic Party did not provide for voters to have a say in her choice, through primaries and caucuses.
It was her turn. She was entitled. They needed to shut up and suck it up.
Actually, I don't think most of the Senior Dems really wanted Harris; I think they just knew that trying to do a Primary in just three weeks was going to be next to impossible. (Remember, they couldn't even do the Iowa caucuses right in 2020.)
Yes the problems started when they insisted that Biden was running again, well beyond the point where it was clear he was too old.
Then the debate happened, when the President was barely coherent, and they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The blame lies with those around Biden who quite liked having the power to themselves, with an old man as the figurehead not challenging them at all.
Basically, no one wanted to be the person that stuck the knife in, and so they decided that the easiest way to get rid of Biden was for him to make a fool of himself on national TV.
Which is a pretty stupid strategy, when you think of it.
If one of them had some courage earler -particularly Harris- then there would have a competitive primary, and who knows what would have happened then.
And that's not a problem unique to the Dems.
Nobody with actual current power in the Republican party wanted to be the one to stick the knife into Trump either. Except that Trump is impossible to embarass, so the "embarass him on national TV" strategy wasn't an option either.
Sometimes the relevant aphorism isn't that the early bird catches the worm, but that the second mouse gets the cheese.
One Harris error I haven't seen mentioned: The Democratic Party did not provide for voters to have a say in her choice, through primaries and caucuses.
It was her turn. She was entitled. They needed to shut up and suck it up.
Actually, I don't think most of the Senior Dems really wanted Harris; I think they just knew that trying to do a Primary in just three weeks was going to be next to impossible. (Remember, they couldn't even do the Iowa caucuses right in 2020.)
Yes the problems started when they insisted that Biden was running again, well beyond the point where it was clear he was too old.
Then the debate happened, when the President was barely coherent, and they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The blame lies with those around Biden who quite liked having the power to themselves, with an old man as the figurehead not challenging them at all.
Basically, no one wanted to be the person that stuck the knife in, and so they decided that the easiest way to get rid of Biden was for him to make a fool of himself on national TV.
Which is a pretty stupid strategy, when you think of it.
If one of them had some courage earler -particularly Harris- then there would have a competitive primary, and who knows what would have happened then.
Oh indeed. Half of me still thinks that debate, way earlier than is usual, was a stitchup by the Dems to not give Biden his meds and throw him under the bus. But as you say no-one had their fingerprints on it, which would have been a problem.
In a sane world, Mrs Biden would have told him a year out that there was going to be a primary, and perhaps it wasn’t in his best interests to stand again. It was genuinely sad to watch.
A genuine primary would have seen some proper debate within the party.
My biggest fear for 2028, is that again the Dems try and do an Establishment stitchup rather than run a serious primary season to a conclusion.
One Harris error I haven't seen mentioned: The Democratic Party did not provide for voters to have a say in her choice, through primaries and caucuses.
It was her turn. She was entitled. They needed to shut up and suck it up.
Actually, I don't think most of the Senior Dems really wanted Harris; I think they just knew that trying to do a Primary in just three weeks was going to be next to impossible. (Remember, they couldn't even do the Iowa caucuses right in 2020.)
Yes the problems started when they insisted that Biden was running again, well beyond the point where it was clear he was too old.
Then the debate happened, when the President was barely coherent, and they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The blame lies with those around Biden who quite liked having the power to themselves, with an old man as the figurehead not challenging them at all.
Basically, no one wanted to be the person that stuck the knife in, and so they decided that the easiest way to get rid of Biden was for him to make a fool of himself on national TV.
Which is a pretty stupid strategy, when you think of it.
If one of them had some courage earler -particularly Harris- then there would have a competitive primary, and who knows what would have happened then.
And that's not a problem unique to the Dems.
Nobody with actual current power in the Republican party wanted to be the one to stick the knife into him either. Except that Trump is impossible to embarass, so the "embarass him on national TV" strategy wasn't an option either.
Sometimes the relevant aphorism isn't that the early bird catches the worm, but that the second mouse gets the cheese.
That's a fair point.
Being generous, Trump is cleraely less switched on in early 2026 than he was in early 2024, and in turn was less switched on then than he was in 2016.
One Harris error I haven't seen mentioned: The Democratic Party did not provide for voters to have a say in her choice, through primaries and caucuses.
It was her turn. She was entitled. They needed to shut up and suck it up.
Actually, I don't think most of the Senior Dems really wanted Harris; I think they just knew that trying to do a Primary in just three weeks was going to be next to impossible. (Remember, they couldn't even do the Iowa caucuses right in 2020.)
Yes the problems started when they insisted that Biden was running again, well beyond the point where it was clear he was too old.
Then the debate happened, when the President was barely coherent, and they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The blame lies with those around Biden who quite liked having the power to themselves, with an old man as the figurehead not challenging them at all.
Basically, no one wanted to be the person that stuck the knife in, and so they decided that the easiest way to get rid of Biden was for him to make a fool of himself on national TV.
Which is a pretty stupid strategy, when you think of it.
If one of them had some courage earler -particularly Harris- then there would have a competitive primary, and who knows what would have happened then.
And that's not a problem unique to the Dems.
Nobody with actual current power in the Republican party wanted to be the one to stick the knife into him either. Except that Trump is impossible to embarass, so the "embarass him on national TV" strategy wasn't an option either.
Sometimes the relevant aphorism isn't that the early bird catches the worm, but that the second mouse gets the cheese.
That's a fair point.
Being generous, Trump is cleraely less switched on in early 2026 than he was in early 2024, and in turn was less switched on then than he was in 2016.
The 2028 edition is going to be a sight to behold then.
But Delta fist class isn’t Emirates first class, let alone BA first class.
He isn't wrong on BA though. I had the misfortune flying with them once last year, never again. Victor Meldrew attitude from staff, appalling food, no proper internet, and planes that appear like they haven't been upgraded for 20 years.
Then you fly Qater or Emirates or Singapore...and you are like never ever ever again on BA. The low cost Chinese carrier I flew on internally in China were better than bloody BA.
The comment from a friend who works as BA cabin crew is that they are trying to run a high end airline with Ryan air style pay and conditions but without the shiny new planes.
If you’re BA cabin crew, you have no idea what Ryanair cabin crew Ts&Cs actually look like.
Experienced BA CC make £60k+, Ryanair CC make minimum wage.
If you have the pick of the schedules, you fly long haul out of Heathrow, and don't mind picking up standby shifts, then BA CC can earn the best part of 80k/year and have minimal expenses two or three days a week because they're put up in a hotel somewhere.
On the other hand, if you're new, short haul, and working out of Gatwick, you're going to have hellishly long days (significant parts of which you are not getting paid for), few perks and you'll be earning well under half that.
A falling out between NVidia and OpenAI, who have ordered a substantial amount of the world’s supply of chips this year, and might not have the cash to pay for them…
The deal was NVidia would invest up to $100bn, but dependant on OpenAI buying a certain number of NVidia GPUs. Now it looks like Amazon are offering a nicer deal; OpenAI is going to buy Amazon's Trainium chips and in return Amazon will invest.
Jensen is likely furious, because Nvidia have been booking fab capacity left, right and centre to produce all those chips. They've also cut supply of GPUs to the gaming market severely enough that some board partners, who take NV GPUs and actually build the graphics cards, are warning they may go out of business.
But Delta fist class isn’t Emirates first class, let alone BA first class.
He isn't wrong on BA though. I had the misfortune flying with them once last year, never again. Victor Meldrew attitude from staff, appalling food, no proper internet, and planes that appear like they haven't been upgraded for 20 years.
Then you fly Qater or Emirates or Singapore...and you are like never ever ever again on BA. The low cost Chinese carrier I flew on internally in China were better than bloody BA.
I think BA are internally crippled by their Unions.
It's like they still operate a public sector culture.
Absolutely nothing confirmed and currently zero on the mainstream TV channels. But news of multiple bombings targeting IRGC strongholds is flooding in on the Telegram channels. At the risk of sounding like Gillette soccer Saturday, these are the cities:
Bandar Abbas Ahvaz Khorramshahr Abadan Qasr-e Shirin Parand Qeshm Dezful Reports of explosions in places like Qeshm and at the Qom Governor's Office building.
Just to cover my tracks currently waiting for Chris Kamara to verify.
So what sparked the recent unrest in Iran? Could it have been foreign interference? My Dad has these books in his office room I read when I was small, where, before Sov Bloc attacked Mega City One, they sowed chaos and lawlessness in Mega City One, to soften it up and it take its eye off what they were up to.
Well, the regime is only in place because (a) they don't allow opponents to stand in elections, and (b) they have a highly efficient security service that tortures and kills opponents. (Come to mention it, that sounds a bit like Russia too.)
Add to which, over the past 20 years, Iranians have gotten poorer and even less free.
The proximate cause of unrest is the fact that oil prices have come down, the regime was weakened by US strikes, and sanctions are biting. There have also been a lot of protests in recent years -such as the one over the killing of the girl by the religious police- so the anger (particularly in urban Iran) is palpable.
And at some point resisting the regime becomes less painful than sticking with it.
Pollution gets everywhere.
I just remember Alec Guinness saying that word so reluctantly in Star Wars whenever I hear it...
But Delta fist class isn’t Emirates first class, let alone BA first class.
He isn't wrong on BA though. I had the misfortune flying with them once last year, never again. Victor Meldrew attitude from staff, appalling food, no proper internet, and planes that appear like they haven't been upgraded for 20 years.
Then you fly Qater or Emirates or Singapore...and you are like never ever ever again on BA. The low cost Chinese carrier I flew on internally in China were better than bloody BA.
The comment from a friend who works as BA cabin crew is that they are trying to run a high end airline with Ryan air style pay and conditions but without the shiny new planes.
If you’re BA cabin crew, you have no idea what Ryanair cabin crew Ts&Cs actually look like.
Experienced BA CC make £60k+, Ryanair CC make minimum wage.
If you have the pick of the schedules, you fly long haul out of Heathrow, and don't mind picking up standby shifts, then BA CC can earn the best part of 80k/year and have minimal expenses two or three days a week because they're put up in a hotel somewhere.
On the other hand, if you're new, short haul, and working out of Gatwick, you're going to have hellishly long days (significant parts of which you are not getting paid for), few perks and you'll be earning well under half that.
Oh indeed.
When UK was in the EU, Ryanair used to do stuff like fly half-empty planes out of Bratislava to Gatwick at 5am, because it meant they could have a Slovak crew paid Slovak wages on UK internal flights.
Hell, the First Officer on most Ryanair flights is paying for the privilege of being there, so indebted is he or she to the airline for training costs.
1. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the House? 0 2. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the Senate? 0 3. Number of MSPs won by the SNP at the Holyrood election? 44 4. Number of AMs won by Plaid Cymru at the Senedd election? 22 5. UK Party recording the largest poll lead during 2026 and by what percentage? (British Polling Council registered pollsters only). Reform, 14% 6. Labour’s Projected National Share of the vote based on the 2026 local elections according to the BBC? 16% 7. Number of Reform MPs on the 31st December 2026? 12 8. The name of the UK Prime Minister on 31st December 2026? Sir Keir Starmer 9. Will Andy Burnham will be an MP on 31st December 2026? No 10. UK borrowing in the financial year to November 2026 (£132.3bn to November 2025). £165bn 11. UK GDP growth in the 12 months to October 2026 (1.1% to October 2025). 0.3% 12. Winners of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. Spain.
You think the midterms are off?
I think the House could be a handful of seats either way, more likely to the Dems but everyone’s saying that already.
Unlikely that much changes in the Senate, plus or minus one.
Really? "A handful of [House] seats either way"? Excuse if I book mark that one.
31 years ago today, Richard Edwards walked out of a hotel in London, and was never seen again.
It’s a weird one as most bodies are found if he jumped in the Thames and would be very difficult for someone so high profile to be able to drop out for so long without someone spilling the beans. Never heard anything where he might have crossed the sort of people who can make a person disappear forever in concrete etc.
31 years ago today, Richard Edwards walked out of a hotel in London, and was never seen again.
It’s a weird one as most bodies are found if he jumped in the Thames and would be very difficult for someone so high profile to be able to drop out for so long without someone spilling the beans. Never heard anything where he might have crossed the sort of people who can make a person disappear forever in concrete etc.
his car was found on service station off the Severn bridge, nothing to do with the Thames
31 years ago today, Richard Edwards walked out of a hotel in London, and was never seen again.
It’s a weird one as most bodies are found if he jumped in the Thames and would be very difficult for someone so high profile to be able to drop out for so long without someone spilling the beans. Never heard anything where he might have crossed the sort of people who can make a person disappear forever in concrete etc.
his car was found on service station off the Severn bridge, nothing to do with the Thames
1. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the House? 0 2. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the Senate? 0 3. Number of MSPs won by the SNP at the Holyrood election? 44 4. Number of AMs won by Plaid Cymru at the Senedd election? 22 5. UK Party recording the largest poll lead during 2026 and by what percentage? (British Polling Council registered pollsters only). Reform, 14% 6. Labour’s Projected National Share of the vote based on the 2026 local elections according to the BBC? 16% 7. Number of Reform MPs on the 31st December 2026? 12 8. The name of the UK Prime Minister on 31st December 2026? Sir Keir Starmer 9. Will Andy Burnham will be an MP on 31st December 2026? No 10. UK borrowing in the financial year to November 2026 (£132.3bn to November 2025). £165bn 11. UK GDP growth in the 12 months to October 2026 (1.1% to October 2025). 0.3% 12. Winners of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. Spain.
You think the midterms are off?
I think the House could be a handful of seats either way, more likely to the Dems but everyone’s saying that already.
Unlikely that much changes in the Senate, plus or minus one.
Really? "A handful of [House] seats either way"? Excuse if I book mark that one.
Put simply, there are far, far fewer competitive districts than there used to be. And, following the redistricting in California this applies both ways. There is so much wrong with what the Americans still insist is a democracy but if they wanted a place to start redistricting would surely be it.
1. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the House? 0 2. Number of net gains (or losses -ve) for the Dems in the Senate? 0 3. Number of MSPs won by the SNP at the Holyrood election? 44 4. Number of AMs won by Plaid Cymru at the Senedd election? 22 5. UK Party recording the largest poll lead during 2026 and by what percentage? (British Polling Council registered pollsters only). Reform, 14% 6. Labour’s Projected National Share of the vote based on the 2026 local elections according to the BBC? 16% 7. Number of Reform MPs on the 31st December 2026? 12 8. The name of the UK Prime Minister on 31st December 2026? Sir Keir Starmer 9. Will Andy Burnham will be an MP on 31st December 2026? No 10. UK borrowing in the financial year to November 2026 (£132.3bn to November 2025). £165bn 11. UK GDP growth in the 12 months to October 2026 (1.1% to October 2025). 0.3% 12. Winners of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. Spain.
You think the midterms are off?
I think the House could be a handful of seats either way, more likely to the Dems but everyone’s saying that already.
Unlikely that much changes in the Senate, plus or minus one.
Really? "A handful of [House] seats either way"? Excuse if I book mark that one.
You certainly can.
Most people have gone for 3-20 seats, so I said 0 to be on the edge. I suspect it’s about 5 seats’ swing.
The reality is that the gerrymandering of the US House is now so bad, that there’s very few marginal seats any more.
But Delta fist class isn’t Emirates first class, let alone BA first class.
He isn't wrong on BA though. I had the misfortune flying with them once last year, never again. Victor Meldrew attitude from staff, appalling food, no proper internet, and planes that appear like they haven't been upgraded for 20 years.
Then you fly Qater or Emirates or Singapore...and you are like never ever ever again on BA. The low cost Chinese carrier I flew on internally in China were better than bloody BA.
The comment from a friend who works as BA cabin crew is that they are trying to run a high end airline with Ryan air style pay and conditions but without the shiny new planes.
If you’re BA cabin crew, you have no idea what Ryanair cabin crew Ts&Cs actually look like.
Experienced BA CC make £60k+, Ryanair CC make minimum wage.
During COVID, BA tried firing cabin staff to re-hire on minimum wage + 50p
Reminder: There are scandals in almost every nation. But I hope that some of you might have some insight on this one -- which I had not heard about until I followed up a Wikipedia item -- since it occurred in London:
In early November 2021, a video was posted on the TikTok account of the chef Salt Bae (Nusret Gökçe).[42] The clip, which was later removed, showed Lâm dining at Salt Bae's expensive restaurant in London, reportedly during his trip to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference.[43] In the video, chef Gökçe is seen feeding Lâm a piece of gold-coated beef.[44][45][46]
It is unclear who paid for the meal, but according to international newspapers, the event sparked outrage among many Vietnamese netizens. They considered it a lavish meal, with the price of the gold-coated beef dish exceeding the minister's monthly salary, especially as Vietnam was suffering heavily from the COVID-19 pandemic, with millions of people facing difficulties.[44][45][42] The news of a communist official dining at a luxurious restaurant was reported by various media outlets in several countries, with some sources highlighting the contrast between this and his previous act of laying flowers at Karl Marx's grave.
But Delta fist class isn’t Emirates first class, let alone BA first class.
He isn't wrong on BA though. I had the misfortune flying with them once last year, never again. Victor Meldrew attitude from staff, appalling food, no proper internet, and planes that appear like they haven't been upgraded for 20 years.
Then you fly Qater or Emirates or Singapore...and you are like never ever ever again on BA. The low cost Chinese carrier I flew on internally in China were better than bloody BA.
The comment from a friend who works as BA cabin crew is that they are trying to run a high end airline with Ryan air style pay and conditions but without the shiny new planes.
If you’re BA cabin crew, you have no idea what Ryanair cabin crew Ts&Cs actually look like.
Experienced BA CC make £60k+, Ryanair CC make minimum wage.
During COVID, BA tried firing cabin staff to re-hire on minimum wage + 50p
Strangely, the staff were not impressed.
First BA had a King, then a Marshal(l) before winding up with a Willie.
Comments
Delta flies direct from Nice to New York, and have sold him a first class return for €3k, which seems awfully cheap!
https://x.com/afneil/status/2017660593935728764
But Delta fist class isn’t Emirates first class, let alone BA first class.
https://x.com/RichKettle07/status/2017622906508132537?s=20
Then you fly Qater or Emirates or Singapore...and you are like never ever ever again on BA. The low cost Chinese carrier I flew on internally in China were better than bloody BA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpFQvGs8qG0
However, Leon had found that he had knapped so meticulously that his hands were thoroughly knackered and sore. He wondered about taking some time off in order to finish off his masterpiece at a later date. Truss's office phoned him back reasonably promptly, but to Leon's horror, he was told in no uncertain terms that he would lose his fee if he stopped work!
"Why?" asked Leon on the phone incredulously.
"Simple!" Truss's underling replied. "You're not entitled to any..." He paused for effect. "...Statue-Tory Sick Pay!"
I thank you!
I note that a register for NHS managers was introduced so those dismissed for gross incompetence, criminal behaviour etc could be “struck off” - rather than step into the next job.
Sadly, the Reform stuff will poison the well.
Your idea of a Chartered system has merit. But like a gradual reform and process improvement from within (which I advocate) vs DOGE crap, the difference will be lost.
There’s an issue there. Can’t quite put my finger on it. Anyone can help?
But yes, their service is well down, and pretty much all airlines have now screwed up their loyalty schemes to everyone but their top 5% of pax.
Their economy business could also be about to be eaten by the new “long-short-haul” services, for example Air Arabia flying from Sharjah to Gatwick for £400 return, on an A321. Now I don’t particularly want to spend seven hours in an A321, but if it’s half the price of a BA or Emirates 777, and I’m paying the fare myself…
Reform council spends £600,000 on free parking for its leaders
Kent county council has plans to charge employees £4 a day for parking, weeks after it renovated a courtyard to provide private spaces for top officials
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/reform-councillors-private-parking-spaces-kent-county-council-600k-28t9shvm6
[I'll probably get disqualified, but I couldn't resist]
It's brilliant, really.
If Burnham was a Labour Party MP, then he wouldn't -thanks to Party Rules- be able to continue serving as Mayor of Manchester. But if he was an Independent, then he wouldn't have that issue, right?
I think the Mid east airlines will keep up their standards because they are an advert for the states so worth keeping the prestige but flag carriers elsewhere will reflect the needs and mores of the nation and the financial concerns of the shareholders.
I think he ended up taking a knap though.
Trump is Farage, Farage is Trump. Simples.
Only mugs will fall for Reform have answers to complex problems, and will be strong not weak on value for money.
What a recipe for success.
Not a nice man!
Hold on, I've heard that one in another context.
Then the debate happened, when the President was barely coherent, and they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The blame lies with those around Biden who quite liked having the power to themselves, with an old man as the figurehead not challenging them at all.
Add to which, over the past 20 years, Iranians have gotten poorer and even less free.
The proximate cause of unrest is the fact that oil prices have come down, the regime was weakened by US strikes, and sanctions are biting. There have also been a lot of protests in recent years -such as the one over the killing of the girl by the religious police- so the anger (particularly in urban Iran) is palpable.
And at some point resisting the regime becomes less painful than sticking with it.
Which is a pretty stupid strategy, when you think of it.
If one of them had some courage earler -particularly Harris- then there would have a competitive primary, and who knows what would have happened then.
Experienced BA CC make £60k+, Ryanair CC make minimum wage.
Nobody with actual current power in the Republican party wanted to be the one to stick the knife into Trump either. Except that Trump is impossible to embarass, so the "embarass him on national TV" strategy wasn't an option either.
Sometimes the relevant aphorism isn't that the early bird catches the worm, but that the second mouse gets the cheese.
In a sane world, Mrs Biden would have told him a year out that there was going to be a primary, and perhaps it wasn’t in his best interests to stand again. It was genuinely sad to watch.
A genuine primary would have seen some proper debate within the party.
My biggest fear for 2028, is that again the Dems try and do an Establishment stitchup rather than run a serious primary season to a conclusion.
Being generous, Trump is cleraely less switched on in early 2026 than he was in early 2024, and in turn was less switched on then than he was in 2016.
On the other hand, if you're new, short haul, and working out of Gatwick, you're going to have hellishly long days (significant parts of which you are not getting paid for), few perks and you'll be earning well under half that.
Jensen is likely furious, because Nvidia have been booking fab capacity left, right and centre to produce all those chips. They've also cut supply of GPUs to the gaming market severely enough that some board partners, who take NV GPUs and actually build the graphics cards, are warning they may go out of business.
It's like they still operate a public sector culture.
I just remember Alec Guinness saying that word so reluctantly in Star Wars whenever I hear it...
When UK was in the EU, Ryanair used to do stuff like fly half-empty planes out of Bratislava to Gatwick at 5am, because it meant they could have a Slovak crew paid Slovak wages on UK internal flights.
Hell, the First Officer on most Ryanair flights is paying for the privilege of being there, so indebted is he or she to the airline for training costs.
https://x.com/misperssupport/status/2017402458352267335
31 years ago today, Richard Edwards walked out of a hotel in London, and was never seen again.
Put simply, there are far, far fewer competitive districts than there used to be. And, following the redistricting in California this applies both ways. There is so much wrong with what the Americans still insist is a democracy but if they wanted a place to start redistricting would surely be it.
Most people have gone for 3-20 seats, so I said 0 to be on the edge. I suspect it’s about 5 seats’ swing.
The reality is that the gerrymandering of the US House is now so bad, that there’s very few marginal seats any more.
Strangely, the staff were not impressed.
But the scandal wasn't enough to block Tô Lâm from becoming the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in August 2024.