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  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Bit more detail on the HK re-infection case;

    https://twitter.com/mugecevik/status/1297884940042985472

    False positive, Shirley?

    If he got it the first time and showed symptoms, why would he not have any symptoms second time around if it was not for an immune response?
    You must have missed the earlier reports, which explained that the virus from both tests happened to be sequenced, and were quite clearly genetically distinct.
    Actually if they are two separate strains I’d say that’s not a case of reinfection.
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    isamisam Posts: 41,005
    edited August 2020
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    Rexel56Rexel56 Posts: 807

    Rexel56 said:

    FTTP in remote rural areas is not hard. I have headed a project that has put it into farmhouses miles from the nearest road at an average investment of £600 per property. You stick a mole plough on the back of a tractor, and a reel of 7mm duct, and you cross the moorland ploughing the duct at a rate of about 2km per day - bit lower if you have to cross a deep ghyll or drill under a river. The network requires a green cabinet for every 500 or so properties that have a running cost of £100 per quarter electricity. Network maintenance is minimal until some unsuspecting farmer accidentally digs up the fibre, but that is almost always fixed same day.

    The big issue is wayleave rates to landowners which community projects negotiate away. That’s where the government needs to pay attention. Oh, and making sure that BT give access to its own conduits and poles where that avoids duplicate road, bridge or river crossings. And leaning on Network Rail to open up its fibre to other operators.

    B4RN?
    Indeed

  • Options
    Is there a high chance of shy Trump voters, I'm getting 2016 deja vu
  • Options
    Rexel56 said:

    Rexel56 said:

    FTTP in remote rural areas is not hard. I have headed a project that has put it into farmhouses miles from the nearest road at an average investment of £600 per property. You stick a mole plough on the back of a tractor, and a reel of 7mm duct, and you cross the moorland ploughing the duct at a rate of about 2km per day - bit lower if you have to cross a deep ghyll or drill under a river. The network requires a green cabinet for every 500 or so properties that have a running cost of £100 per quarter electricity. Network maintenance is minimal until some unsuspecting farmer accidentally digs up the fibre, but that is almost always fixed same day.

    The big issue is wayleave rates to landowners which community projects negotiate away. That’s where the government needs to pay attention. Oh, and making sure that BT give access to its own conduits and poles where that avoids duplicate road, bridge or river crossings. And leaning on Network Rail to open up its fibre to other operators.

    B4RN?
    Indeed

    All I can say is well done and I am in deep admiration of your achievements
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    nichomar said:

    ydoethur said:

    HYUFD said:
    Why would you have ‘new’ orchestral arrangements of orchestral pieces?

    Utter madness.
    Any excuse for the BBC to blow smoke up Liverpool's arse
    Just because it is one teams anthem shouldn’t preclude it, the words are quite appropriate for current circumstances.
    It will thoroughly ruin what is an excellent night of songs. I expect it will be broadcast simultaneously on Radio one with Paul O Grady commentating.
    Its been included very frequently for many years now. It is a great song from a musical long before it became associated with the football champions. Oh and its a song that has been adopted by the NHS too this year.
    It is a classic example of how out of touch the BBC are. Other than a small group of elderly liverpudlians the country/NHS does not want to be associated with that song. I expect they will broadcast one hour highlights of Hibernian v Aberdeen to the whole country as well followed by the Gaelic football final of Northern Ireland too. It's daylight license fee extreme left garbage
    Which will be why Captain Tom only made it to Number 1 this year with that song rather than doing better than Number 1 with it?

    Don't be petty and pathetic. Just because you're envious of English football's most successful club of all time and England's current Champions doesn't take away the quality of Oscar Hammerstein II's song of the fact it is both known and beloved up and down the country.

    It is entirely fitting for a night like Last Night which is why it has been repeatedly used and no year could be more appropriate for it than 2020.
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    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,568
    rcs1000 said:

    On topic. @Luckyguy1983 is absolutely correct that many countries (like Taiwan) survive perfectly well with no - or very few - FTAs.

    However, there are certain industries (in particular automotive and its supply chain) who would struggle pretty hard to adjust. So, while there's nothing wrong with No Deal as a planned destination, we would be well advised to have contingency plans in place for those industries, and in particular their employees.

    It makes everything in the chain a bit more expensive. I appreciate that. But I think it forces companies into areas where there are higher margins, and where provenance is an important selling point. There isn't any point in arguing over the pennies like that, giving up big chunks of sovereignty for a few pence off the price of a hundredweight of rivets. That's not where the big money will be made.
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,071
    MaxPB said:

    rcs1000 said:

    MaxPB said:

    MaxPB said:

    Amazon Prime is 15Mbps I stand corrected, although I think they recommend 20 minimum.

    Anyway, I stand by my comments above, 100Mbps will not be enough in a decade's time, not with how bandwidth requirements are scaling

    Not even a decade, I'd guess just a few years. We're heading into the 9th console generation, that alone is going to change the way gamers use the internet.
    Sky is waiting for more prolific FTTP coverage before it releases a non-satellite based TV product. Based on today's storms it might well be more reliable.

    Of course applications like Steam with games in the 100GB range are a slog to download even on a 100Mb connection.

    For me FTTP offers choice, if you want a slow connection you can have one. The scaling is the important thing.

    SpaceX simply does not scale in anything like the same fashion, I do not believe it will ever do 1Gb
    I don't know what the latency is like, satellite has never been good at that. For gamers it's a must have.
    Starlink latency is not bad, because the satellites are so low. (So low, in fact, that they burn up again in the atmosphere after only three or four years.)

    But it's still a lot worse than FTTP.

    Off topic: have you used GeForce Now? I tried OnLive, Stadia, etc., and they were all shit. But GeForce Now is remarkably good, at least where I am in LA.
    I have tried it, not a huge fan tbh. I'm unconvinced that game streaming will ever become a thing. The compromises compared to the £350 box under the TV are just too big. Stadia was also very disappointing.
    Stadia was terrible.

    GeForce now has a number of big advantages over Stadia (and other platforms) - notably the fact that you are able to run all your existing Steam / Epic / UPlay games on it. This means that the cost of entry is free to $5/month, which makes it massively better value than Stadia.

    I played Assassin's Creed Odyssey on my laptop yesterday, and I couldn't tell it was streaming. That's a first for one of these products.

    (I'm still getting the PS5 mind - this just means I can stick with a Chromebook as my laptop.)
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,071
    PPP has quite a big Dem lean, so I wouldn't take that too seriously.
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    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    In any negotiation there is a strong party and a weak party. The UK is the weak party, this is obvious.

    Relatively weak not “weak”.

    But that’s why what the EU is doing is so stupid.

    Now is a great time to strike a deal - they have a relatively strong hand and there is a group in the U.K. who are afraid of no deal.

    If they overplay their hand - which I think they are - and there is “no deal” then they only win if it such a disaster that the U.K. comes crawling back in desperation. I don’t believe it will be that bad, but even if it is I don’t think U.K. culture would permit the government to crawl back. Once the U.K. has been through the disruption of no deal and future deal needs to be win win and so the EU has a relatively weaker hand.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 76,002

    Is there a high chance of shy Trump voters, I'm getting 2016 deja vu

    Work on the same basis as 2016 for shy Trump votes.
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    DennisBetsDennisBets Posts: 244

    nichomar said:

    ydoethur said:

    HYUFD said:
    Why would you have ‘new’ orchestral arrangements of orchestral pieces?

    Utter madness.
    Any excuse for the BBC to blow smoke up Liverpool's arse
    Just because it is one teams anthem shouldn’t preclude it, the words are quite appropriate for current circumstances.
    It will thoroughly ruin what is an excellent night of songs. I expect it will be broadcast simultaneously on Radio one with Paul O Grady commentating.
    Its been included very frequently for many years now. It is a great song from a musical long before it became associated with the football champions. Oh and its a song that has been adopted by the NHS too this year.
    It is a classic example of how out of touch the BBC are. Other than a small group of elderly liverpudlians the country/NHS does not want to be associated with that song. I expect they will broadcast one hour highlights of Hibernian v Aberdeen to the whole country as well followed by the Gaelic football final of Northern Ireland too. It's daylight license fee extreme left garbage
    Which will be why Captain Tom only made it to Number 1 this year with that song rather than doing better than Number 1 with it?

    Don't be petty and pathetic. Just because you're envious of English football's most successful club of all time and England's current Champions doesn't take away the quality of Oscar Hammerstein II's song of the fact it is both known and beloved up and down the country.

    It is entirely fitting for a night like Last Night which is why it has been repeatedly used and no year could be more appropriate for it than 2020.
    There is nothing petty or pathetic about it. People going along with opinions like this one is why we get such crap from our primary broadcaster. It is people like you who vote for Miranda on TV awards night. Just look inside your heart, dont be afraid of the dark and admit its a pile of crap and we are fed up being patronised by the BBC and its choice of Liverpool or Scotland as the centre of the world.
  • Options
    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 76,002
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    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,568
    MaxPB said:

    The answer is no, the UK economy needs to adapt to the new reality, not hold on to one that is never fully coming back.
    The German scheme is also different, because it pays people to work, not not to work. That makes it easier to sustain but harder to cut off. Not sure about the French one.
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    bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,900

    "The EU has more to lose than us if there is no trade deal"

    If trade with the EU ceases

    UK loses £300bn of exports (shit loads)
    Germany £78bn (chicken feed)
    France £47bn (bugger all)
    Spain £34bn (a drop in the Mediterranean)
    Italy £26bn (complete irrelevance)

    Hence we hold all the carders are deluded thick f**kers

    All trade is never going to cease but were it to do so there would be import substitutions.

    UK gains £372bn of import substitution (more than shit loads) - net £72bn gain (shit loads)
    Germany gains £57bn - net £21bn lost
    France £40bn - net loss
    Spain £16bn - net £15bn loss
    Italy £19bn - net £7bn loss

    Hence we all hold all the cards funny f**ker.
    Quite. There's quite a high PB correlation, even within the very comments, of thick posts by people using the word 'thick'.
    You just used it twice in one sentence so perhaps you are right,

    Which country has most to lose from a no deal BREXIT?
    Which country has the most to *save* from a no deal BREXIT? I'll answer if you do. :)

    The fact is, you've been getting away with specious nonsense by listing off exports without taking into account that every export from one country is money spent on imports by another. Well done and everything, but it got called out in this thread, so I'd be tempted leave this and come back another day.
    Not at all lets discuss total trade

    We have £300bn exports (43% of our total) and £372bn imports 57% of our total (ie a hell of a lot) at stake.
    Germany has £78bn exports and £57bn imports ( in % terms bugger all) at stake

    To every other EU nation we are even more insignificant in their total % trade terms

    If you cant understand that, its your problem.

    #Wedon'tholdmanycards
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 117,168
    The problem for France and Germany and hence the Eurozone is that will lead to jaw dropping levels of debt for them, now lockdown has eased you cannot subsidise jobs that are not coming back forever, you need to train and reskill those who have lost their jobs to find new ones
  • Options

    "The EU has more to lose than us if there is no trade deal"

    If trade with the EU ceases

    UK loses £300bn of exports (shit loads)
    Germany £78bn (chicken feed)
    France £47bn (bugger all)
    Spain £34bn (a drop in the Mediterranean)
    Italy £26bn (complete irrelevance)

    Hence we hold all the carders are deluded thick f**kers

    All trade is never going to cease but were it to do so there would be import substitutions.

    UK gains £372bn of import substitution (more than shit loads) - net £72bn gain (shit loads)
    Germany gains £57bn - net £21bn lost
    France £40bn - net loss
    Spain £16bn - net £15bn loss
    Italy £19bn - net £7bn loss

    Hence we all hold all the cards funny f**ker.
    Quite. There's quite a high PB correlation, even within the very comments, of thick posts by people using the word 'thick'.
    You just used it twice in one sentence so perhaps you are right,

    Which country has most to lose from a no deal BREXIT?
    Which country has the most to *save* from a no deal BREXIT? I'll answer if you do. :)

    The fact is, you've been getting away with specious nonsense by listing off exports without taking into account that every export from one country is money spent on imports by another. Well done and everything, but it got called out in this thread, so I'd be tempted leave this and come back another day.
    Not at all lets discuss total trade

    We have £300bn exports (43% of our total) and £372bn imports 57% of our total (ie a hell of a lot) at stake.
    Germany has £78bn exports and £57bn imports ( in % terms bugger all) at stake

    To every other EU nation we are even more insignificant in their total % trade terms

    If you cant understand that, its your problem.

    #Wedon'tholdmanycards
    That's a card in the UK's favour. This means a lot to the UK so we have little reason to compromise because doing so would affect us more. If it doesn't mean much to Germany then we should hold off and they can compromise because its not such an inconvenience to them if they do and they'd rather keep their trade surplus.
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    Let's call off a deal now then and go straight to No Deal, only sunny uplands await us
  • Options
    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    edited August 2020

    nichomar said:

    ydoethur said:

    HYUFD said:
    Why would you have ‘new’ orchestral arrangements of orchestral pieces?

    Utter madness.
    Any excuse for the BBC to blow smoke up Liverpool's arse
    Just because it is one teams anthem shouldn’t preclude it, the words are quite appropriate for current circumstances.
    It will thoroughly ruin what is an excellent night of songs. I expect it will be broadcast simultaneously on Radio one with Paul O Grady commentating.
    Its been included very frequently for many years now. It is a great song from a musical long before it became associated with the football champions. Oh and its a song that has been adopted by the NHS too this year.
    It is a classic example of how out of touch the BBC are. Other than a small group of elderly liverpudlians the country/NHS does not want to be associated with that song. I expect they will broadcast one hour highlights of Hibernian v Aberdeen to the whole country as well followed by the Gaelic football final of Northern Ireland too. It's daylight license fee extreme left garbage
    Which will be why Captain Tom only made it to Number 1 this year with that song rather than doing better than Number 1 with it?

    Don't be petty and pathetic. Just because you're envious of English football's most successful club of all time and England's current Champions doesn't take away the quality of Oscar Hammerstein II's song of the fact it is both known and beloved up and down the country.

    It is entirely fitting for a night like Last Night which is why it has been repeatedly used and no year could be more appropriate for it than 2020.
    There is nothing petty or pathetic about it. People going along with opinions like this one is why we get such crap from our primary broadcaster. It is people like you who vote for Miranda on TV awards night. Just look inside your heart, dont be afraid of the dark and admit its a pile of crap and we are fed up being patronised by the BBC and its choice of Liverpool or Scotland as the centre of the world.
    I'll play a violin to go with your sorrow, here it is in actual life size: 🎻
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,071

    "The EU has more to lose than us if there is no trade deal"

    If trade with the EU ceases

    UK loses £300bn of exports (shit loads)
    Germany £78bn (chicken feed)
    France £47bn (bugger all)
    Spain £34bn (a drop in the Mediterranean)
    Italy £26bn (complete irrelevance)

    Hence we hold all the carders are deluded thick f**kers

    All trade is never going to cease but were it to do so there would be import substitutions.

    UK gains £372bn of import substitution (more than shit loads) - net £72bn gain (shit loads)
    Germany gains £57bn - net £21bn lost
    France £40bn - net loss
    Spain £16bn - net £15bn loss
    Italy £19bn - net £7bn loss

    Hence we all hold all the cards funny f**ker.
    Quite. There's quite a high PB correlation, even within the very comments, of thick posts by people using the word 'thick'.
    You just used it twice in one sentence so perhaps you are right,

    Which country has most to lose from a no deal BREXIT?
    Which country has the most to *save* from a no deal BREXIT? I'll answer if you do. :)

    The fact is, you've been getting away with specious nonsense by listing off exports without taking into account that every export from one country is money spent on imports by another. Well done and everything, but it got called out in this thread, so I'd be tempted leave this and come back another day.
    Not at all lets discuss total trade

    We have £300bn exports (43% of our total) and £372bn imports 57% of our total (ie a hell of a lot) at stake.
    Germany has £78bn exports and £57bn imports ( in % terms bugger all) at stake

    To every other EU nation we are even more insignificant in their total % trade terms

    If you cant understand that, its your problem.

    #Wedon'tholdmanycards
    That's a card in the UK's favour. This means a lot to the UK so we have little reason to compromise because doing so would affect us more. If it doesn't mean much to Germany then we should hold off and they can compromise because its not such an inconvenience to them if they do and they'd rather keep their trade surplus.
    Doesn't that depend on how fungible your exports are? If you are selling oil, then one country cutting you off makes no difference because your oil is fungible and can be sold anywhere. By contrast, if you sell one thing that has no market anywhere else, then it's a big fucking deal.
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    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,413
    Charles said:

    ydoethur said:

    tlg86 said:

    First like the draw in the cricket.

    If the rain could bugger off to Taunton, that would be immensely helpful.

    Disappointing to abandon our discussion about large organs in favour of a thread about the world's largest organ.
    Talking about disappointment I’m shocked that a fine upstanding historian such as yourself doesn’t know your Chretien de Troyes from your Robert de Boron
    I said it grew out of the medieval romances of Chretien de Troyes.

    Which it did.

    Boron took an element in Troyes’ legendarium and elaborated it.
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    HYUFD said:

    The problem for France and Germany and hence the Eurozone is that will lead to jaw dropping levels of debt for them, now lockdown has eased you cannot subsidise jobs that are not coming back forever, you need to train and reskill those who have lost their jobs to find new ones
    We agree on this HYUFD
  • Options

    Let's call off a deal now then and go straight to No Deal, only sunny uplands await us

    If the EU don't change their mandate for Barnier then yes I completely agree, we're on the same page.
  • Options
    MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,631
    rcs1000 said:

    MaxPB said:

    rcs1000 said:

    MaxPB said:

    MaxPB said:

    Amazon Prime is 15Mbps I stand corrected, although I think they recommend 20 minimum.

    Anyway, I stand by my comments above, 100Mbps will not be enough in a decade's time, not with how bandwidth requirements are scaling

    Not even a decade, I'd guess just a few years. We're heading into the 9th console generation, that alone is going to change the way gamers use the internet.
    Sky is waiting for more prolific FTTP coverage before it releases a non-satellite based TV product. Based on today's storms it might well be more reliable.

    Of course applications like Steam with games in the 100GB range are a slog to download even on a 100Mb connection.

    For me FTTP offers choice, if you want a slow connection you can have one. The scaling is the important thing.

    SpaceX simply does not scale in anything like the same fashion, I do not believe it will ever do 1Gb
    I don't know what the latency is like, satellite has never been good at that. For gamers it's a must have.
    Starlink latency is not bad, because the satellites are so low. (So low, in fact, that they burn up again in the atmosphere after only three or four years.)

    But it's still a lot worse than FTTP.

    Off topic: have you used GeForce Now? I tried OnLive, Stadia, etc., and they were all shit. But GeForce Now is remarkably good, at least where I am in LA.
    I have tried it, not a huge fan tbh. I'm unconvinced that game streaming will ever become a thing. The compromises compared to the £350 box under the TV are just too big. Stadia was also very disappointing.
    Stadia was terrible.

    GeForce now has a number of big advantages over Stadia (and other platforms) - notably the fact that you are able to run all your existing Steam / Epic / UPlay games on it. This means that the cost of entry is free to $5/month, which makes it massively better value than Stadia.

    I played Assassin's Creed Odyssey on my laptop yesterday, and I couldn't tell it was streaming. That's a first for one of these products.

    (I'm still getting the PS5 mind - this just means I can stick with a Chromebook as my laptop.)
    Odyssey is a game suited to it though, I wouldn't want to play Dark Souls on it and try and master the block or dodge timing.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,071
    That last one, the Tweet is incorrect. The poll is not a National One, but looks at six "battleground states", all of which are currently Republican.
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    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,568

    "The EU has more to lose than us if there is no trade deal"

    If trade with the EU ceases

    UK loses £300bn of exports (shit loads)
    Germany £78bn (chicken feed)
    France £47bn (bugger all)
    Spain £34bn (a drop in the Mediterranean)
    Italy £26bn (complete irrelevance)

    Hence we hold all the carders are deluded thick f**kers

    All trade is never going to cease but were it to do so there would be import substitutions.

    UK gains £372bn of import substitution (more than shit loads) - net £72bn gain (shit loads)
    Germany gains £57bn - net £21bn lost
    France £40bn - net loss
    Spain £16bn - net £15bn loss
    Italy £19bn - net £7bn loss

    Hence we all hold all the cards funny f**ker.
    Quite. There's quite a high PB correlation, even within the very comments, of thick posts by people using the word 'thick'.
    You just used it twice in one sentence so perhaps you are right,

    Which country has most to lose from a no deal BREXIT?
    Which country has the most to *save* from a no deal BREXIT? I'll answer if you do. :)

    The fact is, you've been getting away with specious nonsense by listing off exports without taking into account that every export from one country is money spent on imports by another. Well done and everything, but it got called out in this thread, so I'd be tempted leave this and come back another day.
    Not at all lets discuss total trade

    We have £300bn exports (43% of our total) and £372bn imports 57% of our total (ie a hell of a lot) at stake.
    Germany has £78bn exports and £57bn imports ( in % terms bugger all) at stake

    To every other EU nation we are even more insignificant in their total % trade terms

    If you cant understand that, its your problem.

    #Wedon'tholdmanycards
    What I don't understand is why you've added an apostrophe to your hashtag, which breaks it (your resulting hashtag is #Wedon), but not given any apostrophes to the sentence above it, which should have two. Perhaps it's some form of commentary on the unequal nature of trade with the EU.

    As for the rest of the post, I'm not feeling mean enough to comment. I accept that you feel very passionate about the issue, as do I.
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    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,798
    Relative weakness and strength isn't a big feature of this negotiation where neither side is particularly desperate for a deal.

    The key EU goal is to protect itself from the depredations of British buccaneers. Which it can do by cutting the UK off from its market. A deal would nice if the UK can come up with a satisfactory to the EU level playing field arrangement. If it doesn't the EU will live without one.

    Which incidentally is why weekend spin about the EU underestimating the UK's resolve misses the mark. A deal is only possible if the UK actually is bluffing.

    The Brexiteer UK government doesn't see the value in a deal for reasons of ideology.

    I suspect (very strongly) that No Deal is unsustainable and the UK will eventually knuckle down, but that would come later.
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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,147
    HYUFD said:

    The problem for France and Germany and hence the Eurozone is that will lead to jaw dropping levels of debt for them, now lockdown has eased you cannot subsidise jobs that are not coming back forever, you need to train and reskill those who have lost their jobs to find new ones
    We could retrain retail workers as customs agents. #joinedupgovernment
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    isam said:
    Tom Watson says "hi" too :)
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,071
    MaxPB said:

    rcs1000 said:

    MaxPB said:

    rcs1000 said:

    MaxPB said:

    MaxPB said:

    Amazon Prime is 15Mbps I stand corrected, although I think they recommend 20 minimum.

    Anyway, I stand by my comments above, 100Mbps will not be enough in a decade's time, not with how bandwidth requirements are scaling

    Not even a decade, I'd guess just a few years. We're heading into the 9th console generation, that alone is going to change the way gamers use the internet.
    Sky is waiting for more prolific FTTP coverage before it releases a non-satellite based TV product. Based on today's storms it might well be more reliable.

    Of course applications like Steam with games in the 100GB range are a slog to download even on a 100Mb connection.

    For me FTTP offers choice, if you want a slow connection you can have one. The scaling is the important thing.

    SpaceX simply does not scale in anything like the same fashion, I do not believe it will ever do 1Gb
    I don't know what the latency is like, satellite has never been good at that. For gamers it's a must have.
    Starlink latency is not bad, because the satellites are so low. (So low, in fact, that they burn up again in the atmosphere after only three or four years.)

    But it's still a lot worse than FTTP.

    Off topic: have you used GeForce Now? I tried OnLive, Stadia, etc., and they were all shit. But GeForce Now is remarkably good, at least where I am in LA.
    I have tried it, not a huge fan tbh. I'm unconvinced that game streaming will ever become a thing. The compromises compared to the £350 box under the TV are just too big. Stadia was also very disappointing.
    Stadia was terrible.

    GeForce now has a number of big advantages over Stadia (and other platforms) - notably the fact that you are able to run all your existing Steam / Epic / UPlay games on it. This means that the cost of entry is free to $5/month, which makes it massively better value than Stadia.

    I played Assassin's Creed Odyssey on my laptop yesterday, and I couldn't tell it was streaming. That's a first for one of these products.

    (I'm still getting the PS5 mind - this just means I can stick with a Chromebook as my laptop.)
    Odyssey is a game suited to it though, I wouldn't want to play Dark Souls on it and try and master the block or dodge timing.
    I wouldn't want to play Dark Souls at all.
  • Options
    bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,900

    Let's call off a deal now then and go straight to No Deal, only sunny uplands await us

    If the EU don't change their mandate for Barnier then yes I completely agree, we're on the same page.
    I think he was taking the piss out of you Philip
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    glwglw Posts: 9,554
    rcs1000 said:

    YouTube streams 4K in about half that bandwidth (albeit with some noticeable compression artifacts).

    Also, Starlink is scalable: you simply put up more satellites.

    Now, will it replace FTTP for high density urban areas? No. Does it provide the most sensible way to get 100mb/second to rural areas? Yes, probably.

    Yes the work Starlink seems to have been inspired by was an analysis of a LEO constellation where each satellite would have something like 1 Tb/s capacity across something like a total of 10 GHz of bandwidth (and many spots/beams) utitising several different chunks of spectrum. A full constellation of say 10k satellites would deliver 10 Pb/s capacity. With laser links between satellites there would be situations where it would even deliver lower latencies for distant networks than fibre, as light travels quite a bit faster in a vacuum than in glass.

    It all sounded a bit mad when I first read it, but now there are several companies trying to build such systems.

    Radio as an internet connection is quite underrated, I suspect that there are more people in the UK who can get 100 Mb/s or more on their phone (at least some of the time) than there are people with similar speed fixed connections. Some of the fastest end-user speeds I've ever seen reported are for 5G in the UK.
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    FF43 said:

    Relative weakness and strength isn't a big feature of this negotiation where neither side is particularly desperate for a deal.

    The key EU goal is to protect itself from the depredations of British buccaneers. Which it can do by cutting the UK off from its market. A deal would nice if the UK can come up with a satisfactory to the EU level playing field arrangement. If it doesn't the EU will live without one.

    Which incidentally is why weekend spin about the EU underestimating the UK's resolve misses the mark. A deal is only possible if the UK actually is bluffing.

    The Brexiteer UK government doesn't see the value in a deal for reasons of ideology.

    I suspect (very strongly) that No Deal is unsustainable and the UK will eventually knuckle down, but that would come later.

    the depredations of British buccaneers

    Can you explain what that means in reality.
  • Options
    rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,436
    "It can now safely be said, as his first term in the White House draws toward closure, that Donald Trump’s party is the very definition of a cult of personality. It stands for no special ideal. It possesses no organizing principle. It represents no detailed vision for governing. Filling the vacuum is a lazy, identity-based populism that draws from that lowest common denominator Sanford alluded to. If it agitates the base, if it lights up a Fox News chyron, if it serves to alienate sturdy real Americans from delicate coastal elites, then it’s got a place in the Grand Old Party."


    https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/24/republicanmeltdown-trump-convention-400039

    GOP have no platform (ie manifesto) for this Fall's election. None. Nothing. Zilch. Other than they support Trump.

  • Options
    FF43 said:

    Relative weakness and strength isn't a big feature of this negotiation where neither side is particularly desperate for a deal.

    The key EU goal is to protect itself from the depredations of British buccaneers. Which it can do by cutting the UK off from its market. A deal would nice if the UK can come up with a satisfactory to the EU level playing field arrangement. If it doesn't the EU will live without one.

    Which incidentally is why weekend spin about the EU underestimating the UK's resolve misses the mark. A deal is only possible if the UK actually is bluffing.

    The Brexiteer UK government doesn't see the value in a deal for reasons of ideology.

    I suspect (very strongly) that No Deal is unsustainable and the UK will eventually knuckle down, but that would come later.

    The EU can't cut the UK off from its market. Even if the UK leaves transition with No Deal we will still have access to the EUs market, just subject to an average of 2% tariffs. An average of 2% tariffs can't prevent British buccaneering, especially when Sterling would probably fall by more than 2% on the news that there is to be No Deal meaning that buccaneering Britain will be able to export more competitively than they could pre-Brexit with only new customs issues to deal with; while EU exporters trying to cling on to their trade surplus will be hit by a triple whammy of currency appreciation, tariffs and new customs etc

    Which is why the EU is bluffing. Because the UK is seeking to gain from Brexit, we know what we want to gain, but the EU has nothing to gain and can only lose from here. They are in a state of zugzwang. If they concede in the talks then they lose the initiative, but if they walk away then they are walking away from any attempt to control Britain, walking away from our waters and everything else they are trying to gain from these talks.

    Whereas if we walk away we know what we gain: control of our laws, control of our courts, control of our money, customs, trade - all those issues debated for the past 5 years. They have none of that.

    #WeHoldAllTheCards
  • Options
    FF43 said:

    Relative weakness and strength isn't a big feature of this negotiation where neither side is particularly desperate for a deal.

    The key EU goal is to protect itself from the depredations of British buccaneers. Which it can do by cutting the UK off from its market. A deal would nice if the UK can come up with a satisfactory to the EU level playing field arrangement. If it doesn't the EU will live without one.

    Which incidentally is why weekend spin about the EU underestimating the UK's resolve misses the mark. A deal is only possible if the UK actually is bluffing.

    The Brexiteer UK government doesn't see the value in a deal for reasons of ideology.

    I suspect (very strongly) that No Deal is unsustainable and the UK will eventually knuckle down, but that would come later.

    There are calls from the UK and European transport industry for an urgent agreement to prevent the delay at ports post 1st January

    Barnier may not care, but the business, ports, and truckers on both sides of the channel will not forgive politicians if they allow miles of static queues at ports in the UK- Ireland - France - Belgium - Spain and others from 1st January
  • Options
    rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,436
    rcs1000 said:

    That last one, the Tweet is incorrect. The poll is not a National One, but looks at six "battleground states", all of which are currently Republican.
    Thanks. That explains things.

    Still, as a Trump-hater, I'm very very nervous the polling 'aint right.
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    MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,631
    rcs1000 said:

    MaxPB said:

    rcs1000 said:

    MaxPB said:

    rcs1000 said:

    MaxPB said:

    MaxPB said:

    Amazon Prime is 15Mbps I stand corrected, although I think they recommend 20 minimum.

    Anyway, I stand by my comments above, 100Mbps will not be enough in a decade's time, not with how bandwidth requirements are scaling

    Not even a decade, I'd guess just a few years. We're heading into the 9th console generation, that alone is going to change the way gamers use the internet.
    Sky is waiting for more prolific FTTP coverage before it releases a non-satellite based TV product. Based on today's storms it might well be more reliable.

    Of course applications like Steam with games in the 100GB range are a slog to download even on a 100Mb connection.

    For me FTTP offers choice, if you want a slow connection you can have one. The scaling is the important thing.

    SpaceX simply does not scale in anything like the same fashion, I do not believe it will ever do 1Gb
    I don't know what the latency is like, satellite has never been good at that. For gamers it's a must have.
    Starlink latency is not bad, because the satellites are so low. (So low, in fact, that they burn up again in the atmosphere after only three or four years.)

    But it's still a lot worse than FTTP.

    Off topic: have you used GeForce Now? I tried OnLive, Stadia, etc., and they were all shit. But GeForce Now is remarkably good, at least where I am in LA.
    I have tried it, not a huge fan tbh. I'm unconvinced that game streaming will ever become a thing. The compromises compared to the £350 box under the TV are just too big. Stadia was also very disappointing.
    Stadia was terrible.

    GeForce now has a number of big advantages over Stadia (and other platforms) - notably the fact that you are able to run all your existing Steam / Epic / UPlay games on it. This means that the cost of entry is free to $5/month, which makes it massively better value than Stadia.

    I played Assassin's Creed Odyssey on my laptop yesterday, and I couldn't tell it was streaming. That's a first for one of these products.

    (I'm still getting the PS5 mind - this just means I can stick with a Chromebook as my laptop.)
    Odyssey is a game suited to it though, I wouldn't want to play Dark Souls on it and try and master the block or dodge timing.
    I wouldn't want to play Dark Souls at all.
    Your loss! When you get a PS5 you should get Demon's Souls, it's still my favourite of the genre. However, beware of getting addicted to the gameplay style and then hating every other type of combat in action games. :D
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    What is it about Gavin Williamson that he looks like he is going to burst into tears at any moment

    He needs to go
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    Let's call off a deal now then and go straight to No Deal, only sunny uplands await us

    If the EU don't change their mandate for Barnier then yes I completely agree, we're on the same page.
    I think he was taking the piss out of you Philip
    I get that, but its nice to be able to agree with Horse from time to time.
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    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,568

    isam said:
    Tom Watson says "hi" too :)
    From what I can gather (and it's not something I particularly want to focus on or talk about), there was quite a big issue with politician child abusers in that era - there certainly was one with media figures as we now know. I don't know anything about Carl Beech or his allegations, but I do think if I were trying to hush up the issue, I'd probably get some vaguely plausible nutter to convince everyone that he'd been abused by the Duke of Kent, Ronald Mcdonald, the Right Reverend Robert Runcie, Mother Theresa etc., and then to have it all implode and collapse in a big mess. It would definitely discourage others.
  • Options

    What is it about Gavin Williamson that he looks like he is going to burst into tears at any moment

    He needs to go

    He's a manchild
  • Options
    bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,900

    "The EU has more to lose than us if there is no trade deal"

    If trade with the EU ceases

    UK loses £300bn of exports (shit loads)
    Germany £78bn (chicken feed)
    France £47bn (bugger all)
    Spain £34bn (a drop in the Mediterranean)
    Italy £26bn (complete irrelevance)

    Hence we hold all the carders are deluded thick f**kers

    All trade is never going to cease but were it to do so there would be import substitutions.

    UK gains £372bn of import substitution (more than shit loads) - net £72bn gain (shit loads)
    Germany gains £57bn - net £21bn lost
    France £40bn - net loss
    Spain £16bn - net £15bn loss
    Italy £19bn - net £7bn loss

    Hence we all hold all the cards funny f**ker.
    Quite. There's quite a high PB correlation, even within the very comments, of thick posts by people using the word 'thick'.
    You just used it twice in one sentence so perhaps you are right,

    Which country has most to lose from a no deal BREXIT?
    Which country has the most to *save* from a no deal BREXIT? I'll answer if you do. :)

    The fact is, you've been getting away with specious nonsense by listing off exports without taking into account that every export from one country is money spent on imports by another. Well done and everything, but it got called out in this thread, so I'd be tempted leave this and come back another day.
    Not at all lets discuss total trade

    We have £300bn exports (43% of our total) and £372bn imports 57% of our total (ie a hell of a lot) at stake.
    Germany has £78bn exports and £57bn imports ( in % terms bugger all) at stake

    To every other EU nation we are even more insignificant in their total % trade terms

    If you cant understand that, its your problem.

    #Wedon'tholdmanycards
    What I don't understand is why you've added an apostrophe to your hashtag, which breaks it (your resulting hashtag is #Wedon), but not given any apostrophes to the sentence above it, which should have two. Perhaps it's some form of commentary on the unequal nature of trade with the EU.

    As for the rest of the post, I'm not feeling mean enough to comment. I accept that you feel very passionate about the issue, as do I.
    Lets put it another way

    If a cricket match is 86 overs per day the match is 5 days long and its going to rain for 3.5 days

    350 overs is not ever going to be the right answer. !!

    Apologies for mentioning that and have a good evening Lucky Guy.

    #theweatherholdsallthecards
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    HYUFD said:

    nichomar said:

    HYUFD said:

    nichomar said:

    HYUFD said:

    That should kill any remaining tourism stone dead:

    https://twitter.com/standardnews/status/1297931318332923905?s=20

    Fine but France is the nation most visited by tourists in the world, the UK is only the 10th most visited nation (though London is the 3rd most visited city)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_international_visitors
    That can’t be true we’re better than they are
    We had and arguably still have a bigger economy but they have Paris, the Alps for skiing, the south of France with better weather for their beaches as well as more countryside and still history like we have with their chateaux and museums
    But they don’t have the Queen, so they can’t have more visitors, surely.
    People go to the South of France for sunnier weathier, to the Alps for Skiing etc, none of which we have. There are not that many celebrities taking their yachts to the North Sea and English Channel compared to the Mediterranean

    As I posted too more people go to London than to Paris, so if we did not have the Royal Family and royal weddings and jubilees etc centred on London we would have even fewer visitors relative to France
    That makes no sense at all.

    You do realise don't you that Versailles is not in Paris? So Versailles is regularly getting tourists precisely because France doesn't have a monarch clogging up the Palace and blocking it from access to tourists? But they don't appear in Paris's tourism figures precisely because its not in Paris. That undermines your argument and goes to why the whole of France gets more tourism than we do.

    If we had no monarchy we could open up Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace to tourism every day of the year just like Versailles gets.

    Which do you think gets more annual visits by tourists - Versailles, Buckingham or Windsor? Its not even close.
    Windsor is open all year round
  • Options
    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,798

    FF43 said:

    Relative weakness and strength isn't a big feature of this negotiation where neither side is particularly desperate for a deal.

    The key EU goal is to protect itself from the depredations of British buccaneers. Which it can do by cutting the UK off from its market. A deal would nice if the UK can come up with a satisfactory to the EU level playing field arrangement. If it doesn't the EU will live without one.

    Which incidentally is why weekend spin about the EU underestimating the UK's resolve misses the mark. A deal is only possible if the UK actually is bluffing.

    The Brexiteer UK government doesn't see the value in a deal for reasons of ideology.

    I suspect (very strongly) that No Deal is unsustainable and the UK will eventually knuckle down, but that would come later.

    There are calls from the UK and European transport industry for an urgent agreement to prevent the delay at ports post 1st January

    Barnier may not care, but the business, ports, and truckers on both sides of the channel will not forgive politicians if they allow miles of static queues at ports in the UK- Ireland - France - Belgium - Spain and others from 1st January
    The UK government will deal with delays at ports by effectively making it difficult for UK companies to export. Which might sound crazy but it's what's happening. Companies that used to export to the continent will give up because it's too expensive and too difficult. The same for EU exporters to the UK, although it will be less traumatic for them as they still have other easy export options.
  • Options
    bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,900
    The Weather in Tampa Bay right now is horrendous.

    MLB live on BT Sports 1
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    nichomarnichomar Posts: 7,483
    Charles said:

    HYUFD said:

    nichomar said:

    HYUFD said:

    nichomar said:

    HYUFD said:

    That should kill any remaining tourism stone dead:

    https://twitter.com/standardnews/status/1297931318332923905?s=20

    Fine but France is the nation most visited by tourists in the world, the UK is only the 10th most visited nation (though London is the 3rd most visited city)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_international_visitors
    That can’t be true we’re better than they are
    We had and arguably still have a bigger economy but they have Paris, the Alps for skiing, the south of France with better weather for their beaches as well as more countryside and still history like we have with their chateaux and museums
    But they don’t have the Queen, so they can’t have more visitors, surely.
    People go to the South of France for sunnier weathier, to the Alps for Skiing etc, none of which we have. There are not that many celebrities taking their yachts to the North Sea and English Channel compared to the Mediterranean

    As I posted too more people go to London than to Paris, so if we did not have the Royal Family and royal weddings and jubilees etc centred on London we would have even fewer visitors relative to France
    That makes no sense at all.

    You do realise don't you that Versailles is not in Paris? So Versailles is regularly getting tourists precisely because France doesn't have a monarch clogging up the Palace and blocking it from access to tourists? But they don't appear in Paris's tourism figures precisely because its not in Paris. That undermines your argument and goes to why the whole of France gets more tourism than we do.

    If we had no monarchy we could open up Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace to tourism every day of the year just like Versailles gets.

    Which do you think gets more annual visits by tourists - Versailles, Buckingham or Windsor? Its not even close.
    Windsor is open all year round
    But has restricted access when HMQ is there.
  • Options
    rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,436

    What is it about Gavin Williamson that he looks like he is going to burst into tears at any moment

    He needs to go

    He is now there to be sacked if/when school opening goes badly wrong next week.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,071

    isam said:
    Tom Watson says "hi" too :)
    From what I can gather (and it's not something I particularly want to focus on or talk about), there was quite a big issue with politician child abusers in that era - there certainly was one with media figures as we now know. I don't know anything about Carl Beech or his allegations, but I do think if I were trying to hush up the issue, I'd probably get some vaguely plausible nutter to convince everyone that he'd been abused by the Duke of Kent, Ronald Mcdonald, the Right Reverend Robert Runcie, Mother Theresa etc., and then to have it all implode and collapse in a big mess. It would definitely discourage others.
    So... what you're saying is that if they find evidence of child abuse, then it proves these guys were paedophiles, and if they don't then it proves they're really clever paedophiles who can run a false flag operation to discredit future allegations.

    Smart.

    Have you considered joining QAnon?
  • Options
    rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,436
    IanB2 said:
    Do we have borrowing fingers for the FR state for a 2 year scheme?
  • Options
    bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,900

    Let's call off a deal now then and go straight to No Deal, only sunny uplands await us

    If the EU don't change their mandate for Barnier then yes I completely agree, we're on the same page.
    I think he was taking the piss out of you Philip
    I get that, but its nice to be able to agree with Horse from time to time.
    LOL In fairness I probably agree on more things with you than with him ATM
  • Options
    I'm trying to figure out how school re-opening will go "badly", are people suggesting they don't open at all?
  • Options
    stodgestodge Posts: 12,895

    "It can now safely be said, as his first term in the White House draws toward closure, that Donald Trump’s party is the very definition of a cult of personality. It stands for no special ideal. It possesses no organizing principle. It represents no detailed vision for governing. Filling the vacuum is a lazy, identity-based populism that draws from that lowest common denominator Sanford alluded to. If it agitates the base, if it lights up a Fox News chyron, if it serves to alienate sturdy real Americans from delicate coastal elites, then it’s got a place in the Grand Old Party."


    https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/24/republicanmeltdown-trump-convention-400039

    GOP have no platform (ie manifesto) for this Fall's election. None. Nothing. Zilch. Other than they support Trump.

    What's going to happen if/when Trump loses? Presumably, he could take the GOP's Senate control with him leaving the Democrats in control of all three Executive branches for at least two years.

    How and in what way does the GOP rebuild? Will the pro-Trump State and local officials melt away or will the "establishment" GOP make a bid to regain control?

    As we see, of course, Party loyalty is often easily transferrable and those who cheer Trump to the rafters now will cheer an establishment GOP candidate just as loudly when the time comes.
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    Land of Hope and Glory is always played as an orchestral piece the audience sings along to (with encouragement from the conductor). I wouldn’t be surprised if there is singing anyway
  • Options
    SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,723
    After last night's revelations of the new front of the battle of wokerdom against the world, I now find myself obsessing over whether PBers end their posts with a full stop or not.

    I need to stop this.
  • Options
    nichomarnichomar Posts: 7,483
    rcs1000 said:

    isam said:
    Tom Watson says "hi" too :)
    From what I can gather (and it's not something I particularly want to focus on or talk about), there was quite a big issue with politician child abusers in that era - there certainly was one with media figures as we now know. I don't know anything about Carl Beech or his allegations, but I do think if I were trying to hush up the issue, I'd probably get some vaguely plausible nutter to convince everyone that he'd been abused by the Duke of Kent, Ronald Mcdonald, the Right Reverend Robert Runcie, Mother Theresa etc., and then to have it all implode and collapse in a big mess. It would definitely discourage others.
    So... what you're saying is that if they find evidence of child abuse, then it proves these guys were paedophiles, and if they don't then it proves they're really clever paedophiles who can run a false flag operation to discredit future allegations.

    Smart.

    Have you considered joining QAnon?
    There was an undercurrent at the time that some sort of network existed, no proof was ever forthcoming and the Beech affair puts it to bed indefinitely. But as Lucky says it’s not something that requires focus.
  • Options
    FF43 said:

    FF43 said:

    Relative weakness and strength isn't a big feature of this negotiation where neither side is particularly desperate for a deal.

    The key EU goal is to protect itself from the depredations of British buccaneers. Which it can do by cutting the UK off from its market. A deal would nice if the UK can come up with a satisfactory to the EU level playing field arrangement. If it doesn't the EU will live without one.

    Which incidentally is why weekend spin about the EU underestimating the UK's resolve misses the mark. A deal is only possible if the UK actually is bluffing.

    The Brexiteer UK government doesn't see the value in a deal for reasons of ideology.

    I suspect (very strongly) that No Deal is unsustainable and the UK will eventually knuckle down, but that would come later.

    There are calls from the UK and European transport industry for an urgent agreement to prevent the delay at ports post 1st January

    Barnier may not care, but the business, ports, and truckers on both sides of the channel will not forgive politicians if they allow miles of static queues at ports in the UK- Ireland - France - Belgium - Spain and others from 1st January
    The UK government will deal with delays at ports by effectively making it difficult for UK companies to export. Which might sound crazy but it's what's happening. Companies that used to export to the continent will give up because it's too expensive and too difficult. The same for EU exporters to the UK, although it will be less traumatic for them as they still have other easy export options.
    With respect that is nonsense

    UK exporters will continue to sell into Europe albeit with tariffs and EU exporters will continue to sell into the UK market, just the process will be less efficient
  • Options
    TimTTimT Posts: 6,328

    "It can now safely be said, as his first term in the White House draws toward closure, that Donald Trump’s party is the very definition of a cult of personality. It stands for no special ideal. It possesses no organizing principle. It represents no detailed vision for governing. Filling the vacuum is a lazy, identity-based populism that draws from that lowest common denominator Sanford alluded to. If it agitates the base, if it lights up a Fox News chyron, if it serves to alienate sturdy real Americans from delicate coastal elites, then it’s got a place in the Grand Old Party."


    https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/24/republicanmeltdown-trump-convention-400039

    GOP have no platform (ie manifesto) for this Fall's election. None. Nothing. Zilch. Other than they support Trump.

    There is no Republican Party, only Trump. Which is why all Republicans should vote for Biden.
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    What is it about Gavin Williamson that he looks like he is going to burst into tears at any moment

    He needs to go

    He is now there to be sacked if/when school opening goes badly wrong next week.
    I truly hope it does not go wrong for all our children's sake
  • Options
    TimTTimT Posts: 6,328

    After last night's revelations of the new front of the battle of wokerdom against the world, I now find myself obsessing over whether PBers end their posts with a full stop or not.

    I need to stop this.

    Sounds like I should be glad that I missed that one. ... (enough full stops?)
  • Options

    USA GOP VP betting

    Something very odd is happening on Betfair. Someone has just backed Kristi Noem and Nicki Haley at 1000, even after Pence has been nominated at the RNC.

    Betfair has settled the GOP VP market. Pence won (unsurprisingly).
  • Options
    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,798

    FF43 said:

    Relative weakness and strength isn't a big feature of this negotiation where neither side is particularly desperate for a deal.

    The key EU goal is to protect itself from the depredations of British buccaneers. Which it can do by cutting the UK off from its market. A deal would nice if the UK can come up with a satisfactory to the EU level playing field arrangement. If it doesn't the EU will live without one.

    Which incidentally is why weekend spin about the EU underestimating the UK's resolve misses the mark. A deal is only possible if the UK actually is bluffing.

    The Brexiteer UK government doesn't see the value in a deal for reasons of ideology.

    I suspect (very strongly) that No Deal is unsustainable and the UK will eventually knuckle down, but that would come later.

    The EU can't cut the UK off from its market. Even if the UK leaves transition with No Deal we will still have access to the EUs market, just subject to an average of 2% tariffs. An average of 2% tariffs can't prevent British buccaneering, especially when Sterling would probably fall by more than 2% on the news that there is to be No Deal meaning that buccaneering Britain will be able to export more competitively than they could pre-Brexit with only new customs issues to deal with; while EU exporters trying to cling on to their trade surplus will be hit by a triple whammy of currency appreciation, tariffs and new customs etc

    Which is why the EU is bluffing. Because the UK is seeking to gain from Brexit, we know what we want to gain, but the EU has nothing to gain and can only lose from here. They are in a state of zugzwang. If they concede in the talks then they lose the initiative, but if they walk away then they are walking away from any attempt to control Britain, walking away from our waters and everything else they are trying to gain from these talks.

    Whereas if we walk away we know what we gain: control of our laws, control of our courts, control of our money, customs, trade - all those issues debated for the past 5 years. They have none of that.

    #WeHoldAllTheCards
    Average tariffs aren't useful here (and in any case I think the 2% average EU tariff takes preferential trade into account). The important thing is the specific tariffs and barriers on buccaneered goods. If the UK subsidises its steel industry at the expense of EU ones, it will not just face the normal 25% steel tariff, it runs the risk of countervailing duties on top, not necessarily on steel. The purpose of preferential trade agreements is to protect yourself from discriminatory treatment.
  • Options
    SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,723

    I'm trying to figure out how school re-opening will go "badly", are people suggesting they don't open at all?

    A few dead teachers would be an indicator of 'badly'.
  • Options
    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,568
    rcs1000 said:

    isam said:
    Tom Watson says "hi" too :)
    From what I can gather (and it's not something I particularly want to focus on or talk about), there was quite a big issue with politician child abusers in that era - there certainly was one with media figures as we now know. I don't know anything about Carl Beech or his allegations, but I do think if I were trying to hush up the issue, I'd probably get some vaguely plausible nutter to convince everyone that he'd been abused by the Duke of Kent, Ronald Mcdonald, the Right Reverend Robert Runcie, Mother Theresa etc., and then to have it all implode and collapse in a big mess. It would definitely discourage others.
    So... what you're saying is that if they find evidence of child abuse, then it proves these guys were paedophiles, and if they don't then it proves they're really clever paedophiles who can run a false flag operation to discredit future allegations.

    Smart.

    Have you considered joining QAnon?
    No I haven't. But that's not because I don't believe terrible things have happened. It's because whilst I care about the victims, I don't see value in taking revenge and raking up past horrors - for them or for anyone else, or any benefit to me of going down a rabbit hole with these things, instead of appreciating the great things in a world where most have good intentions.

    Regarding your first statement, the most likely scenario if there's no available evidence is that there was no crime. But it's not the only scenario.
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    I'm trying to figure out how school re-opening will go "badly", are people suggesting they don't open at all?

    Most likely... early September goes OK. Home to school transport looks dicey, but probably manageable. And now Scotland is advising masks, England will reluctantly follow. Where it might go wrong is once clusters of infection bubble up. Statistically, that's bound to happen, even if you only think about the million or so adults who work in schools. Many of us are young, but stressed and living on comfort food from September to July. You don't need that much bad luck to get multiple schools having to close because the staff:student ratios don't work.

    It's more a lack of resilience meaning that the system might fall over than everyone will die. But that doesn't make it OK.
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    I'm trying to figure out how school re-opening will go "badly", are people suggesting they don't open at all?

    Those who have a misconceived political agenda are or at the very least want to see it fail
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    "It can now safely be said, as his first term in the White House draws toward closure, that Donald Trump’s party is the very definition of a cult of personality. It stands for no special ideal. It possesses no organizing principle. It represents no detailed vision for governing. Filling the vacuum is a lazy, identity-based populism that draws from that lowest common denominator Sanford alluded to. If it agitates the base, if it lights up a Fox News chyron, if it serves to alienate sturdy real Americans from delicate coastal elites, then it’s got a place in the Grand Old Party."


    https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/24/republicanmeltdown-trump-convention-400039

    GOP have no platform (ie manifesto) for this Fall's election. None. Nothing. Zilch. Other than they support Trump.

    The only thing the GOP stood for before Trump was tax cuts for the rich and conservative judges.

    Trump offers them that.
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    stodgestodge Posts: 12,895

    What is it about Gavin Williamson that he looks like he is going to burst into tears at any moment

    He needs to go

    He is now there to be sacked if/when school opening goes badly wrong next week.
    I truly hope it does not go wrong for all our children's sake
    Not just the children, my friend.

    Both the teachers and parents also need this to go well.

    If I had a child with a pre-existing health condition, I'd be worried and would hope the risk assessment carried out with the school had resolved any issues.

    An aside - think of the coach companies paid to take children to school. They've had to re-configure normally 50-55 seat coaches to take 40 or fewer and Sunak has no money for them but at least they'll be back in business.

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    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,798
    edited August 2020

    FF43 said:

    FF43 said:

    Relative weakness and strength isn't a big feature of this negotiation where neither side is particularly desperate for a deal.

    The key EU goal is to protect itself from the depredations of British buccaneers. Which it can do by cutting the UK off from its market. A deal would nice if the UK can come up with a satisfactory to the EU level playing field arrangement. If it doesn't the EU will live without one.

    Which incidentally is why weekend spin about the EU underestimating the UK's resolve misses the mark. A deal is only possible if the UK actually is bluffing.

    The Brexiteer UK government doesn't see the value in a deal for reasons of ideology.

    I suspect (very strongly) that No Deal is unsustainable and the UK will eventually knuckle down, but that would come later.

    There are calls from the UK and European transport industry for an urgent agreement to prevent the delay at ports post 1st January

    Barnier may not care, but the business, ports, and truckers on both sides of the channel will not forgive politicians if they allow miles of static queues at ports in the UK- Ireland - France - Belgium - Spain and others from 1st January
    The UK government will deal with delays at ports by effectively making it difficult for UK companies to export. Which might sound crazy but it's what's happening. Companies that used to export to the continent will give up because it's too expensive and too difficult. The same for EU exporters to the UK, although it will be less traumatic for them as they still have other easy export options.
    With respect that is nonsense

    UK exporters will continue to sell into Europe albeit with tariffs and EU exporters will continue to sell into the UK market, just the process will be less efficient
    Some will, but a lot will give up*. The government has published a 200 page guide for exporters and importers that is entirely about how the government is making life more difficult and more expensive for them. And even so it lacks detail.

    *Edit and returning to my original point, that's how the port delays will be cleared. There will simply be less traffic going through them.
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    Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905

    I'm trying to figure out how school re-opening will go "badly", are people suggesting they don't open at all?

    For a certain fraction of the population, the answer to that is "yes." It might not be practical or desirable for the entire population to barricade themselves in their homes until someone cracks the vaccine problem, but some people are extremely afraid and/or risk averse. Exhibit A:

    I'm trying to figure out how school re-opening will go "badly", are people suggesting they don't open at all?

    A few dead teachers would be an indicator of 'badly'.
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    rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,436
    Raab's been finding out that Jerusalem is a contested place.

    Who knew?

    https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1297980769927925766


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    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,798

    I'm trying to figure out how school re-opening will go "badly", are people suggesting they don't open at all?

    The problem with schools is that the scale of social interactions there is orders of magnitude greater than in any other environment. Even if the infection rates are low, the absolute number of infections could be quite high.

    To be clear, I think schools do need to go back, but I am worried about this,
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    AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670

    Alistair said:

    https://twitter.com/BrianSpanner1/status/1297951381425446915?s=20

    The Covid-19 testing system has been hit by "exceptional demand" which has seen some people in Scotland only offered tests in England....

    It has led to some people in Glasgow and the central belt being directed as far afield as Penrith in Cumbria.


    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-53888797

    I imagine that it is a wave of school children picking up their first colds of the term.

    Will England be ready for the same happening?
    Quite possibly not given the ineptitude of the UK Government, but that's hardly the point.

    The Scottish Government can't keep threatening to close its borders to the unclean foreigner for months, and then export its own Plague cases to be tested by the unclean foreigners, without looking extremely silly.

    If Scotland had a functioning Opposition then this is just the sort of thing they'd put Sturgeon and Freeman through the blender for.
    Scottish Labour's Monica Lennon said the problem was part of a wider issue over testing.
    She said: "We've had months to boost capacity and testing and we're still not getting it right.
    "It is, frankly, astonishing that people in Glasgow are having to travel over the border to England for a Covid-19 test.
    "Something has gone badly wrong and the Scottish government has to fix it rapidly."
    Scottish Conservative health spokesperson Donald Cameron said: "I urge the Scottish government to find out what's gone wrong here and work quickly to maintain public confidence in the testing system."
    A work colleague tried to book a covid test for Edinburgh Airport. The gov.uk system said their were thousands of slots available but would not let him book any. Had to go to Galashiels instead which is a fate I would not wish on anyone.
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    rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,436
    "I believe history will say trying to control Covid-19 through lockdown was a monumental mistake on a global scale, the cure was worse than the disease."

    "I believe the harm lockdown is doing to our education, health care access, and broader aspects of our economy and society will turn out to be at least as great as the harm done by COVID-19.”

    Mark Woolhouse, a scientist who advises the Government on infectious diseases. SAGE member.

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    stodge said:

    What is it about Gavin Williamson that he looks like he is going to burst into tears at any moment

    He needs to go

    He is now there to be sacked if/when school opening goes badly wrong next week.
    I truly hope it does not go wrong for all our children's sake
    Not just the children, my friend.

    Both the teachers and parents also need this to go well.

    If I had a child with a pre-existing health condition, I'd be worried and would hope the risk assessment carried out with the school had resolved any issues.

    An aside - think of the coach companies paid to take children to school. They've had to re-configure normally 50-55 seat coaches to take 40 or fewer and Sunak has no money for them but at least they'll be back in business.

    I really do accept non of this is easy, but we do need as a nation a 'can do' attitude and mitigate the issues as they arise 'adapting, adopting and improving' as we go forward

    And some on here may recognise that 'motto' that I used and I have believed in it throughout most all of my adult life

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    SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,723

    I'm trying to figure out how school re-opening will go "badly", are people suggesting they don't open at all?

    For a certain fraction of the population, the answer to that is "yes." It might not be practical or desirable for the entire population to barricade themselves in their homes until someone cracks the vaccine problem, but some people are extremely afraid and/or risk averse. Exhibit A:

    I'm trying to figure out how school re-opening will go "badly", are people suggesting they don't open at all?

    A few dead teachers would be an indicator of 'badly'.
    Exhibit B: 17 infected teachers at a school in Dundee.

    Let's hope that they all recover.
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    FF43 said:

    FF43 said:

    FF43 said:

    Relative weakness and strength isn't a big feature of this negotiation where neither side is particularly desperate for a deal.

    The key EU goal is to protect itself from the depredations of British buccaneers. Which it can do by cutting the UK off from its market. A deal would nice if the UK can come up with a satisfactory to the EU level playing field arrangement. If it doesn't the EU will live without one.

    Which incidentally is why weekend spin about the EU underestimating the UK's resolve misses the mark. A deal is only possible if the UK actually is bluffing.

    The Brexiteer UK government doesn't see the value in a deal for reasons of ideology.

    I suspect (very strongly) that No Deal is unsustainable and the UK will eventually knuckle down, but that would come later.

    There are calls from the UK and European transport industry for an urgent agreement to prevent the delay at ports post 1st January

    Barnier may not care, but the business, ports, and truckers on both sides of the channel will not forgive politicians if they allow miles of static queues at ports in the UK- Ireland - France - Belgium - Spain and others from 1st January
    The UK government will deal with delays at ports by effectively making it difficult for UK companies to export. Which might sound crazy but it's what's happening. Companies that used to export to the continent will give up because it's too expensive and too difficult. The same for EU exporters to the UK, although it will be less traumatic for them as they still have other easy export options.
    With respect that is nonsense

    UK exporters will continue to sell into Europe albeit with tariffs and EU exporters will continue to sell into the UK market, just the process will be less efficient
    Some will, but a lot will give up*. The government has published a 200 page guide for exporters and importers that is entirely about how the government is making life more difficult and more expensive for them. And even so it lacks detail.

    *Edit and returning to my original point, that's how the port delays will be cleared. There will simply be less traffic going through them.
    Please advise where the evidence is that a lot will give up
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    rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,436
    If Trump wins I suspect this will be a major, if not the major factor.

    Dem's looking complacent to me from a distance. Again.
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    "I believe history will say trying to control Covid-19 through lockdown was a monumental mistake on a global scale, the cure was worse than the disease."

    "I believe the harm lockdown is doing to our education, health care access, and broader aspects of our economy and society will turn out to be at least as great as the harm done by COVID-19.”

    Mark Woolhouse, a scientist who advises the Government on infectious diseases. SAGE member.

    I have some sympathy with that view
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    AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670
    HYUFD said:
    I know that the Clinton Wisconsin figure was only so high because of a Marquette poll giving her a 15 point lead.
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    Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905
    FF43 said:

    I'm trying to figure out how school re-opening will go "badly", are people suggesting they don't open at all?

    The problem with schools is that the scale of social interactions there is orders of magnitude greater than in any other environment. Even if the infection rates are low, the absolute number of infections could be quite high.

    To be clear, I think schools do need to go back, but I am worried about this,
    It's possible it'll all go horribly wrong, to be sure, though on the plus side AFAIK there have been no widespread, generalised resurgences associated with the unshuttering of schools anywhere (or, for that matter, in Sweden where they have never closed,) and the situation in Scotland so far has been mildly encouraging. Going forward, I think we're more likely to see a scholastic edition of the Covid whac-a-mole game, with classes and perhaps whole year groups being sent home from various affected schools for a fortnight at a time, but no major collapse of the system. But anyway, I guess we'll know better by about this time next month.
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    stodgestodge Posts: 12,895


    I really do accept non of this is easy, but we do need as a nation a 'can do' attitude and mitigate the issues as they arise 'adapting, adopting and improving' as we go forward

    And some on here may recognise that 'motto' that I used and I have believed in it throughout most all of my adult life

    This is where you and I part company. I'm not even sure what a "can do" attitude means. Human ingenuity has come to the fore - we have adapted how we live since mid March when, understandably, people didn't know what to do and how to respond.

    Yet you can't blame people for being concerned about their health and those around them especially if they are dealing with older people or those with health issues.

    Life has changed but the response of the Government seems to be to try to use the "bully pulpit" to coerce people back to how they lived before Covid and for very many people, it's not a health question any more but a lifestyle question. Life is better, cheaper and easier without the demeaning slog of the daily commute.

    We no longer need it or in many cases want it. That means change but adversity creates opportunity. I'm not risking my health to save Pret but the thousands of extra jobs created within the booming home delivery sector show how we can adapt to change.

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    Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,820

    After last night's revelations of the new front of the battle of wokerdom against the world, I now find myself obsessing over whether PBers end their posts with a full stop or not.

    I need to stop this.

    Perhaps it's too big a leap to go full cold turkey in one go. Could you perhaps obsess instead about the correct use of commas, as a first step?
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,071
    Alistair said:

    HYUFD said:
    I know that the Clinton Wisconsin figure was only so high because of a Marquette poll giving her a 15 point lead.
    In July, August and September of 2016, there were six polls for Wisconsin. Four of them had the race as very close (+2 to +5), one with a moderate Clinton lead (+7) and one of them (Marquette) had her with a 15 point advantage.
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    glwglw Posts: 9,554

    FF43 said:

    I'm trying to figure out how school re-opening will go "badly", are people suggesting they don't open at all?

    The problem with schools is that the scale of social interactions there is orders of magnitude greater than in any other environment. Even if the infection rates are low, the absolute number of infections could be quite high.

    To be clear, I think schools do need to go back, but I am worried about this,
    It's possible it'll all go horribly wrong, to be sure, though on the plus side AFAIK there have been no widespread, generalised resurgences associated with the unshuttering of schools anywhere (or, for that matter, in Sweden where they have never closed,) and the situation in Scotland so far has been mildly encouraging. Going forward, I think we're more likely to see a scholastic edition of the Covid whac-a-mole game, with classes and perhaps whole year groups being sent home from various affected schools for a fortnight at a time, but no major collapse of the system. But anyway, I guess we'll know better by about this time next month.
    That does seem to be the plan, but it requires even greater testing capacity and more localised and faster testing, which to be fair is also coming along.

    Basically if you can do lots of tests with quick and accurate results you can lockdown a smaller group of people. Back in March we only had the ability to make a lockdown decision at a national level, now we are at the level where cities and towns can be individually placed in lockdown. As we improve testing we can get the granularity to a smaller scale and make suppression of the virus much less disruptive for the nation as a whole, even though it will inevitably remain disruptive to communities.
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    MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,631
    Quick update, we've redone our numbers today based on new indicators, I can quite confidently say that the UK economy will lose 4% over the year assuming no second wave. If there is a widespread vaccine before the end of the year then it becomes 2%, if there is a mild second wave then 6%, a severe second shock scenario puts is at -10%.

    I've tasked the team with replicating the exercise for the main for European economies (Germany, France, Italy and Spain) but we don't have as good realtime data from them so it could be a while because we'll need to find and subscribe to data providers for those countries to get a sense of what's going on there.
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    Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905

    "I believe history will say trying to control Covid-19 through lockdown was a monumental mistake on a global scale, the cure was worse than the disease."

    "I believe the harm lockdown is doing to our education, health care access, and broader aspects of our economy and society will turn out to be at least as great as the harm done by COVID-19.”

    Mark Woolhouse, a scientist who advises the Government on infectious diseases. SAGE member.

    I have some sympathy with that view
    I'm absolutely certain that the effects of lockdown will cause more damage than the disease itself. Indeed, given that Covid-19 is overwhelmingly a disease of the elderly, in terms of the QALY measurement the virus won't be anywhere close to the lockdown in terms of the number of years of life that it will end up destroying.

    The only question then left is whether anything other than the measures that were actually deployed between March and the present would've resulted in a preferable outcome, and that's hard to answer. One could plausibly argue that we would've done substantially better if we had made a better fist of segmenting the population (rings of biosecurity around care homes, shielding for everybody over 60 as well as the medically highly vulnerable, life as normal for everyone else.) But there will always be arguments as to how achievable that approach would've been, especially with very little time to prepare, and whether substantial chunks of the relatively young and healthy population would've been terrified into staying at home too in any event.

    Certainly if there's a repetition - God forbid - of something like Covid again in our lifetimes, then there will be a desperate drive to understand who it affects and how it is transmitted as quickly as possible, and then to make educated guesses about the best targeted measures that might help to deal with it. Unless it is both hugely infectious and very lethal then there will be no desire to repeat the blanket lockdown experiment. If the medics had been able to get a grasp of the characteristics of Covid before widespread community transmission took hold, then I'm quite sure we wouldn't have handled it the way that we did.
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    I tend to agree with @stodge above. I have no interest in commuting to the office five days a week ever again, if I work from home more often I get a lot more time to exercise, see friends, etc. (which has done wonders for my mental health) and I get a free pay rise by not paying for the Tube.

    For me it's a win win.
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    And no amount of "eat out to help out" (which I have been doing) or "do your bit" is going to change that, if you think I'm selfish I'll take the insult. For me it's done wonders for my health
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    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    ydoethur said:

    tlg86 said:

    First like the draw in the cricket.

    If the rain could bugger off to Taunton, that would be immensely helpful.

    Disappointing to abandon our discussion about large organs in favour of a thread about the world's largest organ.
    Talking about disappointment I’m shocked that a fine upstanding historian such as yourself doesn’t know your Chretien de Troyes from your Robert de Boron
    I said it grew out of the medieval romances of Chretien de Troyes.

    Which it did.

    Boron took an element in Troyes’ legendarium and elaborated it.
    I’m calling BS.

    Chrétien de Troyes was polishing a distorted version of the Pair Dadeni story. De Boron gave it a hard Christian soon with his work. You can spot the link to Joseph from the title “Joseph d’Arimathie”

    To claim that “it grew out of Chrétien de Troyes” is like saying Good Omens grew out of Genesis
This discussion has been closed.