Back to real elections and it's the Queensland State Election in Australia overnight.
The Labor Government under Palaszczuk is defending a 3-seat majority from 2017 having taken the state from the LNP in 2015.
After trailing in the early summer, Labor has fought back and the eve of poll Newspoll has Labour head 51.5-48.5 in the two party preference and leads LNP 37-36 in the primary poll. That's very little changed from 2017 and suggests another close finish - Queensland swung sharply away from Labor in the Federal Election and was a big part of Scott Morrison's win but the State picture is more complex.
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
Both the Eurozone and the US are slipping back into recession. It'll be worse in Europe (and in the colder parts of the US), but surprisingly liveable in places like Los Angeles, where bars are restaurants spill out onto the streets year round, and the beach is pleasant, even on New Year's day.
LA may be decent on New Year's Day but I much prefer Palm Springs for New Year.
Palm Springs is sadly much declined. Ten years ago it was on its way to being California's first properly Mediterranean city. Walkable downtown, cycles everywhere, a glorious climate, bars and restaurants all al fresco and lovely and yay.
The same problems of drugs and homelessness have assailed it as elsewhere in California. The rich retreat to gated communities, and villas with pools, like the late Romans before the Vandals won.
It is a damn shame.
I've not been since 2016 when we were in Rancho Mirage. As others have said, I wouldn't go in summer but from October to April, it's very pleasant and popular with Canadian "snowbirds" from the Prairies who enjoy a regular winter service from Calgary and Edmonton down to Palm Springs.
Ok, because of the kerfuffle I ran the cartoon past a professional cartoonist, who incidentally hadn't seen it before and wasn't aware of the AS concerns.
We concluded it's a good cartoon cartoon idea, but the execution is poor (no pun intended). The main trouble is that Starmer is unrecognisable. He looks more like Cameron! What's more, he's been made to look effete. The reason for this is unclear, and doesn't seem to serve any comedic or political purpose. (Corbyn is also a poor likeness but that matters less.)
This is a shame because the idea of Starmer decapitating metaphorically his adversary is a strong one, especially as real beheadings are very much in the news.
Is it anti-semitic? Not in a million years. There's no Jewish trope here, and no caricature that could be interpreted as such.
Like Foxy says, "The implication that the Jews wanted an innocent man's head on a plate."
So that's NOT anti-semitic? Sorry, but think you are wrong here. Trouble is not crap drawing but rather loaded, coded message.
But there is no implication in the cartoon that it is Jews wanting the head on a platter. It is Starmer, looking remarkably like Cameron for some reason.
Was Salome Jewish? Was Jewishness germane to the original story? It's all a bit far-fetched.
Jews and anti-Semitism as an issue is rather germane to the whole issue of why Corbyn has been sacked are they not?
Yes, but there is nothing in the cartoon itself about Jews or AS. If you want ot make it AS, you have to bring that to the cartoon yourself. It's not there, in the work itself.
Is dog whistle racism, racism? As someone with little knowledge of the bible I couldnt see anything anti-Semitic about it initially. Once it was explained I think its fairly obvious that the intent is again minimising anti-semitism within the Labour party, Corbyns actions, and probably also claiming his suspension was solely to placate Jews as a token gesture.
Under Keir Starmers definition of anti-Semitism its very much anti-Semitic. Under Jeremy Corbyns definition its not. Should the Guardian be bound by Starmers new definition? Not in terms of publishing or law but morally it would be better for the country if they did and they are on shaky ground if they think this will fly long term with the public.
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
They're not saying. But is is wonderful. I too saw them in the Hebrides a few years ago. The idea they might soon be flying free over much of Britain is glorious.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
Both the Eurozone and the US are slipping back into recession. It'll be worse in Europe (and in the colder parts of the US), but surprisingly liveable in places like Los Angeles, where bars are restaurants spill out onto the streets year round, and the beach is pleasant, even on New Year's day.
LA may be decent on New Year's Day but I much prefer Palm Springs for New Year.
Palm Springs is sadly much declined. Ten years ago it was on its way to being California's first properly Mediterranean city. Walkable downtown, cycles everywhere, a glorious climate, bars and restaurants all al fresco and lovely and yay.
The same problems of drugs and homelessness have assailed it as elsewhere in California. The rich retreat to gated communities, and villas with pools, like the late Romans before the Vandals won.
It is a damn shame.
Genuinely unliveable in July and August, mind.
Which is when the high-rent set choose NOT to live there, right?
Have always wanted to visit. Did so vicariously about a year ago analyzing and mapping local voting patterns at state leg level.
Aside from a few of the gated communities, greater Palm Springs area is trending and voting Democratic. But it is included with much more conservative turf in state house & senate districts - areas closer to Los Angeles but still WAY far out. Filled with exurban super-commuters who drive long distances (in order to have lower property costs) even if they don't work in El Lay.
Think that's correct re: commuting (know it's right re: voting) but will defer to Robert & stodge (& Charles) on this.
Ok, because of the kerfuffle I ran the cartoon past a professional cartoonist, who incidentally hadn't seen it before and wasn't aware of the AS concerns.
We concluded it's a good cartoon cartoon idea, but the execution is poor (no pun intended). The main trouble is that Starmer is unrecognisable. He looks more like Cameron! What's more, he's been made to look effete. The reason for this is unclear, and doesn't seem to serve any comedic or political purpose. (Corbyn is also a poor likeness but that matters less.)
This is a shame because the idea of Starmer decapitating metaphorically his adversary is a strong one, especially as real beheadings are very much in the news.
Is it anti-semitic? Not in a million years. There's no Jewish trope here, and no caricature that could be interpreted as such.
Like Foxy says, "The implication that the Jews wanted an innocent man's head on a plate."
So that's NOT anti-semitic? Sorry, but think you are wrong here. Trouble is not crap drawing but rather loaded, coded message.
Also, this cartoonist was "unaware of the anti-Semitic issue" and this is when he, or she, is judging a cartoon, which is all about a politician cashiered for anti-Semitism?
That's utterly ridiculous. Anti-Semitism is THE central issue here, it is the reason for the cartoon's existence. So if you are unaware of that you can't have any opinion on the image, as you are clueless of the vital context.
Aren't we praising the French for publishing religiously offensive cartoons?
Praising the French for protecting the right to publish offensive cartoons. And the Guardian should absolutely be allowed to publish this if they want to. That right should be protected.
But that is a different question to should they publish it as a mainstream newspaper that claims to be anti racist.
Both the Eurozone and the US are slipping back into recession. It'll be worse in Europe (and in the colder parts of the US), but surprisingly liveable in places like Los Angeles, where bars are restaurants spill out onto the streets year round, and the beach is pleasant, even on New Year's day.
LA may be decent on New Year's Day but I much prefer Palm Springs for New Year.
Palm Springs is sadly much declined. Ten years ago it was on its way to being California's first properly Mediterranean city. Walkable downtown, cycles everywhere, a glorious climate, bars and restaurants all al fresco and lovely and yay.
The same problems of drugs and homelessness have assailed it as elsewhere in California. The rich retreat to gated communities, and villas with pools, like the late Romans before the Vandals won.
It is a damn shame.
I've not been since 2016 when we were in Rancho Mirage. As others have said, I wouldn't go in summer but from October to April, it's very pleasant and popular with Canadian "snowbirds" from the Prairies who enjoy a regular winter service from Calgary and Edmonton down to Palm Springs.
Also popular on US side of Pacific Northwest and (I think) northern Rockies.
BTW, back in the 1920s Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson loved the place. As did other literati, nobs and Hollywood stars (who IIRC first popularized PS).
I thought that non-US PBers might be interested in seeing what an actual US (or at least Westchester County, New York) ballot paper looks like. This is a sample from the neighbouring village to mine of Tarrytown, NY, but the candidates are as per the real thing.
You vote for your candidate by filling in the oval by them in black ink, standardized test style. The ballot paper is scanned at the polling place and retained by the machine for audit if necessary.
A feature unique (I believe) to New York is "electoral fusion" whereby candidates can be nominated by more than one party. Biden-Harris you can see have been cross-nominated by the Working Families Party (social democrats), and Trump-Pence by the Conservative Party (paleoconservatives). It doesn't matter under which line you vote for your preferred ticket, all the votes get totted together. If the third-party gets enough votes it will remain on the ballot in future races, and may wish to run their own candidate(s) for some down-ballot races, as you can see the Conservatives doing for the House race.
At the very bottom is a write-in line, so we never have truly unopposed races here where no election is actually conducted as sometimes happens at local level in the UK.
Ok, because of the kerfuffle I ran the cartoon past a professional cartoonist, who incidentally hadn't seen it before and wasn't aware of the AS concerns.
We concluded it's a good cartoon cartoon idea, but the execution is poor (no pun intended). The main trouble is that Starmer is unrecognisable. He looks more like Cameron! What's more, he's been made to look effete. The reason for this is unclear, and doesn't seem to serve any comedic or political purpose. (Corbyn is also a poor likeness but that matters less.)
This is a shame because the idea of Starmer decapitating metaphorically his adversary is a strong one, especially as real beheadings are very much in the news.
Is it anti-semitic? Not in a million years. There's no Jewish trope here, and no caricature that could be interpreted as such.
Like Foxy says, "The implication that the Jews wanted an innocent man's head on a plate."
So that's NOT anti-semitic? Sorry, but think you are wrong here. Trouble is not crap drawing but rather loaded, coded message.
But there is no implication in the cartoon that it is Jews wanting the head on a platter. It is Starmer, looking remarkably like Cameron for some reason.
Was Salome Jewish? Was Jewishness germane to the original story? It's all a bit far-fetched.
By "original story" assume you mean one in the Bible. Which centers on the execution of the man who first proclaimed Jesus the Messiah - a message ill-received by the Jewish religious establishment of that day.
As I said, an ancient anti-Semitic trope.
The idea that it's an innocent coincidence when it's deliberately signed off is as plausible as the idea that the tattooed carpenter on the Sky TV series had an 88 tattoo for innocent reasons.
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
They're not saying. But is is wonderful. I too saw them in the Hebrides a few years ago. The idea they might soon be flying free over much of Britain is glorious.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
Quite so. A little poking around suggests that the Wight sea eagles fish for grey mullet in the estuaries and also eat rabbit and carrion on land and roost in woods - plenty of woods on some of the more geologically slumpy coastlines I suppose.
Much longer than I thought, I was expecting it to be the following week. Perhaps it has taken them this long to come up for a new phrase for circuit break so they can claim its different to the SAGE/Starmer suggestion.
Sadly the 2-3 weeks which might have had an impact back then probably needs to be a month or more now given the higher rates that have been allowed to develop.
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
They're not saying. But is is wonderful. I too saw them in the Hebrides a few years ago. The idea they might soon be flying free over much of Britain is glorious.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
Red kites are common in Hampshire, saw one being blown around by the wind on my lunchtime walk yesterday
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
They're not saying. But is is wonderful. I too saw them in the Hebrides a few years ago. The idea they might soon be flying free over much of Britain is glorious.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
PS And lynx too (actually more doable than wolf, I understand).
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
That's wonderful! Some winters we get their very close relatives the bald eagles on the Hudson or our lakes. I've been privileged to see them up close perched on a tree overlooking the railway station while waiting for my train to NYC.
Ok, because of the kerfuffle I ran the cartoon past a professional cartoonist, who incidentally hadn't seen it before and wasn't aware of the AS concerns.
We concluded it's a good cartoon cartoon idea, but the execution is poor (no pun intended). The main trouble is that Starmer is unrecognisable. He looks more like Cameron! What's more, he's been made to look effete. The reason for this is unclear, and doesn't seem to serve any comedic or political purpose. (Corbyn is also a poor likeness but that matters less.)
This is a shame because the idea of Starmer decapitating metaphorically his adversary is a strong one, especially as real beheadings are very much in the news.
Is it anti-semitic? Not in a million years. There's no Jewish trope here, and no caricature that could be interpreted as such.
Like Foxy says, "The implication that the Jews wanted an innocent man's head on a plate."
So that's NOT anti-semitic? Sorry, but think you are wrong here. Trouble is not crap drawing but rather loaded, coded message.
But there is no implication in the cartoon that it is Jews wanting the head on a platter. It is Starmer, looking remarkably like Cameron for some reason.
Was Salome Jewish? Was Jewishness germane to the original story? It's all a bit far-fetched.
By "original story" assume you mean one in the Bible. Which centers on the execution of the man who first proclaimed Jesus the Messiah - a message ill-received by the Jewish religious establishment of that day.
Er yes. Salome and Herod were Jewish. As were John and Jesus of course. Not sure the medieval Christ-killer meme extended to Herod and JtB though
Ok, because of the kerfuffle I ran the cartoon past a professional cartoonist, who incidentally hadn't seen it before and wasn't aware of the AS concerns.
We concluded it's a good cartoon cartoon idea, but the execution is poor (no pun intended). The main trouble is that Starmer is unrecognisable. He looks more like Cameron! What's more, he's been made to look effete. The reason for this is unclear, and doesn't seem to serve any comedic or political purpose. (Corbyn is also a poor likeness but that matters less.)
This is a shame because the idea of Starmer decapitating metaphorically his adversary is a strong one, especially as real beheadings are very much in the news.
Is it anti-semitic? Not in a million years. There's no Jewish trope here, and no caricature that could be interpreted as such.
Like Foxy says, "The implication that the Jews wanted an innocent man's head on a plate."
So that's NOT anti-semitic? Sorry, but think you are wrong here. Trouble is not crap drawing but rather loaded, coded message.
But there is no implication in the cartoon that it is Jews wanting the head on a platter. It is Starmer, looking remarkably like Cameron for some reason.
Was Salome Jewish? Was Jewishness germane to the original story? It's all a bit far-fetched.
By "original story" assume you mean one in the Bible. Which centers on the execution of the man who first proclaimed Jesus the Messiah - a message ill-received by the Jewish religious establishment of that day.
As I said, an ancient anti-Semitic trope.
The idea that it's an innocent coincidence when it's deliberately signed off is as plausible as the idea that the tattooed carpenter on the Sky TV series had an 88 tattoo for innocent reasons.
I dunno. The thing is, it would still be a cracking good cartoon if the whole story came from Greek mythology with not a jew in sight.
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
They're not saying. But is is wonderful. I too saw them in the Hebrides a few years ago. The idea they might soon be flying free over much of Britain is glorious.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
Red kites are common in Hampshire, saw one being blown around by the wind on my lunchtime walk yesterday
And yet Red Kites, once ubiquitous, were reduced to a few pairs in Wales a few decades ago. Their rebound is excellent news, in the face of much grimness. Ditto otters, bustards, boars
Which is when the high-rent set choose NOT to live there, right?
Have always wanted to visit. Did so vicariously about a year ago analyzing and mapping local voting patterns at state leg level.
Aside from a few of the gated communities, greater Palm Springs area is trending and voting Democratic. But it is included with much more conservative turf in state house & senate districts - areas closer to Los Angeles but still WAY far out. Filled with exurban super-commuters who drive long distances (in order to have lower property costs) even if they don't work in El Lay.
Think that's correct re: commuting (know it's right re: voting) but will defer to Robert & stodge (& Charles) on this.
The congressional district was represented by Mary Bono for some years and we were on holiday there during the 2012 elections when she was unexpectedly defeated by Raul Ruiz who won 53-47. He has strengthened his hold on what is now California-36 (was 45 before the 2013 re-districting).
As I recall, Bono (or Bono Mack as she was known) wouldn't concede on the night but was forced to a few days later as it was clear she had been beaten. The Democrats won 38 of the California Congressional seats in 2012 and 46 in 2018 leaving the GOP with just seven.
Much longer than I thought, I was expecting it to be the following week. Perhaps it has taken them this long to come up for a new phrase for circuit break so they can claim its different to the SAGE/Starmer suggestion.
Sadly the 2-3 weeks which might have had an impact back then probably needs to be a month or more now given the higher rates that have been allowed to develop.
Telegraph saying Johnson will introduce a 4th tier.
I thought that non-US PBers might be interested in seeing what an actual US (or at least Westchester County, New York) ballot paper looks like. This is a sample from the neighbouring village to mine of Tarrytown, NY, but the candidates are as per the real thing.
You vote for your candidate by filling in the oval by them in black ink, standardized test style. The ballot paper is scanned at the polling place and retained by the machine for audit if necessary.
A feature unique (I believe) to New York is "electoral fusion" whereby candidates can be nominated by more than one party. Biden-Harris you can see have been cross-nominated by the Working Families Party (social democrats), and Trump-Pence by the Conservative Party (paleoconservatives). It doesn't matter under which line you vote for your preferred ticket, all the votes get totted together. If the third-party gets enough votes it will remain on the ballot in future races, and may wish to run their own candidate(s) for some down-ballot races, as you can see the Conservatives doing for the House race.
At the very bottom is a write-in line, so we never have truly unopposed races here where no election is actually conducted as sometimes happens at local level in the UK.
Use pens.
thanks for posting that image, I've been wondering what the ballot forms looked like.
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
They're not saying. But is is wonderful. I too saw them in the Hebrides a few years ago. The idea they might soon be flying free over much of Britain is glorious.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
PS And lynx too (actually more doable than wolf, I understand).
Yes I see almost no problem with lynx. They are zero threat to humans. If they take a sheep or two, compensate the farmers, because the tourist income will totally outweigh their loss. Large parts of Scotland, northern/western England, Wales, could easily support a few lynx. And how exciting would that be? A genuine big cat in Britain
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
They're not saying. But is is wonderful. I too saw them in the Hebrides a few years ago. The idea they might soon be flying free over much of Britain is glorious.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
Red kites are common in Hampshire, saw one being blown around by the wind on my lunchtime walk yesterday
And yet Red Kites, once ubiquitous, were reduced to a few pairs in Wales a few decades ago. Their rebound is excellent news, in the face of much grimness. Ditto otters, bustards, boars
I have even seen the odd buzzard but they stick to more rural areas. Kites were urban vermin in Shakespeare's time and I wonder if they will return to that niche. I have even seen one in Aldershot.
I thought that non-US PBers might be interested in seeing what an actual US (or at least Westchester County, New York) ballot paper looks like. This is a sample from the neighbouring village to mine of Tarrytown, NY, but the candidates are as per the real thing.
You vote for your candidate by filling in the oval by them in black ink, standardized test style. The ballot paper is scanned at the polling place and retained by the machine for audit if necessary.
A feature unique (I believe) to New York is "electoral fusion" whereby candidates can be nominated by more than one party. Biden-Harris you can see have been cross-nominated by the Working Families Party (social democrats), and Trump-Pence by the Conservative Party (paleoconservatives). It doesn't matter under which line you vote for your preferred ticket, all the votes get totted together. If the third-party gets enough votes it will remain on the ballot in future races, and may wish to run their own candidate(s) for some down-ballot races, as you can see the Conservatives doing for the House race.
At the very bottom is a write-in line, so we never have truly unopposed races here where no election is actually conducted as sometimes happens at local level in the UK.
Oregon also has fusion. It was introduced about a decade or so ago after strong lobbying by Working Families Party which is project of some within organized labor. Idea is that it give minor parties (read in this case labor) a bit of clout in dealing with major parties.
Note that in NY State (the birthplace of fusion; election of Fiorello La Guardia NY Mayor was & still fusion's proudest achievement) the requirements for retaining party status on the ballot were raised this year, to a much higher minimum vote in the previous presidential election. Which is a SERIOUS (and intentional) threat to their survival, orchestrated by Gov Andrew Cuomo.
As a result, the Greens ditched their presidential nominee and substituted Howie Hawkins, a prominent NY Green activist (if there is such a thing) in order to boost their ballot line at this critical juncture.
Which is THE reason why the Greens got knocked off the Pennsylvania presidential ballot - because they failed to met state legal requirements for substitution of presidential candidates by political parties.
Much longer than I thought, I was expecting it to be the following week. Perhaps it has taken them this long to come up for a new phrase for circuit break so they can claim its different to the SAGE/Starmer suggestion.
Sadly the 2-3 weeks which might have had an impact back then probably needs to be a month or more now given the higher rates that have been allowed to develop.
But nobody at any stage has proposed a "proper" lockdown. And they aren't now. Either do a proper lockdown. Ban anyone from going out. Including for school. Or for work. Or don't bother.
All we get is "Tier 2 restrictions aren't enough". Or "Tier 3 restrictions aren't enough". Then it'll be "Tier 4 restrictions aren't enough". Everything is a partial lockdown, with huge amounts of mixing. So will never be a 'success' on it's own terms. So we shut down "non essential shops". Many of which have few people in and/or people coming into close contact at the best of times. Because, well, they're non-essential. And therefore not as busy as "essential" shops. Which will be busy. And the fewer shops that are open, the busier the ones that are open will be. Because some people will go to them just because they want to get out of the house and it's all they can do.
So we're going to shut down garden centres again. Almost zero risk of covid. And visiting allotments (hat tip Wales) . Zero risk. Golf courses. Zero risk. etc etc etc. But all "non-essential". But leave the supermarkets packed. People going to work. Schools open. Huge numbers mixing in universities.
Will somebody get a grip? Learn from Japan. Learn what ACTUALLY spreads the virus and clamp down on it. Things shouldn't be targeted or not because they are 'essential' or 'non-essential'. Things should be targeted because they are a serious Covid risk.
Back to real elections and it's the Queensland State Election in Australia overnight.
The Labor Government under Palaszczuk is defending a 3-seat majority from 2017 having taken the state from the LNP in 2015.
After trailing in the early summer, Labor has fought back and the eve of poll Newspoll has Labour head 51.5-48.5 in the two party preference and leads LNP 37-36 in the primary poll. That's very little changed from 2017 and suggests another close finish - Queensland swung sharply away from Labor in the Federal Election and was a big part of Scott Morrison's win but the State picture is more complex.
And, as usual in #AusPol the fact that it helped reelect a 'Lib' federal government means it's more likely to elect a Lab state one - but you're right, it's bloody close...
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
They're not saying. But is is wonderful. I too saw them in the Hebrides a few years ago. The idea they might soon be flying free over much of Britain is glorious.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
Red kites are common in Hampshire, saw one being blown around by the wind on my lunchtime walk yesterday
Much longer than I thought, I was expecting it to be the following week. Perhaps it has taken them this long to come up for a new phrase for circuit break so they can claim its different to the SAGE/Starmer suggestion.
Sadly the 2-3 weeks which might have had an impact back then probably needs to be a month or more now given the higher rates that have been allowed to develop.
Telegraph saying Johnson will introduce a 4th tier.
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
They're not saying. But is is wonderful. I too saw them in the Hebrides a few years ago. The idea they might soon be flying free over much of Britain is glorious.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
Red kites are common in Hampshire, saw one being blown around by the wind on my lunchtime walk yesterday
And yet Red Kites, once ubiquitous, were reduced to a few pairs in Wales a few decades ago. Their rebound is excellent news, in the face of much grimness. Ditto otters, bustards, boars
I have even seen the odd buzzard but they stick to more rural areas. Kites were urban vermin in Shakespeare's time and I wonder if they will return to that niche. I have even seen one in Aldershot.
Buzzards are plentiful further west or north.
Kites are noisy. There are villages in the Chilterns totally dominated by their cawing shrieks. Must be a bit annoying, so maybe they will become vermin once more. But better that - for such imperious birds - than extermination.
Ok, because of the kerfuffle I ran the cartoon past a professional cartoonist, who incidentally hadn't seen it before and wasn't aware of the AS concerns.
We concluded it's a good cartoon cartoon idea, but the execution is poor (no pun intended). The main trouble is that Starmer is unrecognisable. He looks more like Cameron! What's more, he's been made to look effete. The reason for this is unclear, and doesn't seem to serve any comedic or political purpose. (Corbyn is also a poor likeness but that matters less.)
This is a shame because the idea of Starmer decapitating metaphorically his adversary is a strong one, especially as real beheadings are very much in the news.
Is it anti-semitic? Not in a million years. There's no Jewish trope here, and no caricature that could be interpreted as such.
Like Foxy says, "The implication that the Jews wanted an innocent man's head on a plate."
So that's NOT anti-semitic? Sorry, but think you are wrong here. Trouble is not crap drawing but rather loaded, coded message.
But there is no implication in the cartoon that it is Jews wanting the head on a platter. It is Starmer, looking remarkably like Cameron for some reason.
Was Salome Jewish? Was Jewishness germane to the original story? It's all a bit far-fetched.
Jews and anti-Semitism as an issue is rather germane to the whole issue of why Corbyn has been sacked are they not?
Yes, but there is nothing in the cartoon itself about Jews or AS. If you want ot make it AS, you have to bring that to the cartoon yourself. It's not there, in the work itself.
Is dog whistle racism, racism? As someone with little knowledge of the bible I couldnt see anything anti-Semitic about it initially. Once it was explained I think its fairly obvious that the intent is again minimising anti-semitism within the Labour party, Corbyns actions, and probably also claiming his suspension was solely to placate Jews as a token gesture.
Under Keir Starmers definition of anti-Semitism its very much anti-Semitic. Under Jeremy Corbyns definition its not. Should the Guardian be bound by Starmers new definition? Not in terms of publishing or law but morally it would be better for the country if they did and they are on shaky ground if they think this will fly long term with the public.
Sure dog-whistle racism is racism, but you have to be sure somebody whistled and you did not imagine it.
I'm not Jewish but I wanted Corbyn's head on a platter. My friend the cartoonist is Jewish and also wanted it, but not because of being Jewish - rather because of a visceral disdain for Corbyn.
There is nothing in the cartoon to imply the decapitation was to placate Jews - Corbyn's enemies, yes, but not specifically Jews. That seems fair enough to me as a theme for a cartoon. There's no AS there, unless you bring it in from your own imagination. I think not, anyway. But if you can show me it is in the cartoon rather than the imagination please be my guest. Happy to be proved wrong if I am mistaken.
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
They're not saying. But is is wonderful. I too saw them in the Hebrides a few years ago. The idea they might soon be flying free over much of Britain is glorious.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
Red kites are common in Hampshire, saw one being blown around by the wind on my lunchtime walk yesterday
And yet Red Kites, once ubiquitous, were reduced to a few pairs in Wales a few decades ago. Their rebound is excellent news, in the face of much grimness. Ditto otters, bustards, boars
I have even seen the odd buzzard but they stick to more rural areas. Kites were urban vermin in Shakespeare's time and I wonder if they will return to that niche. I have even seen one in Aldershot.
Buzzards are plentiful further west or north.
Kites are noisy. There are villages in the Chilterns totally dominated by their cawing shrieks. Must be a bit annoying, so maybe they will become vermin once more. But better that - for such imperious birds - than extermination.
Both Red Kites and Buzzards visible most days from my garden this summer.
Much longer than I thought, I was expecting it to be the following week. Perhaps it has taken them this long to come up for a new phrase for circuit break so they can claim its different to the SAGE/Starmer suggestion.
Sadly the 2-3 weeks which might have had an impact back then probably needs to be a month or more now given the higher rates that have been allowed to develop.
But nobody at any stage has proposed a "proper" lockdown. And they aren't now. Either do a proper lockdown. Ban anyone from going out. Including for school. Or for work. Or don't bother.
All we get is "Tier 2 restrictions aren't enough". Or "Tier 3 restrictions aren't enough". Then it'll be "Tier 4 restrictions aren't enough". Everything is a partial lockdown, with huge amounts of mixing. So will never be a 'success' on it's own terms. So we shut down "non essential shops". Many of which have few people in and/or people coming into close contact at the best of times. Because, well, they're non-essential. And therefore not as busy as "essential" shops. Which will be busy. And the fewer shops that are open, the busier the ones that are open will be. Because some people will go to them just because they want to get out of the house and it's all they can do.
So we're going to shut down garden centres again. Almost zero risk of covid. And visiting allotments (hat tip Wales) . Zero risk. Golf courses. Zero risk. etc etc etc. But all "non-essential". But leave the supermarkets packed. People going to work. Schools open. Huge numbers mixing in universities.
Will somebody get a grip? Learn from Japan. Learn what ACTUALLY spreads the virus and clamp down on it. Things shouldn't be targeted or not because they are 'essential' or 'non-essential'. Things should be targeted because they are a serious Covid risk.
Would agree with most of that but not all. The original SAGE proposal was to align it with half term, possibly extend half term for a second week so it would have been pretty close to a lockdown equivalent to the first UK one with schools closed, but yes proper risk assessments should be done rather than going down the Welsh essential/non essential route.
Ok, because of the kerfuffle I ran the cartoon past a professional cartoonist, who incidentally hadn't seen it before and wasn't aware of the AS concerns.
We concluded it's a good cartoon cartoon idea, but the execution is poor (no pun intended). The main trouble is that Starmer is unrecognisable. He looks more like Cameron! What's more, he's been made to look effete. The reason for this is unclear, and doesn't seem to serve any comedic or political purpose. (Corbyn is also a poor likeness but that matters less.)
This is a shame because the idea of Starmer decapitating metaphorically his adversary is a strong one, especially as real beheadings are very much in the news.
Is it anti-semitic? Not in a million years. There's no Jewish trope here, and no caricature that could be interpreted as such.
Like Foxy says, "The implication that the Jews wanted an innocent man's head on a plate."
So that's NOT anti-semitic? Sorry, but think you are wrong here. Trouble is not crap drawing but rather loaded, coded message.
But there is no implication in the cartoon that it is Jews wanting the head on a platter. It is Starmer, looking remarkably like Cameron for some reason.
Was Salome Jewish? Was Jewishness germane to the original story? It's all a bit far-fetched.
Jews and anti-Semitism as an issue is rather germane to the whole issue of why Corbyn has been sacked are they not?
Yes, but there is nothing in the cartoon itself about Jews or AS. If you want ot make it AS, you have to bring that to the cartoon yourself. It's not there, in the work itself.
Is dog whistle racism, racism? As someone with little knowledge of the bible I couldnt see anything anti-Semitic about it initially. Once it was explained I think its fairly obvious that the intent is again minimising anti-semitism within the Labour party, Corbyns actions, and probably also claiming his suspension was solely to placate Jews as a token gesture.
Under Keir Starmers definition of anti-Semitism its very much anti-Semitic. Under Jeremy Corbyns definition its not. Should the Guardian be bound by Starmers new definition? Not in terms of publishing or law but morally it would be better for the country if they did and they are on shaky ground if they think this will fly long term with the public.
Sure dog-whistle racism is racism, but you have to be sure somebody whistled and you did not imagine it.
I'm not Jewish but I wanted Corbyn's head on a platter. My friend the cartoonist is Jewish and also wanted it, but not because of being Jewish - rather because of a visceral disdain for Corbyn.
There is nothing in the cartoon to imply the decapitation was to placate Jews - Corbyn's enemies, yes, but not specifically Jews. That seems fair enough to me as a theme for a cartoon. There's no AS there, unless you bring it in from your own imagination. I think not, anyway. But if you can show me it is in the cartoon rather than the imagination please be my guest. Happy to be proved wrong if I am mistaken.
I am definitely not the right person for that as I was in the same position of not understanding what the issue was to start with as I have no interest in things biblical and little interest in classical paintings. Others on here have convinced me though.
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
They're not saying. But is is wonderful. I too saw them in the Hebrides a few years ago. The idea they might soon be flying free over much of Britain is glorious.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
Red kites are common in Hampshire, saw one being blown around by the wind on my lunchtime walk yesterday
And yet Red Kites, once ubiquitous, were reduced to a few pairs in Wales a few decades ago. Their rebound is excellent news, in the face of much grimness. Ditto otters, bustards, boars
I have even seen the odd buzzard but they stick to more rural areas. Kites were urban vermin in Shakespeare's time and I wonder if they will return to that niche. I have even seen one in Aldershot.
Buzzards are plentiful further west or north.
Kites are noisy. There are villages in the Chilterns totally dominated by their cawing shrieks. Must be a bit annoying, so maybe they will become vermin once more. But better that - for such imperious birds - than extermination.
They're big carrion eaters, so would probably love discarded döner kebabs and McDonald's.
For noise - herons are lovely birds but caw like crows on acid. A neighbouring house once attracted a flock of jackdaws and I am glad they moved on on in a day or two. But the worst was a chaffinch I once had set up court in a tree near my bedroom window. I called it the Preview Bird as it went DEEDLE-DEEDLE-DEEDLE-PREVIEW!!! incessantly from sunup. I was pleased when the tree died and it moved on.
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
They're not saying. But is is wonderful. I too saw them in the Hebrides a few years ago. The idea they might soon be flying free over much of Britain is glorious.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
Red kites are common in Hampshire, saw one being blown around by the wind on my lunchtime walk yesterday
And yet Red Kites, once ubiquitous, were reduced to a few pairs in Wales a few decades ago. Their rebound is excellent news, in the face of much grimness. Ditto otters, bustards, boars
I have even seen the odd buzzard but they stick to more rural areas. Kites were urban vermin in Shakespeare's time and I wonder if they will return to that niche. I have even seen one in Aldershot.
Buzzards are plentiful further west or north.
Kites are noisy. There are villages in the Chilterns totally dominated by their cawing shrieks. Must be a bit annoying, so maybe they will become vermin once more. But better that - for such imperious birds - than extermination.
We have them swooping over our garden often being mobbed by crows. I find their song which sounds like a whistle haunting and beautiful.
I didn't realise how profound the PA vote counting thing was.
The Dems are setting up a phone bank so that as voters mail ballots are rejected on Tuesday they'll get phoned and instructed to go cast a provisional vote.
I thought that non-US PBers might be interested in seeing what an actual US (or at least Westchester County, New York) ballot paper looks like. This is a sample from the neighbouring village to mine of Tarrytown, NY, but the candidates are as per the real thing.
You vote for your candidate by filling in the oval by them in black ink, standardized test style. The ballot paper is scanned at the polling place and retained by the machine for audit if necessary.
A feature unique (I believe) to New York is "electoral fusion" whereby candidates can be nominated by more than one party. Biden-Harris you can see have been cross-nominated by the Working Families Party (social democrats), and Trump-Pence by the Conservative Party (paleoconservatives). It doesn't matter under which line you vote for your preferred ticket, all the votes get totted together. If the third-party gets enough votes it will remain on the ballot in future races, and may wish to run their own candidate(s) for some down-ballot races, as you can see the Conservatives doing for the House race.
At the very bottom is a write-in line, so we never have truly unopposed races here where no election is actually conducted as sometimes happens at local level in the UK.
Oregon also has fusion. It was introduced about a decade or so ago after strong lobbying by Working Families Party which is project of some within organized labor. Idea is that it give minor parties (read in this case labor) a bit of clout in dealing with major parties.
Note that in NY State (the birthplace of fusion; election of Fiorello La Guardia NY Mayor was & still fusion's proudest achievement) the requirements for retaining party status on the ballot were raised this year, to a much higher minimum vote in the previous presidential election. Which is a SERIOUS (and intentional) threat to their survival, orchestrated by Gov Andrew Cuomo.
As a result, the Greens ditched their presidential nominee and substituted Howie Hawkins, a prominent NY Green activist (if there is such a thing) in order to boost their ballot line at this critical juncture.
Which is THE reason why the Greens got knocked off the Pennsylvania presidential ballot - because they failed to met state legal requirements for substitution of presidential candidates by political parties.
Yeah, Cuomo has a beef against the NY Working Families Party for daring to nominate Cynthia Nixon against him back in 2018. He even astroturfed a "Womens' Equality Party" against them to try and knock them off the ballot back then, but it failed miserably. I voted for Nixon in the 2018 primary, but after his excellent COVID response I'll probably back Cuomo if he runs for gov again in 2022. Boy, he sure knows how to hold a grudge though! He hardly ever mentions Bill de Blasio by name, for instance, only every referring to him (usually in a criticism) as "the Mayor of New York City".
It's not perfect but I think we need to stick with the tier system for the moment - people are getting used to it.
We can't have people getting used to something. They wouldn't be permanently confused about the rules if that was the case and we can't have that can we?
"National" lockdown. What does that mean exactly? Just England presumably.
Can't see Wales being too keen to go along with it. Given the entire point of their 'early action' on a "short circuit breaker" was to avoid a longer lockdown.
That'll be Boris 'there'll not be another national lockdown' Johnson would it?
Has he got the Cabinet behind him on this, because I'm pretty sure he hasn't got his backbenchers.
I assume that’s why he’s offering to keep schools, colleges and universities open, which MPs seem to be keen on, despite Secondaries and above having high infection rates.
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
They're not saying. But is is wonderful. I too saw them in the Hebrides a few years ago. The idea they might soon be flying free over much of Britain is glorious.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
PS And lynx too (actually more doable than wolf, I understand).
Yes I see almost no problem with lynx. They are zero threat to humans. If they take a sheep or two, compensate the farmers, because the tourist income will totally outweigh their loss. Large parts of Scotland, northern/western England, Wales, could easily support a few lynx. And how exciting would that be? A genuine big cat in Britain
Already there. There really are too many credible Bodmin and Dartmoor sightings to be disbelieved - i have heard first hand from a sane Devon farmer how he saw a black panther kind of thing, close up and in good light.
"National" lockdown. What does that mean exactly? Just England presumably.
Can't see Wales being too keen to go along with it. Given the entire point of their 'early action' on a "short circuit breaker" was to avoid a longer lockdown.
Gives Drakeford a chance to extend his lockdown - with special 'non essential shopping' rules of course.
And Sturgeon can have 'lockdown+' with bonus SNP totalitarian measures.
That'll be Boris 'there'll not be another national lockdown' Johnson would it?
Has he got the Cabinet behind him on this, because I'm pretty sure he hasn't got his backbenchers.
I assume that’s why he’s offering to keep schools, colleges and universities open, which MPs seem to be keen on, despite Secondaries and above having high infection rates.
Students seem to have been the main source of this next phase of the plague from where I'm sitting.
Andrew Neil's Spectator TV US Election in 60 Minutes -- starts with the Democracy Institute on why Trump will win (shy Trumpers and the enthusiasm gap working for Trump; college campuses closed hurting Biden; Trump doing better in battleground states).
That'll be Boris 'there'll not be another national lockdown' Johnson would it?
Has he got the Cabinet behind him on this, because I'm pretty sure he hasn't got his backbenchers.
I've not watched all the press briefings. Did he actually say that, I thought they were always careful to leave all options open.
It was in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, it is more of a bad prediction worthy of Sion Simon.
Boris Johnson has effectively ruled out another nationwide lockdown, stating the option is now akin to a "nuclear deterrent".
In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Johnson says he "certainly" does not want another blanket shutdown, "and nor do I think we will be in that position again".
Ok, because of the kerfuffle I ran the cartoon past a professional cartoonist, who incidentally hadn't seen it before and wasn't aware of the AS concerns.
We concluded it's a good cartoon cartoon idea, but the execution is poor (no pun intended). The main trouble is that Starmer is unrecognisable. He looks more like Cameron! What's more, he's been made to look effete. The reason for this is unclear, and doesn't seem to serve any comedic or political purpose. (Corbyn is also a poor likeness but that matters less.)
This is a shame because the idea of Starmer decapitating metaphorically his adversary is a strong one, especially as real beheadings are very much in the news.
Is it anti-semitic? Not in a million years. There's no Jewish trope here, and no caricature that could be interpreted as such.
Like Foxy says, "The implication that the Jews wanted an innocent man's head on a plate."
So that's NOT anti-semitic? Sorry, but think you are wrong here. Trouble is not crap drawing but rather loaded, coded message.
But there is no implication in the cartoon that it is Jews wanting the head on a platter. It is Starmer, looking remarkably like Cameron for some reason.
Was Salome Jewish? Was Jewishness germane to the original story? It's all a bit far-fetched.
By "original story" assume you mean one in the Bible. Which centers on the execution of the man who first proclaimed Jesus the Messiah - a message ill-received by the Jewish religious establishment of that day.
As I said, an ancient anti-Semitic trope.
The idea that it's an innocent coincidence when it's deliberately signed off is as plausible as the idea that the tattooed carpenter on the Sky TV series had an 88 tattoo for innocent reasons.
I dunno. The thing is, it would still be a cracking good cartoon if the whole story came from Greek mythology with not a jew in sight.
That'll be Boris 'there'll not be another national lockdown' Johnson would it?
Has he got the Cabinet behind him on this, because I'm pretty sure he hasn't got his backbenchers.
I assume that’s why he’s offering to keep schools, colleges and universities open, which MPs seem to be keen on, despite Secondaries and above having high infection rates.
Students seem to have been the main source of this next phase of the plague from where I'm sitting.
Is there a plan for how we deal with their migration at the end of this term, and the start and end of future terms? Of course not, the government will worry about it the week it is happening, when it hits the press headlines. Williamson will panic and come up with something nonsensical. Why cant they plan ahead!
White Tailed Sea Eagles are now firmly embedded as nesting birds in the Isle of Wight. In England. For the first time in England since 1780
YAY!
Excellent news. I saw the first chicks being habituated back on the Isle of Rum in, I think, the late 1970s or 1980s and admired the adulkts like flying barn doors on the Isle of Eigg in the 1990s.
They're not saying. But is is wonderful. I too saw them in the Hebrides a few years ago. The idea they might soon be flying free over much of Britain is glorious.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
PS And lynx too (actually more doable than wolf, I understand).
Yes I see almost no problem with lynx. They are zero threat to humans. If they take a sheep or two, compensate the farmers, because the tourist income will totally outweigh their loss. Large parts of Scotland, northern/western England, Wales, could easily support a few lynx. And how exciting would that be? A genuine big cat in Britain
Already there. There really are too many credible Bodmin and Dartmoor sightings to be disbelieved - i have heard first hand from a sane Devon farmer how he saw a black panther kind of thing, close up and in good light.
Wouldn't such things need a breeding population to be sustainable ?
Have more than one ever been seen at the same time ?
That'll be Boris 'there'll not be another national lockdown' Johnson would it?
Has he got the Cabinet behind him on this, because I'm pretty sure he hasn't got his backbenchers.
I've not watched all the press briefings. Did he actually say that, I thought they were always careful to leave all options open.
It was in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, it is more of a bad prediction worthy of Sion Simon.
Boris Johnson has effectively ruled out another nationwide lockdown, stating the option is now akin to a "nuclear deterrent".
In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Johnson says he "certainly" does not want another blanket shutdown, "and nor do I think we will be in that position again".
Explicitly tell everyone that they shouldn't expect an immediate impact and it'll take time before the effects are seen.
Then within days declare that they've been ineffective based on data originating from days before the new restrictions even came into effect.
The whole thing is scandalous. It's one thing to introduce a new regime and it not to succeed. Something special to introduce it and declare it a failure before you've even had a time to assess it.
"National" lockdown. What does that mean exactly? Just England presumably.
Can't see Wales being too keen to go along with it. Given the entire point of their 'early action' on a "short circuit breaker" was to avoid a longer lockdown.
Gives Drakeford a chance to extend his lockdown - with special 'non essential shopping' rules of course.
And Sturgeon can have 'lockdown+' with bonus SNP totalitarian measures.
Drakeford said today that from the 9th November new covid rules will apply throughout Wales so it is de facto extension of the firebreak to Wales as a whole
"National" lockdown. What does that mean exactly? Just England presumably.
Can't see Wales being too keen to go along with it. Given the entire point of their 'early action' on a "short circuit breaker" was to avoid a longer lockdown.
That depends on what the numbers are in Wales in ten days.
The last thing Drakeford will want to do is admit failure.
It's one thing to introduce a new regime and it not to succeed. Something special to introduce it and declare it a failure before you've even had a time to assess it.
Explicitly tell everyone that they shouldn't expect an immediate impact and it'll take time before the effects are seen.
Then within days declare that they've been ineffective based on data originating from days before the new restrictions even came into effect.
The whole thing is scandalous. It's one thing to introduce a new regime and it not to succeed. Something special to introduce it and declare it a failure before you've even had a time to assess it.
Politicians are rarely logical or numerate or patient.
"National" lockdown. What does that mean exactly? Just England presumably.
Hasn't Boris asked for a meeting with all the first ministers
"A summit to save Christmas". What an utterly ridiculous idea. Not a summit to save lives. Nor a summit to save the economy. Nor even a summit to strike a balance between the two. But a summit to save bloody Christmas! Just for a few short term headlines. As ever. Who feckin cares?
And hospitals are apparently on the verge of being 'overwhelmed'. What were the bloody Nightingales for? That was the whole point of them!
Ok, because of the kerfuffle I ran the cartoon past a professional cartoonist, who incidentally hadn't seen it before and wasn't aware of the AS concerns.
We concluded it's a good cartoon cartoon idea, but the execution is poor (no pun intended). The main trouble is that Starmer is unrecognisable. He looks more like Cameron! What's more, he's been made to look effete. The reason for this is unclear, and doesn't seem to serve any comedic or political purpose. (Corbyn is also a poor likeness but that matters less.)
This is a shame because the idea of Starmer decapitating metaphorically his adversary is a strong one, especially as real beheadings are very much in the news.
Is it anti-semitic? Not in a million years. There's no Jewish trope here, and no caricature that could be interpreted as such.
Like Foxy says, "The implication that the Jews wanted an innocent man's head on a plate."
So that's NOT anti-semitic? Sorry, but think you are wrong here. Trouble is not crap drawing but rather loaded, coded message.
Also, this cartoonist was "unaware of the anti-Semitic issue" and this is when he, or she, is judging a cartoon, which is all about a politician cashiered for anti-Semitism?
That's utterly ridiculous. Anti-Semitism is THE central issue here, it is the reason for the cartoon's existence. So if you are unaware of that you can't have any opinion on the image, as you are clueless of the vital context.
You are so sharp at spotting antisemitism on the left. Quite exceptionally talented in this regard.
Ok, because of the kerfuffle I ran the cartoon past a professional cartoonist, who incidentally hadn't seen it before and wasn't aware of the AS concerns.
We concluded it's a good cartoon cartoon idea, but the execution is poor (no pun intended). The main trouble is that Starmer is unrecognisable. He looks more like Cameron! What's more, he's been made to look effete. The reason for this is unclear, and doesn't seem to serve any comedic or political purpose. (Corbyn is also a poor likeness but that matters less.)
This is a shame because the idea of Starmer decapitating metaphorically his adversary is a strong one, especially as real beheadings are very much in the news.
Is it anti-semitic? Not in a million years. There's no Jewish trope here, and no caricature that could be interpreted as such.
Like Foxy says, "The implication that the Jews wanted an innocent man's head on a plate."
So that's NOT anti-semitic? Sorry, but think you are wrong here. Trouble is not crap drawing but rather loaded, coded message.
Also, this cartoonist was "unaware of the anti-Semitic issue" and this is when he, or she, is judging a cartoon, which is all about a politician cashiered for anti-Semitism?
That's utterly ridiculous. Anti-Semitism is THE central issue here, it is the reason for the cartoon's existence. So if you are unaware of that you can't have any opinion on the image, as you are clueless of the vital context.
You are so sharp at spotting antisemitism on the left. Quite exceptionally talented in this regard.
"National" lockdown. What does that mean exactly? Just England presumably.
Can't see Wales being too keen to go along with it. Given the entire point of their 'early action' on a "short circuit breaker" was to avoid a longer lockdown.
That depends on what the numbers are in Wales in ten days.
The last thing Drakeford will want to do is admit failure.
He has already said that post the 9th November the whole of Wales will be subject to further restrictions
Comments
The Labor Government under Palaszczuk is defending a 3-seat majority from 2017 having taken the state from the LNP in 2015.
After trailing in the early summer, Labor has fought back and the eve of poll Newspoll has Labour head 51.5-48.5 in the two party preference and leads LNP 37-36 in the primary poll. That's very little changed from 2017 and suggests another close finish - Queensland swung sharply away from Labor in the Federal Election and was a big part of Scott Morrison's win but the State picture is more complex.
Under Keir Starmers definition of anti-Semitism its very much anti-Semitic. Under Jeremy Corbyns definition its not. Should the Guardian be bound by Starmers new definition? Not in terms of publishing or law but morally it would be better for the country if they did and they are on shaky ground if they think this will fly long term with the public.
And it is easily do-able. Red Kites (themselves magnificent birds) are now EVERYWHERE in the Chilterns and along the M4 (and they are spreading).
I have seen wild boar prints in Sussex. I love the rewilding of the nation. Beavers in Devon! Bring back the wolf in Scotland and Cumbria!
Have always wanted to visit. Did so vicariously about a year ago analyzing and mapping local voting patterns at state leg level.
Aside from a few of the gated communities, greater Palm Springs area is trending and voting Democratic. But it is included with much more conservative turf in state house & senate districts - areas closer to Los Angeles but still WAY far out. Filled with exurban super-commuters who drive long distances (in order to have lower property costs) even if they don't work in El Lay.
Think that's correct re: commuting (know it's right re: voting) but will defer to Robert & stodge (& Charles) on this.
https://twitter.com/JenWilliamsMEN/status/1322288197326512137
But that is a different question to should they publish it as a mainstream newspaper that claims to be anti racist.
BTW, back in the 1920s Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson loved the place. As did other literati, nobs and Hollywood stars (who IIRC first popularized PS).
You vote for your candidate by filling in the oval by them in black ink, standardized test style. The ballot paper is scanned at the polling place and retained by the machine for audit if necessary.
A feature unique (I believe) to New York is "electoral fusion" whereby candidates can be nominated by more than one party. Biden-Harris you can see have been cross-nominated by the Working Families Party (social democrats), and Trump-Pence by the Conservative Party (paleoconservatives). It doesn't matter under which line you vote for your preferred ticket, all the votes get totted together. If the third-party gets enough votes it will remain on the ballot in future races, and may wish to run their own candidate(s) for some down-ballot races, as you can see the Conservatives doing for the House race.
At the very bottom is a write-in line, so we never have truly unopposed races here where no election is actually conducted as sometimes happens at local level in the UK.
The idea that it's an innocent coincidence when it's deliberately signed off is as plausible as the idea that the tattooed carpenter on the Sky TV series had an 88 tattoo for innocent reasons.
Sadly the 2-3 weeks which might have had an impact back then probably needs to be a month or more now given the higher rates that have been allowed to develop.
So I fully expect a completely new one to be introduced by Monday.
Also why does he say it is "after Caravaggio" when the Caravaggio also has Herodias and the executioner in it? There's versions with just Salome and the head, like https://www.rct.uk/collection/405639/salome-with-the-head-of-john-the-baptist
As I recall, Bono (or Bono Mack as she was known) wouldn't concede on the night but was forced to a few days later as it was clear she had been beaten. The Democrats won 38 of the California Congressional seats in 2012 and 46 in 2018 leaving the GOP with just seven.
Heads should roll (not an AS trope)
thanks for posting that image, I've been wondering what the ballot forms looked like.
Note that in NY State (the birthplace of fusion; election of Fiorello La Guardia NY Mayor was & still fusion's proudest achievement) the requirements for retaining party status on the ballot were raised this year, to a much higher minimum vote in the previous presidential election. Which is a SERIOUS (and intentional) threat to their survival, orchestrated by Gov Andrew Cuomo.
As a result, the Greens ditched their presidential nominee and substituted Howie Hawkins, a prominent NY Green activist (if there is such a thing) in order to boost their ballot line at this critical juncture.
Which is THE reason why the Greens got knocked off the Pennsylvania presidential ballot - because they failed to met state legal requirements for substitution of presidential candidates by political parties.
All we get is "Tier 2 restrictions aren't enough". Or "Tier 3 restrictions aren't enough". Then it'll be "Tier 4 restrictions aren't enough". Everything is a partial lockdown, with huge amounts of mixing. So will never be a 'success' on it's own terms. So we shut down "non essential shops". Many of which have few people in and/or people coming into close contact at the best of times. Because, well, they're non-essential. And therefore not as busy as "essential" shops. Which will be busy. And the fewer shops that are open, the busier the ones that are open will be. Because some people will go to them just because they want to get out of the house and it's all they can do.
So we're going to shut down garden centres again. Almost zero risk of covid. And visiting allotments (hat tip Wales) . Zero risk. Golf courses. Zero risk. etc etc etc. But all "non-essential". But leave the supermarkets packed. People going to work. Schools open. Huge numbers mixing in universities.
Will somebody get a grip? Learn from Japan. Learn what ACTUALLY spreads the virus and clamp down on it. Things shouldn't be targeted or not because they are 'essential' or 'non-essential'. Things should be targeted because they are a serious Covid risk.
What strange times we live in.
Kites are noisy. There are villages in the Chilterns totally dominated by their cawing shrieks. Must be a bit annoying, so maybe they will become vermin once more. But better that - for such imperious birds - than extermination.
https://order-order.com/2020/10/30/london-tier-3-lockdown-rumour-mill-in-overdrive/
I'm not Jewish but I wanted Corbyn's head on a platter. My friend the cartoonist is Jewish and also wanted it, but not because of being Jewish - rather because of a visceral disdain for Corbyn.
There is nothing in the cartoon to imply the decapitation was to placate Jews - Corbyn's enemies, yes, but not specifically Jews. That seems fair enough to me as a theme for a cartoon. There's no AS there, unless you bring it in from your own imagination. I think not, anyway. But if you can show me it is in the cartoon rather than the imagination please be my guest. Happy to be proved wrong if I am mistaken.
https://twitter.com/BBCJonSopel/status/1322284492384587777
For noise - herons are lovely birds but caw like crows on acid. A neighbouring house once attracted a flock of jackdaws and I am glad they moved on on in a day or two. But the worst was a chaffinch I once had set up court in a tree near my bedroom window. I called it the Preview Bird as it went DEEDLE-DEEDLE-DEEDLE-PREVIEW!!! incessantly from sunup. I was pleased when the tree died and it moved on.
The Dems are setting up a phone bank so that as voters mail ballots are rejected on Tuesday they'll get phoned and instructed to go cast a provisional vote.
Do we know what infection percentage various accommodation blocks reached while they were locked down ?
Has he got the Cabinet behind him on this, because I'm pretty sure he hasn't got his backbenchers.
And Sturgeon can have 'lockdown+' with bonus SNP totalitarian measures.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiQHB4PqCBE
Boris Johnson has effectively ruled out another nationwide lockdown, stating the option is now akin to a "nuclear deterrent".
In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Johnson says he "certainly" does not want another blanket shutdown, "and nor do I think we will be in that position again".
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/07/18/boris-johnson-exclusive-interview-will-not-need-another-national/
Have more than one ever been seen at the same time ?
Jeez
Explicitly tell everyone that they shouldn't expect an immediate impact and it'll take time before the effects are seen.
Then within days declare that they've been ineffective based on data originating from days before the new restrictions even came into effect.
The whole thing is scandalous. It's one thing to introduce a new regime and it not to succeed. Something special to introduce it and declare it a failure before you've even had a time to assess it.
We are headed for the worst of times
The last thing Drakeford will want to do is admit failure.
And hospitals are apparently on the verge of being 'overwhelmed'. What were the bloody Nightingales for? That was the whole point of them!
Not sure which though.