Far fewer people watch live ads now (unless they're watching live TV per chance) so it's a social media battle. Sainsbury's will be well aware this will be widely shared, for a variety of reasons, and that will do them very nicely.
I've already ordered my Christmas food from M&S, same as I do every year, as I've never found anywhere as good - their stuff is sublime.
We do ours with Waitrose every year and get the bird from direct from a farm. We tried M&S a couple of years ago and it wasn't as good so we switched back to Waitrose. Maybe it was a bad year.
This year we've gone for a Turkey, the farm was very glad for the business.
Apparently there is going to be a shortage of UK turkey this year because 5m (seriously!) Brits normally go abroad for Christmas and nearly all will be here instead. We are having to make special arrangements to get enough turkey pluckers in from abroad but we will probably have to import some turkeys as well.
Most years we go around on Christmas eve and buy a bronzed turkey once the price has collapsed. That might be a bit riskier this year.
Pro tip: don't buy a turkey; buy a turkey crown.
Not big enough (and I actually like a leg). I would agree the waste is much less, especially if it is a smaller family gathering this year which it still might be.
Crowns are easier to cook evenly. Buy two.
I am not sure that you are getting this tradition thing.
the xmas food adverts do feel to have started earlier than usual this year but could be my memory failing me.
am very disappointed with the John Lewis one. didn't even get close to a tear. thought last year's was superb.
These ads are all gruesome - why does anyone give two fucks about them? BBC = no ads, yeah.
BBC = plenty of ads for themselves. I find that and continuity announcers trying to be actorish more irritating than their pish news/politics coverage.
An Islington North CLP Zoom call for Black History Month last night saw Jeremy Corbyn go further than his public statement – in which he celebrated having “been reinstated in the Labour Party” – and claim “once again, Islington North has a Labour MP”,
I saw the Sainsbury's ad last night and thought it was one of the best Christmas ads I'd seen this year.
Didn't even think about skin colour or notice the fact they were black. That wasn't the relevant bit to me, for me it was a family having a 2020 Christmas talking about gravy etc - that some people see that and get offended is absolutely beyond me.
That's an interesting point - have other supermarkets/big retailers not featured black/other non-white families? I would assume they have (be a bit shocked if not) but I honestly can't remember. As you say, not really something that you notice particularly unless flagged up.
I do remember the Lloyds banking front page picture/ad being a couple of men getting engaged a few years back, but I'd seen that a few times before I twigged the significance (one of the first ads to feature an openly homosexual couple, I think).
Sainsbury’s are doing different ads featuring different races it seems. Maybe the third will be a mixture.
If they are trying to represent the countries demographic, it fails as BAME is a smallish minority, if they are trying to promote an ideal situation I think it fails too because it segregates the races. Racists would probably be pleased to have different ads for black and white families. Best not to go there, but as @Roy_G_Biv says it is almost certainly a part of the marketing strategy to provoke some fury
Its not different ads for different races.
Its different ads that happen to have different races. All ads are for all races.
BTW, I did wonder what the other 'reasons' are to boycott Sainsburys, but Google reveals they're apparently unbearably woke. I won't post links. I don't normally let cultur wars determine my shopping habits, should I?
I have no idea what this "woke" business is all about, but I do not care. I shop at Sainsburys more than any other store.... because I can walk to it in a few minutes
I should add that the ad's choice of location adds authenticity as New Cross Gate Sainsbury's is more or less at the bottom of the road it is filmed on. It is a lovely store and you're guaranteed to bump into a few neighbours every time you go there. I love Sainsbury's and Christmas. God bless us one and all.
I saw the Sainsbury's ad last night and thought it was one of the best Christmas ads I'd seen this year.
Didn't even think about skin colour or notice the fact they were black. That wasn't the relevant bit to me, for me it was a family having a 2020 Christmas talking about gravy etc - that some people see that and get offended is absolutely beyond me.
That's an interesting point - have other supermarkets/big retailers not featured black/other non-white families? I would assume they have (be a bit shocked if not) but I honestly can't remember. As you say, not really something that you notice particularly unless flagged up.
I do remember the Lloyds banking front page picture/ad being a couple of men getting engaged a few years back, but I'd seen that a few times before I twigged the significance (one of the first ads to feature an openly homosexual couple, I think).
Sainsbury’s are doing different ads featuring different races it seems. Maybe the third will be a mixture.
If they are trying to represent the countries demographic, it fails as BAME is a smallish minority, if they are trying to promote an ideal situation I think it fails too because it segregates the races. Racists would probably be pleased to have different ads for black and white families. Best not to go there, but as @Roy_G_Biv says it is almost certainly a part of the marketing strategy to provoke some fury
Have to say, coming at it cold and from outside the ad industry (and living in the US), I found the ad totally normal and would find it far more reprehensible if the series of ads did not feature at least some non-white families. Should it show mixed-race families? Maybe - but the centerpiece of the ads seems to be nostalgia and a current adult's childhood - so for me the mixed-race family would actually feel more forced and less natural.
PS and for me the black father and daughter teasing each other worked far better than the white mother and son reminiscing about the deceased father.
Far fewer people watch live ads now (unless they're watching live TV per chance) so it's a social media battle. Sainsbury's will be well aware this will be widely shared, for a variety of reasons, and that will do them very nicely.
I've already ordered my Christmas food from M&S, same as I do every year, as I've never found anywhere as good - their stuff is sublime.
We do ours with Waitrose every year and get the bird from direct from a farm. We tried M&S a couple of years ago and it wasn't as good so we switched back to Waitrose. Maybe it was a bad year.
This year we've gone for a Turkey, the farm was very glad for the business.
Apparently there is going to be a shortage of UK turkey this year because 5m (seriously!) Brits normally go abroad for Christmas and nearly all will be here instead. We are having to make special arrangements to get enough turkey pluckers in from abroad but we will probably have to import some turkeys as well.
Most years we go around on Christmas eve and buy a bronzed turkey once the price has collapsed. That might be a bit riskier this year.
Pro tip: don't buy a turkey; buy a turkey crown.
Not big enough (and I actually like a leg). I would agree the waste is much less, especially if it is a smaller family gathering this year which it still might be.
Crowns are easier to cook evenly. Buy two.
I am not sure that you are getting this tradition thing.
The army are firing off some serious artillery on Pirbright ranges this morning.
Getting ready to pick a side in the coming Second American Civil War?
Any Trump signs up in your neighbourhood still ?
There were remarkably few to begin with - remarkable as we are in rural Maryland which, despite the state being deepest blue, means Red Meat Republican. Last time I drove up to Mt Airy, the two biggest signs were still up, but that was over a week ago. Nothing in town or on the road in.
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
I thought the end of Starmer situation was a little odd..."I will keep this situation under review.”...what does he think will change?
It's good never to write people off. Redemption should always be possible, however unlikely it is that the person will reach for it. It's good, it keeps the responsibility squarely on the wrongdoer.
Far fewer people watch live ads now (unless they're watching live TV per chance) so it's a social media battle. Sainsbury's will be well aware this will be widely shared, for a variety of reasons, and that will do them very nicely.
I've already ordered my Christmas food from M&S, same as I do every year, as I've never found anywhere as good - their stuff is sublime.
We do ours with Waitrose every year and get the bird from direct from a farm. We tried M&S a couple of years ago and it wasn't as good so we switched back to Waitrose. Maybe it was a bad year.
This year we've gone for a Turkey, the farm was very glad for the business.
Apparently there is going to be a shortage of UK turkey this year because 5m (seriously!) Brits normally go abroad for Christmas and nearly all will be here instead. We are having to make special arrangements to get enough turkey pluckers in from abroad but we will probably have to import some turkeys as well.
Most years we go around on Christmas eve and buy a bronzed turkey once the price has collapsed. That might be a bit riskier this year.
Pro tip: don't buy a turkey; buy a turkey crown.
Not big enough (and I actually like a leg). I would agree the waste is much less, especially if it is a smaller family gathering this year which it still might be.
Crowns are easier to cook evenly. Buy two.
I am not sure that you are getting this tradition thing.
Nor that two crowns sends the wrong sort of signal for a unionist.
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
Why don't you go more frequently if it's at the end of your road? Or is it corona?
Georgia elections chief says Trump 'suppressed' GOP vote, cost himself state https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/526395-georgia-elections-chief-says-trump-depressed-gop-vote-cost-himself-state ...“Twenty-four thousand people did not vote in the fall; either they did not vote absentee because they were told by the president ‘don’t vote absentee, it’s not secure,’ ” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) said in an interview with WSB-TV, an Atlanta-area ABC affiliate. “But then they did not come out and vote in person. He would have won by 10,000 votes. He actually depressed, suppressed his own voting base."...
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
I won't say which supermarket I go to, but I'm clear about where I am in the pecking order: Everyone who goes to more downmarket supermarkets is scum Everyone who goes to more upmarket supermarkets is posh scum
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
I went off Sainsbury's when I bought some fish from the fish counter. Good price I thought. When I got home I read the label. Apparently it might have been grown in either Greece or Turkey and may be processed in a facility that may contain nuts. FFS they have no idea where it comes from. Surprised they know what species it is. Back to Waitrose for fish (and it is 20% off on Fridays). Still, Sainsbury's is the closest supermarket to the office and I'm now going in once a week so it's good for the odd top-up item.
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
Why don't you go more frequently if it's at the end of your road? Or is it corona?
I don't have the time. Although perhaps I would if I spent less time on here! We get an Abel and Cole delivery (sorry living up to all the liberal metropolitan elite stereotypes) every week so don't need to go more frequently than that really. Also although it is close, you have to drive along the A2 to get there, which is a bit of a headache. I used to go weekly but dropped to fortnightly because of Covid.
Particularly amusing was the Corbynite on R4 this morning claiming that restoration of the whip would be 'automatic' as a consequence of the panel decision.
And barely challenged by the presenter (though tbf, it must have been hard to get a word in).
I heard an interesting one - apparently there is a concerted push to try and deny/revoke Starlink licenses to operate in EU countries.
To operate the terminals etc, you need permission in each country.
The upfront argument is interference with astronomy and EU control of data. The later point is that when they start launching satellites with interconnections (laser sidelinks), the geometry of the connection changes. It might go fro your dish to Starlink... to another continent. Nothing in your home country. No control.
The real issue is that Starlink is set to provide a massive, massive pile of cash for Musk. Which would make Tesla an even bigger threat.
It will. Shagger will provide detailed proof that critics are wrong, there won't be a new mass of red tape or huge costs which apparently will be paid out to the very Eastern Europeans that so many voted Brexit to be rid of.
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
I went off Sainsbury's when I bought some fish from the fish counter. Good price I thought. When I got home I read the label. Apparently it might have been grown in either Greece or Turkey and may be processed in a facility that may contain nuts. FFS they have no idea where it comes from. Surprised they know what species it is. Back to Waitrose for fish (and it is 20% off on Fridays). Still, Sainsbury's is the closest supermarket to the office and I'm now going in once a week so it's good for the odd top-up item.
Of course Sainsbury's is now closing all these counters.
What was revealing during the horse meat scandal, Morrisons were the only major supermarket that could track all their meat from field to store.
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
I won't say which supermarket I go to, but I'm clear about where I am in the pecking order: Everyone who goes to more downmarket supermarkets is scum Everyone who goes to more upmarket supermarkets is posh scum
The British class system in one sentence. You get to look downwards in all directions, even (especially) when you're looking upwards. What's not to like?
Fair play to Starmer. He would probably have received criticism from the Tories had he restored the whip, but I doubt the media would have given it much attention. They clearly want to help Starmer move on from this issue.
The ball is now in the Corbynista court; how do they respond?
Pfizer vaccine 95% effective and has cleared the safety requirements - no adverse effects, just headaches and fever that you would expect as side effects after a vaccine.
Excellent news. Pfizer applying for emergency authorisation.
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
Why don't you go more frequently if it's at the end of your road? Or is it corona?
I don't have the time. Although perhaps I would if I spent less time on here! We get an Abel and Cole delivery (sorry living up to all the liberal metropolitan elite stereotypes) every week so don't need to go more frequently than that really. Also although it is close, you have to drive along the A2 to get there, which is a bit of a headache. I used to go weekly but dropped to fortnightly because of Covid.
Waitrose is just about 300m away and before covid I used to go almost daily (for the free newspaper). Not been since March.
Where they've done as well as could be expected under the circumstances
- ramping up testing - increasing hospital capacity - being honest about the numbers of infections and dead. They don't seem to have massaged the figures, unlike some countries, nor have they particularly downplayed them. - ordering vaccines in advance. - social distancing. The approach has been broadly sensible, proportionate and consistent with international best practice, though we can all quibble about individual measures.
Where they've done badly
- quarantine. Obviously with 20-20 hindsight it would have been better to impose it in January or February and enforce it, though that probably wasn't politically feasible. But the current compromise of having a quarantine but not really enforcing it hasn't prevented a second wave from Europe but has destroyed the travel industry and been bad for civil liberties. - airport testing. Why do we still not have this, unlike so many other countries? - messaging. Presentation counts, and Boris has not been nearly as slick as, say, Nicola Sturgeon or Angela Merkel. In my view, he was overly gloomy in March, and too optimistic in the summer.
Where their performance defies rational explanation
- tracing, especially the app. I still don't understand why they trusted NHS-X not Apple and Google - moving NHS patients into care homes.
Where the jury is still out
- lockdowns. Do they prevent the spread or just complement social distancing measures already in force? But at least we have avoided the very strict lockdowns in France, Spain and Italy. - mask wearing. Was it necessary? Clearly it hasn't prevented a second wave, but it may have reduced it slightly. We'll probably never know for sure. - PPE procurement. Was it an urgent response to a desperate situation or a way to shovel millions to their mates? Or both? At least we haven't suffered from a shortage of this crucial equipment.
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
I’m now Occado all the way.
I forget fewer items when I go in person for some reason. We tried online shopping but never really took to it.
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
I went off Sainsbury's when I bought some fish from the fish counter. Good price I thought. When I got home I read the label. Apparently it might have been grown in either Greece or Turkey and may be processed in a facility that may contain nuts. FFS they have no idea where it comes from. Surprised they know what species it is. Back to Waitrose for fish (and it is 20% off on Fridays). Still, Sainsbury's is the closest supermarket to the office and I'm now going in once a week so it's good for the odd top-up item.
What's the problem? Clearly they have two suppliers, or, rather, the processor they buy from has two suppliers, and rather then maintaining artificially separate production lines just so the label can be more precise, they just do a single label. Do you really care whether your fish was landed in Greece or Turkey?
I heard an interesting one - apparently there is a concerted push to try and deny/revoke Starlink licenses to operate in EU countries.
To operate the terminals etc, you need permission in each country.
The upfront argument is interference with astronomy and EU control of data. The later point is that when they start launching satellites with interconnections (laser sidelinks), the geometry of the connection changes. It might go fro your dish to Starlink... to another continent. Nothing in your home country. No control.
The real issue is that Starlink is set to provide a massive, massive pile of cash for Musk. Which would make Tesla an even bigger threat.
Starlink will be used to subsidise his Mars dreams, not Tesla.
Which, having briefly flirted with imminent bankruptcy, looks now to be entirely self-sustaining financially. And if their new battery production line proves out in the next twelve moths, they will crush the competition; it's a game changer, and will be hard to quickly duplicate.
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
I won't say which supermarket I go to, but I'm clear about where I am in the pecking order: Everyone who goes to more downmarket supermarkets is scum Everyone who goes to more upmarket supermarkets is posh scum
The British class system in one sentence. You get to look downwards in all directions, even (especially) when you're looking upwards. What's not to like?
I saw the Sainsbury's ad last night and thought it was one of the best Christmas ads I'd seen this year.
Didn't even think about skin colour or notice the fact they were black. That wasn't the relevant bit to me, for me it was a family having a 2020 Christmas talking about gravy etc - that some people see that and get offended is absolutely beyond me.
That's an interesting point - have other supermarkets/big retailers not featured black/other non-white families? I would assume they have (be a bit shocked if not) but I honestly can't remember. As you say, not really something that you notice particularly unless flagged up.
I do remember the Lloyds banking front page picture/ad being a couple of men getting engaged a few years back, but I'd seen that a few times before I twigged the significance (one of the first ads to feature an openly homosexual couple, I think).
Sainsbury’s are doing different ads featuring different races it seems. Maybe the third will be a mixture.
If they are trying to represent the countries demographic, it fails as BAME is a smallish minority, if they are trying to promote an ideal situation I think it fails too because it segregates the races. Racists would probably be pleased to have different ads for black and white families. Best not to go there, but as @Roy_G_Biv says it is almost certainly a part of the marketing strategy to provoke some fury
Yes probably. But such a strategy should fail due to the yawning lack of fury. If it works that is a worry. In particular you start speculating that if a gentle Christmas ad featuring a black family is enough to get lots of people angry what would their reaction be to something like a black PM. Would they start looking for somebody to make all that stop? Somebody to turn the clock back and MEGA. Exaggerating? Possibly I am. Hopefully I am. But this for me is the genuine point of concern not whether Sainsburys are too woke or being cynical. That is a very second order issue imo compared to hardcore racism.
So, the ability to do different things is in the gift of different people here isn't it?
- to sit as a Labour MP: in the gift of SKS in consultation with his chief whip - to suspend membership of the party: can be done under leaders direction, but NEC need to approve. The presence or absence of a specific disciplinary process for Corbyn's current case, I presume, is relevant to whether a suspension can be continued long-term, and presumably, apart from streamlining the process, SKS would do well to stay away from any ongoing case - given previous leadership interference in disciplinary proceedings is a pretty central complaint here.
Also surprised Starmer has not yet restored the whip to Corbyn. Almost smells like hes trying to smoke Corbyns mp supporters and see if they cross a line in anger at him not being readmitted yet.
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
I won't say which supermarket I go to, but I'm clear about where I am in the pecking order: Everyone who goes to more downmarket supermarkets is scum Everyone who goes to more upmarket supermarkets is posh scum
The British class system in one sentence. You get to look downwards in all directions, even (especially) when you're looking upwards. What's not to like?
I would say it's like an Escher painting, but I once saw Escher leaving the Co-op in Hilversum, and since then I've come to regard him as essentially a degenerate.
I saw the Sainsbury's ad last night and thought it was one of the best Christmas ads I'd seen this year.
Didn't even think about skin colour or notice the fact they were black. That wasn't the relevant bit to me, for me it was a family having a 2020 Christmas talking about gravy etc - that some people see that and get offended is absolutely beyond me.
That's an interesting point - have other supermarkets/big retailers not featured black/other non-white families? I would assume they have (be a bit shocked if not) but I honestly can't remember. As you say, not really something that you notice particularly unless flagged up.
I do remember the Lloyds banking front page picture/ad being a couple of men getting engaged a few years back, but I'd seen that a few times before I twigged the significance (one of the first ads to feature an openly homosexual couple, I think).
Sainsbury’s are doing different ads featuring different races it seems. Maybe the third will be a mixture.
If they are trying to represent the countries demographic, it fails as BAME is a smallish minority, if they are trying to promote an ideal situation I think it fails too because it segregates the races. Racists would probably be pleased to have different ads for black and white families. Best not to go there, but as @Roy_G_Biv says it is almost certainly a part of the marketing strategy to provoke some fury
Its not different ads for different races.
Its different ads that happen to have different races. All ads are for all races.
I heard an interesting one - apparently there is a concerted push to try and deny/revoke Starlink licenses to operate in EU countries.
To operate the terminals etc, you need permission in each country.
The upfront argument is interference with astronomy and EU control of data. The later point is that when they start launching satellites with interconnections (laser sidelinks), the geometry of the connection changes. It might go fro your dish to Starlink... to another continent. Nothing in your home country. No control.
The real issue is that Starlink is set to provide a massive, massive pile of cash for Musk. Which would make Tesla an even bigger threat.
Starlink will be used to subsidise his Mars dreams, not Tesla.
Which, having briefly flirted with imminent bankruptcy, looks now to be entirely self-sustaining financially. And if their new battery production line proves out in the next twelve moths, they will crush the competition; it's a game changer, and will be hard to quickly duplicate.
Yes - but the argument is about "Not feeding the beast"
Starlink success would make Tesla bulletproof, so goes the theory.
There is an attendant attempt to get all EU space payloads to fly ESA only.....
Mind you, the funny bit in the lined story is that the executive who moved was running the *engine* plant. In a decade, that whole plant will *have* to shutdown - no more ICE. Moving to ZEV competitor is simply the smart move....
Pfizer vaccine 95% effective and has cleared the safety requirements - no adverse effects, just headaches and fever that you would expect as side effects after a vaccine.
Excellent news. Pfizer applying for emergency authorisation.
I wonder how long until vaccination will start in the US? I read reports suggesting that the authorisation in the UK would be granted days after the trial was finished.
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
I’m now Occado all the way.
I forget fewer items when I go in person for some reason. We tried online shopping but never really took to it.
I wonder how many people have to mentally walk around their local Saunsburys when doing the online shopping, just so as not to forget things?
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
I won't say which supermarket I go to, but I'm clear about where I am in the pecking order: Everyone who goes to more downmarket supermarkets is scum Everyone who goes to more upmarket supermarkets is posh scum
I've traded with all of them bar Waitrose. A few observations: Tesco. Think they are posher than they are. Own brand quality not a patch on what it was. Buyers still aggressive despite regulator handing their arse to them in the past. Mega campus in Welwyn very impressive if somewhat overly-large in the post-covid world Asda. Family fodder and keen prices attract the most challenging shoppers. Great to work with right up until the board demand another round of "pay us money or we delist you" contributions Co-op. Surprisingly uncooperative. Too many stores in too many formats to have a clue what range to stock. Don't get me started on the independent Co-op societies Morrisons. Lovely people with old fashioned systems that make them a nightmare for compliance at store level. Huge head office built on the edge of a demilitarised housing estate in Bratford - not nice to get to Sainsbury's. Early adopters of "the market is wrong, we are right" philosophy of do the opposite of what everyone else does. Honest brokers to trade with if a little cold. Daft Holborn HQ with roast suppliers alive on a summer day atrium Aldi. Supremely confident in what they do, which is rip brands off. Germanic eye for precision includes the extension to their 20 year old HQ built with a brick pattern that precisely matched the existing building. Lidl. Run out of a shoebox in Wimbledon. Fekkers.
Personally I shop in Morrisons. I like that they are a massive manufacturer as well as a retailer - the quality of all the Market Street products that come from their own factories swings it.
I saw the Sainsbury's ad last night and thought it was one of the best Christmas ads I'd seen this year.
Didn't even think about skin colour or notice the fact they were black. That wasn't the relevant bit to me, for me it was a family having a 2020 Christmas talking about gravy etc - that some people see that and get offended is absolutely beyond me.
That's an interesting point - have other supermarkets/big retailers not featured black/other non-white families? I would assume they have (be a bit shocked if not) but I honestly can't remember. As you say, not really something that you notice particularly unless flagged up.
I do remember the Lloyds banking front page picture/ad being a couple of men getting engaged a few years back, but I'd seen that a few times before I twigged the significance (one of the first ads to feature an openly homosexual couple, I think).
Sainsbury’s are doing different ads featuring different races it seems. Maybe the third will be a mixture.
If they are trying to represent the countries demographic, it fails as BAME is a smallish minority, if they are trying to promote an ideal situation I think it fails too because it segregates the races. Racists would probably be pleased to have different ads for black and white families. Best not to go there, but as @Roy_G_Biv says it is almost certainly a part of the marketing strategy to provoke some fury
Have to say, coming at it cold and from outside the ad industry (and living in the US), I found the ad totally normal and would find it far more reprehensible if the series of ads did not feature at least some non-white families. Should it show mixed-race families? Maybe - but the centerpiece of the ads seems to be nostalgia and a current adult's childhood - so for me the mixed-race family would actually feel more forced and less natural.
PS and for me the black father and daughter teasing each other worked far better than the white mother and son reminiscing about the deceased father.
All adverts are subliminally just trying to get in our heads, best ignored if poss
Far fewer people watch live ads now (unless they're watching live TV per chance) so it's a social media battle. Sainsbury's will be well aware this will be widely shared, for a variety of reasons, and that will do them very nicely.
I've already ordered my Christmas food from M&S, same as I do every year, as I've never found anywhere as good - their stuff is sublime.
We do ours with Waitrose every year and get the bird from direct from a farm. We tried M&S a couple of years ago and it wasn't as good so we switched back to Waitrose. Maybe it was a bad year.
This year we've gone for a Turkey, the farm was very glad for the business.
Apparently there is going to be a shortage of UK turkey this year because 5m (seriously!) Brits normally go abroad for Christmas and nearly all will be here instead. We are having to make special arrangements to get enough turkey pluckers in from abroad but we will probably have to import some turkeys as well.
Most years we go around on Christmas eve and buy a bronzed turkey once the price has collapsed. That might be a bit riskier this year.
Or just eat something nicer – roast rib of beef or goose. Turkey is a bit crap TBH.
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
I won't say which supermarket I go to, but I'm clear about where I am in the pecking order: Everyone who goes to more downmarket supermarkets is scum Everyone who goes to more upmarket supermarkets is posh scum
The British class system in one sentence. You get to look downwards in all directions, even (especially) when you're looking upwards. What's not to like?
My mum used to say "you can't be scum and dregs".
Damn, I wish I'd heard that expression before, would have made the joke much better: dregs below, scum above.
Far fewer people watch live ads now (unless they're watching live TV per chance) so it's a social media battle. Sainsbury's will be well aware this will be widely shared, for a variety of reasons, and that will do them very nicely.
I've already ordered my Christmas food from M&S, same as I do every year, as I've never found anywhere as good - their stuff is sublime.
We do ours with Waitrose every year and get the bird from direct from a farm. We tried M&S a couple of years ago and it wasn't as good so we switched back to Waitrose. Maybe it was a bad year.
This year we've gone for a Turkey, the farm was very glad for the business.
Apparently there is going to be a shortage of UK turkey this year because 5m (seriously!) Brits normally go abroad for Christmas and nearly all will be here instead. We are having to make special arrangements to get enough turkey pluckers in from abroad but we will probably have to import some turkeys as well.
Most years we go around on Christmas eve and buy a bronzed turkey once the price has collapsed. That might be a bit riskier this year.
Or just eat something nicer – roast rib of beef or goose. Turkey is a bit crap TBH.
Far fewer people watch live ads now (unless they're watching live TV per chance) so it's a social media battle. Sainsbury's will be well aware this will be widely shared, for a variety of reasons, and that will do them very nicely.
I've already ordered my Christmas food from M&S, same as I do every year, as I've never found anywhere as good - their stuff is sublime.
We do ours with Waitrose every year and get the bird from direct from a farm. We tried M&S a couple of years ago and it wasn't as good so we switched back to Waitrose. Maybe it was a bad year.
This year we've gone for a Turkey, the farm was very glad for the business.
Apparently there is going to be a shortage of UK turkey this year because 5m (seriously!) Brits normally go abroad for Christmas and nearly all will be here instead. We are having to make special arrangements to get enough turkey pluckers in from abroad but we will probably have to import some turkeys as well.
Most years we go around on Christmas eve and buy a bronzed turkey once the price has collapsed. That might be a bit riskier this year.
Or just eat something nicer – roast rib of beef or goose. Turkey is a bit crap TBH.
Some of the Betfair prices are literally off the planet, won't win even if Trump executes a succesful coup.
Trump popular vote is bad but
Trump 61%+ and Trump 390+ ECVs both at 50-1 are stark raving bonkers.
The easiest way to be rich is to start rich. There is so much free money available for someone with a million quid or two spare.
I applied for a £10000 loan after checking moneysavingexpert and finding that some people can get one for 2.8% APR, I could then hoover up some of this free money and pay the loan back in Jan.
Unfortunately I'm not eligible, I was offered a loan at 12.9% APR instead but that's too much to make it worthwhile.
I get my pension lump sum on 30th of April 2021 so I could pay it off in the very unlikely event of it going wrong.
Far fewer people watch live ads now (unless they're watching live TV per chance) so it's a social media battle. Sainsbury's will be well aware this will be widely shared, for a variety of reasons, and that will do them very nicely.
I've already ordered my Christmas food from M&S, same as I do every year, as I've never found anywhere as good - their stuff is sublime.
We do ours with Waitrose every year and get the bird from direct from a farm. We tried M&S a couple of years ago and it wasn't as good so we switched back to Waitrose. Maybe it was a bad year.
This year we've gone for a Turkey, the farm was very glad for the business.
Apparently there is going to be a shortage of UK turkey this year because 5m (seriously!) Brits normally go abroad for Christmas and nearly all will be here instead. We are having to make special arrangements to get enough turkey pluckers in from abroad but we will probably have to import some turkeys as well.
Most years we go around on Christmas eve and buy a bronzed turkey once the price has collapsed. That might be a bit riskier this year.
Or just eat something nicer – roast rib of beef or goose. Turkey is a bit crap TBH.
We had Sri Lankan rice and curry for Xmas Dinner last year, since we realised that everyone preferred it to a roast dinner. I'm hoping we go down the same route this year.
I saw the Sainsbury's ad last night and thought it was one of the best Christmas ads I'd seen this year.
Didn't even think about skin colour or notice the fact they were black. That wasn't the relevant bit to me, for me it was a family having a 2020 Christmas talking about gravy etc - that some people see that and get offended is absolutely beyond me.
That's an interesting point - have other supermarkets/big retailers not featured black/other non-white families? I would assume they have (be a bit shocked if not) but I honestly can't remember. As you say, not really something that you notice particularly unless flagged up.
I do remember the Lloyds banking front page picture/ad being a couple of men getting engaged a few years back, but I'd seen that a few times before I twigged the significance (one of the first ads to feature an openly homosexual couple, I think).
Sainsbury’s are doing different ads featuring different races it seems. Maybe the third will be a mixture.
If they are trying to represent the countries demographic, it fails as BAME is a smallish minority, if they are trying to promote an ideal situation I think it fails too because it segregates the races. Racists would probably be pleased to have different ads for black and white families. Best not to go there, but as @Roy_G_Biv says it is almost certainly a part of the marketing strategy to provoke some fury
Yes probably. But such a strategy should fail due to the yawning lack of fury. If it works that is a worry. In particular you start speculating that if a gentle Christmas ad featuring a black family is enough to get lots of people angry what would their reaction be to something like a black PM. Would they start looking for somebody to make all that stop? Somebody to turn the clock back and MEGA. Exaggerating? Possibly I am. Hopefully I am. But this for me is the genuine point of concern not whether Sainsburys are too woke or being cynical. That is a very second order issue imo compared to hardcore racism.
Also certainly the creating outrage stuff will be part of the idea, with Sainsbury's making a stiff response and burning their credentials. Nothing wrong with that, it's earned media, Sainsbury's gets kudos and the ad gets more tractions (and views).
However, what does get me about advertisers is the mental gymnastics they go through to avoid giving offence. My wife is Black, I'm White. Do you know how few adverts out there featuring a mixed-race couple where the male is White and the female is Black? Very few, almost inevitably it is BAME male, White female. It's almost as though the advertisers are petrified that any advert with a Black/BAME woman and White male might be deemed to be offensive in some way to Black people
Having discovered where my simple needs can be satisfied at the nearest supermarket (Waitrose by 100 yards) I have no incentive to waste time hunting around anywhere else. As for ethnic profiling, the As and Bs who favour Waitrose tend to be more diverse than the overwhelmingly white Cs who prefer slightly cheaper Sainsburys. As for Ds and Es, I imagine they take the bus 5 miles to Asda or Lidl. As others have noted, the class stratification is intense. But kudos to those less lazy than I who shop in different places and therefore keep the overall market slightly more honest. You'll get your reward at the check-out.
Pfizer vaccine 95% effective and has cleared the safety requirements - no adverse effects, just headaches and fever that you would expect as side effects after a vaccine.
Excellent news. Pfizer applying for emergency authorisation.
I wonder how long until vaccination will start in the US? I read reports suggesting that the authorisation in the UK would be granted days after the trial was finished.
My understanding was the UK was doing as much of the paperwork etc in parallel with the trials. So that all that is required, at the end, is the analysis of the final phase(s) of the trials.
The FDA in the USA has become very political, multiplied by Trump's firing/not hiring replacements etc... so God knows where they are.
The coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech appears to protect 94% of adults over 65 years old.
Seems to be an effectiveness bidding war.
Surprised they didn't go to the top of their error bars and say "up to 97%" (or whatever the actual value is).
There will be pressure to get this out NOW rather than waiting. Given the death rate in the US (and here) it must be tempting.
They have to make good on their first mover advantage because others seem to expect lower distribution costs. Good luck to them. No US subsidy apparently (though I gather Biontech did have support from the German govt).
The coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech appears to protect 94% of adults over 65 years old.
A couple of days ago we saw people asking "why didn't you idiots buy the Moderna vaccine?" What is the probability that we will now see people asking "why have you idiots ordered the Moderna vaccine we don't need?"
Pfizer vaccine 95% effective and has cleared the safety requirements - no adverse effects, just headaches and fever that you would expect as side effects after a vaccine.
Excellent news. Pfizer applying for emergency authorisation.
I wonder how long until vaccination will start in the US? I read reports suggesting that the authorisation in the UK would be granted days after the trial was finished.
Dr Sanjay Gupta on CNN just now said vaccinations are likely to begin before Christmas.
Pfizer vaccine 95% effective and has cleared the safety requirements - no adverse effects, just headaches and fever that you would expect as side effects after a vaccine.
Excellent news. Pfizer applying for emergency authorisation.
I wonder how long until vaccination will start in the US? I read reports suggesting that the authorisation in the UK would be granted days after the trial was finished.
Dr Sanjay Gupta on CNN just now said vaccinations are likely to begin before Christmas.
Far fewer people watch live ads now (unless they're watching live TV per chance) so it's a social media battle. Sainsbury's will be well aware this will be widely shared, for a variety of reasons, and that will do them very nicely.
I've already ordered my Christmas food from M&S, same as I do every year, as I've never found anywhere as good - their stuff is sublime.
We do ours with Waitrose every year and get the bird from direct from a farm. We tried M&S a couple of years ago and it wasn't as good so we switched back to Waitrose. Maybe it was a bad year.
This year we've gone for a Turkey, the farm was very glad for the business.
Apparently there is going to be a shortage of UK turkey this year because 5m (seriously!) Brits normally go abroad for Christmas and nearly all will be here instead. We are having to make special arrangements to get enough turkey pluckers in from abroad but we will probably have to import some turkeys as well.
Most years we go around on Christmas eve and buy a bronzed turkey once the price has collapsed. That might be a bit riskier this year.
Or just eat something nicer – roast rib of beef or goose. Turkey is a bit crap TBH.
We had Sri Lankan rice and curry for Xmas Dinner last year, since we realised that everyone preferred it to a roast dinner. I'm hoping we go down the same route this year.
Some mates did Keralan fish curry – they aren't going back to turkey either!
The coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech appears to protect 94% of adults over 65 years old.
A couple of days ago we saw people asking "why didn't you idiots buy the Moderna vaccine?" What is the probability that we will now see people asking "why have you idiots ordered the Moderna vaccine we don't need?"
And if the Oxford one works, they will then be moaning why did we buy all these millions of doses of other vaccines that are way more expensive and problematic to administer.
There is plenty to criticize the government over their handling of COVID, but the reaction to the vaccine stuff has been ridiculous. Per head, the UK has one of the widest range of deals on a portfolio of vaccines orders, signed and sealed, not "agreements in principle" etc.
The coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech appears to protect 94% of adults over 65 years old.
A couple of days ago we saw people asking "why didn't you idiots buy the Moderna vaccine?" What is the probability that we will now see people asking "why have you idiots ordered the Moderna vaccine we don't need?"
Record breaking time. Hopefully the Oxford vaccine isn't too far behind. I think we'd have heard by now if it had failed.
Far fewer people watch live ads now (unless they're watching live TV per chance) so it's a social media battle. Sainsbury's will be well aware this will be widely shared, for a variety of reasons, and that will do them very nicely.
I've already ordered my Christmas food from M&S, same as I do every year, as I've never found anywhere as good - their stuff is sublime.
We do ours with Waitrose every year and get the bird from direct from a farm. We tried M&S a couple of years ago and it wasn't as good so we switched back to Waitrose. Maybe it was a bad year.
This year we've gone for a Turkey, the farm was very glad for the business.
Apparently there is going to be a shortage of UK turkey this year because 5m (seriously!) Brits normally go abroad for Christmas and nearly all will be here instead. We are having to make special arrangements to get enough turkey pluckers in from abroad but we will probably have to import some turkeys as well.
Most years we go around on Christmas eve and buy a bronzed turkey once the price has collapsed. That might be a bit riskier this year.
Or just eat something nicer – roast rib of beef or goose. Turkey is a bit crap TBH.
I would agree. My wife wouldn't. Turkey it is.
Does she eat turkey at any other time of the year?
With covid , brexit , Corbyn and the circus that are us elections smaller things sometimes slip through the net of consciousness. Considering the website we are on some food for thought as those cuddly blue fellows of the Tory party seek to ensure we only have the right information.
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
I won't say which supermarket I go to, but I'm clear about where I am in the pecking order: Everyone who goes to more downmarket supermarkets is scum Everyone who goes to more upmarket supermarkets is posh scum
The British class system in one sentence. You get to look downwards in all directions, even (especially) when you're looking upwards. What's not to like?
I would say it's like an Escher painting, but I once saw Escher leaving the Co-op in Hilversum, and since then I've come to regard him as essentially a degenerate.
Are you sure that you weren't actually in a pseudo non-degenerate Riemannian space? If so, he may actually have been entering Fortnum's.
The coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech appears to protect 94% of adults over 65 years old.
A couple of days ago we saw people asking "why didn't you idiots buy the Moderna vaccine?" What is the probability that we will now see people asking "why have you idiots ordered the Moderna vaccine we don't need?"
Hadn't Trump said that he wasn't going to allow the Moderna vaccine to be exported until Americans had received it first? Which is probably why nobody in Europe had bought that one unlike all the others.
FPT: The comments on Twitter under this Sainsbury's ad - that has the temerity to show a black family celebrating Christmas - are a sight to behold. I only became aware of it as it was filmed in a house a couple of streets down from me. As others have noted, people had less of a problem with the Asda ad which portrayed a family of carrots.
Holy fck. "Another reason to boycott sainsburys." And people think the idea there is racism in this country is neo-marxist gibberish cooked up by BLM.
It's shocking that featuring a black family in ad ad even raises comment, let along the comments seen. Still, I think this will work out well for Sainsburys, the reaction may well become a story and more people will see the ad. I'd have never seen this if it wasn't for @OnlyLivingBoy posting it, which only happened due to the negative reactions.
BTW, I did wonder what the other 'reasons' are to boycott Sainsburys, but Google reveals they're apparently unbearably woke. I won't post links. I don't normally let cultur wars determine my shopping habits, should I?
Alan Coren used to say the sole purpose of Sainsburys was to keep the riffraff out of Waitrose.
For me Sainsbury's is the sweet spot - neither up itself like Waitrose or M&S nor cheap looking like Tesco or Asda. I just find the German discounters disorienting, although they have good stuff at low prices. Plus you can't get everything there, and for me the ability to go to one place once a fortnight and come home with everything you need within an hour is worth forking out a bit more for.
I’m now Occado all the way.
I forget fewer items when I go in person for some reason. We tried online shopping but never really took to it.
I find I’m much less likely to buy things I don’t need online. Setting up a delivery a week or so in advance then checking it a couple of days before hand to see if there is anything I have forgotten works pretty well. Took a few weeks to get into the right habits though: not sure I would have persevered if I had had a choice.
Pfizer vaccine 95% effective and has cleared the safety requirements - no adverse effects, just headaches and fever that you would expect as side effects after a vaccine.
Excellent news. Pfizer applying for emergency authorisation.
I wonder how long until vaccination will start in the US? I read reports suggesting that the authorisation in the UK would be granted days after the trial was finished.
Dr Sanjay Gupta on CNN just now said vaccinations are likely to begin before Christmas.
Comments
https://twitter.com/Joe_Mayes/status/1328991189975130112?s=20
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54986195
An Islington North CLP Zoom call for Black History Month last night saw Jeremy Corbyn go further than his public statement – in which he celebrated having “been reinstated in the Labour Party” – and claim “once again, Islington North has a Labour MP”,
https://order-order.com/2020/11/18/exclusive-watch-corbyn-claim-he-is-once-again-a-labour-mp/
Its different ads that happen to have different races. All ads are for all races.
PS and for me the black father and daughter teasing each other worked far better than the white mother and son reminiscing about the deceased father.
Mercedes-Benz manufacturing exec moves to Tesla, enrages union over ‘treason’
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-diamler-exec-enrages-german-union-over-treason/
The Daimler boys are rattled.
Georgia elections chief says Trump 'suppressed' GOP vote, cost himself state
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/526395-georgia-elections-chief-says-trump-depressed-gop-vote-cost-himself-state
...“Twenty-four thousand people did not vote in the fall; either they did not vote absentee because they were told by the president ‘don’t vote absentee, it’s not secure,’ ” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) said in an interview with WSB-TV, an Atlanta-area ABC affiliate. “But then they did not come out and vote in person. He would have won by 10,000 votes. He actually depressed, suppressed his own voting base."...
Everyone who goes to more downmarket supermarkets is scum
Everyone who goes to more upmarket supermarkets is posh scum
We get an Abel and Cole delivery (sorry living up to all the liberal metropolitan elite stereotypes) every week so don't need to go more frequently than that really. Also although it is close, you have to drive along the A2 to get there, which is a bit of a headache. I used to go weekly but dropped to fortnightly because of Covid.
And barely challenged by the presenter (though tbf, it must have been hard to get a word in).
To operate the terminals etc, you need permission in each country.
The upfront argument is interference with astronomy and EU control of data. The later point is that when they start launching satellites with interconnections (laser sidelinks), the geometry of the connection changes. It might go fro your dish to Starlink... to another continent. Nothing in your home country. No control.
The real issue is that Starlink is set to provide a massive, massive pile of cash for Musk. Which would make Tesla an even bigger threat.
What was revealing during the horse meat scandal, Morrisons were the only major supermarket that could track all their meat from field to store.
The ball is now in the Corbynista court; how do they respond?
Excellent news. Pfizer applying for emergency authorisation.
UK Government's COVID scorecard
Where they've done as well as could be expected under the circumstances
- ramping up testing
- increasing hospital capacity
- being honest about the numbers of infections and dead. They don't seem to have massaged the figures, unlike some countries, nor have they particularly downplayed them.
- ordering vaccines in advance.
- social distancing. The approach has been broadly sensible, proportionate and consistent with international best practice, though we can all quibble about individual measures.
Where they've done badly
- quarantine. Obviously with 20-20 hindsight it would have been better to impose it in January or February and enforce it, though that probably wasn't politically feasible. But the current compromise of having a quarantine but not really enforcing it hasn't prevented a second wave from Europe but has destroyed the travel industry and been bad for civil liberties.
- airport testing. Why do we still not have this, unlike so many other countries?
- messaging. Presentation counts, and Boris has not been nearly as slick as, say, Nicola Sturgeon or Angela Merkel. In my view, he was overly gloomy in March, and too optimistic in the summer.
Where their performance defies rational explanation
- tracing, especially the app. I still don't understand why they trusted NHS-X not Apple and Google
- moving NHS patients into care homes.
Where the jury is still out
- lockdowns. Do they prevent the spread or just complement social distancing measures already in force? But at least we have avoided the very strict lockdowns in France, Spain and Italy.
- mask wearing. Was it necessary? Clearly it hasn't prevented a second wave, but it may have reduced it slightly. We'll probably never know for sure.
- PPE procurement. Was it an urgent response to a desperate situation or a way to shovel millions to their mates? Or both? At least we haven't suffered from a shortage of this crucial equipment.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-54986552
Which, having briefly flirted with imminent bankruptcy, looks now to be entirely self-sustaining financially. And if their new battery production line proves out in the next twelve moths, they will crush the competition; it's a game changer, and will be hard to quickly duplicate.
- to sit as a Labour MP: in the gift of SKS in consultation with his chief whip
- to suspend membership of the party: can be done under leaders direction, but NEC need to approve. The presence or absence of a specific disciplinary process for Corbyn's current case, I presume, is relevant to whether a suspension can be continued long-term, and presumably, apart from streamlining the process, SKS would do well to stay away from any ongoing case - given previous leadership interference in disciplinary proceedings is a pretty central complaint here.
Do I understand this right?
Anyway happier today than I was yesterday.
Starlink success would make Tesla bulletproof, so goes the theory.
There is an attendant attempt to get all EU space payloads to fly ESA only.....
Mind you, the funny bit in the lined story is that the executive who moved was running the *engine* plant. In a decade, that whole plant will *have* to shutdown - no more ICE. Moving to ZEV competitor is simply the smart move....
Tesco. Think they are posher than they are. Own brand quality not a patch on what it was. Buyers still aggressive despite regulator handing their arse to them in the past. Mega campus in Welwyn very impressive if somewhat overly-large in the post-covid world
Asda. Family fodder and keen prices attract the most challenging shoppers. Great to work with right up until the board demand another round of "pay us money or we delist you" contributions
Co-op. Surprisingly uncooperative. Too many stores in too many formats to have a clue what range to stock. Don't get me started on the independent Co-op societies
Morrisons. Lovely people with old fashioned systems that make them a nightmare for compliance at store level. Huge head office built on the edge of a demilitarised housing estate in Bratford - not nice to get to
Sainsbury's. Early adopters of "the market is wrong, we are right" philosophy of do the opposite of what everyone else does. Honest brokers to trade with if a little cold. Daft Holborn HQ with roast suppliers alive on a summer day atrium
Aldi. Supremely confident in what they do, which is rip brands off. Germanic eye for precision includes the extension to their 20 year old HQ built with a brick pattern that precisely matched the existing building.
Lidl. Run out of a shoebox in Wimbledon. Fekkers.
Personally I shop in Morrisons. I like that they are a massive manufacturer as well as a retailer - the quality of all the Market Street products that come from their own factories swings it.
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1329028388296794113?s=20
Surprised they didn't go to the top of their error bars and say "up to 97%" (or whatever the actual value is).
There will be pressure to get this out NOW rather than waiting. Given the death rate in the US (and here) it must be tempting.
Unfortunately I'm not eligible, I was offered a loan at 12.9% APR instead but that's too much to make it worthwhile.
I get my pension lump sum on 30th of April 2021 so I could pay it off in the very unlikely event of it going wrong.
However, what does get me about advertisers is the mental gymnastics they go through to avoid giving offence. My wife is Black, I'm White. Do you know how few adverts out there featuring a mixed-race couple where the male is White and the female is Black? Very few, almost inevitably it is BAME male, White female. It's almost as though the advertisers are petrified that any advert with a Black/BAME woman and White male might be deemed to be offensive in some way to Black people
The FDA in the USA has become very political, multiplied by Trump's firing/not hiring replacements etc... so God knows where they are.
There is plenty to criticize the government over their handling of COVID, but the reaction to the vaccine stuff has been ridiculous. Per head, the UK has one of the widest range of deals on a portfolio of vaccines orders, signed and sealed, not "agreements in principle" etc.
Credit where credit is due on this.
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20201116/02212745712/uk-politician-demands-impossible-social-media-companies-must-not-take-down-political-speech-must-block-disinformation.shtml
BTW, I did wonder what the other 'reasons' are to boycott Sainsburys, but Google reveals they're apparently unbearably woke. I won't post links. I don't normally let cultur wars determine my shopping habits, should I?
Not if you wish to stay sane.
I would hazard a wild guess that Rosena Allin-Khan won the female one.
Male attractiveness is not my strong point.
Subliminal this, controversial that, provoke the other.
Dear god.