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Polling in 15 of the world’s leading countries finds Brits at the top of the league on wanting to be

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  • YBarddCwscYBarddCwsc Posts: 7,172
    edited February 2021
    ydoethur said:


    So you said earlier. That seems a bit strange. After all, while Johnson’s government procured them the administration is a local matter. But then, I suppose this isn’t about rationality.

    Do you think that may have a bearing on the Senedd elections? I’m still toying with ‘Tories - most seats’ in a tight three way split.

    I think the Tories are currently in some trouble in Wales.

    They have effectively deselected Suzy Davies from the List. She was their most capable performer. She had an eye for a good campaign -- she'd be asking for Stonehenge back right now, if she was leader. 😀

    It is a sign of a failing organisation when the most competent person is effectively ousted. So, I think this looks very ominous for the health of the Welsh Tories.

    I think the BritNat Right is also now looking very crowded in Wales -- what with Reckless' Abolish the Assembly Party and Farage's Reform UK both standing, it looks hard for RT to pick up the right-wing nut-job votes.

    At the moment, I suspect RT will make only a few gains, that is all.

    Of course, Drakeford is still very accident-prone ... but I'd say he is on course for very modest losses.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 30,965

    Feel rather sorry for Drakeford. He reminds me of a hapless schoolmaster who was bullied remorselessly by 5R. He was found slumped in a corridor one day after school, sobbing his poor heart out, and was never seen again. If it weren't for the discrepancy in age I would guess he had changed his name and moved to Cardiff.

    5R were a gang of organised criminals in their late teens sent back to school year after year by their overambitious shop-keeping parents in the hope of bagging an O-level through random chance. They are now senior members of Drakeford's electorate.
    That's what he would like you to think.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617

    I think the Tories are currently in some trouble in Wales.

    They have effectively deselected Suzy Davies from the List. She was their most capable performer. She had an eye for a good campaign -- she'd be asking for Stonehenge back right now, if she was leader. 😀

    It is a sign of a failing organisation when the most competent person is effectively ousted. So, I think this looks very ominous for the health of the Welsh Tories.

    I think the BritNat Right is also now looking very crowded in Wales -- what with Reckless' Abolish the Assembly Party and Farage's Reform UK both standing, it looks hard for RT to pick up the right-wing nut-job votes.

    At the moment, I suspect RT will make only a few gains, that is all.

    Of course, Drakeford is still very accident-prone ... but I'd say he is on course for very modest losses.
    Just to check, you do know the news re Stonehenge (or at least the bluestones bit)? They've found the holes it came from ... report in Graun today.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 30,965

    I think the Tories are currently in some trouble in Wales.

    They have effectively deselected Suzy Davies from the List. She was their most capable performer. She had an eye for a good campaign -- she'd be asking for Stonehenge back right now, if she was leader. 😀

    It is a sign of a failing organisation when the most competent person is effectively ousted. So, I think this looks very ominous for the health of the Welsh Tories.

    I think the BritNat Right is also now looking very crowded in Wales -- what with Reckless' Abolish the Assembly Party and Farage's Reform UK both standing, it looks hard for RT to pick up the right-wing nut-job votes.

    At the moment, I suspect RT will make only a few gains, that is all.

    Of course, Drakeford is still very accident-prone ... but I'd say he is on course for very modest losses.
    You need to get out more. Johnson is on the verge of sanctification by the over 70 voting public, surely some of that will rub off on RT.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 30,485
    Good news, but I don't see why the FM should necessarily be the last witness to the committee as has apparently 'always been clear'.
  • YBarddCwscYBarddCwsc Posts: 7,172
    Carnyx said:

    Just to check, you do know the news re Stonehenge (or at least the bluestones bit)? They've found the holes it came from ... report in Graun today.
    It was stolen by thieves and taken to England. No surprise there :)
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 35,169
    Carnyx said:

    Just to check, you do know the news re Stonehenge (or at least the bluestones bit)? They've found the holes it came from ... report in Graun today.
    ...and with Dr Alice Roberts on BBC2 tonight at 21:00...

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000s5xm
  • YBarddCwscYBarddCwsc Posts: 7,172

    You need to get out more. Johnson is on the verge of sanctification by the over 70 voting public, surely some of that will rub off on RT.
    If I get out more, will I meet many over-70s.

    I thought they were all hiding indoors and posting on pb.com. :)
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,087

    It was stolen by thieves and taken to England. No surprise there :)
    Perhaps you and I are overthinking this. What we really need is for @TSE and @bigjohnowls to become so enamoured of Drakeford that they kidnap him and try to use him to start a coup in England.

    Which would leave the way clear for someone capable to take charge in Wales.

    The only small flaw in the logic is that there appears to be nobody left to take charge who is merely ‘capable’ rather than ‘incapable.’
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,924

    It was stolen by thieves and taken to England. No surprise there :)
    Wow its really heavy

    Whats it weigh?

    In Stones!!!
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,087

    Wow its really heavy

    Whats it weigh?

    In Stones!!!
    I don’t know, but it must have cost them a few pounds.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 54,239

    It was stolen by thieves and taken to England. No surprise there :)
    Hey, we left you the holes.....
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 35,169

    The key thing here is the hospitalisations figure. Although it seems slightly counter-intuitive at first, it's not the oldies who are filling up the wards and the ICUs, it's middle-aged people. The vaccination programme will reduce deaths quite quickly now, but hospitalisations will fall more slowly because the younger people haven't been jabbed yet:

    https://twitter.com/COVID19actuary/status/1360131370366959618

    In that report: "We made the following assumptions in our model... Vaccination will be complete in all groups with 100% take‐up. "

    Why on earth would anyone assume 100% take-up?

    Surely assuming a take-up figure between 70-90% would inspire more confidence in the results?
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 54,239
    Six and a half year on, the SNP still has no answer to the question "and the currency?"
  • Good news, but I don't see why the FM should necessarily be the last witness to the committee as has apparently 'always been clear'.
    Beware the ides of March...
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 30,965

    If I get out more, will I meet many over-70s.

    I thought they were all hiding indoors and posting on pb.com. :)
    Lockdown is over in Port Talbot!

    Although I ventured up to Knighton for work on Tuesday and the tumbleweed was blowing down Ludlow Road.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 54,239
    ydoethur said:

    Delivering beer in this weather would certainly be a Stella performance.
    A job for stout yeomen.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 35,169
    Pulpstar said:

    Send them straight back, or if they're British citzens straight to the nearest prison Britannia Hotel.
    Prison would be kinder.
  • A job for stout yeomen.
    William Hague says 'hi'
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    It was stolen by thieves and taken to England. No surprise there :)
    Welsh thieves, if so, because they can tell from isotope analysis of burials at Stonehenge that the deceased had lived for decades around Preseli.

    And this is about the whole thing not just the bluestones, they have found holes in the ground in Wales corresponding to the sarsen stones as they now stand.

    The most fascinating bit of archaeology of a lifetime if it turns out to be true.

    https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/original-stonehenge-a-dismantled-stone-circle-in-the-preseli-hills-of-west-wales/B7DAA4A7792B4DAB57DDE0E3136FBC33
  • FishingFishing Posts: 5,462
    Pulpstar said:

    Send them straight back, or if they're British citzens straight to the nearest prison Britannia Hotel.
    Or just admit that the whole policy is pointless, indefensible and unworkable and scrap it.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    'Twas ever thus. (Answering for a friend.)
    I spent one of my PPE interviews talking about a bridge.

    The second my future economics tutors was on his hands and knees looking for his biro (it was in his top pocket)... he went on to serve on the Bank of England monetary policy committee...
  • YBarddCwscYBarddCwsc Posts: 7,172
    ydoethur said:

    Perhaps you and I are overthinking this. What we really need is for @TSE and @bigjohnowls to become so enamoured of Drakeford that they kidnap him and try to use him to start a coup in England.

    Which would leave the way clear for someone capable to take charge in Wales.

    The only small flaw in the logic is that there appears to be nobody left to take charge who is merely ‘capable’ rather than ‘incapable.’
    I expect, when it comes to the Senedd elections, I will go through the following steps.

    1. I will heroically resolve to vote for a competent individual, irrespective of party. I will argue to myself that it is important to add experience in business or economics or education or health to the Senedd. This should be very easy enough to do, given the pitiful standards of the present rabble in the Senedd.

    2. I will open a bottle of Penderyn and pour a goodish tumblerful, adding ice.

    3. I will peruse the election literature, and rummage on the web to find information on the possible candidates.

    4. I will become very depressed.

    5. I will finish the entire bottle of Penderyn.

    6. I will abstain.

    Last election, I reluctantly voted for someone I have come to despise (Lord Cognac), and he promptly changed party after I had voted for him.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 35,169
    edited February 2021

    Six and a half year on, the SNP still has no answer to the question "and the currency?"
    I appreciate I am probably being dense but isn't the Euro the obvious/only answer, given the intent to join the EU?
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 79,095
    Fishing said:

    Or just admit that the whole policy is pointless, indefensible and unworkable and scrap it.
    ?!?! Nope. This is the (quite reasonable) price people must pay for flying here. Faking test results upends the whole system and should be dealt with harshly. It's this or no travel at all. Anyone who needs to travel will comply with these regulations.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 30,485

    Beware the ides of March...
    Hopefully the committee report will give the SG a richly deserved iding.
  • YBarddCwscYBarddCwsc Posts: 7,172
    IshmaelZ said:

    Welsh thieves, if so, because they can tell from isotope analysis of burials at Stonehenge that the deceased had lived for decades around Preseli.

    And this is about the whole thing not just the bluestones, they have found holes in the ground in Wales corresponding to the sarsen stones as they now stand.

    The most fascinating bit of archaeology of a lifetime if it turns out to be true.

    https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/original-stonehenge-a-dismantled-stone-circle-in-the-preseli-hills-of-west-wales/B7DAA4A7792B4DAB57DDE0E3136FBC33
    Of course they were Welsh.

    There were no English here before النكبة‎
  • AndreaParma_82AndreaParma_82 Posts: 4,714
    edited February 2021
    New Italian government announced tonight

    To be sworn in tomorrow

    4 ministers for 5 Stars (Foreign affairs, agricolture, relationship with parliament, youth policies)
    3 ministers for Lega (Economic development, tourism, disabilities)
    3 ministers for PD (work, culture, defense)
    3 ministers for Forza Italia (Public administration, regional affairs, South)
    1 minister for Free and Equal (Health)
    1 minister for Italia Viva (Equal opportunities)

    7 ministers from Conte's government hold their positions + 2 reshuffled to new portofolios
  • Lockdown is over in Port Talbot!

    Although I ventured up to Knighton for work on Tuesday and the tumbleweed was blowing down Ludlow Road.
    So Knighton is back to normal, too?
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 10,656

    I appreciate I am probably being dense but isn't the Euro the obvious/only answer, given the intent to join the EU?
    You cant just join the euro though and merely pegging currency to it is problematic
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 35,169
    Charles said:

    I spent one of my PPE interviews talking about a bridge.

    The second my future economics tutors was on his hands and knees looking for his biro (it was in his top pocket)... he went on to serve on the Bank of England monetary policy committee...
    Great advert for the elite that believes it has a natural entitlement to run the country.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 30,485

    Of course they were Welsh.

    There were no English here before النكبة‎
    Is it kitsch to suggest the stone circle be re-erected? It could be a tourist attraction par excellence. Stone Henge was mostly put up by the Victorians after all.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 30,965

    I expect, when it comes to the Senedd elections, I will go through the following steps.

    1. I will heroically resolve to vote for a competent individual, irrespective of party. I will argue to myself that it is important to add experience in business or economics or education or health to the Senedd. This should be very easy enough to do, given the pitiful standards of the present rabble in the Senedd.

    2. I will open a bottle of Penderyn and pour a goodish tumblerful, adding ice.

    3. I will peruse the election literature, and rummage on the web to find information on the possible candidates.

    4. I will become very depressed.

    5. I will finish the entire bottle of Penderyn.

    6. I will abstain.

    Last election, I reluctantly voted for someone I have come to despise (Lord Cognac), and he promptly changed party after I had voted for him.
    All is not lost. Vote Conservative for RT as FM. On your way back from the polling station buy some popcorn to accompany the Penderyn (you will need a few cases of Penderyn) and enjoy the spectacle over the next four years.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 54,239

    I appreciate I am probably being dense but isn't the Euro the obvious/only answer, given the intent to join the EU?
    I suspect that crystallizes issues the SNP don't want addressed. Like, they are swapping the tyranny of London for the tyranny of Brussels. A step too far in keeping their coalition bound together.


  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 30,965

    So Knighton is back to normal, too?
    You are on fire this evening!
  • You are on fire this evening!
    Actually I'm quite fond of Knighton. Stayed twice at the Horse & Jockey, once while walking Offa's Dyke and once before embarking on Glyndwr's Way. The latter is a hell of a lot harder - makes Wales feel absolutely vast.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    Is it kitsch to suggest the stone circle be re-erected? It could be a tourist attraction par excellence. Stone Henge was mostly put up by the Victorians after all.
    No it wasn't, they just lightly rearranged what was there. Theres plenty of pre Victorian paintings to confirm this

    https://artuk.org/discover/stories/stonehenge-in-art

    There's just the one set of stones so you either have to take them back from Wiltshire or quarry duplicates if you want to reinstate the Welsh site.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 35,169

    Is it kitsch to suggest the stone circle be re-erected? It could be a tourist attraction par excellence. Stone Henge was mostly put up by the Victorians after all.
    I have often thought that erecting a replica stonehenge, close to the Stonhenge visitor centre but out of sight of the actual stone circle (which is a kilometre away) would be a wise move.

    Most visitors would probably flock round the replica and won't be arsed to walk to the real circle, thus protecting the real Stonehenge.
  • Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905

    You need to get out more. Johnson is on the verge of sanctification by the over 70 voting public, surely some of that will rub off on RT.
    I am now experiencing visions of nonagenarian cult priestesses in blue velvet robes, processing through the streets with icons of the Divine Boris attached to their walking frames.
  • OllyTOllyT Posts: 5,027
    edited February 2021
    kinabalu said:

    And which of those Democrats lost the presidential election, then activated the long prepared smear that it was stolen, then fed this lie relentlessly to their softhead base whilst launching a series of frivolous "only for show" court actions, then called a massive demo against the confirmation of his legal successor - the election winner - on confirmation day, then whipped that crowd up into a frenzy of righteous indignation and told them to march on the capitol and "fight" for the future their country? Precisely none. This is false equivalence of a degree amounting to blatant propaganda for Donald Trump. This now pointed out, I sincerely hope you will desist with it.
    The longer that Trump apologists like Mr Ed continue to pretend to believe that Trump did nothing wrong, the better it will get for the Democrats. The GOP seems to have learned nothing from their 2 Senate losses in Georgia
  • It's amazing how in the absence of certain individuals the chat seems quite pleasant and interesting, rather than vile and rancid.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 30,965

    I am now experiencing visions of nonagenarian cult priestesses in blue velvet robes, processing through the streets with icons of the Divine Boris attached to their walking frames.
    You have described Cowbridge High Street to a tee
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 30,485
    IshmaelZ said:

    No it wasn't, they just lightly rearranged what was there. Theres plenty of pre Victorian paintings to confirm this

    https://artuk.org/discover/stories/stonehenge-in-art

    There's just the one set of stones so you either have to take them back from Wiltshire or quarry duplicates if you want to reinstate the Welsh site.
    Ah, thanks for the clarification. I was envisaging quarrying new stone, definitely.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,281
    edited February 2021
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,946

    It's amazing how in the absence of certain individuals the chat seems quite pleasant and interesting, rather than vile and rancid.

    Sorry, I'm back 😉
  • OT. Seeing one of the rare downsides of living in the sticks today. 3 power cuts - only of a few minutes duration each time but of course everything has to be restarted afterwards. These are fairly common these days and getting more common each year. No idea of the cause but it is very frustrating, particularly when Western Power who run the power system in our area don't publish power outages of less than 3 minutes duration.
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 10,656
    OllyT said:

    The longer that Trump apologists like Mr Ed continue to pretend to believe that Trump did nothing wrong, the better it will get for the Democrats. The GOP seems to have learned nothing from their 2 Senate losses in Georgia
    Does calling people trump apologists help? I am in no doubt a corbyn government government would have been worse by far than trumps as corbyn would actually have tried to do stuff. Should I then through corbyn apologists at his many supporters here and how would that help debate?
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,946

    UK R

    From cases

    image
    image

    From hospitalisations

    image

    Not really seeing a vaccine effect in the R rate yet. Given we have about 12m vaccinated that is a little disappointing, even if a fair chunk of those vaccines are not fully operative yet.
  • Move Stonehenge back where it belongs? I think we may collectively have solved the A303 tunnel conundrum.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,946

    Move Stonehenge back where it belongs? I think we may collectively have solved the A303 tunnel conundrum.

    Absolutely. If the Elgin Marbles belong in Greece Stonehenge belongs in Wales.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 30,485

    I have often thought that erecting a replica stonehenge, close to the Stonhenge visitor centre but out of sight of the actual stone circle (which is a kilometre away) would be a wise move.

    Most visitors would probably flock round the replica and won't be arsed to walk to the real circle, thus protecting the real Stonehenge.
    I agree - and actually to have this on the site of the original Stone Henge rather than the new one makes sense - especially if it draws more tourists to Wales (though I think Pembrokeshire has always done OK). It would be good to 're-envision' Stone Henge as if you were building a big attraction from scratch.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 39,794
    DavidL said:

    Not really seeing a vaccine effect in the R rate yet. Given we have about 12m vaccinated that is a little disappointing, even if a fair chunk of those vaccines are not fully operative yet.
    We are absolutely seeing a vaccine effect in the R.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 54,239

    Move Stonehenge back where it belongs? I think we may collectively have solved the A303 tunnel conundrum.

    Build a replica on a traffic island on the A303.....
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 10,656
    Amazing how people keep saying the loss of pollution is a detriment of brexit
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,946
    I am trying to work out why this is a bad thing. Maybe a little help?
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 39,794
    DavidL said:

    I am trying to work out why this is a bad thing. Maybe a little help?
    I'm not sure tbh, this was brought up as it started in December and it was good then too to get trucks of the roads.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,504

    OT. Seeing one of the rare downsides of living in the sticks today. 3 power cuts - only of a few minutes duration each time but of course everything has to be restarted afterwards. These are fairly common these days and getting more common each year. No idea of the cause but it is very frustrating, particularly when Western Power who run the power system in our area don't publish power outages of less than 3 minutes duration.

    We (in south-east suburbia) have had a few of these. They often happen at night and have the nasty effect of stopping my overnight recordings of cricket in Australia (first world problem, I know).
  • eekeek Posts: 29,553
    DavidL said:

    I am trying to work out why this is a bad thing. Maybe a little help?
    It's not a bad thing - but DaveKeating is an idiot so any change is bad regardless of reality.
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 10,656
    MaxPB said:

    I'm not sure tbh, this was brought up as it started in December and it was good then too to get trucks of the roads.
    Its a stat its brexit related so therefore must be bad?
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 54,239
    Those ferries are going to be travelling at 16 knots at eco speed. Must be significantly slower and more expensive to move goods around the UK coast than drive through the UK? Yet the Remainers are trumpeting this as a great advance in haulage.

    Hmmm..... If that is a win for the EU....
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 30,965
    edited February 2021

    It's amazing how in the absence of certain individuals the chat seems quite pleasant and interesting, rather than vile and rancid.

    Deleted, beaten to it by DavidL.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617

    I agree - and actually to have this on the site of the original Stone Henge rather than the new one makes sense - especially if it draws more tourists to Wales (though I think Pembrokeshire has always done OK). It would be good to 're-envision' Stone Henge as if you were building a big attraction from scratch.
    Eh? The sarsen elements are very emphatically local to Wiltshire.
  • I have often thought that erecting a replica stonehenge, close to the Stonhenge visitor centre but out of sight of the actual stone circle (which is a kilometre away) would be a wise move.

    Most visitors would probably flock round the replica and won't be arsed to walk to the real circle, thus protecting the real Stonehenge.
    Possible, I suppose, but Stonehenge is just the most visible part of a huge Neolithic landscape. Any building, particularly any digging, is going to be going through World Heritage standard archeology. It is why the tunnel is so controversial.
  • SPIEGEL survey

    The EU's reputation suffers massively because of vaccine procurement

    Too slow, too little, too inefficient: there are big problems ordering vaccines in the European Union. A survey by SPIEGEL shows the dramatic consequences this has for the image of the EU.


    https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/umfrage-ansehen-der-eu-leidet-massiv-wegen-impfstoffbeschaffung-a-06324c7a-b3be-4284-b226-3382756eb394
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 10,656

    I'm back now. Did I miss anything?
    Yes the pleasant and interesting rather than the vile and rancid because daveyboy arrived at least he forewarned us
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,946
    MaxPB said:

    We are absolutely seeing a vaccine effect in the R.
    It seems to have been sitting around 0.8 for about 3 weeks. Of course, given the new variants, it might have been going up but for the vaccines but I would like to see it start to fall a bit. If vaccinated people are generally not transmitters this should happen as the proportion of the population vaccinated increases.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 30,485
    Carnyx said:

    Eh? The sarsen elements are very emphatically local to Wiltshire.
    There's no need to get vinegary about it!
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 98,316
    edited February 2021
    HYUFD said:

    https://twitter.com/FrankLuntz/status/1360280922826756098?s=20
    15% of 50 Republican Senators seems about the upper end of expectations (a few less is likely), so perhaps pretty representative after all.
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 10,656
    eek said:

    It's not a bad thing - but DaveKeating is an idiot so any change is bad regardless of reality.
    If he wasnt supporting the eu they would claim he is a russian troll instead he is merely a lord eu eu
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 98,316

    It was stolen by thieves and taken to England. No surprise there :)
    Nah, they were bribed/threatened to hand them over, I read it from Bernard Cornwell.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,946
    MaxPB said:

    I'm not sure tbh, this was brought up as it started in December and it was good then too to get trucks of the roads.
    And away from our eastern ports whose capacity to handle freight is being reduced by EU paperwork. No doubt there was some ferry workers and the odd cafe making money off this trade but it doesn't seem much of a loss.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 44,531
    OllyT said:

    The longer that Trump apologists like Mr Ed continue to pretend to believe that Trump did nothing wrong, the better it will get for the Democrats. The GOP seems to have learned nothing from their 2 Senate losses in Georgia
    There is that. But both for betting and more altruistic reasons I'm rooting for the GOP to detox.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 98,316

    Possible, I suppose, but Stonehenge is just the most visible part of a huge Neolithic landscape. Any building, particularly any digging, is going to be going through World Heritage standard archeology. It is why the tunnel is so controversial.
    Yes. I think the ancients (by which I mean road planners in the 20th century) probably haven't helped things here - lots of people remember how close the road used to be to the stones, so a tunnel seems like a good idea, but there's clearly neolithic stuff all over Wiltshire.
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 10,656

    There's no need to get vinegary about it!
    are you suggesting Carnyx is part of the malt right?
  • Those ferries are going to be travelling at 16 knots at eco speed. Must be significantly slower and more expensive to move goods around the UK coast than drive through the UK? Yet the Remainers are trumpeting this as a great advance in haulage.

    Hmmm..... If that is a win for the EU....
    saves on fuel for the lorries
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 33,238
    edited February 2021
    kinabalu said:

    That's a bummer. I pride myself - with some justification - on being able to predict with almost spooky accuracy what each & every PB poster will think about any particular political proposition. And I had you down as approving of a measure of electoral reform away from pure FPTP and towards some form of PR. Total total shock at my gaff about this revelation.
    LOL. Don't be too shocked. It stems from my utter distrust of all politicians. PR for me basically means coalitions and coalitions mean yet another way for politicians to stitch things up the way they want it rather than the way the people want it. I realise this is an exaggeration to some extent but it is intended to illustrate the end point of my concerns about PR rather than being some hard and fast rule. Basically I look at the way the Lib Dems behaved in the last coalition and consider that that is just the latest example of how parties will use the 'necessity' to form coalitions as an excuse to betray their electorate.

    There is also a more fundamental reason that I dislike PR which is that it further cements the position of the party in the electoral system. Personally I think every vote in Parliament should be a free vote and whipping should be illegal. That is a viable and logical position if you are voting for an individual representative. If you are voting for a party obviously that legally and morally puts the party in a position of power over its MPs. Something I think is a retrograde step for democracy.

    Obviously this does not apply to systems such as AV which retain the constituency link and which do not award MPs on the basis of the proportion of votes gained by the party nationally but then as many people pointed out on here at the time of the referendum on electoral reform such a system is not really PR.

    Basically I see parties as an unnecessary evil in politics and oppose anything that increases their grip on the system.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 39,794
    DavidL said:

    It seems to have been sitting around 0.8 for about 3 weeks. Of course, given the new variants, it might have been going up but for the vaccines but I would like to see it start to fall a bit. If vaccinated people are generally not transmitters this should happen as the proportion of the population vaccinated increases.
    That's not how R works. We should already have seen it start to rise by now this far into a lockdown.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 98,316

    New Italian government announced tonight

    To be sworn in tomorrow

    4 ministers for 5 Stars (Foreign affairs, agricolture, relationship with parliament, youth policies)
    3 ministers for Lega (Economic development, tourism, disabilities)
    3 ministers for PD (work, culture, defense)
    3 ministers for Forza Italia (Public administration, regional affairs, South)
    1 minister for Free and Equal (Health)
    1 minister for Italia Viva (Equal opportunities)

    7 ministers from Conte's government hold their positions + 2 reshuffled to new portofolios

    Sounds stable. Thanks for the update. Much as I like a GE, we can probably wait for it.
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 10,656
    DavidL said:

    And away from our eastern ports whose capacity to handle freight is being reduced by EU paperwork. No doubt there was some ferry workers and the odd cafe making money off this trade but it doesn't seem much of a loss.
    The same people claiming this is bad I suspect are the same people that if you said less people drive into london because of the congestion zone are making carpark workers less needed would have said its an acceptable cost of lowering london pollution
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617

    There's no need to get vinegary about it!
    Is that the brand name, or the possible stone cracking method?
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 44,531

    It's amazing how in the absence of certain individuals the chat seems quite pleasant and interesting, rather than vile and rancid.

    Anglosphere!
    Germans!
    Wokerati!
    War!
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 98,316

    Six and a half year on, the SNP still has no answer to the question "and the currency?"
    Perhaps, but do as many people still care about that question?
  • kle4 said:

    Perhaps, but do as many people still care about that question?
    How about the Pound?
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 10,656

    LOL. Don't be too shocked. It stems from my utter distrust of all politicians. PR for me basically means coalitions and coalitions mean yet another way for politicians to stitch things up the way they want it rather than the way the people want it. I realise this is an exaggeration to some extent but it is intended to illustrate the end point of my concerns about PR rather than being some hard and fast rule. Basically I look at the way the Lib Dems behaved in the last coalition and consider that that is just the latest example of how parties will use the 'necessity' to form coalitions as an excuse to betray their electorate.

    There is also a more fundamental reason that I dislike PR which is that it further cements the position of the party in the electoral system. Personally I think every vote in Parliament should be a free vote and whipping should be illegal. That is a viable and logical position if you are voting for an individual representative. If you are voting for a party obviously that legally and morally puts the party in a position of power over its MPs. Something I think is a retrograde step for democracy.

    Obviously this does not apply to systems such as AV which retain the constituency link and which do not award MPs on the basis of the proportion of votes gained by the party nationally but then as many people pointed out on here at the time of the referendum on electoral reform such a system is not really PR.

    Basically I see parties as an unnecessary evil in politics and oppose anything that increases their grip on the system.
    Precisely parties are the root of the problem which is why I suggested political reform the way I did in my header....made parties a thing of the past
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617

    How about the Pound?
    That's what I was thinking. In 2014 we in Scotland were told to vote no if we wanted our currency to remain strong and not to lose a quarter of its value etc.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 30,965
    DavidL said:

    I am trying to work out why this is a bad thing. Maybe a little help?
    You'll be sorry when all the Motorway services on the M40 have closed, and nature calls.
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 10,656
    kinabalu said:

    Anglosphere!
    Germans!
    Wokerati!
    War!
    Dont feed the trolls
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 10,656

    You'll be sorry when all the Motorway services on the M40 have closed, and nature calls.
    You know we have things called bottles now?
  • Andy_CookeAndy_Cooke Posts: 5,045
    I’ve noticed the discussions on deaths from flu have once again conflated deaths from pneumonia with flu.
    Understandable to an extent as they’re reported together frequently, but deaths from influenza are far lower than anyone seems to believe when discussing these things.


    I've gone through the last decade of data and got this for England and Wales:

    ———-——-J09-J11 (influenza)—-J12-J18 (pneumonia)
    2010​————179​————————25344​
    2011​————425​————————25696​
    2012​————83​———————— 26055​
    2013​————159​————————26599​
    2014​————118​————————25301​
    2015​————282————————29565​
    2016​————427​————————27037​
    2017​————458​————————27137​
    2018​————1596​——————— 27855​
    2019​————1213​——————— 25129​
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 30,485
    Carnyx said:

    Is that the brand name, or the possible stone cracking method?
    The brand name Sarsons - just being daft. :lol:
  • Pagan2 said:

    You know we have things called bottles now?
    M4, Pont Abraham, Magor
  • Is this happening in any other part of the UK?

    https://twitter.com/AnnieWellsMSP/status/1360216398128181253?s=20
  • carnforthcarnforth Posts: 5,544

    Those ferries are going to be travelling at 16 knots at eco speed. Must be significantly slower and more expensive to move goods around the UK coast than drive through the UK? Yet the Remainers are trumpeting this as a great advance in haulage.

    Hmmm..... If that is a win for the EU....
    What stops the Irish putting a "from the single market, honest" seal on the back of a truck, driving it through the UK, and having the french wave it through at calais? I understand such a system operates on trucks going Alaska <--> lower 48 via canada.
  • Pagan2 said:

    Precisely parties are the root of the problem which is why I suggested political reform the way I did in my header....made parties a thing of the past
    Sadly I was stuck in the middle of a dead-lined project when your posting went up. I do intend going back and taking a closer look at it at some point as the theories and ideas surrounding democracy and politics often interest me far more than the day to day practice of it which I find rather depressing most of the time. This in turn stems I think from the fact that I never cease to be amazed how short sighted and stupid most politicians of all parties seem to be. I do genuinely believe we are all, the world over, poorly served by the vast majority of our political classes.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 54,239
    kle4 said:

    Perhaps, but do as many people still care about that question?
    They should. It is fundamental to the offer of independence.
This discussion has been closed.