I know exactly what it is. An enormous auto-complete machine. But maybe that’s all intelligence is. Auto-complete. We do not have Free Will. We just auto-complete in response to stimuli
We're autocomplete plus the ability to add to our dictionary of autocomplete terms.
That is what makes GPT-3 so uninteresting and very, very far away from generalised artificial intelligence. It's 1950s AI technology with an eye-watering amount of money thrown at the training data set.
It's why even in the incredibly limited domain of computer games "advanced" AIs get absolutely trashed by scrub tier strategies - if its not in the train g data they don't know what to do yet a human would be able to instantly adapt and overcome.
So you personally solved the whole Free Will conundrum, which has stumped 3000 years of philosophers. Nice work
I am sure Mini-Trump Macron will probably push for some nonsense extra red-tape specially for UK tourists, because of our quasi-effective vaccine usage.
I doubt it, he's just bailed out Eurostar and without British tourists taking the train it will need more money.
I still remember being told that the UK government would have to participate in its bail out by our die hard remainers and that we'd come out worse becuase the French would dictate terms of close the line. Lol.
Your mistaking Macron's response over the past year to somebody acting rationally when it comes to anything British.....see his stupid self defeating move over the lorry drivers or trashing of the AZN vaccine.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
Reports that a significant chunk, maybe a fifth of all Gazan rockets are falling short and landing in Gaza not Israel, killing Gazans.
Given the Israeli Iron Dome is shooting down 90% of all rockets fired into Israel, I wonder if Hamas are killing more Gazans than Israelis? Even without Israeli retaliation, that would pretty much guarantee disproportionate death rates, wouldn't it?
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
The brief comments from Obama mean nothing in isolation. But they need to be seen in context with what’s been said by two ex CIA Directors, one ex NID, one ex Senate Majority Leader and an Intelligence Committee Chair. As well as the ramping in leaks of video followed by swift DoD confirmation of veracity, the various military figure testimonies, the Congressional process and the sudden change in media narrative from across the political spectrum.
It is all very odd and you need to contort logic to come up with a prosaic or uninteresting explanation.
Straw man, as has been pointed out. It's just another dent in the shiny fat carapace.
It's a social experiment.
Just how much shit will the fanbois eat?
Does BoZo literally have to shoot someone on the Mall?
Would they still vote for him?
So long as his opponent is a woke culture warrior, who reads the Guardian, hates his country and conspires with those who wish to break it up - quite a lot will keep voting for the incumbent.
Are you ok there, Sandpit? Not out for too long in the heat, I hope. Because that is one bizarre take on Keir Starmer! You sound like a raddled old Colonel down at the Old Calcutta.
It may not be fair on Keir Starmer. But that is how many people see him. Every time he does something to appease the Corbynite wing or the Remainer ultras (or indeed the Scottish Nationalists), that impression grows. I certainly don't believe he WANTS to do those things - at least not the first or the last - but he is being forced into having to do so by the unfortunate logic of the disparate votes Labour needs to attract to secure a majority, or even a plurality.
It certainly isn't fair on Keir Starmer. He patently is not a superwoke culture warrior who hates Britain. I mean. c'mon. He's the knighted ex DPP, soft left at the most, who is (I fear) marching away from radicalism, seeing this as the route to electability. I can tell you with no word of a lie that the appeasement is almost all the other way. He is pissing off the Left something chronic. Tosses them the odd bone - eg a tweet or two about LGBT - and that's about it.
What do you make of his fly-on-the-wall doc idea?
It's good to try these things. When you're in a hole stop digging, they say, but this doesn't mean just sit there in the hole. No boxing, though, please.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
The brief comments from Obama mean nothing in isolation. But they need to be seen in context with what’s been said by two ex CIA Directors, one ex NID, one ex Senate Majority Leader and an Intelligence Committee Chair. As well as the ramping in leaks of video followed by swift DoD confirmation of veracity, the various military figure testimonies, the Congressional process and the sudden change in media narrative from across the political spectrum.
It is all very odd and you need to contort logic to come up with a prosaic or uninteresting explanation.
“I don’t think Boris has any idea what’s about to hit him. An unholy alliance of rightwing Nimbys and leftwing environmentalists are coming to destroy these planning reforms. Whether they win or lose, the arguing will be brutal for us. We could soon be in real trouble.”
Credit to the government for standing up to the NIMBY and leftwing environmentalist scum.
This is a fight worth having. It is a fight I hope they take to the end and win.
Well they have already lost control of Oxfordshire county council to a Labour, LD and Green coalition and lost control of some district councils like Tunbridge Wells and Chelmsford and Guildford in the local elections over planning so the Government and local Tory councils need to be careful to ensure where new housing is built it is focused on brownbelt land rather than greenbelt land as far as possible
Central government should remove the ability for NIMBY councils to block developments, then this is no longer an issue.
Have a free market nationwide with Councils only able to block developments in their local area if at least 70% of homes are owner occupied and house prices are no more than 3-4x incomes.
So basically you have a free for all in the Home Counties concreting all over the green belt while the North and Midlands where house prices are cheaper get barely any new housing at all.
If you want a policy to guarantee the Blue Wall falls to the LDs as much as the Red Wall has fallen to the Tories that would be it
Absolutely free for all in the Home Counties yes, that's part of having a free market. If people want to live their and buy the land then let them do as they please with their land.
If others want the land protected, let them buy the land.
Free market in action. If the Tories won't defend a free market I couldn't care less if those seats fall to a party that will.
Rubbish, most extra demand for housing in the Home Counties comes from people moving out of London looking for cheaper housing.
Build more affordable housing in brownbelt land in London first to reduce demand and also encourage more of our most skilled to stay in the North and Midlands where there is plenty of cheap property, rather than moving south to London as soon as they graduate.
The Tories are not and never have been a pure free market party and if the Liberals gain their southern seats it will be because of their NIMBY wing, not their Orange Book free market wing
People moving out of London need somewhere to live yes, they are your compatriots and they deserve somewhere to live. That's part of a free nation and afree market, people are free to move around - and if they wish to buy somewhere in the Home Counties and commute to London and someone is willing to sell to them then so be it. That is entirely appropriate and not inappropriate.
If the Tories don't defend the free market then there's no point supporting them. If the Tories are going to oppose a free market and be as NIMBY as the Lib Dems then I couldn't care less if the Tories or Lib Dems win the seats.
If there was more affordable housing to buy in London though, fewer Londoners would feel the need to move to the Home Counties to be able to afford to buy their first property.
Historically the Liberals have been more free market than the Tories, it is the Social Democrat wing of the LDs who tend to be the most NIMBY.
If the Tories lose large numbers of seats to the LDs in the South then they could lose their majority even if they keep most of their gains from Labour in the RedWall
Your final paragraph is not beyond the realm of possibility. I suppose my only caveat is, as we speak the LDs look dead in the water.
Should the government cut funding to businesses that have been impacted, like VAT cuts, furlough, grants, loans, rates relief and much more - put VAT on hospitality back up and give that money to the NHS? 🤔
yes
So devastate even more the businesses like pubs and restaurants etc that are on their knees in order to give more money to those in secure jobs? 🤔
Pubs and restaurants will start making their usual vast amounts of profits etc as everyone rushes back to them, desperate for their alcoholic meals. Meanwhile NHS workers will continue to eek out their salaries between their vast childcare costs and their full tax and NI contributions Class 1. There will always be Pubs and restaurants, but will there always be nurses and doctors now that we are jailing EU visitors at the border.
This is just so deeply delusional. Pubs and restaurants do not make "usual vast amounts of profits". Indeed, as we discussed only yesterday significant percentages of them go bust every normal year losing their life savings and all too often their homes put up as collateral. Those who work in the sector have little to no job security and are doing better than most if they even get the minimum wage.
Meanwhile, those working for the NHS are paid on average well above the national average, receive full pay for very extended periods if they are sick, get a full year's worth of full pay when they have kids and have pensions that are simply unobtainable to most in the private sector. I am not saying they don't deserve it but those who work with that incredible job security and confidence really need to acquire some understanding of how the majority of their fellow citizens paying their taxes to pay their wages live.
Someone posted on here yesterday - 1 in 6 hospitality businesses fail within their first year, even without a pandemic. It's a hugely risky field and I applaud anyone willing to take it, I wouldn't!
It's a low wage, low productivity industry which uses labour and capital inefficiently and holds the economy back. Like farming.
It's not my fault that some pubs and restaurants go bust in the normal course of events. I can't imagine that many being owned by "large chains" go bust. The others who do go bust need to manage their businesses better I suppose. Why does it take so long to make a Flat White? I'm amazed at the likes of PT crying tears over this. What about the fishing, farming and haulage industry that are being murdered by Brexit. Oh wait, it's Brexit, they're supposed to take care of themselves, the market will sort them out!!
Farming uses 62% of our land to make 0.6% of our GDP, land that is desperately needed for other purposes like housing, and takes £3 billion/year in subsidies into the bargain. The sooner the Australians and whoever free up the land, labour and capital the better. It's long overdue.
Should the government cut funding to businesses that have been impacted, like VAT cuts, furlough, grants, loans, rates relief and much more - put VAT on hospitality back up and give that money to the NHS? 🤔
yes
So devastate even more the businesses like pubs and restaurants etc that are on their knees in order to give more money to those in secure jobs? 🤔
Pubs and restaurants will start making their usual vast amounts of profits etc as everyone rushes back to them, desperate for their alcoholic meals. Meanwhile NHS workers will continue to eek out their salaries between their vast childcare costs and their full tax and NI contributions Class 1. There will always be Pubs and restaurants, but will there always be nurses and doctors now that we are jailing EU visitors at the border.
This is just so deeply delusional. Pubs and restaurants do not make "usual vast amounts of profits". Indeed, as we discussed only yesterday significant percentages of them go bust every normal year losing their life savings and all too often their homes put up as collateral. Those who work in the sector have little to no job security and are doing better than most if they even get the minimum wage.
Meanwhile, those working for the NHS are paid on average well above the national average, receive full pay for very extended periods if they are sick, get a full year's worth of full pay when they have kids and have pensions that are simply unobtainable to most in the private sector. I am not saying they don't deserve it but those who work with that incredible job security and confidence really need to acquire some understanding of how the majority of their fellow citizens paying their taxes to pay their wages live.
Someone posted on here yesterday - 1 in 6 hospitality businesses fail within their first year, even without a pandemic. It's a hugely risky field and I applaud anyone willing to take it, I wouldn't!
It's a low wage, low productivity industry which uses labour and capital inefficiently and holds the economy back. Like farming.
It's not my fault that some pubs and restaurants go bust in the normal course of events. I can't imagine that many being owned by "large chains" go bust. The others who do go bust need to manage their businesses better I suppose. Why does it take so long to make a Flat White? I'm amazed at the likes of PT crying tears over this. What about the fishing, farming and haulage industry that are being murdered by Brexit. Oh wait, it's Brexit, they're supposed to take care of themselves, the market will sort them out!!
Farming uses 62% of our land to make 0.6% of our GDP, land that is desperately needed for other purposes like housing, and takes £3 billion/year in subsidies into the bargain. The sooner the Australians and whoever free up the land, labour and capital the better. It's long overdue.
We can't eat houses!!
That is why I mentioned other countries, who are happy to supply us with food at lower prices.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
Thing is though, even the MOST prosaic explanations are insane.
1. The US is trying to deceive the entire world about its own technology, by pretending it has encountered aliens. And this plot involves several presidents. Er, OK
Or...
2. the Chinese have developed the ability to fly at 13,000 mph and they did this in the Noughties. or the 1950s. Really?!
Or
3. a weird mass hallucination is affecting hundreds of pilots across the world along with an unprecedented series of identical camera glitches and radar gremlins and infra-red frazzles and these delusional people have somehow convinced the US elite that they are sane and seeing unexplainable technology
Reports that a significant chunk, maybe a fifth of all Gazan rockets are falling short and landing in Gaza not Israel, killing Gazans.
Given the Israeli Iron Dome is shooting down 90% of all rockets fired into Israel, I wonder if Hamas are killing more Gazans than Israelis? Even without Israeli retaliation, that would pretty much guarantee disproportionate death rates, wouldn't it?
When describing 60 dead kids as collateral damage or the fault of Hamas for using them as human shields just isn’t enough, there’s always Hamas rockets killed those kids.
"A member of Independent Sage who berated the Government on Tuesday for not delaying the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in Britain is a social scientist turned race adviser who has no medical qualifications.
Dr Zubaida Haque, a founding member of the group, specialises in racial equality and has been involved with various government-commissioned reports on welfare issues."
The only issue I'd have with that quote is that "medical qualifications" are not that relevant to how to handle a pandemic. Most epidemiologists haven't been to med school and most medics are not qualified on how to handle a pandemic.
See, e.g. Dr Sarah Jarvis who, unless her MA is in something relevant, is qualified to talk about symptoms and treatment of Covid, but not about how best to tackle it on a public-health basis. She can of course have an opinion on the phone ins, but so can Dave from Watford.
I've seen some quite absurd things posted by doctors - leaping to conclusions to fit their personal opinions, quite clearly.
To be fair, also some absurd things posted/stated by epidemiologists, for the same reasons.
But the media should start with "does this person have qualifications/experience that suggest they should know what they're talking about" and then, ideally (asking too much?) follow up with a bit of critical appraisal of what thet actually say, including looking for other people who should know what they're talking about who may have differing opinions.
See, e.g., masks and the whole airbourne or not debate.
The 'media' is, largely I believe staffed by journalists. How does one become one? The truly 'investigative' reporter, who makes themselves informed about what they are investigating is, in my experience, rare.
I have a niece who wants to become a journalist. She's attending a college course to learn how to do it and will soon transition into 3rd year at University to get her "degree". I have asked what she wants to be a journalist of. There is no clear answer. I ask what area she has researched and thinks she has something to say on. Ditto.
She's a lovely girl but she frankly has zero chance of ever being paid to be a professional journalist and I fear the same will apply to the vast majority of those studying such a course.
In contrast the son of a friend of mine wrote a series of pieces for the Big Issue on homelessness, drug dependency and the interaction between the 2. Compelling pieces about something he clearly cared deeply about and had researched carefully. He also wrote endless pieces for fanzines of his favourite football team to practise his skill. After several years he now has a full time job as a journalist. It's a tough gig but he loves it.
Well done to your friend's son. Sort of journalist we need. And I wonder where your niece will end up!
Reports that a significant chunk, maybe a fifth of all Gazan rockets are falling short and landing in Gaza not Israel, killing Gazans.
Given the Israeli Iron Dome is shooting down 90% of all rockets fired into Israel, I wonder if Hamas are killing more Gazans than Israelis? Even without Israeli retaliation, that would pretty much guarantee disproportionate death rates, wouldn't it?
Quite possibly. The hardliners on each side want perpetual conflict, not peace.
Reports that a significant chunk, maybe a fifth of all Gazan rockets are falling short and landing in Gaza not Israel, killing Gazans.
Given the Israeli Iron Dome is shooting down 90% of all rockets fired into Israel, I wonder if Hamas are killing more Gazans than Israelis? Even without Israeli retaliation, that would pretty much guarantee disproportionate death rates, wouldn't it?
Only a right wing extreme Tory could come up with crap like that
Should the government cut funding to businesses that have been impacted, like VAT cuts, furlough, grants, loans, rates relief and much more - put VAT on hospitality back up and give that money to the NHS? 🤔
yes
So devastate even more the businesses like pubs and restaurants etc that are on their knees in order to give more money to those in secure jobs? 🤔
Pubs and restaurants will start making their usual vast amounts of profits etc as everyone rushes back to them, desperate for their alcoholic meals. Meanwhile NHS workers will continue to eek out their salaries between their vast childcare costs and their full tax and NI contributions Class 1. There will always be Pubs and restaurants, but will there always be nurses and doctors now that we are jailing EU visitors at the border.
This is just so deeply delusional. Pubs and restaurants do not make "usual vast amounts of profits". Indeed, as we discussed only yesterday significant percentages of them go bust every normal year losing their life savings and all too often their homes put up as collateral. Those who work in the sector have little to no job security and are doing better than most if they even get the minimum wage.
Meanwhile, those working for the NHS are paid on average well above the national average, receive full pay for very extended periods if they are sick, get a full year's worth of full pay when they have kids and have pensions that are simply unobtainable to most in the private sector. I am not saying they don't deserve it but those who work with that incredible job security and confidence really need to acquire some understanding of how the majority of their fellow citizens paying their taxes to pay their wages live.
Someone posted on here yesterday - 1 in 6 hospitality businesses fail within their first year, even without a pandemic. It's a hugely risky field and I applaud anyone willing to take it, I wouldn't!
It's a low wage, low productivity industry which uses labour and capital inefficiently and holds the economy back. Like farming.
It's not my fault that some pubs and restaurants go bust in the normal course of events. I can't imagine that many being owned by "large chains" go bust. The others who do go bust need to manage their businesses better I suppose. Why does it take so long to make a Flat White? I'm amazed at the likes of PT crying tears over this. What about the fishing, farming and haulage industry that are being murdered by Brexit. Oh wait, it's Brexit, they're supposed to take care of themselves, the market will sort them out!!
Farming uses 62% of our land to make 0.6% of our GDP, land that is desperately needed for other purposes like housing, and takes £3 billion/year in subsidies into the bargain. The sooner the Australians and whoever free up the land, labour and capital the better. It's long overdue.
We can't eat houses!!
That is why I mentioned other countries, who are happy to supply us with food at lower prices.
Thanks, I'd rather preserve our ability to feed our own population, just in case.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
The brief comments from Obama mean nothing in isolation. But they need to be seen in context with what’s been said by two ex CIA Directors, one ex NID, one ex Senate Majority Leader and an Intelligence Committee Chair. As well as the ramping in leaks of video followed by swift DoD confirmation of veracity, the various military figure testimonies, the Congressional process and the sudden change in media narrative from across the political spectrum.
It is all very odd and you need to contort logic to come up with a prosaic or uninteresting explanation.
And more so to conclude that it's aliens.
From the various statements, we are being conclusively told we are not looking at data collection glitches (at least not in every case). The behaviour exhibits extraordinary capability. Transmedium high performance. Breaking the sound barrier without a sonic boom. Speeds and Gs beyond the capability of material science. No visual or infrared inductor of propulsion.
So it’s American, another country or something else.
If it’s American, then it’s a weird approach to take for a top secret programme. Buzzing your own carrier groups and then leaking the videos of it to the media and then starting a highly public congressional investigation into what it is.
If it’s another country, then it’s the most severe failure of intelligence of all time (human, satellite, digital etc...). To the point of implausibility.
Which leaves “something else”. Aliens. Sub oceanic intelligence. Inter dimensional or temporal visitors. Who knows.
There is also the possibility that we are being lied to by an extraordinary coalition of intelligence, political and military figures and the whole thing is mundane bad data. Why?
Reports that a significant chunk, maybe a fifth of all Gazan rockets are falling short and landing in Gaza not Israel, killing Gazans.
Given the Israeli Iron Dome is shooting down 90% of all rockets fired into Israel, I wonder if Hamas are killing more Gazans than Israelis? Even without Israeli retaliation, that would pretty much guarantee disproportionate death rates, wouldn't it?
When describing 60 dead kids as collateral damage or the fault of Hamas for using them as human shields just isn’t enough, there’s always Hamas rockets killed those kids.
Hamas do view kids as collateral damage and human shields. That is Hamas's choice.
Do you think Hamas rockets landing in Gaza killing people is fine?
Should the government cut funding to businesses that have been impacted, like VAT cuts, furlough, grants, loans, rates relief and much more - put VAT on hospitality back up and give that money to the NHS? 🤔
yes
So devastate even more the businesses like pubs and restaurants etc that are on their knees in order to give more money to those in secure jobs? 🤔
Pubs and restaurants will start making their usual vast amounts of profits etc as everyone rushes back to them, desperate for their alcoholic meals. Meanwhile NHS workers will continue to eek out their salaries between their vast childcare costs and their full tax and NI contributions Class 1. There will always be Pubs and restaurants, but will there always be nurses and doctors now that we are jailing EU visitors at the border.
This is just so deeply delusional. Pubs and restaurants do not make "usual vast amounts of profits". Indeed, as we discussed only yesterday significant percentages of them go bust every normal year losing their life savings and all too often their homes put up as collateral. Those who work in the sector have little to no job security and are doing better than most if they even get the minimum wage.
Meanwhile, those working for the NHS are paid on average well above the national average, receive full pay for very extended periods if they are sick, get a full year's worth of full pay when they have kids and have pensions that are simply unobtainable to most in the private sector. I am not saying they don't deserve it but those who work with that incredible job security and confidence really need to acquire some understanding of how the majority of their fellow citizens paying their taxes to pay their wages live.
Someone posted on here yesterday - 1 in 6 hospitality businesses fail within their first year, even without a pandemic. It's a hugely risky field and I applaud anyone willing to take it, I wouldn't!
It's a low wage, low productivity industry which uses labour and capital inefficiently and holds the economy back. Like farming.
It's not my fault that some pubs and restaurants go bust in the normal course of events. I can't imagine that many being owned by "large chains" go bust. The others who do go bust need to manage their businesses better I suppose. Why does it take so long to make a Flat White? I'm amazed at the likes of PT crying tears over this. What about the fishing, farming and haulage industry that are being murdered by Brexit. Oh wait, it's Brexit, they're supposed to take care of themselves, the market will sort them out!!
Farming uses 62% of our land to make 0.6% of our GDP, land that is desperately needed for other purposes like housing, and takes £3 billion/year in subsidies into the bargain. The sooner the Australians and whoever free up the land, labour and capital the better. It's long overdue.
We can't eat houses!!
That is why I mentioned other countries, who are happy to supply us with food at lower prices.
so transport all our food from foreign countries, ticking up massive mileage with its implications on transport costs and global warming?
Should the government cut funding to businesses that have been impacted, like VAT cuts, furlough, grants, loans, rates relief and much more - put VAT on hospitality back up and give that money to the NHS? 🤔
yes
So devastate even more the businesses like pubs and restaurants etc that are on their knees in order to give more money to those in secure jobs? 🤔
Pubs and restaurants will start making their usual vast amounts of profits etc as everyone rushes back to them, desperate for their alcoholic meals. Meanwhile NHS workers will continue to eek out their salaries between their vast childcare costs and their full tax and NI contributions Class 1. There will always be Pubs and restaurants, but will there always be nurses and doctors now that we are jailing EU visitors at the border.
This is just so deeply delusional. Pubs and restaurants do not make "usual vast amounts of profits". Indeed, as we discussed only yesterday significant percentages of them go bust every normal year losing their life savings and all too often their homes put up as collateral. Those who work in the sector have little to no job security and are doing better than most if they even get the minimum wage.
Meanwhile, those working for the NHS are paid on average well above the national average, receive full pay for very extended periods if they are sick, get a full year's worth of full pay when they have kids and have pensions that are simply unobtainable to most in the private sector. I am not saying they don't deserve it but those who work with that incredible job security and confidence really need to acquire some understanding of how the majority of their fellow citizens paying their taxes to pay their wages live.
Someone posted on here yesterday - 1 in 6 hospitality businesses fail within their first year, even without a pandemic. It's a hugely risky field and I applaud anyone willing to take it, I wouldn't!
It's a low wage, low productivity industry which uses labour and capital inefficiently and holds the economy back. Like farming.
It's not my fault that some pubs and restaurants go bust in the normal course of events. I can't imagine that many being owned by "large chains" go bust. The others who do go bust need to manage their businesses better I suppose. Why does it take so long to make a Flat White? I'm amazed at the likes of PT crying tears over this. What about the fishing, farming and haulage industry that are being murdered by Brexit. Oh wait, it's Brexit, they're supposed to take care of themselves, the market will sort them out!!
Farming uses 62% of our land to make 0.6% of our GDP, land that is desperately needed for other purposes like housing, and takes £3 billion/year in subsidies into the bargain. The sooner the Australians and whoever free up the land, labour and capital the better. It's long overdue.
We can't eat houses!!
That is why I mentioned other countries, who are happy to supply us with food at lower prices.
so transport all our food from foreign countries, ticking up massive mileage with its implications on transport costs and global warming?
Food shipping has an absolutely neglible and dwindling impact on the environment.
He wrote: “He continued to play the field for a while, especially when he was out of town on business, when he would frequently hit on female journalists who covered Microsoft.
Bill Gates today would have been MeToo'ed and cancelled before Microsoft Windows ever really got off the ground. The Apple and Linux fan boys might say they would have been a good thing.
Apple, maybe. Wait until you hear Stallman's* views on Epstein
*Yep, I know, not strictly relevant as Stallman != Linux and indeed it's not impossible that he views Linux as an inconvenient thing that got in the way of Hurd
Reports that a significant chunk, maybe a fifth of all Gazan rockets are falling short and landing in Gaza not Israel, killing Gazans.
Given the Israeli Iron Dome is shooting down 90% of all rockets fired into Israel, I wonder if Hamas are killing more Gazans than Israelis? Even without Israeli retaliation, that would pretty much guarantee disproportionate death rates, wouldn't it?
When describing 60 dead kids as collateral damage or the fault of Hamas for using them as human shields just isn’t enough, there’s always Hamas rockets killed those kids.
Hamas do view kids as collateral damage and human shields. That is Hamas's choice.
Do you think Hamas rockets landing in Gaza killing people is fine?
Yes, Hamas uses human shields. That does not mean that Israel, which knows this, is not firing missiles at these human shields. I suppose they could always follow peacenik Obama's method for reducing collateral damage and redefine anyone in the vicinity as the enemy.
Should the government cut funding to businesses that have been impacted, like VAT cuts, furlough, grants, loans, rates relief and much more - put VAT on hospitality back up and give that money to the NHS? 🤔
yes
So devastate even more the businesses like pubs and restaurants etc that are on their knees in order to give more money to those in secure jobs? 🤔
Pubs and restaurants will start making their usual vast amounts of profits etc as everyone rushes back to them, desperate for their alcoholic meals. Meanwhile NHS workers will continue to eek out their salaries between their vast childcare costs and their full tax and NI contributions Class 1. There will always be Pubs and restaurants, but will there always be nurses and doctors now that we are jailing EU visitors at the border.
This is just so deeply delusional. Pubs and restaurants do not make "usual vast amounts of profits". Indeed, as we discussed only yesterday significant percentages of them go bust every normal year losing their life savings and all too often their homes put up as collateral. Those who work in the sector have little to no job security and are doing better than most if they even get the minimum wage.
Meanwhile, those working for the NHS are paid on average well above the national average, receive full pay for very extended periods if they are sick, get a full year's worth of full pay when they have kids and have pensions that are simply unobtainable to most in the private sector. I am not saying they don't deserve it but those who work with that incredible job security and confidence really need to acquire some understanding of how the majority of their fellow citizens paying their taxes to pay their wages live.
Someone posted on here yesterday - 1 in 6 hospitality businesses fail within their first year, even without a pandemic. It's a hugely risky field and I applaud anyone willing to take it, I wouldn't!
It's a low wage, low productivity industry which uses labour and capital inefficiently and holds the economy back. Like farming.
It's not my fault that some pubs and restaurants go bust in the normal course of events. I can't imagine that many being owned by "large chains" go bust. The others who do go bust need to manage their businesses better I suppose. Why does it take so long to make a Flat White? I'm amazed at the likes of PT crying tears over this. What about the fishing, farming and haulage industry that are being murdered by Brexit. Oh wait, it's Brexit, they're supposed to take care of themselves, the market will sort them out!!
Farming uses 62% of our land to make 0.6% of our GDP, land that is desperately needed for other purposes like housing, and takes £3 billion/year in subsidies into the bargain. The sooner the Australians and whoever free up the land, labour and capital the better. It's long overdue.
We can't eat houses!!
That is why I mentioned other countries, who are happy to supply us with food at lower prices.
so transport all our food from foreign countries, ticking up massive mileage with its implications on transport costs and global warming?
Food shipping has an absolutely neglible and dwindling impact on the environment.
How are these ships supposed to get from Australia to the UK? Solar? Wind?
Reports that a significant chunk, maybe a fifth of all Gazan rockets are falling short and landing in Gaza not Israel, killing Gazans.
Given the Israeli Iron Dome is shooting down 90% of all rockets fired into Israel, I wonder if Hamas are killing more Gazans than Israelis? Even without Israeli retaliation, that would pretty much guarantee disproportionate death rates, wouldn't it?
When describing 60 dead kids as collateral damage or the fault of Hamas for using them as human shields just isn’t enough, there’s always Hamas rockets killed those kids.
Hamas do view kids as collateral damage and human shields. That is Hamas's choice.
Do you think Hamas rockets landing in Gaza killing people is fine?
Come up with some verifiable examples of this and I’ll get back to you. You should probably get in touch with the IDF about all that wasted effort they’re making to portray the deaths caused by their strikes as collateral damage and the fault of Hamas lurking in kids’ bedrooms, it was the baddies all along!
Corbyn in Parliament solely criticising Israel, hasn't got a single word to say about Hamas.
Who's surprised? Anyone?
Has he blamed Jewish Labour MPs for air strikes on Gaza yet?
That was the nub of his earlier argument as I recall.
No, it really wasn't.
Quite so. A problem about Corbynphobia is that everyone is shy of criticising Israel as people make this sort of daft comment. But I think current Israeli policy does deserve to be singled out for special criticism, not because the Government is Jewish but because it's an ultra-nationalist government escalating a conflict for domestic political advantage. That doesn't in any way excuse Hamas either, but "almost as bad as Hamas" is not an adequate excuse, and what Corbyn says is not the issue here.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
The brief comments from Obama mean nothing in isolation. But they need to be seen in context with what’s been said by two ex CIA Directors, one ex NID, one ex Senate Majority Leader and an Intelligence Committee Chair. As well as the ramping in leaks of video followed by swift DoD confirmation of veracity, the various military figure testimonies, the Congressional process and the sudden change in media narrative from across the political spectrum.
It is all very odd and you need to contort logic to come up with a prosaic or uninteresting explanation.
And more so to conclude that it's aliens.
From the various statements, we are being conclusively told we are not looking at data collection glitches (at least not in every case). The behaviour exhibits extraordinary capability. Transmedium high performance. Breaking the sound barrier without a sonic boom. Speeds and Gs beyond the capability of material science. No visual or infrared inductor of propulsion.
So it’s American, another country or something else.
If it’s American, then it’s a weird approach to take for a top secret programme. Buzzing your own carrier groups and then leaking the videos of it to the media and then starting a highly public congressional investigation into what it is.
If it’s another country, then it’s the most severe failure of intelligence of all time (human, satellite, digital etc...). To the point of implausibility.
Which leaves “something else”. Aliens. Sub oceanic intelligence. Inter dimensional or temporal visitors. Who knows.
There is also the possibility that we are being lied to by an extraordinary coalition of intelligence, political and military figures and the whole thing is mundane bad data. Why?
Or the plague has changed the human mind, and made us more credulous, and increasingly scared of the sky gods.
That has happened in previous plagues. Upsurges in religiosity, but in this case the faith comes with a scientific ET flavour, because we are more "advanced"
Plausible?
Trouble is, all this began long before Covid. So maybe Covid has just nudged away Normalcy Bias, and made smart people accept that extraordinary things DO sometimes happen
He wrote: “He continued to play the field for a while, especially when he was out of town on business, when he would frequently hit on female journalists who covered Microsoft.
Bill Gates today would have been MeToo'ed and cancelled before Microsoft Windows ever really got off the ground. The Apple and Linux fan boys might say they would have been a good thing.
Apple, maybe. Wait until you hear Stallman's* views on Epstein
*Yep, I know, not strictly relevant as Stallman != Linux and indeed it's not impossible that he views Linux as an inconvenient thing that got in the way of Hurd
Don’t go there!!! If we want to spend the day arguing about Stallman and Linux, we can go to Slashdot
Should the government cut funding to businesses that have been impacted, like VAT cuts, furlough, grants, loans, rates relief and much more - put VAT on hospitality back up and give that money to the NHS? 🤔
yes
So devastate even more the businesses like pubs and restaurants etc that are on their knees in order to give more money to those in secure jobs? 🤔
Pubs and restaurants will start making their usual vast amounts of profits etc as everyone rushes back to them, desperate for their alcoholic meals. Meanwhile NHS workers will continue to eek out their salaries between their vast childcare costs and their full tax and NI contributions Class 1. There will always be Pubs and restaurants, but will there always be nurses and doctors now that we are jailing EU visitors at the border.
This is just so deeply delusional. Pubs and restaurants do not make "usual vast amounts of profits". Indeed, as we discussed only yesterday significant percentages of them go bust every normal year losing their life savings and all too often their homes put up as collateral. Those who work in the sector have little to no job security and are doing better than most if they even get the minimum wage.
Meanwhile, those working for the NHS are paid on average well above the national average, receive full pay for very extended periods if they are sick, get a full year's worth of full pay when they have kids and have pensions that are simply unobtainable to most in the private sector. I am not saying they don't deserve it but those who work with that incredible job security and confidence really need to acquire some understanding of how the majority of their fellow citizens paying their taxes to pay their wages live.
Someone posted on here yesterday - 1 in 6 hospitality businesses fail within their first year, even without a pandemic. It's a hugely risky field and I applaud anyone willing to take it, I wouldn't!
It's a low wage, low productivity industry which uses labour and capital inefficiently and holds the economy back. Like farming.
It's not my fault that some pubs and restaurants go bust in the normal course of events. I can't imagine that many being owned by "large chains" go bust. The others who do go bust need to manage their businesses better I suppose. Why does it take so long to make a Flat White? I'm amazed at the likes of PT crying tears over this. What about the fishing, farming and haulage industry that are being murdered by Brexit. Oh wait, it's Brexit, they're supposed to take care of themselves, the market will sort them out!!
Farming uses 62% of our land to make 0.6% of our GDP, land that is desperately needed for other purposes like housing, and takes £3 billion/year in subsidies into the bargain. The sooner the Australians and whoever free up the land, labour and capital the better. It's long overdue.
We can't eat houses!!
That is why I mentioned other countries, who are happy to supply us with food at lower prices.
so transport all our food from foreign countries, ticking up massive mileage with its implications on transport costs and global warming?
Food shipping has an absolutely neglible and dwindling impact on the environment.
How are these ships supposed to get from Australia to the UK? Solar? Wind?
Ships tend to be quite big, and are incredibly fuel efficient per unit carried. If you're planning on eating a bit of New Zealand lamb for tea, the carbon emissions in the sections of the journey which took the lamb by road will almost certainly be larger than for the sections of the journey which brought it by ship.
Should the government cut funding to businesses that have been impacted, like VAT cuts, furlough, grants, loans, rates relief and much more - put VAT on hospitality back up and give that money to the NHS? 🤔
yes
So devastate even more the businesses like pubs and restaurants etc that are on their knees in order to give more money to those in secure jobs? 🤔
Pubs and restaurants will start making their usual vast amounts of profits etc as everyone rushes back to them, desperate for their alcoholic meals. Meanwhile NHS workers will continue to eek out their salaries between their vast childcare costs and their full tax and NI contributions Class 1. There will always be Pubs and restaurants, but will there always be nurses and doctors now that we are jailing EU visitors at the border.
This is just so deeply delusional. Pubs and restaurants do not make "usual vast amounts of profits". Indeed, as we discussed only yesterday significant percentages of them go bust every normal year losing their life savings and all too often their homes put up as collateral. Those who work in the sector have little to no job security and are doing better than most if they even get the minimum wage.
Meanwhile, those working for the NHS are paid on average well above the national average, receive full pay for very extended periods if they are sick, get a full year's worth of full pay when they have kids and have pensions that are simply unobtainable to most in the private sector. I am not saying they don't deserve it but those who work with that incredible job security and confidence really need to acquire some understanding of how the majority of their fellow citizens paying their taxes to pay their wages live.
Someone posted on here yesterday - 1 in 6 hospitality businesses fail within their first year, even without a pandemic. It's a hugely risky field and I applaud anyone willing to take it, I wouldn't!
It's a low wage, low productivity industry which uses labour and capital inefficiently and holds the economy back. Like farming.
It's not my fault that some pubs and restaurants go bust in the normal course of events. I can't imagine that many being owned by "large chains" go bust. The others who do go bust need to manage their businesses better I suppose. Why does it take so long to make a Flat White? I'm amazed at the likes of PT crying tears over this. What about the fishing, farming and haulage industry that are being murdered by Brexit. Oh wait, it's Brexit, they're supposed to take care of themselves, the market will sort them out!!
Farming uses 62% of our land to make 0.6% of our GDP, land that is desperately needed for other purposes like housing, and takes £3 billion/year in subsidies into the bargain. The sooner the Australians and whoever free up the land, labour and capital the better. It's long overdue.
We can't eat houses!!
That is why I mentioned other countries, who are happy to supply us with food at lower prices.
so transport all our food from foreign countries, ticking up massive mileage with its implications on transport costs and global warming?
Food shipping has an absolutely neglible and dwindling impact on the environment.
How are these ships supposed to get from Australia to the UK? Solar? Wind?
Should the government cut funding to businesses that have been impacted, like VAT cuts, furlough, grants, loans, rates relief and much more - put VAT on hospitality back up and give that money to the NHS? 🤔
yes
So devastate even more the businesses like pubs and restaurants etc that are on their knees in order to give more money to those in secure jobs? 🤔
Pubs and restaurants will start making their usual vast amounts of profits etc as everyone rushes back to them, desperate for their alcoholic meals. Meanwhile NHS workers will continue to eek out their salaries between their vast childcare costs and their full tax and NI contributions Class 1. There will always be Pubs and restaurants, but will there always be nurses and doctors now that we are jailing EU visitors at the border.
This is just so deeply delusional. Pubs and restaurants do not make "usual vast amounts of profits". Indeed, as we discussed only yesterday significant percentages of them go bust every normal year losing their life savings and all too often their homes put up as collateral. Those who work in the sector have little to no job security and are doing better than most if they even get the minimum wage.
Meanwhile, those working for the NHS are paid on average well above the national average, receive full pay for very extended periods if they are sick, get a full year's worth of full pay when they have kids and have pensions that are simply unobtainable to most in the private sector. I am not saying they don't deserve it but those who work with that incredible job security and confidence really need to acquire some understanding of how the majority of their fellow citizens paying their taxes to pay their wages live.
Someone posted on here yesterday - 1 in 6 hospitality businesses fail within their first year, even without a pandemic. It's a hugely risky field and I applaud anyone willing to take it, I wouldn't!
It's a low wage, low productivity industry which uses labour and capital inefficiently and holds the economy back. Like farming.
It's not my fault that some pubs and restaurants go bust in the normal course of events. I can't imagine that many being owned by "large chains" go bust. The others who do go bust need to manage their businesses better I suppose. Why does it take so long to make a Flat White? I'm amazed at the likes of PT crying tears over this. What about the fishing, farming and haulage industry that are being murdered by Brexit. Oh wait, it's Brexit, they're supposed to take care of themselves, the market will sort them out!!
Farming uses 62% of our land to make 0.6% of our GDP, land that is desperately needed for other purposes like housing, and takes £3 billion/year in subsidies into the bargain. The sooner the Australians and whoever free up the land, labour and capital the better. It's long overdue.
We can't eat houses!!
That is why I mentioned other countries, who are happy to supply us with food at lower prices.
so transport all our food from foreign countries, ticking up massive mileage with its implications on transport costs and global warming?
Food shipping has an absolutely neglible and dwindling impact on the environment.
How are these ships supposed to get from Australia to the UK? Solar? Wind?
Food miles are a myth.
Large fuel-efficient ships transporting tonnes of goods means the per-item environmental impact of the transportation is a tiny fraction of the impact of the good. If the source destination is more environmentally-friendly then shipping goods 11,000 miles is counter-intuitively more environmentally-friendly than consuming local.
Classic examples include beans grown in the sunshine in Kenya and then FLOWN to the UK are more environmentally-friendly than beans grown in greenhouses in the UK.
Another classic example is that Kiwi lamb is actually more environmentally-friendly than domestic lamb in off-seasons especially and importing lamb, shipping it 11,000 miles is more environmentally-friendly than consuming domestic lamb. Especially when seasonal effects and refrigeration are included in the calculation.
“I don’t think Boris has any idea what’s about to hit him. An unholy alliance of rightwing Nimbys and leftwing environmentalists are coming to destroy these planning reforms. Whether they win or lose, the arguing will be brutal for us. We could soon be in real trouble.”
Credit to the government for standing up to the NIMBY and leftwing environmentalist scum.
This is a fight worth having. It is a fight I hope they take to the end and win.
Well they have already lost control of Oxfordshire county council to a Labour, LD and Green coalition and lost control of some district councils like Tunbridge Wells and Chelmsford and Guildford in the local elections over planning so the Government and local Tory councils need to be careful to ensure where new housing is built it is focused on brownbelt land rather than greenbelt land as far as possible
Central government should remove the ability for NIMBY councils to block developments, then this is no longer an issue.
Have a free market nationwide with Councils only able to block developments in their local area if at least 70% of homes are owner occupied and house prices are no more than 3-4x incomes.
So basically you have a free for all in the Home Counties concreting all over the green belt while the North and Midlands where house prices are cheaper get barely any new housing at all.
If you want a policy to guarantee the Blue Wall falls to the LDs as much as the Red Wall has fallen to the Tories that would be it
Absolutely free for all in the Home Counties yes, that's part of having a free market. If people want to live their and buy the land then let them do as they please with their land.
If others want the land protected, let them buy the land.
Free market in action. If the Tories won't defend a free market I couldn't care less if those seats fall to a party that will.
Rubbish, most extra demand for housing in the Home Counties comes from people moving out of London looking for cheaper housing.
Build more affordable housing in brownbelt land in London first to reduce demand and also encourage more of our most skilled to stay in the North and Midlands where there is plenty of cheap property, rather than moving south to London as soon as they graduate.
The Tories are not and never have been a pure free market party and if the Liberals gain their southern seats it will be because of their NIMBY wing, not their Orange Book free market wing
People moving out of London need somewhere to live yes, they are your compatriots and they deserve somewhere to live. That's part of a free nation and afree market, people are free to move around - and if they wish to buy somewhere in the Home Counties and commute to London and someone is willing to sell to them then so be it. That is entirely appropriate and not inappropriate.
If the Tories don't defend the free market then there's no point supporting them. If the Tories are going to oppose a free market and be as NIMBY as the Lib Dems then I couldn't care less if the Tories or Lib Dems win the seats.
If there was more affordable housing to buy in London though, fewer Londoners would feel the need to move to the Home Counties to be able to afford to buy their first property.
Historically the Liberals have been more free market than the Tories, it is the Social Democrat wing of the LDs who tend to be the most NIMBY.
If the Tories lose large numbers of seats to the LDs in the South then they could lose their majority even if they keep most of their gains from Labour in the RedWall
Your final paragraph is not beyond the realm of possibility. I suppose my only caveat is, as we speak the LDs look dead in the water.
Though Margaret Thatcher said much the same in 1990, when she included the Dead Parrot gag in her conference speech. We all know how that turned out.
And the realpolitik is that, in the short term, building houses loses votes and opposing them wins them. I can't think of another cause more likely to resuscitate Lib Dem support.
Reports that a significant chunk, maybe a fifth of all Gazan rockets are falling short and landing in Gaza not Israel, killing Gazans.
Given the Israeli Iron Dome is shooting down 90% of all rockets fired into Israel, I wonder if Hamas are killing more Gazans than Israelis? Even without Israeli retaliation, that would pretty much guarantee disproportionate death rates, wouldn't it?
When describing 60 dead kids as collateral damage or the fault of Hamas for using them as human shields just isn’t enough, there’s always Hamas rockets killed those kids.
Hamas do view kids as collateral damage and human shields. That is Hamas's choice.
Do you think Hamas rockets landing in Gaza killing people is fine?
Come up with some verifiable examples of this and I’ll get back to you. You should probably get in touch with the IDF about all that wasted effort they’re making to portray the deaths caused by their strikes as collateral damage and the fault of Hamas lurking in kids’ bedrooms, it was the baddies all along!
I know exactly what it is. An enormous auto-complete machine. But maybe that’s all intelligence is. Auto-complete. We do not have Free Will. We just auto-complete in response to stimuli
We're autocomplete plus the ability to add to our dictionary of autocomplete terms.
That is what makes GPT-3 so uninteresting and very, very far away from generalised artificial intelligence. It's 1950s AI technology with an eye-watering amount of money thrown at the training data set.
It's why even in the incredibly limited domain of computer games "advanced" AIs get absolutely trashed by scrub tier strategies - if its not in the train g data they don't know what to do yet a human would be able to instantly adapt and overcome.
So you personally solved the whole Free Will conundrum, which has stumped 3000 years of philosophers. Nice work
Thanks.
AI research is no where near as advanced as you think it is. We are still using the basic concepts that were invented 70 years ago - the only advance has been an increase in computing power and willingness ot throw money at the training sets.
Even if you believe the human brain is entirely deterministic (and I have argued both sides of that statement) it does not have any impact on the rock solid fact that GPT-3 is a frippery, a novelty, very expensive, improvement on Eliza.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
Thing is though, even the MOST prosaic explanations are insane. ...
Which one do you go for?
If I can get around to it, I'll set out some ideas and submit a header to Mike. With a degree of relevance to politics.
He wrote: “He continued to play the field for a while, especially when he was out of town on business, when he would frequently hit on female journalists who covered Microsoft.
Bill Gates today would have been MeToo'ed and cancelled before Microsoft Windows ever really got off the ground. The Apple and Linux fan boys might say they would have been a good thing.
Apple, maybe. Wait until you hear Stallman's* views on Epstein
*Yep, I know, not strictly relevant as Stallman != Linux and indeed it's not impossible that he views Linux as an inconvenient thing that got in the way of Hurd
Don’t go there!!! If we want to spend the day arguing about Stallman and Linux, we can go to Slashdot
Oooh, I'd forgotten all about slashdot. Bet they've got some good comments/theories on the alien stuff too. Laters all
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
Thing is though, even the MOST prosaic explanations are insane.
1. The US is trying to deceive the entire world about its own technology, by pretending it has encountered aliens. And this plot involves several presidents. Er, OK
Or...
2. the Chinese have developed the ability to fly at 13,000 mph and they did this in the Noughties. or the 1950s. Really?!
Or
3. a weird mass hallucination is affecting hundreds of pilots across the world along with an unprecedented series of identical camera glitches and radar gremlins and infra-red frazzles and these delusional people have somehow convinced the US elite that they are sane and seeing unexplainable technology
Which one do you go for?
3. Every time.
Given pilots have reported plastic bags blowing in the wind as drones (when drones were the 'thing'), I wouldn't rely an any so-called observational skills. And I've yet to see any clear photographs or video. They are _always_ fuzzy, just like Nessie.
Why Labour didn't make NHS pay a central focus of the recent elections is beyond me.
They did....but then got distracted by Boris curtains and wallpaper, as they thought they would be a slamdunk hit on the Tories. And the public went, meh, somebody might have paid for Boris flat furniture so we didn't (we did, but that got lost in the story).
Is also worth noting the polling so far hasn't shown the 1% rise to be thought of as massively unfair / unpopular.
It's a damn sight more than many in the private sector, especially the self-employed, who actually pay the NHS staff's wages, have had.
Private sector employees do not pay the wages of public sector employees. This is an overly reductive way of viewing it. Neither does the private sector create the wealth which is spent on the public sector. That's equally misleading.
The two sectors support each other in the complex symbiotic whole of our mixed economy. Some activities create wealth. Some consume or destroy it. Some are neutral or just move it around. And what matters is the nature of the activity, not which sector the activity takes place in. Eg, an activity which creates (or not) wealth does so (or not) regardless of whether it's private or public sector.
Of course it's hard to measure how much wealth an activity is creating or destroying. Nevertheless, conceptually you have to bring it in. You can't simply define a person's taxes paid as being their net financial contribution. They could be paying loads of tax and yet be a net drain on the country.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
The brief comments from Obama mean nothing in isolation. But they need to be seen in context with what’s been said by two ex CIA Directors, one ex NID, one ex Senate Majority Leader and an Intelligence Committee Chair. As well as the ramping in leaks of video followed by swift DoD confirmation of veracity, the various military figure testimonies, the Congressional process and the sudden change in media narrative from across the political spectrum.
It is all very odd and you need to contort logic to come up with a prosaic or uninteresting explanation.
And more so to conclude that it's aliens.
From the various statements, we are being conclusively told we are not looking at data collection glitches (at least not in every case). The behaviour exhibits extraordinary capability. Transmedium high performance. Breaking the sound barrier without a sonic boom. Speeds and Gs beyond the capability of material science. No visual or infrared inductor of propulsion.
So it’s American, another country or something else.
If it’s American, then it’s a weird approach to take for a top secret programme. Buzzing your own carrier groups and then leaking the videos of it to the media and then starting a highly public congressional investigation into what it is.
If it’s another country, then it’s the most severe failure of intelligence of all time (human, satellite, digital etc...). To the point of implausibility.
Which leaves “something else”. Aliens. Sub oceanic intelligence. Inter dimensional or temporal visitors. Who knows.
There is also the possibility that we are being lied to by an extraordinary coalition of intelligence, political and military figures and the whole thing is mundane bad data. Why?
One entertaining aspect of this Flap is the way it is coaxing out some brilliant first hand accounts of UAPs. I am sure 99% of them are invented or delusional, but what if 1% are true? What are they seeing? What have people been seeing for decades?
I"n late summer of 1982 I saw a #UFO or #UAP on I-90, around 2-3AM while driving from Seattle to Minneapolis. It looked like a giant metal eye, maybe 500-feet across, and hovered around 100-200 feet above the ground tracking 1000 feet in front of us as we drove (65mph)."
"I had a passenger, a guy I met on a ride share board, we were driving his van. After a couple pregnant moments I asked him: "Uh, did you see that?". He said "Yeah...." And I about threw up. We were both too afraid to say anything while it was happening, to know it was real. #UFO"
"I don't know what it was, but it looked a lot like what the Navy and Air Force are showing. If it was real, this tech/phenomena has been around for a very long time. #UFO #UAP"
"I'm not a "conspiracy" guy, I've always thought maybe it was a weird reflection on the windshield or something else, anything else. So I've just avoided that little story. I don't tell many people. But now that the gov is admitting and showing videos, I feel more comfortable."
Corbyn in Parliament solely criticising Israel, hasn't got a single word to say about Hamas.
Who's surprised? Anyone?
Has he blamed Jewish Labour MPs for air strikes on Gaza yet?
That was the nub of his earlier argument as I recall.
No, it really wasn't.
Quite so. A problem about Corbynphobia is that everyone is shy of criticising Israel as people make this sort of daft comment. But I think current Israeli policy does deserve to be singled out for special criticism, not because the Government is Jewish but because it's an ultra-nationalist government escalating a conflict for domestic political advantage. That doesn't in any way excuse Hamas either, but "almost as bad as Hamas" is not an adequate excuse, and what Corbyn says is not the issue here.
By conflating the Israeli government's expansionism with Luciana Berger, Corbyn has made it more difficult to criticise the Netanyahu Government without appearing to criticise Judaism. The present dilemma is Corbyn's fault.
Corbyn in Parliament solely criticising Israel, hasn't got a single word to say about Hamas.
Who's surprised? Anyone?
Has he blamed Jewish Labour MPs for air strikes on Gaza yet?
That was the nub of his earlier argument as I recall.
No, it really wasn't.
Quite so. A problem about Corbynphobia is that everyone is shy of criticising Israel as people make this sort of daft comment. But I think current Israeli policy does deserve to be singled out for special criticism, not because the Government is Jewish but because it's an ultra-nationalist government escalating a conflict for domestic political advantage. That doesn't in any way excuse Hamas either, but "almost as bad as Hamas" is not an adequate excuse, and what Corbyn says is not the issue here.
Yeah, everyone always seems super shy of criticising Israel. Can't remember that ever happening.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
Thing is though, even the MOST prosaic explanations are insane.
1. The US is trying to deceive the entire world about its own technology, by pretending it has encountered aliens. And this plot involves several presidents. Er, OK
Or...
2. the Chinese have developed the ability to fly at 13,000 mph and they did this in the Noughties. or the 1950s. Really?!
Or
3. a weird mass hallucination is affecting hundreds of pilots across the world along with an unprecedented series of identical camera glitches and radar gremlins and infra-red frazzles and these delusional people have somehow convinced the US elite that they are sane and seeing unexplainable technology
Which one do you go for?
3. Every time.
Given pilots have reported plastic bags blowing in the wind as drones (when drones were the 'thing'), I wouldn't rely an any so-called observational skills. And I've yet to see any clear photographs or video. They are _always_ fuzzy, just like Nessie.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
The brief comments from Obama mean nothing in isolation. But they need to be seen in context with what’s been said by two ex CIA Directors, one ex NID, one ex Senate Majority Leader and an Intelligence Committee Chair. As well as the ramping in leaks of video followed by swift DoD confirmation of veracity, the various military figure testimonies, the Congressional process and the sudden change in media narrative from across the political spectrum.
It is all very odd and you need to contort logic to come up with a prosaic or uninteresting explanation.
And more so to conclude that it's aliens.
From the various statements, we are being conclusively told we are not looking at data collection glitches (at least not in every case). The behaviour exhibits extraordinary capability. Transmedium high performance. Breaking the sound barrier without a sonic boom. Speeds and Gs beyond the capability of material science. No visual or infrared inductor of propulsion.
So it’s American, another country or something else.
If it’s American, then it’s a weird approach to take for a top secret programme. Buzzing your own carrier groups and then leaking the videos of it to the media and then starting a highly public congressional investigation into what it is.
If it’s another country, then it’s the most severe failure of intelligence of all time (human, satellite, digital etc...). To the point of implausibility.
Which leaves “something else”. Aliens. Sub oceanic intelligence. Inter dimensional or temporal visitors. Who knows.
There is also the possibility that we are being lied to by an extraordinary coalition of intelligence, political and military figures and the whole thing is mundane bad data. Why?
Or the plague has changed the human mind, and made us more credulous, and increasingly scared of the sky gods.
That has happened in previous plagues. Upsurges in religiosity, but in this case the faith comes with a scientific ET flavour, because we are more "advanced"
Plausible?
Trouble is, all this began long before Covid. So maybe Covid has just nudged away Normalcy Bias, and made smart people accept that extraordinary things DO sometimes happen
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
Thing is though, even the MOST prosaic explanations are insane.
1. The US is trying to deceive the entire world about its own technology, by pretending it has encountered aliens. And this plot involves several presidents. Er, OK
Or...
2. the Chinese have developed the ability to fly at 13,000 mph and they did this in the Noughties. or the 1950s. Really?!
Or
3. a weird mass hallucination is affecting hundreds of pilots across the world along with an unprecedented series of identical camera glitches and radar gremlins and infra-red frazzles and these delusional people have somehow convinced the US elite that they are sane and seeing unexplainable technology
Which one do you go for?
3. Every time.
Given pilots have reported plastic bags blowing in the wind as drones (when drones were the 'thing'), I wouldn't rely an any so-called observational skills. And I've yet to see any clear photographs or video. They are _always_ fuzzy, just like Nessie.
I would normally go for 3, but you haven't explained why the entire US elite (up to and including Obama) disagrees with you, and thinks this is genuinely inexplicable, and is very carefully orchestrating leaks of videos and so forth, to back up its claim that there is Something Out There.
Straw man, as has been pointed out. It's just another dent in the shiny fat carapace.
It's a social experiment.
Just how much shit will the fanbois eat?
Does BoZo literally have to shoot someone on the Mall?
Would they still vote for him?
So long as his opponent is a woke culture warrior, who reads the Guardian, hates his country and conspires with those who wish to break it up - quite a lot will keep voting for the incumbent.
Are you ok there, Sandpit? Not out for too long in the heat, I hope. Because that is one bizarre take on Keir Starmer! You sound like a raddled old Colonel down at the Old Calcutta.
Like most parodies, there’s just enough truth in it...
What, you as a raddled old Colonel down the Old Calcutta?
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
Thing is though, even the MOST prosaic explanations are insane. ...
Which one do you go for?
If I can get around to it, I'll set out some ideas and submit a header to Mike. With a degree of relevance to politics.
Or you could just tell us? Which one do you believe?
Mr. kinabalu, public sector employees do have their wages paid by the taxes gathered from private sector workers.
That's a mathematical fact.
When I worked in the public sector (executive agency of BEIS, or whatever it was then) we were self-funding. In fact, the profit levels were something of an embarassment and all kinds of ways were found to spend/minimise the profits, short of paying us more!
Corbyn in Parliament solely criticising Israel, hasn't got a single word to say about Hamas.
Who's surprised? Anyone?
Has he blamed Jewish Labour MPs for air strikes on Gaza yet?
That was the nub of his earlier argument as I recall.
No, it really wasn't.
Quite so. A problem about Corbynphobia is that everyone is shy of criticising Israel as people make this sort of daft comment. But I think current Israeli policy does deserve to be singled out for special criticism, not because the Government is Jewish but because it's an ultra-nationalist government escalating a conflict for domestic political advantage. That doesn't in any way excuse Hamas either, but "almost as bad as Hamas" is not an adequate excuse, and what Corbyn says is not the issue here.
Yeah, everyone always seems super shy of criticising Israel. Can't remember that ever happening.
If the tories don’t take this seriously, the country will vote for far more radical solutions.
Huge discrepancy though, in London they average £500,000 whereas in England as a whole they average only £275,000 and in Wales only £185,000 and in Scotland just £167,000.
So high house prices for first time buyers remains a problem most pronounced in London and barely an issue at all north of Watford.
The Tories must also ensure they only build new housing in brownbelt land as far as possible in the South or they will continue to lose councils to the LDs and Greens
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
Thing is though, even the MOST prosaic explanations are insane.
1. The US is trying to deceive the entire world about its own technology, by pretending it has encountered aliens. And this plot involves several presidents. Er, OK
Or...
2. the Chinese have developed the ability to fly at 13,000 mph and they did this in the Noughties. or the 1950s. Really?!
Or
3. a weird mass hallucination is affecting hundreds of pilots across the world along with an unprecedented series of identical camera glitches and radar gremlins and infra-red frazzles and these delusional people have somehow convinced the US elite that they are sane and seeing unexplainable technology
Which one do you go for?
3. Every time.
Given pilots have reported plastic bags blowing in the wind as drones (when drones were the 'thing'), I wouldn't rely an any so-called observational skills. And I've yet to see any clear photographs or video. They are _always_ fuzzy, just like Nessie.
Reports that a significant chunk, maybe a fifth of all Gazan rockets are falling short and landing in Gaza not Israel, killing Gazans.
Given the Israeli Iron Dome is shooting down 90% of all rockets fired into Israel, I wonder if Hamas are killing more Gazans than Israelis? Even without Israeli retaliation, that would pretty much guarantee disproportionate death rates, wouldn't it?
When describing 60 dead kids as collateral damage or the fault of Hamas for using them as human shields just isn’t enough, there’s always Hamas rockets killed those kids.
Hamas do view kids as collateral damage and human shields. That is Hamas's choice.
Do you think Hamas rockets landing in Gaza killing people is fine?
Come up with some verifiable examples of this and I’ll get back to you. You should probably get in touch with the IDF about all that wasted effort they’re making to portray the deaths caused by their strikes as collateral damage and the fault of Hamas lurking in kids’ bedrooms, it was the baddies all along!
Mr. Selebian, not after all the nitty gritty but I'd be interested to hear how that worked.
I remember reading there used to be a Foreign investment fund that made a profit (stuff like investing in overseas mines which boosted foreign employment but also provided taxpayer returns) but I think Brown closed it.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
The brief comments from Obama mean nothing in isolation. But they need to be seen in context with what’s been said by two ex CIA Directors, one ex NID, one ex Senate Majority Leader and an Intelligence Committee Chair. As well as the ramping in leaks of video followed by swift DoD confirmation of veracity, the various military figure testimonies, the Congressional process and the sudden change in media narrative from across the political spectrum.
It is all very odd and you need to contort logic to come up with a prosaic or uninteresting explanation.
And more so to conclude that it's aliens.
From the various statements, we are being conclusively told we are not looking at data collection glitches (at least not in every case). The behaviour exhibits extraordinary capability. Transmedium high performance. Breaking the sound barrier without a sonic boom. Speeds and Gs beyond the capability of material science. No visual or infrared inductor of propulsion.
So it’s American, another country or something else.
If it’s American, then it’s a weird approach to take for a top secret programme. Buzzing your own carrier groups and then leaking the videos of it to the media and then starting a highly public congressional investigation into what it is.
If it’s another country, then it’s the most severe failure of intelligence of all time (human, satellite, digital etc...). To the point of implausibility.
Which leaves “something else”. Aliens. Sub oceanic intelligence. Inter dimensional or temporal visitors. Who knows.
There is also the possibility that we are being lied to by an extraordinary coalition of intelligence, political and military figures and the whole thing is mundane bad data. Why?
One entertaining aspect of this Flap is the way it is coaxing out some brilliant first hand accounts of UAPs. I am sure 99% of them are invented or delusional, but what if 1% are true? What are they seeing? What have people been seeing for decades?
I"n late summer of 1982 I saw a #UFO or #UAP on I-90, around 2-3AM while driving from Seattle to Minneapolis. It looked like a giant metal eye, maybe 500-feet across, and hovered around 100-200 feet above the ground tracking 1000 feet in front of us as we drove (65mph)."
"I had a passenger, a guy I met on a ride share board, we were driving his van. After a couple pregnant moments I asked him: "Uh, did you see that?". He said "Yeah...." And I about threw up. We were both too afraid to say anything while it was happening, to know it was real. #UFO"
"I don't know what it was, but it looked a lot like what the Navy and Air Force are showing. If it was real, this tech/phenomena has been around for a very long time. #UFO #UAP"
"I'm not a "conspiracy" guy, I've always thought maybe it was a weird reflection on the windshield or something else, anything else. So I've just avoided that little story. I don't tell many people. But now that the gov is admitting and showing videos, I feel more comfortable."
Reports that a significant chunk, maybe a fifth of all Gazan rockets are falling short and landing in Gaza not Israel, killing Gazans.
Given the Israeli Iron Dome is shooting down 90% of all rockets fired into Israel, I wonder if Hamas are killing more Gazans than Israelis? Even without Israeli retaliation, that would pretty much guarantee disproportionate death rates, wouldn't it?
When describing 60 dead kids as collateral damage or the fault of Hamas for using them as human shields just isn’t enough, there’s always Hamas rockets killed those kids.
Hamas do view kids as collateral damage and human shields. That is Hamas's choice.
Do you think Hamas rockets landing in Gaza killing people is fine?
You obviously think Israeli bombs , rockets et al landing in Gaza and killing civilians including many children is perfectly fine.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
Thing is though, even the MOST prosaic explanations are insane.
1. The US is trying to deceive the entire world about its own technology, by pretending it has encountered aliens. And this plot involves several presidents. Er, OK
Or...
2. the Chinese have developed the ability to fly at 13,000 mph and they did this in the Noughties. or the 1950s. Really?!
Or
3. a weird mass hallucination is affecting hundreds of pilots across the world along with an unprecedented series of identical camera glitches and radar gremlins and infra-red frazzles and these delusional people have somehow convinced the US elite that they are sane and seeing unexplainable technology
Which one do you go for?
3. Every time.
Given pilots have reported plastic bags blowing in the wind as drones (when drones were the 'thing'), I wouldn't rely an any so-called observational skills. And I've yet to see any clear photographs or video. They are _always_ fuzzy, just like Nessie.
Corbyn in Parliament solely criticising Israel, hasn't got a single word to say about Hamas.
Who's surprised? Anyone?
Has he blamed Jewish Labour MPs for air strikes on Gaza yet?
That was the nub of his earlier argument as I recall.
No, it really wasn't.
Quite so. A problem about Corbynphobia is that everyone is shy of criticising Israel as people make this sort of daft comment. But I think current Israeli policy does deserve to be singled out for special criticism, not because the Government is Jewish but because it's an ultra-nationalist government escalating a conflict for domestic political advantage. That doesn't in any way excuse Hamas either, but "almost as bad as Hamas" is not an adequate excuse, and what Corbyn says is not the issue here.
Yeah, everyone always seems super shy of criticising Israel. Can't remember that ever happening.
Its not as though HAMAS isn't ultra nationalist
Or as though their activities were (edit: weren't?) being funded by other countries in an attempt to further their own regional ambitions.
The one that gets me, though, is those who call for Britain to intervene to bring an end to the conflict. Usually from individuals who get most upset about Western intervention in the Middle East, when it isn't Israel on the receiving end.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
The brief comments from Obama mean nothing in isolation. But they need to be seen in context with what’s been said by two ex CIA Directors, one ex NID, one ex Senate Majority Leader and an Intelligence Committee Chair. As well as the ramping in leaks of video followed by swift DoD confirmation of veracity, the various military figure testimonies, the Congressional process and the sudden change in media narrative from across the political spectrum.
It is all very odd and you need to contort logic to come up with a prosaic or uninteresting explanation.
And more so to conclude that it's aliens.
From the various statements, we are being conclusively told we are not looking at data collection glitches (at least not in every case). The behaviour exhibits extraordinary capability. Transmedium high performance. Breaking the sound barrier without a sonic boom. Speeds and Gs beyond the capability of material science. No visual or infrared inductor of propulsion.
So it’s American, another country or something else.
If it’s American, then it’s a weird approach to take for a top secret programme. Buzzing your own carrier groups and then leaking the videos of it to the media and then starting a highly public congressional investigation into what it is.
If it’s another country, then it’s the most severe failure of intelligence of all time (human, satellite, digital etc...). To the point of implausibility.
Which leaves “something else”. Aliens. Sub oceanic intelligence. Inter dimensional or temporal visitors. Who knows.
There is also the possibility that we are being lied to by an extraordinary coalition of intelligence, political and military figures and the whole thing is mundane bad data. Why?
One entertaining aspect of this Flap is the way it is coaxing out some brilliant first hand accounts of UAPs. I am sure 99% of them are invented or delusional, but what if 1% are true? What are they seeing? What have people been seeing for decades?
I"n late summer of 1982 I saw a #UFO or #UAP on I-90, around 2-3AM while driving from Seattle to Minneapolis. It looked like a giant metal eye, maybe 500-feet across, and hovered around 100-200 feet above the ground tracking 1000 feet in front of us as we drove (65mph)."
"I had a passenger, a guy I met on a ride share board, we were driving his van. After a couple pregnant moments I asked him: "Uh, did you see that?". He said "Yeah...." And I about threw up. We were both too afraid to say anything while it was happening, to know it was real. #UFO"
"I don't know what it was, but it looked a lot like what the Navy and Air Force are showing. If it was real, this tech/phenomena has been around for a very long time. #UFO #UAP"
"I'm not a "conspiracy" guy, I've always thought maybe it was a weird reflection on the windshield or something else, anything else. So I've just avoided that little story. I don't tell many people. But now that the gov is admitting and showing videos, I feel more comfortable."
Why are they almost always Americans, and very often Americans from parts of America where even most Americans aren’t interested to go?
Is a very good point. Just like Elon Musk asking "why are all the photos so crap" - when everyone now has a superb camera to hand. Makes no sense
Maybe Americans are more credulous. Or maybe it is China and/or Russia observing the enemy (but for 70 years with hypersonic tech?). Maybe the aliens are understandably most interested in the most powerful and advanced country. Maybe it is a mass delusion like dragons, but Americans see spacecraft, because Merika
Reports that a significant chunk, maybe a fifth of all Gazan rockets are falling short and landing in Gaza not Israel, killing Gazans.
Given the Israeli Iron Dome is shooting down 90% of all rockets fired into Israel, I wonder if Hamas are killing more Gazans than Israelis? Even without Israeli retaliation, that would pretty much guarantee disproportionate death rates, wouldn't it?
When describing 60 dead kids as collateral damage or the fault of Hamas for using them as human shields just isn’t enough, there’s always Hamas rockets killed those kids.
Hamas do view kids as collateral damage and human shields. That is Hamas's choice.
Do you think Hamas rockets landing in Gaza killing people is fine?
You obviously think Israeli bombs , rockets et al landing in Gaza and killing civilians including many children is perfectly fine.
I think they're a tragic casualty of war, yes.
Wars result in deaths, its sad, but since Hamas and their backers Iran are literally seeking the destruction of Israel, Israel is literally fighting for its very survival. If they don't defend themselves, they will be destroyed, they have no alternative.
Hopefully one day Iran and others like Hamas that they fund will stop trying to destroy the state of Israel, in which case this can end.
Should the government cut funding to businesses that have been impacted, like VAT cuts, furlough, grants, loans, rates relief and much more - put VAT on hospitality back up and give that money to the NHS? 🤔
yes
So devastate even more the businesses like pubs and restaurants etc that are on their knees in order to give more money to those in secure jobs? 🤔
Pubs and restaurants will start making their usual vast amounts of profits etc as everyone rushes back to them, desperate for their alcoholic meals. Meanwhile NHS workers will continue to eek out their salaries between their vast childcare costs and their full tax and NI contributions Class 1. There will always be Pubs and restaurants, but will there always be nurses and doctors now that we are jailing EU visitors at the border.
This is just so deeply delusional. Pubs and restaurants do not make "usual vast amounts of profits". Indeed, as we discussed only yesterday significant percentages of them go bust every normal year losing their life savings and all too often their homes put up as collateral. Those who work in the sector have little to no job security and are doing better than most if they even get the minimum wage.
Meanwhile, those working for the NHS are paid on average well above the national average, receive full pay for very extended periods if they are sick, get a full year's worth of full pay when they have kids and have pensions that are simply unobtainable to most in the private sector. I am not saying they don't deserve it but those who work with that incredible job security and confidence really need to acquire some understanding of how the majority of their fellow citizens paying their taxes to pay their wages live.
Someone posted on here yesterday - 1 in 6 hospitality businesses fail within their first year, even without a pandemic. It's a hugely risky field and I applaud anyone willing to take it, I wouldn't!
It's a low wage, low productivity industry which uses labour and capital inefficiently and holds the economy back. Like farming.
It's not my fault that some pubs and restaurants go bust in the normal course of events. I can't imagine that many being owned by "large chains" go bust. The others who do go bust need to manage their businesses better I suppose. Why does it take so long to make a Flat White? I'm amazed at the likes of PT crying tears over this. What about the fishing, farming and haulage industry that are being murdered by Brexit. Oh wait, it's Brexit, they're supposed to take care of themselves, the market will sort them out!!
Farming uses 62% of our land to make 0.6% of our GDP, land that is desperately needed for other purposes like housing, and takes £3 billion/year in subsidies into the bargain. The sooner the Australians and whoever free up the land, labour and capital the better. It's long overdue.
We can't eat houses!!
That is why I mentioned other countries, who are happy to supply us with food at lower prices.
so transport all our food from foreign countries, ticking up massive mileage with its implications on transport costs and global warming?
Yes and what about the hundreds of thousands who lose their liveliehoods in the process so we can get cheap hormone laden, chlorinated , etc food for the plebs. Inspiring vision of those Brexit sunny uplands right enough.
“I don’t think Boris has any idea what’s about to hit him. An unholy alliance of rightwing Nimbys and leftwing environmentalists are coming to destroy these planning reforms. Whether they win or lose, the arguing will be brutal for us. We could soon be in real trouble.”
Credit to the government for standing up to the NIMBY and leftwing environmentalist scum.
This is a fight worth having. It is a fight I hope they take to the end and win.
Well they have already lost control of Oxfordshire county council to a Labour, LD and Green coalition and lost control of some district councils like Tunbridge Wells and Chelmsford and Guildford in the local elections over planning so the Government and local Tory councils need to be careful to ensure where new housing is built it is focused on brownbelt land rather than greenbelt land as far as possible
If the Government encouraged housing development in constituencies and council areas they don’t currently control, with the necessary measures in place to overrule councils if necessary, there would be more homeowners in these areas. This would be likely to increase the Conservative vote, thereby increasing their seats and councils. They could call these new Conservative areas the Brick Wall!
Straw man, as has been pointed out. It's just another dent in the shiny fat carapace.
It's a social experiment.
Just how much shit will the fanbois eat?
Does BoZo literally have to shoot someone on the Mall?
Would they still vote for him?
So long as his opponent is a woke culture warrior, who reads the Guardian, hates his country and conspires with those who wish to break it up - quite a lot will keep voting for the incumbent.
Are you ok there, Sandpit? Not out for too long in the heat, I hope. Because that is one bizarre take on Keir Starmer! You sound like a raddled old Colonel down at the Old Calcutta.
It may not be fair on Keir Starmer. But that is how many people see him. Every time he does something to appease the Corbynite wing or the Remainer ultras (or indeed the Scottish Nationalists), that impression grows. I certainly don't believe he WANTS to do those things - at least not the first or the last - but he is being forced into having to do so by the unfortunate logic of the disparate votes Labour needs to attract to secure a majority, or even a plurality.
It certainly isn't fair on Keir Starmer. He patently is not a superwoke culture warrior who hates Britain. I mean. c'mon. He's the knighted ex DPP, soft left at the most, who is (I fear) marching away from radicalism, seeing this as the route to electability. I can tell you with no word of a lie that the appeasement is almost all the other way. He is pissing off the Left something chronic. Tosses them the odd bone - eg a tweet or two about LGBT - and that's about it.
I know, kinabalu, I know. And yet see things through the eyes of our hypothetical Hartlepuddlian: - He served in Corbyn's shadow cabinet. Difficult to draw a line between you and your predecessor - who serves as a handy dividing line of for-us-or-against-us - when you were previously defending him. - He tweets pictures of himself taking the knee. To you this may not be superwoke. To a lot of people this is very clearly taking sides in the culture war (indeed, that's why he did it; albeit he then regretted doing so, then regretted regretting it). - He's a republican. To you, this may be incidental. I mean, I'm a republican too, I suppose. But to many people this is clearly taking one side of a culture war. - To anyone not looking too closely, there's a lot of culture warriors in his camp. He may not be part of that; indeed, he may be trying to distance himself from that side of the party. But that's not what people pick up; they pick up on 'Labour MP says outrageously woke thing' 'Kier Starmer is leader of Labour Party' therefore 'Kier Starmer is superwoke'. - He used to be DPP. Our hypothetical Hartlepuddlian sees the law as a) too woke, and b) ridiculously lenient on proper criminals. This doesn't work in his favour.
I know this is unfair. I think Kier is a fairly middle of the road middle class Londoner (though this already places him in the superwoke category to our HH) treading a desperately difficult path trying to regain the trust of the red wall without pissing off the far left of the ultra-remainers, while at the same time trying to satisfy slightly different polities in Scotland and Wales without whom he can't hope to muster a majority. I suspect if I met him I would have far more in common with him than with Boris. And yet, that's where he is. Unless and until Labour can rediscover a Blair-type who will not tread this path but actively disavow and drive out the superwokes, this is how any leader of the Labour Party will be seen.
If the tories don’t take this seriously, the country will vote for far more radical solutions.
Huge discrepancy though, in London they average £500,000 whereas in England as a whole they average only £275,000 and in Wales only £185,000 and in Scotland just £167,000.
So high house prices for first time buyers remains a problem most pronounced in London and barely an issue at all north of Watford.
The Tories must also ensure they only build new housing in brownbelt land as far as possible in the South or they will continue to lose councils to the LDs and Greens
If they lose Councils there's nothing to fear from continuing to build, build, build in those areas. There'd be more homeowners then as a result.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
Thing is though, even the MOST prosaic explanations are insane.
1. The US is trying to deceive the entire world about its own technology, by pretending it has encountered aliens. And this plot involves several presidents. Er, OK
Or...
2. the Chinese have developed the ability to fly at 13,000 mph and they did this in the Noughties. or the 1950s. Really?!
Or
3. a weird mass hallucination is affecting hundreds of pilots across the world along with an unprecedented series of identical camera glitches and radar gremlins and infra-red frazzles and these delusional people have somehow convinced the US elite that they are sane and seeing unexplainable technology
Which one do you go for?
3. Every time.
Given pilots have reported plastic bags blowing in the wind as drones (when drones were the 'thing'), I wouldn't rely an any so-called observational skills. And I've yet to see any clear photographs or video. They are _always_ fuzzy, just like Nessie.
Mr. Selebian, not after all the nitty gritty but I'd be interested to hear how that worked.
I remember reading there used to be a Foreign investment fund that made a profit (stuff like investing in overseas mines which boosted foreign employment but also provided taxpayer returns) but I think Brown closed it.
Patent Office, so funded by fees from applications (and to be fair, largely by renewal fees on patents, for which we actually did very little work other than someone processing the payment) and, to a lesser extent, commercial search services. Patents could also be obtained via the European Patent Office, but we still got the annual fees for UK rights even in that case.
Same of course would be true (I assume) of passport office, Royal Mail (when publicly owned, if it was profitable).
As somebody who is always on the lookout for attack lines that will destroy Boris and the government, even I think the Jenny McGee story is a complete non-story.
Indeed. The rather comical desperation to find The Thing That Will Bring Boris Down This Week is proof of the lamentable political impotence of his opponents; politcal strength means creating your own opportunities if they don't exist already, a talent of which they seem completely devoid. But no, they keep hoping against hope as if they were listening to a 1960s Adam West cliffhanger:
'Is this the zero hour for the Dynamic Duo? Are the sands of time really running out for Batman and Robin? At long last have they met a gritty, granulated, inglorious end?'
'Can it be? The Dynamic Duo crushed to death by an eight ton meteorite??'
'Are our eyes deceiving us?? Has the giant clam really swallowed Robin??'
'Tune in next week – same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!'
Yes, very good. I used to watch that and it's exactly how it was. Viz, 'him', I'd actually settle for him just being slapped around for a while by Mr Freeze before the inevitable escape. Least that could be enjoyed on its own terms and in its own right.
But look, in all seriousness, what you are overtly celebrating is the complete severing of the link between popularity and merit in our politics. I know it's never been a super-strong positive correlation, it can never be like that in such a messy world filled with such messy people, but it's now gone entirely and is even turning negative. This, objectively, is a really bad development.
I would just ask you to consider this. Everything said of Boris by those on the left, and those of his party who have abandoned him, is very similar to what was said of Blair by those on the right, and those in his party that had abandoned him.
I don’t think either side was/is right, I just seen the analogy. The belief that the PM is awful and on the make, together with his chums. The feeling of powerlessness that the public just don’t see it too. The idea that if they just wait long enough, the voters will catch on.
Yes, I get what you mean. But I don't really see a strong Blair to Johnson mapping. They are both vote machines via having an appeal beyond the traditional base of their respective parties, but their strengths and weaknesses as politicians don't look similar to me.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
Thing is though, even the MOST prosaic explanations are insane.
1. The US is trying to deceive the entire world about its own technology, by pretending it has encountered aliens. And this plot involves several presidents. Er, OK
Or...
2. the Chinese have developed the ability to fly at 13,000 mph and they did this in the Noughties. or the 1950s. Really?!
Or
3. a weird mass hallucination is affecting hundreds of pilots across the world along with an unprecedented series of identical camera glitches and radar gremlins and infra-red frazzles and these delusional people have somehow convinced the US elite that they are sane and seeing unexplainable technology
Which one do you go for?
3. Every time.
Given pilots have reported plastic bags blowing in the wind as drones (when drones were the 'thing'), I wouldn't rely an any so-called observational skills. And I've yet to see any clear photographs or video. They are _always_ fuzzy, just like Nessie.
They last came in the 70s. They have returned 50 years later to see whether we are now more civilised. They may not be back for another 50 years. If they flew over Glasgow on Saturday, however, they will have seen that we have in fact regressed, and may never come back.
“I don’t think Boris has any idea what’s about to hit him. An unholy alliance of rightwing Nimbys and leftwing environmentalists are coming to destroy these planning reforms. Whether they win or lose, the arguing will be brutal for us. We could soon be in real trouble.”
Credit to the government for standing up to the NIMBY and leftwing environmentalist scum.
This is a fight worth having. It is a fight I hope they take to the end and win.
Well they have already lost control of Oxfordshire county council to a Labour, LD and Green coalition and lost control of some district councils like Tunbridge Wells and Chelmsford and Guildford in the local elections over planning so the Government and local Tory councils need to be careful to ensure where new housing is built it is focused on brownbelt land rather than greenbelt land as far as possible
If the Government encouraged housing development in constituencies and council areas they don’t currently control, with the necessary measures in place to overrule councils if necessary, there would be more homeowners in these areas. This would be likely to increase the Conservative vote, thereby increasing their seats and councils. They could call these new Conservative areas the Brick Wall!
Agree, especially in Labour areas of London where most rent
As somebody who is always on the lookout for attack lines that will destroy Boris and the government, even I think the Jenny McGee story is a complete non-story.
Indeed. The rather comical desperation to find The Thing That Will Bring Boris Down This Week is proof of the lamentable political impotence of his opponents; politcal strength means creating your own opportunities if they don't exist already, a talent of which they seem completely devoid. But no, they keep hoping against hope as if they were listening to a 1960s Adam West cliffhanger:
'Is this the zero hour for the Dynamic Duo? Are the sands of time really running out for Batman and Robin? At long last have they met a gritty, granulated, inglorious end?'
'Can it be? The Dynamic Duo crushed to death by an eight ton meteorite??'
'Are our eyes deceiving us?? Has the giant clam really swallowed Robin??'
'Tune in next week – same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!'
Yes, very good. I used to watch that and it's exactly how it was. Viz, 'him', I'd actually settle for him just being slapped around for a while by Mr Freeze before the inevitable escape. Least that could be enjoyed on its own terms and in its own right.
But look, in all seriousness, what you are overtly celebrating is the complete severing of the link between popularity and merit in our politics. I know it's never been a super-strong positive correlation, it can never be like that in such a messy world filled with such messy people, but it's now gone entirely and is even turning negative. This, objectively, is a really bad development.
I would just ask you to consider this. Everything said of Boris by those on the left, and those of his party who have abandoned him, is very similar to what was said of Blair by those on the right, and those in his party that had abandoned him.
I don’t think either side was/is right, I just seen the analogy. The belief that the PM is awful and on the make, together with his chums. The feeling of powerlessness that the public just don’t see it too. The idea that if they just wait long enough, the voters will catch on.
Yes, I get what you mean. But I don't really see a strong Blair to Johnson mapping. They are both vote machines via having an appeal beyond the traditional base of their respective parties, but their strengths and weaknesses as politicians don't look similar to me.
Blair was a populist who didn't have many principles other than what would win votes, dominated the media agenda, had a sofa government with personalities dominating, and preferred spin without letting such petty things as truth get in the way.
If the tories don’t take this seriously, the country will vote for far more radical solutions.
Huge discrepancy though, in London they average £500,000 whereas in England as a whole they average only £275,000 and in Wales only £185,000 and in Scotland just £167,000.
So high house prices for first time buyers remains a problem most pronounced in London and barely an issue at all north of Watford.
The Tories must also ensure they only build new housing in brownbelt land as far as possible in the South or they will continue to lose councils to the LDs and Greens
If they lose Councils there's nothing to fear from continuing to build, build, build in those areas. There'd be more homeowners then as a result.
No, as if they lose councils to the LDs that may well lead to them losing the MP to the LDs too, as happened pre 1997 when Tory councils went LD leading to Tory constituencies going LD in the 1997 landslide too.
Most people in the South are homeowners already anyway, it is London where home ownership is most limited
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
The brief comments from Obama mean nothing in isolation. But they need to be seen in context with what’s been said by two ex CIA Directors, one ex NID, one ex Senate Majority Leader and an Intelligence Committee Chair. As well as the ramping in leaks of video followed by swift DoD confirmation of veracity, the various military figure testimonies, the Congressional process and the sudden change in media narrative from across the political spectrum.
It is all very odd and you need to contort logic to come up with a prosaic or uninteresting explanation.
And more so to conclude that it's aliens.
From the various statements, we are being conclusively told we are not looking at data collection glitches (at least not in every case). The behaviour exhibits extraordinary capability. Transmedium high performance. Breaking the sound barrier without a sonic boom. Speeds and Gs beyond the capability of material science. No visual or infrared inductor of propulsion.
So it’s American, another country or something else.
If it’s American, then it’s a weird approach to take for a top secret programme. Buzzing your own carrier groups and then leaking the videos of it to the media and then starting a highly public congressional investigation into what it is.
If it’s another country, then it’s the most severe failure of intelligence of all time (human, satellite, digital etc...). To the point of implausibility.
Which leaves “something else”. Aliens. Sub oceanic intelligence. Inter dimensional or temporal visitors. Who knows.
There is also the possibility that we are being lied to by an extraordinary coalition of intelligence, political and military figures and the whole thing is mundane bad data. Why?
One entertaining aspect of this Flap is the way it is coaxing out some brilliant first hand accounts of UAPs. I am sure 99% of them are invented or delusional, but what if 1% are true? What are they seeing? What have people been seeing for decades?
I"n late summer of 1982 I saw a #UFO or #UAP on I-90, around 2-3AM while driving from Seattle to Minneapolis. It looked like a giant metal eye, maybe 500-feet across, and hovered around 100-200 feet above the ground tracking 1000 feet in front of us as we drove (65mph)."
"I had a passenger, a guy I met on a ride share board, we were driving his van. After a couple pregnant moments I asked him: "Uh, did you see that?". He said "Yeah...." And I about threw up. We were both too afraid to say anything while it was happening, to know it was real. #UFO"
"I don't know what it was, but it looked a lot like what the Navy and Air Force are showing. If it was real, this tech/phenomena has been around for a very long time. #UFO #UAP"
"I'm not a "conspiracy" guy, I've always thought maybe it was a weird reflection on the windshield or something else, anything else. So I've just avoided that little story. I don't tell many people. But now that the gov is admitting and showing videos, I feel more comfortable."
Why are they almost always Americans, and very often Americans from parts of America where even most Americans aren’t interested to go?
Is a very good point. Just like Elon Musk asking "why are all the photos so crap" - when everyone now has a superb camera to hand. Makes no sense
Maybe Americans are more credulous. Or maybe it is China and/or Russia observing the enemy (but for 70 years with hypersonic tech?). Maybe the aliens are understandably most interested in the most powerful and advanced country. Maybe it is a mass delusion like dragons, but Americans see spacecraft, because Merika
It is certainly remarkable that these aliens have the knowhow to transport themselves across light years of interstellar space and to travel at 9000 mph through our atmosphere without creating so much as a ripple, yet haven’t worked out that Americans from Colorado aren’t a random sample.
Although to be fair, if they are so far above us in intelligence and technology, they probably are no more concerned than we would be in picking out a random sample of ants from an ant farm. But it is still odd that only Midwest Americans ever get abducted and experimented on.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
The brief comments from Obama mean nothing in isolation. But they need to be seen in context with what’s been said by two ex CIA Directors, one ex NID, one ex Senate Majority Leader and an Intelligence Committee Chair. As well as the ramping in leaks of video followed by swift DoD confirmation of veracity, the various military figure testimonies, the Congressional process and the sudden change in media narrative from across the political spectrum.
It is all very odd and you need to contort logic to come up with a prosaic or uninteresting explanation.
And more so to conclude that it's aliens.
From the various statements, we are being conclusively told we are not looking at data collection glitches (at least not in every case). The behaviour exhibits extraordinary capability. Transmedium high performance. Breaking the sound barrier without a sonic boom. Speeds and Gs beyond the capability of material science. No visual or infrared inductor of propulsion.
So it’s American, another country or something else.
If it’s American, then it’s a weird approach to take for a top secret programme. Buzzing your own carrier groups and then leaking the videos of it to the media and then starting a highly public congressional investigation into what it is.
If it’s another country, then it’s the most severe failure of intelligence of all time (human, satellite, digital etc...). To the point of implausibility.
Which leaves “something else”. Aliens. Sub oceanic intelligence. Inter dimensional or temporal visitors. Who knows.
There is also the possibility that we are being lied to by an extraordinary coalition of intelligence, political and military figures and the whole thing is mundane bad data. Why?
One entertaining aspect of this Flap is the way it is coaxing out some brilliant first hand accounts of UAPs. I am sure 99% of them are invented or delusional, but what if 1% are true? What are they seeing? What have people been seeing for decades?
I"n late summer of 1982 I saw a #UFO or #UAP on I-90, around 2-3AM while driving from Seattle to Minneapolis. It looked like a giant metal eye, maybe 500-feet across, and hovered around 100-200 feet above the ground tracking 1000 feet in front of us as we drove (65mph)."
"I had a passenger, a guy I met on a ride share board, we were driving his van. After a couple pregnant moments I asked him: "Uh, did you see that?". He said "Yeah...." And I about threw up. We were both too afraid to say anything while it was happening, to know it was real. #UFO"
"I don't know what it was, but it looked a lot like what the Navy and Air Force are showing. If it was real, this tech/phenomena has been around for a very long time. #UFO #UAP"
"I'm not a "conspiracy" guy, I've always thought maybe it was a weird reflection on the windshield or something else, anything else. So I've just avoided that little story. I don't tell many people. But now that the gov is admitting and showing videos, I feel more comfortable."
Why are they almost always Americans, and very often Americans from parts of America where even most Americans aren’t interested to go?
Is a very good point. Just like Elon Musk asking "why are all the photos so crap" - when everyone now has a superb camera to hand. Makes no sense
Maybe Americans are more credulous. Or maybe it is China and/or Russia observing the enemy (but for 70 years with hypersonic tech?). Maybe the aliens are understandably most interested in the most powerful and advanced country. Maybe it is a mass delusion like dragons, but Americans see spacecraft, because Merika
There is a long history of seeing UFOs - back to the 19th cent and before
Strangely, they always seem to resemble contemporary ideas (fictional or real) of flying machines. So people in the 19th Cent. saw strange balloons that did impossible things. In the 40s - foo fighters and rockets. In the 50's, shining, polished saucers. Now, drone like things....
Absolute lols, based on their own breakdown Tether bought 1% of all US Commercial Paper available in the last month. They allegedly own 3% of all Commercial Paper outstanding.
Mr. Selebian, not after all the nitty gritty but I'd be interested to hear how that worked.
I remember reading there used to be a Foreign investment fund that made a profit (stuff like investing in overseas mines which boosted foreign employment but also provided taxpayer returns) but I think Brown closed it.
The office that managed the UK gold stock at the Bank of England used to make a handsome profit. Until shut down by Gordon Brown (ha!).
It would have come in quite useful in selling gold without crashing the price.
Yesterday, the former president of the USA reversed his earlier statements, and confirmed that American military has encountered advanced technology it cannot explain...
Please provide cite. From what I saw he said it had observed phenomena it couldn't explain. Not the same thing.
He's actually quite hesitant and inarticulate - for Obama
I think my interpretation of his garbled words is fair. But you are free to demur
"we can't explain how they move, their trajectory, they did not have an easily explainable pattern"
Yes, that's the link you posted yesterday, which is what I was referring to. You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
The brief comments from Obama mean nothing in isolation. But they need to be seen in context with what’s been said by two ex CIA Directors, one ex NID, one ex Senate Majority Leader and an Intelligence Committee Chair. As well as the ramping in leaks of video followed by swift DoD confirmation of veracity, the various military figure testimonies, the Congressional process and the sudden change in media narrative from across the political spectrum.
It is all very odd and you need to contort logic to come up with a prosaic or uninteresting explanation.
And more so to conclude that it's aliens.
From the various statements, we are being conclusively told we are not looking at data collection glitches (at least not in every case). The behaviour exhibits extraordinary capability. Transmedium high performance. Breaking the sound barrier without a sonic boom. Speeds and Gs beyond the capability of material science. No visual or infrared inductor of propulsion.
So it’s American, another country or something else.
If it’s American, then it’s a weird approach to take for a top secret programme. Buzzing your own carrier groups and then leaking the videos of it to the media and then starting a highly public congressional investigation into what it is.
If it’s another country, then it’s the most severe failure of intelligence of all time (human, satellite, digital etc...). To the point of implausibility.
Which leaves “something else”. Aliens. Sub oceanic intelligence. Inter dimensional or temporal visitors. Who knows.
There is also the possibility that we are being lied to by an extraordinary coalition of intelligence, political and military figures and the whole thing is mundane bad data. Why?
One entertaining aspect of this Flap is the way it is coaxing out some brilliant first hand accounts of UAPs. I am sure 99% of them are invented or delusional, but what if 1% are true? What are they seeing? What have people been seeing for decades?
I"n late summer of 1982 I saw a #UFO or #UAP on I-90, around 2-3AM while driving from Seattle to Minneapolis. It looked like a giant metal eye, maybe 500-feet across, and hovered around 100-200 feet above the ground tracking 1000 feet in front of us as we drove (65mph)."
"I had a passenger, a guy I met on a ride share board, we were driving his van. After a couple pregnant moments I asked him: "Uh, did you see that?". He said "Yeah...." And I about threw up. We were both too afraid to say anything while it was happening, to know it was real. #UFO"
"I don't know what it was, but it looked a lot like what the Navy and Air Force are showing. If it was real, this tech/phenomena has been around for a very long time. #UFO #UAP"
"I'm not a "conspiracy" guy, I've always thought maybe it was a weird reflection on the windshield or something else, anything else. So I've just avoided that little story. I don't tell many people. But now that the gov is admitting and showing videos, I feel more comfortable."
Why are they almost always Americans, and very often Americans from parts of America where even most Americans aren’t interested to go?
Is a very good point. Just like Elon Musk asking "why are all the photos so crap" - when everyone now has a superb camera to hand. Makes no sense
Maybe Americans are more credulous. Or maybe it is China and/or Russia observing the enemy (but for 70 years with hypersonic tech?). Maybe the aliens are understandably most interested in the most powerful and advanced country. Maybe it is a mass delusion like dragons, but Americans see spacecraft, because Merika
It is certainly remarkable that these aliens have the knowhow to transport themselves across light years of interstellar space and to travel at 9000 mph through our atmosphere without creating so much as a ripple, yet haven’t worked out that Americans from Colorado aren’t a random sample.
Although to be fair, if they are so far above us in intelligence and technology, they probably are no more concerned than we would be in picking out a random sample of ants from an ant farm. But it is still odd that only Midwest Americans ever get abducted and experimented on.
Comments
So you personally solved the whole Free Will conundrum, which has stumped 3000 years of philosophers. Nice work
Who's surprised? Anyone?
You are massively over interpreting.
I observed something I couldn't account for yesterday, when my computer crashed. It could have been alien technology, but I think there are simpler explanations.
Given the Israeli Iron Dome is shooting down 90% of all rockets fired into Israel, I wonder if Hamas are killing more Gazans than Israelis? Even without Israeli retaliation, that would pretty much guarantee disproportionate death rates, wouldn't it?
It is all very odd and you need to contort logic to come up with a prosaic or uninteresting explanation.
That was the nub of his earlier argument as I recall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOJVgZcfVcM
I don't speak Portuguese, but I think the very calm and quiet commentator compared Alisson to Dalglish, Rush and Fowler...
1. The US is trying to deceive the entire world about its own technology, by pretending it has encountered aliens. And this plot involves several presidents. Er, OK
Or...
2. the Chinese have developed the ability to fly at 13,000 mph and they did this in the Noughties. or the 1950s. Really?!
Or
3. a weird mass hallucination is affecting hundreds of pilots across the world along with an unprecedented series of identical camera glitches and radar gremlins and infra-red frazzles and these delusional people have somehow convinced the US elite that they are sane and seeing unexplainable technology
Which one do you go for?
https://twitter.com/ambrosieugenio/status/1394940570364219402?s=21
So it’s American, another country or something else.
If it’s American, then it’s a weird approach to take for a top secret programme. Buzzing your own carrier groups and then leaking the videos of it to the media and then starting a highly public congressional investigation into what it is.
If it’s another country, then it’s the most severe failure of intelligence of all time (human, satellite, digital etc...). To the point of implausibility.
Which leaves “something else”. Aliens. Sub oceanic intelligence. Inter dimensional or temporal visitors. Who knows.
There is also the possibility that we are being lied to by an extraordinary coalition of intelligence, political and military figures and the whole thing is mundane bad data. Why?
Do you think Hamas rockets landing in Gaza killing people is fine?
*Yep, I know, not strictly relevant as Stallman != Linux and indeed it's not impossible that he views Linux as an inconvenient thing that got in the way of Hurd
You should probably get in touch with the IDF about all that wasted effort they’re making to portray the deaths caused by their strikes as collateral damage and the fault of Hamas lurking in kids’ bedrooms, it was the baddies all along!
That has happened in previous plagues. Upsurges in religiosity, but in this case the faith comes with a scientific ET flavour, because we are more "advanced"
Plausible?
Trouble is, all this began long before Covid. So maybe Covid has just nudged away Normalcy Bias, and made smart people accept that extraordinary things DO sometimes happen
Large fuel-efficient ships transporting tonnes of goods means the per-item environmental impact of the transportation is a tiny fraction of the impact of the good. If the source destination is more environmentally-friendly then shipping goods 11,000 miles is counter-intuitively more environmentally-friendly than consuming local.
Classic examples include beans grown in the sunshine in Kenya and then FLOWN to the UK are more environmentally-friendly than beans grown in greenhouses in the UK.
Another classic example is that Kiwi lamb is actually more environmentally-friendly than domestic lamb in off-seasons especially and importing lamb, shipping it 11,000 miles is more environmentally-friendly than consuming domestic lamb. Especially when seasonal effects and refrigeration are included in the calculation.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/mar/23/food.ethicalliving
https://green.harvard.edu/news/do-food-miles-really-matter
https://www.taxpayersalliance.com/the_food_miles_myth
And the realpolitik is that, in the short term, building houses loses votes and opposing them wins them. I can't think of another cause more likely to resuscitate Lib Dem support.
Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/biden-expects-spiralling-israel-gaza-conflict-end-soon-2021-05-12/
"So far some 1,750 rockets have been fired at Israel, of which 300 fell short in the Gaza Strip"
AI research is no where near as advanced as you think it is. We are still using the basic concepts that were invented 70 years ago - the only advance has been an increase in computing power and willingness ot throw money at the training sets.
Even if you believe the human brain is entirely deterministic (and I have argued both sides of that statement) it does not have any impact on the rock solid fact that GPT-3 is a frippery, a novelty, very expensive, improvement on Eliza.
With a degree of relevance to politics.
Every time.
Given pilots have reported plastic bags blowing in the wind as drones (when drones were the 'thing'), I wouldn't rely an any so-called observational skills. And I've yet to see any clear photographs or video. They are _always_ fuzzy, just like Nessie.
I have seen levitating boats, though, which surely must have taken alien technology. Like this one:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-56286719
I thought we went through all this in the 70s?
The two sectors support each other in the complex symbiotic whole of our mixed economy. Some activities create wealth. Some consume or destroy it. Some are neutral or just move it around. And what matters is the nature of the activity, not which sector the activity takes place in. Eg, an activity which creates (or not) wealth does so (or not) regardless of whether it's private or public sector.
Of course it's hard to measure how much wealth an activity is creating or destroying. Nevertheless, conceptually you have to bring it in. You can't simply define a person's taxes paid as being their net financial contribution. They could be paying loads of tax and yet be a net drain on the country.
I"n late summer of 1982 I saw a #UFO or #UAP on I-90, around 2-3AM while driving from Seattle to Minneapolis. It looked like a giant metal eye, maybe 500-feet across, and hovered around 100-200 feet above the ground tracking 1000 feet in front of us as we drove (65mph)."
"I had a passenger, a guy I met on a ride share board, we were driving his van. After a couple pregnant moments I asked him: "Uh, did you see that?". He said "Yeah...." And I about threw up. We were both too afraid to say anything while it was happening, to know it was real. #UFO"
"I don't know what it was, but it looked a lot like what the Navy and Air Force are showing. If it was real, this tech/phenomena has been around for a very long time. #UFO #UAP"
"I'm not a "conspiracy" guy, I've always thought maybe it was a weird reflection on the windshield or something else, anything else. So I've just avoided that little story. I don't tell many people. But now that the gov is admitting and showing videos, I feel more comfortable."
https://twitter.com/okanogen2010/status/1395000495241003011?s=20
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57171683
If the tories don’t take this seriously, the country will vote for far more radical solutions.
That's a mathematical fact.
So expect people to lose their freaking minds screaming that the Truth Is Out There!
(We were a state-owned monopoly, to be fair)
So high house prices for first time buyers remains a problem most pronounced in London and barely an issue at all north of Watford.
The Tories must also ensure they only build new housing in brownbelt land as far as possible in the South or they will continue to lose councils to the LDs and Greens
'While Israel does not have an accurate estimate of how many Palestinians have been killed this way, they say it is at least 20'
A good few years where house prices go up by 1%, general prices by 3-4% and wages by 5% would be ideal.
Within a decade house price ratios would fall from 6x to 4x without anyone ever having faced negative equity.
I remember reading there used to be a Foreign investment fund that made a profit (stuff like investing in overseas mines which boosted foreign employment but also provided taxpayer returns) but I think Brown closed it.
Doesn't mean there's not a prosaic explanation, just we don't know what it is right now.
This is the same sort of idiocy that historically says "I can't explain this natural phenomenon, therefore God did it".
https://twitter.com/benatipsosmori/status/1394665237673041925?s=21
The one that gets me, though, is those who call for Britain to intervene to bring an end to the conflict. Usually from individuals who get most upset about Western intervention in the Middle East, when it isn't Israel on the receiving end.
Maybe Americans are more credulous. Or maybe it is China and/or Russia observing the enemy (but for 70 years with hypersonic tech?). Maybe the aliens are understandably most interested in the most powerful and advanced country. Maybe it is a mass delusion like dragons, but Americans see spacecraft, because Merika
Wars result in deaths, its sad, but since Hamas and their backers Iran are literally seeking the destruction of Israel, Israel is literally fighting for its very survival. If they don't defend themselves, they will be destroyed, they have no alternative.
Hopefully one day Iran and others like Hamas that they fund will stop trying to destroy the state of Israel, in which case this can end.
A beautiful Twitter haiku https://twitter.com/juliamacfarlane/status/1395005930492862468/photo/1
- He served in Corbyn's shadow cabinet. Difficult to draw a line between you and your predecessor - who serves as a handy dividing line of for-us-or-against-us - when you were previously defending him.
- He tweets pictures of himself taking the knee. To you this may not be superwoke. To a lot of people this is very clearly taking sides in the culture war (indeed, that's why he did it; albeit he then regretted doing so, then regretted regretting it).
- He's a republican. To you, this may be incidental. I mean, I'm a republican too, I suppose. But to many people this is clearly taking one side of a culture war.
- To anyone not looking too closely, there's a lot of culture warriors in his camp. He may not be part of that; indeed, he may be trying to distance himself from that side of the party. But that's not what people pick up; they pick up on 'Labour MP says outrageously woke thing' 'Kier Starmer is leader of Labour Party' therefore 'Kier Starmer is superwoke'.
- He used to be DPP. Our hypothetical Hartlepuddlian sees the law as a) too woke, and b) ridiculously lenient on proper criminals. This doesn't work in his favour.
I know this is unfair. I think Kier is a fairly middle of the road middle class Londoner (though this already places him in the superwoke category to our HH) treading a desperately difficult path trying to regain the trust of the red wall without pissing off the far left of the ultra-remainers, while at the same time trying to satisfy slightly different polities in Scotland and Wales without whom he can't hope to muster a majority. I suspect if I met him I would have far more in common with him than with Boris. And yet, that's where he is.
Unless and until Labour can rediscover a Blair-type who will not tread this path but actively disavow and drive out the superwokes, this is how any leader of the Labour Party will be seen.
Same of course would be true (I assume) of passport office, Royal Mail (when publicly owned, if it was profitable).
I'm just splitting hairs really.
"Don’t buy the UFOs thing
They’re trying to make us believe it too much
Even Obama is pushing it"
https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1394980205098373121?s=20
THAT's a head fuck all right
Whereas Boris ...
Most people in the South are homeowners already anyway, it is London where home ownership is most limited
Although to be fair, if they are so far above us in intelligence and technology, they probably are no more concerned than we would be in picking out a random sample of ants from an ant farm. But it is still odd that only Midwest Americans ever get abducted and experimented on.
Strangely, they always seem to resemble contemporary ideas (fictional or real) of flying machines. So people in the 19th Cent. saw strange balloons that did impossible things. In the 40s - foo fighters and rockets. In the 50's, shining, polished saucers. Now, drone like things....
What an absolute pile of scam.
It would have come in quite useful in selling gold without crashing the price.
https://order-order.com/2021/05/19/libdem-councillor-representing-three-different-wards-70-miles-apart/
498,101 vaccinations in 🇬🇧 yesterday
🏴 154,621 1st doses / 269,283 2nd doses
🏴 6,231 / 34,919
🏴 10,106 / 11,857
NI 3,142 / 7,942
Anyway, I must be off. Play nicely, my fellow Earthlings.
See under By location.