One of the greatest false prophecies in the history of modern Britain.
"Five years from now Britain will be flourishing as never before and people will look back and wonder why we didn't do this long before” - Daniel Hannan on Brexit in 2016.
I think I have finally rumbled you, Scott. You are BoZo's double agent.
The absolute best-est thing of all for BoZo is for GE 2024 to be a re-run of 2019.
The one person who needs Brexit never to fade away most of all is ... BoZo.
We've always been at war with Eastasia ... And for BoZo to be deliriously happy on General Election in 2024, we must always be at war with Remain.
It is difficult ... the matter might just fade away, lose its salience, other things might intervene, so BoZo needs his double agents to be posting endless nonsensical rubbish, stirring the pot.
Unfortunately for him, his Minister for Women and Gender Equality Maryam Monsef opened her mouth this afternoon:
“I want to take this opportunity to speak to our brothers, the Taliban. We call on you to ensure the safe and secure passage of any individual in Afghanistan out of the country.”
This is the same Maryam Monsef who was proudly touted as Canada’s first Afghanistan-born minister, only to later concede she was actually born in Iran.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
I think you write these posts because you live a very lonely life full of absolutely nothing. You don't have any real life friends and you get off by baiting people on the Internet.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
Wouldn't dream of having a tatt, but what a peculiar and tasteless comment to make.
As offensive as your regular autism commentaries that offend me so much.
As I have just shown below, I am simply stating a scientific truth, but in a concise way
In what way is this a commentary on the Redfield and Wilton poll being an outlier?
Quite right, this must be the first time ever we've gone off topic below the line.
Hardly anyone ever stays on topic (I have the off-topic points to prove my own guilt) but there is one poster who craftily hijacks the agenda with some completely tangential posts and on a regular basis.
I can't help being interesting, sorry
Also, what I have just pointed out is actually valuable information. If you have a friend, child, cousin, acquaintance who is getting a lot of tatts and/or piercings, be just a little bit concerned. It is a potential marker for something bad down the line
Rather depends, doesn’t it?
I find inks of husbands/wives/children’s names a lovely thing to do. A signal of commitment, if anything.
Indeed. One or two tatts can be lovely. Also sexy, if done well, in the right place
However there is scientific evidence of a threshold where persistent tattooing indicates deeper psychological disturbance. It seems to be around four or five tattoos (or piercings) - once you go above that: warning signs flash
What got me interested in this recently is that I've been watching Anthony Bourdain, that genius writer/TV presenter
In the final seasons of his show he gets more and more tattoos. And of course, tragically, he committed suicide during the filming of the 12th season of Parts Unknown
The tatts were a red light, there
I fear you may have it the wrong way around. Self-harming doesn't cause suicidal tendencies; it is a symptom of them. By the same token, excessive tattooing and piercing may be symptomatic of a deeper discontent, a lack of self-worth, poor body image etc.
I know we've forgotten about COVID but things are not looking rosy in Scotland
Yep... does look like schools really are a big driver of new cases.
We should at the very least be doing everything we can to make them safer whilst open. Better ventilation, masks, outdoor learning etc.
These are all pretty low cost interventions to be honest, which could have a very big payoff.
Hang on, I was told it wasn't schools last week... Really, really need to see what a 'case' is. How many are being picked up as asymptomatic? Must be a major component, or why weren't these cases picked up a week ago?
It's also worth considering that 99% of kids are going to get it sooner or later. Unless the kids drive another huge wave of infections in the community, lots of them all getting it isn't that big a problem.
The ONS antibodies data doesn't cover under 16s, so it's difficult to be sure what level of immunity kids already have, but it's quite likely to be a substantial proportion - I wouldn't be shocked if its reached 50% with antibodies by now. One can hazard a bit of a guess from the 16-25 age group, which had a substantially higher proportion with antibodies than had been vaccinated (although obviously as the vaccination program continues, the gap is reducing).
50% seems high - the number of adults with infection acquired antibodies across the UK is only in the low-20s, so I'd be surprised if it was much more than 30%.
The ONS think that at the end of July, 53% of 16 years olds had antibodies.
Given at that point we had only vaccinated a fairly small and select group of 16 years olds, I think the answer for the under 16s may well be nearer my 50% than your 30%.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
I think you write these posts because you live a very lonely life full of absolutely nothing. You don't have any real life friends and you get off by baiting people on the Internet.
Sad. Very sad.
If that is true, is that not unkind in response?
He just decided to attack a group of people for no reason and I felt right to call it out. He's been particularly nasty to me in the past too.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
Wouldn't dream of having a tatt, but what a peculiar and tasteless comment to make.
As offensive as your regular autism commentaries that offend me so much.
What is wrong with people, attacking people for having autism, seriously?
My eldest son is on the autistic spectrum. Social interactions are very difficult for him, and his school days were blighted by being considered "a weirdo". This is why I find myself so offended when "autism" is used as a term of ridicule by someone approaching 60 who should know better.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
Wouldn't dream of having a tatt, but what a peculiar and tasteless comment to make.
As offensive as your regular autism commentaries that offend me so much.
As I have just shown below, I am simply stating a scientific truth, but in a concise way
In what way is this a commentary on the Redfield and Wilton poll being an outlier?
Quite right, this must be the first time ever we've gone off topic below the line.
Hardly anyone ever stays on topic (I have the off-topic points to prove my own guilt) but there is one poster who craftily hijacks the agenda with some completely tangential posts and on a regular basis.
I can't help being interesting, sorry
Also, what I have just pointed out is actually valuable information. If you have a friend, child, cousin, acquaintance who is getting a lot of tatts and/or piercings, be just a little bit concerned. It is a potential marker for something bad down the line
Rather depends, doesn’t it?
I find inks of husbands/wives/children’s names a lovely thing to do. A signal of commitment, if anything.
Indeed. One or two tatts can be lovely. Also sexy, if done well, in the right place
However there is scientific evidence of a threshold where persistent tattooing indicates deeper psychological disturbance. It seems to be around four or five tattoos (or piercings) - once you go above that: warning signs flash
What got me interested in this recently is that I've been watching Anthony Bourdain, that genius writer/TV presenter
In the final seasons of his show he gets more and more tattoos. And of course, tragically, he committed suicide during the filming of the 12th season of Parts Unknown
The tatts were a red light, there
I fear you may have it the wrong way around. Self-harming doesn't cause suicidal tendencies; it is a symptom of them. By the same token, excessive tattooing and piercing may be symptomatic of a deeper discontent, a lack of self-worth, poor body image etc.
But that's exactly what I am saying. After a certain point, tattoos and piercings can be an external symptom of an inner disturbance: an urge to self harm, and, ultimately, in the very worst cases, to self-murder
She's offered to do a hostage exchange. Carrie says the Taliban can have Dilyn in exchange for Pen Farthing's entire stock of dogs. Boris is reportedly in favour.
Her offer of sending Boris Johnson was rejected by the Taliban because they felt his incompetence and disorder might rub off on them.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
I think you write these posts because you live a very lonely life full of absolutely nothing. You don't have any real life friends and you get off by baiting people on the Internet.
Sad. Very sad.
If that is true, is that not unkind in response?
He just decided to attack a group of people for no reason and I felt right to call it out. He's been particularly nasty to me in the past too.
It's a right of passage, bit like being insulted by Malc.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
Wouldn't dream of having a tatt, but what a peculiar and tasteless comment to make.
As offensive as your regular autism commentaries that offend me so much.
What is wrong with people, attacking people for having autism, seriously?
My eldest son is on the autistic spectrum. Social interactions are very difficult for him, and his school days were blighted by being considered "a weirdo". This is why I find myself so offended when "autism" is used as a term of ridicule by someone approaching 60 who should know better.
I am sure he is a credit to the good person you are Pete and I bet one day soon the people calling your son a weirdo will be sitting alone at home wondering how they got it so wrong.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
Wouldn't dream of having a tatt, but what a peculiar and tasteless comment to make.
As offensive as your regular autism commentaries that offend me so much.
As I have just shown below, I am simply stating a scientific truth, but in a concise way
In what way is this a commentary on the Redfield and Wilton poll being an outlier?
Quite right, this must be the first time ever we've gone off topic below the line.
Hardly anyone ever stays on topic (I have the off-topic points to prove my own guilt) but there is one poster who craftily hijacks the agenda with some completely tangential posts and on a regular basis.
I can't help being interesting, sorry
Also, what I have just pointed out is actually valuable information. If you have a friend, child, cousin, acquaintance who is getting a lot of tatts and/or piercings, be just a little bit concerned. It is a potential marker for something bad down the line
Rather depends, doesn’t it?
I find inks of husbands/wives/children’s names a lovely thing to do. A signal of commitment, if anything.
Indeed. One or two tatts can be lovely. Also sexy, if done well, in the right place
However there is scientific evidence of a threshold where persistent tattooing indicates deeper psychological disturbance. It seems to be around four or five tattoos (or piercings) - once you go above that: warning signs flash
What got me interested in this recently is that I've been watching Anthony Bourdain, that genius writer/TV presenter
In the final seasons of his show he gets more and more tattoos. And of course, tragically, he committed suicide during the filming of the 12th season of Parts Unknown
The tatts were a red light, there
I fear you may have it the wrong way around. Self-harming doesn't cause suicidal tendencies; it is a symptom of them. By the same token, excessive tattooing and piercing may be symptomatic of a deeper discontent, a lack of self-worth, poor body image etc.
But that's exactly what I am saying. After a certain point, tattoos and piercings can be an external symptom of an inner disturbance: an urge to self harm, and, ultimately, in the very worst cases, to self-murder
You're an absolute prick. What an absolutely appalling thing to say.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
I think you write these posts because you live a very lonely life full of absolutely nothing. You don't have any real life friends and you get off by baiting people on the Internet.
Sad. Very sad.
Anagram of "Lone".
In that case do you think the next incarnation might be @bon ?
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
I think you write these posts because you live a very lonely life full of absolutely nothing. You don't have any real life friends and you get off by baiting people on the Internet.
Sad. Very sad.
If that is true, is that not unkind in response?
What Crazy Horse Battery says is true to an extent. I DO like baiting people on the internet. But this is true of 80% on here, I suspect. Isn't it one of the main reasons we all come to PB?
The rest of what he says is surreal nonsense, so do not fret. Tho I appreciate the sentiment
I know we've forgotten about COVID but things are not looking rosy in Scotland
Yep... does look like schools really are a big driver of new cases.
We should at the very least be doing everything we can to make them safer whilst open. Better ventilation, masks, outdoor learning etc.
These are all pretty low cost interventions to be honest, which could have a very big payoff.
Hang on, I was told it wasn't schools last week... Really, really need to see what a 'case' is. How many are being picked up as asymptomatic? Must be a major component, or why weren't these cases picked up a week ago?
It's also worth considering that 99% of kids are going to get it sooner or later. Unless the kids drive another huge wave of infections in the community, lots of them all getting it isn't that big a problem.
The ONS antibodies data doesn't cover under 16s, so it's difficult to be sure what level of immunity kids already have, but it's quite likely to be a substantial proportion - I wouldn't be shocked if its reached 50% with antibodies by now. One can hazard a bit of a guess from the 16-25 age group, which had a substantially higher proportion with antibodies than had been vaccinated (although obviously as the vaccination program continues, the gap is reducing).
50% seems high - the number of adults with infection acquired antibodies across the UK is only in the low-20s, so I'd be surprised if it was much more than 30%.
The ONS think that at the end of July, 53% of 16 years olds had antibodies.
Given at that point we had only vaccinated a fairly small and select group of 16 years olds, I think the answer for the under 16s may well be nearer my 50% than your 30%.
Wow. Consider me completely wrong.
Given that a historic actual Covid infection seems much more capable of stopping Delta than the vaccines, then schools and kids are not going to be a transmission vector for long.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
Wouldn't dream of having a tatt, but what a peculiar and tasteless comment to make.
As offensive as your regular autism commentaries that offend me so much.
What is wrong with people, attacking people for having autism, seriously?
My eldest son is on the autistic spectrum. Social interactions are very difficult for him, and his school days were blighted by being considered "a weirdo". This is why I find myself so offended when "autism" is used as a term of ridicule by someone approaching 60 who should know better.
I am sure he is a credit to the good person you are Pete and I bet one day soon the people calling your son a weirdo will be sitting alone at home wondering how they got it so wrong.
Liberals still 2 in 3 chance of largest Party on those figures. But Tories vote efficiency better than last time. Ironically due to the poor performance of Jason Kenney in Alberta. They got 64% of the vote, and every seat but one, in the 4th most populous Province last time. Much closer this time there. Also NDP doing well, and they are second in many Alberta ridings.
As an aside, in the general scheme of things, I don't think the French system of counting "an infection plus one dose of vaccine" as fully vaccinated is particularly heinous. Indeed, such a person is almost certainly less likely to catch to spread Covid than a recipient of the Janssens single dose vaccine.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
I think you write these posts because you live a very lonely life full of absolutely nothing. You don't have any real life friends and you get off by baiting people on the Internet.
Sad. Very sad.
If that is true, is that not unkind in response?
He just decided to attack a group of people for no reason and I felt right to call it out. He's been particularly nasty to me in the past too.
It's a right of passage, bit like being insulted by Malc.
Off topic… but may I thank whoever it was a few days ago who recommended The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk… just a few chapters in and overwhelmed by the sheer brutality of life in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran as regimes have changed over the past decades… puts current events into context and lays bare the involvement of US, British and Russian intelligence services in facilitating some of the worst leaders to attain and stay in power… none of which is to absolve the barbarity of the local actors…
Thank you, you’re very welcome! I’m glad you’re finding it interesting.
As an aside, in the general scheme of things, I don't think the French system of counting "an infection plus one dose of vaccine" as fully vaccinated is particularly heinous. Indeed, such a person is almost certainly less likely to catch to spread Covid than a recipient of the Janssens single dose vaccine.
So long as that is transparent in comparative figures it doesn't seem much of an issue.
I know we've forgotten about COVID but things are not looking rosy in Scotland
Unpleasant in the SW too......
Scotland and the SW the arse ends of Britain.
(I'm joking, I love them both.)
Anyone up for having a PB meet on the Penzance to Aberdeen train?
14 hour train journey for us to discuss things like AV and Scottish independence?
We could charter a rake of stock hauled by some 37s? If so, all the PB rail nerds will be in...
If you want Mark 1 stock and a pair of 37s, can I recommend the Scarborough Spa Express? They do posh class with dining for the likes of TSE, while us cranks can sit in Standard with our packed lunch and flask.
As an aside, in the general scheme of things, I don't think the French system of counting "an infection plus one dose of vaccine" as fully vaccinated is particularly heinous. Indeed, such a person is almost certainly less likely to catch to spread Covid than a recipient of the Janssens single dose vaccine.
Progressive alliances used to be all the rage. Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley were big advocates for them when they stood successfully for the leadership in 2016. A number of Greens stood down for Labour or Lib Dem candidates in the 2017 general election. In 2019, the controversial ‘Unite to Remain’ pact saw Greens enter an alliance with the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru.
But this year’s crop of leadership contenders are much less enthusiastic."
Off topic… but may I thank whoever it was a few days ago who recommended The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk… just a few chapters in and overwhelmed by the sheer brutality of life in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran as regimes have changed over the past decades… puts current events into context and lays bare the involvement of US, British and Russian intelligence services in facilitating some of the worst leaders to attain and stay in power… none of which is to absolve the barbarity of the local actors…
Sounds like a tough read, expecially at 1300+ pages!
The Canadian Government seems to be as mental as the Tories these days, what on Earth is going on?
Trudeau is as big of an idiot as Boris, just from the other side of the political spectrum.
I genuinely have very little idea of whether he has been a decent PM, irrespective of whether he is an idiot. It's beem 5 years and more after all.
I guess the fundamental difference is he doesn't look, sound and dress like an idiot so that in the international league table of absurd political leaders he doesn't come close to "world beating" Boris.
Only 'a few hundred thousand' to get boosters next month: Third Covid vaccine doses to be given to vulnerable Brits but healthy over-80s may have to wait despite studies hinting at fading immunity
But they have no intention of launching a broader booster programme for all over-50s, and even healthy people over the age of 80 may have to wait.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
Wouldn't dream of having a tatt, but what a peculiar and tasteless comment to make.
As offensive as your regular autism commentaries that offend me so much.
As I have just shown below, I am simply stating a scientific truth, but in a concise way
In what way is this a commentary on the Redfield and Wilton poll being an outlier?
Quite right, this must be the first time ever we've gone off topic below the line.
Hardly anyone ever stays on topic (I have the off-topic points to prove my own guilt) but there is one poster who craftily hijacks the agenda with some completely tangential posts and on a regular basis.
I can't help being interesting, sorry
Also, what I have just pointed out is actually valuable information. If you have a friend, child, cousin, acquaintance who is getting a lot of tatts and/or piercings, be just a little bit concerned. It is a potential marker for something bad down the line
Rather depends, doesn’t it?
I find inks of husbands/wives/children’s names a lovely thing to do. A signal of commitment, if anything.
Indeed. One or two tatts can be lovely. Also sexy, if done well, in the right place
However there is scientific evidence of a threshold where persistent tattooing indicates deeper psychological disturbance. It seems to be around four or five tattoos (or piercings) - once you go above that: warning signs flash
What got me interested in this recently is that I've been watching Anthony Bourdain, that genius writer/TV presenter
In the final seasons of his show he gets more and more tattoos. And of course, tragically, he committed suicide during the filming of the 12th season of Parts Unknown
The tatts were a red light, there
I fear you may have it the wrong way around. Self-harming doesn't cause suicidal tendencies; it is a symptom of them. By the same token, excessive tattooing and piercing may be symptomatic of a deeper discontent, a lack of self-worth, poor body image etc.
But that's exactly what I am saying. After a certain point, tattoos and piercings can be an external symptom of an inner disturbance: an urge to self harm, and, ultimately, in the very worst cases, to self-murder
You're an absolute prick. What an absolutely appalling thing to say.
It's a statement of fact. It's not true that all tattooees are mentally disturbed. But suddenly getting a lot of tattoos can be a sign of something else going on. Note 'can be'.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
I think you write these posts because you live a very lonely life full of absolutely nothing. You don't have any real life friends and you get off by baiting people on the Internet.
Sad. Very sad.
If that is true, is that not unkind in response?
He just decided to attack a group of people for no reason and I felt right to call it out. He's been particularly nasty to me in the past too.
It's a right of passage, bit like being insulted by Malc.
In Leon's defence he can sometimes be funny, unlike Malc, who is unfunny, rude and obnoxious continually.
The Canadian Government seems to be as mental as the Tories these days, what on Earth is going on?
Trudeau is as big of an idiot as Boris, just from the other side of the political spectrum.
I genuinely have very little idea of whether he has been a decent PM, irrespective of whether he is an idiot. It's beem 5 years and more after all.
I guess the fundamental difference is he doesn't look, sound and dress like an idiot so that in the international league table of absurd political leaders he doesn't come close to "world beating" Boris.
Considering he is pretty good looking for a politician it was weird that he grew a crappy beard for a time (don't know if he still does)
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
Wouldn't dream of having a tatt, but what a peculiar and tasteless comment to make.
As offensive as your regular autism commentaries that offend me so much.
As I have just shown below, I am simply stating a scientific truth, but in a concise way
In what way is this a commentary on the Redfield and Wilton poll being an outlier?
Quite right, this must be the first time ever we've gone off topic below the line.
Hardly anyone ever stays on topic (I have the off-topic points to prove my own guilt) but there is one poster who craftily hijacks the agenda with some completely tangential posts and on a regular basis.
I can't help being interesting, sorry
Also, what I have just pointed out is actually valuable information. If you have a friend, child, cousin, acquaintance who is getting a lot of tatts and/or piercings, be just a little bit concerned. It is a potential marker for something bad down the line
Rather depends, doesn’t it?
I find inks of husbands/wives/children’s names a lovely thing to do. A signal of commitment, if anything.
Indeed. One or two tatts can be lovely. Also sexy, if done well, in the right place
However there is scientific evidence of a threshold where persistent tattooing indicates deeper psychological disturbance. It seems to be around four or five tattoos (or piercings) - once you go above that: warning signs flash
What got me interested in this recently is that I've been watching Anthony Bourdain, that genius writer/TV presenter
In the final seasons of his show he gets more and more tattoos. And of course, tragically, he committed suicide during the filming of the 12th season of Parts Unknown
The tatts were a red light, there
I fear you may have it the wrong way around. Self-harming doesn't cause suicidal tendencies; it is a symptom of them. By the same token, excessive tattooing and piercing may be symptomatic of a deeper discontent, a lack of self-worth, poor body image etc.
But that's exactly what I am saying. After a certain point, tattoos and piercings can be an external symptom of an inner disturbance: an urge to self harm, and, ultimately, in the very worst cases, to self-murder
You're an absolute prick. What an absolutely appalling thing to say.
Are you feeling OK?
I did not insult anyone, nor attack anyone. I pointed out a somewhat obscure and uncomfortable scientific truth, which now has much literature in evidence
"Background: The goal was to examine tattooing in suicides, as tattoos have been associated with several risk factors for suicide."
"Conclusions: Tattoos may be possible markers for lethality from both suicide and accidental death in young people, presumably because of shared risk factors such as substance abuse and personality disorder. Affective disorders should receive further, more specific studies. The clinical value of inquiring about tattoos in young people at risk of suicide needs further study."
Progressive alliances used to be all the rage. Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley were big advocates for them when they stood successfully for the leadership in 2016. A number of Greens stood down for Labour or Lib Dem candidates in the 2017 general election. In 2019, the controversial ‘Unite to Remain’ pact saw Greens enter an alliance with the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru.
But this year’s crop of leadership contenders are much less enthusiastic."
As an aside, in the general scheme of things, I don't think the French system of counting "an infection plus one dose of vaccine" as fully vaccinated is particularly heinous. Indeed, such a person is almost certainly less likely to catch to spread Covid than a recipient of the Janssens single dose vaccine.
So long as that is transparent in comparative figures it doesn't seem much of an issue.
It's a pretty sensible use of the available doses to get as much protection as possible. The sort of thing that some people would be praising to the skies had the UK done it. And if the competition aspect is of concern, don't worry- at current rates, France will have done more doses per head full stop in about three weeks time. (Checking the numbers just now, it turns out that Ireland overtook the UK on that measure last week. Blimey. Maybe they'll offer us their spare doses when they're done.)
Why is the UK moping so much about vaccinating teenagers?
The Canadian Government seems to be as mental as the Tories these days, what on Earth is going on?
Trudeau is as big of an idiot as Boris, just from the other side of the political spectrum.
I genuinely have very little idea of whether he has been a decent PM, irrespective of whether he is an idiot. It's beem 5 years and more after all.
I guess the fundamental difference is he doesn't look, sound and dress like an idiot so that in the international league table of absurd political leaders he doesn't come close to "world beating" Boris.
Considering he is pretty good looking for a politician it was weird that he grew a crappy beard for a time (don't know if he still does)
I am pretty good looking for a non-politician and I have grown a crappy beard. Mrs. Foremain likes it though
Off topic… but may I thank whoever it was a few days ago who recommended The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk… just a few chapters in and overwhelmed by the sheer brutality of life in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran as regimes have changed over the past decades… puts current events into context and lays bare the involvement of US, British and Russian intelligence services in facilitating some of the worst leaders to attain and stay in power… none of which is to absolve the barbarity of the local actors…
Thank you, you’re very welcome! I’m glad you’re finding it interesting.
It's a great book. Well done NM.
I love the works of the late 20th C journalists such as Fisk. My favourite being James Cameron. Unfortunately there's nothing like them today. (Actually there is and he's called Jeremy Paxman, but apart from him)
I'm reading Atlas Shrugged at the moment. So far I think it's a great book too, a strangely beautiful book. I've not finished it, but I can't quite see why it should have such hostility against it.
Off topic… but may I thank whoever it was a few days ago who recommended The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk… just a few chapters in and overwhelmed by the sheer brutality of life in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran as regimes have changed over the past decades… puts current events into context and lays bare the involvement of US, British and Russian intelligence services in facilitating some of the worst leaders to attain and stay in power… none of which is to absolve the barbarity of the local actors…
Thank you, you’re very welcome! I’m glad you’re finding it interesting.
It's a great book. Well done NM.
I love the works of the late 20th C journalists such as Fisk. My favourite being James Cameron. Unfortunately there's nothing like them today. (Actually there is and he's called Jeremy Paxman, but apart from him)
I'm reading Atlas Shrugged at the moment. So far I think it's a great book too, a strangely beautiful book. I've not finished it, but I can't quite see why it should have such hostility against it.
I've always been tempted by Atlas Shrugged, yet never taken the plunge. It is so enormous.
Off topic… but may I thank whoever it was a few days ago who recommended The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk… just a few chapters in and overwhelmed by the sheer brutality of life in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran as regimes have changed over the past decades… puts current events into context and lays bare the involvement of US, British and Russian intelligence services in facilitating some of the worst leaders to attain and stay in power… none of which is to absolve the barbarity of the local actors…
Thank you, you’re very welcome! I’m glad you’re finding it interesting.
It's a great book. Well done NM.
I love the works of the late 20th C journalists such as Fisk. My favourite being James Cameron. Unfortunately there's nothing like them today. (Actually there is and he's called Jeremy Paxman, but apart from him)
I'm reading Atlas Shrugged at the moment. So far I think it's a great book too, a strangely beautiful book. I've not finished it, but I can't quite see why it should have such hostility against it.
Presumably the political philosophy of the author, and those who trumpet it so loudly, impacts views of the book.
Only 'a few hundred thousand' to get boosters next month: Third Covid vaccine doses to be given to vulnerable Brits but healthy over-80s may have to wait despite studies hinting at fading immunity
But they have no intention of launching a broader booster programme for all over-50s, and even healthy people over the age of 80 may have to wait.
As an aside, in the general scheme of things, I don't think the French system of counting "an infection plus one dose of vaccine" as fully vaccinated is particularly heinous. Indeed, such a person is almost certainly less likely to catch to spread Covid than a recipient of the Janssens single dose vaccine.
Cool, but they count the Janssenites too.
Yes - albeit (like most places) they've only used a small portion of their Janssens vaccine.
If JCVI do only recommend only a few 100k get a booster and Javid doesn't overrule, if (as I think it is certain booster or not) we see a lot more in hospital come the winter, i can see Tories client vote being very angry.
The Mail will be rammed full of sad stories of oldies who didn't qualify for a booster and died.
Off topic… but may I thank whoever it was a few days ago who recommended The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk… just a few chapters in and overwhelmed by the sheer brutality of life in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran as regimes have changed over the past decades… puts current events into context and lays bare the involvement of US, British and Russian intelligence services in facilitating some of the worst leaders to attain and stay in power… none of which is to absolve the barbarity of the local actors…
Thank you, you’re very welcome! I’m glad you’re finding it interesting.
It's a great book. Well done NM.
I love the works of the late 20th C journalists such as Fisk. My favourite being James Cameron. Unfortunately there's nothing like them today. (Actually there is and he's called Jeremy Paxman, but apart from him)
I'm reading Atlas Shrugged at the moment. So far I think it's a great book too, a strangely beautiful book. I've not finished it, but I can't quite see why it should have such hostility against it.
Presumably the political philosophy of the author, and those who trumpet it so loudly, impacts views of the book.
It was definitely in need of some editing. The same point is made a few too many times, whether or not you agree with the philosophy.
I'm not sure why all the attempts to make a film of it have failed (so far) though. Cut down to a couple of hours it might actually be decent.
I know we've forgotten about COVID but things are not looking rosy in Scotland
Unpleasant in the SW too......
Scotland and the SW the arse ends of Britain.
(I'm joking, I love them both.)
Anyone up for having a PB meet on the Penzance to Aberdeen train?
14 hour train journey for us to discuss things like AV and Scottish independence?
We could charter a rake of stock hauled by some 37s? If so, all the PB rail nerds will be in...
If you want Mark 1 stock and a pair of 37s, can I recommend the Scarborough Spa Express? They do posh class with dining for the likes of TSE, while us cranks can sit in Standard with our packed lunch and flask.
Nah it'd have to be one of DRS's 37/4s in the One True livery: BR "large logo" rail blue.
Re tattoos....if my gym is anything to go by, it is rarer to find youngsters without them, than with....all about showing their individualism for the gram. And they aint cheap if you get them done by somebody who is decent artist.
They could have saved their money and bought a load of NFTs instead ;-)
Re tattoos....if my gym is anything to go by, it is rarer to find youngsters without them, than with....all about showing their individualism for the gram.
Some can be impressive, but I'm not generally a fan. A sibling of mine has even done some themselves, they are pretty crappy. Better than piercings though, I'm not even a fan of earrings, but each to their own.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
Wouldn't dream of having a tatt, but what a peculiar and tasteless comment to make.
As offensive as your regular autism commentaries that offend me so much.
As I have just shown below, I am simply stating a scientific truth, but in a concise way
In what way is this a commentary on the Redfield and Wilton poll being an outlier?
Quite right, this must be the first time ever we've gone off topic below the line.
Hardly anyone ever stays on topic (I have the off-topic points to prove my own guilt) but there is one poster who craftily hijacks the agenda with some completely tangential posts and on a regular basis.
I can't help being interesting, sorry
Also, what I have just pointed out is actually valuable information. If you have a friend, child, cousin, acquaintance who is getting a lot of tatts and/or piercings, be just a little bit concerned. It is a potential marker for something bad down the line
Rather depends, doesn’t it?
I find inks of husbands/wives/children’s names a lovely thing to do. A signal of commitment, if anything.
Indeed. One or two tatts can be lovely. Also sexy, if done well, in the right place
However there is scientific evidence of a threshold where persistent tattooing indicates deeper psychological disturbance. It seems to be around four or five tattoos (or piercings) - once you go above that: warning signs flash
What got me interested in this recently is that I've been watching Anthony Bourdain, that genius writer/TV presenter
In the final seasons of his show he gets more and more tattoos. And of course, tragically, he committed suicide during the filming of the 12th season of Parts Unknown
The tatts were a red light, there
Tattoos and piercings are pretty unexceptional and even mainstream these days, so I doubt that more people getting them means more suicides, as sadly the people with tattoos/piercings who were/are going to suicide would probably have been getting them anyway, if that was their thing.
Re tattoos....if my gym is anything to go by, it is rarer to find youngsters without them, than with....all about showing their individualism for the gram. And they aint cheap if you get them done by somebody who is decent artist.
They could have saved their money and bought a load of NFTs instead ;-)
Every time I think I couldn't despise him any more than I already do, he blindsides me like this.
Why? I'm not exactly a Boris booster, but, as I posted earlier, the plane will carry the animals in the hold and will have space for 100 human evacuees as well, including all the British staff in the clinic. The only reason to refuse would be if air traffic control can't handle one extra plane landing and taking off, and that seems unlikely since normal civilian traffic is suspended.
There's too much emotion on both sides on this issue. It's just a practical question, and resolving it by saying "animals first!" or "animals never!" is just knee-jerk stuff. If it helps both humans and animals, it doesn't need armchair micromanagers like us to offer a running commentary - just let them get on with it, and every other detailed decision that they need to take.
Re tattoos....if my gym is anything to go by, it is rarer to find youngsters without them, than with....all about showing their individualism for the gram. And they aint cheap if you get them done by somebody who is decent artist.
They could have saved their money and bought a load of NFTs instead ;-)
I'm convinced they will go out of fashion within 5 to 10 years, because everything always does, eventually.
Off topic… but may I thank whoever it was a few days ago who recommended The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk… just a few chapters in and overwhelmed by the sheer brutality of life in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran as regimes have changed over the past decades… puts current events into context and lays bare the involvement of US, British and Russian intelligence services in facilitating some of the worst leaders to attain and stay in power… none of which is to absolve the barbarity of the local actors…
Thank you, you’re very welcome! I’m glad you’re finding it interesting.
It's a great book. Well done NM.
I love the works of the late 20th C journalists such as Fisk. My favourite being James Cameron. Unfortunately there's nothing like them today. (Actually there is and he's called Jeremy Paxman, but apart from him)
I'm reading Atlas Shrugged at the moment. So far I think it's a great book too, a strangely beautiful book. I've not finished it, but I can't quite see why it should have such hostility against it.
Presumably the political philosophy of the author, and those who trumpet it so loudly, impacts views of the book.
It was definitely in need of some editing. The same point is made a few too many times, whether or not you agree with the philosophy.
I'm not sure why all the attempts to make a film of it have failed (so far) though. Cut down to a couple of hours it might actually be decent.
I'm not sure any novel needs to be over 1000 pages and so could use editing.
Re tattoos....if my gym is anything to go by, it is rarer to find youngsters without them, than with....all about showing their individualism for the gram.
Some can be impressive, but I'm not generally a fan. A sibling of mine has even done some themselves, they are pretty crappy. Better than piercings though, I'm not even a fan of earrings, but each to their own.
There is also a stage where you then really just have to fill in the blank skin. There is a guy at my gym with complete sleaves done and then some bits on his chest, but then a big block of pastey white skin...you just got to fill that in mate, as its looks stupid now.
Off topic… but may I thank whoever it was a few days ago who recommended The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk… just a few chapters in and overwhelmed by the sheer brutality of life in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran as regimes have changed over the past decades… puts current events into context and lays bare the involvement of US, British and Russian intelligence services in facilitating some of the worst leaders to attain and stay in power… none of which is to absolve the barbarity of the local actors…
Thank you, you’re very welcome! I’m glad you’re finding it interesting.
It's a great book. Well done NM.
I love the works of the late 20th C journalists such as Fisk. My favourite being James Cameron. Unfortunately there's nothing like them today. (Actually there is and he's called Jeremy Paxman, but apart from him)
I'm reading Atlas Shrugged at the moment. So far I think it's a great book too, a strangely beautiful book. I've not finished it, but I can't quite see why it should have such hostility against it.
I've always been tempted by Atlas Shrugged, yet never taken the plunge. It is so enormous.
But worth it?
Have you read The Fountainhead? It's shorter, more enjoyable and the sex scenes don't read like rape scenes.
If you enjoy The Fountainhead (I did), then go on and read Atlas Shrugged.
There's now a definite upward trend to Scotland's healthcare numbers.
There is. Its troubling, especially with the schools having gone back last week. I don't think that we have any real choices though. We now need to rely on the vaccines and get on with life, even if (across the UK) deaths are now exceeding 150 a day. How high do we think that we can just bear this before real pressure comes to take more defensive action again? The days when deaths were in single figures seem a long way off. Its disappointing.
Lags. For what it’s worth, no day has over 100 deaths by date of death. And as ever it’s important to realise 700,000 or so die every year in the U.K.
If JCVI do only recommend only a few 100k get a booster and Javid doesn't overrule, if (as I think it is certain booster or not) we see a lot more in hospital come the winter, i can see Tories client vote being very angry.
The Mail will be rammed full of sad stories of oldies who didn't qualify for a booster and died.
Yep, it's an enormous political gamble - doubly so if the Americans and most of the EU states decide to run extensive booster campaigns.
Giving most of the UK's vaccine allocation away to Covax (for which we will get exactly zero credit, only criticism for not being even more generous even sooner,) won't get the Government very far in the court of public opinion if we go through yet another oldie holocaust, still less if it ends with renewed restrictions to stop the crumbling NHS from falling over.
Re tattoos....if my gym is anything to go by, it is rarer to find youngsters without them, than with....all about showing their individualism for the gram. And they aint cheap if you get them done by somebody who is decent artist.
They could have saved their money and bought a load of NFTs instead ;-)
I'm convinced they will go out of fashion within 5 to 10 years, because everything always does, eventually.
I have long said to Mrs U, there is going to be big money in tatoo removal in 10 years.
Re tattoos....if my gym is anything to go by, it is rarer to find youngsters without them, than with....all about showing their individualism for the gram. And they aint cheap if you get them done by somebody who is decent artist.
They could have saved their money and bought a load of NFTs instead ;-)
I'm convinced they will go out of fashion within 5 to 10 years, because everything always does, eventually.
I have long said to Mrs U, there is going to be big money in tatoo removal in 10 years.
Still more in 20 or 30, when all these elaborate designs degrade into smears and smudges in ageing skin.
Re tattoos....if my gym is anything to go by, it is rarer to find youngsters without them, than with....all about showing their individualism for the gram. And they aint cheap if you get them done by somebody who is decent artist.
They could have saved their money and bought a load of NFTs instead ;-)
I'm convinced they will go out of fashion within 5 to 10 years, because everything always does, eventually.
If JCVI do only recommend only a few 100k get a booster and Javid doesn't overrule, if (as I think it is certain booster or not) we see a lot more in hospital come the winter, i can see Tories client vote being very angry.
The Mail will be rammed full of sad stories of oldies who didn't qualify for a booster and died.
Yep, it's an enormous political gamble - doubly so if the Americans and most of the EU states decide to run extensive booster campaigns.
Giving most of the UK's vaccine allocation away to Covax (for which we will get exactly zero credit, only criticism for not being even more generous even sooner,) won't get the Government very far in the court of public opinion if we go through yet another oldie holocaust, still less if it ends with renewed restrictions to stop the crumbling NHS from falling over.
Oh lordy, can you imagine the response if we lock down this winter to save the NHS because there wasn't a booster campaign?
This cycle is the most honest thing I've ever seen in crypto. Normally everyone just buys *nothing* because they got tricked into thinking its *something*. It's so incredibly calming to see everyone cooperatively buying *nothing* because they know its *nothing*. 1/2
One of the greatest false prophecies in the history of modern Britain.
"Five years from now Britain will be flourishing as never before and people will look back and wonder why we didn't do this long before” - Daniel Hannan on Brexit in 2016.
I think I have finally rumbled you, Scott. You are BoZo's double agent.
The absolute best-est thing of all for BoZo is for GE 2024 to be a re-run of 2019.
The one person who needs Brexit never to fade away most of all is ... BoZo.
We've always been at war with Eastasia ... And for BoZo to be deliriously happy on General Election in 2024, we must always be at war with Remain.
It is difficult ... the matter might just fade away, lose its salience, other things might intervene, so BoZo needs his double agents to be posting endless nonsensical rubbish, stirring the pot.
How much is BoZo paying you?
Glad I caught you Bard. As to your analysis yesterday. Indeed, without an economic crash Johnson is home and hosed in 2024.
I am not entirely sure that even with the country on its knees , my assertion that this is how Johnson loses, isn't incorrect. Johnson's star seems to ascend each time he ratchets up the incompetence.
It beats me how he does it. Perhaps you are right and it is because we all love a clown, particularly a xenophobic Brexit clown.
Off to Canada where amidst the plethora of daily rolling polls, we've had three more substantive and broadly similar offerings from IPSOS, Angus Reid and Leger.
All three have the Liberals on 33%, the Conservatives on 31-32% and the NDP on 21-22%.
No regional breakdown from Leger but Angus Reid suggests the Liberals lead the Conservatives 38-32 in Ontario but the Conservatives have eked out a 32-30 lead over the NDP in British Columbia.
IPSOS, however, suggests the Conservatives lead 35-31 (NDP on 23) in Ontario but the Conservatives are struggling against the NDP in Manitoba.
The story seems to be of Trudeau struggling but the NDP and Jagmeet Singh seem to be improving against the two main parties and the NDP look set for their best result since 2011 though not reaching those dizzy heights by any stretch.
Off topic… but may I thank whoever it was a few days ago who recommended The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk… just a few chapters in and overwhelmed by the sheer brutality of life in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran as regimes have changed over the past decades… puts current events into context and lays bare the involvement of US, British and Russian intelligence services in facilitating some of the worst leaders to attain and stay in power… none of which is to absolve the barbarity of the local actors…
Thank you, you’re very welcome! I’m glad you’re finding it interesting.
It's a great book. Well done NM.
I love the works of the late 20th C journalists such as Fisk. My favourite being James Cameron. Unfortunately there's nothing like them today. (Actually there is and he's called Jeremy Paxman, but apart from him)
I'm reading Atlas Shrugged at the moment. So far I think it's a great book too, a strangely beautiful book. I've not finished it, but I can't quite see why it should have such hostility against it.
I've always been tempted by Atlas Shrugged, yet never taken the plunge. It is so enormous.
But worth it?
So far yes. I'm about 25% in.
It's sort of Kafka like. Written in a sort of art-deco style.
If JCVI do only recommend only a few 100k get a booster and Javid doesn't overrule, if (as I think it is certain booster or not) we see a lot more in hospital come the winter, i can see Tories client vote being very angry.
The Mail will be rammed full of sad stories of oldies who didn't qualify for a booster and died.
Yep, it's an enormous political gamble - doubly so if the Americans and most of the EU states decide to run extensive booster campaigns.
Giving most of the UK's vaccine allocation away to Covax (for which we will get exactly zero credit, only criticism for not being even more generous even sooner,) won't get the Government very far in the court of public opinion if we go through yet another oldie holocaust, still less if it ends with renewed restrictions to stop the crumbling NHS from falling over.
Oh lordy, can you imagine the response if we lock down this winter to save the NHS because there wasn't a booster campaign?
Glad I'm not making these decisions.
Two potential epic fails coming for the Government:
1. Lockdown because there was no booster campaign, and the olds all then started coughing and collapsed the NHS 2. Lockdown because the anti-vaxxers all got sick due to their own bloody mindedness and collapsed the NHS
We are not out of this thing yet, not by a long chalk.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
Wouldn't dream of having a tatt, but what a peculiar and tasteless comment to make.
As offensive as your regular autism commentaries that offend me so much.
As I have just shown below, I am simply stating a scientific truth, but in a concise way
In what way is this a commentary on the Redfield and Wilton poll being an outlier?
Quite right, this must be the first time ever we've gone off topic below the line.
Hardly anyone ever stays on topic (I have the off-topic points to prove my own guilt) but there is one poster who craftily hijacks the agenda with some completely tangential posts and on a regular basis.
I can't help being interesting, sorry
Also, what I have just pointed out is actually valuable information. If you have a friend, child, cousin, acquaintance who is getting a lot of tatts and/or piercings, be just a little bit concerned. It is a potential marker for something bad down the line
Rather depends, doesn’t it?
I find inks of husbands/wives/children’s names a lovely thing to do. A signal of commitment, if anything.
Indeed. One or two tatts can be lovely. Also sexy, if done well, in the right place
However there is scientific evidence of a threshold where persistent tattooing indicates deeper psychological disturbance. It seems to be around four or five tattoos (or piercings) - once you go above that: warning signs flash
What got me interested in this recently is that I've been watching Anthony Bourdain, that genius writer/TV presenter
In the final seasons of his show he gets more and more tattoos. And of course, tragically, he committed suicide during the filming of the 12th season of Parts Unknown
The tatts were a red light, there
Tattoos and piercings are pretty unexceptional and even mainstream these days, so I doubt that more people getting them means more suicides, as sadly the people with tattoos/piercings who were/are going to suicide would probably have been getting them anyway, if that was their thing.
A face tattoo is a huge warning sign for me. Something is probably wrong if you do that. I find them disturbing and I am concerned for the people that do it. Yes, compassion!
Off topic… but may I thank whoever it was a few days ago who recommended The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk… just a few chapters in and overwhelmed by the sheer brutality of life in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran as regimes have changed over the past decades… puts current events into context and lays bare the involvement of US, British and Russian intelligence services in facilitating some of the worst leaders to attain and stay in power… none of which is to absolve the barbarity of the local actors…
Thank you, you’re very welcome! I’m glad you’re finding it interesting.
It's a great book. Well done NM.
I love the works of the late 20th C journalists such as Fisk. My favourite being James Cameron. Unfortunately there's nothing like them today. (Actually there is and he's called Jeremy Paxman, but apart from him)
I'm reading Atlas Shrugged at the moment. So far I think it's a great book too, a strangely beautiful book. I've not finished it, but I can't quite see why it should have such hostility against it.
I've always been tempted by Atlas Shrugged, yet never taken the plunge. It is so enormous.
But worth it?
Have you read The Fountainhead? It's shorter, more enjoyable and the sex scenes don't read like rape scenes.
If you enjoy The Fountainhead (I did), then go on and read Atlas Shrugged.
As an aside, in the general scheme of things, I don't think the French system of counting "an infection plus one dose of vaccine" as fully vaccinated is particularly heinous. Indeed, such a person is almost certainly less likely to catch to spread Covid than a recipient of the Janssens single dose vaccine.
So long as that is transparent in comparative figures it doesn't seem much of an issue.
It's a pretty sensible use of the available doses to get as much protection as possible. The sort of thing that some people would be praising to the skies had the UK done it. And if the competition aspect is of concern, don't worry- at current rates, France will have done more doses per head full stop in about three weeks time. (Checking the numbers just now, it turns out that Ireland overtook the UK on that measure last week. Blimey. Maybe they'll offer us their spare doses when they're done.)
Why is the UK moping so much about vaccinating teenagers?
Absolutely agree with that.
But Eurogoon Twitter has just pivoted back to desperate EU-justification on the base of France being slightly more jabbed than the Uk despite the non comparable numbers.
My real concern with that is that is the only press in Brussels is of the shitty Yellow variety, it will prevent the EU (EuCo especially) reforming into being a functional (as opposed to deeply disfunctional) organisation.
Tattoos and piercings are just direction signs, on the long road to suicide
Wouldn't dream of having a tatt, but what a peculiar and tasteless comment to make.
As offensive as your regular autism commentaries that offend me so much.
As I have just shown below, I am simply stating a scientific truth, but in a concise way
In what way is this a commentary on the Redfield and Wilton poll being an outlier?
Quite right, this must be the first time ever we've gone off topic below the line.
Hardly anyone ever stays on topic (I have the off-topic points to prove my own guilt) but there is one poster who craftily hijacks the agenda with some completely tangential posts and on a regular basis.
I can't help being interesting, sorry
Also, what I have just pointed out is actually valuable information. If you have a friend, child, cousin, acquaintance who is getting a lot of tatts and/or piercings, be just a little bit concerned. It is a potential marker for something bad down the line
Rather depends, doesn’t it?
I find inks of husbands/wives/children’s names a lovely thing to do. A signal of commitment, if anything.
Indeed. One or two tatts can be lovely. Also sexy, if done well, in the right place
However there is scientific evidence of a threshold where persistent tattooing indicates deeper psychological disturbance. It seems to be around four or five tattoos (or piercings) - once you go above that: warning signs flash
What got me interested in this recently is that I've been watching Anthony Bourdain, that genius writer/TV presenter
In the final seasons of his show he gets more and more tattoos. And of course, tragically, he committed suicide during the filming of the 12th season of Parts Unknown
The tatts were a red light, there
Tattoos and piercings are pretty unexceptional and even mainstream these days, so I doubt that more people getting them means more suicides, as sadly the people with tattoos/piercings who were/are going to suicide would probably have been getting them anyway, if that was their thing.
A face tattoo is a huge warning sign for me. Something is probably wrong if you do that. I find them disturbing and I am concerned for the people that do it. Yes, compassion!
Quite traditional in Maori, but in anyone else...
Beautiful weather down on the Isle of Wight, with plenty of tatts on show. Not many will look good for long.
As an aside, in the general scheme of things, I don't think the French system of counting "an infection plus one dose of vaccine" as fully vaccinated is particularly heinous. Indeed, such a person is almost certainly less likely to catch to spread Covid than a recipient of the Janssens single dose vaccine.
So long as that is transparent in comparative figures it doesn't seem much of an issue.
It's a pretty sensible use of the available doses to get as much protection as possible. The sort of thing that some people would be praising to the skies had the UK done it. And if the competition aspect is of concern, don't worry- at current rates, France will have done more doses per head full stop in about three weeks time. (Checking the numbers just now, it turns out that Ireland overtook the UK on that measure last week. Blimey. Maybe they'll offer us their spare doses when they're done.)
Why is the UK moping so much about vaccinating teenagers?
Absolutely agree with that.
But Eurogoon Twitter has just pivoted back to desperate EU-justification on the base of France being slightly more jabbed than the Uk despite the non comparable numbers.
That'd be silly anyway when the issue earlier in the year was about how soon people could be jabbed, not how many ultimately would be (though obviously hesistancy figures made that a potential concern). If someone got past France, but in 10 years, it wouldn't be a good result. Well done to them for turning it around.
Comments
Leon was this you?
The absolute best-est thing of all for BoZo is for GE 2024 to be a re-run of 2019.
The one person who needs Brexit never to fade away most of all is ... BoZo.
We've always been at war with Eastasia ... And for BoZo to be deliriously happy on General Election in 2024, we must always be at war with Remain.
It is difficult ... the matter might just fade away, lose its salience, other things might intervene, so BoZo needs his double agents to be posting endless nonsensical rubbish, stirring the pot.
How much is BoZo paying you?
Unfortunately for him, his Minister for Women and Gender Equality Maryam Monsef opened her mouth this afternoon:
“I want to take this opportunity to speak to our brothers, the Taliban. We call on you to ensure the safe and secure passage of any individual in Afghanistan out of the country.”
This is the same Maryam Monsef who was proudly touted as Canada’s first Afghanistan-born minister, only to later concede she was actually born in Iran.
https://order-order.com/2021/08/25/canadas-minister-for-equality-calls-the-taliban-our-brothers/
https://leftfootforward.org/2021/08/6-things-we-learnt-from-the-first-green-party-leadership-hustings/
Given at that point we had only vaccinated a fairly small and select group of 16 years olds, I think the answer for the under 16s may well be nearer my 50% than your 30%.
I wonder if Leon has seen this podcast?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDZEb-GKAJ4&t=8611s
Genuine question here.
The rest of what he says is surreal nonsense, so do not fret. Tho I appreciate the sentiment
Given that a historic actual Covid infection seems much more capable of stopping Delta than the vaccines, then schools and kids are not going to be a transmission vector for long.
"Progressive alliances are going out of fashion
Progressive alliances used to be all the rage. Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley were big advocates for them when they stood successfully for the leadership in 2016. A number of Greens stood down for Labour or Lib Dem candidates in the 2017 general election. In 2019, the controversial ‘Unite to Remain’ pact saw Greens enter an alliance with the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru.
But this year’s crop of leadership contenders are much less enthusiastic."
Focusing on the Greens and AfD. Way to miss the story!
But they have no intention of launching a broader booster programme for all over-50s, and even healthy people over the age of 80 may have to wait.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9925263/Sources-say-thousand-vulnerable-Brits-eligible-doses.html
We are going to have stories of millions of unused and wasted doses come Nov.
It's not true that all tattooees are mentally disturbed. But suddenly getting a lot of tattoos can be a sign of something else going on. Note 'can be'.
I did not insult anyone, nor attack anyone. I pointed out a somewhat obscure and uncomfortable scientific truth, which now has much literature in evidence
"Background: The goal was to examine tattooing in suicides, as tattoos have been associated with several risk factors for suicide."
"Conclusions: Tattoos may be possible markers for lethality from both suicide and accidental death in young people, presumably because of shared risk factors such as substance abuse and personality disorder. Affective disorders should receive further, more specific studies. The clinical value of inquiring about tattoos in young people at risk of suicide needs further study."
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10837885/
Also, quite startling:
https://www.aaptuk.org/downloads/Tattoo-Mortality.pdf
Occasionally I cross the line on PB; when I do, I hope that I always apologise.
In this case, I did no such thing. I guess I could be criticised for going off topic, but that's about it. Pff!
Biden approval, likely/registered voters:
47.4% approve
47.4% disapprove
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-approval-rating/voters/
Why is the UK moping so much about vaccinating teenagers?
I love the works of the late 20th C journalists such as Fisk. My favourite being James Cameron. Unfortunately there's nothing like them today. (Actually there is and he's called Jeremy Paxman, but apart from him)
I'm reading Atlas Shrugged at the moment. So far I think it's a great book too, a strangely beautiful book. I've not finished it, but I can't quite see why it should have such hostility against it.
Best England bowling performance since we skitttled the convicts for 60?
But worth it?
For example NHS Trusts across the land have been given the green light to get ready to give boosters to their staff.
My prediction is the same groups in the same order will be offered the jab.
The Mail will be rammed full of sad stories of oldies who didn't qualify for a booster and died.
I'm not sure why all the attempts to make a film of it have failed (so far) though. Cut down to a couple of hours it might actually be decent.
They could have saved their money and bought a load of NFTs instead ;-)
There's too much emotion on both sides on this issue. It's just a practical question, and resolving it by saying "animals first!" or "animals never!" is just knee-jerk stuff. If it helps both humans and animals, it doesn't need armchair micromanagers like us to offer a running commentary - just let them get on with it, and every other detailed decision that they need to take.
If you enjoy The Fountainhead (I did), then go on and read Atlas Shrugged.
Giving most of the UK's vaccine allocation away to Covax (for which we will get exactly zero credit, only criticism for not being even more generous even sooner,) won't get the Government very far in the court of public opinion if we go through yet another oldie holocaust, still less if it ends with renewed restrictions to stop the crumbling NHS from falling over.
Glad I'm not making these decisions.
1/2
https://twitter.com/MikeMcDonald89/status/1430560037076754433?s=19
It looks more like 100m of continuing development made.
Has anyone seen proof of the link?
"Do your subscribers stay for a long time? Or are they just coming and going?"
I am not entirely sure that even with the country on its knees , my assertion that this is how Johnson loses, isn't incorrect. Johnson's star seems to ascend each time he ratchets up the incompetence.
It beats me how he does it. Perhaps you are right and it is because we all love a clown, particularly a xenophobic Brexit clown.
In general not a big fan of tattoos, but when I see that, I think yeah I get that. I probably would too if I was in their position.
Off to Canada where amidst the plethora of daily rolling polls, we've had three more substantive and broadly similar offerings from IPSOS, Angus Reid and Leger.
All three have the Liberals on 33%, the Conservatives on 31-32% and the NDP on 21-22%.
No regional breakdown from Leger but Angus Reid suggests the Liberals lead the Conservatives 38-32 in Ontario but the Conservatives have eked out a 32-30 lead over the NDP in British Columbia.
IPSOS, however, suggests the Conservatives lead 35-31 (NDP on 23) in Ontario but the Conservatives are struggling against the NDP in Manitoba.
The story seems to be of Trudeau struggling but the NDP and Jagmeet Singh seem to be improving against the two main parties and the NDP look set for their best result since 2011 though not reaching those dizzy heights by any stretch.
It's sort of Kafka like. Written in a sort of art-deco style.
1. Lockdown because there was no booster campaign, and the olds all then started coughing and collapsed the NHS
2. Lockdown because the anti-vaxxers all got sick due to their own bloody mindedness and collapsed the NHS
We are not out of this thing yet, not by a long chalk.
But Eurogoon Twitter has just pivoted back to desperate EU-justification on the base of France being slightly more jabbed than the Uk despite the non comparable numbers.
My real concern with that is that is the only press in Brussels is of the shitty Yellow variety, it will prevent the EU (EuCo especially) reforming into being a functional (as opposed to deeply disfunctional) organisation.
We have escaped; others have not.
Beautiful weather down on the Isle of Wight, with plenty of tatts on show. Not many will look good for long.