ydoethur said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

ydoethur said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

O/T

To the British weather and railway system, I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

I've had quite a good experience of railways today. I did the Chase Line from New Street to Rugeley. Still waiting on those overhead cables so we can have our direct service to Euston, which was promised for this time last year.

Rugeley Trent Valley is ludicrous. Four platforms six tracks and ooh, tree trains an hour. If they bought the nearby field and put parking on it, it could be the best parkway in the Midlands. As it is, it's got no pedestrian access, no housing, and less parking than Rugeley Town - so it's a ghost station!

What was annoying is I dutifully forked out for returns from Cannock to BNS and Cannock to RTV - and then my ticket was only inspected once so I could have got away with a return from BNS to RTV at 60% of the price.

What boils my piss is ‘Trains cancelled due to excess heat’

We built the Cairo to Khartoum railway ferfuxsake.

Didn't we have a problem in 2003 with railway lines actually buckling in the heat?

I assume it's an Elf an Safety thing that the Chunnel can't run without it's air con given there's no outside supply?

TheScreamingEagles said:

O/T

To the British weather and railway system, I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

Sunil_Prasannan said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

O/T

To the British weather and railway system, I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

Risked a further offensive, er, I mean advance, er, I mean sortie, er, I mean trip into Welsh Valleys today, trying the Aberdare branch, the last of the trio of lines I needed to do to the northwest of Cardiff. There was a bit of rain going both outward and return, but it could have been worse. Now need only the Ebbw Vale line, and Barry to Maesteg via Bridgend to do the whole set of lines in and around Cardiff (also have done the GWR main line as far west as Swansea).

JosiasJessop said:

The problem is not the extreme temperatures, it is the temperature ranges that the infrastructure is designed to cope with. The infrastructure has to cope with sustained subzero temperatures in winter and high temperatures in summer. Rails used to have gaps every sixty feet with expansion joints; modern continuous welded rail has a different system of expansion joints. But there is only so much expansion room you can put in.

Likewise, overhead line equipment has an expansion compensation system (I think the weights you see hanging every so often off the cables is part of it), but it can only cope with a certain range before problems set in.

We could optimise the system for higher temperatures, and then face more problems in winter.

edit: https://www.railengineer.uk/2015/07/01/getting-hot-and-bothered-why-the-railway-doesnt-like-high-temperatures/

Acorn_Antiques said:

surby said:

So, in your own words, the Jews needed a break and the Palestinians had to lose their lands to accommodate that.

I repeat six million Jews were killed in the holocaust ! Palestinians did not kill even one of them. But they had to pay the price because "the Jews needed a break"

My tuppence worth: the Palestinian Arabs got an absolutely shit deal in 1948. It would've been better, had the British Government had both the ability and the willpower under the circumstances of the time to do something effective about it, if Israel had not been created in the form that it was. Indeed, we would all have been much better off, then and now, if Germany had been permanently divided into half-a-dozen small states after the War, and the population of one of them (e.g. Bavaria) had been removed en masse and resettled in the others, so as to give the Jews a homeland in Europe instead.

However, since we do not possess a Tardis we can hardly send 20,000 heavily armed troops and a warning note to Clem Attlee back in time to correct the problem. We must deal with things as they are, which starts by recognising that the State of Israel within the 1948 borders must - having been conceded its right to exist by the UN - be allowed to stand, and must have its continuing security guaranteed. That, in turn, means that the occupation of lands seized after subsequent Arab invasions of Israel can only be ended as part of a grand bargain in which, amongst other things, all of the neighbours (and other hostile, mainly Muslim, states further afield) recognise the right of Israel to exist and agree to normalise relations with it, and the Islamist terror groups (notably Hamas and Hezbollah) are rooted out, in exchange for decolonisation of the occupied territories so that a Palestinian state can be established.

Imagining how hard that list of objectives is going to be to achieve, how long that might take, and how much diplomatic and economic pressure might need to be brought to bear on both sides to force a resolution, is truly sobering. The job may not be completed in our lifetime. But there is no other way. And examining the issues and the history behind them might also lead one to conclude both that Israel itself is not entirely at fault for all of these problems, and that, in any event, trying to share out exact proportions of the total amount of blame to each of the parties involved isn't going to get anybody very far.

surby said:

kle4 said:

surby said:

Foxy said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

surby said:

I sincerely hope Kate Hoey will be expelled from the Labour Party. She should join the DUP.

Why - she is doing Corbyn's bidding

I think they agree on a number of issues, notably Trident, foxhunting. They do have a number of differences though such as on NI:

https://twitter.com/RoflYssMtt/status/1022857822508384256?s=19

That Hoey couldn't find a single Labour member to vote against her No Confidence motion is pretty telling though. She is toast, and rightly so.

What was she doing in the Labour Party in the first place ? I am sure she will find like-minded people in the DUP or the Conservative Party or UKIP.

Party's change position over time, so even if someone was on the outliers previously, they wouldn't necessarily be ridiculous outliers. Plus people change. And, yes, there's probably a few who really are in the wrong party altogether, ideologically speaking, even allowing for a coalition of views, but they don't think of it that way because it doesn't fit their self image.

I wouldn't mind Heidi Allen in my party !!!!!!

Sandpit said:

MarqueeMark said:

dr_spyn said:

A big boy did it and ran away type excuse deployed.

https://twitter.com/politicshome/status/1022836354487644160

Just how deep is the well of pig-shit thick Labour candidates?

And has no-one vetting candidates at Labour HQ even learnt to switch on a computer?

There’s definitely a good business model in doing online vetting of political candidates. The difficulty is in persuading the major parties that it’s necessary, luckily every day brings more evidence to help the case.

surby said:

JosiasJessop said:

surby said:

I have read many of Cyclefree's rants . Forgive me, if I missed any mention of Palestinians being paid reparations for seizing their lands illegally and Israels soldiers receiving correct custodial sentences for killing Palestinians and not 9 months when 8 months was given to a teenage Palestinian girl for slapping an Israeli soldier.

It is you who is blind ! You cannot bring yourself to criticise the illegal occupation under International Law of Palestinian lands.

I've mentioned some of this stuff previously on here; in fact, many times.

There's another angle to this: there are no 'angels' in the Middle East, country-wise - which is quite annoying given he area's religious history!

Israel can behave terribly - but so have the Palestinians and the surrounding countries. The violence and extremism on both main sides of the conflict have fed each other, and it can be argued that only the extreme actions of the Israeli government - such as building the wall - have stopped most of the terrorism against them.

For instance, it might be helpful for the Palestinians to stop their rocket and mortar attacks against Israel, which continue on into this year - 174 a fortnight ago alone.

To make matters worse, other countries in the region, and in the wider world, have used the sides - and especially the Palestinians - for their own purposes. In many cases it has not been in their interests for there to be peace.

If you are truly interested in peace in the region - and that means peace for Jew, Palestinian, Christian and everyone else - then you have to criticise all sides when they do wrong, and praise them when they do right.

Labour fails on this count as well.

A long email. Yet you fail to mention land being seized illegally, reparations to be paid.
I am not sure why Jews were paid reparations [ absolutely correctly ] but Palestinians should not be.

ExiledInScotland said:

Acorn_Antiques said:

... Indeed, we would all have been much better off, then and now, if Germany had been permanently divided into half-a-dozen small states after the War, and the population of one of them (e.g. Bavaria) had been removed en masse and resettled in the others, so as to give the Jews a homeland in Europe instead.

That would have resulted in a German victim myth larger than the one the Nazis used to explain WW1. We would not have had peace in Western Europe for a generation.

ExiledInScotland said:

Acorn_Antiques said:

... Indeed, we would all have been much better off, then and now, if Germany had been permanently divided into half-a-dozen small states after the War, and the population of one of them (e.g. Bavaria) had been removed en masse and resettled in the others, so as to give the Jews a homeland in Europe instead.

That would have resulted in a German victim myth larger than the one the Nazis used to explain WW1. We would not have had peace in Western Europe for a generation.

Acorn_Antiques said:

surby said:

Sa break"

My tuppence worth: the Palestinian Arabs got an absolutely shit deal in 1948. It would've been better, had the British Government had both the ability and the willpower under the circumstances of the time to do something effective about it, if Israel had not been created in the form that it was. Indeed, we would all have been much better off, then and now, if Germany had been permanently divided into half-a-dozen small states after the War, and the population of one of them (e.g. Bavaria) had been removed en masse and resettled in the others, so as to give the Jews a homeland in Europe instead.

However, since we do not possess a Tardis we can hardly send 20,000 heavily armed troops and a warning note to Clem Attlee back in time to correct the problem. We must deal with things as they are, which starts by recognising that the State of Israel within the 1948 borders must - having been conceded its right to exist by the UN - be allowed to stand, and must have its continuing security guaranteed. That, in turn, means that the occupation of lands seized after subsequent Arab invasions of Israel can only be ended as part of a grand bargain in which, amongst other things, all of the neighbours (and other hostile, mainly Muslim, states further afield) recognise the right of Israel to exist and agree to normalise relations with it, and the Islamist terror groups (notably Hamas and Hezbollah) are rooted out, in exchange for decolonisation of the occupied territories so that a Palestinian state can be established.

Imagining how hard that list of objectives is going to be to achieve, how long that might take, and how much diplomatic and economic pressure might need to be brought to bear on both sides to force a resolution, is truly sobering. The job may not be completed in our lifetime. But there is no other way. And examining the issues and the history behind them might also lead one to conclude both that Israel itself is not entirely at fault for all of these problems, and that, in any event, trying to share out exact proportions of the total amount of blame to each of the parties involved isn't going to get anybody very far.

TheJezziah said:

TOPPING said:

surby said:

TOPPING said:

Theuniondivvie said:

TOPPING said:

Could be. Is it supposed to be an angel? Are we? What relevance is that?

Chiding liberals for supporting Israel when it was a plucky underdog then criticising it when it's strong and assertive was your construction. Personally I'm entirely happy to admire plucky underdogs and despise brutish bullies, even when they're different stages in the evolution(sic) of the same person/entity.

It's all about their view towards the Jews and why there is an elision between criticism of Jews and Israel. The Jews were granted a country formally by the UN and many (not, of course, the UK) supported that. Why? In part because the Jews had had a hell of a time and needed a break.

Since then the Jews have become stronger and, in your words, indiscriminately brutish. And hence the left is no longer a fan of Israel and that is where the elision comes in because after all, Israel is a Jewish country and hence the criticism of both as though they were the same thing. It of course extends to other strong Jews such as Soros et al.

The Left is the same with rich people who started off poor - they go from needing saving, and thereby providing a natural constituency for the Left, to being part of the Imperialist Capitalist Boss Class and therefore the enemy.

So, in your own words, the Jews needed a break and the Palestinians had to lose their lands to accommodate that.

I repeat six million Jews were killed in the holocaust ! Palestinians did not kill even one of them. But they had to pay the price because "the Jews needed a break"

Ah so you're the delegitimising kind of "Israel" critic.

Totally understand where you're coming from. Better that Israel had never existed. Where was it that Ken said Hitler wanted to send the Jews?

Good counter argument, I like the way you avoided his points and just brought up Hitler. One might suspect you feel you can't voice the reasons you feel Arabs who were mainly Muslims should have their lands taken off them in response to European crimes....

Casino_Royale said:

ralphmalph said:

Scott_P said:

https://twitter.com/bbcnickrobinson/status/1022887139107921920

As a politician he was not somebody that I liked let alone respected, but I heard him interviewed at lunchtime on TMS after his election defeat. He was very reasonable, I would say likeable. I will watch his TV show, I think it should be good viewing.

I feel the same way.

JosiasJessop said:

TheJezziah said:

TOPPING said:

surby said:

TOPPING said:

Theuniondivvie said:

TOPPING said:

Could be. Is it supposed to be an angel? Are we? What relevance is that?

Chiding liberals for supporting Israel when it was a plucky underdog then criticising it when it's strong and assertive was your construction. Personally I'm entirely happy to admire plucky underdogs and despise brutish bullies, even when they're different stages in the evolution(sic) of the same person/entity.

It's all about their view towards the Jews and why there is an elision between criticism of Jews and Israel. The Jews were granted a country formally by the UN and many (not, of course, the UK) supported that. Why? In part because the Jews had had a hell of a time and needed a break.

Since then the Jews have become stronger and, in your words, indiscriminately brutish. And hence the left is no longer a fan of Israel and that is where the elision comes in because after all, Israel is a Jewish country and hence the criticism of both as though they were the same thing. It of course extends to other strong Jews such as Soros et al.

The Left is the same with rich people who started off poor - they go from needing saving, and thereby providing a natural constituency for the Left, to being part of the Imperialist Capitalist Boss Class and therefore the enemy.

So, in your own words, the Jews needed a break and the Palestinians had to lose their lands to accommodate that.

I repeat six million Jews were killed in the holocaust ! Palestinians did not kill even one of them. But they had to pay the price because "the Jews needed a break"

Ah so you're the delegitimising kind of "Israel" critic.

Totally understand where you're coming from. Better that Israel had never existed. Where was it that Ken said Hitler wanted to send the Jews?

Good counter argument, I like the way you avoided his points and just brought up Hitler. One might suspect you feel you can't voice the reasons you feel Arabs who were mainly Muslims should have their lands taken off them in response to European crimes....

What intrigues me is why you (and Labour) are so bothered about this particular population movement, whilst never mentioning the others that occurred before and after - e.g. Turkey/Greece, India/Pakistan etc. Millions of people had land taken of them because of base politics - as had Jews and Christians 'moved' (some might say ethnically cleansed) from various countries in the ME - a process that is occurring to this day.

surby said:

JosiasJessop said:

surby said:

I have read many of Cyclefree's rants . Forgive me, if I missed any mention of Palestinians being paid reparations for seizing their lands illegally and Israels soldiers receiving correct custodial sentences for killing Palestinians and not 9 months when 8 months was given to a teenage Palestinian girl for slapping an Israeli soldier.

It is you who is blind ! You cannot bring yourself to criticise the illegal occupation under International Law of Palestinian lands.

I've mentioned some of this stuff previously on here; in fact, many times.

There's another angle to this: there are no 'angels' in the Middle East, country-wise - which is quite annoying given he area's religious history!

Israel can behave terribly - but so have the Palestinians and the surrounding countries. The violence and extremism on both main sides of the conflict have fed each other, and it can be argued that only the extreme actions of the Israeli government - such as building the wall - have stopped most of the terrorism against them.

For instance, it might be helpful for the Palestinians to stop their rocket and mortar attacks against Israel, which continue on into this year - 174 a fortnight ago alone.

To make matters worse, other countries in the region, and in the wider world, have used the sides - and especially the Palestinians - for their own purposes. In many cases it has not been in their interests for there to be peace.

If you are truly interested in peace in the region - and that means peace for Jew, Palestinian, Christian and everyone else - then you have to criticise all sides when they do wrong, and praise them when they do right.

Labour fails on this count as well.

A long email. Yet you fail to mention land being seized illegally, reparations to be paid.
I am not sure why Jews were paid reparations [ absolutely correctly ] but Palestinians should not be.

DavidL said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

surby said:

IanB2 said:

surby said:

Foxy said:

Daveyboy1961 said:

O/T
I've just purchased 310 euro for £301 in preparation for a holiday in Ireland. So much for a weak euro and a disaster of a currency. How long will it be before the GB pound earns that "accolade"?

It is just possible that the perennial PB Briteer proclamations of the collapse of the Eurozone exist in the same as Fox's trade deals.

1999: £1 = € 1.43. 2018: £1 = €1.12

Only one currency has imploded in the last 19 years - it is NOT the EURO.

Never mind 1999, you could get 1.4 or better throughout most of 2015. I know because I put a fair bit into a Euro account that year, the last of which I will be spending in Italy this September.

If we have a NO Deal then there will be another collapse of the pound to below parity.

We will desperately need it to be competitive in the EU after duties are imposed. Many of their exports will also suffer but not by the same margins. After all, if you want to drive a BMW, what do you do ?

Buy one now

Buy a Jag instead. I strongly recommend it.

David_Evershed said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

surby said:

Foxy said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

surby said:

I sincerely hope Kate Hoey will be expelled from the Labour Party. She should join the DUP.

Why - she is doing Corbyn's bidding

I think they agree on a number of issues, notably Trident, foxhunting. They do have a number of differences though such as on NI:

https://twitter.com/RoflYssMtt/status/1022857822508384256?s=19

That Hoey couldn't find a single Labour member to vote against her No Confidence motion is pretty telling though. She is toast, and rightly so.

What was she doing in the Labour Party in the first place ? I am sure she will find like-minded people in the DUP or the Conservative Party or UKIP.

Labour's 1983 manifesto was pretty Euro-sceptic.

Ah yes. The longest suicide note in history.

David_Evershed said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

surby said:

Foxy said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

surby said:

I sincerely hope Kate Hoey will be expelled from the Labour Party. She should join the DUP.

Why - she is doing Corbyn's bidding

I think they agree on a number of issues, notably Trident, foxhunting. They do have a number of differences though such as on NI:

https://twitter.com/RoflYssMtt/status/1022857822508384256?s=19

That Hoey couldn't find a single Labour member to vote against her No Confidence motion is pretty telling though. She is toast, and rightly so.

What was she doing in the Labour Party in the first place ? I am sure she will find like-minded people in the DUP or the Conservative Party or UKIP.

Labour's 1983 manifesto was pretty Euro-sceptic.

Ah yes. The longest suicide note in history.

Acorn_Antiques said:

ExiledInScotland said:

Acorn_Antiques said:

... Indeed, we would all have been much better off, then and now, if Germany had been permanently divided into half-a-dozen small states after the War, and the population of one of them (e.g. Bavaria) had been removed en masse and resettled in the others, so as to give the Jews a homeland in Europe instead.

That would have resulted in a German victim myth larger than the one the Nazis used to explain WW1. We would not have had peace in Western Europe for a generation.

All of the Germans to the East of the Oder-Neisse line were driven out by the Soviets in 1945 to make room for the Poles. That clearly didn't create the issue you describe. Once the dust had settled they didn't set about blaming the Soviet Union for kicking their backsides at the time, and they still don't harbour a smouldering grudge against Russia now. Why would relocating a few million more in parts further West necessarily have been so very different?

Anyway, in the hypothetical I suggested there wouldn't have been a Germany left to resent the situation anyway.

TheJezziah said:

JosiasJessop said:

TOPPING said:

surby said:

TOPPING said:

Theuniondivvie said:

TOPPING said:

Could be. Is it supposed to be an angel? Are we? What relevance is that?

So, in your own words, the Jews needed a break and the Palestinians had to lose their lands to accommodate that.

I repeat six million Jews were killed in the holocaust ! Palestinians did not kill even one of them. But they had to pay the price because "the Jews needed a break"

Ah so you're the delegitimising kind of "Israel" critic.

Totally understand where you're coming from. Better that Israel had never existed. Where was it that Ken said Hitler wanted to send the Jews?

Good counter argument, I like the way you avoided his points and just brought up Hitler. One might suspect you feel you can't voice the reasons you feel Arabs who were mainly Muslims should have their lands taken off them in response to European crimes....

What intrigues me is why you (and Labour) are so bothered about this particular population movement, whilst never mentioning the others that occurred before and after - e.g. Turkey/Greece, India/Pakistan etc. Millions of people had land taken of them because of base politics - as had Jews and Christians 'moved' (some might say ethnically cleansed) from various countries in the ME - a process that is occurring to this day.

What intrigues me is how the argument often goes from actual discussion about the issue to being quickly switched to you shouldn't even care, as if that is a good counter argument to doing stuff wrong.

(Snip)

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