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American polls may now need to fundamentally change their poll weightings – politicalbetting.com

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  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 59,984
    Endillion said:

    kle4 said:

    kle4 said:

    I understand Greta Thunberg is calling herself a 'bunny hugger' after Boris's comments yesterday

    These activists just do not understand that to tackle climate change they need to reach the ordinary voter who supports climate change, but when you tell them they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers, then there is little chance of their support

    I commented this morning on this and thought Rachel Burden of 5 live was so on the ball with her comments


    'Rachel Burden was interviewing a 'green activist' who largely welcomed HMG involvement in the debate but criticised Boris 'bunny hugging' moment

    However, Rachel's response was that he was not talking to activists like her, but to those less interested in climate change and that he was making the point it was not about 'bunny huggers' but a real opportunity for investment and jobs for the future

    Rachel and Boris seem to understand the red wall voters, far more than the metropolitan elite and climate enthusiasts

    Not just red wall voters. The UK cutting its emissions alone isn't going to go very far, you need to carry the Americans, Chinese, Indians etc with you too.

    If you want to carry the voters of Detroit with you, you're going to go further talking about investment and jobs than you are bunnies.

    The bunny huggers are already onside. The likes of Greta and David Attenborough don't need to be convinced that we need to take action. Its the others you're supposed to be convincing.

    I think there's a reason someone so immature and silly as Greta is the one who takes umbrage at it, rather than someone as mature and sensible as David Attenborough.
    Greta is also wrong on many issues. She upbraids Governments, including ours, for doing "nothing" when in fact they're doing an awful lot.
    You need people to push issues hard, it really does help to make things happen. Fair enough if you want to argue, even if implausibly on occasion, that not enough has happened. But at a certain point denying that things are happening at all when they are can be counter productive. Why would many ordinary people, who are concerned about climate issues, do or support proposals if the past actions apparently didn't mean anything?
    The trouble is that the Climate Change Act (80% reduction by 2050) was passed in 2008, well before Greta came on the scene, and the net zero law in June 2019, which was only 10 months after she first appeared on the scene. And work for it was well underway even before then.

    I think it's an innocent pure Joan of Arc figurehead sort of thing going on: she appeals to those who are already pretty radical about it.
    It's also true that even immediate actions can take a bit of time to show effect, so people may be wanting a more instant effect from their passionate campaigning.

    On Greta, see seems articulate enough to me and for whatever reason has struck a chord with plenty of people, but I also think that people in general have a fascination with youthful preaching/advocacy. Child campaigners (and yes she is an adult now but has been about for a few years), for better and worse, can get a lot of attention simply as a spectacle in addition to any actual merited worth.
    The question is whether she wins over any of the unconverted/ fencesitters.

    I don't think she does.
    Greta Thunberg is a trap.

    Her purpose (not her own idea, obviously, but from those managing her) is to trick reactionary right wingers into responding to her. Inevitably, lots of them do so, not by attacking the points she makes - which is hard work, even when she's obviously wrong - but by attacking her as a person - which is a) incredibly easy, b) incredibly tempting, and c) if you forget that what you're doing is mocking a teenage girl with a developmental disorder, moderately fun (probably).

    The last point is the key - it's not bad strategy to watch your opponents blunder into such an inviting trap, point out what bad people they obviously are, and claim their argument must therefore be wrong (the association fallacy) and hence the opposite of that must be correct.

    I say it's not bad strategy, but I still hate absolutely everything about what I've just written.
    Yes, that's an astute observation.

    The criticism of Spitting Image for spoofing her was instructive, because some think she's so saintly she should be beyond parody.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 17,069

    Cummings is going to bring down Johnson?

    Spicy on serious 4 of the Tories: how much more can they fuck up the country?

    Unlikely on the basis of what we've seen.

    BoJo will never be shamed out of office, because he's shameless. Enough people publicly booing him might do the trick, but we're way off that. The Boris fans seem to be all present and correct.

    On the other hand, Dom knows where all the bodies are buried- largely because he buried many of them. And Boris surely knows that. And personally, I wouldn't want Dom's vengeance visited on me.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,578

    Pulpstar said:

    Pfizered up

    All the best people get Pfizer.
    He who dares!

    image
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    @Pulpstar you're the same age as me! How come you've got your vac today? Luck? Pre-existing condition?

    Surgery sent me a message. No pre existing. Luck I guess :)
    Lucky devil!

    Pleased for you though.
    Remember last one to be vaxxed gets the pb drinks in :D
    I'm not feeling confident over that.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 22,701
    Scott_xP said:

    It’s clear that Starmer sees establishing the sleaze narrative as his best chance of a breakthrough; hence, his pressing the Dyson story despite the fact there really wasn’t much substance to it. But it looks as though DC has just handed him some rather better quality ammo.

    ...


    I'm quite surprised there has not been strategic pushback at the Shad Cab.

    There's been plenty of gibberish in Starmer's claims, and it is only a few days since a whole chorus of Shadow Cabinet members were repeating the stuff about the paper-shredding contract in Wales being a result of Hancock influence when that is impossible.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 95,830
    IshmaelZ said:

    kle4 said:

    Endillion said:

    kle4 said:

    kle4 said:

    I understand Greta Thunberg is calling herself a 'bunny hugger' after Boris's comments yesterday

    These activists just do not understand that to tackle climate change they need to reach the ordinary voter who supports climate change, but when you tell them they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers, then there is little chance of their support

    I commented this morning on this and thought Rachel Burden of 5 live was so on the ball with her comments


    'Rachel Burden was interviewing a 'green activist' who largely welcomed HMG involvement in the debate but criticised Boris 'bunny hugging' moment

    However, Rachel's response was that he was not talking to activists like her, but to those less interested in climate change and that he was making the point it was not about 'bunny huggers' but a real opportunity for investment and jobs for the future

    Rachel and Boris seem to understand the red wall voters, far more than the metropolitan elite and climate enthusiasts

    Not just red wall voters. The UK cutting its emissions alone isn't going to go very far, you need to carry the Americans, Chinese, Indians etc with you too.

    If you want to carry the voters of Detroit with you, you're going to go further talking about investment and jobs than you are bunnies.

    The bunny huggers are already onside. The likes of Greta and David Attenborough don't need to be convinced that we need to take action. Its the others you're supposed to be convincing.

    I think there's a reason someone so immature and silly as Greta is the one who takes umbrage at it, rather than someone as mature and sensible as David Attenborough.
    Greta is also wrong on many issues. She upbraids Governments, including ours, for doing "nothing" when in fact they're doing an awful lot.
    You need people to push issues hard, it really does help to make things happen. Fair enough if you want to argue, even if implausibly on occasion, that not enough has happened. But at a certain point denying that things are happening at all when they are can be counter productive. Why would many ordinary people, who are concerned about climate issues, do or support proposals if the past actions apparently didn't mean anything?
    The trouble is that the Climate Change Act (80% reduction by 2050) was passed in 2008, well before Greta came on the scene, and the net zero law in June 2019, which was only 10 months after she first appeared on the scene. And work for it was well underway even before then.

    I think it's an innocent pure Joan of Arc figurehead sort of thing going on: she appeals to those who are already pretty radical about it.
    It's also true that even immediate actions can take a bit of time to show effect, so people may be wanting a more instant effect from their passionate campaigning.

    On Greta, see seems articulate enough to me and for whatever reason has struck a chord with plenty of people, but I also think that people in general have a fascination with youthful preaching/advocacy. Child campaigners (and yes she is an adult now but has been about for a few years), for better and worse, can get a lot of attention simply as a spectacle in addition to any actual merited worth.
    The question is whether she wins over any of the unconverted/ fencesitters.

    I don't think she does.
    Greta Thunberg is a trap.

    Her purpose (not her own idea, obviously, but from those managing her) is to trick reactionary right wingers into responding to her. Inevitably, lots of them do so, not by attacking the points she makes - which is hard work, even when she's obviously wrong - but by attacking her as a person - which is a) incredibly easy, b) incredibly tempting, and c) if you forget that what you're doing is mocking a teenage girl with a developmental disorder, moderately fun (probably).

    The last point is the key - it's not bad strategy to watch your opponents blunder into such an inviting trap, point out what bad people they obviously are, and claim their argument must therefore be wrong (the association fallacy) and hence the opposite of that must be correct.

    I say it's not bad strategy, but I still hate absolutely everything about what I've just written.
    You're probably right, but if someone is made the face of a political movement, they cannot entirely hide behind their youth or other issues, nor can people do so on that person's behalf. Not if they simultaneously expect that person to be listened to.
    Well, let a thousand flowers bloom. Others can do the intellectual heavy lifting, her target market is the young, with whom she seems to be very effective

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/05/greta-thunberg-effect-public-concern-over-environment-reaches-record-high
    Never said she wasn't. Her role is to communicate, and by dint of her own efforts and others she has the platform to do that and some effective messaging.

    But she is definitely fair game for political attack, for her messages and as a person. Whether those political attacks will be reasonable or effective is another matter entirely.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 59,984
    kle4 said:

    Cummings is going to bring down Johnson?

    Spicy on serious 4 of the Tories: how much more can they fuck up the country?

    You've got a bit more partisan and emotional recently.

    Too much time on Twitter?
    That is speculation of course, so one might argue that time on PB leading to partisanship and emotion may have more evidence behind it as a theory. Certainly does for me!
    In my experience Twitter is far worse. And it sucks you into a group of like-minded people where you reinforce each others prejudices.

    Say what you like but pb is pretty well balanced, and you have to engage with everyone.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 22,701
    Quincel said:

    FFS...

    Six Extinction Rebellion protesters have been cleared of causing criminal damage, despite jurors being told by the judge there was no defence in law.

    With the exception of Mr Saunders - who claimed he honestly believed Shell's employees and shareholders would have consented to the damage he caused

    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-56853979

    The take away, smashing up a building isn't a criminal offense if you claim you were doing so to save the planet.

    I think this is a rubbish decision by the jury, but on a point of principle I do think jury nullification is an option that they need to have as a backstop for more deserving cases.

    It's also undeniably a bit amusing that one defendant already pled guilty and then watched his comrades get away with it despite having no defence at all.
    Can the Judge not simply direct the Jury here?
  • RogerRoger Posts: 19,851
    Poor old Boris. Shamed into paying for the refurbishment of Downing Street out of his own pocket and he's hardly likely to be there for long. He's going to have to write a hell of a lot of rubbish for the Borisgraph to get that back
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Pulpstar said:

    IanB2 said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Someone born in 92 who had just been for a run been vaxxed here

    Wow. I remember sitting on a polling station in Leyton for that year’s election. Meanwhile you were busy being born.
    No, that's someone he knows.

    I think Pulpy is 82.
    No was just a random I overheard. I'm 1981
    Wow thats even older than Jack W.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 59,984
    Pulpstar said:

    IanB2 said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Someone born in 92 who had just been for a run been vaxxed here

    Wow. I remember sitting on a polling station in Leyton for that year’s election. Meanwhile you were busy being born.
    No, that's someone he knows.

    I think Pulpy is 82.
    No was just a random I overheard. I'm 1981
    Ah. Apologies.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 56,879
    MattW said:

    Quincel said:

    FFS...

    Six Extinction Rebellion protesters have been cleared of causing criminal damage, despite jurors being told by the judge there was no defence in law.

    With the exception of Mr Saunders - who claimed he honestly believed Shell's employees and shareholders would have consented to the damage he caused

    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-56853979

    The take away, smashing up a building isn't a criminal offense if you claim you were doing so to save the planet.

    I think this is a rubbish decision by the jury, but on a point of principle I do think jury nullification is an option that they need to have as a backstop for more deserving cases.

    It's also undeniably a bit amusing that one defendant already pled guilty and then watched his comrades get away with it despite having no defence at all.
    Can the Judge not simply direct the Jury here?
    No.

    Juries can acquit on whatever basis they like.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 59,984
    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    @Pulpstar you're the same age as me! How come you've got your vac today? Luck? Pre-existing condition?

    Surgery sent me a message. No pre existing. Luck I guess :)
    Lucky devil!

    Pleased for you though.
    Remember last one to be vaxxed gets the pb drinks in :D
    As it happens I have had a needle in me today but that was for a general anaesthetic: I had a nasty impacted wisdom tooth removed that was playing on my facial nerves.

    Now praying I can suppress the pain with co-codamal and ibuprofen.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 56,879

    I understand Greta Thunberg is calling herself a 'bunny hugger' after Boris's comments yesterday

    These activists just do not understand that to tackle climate change they need to reach the ordinary voter who supports climate change, but when you tell them they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers, then there is little chance of their support

    I commented this morning on this and thought Rachel Burden of 5 live was so on the ball with her comments


    'Rachel Burden was interviewing a 'green activist' who largely welcomed HMG involvement in the debate but criticised Boris 'bunny hugging' moment

    However, Rachel's response was that he was not talking to activists like her, but to those less interested in climate change and that he was making the point it was not about 'bunny huggers' but a real opportunity for investment and jobs for the future

    Rachel and Boris seem to understand the red wall voters, far more than the metropolitan elite and climate enthusiasts

    I think you misunderstand - many Green are New Puritans.

    To them a world where the ordinary people will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars (and remain very expensive), eat less meat and completely renovate their homes at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers - that is what they *want*
    Indeed, and the Conservatives will lose votes (including mine) if Alok Sharma and Kwasi Kwarteng start virtue-signalling about veganism.

    They simply don't understand - I will do virtually anything for climate change but ditching meat is simply not something I will ever be prepared to do and nor will millions of others.

    They need sustainable technological solutions to mixed and traditional forms of agriculture that people can get behind, or they'll be told to piss off.
    I think everyone is getting rather worked up about an off hand comment by Kwasi. A man who, at least historically, was no vegan.
  • FishingFishing Posts: 4,946

    Thoughts and prayers for the Boris Johnson fanbois and fangirls who so comprehensively defended Dominic Cummings after his sojourn to Bernard Castle saying he was a top bloke, beyond reproach.

    Especially Suella Braverman.

    Will the modern equivalent of Stalinist photo editing, excising old tweets, be taking place?


    Like Alex Salmond in the SNP?
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 95,830
    Roger said:

    Poor old Boris. Shamed into paying for the refurbishment of Downing Street out of his own pocket and he's hardly likely to be there for long. He's going to have to write a hell of a lot of rubbish for the Borisgraph to get that back

    Have you seen what Theresa May makes for speeches? Money once he is out of office should not be difficult (I find it hard to believe he struggles for cash even in office, even with talk of profligcacy, divorces and the rest).
  • RogerRoger Posts: 19,851
    IanB2 said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Cummings comprehensively trashed his own name in the public's perception

    BoZo vouched for him
    Good managers stand by their team and don't drop them at the first bit of difficulty.
    Believe you are the first person to ever equate the term "good manager" with Boris Johnson.

    He's been called MANY things - but NEVER that!
    Looking forward to the time when his PB fanclub members will be truly ashamed.
    They haven't got a brain cell between them!
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 27,574
    edited April 2021

    AnneJGP said:

    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    No it is not all what is going to be necessary (the electric car bit is) - and if it is necessary then it won't happen. Do you think the Chinese are going to choose not to fly just because we tell people they're killing pandas if they fly?

    The solution, the only solution that will work is clean technologies.

    Saying don't use power will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is some clean and affordable power, use this instead of coal" people will listen to.

    Saying don't fly will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is a newly designed clean and affordable plane, use this instead of jet fuel" people will listen to.

    Saying "don't eat meat" will not work. People won't listen to you. Full stop, I see no alternative to this one, the line is drawn here. Maybe find a way to offset against it because meat is happening.
    Artificial meat will be a mainstream, cheap product inside a decade.
    An interesting thought. Can artificial meat taste like roast rib of beef? Or will it taste more like a Quorn veggie sausage?
    There was one brand of veggie beef pie that tasted so much like the real thing I couldn't eat it.

    Good evening, everyone.
    I've tried some of this food and it's mainly diabolical.

    I had a "cauliflower steak" for dinner which is, let's face it, just a slice of cauliflower dressed up.

    I woke up starving at 3am and had a massive bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes with gold top milk and toast.
    Some of the newer plant products are very good in terms of taste. I'd question the texture in places but then a lot of real meat products seem unpleasantly slimy to me which might be why I largely stick to fish. When I last had a job, apparently the fake sausage rolls were more popular than the real ones.

    ETA cauliflower steak is just a fried slice of cauliflower so not the same thing.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 22,701

    AnneJGP said:

    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    No it is not all what is going to be necessary (the electric car bit is) - and if it is necessary then it won't happen. Do you think the Chinese are going to choose not to fly just because we tell people they're killing pandas if they fly?

    The solution, the only solution that will work is clean technologies.

    Saying don't use power will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is some clean and affordable power, use this instead of coal" people will listen to.

    Saying don't fly will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is a newly designed clean and affordable plane, use this instead of jet fuel" people will listen to.

    Saying "don't eat meat" will not work. People won't listen to you. Full stop, I see no alternative to this one, the line is drawn here. Maybe find a way to offset against it because meat is happening.
    Artificial meat will be a mainstream, cheap product inside a decade.
    An interesting thought. Can artificial meat taste like roast rib of beef? Or will it taste more like a Quorn veggie sausage?
    There was one brand of veggie beef pie that tasted so much like the real thing I couldn't eat it.

    Good evening, everyone.
    I've tried some of this food and it's mainly diabolical.

    I had a "cauliflower steak" for dinner which is, let's face it, just a slice of cauliflower dressed up.

    I woke up starving at 3am and had a massive bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes with gold top milk and toast.
    I quite often have a veggie pie or similar with a steak.

    Gives a nice selection of veg.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 56,879

    The US seems to have reached peak demand. On present trends, we'll overtake their vaccination rate again soon.

    image

    Vaccines are available in pretty much any pharmacy now. In some US states (Alabama, etc) they seem to be at only about 30% of the adult population vaccinated, and the numbers getting jabbed are falling every day.

    While California, New York and other liberal areas are probably going to see vaccination rates of 65%+, you might well see endemic Covid problems in other parts of the country.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,774
    kle4 said:

    Roger said:

    Poor old Boris. Shamed into paying for the refurbishment of Downing Street out of his own pocket and he's hardly likely to be there for long. He's going to have to write a hell of a lot of rubbish for the Borisgraph to get that back

    Have you seen what Theresa May makes for speeches? Money once he is out of office should not be difficult (I find it hard to believe he struggles for cash even in office, even with talk of profligcacy, divorces and the rest).
    The Cambridge Union for the coming term is offering speeches from Mrs May, along with (separately) Ed Milipede and Alan Sugar.
  • AnneJGP said:

    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    No it is not all what is going to be necessary (the electric car bit is) - and if it is necessary then it won't happen. Do you think the Chinese are going to choose not to fly just because we tell people they're killing pandas if they fly?

    The solution, the only solution that will work is clean technologies.

    Saying don't use power will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is some clean and affordable power, use this instead of coal" people will listen to.

    Saying don't fly will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is a newly designed clean and affordable plane, use this instead of jet fuel" people will listen to.

    Saying "don't eat meat" will not work. People won't listen to you. Full stop, I see no alternative to this one, the line is drawn here. Maybe find a way to offset against it because meat is happening.
    Artificial meat will be a mainstream, cheap product inside a decade.
    An interesting thought. Can artificial meat taste like roast rib of beef? Or will it taste more like a Quorn veggie sausage?
    There was one brand of veggie beef pie that tasted so much like the real thing I couldn't eat it.

    Good evening, everyone.
    I've tried some of this food and it's mainly diabolical.

    I had a "cauliflower steak" for dinner which is, let's face it, just a slice of cauliflower dressed up.

    I woke up starving at 3am and had a massive bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes with gold top milk and toast.
    Some of the newer plant products are very good in terms of taste. I'd question the texture in places but then a lot of real meat products seem unpleasantly slimy to me which might be why I largely stick to fish. When I last had a job, apparently the fake sausage rolls were more popular than the real ones.
    The last thing some vegans want is more vegans. They see it as a social justice movement for the pure. Occasional lapses are not tolerated...
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 56,879

    AnneJGP said:

    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    No it is not all what is going to be necessary (the electric car bit is) - and if it is necessary then it won't happen. Do you think the Chinese are going to choose not to fly just because we tell people they're killing pandas if they fly?

    The solution, the only solution that will work is clean technologies.

    Saying don't use power will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is some clean and affordable power, use this instead of coal" people will listen to.

    Saying don't fly will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is a newly designed clean and affordable plane, use this instead of jet fuel" people will listen to.

    Saying "don't eat meat" will not work. People won't listen to you. Full stop, I see no alternative to this one, the line is drawn here. Maybe find a way to offset against it because meat is happening.
    Artificial meat will be a mainstream, cheap product inside a decade.
    An interesting thought. Can artificial meat taste like roast rib of beef? Or will it taste more like a Quorn veggie sausage?
    There was one brand of veggie beef pie that tasted so much like the real thing I couldn't eat it.

    Good evening, everyone.
    I've tried some of this food and it's mainly diabolical.

    I had a "cauliflower steak" for dinner which is, let's face it, just a slice of cauliflower dressed up.

    I woke up starving at 3am and had a massive bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes with gold top milk and toast.
    Impossible and Beyond are really rather good. Indeed, I'd rather use Impossible than cheap meat, although that's probably because cheap US meat is really not that nice at all.
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,534

    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    @Pulpstar you're the same age as me! How come you've got your vac today? Luck? Pre-existing condition?

    Surgery sent me a message. No pre existing. Luck I guess :)
    Lucky devil!

    Pleased for you though.
    Remember last one to be vaxxed gets the pb drinks in :D
    As it happens I have had a needle in me today but that was for a general anaesthetic: I had a nasty impacted wisdom tooth removed that was playing on my facial nerves.

    Now praying I can suppress the pain with co-codamal and ibuprofen.
    Ouch. Feel for you, bro and hope you're feeling better soon!

    BUT aren't you a bit worried, now that your last remaining bit of wisdom has been extracted?
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,555

    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    @Pulpstar you're the same age as me! How come you've got your vac today? Luck? Pre-existing condition?

    Surgery sent me a message. No pre existing. Luck I guess :)
    Lucky devil!

    Pleased for you though.
    Remember last one to be vaxxed gets the pb drinks in :D
    As it happens I have had a needle in me today but that was for a general anaesthetic: I had a nasty impacted wisdom tooth removed that was playing on my facial nerves.

    Now praying I can suppress the pain with co-codamal and ibuprofen.
    Best of luck!
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,774
    CNN: So far, patients with a rare and dangerous blood clotting syndrome linked with Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine have started showing symptoms one to two weeks after getting the vaccine, a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert said Friday.

    And symptoms are similar to those seen among people who experienced blood clots after getting AstraZeneca’s vaccine in Europe and the UK, the CDC’s Dr. Tom Shimabukuro told a meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    rcs1000 said:

    MattW said:

    Quincel said:

    FFS...

    Six Extinction Rebellion protesters have been cleared of causing criminal damage, despite jurors being told by the judge there was no defence in law.

    With the exception of Mr Saunders - who claimed he honestly believed Shell's employees and shareholders would have consented to the damage he caused

    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-56853979

    The take away, smashing up a building isn't a criminal offense if you claim you were doing so to save the planet.

    I think this is a rubbish decision by the jury, but on a point of principle I do think jury nullification is an option that they need to have as a backstop for more deserving cases.

    It's also undeniably a bit amusing that one defendant already pled guilty and then watched his comrades get away with it despite having no defence at all.
    Can the Judge not simply direct the Jury here?
    No.

    Juries can acquit on whatever basis they like.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushel's_Case
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 59,984



    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    @Pulpstar you're the same age as me! How come you've got your vac today? Luck? Pre-existing condition?

    Surgery sent me a message. No pre existing. Luck I guess :)
    Lucky devil!

    Pleased for you though.
    Remember last one to be vaxxed gets the pb drinks in :D
    As it happens I have had a needle in me today but that was for a general anaesthetic: I had a nasty impacted wisdom tooth removed that was playing on my facial nerves.

    Now praying I can suppress the pain with co-codamal and ibuprofen.
    Ouch. Feel for you, bro and hope you're feeling better soon!

    BUT aren't you a bit worried, now that your last remaining bit of wisdom has been extracted?
    Thanks. Just the one. The other three weren't causing me jip, so they've stayed.

    I'm a aint broke don't fix it guy.
  • EndillionEndillion Posts: 4,976

    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    @Pulpstar you're the same age as me! How come you've got your vac today? Luck? Pre-existing condition?

    Surgery sent me a message. No pre existing. Luck I guess :)
    Lucky devil!

    Pleased for you though.
    Remember last one to be vaxxed gets the pb drinks in :D
    I'm not feeling confident over that.
    Don't worry; we've definitely got a bunch of teenagers on here masquerading as adults.

    Although now the thought occurs that you might just be one of them, hence your lack of confidence...

    (not meant seriously, for the avoidance of any doubt :) )
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 59,984

    AnneJGP said:

    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    No it is not all what is going to be necessary (the electric car bit is) - and if it is necessary then it won't happen. Do you think the Chinese are going to choose not to fly just because we tell people they're killing pandas if they fly?

    The solution, the only solution that will work is clean technologies.

    Saying don't use power will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is some clean and affordable power, use this instead of coal" people will listen to.

    Saying don't fly will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is a newly designed clean and affordable plane, use this instead of jet fuel" people will listen to.

    Saying "don't eat meat" will not work. People won't listen to you. Full stop, I see no alternative to this one, the line is drawn here. Maybe find a way to offset against it because meat is happening.
    Artificial meat will be a mainstream, cheap product inside a decade.
    An interesting thought. Can artificial meat taste like roast rib of beef? Or will it taste more like a Quorn veggie sausage?
    There was one brand of veggie beef pie that tasted so much like the real thing I couldn't eat it.

    Good evening, everyone.
    I've tried some of this food and it's mainly diabolical.

    I had a "cauliflower steak" for dinner which is, let's face it, just a slice of cauliflower dressed up.

    I woke up starving at 3am and had a massive bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes with gold top milk and toast.
    Some of the newer plant products are very good in terms of taste. I'd question the texture in places but then a lot of real meat products seem unpleasantly slimy to me which might be why I largely stick to fish. When I last had a job, apparently the fake sausage rolls were more popular than the real ones.

    ETA cauliflower steak is just a fried slice of cauliflower so not the same thing.
    Monkfish curry is simply sublime.

    I'd love one of those actually, with a red wine (meaty fish so ok).
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,469
    rcs1000 said:

    The US seems to have reached peak demand. On present trends, we'll overtake their vaccination rate again soon.

    image

    Vaccines are available in pretty much any pharmacy now. In some US states (Alabama, etc) they seem to be at only about 30% of the adult population vaccinated, and the numbers getting jabbed are falling every day.

    While California, New York and other liberal areas are probably going to see vaccination rates of 65%+, you might well see endemic Covid problems in other parts of the country.
    Has any GOP politician come out as an anti-vaxxer ?
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 59,984
    rcs1000 said:

    I understand Greta Thunberg is calling herself a 'bunny hugger' after Boris's comments yesterday

    These activists just do not understand that to tackle climate change they need to reach the ordinary voter who supports climate change, but when you tell them they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers, then there is little chance of their support

    I commented this morning on this and thought Rachel Burden of 5 live was so on the ball with her comments


    'Rachel Burden was interviewing a 'green activist' who largely welcomed HMG involvement in the debate but criticised Boris 'bunny hugging' moment

    However, Rachel's response was that he was not talking to activists like her, but to those less interested in climate change and that he was making the point it was not about 'bunny huggers' but a real opportunity for investment and jobs for the future

    Rachel and Boris seem to understand the red wall voters, far more than the metropolitan elite and climate enthusiasts

    I think you misunderstand - many Green are New Puritans.

    To them a world where the ordinary people will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars (and remain very expensive), eat less meat and completely renovate their homes at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers - that is what they *want*
    Indeed, and the Conservatives will lose votes (including mine) if Alok Sharma and Kwasi Kwarteng start virtue-signalling about veganism.

    They simply don't understand - I will do virtually anything for climate change but ditching meat is simply not something I will ever be prepared to do and nor will millions of others.

    They need sustainable technological solutions to mixed and traditional forms of agriculture that people can get behind, or they'll be told to piss off.
    I think everyone is getting rather worked up about an off hand comment by Kwasi. A man who, at least historically, was no vegan.
    But, it sounds like that will change.

    It displays poor political judgement - even though he was set a bit of a trap by the media to fall into. I know he's a mate of yours so perhaps tell him that's gone down like a cup of cold sick with many core Conservatives.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 27,574
    kle4 said:

    Roger said:

    Poor old Boris. Shamed into paying for the refurbishment of Downing Street out of his own pocket and he's hardly likely to be there for long. He's going to have to write a hell of a lot of rubbish for the Borisgraph to get that back

    Have you seen what Theresa May makes for speeches? Money once he is out of office should not be difficult (I find it hard to believe he struggles for cash even in office, even with talk of profligcacy, divorces and the rest).
    Never mind Theresa May. David Cameron was in line for £60 million in share options for sending a few text messages.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 59,984
    Jonathan said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    @Pulpstar you're the same age as me! How come you've got your vac today? Luck? Pre-existing condition?

    Surgery sent me a message. No pre existing. Luck I guess :)
    Lucky devil!

    Pleased for you though.
    Remember last one to be vaxxed gets the pb drinks in :D
    As it happens I have had a needle in me today but that was for a general anaesthetic: I had a nasty impacted wisdom tooth removed that was playing on my facial nerves.

    Now praying I can suppress the pain with co-codamal and ibuprofen.
    Best of luck!
    Thanks mate
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 35,895
    Not sure this over yet for the evening.
    https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/1385648993808572416
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 56,879

    Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Does Kronke even know where the Emirates is?
  • RogerRoger Posts: 19,851
    edited April 2021

    Scott_xP said:

    I cannot believe anyone is getting excited about this Cummings intervention. It will have no impact on anything. Johnson has so lowered the bar in terms of probity, honesty and integrity that there is almost nothing he can do that is not priced in. The only way this will get any legs is if Tory MPs start to demand answers. Reader: they won't.

    If ditching BoZo is the best way to head off the landslide of sleaze engulfing the party, Sir Graham Brady might be a busy boy

    The Tories are too invested in Johnson now. And he is liked by their voting demographic. He is going nowhere on the back of this. His future is tied to the strength of the post-pandemic recovery, nothing else. Though perhaps sleaze will be the excuse to oust him if that does not go well.

    To be honest those now seeing Cummings as a threat to Boris is hope over expectation

    Cummings comprehensively trashed his own name in the public's perception
    Dear me! No one gives a shit about Cummings.....just what he's got to say and to quote Edward G 'He's singing like a canary'!
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,774
    Scott_xP said:

    Not sure this over yet for the evening.
    https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/1385648993808572416

    UK’s Berlusconi. They all know he’s dishonest and corrupt. But it suits them to back him for the time being. Until it doesn’t.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 22,701
    Have we had the analysis by the EMA that in all circumstances, and all levels of Covid in the wild, the AZ vaccine is a big benefit despite blood clots?

    Thread here:
    https://twitter.com/NaomiOhReally/status/1385595111925497856

    This is the vid of the EMA Presser. I love that it is set out like Kraftwerk for Vampires.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeEecXcOtAw


  • Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    @Pulpstar you're the same age as me! How come you've got your vac today? Luck? Pre-existing condition?

    Surgery sent me a message. No pre existing. Luck I guess :)
    Lucky devil!

    Pleased for you though.
    Remember last one to be vaxxed gets the pb drinks in :D
    As it happens I have had a needle in me today but that was for a general anaesthetic: I had a nasty impacted wisdom tooth removed that was playing on my facial nerves.

    Now praying I can suppress the pain with co-codamal and ibuprofen.
    Ouch. Feel for you, bro and hope you're feeling better soon!

    BUT aren't you a bit worried, now that your last remaining bit of wisdom has been extracted?
    Thanks. Just the one. The other three weren't causing me jip, so they've stayed.

    I'm a aint broke don't fix it guy.
    I feel for you having just recently had an extraction

    Important to keep an eye on it and if necessary go back to the dentist to check it out

    in my case it was not right after a few days and I decided to leave contacting the dentist until the Monday rather than going on the Friday only for the dentist to diagnose an infection and it required two courses of antibiotics and two further visits to resolve it

    Hopefully you will be fine in a couple of days but do not worry about bothering your dentist if you are unsure

    Best wishers
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 35,895
    IanB2 said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Not sure this over yet for the evening.
    https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/1385648993808572416

    UK’s Berlusconi. They all know he’s dishonest and corrupt. But it suits them to back him for the time being. Until it doesn’t.
    I wonder if Dom has the emails and texts to back up the claims in his blog...
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,534



    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    @Pulpstar you're the same age as me! How come you've got your vac today? Luck? Pre-existing condition?

    Surgery sent me a message. No pre existing. Luck I guess :)
    Lucky devil!

    Pleased for you though.
    Remember last one to be vaxxed gets the pb drinks in :D
    As it happens I have had a needle in me today but that was for a general anaesthetic: I had a nasty impacted wisdom tooth removed that was playing on my facial nerves.

    Now praying I can suppress the pain with co-codamal and ibuprofen.
    Ouch. Feel for you, bro and hope you're feeling better soon!

    BUT aren't you a bit worried, now that your last remaining bit of wisdom has been extracted?
    Thanks. Just the one. The other three weren't causing me jip, so they've stayed.

    I'm a aint broke don't fix it guy.
    So you've still got some wisdom in you? The tooth butchers yanked out all of mine years ago!
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,578

    kle4 said:

    kle4 said:

    I understand Greta Thunberg is calling herself a 'bunny hugger' after Boris's comments yesterday

    These activists just do not understand that to tackle climate change they need to reach the ordinary voter who supports climate change, but when you tell them they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers, then there is little chance of their support

    I commented this morning on this and thought Rachel Burden of 5 live was so on the ball with her comments


    'Rachel Burden was interviewing a 'green activist' who largely welcomed HMG involvement in the debate but criticised Boris 'bunny hugging' moment

    However, Rachel's response was that he was not talking to activists like her, but to those less interested in climate change and that he was making the point it was not about 'bunny huggers' but a real opportunity for investment and jobs for the future

    Rachel and Boris seem to understand the red wall voters, far more than the metropolitan elite and climate enthusiasts

    Not just red wall voters. The UK cutting its emissions alone isn't going to go very far, you need to carry the Americans, Chinese, Indians etc with you too.

    If you want to carry the voters of Detroit with you, you're going to go further talking about investment and jobs than you are bunnies.

    The bunny huggers are already onside. The likes of Greta and David Attenborough don't need to be convinced that we need to take action. Its the others you're supposed to be convincing.

    I think there's a reason someone so immature and silly as Greta is the one who takes umbrage at it, rather than someone as mature and sensible as David Attenborough.
    Greta is also wrong on many issues. She upbraids Governments, including ours, for doing "nothing" when in fact they're doing an awful lot.
    You need people to push issues hard, it really does help to make things happen. Fair enough if you want to argue, even if implausibly on occasion, that not enough has happened. But at a certain point denying that things are happening at all when they are can be counter productive. Why would many ordinary people, who are concerned about climate issues, do or support proposals if the past actions apparently didn't mean anything?
    The trouble is that the Climate Change Act (80% reduction by 2050) was passed in 2008, well before Greta came on the scene, and the net zero law in June 2019, which was only 10 months after she first appeared on the scene. And work for it was well underway even before then.

    I think it's an innocent pure Joan of Arc figurehead sort of thing going on: she appeals to those who are already pretty radical about it.
    It's also true that even immediate actions can take a bit of time to show effect, so people may be wanting a more instant effect from their passionate campaigning.

    On Greta, see seems articulate enough to me and for whatever reason has struck a chord with plenty of people, but I also think that people in general have a fascination with youthful preaching/advocacy. Child campaigners (and yes she is an adult now but has been about for a few years), for better and worse, can get a lot of attention simply as a spectacle in addition to any actual merited worth.
    The question is whether she wins over any of the unconverted/ fencesitters.

    I don't think she does.
    I would love to see her criticize the Chinese with as much vehemence as she criticizes the Americans.
  • sladeslade Posts: 2,023
    Pagan2 said:

    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    No it is not all what is going to be necessary (the electric car bit is) - and if it is necessary then it won't happen. Do you think the Chinese are going to choose not to fly just because we tell people they're killing pandas if they fly?

    The solution, the only solution that will work is clean technologies.

    Saying don't use power will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is some clean and affordable power, use this instead of coal" people will listen to.

    Saying don't fly will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is a newly designed clean and affordable plane, use this instead of jet fuel" people will listen to.

    Saying "don't eat meat" will not work. People won't listen to you. Full stop, I see no alternative to this one, the line is drawn here. Maybe find a way to offset against it because meat is happening.
    Artificial meat will be a mainstream, cheap product inside a decade.
    Will believe it when I see it frankly. Meat is not just about taste but texture as well. From all reports I have seen from people that have tried what is currently there it fails at both
    The menu in the pub where I had lunch today had vegan meat balls. My friend and I agreed this was virtually a fraud on the customers.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,469

    kle4 said:

    Roger said:

    Poor old Boris. Shamed into paying for the refurbishment of Downing Street out of his own pocket and he's hardly likely to be there for long. He's going to have to write a hell of a lot of rubbish for the Borisgraph to get that back

    Have you seen what Theresa May makes for speeches? Money once he is out of office should not be difficult (I find it hard to believe he struggles for cash even in office, even with talk of profligcacy, divorces and the rest).
    Never mind Theresa May. David Cameron was in line for £60 million in share options for sending a few text messages.
    And it involved the NHS so seen as the equivalent of robbing the local church of its valuables.

    Whereas giving some bloke a few quid to do some wallpapering is the sort of thing tens of millions of people have done.
  • Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905
    tlg86 said:
    See also various incidents throughout the last year.

    A viral plague, and the associated tedious rules that everyone else is made to follow, mean nothing compared to a demo about whatever the moment's cause celebre happens to be.

    But especially bloody football.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,469
    Weren't people excitedly pasting tweets that it had all fallen apart because of some 'insult' ?

    The UK is on track to sign a free trade deal with Australia in June after “major breakthroughs” in this week’s negotiations, international trade secretary Liz Truss has said this afternoon.

    She added that the remainder of the details would be sorted out in a “sprint” over the next few weeks.


    https://www.cityam.com/uk-on-track-for-australia-trade-deal-in-june-after-major-breakthroughs/
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,314

    tlg86 said:
    See also various incidents throughout the last year.

    A viral plague, and the associated tedious rules that everyone else is made to follow, mean nothing compared to a demo about whatever the moment's cause celebre happens to be.

    But especially bloody football.
    Of course, didn’t you know that the nasty virus that’s going round can’t be spread between people who are protesting.
  • Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905

    kle4 said:

    kle4 said:

    I understand Greta Thunberg is calling herself a 'bunny hugger' after Boris's comments yesterday

    These activists just do not understand that to tackle climate change they need to reach the ordinary voter who supports climate change, but when you tell them they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers, then there is little chance of their support

    I commented this morning on this and thought Rachel Burden of 5 live was so on the ball with her comments


    'Rachel Burden was interviewing a 'green activist' who largely welcomed HMG involvement in the debate but criticised Boris 'bunny hugging' moment

    However, Rachel's response was that he was not talking to activists like her, but to those less interested in climate change and that he was making the point it was not about 'bunny huggers' but a real opportunity for investment and jobs for the future

    Rachel and Boris seem to understand the red wall voters, far more than the metropolitan elite and climate enthusiasts

    Not just red wall voters. The UK cutting its emissions alone isn't going to go very far, you need to carry the Americans, Chinese, Indians etc with you too.

    If you want to carry the voters of Detroit with you, you're going to go further talking about investment and jobs than you are bunnies.

    The bunny huggers are already onside. The likes of Greta and David Attenborough don't need to be convinced that we need to take action. Its the others you're supposed to be convincing.

    I think there's a reason someone so immature and silly as Greta is the one who takes umbrage at it, rather than someone as mature and sensible as David Attenborough.
    Greta is also wrong on many issues. She upbraids Governments, including ours, for doing "nothing" when in fact they're doing an awful lot.
    You need people to push issues hard, it really does help to make things happen. Fair enough if you want to argue, even if implausibly on occasion, that not enough has happened. But at a certain point denying that things are happening at all when they are can be counter productive. Why would many ordinary people, who are concerned about climate issues, do or support proposals if the past actions apparently didn't mean anything?
    The trouble is that the Climate Change Act (80% reduction by 2050) was passed in 2008, well before Greta came on the scene, and the net zero law in June 2019, which was only 10 months after she first appeared on the scene. And work for it was well underway even before then.

    I think it's an innocent pure Joan of Arc figurehead sort of thing going on: she appeals to those who are already pretty radical about it.
    It's also true that even immediate actions can take a bit of time to show effect, so people may be wanting a more instant effect from their passionate campaigning.

    On Greta, see seems articulate enough to me and for whatever reason has struck a chord with plenty of people, but I also think that people in general have a fascination with youthful preaching/advocacy. Child campaigners (and yes she is an adult now but has been about for a few years), for better and worse, can get a lot of attention simply as a spectacle in addition to any actual merited worth.
    The question is whether she wins over any of the unconverted/ fencesitters.

    I don't think she does.
    I would love to see her criticize the Chinese with as much vehemence as she criticizes the Americans.
    The key flaw in the environmental movement is that most of them are watermelons. So they can only critique the West, because complaining about whatever shit Xi Jinping is getting up to, or Brazilians, Congolese and Indonesians hacking down their rainforest, is racist/colonialist/imperialist (and anyway it's all really the fault of Western consumerism anyway.) It's consequently impossible for the developed world to do enough, and not incumbent upon anybody else to do anything at all.

    Besides which, many American voters engage positively with Green messages. Chinese subjects aren't allowed to engage with anything not approved of by the CCP, and the CCP would tell Western Greens to fuck off.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 22,701
    rcs1000 said:

    The US seems to have reached peak demand. On present trends, we'll overtake their vaccination rate again soon.

    image

    Vaccines are available in pretty much any pharmacy now. In some US states (Alabama, etc) they seem to be at only about 30% of the adult population vaccinated, and the numbers getting jabbed are falling every day.

    While California, New York and other liberal areas are probably going to see vaccination rates of 65%+, you might well see endemic Covid problems in other parts of the country.
    So why is Jo Biden still sitting on his vaccine stockpile - especially the non-approved Az/J&J - like a broody old chuck?

    I understand that even the legal impediments are fairly trivial.
  • sladeslade Posts: 2,023
    Covid variation on an old joke. Jesus asked God where he had been for the last few months.' All over Yorkshire' said God. 'But what about the pandemic and the lockdown' said Jesus.' Working from home, son, working from home.'
  • Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905

    Weren't people excitedly pasting tweets that it had all fallen apart because of some 'insult' ?

    The UK is on track to sign a free trade deal with Australia in June after “major breakthroughs” in this week’s negotiations, international trade secretary Liz Truss has said this afternoon.

    She added that the remainder of the details would be sorted out in a “sprint” over the next few weeks.


    https://www.cityam.com/uk-on-track-for-australia-trade-deal-in-june-after-major-breakthroughs/

    And thus the narrative moves swiftly on from "Ha! Aren't they hopeless, can't even talk to Australia without insulting them?!" to "Why are they bothering with puny, pathetic Australia, when all that matters is the EU?" Or something.
  • rpjsrpjs Posts: 3,787
    rcs1000 said:

    AnneJGP said:

    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    No it is not all what is going to be necessary (the electric car bit is) - and if it is necessary then it won't happen. Do you think the Chinese are going to choose not to fly just because we tell people they're killing pandas if they fly?

    The solution, the only solution that will work is clean technologies.

    Saying don't use power will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is some clean and affordable power, use this instead of coal" people will listen to.

    Saying don't fly will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is a newly designed clean and affordable plane, use this instead of jet fuel" people will listen to.

    Saying "don't eat meat" will not work. People won't listen to you. Full stop, I see no alternative to this one, the line is drawn here. Maybe find a way to offset against it because meat is happening.
    Artificial meat will be a mainstream, cheap product inside a decade.
    An interesting thought. Can artificial meat taste like roast rib of beef? Or will it taste more like a Quorn veggie sausage?
    There was one brand of veggie beef pie that tasted so much like the real thing I couldn't eat it.

    Good evening, everyone.
    I've tried some of this food and it's mainly diabolical.

    I had a "cauliflower steak" for dinner which is, let's face it, just a slice of cauliflower dressed up.

    I woke up starving at 3am and had a massive bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes with gold top milk and toast.
    Impossible and Beyond are really rather good. Indeed, I'd rather use Impossible than cheap meat, although that's probably because cheap US meat is really not that nice at all.
    Agreed. I'd happily have either as a regular alternative to real meat. Are they available in the UK yet?
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 56,879
    IshmaelZ said:

    rcs1000 said:

    MattW said:

    Quincel said:

    FFS...

    Six Extinction Rebellion protesters have been cleared of causing criminal damage, despite jurors being told by the judge there was no defence in law.

    With the exception of Mr Saunders - who claimed he honestly believed Shell's employees and shareholders would have consented to the damage he caused

    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-56853979

    The take away, smashing up a building isn't a criminal offense if you claim you were doing so to save the planet.

    I think this is a rubbish decision by the jury, but on a point of principle I do think jury nullification is an option that they need to have as a backstop for more deserving cases.

    It's also undeniably a bit amusing that one defendant already pled guilty and then watched his comrades get away with it despite having no defence at all.
    Can the Judge not simply direct the Jury here?
    No.

    Juries can acquit on whatever basis they like.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushel's_Case
    Wow. That's a great case.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,136
    edited April 2021
    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    I don't think any of those things will happen. We'll find a better way to be able to do things, just as we have before. We need to be optimistic about the future like we were in the 60s to the 90s, not always implying that people are idiots, especially ordinary people in western countries.
  • Andy_JS said:

    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    I don't think any of those things will happen. We'll find a better way to be able to do those things, just as we have before.
    You are probably right, but the policy direction is most certainly the former. We are been dragged down by doom goblins and watermelons who seemed to have captured the prime minister.
  • Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 3,851

    Weren't people excitedly pasting tweets that it had all fallen apart because of some 'insult' ?

    The UK is on track to sign a free trade deal with Australia in June after “major breakthroughs” in this week’s negotiations, international trade secretary Liz Truss has said this afternoon.

    She added that the remainder of the details would be sorted out in a “sprint” over the next few weeks.


    https://www.cityam.com/uk-on-track-for-australia-trade-deal-in-june-after-major-breakthroughs/

    And thus the narrative moves swiftly on from "Ha! Aren't they hopeless, can't even talk to Australia without insulting them?!" to "Why are they bothering with puny, pathetic Australia, when all that matters is the EU?" Or something.
    Still seems like "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic to me". It's no surprise all the Boris Fanboys jumping on the like button.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 56,879
    rpjs said:

    rcs1000 said:

    AnneJGP said:

    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    No it is not all what is going to be necessary (the electric car bit is) - and if it is necessary then it won't happen. Do you think the Chinese are going to choose not to fly just because we tell people they're killing pandas if they fly?

    The solution, the only solution that will work is clean technologies.

    Saying don't use power will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is some clean and affordable power, use this instead of coal" people will listen to.

    Saying don't fly will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is a newly designed clean and affordable plane, use this instead of jet fuel" people will listen to.

    Saying "don't eat meat" will not work. People won't listen to you. Full stop, I see no alternative to this one, the line is drawn here. Maybe find a way to offset against it because meat is happening.
    Artificial meat will be a mainstream, cheap product inside a decade.
    An interesting thought. Can artificial meat taste like roast rib of beef? Or will it taste more like a Quorn veggie sausage?
    There was one brand of veggie beef pie that tasted so much like the real thing I couldn't eat it.

    Good evening, everyone.
    I've tried some of this food and it's mainly diabolical.

    I had a "cauliflower steak" for dinner which is, let's face it, just a slice of cauliflower dressed up.

    I woke up starving at 3am and had a massive bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes with gold top milk and toast.
    Impossible and Beyond are really rather good. Indeed, I'd rather use Impossible than cheap meat, although that's probably because cheap US meat is really not that nice at all.
    Agreed. I'd happily have either as a regular alternative to real meat. Are they available in the UK yet?
    I don't know, but they really are a revelation. I mean, they don't replace a steak, but if I'm just adding protein that's going to be drowned out by other flavours (see Bolognase), then I might as well use Beyond or Impossible.

    My wife is a big fan of the Beyond sausages, and jokes that they contain as much meat than the average hot dog.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,456

    Weren't people excitedly pasting tweets that it had all fallen apart because of some 'insult' ?

    The UK is on track to sign a free trade deal with Australia in June after “major breakthroughs” in this week’s negotiations, international trade secretary Liz Truss has said this afternoon.

    She added that the remainder of the details would be sorted out in a “sprint” over the next few weeks.


    https://www.cityam.com/uk-on-track-for-australia-trade-deal-in-june-after-major-breakthroughs/

    And thus the narrative moves swiftly on from "Ha! Aren't they hopeless, can't even talk to Australia without insulting them?!" to "Why are they bothering with puny, pathetic Australia, when all that matters is the EU?" Or something.
    Still seems like "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic to me". It's no surprise all the Boris Fanboys jumping on the like button.
    More like rearranging the deck chairs on a Carnival Cruise line.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,420
    edited April 2021

    Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Some have short memories....I remember Man City in League One....At that time, the closest they had to getting Pep even visit the training ground would be some 2-bit impersonator off the internet.
  • AnneJGPAnneJGP Posts: 3,055

    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    @Pulpstar you're the same age as me! How come you've got your vac today? Luck? Pre-existing condition?

    Surgery sent me a message. No pre existing. Luck I guess :)
    Lucky devil!

    Pleased for you though.
    Remember last one to be vaxxed gets the pb drinks in :D
    As it happens I have had a needle in me today but that was for a general anaesthetic: I had a nasty impacted wisdom tooth removed that was playing on my facial nerves.

    Now praying I can suppress the pain with co-codamal and ibuprofen.
    I wish you well.

    One of my wisdom teeth came through deformed. Gave me no trouble for many years but then started playing up. Made an appointment to have it removed, and then developed an abscess on my back.

    On the day of the removal, Pain from the abscess caused me to fall out of bed, which caused the abscess to burst. Had to go to the local minor injuries unit to have it looked at/dressed. Nurse there said it needed attention from A&E and phoned ahead for me, spoketothe relevant surgeon. So then I had to get a taxi so as not to be late for the wisdom tooth extraction, after which I had to get train & taxi to get to A&E. Then I had to get back to the hospital the next morning (early) for an OP under GA. Was done quite early & had to wait the rest of the day before they could make arrangements for an overnight sitter for me. Finally they got me into a taxi for the journey home, then the taxi driver freaked out about taking an unaccompanied patient all that way. She had to get another driver to come to the hospital & take over.

    Got home about 8pm to find the sitter had been & gone.

    It was quite a saga.
  • Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Short memories....I remember Man City in League One....
    Arsenals ground this time
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,456
    MattW said:

    rcs1000 said:

    The US seems to have reached peak demand. On present trends, we'll overtake their vaccination rate again soon.

    image

    Vaccines are available in pretty much any pharmacy now. In some US states (Alabama, etc) they seem to be at only about 30% of the adult population vaccinated, and the numbers getting jabbed are falling every day.

    While California, New York and other liberal areas are probably going to see vaccination rates of 65%+, you might well see endemic Covid problems in other parts of the country.
    So why is Jo Biden still sitting on his vaccine stockpile - especially the non-approved Az/J&J - like a broody old chuck?

    I understand that even the legal impediments are fairly trivial.
    Both VA and MD are progressing quickly. I think VA is at 50% already
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,456
    TimT said:

    MattW said:

    rcs1000 said:

    The US seems to have reached peak demand. On present trends, we'll overtake their vaccination rate again soon.

    image

    Vaccines are available in pretty much any pharmacy now. In some US states (Alabama, etc) they seem to be at only about 30% of the adult population vaccinated, and the numbers getting jabbed are falling every day.

    While California, New York and other liberal areas are probably going to see vaccination rates of 65%+, you might well see endemic Covid problems in other parts of the country.
    So why is Jo Biden still sitting on his vaccine stockpile - especially the non-approved Az/J&J - like a broody old chuck?

    I understand that even the legal impediments are fairly trivial.
    Both VA and MD are progressing quickly. I think VA is at 50% already
    And MD is at 80% seniors and 50% all adults
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,420
    edited April 2021

    Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Short memories....I remember Man City in League One....
    Arsenals ground this time
    Doh, I read that as Etihad for some reason.

    Arsenal fans at least have some reason to be disgruntled given how they have fallen from the heights of the invincibles.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,469
    rcs1000 said:

    rpjs said:

    rcs1000 said:

    AnneJGP said:

    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    No it is not all what is going to be necessary (the electric car bit is) - and if it is necessary then it won't happen. Do you think the Chinese are going to choose not to fly just because we tell people they're killing pandas if they fly?

    The solution, the only solution that will work is clean technologies.

    Saying don't use power will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is some clean and affordable power, use this instead of coal" people will listen to.

    Saying don't fly will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is a newly designed clean and affordable plane, use this instead of jet fuel" people will listen to.

    Saying "don't eat meat" will not work. People won't listen to you. Full stop, I see no alternative to this one, the line is drawn here. Maybe find a way to offset against it because meat is happening.
    Artificial meat will be a mainstream, cheap product inside a decade.
    An interesting thought. Can artificial meat taste like roast rib of beef? Or will it taste more like a Quorn veggie sausage?
    There was one brand of veggie beef pie that tasted so much like the real thing I couldn't eat it.

    Good evening, everyone.
    I've tried some of this food and it's mainly diabolical.

    I had a "cauliflower steak" for dinner which is, let's face it, just a slice of cauliflower dressed up.

    I woke up starving at 3am and had a massive bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes with gold top milk and toast.
    Impossible and Beyond are really rather good. Indeed, I'd rather use Impossible than cheap meat, although that's probably because cheap US meat is really not that nice at all.
    Agreed. I'd happily have either as a regular alternative to real meat. Are they available in the UK yet?
    I don't know, but they really are a revelation. I mean, they don't replace a steak, but if I'm just adding protein that's going to be drowned out by other flavours (see Bolognase), then I might as well use Beyond or Impossible.

    My wife is a big fan of the Beyond sausages, and jokes that they contain as much meat than the average hot dog.
    Why not have a tin of chickpeas if you don't want meat ?
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 27,574
    Scott_xP said:

    Not sure this over yet for the evening.
    https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/1385648993808572416

    That thread points us, via The Independent, to last Wednesday's PMQs.

    Ian Blackford, SNP:
    This morning’s revelations surrounding the Prime Minister’s interference in covid contracts are incredibly serious. Whether it is cash for questions in the ’90s or texts for contracts during this pandemic, people know that this is the same old story; this is how the Tories do government. The Prime Minister is at the very heart of this scandal. Will he reveal today how many more covid contracts he personally fixed? If he has nothing to hide, will he publish all personal exchanges on these contracts before the end of the day?

    The Prime Minister
    Of course, there is absolutely nothing to conceal about this. I am happy to share all the details with the House, as indeed I have shared them with my officials, immediately.


    https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-04-21/debates/B745435E-4F01-4C57-9980-70DB78E43CD3/Engagements
  • Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Short memories....I remember Man City in League One....
    Arsenals ground this time
    Doh, I read that as Etihad for some reason.
    Understandable, I should have been clearer
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,774
    CNN) The Justice Department has charged a Capitol rioter who was turned in by someone he matched with on the dating app Bumble, after he bragged about his exploits on January 6.

    According to court documents, one week after the attack, Robert Chapman of New York told one of his Bumble matches that "I did storm the Capitol" and said that he "made it all the way into Statuary Hall." He also claimed that he was interviewed by members of the media.

    The other Bumble user replied, "we are not a match."
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,420
    edited April 2021

    Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Short memories....I remember Man City in League One....
    Arsenals ground this time
    Doh, I read that as Etihad for some reason.
    Understandable, I should have been clearer
    Do they want Usmanov back as owner? All those dead keen for German style 50+1 ownership, worth reposting again...

    How the Bundesliga Became a One-Team League

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB9cpKlBVKQ

    Forget WBA beating Chelsea, Leeds beating Man City, Leicester winning the EPL....most EPL teams, your never even keeping your stars players for more than a season or two. There is no dream....
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,774
    CNN: President Joe Biden will embark upon his first foreign trip in June, the White House said on Friday, with plans to attend the Group of 7 summit in southwestern England and diplomatic meetings in Brussels
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,774
    Dominic Cummings has launched an unprecedented and extraordinary attack on Boris Johnson, alleging that the prime minister tried to quash a leak inquiry as it implicated an ally, and hatched a “possibly illegal” plan for donors to pay to renovate his flat.

    The outburst by Cummings, a day after anonymous No 10 sources claimed that he had leaked private text messages between Johnson and the billionaire James Dyson, prompted Labour to accuse the government of “fighting each other like rats in a sack”.

    Cummings used a lengthy post on his personal blog to deny any leaking. Instead, he accused Johnson and his team of a series of wrongdoings. He said the prime minister had behaved in a way he considered “mad and totally unethical”, and warned that he would happily give evidence under oath to an inquiry.

    “It is sad to see the PM and his office fall so far below the standards of competence and integrity the country deserves,” he wrote.

    Such a damning intervention by the man who was Johnson’s key ally and ideological inspiration will deeply alarm the prime minister and his aides. Cummings is due to give evidence to MPs next month.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,123

    Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Short memories....I remember Man City in League One....
    Arsenals ground this time
    Doh, I read that as Etihad for some reason.
    Understandable, I should have been clearer
    Do they want Usmanov back as owner? All those dead keen for German style 50+1 ownership, worth reposting again...

    How the Bundesliga Became a One-Team League

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB9cpKlBVKQ
    There is a danger of that, but I’d take the risk on 50+1 if it meant the Americans lost their shirts.

    Uzmanov never owned much and certainly never had control (much to the disappointment of some fans).
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,340

    Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Short memories....I remember Man City in League One....
    Arsenals ground this time
    Doh, I read that as Etihad for some reason.
    Understandable, I should have been clearer
    Do they want Usmanov back as owner? All those dead keen for German style 50+1 ownership, worth reposting again...

    How the Bundesliga Became a One-Team League

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB9cpKlBVKQ
    I am beginning to fear that the wheeze of having crowds for the final 2 games may prove to be ill judged.
    There is the prospect of serious disorder.
    Meanwhile. Ancelloti "We would like these fans inside the stadium."
    I'm sure he would.
  • Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905

    Weren't people excitedly pasting tweets that it had all fallen apart because of some 'insult' ?

    The UK is on track to sign a free trade deal with Australia in June after “major breakthroughs” in this week’s negotiations, international trade secretary Liz Truss has said this afternoon.

    She added that the remainder of the details would be sorted out in a “sprint” over the next few weeks.


    https://www.cityam.com/uk-on-track-for-australia-trade-deal-in-june-after-major-breakthroughs/

    And thus the narrative moves swiftly on from "Ha! Aren't they hopeless, can't even talk to Australia without insulting them?!" to "Why are they bothering with puny, pathetic Australia, when all that matters is the EU?" Or something.
    Still seems like "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic to me". It's no surprise all the Boris Fanboys jumping on the like button.
    One's not a substitute for the other, but (a) it's also considerably more than nothing, and (b) these arrangements will build in value over time.

    Besides which, (c) Europe accounts for an ever-decreasing share of world economic activity, and it may very well turn out that the British Government has more to gain in the long run from functioning as an independent actor when dealing with everyone else than it does from being a peripheral member of a protectionist bloc. We shall find out in the fullness of time.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 22,701
    edited April 2021
    tlg86 said:

    Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Short memories....I remember Man City in League One....
    Arsenals ground this time
    Doh, I read that as Etihad for some reason.
    Understandable, I should have been clearer
    Do they want Usmanov back as owner? All those dead keen for German style 50+1 ownership, worth reposting again...

    How the Bundesliga Became a One-Team League

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB9cpKlBVKQ
    There is a danger of that, but I’d take the risk on 50+1 if it meant the Americans lost their shirts.

    Uzmanov never owned much and certainly never had control (much to the disappointment of some fans).
    But he did close down Boris's website iirc (?)
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,456
    edited April 2021
    rcs1000 said:

    rpjs said:

    rcs1000 said:

    AnneJGP said:

    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    No it is not all what is going to be necessary (the electric car bit is) - and if it is necessary then it won't happen. Do you think the Chinese are going to choose not to fly just because we tell people they're killing pandas if they fly?

    The solution, the only solution that will work is clean technologies.

    Saying don't use power will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is some clean and affordable power, use this instead of coal" people will listen to.

    Saying don't fly will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is a newly designed clean and affordable plane, use this instead of jet fuel" people will listen to.

    Saying "don't eat meat" will not work. People won't listen to you. Full stop, I see no alternative to this one, the line is drawn here. Maybe find a way to offset against it because meat is happening.
    Artificial meat will be a mainstream, cheap product inside a decade.
    An interesting thought. Can artificial meat taste like roast rib of beef? Or will it taste more like a Quorn veggie sausage?
    There was one brand of veggie beef pie that tasted so much like the real thing I couldn't eat it.

    Good evening, everyone.
    I've tried some of this food and it's mainly diabolical.

    I had a "cauliflower steak" for dinner which is, let's face it, just a slice of cauliflower dressed up.

    I woke up starving at 3am and had a massive bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes with gold top milk and toast.
    Impossible and Beyond are really rather good. Indeed, I'd rather use Impossible than cheap meat, although that's probably because cheap US meat is really not that nice at all.
    Agreed. I'd happily have either as a regular alternative to real meat. Are they available in the UK yet?
    I don't know, but they really are a revelation. I mean, they don't replace a steak, but if I'm just adding protein that's going to be drowned out by other flavours (see Bolognase), then I might as well use Beyond or Impossible.

    My wife is a big fan of the Beyond sausages, and jokes that they contain as much meat than the average hot dog.
    You've convinced me to try Impossible or Beyond in pasta. Have you tried them as burgers on a grill?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,420
    edited April 2021
    tlg86 said:

    Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Short memories....I remember Man City in League One....
    Arsenals ground this time
    Doh, I read that as Etihad for some reason.
    Understandable, I should have been clearer
    Do they want Usmanov back as owner? All those dead keen for German style 50+1 ownership, worth reposting again...

    How the Bundesliga Became a One-Team League

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB9cpKlBVKQ
    There is a danger of that, but I’d take the risk on 50+1 if it meant the Americans lost their shirts.

    Uzmanov never owned much and certainly never had control (much to the disappointment of some fans).
    More than a danger, it will be the reality. 2-3 clubs, basically Man Utd and Liverpool, have the worldwide commercial star power to manage to afford to continue with their ways, the rest, your fighting for scraps. But remember, it will also mean more begging and time in China, as they will need their vast reddies.

    Going to be a bit tricky for all those moral crusader fans when they are told you can only keep the star player if we do a load more business with the Chinese in order to earn the millions required to keep him.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 56,879
    MattW said:

    rcs1000 said:

    The US seems to have reached peak demand. On present trends, we'll overtake their vaccination rate again soon.

    image

    Vaccines are available in pretty much any pharmacy now. In some US states (Alabama, etc) they seem to be at only about 30% of the adult population vaccinated, and the numbers getting jabbed are falling every day.

    While California, New York and other liberal areas are probably going to see vaccination rates of 65%+, you might well see endemic Covid problems in other parts of the country.
    So why is Jo Biden still sitting on his vaccine stockpile - especially the non-approved Az/J&J - like a broody old chuck?

    I understand that even the legal impediments are fairly trivial.
    Well, that's a complicated question. Part of it is the Emergent Biosciences plant (with 150 MILLION unused doses) is simply not certified. And part is an overabundance of caution.
  • ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 5,331
    IanB2 said:

    Dominic Cummings has launched an unprecedented and extraordinary attack on Boris Johnson, alleging that the prime minister tried to quash a leak inquiry as it implicated an ally, and hatched a “possibly illegal” plan for donors to pay to renovate his flat.

    The outburst by Cummings, a day after anonymous No 10 sources claimed that he had leaked private text messages between Johnson and the billionaire James Dyson, prompted Labour to accuse the government of “fighting each other like rats in a sack”.

    Cummings used a lengthy post on his personal blog to deny any leaking. Instead, he accused Johnson and his team of a series of wrongdoings. He said the prime minister had behaved in a way he considered “mad and totally unethical”, and warned that he would happily give evidence under oath to an inquiry.

    “It is sad to see the PM and his office fall so far below the standards of competence and integrity the country deserves,” he wrote.

    Such a damning intervention by the man who was Johnson’s key ally and ideological inspiration will deeply alarm the prime minister and his aides. Cummings is due to give evidence to MPs next month.

    This one’s for the PM:

    https://youtu.be/OYqllpnyWrY
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 56,879
    TimT said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rpjs said:

    rcs1000 said:

    AnneJGP said:

    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    No it is not all what is going to be necessary (the electric car bit is) - and if it is necessary then it won't happen. Do you think the Chinese are going to choose not to fly just because we tell people they're killing pandas if they fly?

    The solution, the only solution that will work is clean technologies.

    Saying don't use power will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is some clean and affordable power, use this instead of coal" people will listen to.

    Saying don't fly will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is a newly designed clean and affordable plane, use this instead of jet fuel" people will listen to.

    Saying "don't eat meat" will not work. People won't listen to you. Full stop, I see no alternative to this one, the line is drawn here. Maybe find a way to offset against it because meat is happening.
    Artificial meat will be a mainstream, cheap product inside a decade.
    An interesting thought. Can artificial meat taste like roast rib of beef? Or will it taste more like a Quorn veggie sausage?
    There was one brand of veggie beef pie that tasted so much like the real thing I couldn't eat it.

    Good evening, everyone.
    I've tried some of this food and it's mainly diabolical.

    I had a "cauliflower steak" for dinner which is, let's face it, just a slice of cauliflower dressed up.

    I woke up starving at 3am and had a massive bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes with gold top milk and toast.
    Impossible and Beyond are really rather good. Indeed, I'd rather use Impossible than cheap meat, although that's probably because cheap US meat is really not that nice at all.
    Agreed. I'd happily have either as a regular alternative to real meat. Are they available in the UK yet?
    I don't know, but they really are a revelation. I mean, they don't replace a steak, but if I'm just adding protein that's going to be drowned out by other flavours (see Bolognase), then I might as well use Beyond or Impossible.

    My wife is a big fan of the Beyond sausages, and jokes that they contain as much meat than the average hot dog.
    You've convinced me to try Impossible or Beyond in pasta. Have you tried them as burgers on a grill?
    Yes. And they're not good enough.
  • theProletheProle Posts: 1,178
    edited April 2021
    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    Is it worth it? It seems to be presumed that 2deg C of warming is such a potential catastrophe that its worth any amount of sacrifice to avoid it. This is a dubious assumption on two grounds:

    1) Other than loudly bleating about the "scientific consensus" being that warming is bad, and periodically blaming any bad weather of any kind on global warming (usually just as unsupported assertion) no one seems to want to talk about what a given degree of warning might mean. It would be logical to expect both winners and losers from the process to start with, but no one seems to want to talk about any potential gains, only losses, and only then in the most nebulous of terms.

    2) Even if the answer to "1)" is indeed warning is very bad, it doesn't mean that preventing it is of infinite utility, or even necessarily greater utility than the things which cause the warning. Owning a house is of great utility to me, but that doesn't mean it would be wise to auction off my underwear and put the cash towards a house - partly because the value raised would be meaningless against a house, and mainly because I'd find having cold nuts/and or being arrested for public indecency a far bigger deal than not owning a house.

    In a global context, the west has done its bit on emissions, and then some. We're howling at the moon if we think that the Chinese care about our latest efforts to vitue signal our way to the stone age, or have any serious intention to reduce emissions any more than is convenient for them anyway.

    We're just offering them another chance to take advantage of our willingness to trash our Western lives (particularly for the poor) so our leaders can strutt about and preen themselves to each other, before jetting off to the next global summit on poverty.

    Any serious attempt to implement Boris's new target will result in a drop in living standards for working people of a size never seen before. What I can't understand is why the left is just nodding along to this - they should be screaming about the injustices that will result, where only the wealthy can fly abroad, where only the wealthy can drive long distances, where only the wealthy can heat their homes, or eat steak - because that is the reality of the future we're signed up thanks to successive governments of several hues.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,599

    Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Short memories....I remember Man City in League One....
    Arsenals ground this time
    Doh, I read that as Etihad for some reason.
    Understandable, I should have been clearer
    Do they want Usmanov back as owner? All those dead keen for German style 50+1 ownership, worth reposting again...

    How the Bundesliga Became a One-Team League

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB9cpKlBVKQ

    Forget WBA beating Chelsea, Leeds beating Man City, Leicester winning the EPL....most EPL teams, your never even keeping your stars players for more than a season or two. There is no dream....
    That is more to do with the distribution of shared TV and commercial revenues.

    In Germany the bottom club receives about 40% of the top club and then gets relegated to a league with far lower revenue.
    In England the bottom club receives about 60% of the top club, and then gets significant parachute payments.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,420
    edited April 2021

    Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Short memories....I remember Man City in League One....
    Arsenals ground this time
    Doh, I read that as Etihad for some reason.
    Understandable, I should have been clearer
    Do they want Usmanov back as owner? All those dead keen for German style 50+1 ownership, worth reposting again...

    How the Bundesliga Became a One-Team League

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB9cpKlBVKQ

    Forget WBA beating Chelsea, Leeds beating Man City, Leicester winning the EPL....most EPL teams, your never even keeping your stars players for more than a season or two. There is no dream....
    That is more to do with the distribution of shared TV and commercial revenues.

    In Germany the bottom club receives about 40% of the top club and then gets relegated to a league with far lower revenue.
    In England the bottom club receives about 60% of the top club, and then gets significant parachute payments.
    Chicken and egg.....EPL is big bucks around the world, because it is such a competitive and exciting league, so can afford to share that massive pie. The tv deals for the foreign coverage is now basically as big as the Sky deal.

    Millions aren't getting up at all hours to watch every Bundersliga games.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,123

    tlg86 said:

    Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Short memories....I remember Man City in League One....
    Arsenals ground this time
    Doh, I read that as Etihad for some reason.
    Understandable, I should have been clearer
    Do they want Usmanov back as owner? All those dead keen for German style 50+1 ownership, worth reposting again...

    How the Bundesliga Became a One-Team League

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB9cpKlBVKQ
    There is a danger of that, but I’d take the risk on 50+1 if it meant the Americans lost their shirts.

    Uzmanov never owned much and certainly never had control (much to the disappointment of some fans).
    More than a danger, it will be the reality. 2-3 clubs, basically Man Utd and Liverpool, have the worldwide commercial star power to manage to afford to continue with their ways, the rest, your fighting for scraps. But remember, it will also mean more begging and time in China, as they will need their vast reddies.

    Going to be a bit tricky for all those moral crusader fans when they are told you can only keep the star player if we do a load more business with the Chinese in order to earn the millions required to keep him.
    I’ve never been worried about losing star players. The best times as an Arsenal fan were when we were living within our means turning decent players into stars. The last five years haven’t been much fun.

    You’d have to ask Chelsea and City fans how they’d feel about potentially losing their sugar daddies.
  • Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 3,851
    edited April 2021

    Weren't people excitedly pasting tweets that it had all fallen apart because of some 'insult' ?

    The UK is on track to sign a free trade deal with Australia in June after “major breakthroughs” in this week’s negotiations, international trade secretary Liz Truss has said this afternoon.

    She added that the remainder of the details would be sorted out in a “sprint” over the next few weeks.


    https://www.cityam.com/uk-on-track-for-australia-trade-deal-in-june-after-major-breakthroughs/

    And thus the narrative moves swiftly on from "Ha! Aren't they hopeless, can't even talk to Australia without insulting them?!" to "Why are they bothering with puny, pathetic Australia, when all that matters is the EU?" Or something.
    Still seems like "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic to me". It's no surprise all the Boris Fanboys jumping on the like button.
    One's not a substitute for the other, but (a) it's also considerably more than nothing, and (b) these arrangements will build in value over time.

    Besides which, (c) Europe accounts for an ever-decreasing share of world economic activity, and it may very well turn out that the British Government has more to gain in the long run from functioning as an independent actor when dealing with everyone else than it does from being a peripheral member of a protectionist bloc. We shall find out in the fullness of time.
    Maybe, but I am worried that the fulness of time is so long that our economy stumbles on like a war wounded soldier, and is unable to recover. I still remember the phrase of "sick man of Europe" from the 60s before we entered the EU.

    Also not sure where you get the idea that EU is a reducing trade share of the world.
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,534
    MattW said:

    rcs1000 said:

    The US seems to have reached peak demand. On present trends, we'll overtake their vaccination rate again soon.

    image

    Vaccines are available in pretty much any pharmacy now. In some US states (Alabama, etc) they seem to be at only about 30% of the adult population vaccinated, and the numbers getting jabbed are falling every day.

    While California, New York and other liberal areas are probably going to see vaccination rates of 65%+, you might well see endemic Covid problems in other parts of the country.
    So why is Jo Biden still sitting on his vaccine stockpile - especially the non-approved Az/J&J - like a broody old chuck?

    I understand that even the legal impediments are fairly trivial.
    Could you be a bit more specific as to what outrage JoE Biden is committing re: vac?
  • stodgestodge Posts: 13,800
    theProle said:

    <

    1) Other than loudly bleating about the "scientific consensus" being that warming is bad, and periodically blaming any bad weather of any kind on global warming (usually just as unsupported assertion) no one seems to want to talk about what a given degree of warning might mean. It would be logical to expect both winners and losers from the process to start with, but no one seems to want to talk about any potential gains, only losses, and only then in the most nebulous of terms.

    2) Even if the answer to "1)" is indeed warning is very bad, it doesn't mean that preventing it is of infinite utility, or even necessarily greater utility than the things which cause the warning. Owning a house is of great utility to me, but that doesn't mean it would be wise to auction off my underwear and put the cash towards a house - partly because the value raised would be meaningless against a house, and mainly because I'd find having cold nuts/and or being arrested for public indecency a far bigger deal than not owning a house.

    In a global context, the west has done its bit on emissions, and then some. We're howling at the moon if we think that the Chinese care about our latest efforts to vitue signal our way to the stone age, or have any serious intention to reduce emissions any more than is convenient for them anyway.

    We're just offering them another chance to take advantage of our willingness to trash our Western lives (particularly for the poor) so our leaders can strut about and preen themselves to each other, before jetting off to the next global summit on poverty.

    Any serious attempt to implement Boris's new target will result in a drop in living standards for working people of a size never seen before. What I can't understand is why the left is just nodding along to this - they should be screaming about the injustices that will result, where only the wealthy can fly abroad, where only the wealthy can drive long distances, where only the wealthy can heat their homes, or eat steak - because that is the reality of the future we're signed up thanks to successive governments of several hues.

    So are you saying we shouldn't even try?

    I don't quite know what the dig at "the Left" is all about apart from it almost being a Pavlovian response among some.

    @Philip_Thompson and I disagree on some aspects of the climate change debate but we do agree clean energy will be the answer and that has to mean exporting and explaining a new economic model based on the notion of clean energy.

    I'm not in the business of depriving the rest of the world of that which I take for granted - if that prosperity can be achieved without damaging the planet for future generations, that seems wholly desirable.

    The problem I have is the damage has and is being done - we will have to live with the consequences of our past and present actions long after we have remediated the problem in the future.

    For example, with rising sea levels, how are we to defend London from the river and the sea? Do we invest in ever larger defences or do we look at alternative solutions such as allowing the occasional flooding of alluvial land around the Thames Estuary?
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 56,879

    rcs1000 said:

    rpjs said:

    rcs1000 said:

    AnneJGP said:

    ping said:

    @Big_G_NorthWales

    “they will not be able to fly as much, have to buy electric cars, eat less meat and completely renovate their home at vast expense to eradicate gas boilers”

    That is what is going to be necessary, though. Moving from the century of oil & gas to a zero-carbon century is going to require serious sacrifices.

    May as well be honest about it. People see through the political framing bullshit, and then get angry.

    No it is not all what is going to be necessary (the electric car bit is) - and if it is necessary then it won't happen. Do you think the Chinese are going to choose not to fly just because we tell people they're killing pandas if they fly?

    The solution, the only solution that will work is clean technologies.

    Saying don't use power will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is some clean and affordable power, use this instead of coal" people will listen to.

    Saying don't fly will not work. People won't listen to you. Saying "here is a newly designed clean and affordable plane, use this instead of jet fuel" people will listen to.

    Saying "don't eat meat" will not work. People won't listen to you. Full stop, I see no alternative to this one, the line is drawn here. Maybe find a way to offset against it because meat is happening.
    Artificial meat will be a mainstream, cheap product inside a decade.
    An interesting thought. Can artificial meat taste like roast rib of beef? Or will it taste more like a Quorn veggie sausage?
    There was one brand of veggie beef pie that tasted so much like the real thing I couldn't eat it.

    Good evening, everyone.
    I've tried some of this food and it's mainly diabolical.

    I had a "cauliflower steak" for dinner which is, let's face it, just a slice of cauliflower dressed up.

    I woke up starving at 3am and had a massive bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes with gold top milk and toast.
    Impossible and Beyond are really rather good. Indeed, I'd rather use Impossible than cheap meat, although that's probably because cheap US meat is really not that nice at all.
    Agreed. I'd happily have either as a regular alternative to real meat. Are they available in the UK yet?
    I don't know, but they really are a revelation. I mean, they don't replace a steak, but if I'm just adding protein that's going to be drowned out by other flavours (see Bolognase), then I might as well use Beyond or Impossible.

    My wife is a big fan of the Beyond sausages, and jokes that they contain as much meat than the average hot dog.
    Why not have a tin of chickpeas if you don't want meat ?
    I like chickpeas - you can use them to make falafel, or you can roast them.

    But they do not enhance a Bolognase sauce.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,420
    edited April 2021
    tlg86 said:

    tlg86 said:

    Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Short memories....I remember Man City in League One....
    Arsenals ground this time
    Doh, I read that as Etihad for some reason.
    Understandable, I should have been clearer
    Do they want Usmanov back as owner? All those dead keen for German style 50+1 ownership, worth reposting again...

    How the Bundesliga Became a One-Team League

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB9cpKlBVKQ
    There is a danger of that, but I’d take the risk on 50+1 if it meant the Americans lost their shirts.

    Uzmanov never owned much and certainly never had control (much to the disappointment of some fans).
    More than a danger, it will be the reality. 2-3 clubs, basically Man Utd and Liverpool, have the worldwide commercial star power to manage to afford to continue with their ways, the rest, your fighting for scraps. But remember, it will also mean more begging and time in China, as they will need their vast reddies.

    Going to be a bit tricky for all those moral crusader fans when they are told you can only keep the star player if we do a load more business with the Chinese in order to earn the millions required to keep him.
    I’ve never been worried about losing star players. The best times as an Arsenal fan were when we were living within our means turning decent players into stars. The last five years haven’t been much fun.

    You’d have to ask Chelsea and City fans how they’d feel about potentially losing their sugar daddies.
    As I life time fan of Crewe Alex, I can tell you what its like to be a fan of a club that you know can never compete long term and never had a sugar daddy owner....there is a limit to your enjoyment, you have to have a level of acceptance that you might see a brilliant player, but they will only be there for a year or two, and that the reality is even if you do have a little bit of marginal success you can't fight gravity for long.

    For me, that's fine, that is all I have ever known. I became a fan as a kid, because of the youth approach, not because I ever thought they would win anything. Bit different if you grew up thinking this year is our year to win the EPL or get into the UEFA cup etc.
  • FrankBoothFrankBooth Posts: 9,707
    rcs1000 said:

    Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Does Kronke even know where the Emirates is?
    Every billionaire knows Dubai.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,599

    Breaking

    Fan demonstrations outside the Emirates demanding the owners go

    Short memories....I remember Man City in League One....
    Arsenals ground this time
    Doh, I read that as Etihad for some reason.
    Understandable, I should have been clearer
    Do they want Usmanov back as owner? All those dead keen for German style 50+1 ownership, worth reposting again...

    How the Bundesliga Became a One-Team League

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB9cpKlBVKQ

    Forget WBA beating Chelsea, Leeds beating Man City, Leicester winning the EPL....most EPL teams, your never even keeping your stars players for more than a season or two. There is no dream....
    That is more to do with the distribution of shared TV and commercial revenues.

    In Germany the bottom club receives about 40% of the top club and then gets relegated to a league with far lower revenue.
    In England the bottom club receives about 60% of the top club, and then gets significant parachute payments.
    Chicken and egg.....EPL is big bucks around the world, because it is such a competitive and exciting league, so can afford to share the money. Millions aren't getting up at all hours to watch every Bundersliga games.
    Spanish, Italian and English top flights have all had periods of dominance, no reason the German league couldnt get there if they get it right. That would involve Bayern giving the others a chance to catch up through more equal revenue, at the expense of Bayerns Champions League progress for 5-10 years. Such a gamble may or may not pay off, but it is necessary for the Bundesliga to even have a chance at the top spot for drama and quality.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    edited April 2021

    Weren't people excitedly pasting tweets that it had all fallen apart because of some 'insult' ?

    The UK is on track to sign a free trade deal with Australia in June after “major breakthroughs” in this week’s negotiations, international trade secretary Liz Truss has said this afternoon.

    She added that the remainder of the details would be sorted out in a “sprint” over the next few weeks.


    https://www.cityam.com/uk-on-track-for-australia-trade-deal-in-june-after-major-breakthroughs/

    And thus the narrative moves swiftly on from "Ha! Aren't they hopeless, can't even talk to Australia without insulting them?!" to "Why are they bothering with puny, pathetic Australia, when all that matters is the EU?" Or something.
    Still seems like "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic to me". It's no surprise all the Boris Fanboys jumping on the like button.
    One's not a substitute for the other, but (a) it's also considerably more than nothing, and (b) these arrangements will build in value over time.

    Besides which, (c) Europe accounts for an ever-decreasing share of world economic activity, and it may very well turn out that the British Government has more to gain in the long run from functioning as an independent actor when dealing with everyone else than it does from being a peripheral member of a protectionist bloc. We shall find out in the fullness of time.
    Maybe, but I am worried that the fulness of time is so long that our economy stumbles on like a war wounded soldier, and is unable to recover. I still remember the phrase of "sick man of Europe" from the 60s before we entered the EU.

    Also not sure where you get the idea that EU is a reducing trade share of the world.
    It wasn't Europe that turned the UK around though.

    It was Thatcher.

    As for Europe being a reducing share of world trade that is just a matter of fact.
This discussion has been closed.