Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Anybody who interacts with kids knows the BBC just isn't relevant to them. And the licence fee is totally unenforceable in the days of 5G and broadband.
The only people who get done for not paying licence fee are idiots who basically admit it to the powerless Capita run sales people.
The big question is where is Gove in all this? Is he the key to everything and is he still tied to the hip with Cummings. Surely they will want to wait until they have the ideal replacement ready.
All the hints say that Cummings wants Sunak. I'd be amazed if is actually Gove. He is completely unelectable. Starmer would trounce him
I actually think Gove might make an OK PM, but he is not papabile, not remotely
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
First time I’ve agreed with a Sean post in a long time.
Bercow's sins are all just beyond the Bercow line whereby they count. The man's completely innocent!
Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, has judged Bercow guilty on 21 counts out of another 35 brought by Lord Lisvane, the former clerk of the Commons, and private secretaries Kate Emms and Angus Sinclair
Absolutely dreadful decision by Starmer to give him membership of the Labour Party before the investigation had concluded... and absolutely the right decision by Boris and the government not to give him a seat in the Lords until all matters pertaining to these bullying allegations had been cleared up...
May well be. However. Look at the managers we've had since Moyes. Benitez, Ancelotti, Martinez, now Belgium, Koeman, went to Barcelona. None have had any success. Moreover. We need a profit of £25m this window not to fall foul of FFP. Rooney's done OK at Derby with zero cash and a transfer ban. It's astonishing they aren't bottom, and would be comfortable halfway without a deduction. We could do a lot worse. At least he'd get the fans onside for a bit.
Is he loved at Everton? Didn’t he leave for Utd at a fairly early age?
Not loved exactly. But he's a genuine Evertonian. One of our own. We couldn't accuse him of not caring. Which would be a start at least.
Come to think of it. After today's shambles he could put his boots on.
Would mine help, my concussion was only 59 years ago and I was a centre forward
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Scheduled TV is broken. It's over. It will be sport and genuinely huge news stories only from now on. Why the heck would you watch at a time set by someone else?
Just what we need with China poised to invade Taiwan and Russia poised to invade Ukraine, or the part of it they haven’t annexed. Weak, inept, leadership in the west and infighting in the Tory regime in westminster. What a time to be alive.
Ironically, it would help in the immediate term if China were to sail northwards so Putin has to withdraw troops from near the Ukraine back to the east, where they came from.
May well be. However. Look at the managers we've had since Moyes. Benitez, Ancelotti, Martinez, now Belgium, Koeman, went to Barcelona. None have had any success. Moreover. We need a profit of £25m this window not to fall foul of FFP. Rooney's done OK at Derby with zero cash and a transfer ban. It's astonishing they aren't bottom, and would be comfortable halfway without a deduction. We could do a lot worse. At least he'd get the fans onside for a bit.
Is he loved at Everton? Didn’t he leave for Utd at a fairly early age?
Not loved exactly. But he's a genuine Evertonian. One of our own. We couldn't accuse him of not caring. Which would be a start at least.
Come to think of it. After today's shambles he could put his boots on.
Would mine help, my concussion was only 59 years ago and I was a centre forward
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Anybody who interacts with kids knows the BBC just isn't relevant to them. And the licence fee is totally unenforceable in the days of 5G and broadband.
The only people who get done for not paying licence fee are idiots who basically admit it to the powerless Capita run sales people.
But the BBC won't reform.
That Mail article is fecking genuine LOL.
"there will be no more licence fee renewals as long as Boris is PM"
...so that's no more renewals in the, erm, check notes, next four months.
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Scheduled TV is broken. It's over. It will be sport and genuinely huge news stories only from now on. Why the heck would you watch at a time set by someone else?
Viewership for mainstream tv news is tiny in the UK.
The only live tv where there is viewership and money is sport. And even then the analysis is going to the likes of the Athletic rather than legacy media. I never watch any of analysis from MOTD, Sky Sports etc, once you have read the Athletic or others on the internet that offer specialist analysis there isn't any going back.
They can't shoot them. They can't drown them. They can't pick them up and take them back.
"The military will be deployed." Appears to be this government's magic wand. The mere invocation makes the issue go away without the bother of working out exactly how.
Its the new chant of the culture warriors. The green agenda is now seen as a wedge between two view points. The 'don't care got mine' (the old) and the 'what happened to my future' (the young).
IMO the general idea is to import whatever has fucked up America and try it here.
They’re on to a loser with being anti-green. It’s a topic that trends inexorably, unstoppably in one direction. Even in the US we see this. Unlike say anti-lockdown sentiment which can be wrong at times, and right at others, a Cnut-like rejection of the inevitable on climate is doomed. As the Australians are slowly but surely discovering as their coal mines, one by one, lose sources of international finance.
Not least because the decisions are all made internationally. We are all heading to net zero come what may, and any economy clinging on to old technology is going to be left behind.
Plus it’s just not a salient culture war cleavage like it is in the US. The UK’s elderly Tory voting masses are by abc large quite fond of their green spaces and clean watercourses
Its not green spaces that they're forming divisive talking points around. I recall from a podcast (the latest talking politics) that it is ideas like green subsidies, private transport vs public and the principle that the elite are hypocritical when championing carbon reducing initiatives.
Its easy to say that green initiatives are making your bills higher and I'm sure people will be more susceptible to this as the bills rack up.
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Anybody who interacts with kids knows the BBC just isn't relevant to them.
Nope. CBeebies is massive. Delivered through iPads, not broadcast TV. Numberblocks, Hey Duggee and Go-Jetters have absolutely defined a generation of middle class kids.
Personally I can’t remember the last time I watched anything on the BBC other than election coverage. It could well have been 10 years ago. But Junior is a devotee.
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Anybody who interacts with kids knows the BBC just isn't relevant to them. And the licence fee is totally unenforceable in the days of 5G and broadband.
The only people who get done for not paying licence fee are idiots who basically admit it to the powerless Capita run sales people.
But the BBC won't reform.
The BBC still makes some good programmes, Strictly, the Attenborough documentaries, the Bodyguard etc.
However if we are to continue with the license fee it should be open to all freeview broadcasters including ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and their subsidiary channels Film4, ITV2 etc for programmes of cultural, scientific or current affairs or sporting interest.
The BBC will then have to make popular enough soaps, dramas and reality shows to be funded by advertising revenue like Strictly and the Bodyguard as they get big audiences.
May well be. However. Look at the managers we've had since Moyes. Benitez, Ancelotti, Martinez, now Belgium, Koeman, went to Barcelona. None have had any success. Moreover. We need a profit of £25m this window not to fall foul of FFP. Rooney's done OK at Derby with zero cash and a transfer ban. It's astonishing they aren't bottom, and would be comfortable halfway without a deduction. We could do a lot worse. At least he'd get the fans onside for a bit.
Is he loved at Everton? Didn’t he leave for Utd at a fairly early age?
Not loved exactly. But he's a genuine Evertonian. One of our own. We couldn't accuse him of not caring. Which would be a start at least.
Come to think of it. After today's shambles he could put his boots on.
Would mine help, my concussion was only 59 years ago and I was a centre forward
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Scheduled TV is broken. It's over. It will be sport and genuinely huge news stories only from now on. Why the heck would you watch at a time set by someone else?
Viewership for mainstream tv news is tiny in the UK.
The only live tv where there is viewership and money is sport. And even then the analysis is going to the likes of the Athletic rather than legacy media. I never watch any of analysis from MOTD, Sky Sports etc, once you have read the Athletic or others on the internet that offer specialist analysis there isn't any going back.
Yeah. I meant huge news stories. Not your run of the mill daily stuff. Things like Boris announcing the first lockdown. US and UK elections. London Bridge. War.
Bercow's sins are all just beyond the Bercow line whereby they count. The man's completely innocent!
Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, has judged Bercow guilty on 21 counts out of another 35 brought by Lord Lisvane, the former clerk of the Commons, and private secretaries Kate Emms and Angus Sinclair
Absolutely dreadful decision by Starmer to give him membership of the Labour Party before the investigation had concluded... and absolutely the right decision by Boris and the government not to give him a seat in the Lords until all matters pertaining to these bullying allegations had been cleared up...
Actually, an invasion of "France" is not impossible at all. In fact, quite plausible
But it would not be metropolitan France, that is highly unlikely, it would be French territories overseas, particularly Polynesia
China has just built the world's biggest navy, and is still building. At some point it is going to use it, aggressively, otherwise why make it? Yes, Taiwan, but why not elsewhere?
How about New Caledonia? Mineral rich, with oceanic resources, and with a restive population that almost wants independence, a temporary Chinese occupation could be scripted as a "liberation" from the dying French Empire. China then signs an exclusive trade Treaty with New New Caledonia, job done
What could France do? Attack China with nukes from Savoy? It has a handful of ships in the Pacific and a few thousand troops. America would not help, nor the Aussies. China could do it in a weekend, as the Americans did to Grenada
This, supposedly, is one reason Paris was SO aggrieved by the AUKUS deal. They wanted the Aussies as allies in the region to defend the French Pacific. They know it is endangered
If China was stupid enough to do that it would shift France firmly into line with the USA, Australia and us in containing China. The EU would follow with France being the biggest EU military power.
There would also likely be heavy EU tariffs therefore on Chinese imports to follow
The Germans would never agree, they depend entirely on Chinese trade (in and out), just as they depend on Russian energy. You wildly over-estimate the EU's willingness or ability to fight
China's interest in New Caledonia:
"French authorities have observed with concern China’s growing presence across the region from the Indian Ocean to the South Pacific. China’s 2017 inauguration of a military base in Djibouti was a wake-up call for France, which remains anxious about Beijing’s expanding military reach. During a visit to New Caledonia in 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that China’s mounting influence in the South Pacific could “reduce our freedoms and opportunities.”
"Beijing is especially interested in New Caledonia’s resources, as it imports 55 percent of the nickel produced on the archipelago. The French Navy is dealing with China’s attempt to engineer a fait accompli in the South and East China Seas to impose its territorial claims. Adm. Pierre Vandier, chief of the French Navy, recently denounced Beijing’s “asphyxiating strategy,” explaining that French “vessels were systematically followed, sometimes forced to maneuver in front of Chinese ships to avoid a collision, in defiance of the rules of freedom of navigation.”"
China is to France in the Indo-Pacific as Japan was to Britain in about 1940. The rising Asian power eyes a weakening European power. Except that China is much mightier than Japan in 1940, and France is much weaker than Britain in 1940
May well be. However. Look at the managers we've had since Moyes. Benitez, Ancelotti, Martinez, now Belgium, Koeman, went to Barcelona. None have had any success. Moreover. We need a profit of £25m this window not to fall foul of FFP. Rooney's done OK at Derby with zero cash and a transfer ban. It's astonishing they aren't bottom, and would be comfortable halfway without a deduction. We could do a lot worse. At least he'd get the fans onside for a bit.
Is he loved at Everton? Didn’t he leave for Utd at a fairly early age?
Not loved exactly. But he's a genuine Evertonian. One of our own. We couldn't accuse him of not caring. Which would be a start at least.
Come to think of it. After today's shambles he could put his boots on.
Would mine help, my concussion was only 59 years ago and I was a centre forward
Ha ha. Not sure we could afford your salary!!
I am not greedy
A pie and a pint and you can play off Calvert Lewin. I'm sure you'd make more decisive runs than we saw today.
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Anybody who interacts with kids knows the BBC just isn't relevant to them. And the licence fee is totally unenforceable in the days of 5G and broadband.
The only people who get done for not paying licence fee are idiots who basically admit it to the powerless Capita run sales people.
But the BBC won't reform.
The BBC still makes some good programmes, Strictly, the Attenborough documentaries, the Bodyguard etc.
However if we are to continue with the license fee it should be open to all freeview broadcasters including ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and their subsidiary channels Film4, ITV2 etc for programmes of cultural, scientific or current affairs or sporting interest.
The BBC will then have to make popular enough soaps, dramas and reality shows to be funded by advertising revenue like Strictly and the Bodyguard as they get big audiences.
The core problem is the licence fee is totally unenforceable. Its a broken model.
Sky are going totally streaming, so you don't even need a dish on the side of your house or be at the address where you are watching Sky (you didn't already with Sky Go, but that wasn't full HD).
If you don't want to pay, there is basically nothing anybody can do. Capita have no power or ability to find out you are watching tv without a licence unless you admit it.
Labour’s @RachelReevesMP says @thefabians conference that a govt led by Keir Starmer would take firms who failed to deliver on PPE contracts during the Covid crisis to court so the Treasury gets the cash back
Shouldn't the Government be doing this anyway? Why wouldn't they? Breach of contract.
I suspect that the contracts, if indeed they had them, were written in such haste and without watertight clauses allowing the government to get the money back, that any legal action would be doomed to failure.
May well be. However. Look at the managers we've had since Moyes. Benitez, Ancelotti, Martinez, now Belgium, Koeman, went to Barcelona. None have had any success. Moreover. We need a profit of £25m this window not to fall foul of FFP. Rooney's done OK at Derby with zero cash and a transfer ban. It's astonishing they aren't bottom, and would be comfortable halfway without a deduction. We could do a lot worse. At least he'd get the fans onside for a bit.
Is he loved at Everton? Didn’t he leave for Utd at a fairly early age?
Not loved exactly. But he's a genuine Evertonian. One of our own. We couldn't accuse him of not caring. Which would be a start at least.
Come to think of it. After today's shambles he could put his boots on.
Would mine help, my concussion was only 59 years ago and I was a centre forward
Ha ha. Not sure we could afford your salary!!
I am not greedy
A pie and a pint and you can play off Calvert Lewin. I'm sure you'd make more decisive runs than we saw today.
Labour have a lead of 43% - 33% in "All seats Labour has lost since 2005" in this Opinium poll.
Given that would include 40 seats in Scotland where they are now pretty much nowhere, that must mean a huge lead in England.
Spot on.
The details in these polls are much, much worse for the Conservatives than the headline figures.
I’ve seen it suggested - including here - that it is middle class voters in the south who are the most upset with the PM’s goings on.
The polling detail suggests the opposite. Perhaps those who have had the tougher lockdown experience are more angry than the middle class office workers sipping their Chardonnay from their home offices?
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Labour have a lead of 43% - 33% in "All seats Labour has lost since 2005" in this Opinium poll.
Given that would include 40 seats in Scotland where they are now pretty much nowhere, that must mean a huge lead in England.
Spot on.
The details in these polls are much, much worse for the Conservatives than the headline figures.
I’ve seen it suggested - including here - that it is middle class voters in the south who are the most upset with the PM’s goings on.
The polling detail suggests the opposite. Perhaps those who have had the tougher lockdown experience are more angry than the middle class office workers sipping their Chardonnay from their home offices?
We've heard from quite a few on here that a drinking culture whilst working still exists in certain industries. It isn't in call centres, supermarkets or on building sites. Let alone the NHS or education. After work in the pub, sure. But not during. That's instant dismissal. No arguments. So maybe it cut through more?
It is a pretty sad state of affairs if Putin can send a couple of submarines in the general direction of Gotland and everyone concludes that Russia is about to invade Sweden. Why isn't Sweden better prepared for this type of test?
Labour have a lead of 43% - 33% in "All seats Labour has lost since 2005" in this Opinium poll.
Given that would include 40 seats in Scotland where they are now pretty much nowhere, that must mean a huge lead in England.
Spot on.
The details in these polls are much, much worse for the Conservatives than the headline figures.
I’ve seen it suggested - including here - that it is middle class voters in the south who are the most upset with the PM’s goings on.
The polling detail suggests the opposite. Perhaps those who have had the tougher lockdown experience are more angry than the middle class office workers sipping their Chardonnay from their home offices?
Agreed. Con VI in the SE (outwith London) has been tremendous. They are building up support where they really don’t need it. The North is totally gone. The key is the Midlands: Labour have a clear lead for now, but swingback still feasible.
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Knowing Boris he’d be snorting coke and shagging his new mistress as British troops were being slaughtered on the streets of Ulaanbaatar.
One rule for plebs, another for Boris.
They wouldn't be slaughtered there. He'd send them to the wrong place and they'd be slaughtered in Addis Ababa instead.
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Anybody who interacts with kids knows the BBC just isn't relevant to them. And the licence fee is totally unenforceable in the days of 5G and broadband.
The only people who get done for not paying licence fee are idiots who basically admit it to the powerless Capita run sales people.
But the BBC won't reform.
The BBC still makes some good programmes, Strictly, the Attenborough documentaries, the Bodyguard etc.
However if we are to continue with the license fee it should be open to all freeview broadcasters including ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and their subsidiary channels Film4, ITV2 etc for programmes of cultural, scientific or current affairs or sporting interest.
The BBC will then have to make popular enough soaps, dramas and reality shows to be funded by advertising revenue like Strictly and the Bodyguard as they get big audiences.
The core problem is the licence fee is totally unenforceable. Its a broken model.
Sky are going totally streaming, so you don't even need a dish on the side of your house or be at the address where you are watching Sky (you didn't already with Sky Go, but that wasn't full HD).
If you don't want to pay, there is basically nothing anybody can do. Capita have no power or ability to find out you are watching tv without a licence unless you admit it.
It would only apply to freeview channels so if you only ever watched Sky having paid for it or a paid subscription service like Netflix or Amazon Prime you would not have to pay it.
The government would however give Capita full powers to track and fine anyone watching freeview having not paid the licence fee
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
You've got a travelogue type book in you. Not sure it will entirely make you popular in many regions of the world, but will be an interesting read.
The big question is where is Gove in all this? Is he the key to everything and is he still tied to the hip with Cummings. Surely they will want to wait until they have the ideal replacement ready.
All the hints say that Cummings wants Sunak. I'd be amazed if is actually Gove. He is completely unelectable. Starmer would trounce him
I actually think Gove might make an OK PM, but he is not papabile, not remotely
Gove is the kingmaker. Or Cummings. I presume they work together on it. They then act as consigliere.
Labour have a lead of 43% - 33% in "All seats Labour has lost since 2005" in this Opinium poll.
Given that would include 40 seats in Scotland where they are now pretty much nowhere, that must mean a huge lead in England.
Spot on.
The details in these polls are much, much worse for the Conservatives than the headline figures.
I’ve seen it suggested - including here - that it is middle class voters in the south who are the most upset with the PM’s goings on.
The polling detail suggests the opposite. Perhaps those who have had the tougher lockdown experience are more angry than the middle class office workers sipping their Chardonnay from their home offices?
If you voted Johnson despite your grandfather turning in his grave as many did in Dec 2019 you are going to be more pissed than the average bear that you were cheated.
Labour have a lead of 43% - 33% in "All seats Labour has lost since 2005" in this Opinium poll.
Given that would include 40 seats in Scotland where they are now pretty much nowhere, that must mean a huge lead in England.
Spot on.
The details in these polls are much, much worse for the Conservatives than the headline figures.
I’ve seen it suggested - including here - that it is middle class voters in the south who are the most upset with the PM’s goings on.
The polling detail suggests the opposite. Perhaps those who have had the tougher lockdown experience are more angry than the middle class office workers sipping their Chardonnay from their home offices?
Agreed. Con VI in the SE (outwith London) has been tremendous. They are building up support where they really don’t need it. The North is totally gone. The key is the Midlands: Labour have a clear lead for now, but swingback still feasible.
Labour seem to be so far ahead in the North of England that a large number of Redwall Mps look doomed. There'd need to be an enormous swing back for the Tories to have a hope of holding Blyth Valley or Leigh, for instance.
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
You've got a travelogue type book in you. Not sure it will entirely make you popular in many regions of the world, but will be an interesting read.
Leonly Planet?
I've often thought that, when the time comes to set down my flint knapper, I could turn to writing, and do one outrageous, politically incorrect book about all my travels and what I REALLY think of various places, a book which would get me utterly cancelled but also make a deal of money as I retire (so who cares if I am cancelled)
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Anybody who interacts with kids knows the BBC just isn't relevant to them. And the licence fee is totally unenforceable in the days of 5G and broadband.
The only people who get done for not paying licence fee are idiots who basically admit it to the powerless Capita run sales people.
But the BBC won't reform.
The BBC still makes some good programmes, Strictly, the Attenborough documentaries, the Bodyguard etc.
However if we are to continue with the license fee it should be open to all freeview broadcasters including ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and their subsidiary channels Film4, ITV2 etc for programmes of cultural, scientific or current affairs or sporting interest.
The BBC will then have to make popular enough soaps, dramas and reality shows to be funded by advertising revenue like Strictly and the Bodyguard as they get big audiences.
The main selling point of the BBC is that there are no bloody adverts.
Rachel Reeves is in conversation with Polly Toynbee at #FEPSFAB22. Reeves says the shift in the polls is an opportunity that must be seized because it means "people are more interested in what Labour has to say" – so plans re living with Covid etc are being set out now.
There are "so many parallels with what we inherited in 1997", Reeves says. "We’ve got a playbook here because Labour did transform public services." Citing New Labour policies on public services: "Friends, we will do those things again. We will turn around those public services."
Anyone know why we have to wait until 26 Jan for the remaining covid restrictions to be binned? Why not can them now? Does anyone think we should keep them?
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Anybody who interacts with kids knows the BBC just isn't relevant to them. And the licence fee is totally unenforceable in the days of 5G and broadband.
The only people who get done for not paying licence fee are idiots who basically admit it to the powerless Capita run sales people.
But the BBC won't reform.
The BBC still makes some good programmes, Strictly, the Attenborough documentaries, the Bodyguard etc.
However if we are to continue with the license fee it should be open to all freeview broadcasters including ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and their subsidiary channels Film4, ITV2 etc for programmes of cultural, scientific or current affairs or sporting interest.
The BBC will then have to make popular enough soaps, dramas and reality shows to be funded by advertising revenue like Strictly and the Bodyguard as they get big audiences.
The main selling point of the BBC is that there are no bloody adverts.
Rachel Reeves is in conversation with Polly Toynbee at #FEPSFAB22. Reeves says the shift in the polls is an opportunity that must be seized because it means "people are more interested in what Labour has to say" – so plans re living with Covid etc are being set out now.
There are "so many parallels with what we inherited in 1997", Reeves says. "We’ve got a playbook here because Labour did transform public services." Citing New Labour policies on public services: "Friends, we will do those things again. We will turn around those public services."
Except that Labour in 1997 inherited a booming economy and a surplus - the so-called "golden economic legacy" - and Labour in 2024- if they win - will inherit debt around 100% of GDP, and painful deficits
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
You've got a travelogue type book in you. Not sure it will entirely make you popular in many regions of the world, but will be an interesting read.
Leonly Planet?
I've often thought that, when the time comes to set down my flint knapper, I could turn to writing, and do one outrageous, politically incorrect book about all my travels and what I REALLY think of various places, a book which would get me utterly cancelled but also make a deal of money as I retire (so who cares if I am cancelled)
Hmmm....
How could you make money if you were cancelled? The words you are looking for is "unpopular with a certain set."
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The passably attractive women must have heard you were in town. And left.
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
Anyone know why we have to wait until 26 Jan for the remaining covid restrictions to be binned? Why not can them now? Does anyone think we should keep them?
Anyone know why we have to wait until 26 Jan for the remaining covid restrictions to be binned? Why not can them now? Does anyone think we should keep them?
Because. Without fear of COVID, the entire raison d'etre of this government disappears. It's all hard slog of inflation, tax rises, waiting lists, a total absence of Brexit dividend and a traumatised electorate. With no plan whatsoever. COVID has kept Bozo afloat for two years.
Anyone know why we have to wait until 26 Jan for the remaining covid restrictions to be binned? Why not can them now? Does anyone think we should keep them?
Pagel.
I’m sure that’s true but even she has gone quiet about them. Seems to be focusing her efforts on getting venues better ventilated these days. (Which, I think, is fair enough)
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Anybody who interacts with kids knows the BBC just isn't relevant to them. And the licence fee is totally unenforceable in the days of 5G and broadband.
The only people who get done for not paying licence fee are idiots who basically admit it to the powerless Capita run sales people.
But the BBC won't reform.
The BBC still makes some good programmes, Strictly, the Attenborough documentaries, the Bodyguard etc.
However if we are to continue with the license fee it should be open to all freeview broadcasters including ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and their subsidiary channels Film4, ITV2 etc for programmes of cultural, scientific or current affairs or sporting interest.
The BBC will then have to make popular enough soaps, dramas and reality shows to be funded by advertising revenue like Strictly and the Bodyguard as they get big audiences.
The main selling point of the BBC is that there are no bloody adverts.
Rachel Reeves is in conversation with Polly Toynbee at #FEPSFAB22. Reeves says the shift in the polls is an opportunity that must be seized because it means "people are more interested in what Labour has to say" – so plans re living with Covid etc are being set out now.
There are "so many parallels with what we inherited in 1997", Reeves says. "We’ve got a playbook here because Labour did transform public services." Citing New Labour policies on public services: "Friends, we will do those things again. We will turn around those public services."
Except that Labour in 1997 inherited a booming economy and a surplus - the so-called "golden economic legacy" - and Labour in 2024- if they win - will inherit debt around 100% of GDP, and painful deficits
THERE IS NO BLOODY MONEY LEFT
We can't afford a Labour government is pretty much the go to argument of the Conservative Party at all times ever.
Bercow's sins are all just beyond the Bercow line whereby they count. The man's completely innocent!
Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, has judged Bercow guilty on 21 counts out of another 35 brought by Lord Lisvane, the former clerk of the Commons, and private secretaries Kate Emms and Angus Sinclair
Absolutely dreadful decision by Starmer to give him membership of the Labour Party before the investigation had concluded... and absolutely the right decision by Boris and the government not to give him a seat in the Lords until all matters pertaining to these bullying allegations had been cleared up...
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Anybody who interacts with kids knows the BBC just isn't relevant to them. And the licence fee is totally unenforceable in the days of 5G and broadband.
The only people who get done for not paying licence fee are idiots who basically admit it to the powerless Capita run sales people.
But the BBC won't reform.
The BBC still makes some good programmes, Strictly, the Attenborough documentaries, the Bodyguard etc.
However if we are to continue with the license fee it should be open to all freeview broadcasters including ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and their subsidiary channels Film4, ITV2 etc for programmes of cultural, scientific or current affairs or sporting interest.
The BBC will then have to make popular enough soaps, dramas and reality shows to be funded by advertising revenue like Strictly and the Bodyguard as they get big audiences.
The main selling point of the BBC is that there are no bloody adverts.
There are, for their other programmes.
Pathetic comment
Actually the BBC do run plenty of adverts e.g anybody accessing their website from overseas. They also own 100% of UKTV where all of their revenue comes from ads and a big bulk of their schedule is old BBC shows.
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The passably attractive women must have heard you were in town. And left.
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
Honestly, I tried, there aren't any
Stark contrast with Chile which has fabulously attractive women. Indeed the Atacama desert resort town of San Pedro has, I reckon, the highest level of female beauty per capita IN THE WORLD, and this is after an intense personal lifelong scientific study, comparable to Darwin's work on The Beagle
I think all the rich families in Chile send their lissom daughters on a gap year holiday to the Atacama. The effect is striking
Going back to Argentina, the calamitous mishandling of their economy is stunning
"Early in the twentieth century, Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels globally. It was on par with Canada and Australia, and had surpassed both France and Italy."
Nothing has changed in terms of potential. Argentina is vast, with a smallish but quite literate population, with incredible resources, and a wide wide ocean to fish in. It has jungles and prairies and wheat fields and mountains.
Now?
It's 95th in the world, just behind Guyana, just ahead of Turkmenistan. This is not helped by the constantly collapsing currency, but still
Anyone know why we have to wait until 26 Jan for the remaining covid restrictions to be binned? Why not can them now? Does anyone think we should keep them?
Because that is when they will expire if not renewed.
Let's hope all of the Covid restrictions are lifted on 26th January, if not sooner. Is that the government plan? That everything goes on that date, or is just some of the restrictions?
Rachel Reeves is in conversation with Polly Toynbee at #FEPSFAB22. Reeves says the shift in the polls is an opportunity that must be seized because it means "people are more interested in what Labour has to say" – so plans re living with Covid etc are being set out now.
There are "so many parallels with what we inherited in 1997", Reeves says. "We’ve got a playbook here because Labour did transform public services." Citing New Labour policies on public services: "Friends, we will do those things again. We will turn around those public services."
Except that Labour in 1997 inherited a booming economy and a surplus - the so-called "golden economic legacy" - and Labour in 2024- if they win - will inherit debt around 100% of GDP, and painful deficits
THERE IS NO BLOODY MONEY LEFT
This is the challenge for all politicians going forward. We and the rest of the West have had 2 massively expensive crises in a row.
You want more money for the NHS and social care You want to spend billions on Net Zero You want to invest huge amounts in levelling up You want low taxes You want to maintain current services
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The passably attractive women must have heard you were in town. And left.
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
Honestly, I tried, there aren't any
Stark contrast with Chile which has fabulously attractive women. Indeed the Atacama desert resort town of San Pedro has, I reckon, the highest level of female beauty per capita IN THE WORLD, and this is after an intense personal lifelong scientific study, comparable to Darwin's work on The Beagle
I think all the rich families in Chile send their lissom daughters on a gap year holiday to the Atacama. The effect is striking
Going back to Argentina, the calamitous mishandling of their economy is stunning
"Early in the twentieth century, Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels globally. It was on par with Canada and Australia, and had surpassed both France and Italy."
Nothing has changed in terms of potential. Argentina is vast, with a smallish but quite literate population, with incredible resources, and a wide wide ocean to fish in. It has jungles and prairies and wheat fields and mountains.
Now?
It's 95th in the world, just behind Guyana, just ahead of Turkmenistan. This is not helped by the constantly collapsing currency, but still
They have had deep recessions every other year for decades. It is a kind of slow-motion Venezuela. Something is deeply wrong with Argentina
It is a clear lesson in the dangers of caudilloism. Democracy is by far the best government type for long term economic success. Once you start introducing dictators you might get lucky with one or two, but before long you have an inept idiot in charge. Unlike democracy, it is far harder to remove him. Meaning you get decades of shitshow rather than 5 years.
Rachel Reeves is in conversation with Polly Toynbee at #FEPSFAB22. Reeves says the shift in the polls is an opportunity that must be seized because it means "people are more interested in what Labour has to say" – so plans re living with Covid etc are being set out now.
There are "so many parallels with what we inherited in 1997", Reeves says. "We’ve got a playbook here because Labour did transform public services." Citing New Labour policies on public services: "Friends, we will do those things again. We will turn around those public services."
Except that Labour in 1997 inherited a booming economy and a surplus - the so-called "golden economic legacy" - and Labour in 2024- if they win - will inherit debt around 100% of GDP, and painful deficits
THERE IS NO BLOODY MONEY LEFT
This is the challenge for all politicians going forward. We and the rest of the West have had 2 massively expensive crises in a row.
You want more money for the NHS and social care You want to spend billions on Net Zero You want to invest huge amounts in levelling up You want low taxes You want to maintain current services
Sorry something has to give
Net zero and levelling up are actually less expensive than climate change and entrenched poverty though.
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The passably attractive women must have heard you were in town. And left.
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
Honestly, I tried, there aren't any
Stark contrast with Chile which has fabulously attractive women. Indeed the Atacama desert resort town of San Pedro has, I reckon, the highest level of female beauty per capita IN THE WORLD, and this is after an intense personal lifelong scientific study, comparable to Darwin's work on The Beagle
I think all the rich families in Chile send their lissom daughters on a gap year holiday to the Atacama. The effect is striking
Interesting. It's only got a population of 4,000 according to Wikipedia unless I've got the wrong San Pedro.
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The passably attractive women must have heard you were in town. And left.
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
Honestly, I tried, there aren't any
Stark contrast with Chile which has fabulously attractive women. Indeed the Atacama desert resort town of San Pedro has, I reckon, the highest level of female beauty per capita IN THE WORLD, and this is after an intense personal lifelong scientific study, comparable to Darwin's work on The Beagle
I think all the rich families in Chile send their lissom daughters on a gap year holiday to the Atacama. The effect is striking
Going back to Argentina, the calamitous mishandling of their economy is stunning
"Early in the twentieth century, Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels globally. It was on par with Canada and Australia, and had surpassed both France and Italy."
Nothing has changed in terms of potential. Argentina is vast, with a smallish but quite literate population, with incredible resources, and a wide wide ocean to fish in. It has jungles and prairies and wheat fields and mountains.
Now?
It's 95th in the world, just behind Guyana, just ahead of Turkmenistan. This is not helped by the constantly collapsing currency, but still
They have had deep recessions every other year for decades. It is a kind of slow-motion Venezuela. Something is deeply wrong with Argentina
It is a clear lesson in the dangers of caudilloism. Democracy is by far the best government type for long term economic success. Once you start introducing dictators you might get lucky with one or two, but before long you have an inept idiot in charge. Unlike democracy, it is far harder to remove him. Meaning you get decades of shitshow rather than 5 years.
That is certainly true of Argentina in the Peron era and onwards. But Argentina has been "democratic" for quite a while now and that hasn't helped either. The country is still a catastrophe. Something ELSE is wrong. Something even deeper
Meanwhile autocracies like Singapore flourish, with hardly any democracy at all
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The passably attractive women must have heard you were in town. And left.
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
Honestly, I tried, there aren't any
Stark contrast with Chile which has fabulously attractive women. Indeed the Atacama desert resort town of San Pedro has, I reckon, the highest level of female beauty per capita IN THE WORLD, and this is after an intense personal lifelong scientific study, comparable to Darwin's work on The Beagle
I think all the rich families in Chile send their lissom daughters on a gap year holiday to the Atacama. The effect is striking
Going back to Argentina, the calamitous mishandling of their economy is stunning
"Early in the twentieth century, Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels globally. It was on par with Canada and Australia, and had surpassed both France and Italy."
Nothing has changed in terms of potential. Argentina is vast, with a smallish but quite literate population, with incredible resources, and a wide wide ocean to fish in. It has jungles and prairies and wheat fields and mountains.
Now?
It's 95th in the world, just behind Guyana, just ahead of Turkmenistan. This is not helped by the constantly collapsing currency, but still
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The passably attractive women must have heard you were in town. And left.
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
Honestly, I tried, there aren't any
Stark contrast with Chile which has fabulously attractive women. Indeed the Atacama desert resort town of San Pedro has, I reckon, the highest level of female beauty per capita IN THE WORLD, and this is after an intense personal lifelong scientific study, comparable to Darwin's work on The Beagle
I think all the rich families in Chile send their lissom daughters on a gap year holiday to the Atacama. The effect is striking
Going back to Argentina, the calamitous mishandling of their economy is stunning
"Early in the twentieth century, Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels globally. It was on par with Canada and Australia, and had surpassed both France and Italy."
Nothing has changed in terms of potential. Argentina is vast, with a smallish but quite literate population, with incredible resources, and a wide wide ocean to fish in. It has jungles and prairies and wheat fields and mountains.
Now?
It's 95th in the world, just behind Guyana, just ahead of Turkmenistan. This is not helped by the constantly collapsing currency, but still
They have had deep recessions every other year for decades. It is a kind of slow-motion Venezuela. Something is deeply wrong with Argentina
It is a clear lesson in the dangers of caudilloism. Democracy is by far the best government type for long term economic success. Once you start introducing dictators you might get lucky with one or two, but before long you have an inept idiot in charge. Unlike democracy, it is far harder to remove him. Meaning you get decades of shitshow rather than 5 years.
That is certainly true of Argentina in the Peron era and onwards. But Argentina has been "democratic" for quite a while now and that hasn't helped either. The country is still a catastrophe. Something ELSE is wrong. Something even deeper
Meanwhile autocracies like Singapore flourish, with hardly any democracy at all
So it really isn't as simple as you say
Singapore is "partly free", according to Freedom House. So too, surprisingly, is India.
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The passably attractive women must have heard you were in town. And left.
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
Honestly, I tried, there aren't any
Stark contrast with Chile which has fabulously attractive women. Indeed the Atacama desert resort town of San Pedro has, I reckon, the highest level of female beauty per capita IN THE WORLD, and this is after an intense personal lifelong scientific study, comparable to Darwin's work on The Beagle
I think all the rich families in Chile send their lissom daughters on a gap year holiday to the Atacama. The effect is striking
Interesting. It's only got a population of 4,000 according to Wikipedia unless I've got the wrong San Pedro.
No, that's it. It's tiny.
It's a chic desert resort town surrounded by saltflats and stunning mountains and volcanoes - the Andes. Quite close to the Bolivian border
It attracts young people as a kind of upscale cowboy rugged hipster backpacker hangout. Most are Chilean gap year types with a sizeable smattering of young Europeans and Americans
I am not joking about the women. It's the sort of place where, as a man, your jaw drops every four metres
The closest comparison I can think of is maybe rich coastal Croatia or bits of the Baltics, or Minsk, or central St Petersburg, where every third woman seems to be a model. The Slavic cheekbones
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The passably attractive women must have heard you were in town. And left.
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
Honestly, I tried, there aren't any
Stark contrast with Chile which has fabulously attractive women. Indeed the Atacama desert resort town of San Pedro has, I reckon, the highest level of female beauty per capita IN THE WORLD, and this is after an intense personal lifelong scientific study, comparable to Darwin's work on The Beagle
I think all the rich families in Chile send their lissom daughters on a gap year holiday to the Atacama. The effect is striking
Going back to Argentina, the calamitous mishandling of their economy is stunning
"Early in the twentieth century, Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels globally. It was on par with Canada and Australia, and had surpassed both France and Italy."
Nothing has changed in terms of potential. Argentina is vast, with a smallish but quite literate population, with incredible resources, and a wide wide ocean to fish in. It has jungles and prairies and wheat fields and mountains.
Now?
It's 95th in the world, just behind Guyana, just ahead of Turkmenistan. This is not helped by the constantly collapsing currency, but still
They have had deep recessions every other year for decades. It is a kind of slow-motion Venezuela. Something is deeply wrong with Argentina
It is a clear lesson in the dangers of caudilloism. Democracy is by far the best government type for long term economic success. Once you start introducing dictators you might get lucky with one or two, but before long you have an inept idiot in charge. Unlike democracy, it is far harder to remove him. Meaning you get decades of shitshow rather than 5 years.
That is certainly true of Argentina in the Peron era and onwards. But Argentina has been "democratic" for quite a while now and that hasn't helped either. The country is still a catastrophe. Something ELSE is wrong. Something even deeper
Meanwhile autocracies like Singapore flourish, with hardly any democracy at all
So it really isn't as simple as you say
I found this helpful in understanding the dynamics of South America.
Rachel Reeves is in conversation with Polly Toynbee at #FEPSFAB22. Reeves says the shift in the polls is an opportunity that must be seized because it means "people are more interested in what Labour has to say" – so plans re living with Covid etc are being set out now.
There are "so many parallels with what we inherited in 1997", Reeves says. "We’ve got a playbook here because Labour did transform public services." Citing New Labour policies on public services: "Friends, we will do those things again. We will turn around those public services."
Except that Labour in 1997 inherited a booming economy and a surplus - the so-called "golden economic legacy" - and Labour in 2024- if they win - will inherit debt around 100% of GDP, and painful deficits
THERE IS NO BLOODY MONEY LEFT
This is the challenge for all politicians going forward. We and the rest of the West have had 2 massively expensive crises in a row.
You want more money for the NHS and social care You want to spend billions on Net Zero You want to invest huge amounts in levelling up You want low taxes You want to maintain current services
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
You've got a travelogue type book in you. Not sure it will entirely make you popular in many regions of the world, but will be an interesting read.
Leonly Planet?
I've often thought that, when the time comes to set down my flint knapper, I could turn to writing, and do one outrageous, politically incorrect book about all my travels and what I REALLY think of various places, a book which would get me utterly cancelled but also make a deal of money as I retire (so who cares if I am cancelled)
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The passably attractive women must have heard you were in town. And left.
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
Honestly, I tried, there aren't any
Stark contrast with Chile which has fabulously attractive women. Indeed the Atacama desert resort town of San Pedro has, I reckon, the highest level of female beauty per capita IN THE WORLD, and this is after an intense personal lifelong scientific study, comparable to Darwin's work on The Beagle
I think all the rich families in Chile send their lissom daughters on a gap year holiday to the Atacama. The effect is striking
Going back to Argentina, the calamitous mishandling of their economy is stunning
"Early in the twentieth century, Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels globally. It was on par with Canada and Australia, and had surpassed both France and Italy."
Nothing has changed in terms of potential. Argentina is vast, with a smallish but quite literate population, with incredible resources, and a wide wide ocean to fish in. It has jungles and prairies and wheat fields and mountains.
Now?
It's 95th in the world, just behind Guyana, just ahead of Turkmenistan. This is not helped by the constantly collapsing currency, but still
They have had deep recessions every other year for decades. It is a kind of slow-motion Venezuela. Something is deeply wrong with Argentina
It is a clear lesson in the dangers of caudilloism. Democracy is by far the best government type for long term economic success. Once you start introducing dictators you might get lucky with one or two, but before long you have an inept idiot in charge. Unlike democracy, it is far harder to remove him. Meaning you get decades of shitshow rather than 5 years.
That is certainly true of Argentina in the Peron era and onwards. But Argentina has been "democratic" for quite a while now and that hasn't helped either. The country is still a catastrophe. Something ELSE is wrong. Something even deeper
Meanwhile autocracies like Singapore flourish, with hardly any democracy at all
So it really isn't as simple as you say
I found this helpful in understanding the dynamics of South America.
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The passably attractive women must have heard you were in town. And left.
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
Honestly, I tried, there aren't any
Stark contrast with Chile which has fabulously attractive women. Indeed the Atacama desert resort town of San Pedro has, I reckon, the highest level of female beauty per capita IN THE WORLD, and this is after an intense personal lifelong scientific study, comparable to Darwin's work on The Beagle
I think all the rich families in Chile send their lissom daughters on a gap year holiday to the Atacama. The effect is striking
Going back to Argentina, the calamitous mishandling of their economy is stunning
"Early in the twentieth century, Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels globally. It was on par with Canada and Australia, and had surpassed both France and Italy."
Nothing has changed in terms of potential. Argentina is vast, with a smallish but quite literate population, with incredible resources, and a wide wide ocean to fish in. It has jungles and prairies and wheat fields and mountains.
Now?
It's 95th in the world, just behind Guyana, just ahead of Turkmenistan. This is not helped by the constantly collapsing currency, but still
They have had deep recessions every other year for decades. It is a kind of slow-motion Venezuela. Something is deeply wrong with Argentina
It is a clear lesson in the dangers of caudilloism. Democracy is by far the best government type for long term economic success. Once you start introducing dictators you might get lucky with one or two, but before long you have an inept idiot in charge. Unlike democracy, it is far harder to remove him. Meaning you get decades of shitshow rather than 5 years.
That is certainly true of Argentina in the Peron era and onwards. But Argentina has been "democratic" for quite a while now and that hasn't helped either. The country is still a catastrophe. Something ELSE is wrong. Something even deeper
Meanwhile autocracies like Singapore flourish, with hardly any democracy at all
So it really isn't as simple as you say
I found this helpful in understanding the dynamics of South America.
Dismantling stable governments and poisoning relatively cohesive societies seems to have long term consequences.
Except that the most successful economy in South America is probably Chile (with the possible exception of Uruguay) and Chile is where the USA helped a quasi-Fascist (Pinochet) overthrow a quasi-communist (Allende) and after decades of stern autocracy Chile became democratic, and remains so, and - by the sad standards of Latin America - is stable, prosperous and free
The real explanations are much deeper than any of these glib analyses
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The passably attractive women must have heard you were in town. And left.
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
Honestly, I tried, there aren't any
Stark contrast with Chile which has fabulously attractive women. Indeed the Atacama desert resort town of San Pedro has, I reckon, the highest level of female beauty per capita IN THE WORLD, and this is after an intense personal lifelong scientific study, comparable to Darwin's work on The Beagle
I think all the rich families in Chile send their lissom daughters on a gap year holiday to the Atacama. The effect is striking
Going back to Argentina, the calamitous mishandling of their economy is stunning
"Early in the twentieth century, Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels globally. It was on par with Canada and Australia, and had surpassed both France and Italy."
Nothing has changed in terms of potential. Argentina is vast, with a smallish but quite literate population, with incredible resources, and a wide wide ocean to fish in. It has jungles and prairies and wheat fields and mountains.
Now?
It's 95th in the world, just behind Guyana, just ahead of Turkmenistan. This is not helped by the constantly collapsing currency, but still
They have had deep recessions every other year for decades. It is a kind of slow-motion Venezuela. Something is deeply wrong with Argentina
It is a clear lesson in the dangers of caudilloism. Democracy is by far the best government type for long term economic success. Once you start introducing dictators you might get lucky with one or two, but before long you have an inept idiot in charge. Unlike democracy, it is far harder to remove him. Meaning you get decades of shitshow rather than 5 years.
That is certainly true of Argentina in the Peron era and onwards. But Argentina has been "democratic" for quite a while now and that hasn't helped either. The country is still a catastrophe. Something ELSE is wrong. Something even deeper
Meanwhile autocracies like Singapore flourish, with hardly any democracy at all
So it really isn't as simple as you say
Autocracies like Singapore manage to succeed because they are small enough to surf on other people's economic success and cream off the top. It's not really doable for a larger nation. And Argentina's democracy is highly flawed. The rewards for democracy really come into ripeness when you become comprehensively democratic.
Anyone know why we have to wait until 26 Jan for the remaining covid restrictions to be binned? Why not can them now? Does anyone think we should keep them?
Because that is when they will expire if not renewed.
Let's hope all of the Covid restrictions are lifted on 26th January, if not sooner. Is that the government plan? That everything goes on that date, or is just some of the restrictions?
Who cares. No one is listening to these liars anymore.
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The passably attractive women must have heard you were in town. And left.
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
Honestly, I tried, there aren't any
Stark contrast with Chile which has fabulously attractive women. Indeed the Atacama desert resort town of San Pedro has, I reckon, the highest level of female beauty per capita IN THE WORLD, and this is after an intense personal lifelong scientific study, comparable to Darwin's work on The Beagle
I think all the rich families in Chile send their lissom daughters on a gap year holiday to the Atacama. The effect is striking
Going back to Argentina, the calamitous mishandling of their economy is stunning
"Early in the twentieth century, Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels globally. It was on par with Canada and Australia, and had surpassed both France and Italy."
Nothing has changed in terms of potential. Argentina is vast, with a smallish but quite literate population, with incredible resources, and a wide wide ocean to fish in. It has jungles and prairies and wheat fields and mountains.
Now?
It's 95th in the world, just behind Guyana, just ahead of Turkmenistan. This is not helped by the constantly collapsing currency, but still
They have had deep recessions every other year for decades. It is a kind of slow-motion Venezuela. Something is deeply wrong with Argentina
It is a clear lesson in the dangers of caudilloism. Democracy is by far the best government type for long term economic success. Once you start introducing dictators you might get lucky with one or two, but before long you have an inept idiot in charge. Unlike democracy, it is far harder to remove him. Meaning you get decades of shitshow rather than 5 years.
That is certainly true of Argentina in the Peron era and onwards. But Argentina has been "democratic" for quite a while now and that hasn't helped either. The country is still a catastrophe. Something ELSE is wrong. Something even deeper
Meanwhile autocracies like Singapore flourish, with hardly any democracy at all
So it really isn't as simple as you say
Autocracies like Singapore manage to succeed because they are small enough to surf on other people's economic success and cream off the top. It's not really doable for a larger nation. And Argentina's democracy is highly flawed. The rewards for democracy really come into ripeness when you become comprehensively democratic.
Ah, I see. "Comprehensively democratic". That's the key?
Hmm.....
Anyway, enough debate. An entertaining evening. Night night
If Putin attacks Sweden I think Britain should launch a unilateral attack on the Bahamas AND Mongolia, just for the lolz. Also, we would win, as everyone else would be distracted
Well Boris needs a Falklands moment
Who do you suggest we invade. I would caution that Russia and China would be a bad idea.
Argentina again?
We would whip the Argies again. With just a dinghy
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The passably attractive women must have heard you were in town. And left.
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
Honestly, I tried, there aren't any
Stark contrast with Chile which has fabulously attractive women. Indeed the Atacama desert resort town of San Pedro has, I reckon, the highest level of female beauty per capita IN THE WORLD, and this is after an intense personal lifelong scientific study, comparable to Darwin's work on The Beagle
I think all the rich families in Chile send their lissom daughters on a gap year holiday to the Atacama. The effect is striking
Going back to Argentina, the calamitous mishandling of their economy is stunning
"Early in the twentieth century, Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels globally. It was on par with Canada and Australia, and had surpassed both France and Italy."
Nothing has changed in terms of potential. Argentina is vast, with a smallish but quite literate population, with incredible resources, and a wide wide ocean to fish in. It has jungles and prairies and wheat fields and mountains.
Now?
It's 95th in the world, just behind Guyana, just ahead of Turkmenistan. This is not helped by the constantly collapsing currency, but still
They have had deep recessions every other year for decades. It is a kind of slow-motion Venezuela. Something is deeply wrong with Argentina
It is a clear lesson in the dangers of caudilloism. Democracy is by far the best government type for long term economic success. Once you start introducing dictators you might get lucky with one or two, but before long you have an inept idiot in charge. Unlike democracy, it is far harder to remove him. Meaning you get decades of shitshow rather than 5 years.
That is certainly true of Argentina in the Peron era and onwards. But Argentina has been "democratic" for quite a while now and that hasn't helped either. The country is still a catastrophe. Something ELSE is wrong. Something even deeper
Meanwhile autocracies like Singapore flourish, with hardly any democracy at all
So it really isn't as simple as you say
I found this helpful in understanding the dynamics of South America.
Dismantling stable governments and poisoning relatively cohesive societies seems to have long term consequences.
Except that the most successful economy in South America is probably Chile (with the possible exception of Uruguay) and Chile is where the USA helped a quasi-Fascist (Pinochet) overthrow a quasi-communist (Allende) and after decades of stern autocracy Chile became democratic, and remains so, and - by the sad standards of Latin America - is stable, prosperous and free
The real explanations are much deeper than any of these glib analyses
Why not read the book. It's well reviewed and covers these topics in detail.
America did far more than help Pinochet. Its actions were fundamental to the deposing of an elected leader and the corrupting of an army.
Regarding Chile. Yes it is considered prosperous but the argument is as always for whom. The recent election may right some of the systemic inequalities.
Rachel Reeves is in conversation with Polly Toynbee at #FEPSFAB22. Reeves says the shift in the polls is an opportunity that must be seized because it means "people are more interested in what Labour has to say" – so plans re living with Covid etc are being set out now.
There are "so many parallels with what we inherited in 1997", Reeves says. "We’ve got a playbook here because Labour did transform public services." Citing New Labour policies on public services: "Friends, we will do those things again. We will turn around those public services."
Yet they still thought it was fine to send out a tweet publicising how a nurse had stopped a deeply upset man seeing his dying wife in order to gain some political points on BJ’s parties, and seem to have been surprised by the responses. I think one thing you will find post-COVID is that a decent chunk of the electorate is going to be sceptical about any party that advocates a greater role for the state, and that is not going to help Labour.
Anyone know why we have to wait until 26 Jan for the remaining covid restrictions to be binned? Why not can them now? Does anyone think we should keep them?
Because that is when they will expire if not renewed.
Re: 26 Jan, I know they expire then but so what? Why not just can them tomorrow? Does anyone think they should stay?
There is due to be a review before the rules expire in ten days. I guess they will be anxious to see if belatedly reducing the isolation period eases staff shortages that are impacting the NHS as well as other sectors.
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Anybody who interacts with kids knows the BBC just isn't relevant to them. And the licence fee is totally unenforceable in the days of 5G and broadband.
The only people who get done for not paying licence fee are idiots who basically admit it to the powerless Capita run sales people.
But the BBC won't reform.
The BBC still makes some good programmes, Strictly, the Attenborough documentaries, the Bodyguard etc.
However if we are to continue with the license fee it should be open to all freeview broadcasters including ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and their subsidiary channels Film4, ITV2 etc for programmes of cultural, scientific or current affairs or sporting interest.
The BBC will then have to make popular enough soaps, dramas and reality shows to be funded by advertising revenue like Strictly and the Bodyguard as they get big audiences.
The main selling point of the BBC is that there are no bloody adverts.
There's no adverts on Netflix either.
But who actually gives a f##k about adverts in 2022?
We have shows series linked from Sky channels etc and for decades now TV remotes have had a fast forward button to skip past the ads.
Its going to be all out war between the BBC and the government. The BBC bods will see it as they can't come to pass that the Tories win the next GE.
They can't fight the future, tho. Kids just don't watch BBC. My daughter is 15, she probably consumes an hour of BBC output a month. Is that worth £160 a year? No
She watches Youtube, Netflix, TikTok. She watches old programmes on streaming services. "Downton" is as close as she gets to watching traditional TV (I think she consumes it via YouTube)
Her friends watch even less. Dorries is right. It is over for the BBC as it stands. The Culture War thing is a colourful sideshow (and it has maybe accelerated the BBC's demise, mildly). The BBC model is simply broken
Anybody who interacts with kids knows the BBC just isn't relevant to them. And the licence fee is totally unenforceable in the days of 5G and broadband.
The only people who get done for not paying licence fee are idiots who basically admit it to the powerless Capita run sales people.
But the BBC won't reform.
The BBC still makes some good programmes, Strictly, the Attenborough documentaries, the Bodyguard etc.
However if we are to continue with the license fee it should be open to all freeview broadcasters including ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and their subsidiary channels Film4, ITV2 etc for programmes of cultural, scientific or current affairs or sporting interest.
The BBC will then have to make popular enough soaps, dramas and reality shows to be funded by advertising revenue like Strictly and the Bodyguard as they get big audiences.
The main selling point of the BBC is that there are no bloody adverts.
There's no adverts on Netflix either.
But who actually gives a f##k about adverts in 2022?
We have shows series linked from Sky channels etc and for decades now TV remotes have had a fast forward button to skip past the ads.
I can't stand adverts. Breaks my immersion in a drama. Even if you are fast forwarding.
I mentioned on an earlier thread that I'd recorded the pressure wave from the volcano, and a couple of others posted graphs.
Just to add that I believe I've just recorded the one going the long way round the earth. Incredible.
I wonder if it will come back for a second pass? I believe the one from Krakatoa went round the world twice.
Note that this phenomenon is likely to be a gravity wave - like a wave from a stone dropped in a pond. The lower atmosphere ripples up and down after it was disturbed by the volcanic eruption. It is not an actual shock wave.
There is absolutely nothing in AUKUS about mutual defence commitments. It's primarily a technology collaboration agreement that transfers US technology to Australia and Australian tax payers' money to the USA.
Comments
The only people who get done for not paying licence fee are idiots who basically admit it to the powerless Capita run sales people.
But the BBC won't reform.
In the coming days, the military will be put in charge of stopping the flow of illegal migrants across the Channel.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/is-boris-johnson-finally-sunk-t9ndpfwks
They can't shoot them. They can't drown them. They can't pick them up and take them back.
I actually think Gove might make an OK PM, but he is not papabile, not remotely
GNASHER GOES VEGAN
😡
Why the heck would you watch at a time set by someone else?
Not sure we could afford your salary!!
"there will be no more licence fee renewals as long as Boris is PM"
...so that's no more renewals in the, erm, check notes, next four months.
The only live tv where there is viewership and money is sport. And even then the analysis is going to the likes of the Athletic rather than legacy media. I never watch any of analysis from MOTD, Sky Sports etc, once you have read the Athletic or others on the internet that offer specialist analysis there isn't any going back.
The mere invocation makes the issue go away without the bother of working out exactly how.
Quiet bat people.
Its easy to say that green initiatives are making your bills higher and I'm sure people will be more susceptible to this as the bills rack up.
Personally I can’t remember the last time I watched anything on the BBC other than election coverage. It could well have been 10 years ago. But Junior is a devotee.
Roger Gale, Douglas Ross, Andrew Bridgen, Caroline Nokes, Will Wragg, Tobias Ellwood too.
(Had texts from more this w/e very worried about anger of members/constituents. They believe it’s matter of when, not if)
https://twitter.com/PippaCrerar/status/1482488392977981440
https://twitter.com/timloughton/status/1482463465629495297
However if we are to continue with the license fee it should be open to all freeview broadcasters including ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and their subsidiary channels Film4, ITV2 etc for programmes of cultural, scientific or current affairs or sporting interest.
The BBC will then have to make popular enough soaps, dramas and reality shows to be funded by advertising revenue like Strictly and the Bodyguard as they get big audiences.
Things like Boris announcing the first lockdown. US and UK elections. London Bridge. War.
China's interest in New Caledonia:
"French authorities have observed with concern China’s growing presence across the region from the Indian Ocean to the South Pacific. China’s 2017 inauguration of a military base in Djibouti was a wake-up call for France, which remains anxious about Beijing’s expanding military reach. During a visit to New Caledonia in 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that China’s mounting influence in the South Pacific could “reduce our freedoms and opportunities.”
"Beijing is especially interested in New Caledonia’s resources, as it imports 55 percent of the nickel produced on the archipelago. The French Navy is dealing with China’s attempt to engineer a fait accompli in the South and East China Seas to impose its territorial claims. Adm. Pierre Vandier, chief of the French Navy, recently denounced Beijing’s “asphyxiating strategy,” explaining that French “vessels were systematically followed, sometimes forced to maneuver in front of Chinese ships to avoid a collision, in defiance of the rules of freedom of navigation.”"
China is to France in the Indo-Pacific as Japan was to Britain in about 1940. The rising Asian power eyes a weakening European power. Except that China is much mightier than Japan in 1940, and France is much weaker than Britain in 1940
https://twitter.com/PippaCrerar/status/1482489139903746055
The details in these polls are much, much worse for the Conservatives than the headline figures.
I'm sure you'd make more decisive runs than we saw today.
Sky are going totally streaming, so you don't even need a dish on the side of your house or be at the address where you are watching Sky (you didn't already with Sky Go, but that wasn't full HD).
If you don't want to pay, there is basically nothing anybody can do. Capita have no power or ability to find out you are watching tv without a licence unless you admit it.
The polling detail suggests the opposite. Perhaps those who have had the tougher lockdown experience are more angry than the middle class office workers sipping their Chardonnay from their home offices?
Argentina again?
https://www.private-eye.co.uk/covers/cover-647
Super Caley go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious.
Just perfect.
It isn't in call centres, supermarkets or on building sites. Let alone the NHS or education.
After work in the pub, sure. But not during. That's instant dismissal. No arguments.
So maybe it cut through more?
ITV? I thought she was pissed at the Beeb because of their coverage of the Falklands?
I went to Ushuaia, their main naval base for any Falklands type stuff, in 2019. The whole town is plastered with LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS! type stuff, with flags and banners and memorials to the wartime dead
Also, parts of their navy are there, basically a couple of rusting cruisers and half-sunk submarines.
It is a weirdly pathetic nation, Argentina (and I apologise to any Argentinian readers or commenters). The people are lovely and nice but so so many are puffed up with a mad patriotic pride they cannot possibly satisfy, meanwhile their country falls down around them, even tho they have the resources of a highly prosperous nation
The only impressive people are the wine makers, the cowboys, and the steak restaurateurs, everyone else stares dumbly at the wall, or falls over broken pavements. The women are are unusually hideous with weird heads. I saw one passably attractive woman in Buenos Aires in a week. ONE. In the capital city (which is bit of a toilet, not the "Paris of Latin America as is often promised")
The Iguazu Falls are great, however
The government would however give Capita full powers to track and fine anyone watching freeview having not paid the licence fee
Leonly Planet?
BOOK LACK IN ONGAR
Which is also genius. Sun sub-editors are paid well for a reason
ETA scooped by @Alistair
Hmmm....
Sienna Rodgers
@siennamarla
Rachel Reeves is in conversation with Polly Toynbee at #FEPSFAB22. Reeves says the shift in the polls is an opportunity that must be seized because it means "people are more interested in what Labour has to say" – so plans re living with Covid etc are being set out now.
There are "so many parallels with what we inherited in 1997", Reeves says. "We’ve got a playbook here because Labour did transform public services." Citing New Labour policies on public services: "Friends, we will do those things again. We will turn around those public services."
Bozza is going nowhere.
Anyone know why we have to wait until 26 Jan for the remaining covid restrictions to be binned? Why not can them now? Does anyone think we should keep them?
THERE IS NO BLOODY MONEY LEFT
The words you are looking for is "unpopular with a certain set."
But they don't go out until at least 1 am. Perhaps you were badly jet-lagged and missed them..?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_on_the_Rock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_a_Princess
It's all hard slog of inflation, tax rises, waiting lists, a total absence of Brexit dividend and a traumatised electorate.
With no plan whatsoever.
COVID has kept Bozo afloat for two years.
Stark contrast with Chile which has fabulously attractive women. Indeed the Atacama desert resort town of San Pedro has, I reckon, the highest level of female beauty per capita IN THE WORLD, and this is after an intense personal lifelong scientific study, comparable to Darwin's work on The Beagle
I think all the rich families in Chile send their lissom daughters on a gap year holiday to the Atacama. The effect is striking
Going back to Argentina, the calamitous mishandling of their economy is stunning
"Early in the twentieth century, Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels globally. It was on par with Canada and Australia, and had surpassed both France and Italy."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Argentina
Nothing has changed in terms of potential. Argentina is vast, with a smallish but quite literate population, with incredible resources, and a wide wide ocean to fish in. It has jungles and prairies and wheat fields and mountains.
Now?
It's 95th in the world, just behind Guyana, just ahead of Turkmenistan. This is not helped by the constantly collapsing currency, but still
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita
They have had deep recessions every other year for decades. It is a kind of slow-motion Venezuela. Something is deeply wrong with Argentina
The Star is having fun: Party Party Taxes Parties.
Party-poopers from the party that loves a rule-breaking party will tax parties, with essential office supplies such as wine glasses set to be walloped.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/party-loving-tories-introduce-mega-25957085
You want more money for the NHS and social care
You want to spend billions on Net Zero
You want to invest huge amounts in levelling up
You want low taxes
You want to maintain current services
Sorry something has to give
Meanwhile autocracies like Singapore flourish, with hardly any democracy at all
So it really isn't as simple as you say
It's a chic desert resort town surrounded by saltflats and stunning mountains and volcanoes - the Andes. Quite close to the Bolivian border
It attracts young people as a kind of upscale cowboy rugged hipster backpacker hangout. Most are Chilean gap year types with a sizeable smattering of young Europeans and Americans
I am not joking about the women. It's the sort of place where, as a man, your jaw drops every four metres
The closest comparison I can think of is maybe rich coastal Croatia or bits of the Baltics, or Minsk, or central St Petersburg, where every third woman seems to be a model. The Slavic cheekbones
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2020/08/02/book-review-the-jakarta-method-washingtons-anticommunist-crusade-and-the-mass-murder-program-that-shaped-our-world-by-vincent-bevins/
Dismantling stable governments and poisoning relatively cohesive societies seems to have long term consequences.
The real explanations are much deeper than any of these glib analyses
Re: 26 Jan, I know they expire then but so what? Why not just can them tomorrow? Does anyone think they should stay?
Hmm.....
Anyway, enough debate. An entertaining evening. Night night
America did far more than help Pinochet. Its actions were fundamental to the deposing of an elected leader and the corrupting of an army.
Regarding Chile. Yes it is considered prosperous but the argument is as always for whom. The recent election may right some of the systemic inequalities.
But who actually gives a f##k about adverts in 2022?
We have shows series linked from Sky channels etc and for decades now TV remotes have had a fast forward button to skip past the ads.
https://conniptions.org/pfeffel/
Just to add that I believe I've just recorded the one going the long way round the earth. Incredible.
I wonder if it will come back for a second pass? I believe the one from Krakatoa went round the world twice.
Note that this phenomenon is likely to be a gravity wave - like a wave from a stone dropped in a pond. The lower atmosphere ripples up and down after it was disturbed by the volcanic eruption. It is not an actual shock wave.