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Is Greater Manchester ready for Mayor Galloway? – politicalbetting.com

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  • mwadamsmwadams Posts: 3,771
    Leon said:

    I really don't want this argument to go on. I've made my point. It is fairly clear

    Robert Smithson said:

    "Dall-E did not come out of GPT. They are two, entirely different systems"

    Whereas OpenAI, who actually made Dall-e and GPT (unlike Robert Smithson) say this:


    "DALL·E is a 12-billion parameter version of GPT-3 trained to generate images from text descriptions, using a dataset of text–image pairs"

    Now that really is it. Finito. Manana. Kiss kiss
    I'll see if I can tempt you out again... That's because in their marketing material the same terms are being used for different things. So you're not quite making a like for like argument *even though" I agree with you that RS is being too emphatic!

    And I also will shut up on the subject.
  • DonkeysDonkeys Posts: 723
    edited March 2024
    kinabalu said:

    It's an evolution of the word for use in the political sphere.

    Eg Nigel Farage. For years a genuine fighter for a genuine cause (Brexit) he genuinely believed in. Mr Genuine. Surprised that wasn't his nickname.

    But now (let's assume for the sake of this illustration) knocking on, Brexit done, no longer interested in changing the world, instead content to exploit his personal brand for pure gratification and profit (GBNews, AskFarage, TalkingPints, BrexitCords, StripalongaNigel etc), this is a different NF, clearly, and what is it that he has become?

    Yep. You got it.
    Nigel Farage did Cameo too. Not too dissimilar from Trump's digital trading cards.

    But long before the trading cards there was Trump University, called nothing but a scam by New York's attorney general:

    https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/11/18/reports-trump-nears-settlement-trump-u-fraud-case/94068946/

    Agreed, though, that Trump isn't really a hustler or grifter. He's a crook.
  • DM_AndyDM_Andy Posts: 1,127

    An echo of UK's monarchical transition?

    Seattle Times is informing me, that based on 2023 population estimates released by US Census Bureau, King County WA has just passed Queens County NY (aka NYC Borough of Queens) as USA's 12th-largest county.

    Queens now 13th place, where King was last year.

    HOWEVER, note that Kings County NY (aka NYC Borough of Brooklyn) is still larger in 9th place.

    Here is current Top 12 list

    1. Los Angeles Co CA
    2. Cook Co IL (Chicago)
    3. Harris Co TX (Houston)
    4. Maricopa Co AZ (Phoenix)
    5. San Diego Co CA
    6. Orange Co CA (Anaheim-Irvine-Santa Ana)
    7. Miami-Dade Co FL
    8. Dallas Co TX
    9. Kings Co NY (Brooklyn)
    10. Riverside Co CA
    11. Clark Co NV (Las Vegas)
    12. King Co WA (Seattle)

    While Queens County, NY was named after royalty (Catherine of Braganza) King County WA is an very odd fish, named originally after William King (13th Vice-President of the United States) but then taken off him and officially renamed after Martin Luther King. I'm not sure you can just "Candle in the Wind" things like that because the reason King County is called King County is the VP not MLK.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,119

    But Isam is recommending Johnson. Tried, tested and rejected!
    Not rejected by the voters. He is their best shot, but it’s probably too late, and to improbable for him to be a runner now
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 35,155
    edited March 2024
    Leon said:

    I think I might be the only person on here who is paid to use the English language, creatively, albeit in my second job? Might that not explain why I am particularly interested in it?

    We did have another writer, @Mysticrose?

    I miss her. She was fun. She was NOT me, btw
    Spoiler alert: @Mysticrose is you pal.

    PS there are some other published authors on here - one or two have mentioned when they have a new book out (e.g. MorrisDancer?).
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617
    Nigelb said:

    At around £2.50 per meal in funding, I don't think they're making a huge fortune, though.
    It did startle me that, if I read correctly, the school in the first report can only say "please pretty please, can we have a bit more gruel" given that the caterers are contractors not to the school, or the LEA, but to the commercial firm which operates the school as a PFI.
  • TrumanTruman Posts: 279
    Nigelb said:

    I think you're fundamentally wrong.
    The grift is absolutely a big part of the reason Trump is in politics. Indeed running against Clinton possibly saved his business at the time.
    The addiction to power is also part of it, but that doesn't invalidate the description.

    Likewise, and more purely so, RFK Jnr.
    Nonsense RFK jr certainly doesnt need the money.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,119
    edited March 2024

    Who is being helped when a newspaper writes a sentence like, "exposed her penis" in a court report about someone convicted of possession of child abuse images?

    Why are so many paedophiles claiming to be trans?
    Because we have somehow got into the ludicrous situation where judges call men who sexually attack women & children using their penis ‘her/she’, and these perverts who pretend to be women sometimes manage to wangle themselves into a female prison

    The world has gone mad
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617
    edited March 2024
    Leon said:

    also that classic of hoteliering literature:

    The Lost Art of Scottish Hospitality

    Chapter one: Greeting Guests
    I'm just reading a book of Scots humour from 1896, found in the family library inherited by me. A certain dourness is much approved of.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 75,858
    Carnyx said:

    I'm just reading a book of Scots humour from 1896, found in the family library inherited by me. A certain dourness is much approved of.
    Any good gags to share ?
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 18,144
    AlsoLei said:

    My understanding of the term is that 'grift' implies something fairly low-level or petty; it's what distinguishes it from 'scam'.

    Perhaps he was previously a grifter but, on becoming President, surely he graduated to become a scammer?
    No, I don't think the one is a larger version of the other. As I understand it, grift is a fraud of seeking financial donations and then pocketing the cash or spending it on personal benefit rather than the stated purpose. A scam is a wider term, encompassing almost any type of fraud. But either can be petty or grand. Probably all grifts are scams though.
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 18,144
    isam said:

    Not rejected by the voters. He is their best shot, but it’s probably too late, and to improbable for him to be a runner now
    Not at a general election but he had been rejected in lesser polls.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617
    As it's Friday pm: who was it mentioned chicken nuggets on TV this weekend? This review is pretty positive.

    https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/mar/15/its-so-weird-the-tv-show-about-a-woman-who-turns-into-a-chicken-nugget
  • MJWMJW Posts: 2,005
    Leon said:

    Apart from anything else, "grifter" is being so overused it is losing any impact, so you really should desist, and save it for actual grifters

    English has the richest vocabulary of any language on earth: exploit it!
    There's also a distinction between figures like Farage - figures from the 'pre-grift' era who have see how easy it is to monetise a certain degree of political celebrity and those who are entirely a creation of social media's need for blowhards capable of attracting eyeballs without any filter on the quality of what they are saying.

    Farage would still be around without his hawking himself about, he'd just probably be giving the Sunday Telegraph soft soap interviews, writing a book and doing 'An Evening With...'. The genuine political grifters are those who wouldn't be near political media if there weren't money to be made by being performatively thick.
  • JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 6,537
    Truman said:

    Nonsense RFK jr certainly doesnt need the money.
    Addiction to money is a thing. People absolutely don't need any more money but they keep on creating schemes to rake it in
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 35,155
    Carnyx said:

    It did startle me that, if I read correctly, the school in the first report can only say "please pretty please, can we have a bit more gruel" given that the caterers are contractors not to the school, or the LEA, but to the commercial firm which operates the school as a PFI.
    The madness of rampant neoliberalism shouldn't startle us these days.
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 23,940
    Carnyx said:

    As it's Friday pm: who was it mentioned chicken nuggets on TV this weekend? This review is pretty positive.

    https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/mar/15/its-so-weird-the-tv-show-about-a-woman-who-turns-into-a-chicken-nugget

    Only on PB... :)
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 75,858
    Carnyx said:

    As it's Friday pm: who was it mentioned chicken nuggets on TV this weekend? This review is pretty positive.

    https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/mar/15/its-so-weird-the-tv-show-about-a-woman-who-turns-into-a-chicken-nugget

    I'm looking forward to it; I'll crack open the soju.
    Good cast, so fingers crossed.

    Korean TV is great.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 19,126

    The madness of rampant neoliberalism shouldn't startle us these days.
    It shouldn't, but I think it's better if it does. Easier to imagine changing it if we are still shocked by the absurdity of the current status quo.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 14,008
    edited March 2024

    Ahhhhh. 🐎 not again 🙇‍♀️

    Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. Not again. 🤦‍♀️

    Three times today less than a length in second.

    I’ve only got Bingoo left. And that might as well be a euphemism 🙇‍♀️
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 53,825
    Nigelb said:

    Any good gags to share ?
    Does it include the one about the ghillies who find a dead ape escaped from the zoo?
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 18,144
    Anyway, back to politics.

    People Polling, eh?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,286

    Spoiler alert: @Mysticrose is you pal.

    PS there are some other published authors on here - one or two have mentioned when they have a new book out (e.g. MorrisDancer?).
    it's very flattering that you think I have the multi-tasking skills to create all these sockpuppets. Sadly, I do not

    @Mysticrose was very much her own woman (she was a she, IIRC). She also had fascinating and unusual opinions -
    a well-travelled leftwing Brexiteer! - and she had some remarkable experiences to share: shame she quit

    On checking her profile I see that this was her final comment, in early 2021, in the middle of the horrible lockdown winter:


    "And with that I'm orrrf. G'day to y'all. xx"

    As someone who keeps trying to leave, and fails miserably, I have to admire the elan there. She said she was going, she said it with style, and she's actually gone. Chapeau
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 11,395
    Carnyx said:

    I'm just reading a book of Scots humour from 1896, found in the family library inherited by me. A certain dourness is much approved of.
    A concise volume I imagine?

    Other than Burns and his passing off of his works into to Scottish canon I can't think of much that was humorous before Billy Connelly. Who are these amusing people?

  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 43,123
    Leon said:

    also that classic of hoteliering literature:

    The Lost Art of Scottish Hospitality

    Chapter one: Greeting Guests
    The guests sure would be greeting afterwards.

    Niche Scotch language joke. Well, niche furth of Scotland.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,119

    Does it include the one about the ghillies who find a dead ape escaped from the zoo?
    “Ye can take ma daughter tae Inverness!!” was the punchline of my fav Scottish joke
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,286
    We have lost an awful lot of interesting commenters, and they are still disappearing

    I know it is the way of the world, Nineveh and Tyre and all that, but it is still a damn shame

    Hopefully AI will create loads of interesting bots that can fill the gaps. That should, actually, be an easily achievable task
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,286

    The guests sure would be greeting afterwards.

    Niche Scotch language joke. Well, niche furth of Scotland.
    Greeting = weeping, right?

    Irvine Welsh uses it a lot. I do like a bit of gritty Scotch vocab. "Stramash" is brilliant
  • TrumanTruman Posts: 279

    Addiction to money is a thing. People absolutely don't need any more money but they keep on creating schemes to rake it in
    So by your logic noone has any principles and everyone is on the grift. Being a tory mp is a grift, being a high paid journalist is a grift, being a big pharma rep is certainly a grift.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617
    Nigelb said:

    Any good gags to share ?
    Let's just say I can't see Billy Connolly raiding it.

    One or two are on the level of:

    English commercial traveller gets out for a walk along the platform when his cold train is stopped for a while, to try and warm himself up. Passing a porter:

    - Ah, this is invigorating.
    - Na, na, sir; this is Invergordon.

    Though the more grimly philosophical ones are better:

    Travelling dancing-master and his son have tea chez a very parsimonious housewife. Off they go, and when safely away, he remarks "Aweel, Jock, if we're no better we're no waur".

    Or:

    Visitor wanting to check the salmon fishing asks a local:

    -There's been nane seen this sisson.
    -But I heard that one had been hooked only last week down at [wherever]?
    (grimly and emphatically) - There micht hae be ane hookit, but there's been nane seen.


  • TrumanTruman Posts: 279
    Leon said:

    Apart from anything else, "grifter" is being so overused it is losing any impact, so you really should desist, and save it for actual grifters

    English has the richest vocabulary of any language on earth: exploit it!
    also it seems only to be applied to those on the right.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617
    Omnium said:

    A concise volume I imagine?

    Other than Burns and his passing off of his works into to Scottish canon I can't think of much that was humorous before Billy Connelly. Who are these amusing people?

    Obviously unfamiliar with most of Scots literature, then.

    Over 300 pp. Many people from all over Scotland and its diaspora.
  • TrumanTruman Posts: 279
    Leon said:

    We have lost an awful lot of interesting commenters, and they are still disappearing

    I know it is the way of the world, Nineveh and Tyre and all that, but it is still a damn shame

    Hopefully AI will create loads of interesting bots that can fill the gaps. That should, actually, be an easily achievable task

    You still got the Truman show mate.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617
    edited March 2024

    Does it include the one about the ghillies who find a dead ape escaped from the zoo?
    Actually, some of the jokes reminded me of that very one - that implacable even-handedness.

    PS IIRC it was a chimp from a travelling menagerie.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 43,123
    edited March 2024
    Leon said:

    Greeting = weeping, right?

    Irvine Welsh uses it a lot. I do like a bit of gritty Scotch vocab. "Stramash" is brilliant
    Aye.

    ‘That hotelier just called me a ******’ **** and punched me in the face just because I asked for sugar on my porridge!’ sobbed the unfortunate guest as they wiped blood from their nose.

    ‘Stop ****** greeting!’ roared the hotelier.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,286
    I’ve managed to capture a superb close up image of these curious raptors haunting the Colombian coastline. There’s lots of detail here so I hope a PB ornithologist will now be able to identify the species



  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 11,395
    Carnyx said:

    Obviously unfamiliar with most of Scots literature, then.

    Over 300 pp. Many people from all over Scotland and its diaspora.
    Sounds interesting. I'm English, but from a Scottish ancestral line. So obviously I can find no greater fun than poking the Scots in the ribs, but equally I'm really quite interested in what went on in the dark and rainy land in the past.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,286
    Solved!


    “The black vulture (Coragyps atratus), also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the southeastern United States to Perú, Central Chile and Uruguay in South America”

    I love the Internet
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559
    DM_Andy said:

    While Queens County, NY was named after royalty (Catherine of Braganza) King County WA is an very odd fish, named originally after William King (13th Vice-President of the United States) but then taken off him and officially renamed after Martin Luther King. I'm not sure you can just "Candle in the Wind" things like that because the reason King County is called King County is the VP not MLK.
    Check out the top left-hand corner of this web page
    https://cd.kingcounty.gov/en/home/dept/elections

    King Co, Washington WAS originally named for Franklin Pierce's Vice President, following his untimely death in office; note that neighboring Pierce Co, Washington was named for FP.

    These names were designated in early 1850s by the (IIRC) Oregon Territory legislature.

    BUT as per KC's wiki page:

    Originally named after US representative, senator, and then vice president-elect William R. King in 1852, the county government amended its designation in 1986 to honor Martin Luther King Jr., a prominent activist and leader during the Civil rights movement. The change was approved by the state government in 2005.

    So, yes, the county AND state CAN "Candle in the WInd" things like that.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,068
    Thoughts and prayers for @MrEd as the prosecutor on the Georgia case is allowed to stay - however, with the caveat her ex-lover must go on the Caesar's wife principle.

    Fani Willis can stay on Donald Trump Georgia election case if ex-lover quits
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68568382
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,286
    Gallinazo is a great name for a bird. Is "gallinazi" the plural?

    Yes, I am a bit bored
  • boulayboulay Posts: 6,047
    Leon said:

    I’ve managed to capture a superb close up image of these curious raptors haunting the Colombian coastline. There’s lots of detail here so I hope a PB ornithologist will now be able to identify the species



    It’s clearly the Colombian Highasa Kite.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617
    edited March 2024
    Omnium said:

    Sounds interesting. I'm English, but from a Scottish ancestral line. So obviously I can find no greater fun than poking the Scots in the ribs, but equally I'm really quite interested in what went on in the dark and rainy land in the past.
    The book has a lot of anecdotes rather than jokes, so it's actually quite a good social history in its way. Some of them are obsolete these days - unless one is a gardener with a compost heap, I suppose, in the case of (here abbreviated) one about a hard-working Aberdeenshire farmer before 6 am in winter, yelling up the stairs to his sons:
    - Get up, you lazy loons, gin ye lie muckle langer ye'll rot!
    - Na, na, faither, we turn whiles.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 14,008
    boulay said:

    It’s clearly the Colombian Highasa Kite.
    No - I think it’s an actual bird.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,119
    edited March 2024
    Another reason it was madness for the Tory MPs to get rid of Boris was there was a dynamic between him & Sir Keir that was a wedge issue in itself - there was no need to create any more. They were the totem poles of Get Brexit Done & Second Referendum, they were Cavalier vs Roundhead, Arthur Daley vs Chisholm, Rocky vs Apollo Creed, Joker vs Batman…People would’ve chosen a side but now it’s just meh
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 16,364
    Truman said:

    also it seems only to be applied to those on the right.
    Russell Brand used to be a grifter on the left but is now a grifter on the right. Left wing people tend to lack the entrepreneurial flair required for the role.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,119
    Carnyx said:

    The book has a lot of anecdotes rather than jokes, so it's actually quite a good social history in its way. Some of them are obsolete these days - unless one is a gardener with a compost heap, I suppose, in the case of (here abbreviated) one about a hard-working Aberdeenshire farmer before 6 am in winter, yelling up the stairs to his sons:
    - Get up, you lazy loons, gin ye lie muckle langer ye'll rot!
    - Na, na, faither, we turn whiles.
    Anecdotes instead of actual jokes? Social History over laughs? You sure it’s not The Daily Mash Annual?
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617
    isam said:

    Anecdotes instead of actual jokes? Social History over laughs? You sure it’s not The Daily Mash Annual?
    Quite sure. It's in the nature of the beast.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 14,008
    Bingoo goes off at 40-1. 🐎 And I can switch off, go out and lie down in the shed.
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 11,395
    Carnyx said:

    The book has a lot of anecdotes rather than jokes, so it's actually quite a good social history in its way. Some of them are obsolete these days - unless one is a gardener with a compost heap, I suppose, in the case of (here abbreviated) one about a hard-working Aberdeenshire farmer before 6 am in winter, yelling up the stairs to his sons:
    - Get up, you lazy loons, gin ye lie muckle langer ye'll rot!
    - Na, na, faither, we turn whiles.
    I think my family left Scotland (and it was Aberdeenshire coincidently) in about 1885 (Scots Guards), so this must have been their day-to-day. I find these transitions enormously fascinating.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,871

    Russell Brand used to be a grifter on the left but is now a grifter on the right. Left wing people tend to lack the entrepreneurial flair required for the role.
    On topic. So is Galloway.
  • Alphabet_SoupAlphabet_Soup Posts: 3,559
    Carnyx said:

    The book has a lot of anecdotes rather than jokes, so it's actually quite a good social history in its way. Some of them are obsolete these days - unless one is a gardener with a compost heap, I suppose, in the case of (here abbreviated) one about a hard-working Aberdeenshire farmer before 6 am in winter, yelling up the stairs to his sons:
    - Get up, you lazy loons, gin ye lie muckle langer ye'll rot!
    - Na, na, faither, we turn whiles.
    Wandered into a bar in Dingwall and ordered haggis for lunch. You could have heard a pin drop. Suddenly the place was alive with unsolicited advice whether to eat it, how to eat it and what the consequences might be. Various phone numbers were proffered for emergency use. Finally I had to eat it while the assembled company measured my progress with feigned concern. I left to a hearty round of applause.

    Dour it wasn't.
  • DM_AndyDM_Andy Posts: 1,127

    Check out the top left-hand corner of this web page
    https://cd.kingcounty.gov/en/home/dept/elections

    King Co, Washington WAS originally named for Franklin Pierce's Vice President, following his untimely death in office; note that neighboring Pierce Co, Washington was named for FP.

    These names were designated in early 1850s by the (IIRC) Oregon Territory legislature.

    BUT as per KC's wiki page:

    Originally named after US representative, senator, and then vice president-elect William R. King in 1852, the county government amended its designation in 1986 to honor Martin Luther King Jr., a prominent activist and leader during the Civil rights movement. The change was approved by the state government in 2005.

    So, yes, the county AND state CAN "Candle in the WInd" things like that.
    Yes, they CAN, but it's still a bit like declaring Rwanda a safe country, it doesn't change the fact the county was named after William King.

  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617
    Omnium said:

    I think my family left Scotland (and it was Aberdeenshire coincidently) in about 1885 (Scots Guards), so this must have been their day-to-day. I find these transitions enormously fascinating.
    The author comments on the changing attitude to social welfare, and how even in his own day many still would not deign to accept charity. I rather think that's one reason for NI originally - to try and make sure there was no stigma about taking the pension.

    The classic Aberdeenshire rural novel is Johnnie Gibb of Gushetneuk btw - but it does need the mental ear to bed into the Doric if one isn't familiar with it.
  • boulayboulay Posts: 6,047
    dixiedean said:

    It is appalling.
    And such minuscule portions for growing teens.
    A sandwich. That is two slices of thin white bread with one slice of ham, cheese or a spoonful of tuna and a biscuit is one of the edible options.
    There are millions of voters whose kids are being treated like this.
    I was listening about this situation over the last couple of days whilst waking up and had one of those “if I had Bezos money…” thought processes start.

    I’ve always thought that there must be universal free school meals but not just lunch, breakfast too.

    I was lucky enough at school to be able to shovel down, every morning, endless cereal, a cooked breakfast of some variety and endless toast, tea, coffee, juice or milk. I had access to hot chocolate and biscuits at break in the winter and juice and biscuits in the summer and a solid hot lunch every day with a regular smorgasbord of choices in the evening.

    We absolutely ate like horses and weren’t getting fat because we were studying all day, playing sports, being young and growing our brains and bodies. We were very lucky that we had the fuel there. I find it very hard to accept that other kids don’t get even a tiny part of that and so as I said I believe there should be free school meals, breakfast and lunch, for every kid.

    But re the Bezos or Musk money I tried to think how it would work if I could say “I’m putting 50 billion into trust to cover the cost of this forever. Do you build kitchens and canteens for every school? Food trucks in the playground? Do you have one organisation doing the whole thing to achieve purchasing power? How do you cope with dietary requirements, religious rules, kids being picky kids as they will be naturally?

    I would love to have to find the solution but somehow it does need to be done.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 19,126
    Leon said:

    I’ve managed to capture a superb close up image of these curious raptors haunting the Colombian coastline. There’s lots of detail here so I hope a PB ornithologist will now be able to identify the species



    What you have there is a bird. You can tell on account of the wings.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 53,825
    a

    Wandered into a bar in Dingwall and ordered haggis for lunch. You could have heard a pin drop. Suddenly the place was alive with unsolicited advice whether to eat it, how to eat it and what the consequences might be. Various phone numbers were proffered for emergency use. Finally I had to eat it while the assembled company measured my progress with feigned concern. I left to a hearty round of applause.

    Dour it wasn't.
    Free range or battery raised?
  • CatManCatMan Posts: 3,169
    Leon said:

    I think I might be the only person on here who is paid to use the English language, creatively, albeit in my second job? Might that not explain why I am particularly interested in it?

    We did have another writer, @Mysticrose?

    I miss her. She was fun. She was NOT me, btw
    The thread where they last posted is fascinating. Talking about how Boris is going to play the 2024 election. February 2021. Ukraine is just a glint in Putin's eye.
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 16,364
    dixiedean said:

    It is appalling.
    And such minuscule portions for growing teens.
    A sandwich. That is two slices of thin white bread with one slice of ham, cheese or a spoonful of tuna and a biscuit is one of the edible options.
    There are millions of voters whose kids are being treated like this.
    A quote from a headteacher in this piece: "You do wonder how many ministers have children in state schools, and know what meals are like."
    I have consistently said that nobody with kids in private school should be anywhere near schools policy. If people in charge had personal skin in the game the system would not be in the appalling state it is now.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 18,162
    dixiedean said:

    It is appalling.
    And such minuscule portions for growing teens.
    A sandwich. That is two slices of thin white bread with one slice of ham, cheese or a spoonful of tuna and a biscuit is one of the edible options.
    There are millions of voters whose kids are being treated like this.
    It's the COVIDtide food parcels scandal again.

    But if profit in the next twelve months is how you keep score, rather than longer term reputation, what do you expect?

    Capitalism is great, but it does have an unacceptable face. And unfortunately for the incumbent PM, it looks remarkably like his.
  • AlsoLeiAlsoLei Posts: 1,508

    Russell Brand used to be a grifter on the left but is now a grifter on the right. Left wing people tend to lack the entrepreneurial flair required for the role.
    Oh god, there's loads of them on twitter.

    People with between a fifty thousand and a million followers who post an endless stream of "Fuck the tories!", "What's your favourite biscuit? Mine's a bourbon!", "Boris is a wankmuffin!", "Send me money, and I'll pass it on to a charity!", "Here's a clip from BBC QT that proves that all Tories are shits!"...

    Grifters, all of them. Some are better at wheedling money out of their followers than others, but they're all on the take to some extent.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 53,388
    Leon said:

    I’ve managed to capture a superb close up image of these curious raptors haunting the Colombian coastline. There’s lots of detail here so I hope a PB ornithologist will now be able to identify the species



    The Wherethefuckarewe Bird.
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 11,395
    Carnyx said:

    The author comments on the changing attitude to social welfare, and how even in his own day many still would not deign to accept charity. I rather think that's one reason for NI originally - to try and make sure there was no stigma about taking the pension.

    The classic Aberdeenshire rural novel is Johnnie Gibb of Gushetneuk btw - but it does need the mental ear to bed into the Doric if one isn't familiar with it.
    Thanks Carnyx

    I'll find a copy.

  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559
    DM_Andy said:

    Yes, they CAN, but it's still a bit like declaring Rwanda a safe country, it doesn't change the fact the county was named after William King.

    Emphasis on "was".
  • boulayboulay Posts: 6,047

    A quote from a headteacher in this piece: "You do wonder how many ministers have children in state schools, and know what meals are like."
    I have consistently said that nobody with kids in private school should be anywhere near schools policy. If people in charge had personal skin in the game the system would not be in the appalling state it is now.
    I’m sure there was an old saw that the French Education Minister could look at a piece of paper and know what every schoolchild in France was having for lunch that day. I would hope/expect that every education minister whose kids were at private school would look at what his/her kids are eating, and look at what other kids are eating and go mad if it was not aligned.

    You can hate the discrepancy without living the reality and do something about it. It just requires basic thought and humanity.
  • Spoiler alert: @Mysticrose is you pal.

    PS there are some other published authors on here - one or two have mentioned when they have a new book out (e.g. MorrisDancer?).
    And I have a copy of "The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming" by one Nicholas Palmer.
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 16,364
    boulay said:

    I’m sure there was an old saw that the French Education Minister could look at a piece of paper and know what every schoolchild in France was having for lunch that day. I would hope/expect that every education minister whose kids were at private school would look at what his/her kids are eating, and look at what other kids are eating and go mad if it was not aligned.

    You can hate the discrepancy without living the reality and do something about it. It just requires basic thought and humanity.
    Yeah good luck with that.
  • https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/15/no-compelling-examples-of-what-levelling-up-has-delivered-watchdog-finds

    So, the PAC’s found that levelling up is a load of bollocks.

    Which isn’t surprising, really, given it’s nothing more than florid Johnsonian bullshit designed to delay the growing realisation amongst the working classes that, in choosing to believe the smorgasbord of unicornery fantasies peddled by the Leave camapaigns, they had in fact voted to make themselves, and the public services they hold so dear, poorer.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 50,756

    And I have a copy of "The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming" by one Nicholas Palmer.
    Me too!

    I used to love hex based simulations. I still have my Squad Leader with expansions in the back of a cupboard, hidden safely from Mrs Foxy.
  • TrumanTruman Posts: 279
    Speaking of grifters hetes joey barton begging for money so he can sue Jeremy Vine.
    Just in Genève Airport and checked the GFM. Overwhelmed by support. Thank you.

    Well over £5,000 now in the fund https://gofund.me/b9496caa

    Let’s teach this establishment mouthpiece a lesson.

    395 donations from the legends

    Whatever I get in the fund, I will match pound for pound with a donation to
    @AlderHey
    so they win regardless.

    https://x.com/Joey7Barton/status/1768685006623326496?s=20
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 11,395
    I'm talking my book here, but if Burnham is front and centre to be re-elected as Manchester Mayor, how is he going to get himself chosen as the next Labour leader?


    Will he run again? (My guess almost certainly yes)

    Is he likely to run to be an MP so soon after being re-elected? (My guess no)

    If he's not running in the GE is it likely that he'll pick up and win a safe Labour seat in the future? (Maybe)

    Can he really parachute himself into the role after the above? (Surely not!)


    I know it's a long standing thing, but him being the favourite to take over Starmer's legacy seems insane.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 53,825

    And I have a copy of "The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming" by one Nicholas Palmer.
    Have you got the companion volume?

    "The Comprehensive Guide to Social Experiences in Switzerland" by one Nicholas Palmer
  • stodgestodge Posts: 14,383
    Late afternoon all :)

    Has anyone posted the Survation numbers?

    LAB 45 (+1)
    CON 26 (-3)
    LD 11 (+2)
    GRN 3 (-)
    RFM 8 (+1)
    SNP 2 (-1)
    OTH 4 (-)

    Fieldwork 11th-14th March (changes from February poll)

    All within trend - Lab/LD/Green vs Con/Ref at 59-34, Techne is 60-34, We Think 59-37, YouGov 60-34.

    In December 2019, it was 47-48 so the swing is around 13%.

    The 2021 local election set (albeit bigger than this year's because it included contests postponed from 2020) produced a 7 point Conservative advantage when the party was leading the national GE polls by 9-10 points. Last year, Labour won by 9 points even though they led the polls by 14-15 points. If the lead is now 20 points or greater, that suggests a Labour lead in the locals of 12-14 points - a 13 point Labour advantage would be a 10% swing since 2021.

    There are something in the order of 5,300 seats up for election in seven weeks.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 54,444
    New Scottish vocabulary: "the hate monster"

    https://www.scotland.police.uk/advice-and-information/hate-crime/hate-monster-campaign/

    The Hate Monster, represents that feeling some people get when they are frustrated and angry and take it out on others, because they feel like they need to show they are better than them. In other words, they commit a hate crime.

    The Hate Monster loves it when you get angry. He weighs you down till you end up targeting someone, just because they look or act different to you.

    When you’re feeling insecure or angry, the Hate Monster feeds on that.

    We know that young men aged 18-30 are most likely to commit hate crime, particularly those from socially excluded communities who are heavily influenced by their peers.

    They may have deep-rooted feelings of being socially and economically disadvantaged, combined with ideas about white-male entitlement.
  • TrumanTruman Posts: 279
    More from Barton

    I’ve started a Go Fund Me to take on Jeremy Vine.

    All proceeds gained will go to
    @AlderHey
    in Liverpool. This is about principle for me. He’s a strange man Vine.

    https://gofund.me/b9496caa

    Thanks for the support in advance.
    Show more

    https://x.com/Joey7Barton/status/1768555202582339794?s=20
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 11,395
    CatMan said:
    Makes no sense. (Doubly)
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 53,825

    New Scottish vocabulary: "the hate monster"

    https://www.scotland.police.uk/advice-and-information/hate-crime/hate-monster-campaign/

    The Hate Monster, represents that feeling some people get when they are frustrated and angry and take it out on others, because they feel like they need to show they are better than them. In other words, they commit a hate crime.

    The Hate Monster loves it when you get angry. He weighs you down till you end up targeting someone, just because they look or act different to you.

    When you’re feeling insecure or angry, the Hate Monster feeds on that.

    We know that young men aged 18-30 are most likely to commit hate crime, particularly those from socially excluded communities who are heavily influenced by their peers.

    They may have deep-rooted feelings of being socially and economically disadvantaged, combined with ideas about white-male entitlement.

    All young people think that the universe owes them more - that it's unfair how things are.... that things need to change.

    I rather think it is wired in. Part of how human society works. And one of the reasons for it's advancement, over the years.
  • MJWMJW Posts: 2,005
    AlsoLei said:

    Oh god, there's loads of them on twitter.

    People with between a fifty thousand and a million followers who post an endless stream of "Fuck the tories!", "What's your favourite biscuit? Mine's a bourbon!", "Boris is a wankmuffin!", "Send me money, and I'll pass it on to a charity!", "Here's a clip from BBC QT that proves that all Tories are shits!"...

    Grifters, all of them. Some are better at wheedling money out of their followers than others, but they're all on the take to some extent.
    Yup, the Corbyn movement spawned a tonne too - Rachael Swindon, the son of that 90-year-old Harry chap. There's a whole self-sustaining social media ecosystem that runs on the idea antisemitism was made up to hurt St. Jeremy.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,286
    AlsoLei said:

    Oh god, there's loads of them on twitter.

    People with between a fifty thousand and a million followers who post an endless stream of "Fuck the tories!", "What's your favourite biscuit? Mine's a bourbon!", "Boris is a wankmuffin!", "Send me money, and I'll pass it on to a charity!", "Here's a clip from BBC QT that proves that all Tories are shits!"...

    Grifters, all of them. Some are better at wheedling money out of their followers than others, but they're all on the take to some extent.
    Captain Tom’s family must be the greatest and most shameless grifters in history. Closely followed by “rachel from Swindon” and the son of “Harry’s last stand”. All on the left
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 50,756

    https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/15/no-compelling-examples-of-what-levelling-up-has-delivered-watchdog-finds

    So, the PAC’s found that levelling up is a load of bollocks.

    Which isn’t surprising, really, given it’s nothing more than florid Johnsonian bullshit designed to delay the growing realisation amongst the working classes that, in choosing to believe the smorgasbord of unicornery fantasies peddled by the Leave camapaigns, they had in fact voted to make themselves, and the public services they hold so dear, poorer.

    Perfectly timed release on the day the hapless Sunak ventured North of Watford.

    https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/sunak-hunt-visit-north-east-28820701

    The election campaign is going to be car crash after car crash. It will make May's 2017 campaign look slick, yet some expect swingback...

  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 53,825
    MJW said:

    Yup, the Corbyn movement spawned a tonne too - Rachael Swindon, the son of that 90-year-old Harry chap. There's a whole self-sustaining social media ecosystem that runs on the idea antisemitism was made up to hurt St. Jeremy.
    "...the idea antisemitism was made up to hurt St. Jeremy."

    {Ernest Renan has entered the chat, vituperating wildly}
  • AlsoLeiAlsoLei Posts: 1,508
    Truman said:

    Speaking of grifters hetes joey barton begging for money so he can sue Jeremy Vine.
    Just in Genève Airport and checked the GFM. Overwhelmed by support. Thank you.

    Well over £5,000 now in the fund https://gofund.me/b9496caa

    Let’s teach this establishment mouthpiece a lesson.

    395 donations from the legends

    Whatever I get in the fund, I will match pound for pound with a donation to
    @AlderHey
    so they win regardless.

    https://x.com/Joey7Barton/status/1768685006623326496?s=20

    Only a middling example of a grift.

    Giveaways:
    Organised through gofundme through their 'Other' category, which is essentially freeform and gives no certainty about where the money is actually going
    Money is to provide "crucial support", not to cover legal fees
    Weird third person language: "In solidarity with Joey Barton's cause, we've..." - yet the organiser is supposedly Barton himself. Who is the money really going to?
    Not actually suing anyone - it's actually the fundraiser who's being sued. Why? And for what?

    I don't know who either of these two people are, and have no knowledge about whether Barton is or isn't a paedophile - but this fundraiser stinks.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 18,162
    boulay said:

    I was listening about this situation over the last couple of days whilst waking up and had one of those “if I had Bezos money…” thought processes start.

    I’ve always thought that there must be universal free school meals but not just lunch, breakfast too.

    I was lucky enough at school to be able to shovel down, every morning, endless cereal, a cooked breakfast of some variety and endless toast, tea, coffee, juice or milk. I had access to hot chocolate and biscuits at break in the winter and juice and biscuits in the summer and a solid hot lunch every day with a regular smorgasbord of choices in the evening.

    We absolutely ate like horses and weren’t getting fat because we were studying all day, playing sports, being young and growing our brains and bodies. We were very lucky that we had the fuel there. I find it very hard to accept that other kids don’t get even a tiny part of that and so as I said I believe there should be free school meals, breakfast and lunch, for every kid.

    But re the Bezos or Musk money I tried to think how it would work if I could say “I’m putting 50 billion into trust to cover the cost of this forever. Do you build kitchens and canteens for every school? Food trucks in the playground? Do you have one organisation doing the whole thing to achieve purchasing power? How do you cope with dietary requirements, religious rules, kids being picky kids as they will be naturally?

    I would love to have to find the solution but somehow it does need to be done.
    Not sure, but I suspect simpler is better.

    Most schools have the facilities to feed their pupils, albeit often on a split shift. And the marginal costs of going from feeding some to feeding all are smaller than the baseline cost of feeding anyone.

    Part of the problem is small-statery, "parents should be responsible for feeding their children" or (more reasonably) feeding children from wealthier families isn't a good priority for very limited resources.

    But also- who has responsibility for school meals being decent? The school, the PFI, the catering contractor? If everyone is responsible then nobody is responsible and we get this outcome.

    And even if a commercial organisation is more efficient than a school dinner lady, the current setup has a lot of middlemen taking a bite.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,286
    boulay said:

    I hear that the Captain Tom charity have announced they are hoping that people will donate a pound for every spin Captain Tom makes in his grave.
    lol!

    Also Jack "give me money because I'm rich sorry poor" Monroe. Another lefty grifter

    There are plenty of them
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,286
    I know I promised not to talk about AI but I looked again at that video of the robot. It is incredible. It is also terrifying

    We are right on the edge now, yet most people are blithely unaware
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 17,798
    edited March 2024
    Carnyx said:

    At a time when some of PB debates whether wagyu or something else is the best beef, I'm finding myself wondering if school meals are climbing the agenda (warning: photos in first report are not for the sensitive):

    https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/mar/13/how-difficult-is-it-to-bake-a-potato-head-hits-out-at-school-caterers-southampton

    https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/mar/15/i-cant-make-them-eat-it-teachers-and-parents-share-concerns-over-school-lunches-in-england

    I looked up today's menu for the students canteen in a random secondary school in Le Havre, Lycée Jules Siegfried:

    Mixed salad
    Turkey escalope or fish of the day with pilau rice and salsify with cream
    Selection of cheeses
    Pear and chocolate tart, yoghurt, dessert of the day or fruit
  • DM_AndyDM_Andy Posts: 1,127
    AlsoLei said:

    Only a middling example of a grift.

    Giveaways:
    Organised through gofundme through their 'Other' category, which is essentially freeform and gives no certainty about where the money is actually going
    Money is to provide "crucial support", not to cover legal fees
    Weird third person language: "In solidarity with Joey Barton's cause, we've..." - yet the organiser is supposedly Barton himself. Who is the money really going to?
    Not actually suing anyone - it's actually the fundraiser who's being sued. Why? And for what?

    I don't know who either of these two people are, and have no knowledge about whether Barton is or isn't a paedophile - but this fundraiser stinks.
    It doesn't matter whether Barton is or isn't, he's accused Jeremy Vine of being one* and that's why he's being sued.

    * or maybe not - I assume his defence will be that "bike n***e" means something different to just "n***e"
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 11,395
    Leon said:

    I know I promised not to talk about AI but I looked again at that video of the robot. It is incredible. It is also terrifying

    We are right on the edge now, yet most people are blithely unaware

    "that video of the robot"

    Could you provide a link please?

  • ChrisChris Posts: 11,868
    stodge said:

    Late afternoon all :)

    Has anyone posted the Survation numbers?

    LAB 45 (+1)
    CON 26 (-3)
    LD 11 (+2)
    GRN 3 (-)
    RFM 8 (+1)
    SNP 2 (-1)
    OTH 4 (-)

    Fieldwork 11th-14th March (changes from February poll)

    All within trend - Lab/LD/Green vs Con/Ref at 59-34, Techne is 60-34, We Think 59-37, YouGov 60-34.

    In December 2019, it was 47-48 so the swing is around 13%.

    Except that in 2019 only 2% of the vote went to the Faragists! So unless anyone thinks nearly all the Refuk vote will magically go to the Tories on polling day, it's considerably worse for the Tories than a 13% swing.
  • https://x.com/mod_soc_dem/status/1768562146068095351

    Keir Starmer appears on Kilroy in 1989 about acid house raves 😊 ✌🏻

    I don't care if I am accused of bias, SKS was a sexy man in his youth. NEIGH NEIGH!
  • boulayboulay Posts: 6,047

    Not sure, but I suspect simpler is better.

    Most schools have the facilities to feed their pupils, albeit often on a split shift. And the marginal costs of going from feeding some to feeding all are smaller than the baseline cost of feeding anyone.

    Part of the problem is small-statery, "parents should be responsible for feeding their children" or (more reasonably) feeding children from wealthier families isn't a good priority for very limited resources.

    But also- who has responsibility for school meals being decent? The school, the PFI, the catering contractor? If everyone is responsible then nobody is responsible and we get this outcome.

    And even if a commercial organisation is more efficient than a school dinner lady, the current setup has a lot of middlemen taking a bite.
    It’s one of the things where I, as a small stater, would like the gov to step in and control. Feeding kids well is the best investment any government could make. Happy, healthy kids will behave better in class, achieve more, be less of a burden on the health system in the future and possibly (according to my non existent crime survey) less of a problem on society.

    We were discussing budget hotels the other week and someone mentioned a chain where they do a breakfast in a bag. Surely a gov backed entity could replicate that with gigantic buying power to ensure every sschool child in the uk starts the day, before the first lesson with a breakfast, some milk, juice, cereal and a roll of some sort. In a bag that’s waiting for them when they arrive.
  • stodgestodge Posts: 14,383
    As for the election date, I'm assuming Jeremy Hunt will use the Autumn Statement to try to put more jam on the table (or the floor) in terms of further taxation reductions. Last year, the Autumn Statement was on November 22nd but I imagine it could be brought forward somewhat.

    We know the Conservative Conference is booked for September 29th - October 2nd. I would imagine that offers a mid October date for the Autumn Statement and a four week campaign to build on the "feelgood" from the Hunt statement.

    The Autumn Statement might be October 16th and Sunak calls the election the following Monday - October 21st replete with Nelsonian rhetoric, "England Expects - every voter will do their duty and vote Conservative".

    That leads to November 21st in my view - perhaps a week earlier. If the Conservatives are still 20 points or more behind, it'll be the longest suicide since a group of arthritic lemmings decided to head to the cliff top via the scenic route.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 54,220

    Have you got the companion volume?

    "The Comprehensive Guide to Social Experiences in Switzerland" by one Nicholas Palmer
    Isn't that in three volumes?
  • darkagedarkage Posts: 5,398

    New Scottish vocabulary: "the hate monster"

    https://www.scotland.police.uk/advice-and-information/hate-crime/hate-monster-campaign/

    The Hate Monster, represents that feeling some people get when they are frustrated and angry and take it out on others, because they feel like they need to show they are better than them. In other words, they commit a hate crime.

    The Hate Monster loves it when you get angry. He weighs you down till you end up targeting someone, just because they look or act different to you.

    When you’re feeling insecure or angry, the Hate Monster feeds on that.

    We know that young men aged 18-30 are most likely to commit hate crime, particularly those from socially excluded communities who are heavily influenced by their peers.

    They may have deep-rooted feelings of being socially and economically disadvantaged, combined with ideas about white-male entitlement.

    The madness of progressivism.
  • eekeek Posts: 29,491
    CatMan said:
    That would require an announcement well before September 5th - which means an announcement in August and so no autumn statement with money given away..
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 53,825

    Not sure, but I suspect simpler is better.

    Most schools have the facilities to feed their pupils, albeit often on a split shift. And the marginal costs of going from feeding some to feeding all are smaller than the baseline cost of feeding anyone.

    Part of the problem is small-statery, "parents should be responsible for feeding their children" or (more reasonably) feeding children from wealthier families isn't a good priority for very limited resources.

    But also- who has responsibility for school meals being decent? The school, the PFI, the catering contractor? If everyone is responsible then nobody is responsible and we get this outcome.

    And even if a commercial organisation is more efficient than a school dinner lady, the current setup has a lot of middlemen taking a bite.
    A good deal of it, is the conceit that one big contract must be cheaper than each school kitchen organising itself.

    Yet time and again, companies will tell you that outsourcing stuff you do every day doesn't reduce costs.

  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,286
    Omnium said:

    "that video of the robot"

    Could you provide a link please?

    Sure

    https://youtu.be/Sq1QZB5baNw?si=oN3TnvI1IvP7zVOl
This discussion has been closed.