On Monday, millions of Swedes will start receiving copies of a pamphlet advising the population how to prepare and cope in the event of war or another unexpected crisis.
But one message has been moved up from the middle of the booklet: “If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false.”
Separately am impressed by much the Scandis are giving to Ukraine.
Denmark (5.9m pop) has given $7bn compared to $10.1bn from UK (68m) and $3.4bn from France (also 68m). And you have to go through Germany to get to Denmark!
My second series of thoughts while relaxing on the country estate were on Donald Trump. Notwithstanding his victory, about which I'm fairly ambivalent I'm intrigued by the concept of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The argument from some of his supporters - and it would likely resonate with some, if not many, here is we have too much Government and we could manage perfectly well with a lot less.
I suspect this will be an area which Badenoch will seek to develop in Conservative policy making as we move through this Parliament. She may well argue the problem is with Government itself rather than the party in power and there's so much more scope for savings once we've established what kind of Government (or State) we want and need.
The relationship between the Government and the individual citizen is very different in the UK than either the US or Europe and we could create our own bespoke "contract" (not the best word) between Government and governed. I often hear from some on here bemoaning the inability of projects to proceed at speed but there is a balance to be struck between individual citizens and the needs of the wider country.
As we heard from two legendary characters do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (or the one) or is there a more complex relationship at work?
Rather as a doctor once asked about love, I'm wondering what is Government? What should it be and why isn't it that now?
Good evening @rcs1000 and @TheScreamingEagles . @darkage has contacted me saying that he has been downgraded to 'applicant' and so cannot post in any comments. He is not aware of the cause and has asked me to contact you. Can you please contact him and give him a reason for his exile and any remediation he can do.
Shamed newsreader Huw Edwards tried to groom a teenage musician after seeing him perform in his school uniform and offered him a personal tour of the BBC, it was alleged yesterday.
In a new claim of predatory behaviour by the former BBC News at 10 presenter – spared jail after admitting making indecent images of children – is said to have asked the starstruck sixth former to follow him on Instagram.
Edwards, now 63, then promised to help his music career and sent him suggestive messages calling him 'babe' and 'big boy' littered with hearts and kisses, the youngster – referred to as Emyr – claimed yesterday.
Reeves embellishing her cv is here nor there, the impact of her budget decisions are the big concern.
Well yes, but she's hardly going rogue here. None of the impact is surprising. Presumably she has her boss's blessing for all this. He can hardly say "she told me this would be a good idea but to my shock it turned out to be a crock of shit" because that would show him to be an idiot.
Scoop from @joncraig- A politician and a close protection guard are among those the Gambling Commission is looking to prosecute over bets placed on the date of the election
A source has said at least three - and as many as five - people may be charged
Scoop from @joncraig- A politician and a close protection guard are among those the Gambling Commission is looking to prosecute over bets placed on the date of the election
A source has said at least three - and as many as five - people may be charged
The police dropped the matter? What authority does the gambling commission have to "prosecute"?
They're like HR. They're on the side of the business/bookie rather than the employee/punter.
No they are not. The Gambling Commission is neither use nor ornament even if it regularly fines bookies for not demanding intrusive information from punters.
The suggestion by Michael Crick that she should resign is laughable. Focus pullers in the film business have been 'borrowing' ads forever so they could get a break working as a cameraman. Some I know have become super successful. It would be a bit harsh asking Ridley Scotts DOP to resign after lighting 'Gladiator' because he exaggerated his part in a Renault commercial
The suggestion by Michael Crick that she should resign is laughable. Focus pullers in the film business have been 'borrowing' ads forever so they could get a break working as a cameraman. Some I know have become super successful. It would be a bit harsh asking Ridley Scotts DOP to resign after lighting 'Gladiator' because he exaggerated his part in a Renault commercial
Shocking news that the entertainment industry is full of liars and bullshitters....
The suggestion by Michael Crick that she should resign is laughable. Focus pullers in the film business have been 'borrowing' ads forever so they could get a break working as a cameraman. Some I know have become super successful. It would be a bit harsh asking Ridley Scotts DOP to resign after lighting 'Gladiator' because he exaggerated his part in a Renault commercial
Roger you really don't need to keep reinforcing the message that you have no morals. We already know that.
The suggestion by Michael Crick that she should resign is laughable. Focus pullers in the film business have been 'borrowing' ads forever so they could get a break working as a cameraman. Some I know have become super successful. It would be a bit harsh asking Ridley Scotts DOP to resign after lighting 'Gladiator' because he exaggerated his part in a Renault commercial
Shocking news that the entertainment industry is full of liars and bullshitters....
There was a 🎄 tree visible in the Sky newsroom..surely not? 🤔🥴
I’ve noticed a tragically large number in houses as I pass. One house with three trees on show with those triangular candalabras in each visible window.
We urgently need to invent a new festival between Halloween and Christmas to hold off the nutters a bit longer.
Thanksgiving!
Look, if it the UK is going to start celebrating the massacre of Indians surely the 13th of April is more apt.
With General Dyer on top of the tree? Oh I do hope not.
Well he should have been hanging somewhere else.
I read a book about the affair many years ago as a random find in a bookshop. What I remember most of all, apart of course from its demonstration of the benevolence of the British empire alongside railways etc., was the indignation in Cheltenham etc. that people should dare to complain.
But there was outrage in the Commons led by Churchill.
However we may dwell upon the difficulties of General Dyer…one tremendous fact stands out. I mean the slaughter of nearly 400 persons and the wounding of probably three or four times as many…. That is an episode which appears to me to be without precedent or parallel in the modern history of the British Empire. It is an event of an entirely different order from any of those tragical occurrences which take place when troops are brought into collision with the civil population. It is an extraordinary event, a monstrous event, an event which stands in singular and sinister isolation.
General Dyer was, of course, a Pakistani.
Slightly ahistorical, and as the Duke of Wellington reputably said in response to being described as Irish. "Just because a man is born in a stable doesn't make him a horse".
Except Wellington never said that. Daniel O'Connell said that about him.
The Telegraph has a series of photos from the G20 meeting in Rio and one of them is of security at the meeting. I have to ask, in the picture below, what the hell is the guy carrying? He is holding it like it is a gun with his finger on the trigger but it doesn't look like any weapon I have seen before.
The suggestion by Michael Crick that she should resign is laughable. Focus pullers in the film business have been 'borrowing' ads forever so they could get a break working as a cameraman. Some I know have become super successful. It would be a bit harsh asking Ridley Scotts DOP to resign after lighting 'Gladiator' because he exaggerated his part in a Renault commercial
Shocking news that the entertainment industry is full of liars and bullshitters....
CV embellishment nowadays though is an inevitable consequence of shitty HR practices.
The sort of practices that demand 4 years of experience for an entry level job, or 10 years of a skill that didn't exist 5 years ago.
Plus the fact that it's all run through AI now before it ever reaches a human being, means you have to keyword stuff a CV like an old-timey SEO optimised web-page. I'm good with Spreadsheets, Microsoft Excel, Tables, Functions, Charts, Cell Editing, VBA scripting for Excel, Pivot Tables etc.
And if your job description doesn't PERFECTLY match the one you're applying for, you have to bend your previous job title (and keyword stuff accordingly) or you'll be rejected out of hand by the ATS before a human ever looks at your CV.
Instead of sending off a CV and cover letter to a real person who reads it, you now have a convoluted process that requires you to game the system just to get in front of a real person.
Scoop from @joncraig- A politician and a close protection guard are among those the Gambling Commission is looking to prosecute over bets placed on the date of the election
A source has said at least three - and as many as five - people may be charged
Scoop from @joncraig- A politician and a close protection guard are among those the Gambling Commission is looking to prosecute over bets placed on the date of the election
A source has said at least three - and as many as five - people may be charged
The police dropped the matter? What authority does the gambling commission have to "prosecute"?
Under Section 42 of the Gambling Act of 2005.
In addition, there is no such thing as "authority to prosecute" - anyone can bring a prosecution, for anything.
The CPS customarily does it, but they don't have the sole right to initiate prosecutions.
IIRC the does have the power to take over a non-CPS prosecution & then shut it down if they so choose? So the CPS has the ultimate say on whether a prosecution gets to court or not.
The Telegraph has a series of photos from the G20 meeting in Rio and one of them is of security at the meeting. I have to ask, in the picture below, what the hell is the guy carrying? He is holding it like it is a gun with his finger on the trigger but it doesn't look like any weapon I have seen before.
The Telegraph has a series of photos from the G20 meeting in Rio and one of them is of security at the meeting. I have to ask, in the picture below, what the hell is the guy carrying? He is holding it like it is a gun with his finger on the trigger but it doesn't look like any weapon I have seen before.
The Telegraph has a series of photos from the G20 meeting in Rio and one of them is of security at the meeting. I have to ask, in the picture below, what the hell is the guy carrying? He is holding it like it is a gun with his finger on the trigger but it doesn't look like any weapon I have seen before.
I rather admire Rachel Reeves for taking a few steps down from BoE economist to Halifax Office Cleaner just so could live locally to the seat for which she wished to be selected. If she had never become an MP it could have delayed or damaged her career.
The end of Sure Start was in the name of less government.
80% of council spending being on children’s services is not unknown some 15 years later.
I’m hoping that may give us pause about the usefulness of small government.
Very interesting case - I had some involvement in the aftermath of the closures as financial and attendance records (and children's medical records) all had to be recovered and brought back by the local authority.
The Children's Centres came in a variety of flavours - in some instances, an area of an existing school was effectively partitioned off from the rest of the facility to provide secure and suitable accommodation (that came at a cost). However, other examples had the Council leasing accommodation from a third party and then sub-letting to a third party provider who would run the facility and provide the service.
The facilities in the existing schools have to an extent continued but those in leased buildings ended when the Council could or would no longer pay the rent so 1,300 of the 3,600 centres have gone.
The IFS claimed Sure Start provision had saved the NHS millions in terms of preventing admissions of children to hospital and had also started to have a positive impact on child obesity but the problem was the funding which, as we've seen with increasing pressure on care for vulnerable adults and children, has been squeezed.
I do agree sometimes proponents of "small" Government (whatever that actually means) fail to see the bigger picture.
The Telegraph has a series of photos from the G20 meeting in Rio and one of them is of security at the meeting. I have to ask, in the picture below, what the hell is the guy carrying? He is holding it like it is a gun with his finger on the trigger but it doesn't look like any weapon I have seen before.
The Telegraph has a series of photos from the G20 meeting in Rio and one of them is of security at the meeting. I have to ask, in the picture below, what the hell is the guy carrying? He is holding it like it is a gun with his finger on the trigger but it doesn't look like any weapon I have seen before.
Scoop from @joncraig- A politician and a close protection guard are among those the Gambling Commission is looking to prosecute over bets placed on the date of the election
A source has said at least three - and as many as five - people may be charged
The police dropped the matter? What authority does the gambling commission have to "prosecute"?
Under Section 42 of the Gambling Act of 2005.
In addition, there is no such thing as "authority to prosecute" - anyone can bring a prosecution, for anything.
The CPS customarily does it, but they don't have the sole right to initiate prosecutions.
IIRC the does have the power to take over a non-CPS prosecution & then shut it down if they so choose? So the CPS has the ultimate say on whether a prosecution gets to court or not.
Yes, they do.
But as a compromise in the act (at the instance of the Conservative and Lib Dem opposition, at the time), they can only shutdown a prosecution if the evidence is insufficient to get a conviction. And they have a legal obligation to take the prosecution forward if there is such evidence.
There was a case a few years back. A man accused of rape was taking his accuser to court. After being acquitted, himself, in a trial. He had, so it was stated, accumulated evidence that the claim was a deliberate and malicious fake. The family of the lady when to the Police and CPS. The CPS took over the prosecution, but found the evidence was compelling. And didn't stop the prosecution. The lady committed suicide before the trial, IIRC
When this story first broke, I didn't think it was particularly big. Big banks have a surprising number of economists, and they don't all work in the economics department. (There's a lot of microeconomics in most firms operations: we do a huge amount of work on price elasticity of demand, for example.)
However, as time as gone on, I've gotten more and more sceptical of her answers. If she was working as an economist, even in the customer complaints department, then fine. But if she was working in a different role - like supervising staff, then it's another matter altogether. One is her telling the truth ("I was an economist at Halifax"), even if she may have allowed people to come to the wrong conclusions. The other is a lie.
If she lied, then she should not be Chancellor of the Exchequer. Like with Presidents and Prime Ministers, our public servants need to consistently demonstrate the highest standards of honesty. And if she has show to have not, then SKS needs to let her go.
Political leaders having to resign for lying?
There won't be many left, and the few who do survive the cull will be insufferable prigs.
Right, because that's exactly what you'd be saying were this a Tory.
No, as I have stated many times, I never call for people to resign or to be sacked. My only exception is Leicester City managers.
In my many post you won't see me calling for Tory resignations either.
I am very tolerant of old tweets and social media too.
The Telegraph has a series of photos from the G20 meeting in Rio and one of them is of security at the meeting. I have to ask, in the picture below, what the hell is the guy carrying? He is holding it like it is a gun with his finger on the trigger but it doesn't look like any weapon I have seen before.
The Telegraph has a series of photos from the G20 meeting in Rio and one of them is of security at the meeting. I have to ask, in the picture below, what the hell is the guy carrying? He is holding it like it is a gun with his finger on the trigger but it doesn't look like any weapon I have seen before.
The suggestion by Michael Crick that she should resign is laughable. Focus pullers in the film business have been 'borrowing' ads forever so they could get a break working as a cameraman. Some I know have become super successful. It would be a bit harsh asking Ridley Scotts DOP to resign after lighting 'Gladiator' because he exaggerated his part in a Renault commercial
A quarter of 18 - 25 year olds have exaggerated their CV.
Bit of a crap shoot employing them isn't it?
My CV stated that I'd played for the Cambridge University First Bridge Team. Which was both (a) true, and (b) deeply misleading.
It was the very last duplicate pairs match of the Cambridgeshire League, and (perhaps unsurprisingly) the Cambridge University First Team was miles ahead of everyone else. I was good friends with Tom Townsend (then the England Under 21 Bridge team captain), and he said "we're a man short, come along and play."
So I did. I played for Cambridge University First Bridge Team, and my partner was Tom Townsend.
It was a lot of fun, and I got to put it on my CV. If anyone asked, I told them the truth about what happened. But it was also - I suppose - enormously misleading, because I am a very average bridge player.
I once got to play a tournament sitting opposite Zia Mahmood.
Didn't put it on a CV though. We didn't win...
[I am also an average (long retired) bridge player]
The suggestion by Michael Crick that she should resign is laughable. Focus pullers in the film business have been 'borrowing' ads forever so they could get a break working as a cameraman. Some I know have become super successful. It would be a bit harsh asking Ridley Scotts DOP to resign after lighting 'Gladiator' because he exaggerated his part in a Renault commercial
Shocking news that the entertainment industry is full of liars and bullshitters....
CV embellishment nowadays though is an inevitable consequence of shitty HR practices.
The sort of practices that demand 4 years of experience for an entry level job, or 10 years of a skill that didn't exist 5 years ago.
Plus the fact that it's all run through AI now before it ever reaches a human being, means you have to keyword stuff a CV like an old-timey SEO optimised web-page. I'm good with Spreadsheets, Microsoft Excel, Tables, Functions, Charts, Cell Editing, VBA scripting for Excel, Pivot Tables etc.
And if your job description doesn't PERFECTLY match the one you're applying for, you have to bend your previous job title (and keyword stuff accordingly) or you'll be rejected out of hand by the ATS before a human ever looks at your CV.
Instead of sending off a CV and cover letter to a real person who reads it, you now have a convoluted process that requires you to game the system just to get in front of a real person.
I've got through my career without lying on my CV.
But it's also the case that almost all the jobs I've got have been through personal reference/word of mouth, where they look at the CV after, not before.
When this story first broke, I didn't think it was particularly big. Big banks have a surprising number of economists, and they don't all work in the economics department. (There's a lot of microeconomics in most firms operations: we do a huge amount of work on price elasticity of demand, for example.)
However, as time as gone on, I've gotten more and more sceptical of her answers. If she was working as an economist, even in the customer complaints department, then fine. But if she was working in a different role - like supervising staff, then it's another matter altogether. One is her telling the truth ("I was an economist at Halifax"), even if she may have allowed people to come to the wrong conclusions. The other is a lie.
If she lied, then she should not be Chancellor of the Exchequer. Like with Presidents and Prime Ministers, our public servants need to consistently demonstrate the highest standards of honesty. And if she has show to have not, then SKS needs to let her go.
Yes, we should just leave the lying and exaggerations of the truth to the next most powerful man in the world, President elect Trump.
Certainly no problem for him being in charge of the nuclear button and maybe occasionally exaggerating the truth from time to time. Might be a problem for the UK bean counter though
We need to start demanding the same standards of basic honesty from our politicians that we demand from our children.
It doesn't matter what side of the political spectrum someone is on, honesty shouldn't be an optional extra.
It shocks me to the core that we are willing to defend lies, just because they come from someone on "our side".
The Telegraph has a series of photos from the G20 meeting in Rio and one of them is of security at the meeting. I have to ask, in the picture below, what the hell is the guy carrying? He is holding it like it is a gun with his finger on the trigger but it doesn't look like any weapon I have seen before.
Any self respecting terrorist has pre-programmed the flight.
It's probably only a matter of time until a major world leader is assassinated by a terrorist group using a drone, and yes if they are half-competent they will be well aware of jamming.
From the Thatcher auction linked above. I've looked up all the words and, no, still no idea.
Gombeen man = shady businessman wanting to be bribed by Heath, who has a whacking headache after drinking the koolaid poitin of talks with the Nationalists (and by implication the IRA), at Sunningdale, Berks. (Civil Service College),. which makes it 1973, I think. Or is that too early for Mrs T?
While Mrs T, Rev Paisley and someone I don't recognise - Mr Hume of the SDLP, or Mr Cosgrove the Taoiseach? - look on in consternation.
The Telegraph has a series of photos from the G20 meeting in Rio and one of them is of security at the meeting. I have to ask, in the picture below, what the hell is the guy carrying? He is holding it like it is a gun with his finger on the trigger but it doesn't look like any weapon I have seen before.
From the Thatcher auction linked above. I've looked up all the words and, no, still no idea.
Gombeen man = shady businessman wanting to be bribed by Heath, who has a whacking headache after drinking the koolaid poitin of talks with the Nationalists (and by implication the IRA), at Sunningdale, Berks. (Civil Service College),. which makes it 1973, I think. Or is that too early for Mrs T?
While Mrs T, Rev Paisley and someone I don't recognise - Mr Hume of the SDLP, or Mr Cosgrove the Taoiseach? - look on in consternation.
The suggestion by Michael Crick that she should resign is laughable. Focus pullers in the film business have been 'borrowing' ads forever so they could get a break working as a cameraman. Some I know have become super successful. It would be a bit harsh asking Ridley Scotts DOP to resign after lighting 'Gladiator' because he exaggerated his part in a Renault commercial
Shocking news that the entertainment industry is full of liars and bullshitters....
CV embellishment nowadays though is an inevitable consequence of shitty HR practices.
The sort of practices that demand 4 years of experience for an entry level job, or 10 years of a skill that didn't exist 5 years ago.
Plus the fact that it's all run through AI now before it ever reaches a human being, means you have to keyword stuff a CV like an old-timey SEO optimised web-page. I'm good with Spreadsheets, Microsoft Excel, Tables, Functions, Charts, Cell Editing, VBA scripting for Excel, Pivot Tables etc.
And if your job description doesn't PERFECTLY match the one you're applying for, you have to bend your previous job title (and keyword stuff accordingly) or you'll be rejected out of hand by the ATS before a human ever looks at your CV.
Instead of sending off a CV and cover letter to a real person who reads it, you now have a convoluted process that requires you to game the system just to get in front of a real person.
I've got through my career without lying on my CV.
But it's also the case that almost all the jobs I've got have been through personal reference/word of mouth, where they look at the CV after, not before.
Indeed. It is now utterly impossible to get through the ATS (automated tracking system) without gaming the system. There are now legions of consultants and CV re-writers who are paid top dollar to do this on your behalf. Essentially it's a form of SEO, and is also most necessary at the start of your career (when you're applying without a reputation in the industry or a senior job title).
I don't envy anyone starting out their careers now. Between the ridiculously convoluted ATS + HR screening rounds + competency tests (and random 'gamified' personality tests') plus 'video interviews' where the questions are pre-written and you have to record yourself giving the answer, it sucks to be a grad these days. Then when you finally get a job, there's no-one to mentor you because senior management is always WFH.
From the Thatcher auction linked above. I've looked up all the words and, no, still no idea.
Gombeen man = shady businessman wanting to be bribed by Heath, who has a whacking headache after drinking the koolaid poitin of talks with the Nationalists (and by implication the IRA), at Sunningdale, Berks. (Civil Service College),. which makes it 1973, I think. Or is that too early for Mrs T?
While Mrs T, Rev Paisley and someone I don't recognise - Mr Hume of the SDLP, or Mr Cosgrove the Taoiseach? - look on in consternation.
Edit: cxould be Barbara Castle.
Who is the cartoonist? It looks a bit like Cummings, but it's a bit too intelligent for him.
When this story first broke, I didn't think it was particularly big. Big banks have a surprising number of economists, and they don't all work in the economics department. (There's a lot of microeconomics in most firms operations: we do a huge amount of work on price elasticity of demand, for example.)
However, as time as gone on, I've gotten more and more sceptical of her answers. If she was working as an economist, even in the customer complaints department, then fine. But if she was working in a different role - like supervising staff, then it's another matter altogether. One is her telling the truth ("I was an economist at Halifax"), even if she may have allowed people to come to the wrong conclusions. The other is a lie.
If she lied, then she should not be Chancellor of the Exchequer. Like with Presidents and Prime Ministers, our public servants need to consistently demonstrate the highest standards of honesty. And if she has show to have not, then SKS needs to let her go.
Political leaders having to resign for lying?
There won't be many left, and the few who do survive the cull will be insufferable prigs.
Right, because that's exactly what you'd be saying were this a Tory.
No, as I have stated many times, I never call for people to resign or to be sacked. My only exception is Leicester City managers.
In my many post you won't see me calling for Tory resignations either.
I am very tolerant of old tweets and social media too.
Absolute bollocks
Er: you may be suffering a momentary lapse of memory. Twatter is over there. Not here.
My second series of thoughts while relaxing on the country estate were on Donald Trump. Notwithstanding his victory, about which I'm fairly ambivalent I'm intrigued by the concept of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The argument from some of his supporters - and it would likely resonate with some, if not many, here is we have too much Government and we could manage perfectly well with a lot less.
I suspect this will be an area which Badenoch will seek to develop in Conservative policy making as we move through this Parliament. She may well argue the problem is with Government itself rather than the party in power and there's so much more scope for savings once we've established what kind of Government (or State) we want and need.
The relationship between the Government and the individual citizen is very different in the UK than either the US or Europe and we could create our own bespoke "contract" (not the best word) between Government and governed. I often hear from some on here bemoaning the inability of projects to proceed at speed but there is a balance to be struck between individual citizens and the needs of the wider country.
As we heard from two legendary characters do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (or the one) or is there a more complex relationship at work?
Rather as a doctor once asked about love, I'm wondering what is Government? What should it be and why isn't it that now?
The problem is that real efficiency and real productivity is not interesting.
What I would do, is create internal units, within departments whose job is to improve systems and streamline process. You'd see, over years, reductions in costs. A few percent a year, maybe. Depending on the level of investment and how aggressive you'd be.
This would be a permanent prat of the government structure.
So why is no one interested?
1) 5 year political cycle. If you started on day 1, you might or might not save more than you spent before the next election. Most likely, your opponent would run on ripping it out, saving money and jeering at your "waste" 2) You are looking at permanent loss of jobs. 99% of the work of the DVLA, for example, should be completely automated. That'll be popular in Swansea.
The other area to look at is contracts, how they are run and the costs. We have reached the stage where adding years and billions, almost arbitrarily is assumed to be fine. Hence spending 100 million to save every singe bat. A stupid price for a stupid requirement.
For this, we need -
- Requirements culling. Sometime the best part is no part. In the case of the Bat Cage, the requirement is wrong. We don't don't spend infinite money on saving human lives. Indeed, we put a cost on saving human life in projects. How much should a bat cost. - Cost control. This is closely related to the requirements. If something is costing £100,000 a meter, someone needs to ask WTAF.
From the Thatcher auction linked above. I've looked up all the words and, no, still no idea.
Gombeen man = shady businessman wanting to be bribed by Heath, who has a whacking headache after drinking the koolaid poitin of talks with the Nationalists (and by implication the IRA), at Sunningdale, Berks. (Civil Service College),. which makes it 1973, I think. Or is that too early for Mrs T?
While Mrs T, Rev Paisley and someone I don't recognise - Mr Hume of the SDLP, or Mr Cosgrove the Taoiseach? - look on in consternation.
Edit: cxould be Barbara Castle.
Who is the cartoonist? It looks a bit like Cummings, but it's a bit too intelligent for him.
I think it *is* Cummings.
The portrayal of the Nationalist side isn't very sympathetic, though that is down to the newspaper. It was certainly usual. I remember seeing a cartoon at the time of bombings in England and it showed IRA pilots of Heinkel-like bombers raining down their payload on London etc while Wilson or more probably Callaghan looked up futilely. Edit: the visual approach to the Republicans was similar.
Scoop from @joncraig- A politician and a close protection guard are among those the Gambling Commission is looking to prosecute over bets placed on the date of the election
A source has said at least three - and as many as five - people may be charged
The Telegraph has a series of photos from the G20 meeting in Rio and one of them is of security at the meeting. I have to ask, in the picture below, what the hell is the guy carrying? He is holding it like it is a gun with his finger on the trigger but it doesn't look like any weapon I have seen before.
From the Thatcher auction linked above. I've looked up all the words and, no, still no idea.
Gombeen man = shady businessman wanting to be bribed by Heath, who has a whacking headache after drinking the koolaid poitin of talks with the Nationalists (and by implication the IRA), at Sunningdale, Berks. (Civil Service College),. which makes it 1973, I think. Or is that too early for Mrs T?
While Mrs T, Rev Paisley and someone I don't recognise - Mr Hume of the SDLP, or Mr Cosgrove the Taoiseach? - look on in consternation.
The suggestion by Michael Crick that she should resign is laughable. Focus pullers in the film business have been 'borrowing' ads forever so they could get a break working as a cameraman. Some I know have become super successful. It would be a bit harsh asking Ridley Scotts DOP to resign after lighting 'Gladiator' because he exaggerated his part in a Renault commercial
Shocking news that the entertainment industry is full of liars and bullshitters....
CV embellishment nowadays though is an inevitable consequence of shitty HR practices.
The sort of practices that demand 4 years of experience for an entry level job, or 10 years of a skill that didn't exist 5 years ago.
Plus the fact that it's all run through AI now before it ever reaches a human being, means you have to keyword stuff a CV like an old-timey SEO optimised web-page. I'm good with Spreadsheets, Microsoft Excel, Tables, Functions, Charts, Cell Editing, VBA scripting for Excel, Pivot Tables etc.
And if your job description doesn't PERFECTLY match the one you're applying for, you have to bend your previous job title (and keyword stuff accordingly) or you'll be rejected out of hand by the ATS before a human ever looks at your CV.
Instead of sending off a CV and cover letter to a real person who reads it, you now have a convoluted process that requires you to game the system just to get in front of a real person.
I've got through my career without lying on my CV.
But it's also the case that almost all the jobs I've got have been through personal reference/word of mouth, where they look at the CV after, not before.
Indeed. It is now utterly impossible to get through the ATS (automated tracking system) without gaming the system. There are now legions of consultants and CV re-writers who are paid top dollar to do this on your behalf. Essentially it's a form of SEO, and is also most necessary at the start of your career (when you're applying without a reputation in the industry or a senior job title).
I don't envy anyone starting out their careers now. Between the ridiculously convoluted ATS + HR screening rounds + competency tests (and random 'gamified' personality tests') plus 'video interviews' where the questions are pre-written and you have to record yourself giving the answer, it sucks to be a grad these days. Then when you finally get a job, there's no-one to mentor you because senior management is always WFH.
And the graduate starting salary is the same as 10 or even 20 years ago, and even that assumes the job still exists and has not been automated away or outsourced to a cheaper country.
From the Thatcher auction linked above. I've looked up all the words and, no, still no idea.
Gombeen man = shady businessman wanting to be bribed by Heath, who has a whacking headache after drinking the koolaid poitin of talks with the Nationalists (and by implication the IRA), at Sunningdale, Berks. (Civil Service College),. which makes it 1973, I think. Or is that too early for Mrs T?
While Mrs T, Rev Paisley and someone I don't recognise - Mr Hume of the SDLP, or Mr Cosgrove the Taoiseach? - look on in consternation.
Edit: cxould be Barbara Castle.
Jim Prior not Ted Heath, I think. Prior was Mrs T's Northern Ireland Secretary.
My second series of thoughts while relaxing on the country estate were on Donald Trump. Notwithstanding his victory, about which I'm fairly ambivalent I'm intrigued by the concept of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The argument from some of his supporters - and it would likely resonate with some, if not many, here is we have too much Government and we could manage perfectly well with a lot less.
I suspect this will be an area which Badenoch will seek to develop in Conservative policy making as we move through this Parliament. She may well argue the problem is with Government itself rather than the party in power and there's so much more scope for savings once we've established what kind of Government (or State) we want and need.
The relationship between the Government and the individual citizen is very different in the UK than either the US or Europe and we could create our own bespoke "contract" (not the best word) between Government and governed. I often hear from some on here bemoaning the inability of projects to proceed at speed but there is a balance to be struck between individual citizens and the needs of the wider country.
As we heard from two legendary characters do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (or the one) or is there a more complex relationship at work?
Rather as a doctor once asked about love, I'm wondering what is Government? What should it be and why isn't it that now?
The problem is that real efficiency and real productivity is not interesting.
What I would do, is create internal units, within departments whose job is to improve systems and streamline process. You'd see, over years, reductions in costs. A few percent a year, maybe. Depending on the level of investment and how aggressive you'd be.
This would be a permanent prat of the government structure.
So why is no one interested?
1) 5 year political cycle. If you started on day 1, you might or might not save more than you spent before the next election. Most likely, your opponent would run on ripping it out, saving money and jeering at your "waste" 2) You are looking at permanent loss of jobs. 99% of the work of the DVLA, for example, should be completely automated. That'll be popular in Swansea.
The other area to look at is contracts, how they are run and the costs. We have reached the stage where adding years and billions, almost arbitrarily is assumed to be fine. Hence spending 100 million to save every singe bat. A stupid price for a stupid requirement.
For this, we need -
- Requirements culling. Sometime the best part is no part. In the case of the Bat Cage, the requirement is wrong. We don't don't spend infinite money on saving human lives. Indeed, we put a cost on saving human life in projects. How much should a bat cost. - Cost control. This is closely related to the requirements. If something is costing £100,000 a meter, someone needs to ask WTAF.
Yes and I think the point about Contracts is hugely significant. In the early days of private sector involvement in local authority services (via CCT) the contracts were hugely disadvantageous to the Council.
The private companies had years if not decades of experience writing service contracts because that was how they operated - the Councils did not. Some of the provisions put into the Contract by the private operators were appallingly and basically a licence to gouge the Council and by definition the Council Tax payers.
The other problem with CCT was when Councils were legally obliged to accept the lowest offer for a service. This led, as I witnessed, to some private companies begging the Council for funds as they couldn't run the Service at the cost they had promised and ended up charging £125 to fit a light bulb at a residential care home.
It's better now but there remains this almost ideological divide between the local council who don't have to run a Service at a profit and the private sector operator which does. The good Councils retain professional knowledge to help manage the Contract and ensure Service level targets are being met by the provider but I'm far from certain that is widely the case.
When this story first broke, I didn't think it was particularly big. Big banks have a surprising number of economists, and they don't all work in the economics department. (There's a lot of microeconomics in most firms operations: we do a huge amount of work on price elasticity of demand, for example.)
However, as time as gone on, I've gotten more and more sceptical of her answers. If she was working as an economist, even in the customer complaints department, then fine. But if she was working in a different role - like supervising staff, then it's another matter altogether. One is her telling the truth ("I was an economist at Halifax"), even if she may have allowed people to come to the wrong conclusions. The other is a lie.
If she lied, then she should not be Chancellor of the Exchequer. Like with Presidents and Prime Ministers, our public servants need to consistently demonstrate the highest standards of honesty. And if she has show to have not, then SKS needs to let her go.
Agreed
This started off as Charlie little potatoes. But it’s turning into Sigmund Super Spuds
It’s like an onion made of lies. You peel one lie away and expect the truth, but no, there’s another. And another
I DOUBT it will topple her, even tho it should. What it has done is nixed any remaining chance of her becoming PM - along with the WFA fuck up she’s very damaged goods. Indeed I can see her leaving the job before the next GE
The suggestion by Michael Crick that she should resign is laughable. Focus pullers in the film business have been 'borrowing' ads forever so they could get a break working as a cameraman. Some I know have become super successful. It would be a bit harsh asking Ridley Scotts DOP to resign after lighting 'Gladiator' because he exaggerated his part in a Renault commercial
Shocking news that the entertainment industry is full of liars and bullshitters....
CV embellishment nowadays though is an inevitable consequence of shitty HR practices.
The sort of practices that demand 4 years of experience for an entry level job, or 10 years of a skill that didn't exist 5 years ago.
Plus the fact that it's all run through AI now before it ever reaches a human being, means you have to keyword stuff a CV like an old-timey SEO optimised web-page. I'm good with Spreadsheets, Microsoft Excel, Tables, Functions, Charts, Cell Editing, VBA scripting for Excel, Pivot Tables etc.
And if your job description doesn't PERFECTLY match the one you're applying for, you have to bend your previous job title (and keyword stuff accordingly) or you'll be rejected out of hand by the ATS before a human ever looks at your CV.
Instead of sending off a CV and cover letter to a real person who reads it, you now have a convoluted process that requires you to game the system just to get in front of a real person.
I've got through my career without lying on my CV.
But it's also the case that almost all the jobs I've got have been through personal reference/word of mouth, where they look at the CV after, not before.
Indeed. It is now utterly impossible to get through the ATS (automated tracking system) without gaming the system. There are now legions of consultants and CV re-writers who are paid top dollar to do this on your behalf. Essentially it's a form of SEO, and is also most necessary at the start of your career (when you're applying without a reputation in the industry or a senior job title).
I don't envy anyone starting out their careers now. Between the ridiculously convoluted ATS + HR screening rounds + competency tests (and random 'gamified' personality tests') plus 'video interviews' where the questions are pre-written and you have to record yourself giving the answer, it sucks to be a grad these days. Then when you finally get a job, there's no-one to mentor you because senior management is always WFH.
Its also actually a question of basic manners - when you attend an interview you do not expect to be talked to only by a machine with pre programmed questions - companies that virtue signal all kinds of wokeness should think about that when they do this - where is the fundamental respect in doing this?
Am I the only PBer who has never had to write a proper CV? Never done a job that required one. Never been asked to submit one
It would be quite colourful tho
1992: jail, mainly 1993: haven’t got a fucking clue 1994-2001: heroin 2002-2005: see 1993
Me. Every job I have ever got has been on the basis of personal recommendation. I do have a CV which I keep updated just in case but have never actually had to use it
The Telegraph has a series of photos from the G20 meeting in Rio and one of them is of security at the meeting. I have to ask, in the picture below, what the hell is the guy carrying? He is holding it like it is a gun with his finger on the trigger but it doesn't look like any weapon I have seen before.
From the Thatcher auction linked above. I've looked up all the words and, no, still no idea.
Gombeen man = shady businessman wanting to be bribed by Heath, who has a whacking headache after drinking the koolaid poitin of talks with the Nationalists (and by implication the IRA), at Sunningdale, Berks. (Civil Service College),. which makes it 1973, I think. Or is that too early for Mrs T?
While Mrs T, Rev Paisley and someone I don't recognise - Mr Hume of the SDLP, or Mr Cosgrove the Taoiseach? - look on in consternation.
The Sunningdale reference is to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunningdale_Agreement, which was signed in late 73 under the Conservative Govt and collapsed in May 74 under the Labour Govt. Pym was NI in 73 when it was signed, Gilmour was shadow NI in 74 when it collapsed.
The suggestion by Michael Crick that she should resign is laughable. Focus pullers in the film business have been 'borrowing' ads forever so they could get a break working as a cameraman. Some I know have become super successful. It would be a bit harsh asking Ridley Scotts DOP to resign after lighting 'Gladiator' because he exaggerated his part in a Renault commercial
Oh fuck, she's in real trouble.
A classier reply than Tyndall's. Not difficult but welcome noneteless!
From the Thatcher auction linked above. I've looked up all the words and, no, still no idea.
Gombeen man = shady businessman wanting to be bribed by Heath, who has a whacking headache after drinking the koolaid poitin of talks with the Nationalists (and by implication the IRA), at Sunningdale, Berks. (Civil Service College),. which makes it 1973, I think. Or is that too early for Mrs T?
While Mrs T, Rev Paisley and someone I don't recognise - Mr Hume of the SDLP, or Mr Cosgrove the Taoiseach? - look on in consternation.
Edit: cxould be Barbara Castle.
Jim Prior not Ted Heath, I think. Prior was Mrs T's Northern Ireland Secretary.
ETA scooped by viewcode!
Think the other mystery man is Garret Fitzgerald who was the Irish PM at that time.
Am I the only PBer who has never had to write a proper CV? Never done a job that required one. Never been asked to submit one
It would be quite colourful tho
1992: jail, mainly 1993: haven’t got a fucking clue 1994-2001: heroin 2002-2005: see 1993
Me. Every job I have ever got has been on the basis of personal recommendation. I do have a CV which I keep updated just in case but have never actually had to use it
From the Thatcher auction linked above. I've looked up all the words and, no, still no idea.
Gombeen man = shady businessman wanting to be bribed by Heath, who has a whacking headache after drinking the koolaid poitin of talks with the Nationalists (and by implication the IRA), at Sunningdale, Berks. (Civil Service College),. which makes it 1973, I think. Or is that too early for Mrs T?
While Mrs T, Rev Paisley and someone I don't recognise - Mr Hume of the SDLP, or Mr Cosgrove the Taoiseach? - look on in consternation.
The Sunningdale reference is to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunningdale_Agreement, which was signed in late 73 under the Conservative Govt and collapsed in May 74 under the Labour Govt. Pym was NI in 73 when it was signed, Gilmour was shadow NI in 74 when it collapsed.
No, it’s definitely Jim Prior and I guess (but who knows!!) that the suspicion was that he was suspected of seeking a return to the ill fated Sunningdale agreement of 1973.
It's actually a rather interesting new measure, adopted by the Conservatives and causing a headache for poverty analysts everywhere.
It is interesting but it still looks like a relative measure ("below average")?
Sure. There are strengths, and many weaknesses, to relative measures and this new one improves it quite a bit.
If you dig into the nuts and bolts of absolute poverty, you'll find it's not a particularly useful measure either. However, with a good understanding of what a particular indicator is measuring, they can as a group give you a feel for what is going (particularly over time).
Don't dismiss them out of hand. They are a bit like accounting KPIs - a good place to start.
There was a 🎄 tree visible in the Sky newsroom..surely not? 🤔🥴
I’ve noticed a tragically large number in houses as I pass. One house with three trees on show with those triangular candalabras in each visible window.
We urgently need to invent a new festival between Halloween and Christmas to hold off the nutters a bit longer.
It's actually a rather interesting new measure, adopted by the Conservatives and causing a headache for poverty analysts everywhere.
It is interesting but it still looks like a relative measure ("below average")?
Sure. There are strengths, and many weaknesses, to relative measures and this new one improves it quite a bit.
If you dig into the nuts and bolts of absolute poverty, you'll find it's not a particularly useful measure either. However, with a good understanding of what a particular indicator is measuring, they can as a group give you a feel for what is going (particularly over time).
Don't dismiss them out of hand. They are a bit like accounting KPIs - a good place to start.
The fundamental problem with relative poverty measures is that they are perfectly happy with everyone being worse off as long as the richest lose most, and that generally leads to the most reliable way of reducing relative poverty being to have a recession.
And I very much doubt that the current government sees it only as "a place to start".
Am I the only PBer who has never had to write a proper CV? Never done a job that required one. Never been asked to submit one
It would be quite colourful tho
1992: jail, mainly 1993: haven’t got a fucking clue 1994-2001: heroin 2002-2005: see 1993
Me. Every job I have ever got has been on the basis of personal recommendation. I do have a CV which I keep updated just in case but have never actually had to use it
Am I the only PBer who has never had to write a proper CV? Never done a job that required one. Never been asked to submit one
It would be quite colourful tho
1992: jail, mainly 1993: haven’t got a fucking clue 1994-2001: heroin 2002-2005: see 1993
Me. Every job I have ever got has been on the basis of personal recommendation. I do have a CV which I keep updated just in case but have never actually had to use it
Admirable
For 50 years I've scratched a living on the outer fringes of publishing and have been, in no particular order, printer, publisher, photographer, designer, writer, editor, web designer and delivery boy. If any of these roles had demanded a CV it would have confirmed the fact that I was qualified for none of them.
From the Thatcher auction linked above. I've looked up all the words and, no, still no idea.
Gombeen man = shady businessman wanting to be bribed by Heath, who has a whacking headache after drinking the koolaid poitin of talks with the Nationalists (and by implication the IRA), at Sunningdale, Berks. (Civil Service College),. which makes it 1973, I think. Or is that too early for Mrs T?
While Mrs T, Rev Paisley and someone I don't recognise - Mr Hume of the SDLP, or Mr Cosgrove the Taoiseach? - look on in consternation.
Edit: cxould be Barbara Castle.
Jim Prior not Ted Heath, I think. Prior was Mrs T's Northern Ireland Secretary.
ETA scooped by viewcode!
Think the other mystery man is Garret Fitzgerald who was the Irish PM at that time.
Am I the only PBer who has never had to write a proper CV? Never done a job that required one. Never been asked to submit one
It would be quite colourful tho
1992: jail, mainly 1993: haven’t got a fucking clue 1994-2001: heroin 2002-2005: see 1993
Me. Every job I have ever got has been on the basis of personal recommendation. I do have a CV which I keep updated just in case but have never actually had to use it
Admirable
For 50 years I've scratched a living on the outer fringes of publishing and have been, in no particular order, printer, publisher, photographer, designer, writer, editor, web designer and delivery boy. If any of these roles had demanded a CV it would have confirmed the fact that I was qualified for none of them.
Has anyone ever asked about your degree?
I’ve also gone my entire life without anyone ever inquiring about my degree, university, results etc
It was a 2:2 in Philosophy from UCL, and I was damn lucky to get that given my contemptuous attitude to my own course
“It is not expected, however, that any charges will be brought before 2027/28, and that time frame could be extended.”
Hardly surprising given that I'm aware of court cases being scheduled for 2026...
So this is just a consequence of our knackered legal system? It’s quite shocking. Especially the “may he extended” bit. So they might get round to arresting people in the mid 2040s by which time they’ll all be dead. How convenient
Comments
But one message has been moved up from the middle of the booklet: “If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjr4zwj2lgdo
Separately am impressed by much the Scandis are giving to Ukraine.
Denmark (5.9m pop) has given $7bn compared to $10.1bn from UK (68m) and $3.4bn from France (also 68m). And you have to go through Germany to get to Denmark!
I suspect this will be an area which Badenoch will seek to develop in Conservative policy making as we move through this Parliament. She may well argue the problem is with Government itself rather than the party in power and there's so much more scope for savings once we've established what kind of Government (or State) we want and need.
The relationship between the Government and the individual citizen is very different in the UK than either the US or Europe and we could create our own bespoke "contract" (not the best word) between Government and governed. I often hear from some on here bemoaning the inability of projects to proceed at speed but there is a balance to be struck between individual citizens and the needs of the wider country.
As we heard from two legendary characters do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (or the one) or is there a more complex relationship at work?
Rather as a doctor once asked about love, I'm wondering what is Government? What should it be and why isn't it that now?
In a new claim of predatory behaviour by the former BBC News at 10 presenter – spared jail after admitting making indecent images of children – is said to have asked the starstruck sixth former to follow him on Instagram.
Edwards, now 63, then promised to help his music career and sent him suggestive messages calling him 'babe' and 'big boy' littered with hearts and kisses, the youngster – referred to as Emyr – claimed yesterday.
'Y Byd ar Bedwar' on S4C on Monday at 8pm.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14097243/huw-edwards-groom-sexually-suggestive-messages-flirting.html
80% of council spending being on children’s services is not unknown some 15 years later.
I’m hoping that may give us pause about the usefulness of small government.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/nov/18/more-than-one-in-three-uk-children-poverty-deprivation-record-high?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/county-news-exposed-shankar-released-by-worcestershire-516800
The Prime Minister because such ministers both develop ideas and a tendency to defend them.
The Civil Service because such Ministers try and run the department. Rather than the other way round.
The sort of practices that demand 4 years of experience for an entry level job, or 10 years of a skill that didn't exist 5 years ago.
Plus the fact that it's all run through AI now before it ever reaches a human being, means you have to keyword stuff a CV like an old-timey SEO optimised web-page. I'm good with Spreadsheets, Microsoft Excel, Tables, Functions, Charts, Cell Editing, VBA scripting for Excel, Pivot Tables etc.
And if your job description doesn't PERFECTLY match the one you're applying for, you have to bend your previous job title (and keyword stuff accordingly) or you'll be rejected out of hand by the ATS before a human ever looks at your CV.
Instead of sending off a CV and cover letter to a real person who reads it, you now have a convoluted process that requires you to game the system just to get in front of a real person.
The CPS customarily does it, but they don't have the sole right to initiate prosecutions.
https://www.droneshield.com/c-uas-products/dronegun-tactical
She shouldn't have lied about it, though.
The Children's Centres came in a variety of flavours - in some instances, an area of an existing school was effectively partitioned off from the rest of the facility to provide secure and suitable accommodation (that came at a cost). However, other examples had the Council leasing accommodation from a third party and then sub-letting to a third party provider who would run the facility and provide the service.
The facilities in the existing schools have to an extent continued but those in leased buildings ended when the Council could or would no longer pay the rent so 1,300 of the 3,600 centres have gone.
The IFS claimed Sure Start provision had saved the NHS millions in terms of preventing admissions of children to hospital and had also started to have a positive impact on child obesity but the problem was the funding which, as we've seen with increasing pressure on care for vulnerable adults and children, has been squeezed.
I do agree sometimes proponents of "small" Government (whatever that actually means) fail to see the bigger picture.
But as a compromise in the act (at the instance of the Conservative and Lib Dem opposition, at the time), they can only shutdown a prosecution if the evidence is insufficient to get a conviction. And they have a legal obligation to take the prosecution forward if there is such evidence.
There was a case a few years back. A man accused of rape was taking his accuser to court. After being acquitted, himself, in a trial. He had, so it was stated, accumulated evidence that the claim was a deliberate and malicious fake. The family of the lady when to the Police and CPS. The CPS took over the prosecution, but found the evidence was compelling. And didn't stop the prosecution. The lady committed suicide before the trial, IIRC
They solve the same problem.
Didn't put it on a CV though. We didn't win...
[I am also an average (long retired) bridge player]
But it's also the case that almost all the jobs I've got have been through personal reference/word of mouth, where they look at the CV after, not before.
From the Thatcher auction linked above. I've looked up all the words and, no, still no idea.
It doesn't matter what side of the political spectrum someone is on, honesty shouldn't be an optional extra.
It shocks me to the core that we are willing to defend lies, just because they come from someone on "our side".
While Mrs T, Rev Paisley and someone I don't recognise - Mr Hume of the SDLP, or Mr Cosgrove the Taoiseach? - look on in consternation.
Edit: cxould be Barbara Castle.
I don't envy anyone starting out their careers now. Between the ridiculously convoluted ATS + HR screening rounds + competency tests (and random 'gamified' personality tests') plus 'video interviews' where the questions are pre-written and you have to record yourself giving the answer, it sucks to be a grad these days. Then when you finally get a job, there's no-one to mentor you because senior management is always WFH.
What I would do, is create internal units, within departments whose job is to improve systems and streamline process. You'd see, over years, reductions in costs. A few percent a year, maybe. Depending on the level of investment and how aggressive you'd be.
This would be a permanent prat of the government structure.
So why is no one interested?
1) 5 year political cycle. If you started on day 1, you might or might not save more than you spent before the next election. Most likely, your opponent would run on ripping it out, saving money and jeering at your "waste"
2) You are looking at permanent loss of jobs. 99% of the work of the DVLA, for example, should be completely automated. That'll be popular in Swansea.
The other area to look at is contracts, how they are run and the costs. We have reached the stage where adding years and billions, almost arbitrarily is assumed to be fine. Hence spending 100 million to save every singe bat. A stupid price for a stupid requirement.
For this, we need -
- Requirements culling. Sometime the best part is no part. In the case of the Bat Cage, the requirement is wrong. We don't don't spend infinite money on saving human lives. Indeed, we put a cost on saving human life in projects. How much should a bat cost.
- Cost control. This is closely related to the requirements. If something is costing £100,000 a meter, someone needs to ask WTAF.
The portrayal of the Nationalist side isn't very sympathetic, though that is down to the newspaper. It was certainly usual. I remember seeing a cartoon at the time of bombings in England and it showed IRA pilots of Heinkel-like bombers raining down their payload on London etc while Wilson or more probably Callaghan looked up futilely. Edit: the visual approach to the Republicans was similar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Prior
ETA scooped by viewcode!
The private companies had years if not decades of experience writing service contracts because that was how they operated - the Councils did not. Some of the provisions put into the Contract by the private operators were appallingly and basically a licence to gouge the Council and by definition the Council Tax payers.
The other problem with CCT was when Councils were legally obliged to accept the lowest offer for a service. This led, as I witnessed, to some private companies begging the Council for funds as they couldn't run the Service at the cost they had promised and ended up charging £125 to fit a light bulb at a residential care home.
It's better now but there remains this almost ideological divide between the local council who don't have to run a Service at a profit and the private sector operator which does. The good Councils retain professional knowledge to help manage the Contract and ensure Service level targets are being met by the provider but I'm far from certain that is widely the case.
This started off as Charlie little potatoes. But it’s turning into Sigmund Super Spuds
It’s like an onion made of lies. You peel one lie away and expect the truth, but no, there’s another. And another
I DOUBT it will topple her, even tho it should. What it has done is nixed any remaining chance of her becoming PM - along with the WFA fuck up she’s very damaged goods. Indeed I can see her leaving the job before the next GE
It would be quite colourful tho
1992: jail, mainly
1993: haven’t got a fucking clue
1994-2001: heroin
2002-2005: see 1993
It's actually a rather interesting new measure, adopted by the Conservatives and causing a headache for poverty analysts everywhere.
Jon Sopel
@jonsopel
·
1h
Change of address notification: you’ll be able to find me now on @bluesky
Have greatly enjoyed living here for over a decade, but feel the neighbourhood has really gone downhill.
Will still call by occasionally
https://x.com/jonsopel/status/1858574742430593530
I am thinking Head of the DEA.
The person on the ground is Frances Pym, NI Secretary 1973-74 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Pym
The people at the fence are Margaret Thatcher, Iain Paisley, and Ian Gilmore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Gilmour,_Baron_Gilmour_of_Craigmillar
The Sunningdale reference is to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunningdale_Agreement, which was signed in late 73 under the Conservative Govt and collapsed in May 74 under the Labour Govt. Pym was NI in 73 when it was signed, Gilmour was shadow NI in 74 when it collapsed.
I'm just asking questions as they say.
If you dig into the nuts and bolts of absolute poverty, you'll find it's not a particularly useful measure either. However, with a good understanding of what a particular indicator is measuring, they can as a group give you a feel for what is going (particularly over time).
Don't dismiss them out of hand. They are a bit like accounting KPIs - a good place to start.
And I very much doubt that the current government sees it only as "a place to start".
Offences being considered by police against individuals include perjury and perverting the course of justice, sources tell Sky News.
https://news.sky.com/story/post-office-horizon-scandal-four-suspects-identified-by-police-13256357
“It is not expected, however, that any charges will be brought before 2027/28, and that time frame could be extended.”
Edit - was right first time see https://x.com/BarristerSecret/status/1821533485955182830
I’ve also gone my entire life without anyone ever inquiring about my degree, university, results etc
It was a 2:2 in Philosophy from UCL, and I was damn lucky to get that given my contemptuous attitude to my own course