In happier news, I can report that Car Clubs are fantastic
I've been using them frequently these last weeks, during the refurb of my flat (which I may have mentioned)
There are multiple cars parked within a few minutes of my flat. I can book them with an app seconds before I need them. Stroll to the car, it unlocks with the app, take a couple of photos, then off I go. £7 for a car for an hour. No other fees. Petrol is free. Parking is guaranteed (and free). The cars are solid and nice, but not so lovely you're scared of dinging them. Great for carting around furniture and DUMPING IKEA IN RECYCLING CENTRES
Brilliant idea, and now so seamless. Far superior to the hassle of privately owned cars for most people in cities, I suggest, with apologies to @BartholomewRoberts
In happier news, I can report that Car Clubs are fantastic
I've been using them frequently these last weeks, during the refurb of my flat (which I may have mentioned)
There are multiple cars parked within a few minutes of my flat. I can book them with an app seconds before I need them. Stroll to the car, it unlocks with the app, take a couple of photos, then off I go. £7 for a car for an hour. No other fees. Petrol is free. Parking is guaranteed (and free). The cars are solid and nice, but not so lovely you're scared of dinging them. Great for carting around furniture and DUMPING IKEA IN RECYCLING CENTRES
Brilliant idea, and now so seamless. Far superior to the hassle of privately owned cars for most people in cities, I suggest, with apologies to @BartholomewRoberts
And when they become driverless....
The biggest reported problem with the driverless Waymos has been people leaving them in poor condition inside. Have you seen any similar issues with ‘Club’ cars?
In happier news, I can report that Car Clubs are fantastic
I've been using them frequently these last weeks, during the refurb of my flat (which I may have mentioned)
There are multiple cars parked within a few minutes of my flat. I can book them with an app seconds before I need them. Stroll to the car, it unlocks with the app, take a couple of photos, then off I go. £7 for a car for an hour. No other fees. Petrol is free. Parking is guaranteed (and free). The cars are solid and nice, but not so lovely you're scared of dinging them. Great for carting around furniture and DUMPING IKEA IN RECYCLING CENTRES
Brilliant idea, and now so seamless. Far superior to the hassle of privately owned cars for most people in cities, I suggest, with apologies to @BartholomewRoberts
And when they become driverless....
Agreed. Where they also work well is in the case of families who are nervously considering whether they can drop down from two cars to one car. There is huge utility in access to cars, but an awful lot of cars sit idle a lot of the time.
The USA shouldn’t be considered a functioning democracy anymore . It was good while it lasted !
No, that would require the Democratic party to be banned and President Trump declared President for life by the SC with the support of the military to enforce that, the US is still some way from that
Democrats from Texas arrested. The Federally sequestered State National Guard patrolling the streets of DC and LA, and 6 out of 9 SC judges comfortably in the Trump camp.
Would you like to reassess your judgement?
No. Every voter in every state still can elect Democrats on their ballot papers, national guards have patrolled under many Presidents back to IKE and judges on the SC always reflect the views of the President who appointed them and like him or not Trump was twice elected
Don't forget the GOP black balled Garland and rushed through Comey Barrett. It has not been anything like a normalcy to appoint SCOTUS judges for a while, and have you forgotten January 6th 2021?
The 'coup' that failed to stop Biden being elected and inaugrated as President?
It was an attempted coup. No one can be sure Vance will take the same course of action Pence followed in 2021?
In happier news, I can report that Car Clubs are fantastic
I've been using them frequently these last weeks, during the refurb of my flat (which I may have mentioned)
There are multiple cars parked within a few minutes of my flat. I can book them with an app seconds before I need them. Stroll to the car, it unlocks with the app, take a couple of photos, then off I go. £7 for a car for an hour. No other fees. Petrol is free. Parking is guaranteed (and free). The cars are solid and nice, but not so lovely you're scared of dinging them. Great for carting around furniture and DUMPING IKEA IN RECYCLING CENTRES
Brilliant idea, and now so seamless. Far superior to the hassle of privately owned cars for most people in cities, I suggest, with apologies to @BartholomewRoberts
And when they become driverless....
The biggest reported problem with the driverless Waymos has been people leaving them in poor condition inside. Have you seen any similar issues with ‘Club’ cars?
Yes, the car I just used was a tiny bit dinged, and scruffy in the back. Dust and stuff. Not gross but certainly not pristine
But that's fine by me. I was taking a massive disassembled IKEA table to the dump, it made me less worried about messing it up. The car arrived slightly scruffy and I left it slightly scruffy
Also, you can choose the level of niceness of your car. £7 an hour gets the basic VW Polo I had. £8 an hour gets you a touch nicer and more glamorous MG, And up and on. Also vans, etc
There was a very high profile case a while back where a UK jury returned a not guilty verdict even though the evidence seemed conclusive and it’s really bugging me as I can’t remember what the subject matter was .
Jeremy Thorpe.
John Palmer, Brinks Mat.
There's loads.
Most miscarriages of justice are guilty people getting off.
Our country’s patience has snapped. People are utterly sick of being ignored by the establishment.
And this time they are doing something about it. It’s heartening to see people from all backgrounds fighting back against a rotten status quo – and winning.
The people of Epping and the local council have led the way by forcing the Bell Inn Hotel housing illegal migrants to close. As a result of their success the Home Office is now under immense pressure to deport those here illegally rather than managing failure by housing them across the country.
Last Sunday I went to visit those peaceful patriots protesting in Epping. I ordered the closure of the hotel back in 2023, but Labour reopened it this year because the number of migrants crossing the Channel has reached record levels.
Nobody from Westminster had visited or listened to them before. Starmer and Cooper wouldn’t dare. But the stories locals told were harrowing and need to be heard. One mother told me how the local school had suggested students take a different route to school. Her young daughter said that men from the hotel loiter outside certain spots where “they look at us”. In the weeks prior there had been several serious attacks, allegedly by illegal migrants in the hotel. The protestors I spoke to weren’t racist – they were simply good parents and grandparents worried about their family’s safety.
I can’t stand the self-loathing councils who have taken down the St George’s cross or Union flag. These are so often the same councils that happily leave up Palestinian flags. When I ran through Tower Hamlets during the London marathon this spring the council had allowed almost every lamppost to be adorned with foreign flags. Councils like this are the embodiment of two-tier Britain – denigrating our unifying national culture while celebrating every other. Well, enough is enough. I call on patriotic Britons across the country to put out our flags and restore pride in our country.
The country is heading in the wrong direction. But the British people have shown during the last week that there are reasons to believe a comeback is on.
Putin was never going to, and likely will never agree to meet Zelensky. The current Russian regime simply won't accept Ukraine as a sovereign nation, and symbolic events matter to them (a sharp contrast with Trump, who appears not to have had a clue what inviting Putin to meet on US soil implied).
Russian FM Lavrov makes clear that there’s no Putin-Zelensky bilateral meeting planned nor is one happening anytime soon: “There is no meeting planned. And I'm not challenging this, but you -- you cannot, cannot, I think, understand what I am saying. Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all.” https://x.com/ChristopherJM/status/1958859584296108513
Trump has a press conference scheduled for midday.
Has the penny finally dropped that the Russians are playing him for time and have no interest in peace, while the whole of Europe is steadfast behind supporting Ukraine to keep fighting?
What do you think ?
My prediction is he'll give him another "two weeks".
I’d like to think he’s done with the games.
To be fair to Trump his crazy brand of diplomacy has worked so far with other situations, but I think he has until now failed to understand the Russian mindset wrt Ukraine, and also underestimated the European resolve to put Putin firmly back in his box.
For many years you have naively tried to sane wash Trump. He is not a 12D chess genius. The man is ignorant, clueless and barely literate.
The World is a much more dangerous place since January 20th.
There was a very high profile case a while back where a UK jury returned a not guilty verdict even though the evidence seemed conclusive and it’s really bugging me as I can’t remember what the subject matter was .
Nightmare? Depends what she's going to say. Can't say she was framed as she pled guilty. Can't say she was entrapped to plead guilty as she didn't raise that as a point of appeal. Can't say that she didn't say what she said.
So.....? Have her as the mouthpiece for the "send the darkies home" campaign? That won't give Starmer too many sleepless nights.
The government’s worst case scenario is probably that she says something that’s clearly in breach of her licence conditions, and someone has to decide whether to recall her.
That, or she gives a bland interview on UK TV then heads off to the US podcast circuit. Is she allowed to travel?
She’s somewhat more articulate and photogenic than “Tommy”.
She has a fairly narrow path to follow. She doesn't want to get into trouble with the law, but (I'm guessing) she does want to generate a lot of sympathy for her position. It's also perfectly possible that she turns away some of the people who were instinctively sympathetic to her. Or she may be able to use her situation to her own advantage.
The choice of channel and interviewer is interesting.
I hope she's getting good advice. There'll be lots of people wanting to use her.
Given she's now free, what sympathy does she expect ?
Perhaps sympathy for being
1. Held on remand because starmer wanted it
2. Bullied into pleading guilty
3. Being given a ridiculously long jail sentence for a misjudged tweet
4. Being madly mistreated while in jail
5. Even as Labour councillors get off scot free for publicly demanding the slitting of throats
Links for all those allegations from reputable sources please..
Some of those comments can get the site into trouble.
Leon's turned into quite the bleeding heart liberal. On a selective basis.
I made my feelings quite clear some time back that she deserved a custodial sentence, but one of that length was unnecessary, exemplary or otherwise. (FWIW) I've a certain amount of sympathy for anyone who falls foul of the law as a result of their own stupidity, but it's a limited amount of sympathy. And I can't say she stands out above the rest.
Nightmare? Depends what she's going to say. Can't say she was framed as she pled guilty. Can't say she was entrapped to plead guilty as she didn't raise that as a point of appeal. Can't say that she didn't say what she said.
So.....? Have her as the mouthpiece for the "send the darkies home" campaign? That won't give Starmer too many sleepless nights.
The government’s worst case scenario is probably that she says something that’s clearly in breach of her licence conditions, and someone has to decide whether to recall her.
That, or she gives a bland interview on UK TV then heads off to the US podcast circuit. Is she allowed to travel?
She’s somewhat more articulate and photogenic than “Tommy”.
She has a fairly narrow path to follow. She doesn't want to get into trouble with the law, but (I'm guessing) she does want to generate a lot of sympathy for her position. It's also perfectly possible that she turns away some of the people who were instinctively sympathetic to her. Or she may be able to use her situation to her own advantage.
The choice of channel and interviewer is interesting.
I hope she's getting good advice. There'll be lots of people wanting to use her.
Given she's now free, what sympathy does she expect ?
Perhaps sympathy for being
1. Held on remand because starmer wanted it
2. Bullied into pleading guilty
3. Being given a ridiculously long jail sentence for a misjudged tweet
4. Being madly mistreated while in jail
5. Even as Labour councillors get off scot free for publicly demanding the slitting of throats
1 to 4 are quite probably bollocks, but 5 is a blatant lie. The Labour guy, whose commentary was vile and unacceptable took his chances with a jury. That is fact.
1 and possibly 4 are probably libellous/slanderous.
(2) is probably wrong in fact, but not libellous as it does not specify a particular person who did the bullying.
(3) is not libellous as it's a matter of opinion.
(4), again, does not specify a particular person (or persons) who caused mistreatment, so not libellous.
(1) is the only one that might be libellous, but I think it's too up for interpretation to go anywhere.
4. The Governor? The Screws?
Had Leon specified the Governor and/or individual screws, that might be libellous, but he did not. You can't bring a libel suit on the basis that the accused might have been referring to you. You need to show you were specifically libelled.
Had Leon said she was mistreated by all the staff at the prison, then maybe they could have collectively sued. But he didn't.
Leon discovers that the prison system isn't particularly functional. It's a start, I guess.
There was a very high profile case a while back where a UK jury returned a not guilty verdict even though the evidence seemed conclusive and it’s really bugging me as I can’t remember what the subject matter was .
Jeremy Thorpe.
John Palmer, Brinks Mat.
There's loads.
Most miscarriages of justice are guilty people getting off.
Putin was never going to, and likely will never agree to meet Zelensky. The current Russian regime simply won't accept Ukraine as a sovereign nation, and symbolic events matter to them (a sharp contrast with Trump, who appears not to have had a clue what inviting Putin to meet on US soil implied).
Russian FM Lavrov makes clear that there’s no Putin-Zelensky bilateral meeting planned nor is one happening anytime soon: “There is no meeting planned. And I'm not challenging this, but you -- you cannot, cannot, I think, understand what I am saying. Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all.” https://x.com/ChristopherJM/status/1958859584296108513
Trump has a press conference scheduled for midday.
Has the penny finally dropped that the Russians are playing him for time and have no interest in peace, while the whole of Europe is steadfast behind supporting Ukraine to keep fighting?
What do you think ?
My prediction is he'll give him another "two weeks".
I’d like to think he’s done with the games.
To be fair to Trump his crazy brand of diplomacy has worked so far with other situations, but I think he has until now failed to understand the Russian mindset wrt Ukraine, and also underestimated the European resolve to put Putin firmly back in his box.
For many years you have naively tried to sane wash Trump. He is not a 12D chess genius. The man is ignorant, clueless and barely literate.
The World is a much more dangerous place since January 20th.
The clown could not run a bath
Isn't he a neighbour of yours?
I wish, nice plac ewith ocean front next to Mar a Lago would be most pleasant.
Comments
I've been using them frequently these last weeks, during the refurb of my flat (which I may have mentioned)
There are multiple cars parked within a few minutes of my flat. I can book them with an app seconds before I need them. Stroll to the car, it unlocks with the app, take a couple of photos, then off I go. £7 for a car for an hour. No other fees. Petrol is free. Parking is guaranteed (and free). The cars are solid and nice, but not so lovely you're scared of dinging them. Great for carting around furniture and DUMPING IKEA IN RECYCLING CENTRES
Brilliant idea, and now so seamless. Far superior to the hassle of privately owned cars for most people in cities, I suggest, with apologies to @BartholomewRoberts
And when they become driverless....
Where they also work well is in the case of families who are nervously considering whether they can drop down from two cars to one car. There is huge utility in access to cars, but an awful lot of cars sit idle a lot of the time.
NEW THREAD
But that's fine by me. I was taking a massive disassembled IKEA table to the dump, it made me less worried about messing it up. The car arrived slightly scruffy and I left it slightly scruffy
Also, you can choose the level of niceness of your car. £7 an hour gets the basic VW Polo I had. £8 an hour gets you a touch nicer and more glamorous MG, And up and on. Also vans, etc
There's loads.
Most miscarriages of justice are guilty people getting off.
Such verdicts are known as "perverse verdicts"
I made my feelings quite clear some time back that she deserved a custodial sentence, but one of that length was unnecessary, exemplary or otherwise. (FWIW)
I've a certain amount of sympathy for anyone who falls foul of the law as a result of their own stupidity, but it's a limited amount of sympathy. And I can't say she stands out above the rest.
It's a start, I guess.
Exhibit A - Mr Donald Trump.