Good morning. The ghouls were out last night and it's not even Halloween. Wonder when we are going to read about someone being radicalised by PB?
Back on subject and looking at the forecast for my own 'safe' Tory seat which is supposed to go Reform. Knowing the local Reform people (ex-UKIP) they just don't have the skills to run a council given the level of issues to be dealt with locally. Scale that up to Westminster and if Reform do get in, then unless there is something like the Heritage Foundation or some well-financed Think Tank, then it will be more of a disaster than the previous 3 governments.
One can only hope there will be more defections of skilled and capable politicians to Reform before 2029 cos a Reform government won't be pretty.
I am in one of the seats showing conservative on this MRP, with Reform a close second. My Tory MP is one of the relatively sane ones, but there is no way that I would tactically vote for them when Jenrick will be running on the same platform as Reform.
If Kemi is replaced next year it will be Cleverly who replaces her by coronation as Tory MPs elected Howard by coronation to succeed IDS in 2003 and Sunak by coronation to replace Truss in 2022.
Tory voters who stayed loyal in 2024 and all voters prefer Cleverly too polls show, only Reform voters prefer Jenrick. Even Tory members rejected Jenrick last year
The best chance the Tories have is to select a leader who looks "prime ministerial" and is able to attract Reform-defectors who are queasy about the prospect of Nige in Downing Street. May also help with the fight with the LibDems. Cleverly appears the only option so far as I can see and, let's face it, he would have won the top job if the Tory MP's hadn't screwed up the leadership election. I think he must still feel in the game, as he accepted a job in the shadow cabinet (much like Howard becoming Shadow Chancellor under IDS when he might have reasonably retired).
There was some talk downstream about the SDP. Worth remembering that they brought to the party some serious politicians with cabinet experience - Jenkins, Owen, Williams plus several more competent juniors. So far, Reform has only Farage, who is no-one's idea of a competent man of government. And as for his followers - don't ask.
Whatever happen, Reform will prove short-lived. They either fail to maintain momentum, don't win the election, and then disappear when Farage steps down, and the Tories recover. Or else, they win, form a Government, and collapse under the pressure of office and events. Just imagine what a Reform-majority parliamentary party would look like. "Strong and stable"?
I suspect if Cleverley is not leader by conference next year he will be unveiled as London Mayor candidate.
From what I hear the Tory establishment are already plotting to make Cleverly party leader and Seb Coe London Mayoral candidate by conference next year
If Seb Coe is the answer, you've been listening to William Hague. Coe is well into his bus pass years in any case. (Wasn't Coe's mum Indian, now you mention him?)
Coe could beat Khan with LD and Reform preferences and has name recognition from London 2012 he ran
FPTP now so would need tactical votes rather than second preferences.
Labour are expected to change Mayoral elections back to Supplementary Voting in the Devolution Bill at the end of the year
The three year old data is particularly worrying and is a bit of a canary in the coalmine that this is NOT a covid cohort phenomenon and will in fact be ongoing. Gov't needs to get a grip on this, badly.
I suspect it’s driven by the increase in mental health claims
It is driven by free largesse, amazed to hear you can self diagnos and claim benefits. Guy on LBC the other day , earning 65K a year and got 54K grant by self diagnosing an illness. magic money tree in place here right enough.
You can’t claim benefits merely on a self diagnosis.
You can, however, hire a private doctor/psychologist who will write pretty much what they are asked to after an online consultation. Which amounts to the same thing.
Are you suggesting we ban private medicine as an wholly unscientific scam? Or only for people on benefits who don't deserve it?
I'm suggesting that, when someone applies for PIP, a doctor working for the government should assess them. Waving a note from a rent-a-quack shouldn't suffice.
A gang of illegal immigrants who stormed a high street armed with machetes and brutally attacked a shop owner have been jailed. Hana Hassan, 22; Yosef Shaban, 24; Osama Qadir, 21, and Dawan Mantik, 28 - all Kurds from Iran and Iraq - arrived in Britain on small boats.
The four were part of a larger mob of 12 who 'rallied the troops' after a dispute days earlier.
They targeted fellow Kurd Kurwan Ali at his shop in Bournemouth, Dorset, in a 'ferocious and frighteningly violent attack', leaving one of the victims with life-threatening lung injuries.
At the time of the attack Hassan was living in the taxpayer-funded Britannia Hotel, which was the focal point of local protests over the summer. Two of the men involved, Ahmed Omar and Rahel Omer, fled the country soon after the events of the following days.
New leader of the Greens: "Political class poisoned by extreme wealth". BBC.
Kemi Badenoch, Keir Starmer and Ed Davey are hardly some kind of plutocratic elite. They all probably grew up with more humble backgrounds than Zach Polanski.
Farage’s wealth remains, as ever, a subject of mystery.
Backers tend to be of extreme wealth, however. Consider Farage's fossil fuel donations, Jenrick's donations, Michelle Mone, peerages for rich people who donate, paid-for dinners with senior politicians, Russian oligarchs, and Paul Marshall, for a start.
That list is mainly on the right, but there are also rich donors on the left and lib-left. Blair had some, the history of Mandelson, and there was at least one famous Lib Dem one who I cannot remember at present.
The three year old data is particularly worrying and is a bit of a canary in the coalmine that this is NOT a covid cohort phenomenon and will in fact be ongoing. Gov't needs to get a grip on this, badly.
I suspect it’s driven by the increase in mental health claims
It is driven by free largesse, amazed to hear you can self diagnos and claim benefits. Guy on LBC the other day , earning 65K a year and got 54K grant by self diagnosing an illness. magic money tree in place here right enough.
You can’t claim benefits merely on a self diagnosis.
You can, however, hire a private doctor/psychologist who will write pretty much what they are asked to after an online consultation. Which amounts to the same thing.
Are you suggesting we ban private medicine as an wholly unscientific scam? Or only for people on benefits who don't deserve it?
I'm suggesting that, when someone applies for PIP, a doctor working for the government should assess them. Waving a note from a rent-a-quack shouldn't suffice.
And how, pray tell is that possible when there is a five year waiting list for an adult autism assessment?
The three year old data is particularly worrying and is a bit of a canary in the coalmine that this is NOT a covid cohort phenomenon and will in fact be ongoing. Gov't needs to get a grip on this, badly.
I suspect it’s driven by the increase in mental health claims
It is driven by free largesse, amazed to hear you can self diagnos and claim benefits. Guy on LBC the other day , earning 65K a year and got 54K grant by self diagnosing an illness. magic money tree in place here right enough.
You can’t claim benefits merely on a self diagnosis.
You can, however, hire a private doctor/psychologist who will write pretty much what they are asked to after an online consultation. Which amounts to the same thing.
Are you suggesting we ban private medicine as an wholly unscientific scam? Or only for people on benefits who don't deserve it?
I'm suggesting that, when someone applies for PIP, a doctor working for the government should assess them. Waving a note from a rent-a-quack shouldn't suffice.
And how, pray tell is that possible when there is a five year waiting list for an adult autism assessment?
Perhaps the waiting list would go down if the link between diagnosis and benefits were looser.
Good morning. The ghouls were out last night and it's not even Halloween. Wonder when we are going to read about someone being radicalised by PB?
Back on subject and looking at the forecast for my own 'safe' Tory seat which is supposed to go Reform. Knowing the local Reform people (ex-UKIP) they just don't have the skills to run a council given the level of issues to be dealt with locally. Scale that up to Westminster and if Reform do get in, then unless there is something like the Heritage Foundation or some well-financed Think Tank, then it will be more of a disaster than the previous 3 governments.
One can only hope there will be more defections of skilled and capable politicians to Reform before 2029 cos a Reform government won't be pretty.
I am in one of the seats showing conservative on this MRP, with Reform a close second. My Tory MP is one of the relatively sane ones, but there is no way that I would tactically vote for them when Jenrick will be running on the same platform as Reform.
If Kemi is replaced next year it will be Cleverly who replaces her by coronation as Tory MPs elected Howard by coronation to succeed IDS in 2003 and Sunak by coronation to replace Truss in 2022.
Tory voters who stayed loyal in 2024 and all voters prefer Cleverly too polls show, only Reform voters prefer Jenrick. Even Tory members rejected Jenrick last year
The best chance the Tories have is to select a leader who looks "prime ministerial" and is able to attract Reform-defectors who are queasy about the prospect of Nige in Downing Street. May also help with the fight with the LibDems. Cleverly appears the only option so far as I can see and, let's face it, he would have won the top job if the Tory MP's hadn't screwed up the leadership election. I think he must still feel in the game, as he accepted a job in the shadow cabinet (much like Howard becoming Shadow Chancellor under IDS when he might have reasonably retired).
There was some talk downstream about the SDP. Worth remembering that they brought to the party some serious politicians with cabinet experience - Jenkins, Owen, Williams plus several more competent juniors. So far, Reform has only Farage, who is no-one's idea of a competent man of government. And as for his followers - don't ask.
Whatever happen, Reform will prove short-lived. They either fail to maintain momentum, don't win the election, and then disappear when Farage steps down, and the Tories recover. Or else, they win, form a Government, and collapse under the pressure of office and events. Just imagine what a Reform-majority parliamentary party would look like. "Strong and stable"?
I suspect if Cleverley is not leader by conference next year he will be unveiled as London Mayor candidate.
From what I hear the Tory establishment are already plotting to make Cleverly party leader and Seb Coe London Mayoral candidate by conference next year
If Seb Coe is the answer, you've been listening to William Hague. Coe is well into his bus pass years in any case. (Wasn't Coe's mum Indian, now you mention him?)
Coe could beat Khan with LD and Reform preferences and has name recognition from London 2012 he ran
Khan has an extremely high meh vote.
Coe could beat him, but he’d need to run semi-independently from the Tory brand which remains largely toxic in London.
The Tory brand is less toxic in London now, the toxic brand there unlike the rest of the UK is Reform
Yes, even Susan Hall got 32.7% of the vote and Coe is considerably less toxic to voters. Khan would have to hope that the Conservatives / Coe leaked so many votes to Reform that they dropped out before the LDs / Reform but then he'd probably lose to the LD candidate.
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury by Downing Street.
She will be the first female Archbishop in history and a good choice in my view
What are the factors that make her a good choice?
I know very little about CofE Bishops, or internal politics.
Well she is a woman for starters which after recent sex abuse cases involving males was desperately needed. She is reasonably pro Parish and backed blessings for same sex couples
Interesting. Does that mean she's anti gay marriage, or conversely leaning that way?
She is likely pro but Synod decides and LLF was the compromise that got through it.
Should also be noted the most well funded and biggest congregation conservative evangelical churches in the C of E would likely leave if same sex marriage was allowed. Opposition to same sex marriage is a defining thing for conservative evangelicals as even the SNP found with Kate Forbes when she stood for SNP leader
Thank you; and fair enough. But the contradiction between being the ideological [edit] or perhaps better religious arm of the English State, and disobeying that State's laws on marriage, remains. I have no idea how, or indeed if, that will be resolved in a logical way.
A gang of illegal immigrants who stormed a high street armed with machetes and brutally attacked a shop owner have been jailed. Hana Hassan, 22; Yosef Shaban, 24; Osama Qadir, 21, and Dawan Mantik, 28 - all Kurds from Iran and Iraq - arrived in Britain on small boats.
The four were part of a larger mob of 12 who 'rallied the troops' after a dispute days earlier.
They targeted fellow Kurd Kurwan Ali at his shop in Bournemouth, Dorset, in a 'ferocious and frighteningly violent attack', leaving one of the victims with life-threatening lung injuries.
At the time of the attack Hassan was living in the taxpayer-funded Britannia Hotel, which was the focal point of local protests over the summer. Two of the men involved, Ahmed Omar and Rahel Omer, fled the country soon after the events of the following days.
They're bringing their savagery to our streets. If they want to do this shit in their country that's up to them, now we have to pay to keep them in prison and some idiot judge will prevent their deportation when they get out of jail.
The three year old data is particularly worrying and is a bit of a canary in the coalmine that this is NOT a covid cohort phenomenon and will in fact be ongoing. Gov't needs to get a grip on this, badly.
I suspect it’s driven by the increase in mental health claims
It is driven by free largesse, amazed to hear you can self diagnos and claim benefits. Guy on LBC the other day , earning 65K a year and got 54K grant by self diagnosing an illness. magic money tree in place here right enough.
You can’t claim benefits merely on a self diagnosis.
You can, however, hire a private doctor/psychologist who will write pretty much what they are asked to after an online consultation. Which amounts to the same thing.
Are you suggesting we ban private medicine as an wholly unscientific scam? Or only for people on benefits who don't deserve it?
I'm suggesting that, when someone applies for PIP, a doctor working for the government should assess them. Waving a note from a rent-a-quack shouldn't suffice.
And how, pray tell is that possible when there is a five year waiting list for an adult autism assessment?
Perhaps the waiting list would go down if the link between diagnosis and benefits were looser.
So. There you are. These conditions don't deserve benefits. It isn't a real ailment. If there were a 5 year wait for cancer or diabetes the country would be up in arms.
New leader of the Greens: "Political class poisoned by extreme wealth". BBC.
New leader of the Greens made the most sensible comment of the last two days. In the light of the Board of Deputies saying Netanyahu shouldn't face gencide charges he suggested the Board of Deputies should redesignate themselves as the Board of Deputies for the Netanyahu government.
As a Jew from Salford himself he is in a better position than most to know the rather hideous machinations of the The British Board of Deputies
New leader of the Greens: "Political class poisoned by extreme wealth". BBC.
Green Leader's Speech - Zack Polanski at Green Party Conference 2025 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZx9VngoYnk (it's a live feed so you'll have to zip thru the gubbins in the beginning)
Good morning. The ghouls were out last night and it's not even Halloween. Wonder when we are going to read about someone being radicalised by PB?
Back on subject and looking at the forecast for my own 'safe' Tory seat which is supposed to go Reform. Knowing the local Reform people (ex-UKIP) they just don't have the skills to run a council given the level of issues to be dealt with locally. Scale that up to Westminster and if Reform do get in, then unless there is something like the Heritage Foundation or some well-financed Think Tank, then it will be more of a disaster than the previous 3 governments.
One can only hope there will be more defections of skilled and capable politicians to Reform before 2029 cos a Reform government won't be pretty.
I am in one of the seats showing conservative on this MRP, with Reform a close second. My Tory MP is one of the relatively sane ones, but there is no way that I would tactically vote for them when Jenrick will be running on the same platform as Reform.
If Kemi is replaced next year it will be Cleverly who replaces her by coronation as Tory MPs elected Howard by coronation to succeed IDS in 2003 and Sunak by coronation to replace Truss in 2022.
Tory voters who stayed loyal in 2024 and all voters prefer Cleverly too polls show, only Reform voters prefer Jenrick. Even Tory members rejected Jenrick last year
The best chance the Tories have is to select a leader who looks "prime ministerial" and is able to attract Reform-defectors who are queasy about the prospect of Nige in Downing Street. May also help with the fight with the LibDems. Cleverly appears the only option so far as I can see and, let's face it, he would have won the top job if the Tory MP's hadn't screwed up the leadership election. I think he must still feel in the game, as he accepted a job in the shadow cabinet (much like Howard becoming Shadow Chancellor under IDS when he might have reasonably retired).
There was some talk downstream about the SDP. Worth remembering that they brought to the party some serious politicians with cabinet experience - Jenkins, Owen, Williams plus several more competent juniors. So far, Reform has only Farage, who is no-one's idea of a competent man of government. And as for his followers - don't ask.
Whatever happen, Reform will prove short-lived. They either fail to maintain momentum, don't win the election, and then disappear when Farage steps down, and the Tories recover. Or else, they win, form a Government, and collapse under the pressure of office and events. Just imagine what a Reform-majority parliamentary party would look like. "Strong and stable"?
I suspect if Cleverley is not leader by conference next year he will be unveiled as London Mayor candidate.
From what I hear the Tory establishment are already plotting to make Cleverly party leader and Seb Coe London Mayoral candidate by conference next year
If Seb Coe is the answer, you've been listening to William Hague. Coe is well into his bus pass years in any case. (Wasn't Coe's mum Indian, now you mention him?)
His Mum was half-Indian and a bit Irish, so he’s certainly not White British enough for some posters here.
That’s interesting, I never knew that. But doesn’t it also give the likes of Isam reason to hope that the future *isn’t* some kind of caliphate?
I doubt there’s many who are come across as English as Seb Coe.
Cliff Richard is another not that well-known anglo-indian one.
It’s a bit of a cliché, but diversity can be a strength (for example, in a workplace, a sports team, or across a nation) because it brings a wide range of complementary skills and perspectives. But for that strength to be realised, it has to be anchored in unity.
Diversity without unity risks fragmentation, where some may disengage or simply not care, or even work against the majority.
So, really, diversity is only a strength in the context of shared purpose and cohesion.
A gang of illegal immigrants who stormed a high street armed with machetes and brutally attacked a shop owner have been jailed. Hana Hassan, 22; Yosef Shaban, 24; Osama Qadir, 21, and Dawan Mantik, 28 - all Kurds from Iran and Iraq - arrived in Britain on small boats.
The four were part of a larger mob of 12 who 'rallied the troops' after a dispute days earlier.
They targeted fellow Kurd Kurwan Ali at his shop in Bournemouth, Dorset, in a 'ferocious and frighteningly violent attack', leaving one of the victims with life-threatening lung injuries.
At the time of the attack Hassan was living in the taxpayer-funded Britannia Hotel, which was the focal point of local protests over the summer. Two of the men involved, Ahmed Omar and Rahel Omer, fled the country soon after the events of the following days.
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury by Downing Street.
She will be the first female Archbishop in history and a good choice in my view
@HYUFD , who was your preferred choice, what characteristics does Mullally have that would make her a good choice, and what do you think will happen next. You and @MattW have the knowledge base for this.
@Sean_F who appears to have had a narrow escape from the jaws of demise
*group hug*
Thanks, though in my case it's nothing serious. It's actually a really annoying injury: I can swim, run and bike with the injury, but it is painful, and my physio (I think wisely) has said that I need to stop until we get to the bottom of what the problem is. It's annoying knowing I *could* do the exercise, but I should not.
Did you say you had hypermobility?
My wife's serious problems started when she had a shoulder injury, was told to rest it, and then lost the muscle condition that was keeping her hypermobility under control.
Might be worth looking for a specialist with experience of hypermobility.
The three year old data is particularly worrying and is a bit of a canary in the coalmine that this is NOT a covid cohort phenomenon and will in fact be ongoing. Gov't needs to get a grip on this, badly.
I suspect it’s driven by the increase in mental health claims
It is driven by free largesse, amazed to hear you can self diagnos and claim benefits. Guy on LBC the other day , earning 65K a year and got 54K grant by self diagnosing an illness. magic money tree in place here right enough.
You can’t claim benefits merely on a self diagnosis.
You can, however, hire a private doctor/psychologist who will write pretty much what they are asked to after an online consultation. Which amounts to the same thing.
Are you sure about that?
In order for my son to have an autism diagnosis for the benefit of assistance ( not even a statement) at school over twenty years ago he had to jump through hoops. The first reference was from the GP and final assessment and analysis was from a National Health Consultant at the UWH Cardiff.There were no online consultations with doctors holding certificates from the Trump University. I am sure it would have been easier if there were.
Did they ever get to the bottom of the stories of regular drone sightings on the East coast of the US?
Nope, because the claimed testing of the U.S."s own security capabilities contradicted the warnings sent out by the head of a military base, and the head of one of the coastguard patrols.
Could have been China, the U.S.'s own research, or anything.
Its was nothing. Misidentification then huge flap of people seeing planes.
Like the big balloon flap a few years ago. One Chinese balloon flew over the USA; they altered the radar to more easily detect them, and suddenly there were loads of weird and wonderful spurious contacts thrown up.
I am glad you are not in charge of our national security. The east coast flap was not nothing. NORAD commander Gen. Gregory Guillot testified as such to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Concurrently there was similar activity happening here, over the triangle of US bases in Norfolk. This activity was confirmed by both the MOD and DoD in public statements, with widespread reporting of specialist troop and air asset deployments in response.
The UK power grid and the raf are sitting ducks right now. It is likely that a determined hostile state could fairly trivially conduct an attack as impactful as Pearl Harbour against the UK.
Some bonkers comments on here last night, of which @Big_G_NorthWales was not one of them.
"Antifa" is bonkers. Its an idea, not a terrorist organisation. I am antifa. But Big G is quoting someone important mentioning it - which makes it relevant to post on here.
What else did we have. "every sane Patriotic Brit" have to vote for Farage - Mr Russia who went to American demanding economic sanctions on us.
A "civil war" if Reform win the election or "eventual islamic takeover" if they don't. Riiiiiiiiight.
This forum is a microcosm of the real world. We have representatives from most elements of real world politics. And we need to try switching off and back on again as everyone has lost it.
Calm down. The “every sane patriotic Brit” remark was me having a giraffe. I know it winds up the Centrist Duds
For a start, you could ALSO vote for Advance
If you’d have suggested, fifty or sixty years ago, that London would have a Muslim mayor, entire neighbourhoods in big cities would be almost entirely Muslim, churches were disappearing but mosques were increasing, and there were half a dozen MPs elected solely on the back of a bloc of Islamic votes, they’d have called you an absolute loon who was scaremongering. And that’s not to mention 7/7, Lee Rigby, Manchester Arena etc
But that is where we are, and it’s regarded as completely normal. Actually it’s considered offensive to criticise, or even to merely point it out.
So why would it be odd if we were governed by an Islamic party or the country became majority Muslim in another fifty years or so? The demographics are pointing in that direction. Things change, they have already are are continuing to do so
I lived in Aldgate East in the last 1990s, which was 30 years ago, and had a Muslim landlord and all my neighbours were Muslims. Brick Lane and environs and all the areas heading towards Commercial Road and Commercial Street were all majority Muslim.
I went to a school in Bedford from the 80s to the 90s (Biddenham), that was majority Muslim.
The main thing I discovered from this is that Muslims (like Jews and atheists and Christians) are just like everybody else.
Or, let me put it another way, I do wonder if you or @Lenon actually have any close Musliim friends? Because I think when we don't know people in a particular group well, we tend to assume that they are (a) much more homogenous than they are, and (b) that they are much more different to us than they are,
I agree with the sentiment, but with one caveat:
My wife is Turkish. Consequently, I know a fair few Turks in this country, and they are all very pleasant. Mrs J is very middle class (in fact, upper middle class by Turkish standards), and she points out that all the family and friends that I meet have a similar background. Whereas her relatives in the Turkish countryside tend to be a little more conservative and religious, sometimes with a different worldview. You have to be careful of the situation Rory Stewart warned about in Afghanistan (*): too many people were going into the cities, seeing people like them, and thought the whole country was like them. It wasn't, which was why the Taliban won.
It's dangerous to assume that everyone who is of a religion is the same, just as it is dangerous to assume that everyone who is from the same country is the same. And the people you meet might not be typical, because you get to meet them.
(*) And then fell for himself in the last presidential election...
My sense is that we got a lot of immigration from rural and conservative bits of Pakistan and Bangladesh many many decades ago whereas regular migration from Muslim majority countries now is much more likely to be among educated, English speaking people. Even people arriving irregularly in many cases will be drawn from better off groups who can afford to pay the smugglers and have greater reason to escape the Taliban etc. Of course my own friends who are Muslim or Muslim heritage skew towards the educated and liberal, just as my white British friends do. So that probably affects my judgement. But I don't expect us to be living under a Caliphate. And no, I don't think I'm being complacent.
The three year old data is particularly worrying and is a bit of a canary in the coalmine that this is NOT a covid cohort phenomenon and will in fact be ongoing. Gov't needs to get a grip on this, badly.
I suspect it’s driven by the increase in mental health claims
It is driven by free largesse, amazed to hear you can self diagnos and claim benefits. Guy on LBC the other day , earning 65K a year and got 54K grant by self diagnosing an illness. magic money tree in place here right enough.
You can’t claim benefits merely on a self diagnosis.
You can, however, hire a private doctor/psychologist who will write pretty much what they are asked to after an online consultation. Which amounts to the same thing.
Are you sure about that?
In order for my son to have an autism diagnosis for the benefit of assistance ( not even a statement) at school over twenty years ago he had to jump through hoops. The first reference was from the GP and final assessment and analysis was from a National Health Consultant at the UWH Cardiff.There were no online consultations with doctors holding certificates from the Trump University. I am sure it would have been easier if there were.
Did they ever get to the bottom of the stories of regular drone sightings on the East coast of the US?
Nope, because the claimed testing of the U.S."s own security capabilities contradicted the warnings sent out by the head of a military base, and the head of one of the coastguard patrols.
Could have been China, the U.S.'s own research, or anything.
Its was nothing. Misidentification then huge flap of people seeing planes.
Like the big balloon flap a few years ago. One Chinese balloon flew over the USA; they altered the radar to more easily detect them, and suddenly there were loads of weird and wonderful spurious contacts thrown up.
I am glad you are not in charge of our national security. The east coast flap was not nothing. NORAD commander Gen. Gregory Guillot testified as such to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Concurrently there was similar activity happening here, over the triangle of US bases in Norfolk. This activity was confirmed by both the MOD and DoD in public statements, with widespread reporting of specialist troop and air asset deployments in response.
The UK power grid and the raf are sitting ducks right now. It is likely that a determined hostile state could fairly trivially conduct an attack as impactful as Pearl Harbour against the UK.
Yes. Something like Operation Spiderweb, but launched from cargo ships, could cause massive destruction to the UK and cripple the RAF and power grid.
@Sean_F who appears to have had a narrow escape from the jaws of demise
*group hug*
Thanks, though in my case it's nothing serious. It's actually a really annoying injury: I can swim, run and bike with the injury, but it is painful, and my physio (I think wisely) has said that I need to stop until we get to the bottom of what the problem is. It's annoying knowing I *could* do the exercise, but I should not.
Did you say you had hypermobility?
My wife's serious problems started when she had a shoulder injury, was told to rest it, and then lost the muscle condition that was keeping her hypermobility under control.
Might be worth looking for a specialist with experience of hypermobility.
Thanks, that's useful to know. Fortunately I've been seeing a very good physio for the last few weeks, who has given me lots of conditioning exercises.
The three year old data is particularly worrying and is a bit of a canary in the coalmine that this is NOT a covid cohort phenomenon and will in fact be ongoing. Gov't needs to get a grip on this, badly.
I suspect it’s driven by the increase in mental health claims
It is driven by free largesse, amazed to hear you can self diagnos and claim benefits. Guy on LBC the other day , earning 65K a year and got 54K grant by self diagnosing an illness. magic money tree in place here right enough.
You can’t claim benefits merely on a self diagnosis.
You can, however, hire a private doctor/psychologist who will write pretty much what they are asked to after an online consultation. Which amounts to the same thing.
Are you sure about that?
In order for my son to have an autism diagnosis for the benefit of assistance ( not even a statement) at school over twenty years ago he had to jump through hoops. The first reference was from the GP and final assessment and analysis was from a National Health Consultant at the UWH Cardiff.There were no online consultations with doctors holding certificates from the Trump University. I am sure it would have been easier if there were.
Good morning. The ghouls were out last night and it's not even Halloween. Wonder when we are going to read about someone being radicalised by PB?
Back on subject and looking at the forecast for my own 'safe' Tory seat which is supposed to go Reform. Knowing the local Reform people (ex-UKIP) they just don't have the skills to run a council given the level of issues to be dealt with locally. Scale that up to Westminster and if Reform do get in, then unless there is something like the Heritage Foundation or some well-financed Think Tank, then it will be more of a disaster than the previous 3 governments.
One can only hope there will be more defections of skilled and capable politicians to Reform before 2029 cos a Reform government won't be pretty.
I am in one of the seats showing conservative on this MRP, with Reform a close second. My Tory MP is one of the relatively sane ones, but there is no way that I would tactically vote for them when Jenrick will be running on the same platform as Reform.
If Kemi is replaced next year it will be Cleverly who replaces her by coronation as Tory MPs elected Howard by coronation to succeed IDS in 2003 and Sunak by coronation to replace Truss in 2022.
Tory voters who stayed loyal in 2024 and all voters prefer Cleverly too polls show, only Reform voters prefer Jenrick. Even Tory members rejected Jenrick last year
The best chance the Tories have is to select a leader who looks "prime ministerial" and is able to attract Reform-defectors who are queasy about the prospect of Nige in Downing Street. May also help with the fight with the LibDems. Cleverly appears the only option so far as I can see and, let's face it, he would have won the top job if the Tory MP's hadn't screwed up the leadership election. I think he must still feel in the game, as he accepted a job in the shadow cabinet (much like Howard becoming Shadow Chancellor under IDS when he might have reasonably retired).
There was some talk downstream about the SDP. Worth remembering that they brought to the party some serious politicians with cabinet experience - Jenkins, Owen, Williams plus several more competent juniors. So far, Reform has only Farage, who is no-one's idea of a competent man of government. And as for his followers - don't ask.
Whatever happen, Reform will prove short-lived. They either fail to maintain momentum, don't win the election, and then disappear when Farage steps down, and the Tories recover. Or else, they win, form a Government, and collapse under the pressure of office and events. Just imagine what a Reform-majority parliamentary party would look like. "Strong and stable"?
I suspect if Cleverley is not leader by conference next year he will be unveiled as London Mayor candidate.
From what I hear the Tory establishment are already plotting to make Cleverly party leader and Seb Coe London Mayoral candidate by conference next year
If Seb Coe is the answer, you've been listening to William Hague. Coe is well into his bus pass years in any case. (Wasn't Coe's mum Indian, now you mention him?)
His Mum was half-Indian and a bit Irish, so he’s certainly not White British enough for some posters here.
That’s interesting, I never knew that. But doesn’t it also give the likes of Isam reason to hope that the future *isn’t* some kind of caliphate?
I doubt there’s many who are come across as English as Seb Coe.
Cliff Richard is another not that well-known anglo-indian one.
Felicity Kendall, Spike Milllican
This reminds me of the Goodness Gravmcious Me sketch about the dad who insists that everything and everyone is secretly Indian. But Englebert Humperdink is another one. And even Billy Connolly has some Indian heritage. The British spent a long time in India.
Good morning. The ghouls were out last night and it's not even Halloween. Wonder when we are going to read about someone being radicalised by PB?
Back on subject and looking at the forecast for my own 'safe' Tory seat which is supposed to go Reform. Knowing the local Reform people (ex-UKIP) they just don't have the skills to run a council given the level of issues to be dealt with locally. Scale that up to Westminster and if Reform do get in, then unless there is something like the Heritage Foundation or some well-financed Think Tank, then it will be more of a disaster than the previous 3 governments.
One can only hope there will be more defections of skilled and capable politicians to Reform before 2029 cos a Reform government won't be pretty.
I am in one of the seats showing conservative on this MRP, with Reform a close second. My Tory MP is one of the relatively sane ones, but there is no way that I would tactically vote for them when Jenrick will be running on the same platform as Reform.
If Kemi is replaced next year it will be Cleverly who replaces her by coronation as Tory MPs elected Howard by coronation to succeed IDS in 2003 and Sunak by coronation to replace Truss in 2022.
Tory voters who stayed loyal in 2024 and all voters prefer Cleverly too polls show, only Reform voters prefer Jenrick. Even Tory members rejected Jenrick last year
The best chance the Tories have is to select a leader who looks "prime ministerial" and is able to attract Reform-defectors who are queasy about the prospect of Nige in Downing Street. May also help with the fight with the LibDems. Cleverly appears the only option so far as I can see and, let's face it, he would have won the top job if the Tory MP's hadn't screwed up the leadership election. I think he must still feel in the game, as he accepted a job in the shadow cabinet (much like Howard becoming Shadow Chancellor under IDS when he might have reasonably retired).
There was some talk downstream about the SDP. Worth remembering that they brought to the party some serious politicians with cabinet experience - Jenkins, Owen, Williams plus several more competent juniors. So far, Reform has only Farage, who is no-one's idea of a competent man of government. And as for his followers - don't ask.
Whatever happen, Reform will prove short-lived. They either fail to maintain momentum, don't win the election, and then disappear when Farage steps down, and the Tories recover. Or else, they win, form a Government, and collapse under the pressure of office and events. Just imagine what a Reform-majority parliamentary party would look like. "Strong and stable"?
I suspect if Cleverley is not leader by conference next year he will be unveiled as London Mayor candidate.
From what I hear the Tory establishment are already plotting to make Cleverly party leader and Seb Coe London Mayoral candidate by conference next year
If Seb Coe is the answer, you've been listening to William Hague. Coe is well into his bus pass years in any case. (Wasn't Coe's mum Indian, now you mention him?)
His Mum was half-Indian and a bit Irish, so he’s certainly not White British enough for some posters here.
That’s interesting, I never knew that. But doesn’t it also give the likes of Isam reason to hope that the future *isn’t* some kind of caliphate?
I doubt there’s many who are come across as English as Seb Coe.
Cliff Richard is another not that well-known anglo-indian one.
Felicity Kendall, Spike Milllican
This reminds me of the Goodness Gravmcious Me sketch about the dad who insists that everything and everyone is secretly Indian. But Englebert Humperdink is another one. And even Billy Connolly has some Indian heritage. The British spent a long time in India.
The three year old data is particularly worrying and is a bit of a canary in the coalmine that this is NOT a covid cohort phenomenon and will in fact be ongoing. Gov't needs to get a grip on this, badly.
I suspect it’s driven by the increase in mental health claims
It is driven by free largesse, amazed to hear you can self diagnos and claim benefits. Guy on LBC the other day , earning 65K a year and got 54K grant by self diagnosing an illness. magic money tree in place here right enough.
You can’t claim benefits merely on a self diagnosis.
You can, however, hire a private doctor/psychologist who will write pretty much what they are asked to after an online consultation. Which amounts to the same thing.
Are you sure about that?
In order for my son to have an autism diagnosis for the benefit of assistance ( not even a statement) at school over twenty years ago he had to jump through hoops. The first reference was from the GP and final assessment and analysis was from a National Health Consultant at the UWH Cardiff.There were no online consultations with doctors holding certificates from the Trump University. I am sure it would have been easier if there were.
It's the form filling that get's people and causes a lot of Tribunal cases as they don't relate their diagnosis to the questions. This is like visiting a tax accountant, a professional that can take you through the process while assessing you in relation to the questions.
There will be some sort of professional and professional liability behind it.
Suspect MexicanPete will be sadder and £275 lighter if he uses it to apply. But press on and let us know how you get on.
This chap appears to be a former spokesman for the Israeli govt, with some high profile followers. He has a rather interesting screenshot he claims is from the terrorist’s father’s Facebook page.
It is also being widely reported that someone with the same name as the terrorist previously sent death threats to a Tory MP.
The three year old data is particularly worrying and is a bit of a canary in the coalmine that this is NOT a covid cohort phenomenon and will in fact be ongoing. Gov't needs to get a grip on this, badly.
I suspect it’s driven by the increase in mental health claims
It is driven by free largesse, amazed to hear you can self diagnos and claim benefits. Guy on LBC the other day , earning 65K a year and got 54K grant by self diagnosing an illness. magic money tree in place here right enough.
You can’t claim benefits merely on a self diagnosis.
You can, however, hire a private doctor/psychologist who will write pretty much what they are asked to after an online consultation. Which amounts to the same thing.
If you can find a private doctor/psychologist doing that, I'm happy to report them to the General Medical Council or equivalent for misconduct.
A gang of illegal immigrants who stormed a high street armed with machetes and brutally attacked a shop owner have been jailed. Hana Hassan, 22; Yosef Shaban, 24; Osama Qadir, 21, and Dawan Mantik, 28 - all Kurds from Iran and Iraq - arrived in Britain on small boats.
The four were part of a larger mob of 12 who 'rallied the troops' after a dispute days earlier.
They targeted fellow Kurd Kurwan Ali at his shop in Bournemouth, Dorset, in a 'ferocious and frighteningly violent attack', leaving one of the victims with life-threatening lung injuries.
At the time of the attack Hassan was living in the taxpayer-funded Britannia Hotel, which was the focal point of local protests over the summer. Two of the men involved, Ahmed Omar and Rahel Omer, fled the country soon after the events of the following days.
Good morning. The ghouls were out last night and it's not even Halloween. Wonder when we are going to read about someone being radicalised by PB?
Back on subject and looking at the forecast for my own 'safe' Tory seat which is supposed to go Reform. Knowing the local Reform people (ex-UKIP) they just don't have the skills to run a council given the level of issues to be dealt with locally. Scale that up to Westminster and if Reform do get in, then unless there is something like the Heritage Foundation or some well-financed Think Tank, then it will be more of a disaster than the previous 3 governments.
One can only hope there will be more defections of skilled and capable politicians to Reform before 2029 cos a Reform government won't be pretty.
I am in one of the seats showing conservative on this MRP, with Reform a close second. My Tory MP is one of the relatively sane ones, but there is no way that I would tactically vote for them when Jenrick will be running on the same platform as Reform.
If Kemi is replaced next year it will be Cleverly who replaces her by coronation as Tory MPs elected Howard by coronation to succeed IDS in 2003 and Sunak by coronation to replace Truss in 2022.
Tory voters who stayed loyal in 2024 and all voters prefer Cleverly too polls show, only Reform voters prefer Jenrick. Even Tory members rejected Jenrick last year
The best chance the Tories have is to select a leader who looks "prime ministerial" and is able to attract Reform-defectors who are queasy about the prospect of Nige in Downing Street. May also help with the fight with the LibDems. Cleverly appears the only option so far as I can see and, let's face it, he would have won the top job if the Tory MP's hadn't screwed up the leadership election. I think he must still feel in the game, as he accepted a job in the shadow cabinet (much like Howard becoming Shadow Chancellor under IDS when he might have reasonably retired).
There was some talk downstream about the SDP. Worth remembering that they brought to the party some serious politicians with cabinet experience - Jenkins, Owen, Williams plus several more competent juniors. So far, Reform has only Farage, who is no-one's idea of a competent man of government. And as for his followers - don't ask.
Whatever happen, Reform will prove short-lived. They either fail to maintain momentum, don't win the election, and then disappear when Farage steps down, and the Tories recover. Or else, they win, form a Government, and collapse under the pressure of office and events. Just imagine what a Reform-majority parliamentary party would look like. "Strong and stable"?
I suspect if Cleverley is not leader by conference next year he will be unveiled as London Mayor candidate.
From what I hear the Tory establishment are already plotting to make Cleverly party leader and Seb Coe London Mayoral candidate by conference next year
If Seb Coe is the answer, you've been listening to William Hague. Coe is well into his bus pass years in any case. (Wasn't Coe's mum Indian, now you mention him?)
Coe could beat Khan with LD and Reform preferences and has name recognition from London 2012 he ran
FPTP now so would need tactical votes rather than second preferences.
Good morning. The ghouls were out last night and it's not even Halloween. Wonder when we are going to read about someone being radicalised by PB?
Back on subject and looking at the forecast for my own 'safe' Tory seat which is supposed to go Reform. Knowing the local Reform people (ex-UKIP) they just don't have the skills to run a council given the level of issues to be dealt with locally. Scale that up to Westminster and if Reform do get in, then unless there is something like the Heritage Foundation or some well-financed Think Tank, then it will be more of a disaster than the previous 3 governments.
One can only hope there will be more defections of skilled and capable politicians to Reform before 2029 cos a Reform government won't be pretty.
I am in one of the seats showing conservative on this MRP, with Reform a close second. My Tory MP is one of the relatively sane ones, but there is no way that I would tactically vote for them when Jenrick will be running on the same platform as Reform.
If Kemi is replaced next year it will be Cleverly who replaces her by coronation as Tory MPs elected Howard by coronation to succeed IDS in 2003 and Sunak by coronation to replace Truss in 2022.
Tory voters who stayed loyal in 2024 and all voters prefer Cleverly too polls show, only Reform voters prefer Jenrick. Even Tory members rejected Jenrick last year
The best chance the Tories have is to select a leader who looks "prime ministerial" and is able to attract Reform-defectors who are queasy about the prospect of Nige in Downing Street. May also help with the fight with the LibDems. Cleverly appears the only option so far as I can see and, let's face it, he would have won the top job if the Tory MP's hadn't screwed up the leadership election. I think he must still feel in the game, as he accepted a job in the shadow cabinet (much like Howard becoming Shadow Chancellor under IDS when he might have reasonably retired).
There was some talk downstream about the SDP. Worth remembering that they brought to the party some serious politicians with cabinet experience - Jenkins, Owen, Williams plus several more competent juniors. So far, Reform has only Farage, who is no-one's idea of a competent man of government. And as for his followers - don't ask.
Whatever happen, Reform will prove short-lived. They either fail to maintain momentum, don't win the election, and then disappear when Farage steps down, and the Tories recover. Or else, they win, form a Government, and collapse under the pressure of office and events. Just imagine what a Reform-majority parliamentary party would look like. "Strong and stable"?
I suspect if Cleverley is not leader by conference next year he will be unveiled as London Mayor candidate.
From what I hear the Tory establishment are already plotting to make Cleverly party leader and Seb Coe London Mayoral candidate by conference next year
If Seb Coe is the answer, you've been listening to William Hague. Coe is well into his bus pass years in any case. (Wasn't Coe's mum Indian, now you mention him?)
His Mum was half-Indian and a bit Irish, so he’s certainly not White British enough for some posters here.
That’s interesting, I never knew that. But doesn’t it also give the likes of Isam reason to hope that the future *isn’t* some kind of caliphate?
I doubt there’s many who are come across as English as Seb Coe.
Cliff Richard is another not that well-known anglo-indian one.
He was teased at school when he arrived in the UK for having an Indian accent. So he deliberately developed the accent you hear when he talks now.
Did they ever get to the bottom of the stories of regular drone sightings on the East coast of the US?
Nope, because the claimed testing of the U.S."s own security capabilities contradicted the warnings sent out by the head of a military base, and the head of one of the coastguard patrols.
Could have been China, the U.S.'s own research, or anything.
Its was nothing. Misidentification then huge flap of people seeing planes.
Like the big balloon flap a few years ago. One Chinese balloon flew over the USA; they altered the radar to more easily detect them, and suddenly there were loads of weird and wonderful spurious contacts thrown up.
I am glad you are not in charge of our national security. The east coast flap was not nothing. NORAD commander Gen. Gregory Guillot testified as such to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Concurrently there was similar activity happening here, over the triangle of US bases in Norfolk. This activity was confirmed by both the MOD and DoD in public statements, with widespread reporting of specialist troop and air asset deployments in response.
The UK power grid and the raf are sitting ducks right now. It is likely that a determined hostile state could fairly trivially conduct an attack as impactful as Pearl Harbour against the UK.
The balloon flap of early 2023 *was* a flap. Don't confuse that with the recent drone activities - they are very different.
I agree with your last paragraph. I'm unsure what we can do about it though...
The three year old data is particularly worrying and is a bit of a canary in the coalmine that this is NOT a covid cohort phenomenon and will in fact be ongoing. Gov't needs to get a grip on this, badly.
I suspect it’s driven by the increase in mental health claims
It is driven by free largesse, amazed to hear you can self diagnos and claim benefits. Guy on LBC the other day , earning 65K a year and got 54K grant by self diagnosing an illness. magic money tree in place here right enough.
You can’t claim benefits merely on a self diagnosis.
You can, however, hire a private doctor/psychologist who will write pretty much what they are asked to after an online consultation. Which amounts to the same thing.
Are you sure about that?
In order for my son to have an autism diagnosis for the benefit of assistance ( not even a statement) at school over twenty years ago he had to jump through hoops. The first reference was from the GP and final assessment and analysis was from a National Health Consultant at the UWH Cardiff.There were no online consultations with doctors holding certificates from the Trump University. I am sure it would have been easier if there were.
It's the form filling that get's people and causes a lot of Tribunal cases as they don't relate their diagnosis to the questions. This is like visiting a tax accountant, a professional that can take you through the process while assessing you in relation to the questions.
There will be some sort of professional and professional liability behind it.
Suspect MexicanPete will be sadder and £275 lighter if he uses it to apply. But press on and let us know how you get on.
In time I will post photos of my free Motability BMW X5. Or is it only Asylum Seekers who get those.
New leader of the Greens: "Political class poisoned by extreme wealth". BBC.
Green Leader's Speech - Zack Polanski at Green Party Conference 2025 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZx9VngoYnk (it's a live feed so you'll have to zip thru the gubbins in the beginning)
It only 8 years ago that Zack Polanski was a Lib Dem Candidate in London Assembly elections.
The three year old data is particularly worrying and is a bit of a canary in the coalmine that this is NOT a covid cohort phenomenon and will in fact be ongoing. Gov't needs to get a grip on this, badly.
I suspect it’s driven by the increase in mental health claims
It is driven by free largesse, amazed to hear you can self diagnos and claim benefits. Guy on LBC the other day , earning 65K a year and got 54K grant by self diagnosing an illness. magic money tree in place here right enough.
You can’t claim benefits merely on a self diagnosis.
You can, however, hire a private doctor/psychologist who will write pretty much what they are asked to after an online consultation. Which amounts to the same thing.
If you can find a private doctor/psychologist doing that, I'm happy to report them to the General Medical Council or equivalent for misconduct.
You don't think there's likely to be significant variation between the willingness of the median NHS psychologist, and one working at a private clinic specialising in PIP-reports, to maximise symptoms when writing a report? I appreciate these people are professionals, but really...
The three year old data is particularly worrying and is a bit of a canary in the coalmine that this is NOT a covid cohort phenomenon and will in fact be ongoing. Gov't needs to get a grip on this, badly.
I suspect it’s driven by the increase in mental health claims
It is driven by free largesse, amazed to hear you can self diagnos and claim benefits. Guy on LBC the other day , earning 65K a year and got 54K grant by self diagnosing an illness. magic money tree in place here right enough.
You can’t claim benefits merely on a self diagnosis.
You can, however, hire a private doctor/psychologist who will write pretty much what they are asked to after an online consultation. Which amounts to the same thing.
Are you suggesting we ban private medicine as an wholly unscientific scam? Or only for people on benefits who don't deserve it?
I'm suggesting that, when someone applies for PIP, a doctor working for the government should assess them. Waving a note from a rent-a-quack shouldn't suffice.
This chap appears to be a former spokesman for the Israeli govt, with some high profile followers. He has a rather interesting screenshot he claims is from the terrorist’s father’s Facebook page.
It is also being widely reported that someone with the same name as the terrorist previously sent death threats to a Tory MP.
I haven't read your link. The BBC and LBC often call on Eylon Levy to comment on matters Gazan. He is very eloquent with a Home Counties accent. His narrative is very seductive, but always defensive of Bibi.
Did they ever get to the bottom of the stories of regular drone sightings on the East coast of the US?
Nope, because the claimed testing of the U.S."s own security capabilities contradicted the warnings sent out by the head of a military base, and the head of one of the coastguard patrols.
Could have been China, the U.S.'s own research, or anything.
Its was nothing. Misidentification then huge flap of people seeing planes.
Like the big balloon flap a few years ago. One Chinese balloon flew over the USA; they altered the radar to more easily detect them, and suddenly there were loads of weird and wonderful spurious contacts thrown up.
I am glad you are not in charge of our national security. The east coast flap was not nothing. NORAD commander Gen. Gregory Guillot testified as such to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Concurrently there was similar activity happening here, over the triangle of US bases in Norfolk. This activity was confirmed by both the MOD and DoD in public statements, with widespread reporting of specialist troop and air asset deployments in response.
The UK power grid and the raf are sitting ducks right now. It is likely that a determined hostile state could fairly trivially conduct an attack as impactful as Pearl Harbour against the UK.
Yes. Something like Operation Spiderweb, but launched from cargo ships, could cause massive destruction to the UK and cripple the RAF and power grid.
You can comfortably pack a swarm of 720 drones and their launch system into a single 20ft shipping container.
For context Germany + France + UK have about 800 tanks between them.
It’s a bit of a cliché, but diversity can be a strength (for example, in a workplace, a sports team, or across a nation) because it brings a wide range of complementary skills and perspectives. But for that strength to be realised, it has to be anchored in unity.
Diversity without unity risks fragmentation, where some may disengage or simply not care, or even work against the majority.
So, really, diversity is only a strength in the context of shared purpose and cohesion.
Which is why it is important to counter those voices who seek to divide us.
The three year old data is particularly worrying and is a bit of a canary in the coalmine that this is NOT a covid cohort phenomenon and will in fact be ongoing. Gov't needs to get a grip on this, badly.
I suspect it’s driven by the increase in mental health claims
It is driven by free largesse, amazed to hear you can self diagnos and claim benefits. Guy on LBC the other day , earning 65K a year and got 54K grant by self diagnosing an illness. magic money tree in place here right enough.
You can’t claim benefits merely on a self diagnosis.
You can, however, hire a private doctor/psychologist who will write pretty much what they are asked to after an online consultation. Which amounts to the same thing.
Are you suggesting we ban private medicine as an wholly unscientific scam? Or only for people on benefits who don't deserve it?
I'm suggesting that, when someone applies for PIP, a doctor working for the government should assess them. Waving a note from a rent-a-quack shouldn't suffice.
Spain does have a bit of natural advantage when it comes to solar power though !
And Milliband turned down a fully financed plan for the private sector to build a connector to Morocco
XLinks?
Yes. Didn't like the 'political risk' amongst other things (the financing & construction costs have of course risen - as they have with everything else). It smacks of bullshit to me, given that political risk attaches to other energy sources too.
Now if there were equivalent projects to do something overland in Europe, then I'd better understand the decision. But what there is doesn't begin to compare in capacity.
Instead we're booking 20 year + wind projects with overseas developers, at the top of the market, and funnelling billions into carbon capture.
@Sean_F who appears to have had a narrow escape from the jaws of demise
*group hug*
Thanks, though in my case it's nothing serious. It's actually a really annoying injury: I can swim, run and bike with the injury, but it is painful, and my physio (I think wisely) has said that I need to stop until we get to the bottom of what the problem is. It's annoying knowing I *could* do the exercise, but I should not.
Did you say you had hypermobility?
My wife's serious problems started when she had a shoulder injury, was told to rest it, and then lost the muscle condition that was keeping her hypermobility under control.
Might be worth looking for a specialist with experience of hypermobility.
I have a hypermobility spectrum disorder. It's a pain. There is, as far as I know, just one specialist hospital clinic in England, at UCH in London, but plenty of specialists will have expertise. Good muscle conditions is a great way to protect against hypermobility problems. I also recommend the Reddit group r/Hypermobility
Well off person uses professional to minimise, within the law, their tax liability? You'd be an idiot not to. Not so well off person uses professional to maximise, within the law, their benefit claim? Immoral. Almost certainly illegal. And said professional needs to be struck off.
And sometimes diversity isn't a strength but uniformity is; for example, at a black tie dinner or in the military.
But there, there is a diversity of views and skills hidden beneath the surface of a uniform outward unity.
Basically, it's just a trendy bullshit cliched phrase. Which people parrot because it's achingly right-on, but in a braindead way.
Plenty of people use it because it's literally true, in very many important situations. You could argue, if you wanted a right-wing example, that one of the weaknesses of the NHS is its uniformity of organisation.
Did they ever get to the bottom of the stories of regular drone sightings on the East coast of the US?
Nope, because the claimed testing of the U.S."s own security capabilities contradicted the warnings sent out by the head of a military base, and the head of one of the coastguard patrols.
Could have been China, the U.S.'s own research, or anything.
Its was nothing. Misidentification then huge flap of people seeing planes.
Like the big balloon flap a few years ago. One Chinese balloon flew over the USA; they altered the radar to more easily detect them, and suddenly there were loads of weird and wonderful spurious contacts thrown up.
I am glad you are not in charge of our national security. The east coast flap was not nothing. NORAD commander Gen. Gregory Guillot testified as such to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Concurrently there was similar activity happening here, over the triangle of US bases in Norfolk. This activity was confirmed by both the MOD and DoD in public statements, with widespread reporting of specialist troop and air asset deployments in response.
The UK power grid and the raf are sitting ducks right now. It is likely that a determined hostile state could fairly trivially conduct an attack as impactful as Pearl Harbour against the UK.
Yes. Something like Operation Spiderweb, but launched from cargo ships, could cause massive destruction to the UK and cripple the RAF and power grid.
You can comfortably pack a swarm of 720 drones and their launch system into a single 20ft shipping container.
For context Germany + France + UK have about 800 tanks between them.
Note that drones (of all types) now account for about three quarters of casualties on the front in Ukraine. The way war is waged has changed utterly in the space of two or three years.
The three year old data is particularly worrying and is a bit of a canary in the coalmine that this is NOT a covid cohort phenomenon and will in fact be ongoing. Gov't needs to get a grip on this, badly.
I suspect it’s driven by the increase in mental health claims
It is driven by free largesse, amazed to hear you can self diagnos and claim benefits. Guy on LBC the other day , earning 65K a year and got 54K grant by self diagnosing an illness. magic money tree in place here right enough.
You can’t claim benefits merely on a self diagnosis.
You can, however, hire a private doctor/psychologist who will write pretty much what they are asked to after an online consultation. Which amounts to the same thing.
Are you suggesting we ban private medicine as an wholly unscientific scam? Or only for people on benefits who don't deserve it?
I'm suggesting that, when someone applies for PIP, a doctor working for the government should assess them. Waving a note from a rent-a-quack shouldn't suffice.
Don't shatter the illusions and the hope of a fully expensed X5 with facts. And as Asylum seekers have NRPF, any application by them would be picked up.
Did they ever get to the bottom of the stories of regular drone sightings on the East coast of the US?
Nope, because the claimed testing of the U.S."s own security capabilities contradicted the warnings sent out by the head of a military base, and the head of one of the coastguard patrols.
Could have been China, the U.S.'s own research, or anything.
Its was nothing. Misidentification then huge flap of people seeing planes.
Like the big balloon flap a few years ago. One Chinese balloon flew over the USA; they altered the radar to more easily detect them, and suddenly there were loads of weird and wonderful spurious contacts thrown up.
I am glad you are not in charge of our national security. The east coast flap was not nothing. NORAD commander Gen. Gregory Guillot testified as such to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Concurrently there was similar activity happening here, over the triangle of US bases in Norfolk. This activity was confirmed by both the MOD and DoD in public statements, with widespread reporting of specialist troop and air asset deployments in response.
The UK power grid and the raf are sitting ducks right now. It is likely that a determined hostile state could fairly trivially conduct an attack as impactful as Pearl Harbour against the UK.
Yes. Something like Operation Spiderweb, but launched from cargo ships, could cause massive destruction to the UK and cripple the RAF and power grid.
You can comfortably pack a swarm of 720 drones and their launch system into a single 20ft shipping container.
For context Germany + France + UK have about 800 tanks between them.
Note that drones (of all types) now account for about three quarters of casualties on the front in Ukraine. The way war is waged has changed utterly in the space of two or three years.
But Pete Hegseth is going to make sure that all US military staff pass a tough physical fitness test, so that's OK.
Spain does have a bit of natural advantage when it comes to solar power though !
And Milliband turned down a fully financed plan for the private sector to build a connector to Morocco
XLinks?
Yes. Didn't like the 'political risk' amongst other things (the financing & construction costs have of course risen - as they have with everything else). It smacks of bullshit to me, given that political risk attaches to other energy sources too.
Now if there were equivalent projects to do something overland in Europe, then I'd better understand the decision. But what there is doesn't begin to compare in capacity.
Instead we're booking 20 year + wind projects with overseas developers, at the top of the market, and funnelling billions into carbon capture.
I think security was a big issue. Easy for the Russians to take it out.
(If we actually used our armed forces we could sink the shadow fleet, build interconnectors and not put up with drones disrupting our airports. Our leaders are made of jelly, just completely pathetic. What next - fighter jets in NATO airspace?!?!)
Did they ever get to the bottom of the stories of regular drone sightings on the East coast of the US?
Nope, because the claimed testing of the U.S."s own security capabilities contradicted the warnings sent out by the head of a military base, and the head of one of the coastguard patrols.
Could have been China, the U.S.'s own research, or anything.
Its was nothing. Misidentification then huge flap of people seeing planes.
Like the big balloon flap a few years ago. One Chinese balloon flew over the USA; they altered the radar to more easily detect them, and suddenly there were loads of weird and wonderful spurious contacts thrown up.
I am glad you are not in charge of our national security. The east coast flap was not nothing. NORAD commander Gen. Gregory Guillot testified as such to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Concurrently there was similar activity happening here, over the triangle of US bases in Norfolk. This activity was confirmed by both the MOD and DoD in public statements, with widespread reporting of specialist troop and air asset deployments in response.
The UK power grid and the raf are sitting ducks right now. It is likely that a determined hostile state could fairly trivially conduct an attack as impactful as Pearl Harbour against the UK.
Yes. Something like Operation Spiderweb, but launched from cargo ships, could cause massive destruction to the UK and cripple the RAF and power grid.
You can comfortably pack a swarm of 720 drones and their launch system into a single 20ft shipping container.
For context Germany + France + UK have about 800 tanks between them.
Note that drones (of all types) now account for about three quarters of casualties on the front in Ukraine. The way war is waged has changed utterly in the space of two or three years.
But Pete Hegseth is going to make sure that all US military staff pass a tough physical fitness test, so that's OK.
He's a Fox News chad, possibly alcoholic, and not a serious SecDef.
Did they ever get to the bottom of the stories of regular drone sightings on the East coast of the US?
Nope, because the claimed testing of the U.S."s own security capabilities contradicted the warnings sent out by the head of a military base, and the head of one of the coastguard patrols.
Could have been China, the U.S.'s own research, or anything.
Its was nothing. Misidentification then huge flap of people seeing planes.
Like the big balloon flap a few years ago. One Chinese balloon flew over the USA; they altered the radar to more easily detect them, and suddenly there were loads of weird and wonderful spurious contacts thrown up.
I am glad you are not in charge of our national security. The east coast flap was not nothing. NORAD commander Gen. Gregory Guillot testified as such to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Concurrently there was similar activity happening here, over the triangle of US bases in Norfolk. This activity was confirmed by both the MOD and DoD in public statements, with widespread reporting of specialist troop and air asset deployments in response.
The UK power grid and the raf are sitting ducks right now. It is likely that a determined hostile state could fairly trivially conduct an attack as impactful as Pearl Harbour against the UK.
Yes. Something like Operation Spiderweb, but launched from cargo ships, could cause massive destruction to the UK and cripple the RAF and power grid.
You can comfortably pack a swarm of 720 drones and their launch system into a single 20ft shipping container.
For context Germany + France + UK have about 800 tanks between them.
Note that drones (of all types) now account for about three quarters of casualties on the front in Ukraine. The way war is waged has changed utterly in the space of two or three years.
It's perfectly feasible that, if the war continues for another few years, that this will change and anti-drone technology will change to largely reduce, or nullify, the threat.
This chap appears to be a former spokesman for the Israeli govt, with some high profile followers. He has a rather interesting screenshot he claims is from the terrorist’s father’s Facebook page.
It is also being widely reported that someone with the same name as the terrorist previously sent death threats to a Tory MP.
That appears to be genuine. Someone linked to the post which is still up on Facebook, and it's the same account that posted the statement from the family of the terrorist.
Did they ever get to the bottom of the stories of regular drone sightings on the East coast of the US?
Nope, because the claimed testing of the U.S."s own security capabilities contradicted the warnings sent out by the head of a military base, and the head of one of the coastguard patrols.
Could have been China, the U.S.'s own research, or anything.
Its was nothing. Misidentification then huge flap of people seeing planes.
Like the big balloon flap a few years ago. One Chinese balloon flew over the USA; they altered the radar to more easily detect them, and suddenly there were loads of weird and wonderful spurious contacts thrown up.
I am glad you are not in charge of our national security. The east coast flap was not nothing. NORAD commander Gen. Gregory Guillot testified as such to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Concurrently there was similar activity happening here, over the triangle of US bases in Norfolk. This activity was confirmed by both the MOD and DoD in public statements, with widespread reporting of specialist troop and air asset deployments in response.
The UK power grid and the raf are sitting ducks right now. It is likely that a determined hostile state could fairly trivially conduct an attack as impactful as Pearl Harbour against the UK.
Yes. Something like Operation Spiderweb, but launched from cargo ships, could cause massive destruction to the UK and cripple the RAF and power grid.
You can comfortably pack a swarm of 720 drones and their launch system into a single 20ft shipping container.
For context Germany + France + UK have about 800 tanks between them.
Note that drones (of all types) now account for about three quarters of casualties on the front in Ukraine. The way war is waged has changed utterly in the space of two or three years.
It's perfectly feasible that, if the war continues for another few years, that this will change and anti-drone technology will change to largely reduce, or nullify, the threat.
It already has. For example, the vast majority of drones at the front are now fibre guided, as GPS and radio control is pretty well completely jammed or spoofed. Drones carry spools of tens of kilometres of fibre.
Something like this might work for civil defence,, but I doubt it would last long on the battlefield.
US defense company Epirus tested its high-power microwave (HPM)-based anti-drone system Leonidas at a live-fire demonstration on August 26. The system disabled a total of all 61 drones (61/61) in 5 different scenarios. https://x.com/PolymarketIntel/status/1974053934122610793
Spain does have a bit of natural advantage when it comes to solar power though !
And Milliband turned down a fully financed plan for the private sector to build a connector to Morocco
XLinks?
Yes. Didn't like the 'political risk' amongst other things (the financing & construction costs have of course risen - as they have with everything else). It smacks of bullshit to me, given that political risk attaches to other energy sources too.
Now if there were equivalent projects to do something overland in Europe, then I'd better understand the decision. But what there is doesn't begin to compare in capacity.
Instead we're booking 20 year + wind projects with overseas developers, at the top of the market, and funnelling billions into carbon capture.
Energy, housing, infrastructure, pension policy. You can add trade, given Brexit.
Did they ever get to the bottom of the stories of regular drone sightings on the East coast of the US?
Nope, because the claimed testing of the U.S."s own security capabilities contradicted the warnings sent out by the head of a military base, and the head of one of the coastguard patrols.
Could have been China, the U.S.'s own research, or anything.
Its was nothing. Misidentification then huge flap of people seeing planes.
Like the big balloon flap a few years ago. One Chinese balloon flew over the USA; they altered the radar to more easily detect them, and suddenly there were loads of weird and wonderful spurious contacts thrown up.
I am glad you are not in charge of our national security. The east coast flap was not nothing. NORAD commander Gen. Gregory Guillot testified as such to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Concurrently there was similar activity happening here, over the triangle of US bases in Norfolk. This activity was confirmed by both the MOD and DoD in public statements, with widespread reporting of specialist troop and air asset deployments in response.
The UK power grid and the raf are sitting ducks right now. It is likely that a determined hostile state could fairly trivially conduct an attack as impactful as Pearl Harbour against the UK.
Yes. Something like Operation Spiderweb, but launched from cargo ships, could cause massive destruction to the UK and cripple the RAF and power grid.
You can comfortably pack a swarm of 720 drones and their launch system into a single 20ft shipping container.
For context Germany + France + UK have about 800 tanks between them.
Note that drones (of all types) now account for about three quarters of casualties on the front in Ukraine. The way war is waged has changed utterly in the space of two or three years.
It's perfectly feasible that, if the war continues for another few years, that this will change and anti-drone technology will change to largely reduce, or nullify, the threat.
That's possible, yes.
Or we may see infantry increasingly removed from the frontline and replaced with other robotic systems.
In many respects infantry on the front line now are just sitting ducks and Ukraine is defending against Russian advances with drone surveillance and attacks, rather than infantry in trenches.
Spain does have a bit of natural advantage when it comes to solar power though !
And Milliband turned down a fully financed plan for the private sector to build a connector to Morocco
XLinks?
Yes. Didn't like the 'political risk' amongst other things (the financing & construction costs have of course risen - as they have with everything else). It smacks of bullshit to me, given that political risk attaches to other energy sources too.
Now if there were equivalent projects to do something overland in Europe, then I'd better understand the decision. But what there is doesn't begin to compare in capacity.
Instead we're booking 20 year + wind projects with overseas developers, at the top of the market, and funnelling billions into carbon capture.
Energy, housing, infrastructure, pension policy. You can add trade, given Brexit.
All disastrously managed in the last 20 years.
And it was pretty foreseeable for the last decade at least.
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury by Downing Street.
She will be the first female Archbishop in history and a good choice in my view
What are the factors that make her a good choice?
I know very little about CofE Bishops, or internal politics.
Well she is a woman for starters which after recent sex abuse cases involving males was desperately needed. She is reasonably pro Parish and backed blessings for same sex couples
Interesting. Does that mean she's anti gay marriage, or conversely leaning that way?
She is likely pro but Synod decides and LLF was the compromise that got through it.
Should also be noted the most well funded and biggest congregation conservative evangelical churches in the C of E would likely leave if same sex marriage was allowed. Opposition to same sex marriage is a defining thing for conservative evangelicals as even the SNP found with Kate Forbes when she stood for SNP leader
Thank you; and fair enough. But the contradiction between being the ideological [edit] or perhaps better religious arm of the English State, and disobeying that State's laws on marriage, remains. I have no idea how, or indeed if, that will be resolved in a logical way.
They aren't disobeying, same sex couples can still get married in hotels and registry offices and get prayers for them now in C of E churches.
Just because something is legal in England doesn't mean the C of E has to fully recognise it, even as established church, otherwise it would be having services for adulterers and gamblers
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury by Downing Street.
She will be the first female Archbishop in history and a good choice in my view
What are the factors that make her a good choice?
I know very little about CofE Bishops, or internal politics.
Well she is a woman for starters which after recent sex abuse cases involving males was desperately needed. She is reasonably pro Parish and backed blessings for same sex couples
Interesting. Does that mean she's anti gay marriage, or conversely leaning that way?
She is likely pro but Synod decides and LLF was the compromise that got through it.
Should also be noted the most well funded and biggest congregation conservative evangelical churches in the C of E would likely leave if same sex marriage was allowed. Opposition to same sex marriage is a defining thing for conservative evangelicals as even the SNP found with Kate Forbes when she stood for SNP leader
Thank you; and fair enough. But the contradiction between being the ideological [edit] or perhaps better religious arm of the English State, and disobeying that State's laws on marriage, remains. I have no idea how, or indeed if, that will be resolved in a logical way.
They aren't disobeying, same sex couples can still get married in hotels and registry offices and get prayers for them now in C of E churches.
Just because something is legal in England doesn't mean the C of E has to fully recognise it, even as established church, otherwise it would be having services for adulterers and gamblers
The West front of Canterbury Cathedral traditionally has a statue of the King/Queen there. The last Supreme Governor, Queen Elizabeth II, is still there but they seem to have missed out the most recent monarch for some reason. Just asking for a King.
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury by Downing Street.
She will be the first female Archbishop in history and a good choice in my view
What are the factors that make her a good choice?
I know very little about CofE Bishops, or internal politics.
Well she is a woman for starters which after recent sex abuse cases involving males was desperately needed. She is reasonably pro Parish and backed blessings for same sex couples
Interesting. Does that mean she's anti gay marriage, or conversely leaning that way?
She is likely pro but Synod decides and LLF was the compromise that got through it.
Should also be noted the most well funded and biggest congregation conservative evangelical churches in the C of E would likely leave if same sex marriage was allowed. Opposition to same sex marriage is a defining thing for conservative evangelicals as even the SNP found with Kate Forbes when she stood for SNP leader
Thank you; and fair enough. But the contradiction between being the ideological [edit] or perhaps better religious arm of the English State, and disobeying that State's laws on marriage, remains. I have no idea how, or indeed if, that will be resolved in a logical way.
They aren't disobeying, same sex couples can still get married in hotels and registry offices and get prayers for them now in C of E churches.
Just because something is legal in England doesn't mean the C of E has to fully recognise it, even as established church, otherwise it would be having services for adulterers and gamblers
How many gamblers does the CoE refuse services to each year? (This seems highly relevant to PoliticalBetting.com.)
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury by Downing Street.
She will be the first female Archbishop in history and a good choice in my view
What are the factors that make her a good choice?
I know very little about CofE Bishops, or internal politics.
Well she is a woman for starters which after recent sex abuse cases involving males was desperately needed. She is reasonably pro Parish and backed blessings for same sex couples
Interesting. Does that mean she's anti gay marriage, or conversely leaning that way?
She is likely pro but Synod decides and LLF was the compromise that got through it.
Should also be noted the most well funded and biggest congregation conservative evangelical churches in the C of E would likely leave if same sex marriage was allowed. Opposition to same sex marriage is a defining thing for conservative evangelicals as even the SNP found with Kate Forbes when she stood for SNP leader
Thank you; and fair enough. But the contradiction between being the ideological [edit] or perhaps better religious arm of the English State, and disobeying that State's laws on marriage, remains. I have no idea how, or indeed if, that will be resolved in a logical way.
They aren't disobeying, same sex couples can still get married in hotels and registry offices and get prayers for them now in C of E churches.
Just because something is legal in England doesn't mean the C of E has to fully recognise it, even as established church, otherwise it would be having services for adulterers and gamblers
How many gamblers does the CoE refuse services to each year? (This seems highly relevant to PoliticalBetting.com.)
Isn't attending church (or not doing so) the ultimate gamble, in many ways?
Spain does have a bit of natural advantage when it comes to solar power though !
And Milliband turned down a fully financed plan for the private sector to build a connector to Morocco
XLinks?
Had solar power been more advanced in the age of the British Empire we could have run an awesome set of interconnectors and made full use of the whole 'the sun never sets' thing
The drone numbers over Belgium last night are listed as fifteen over the airbase, so very likely not a misindentification of one object, as argued by some posters below.
Or a fondle. At his age and in his condition that sort of thing might make him fall of his perch.
From what I saw a couple of weeks ago Melania won't be doing any of the stroking. Although I suppose if it accelerates the old buffer shuffling off the coil she'll have the Marigolds on before you can say "JD Vance is President".
Some bonkers comments on here last night, of which @Big_G_NorthWales was not one of them.
"Antifa" is bonkers. Its an idea, not a terrorist organisation. I am antifa. But Big G is quoting someone important mentioning it - which makes it relevant to post on here.
What else did we have. "every sane Patriotic Brit" have to vote for Farage - Mr Russia who went to American demanding economic sanctions on us.
A "civil war" if Reform win the election or "eventual islamic takeover" if they don't. Riiiiiiiiight.
This forum is a microcosm of the real world. We have representatives from most elements of real world politics. And we need to try switching off and back on again as everyone has lost it.
Calm down. The “every sane patriotic Brit” remark was me having a giraffe. I know it winds up the Centrist Duds
For a start, you could ALSO vote for Advance
If you’d have suggested, fifty or sixty years ago, that London would have a Muslim mayor, entire neighbourhoods in big cities would be almost entirely Muslim, churches were disappearing but mosques were increasing, and there were half a dozen MPs elected solely on the back of a bloc of Islamic votes, they’d have called you an absolute loon who was scaremongering. And that’s not to mention 7/7, Lee Rigby, Manchester Arena etc
But that is where we are, and it’s regarded as completely normal. Actually it’s considered offensive to criticise, or even to merely point it out.
So why would it be odd if we were governed by an Islamic party or the country became majority Muslim in another fifty years or so? The demographics are pointing in that direction. Things change, they have already are are continuing to do so
I lived in Aldgate East in the last 1990s, which was 30 years ago, and had a Muslim.
I went to a school in Bedford from the 80s to the 90s (Biddenham), that was majority Muslim.
The main thing I discovered from this is that Muslims (like Jews and atheists and Christians) are just like everybody else.
Or, let me put it another way, I do wonder if you or @Lenon actually have any close Musliim friends? Because I think when we don't know people in a particular group well, we tend to assume that they are (a) much more homogenous than they are, and (b) that they are much more different to us than they are,
I presume you mean me? Then yes I have a close Muslim friend
However at the moment he’s in hospital for alcohol-related illness, bless him, so maybe not a 100% tip-top perfect Muslim friend
Have you told him you think he should be deported yet?
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury by Downing Street.
She will be the first female Archbishop in history and a good choice in my view
What are the factors that make her a good choice?
I know very little about CofE Bishops, or internal politics.
Well she is a woman for starters which after recent sex abuse cases involving males was desperately needed. She is reasonably pro Parish and backed blessings for same sex couples
Interesting. Does that mean she's anti gay marriage, or conversely leaning that way?
She is likely pro but Synod decides and LLF was the compromise that got through it.
Should also be noted the most well funded and biggest congregation conservative evangelical churches in the C of E would likely leave if same sex marriage was allowed. Opposition to same sex marriage is a defining thing for conservative evangelicals as even the SNP found with Kate Forbes when she stood for SNP leader
Thank you; and fair enough. But the contradiction between being the ideological [edit] or perhaps better religious arm of the English State, and disobeying that State's laws on marriage, remains. I have no idea how, or indeed if, that will be resolved in a logical way.
They aren't disobeying, same sex couples can still get married in hotels and registry offices and get prayers for them now in C of E churches.
Just because something is legal in England doesn't mean the C of E has to fully recognise it, even as established church, otherwise it would be having services for adulterers and gamblers
How many gamblers does the CoE refuse services to each year? (This seems highly relevant to PoliticalBetting.com.)
Isn't attending church (or not doing so) the ultimate gamble, in many ways?
More like hedging bets.
On which point, HYUFD does rather forget that many parishes have raffles, and analogous tables during parish fetes.
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury by Downing Street.
She will be the first female Archbishop in history and a good choice in my view
What are the factors that make her a good choice?
I know very little about CofE Bishops, or internal politics.
Well she is a woman for starters which after recent sex abuse cases involving males was desperately needed. She is reasonably pro Parish and backed blessings for same sex couples
Interesting. Does that mean she's anti gay marriage, or conversely leaning that way?
She is likely pro but Synod decides and LLF was the compromise that got through it.
Should also be noted the most well funded and biggest congregation conservative evangelical churches in the C of E would likely leave if same sex marriage was allowed. Opposition to same sex marriage is a defining thing for conservative evangelicals as even the SNP found with Kate Forbes when she stood for SNP leader
Thank you; and fair enough. But the contradiction between being the ideological [edit] or perhaps better religious arm of the English State, and disobeying that State's laws on marriage, remains. I have no idea how, or indeed if, that will be resolved in a logical way.
They aren't disobeying, same sex couples can still get married in hotels and registry offices and get prayers for them now in C of E churches.
Just because something is legal in England doesn't mean the C of E has to fully recognise it, even as established church, otherwise it would be having services for adulterers and gamblers
How many gamblers does the CoE refuse services to each year? (This seems highly relevant to PoliticalBetting.com.)
Isn't attending church (or not doing so) the ultimate gamble, in many ways?
More like hedging bets.
On which point, HYUFD does rather forget that many parishes have raffles, and analogous tables during parish fetes.
Did they ever get to the bottom of the stories of regular drone sightings on the East coast of the US?
Nope, because the claimed testing of the U.S."s own security capabilities contradicted the warnings sent out by the head of a military base, and the head of one of the coastguard patrols.
Could have been China, the U.S.'s own research, or anything.
Its was nothing. Misidentification then huge flap of people seeing planes.
Like the big balloon flap a few years ago. One Chinese balloon flew over the USA; they altered the radar to more easily detect them, and suddenly there were loads of weird and wonderful spurious contacts thrown up.
I am glad you are not in charge of our national security. The east coast flap was not nothing. NORAD commander Gen. Gregory Guillot testified as such to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Concurrently there was similar activity happening here, over the triangle of US bases in Norfolk. This activity was confirmed by both the MOD and DoD in public statements, with widespread reporting of specialist troop and air asset deployments in response.
The UK power grid and the raf are sitting ducks right now. It is likely that a determined hostile state could fairly trivially conduct an attack as impactful as Pearl Harbour against the UK.
Yes. Something like Operation Spiderweb, but launched from cargo ships, could cause massive destruction to the UK and cripple the RAF and power grid.
You can comfortably pack a swarm of 720 drones and their launch system into a single 20ft shipping container.
For context Germany + France + UK have about 800 tanks between them.
Note that drones (of all types) now account for about three quarters of casualties on the front in Ukraine. The way war is waged has changed utterly in the space of two or three years.
But Pete Hegseth is going to make sure that all US military staff pass a tough physical fitness test, so that's OK.
He's a Fox News chad, possibly alcoholic, and not a serious SecDef.
Rather than a rigorous gym test what about a downing shots contest. Last men standing become Five Star Generals.
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury by Downing Street.
She will be the first female Archbishop in history and a good choice in my view
What are the factors that make her a good choice?
I know very little about CofE Bishops, or internal politics.
Well she is a woman for starters which after recent sex abuse cases involving males was desperately needed. She is reasonably pro Parish and backed blessings for same sex couples
Interesting. Does that mean she's anti gay marriage, or conversely leaning that way?
She is likely pro but Synod decides and LLF was the compromise that got through it.
Should also be noted the most well funded and biggest congregation conservative evangelical churches in the C of E would likely leave if same sex marriage was allowed. Opposition to same sex marriage is a defining thing for conservative evangelicals as even the SNP found with Kate Forbes when she stood for SNP leader
Thank you; and fair enough. But the contradiction between being the ideological [edit] or perhaps better religious arm of the English State, and disobeying that State's laws on marriage, remains. I have no idea how, or indeed if, that will be resolved in a logical way.
They aren't disobeying, same sex couples can still get married in hotels and registry offices and get prayers for them now in C of E churches.
Just because something is legal in England doesn't mean the C of E has to fully recognise it, even as established church, otherwise it would be having services for adulterers and gamblers
The West front of Canterbury Cathedral traditionally has a statue of the King/Queen there. The last Supreme Governor, Queen Elizabeth II, is still there but they seem to have missed out the most recent monarch for some reason. Just asking for a King.
There's a newish statue of Queen Elizabeth II on the west front of York Minster. Not sure if the same tradition applies there. But, like Canterbury, as the seat of an archbishop, perhaps it does?
“Thanks. As mentioned by Sue Malden at our RECOVERED event in May, we are aware of several missing episodes of Doctor Who (Sue stated one of two, but there are more than this) in private film collections in the U.K. We are liaising with the individuals about cataloguing and preserving their entire collection, including the missing Doctor Who episodes, and ensuring that copies are returned to the BBC. We expect to make a detailed announcement shortly.”
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury by Downing Street.
She will be the first female Archbishop in history and a good choice in my view
What are the factors that make her a good choice?
I know very little about CofE Bishops, or internal politics.
Well she is a woman for starters which after recent sex abuse cases involving males was desperately needed. She is reasonably pro Parish and backed blessings for same sex couples
Interesting. Does that mean she's anti gay marriage, or conversely leaning that way?
She is likely pro but Synod decides and LLF was the compromise that got through it.
Should also be noted the most well funded and biggest congregation conservative evangelical churches in the C of E would likely leave if same sex marriage was allowed. Opposition to same sex marriage is a defining thing for conservative evangelicals as even the SNP found with Kate Forbes when she stood for SNP leader
Thank you; and fair enough. But the contradiction between being the ideological [edit] or perhaps better religious arm of the English State, and disobeying that State's laws on marriage, remains. I have no idea how, or indeed if, that will be resolved in a logical way.
They aren't disobeying, same sex couples can still get married in hotels and registry offices and get prayers for them now in C of E churches.
Just because something is legal in England doesn't mean the C of E has to fully recognise it, even as established church, otherwise it would be having services for adulterers and gamblers
The West front of Canterbury Cathedral traditionally has a statue of the King/Queen there. The last Supreme Governor, Queen Elizabeth II, is still there but they seem to have missed out the most recent monarch for some reason. Just asking for a King.
There's a newish statue of Queen Elizabeth II on the west front of York Minster. Not sure if the same tradition applies there. But, like Canterbury, as the seat of an archbishop, perhaps it does?
Nothing obvious on a quick google re the KCIII statue even being mooted. Maybe it's so long since the last time that nobody has even made the mental connexion.
Did they ever get to the bottom of the stories of regular drone sightings on the East coast of the US?
Nope, because the claimed testing of the U.S."s own security capabilities contradicted the warnings sent out by the head of a military base, and the head of one of the coastguard patrols.
Could have been China, the U.S.'s own research, or anything.
Its was nothing. Misidentification then huge flap of people seeing planes.
Like the big balloon flap a few years ago. One Chinese balloon flew over the USA; they altered the radar to more easily detect them, and suddenly there were loads of weird and wonderful spurious contacts thrown up.
I am glad you are not in charge of our national security. The east coast flap was not nothing. NORAD commander Gen. Gregory Guillot testified as such to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Concurrently there was similar activity happening here, over the triangle of US bases in Norfolk. This activity was confirmed by both the MOD and DoD in public statements, with widespread reporting of specialist troop and air asset deployments in response.
The UK power grid and the raf are sitting ducks right now. It is likely that a determined hostile state could fairly trivially conduct an attack as impactful as Pearl Harbour against the UK.
Yes. Something like Operation Spiderweb, but launched from cargo ships, could cause massive destruction to the UK and cripple the RAF and power grid.
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury by Downing Street.
She will be the first female Archbishop in history and a good choice in my view
What are the factors that make her a good choice?
I know very little about CofE Bishops, or internal politics.
Well she is a woman for starters which after recent sex abuse cases involving males was desperately needed. She is reasonably pro Parish and backed blessings for same sex couples
Interesting. Does that mean she's anti gay marriage, or conversely leaning that way?
She is likely pro but Synod decides and LLF was the compromise that got through it.
Should also be noted the most well funded and biggest congregation conservative evangelical churches in the C of E would likely leave if same sex marriage was allowed. Opposition to same sex marriage is a defining thing for conservative evangelicals as even the SNP found with Kate Forbes when she stood for SNP leader
Thank you; and fair enough. But the contradiction between being the ideological [edit] or perhaps better religious arm of the English State, and disobeying that State's laws on marriage, remains. I have no idea how, or indeed if, that will be resolved in a logical way.
They aren't disobeying, same sex couples can still get married in hotels and registry offices and get prayers for them now in C of E churches.
Just because something is legal in England doesn't mean the C of E has to fully recognise it, even as established church, otherwise it would be having services for adulterers and gamblers
How many gamblers does the CoE refuse services to each year? (This seems highly relevant to PoliticalBetting.com.)
Isn't attending church (or not doing so) the ultimate gamble, in many ways?
More like hedging bets.
On which point, HYUFD does rather forget that many parishes have raffles, and analogous tables during parish fetes.
So, essentially the return on backing God's existence, if God exists, is infinite? Which means ∞:1 odds on offer? What does that mean for implied probability of existence, again?
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury by Downing Street.
She will be the first female Archbishop in history and a good choice in my view
What are the factors that make her a good choice?
I know very little about CofE Bishops, or internal politics.
Well she is a woman for starters which after recent sex abuse cases involving males was desperately needed. She is reasonably pro Parish and backed blessings for same sex couples
Interesting. Does that mean she's anti gay marriage, or conversely leaning that way?
She is likely pro but Synod decides and LLF was the compromise that got through it.
Should also be noted the most well funded and biggest congregation conservative evangelical churches in the C of E would likely leave if same sex marriage was allowed. Opposition to same sex marriage is a defining thing for conservative evangelicals as even the SNP found with Kate Forbes when she stood for SNP leader
Thank you; and fair enough. But the contradiction between being the ideological [edit] or perhaps better religious arm of the English State, and disobeying that State's laws on marriage, remains. I have no idea how, or indeed if, that will be resolved in a logical way.
They aren't disobeying, same sex couples can still get married in hotels and registry offices and get prayers for them now in C of E churches.
Just because something is legal in England doesn't mean the C of E has to fully recognise it, even as established church, otherwise it would be having services for adulterers and gamblers
How many gamblers does the CoE refuse services to each year? (This seems highly relevant to PoliticalBetting.com.)
Isn't attending church (or not doing so) the ultimate gamble, in many ways?
More like hedging bets.
On which point, HYUFD does rather forget that many parishes have raffles, and analogous tables during parish fetes.
So, essentially the return on backing God's existence, if God exists, is infinite? Which means ∞:1 odds on offer? What does that mean for implied probability of existence, again?
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury by Downing Street.
She will be the first female Archbishop in history and a good choice in my view
What are the factors that make her a good choice?
I know very little about CofE Bishops, or internal politics.
Well she is a woman for starters which after recent sex abuse cases involving males was desperately needed. She is reasonably pro Parish and backed blessings for same sex couples
Interesting. Does that mean she's anti gay marriage, or conversely leaning that way?
She is likely pro but Synod decides and LLF was the compromise that got through it.
Should also be noted the most well funded and biggest congregation conservative evangelical churches in the C of E would likely leave if same sex marriage was allowed. Opposition to same sex marriage is a defining thing for conservative evangelicals as even the SNP found with Kate Forbes when she stood for SNP leader
Thank you; and fair enough. But the contradiction between being the ideological [edit] or perhaps better religious arm of the English State, and disobeying that State's laws on marriage, remains. I have no idea how, or indeed if, that will be resolved in a logical way.
They aren't disobeying, same sex couples can still get married in hotels and registry offices and get prayers for them now in C of E churches.
Just because something is legal in England doesn't mean the C of E has to fully recognise it, even as established church, otherwise it would be having services for adulterers and gamblers
Isn't that a pretty strong case of disobeying the law, or at least campaigning to have a loophole left in it to suit themselves by not having to obey the law, rather than the wider body politic?
And "having services for adulterers and gamblers" was very much along the line of one J. Christ, as I recall.
“Thanks. As mentioned by Sue Malden at our RECOVERED event in May, we are aware of several missing episodes of Doctor Who (Sue stated one of two, but there are more than this) in private film collections in the U.K. We are liaising with the individuals about cataloguing and preserving their entire collection, including the missing Doctor Who episodes, and ensuring that copies are returned to the BBC. We expect to make a detailed announcement shortly.”
While they are at it can they request copies of the Public Information Film: "Reginald Molehusband the best parker in town". In the late sixties, seventies and early eighties it was probably one of the most broadcast Public Information Films. Reginal Molehusband (and doing a Reggie) entered the Lingua Franca for terrible parking. The BBC made a new version with the original actor who was about 90 at the time and an Austin 1100, but the original was nowhere to be seen. Most of the other PIFs are available for broadcast but not the best one.
Interesting to see the contention the Conservatives are "less toxic" in London. Yes, Susan Hall won 33% of the vote in the Mayoral election but that was against Sadiq Khan who is by most measures unpopular yet endures against a weakened and fragmented opposition.
Yet in 18 of the 32 London Boroughs, Conservative representation is in single figures - the LDs are the same, of the 182 Councillors, 120 (or nearly two thirds) are in Richmond, Kingston and Sutton. In 19 Boroughs, there are no LD Councillors at all while Labour are wholly absent in only Kingston and Richmond.
Exactly half the Conservative Councillors are in the six Councils they either control directly or via the Mayor (Croydon).
The Find Out Now London sub sample has Labour on 27%, Reform on 25%, Greens on 16%, Lib Dems on 15% and Conservatives on 13%. It's a sample of 214 people so not to be taken too seriously.
“Thanks. As mentioned by Sue Malden at our RECOVERED event in May, we are aware of several missing episodes of Doctor Who (Sue stated one of two, but there are more than this) in private film collections in the U.K. We are liaising with the individuals about cataloguing and preserving their entire collection, including the missing Doctor Who episodes, and ensuring that copies are returned to the BBC. We expect to make a detailed announcement shortly.”
While they are at it can they request copies of the Public Information Film: "Reginald Molehusband the best parker in town". In the late sixties, seventies and early eighties it was probably one of the most broadcast Public Information Films. Reginal Molehusband (and doing a Reggie) entered the Lingua Franca for terrible parking. The BBC made a new version with the original actor who was about 90 at the time and an Austin 1100, but the original was nowhere to be seen. Most of the other PIFs are available for broadcast but not the best one.
If it is in private hands and they have access to it they will get it. The BBC, a decade or so ago, had it on their list of material they’d like to recover.
At least the original audio exists as per that YouTube video.
Would you want to be seen, having crashed the economy?
There does not seem to be any good news for him to get ahead of. Not even the war he stopped between Armenia and Cambodia. (Checks notes - is that what he claimed? Really?? OK....) The war he stopped between Armenia and Cambodia....
Benedict Spence @BenedictSpence Prepared to go out on a limb here and suggest the chances of a revenge attack on Muslims by extremist British Jews are near enough zero.
Brendan Cox @MrBrendanCox The risk now is copycat attacks on other Jewish targets & ‘revenge’ attacks on other communities. We can make both less likely by improving security, showing unity against violence, denying attackers the fame they seek& challenging those who use terror attacks to drive hatred.
There's another person in hospital who was shot by the police.
So three people shot by police, including the terrorist as one of the three.
From the police: “It is believed that both victims were close together behind the synagogue door, as worshippers acted bravely to prevent the attacker from gaining entry.”
Yes, it sadly sounds as though two people not involved with the attacker were shot, and one died. I assume 'including one of the victims' refers to one of the dead.
Comments
That list is mainly on the right, but there are also rich donors on the left and lib-left. Blair had some, the history of Mandelson, and there was at least one famous Lib Dem one who I cannot remember at present.
Khan would have to hope that the Conservatives / Coe leaked so many votes to Reform that they dropped out before the LDs / Reform but then he'd probably lose to the LD candidate.
If there were a 5 year wait for cancer or diabetes the country would be up in arms.
As a Jew from Salford himself he is in a better position than most to know the rather hideous machinations of the The British Board of Deputies
Mind, being unemployed is often not treated as genuine. Nor is being a parent. Or a student. Judging from what one hears, and what one reads on here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZx9VngoYnk (it's a live feed so you'll have to zip thru the gubbins in the beginning)
Diversity without unity risks fragmentation, where some may disengage or simply not care, or even work against the majority.
So, really, diversity is only a strength in the context of shared purpose and cohesion.
My wife's serious problems started when she had a shoulder injury, was told to rest it, and then lost the muscle condition that was keeping her hypermobility under control.
Might be worth looking for a specialist with experience of hypermobility.
In order for my son to have an autism diagnosis for the benefit of assistance ( not even a statement) at school over twenty years ago he had to jump through hoops. The first reference was from the GP and final assessment and analysis was from a National Health Consultant at the UWH Cardiff.There were no online consultations with doctors holding certificates from the Trump University. I am sure it would have been easier if there were.
Concurrently there was similar activity happening here, over the triangle of US bases in Norfolk. This activity was confirmed by both the MOD and DoD in public statements, with widespread reporting of specialist troop and air asset deployments in response.
The UK power grid and the raf are sitting ducks right now. It is likely that a determined hostile state could fairly trivially conduct an attack as impactful as Pearl Harbour against the UK.
https://www.disabilityplus.co.uk/personal-independance-assessment-report/
It wasn't like that when New Labour were in charge. Those bastards wouldn't give up anything. Good on Boris!
But Englebert Humperdink is another one. And even Billy Connolly has some Indian heritage. The British spent a long time in India.
But there, there is a diversity of views and skills hidden beneath the surface of a uniform outward unity.
Basically, it's just a trendy bullshit cliched phrase. Which people parrot because it's achingly right-on, but in a braindead way.
There will be some sort of professional and professional liability behind it.
Suspect MexicanPete will be sadder and £275 lighter if he uses it to apply. But press on and let us know how you get on.
This chap appears to be a former spokesman for the Israeli govt, with some high profile followers. He has a rather interesting screenshot he claims is from the terrorist’s father’s Facebook page.
It is also being widely reported that someone with the same name as the terrorist previously sent death threats to a Tory MP.
I agree with your last paragraph. I'm unsure what we can do about it though...
For context Germany + France + UK have about 800 tanks between them.
The world has changed.
https://x.com/Object_Zero_/status/1973893204824232432
Didn't like the 'political risk' amongst other things (the financing & construction costs have of course risen - as they have with everything else).
It smacks of bullshit to me, given that political risk attaches to other energy sources too.
Now if there were equivalent projects to do something overland in Europe, then I'd better understand the decision. But what there is doesn't begin to compare in capacity.
Instead we're booking 20 year + wind projects with overseas developers, at the top of the market, and funnelling billions into carbon capture.
You'd be an idiot not to.
Not so well off person uses professional to maximise, within the law, their benefit claim?
Immoral. Almost certainly illegal.
And said professional needs to be struck off.
The way war is waged has changed utterly in the space of two or three years.
(If we actually used our armed forces we could sink the shadow fleet, build interconnectors and not put up with drones disrupting our airports. Our leaders are made of jelly, just completely pathetic. What next - fighter jets in NATO airspace?!?!)
Aaron Rupar
@atrupar.com
Trump has not been seen in public since Tuesday and has no public events on his calendar today
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3m2ca6u62r22j
For example, the vast majority of drones at the front are now fibre guided, as GPS and radio control is pretty well completely jammed or spoofed. Drones carry spools of tens of kilometres of fibre.
Something like this might work for civil defence,, but I doubt it would last long on the battlefield.
US defense company Epirus tested its high-power microwave (HPM)-based anti-drone system Leonidas at a live-fire demonstration on August 26. The system disabled a total of all 61 drones (61/61) in 5 different scenarios.
https://x.com/PolymarketIntel/status/1974053934122610793
Or simple and cheap:
https://x.com/allencontrol/status/1932170524899323905
You can add trade, given Brexit.
All disastrously managed in the last 20 years.
Or we may see infantry increasingly removed from the frontline and replaced with other robotic systems.
In many respects infantry on the front line now are just sitting ducks and Ukraine is defending against Russian advances with drone surveillance and attacks, rather than infantry in trenches.
Just because something is legal in England doesn't mean the C of E has to fully recognise it, even as established church, otherwise it would be having services for adulterers and gamblers
At his age and in his condition that sort of thing might make him fall of his perch.
https://x.com/sentdefender/status/1974024518780752301
ARE STAFF POSTING SINCE “THE STROKE?”
https://x.com/GovPressOffice/status/1973956804842565709
On which point, HYUFD does rather forget that many parishes have raffles, and analogous tables during parish fetes.
Edit: for instance, at random, https://www.stpetersactongreen.co.uk/raffle (the Simnel Cake looks very tempting).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal's_wager
Fingers crossed here.
This from the Film is Fabulous Facebook group.
Maybe some missing Dr Who will return after all.
“Thanks. As mentioned by Sue Malden at our RECOVERED event in May, we are aware of several missing episodes of Doctor Who (Sue stated one of two, but there are more than this) in private film collections in the U.K. We are liaising with the individuals about cataloguing and preserving their entire collection, including the missing Doctor Who episodes, and ensuring that copies are returned to the BBC. We expect to make a detailed announcement shortly.”
https://maps.app.goo.gl/BxXMvQy4JDdTyHpx7
Thank-you @GarethoftheVale2 @Garethofthevale for an excellent header.
And "having services for adulterers and gamblers" was very much along the line of one J. Christ, as I recall.
https://youtu.be/Vdkc-7J41Is?si=tXot2JwEP2vYYqTa
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday that an agreement must be reached by 18:00 Washington time (22:00 GMT) on Sunday.
it worked with Russia ... ahem.
Interesting to see the contention the Conservatives are "less toxic" in London. Yes, Susan Hall won 33% of the vote in the Mayoral election but that was against Sadiq Khan who is by most measures unpopular yet endures against a weakened and fragmented opposition.
Yet in 18 of the 32 London Boroughs, Conservative representation is in single figures - the LDs are the same, of the 182 Councillors, 120 (or nearly two thirds) are in Richmond, Kingston and Sutton. In 19 Boroughs, there are no LD Councillors at all while Labour are wholly absent in only Kingston and Richmond.
Exactly half the Conservative Councillors are in the six Councils they either control directly or via the Mayor (Croydon).
The Find Out Now London sub sample has Labour on 27%, Reform on 25%, Greens on 16%, Lib Dems on 15% and Conservatives on 13%. It's a sample of 214 people so not to be taken too seriously.
At least the original audio exists as per that YouTube video.
There does not seem to be any good news for him to get ahead of. Not even the war he stopped between Armenia and Cambodia. (Checks notes - is that what he claimed? Really?? OK....) The war he stopped between Armenia and Cambodia....
BREAKING: Greater Manchester Police say two people, including one of the victims, were unintentionally shot in their response to yesterdays attack
https://x.com/politlcsuk/status/1974051762836320597?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
Benedict Spence
@BenedictSpence
Prepared to go out on a limb here and suggest the chances of a revenge attack on Muslims by extremist British Jews are near enough zero.
Brendan Cox
@MrBrendanCox
The risk now is copycat attacks on other Jewish targets & ‘revenge’ attacks on other communities. We can make both less likely by improving security, showing unity against violence, denying attackers the fame they seek& challenging those who use terror attacks to drive hatred.
So three people shot by police, including the terrorist as one of the three.
From the police:
“It is believed that both victims were close together behind the synagogue door, as worshippers acted bravely to prevent the attacker from gaining entry.”
You would be perfectly within your rights to demand Starmer and Mahmood's resignations. I suppose it depends where one believes the buck stops.