The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education.
Yes, it is. And I have kids
You have adult kids. And you did not have much to do with your kids when they were at school.
lol
I picked up my elder daughter from primary school about 150 days a year for five years
And your other daughter?
Besides, if that is true, AIUI your daughter is now at uni, which means those days are at least ten years ago. You've got f-all idea what is being taught at school, but it's zero surprise you're shitting out the MAGA talking points.
My younger daughter has always lived in Australia, so school pick ups were a bit tricky. I still managed to visit her once a year however, until Covid, so we now have a decent relationship, considering
I have - I hope! - a very good relationship with my older daughter, such that she and I can go on week long holidays together - just us, and we're entirely happy. We are interested in the same things - especially history - she is highly intelligent and reads voraciously (yay!) - we have a shared sense of humour. She's also one of the nicest, kindest people I know. I only have this relationship because I made sure I stayed close to her all the way through her childhood, despite being absent from her household and not partnered to her mum
However I couldn't do school pick ups every day because unlike you I am not a beta cuck and I have a high paying but high pressured job that takes me all over the world
Speaking of which, I am sitting on the 17th floor of a hotel tower in San Francisco, and I need to crack on with the day, finding out if San Francisco really is being reborn, or still a hellscape of zombies
Later
I am not a 'beta cuck'. In saying that, you are saying that my wife is having affairs. She takes than as an insult. You have done this before.
Fuck off, little man.
Siri, show me someone who dishes it but cannot take it.
Siri, show me the people who believe that the weird dude on YouTube and lots of steroids, running around bare chested and shouting is something to aspire to.
The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education.
Yes, it is. And I have kids
You have adult kids. And you did not have much to do with your kids when they were at school.
lol
I picked up my elder daughter from primary school about 150 days a year for five years
And your other daughter?
Besides, if that is true, AIUI your daughter is now at uni, which means those days are at least ten years ago. You've got f-all idea what is being taught at school, but it's zero surprise you're shitting out the MAGA talking points.
My younger daughter has always lived in Australia, so school pick ups were a bit tricky. I still managed to visit her once a year however, until Covid, so we now have a decent relationship, considering
I have - I hope! - a very good relationship with my older daughter, such that she and I can go on week long holidays together - just us, and we're entirely happy. We are interested in the same things - especially history - she is highly intelligent and reads voraciously (yay!) - we have a shared sense of humour. She's also one of the nicest, kindest people I know. I only have this relationship because I made sure I stayed close to her all the way through her childhood, despite being absent from her household and not partnered to her mum
However I couldn't do school pick ups every day because unlike you I am not a beta cuck and I have a high paying but high pressured job that takes me all over the world
Speaking of which, I am sitting on the 17th floor of a hotel tower in San Francisco, and I need to crack on with the day, finding out if San Francisco really is being reborn, or still a hellscape of zombies
Later
I am not a 'beta cuck'. In saying that, you are saying that my wife is having affairs. She takes than as an insult. You have done this before.
Fuck off, little man.
lol
You started this by saying that I was a terrible father that never saw his kids. It's right there on this thread. I wasn't even talking to you, but you waded in with ad hominem remarks, as anyone with eyes can see
Now when I simply give it back to you, you whine like a.... beta cuck. QED
I was right, as you said. You got two women pregnant at roughly the same time, then try to blame the other for taking their daughter to Australia. You stayed with the mother of one until they were one, and then your narcissism made you leave.
Of course, that all could be a lie you've invented, given your story of how one of your books partly inspired a neo-Nazi mass-murderer. That's probably preferable, as the stories you have given in the past are *interesting*. No wonder you ?joke? about having past posts removed...
This is such a bizarre heap of mentally unbalanced weirdness, I am going to pass over it without comment or rebuttal
But, there is a lesson for you here. If you can't take personalised arguments - and it seems, on this evidence, that you can't - then don't start them
Indeed. Some people are very happy to dish it but when they get a little back they really don’t like it.
Somewhat thin skinned.
Thank you for your contribution. It is valued.
Unlike any of yours, soy boy 🤣
"Soy boy"?
What's that meant to mean? It's obviously an insult, but not one I've come across before.
I've just realised that Mark Blundell, ex-F1 and Cart driver, and Le-Mans winner, and one of my childhood heroes, lives just off the road where I take my son every week to go swimming. I've even run right past his place.
No, I'm not going to turn into a stalker.
Johnny Herbert used to frequent my local Indian takeaway. I saw him in the supermarket once, but I think he moved since
Ronnie O'Sullivan used to eat at a now-closed restaurant a mile or so up the road.
The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education.
Yes, it is. And I have kids
You have adult kids. And you did not have much to do with your kids when they were at school.
lol
I picked up my elder daughter from primary school about 150 days a year for five years
And your other daughter?
Besides, if that is true, AIUI your daughter is now at uni, which means those days are at least ten years ago. You've got f-all idea what is being taught at school, but it's zero surprise you're shitting out the MAGA talking points.
My younger daughter has always lived in Australia, so school pick ups were a bit tricky. I still managed to visit her once a year however, until Covid, so we now have a decent relationship, considering
I have - I hope! - a very good relationship with my older daughter, such that she and I can go on week long holidays together - just us, and we're entirely happy. We are interested in the same things - especially history - she is highly intelligent and reads voraciously (yay!) - we have a shared sense of humour. She's also one of the nicest, kindest people I know. I only have this relationship because I made sure I stayed close to her all the way through her childhood, despite being absent from her household and not partnered to her mum
However I couldn't do school pick ups every day because unlike you I am not a beta cuck and I have a high paying but high pressured job that takes me all over the world
Speaking of which, I am sitting on the 17th floor of a hotel tower in San Francisco, and I need to crack on with the day, finding out if San Francisco really is being reborn, or still a hellscape of zombies
Later
I am not a 'beta cuck'. In saying that, you are saying that my wife is having affairs. She takes than as an insult. You have done this before.
Fuck off, little man.
Siri, show me someone who dishes it but cannot take it.
Siri, show me the people who believe that the weird dude on YouTube and lots of steroids, running around bare chested and shouting is something to aspire to.
Got a link to the account. Give me something to watch now Rate my Takeaway has ceased. 👍
The fact that voters overall narrowly think richer pensioners should be taxed more to keep the triple lock state pension is why Reeves still withdrew winter fuel allowance for higher earning pensioners even post u turn. Plus why Reeves will likely tax private pension contributions more in the budget.
The Tories and Reform though will oppose such measures as their core vote is over 50 and do not want wealthy pensioners taxed more
It is incredible that these morons have achieved nearly unchallenged power in the US. They will of course fail , but at what cost?
The unrelenting stupidity, crass vulgarity and staggering ignorance is just tedious, but enough of the media scum who promote these fools.
What if they are not morons, or fools, or ignorant, but very knowing of what they're doing? And they do it because they benefit from it?
My own view is that RFK Jr knows what he's saying is b/s, and he doesn't care that he's going to kill loads of people because he gets advantage from it. In fact, he's already killed loads of people, or contributed to it, e.g. in Samoa.
Calling some of these people fools excuses their evil.
Do you have any scientists left you could sell them? Or have all the hutches been repurposed for pet Russian trolls?
The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education.
Yes, it is. And I have kids
You have adult kids. And you did not have much to do with your kids when they were at school.
lol
I picked up my elder daughter from primary school about 150 days a year for five years
And your other daughter?
Besides, if that is true, AIUI your daughter is now at uni, which means those days are at least ten years ago. You've got f-all idea what is being taught at school, but it's zero surprise you're shitting out the MAGA talking points.
My younger daughter has always lived in Australia, so school pick ups were a bit tricky. I still managed to visit her once a year however, until Covid, so we now have a decent relationship, considering
I have - I hope! - a very good relationship with my older daughter, such that she and I can go on week long holidays together - just us, and we're entirely happy. We are interested in the same things - especially history - she is highly intelligent and reads voraciously (yay!) - we have a shared sense of humour. She's also one of the nicest, kindest people I know. I only have this relationship because I made sure I stayed close to her all the way through her childhood, despite being absent from her household and not partnered to her mum
However I couldn't do school pick ups every day because unlike you I am not a beta cuck and I have a high paying but high pressured job that takes me all over the world
Speaking of which, I am sitting on the 17th floor of a hotel tower in San Francisco, and I need to crack on with the day, finding out if San Francisco really is being reborn, or still a hellscape of zombies
Later
I am not a 'beta cuck'. In saying that, you are saying that my wife is having affairs. She takes than as an insult. You have done this before.
Fuck off, little man.
lol
You started this by saying that I was a terrible father that never saw his kids. It's right there on this thread. I wasn't even talking to you, but you waded in with ad hominem remarks, as anyone with eyes can see
Now when I simply give it back to you, you whine like a.... beta cuck. QED
I was right, as you said. You got two women pregnant at roughly the same time, then try to blame the other for taking their daughter to Australia. You stayed with the mother of one until they were one, and then your narcissism made you leave.
Of course, that all could be a lie you've invented, given your story of how one of your books partly inspired a neo-Nazi mass-murderer. That's probably preferable, as the stories you have given in the past are *interesting*. No wonder you ?joke? about having past posts removed...
This is such a bizarre heap of mentally unbalanced weirdness, I am going to pass over it without comment or rebuttal
But, there is a lesson for you here. If you can't take personalised arguments - and it seems, on this evidence, that you can't - then don't start them
Indeed. Some people are very happy to dish it but when they get a little back they really don’t like it.
Somewhat thin skinned.
Thank you for your contribution. It is valued.
Unlike any of yours, soy boy 🤣
"Soy boy"?
What's that meant to mean? It's obviously an insult, but not one I've come across before.
I think it means I should have sushi for lunch.
Make sure you have the wasabi too. Best part of it.
The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education. Rather behaviour, slipping standards, kids effected by COVID lockdown still not ready to learn are the things that my friends who do have kids bang on about.
It was the sort of thing the Tories used to go on about in the 1970s IIRC. Always been there bobbing around in the stream of discourse, albeiot sometimes mostly submerged.
Gove (or Cummings/Gove) and the blob ring any bells?
That's not quite the same claim. Their criticism was the "blob" stopped innovation and reform and teacher didn't want to change the way they did things. Farage is claiming something different, something very US centric about the Marxists and the trans teachers are indoctrinating the kids. That is straight Libs of TikTok type stuff.
Michael Gove did try to rewrite the history syllabus out of those concerns.
That is a fair point to an extent, but I don't think he was directly accusing all the teachers of being activists, rather he took umbrage with the way the narrative of history was being set out by those who wrote the curriculum. Bridget Phillipson has muttered about the same from the other end of the telescope, haven't followed if she has pulled the trigger on it.
It seems with Gove, the I know history better and what is being taught is missing a load of important stuff I like.
Gove, like so many of us pontificating on education, was just remembering his own schooldays. He liked history and was no good at sport so was happily selling off playing fields. What I will say for Michael Gove is that he did support a liberal arts education as a good thing in itself.
I really hope the Israeli cabinet back the peace plan.
As a matter of interest, what are the medium- and long-term aspects of the plan? I understand that they might be tenuous at the moment.
Probably for the best.
Wanting a completely worked solution before starting is normally a recipe for not getting anywhere. Better to make the best step now, then take the subsequent best step tomorrow, and repeat indefinitely.
FWIW, a guest columnist at the WaPo recently said that rare earths are available, in large quantities, in the waste dumps of mines for other metals.
As I understand it, processing rare earths is more the bottle neck than mining -- and I have no doubt that there are people in the US -- and the UK -- who could solve that problem within two years, or less. (No doubt your Mr. Bond is already stealing Chinese secrets to help out. Or his current equivalent.
I knew Doug when he ran Great Plains, and was highly impressed by him. The problem is that when one gets sucked into Trump world, then suddenly loyalty to the Don becomes everything. I don't know if he can avoid that death spiral.
For this one you need to pop over to Tim Worstall's place and ask him.
The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education.
Yes, it is. And I have kids
You have adult kids. And you did not have much to do with your kids when they were at school.
lol
I picked up my elder daughter from primary school about 150 days a year for five years
And your other daughter?
Besides, if that is true, AIUI your daughter is now at uni, which means those days are at least ten years ago. You've got f-all idea what is being taught at school, but it's zero surprise you're shitting out the MAGA talking points.
My younger daughter has always lived in Australia, so school pick ups were a bit tricky. I still managed to visit her once a year however, until Covid, so we now have a decent relationship, considering
I have - I hope! - a very good relationship with my older daughter, such that she and I can go on week long holidays together - just us, and we're entirely happy. We are interested in the same things - especially history - she is highly intelligent and reads voraciously (yay!) - we have a shared sense of humour. She's also one of the nicest, kindest people I know. I only have this relationship because I made sure I stayed close to her all the way through her childhood, despite being absent from her household and not partnered to her mum
However I couldn't do school pick ups every day because unlike you I am not a beta cuck and I have a high paying but high pressured job that takes me all over the world
Speaking of which, I am sitting on the 17th floor of a hotel tower in San Francisco, and I need to crack on with the day, finding out if San Francisco really is being reborn, or still a hellscape of zombies
Later
I am not a 'beta cuck'. In saying that, you are saying that my wife is having affairs. She takes than as an insult. You have done this before.
Fuck off, little man.
lol
You started this by saying that I was a terrible father that never saw his kids. It's right there on this thread. I wasn't even talking to you, but you waded in with ad hominem remarks, as anyone with eyes can see
Now when I simply give it back to you, you whine like a.... beta cuck. QED
I was right, as you said. You got two women pregnant at roughly the same time, then try to blame the other for taking their daughter to Australia. You stayed with the mother of one until they were one, and then your narcissism made you leave.
Of course, that all could be a lie you've invented, given your story of how one of your books partly inspired a neo-Nazi mass-murderer. That's probably preferable, as the stories you have given in the past are *interesting*. No wonder you ?joke? about having past posts removed...
This is such a bizarre heap of mentally unbalanced weirdness, I am going to pass over it without comment or rebuttal
But, there is a lesson for you here. If you can't take personalised arguments - and it seems, on this evidence, that you can't - then don't start them
Indeed. Some people are very happy to dish it but when they get a little back they really don’t like it.
Somewhat thin skinned.
Thank you for your contribution. It is valued.
Unlike any of yours, soy boy 🤣
"Soy boy"?
What's that meant to mean? It's obviously an insult, but not one I've come across before.
The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education.
Yes, it is. And I have kids
You have adult kids. And you did not have much to do with your kids when they were at school.
lol
I picked up my elder daughter from primary school about 150 days a year for five years
And your other daughter?
Besides, if that is true, AIUI your daughter is now at uni, which means those days are at least ten years ago. You've got f-all idea what is being taught at school, but it's zero surprise you're shitting out the MAGA talking points.
My younger daughter has always lived in Australia, so school pick ups were a bit tricky. I still managed to visit her once a year however, until Covid, so we now have a decent relationship, considering
I have - I hope! - a very good relationship with my older daughter, such that she and I can go on week long holidays together - just us, and we're entirely happy. We are interested in the same things - especially history - she is highly intelligent and reads voraciously (yay!) - we have a shared sense of humour. She's also one of the nicest, kindest people I know. I only have this relationship because I made sure I stayed close to her all the way through her childhood, despite being absent from her household and not partnered to her mum
However I couldn't do school pick ups every day because unlike you I am not a beta cuck and I have a high paying but high pressured job that takes me all over the world
Speaking of which, I am sitting on the 17th floor of a hotel tower in San Francisco, and I need to crack on with the day, finding out if San Francisco really is being reborn, or still a hellscape of zombies
Later
I am not a 'beta cuck'. In saying that, you are saying that my wife is having affairs. She takes than as an insult. You have done this before.
Fuck off, little man.
lol
You started this by saying that I was a terrible father that never saw his kids. It's right there on this thread. I wasn't even talking to you, but you waded in with ad hominem remarks, as anyone with eyes can see
Now when I simply give it back to you, you whine like a.... beta cuck. QED
I was right, as you said. You got two women pregnant at roughly the same time, then try to blame the other for taking their daughter to Australia. You stayed with the mother of one until they were one, and then your narcissism made you leave.
Of course, that all could be a lie you've invented, given your story of how one of your books partly inspired a neo-Nazi mass-murderer. That's probably preferable, as the stories you have given in the past are *interesting*. No wonder you ?joke? about having past posts removed...
This is such a bizarre heap of mentally unbalanced weirdness, I am going to pass over it without comment or rebuttal
But, there is a lesson for you here. If you can't take personalised arguments - and it seems, on this evidence, that you can't - then don't start them
Indeed. Some people are very happy to dish it but when they get a little back they really don’t like it.
Somewhat thin skinned.
Thank you for your contribution. It is valued.
Unlike any of yours, soy boy 🤣
"Soy boy"?
What's that meant to mean? It's obviously an insult, but not one I've come across before.
I think it means I should have sushi for lunch.
Make sure you have the wasabi too. Best part of it.
I'm guessing that the pensioner gravy train will derail just before I reach retirement age.
I am looking to retire when I hit 55 which is less than a decade away.
I’ve always worked on the assumption that I’ll never get a state pension.
I am now 64 and looking to do at least another 3 years. I am lucky to be in good health (if more than a little overweight). As long as I remain healthy I prefer to work. Its fun, I feel I am contributing and it means that I am not drawing on my resources. Plus I find golf unbearably tedious, I am struggling to read as much these days, I have no obvious hobbies (other than maybe PB) and I am not sure what I would do with myself if I retired.
Yes, I know what you mean. Golf is quite a pleasant pastime, just spoilt by the people playing it.
I really enjoy my job, but going part time has made it better still. I kept all the best bits, and can opt out of management apart from being seen as an elder statesman.
I am using my time off to cultivate outside interests and social networks, so when I do finally call it a day I have plenty to keep me occupied.
The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education.
Yes, it is. And I have kids
You have adult kids. And you did not have much to do with your kids when they were at school.
lol
I picked up my elder daughter from primary school about 150 days a year for five years
And your other daughter?
Besides, if that is true, AIUI your daughter is now at uni, which means those days are at least ten years ago. You've got f-all idea what is being taught at school, but it's zero surprise you're shitting out the MAGA talking points.
My younger daughter has always lived in Australia, so school pick ups were a bit tricky. I still managed to visit her once a year however, until Covid, so we now have a decent relationship, considering
I have - I hope! - a very good relationship with my older daughter, such that she and I can go on week long holidays together - just us, and we're entirely happy. We are interested in the same things - especially history - she is highly intelligent and reads voraciously (yay!) - we have a shared sense of humour. She's also one of the nicest, kindest people I know. I only have this relationship because I made sure I stayed close to her all the way through her childhood, despite being absent from her household and not partnered to her mum
However I couldn't do school pick ups every day because unlike you I am not a beta cuck and I have a high paying but high pressured job that takes me all over the world
Speaking of which, I am sitting on the 17th floor of a hotel tower in San Francisco, and I need to crack on with the day, finding out if San Francisco really is being reborn, or still a hellscape of zombies
Later
I am not a 'beta cuck'. In saying that, you are saying that my wife is having affairs. She takes than as an insult. You have done this before.
Fuck off, little man.
lol
You started this by saying that I was a terrible father that never saw his kids. It's right there on this thread. I wasn't even talking to you, but you waded in with ad hominem remarks, as anyone with eyes can see
Now when I simply give it back to you, you whine like a.... beta cuck. QED
I was right, as you said. You got two women pregnant at roughly the same time, then try to blame the other for taking their daughter to Australia. You stayed with the mother of one until they were one, and then your narcissism made you leave.
Of course, that all could be a lie you've invented, given your story of how one of your books partly inspired a neo-Nazi mass-murderer. That's probably preferable, as the stories you have given in the past are *interesting*. No wonder you ?joke? about having past posts removed...
This is such a bizarre heap of mentally unbalanced weirdness, I am going to pass over it without comment or rebuttal
But, there is a lesson for you here. If you can't take personalised arguments - and it seems, on this evidence, that you can't - then don't start them
Indeed. Some people are very happy to dish it but when they get a little back they really don’t like it.
Somewhat thin skinned.
Thank you for your contribution. It is valued.
Unlike any of yours, soy boy 🤣
"Soy boy"?
What's that meant to mean? It's obviously an insult, but not one I've come across before.
The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education.
Yes, it is. And I have kids
You have adult kids. And you did not have much to do with your kids when they were at school.
lol
I picked up my elder daughter from primary school about 150 days a year for five years
And your other daughter?
Besides, if that is true, AIUI your daughter is now at uni, which means those days are at least ten years ago. You've got f-all idea what is being taught at school, but it's zero surprise you're shitting out the MAGA talking points.
My younger daughter has always lived in Australia, so school pick ups were a bit tricky. I still managed to visit her once a year however, until Covid, so we now have a decent relationship, considering
I have - I hope! - a very good relationship with my older daughter, such that she and I can go on week long holidays together - just us, and we're entirely happy. We are interested in the same things - especially history - she is highly intelligent and reads voraciously (yay!) - we have a shared sense of humour. She's also one of the nicest, kindest people I know. I only have this relationship because I made sure I stayed close to her all the way through her childhood, despite being absent from her household and not partnered to her mum
However I couldn't do school pick ups every day because unlike you I am not a beta cuck and I have a high paying but high pressured job that takes me all over the world
Speaking of which, I am sitting on the 17th floor of a hotel tower in San Francisco, and I need to crack on with the day, finding out if San Francisco really is being reborn, or still a hellscape of zombies
Later
I am not a 'beta cuck'. In saying that, you are saying that my wife is having affairs. She takes than as an insult. You have done this before.
Fuck off, little man.
lol
You started this by saying that I was a terrible father that never saw his kids. It's right there on this thread. I wasn't even talking to you, but you waded in with ad hominem remarks, as anyone with eyes can see
Now when I simply give it back to you, you whine like a.... beta cuck. QED
I was right, as you said. You got two women pregnant at roughly the same time, then try to blame the other for taking their daughter to Australia. You stayed with the mother of one until they were one, and then your narcissism made you leave.
Of course, that all could be a lie you've invented, given your story of how one of your books partly inspired a neo-Nazi mass-murderer. That's probably preferable, as the stories you have given in the past are *interesting*. No wonder you ?joke? about having past posts removed...
This is such a bizarre heap of mentally unbalanced weirdness, I am going to pass over it without comment or rebuttal
But, there is a lesson for you here. If you can't take personalised arguments - and it seems, on this evidence, that you can't - then don't start them
Indeed. Some people are very happy to dish it but when they get a little back they really don’t like it.
Somewhat thin skinned.
Thank you for your contribution. It is valued.
Unlike any of yours, soy boy 🤣
"Soy boy"?
What's that meant to mean? It's obviously an insult, but not one I've come across before.
I think it means I should have sushi for lunch.
Make sure you have the wasabi too. Best part of it.
It is incredible that these morons have achieved nearly unchallenged power in the US. They will of course fail , but at what cost?
The unrelenting stupidity, crass vulgarity and staggering ignorance is just tedious, but enough of the media scum who promote these fools.
What if they are not morons, or fools, or ignorant, but very knowing of what they're doing? And they do it because they benefit from it?
My own view is that RFK Jr knows what he's saying is b/s, and he doesn't care that he's going to kill loads of people because he gets advantage from it. In fact, he's already killed loads of people, or contributed to it, e.g. in Samoa.
Calling some of these people fools excuses their evil.
Do you have any scientists left you could sell them? Or have all the hutches been repurposed for pet Russian trolls?
Ah guvnor, as it so happens I store the Russian trolls at another facility. They're not very good; I've got my experts trained to give any opinion you want, but the Russian trolls only ever seem to be able to give brain-dead output. Worse, they only ever appear to want to work on Saturday mornings.
I'm guessing that the pensioner gravy train will derail just before I reach retirement age.
I am looking to retire when I hit 55 which is less than a decade away.
I’ve always worked on the assumption that I’ll never get a state pension.
I am now 64 and looking to do at least another 3 years. I am lucky to be in good health (if more than a little overweight). As long as I remain healthy I prefer to work. Its fun, I feel I am contributing and it means that I am not drawing on my resources. Plus I find golf unbearably tedious, I am struggling to read as much these days, I have no obvious hobbies (other than maybe PB) and I am not sure what I would do with myself if I retired.
Yes, I know what you mean. Golf is quite a pleasant pastime, just spoilt by the people playing it.
I really enjoy my job, but going part time has made it better still. I kept all the best bits, and can opt out of management apart from being seen as an elder statesman.
I am using my time off to cultivate outside interests and social networks, so when I do finally call it a day I have plenty to keep me occupied.
Honestly you’ll have no trouble filling your day at all. You’ll wonder how you ever managed to fit work in,
The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education.
Yes, it is. And I have kids
You have adult kids. And you did not have much to do with your kids when they were at school.
lol
I picked up my elder daughter from primary school about 150 days a year for five years
And your other daughter?
Besides, if that is true, AIUI your daughter is now at uni, which means those days are at least ten years ago. You've got f-all idea what is being taught at school, but it's zero surprise you're shitting out the MAGA talking points.
My younger daughter has always lived in Australia, so school pick ups were a bit tricky. I still managed to visit her once a year however, until Covid, so we now have a decent relationship, considering
I have - I hope! - a very good relationship with my older daughter, such that she and I can go on week long holidays together - just us, and we're entirely happy. We are interested in the same things - especially history - she is highly intelligent and reads voraciously (yay!) - we have a shared sense of humour. She's also one of the nicest, kindest people I know. I only have this relationship because I made sure I stayed close to her all the way through her childhood, despite being absent from her household and not partnered to her mum
However I couldn't do school pick ups every day because unlike you I am not a beta cuck and I have a high paying but high pressured job that takes me all over the world
Speaking of which, I am sitting on the 17th floor of a hotel tower in San Francisco, and I need to crack on with the day, finding out if San Francisco really is being reborn, or still a hellscape of zombies
Later
I am not a 'beta cuck'. In saying that, you are saying that my wife is having affairs. She takes than as an insult. You have done this before.
Fuck off, little man.
lol
You started this by saying that I was a terrible father that never saw his kids. It's right there on this thread. I wasn't even talking to you, but you waded in with ad hominem remarks, as anyone with eyes can see
Now when I simply give it back to you, you whine like a.... beta cuck. QED
I was right, as you said. You got two women pregnant at roughly the same time, then try to blame the other for taking their daughter to Australia. You stayed with the mother of one until they were one, and then your narcissism made you leave.
Of course, that all could be a lie you've invented, given your story of how one of your books partly inspired a neo-Nazi mass-murderer. That's probably preferable, as the stories you have given in the past are *interesting*. No wonder you ?joke? about having past posts removed...
This is such a bizarre heap of mentally unbalanced weirdness, I am going to pass over it without comment or rebuttal
But, there is a lesson for you here. If you can't take personalised arguments - and it seems, on this evidence, that you can't - then don't start them
Indeed. Some people are very happy to dish it but when they get a little back they really don’t like it.
Somewhat thin skinned.
Thank you for your contribution. It is valued.
Unlike any of yours, soy boy 🤣
"Soy boy"?
What's that meant to mean? It's obviously an insult, but not one I've come across before.
A term of disapprobation adopted by meat heads ?
It’s a bit weird as an insult since soy sauce is quite a strong favour often added to meat and fish dishes. I assume it revolves around the types who might take soy milk with their lattes. Though nowadays it seems to be mostly oat milk for the young hipster. ‘Shut it you drippy little oater’ doesn’t really work.
To lighten the mood, here's a delightful medieval church door knocker I saw today. Modern phone camera managed to pick out the detail despite the dark.
I remember once @Benpointer saying “wake me up when a robot can stack my dishwasher”
Well, here it is, Ben. About two years after you asked for it. These will soon start appearing in posh hotels, then exponentially spread
Except it still can't stack your dishwasher. That demo is all tele-operatored or mimic the teleoperated demostration. The marketing copy is very careful in using phrases like "designed to operate in". It makes no claims beyond its a platform that has the potential to be trained to do x. But teleoperated robot arms / robot arms that are shown a task and asked to repeat have been able to manipulate plates, glasses etc for quite a long time, the huge difficult is the robot doing it all itself and generalising away from mimicing.
What they are showing off is that the robot is now containing a lot more sensors and the hands have better dystextia that can be potentially leveraged to learn to do tasks.
I was in a *Newcastle* hotel recently that had robots delivering room service - sounds similar to the Roomba-esque ones Leon describes. When I saw it it was repeatedly bouncing off the wrong door, so seems like it's not exactly perfect.
Maybe they were trained to mimic the locals staggering back to their hotels after a night out in the Bigg Market?
In all seriousness, they had them in a couple of hotels I stayed in Asia earlier in the year. Often for things like breakfast, you put your dirty glasses / plates on them as they pottered by your table, taking all the washing up back to the kitchen.
I've just realised that Mark Blundell, ex-F1 and Cart driver, and Le-Mans winner, and one of my childhood heroes, lives just off the road where I take my son every week to go swimming. I've even run right past his place.
No, I'm not going to turn into a stalker.
Johnny Herbert used to frequent my local Indian takeaway. I saw him in the supermarket once, but I think he moved since
Ronnie O'Sullivan used to eat at a now-closed restaurant a mile or so up the road.
I used to attend mass at the same church as Newcastle star Mick 'Zico' Martin.
Sing his name from the terraces on Saturday. Sing hymns with him from the pews on Sunday.
The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education.
Yes, it is. And I have kids
You have adult kids. And you did not have much to do with your kids when they were at school.
lol
I picked up my elder daughter from primary school about 150 days a year for five years
And your other daughter?
Besides, if that is true, AIUI your daughter is now at uni, which means those days are at least ten years ago. You've got f-all idea what is being taught at school, but it's zero surprise you're shitting out the MAGA talking points.
My younger daughter has always lived in Australia, so school pick ups were a bit tricky. I still managed to visit her once a year however, until Covid, so we now have a decent relationship, considering
I have - I hope! - a very good relationship with my older daughter, such that she and I can go on week long holidays together - just us, and we're entirely happy. We are interested in the same things - especially history - she is highly intelligent and reads voraciously (yay!) - we have a shared sense of humour. She's also one of the nicest, kindest people I know. I only have this relationship because I made sure I stayed close to her all the way through her childhood, despite being absent from her household and not partnered to her mum
However I couldn't do school pick ups every day because unlike you I am not a beta cuck and I have a high paying but high pressured job that takes me all over the world
Speaking of which, I am sitting on the 17th floor of a hotel tower in San Francisco, and I need to crack on with the day, finding out if San Francisco really is being reborn, or still a hellscape of zombies
Later
I am not a 'beta cuck'. In saying that, you are saying that my wife is having affairs. She takes than as an insult. You have done this before.
Fuck off, little man.
lol
You started this by saying that I was a terrible father that never saw his kids. It's right there on this thread. I wasn't even talking to you, but you waded in with ad hominem remarks, as anyone with eyes can see
Now when I simply give it back to you, you whine like a.... beta cuck. QED
I was right, as you said. You got two women pregnant at roughly the same time, then try to blame the other for taking their daughter to Australia. You stayed with the mother of one until they were one, and then your narcissism made you leave.
Of course, that all could be a lie you've invented, given your story of how one of your books partly inspired a neo-Nazi mass-murderer. That's probably preferable, as the stories you have given in the past are *interesting*. No wonder you ?joke? about having past posts removed...
This is such a bizarre heap of mentally unbalanced weirdness, I am going to pass over it without comment or rebuttal
But, there is a lesson for you here. If you can't take personalised arguments - and it seems, on this evidence, that you can't - then don't start them
Indeed. Some people are very happy to dish it but when they get a little back they really don’t like it.
Somewhat thin skinned.
Thank you for your contribution. It is valued.
Unlike any of yours, soy boy 🤣
"Soy boy"?
What's that meant to mean? It's obviously an insult, but not one I've come across before.
A term of disapprobation adopted by meat heads ?
It’s a bit weird as an insult since soy sauce is quite a strong favour often added to meat and fish dishes. I assume it revolves around the types who might take soy milk with their lattes. Though nowadays it seems to be mostly oat milk for the young hipster. ‘Shut it you drippy little oater’ doesn’t really work.
Suspect that it's extremely believable. We all want more for less, and are happy to screw over the future to get what we want. Even me, and I'm lovely.
The problem with the generation born between about 1945 and 1965 is not particularly that they are more fallen than the rest of us, it's that they are more numerous. So indulging them has been a viable business and political strategy throughout their lives.
With consequences that can only be described as "Boomers, if you seek your memorial, look around." It sounds better in Latin, I'm sure, but I did go to a comprehensive.
Boomers, si monumentum vestrum quaeritis, circumspicite.
Says Google. But which party is going to start the conversation? Perhaps one way forward would be to insist that Care Home fees come out of the resident's capital either directly or as a future (interest bearing) charge. The boomers would have to make a decision about whether passing on wealth before a care home is needed is the best strategy or to hold the wealth and at lease have a choice about care.
Do you trust your children?
Is that not what happens now? You must pay until you have almost nothing left.
If the government pay you'll either need top up fees or you'll get very little choice indeed.
It needs some kind of insurance scheme. Pay £50k and stop worrying about it.
That might actually get older people spending some money.
Yep.
For both sides of my family, the grandparent who lived longest got Alzheimer's and necessarily ended up in a care home as they lived for a long time with it. Neither were exactly wealthy but owned modest homes in provincial towns. Everything they had was spent on care, down to whatever tiny amounts the government allow you to keep before paying.
The current system is mad. If you get one disease you get millions spent on treatment for free. If you get another disease then you lose everything you saved your life for*.
I would much rather social care was universal and a widely applied wealth tax was used to fund it. People might moan, but less than if they get unlucky in the disease lottery.
* Ignoring very wealthy people who tax plan for this sort of thing.
Labour has removed 26 small boat migrants since the launch of its ‘one in, one out’ deal with France. Meanwhile, 10,040 small boat migrants have reached Dover by small boat since the scheme launched on August 6. It included 1,075 on Wednesday this week alone.
The site seems a bit tetchy, so I shall selflessly use up my picture ration with a cheering picture quiz. This one shouldn’t be too hard
What links these three anonymous American suburban garages
Norma Jean ?
No. The answer is quite cool. No googling!!!!
Amazon, HP and ?
No yes and....? No Googling!
NO GOOGLE
Ah, one must be the original global headquarters for Larry and Sergey. Don't know which.
Yep. And that's close enough. They are all in Silicon Valley, and I did a tour of them yesterday, when I realised they made a brilliant trinity of tech
The answer, chronologically:
On left: that shadowed little green-doored hut down the narrow path is the Hewlett-Packard Garage in Palo Alto, where in 1939 Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard built a low-distortion audio oscillator - the HP Model 200A- that powered Disney’s Fantasia and quietly birthed Silicon Valley
Bottom right: the single-storey suburban house with the white car and pink flowers? - that's the Apple Garage, where Jobs and Wozniak conjured the first Macintosh dreams, in 1976
Top right: the neat beige split-level, with its white fence and careful hedge, is Google’s Menlo Park birthplace, where Sergey Brin and Larry Page set up their first servers, installed a whiteboard, and refined their PageRank algorithm. Laying the foundation of the modern internet, in 1998
Three garages, within one 20 minute drive, and in a way the entire history of modern tech
Credit where it's due and if we are to see a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the surviving hostages this will be most welcome and if that means handing out plaudits to President Trump, so be it.
The devil in these things is always in the detail and all we have is a ceasefire but jaw-jaw is, as someone accurately opined, better than war-war.
Hamas remains a political if not military force and Israel will still control half of Gaza when the ceasefire comes into effect. That begs the question as to how a new political administration for Gaza will be crafted absent a Hamas involvement and whether that in itself will persuade Israel to leave Gaza completely.
The role of Egypt in all this is interesting - I wonder what guarantees El-Sisi has sought and been given as to the future political direction of Gaza .
Rishi Sunak has been appointed as a senior adviser by the US technology companies Microsoft and Anthropic.
The former British prime minister’s pair of new jobs emerged on Thursday in letters published by Westminster’s office of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba). They add to his roles as a senior adviser to Goldman Sachs International, the investment bank, and speechmaker to investment firms including Bain Capital and Makena Capital in the US, which have netted him over £150,000 a talk.
Labour has removed 26 small boat migrants since the launch of its ‘one in, one out’ deal with France. Meanwhile, 10,040 small boat migrants have reached Dover by small boat since the scheme launched on August 6. It included 1,075 on Wednesday this week alone.
This definitely seems like a change in tactic, they often go days with no boats (not always bad weather), then 500-1000 come in a day.
The tactic has been there for a while, and it's not rocket science. And, whilst 26 returns isn't enough to be effective, it's now unabiguously more than the last lot managed.
Next light on the totaliser (undignified as it is) is when more have been sent unwillingly to France than could have been sent unwillingly to Rwanda. That's about 500 in a year, isn't it?
The site seems a bit tetchy, so I shall selflessly use up my picture ration with a cheering picture quiz. This one shouldn’t be too hard
What links these three anonymous American suburban garages
Norma Jean ?
No. The answer is quite cool. No googling!!!!
Amazon, HP and ?
No yes and....? No Googling!
NO GOOGLE
Ah, one must be the original global headquarters for Larry and Sergey. Don't know which.
Yep. And that's close enough. They are all in Silicon Valley, and I did a tour of them yesterday, when I realised they made a brilliant trinity of tech
The answer, chronologically:
On left: that shadowed little green-doored hut down the narrow path is the Hewlett-Packard Garage in Palo Alto, where in 1939 Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard built a low-distortion audio oscillator - the HP Model 200A- that powered Disney’s Fantasia and quietly birthed Silicon Valley
Bottom right: the single-storey suburban house with the white car and pink flowers? - that's the Apple Garage, where Jobs and Wozniak conjured the first Macintosh dreams....
Top right: the neat beige split-level, with its white fence and careful hedge, is Google’s Menlo Park birthplace, where Sergey Brin and Larry Page set up their first servers, installed a whiteboard, and refined their PageRank algorithm. Laying the foundation of the modern internet
Three garages, within one 20 minute drive, and in a way the entire history of modern tech
Early google ran its servers from Stanford. Then colo.
The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education. Rather behaviour, slipping standards, kids effected by COVID lockdown still not ready to learn are the things that my friends who do have kids bang on about.
It was the sort of thing the Tories used to go on about in the 1970s IIRC. Always been there bobbing around in the stream of discourse, albeiot sometimes mostly submerged.
Gove (or Cummings/Gove) and the blob ring any bells?
That's not quite the same claim. Their criticism was the "blob" stopped innovation and reform and teacher didn't want to change the way they did things. Farage is claiming something different, something very US centric about the Marxists and the trans teachers are indoctrinating the kids. That is straight Libs of TikTok type stuff.
Michael Gove did try to rewrite the history syllabus out of those concerns.
That is a fair point to an extent, but I don't think he was directly accusing all the teachers of being activists, rather he took umbrage with the way the narrative of history was being set out by those who wrote the curriculum. Bridget Phillipson has muttered about the same from the other end of the telescope, haven't followed if she has pulled the trigger on it.
It seems with Gove, the I know history better and what is being taught is missing a load of important stuff I like.
Gove, like so many of us pontificating on education, was just remembering his own schooldays. He liked history and was no good at sport so was happily selling off playing fields. What I will say for Michael Gove is that he did support a liberal arts education as a good thing in itself.
Gove takes a lot of flack on here, not least from @ydoethur, but the progress up the PISA scores shows most of what he did was right and has worked. In contrast, in Scotland, the tumbling down the rankings since the fiasco that is Curriculum for Excellence, shows things have gone seriously wrong.
Labour has removed 26 small boat migrants since the launch of its ‘one in, one out’ deal with France. Meanwhile, 10,040 small boat migrants have reached Dover by small boat since the scheme launched on August 6. It included 1,075 on Wednesday this week alone.
This definitely seems like a change in tactic, they often go days with no boats (not always bad weather), then 500-1000 come in a day.
The tactic has been there for a while, and it's not rocket science. And, whilst 26 returns isn't enough to be effective, it's now unabiguously more than the last lot managed.
Next light on the totaliser (undignified as it is) is when more have been sent unwillingly to France than could have been sent unwillingly to Rwanda. That's about 500 in a year, isn't it?
Except that for the 26 we've managed to deport, the French are allowed to send at least 26 here. And, also, there is nothing stopping the 26 we deported from simply trying again
I look forward to Labour selling this triumph on the doorstep
"Yes, we know the boats were a problem, but remember, since we started our superb new plan, we've managed to deport a net total of zero, or less, and only another 10,000 have come, so we've basically solved it. Vote for more of this!"
Labour has removed 26 small boat migrants since the launch of its ‘one in, one out’ deal with France. Meanwhile, 10,040 small boat migrants have reached Dover by small boat since the scheme launched on August 6. It included 1,075 on Wednesday this week alone.
This definitely seems like a change in tactic, they often go days with no boats (not always bad weather), then 500-1000 come in a day.
The tactic has been there for a while, and it's not rocket science. And, whilst 26 returns isn't enough to be effective, it's now unabiguously more than the last lot managed.
Next light on the totaliser (undignified as it is) is when more have been sent unwillingly to France than could have been sent unwillingly to Rwanda. That's about 500 in a year, isn't it?
Rwanda wasn't one-for-one, and the 500 a year was a newspaper speculation. Of course, since the whole scheme was probably impracticable, I appreciate these are nitpicks.
A Gogglebox star has been appearing on the Channel 4 show while being signed off from his NHS day job with stress.
Sid Siddiqui, 80, has continued to take part in the fly-on-the-wall series while absent from his taxpayer-funded role as a health service environmental manager, which, it is understood, he worked at three days a week.
Now this is a very weird story not for the headline reason. First all the promo online says he was retired, which you would expect from somebody who is 80 YEARS OLD. Something doesn't add up here.
The obvious explanation is that he went on long term sick leave, which IIRC could generate automatic retirement after 6 or 12 months at that age (I forget which is usual). So hje'd indeed be retired now. Conflated ot telescoped by the DM writers, deliberately or otherwise?
So at 73 he was definitely still employed with them but on the sick. He started on the show 12 years ago.
Presumably they are just paying him SSP which isn’t very generous. But it’s also ridiculous you can stay on long term sick that long and your employer has to lump it
SSP is time limited to 26 weeks. After that its Universal Credit but not if they are over the state retirement age (Its a working age benefit_. So they may be on some form of contractual payment while sick but it won't be SSP (for long) or UC. But it is the Mail reporting this .....
Also, decades ago, there was a movement from the Treasury to restrict sick pay by public sector employers, both in terms of sick pay and in sacking the sick after a given period, typically 12 months. So any hint of being on sick pay for years and years is not credible.
A friend of mine signed off from teaching got, IIRC, six months full pay followed by six months half pay followed by nothing.
That was certainly the system back in the 1980s. I have a friend who was forced out of teaching by M.E. back then, who eventually ended up on an early pension which kept her solvent-ish for a few years until she recovered enough to do some volunteering then go back to work (for the National Trust). The management of the M.E. was a mess, as no one knew clearly what it was back then.
Same, I had to check with YouGov that there were no typos in the posts.
I just cannot wrap my ahead around it, my parents think their main role in life is to spend money on their grandkids, and also leave me and them a massive inheritance.
I'm not sure it's entitlement - just a massive failure to recognise how anomalously lucky their generation is. My mother in law has a slightly exasperating tendency to talk to us about what we'll do when we retire, blithely expecting that we'll be able to have the same two-cruises-a-year lifestyle she has. At present my plan A is work until my 70s then off to Dignitas.
There's a total lack of self-awareness.
It's also the generation that did the Summer of '69 and all the self-indulgence of the 1960s, so there's a certain me me me to them anyway.
Labour has removed 26 small boat migrants since the launch of its ‘one in, one out’ deal with France. Meanwhile, 10,040 small boat migrants have reached Dover by small boat since the scheme launched on August 6. It included 1,075 on Wednesday this week alone.
Rishi Sunak has been appointed as a senior adviser by the US technology companies Microsoft and Anthropic.
The former British prime minister’s pair of new jobs emerged on Thursday in letters published by Westminster’s office of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba). They add to his roles as a senior adviser to Goldman Sachs International, the investment bank, and speechmaker to investment firms including Bain Capital and Makena Capital in the US, which have netted him over £150,000 a talk.
I don't have much against Sunak, but he's already rich, and like so many ex-PM's and prominent politicians he seems to be after the money. Why doesn't he just write books about music hall and cricket?
The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education.
Yes, it is. And I have kids
You have adult kids. And you did not have much to do with your kids when they were at school.
Well I'm maybe more currently involved. And I can confirm schools are rife with this stuff. Happy to report it's receded a little since 2021. But senior schools still basically have the Guardian as the centre ground, and the Corbyn worldview isn't unusual.
Can you give examples of 'this stuff' ?
Well: a) the school play they performed at daughter 2's school last Feb - 'the Empress' - the title of which could have been 'English people are all evil' ('weirdly, in the 1890s, one of the Indian characters says "what can you expect of a nation of slave owners'), b) the way history is taught at daughter 1's school, which appears to be 'the British are evil and immigration is great', c) the material on the walls at the other local school for the open day 2 years back, which genuinely was 40% the range of sexualities and gender identities you can choose from, 25% don't be racist and the remainder covering things you might like to learn or do during your five years there, d) our visit to the local private school, which was if anything even woker
Just as examples.
The local primary schools are pretty well-balanced though.
I can believe this, but I think it's got better in the last 2 years. It's "BHM" and back in 2020 or 2021 it'd have been wall-to-wall bullshit foghorned at 120dB well into November, and nothing else.
The Wokery is still there but it's now just noise, and people tune it out.
Even those who do it look like they're just going through the motions.
When Labour announced VAT on private school fees, they promised it would raise £1.7 billion for state schools.
With 25,000 pupils already forced out, eight times more than predicted, the policy is on track to cost taxpayers money rather than raise it. A thread....
When Labour announced VAT on private school fees, they promised it would raise £1.7 billion for state schools.
With 25,000 pupils already forced out, eight times more than predicted, the policy is on track to cost taxpayers money rather than raise it. A thread....
The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education.
I have quite a bit of interaction with education - and at the secondary level at least this feels very plausible. It's not all teachers, and not all schools, but, well, if you're a white British straight male, British schools aren't a place to make you feel good about yourself.
Not like in the good old days when all the gay kids were either closeted or bullied every single day, the girls could expect to be continuously harassed by the boys and racism was absolutely endemic. This was my experience of school life in the 1980s and early 1990s. These days my son's straight white male friends all seem pretty happy at school FWIW.
The Farage claims of all the teachers are indoctorinating our kids and are activists again seems very MAGA and "Online" where the likes of "Libs of TikTok" social media accounts bang on constantly about it.
I don't have kids, but I don't get that the "reds under the beds" scare is something that is part of the UK political discussion around education.
I have quite a bit of interaction with education - and at the secondary level at least this feels very plausible. It's not all teachers, and not all schools, but, well, if you're a white British straight male, British schools aren't a place to make you feel good about yourself.
Not like in the good old days when all the gay kids were either closeted or bullied every single day, the girls could expect to be continuously harassed by the boys and racism was absolutely endemic. This was my experience of school life in the 1980s and early 1990s. These days my son's straight white male friends all seem pretty happy at school FWIW.
Labour has removed 26 small boat migrants since the launch of its ‘one in, one out’ deal with France. Meanwhile, 10,040 small boat migrants have reached Dover by small boat since the scheme launched on August 6. It included 1,075 on Wednesday this week alone.
This definitely seems like a change in tactic, they often go days with no boats (not always bad weather), then 500-1000 come in a day.
The tactic has been there for a while, and it's not rocket science. And, whilst 26 returns isn't enough to be effective, it's now unabiguously more than the last lot managed.
Next light on the totaliser (undignified as it is) is when more have been sent unwillingly to France than could have been sent unwillingly to Rwanda. That's about 500 in a year, isn't it?
Labour has removed 26 small boat migrants since the launch of its ‘one in, one out’ deal with France. Meanwhile, 10,040 small boat migrants have reached Dover by small boat since the scheme launched on August 6. It included 1,075 on Wednesday this week alone.
This definitely seems like a change in tactic, they often go days with no boats (not always bad weather), then 500-1000 come in a day.
The tactic has been there for a while, and it's not rocket science. And, whilst 26 returns isn't enough to be effective, it's now unabiguously more than the last lot managed.
Next light on the totaliser (undignified as it is) is when more have been sent unwillingly to France than could have been sent unwillingly to Rwanda. That's about 500 in a year, isn't it?
The tactic, to overwhelm border guards/coastguards is ancient.
Back in the day, the smugglers would on occasion chuck a few coins at friendly fishermen to “act suspicious” - go ashore in shall boats in isolated coves etc.
The idea was to overwhelm The Revenue - when they tried the tactic of massing revenue cutters in a particular area.
Same, I had to check with YouGov that there were no typos in the posts.
I just cannot wrap my ahead around it, my parents think their main role in life is to spend money on their grandkids, and also leave me and them a massive inheritance.
I'm not sure it's entitlement - just a massive failure to recognise how anomalously lucky their generation is. My mother in law has a slightly exasperating tendency to talk to us about what we'll do when we retire, blithely expecting that we'll be able to have the same two-cruises-a-year lifestyle she has. At present my plan A is work until my 70s then off to Dignitas.
There's a total lack of self-awareness.
It's also the generation that did the Summer of '69 and all the self-indulgence of the 1960s, so there's a certain me me me to them anyway.
We can take the 'generation' thing a bit too far. My dad's reaction to the 'summer of love': "I was too busy trying to make a living"
I fear the stories of the swinging sixties are far more widespread than the actual experiences.
When Labour announced VAT on private school fees, they promised it would raise £1.7 billion for state schools.
With 25,000 pupils already forced out, eight times more than predicted, the policy is on track to cost taxpayers money rather than raise it. A thread....
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10125/ says "The government forecast that imposing VAT on fees will result in 37,000 pupils leaving the private sector, representing about 6% of the current private school population." So, how is 25,000 "eight times more than predicted"? It looks more like two thirds of what was predicted.
Labour has removed 26 small boat migrants since the launch of its ‘one in, one out’ deal with France. Meanwhile, 10,040 small boat migrants have reached Dover by small boat since the scheme launched on August 6. It included 1,075 on Wednesday this week alone.
This definitely seems like a change in tactic, they often go days with no boats (not always bad weather), then 500-1000 come in a day.
The tactic has been there for a while, and it's not rocket science. And, whilst 26 returns isn't enough to be effective, it's now unabiguously more than the last lot managed.
Next light on the totaliser (undignified as it is) is when more have been sent unwillingly to France than could have been sent unwillingly to Rwanda. That's about 500 in a year, isn't it?
Labour has removed 26 small boat migrants since the launch of its ‘one in, one out’ deal with France. Meanwhile, 10,040 small boat migrants have reached Dover by small boat since the scheme launched on August 6. It included 1,075 on Wednesday this week alone.
This definitely seems like a change in tactic, they often go days with no boats (not always bad weather), then 500-1000 come in a day.
The tactic has been there for a while, and it's not rocket science. And, whilst 26 returns isn't enough to be effective, it's now unabiguously more than the last lot managed.
Next light on the totaliser (undignified as it is) is when more have been sent unwillingly to France than could have been sent unwillingly to Rwanda. That's about 500 in a year, isn't it?
The tactic, to overwhelm border guards/coastguards is ancient.
Back in the day, the smugglers would on occasion chuck a few coins at friendly fishermen to “act suspicious” - go ashore in shall boats in isolated coves etc.
The idea was to overwhelm The Revenue - when they tried the tactic of massing revenue cutters in a particular area.
Labour has removed 26 small boat migrants since the launch of its ‘one in, one out’ deal with France. Meanwhile, 10,040 small boat migrants have reached Dover by small boat since the scheme launched on August 6. It included 1,075 on Wednesday this week alone.
This definitely seems like a change in tactic, they often go days with no boats (not always bad weather), then 500-1000 come in a day.
The tactic has been there for a while, and it's not rocket science. And, whilst 26 returns isn't enough to be effective, it's now unabiguously more than the last lot managed.
Next light on the totaliser (undignified as it is) is when more have been sent unwillingly to France than could have been sent unwillingly to Rwanda. That's about 500 in a year, isn't it?
Labour has removed 26 small boat migrants since the launch of its ‘one in, one out’ deal with France. Meanwhile, 10,040 small boat migrants have reached Dover by small boat since the scheme launched on August 6. It included 1,075 on Wednesday this week alone.
This definitely seems like a change in tactic, they often go days with no boats (not always bad weather), then 500-1000 come in a day.
The tactic has been there for a while, and it's not rocket science. And, whilst 26 returns isn't enough to be effective, it's now unabiguously more than the last lot managed.
Next light on the totaliser (undignified as it is) is when more have been sent unwillingly to France than could have been sent unwillingly to Rwanda. That's about 500 in a year, isn't it?
The tactic, to overwhelm border guards/coastguards is ancient.
Back in the day, the smugglers would on occasion chuck a few coins at friendly fishermen to “act suspicious” - go ashore in shall boats in isolated coves etc.
The idea was to overwhelm The Revenue - when they tried the tactic of massing revenue cutters in a particular area.
And the solution was to deploy the Royal Navy. Allegedly they'll be ready in 2032.
Same, I had to check with YouGov that there were no typos in the posts.
I just cannot wrap my ahead around it, my parents think their main role in life is to spend money on their grandkids, and also leave me and them a massive inheritance.
I'm not sure it's entitlement - just a massive failure to recognise how anomalously lucky their generation is. My mother in law has a slightly exasperating tendency to talk to us about what we'll do when we retire, blithely expecting that we'll be able to have the same two-cruises-a-year lifestyle she has. At present my plan A is work until my 70s then off to Dignitas.
There's a total lack of self-awareness.
It's also the generation that did the Summer of '69 and all the self-indulgence of the 1960s, so there's a certain me me me to them anyway.
We can take the 'generation' thing a bit too far. My dad's reaction to the 'summer of love': "I was too busy trying to make a living"
I fear the stories of the swinging sixties are far more widespread than the actual experiences.
Especially for the Boomers born in 1965. Their only swinging in the Sixties was done in playgrounds. Most of that lot were pre Boomer. War babies.
Comments
Running out to dinner, without warning a chap to head to the bunker first. Bit rum, that.
The Tories and Reform though will oppose such measures as their core vote is over 50 and do not want wealthy pensioners taxed more
I mean, why would someone have it.
As a matter of interest, what are the medium- and long-term aspects of the plan? I understand that they might be tenuous at the moment.
Wanting a completely worked solution before starting is normally a recipe for not getting anywhere. Better to make the best step now, then take the subsequent best step tomorrow, and repeat indefinitely.
I really enjoy my job, but going part time has made it better still. I kept all the best bits, and can opt out of management apart from being seen as an elder statesman.
I am using my time off to cultivate outside interests and social networks, so when I do finally call it a day I have plenty to keep me occupied.
What links these three anonymous American suburban garages
Back home with you, or should we send you to a prison in El Salvador?
Though nowadays it seems to be mostly oat milk for the young hipster.
‘Shut it you drippy little oater’ doesn’t really work.
https://x.com/Daniel_Sugarman/status/1976006816510492735
To lighten the mood, here's a delightful medieval church door knocker I saw today. Modern phone camera managed to pick out the detail despite the dark.
In all seriousness, they had them in a couple of hotels I stayed in Asia earlier in the year. Often for things like breakfast, you put your dirty glasses / plates on them as they pottered by your table, taking all the washing up back to the kitchen.
Sing his name from the terraces on Saturday. Sing hymns with him from the pews on Sunday.
NO GOOGLE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Piece_(2023_TV_series)
It's better than Pokemon though. Just.
Obviously.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15178391/Labours-one-one-scheme-sees-just-26-small-boat-migrants-sent-France-10-000-arrived-including-1-000-single-day-week.html
This definitely seems like a change in tactic, they often go days with no boats (not always bad weather), then 500-1000 come in a day.
(Amazon was Washington State, where it still has its HQ, as is Microsoft. MS has an innovation unit called The Garage.)
The answer, chronologically:
On left: that shadowed little green-doored hut down the narrow path is the Hewlett-Packard Garage in Palo Alto, where in 1939 Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard built a low-distortion audio oscillator - the HP Model 200A- that powered Disney’s Fantasia and quietly birthed Silicon Valley
Bottom right: the single-storey suburban house with the white car and pink flowers? - that's the Apple Garage, where Jobs and Wozniak conjured the first Macintosh dreams, in 1976
Top right: the neat beige split-level, with its white fence and careful hedge, is Google’s Menlo Park birthplace, where Sergey Brin and Larry Page set up their first servers, installed a whiteboard, and refined their PageRank algorithm. Laying the foundation of the modern internet, in 1998
Three garages, within one 20 minute drive, and in a way the entire history of modern tech
Credit where it's due and if we are to see a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the surviving hostages this will be most welcome and if that means handing out plaudits to President Trump, so be it.
The devil in these things is always in the detail and all we have is a ceasefire but jaw-jaw is, as someone accurately opined, better than war-war.
Hamas remains a political if not military force and Israel will still control half of Gaza when the ceasefire comes into effect. That begs the question as to how a new political administration for Gaza will be crafted absent a Hamas involvement and whether that in itself will persuade Israel to leave Gaza completely.
The role of Egypt in all this is interesting - I wonder what guarantees El-Sisi has sought and been given as to the future political direction of Gaza .
The former British prime minister’s pair of new jobs emerged on Thursday in letters published by Westminster’s office of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba). They add to his roles as a senior adviser to Goldman Sachs International, the investment bank, and speechmaker to investment firms including Bain Capital and Makena Capital in the US, which have netted him over £150,000 a talk.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/oct/09/rishi-sunak-takes-advisory-roles-with-microsoft-and-ai-firm-anthropic
Next light on the totaliser (undignified as it is) is when more have been sent unwillingly to France than could have been sent unwillingly to Rwanda. That's about 500 in a year, isn't it?
Ministers consider expanding scheme, despite opposition from civil liberties campaigners" (£)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/10/09/labour-digital-id-13-year-olds-teenagers-starmer-opposition
I look forward to Labour selling this triumph on the doorstep
"Yes, we know the boats were a problem, but remember, since we started our superb new plan, we've managed to deport a net total of zero, or less, and only another 10,000 have come, so we've basically solved it. Vote for more of this!"
Vladimir Putin has admitted Russia's air defences were responsible for shooting down an Azerbaijani passenger jet in December, killing 38 people.
https://x.com/SkyNews/status/1976365277601308990
It's also the generation that did the Summer of '69 and all the self-indulgence of the 1960s, so there's a certain me me me to them anyway.
To be blunt, if there aren't any poor pensioners then this country has its priorities wrong.
https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1976301414415528137
“I’ll declare war on you if you don’t give me the peace prize” is an incredible bit
https://x.com/jdcmedlock/status/1976336535827231086
*assuming the Tories can even win a by election in Richmond right now.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyqe22pz81o
I don't have much against Sunak, but he's already rich, and like so many ex-PM's and prominent politicians he seems to be after the money. Why doesn't he just write books about music hall and cricket?
The Wokery is still there but it's now just noise, and people tune it out.
Even those who do it look like they're just going through the motions.
With 25,000 pupils already forced out, eight times more than predicted, the policy is on track to cost taxpayers money rather than raise it. A thread....
https://x.com/strickia/status/1976294556770423119
Lo and behold, I scrolled up and was right.
I never saw that one coming.
(Assuming I was the guy you were referring to..)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Caerphilly_by-election#Previous_result
Obvs.
Back in the day, the smugglers would on occasion chuck a few coins at friendly fishermen to “act suspicious” - go ashore in shall boats in isolated coves etc.
The idea was to overwhelm The Revenue - when they tried the tactic of massing revenue cutters in a particular area.
"I was too busy trying to make a living"
I fear the stories of the swinging sixties are far more widespread than the actual experiences.
Rightly or wrongly it’s a devolved by election so it won’t get any massive media traction.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59226226
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus–European_Union_border_crisis
And more recently:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/08/09/russia-putin-warlord-khalifa-haftar-libya-migrants-europe/
Their only swinging in the Sixties was done in playgrounds.
Most of that lot were pre Boomer. War babies.