I think we have a new Crossing the Floor World Record. Not Agent Anderson, but Alan Amos.
Conservative Councillor, Enfield. 197x to 1985. Conservative MP, Hexham 1987-1992. Labour Candidate, Hitchin and Harpenden 2001. Labour Councillor, Tower Hamlets, 2002. Labour Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2008-2014. Independent Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2014. Mayor of Worcester, nominated by Conservatives, 2014. Mayor of Worcester, joined the Conservatives, 2015. Conservative Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2024. Last Con standing. Independent Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2025. Reform Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2025 (from April). Reform Councillor, Worcestershire County Council, 2025 (elected May).
There are a lot of interesting statements, but I'll leave those to lie.
I think we have a new Crossing the Floor World Record. Not Agent Anderson, but Alan Amos.
Conservative Councillor, Enfield. 197x to 1985. Conservative MP, Hexham 1987-1992. Labour Candidate, Hitchin and Harpenden 2001. Labour Councillor, Tower Hamlets, 2002. Labour Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2008-2014. Independent Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2014. Mayor of Worcester, nominated by Conservatives, 2014. Mayor of Worcester, joined the Conservatives, 2015. Conservative Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2024. Last Con standing. Independent Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2025. Reform Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2025 (from April). Reform Councillor, Worcestershire County Council, 2025 (elected May).
There are a lot of interesting statements, but I'll leave those to lie.
Being so late to the thread, has anyone come up with any brilliant ideas to solve the problem?
TSE wants to repeal the Forfeiture Act and bring back bills of attainder, along with hanging, drawing and quartering.
Well if @TSE wants to add in the bureaucrat, who has moved @David L's trial tomorrow from Edinburgh to Glasgow so that I will be deprived of the opportunity to tease the charming David about coffee, chocolate, cakes and sundry other important matters, to his list of Attaindees, he's very welcome to do so.
Yesterday I was getting hard stares for proposing bills of attainder and now you're an enthusiastic supporter.
I think we have a new Crossing the Floor World Record. Not Agent Anderson, but Alan Amos.
Conservative Councillor, Enfield. 197x to 1985. Conservative MP, Hexham 1987-1992. Labour Candidate, Hitchin and Harpenden 2001. Labour Councillor, Tower Hamlets, 2002. Labour Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2008-2014. Independent Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2014. Mayor of Worcester, nominated by Conservatives, 2014. Mayor of Worcester, joined the Conservatives, 2015. Conservative Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2024. Last Con standing. Independent Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2025. Reform Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2025 (from April). Reform Councillor, Worcestershire County Council, 2025 (elected May).
There are a lot of interesting statements, but I'll leave those to lie.
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
My viewpoint is that they’ve been continually asked questions like the survey above to the point that their viewpoint of reality doesn’t match the real one
I spent a little while yesterday trying to come up with a better play on "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", than the thread header
I remembered a joke from Frasier, when they're considering Tina and Archie as guests to a dinner party and Frasier says "Don't cry for me Arch and Tina". I found a song by and Tina Turner from her 3rd solo album written by an Archie (Jones, i think), but couldn't develop it into either an amusing or even interesting play on words
I persisted on the Archibald searches, and stumbled on an Archibald Butt. He was a probably gay American soldier who became military aide to Presidents Taft and Roosevelt. He died on the Titanic, with his his supposed partner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Butt
More interesting than him though, was the note that Australian born Scot and future British diplomat extraordinaire Archibald Clark Kerr, Baron Inverchapel, had stayed with him on his first visit to DC
Kerr is probably best known for his infamous 1943 missive to a friend while stationed in Moscow:
"My Dear Reggie,
In these dark days man tends to look for little shafts of light that spill from Heaven. My days are probably darker than yours, and I need, my God I do, all the light I can get. But I am a decent fellow, and I do not want to be mean and selfish about what little brightness is shed upon me from time to time. So I propose to share with you a tiny flash that has illuminated my sombre life and tell you that God has given me a new Turkish colleague whose card tells me that he is called Mustapha Kunt.
We all feel like that, Reggie, now and then, especially when Spring is upon us, but few of us would care to put it on our cards. It takes a Turk to do that.
I spent a little while yesterday trying to come up with a better play on "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", than the thread header
I remembered a joke from Frasier, when they're considering Tina and Archie as guests to a dinner party and Frasier says "Don't cry for me Arch and Tina". I found a song by and Tina Turner from her 3rd solo album written by an Archie (Jones, i think), but couldn't develop it into either an amusing or even interesting play on words
I persisted on the Archibald searches, and stumbled on an Archibald Butt. He was a probably gay American soldier who became military aide to Presidents Taft and Roosevelt. He died on the Titanic, with his his supposed partner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Butt
More interesting than him though, was the note that Australian born Scot and future British diplomat extraordinaire Archibald Clark Kerr, Baron Inverchapel, had stayed with him on his first visit to DC
Kerr is probably best known for his infamous 1943 missive to a friend while stationed in Moscow:
"My Dear Reggie,
In these dark days man tends to look for little shafts of light that spill from Heaven. My days are probably darker than yours, and I need, my God I do, all the light I can get. But I am a decent fellow, and I do not want to be mean and selfish about what little brightness is shed upon me from time to time. So I propose to share with you a tiny flash that has illuminated my sombre life and tell you that God has given me a new Turkish colleague whose card tells me that he is called Mustapha Kunt.
We all feel like that, Reggie, now and then, especially when Spring is upon us, but few of us would care to put it on our cards. It takes a Turk to do that.
Sir Archibald Clerk Kerr,
H.M. Ambassador"
1/2
Just penning this would be sufficient to be worthy of mention, but this guy was truly extraordinary
He was apparently almost romantically involved with the Queen Mum, before she became Queen. He was Ambassador to China from 1938 to 42, whilst it was invaded by Japan and the consulate was destroyed. He stayed on after the rest of the staff were evacuated to keep the British flag flying
He was then moved to Moscow, where he developed a very close relationship with Stalin - often involving mammoth drinking sessions - and following Churchill's order: "You want a directive? All right. I don't mind kissing Stalin's bum, but I'm damned if I'll lick his arse!"
After the war he was appointed Ambassador to the USA, where his career was pretty much ended by his friendship with the superior of Burgess and Maclean. He then worked on the Committee for the Study of European Unity which drew up the blueprint for the Council of Europe
During his early diplomatic career he had postings around Central and South America, including time in Buenos Aires, and a job in Chile. While in Santiago he met his wife, the daughter of a millionaire, Maria Theresa Diaz Salas. She was known as Tita
So I kind of got there - Arch and Tita - but so glad I found his story. I've ordered the book about him "Radical Diplomat" by Donald Gillies
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
An astute observation, I hadn’t thought of that.
People are mocked for assuming the non white population is larger than it is, but who can blame them when the media show a completely unrealistic version of the demographic?
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
It's likely we'll reach a point where in a post broadcast tv, streaming only world adverts are generated in various combinations of colour, class, accent, creed, etc and you'll end up with the version the ad brokers think will best sell a product to you. And then this issue goes away.
Some political news. One of Labour's major bills, Renters’ Rights Act, has received its Royal Assent. Only taken 18 months and leans heavily on the previous work done in the last Parliament. Slow and steady seems to be the mantra despite all the buffeting that goes on day to day.
Some political news. One of Labour's major bills, Renters’ Rights Act, has received its Royal Assent. Only taken 18 months and leans heavily on the previous work done in the last Parliament. Slow and steady seems to be the mantra despite all the buffeting that goes on day to day.
Some political news. One of Labour's major bills, Renters’ Rights Act, has received its Royal Assent. Only taken 18 months and leans heavily on the previous work done in the last Parliament. Slow and steady seems to be the mantra despite all the buffeting that goes on day to day.
It's likely we'll reach a point where in a post broadcast tv, streaming only world adverts are generated in various combinations of colour, class, accent, creed, etc and you'll end up with the version the ad brokers think will best sell a product to you. And then this issue goes away.
We are today at the point where we end up with the version the ad brokers think will best sell a product to you
They are not casting ethnic minorities to piss people off, or to meet a quota.
They are casting actors to sell shit. And it's working.
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
What's the solution here? Racial quotas for the advertising industry? Perhaps a new quango to administer it (OFCOLOUR?) I love how the right is embracing everything it claims to hate (identity politics, the nanny state) as it slowly loses its collective mind. Guys, seeing people of colour on the TV is not going to kill you! There is no conspiracy! It's just people trying to sell stuff.
Some political news. One of Labour's major bills, Renters’ Rights Act, has received its Royal Assent. Only taken 18 months and leans heavily on the previous work done in the last Parliament. Slow and steady seems to be the mantra despite all the buffeting that goes on day to day.
Next up will be the Employment Rights Bill.
Odds on both of these bills screwing up their target constituencies even more than they are already?
I have a nasty feeling that the changes in the Renter’s Rights Bill will result in even more property being taken off the rental market & rents climbing ever higher as a result.
The Employment Bill is going to completely screw over anyone with a spotty work history. All those people who have been out of work with anxiety / actual long covid / heart issues etc etc since 2020? Good luck getting them into work if their prospective employer can’t sack them within a six month probationary period. Why would any employer take the risk of employing them in a soft jobs market where they have other options?
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
What's the solution here? Racial quotas for the advertising industry? Perhaps a new quango to administer it (OFCOLOUR?) I love how the right is embracing everything it claims to hate (identity politics, the nanny state) as it slowly loses its collective mind. Guys, seeing people of colour on the TV is not going to kill you! There is no conspiracy! It's just people trying to sell stuff.
Ironically these adverts are generally made by London-based media companies where the demographics are roughly correct.
It's likely we'll reach a point where in a post broadcast tv, streaming only world adverts are generated in various combinations of colour, class, accent, creed, etc and you'll end up with the version the ad brokers think will best sell a product to you. And then this issue goes away.
We are today at the point where we end up with the version the ad brokers think will best sell a product to you
They are not casting ethnic minorities to piss people off, or to meet a quota.
They are casting actors to sell shit. And it's working.
Expensive adverts with physical actors not procedurally generated lifelike 'animations'. Wide scoped not micro targeted. And we know micro targeting works; Brexit and Obama taught us that.
Now streaming radio already delivers custom localised adverts mentioning stores in the direct (<5 mile) local area - do you think that's not going to continue to evolve?
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
What's the solution here? Racial quotas for the advertising industry? Perhaps a new quango to administer it (OFCOLOUR?) I love how the right is embracing everything it claims to hate (identity politics, the nanny state) as it slowly loses its collective mind. Guys, seeing people of colour on the TV is not going to kill you! There is no conspiracy! It's just people trying to sell stuff.
Ironically these adverts are generally made by London-based media companies where the demographics are roughly correct.
We're in a kind of Scroedingers minorities world where there are simultaneously so many ethnic minority people that they pose a mortal threat to our national identity and so few that is an aberration to see so many of them on TV.
It's likely we'll reach a point where in a post broadcast tv, streaming only world adverts are generated in various combinations of colour, class, accent, creed, etc and you'll end up with the version the ad brokers think will best sell a product to you. And then this issue goes away.
We are today at the point where we end up with the version the ad brokers think will best sell a product to you
They are not casting ethnic minorities to piss people off, or to meet a quota.
They are casting actors to sell shit. And it's working.
Though at the moment, that calculation has to be at least a bit collective- what version of this advert sells the most and annoys the fewest number of people. One of the factors driving populism is some people's frustration that their views no longer seem to matter. Well, in this case, they are right about that. But it's nothing personal, just business. And one of the strands of right wing populism is that business should be allowed to get on with things without interference.
We may get to a point soon where it's viable to show us personalised versions of the same advert, designed to tickle our individual prejudices. I'm not totally convinced that this will be a good thing for our common life.
(One other, purely practical, thing about all these adverts showing too many minorities. When my place does photos of students doing science for publicity, they definitely include more girls than is numerically accurate. But if you were to try to have accurate photos, the number would often round down to zero, which would be inaccurate in another, and I think worse, way.)
Some political news. One of Labour's major bills, Renters’ Rights Act, has received its Royal Assent. Only taken 18 months and leans heavily on the previous work done in the last Parliament. Slow and steady seems to be the mantra despite all the buffeting that goes on day to day.
Next up will be the Employment Rights Bill.
Odds on both of these bills screwing up their target constituencies even more than they are already?
I have a nasty feeling that the changes in the Renter’s Rights Bill will result in even more property being taken off the rental market & rents climbing ever higher as a result.
The Employment Bill is going to completely screw over anyone with a spotty work history. All those people who have been out of work with anxiety / actual long covid / heart issues etc etc since 2020? Good luck getting them into work if their prospective employer can’t sack them within a six month probationary period. Why would any employer take the risk of employing them in a soft jobs market where they have other options?
Well, if you look at the history of renting domestic property around the world, it's very easy to make it worse with legislation.
The one infallible cure for price and quality is to increase supply. In a functional property market, a poor quality or expensive property stays empty.
Which is why a chunk of the Pakistani elite got paranoid about the rise of India and tried weaponising Islam as counter. So they created and funded a variety of interesting organisations. Such as the one that got off the leash and attacked Mumbai.
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
The phenomenon of people overestimating the proportion of the population who are Black is seen for numerous other groups and in different countries, so I think it's largely something more generic than the demography of people seen in adverts. One key effect may be that people judge the frequency of a group based on how easily examples from that group come to mind. As Kardosh et al. (2022) write:
Our minds are tuned to the uncommon or unexpected in our environment. In most environments, members of minority groups are just that—uncommon. Therefore, the cognitive system is tuned to spotting their presence. Our results indicate that individuals from minority groups are salient in perception, memory, and visual awareness. As a result, we consistently overestimate their presence—leading to an illusion of diversity: the environment seems to be more diverse than it actually is, decreasing our support for diversity-promoting measures. As we try to make equitable decisions, it is important that private individuals and decision-makers alike become aware of this biased perception. While these sorts of biases can be counteracted, one must first be aware of the bias.
It drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people.
Now call me woke, but I don't think it's a stretch at all to see those words as the expression of a full-blown racist.
Being 'driven mad' by seeing black and Asian people in adverts is a far cry from a measured discussion about whether advertisers have got matters of representation right. And her wiggling about it being 'poorly phrased' is just bollocks. She said it as she sees it.
This looks like the infamous push poll the George W Bush campaign ran against John McCain in 2000 in the South Carolina GOP primary.
New York city is overwhelmingly Democrat though unlike South Carolina. Mamdani is also likely ahead of Cuomo and even more the GOP candidate for it to make little difference
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
What's the solution here? Racial quotas for the advertising industry? Perhaps a new quango to administer it (OFCOLOUR?) I love how the right is embracing everything it claims to hate (identity politics, the nanny state) as it slowly loses its collective mind. Guys, seeing people of colour on the TV is not going to kill you! There is no conspiracy! It's just people trying to sell stuff.
The only people suggesting quotas are lefties arguing in bad faith. Pochin, and others, just noted eggs is happening.
Some political news. One of Labour's major bills, Renters’ Rights Act, has received its Royal Assent. Only taken 18 months and leans heavily on the previous work done in the last Parliament. Slow and steady seems to be the mantra despite all the buffeting that goes on day to day.
Next up will be the Employment Rights Bill.
Odds on both of these bills screwing up their target constituencies even more than they are already?
I have a nasty feeling that the changes in the Renter’s Rights Bill will result in even more property being taken off the rental market & rents climbing ever higher as a result.
The Employment Bill is going to completely screw over anyone with a spotty work history. All those people who have been out of work with anxiety / actual long covid / heart issues etc etc since 2020? Good luck getting them into work if their prospective employer can’t sack them within a six month probationary period. Why would any employer take the risk of employing them in a soft jobs market where they have other options?
Both bills display some ignorance of incentives, and indeed history. Rent controls have screwed up the housing market pretty well everywhere they've been tried.
I've long been a critic of using "virtue signalling" as an insult, but this has me sorely tempted.
We had a small funeral for Theo today which at least gave us some closure. He came in to Song for Athene and went out to One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
This looks like the infamous push poll the George W Bush campaign ran against John McCain in 2000 in the South Carolina GOP primary.
New York city is overwhelmingly Democrat though unlike South Carolina. Mamdani is also likely ahead of Cuomo and even more the GOP candidate for it to make little difference
Also, there's a week to go until the election. Mamdani is pretty good at getting a message across, and this just gives him a target to debunk. They should have released it a bit closer to the poll.
We had a small funeral for Theo today which at least gave us some closure. He came in to Song for Athene and went out to One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
My thoughts are with you, HYUFD. I'm sure that's true for most of us here.
Which is why a chunk of the Pakistani elite got paranoid about the rise of India and tried weaponising Islam as counter. So they created and funded a variety of interesting organisations. Such as the one that got off the leash and attacked Mumbai.
Not really addressing their domestic problem, is it ?
Being so late to the thread, has anyone come up with any brilliant ideas to solve the problem?
TSE wants to repeal the Forfeiture Act and bring back bills of attainder, along with hanging, drawing and quartering.
Well if @TSE wants to add in the bureaucrat, who has moved @David L's trial tomorrow from Edinburgh to Glasgow so that I will be deprived of the opportunity to tease the charming David about coffee, chocolate, cakes and sundry other important matters, to his list of Attaindees, he's very welcome to do so.
Yesterday I was getting hard stares for proposing bills of attainder and now you're an enthusiastic supporter.
My powers of persuasion are unmatched.
I am a woman. I can change my mind, especially for those who cross me. Anyway, as you will have noticed, I left it entirely up to you if you continue with your colourable proposal. I reserve the right to give both you and the snivelling bureaucrat a hard stare.
I now have a late afternoon to do something exciting in Edinburgh before dinner. Husband will have gone off to some gallery or other or to climb hundreds of stairs up a castle or something.
"Up to" are potent weasel words. But it is a significant deal.
The United Kingdom and Turkey have signed a deal worth up to £8 billion for 20 Typhoon fighter jets, securing around 20,000 British jobs and the largest UK fighter export in nearly two decades. https://x.com/UKDefJournal/status/1982843713274466800
Being so late to the thread, has anyone come up with any brilliant ideas to solve the problem?
TSE wants to repeal the Forfeiture Act and bring back bills of attainder, along with hanging, drawing and quartering.
Well if @TSE wants to add in the bureaucrat, who has moved @David L's trial tomorrow from Edinburgh to Glasgow so that I will be deprived of the opportunity to tease the charming David about coffee, chocolate, cakes and sundry other important matters, to his list of Attaindees, he's very welcome to do so.
Yesterday I was getting hard stares for proposing bills of attainder and now you're an enthusiastic supporter.
My powers of persuasion are unmatched.
I am a woman. I can change my mind, especially for those who cross me. Anyway, as you will have noticed, I left it entirely up to you if you continue with your colourable proposal. I reserve the right to give both you and the snivelling bureaucrat a hard stare.
I now have a late afternoon to do something exciting in Edinburgh before dinner. Husband will have gone off to some gallery or other or to climb hundreds of stairs up a castle or something.
Being so late to the thread, has anyone come up with any brilliant ideas to solve the problem?
TSE wants to repeal the Forfeiture Act and bring back bills of attainder, along with hanging, drawing and quartering.
Well if @TSE wants to add in the bureaucrat, who has moved @David L's trial tomorrow from Edinburgh to Glasgow so that I will be deprived of the opportunity to tease the charming David about coffee, chocolate, cakes and sundry other important matters, to his list of Attaindees, he's very welcome to do so.
Yesterday I was getting hard stares for proposing bills of attainder and now you're an enthusiastic supporter.
My powers of persuasion are unmatched.
I am a woman. I can change my mind, especially for those who cross me. Anyway, as you will have noticed, I left it entirely up to you if you continue with your colourable proposal. I reserve the right to give both you and the snivelling bureaucrat a hard stare.
I now have a late afternoon to do something exciting in Edinburgh before dinner. Husband will have gone off to some gallery or other or to climb hundreds of stairs up a castle or something.
I used to lose hours in old book shops. Rarely bought anything much, just loved the old books. Not exciting at all, just my idea of heaven.
Being so late to the thread, has anyone come up with any brilliant ideas to solve the problem?
TSE wants to repeal the Forfeiture Act and bring back bills of attainder, along with hanging, drawing and quartering.
Well if @TSE wants to add in the bureaucrat, who has moved @David L's trial tomorrow from Edinburgh to Glasgow so that I will be deprived of the opportunity to tease the charming David about coffee, chocolate, cakes and sundry other important matters, to his list of Attaindees, he's very welcome to do so.
Yesterday I was getting hard stares for proposing bills of attainder and now you're an enthusiastic supporter.
My powers of persuasion are unmatched.
I am a woman. I can change my mind, especially for those who cross me. Anyway, as you will have noticed, I left it entirely up to you if you continue with your colourable proposal. I reserve the right to give both you and the snivelling bureaucrat a hard stare.
I now have a late afternoon to do something exciting in Edinburgh before dinner. Husband will have gone off to some gallery or other or to climb hundreds of stairs up a castle or something.
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
What's the solution here? Racial quotas for the advertising industry? Perhaps a new quango to administer it (OFCOLOUR?) I love how the right is embracing everything it claims to hate (identity politics, the nanny state) as it slowly loses its collective mind. Guys, seeing people of colour on the TV is not going to kill you! There is no conspiracy! It's just people trying to sell stuff.
The only people suggesting quotas are lefties arguing in bad faith. Pochin, and others, just noted eggs is happening.
"Up to" are potent weasel words. But it is a significant deal.
The United Kingdom and Turkey have signed a deal worth up to £8 billion for 20 Typhoon fighter jets, securing around 20,000 British jobs and the largest UK fighter export in nearly two decades. https://x.com/UKDefJournal/status/1982843713274466800
A Typhoon reportedly costs around £70-75m per airframe, so there must be an awful lot of training and maintenance in that contract. Or the £8bn is a large portion of wishful thinking.
"Up to" are potent weasel words. But it is a significant deal.
The United Kingdom and Turkey have signed a deal worth up to £8 billion for 20 Typhoon fighter jets, securing around 20,000 British jobs and the largest UK fighter export in nearly two decades. https://x.com/UKDefJournal/status/1982843713274466800
A Typhoon reportedly costs around £70-75m per airframe, so there must be an awful lot of training and maintenance in that contract. Or the £8bn is a large portion of wishful thinking.
There will presumably also be some refitting of the 30 airframes they're buying from ME airforces. Plus weapons etc. And the contract will cover a decade or more.
"Up to" are potent weasel words. But it is a significant deal.
The United Kingdom and Turkey have signed a deal worth up to £8 billion for 20 Typhoon fighter jets, securing around 20,000 British jobs and the largest UK fighter export in nearly two decades. https://x.com/UKDefJournal/status/1982843713274466800
A Typhoon reportedly costs around £70-75m per airframe, so there must be an awful lot of training and maintenance in that contract. Or the £8bn is a large portion of wishful thinking.
Bits that go bang? Spares? Engines (not part of an airframe, strictly speaking)?
We had a small funeral for Theo today which at least gave us some closure. He came in to Song for Athene and went out to One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
My thoughts are with you, HYUFD. I'm sure that's true for most of us here.
Thanks Bondegezou and to everyone on here for your thoughts, prayers and condolences and messages during what was a difficult few weeks for us, they were much appreciated
"Up to" are potent weasel words. But it is a significant deal.
The United Kingdom and Turkey have signed a deal worth up to £8 billion for 20 Typhoon fighter jets, securing around 20,000 British jobs and the largest UK fighter export in nearly two decades. https://x.com/UKDefJournal/status/1982843713274466800
A Typhoon reportedly costs around £70-75m per airframe, so there must be an awful lot of training and maintenance in that contract. Or the £8bn is a large portion of wishful thinking.
Support costs/spares while they are in service. Remember the vast deals with the Saudis in the 80s?
In fact, as I understand it, the manufacturers often try and reduce the headline cost per airframe to a bare minimum - and make their profit on the support. Bit like printers, really.
So I guess where I stand on AdvertGate is that I don't think it's controversial to note that representation on adverts is out of whack with society at large (for reasons we can debate).
This leads on to two questions:
1) Should it be? and 2) If it shouldn't, how do you enforce it?
Surely it is unenforceable, or at least the options for enforcing it are highly undesirable.
My last thought on this is that we so clearly have much more important issues facing the country right now than who appears on our TV adverts. Is there a vague underlying identity-politics-wokeist influence in all this? Plausibly. Do I think this should be a high priority as a political debate when the country is facing serious headwinds? No.
"Up to" are potent weasel words. But it is a significant deal.
The United Kingdom and Turkey have signed a deal worth up to £8 billion for 20 Typhoon fighter jets, securing around 20,000 British jobs and the largest UK fighter export in nearly two decades. https://x.com/UKDefJournal/status/1982843713274466800
A Typhoon reportedly costs around £70-75m per airframe, so there must be an awful lot of training and maintenance in that contract. Or the £8bn is a large portion of wishful thinking.
Bits that go bang? Spares? Engines (not part of an airframe, strictly speaking)?
Yes - apparently the £8bn also includes work on the second hand airframes from Qatar and Oman, training and logistics support, and an "MBDA weapons package".
Some political news. One of Labour's major bills, Renters’ Rights Act, has received its Royal Assent. Only taken 18 months and leans heavily on the previous work done in the last Parliament. Slow and steady seems to be the mantra despite all the buffeting that goes on day to day.
Next up will be the Employment Rights Bill.
Odds on both of these bills screwing up their target constituencies even more than they are already?
I have a nasty feeling that the changes in the Renter’s Rights Bill will result in even more property being taken off the rental market & rents climbing ever higher as a result.
The Employment Bill is going to completely screw over anyone with a spotty work history. All those people who have been out of work with anxiety / actual long covid / heart issues etc etc since 2020? Good luck getting them into work if their prospective employer can’t sack them within a six month probationary period. Why would any employer take the risk of employing them in a soft jobs market where they have other options?
2 years is too long to get normal employment rights, but why go from 2 years to first day? I think either six months, or a phased in approach with some at 3 months and the rest after a year, would be about right, but even if they made it 1 month it would give employers a chance to make a risky employment decision. Instead it will all end up with temp agencies instead, how is that better?
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
What's the solution here? Racial quotas for the advertising industry? Perhaps a new quango to administer it (OFCOLOUR?) I love how the right is embracing everything it claims to hate (identity politics, the nanny state) as it slowly loses its collective mind. Guys, seeing people of colour on the TV is not going to kill you! There is no conspiracy! It's just people trying to sell stuff.
The only people suggesting quotas are lefties arguing in bad faith. Pochin, and others, just noted eggs is happening.
It's no yolk.
Sure my iPhone is deliberately putting me away with these auto corrects ever since I went sim only!
Being so late to the thread, has anyone come up with any brilliant ideas to solve the problem?
TSE wants to repeal the Forfeiture Act and bring back bills of attainder, along with hanging, drawing and quartering.
Well if @TSE wants to add in the bureaucrat, who has moved @David L's trial tomorrow from Edinburgh to Glasgow so that I will be deprived of the opportunity to tease the charming David about coffee, chocolate, cakes and sundry other important matters, to his list of Attaindees, he's very welcome to do so.
Yesterday I was getting hard stares for proposing bills of attainder and now you're an enthusiastic supporter.
My powers of persuasion are unmatched.
I am a woman. I can change my mind, especially for those who cross me. Anyway, as you will have noticed, I left it entirely up to you if you continue with your colourable proposal. I reserve the right to give both you and the snivelling bureaucrat a hard stare.
I now have a late afternoon to do something exciting in Edinburgh before dinner. Husband will have gone off to some gallery or other or to climb hundreds of stairs up a castle or something.
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
What's the solution here? Racial quotas for the advertising industry? Perhaps a new quango to administer it (OFCOLOUR?) I love how the right is embracing everything it claims to hate (identity politics, the nanny state) as it slowly loses its collective mind. Guys, seeing people of colour on the TV is not going to kill you! There is no conspiracy! It's just people trying to sell stuff.
The only people suggesting quotas are lefties arguing in bad faith. Pochin, and others, just noted eggs is happening.
So I guess where I stand on AdvertGate is that I don't think it's controversial to note that representation on adverts is out of whack with society at large (for reasons we can debate).
This leads on to two questions:
1) Should it be? and 2) If it shouldn't, how do you enforce it?
Surely it is unenforceable, or at least the options for enforcing it are highly undesirable.
My last thought on this is that we so clearly have much more important issues facing the country right now than who appears on our TV adverts. Is there a vague underlying identity-politics-wokeist influence in all this? Plausibly. Do I think this should be a high priority as a political debate when the country is facing serious headwinds? No.
10 years ago minority groups complained that they were underrepresented in adverts and its led to a big shift. What would happen if this was addressed differently and instead of moaning about the race of the current actors, instead the plea was for more WWC actors to be given a chance and to portray themselves as working class rather than middle class.
I think it would get a lot more sympathy from the decision makers, although might not work as middle class households spend more on tat being advertised than working class ones.
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
What's the solution here? Racial quotas for the advertising industry? Perhaps a new quango to administer it (OFCOLOUR?) I love how the right is embracing everything it claims to hate (identity politics, the nanny state) as it slowly loses its collective mind. Guys, seeing people of colour on the TV is not going to kill you! There is no conspiracy! It's just people trying to sell stuff.
The only people suggesting quotas are lefties arguing in bad faith. Pochin, and others, just noted eggs is happening.
We had a small funeral for Theo today which at least gave us some closure. He came in to Song for Athene and went out to One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
Tomorrow I've decided to splash out and spend £22.50 on it, just to celebrate the fleeting existence of the £450 per month Breakfast Club
Do we need to pay someone to look after you?
I'd divert the money to the feeble minded who decided that £450 per month was fair beans when the childcare was included
It's not about whether it's fair beans or not, it's about how much existing providers charge.
It's the little spoken-of twin of housing costs for the young. Older relatives say "HOW MUCH?" in a shocked voice, young families say "that much'.
(£5.50 per child per day seems to be the going rate in Romford. Three kids at just over £7 a day hits the magic number. Maybe it shouldn't, but it does. There's a reason young working families are narked right now.)
It's an excellent article. @rcs1000 describes one of the bottlenecks very well.
Why has it arisen? I'll tell you why - and it is exactly the same reason as I said in August 2019 -
"The legal system has few friends. There is an assumption that it mostly deals with the criminal and the feckless. Few politicians care about them. It has no “Aaah” factor. Most people hope never to encounter it. Those who are caught up in it are generally appalled by the experience. It has been in recent years put in the care, if that is the word, of politicians with little knowledge about it and little willingness to learn, let alone to fight to make it better.
For 6 years from 2012 to 2018, no lawyer was deemed worthy to be Minister of Justice, the choice instead falling on Chris Grayling and Liz Truss, about whom the word “second-rate” would be an undeserved compliment. Michael Gove spent much of his time undoing the damage caused by his predecessor. Few Ministers lasted more than a year. And who was responsible for the police? Well, one Mrs May, followed by Amber Rudd and Sajid Javid. Enough said.
Lawyers, however eloquent they may be on behalf of their clients, are generally hopeless at explaining why law and justice matter to anyone other than fellow lawyers. But our legal system does matter, very much indeed. There is no more important function of the state than the maintenance of law and order.
Crucial to that are a competent police force, a legal system which works and in which equality under the law and access to justice are not simply empty phrases, prisons which are something other than a breeding ground of violence and hopelessness and a probation service which works. All these aspects matter not just one of them.
The rule of law is not simply an airy phrase: it is the reality of a state able to keep its citizens safe, a state able to apprehend criminals, a state able to dispense justice, a state able find the right balance between the rights of the innocent and the guilty, a state able to enforce its laws, a state able to punish fairly and provide the hope of rehabilitation for those who have paid their dues. ........
The rule of law in its widest sense is something of which Britain ought to be proud; it has probably had a greater claim than the NHS to be considered “the envy of the world“. But for too long it has been neglected, downgraded, ignored and managed by penny pinchers who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Futile as this plea may be, it is long past the time for this to stop."
Of course you're right, Ms Cyclefree. But the apparently impossible question is... how to fix it?
We are in a society that likes penny-pinching, because it assumes that frees up pennies for sweeties now. As for future us, they're in the future, so serves them right.
One of our problems derives from Mrs Thatcher's views. I recall her saying something like her preferring that the best minds from Oxford and Cambridge (I know, I know) should go into the City rather than public service. Up until then very bright students would include public service, as Civil Servants in their career options. After that, not so much.
This allows me to get back on my hobby horse of calling the big change of UK society and the divisions over the past 40 years. Before Fatch indeed bright young things would go into all kinds of occupations - doctors, civil servants, yes finance, but that was only one of several options. All paid roughly the same, perhaps the City a smidge more.
Then Big Bang happened, the US banks took over the UK merchant banks and began to pay megabucks for the people to work there (or at "their" bank, rather than another one). City salaries skyrocketed and hence any sensible grad, Oxbridge or not, would likely try to get a job in finance, rather than become a doctor or a civil servant, etc.
And linked to that, it means that the elite has lost a lot of its sense of the long term.
My Jenny-come-lately Cambridge College is over 150 years old. The British Army is 350 years old, depending on when you start counting. The Church of England, 450 years (same Ts and C's). All institutions that were around long before me, and intend to be around long after me. It ties in with that old Tory thing of inheritance as a duty.
High finance seems to think it's doing well with a ten year horizon. No wonder so much of the country gets sold off for parts.
Those are tiny numbers! You need bigger numbers! My school is 460 years old. My first degree was at a university 814 years old. My third was at a university approaching 1000. My city is approaching 2000.
Just the three degrees then...
At the risk of generating a swirling rabbit hole of argument, the Church of England is AD597 officially.
All we did was chuck out the tyrannical foreign management - in Tony Benn's words, we nationalised it.
But the Celtic church was earlier, no? I recall a Council of Whitby but forget what was discussed!
As I recal it was over Irish or Roman rites.
Also over tonsures. The romans liked their monks bald, while the Irish wanted them furry
Tomorrow I've decided to splash out and spend £22.50 on it, just to celebrate the fleeting existence of the £450 per month Breakfast Club
Do we need to pay someone to look after you?
I'd divert the money to the feeble minded who decided that £450 per month was fair beans when the childcare was included
It's not about whether it's fair beans or not, it's about how much existing providers charge.
It's the little spoken-of twin of housing costs for the young. Older relatives say "HOW MUCH?" in a shocked voice, young families say "that much'.
(£5.50 per child per day seems to be the going rate in Romford. Three kids at just over £7 a day hits the magic number. Maybe it shouldn't, but it does. There's a reason young working families are narked right now.)
So why is it now £450 a year in parents' pockets?
The Labour Party tweeter made the defenders of the erroneous tweet look bloody ridiculous in fairly short order
We had a small funeral for Theo today which at least gave us some closure. He came in to Song for Athene and went out to One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
My thoughts are with you, HYUFD. I'm sure that's true for most of us here.
Thanks Bondegezou and to everyone on here for your thoughts, prayers and condolences and messages during what was a difficult few weeks for us, they were much appreciated
You're amongst friends HY. Whatever our political differences, these are trivial when life events mean that any of us needs the support of the group.
That you felt able to share such a personal event with us is testament to the community we are part of.
Being so late to the thread, has anyone come up with any brilliant ideas to solve the problem?
TSE wants to repeal the Forfeiture Act and bring back bills of attainder, along with hanging, drawing and quartering.
Well if @TSE wants to add in the bureaucrat, who has moved @David L's trial tomorrow from Edinburgh to Glasgow so that I will be deprived of the opportunity to tease the charming David about coffee, chocolate, cakes and sundry other important matters, to his list of Attaindees, he's very welcome to do so.
Yesterday I was getting hard stares for proposing bills of attainder and now you're an enthusiastic supporter.
My powers of persuasion are unmatched.
I am a woman. I can change my mind, especially for those who cross me. Anyway, as you will have noticed, I left it entirely up to you if you continue with your colourable proposal. I reserve the right to give both you and the snivelling bureaucrat a hard stare.
I now have a late afternoon to do something exciting in Edinburgh before dinner. Husband will have gone off to some gallery or other or to climb hundreds of stairs up a castle or something.
I used to lose hours in old book shops. Rarely bought anything much, just loved the old books. Not exciting at all, just my idea of heaven.
There is (or was) a cluster of second-hand bookshops on and around West Port, below the old town. If you're so inclined, a good place to wile away a few hours.
Some political news. One of Labour's major bills, Renters’ Rights Act, has received its Royal Assent. Only taken 18 months and leans heavily on the previous work done in the last Parliament. Slow and steady seems to be the mantra despite all the buffeting that goes on day to day.
Next up will be the Employment Rights Bill.
Odds on both of these bills screwing up their target constituencies even more than they are already?
I have a nasty feeling that the changes in the Renter’s Rights Bill will result in even more property being taken off the rental market & rents climbing ever higher as a result.
The Employment Bill is going to completely screw over anyone with a spotty work history. All those people who have been out of work with anxiety / actual long covid / heart issues etc etc since 2020? Good luck getting them into work if their prospective employer can’t sack them within a six month probationary period. Why would any employer take the risk of employing them in a soft jobs market where they have other options?
2 years is too long to get normal employment rights, but why go from 2 years to first day? I think either six months, or a phased in approach with some at 3 months and the rest after a year, would be about right, but even if they made it 1 month it would give employers a chance to make a risky employment decision. Instead it will all end up with temp agencies instead, how is that better?
The employment bill isn't going to instantly create first day rights - the problem is no-one has a clear where the compromise will be placed..
It's an excellent article. @rcs1000 describes one of the bottlenecks very well.
Why has it arisen? I'll tell you why - and it is exactly the same reason as I said in August 2019 -
"The legal system has few friends. There is an assumption that it mostly deals with the criminal and the feckless. Few politicians care about them. It has no “Aaah” factor. Most people hope never to encounter it. Those who are caught up in it are generally appalled by the experience. It has been in recent years put in the care, if that is the word, of politicians with little knowledge about it and little willingness to learn, let alone to fight to make it better.
For 6 years from 2012 to 2018, no lawyer was deemed worthy to be Minister of Justice, the choice instead falling on Chris Grayling and Liz Truss, about whom the word “second-rate” would be an undeserved compliment. Michael Gove spent much of his time undoing the damage caused by his predecessor. Few Ministers lasted more than a year. And who was responsible for the police? Well, one Mrs May, followed by Amber Rudd and Sajid Javid. Enough said.
Lawyers, however eloquent they may be on behalf of their clients, are generally hopeless at explaining why law and justice matter to anyone other than fellow lawyers. But our legal system does matter, very much indeed. There is no more important function of the state than the maintenance of law and order.
Crucial to that are a competent police force, a legal system which works and in which equality under the law and access to justice are not simply empty phrases, prisons which are something other than a breeding ground of violence and hopelessness and a probation service which works. All these aspects matter not just one of them.
The rule of law is not simply an airy phrase: it is the reality of a state able to keep its citizens safe, a state able to apprehend criminals, a state able to dispense justice, a state able find the right balance between the rights of the innocent and the guilty, a state able to enforce its laws, a state able to punish fairly and provide the hope of rehabilitation for those who have paid their dues. ........
The rule of law in its widest sense is something of which Britain ought to be proud; it has probably had a greater claim than the NHS to be considered “the envy of the world“. But for too long it has been neglected, downgraded, ignored and managed by penny pinchers who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Futile as this plea may be, it is long past the time for this to stop."
Of course you're right, Ms Cyclefree. But the apparently impossible question is... how to fix it?
We are in a society that likes penny-pinching, because it assumes that frees up pennies for sweeties now. As for future us, they're in the future, so serves them right.
One of our problems derives from Mrs Thatcher's views. I recall her saying something like her preferring that the best minds from Oxford and Cambridge (I know, I know) should go into the City rather than public service. Up until then very bright students would include public service, as Civil Servants in their career options. After that, not so much.
This allows me to get back on my hobby horse of calling the big change of UK society and the divisions over the past 40 years. Before Fatch indeed bright young things would go into all kinds of occupations - doctors, civil servants, yes finance, but that was only one of several options. All paid roughly the same, perhaps the City a smidge more.
Then Big Bang happened, the US banks took over the UK merchant banks and began to pay megabucks for the people to work there (or at "their" bank, rather than another one). City salaries skyrocketed and hence any sensible grad, Oxbridge or not, would likely try to get a job in finance, rather than become a doctor or a civil servant, etc.
And linked to that, it means that the elite has lost a lot of its sense of the long term.
My Jenny-come-lately Cambridge College is over 150 years old. The British Army is 350 years old, depending on when you start counting. The Church of England, 450 years (same Ts and C's). All institutions that were around long before me, and intend to be around long after me. It ties in with that old Tory thing of inheritance as a duty.
High finance seems to think it's doing well with a ten year horizon. No wonder so much of the country gets sold off for parts.
Those are tiny numbers! You need bigger numbers! My school is 460 years old. My first degree was at a university 814 years old. My third was at a university approaching 1000. My city is approaching 2000.
Just the three degrees then...
At the risk of generating a swirling rabbit hole of argument, the Church of England is AD597 officially.
All we did was chuck out the tyrannical foreign management - in Tony Benn's words, we nationalised it.
But the Celtic church was earlier, no? I recall a Council of Whitby but forget what was discussed!
As I recal it was over Irish or Roman rites.
Also over tonsures. The romans liked their monks bald, while the Irish wanted them furry
Yes. Despite the rhetoric about 597 and Augustine of Canterbury, in the west and north there is a decent degree of Christian continuity from around the time of Constantine. But not in the south east where it had mostly vanished. Charles Thomas is the classic work on this, but more up to date is Robin Fleming: Britain After Rome, Penguin 2011, especially the excellent chapter 5. A bishop of York is recorded in 314, nearly 300 years before Canterbury.
The ancient Irish/Welsh/British church met the Roman innovators and there was a good degree of mutual incomprehension. Rome won the day (how to date Easter, liturgical matters, haircuts for religious) at the Synod of Whitby, 664.
In Cumberland where I live there is almost certainly Christian continuity for 1700 years, and continuing.
The lack of knowledge in the UK about the extraordinary history is remarkable.
We had a small funeral for Theo today which at least gave us some closure. He came in to Song for Athene and went out to One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
Tomorrow I've decided to splash out and spend £22.50 on it, just to celebrate the fleeting existence of the £450 per month Breakfast Club
Do we need to pay someone to look after you?
I'd divert the money to the feeble minded who decided that £450 per month was fair beans when the childcare was included
It's not about whether it's fair beans or not, it's about how much existing providers charge.
It's the little spoken-of twin of housing costs for the young. Older relatives say "HOW MUCH?" in a shocked voice, young families say "that much'.
(£5.50 per child per day seems to be the going rate in Romford. Three kids at just over £7 a day hits the magic number. Maybe it shouldn't, but it does. There's a reason young working families are narked right now.)
So why is it now £450 a year in parents' pockets?
The Labour Party tweeter made the defenders of the erroneous tweet look bloody ridiculous in fairly short order
And yet they double down..
Right. This conversation is annoying me for some reason.
School breakfast clubs typically range from about £2.50 - £5.50. There are 190 school days in the year. At the lower end that gives £475 per year per child. I suspect that is where the government get their £450 number per year in the official release. At the upper end in it would be £1,045 per child.
The £450 on twatter is imo "probably" used monthly when it should be annually.
However, the wider saving including the ability to work extra hours and other new extra childcare could easily be more than £450 per month for a family with 3 school age kids.
Tomorrow I've decided to splash out and spend £22.50 on it, just to celebrate the fleeting existence of the £450 per month Breakfast Club
Do we need to pay someone to look after you?
I'd divert the money to the feeble minded who decided that £450 per month was fair beans when the childcare was included
It's not about whether it's fair beans or not, it's about how much existing providers charge.
It's the little spoken-of twin of housing costs for the young. Older relatives say "HOW MUCH?" in a shocked voice, young families say "that much'.
(£5.50 per child per day seems to be the going rate in Romford. Three kids at just over £7 a day hits the magic number. Maybe it shouldn't, but it does. There's a reason young working families are narked right now.)
So why is it now £450 a year in parents' pockets?
The Labour Party tweeter made the defenders of the erroneous tweet look bloody ridiculous in fairly short order
And yet they double down..
You'd have to ask Labour's social media team that.
But as someone who has only fairly recently escaped from paying for that sort of thing, £450 a month is high, but I can see where it could come from. Especially if you are paying for multiple kids at once. £450 a year is suspiciously low.
(If it turns out that half the Labour SM team has taken the week off because their children are on half term, and it has been changed by someone childless who couldn't believe the figure either, I wouldn't be that surprised.)
Tomorrow I've decided to splash out and spend £22.50 on it, just to celebrate the fleeting existence of the £450 per month Breakfast Club
Do we need to pay someone to look after you?
I'd divert the money to the feeble minded who decided that £450 per month was fair beans when the childcare was included
It's not about whether it's fair beans or not, it's about how much existing providers charge.
It's the little spoken-of twin of housing costs for the young. Older relatives say "HOW MUCH?" in a shocked voice, young families say "that much'.
(£5.50 per child per day seems to be the going rate in Romford. Three kids at just over £7 a day hits the magic number. Maybe it shouldn't, but it does. There's a reason young working families are narked right now.)
So why is it now £450 a year in parents' pockets?
The Labour Party tweeter made the defenders of the erroneous tweet look bloody ridiculous in fairly short order
And yet they double down..
Right. This conversation is annoying me for some reason.
School breakfast clubs typically range from about £2.50 - £5.50. There are 190 school days in the year. At the lower end that gives £475 per year per child. I suspect that is where the government get their £450 number per year in the official release. At the upper end in it would be £1,045 per child.
The £450 on twatter is imo "probably" used monthly when it should be annually.
However, the wider saving including the ability to work extra hours and other new extra childcare could easily be more than £450 per month for a family with 3 school age kids.
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
What's the solution here? Racial quotas for the advertising industry? Perhaps a new quango to administer it (OFCOLOUR?) I love how the right is embracing everything it claims to hate (identity politics, the nanny state) as it slowly loses its collective mind. Guys, seeing people of colour on the TV is not going to kill you! There is no conspiracy! It's just people trying to sell stuff.
The only people suggesting quotas are lefties arguing in bad faith. Pochin, and others, just noted eggs is happening.
Tomorrow I've decided to splash out and spend £22.50 on it, just to celebrate the fleeting existence of the £450 per month Breakfast Club
Do we need to pay someone to look after you?
I'd divert the money to the feeble minded who decided that £450 per month was fair beans when the childcare was included
It's not about whether it's fair beans or not, it's about how much existing providers charge.
It's the little spoken-of twin of housing costs for the young. Older relatives say "HOW MUCH?" in a shocked voice, young families say "that much'.
(£5.50 per child per day seems to be the going rate in Romford. Three kids at just over £7 a day hits the magic number. Maybe it shouldn't, but it does. There's a reason young working families are narked right now.)
So why is it now £450 a year in parents' pockets?
The Labour Party tweeter made the defenders of the erroneous tweet look bloody ridiculous in fairly short order
And yet they double down..
Right. This conversation is annoying me for some reason.
School breakfast clubs typically range from about £2.50 - £5.50. There are 190 school days in the year. At the lower end that gives £475 per year per child. I suspect that is where the government get their £450 number per year in the official release. At the upper end in it would be £1,045 per child.
The £450 on twatter is imo "probably" used monthly when it should be annually.
However, the wider saving including the ability to work extra hours and other new extra childcare could easily be more than £450 per month for a family with 3 school age kids.
Take it up with the Labour Party
Why? Its not a big deal to me. Someone has "probably" typed monthly instead of annually, happens all the time. As a result it still isnt particularly misleading as the wording uses "up to" and the official government version has used the lowest end of breakfast club rates.
I think its tricky. Its a bit odd when 4% of British people are black that over half of adverts feature black people. But its obvious why - its advertisers selling stuff and optimising who they appeal to.
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
What's the solution here? Racial quotas for the advertising industry? Perhaps a new quango to administer it (OFCOLOUR?) I love how the right is embracing everything it claims to hate (identity politics, the nanny state) as it slowly loses its collective mind. Guys, seeing people of colour on the TV is not going to kill you! There is no conspiracy! It's just people trying to sell stuff.
The only people suggesting quotas are lefties arguing in bad faith. Pochin, and others, just noted eggs is happening.
We had a small funeral for Theo today which at least gave us some closure. He came in to Song for Athene and went out to One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
Tomorrow I've decided to splash out and spend £22.50 on it, just to celebrate the fleeting existence of the £450 per month Breakfast Club
Do we need to pay someone to look after you?
I'd divert the money to the feeble minded who decided that £450 per month was fair beans when the childcare was included
It's not about whether it's fair beans or not, it's about how much existing providers charge.
It's the little spoken-of twin of housing costs for the young. Older relatives say "HOW MUCH?" in a shocked voice, young families say "that much'.
(£5.50 per child per day seems to be the going rate in Romford. Three kids at just over £7 a day hits the magic number. Maybe it shouldn't, but it does. There's a reason young working families are narked right now.)
So why is it now £450 a year in parents' pockets?
The Labour Party tweeter made the defenders of the erroneous tweet look bloody ridiculous in fairly short order
And yet they double down..
Right. This conversation is annoying me for some reason.
School breakfast clubs typically range from about £2.50 - £5.50. There are 190 school days in the year. At the lower end that gives £475 per year per child. I suspect that is where the government get their £450 number per year in the official release. At the upper end in it would be £1,045 per child.
The £450 on twatter is imo "probably" used monthly when it should be annually.
However, the wider saving including the ability to work extra hours and other new extra childcare could easily be more than £450 per month for a family with 3 school age kids.
Take it up with the Labour Party
Why? Its not a big deal to me. Someone has "probably" typed monthly instead of annually, happens all the time. As a result it still isnt particularly misleading as the wording uses "up to" and the official government version has used the lowest end of breakfast club rates.
It's annoying you for some reason
I got snidey, oh so clever criticism from various people on here when I questioned the monthly figure
Labour corrected the record and they all ran away
But some people are STILL doubling down on defending the obvious mistake, rather than saying oops aren't I a tit for buying that
I imagine it really grinds some people's gears that I'm occasionally quite astute for a poster on here, not just for a postie
Some political news. One of Labour's major bills, Renters’ Rights Act, has received its Royal Assent. Only taken 18 months and leans heavily on the previous work done in the last Parliament. Slow and steady seems to be the mantra despite all the buffeting that goes on day to day.
Next up will be the Employment Rights Bill.
Odds on both of these bills screwing up their target constituencies even more than they are already?
I have a nasty feeling that the changes in the Renter’s Rights Bill will result in even more property being taken off the rental market & rents climbing ever higher as a result.
The Employment Bill is going to completely screw over anyone with a spotty work history. All those people who have been out of work with anxiety / actual long covid / heart issues etc etc since 2020? Good luck getting them into work if their prospective employer can’t sack them within a six month probationary period. Why would any employer take the risk of employing them in a soft jobs market where they have other options?
2 years is too long to get normal employment rights, but why go from 2 years to first day? I think either six months, or a phased in approach with some at 3 months and the rest after a year, would be about right, but even if they made it 1 month it would give employers a chance to make a risky employment decision. Instead it will all end up with temp agencies instead, how is that better?
The employment bill isn't going to instantly create first day rights - the problem is no-one has a clear where the compromise will be placed..
Interesting. So although the government are using the word day one rights, they don't actually mean that. And it wont happen til 2027, if at all. Typical UK politics.
"Unfair dismissal day one right It's expected that protection from unfair dismissal will become a right from the first day of employment. Currently, someone must have worked for their employer for 2 years before they can claim unfair dismissal. Expected in 2027."
"The government wants to make the right to raise a claim for unfair dismissal a ‘day one’ right. Under its plans, the unfair dismissal right will be subject to the ability to dismiss during a probationary period if a “lighter-touch” process is followed by the employer. This is an area for consultation, including the length of that initial statutory probation period. The government has stated its preference in this regard is nine months.
In contrast, the position taken by the Lords is that the right to claim unfair dismissal should only take effect after employees have completed at least six months’ service."
We had a small funeral for Theo today which at least gave us some closure. He came in to Song for Athene and went out to One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
My thoughts are with you, HYUFD. I'm sure that's true for most of us here.
Thanks Bondegezou and to everyone on here for your thoughts, prayers and condolences and messages during what was a difficult few weeks for us, they were much appreciated
You're amongst friends HY. Whatever our political differences, these are trivial when life events mean that any of us needs the support of the group.
That you felt able to share such a personal event with us is testament to the community we are part of.
Thanks Sandy, yes one of the strengths of this site is the support we provide to those going through bereavements, illness etc a well as celebrating more joyful times.
Something we want to keep whatever our political differences
It drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people.
Now call me woke, but I don't think it's a stretch at all to see those words as the expression of a full-blown racist.
Being 'driven mad' by seeing black and Asian people in adverts is a far cry from a measured discussion about whether advertisers have got matters of representation right. And her wiggling about it being 'poorly phrased' is just bollocks. She said it as she sees it.
Tomorrow I've decided to splash out and spend £22.50 on it, just to celebrate the fleeting existence of the £450 per month Breakfast Club
Do we need to pay someone to look after you?
I'd divert the money to the feeble minded who decided that £450 per month was fair beans when the childcare was included
It's not about whether it's fair beans or not, it's about how much existing providers charge.
It's the little spoken-of twin of housing costs for the young. Older relatives say "HOW MUCH?" in a shocked voice, young families say "that much'.
(£5.50 per child per day seems to be the going rate in Romford. Three kids at just over £7 a day hits the magic number. Maybe it shouldn't, but it does. There's a reason young working families are narked right now.)
So why is it now £450 a year in parents' pockets?
The Labour Party tweeter made the defenders of the erroneous tweet look bloody ridiculous in fairly short order
And yet they double down..
Right. This conversation is annoying me for some reason.
School breakfast clubs typically range from about £2.50 - £5.50. There are 190 school days in the year. At the lower end that gives £475 per year per child. I suspect that is where the government get their £450 number per year in the official release. At the upper end in it would be £1,045 per child.
The £450 on twatter is imo "probably" used monthly when it should be annually.
However, the wider saving including the ability to work extra hours and other new extra childcare could easily be more than £450 per month for a family with 3 school age kids.
Take it up with the Labour Party
Why? Its not a big deal to me. Someone has "probably" typed monthly instead of annually, happens all the time. As a result it still isnt particularly misleading as the wording uses "up to" and the official government version has used the lowest end of breakfast club rates.
It's annoying you for some reason
I got snidey, oh so clever criticism from various people on here when I questioned the monthly figure
Labour corrected the record and they all ran away
But some people are STILL doubling down on defending the obvious mistake, rather than saying oops aren't I a tit for buying that
I imagine it really grinds some people's gears that I'm occasionally quite astute for a poster on here, not just for a postie
Both sides have valid points to make but are talking past each other when it is trivial to get to the bottom of it. That is what was annoying me.
Some political news. One of Labour's major bills, Renters’ Rights Act, has received its Royal Assent. Only taken 18 months and leans heavily on the previous work done in the last Parliament. Slow and steady seems to be the mantra despite all the buffeting that goes on day to day.
Next up will be the Employment Rights Bill.
Odds on both of these bills screwing up their target constituencies even more than they are already?
I have a nasty feeling that the changes in the Renter’s Rights Bill will result in even more property being taken off the rental market & rents climbing ever higher as a result.
The Employment Bill is going to completely screw over anyone with a spotty work history. All those people who have been out of work with anxiety / actual long covid / heart issues etc etc since 2020? Good luck getting them into work if their prospective employer can’t sack them within a six month probationary period. Why would any employer take the risk of employing them in a soft jobs market where they have other options?
2 years is too long to get normal employment rights, but why go from 2 years to first day? I think either six months, or a phased in approach with some at 3 months and the rest after a year, would be about right, but even if they made it 1 month it would give employers a chance to make a risky employment decision. Instead it will all end up with temp agencies instead, how is that better?
The employment bill isn't going to instantly create first day rights - the problem is no-one has a clear where the compromise will be placed..
Interesting. So although the government are using the word day one rights, they don't actually mean that. And it wont happen til 2027, if at all. Typical UK politics.
"Unfair dismissal day one right It's expected that protection from unfair dismissal will become a right from the first day of employment. Currently, someone must have worked for their employer for 2 years before they can claim unfair dismissal. Expected in 2027."
"The government wants to make the right to raise a claim for unfair dismissal a ‘day one’ right. Under its plans, the unfair dismissal right will be subject to the ability to dismiss during a probationary period if a “lighter-touch” process is followed by the employer. This is an area for consultation, including the length of that initial statutory probation period. The government has stated its preference in this regard is nine months.
In contrast, the position taken by the Lords is that the right to claim unfair dismissal should only take effect after employees have completed at least six months’ service."
It's the typical issue of political ideals hitting reality
It's an excellent article. @rcs1000 describes one of the bottlenecks very well.
Why has it arisen? I'll tell you why - and it is exactly the same reason as I said in August 2019 -
"The legal system has few friends. There is an assumption that it mostly deals with the criminal and the feckless. Few politicians care about them. It has no “Aaah” factor. Most people hope never to encounter it. Those who are caught up in it are generally appalled by the experience. It has been in recent years put in the care, if that is the word, of politicians with little knowledge about it and little willingness to learn, let alone to fight to make it better.
For 6 years from 2012 to 2018, no lawyer was deemed worthy to be Minister of Justice, the choice instead falling on Chris Grayling and Liz Truss, about whom the word “second-rate” would be an undeserved compliment. Michael Gove spent much of his time undoing the damage caused by his predecessor. Few Ministers lasted more than a year. And who was responsible for the police? Well, one Mrs May, followed by Amber Rudd and Sajid Javid. Enough said.
Lawyers, however eloquent they may be on behalf of their clients, are generally hopeless at explaining why law and justice matter to anyone other than fellow lawyers. But our legal system does matter, very much indeed. There is no more important function of the state than the maintenance of law and order.
Crucial to that are a competent police force, a legal system which works and in which equality under the law and access to justice are not simply empty phrases, prisons which are something other than a breeding ground of violence and hopelessness and a probation service which works. All these aspects matter not just one of them.
The rule of law is not simply an airy phrase: it is the reality of a state able to keep its citizens safe, a state able to apprehend criminals, a state able to dispense justice, a state able find the right balance between the rights of the innocent and the guilty, a state able to enforce its laws, a state able to punish fairly and provide the hope of rehabilitation for those who have paid their dues. ........
The rule of law in its widest sense is something of which Britain ought to be proud; it has probably had a greater claim than the NHS to be considered “the envy of the world“. But for too long it has been neglected, downgraded, ignored and managed by penny pinchers who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Futile as this plea may be, it is long past the time for this to stop."
Of course you're right, Ms Cyclefree. But the apparently impossible question is... how to fix it?
We are in a society that likes penny-pinching, because it assumes that frees up pennies for sweeties now. As for future us, they're in the future, so serves them right.
One of our problems derives from Mrs Thatcher's views. I recall her saying something like her preferring that the best minds from Oxford and Cambridge (I know, I know) should go into the City rather than public service. Up until then very bright students would include public service, as Civil Servants in their career options. After that, not so much.
This allows me to get back on my hobby horse of calling the big change of UK society and the divisions over the past 40 years. Before Fatch indeed bright young things would go into all kinds of occupations - doctors, civil servants, yes finance, but that was only one of several options. All paid roughly the same, perhaps the City a smidge more.
Then Big Bang happened, the US banks took over the UK merchant banks and began to pay megabucks for the people to work there (or at "their" bank, rather than another one). City salaries skyrocketed and hence any sensible grad, Oxbridge or not, would likely try to get a job in finance, rather than become a doctor or a civil servant, etc.
And linked to that, it means that the elite has lost a lot of its sense of the long term.
My Jenny-come-lately Cambridge College is over 150 years old. The British Army is 350 years old, depending on when you start counting. The Church of England, 450 years (same Ts and C's). All institutions that were around long before me, and intend to be around long after me. It ties in with that old Tory thing of inheritance as a duty.
High finance seems to think it's doing well with a ten year horizon. No wonder so much of the country gets sold off for parts.
Those are tiny numbers! You need bigger numbers! My school is 460 years old. My first degree was at a university 814 years old. My third was at a university approaching 1000. My city is approaching 2000.
Just the three degrees then...
At the risk of generating a swirling rabbit hole of argument, the Church of England is AD597 officially.
All we did was chuck out the tyrannical foreign management - in Tony Benn's words, we nationalised it.
But the Celtic church was earlier, no? I recall a Council of Whitby but forget what was discussed!
As I recal it was over Irish or Roman rites.
Also over tonsures. The romans liked their monks bald, while the Irish wanted them furry
Not great but readable and fun are the detective stories of the 7th century (Synod of Whitby period) by Peter Tremayne, who is a respectable historian as well; the tec being an Irish nun, Sister Fidelma. IIRC one is set around the Synod of Whitby itself. Most set in Ireland. Much easier reading than the Irish historians, who are not for the faint hearted.
We had a small funeral for Theo today which at least gave us some closure. He came in to Song for Athene and went out to One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
My thoughts are with you, HYUFD. I'm sure that's true for most of us here.
Thanks Bondegezou and to everyone on here for your thoughts, prayers and condolences and messages during what was a difficult few weeks for us, they were much appreciated
You're amongst friends HY. Whatever our political differences, these are trivial when life events mean that any of us needs the support of the group.
That you felt able to share such a personal event with us is testament to the community we are part of.
Thanks Sandy, yes one of the strengths of this site is the support we provide to those going through bereavements, illness etc a well as celebrating more joyful times.
Something we want to keep whatever our political differences
Friendship and empathy with opponents is a cornerstone of democracy. When we start thinking of the "enemy" opposite as not quite human, we lose something very important.
Comments
FPT
I think we have a new Crossing the Floor World Record. Not Agent Anderson, but Alan Amos.
Conservative Councillor, Enfield. 197x to 1985.
Conservative MP, Hexham 1987-1992.
Labour Candidate, Hitchin and Harpenden 2001.
Labour Councillor, Tower Hamlets, 2002.
Labour Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2008-2014.
Independent Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2014.
Mayor of Worcester, nominated by Conservatives, 2014.
Mayor of Worcester, joined the Conservatives, 2015.
Conservative Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2024. Last Con standing.
Independent Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2025.
Reform Councillor, Worcester City Council, 2025 (from April).
Reform Councillor, Worcestershire County Council, 2025 (elected May).
There are a lot of interesting statements, but I'll leave those to lie.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Amos
(Bray is in Berkshire, not Enfield, Tower Hamlets, or Worcestershire.)
My powers of persuasion are unmatched.
"The way she put it, the way she worded it was wrong and was ugly.
If I thought the intention behind it was racist, I would have taken more action than I have taken today."
https://x.com/tomhfh/status/1982815805520679110?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
I'll add up Winston at some point.
In the 90s, Pakistan had 50% higher GDP per capita than India, but now it’s only half as large as India’s
https://x.com/StefanFSchubert/status/1982591263838027832
But we have an issue in this country with Reform and people voting for them. What drives someone to think that the county has far more people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case? This is something we know - if you ask people to estimate the proportions that are black, asian etc the norm is to vastly overstate the numbers. Well just maybe having the adverts like this plays a part?
But what realistically would be done, even if you wanted to do something? How would you ensure a set of adverts has the approved ethnic make up? You can't - its stupid to even try.
But maybe all those who wonder why people are pushed to Reform should reflect a bit when people tell them why.
I remembered a joke from Frasier, when they're considering Tina and Archie as guests to a dinner party and Frasier says "Don't cry for me Arch and Tina". I found a song by and Tina Turner from her 3rd solo album written by an Archie (Jones, i think), but couldn't develop it into either an amusing or even interesting play on words
I persisted on the Archibald searches, and stumbled on an Archibald Butt. He was a probably gay American soldier who became military aide to Presidents Taft and Roosevelt. He died on the Titanic, with his his supposed partner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Butt
More interesting than him though, was the note that Australian born Scot and future British diplomat extraordinaire Archibald Clark Kerr, Baron Inverchapel, had stayed with him on his first visit to DC
Kerr is probably best known for his infamous 1943 missive to a friend while stationed in Moscow:
"My Dear Reggie,
In these dark days man tends to look for little shafts of light that spill from Heaven. My days are probably darker than yours, and I need, my God I do, all the light I can get. But I am a decent fellow, and I do not want to be mean and selfish about what little brightness is shed upon me from time to time. So I propose to share with you a tiny flash that has illuminated my sombre life and tell you that God has given me a new Turkish colleague whose card tells me that he is called Mustapha Kunt.
We all feel like that, Reggie, now and then, especially when Spring is upon us, but few of us would care to put it on our cards. It takes a Turk to do that.
Sir Archibald Clerk Kerr,
H.M. Ambassador"
1/2
He was apparently almost romantically involved with the Queen Mum, before she became Queen. He was Ambassador to China from 1938 to 42, whilst it was invaded by Japan and the consulate was destroyed. He stayed on after the rest of the staff were evacuated to keep the British flag flying
He was then moved to Moscow, where he developed a very close relationship with Stalin - often involving mammoth drinking sessions - and following Churchill's order: "You want a directive? All right. I don't mind kissing Stalin's bum, but I'm damned if I'll lick his arse!"
After the war he was appointed Ambassador to the USA, where his career was pretty much ended by his friendship with the superior of Burgess and Maclean. He then worked on the Committee for the Study of European Unity which drew up the blueprint for the Council of Europe
During his early diplomatic career he had postings around Central and South America, including time in Buenos Aires, and a job in Chile. While in Santiago he met his wife, the daughter of a millionaire, Maria Theresa Diaz Salas. She was known as Tita
So I kind of got there - Arch and Tita - but so glad I found his story. I've ordered the book about him "Radical Diplomat" by Donald Gillies
https://www.waterstones.com/book/radical-diplomat/donald-gillies/9781350182455
https://www.scottishbanner.com/2024/11/22/the-scot-who-changed-the-world/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Clark_Kerr,_1st_Baron_Inverchapel
People are mocked for assuming the non white population is larger than it is, but who can blame them when the media show a completely unrealistic version of the demographic?
Next up will be the Employment Rights Bill.
They are not casting ethnic minorities to piss people off, or to meet a quota.
They are casting actors to sell shit. And it's working.
I love how the right is embracing everything it claims to hate (identity politics, the nanny state) as it slowly loses its collective mind. Guys, seeing people of colour on the TV is not going to kill you! There is no conspiracy! It's just people trying to sell stuff.
I have a nasty feeling that the changes in the Renter’s Rights Bill will result in even more property being taken off the rental market & rents climbing ever higher as a result.
The Employment Bill is going to completely screw over anyone with a spotty work history. All those people who have been out of work with anxiety / actual long covid / heart issues etc etc since 2020? Good luck getting them into work if their prospective employer can’t sack them within a six month probationary period. Why would any employer take the risk of employing them in a soft jobs market where they have other options?
Now streaming radio already delivers custom localised adverts mentioning stores in the direct (<5 mile) local area - do you think that's not going to continue to evolve?
We may get to a point soon where it's viable to show us personalised versions of the same advert, designed to tickle our individual prejudices. I'm not totally convinced that this will be a good thing for our common life.
(One other, purely practical, thing about all these adverts showing too many minorities. When my place does photos of students doing science for publicity, they definitely include more girls than is numerically accurate. But if you were to try to have accurate photos, the number would often round down to zero, which would be inaccurate in another, and I think worse, way.)
The one infallible cure for price and quality is to increase supply. In a functional property market, a poor quality or expensive property stays empty.
Our minds are tuned to the uncommon or unexpected in our environment. In most environments, members of minority groups are just that—uncommon. Therefore, the cognitive system is tuned to spotting their presence. Our results indicate that individuals from minority groups are salient in perception, memory, and visual awareness. As a result, we consistently overestimate their presence—leading to an illusion of diversity: the environment seems to be more diverse than it actually is, decreasing our support for diversity-promoting measures. As we try to make equitable decisions, it is important that private individuals and decision-makers alike become aware of this biased perception. While these sorts of biases can be counteracted, one must first be aware of the bias.
https://bsky.app/profile/markhamillofficial.bsky.social/post/3m46uuaavzk2p
It drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people.
Now call me woke, but I don't think it's a stretch at all to see those words as the expression of a full-blown racist.
Being 'driven mad' by seeing black and Asian people in adverts is a far cry from a measured discussion about whether advertisers have got matters of representation right. And her wiggling about it being 'poorly phrased' is just bollocks. She said it as she sees it.
New York city is overwhelmingly Democrat though unlike South Carolina. Mamdani is also likely ahead of Cuomo and even more the GOP candidate for it to make little difference
Rent controls have screwed up the housing market pretty well everywhere they've been tried.
I've long been a critic of using "virtue signalling" as an insult, but this has me sorely tempted.
Mamdani is pretty good at getting a message across, and this just gives him a target to debunk. They should have released it a bit closer to the poll.
He should visit Egypt, and then could be known President See Nile too.
I now have a late afternoon to do something exciting in Edinburgh before dinner. Husband will have gone off to some gallery or other or to climb hundreds of stairs up a castle or something.
But it is a significant deal.
The United Kingdom and Turkey have signed a deal worth up to £8 billion for 20 Typhoon fighter jets, securing around 20,000 British jobs and the largest UK fighter export in nearly two decades.
https://x.com/UKDefJournal/status/1982843713274466800
Tomorrow I've decided to splash out and spend £22.50 on it, just to celebrate the fleeting existence of the £450 per month Breakfast Club
.."Putin is a dictator, a gangster, and there are war crimes that have been committed, but Zelenskyy isn't a friend of the working class either."..
https://x.com/PoliticsJOE_UK/status/1982768825444553056
I haven't come across quite such nonsense since I was a student.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_United_Kingdom_general_election#2025
Plus weapons etc.
And the contract will cover a decade or more.
Also ..."up to".
In fact, as I understand it, the manufacturers often try and reduce the headline cost per airframe to a bare minimum - and make their profit on the support. Bit like printers, really.
This leads on to two questions:
1) Should it be? and
2) If it shouldn't, how do you enforce it?
Surely it is unenforceable, or at least the options for enforcing it are highly undesirable.
My last thought on this is that we so clearly have much more important issues facing the country right now than who appears on our TV adverts. Is there a vague underlying identity-politics-wokeist influence in all this? Plausibly. Do I think this should be a high priority as a political debate when the country is facing serious headwinds? No.
I think it would get a lot more sympathy from the decision makers, although might not work as middle class households spend more on tat being advertised than working class ones.
It's the little spoken-of twin of housing costs for the young. Older relatives say "HOW MUCH?" in a shocked voice, young families say "that much'.
(£5.50 per child per day seems to be the going rate in Romford. Three kids at just over £7 a day hits the magic number. Maybe it shouldn't, but it does. There's a reason young working families are narked right now.)
The Labour Party tweeter made the defenders of the erroneous tweet look bloody ridiculous in fairly short order
And yet they double down..
That you felt able to share such a personal event with us is testament to the community we are part of.
Yes. Despite the rhetoric about 597 and Augustine of Canterbury, in the west and north there is a decent degree of Christian continuity from around the time of Constantine. But not in the south east where it had mostly vanished. Charles Thomas is the classic work on this, but more up to date is Robin Fleming: Britain After Rome, Penguin 2011, especially the excellent chapter 5. A bishop of York is recorded in 314, nearly 300 years before Canterbury.
The ancient Irish/Welsh/British church met the Roman innovators and there was a good degree of mutual incomprehension. Rome won the day (how to date Easter, liturgical matters, haircuts for religious) at the Synod of Whitby, 664.
In Cumberland where I live there is almost certainly Christian continuity for 1700 years, and continuing.
The lack of knowledge in the UK about the extraordinary history is remarkable.
Zelensky wants to build Ukraine into a modern, Western, Social Democratic state. A part of the European Union.
To the Fruit & Nuts, this is creating another Western Imperialist Capitalist Enemy.
The fact that he is doing so on *their* sacred ground - the soil of the former Soviet Union - is to them, an added insult.
School breakfast clubs typically range from about £2.50 - £5.50. There are 190 school days in the year. At the lower end that gives £475 per year per child. I suspect that is where the government get their £450 number per year in the official release. At the upper end in it would be £1,045 per child.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/free-breakfast-clubs-roll-out-as-costs-for-families-cut-by-8000
The £450 on twatter is imo "probably" used monthly when it should be annually.
However, the wider saving including the ability to work extra hours and other new extra childcare could easily be more than £450 per month for a family with 3 school age kids.
But as someone who has only fairly recently escaped from paying for that sort of thing, £450 a month is high, but I can see where it could come from. Especially if you are paying for multiple kids at once. £450 a year is suspiciously low.
(If it turns out that half the Labour SM team has taken the week off because their children are on half term, and it has been changed by someone childless who couldn't believe the figure either, I wouldn't be that surprised.)
I got snidey, oh so clever criticism from various people on here when I questioned the monthly figure
Labour corrected the record and they all ran away
But some people are STILL doubling down on defending the obvious mistake, rather than saying oops aren't I a tit for buying that
I imagine it really grinds some people's gears that I'm occasionally quite astute for a poster on here, not just for a postie
https://www.acas.org.uk/employment-rights-bill
"Unfair dismissal day one right
It's expected that protection from unfair dismissal will become a right from the first day of employment. Currently, someone must have worked for their employer for 2 years before they can claim unfair dismissal. Expected in 2027."
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https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/analysis/employment-rights-bill-timeline-autumn-2025-onwards
"The government wants to make the right to raise a claim for unfair dismissal a ‘day one’ right. Under its plans, the unfair dismissal right will be subject to the ability to dismiss during a probationary period if a “lighter-touch” process is followed by the employer. This is an area for consultation, including the length of that initial statutory probation period. The government has stated its preference in this regard is nine months.
In contrast, the position taken by the Lords is that the right to claim unfair dismissal should only take effect after employees have completed at least six months’ service."
Something we want to keep whatever our political differences
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8empv38vgo
Reeves faces £20bn hit to UK public finances from productivity downgrade
https://www.ft.com/content/0e2de708-f7b5-470d-a716-93eb3b1ac174