When Kenny Macaskill was justice secretary, and the Lockerbie bomber (Megrahi) was released, Mueller was so incensed by the decision the US authorities sent a letter across to be delivered to Macaskill. The FBI contacted the Scottish police and asked for it to be delivered to the Justice Secretary's house, in the middle of the night.
I'm not sure why they couldn't have sent it by airmail in the usual way, but surely many people would agree with the sentiment: at the time I thought Megrahii should have died in prison. This is what a life sentence means.
Dr Swire whose daughter died in the Lockerbie bombing didn’t agree and still doesn’t.
Well, that's his prerogative but different opinions exist.
(In any case I have always felt that a parent of a murdered person is not the victim and shouldn't be treated as one)
I think the real subtext was that he was let out early on a pretext because the conviction was believed to be unsafe and it was thought he might win his appeal.
It never had any realistic prospect of success because the case turned, as most criminal cases do, on the facts and an appellate court was not in a position to disturb them.
He was released because he was supposed to have weeks (at the most) to live but he didn't die until May 2012, nearly 3 years after the shameful decision taken by Macaskill.
IIRC he was given a 50/50 chance of dying within six months. So the equivalent of tossing a coin and getting six heads in a row.
I understand some people hate the left. I understand that some people are conservative. I understand some people are nationalists. But what I don’t understand is why anyone, whatever their world view, would be unable to see Trump for what he is as a human being. It’s a simple matter of basic judgement. He is unfit. Utterly unfit.
There are positives from this war, even if we do see energy prices go gaga.
We could be pretty self-sufficient as a nation. And have made huge strides forward in recent years. Reform fuckheads smashed the Milliband / Cameron / May / Boris / Sunak consensus on renewables. But "lets get rid of wind and solar and use more oil and gas" looks not just really stupid but practically traitorous.
Whilst I wholly agree with the voices saying lets drill more oil / gas, those same voices also lean towards "instead of renewables". It should be "in addition to renewables"
Not sure I have seen many people on here say Iintead of renewables.
Most of the commentary has been instead of importing oil and gas. Something with which I think you agree.
The fuckhead - to use your rather florid term - is Miliband who somehow thinks importing hydrocarbons is more climate friendly than using our own.
I didn't say on here. But out there in politics world Reform fuckheads - and they are fuckheads - have filled people's head with all kinds of guff about renewables.
Milliband is a dick, but he is less wrong than Tice et al who want us to turn our energy security over to Putin.
There is a lot of guff spoken about renewables - the biggest piece of guff about them being that they are cheaper than gas. This is a provable untruth, but it is still repeated with the same enthusiasm as a North Korean ovation for Kim Jong Un.
The current gas price has shot through the roof - AI has it currently at £126 per megawatt hour. That makes it still cheaper than any renewable bar solar on CFD.
Is Gas cheaper to produce? No, renewable energy is consistently cheaper to produce than gas-fired power. Why is Electricity expensive? Because the price is set by expensive gas-fired generation, not the cheaper renewables.
Generation Costs: Renewables are Cheaper Cost of Production: New onshore wind and solar projects are among the cheapest forms of electricity generation in the UK. Once built, the fuel (wind/sun) is free. Gas Expense: Gas-fired power plants have high and volatile running costs because they must purchase fuel, often setting the highest price in the market. Contracted Prices: New offshore wind projects have seen costs drop significantly, often delivering power at prices below new gas plants.
Despite renewable generation being cheaper, gas often makes electricity more expensive due to the UK's market structure: The Marginal Price Mechanism: The UK electricity market operates on a "marginal pricing" system. This means the price of all electricity is set by the last and most expensive source needed to meet demand, which is frequently gas. Gas Sets the Price: According to recent data, gas sets the wholesale price of electricity around 98% of the time. Even if the majority of electricity comes from wind, the final, expensive unit of gas determines the price for everything. Green Levies: A significant portion of electricity bills (roughly 23% in some estimates) includes "green levies" to fund renewable projects, adding to the cost compared to direct gas, which has much lower levies.
Hope these facts help you get the big picture right, Lucky 🙂
They're not facts dear. They're the shite that you get when you ask an LLM questions and don't bother yourself to query the results. It hasn't even given you numbers!
The facts are quite clearly laid out in the Substack I helpfully linked to.
What you gave us was post the subsidy and levies. It’s actually flagged up on what you gave us.
The answer to the question is Gas in UK cheaper the renewables, is yes. But only after subsidy and levies.
For simple example, if we put 25% levy on Gas to pay for more energy investment, and took that same levy off renewables at same time, would your original point “the biggest piece of guff about {renewables} being that they are cheaper than gas this is a provable untruth” actually come out the other way around?
Politically no one puts 25% levy to fund renewables on Gas bills - at least not at this stage but it is coming. I don’t need to explain to you why this particular moment is particularly different in the exciting transformation of UK energy.
But let’s be honest @Luckyguy1983 basically doesn’t believe in man made climate change (I.e. the science) so anything he says is automatically suspect.
There are positives from this war, even if we do see energy prices go gaga.
We could be pretty self-sufficient as a nation. And have made huge strides forward in recent years. Reform fuckheads smashed the Milliband / Cameron / May / Boris / Sunak consensus on renewables. But "lets get rid of wind and solar and use more oil and gas" looks not just really stupid but practically traitorous.
Whilst I wholly agree with the voices saying lets drill more oil / gas, those same voices also lean towards "instead of renewables". It should be "in addition to renewables"
Not sure I have seen many people on here say Iintead of renewables.
Most of the commentary has been instead of importing oil and gas. Something with which I think you agree.
The fuckhead - to use your rather florid term - is Miliband who somehow thinks importing hydrocarbons is more climate friendly than using our own.
I didn't say on here. But out there in politics world Reform fuckheads - and they are fuckheads - have filled people's head with all kinds of guff about renewables.
Milliband is a dick, but he is less wrong than Tice et al who want us to turn our energy security over to Putin.
There is a lot of guff spoken about renewables - the biggest piece of guff about them being that they are cheaper than gas. This is a provable untruth, but it is still repeated with the same enthusiasm as a North Korean ovation for Kim Jong Un.
The current gas price has shot through the roof - AI has it currently at £126 per megawatt hour. That makes it still cheaper than any renewable bar solar on CFD.
So, I'm a little confused by his analysis.
For natural gas he has the cost as #75 per MW/h, which is #61 fuel, and #15 carbon credits.
Which raises a little bit of a question: like how are you capturing operating and capital costs? #75 might be the marginal cost of production for an existing gas plant (i.e. the point at which the value of electricity exceeds the cost of fuel and carbon credits).
But it's not a fully loaded price. Nobody would build a CCGT if you only got the price of fuel plus the price of carbon credits. You need to get your capital and operational costs covered too.
So, it seems he's comparing the cost of energy from existing plants (excluding operating costs), agains the fully loaded cost of a KwH from other sources. He also doesn't seem to capture capacity payments in there, which is a little lazy.
As I understand it, capacity payments are paid to gas and other reliable generators to provide power where there is no generation from intermittent renewables. Since they would not be necessary without intermittent renewables, it would be misleading to add them to the price per megawatt hour of gas - they are in fact a hidden cost of renewable generation. If that is what you mean, it is dealt with at some length in the article.
I would assume that his costings for 'fuel' include plant running costs. If you doubt this and think he's made a mistake, what's your estiimated addition? £1? £5?
You seem to basically acknowledge the reasoning is sound.
But let’s be honest @Luckyguy1983 basically doesn’t believe in man made climate change (I.e. the science) so anything he says is automatically suspect.
I think if you read this back, you'll see what an utterly dickish - bordering on primitive, thing it is to say.
'I REFUSE TO BELIEVE YOU ABOUT ANYTHING, EVEN IF IT IS A FACT, BECAUSE YOU HAVE BLASHPHEMED!'
The Manger: Éclade de Moules. Don't just order mussels; look for an Éclade. The mussels are arranged in a concentric circle on a wooden board and covered with a thick layer of pine needles, which are then set on fire. The result is a smoky, resinous flavour you won't find anywhere else.
The Boire: Pineau des Charentes (Chilled). This is a mistelle (grape juice mixed with Cognac). It is the classic drink in this region “
Historical accounts of a battle 1000 years ago not necessarily one hundred percent accurate? Shocking, if true.
Army sizes is always a good one. IIRC Herodotus tried to calculate Persian army size with reference to the vast amounts of grain and other supplies that would be needed, but at least he was trying to justify the numbers I guess.
Build nuclear power stations and build lots of renewables.
It’s not really difficult to see how we get out of this hole. But people only seem to want to do one. Bizarre.
It's obvious that that's bollocks.
Wind and solar need reliable back up generation that can turn on and off whenever you need them. That isn't nuclear. At the moment it's gas - mostly foreign gas.
EXCL: Morgan McSweeney's mobile phone with texts to Peter Mandelson was stolen.
These messages may be lost forever - meaning there there will be gaps in The Mandelson files published by No10.
How very convenient 😂
Didn't one of the assistants in the Wagatha Christie trial 'drop her phone in the sea' as a reason not to provide messages?
Still, with all the talk of the level of petty crime in London surely no one in opposition can suggest claiming your mobile was stolen there is implausible.
Build nuclear power stations and build lots of renewables.
It’s not really difficult to see how we get out of this hole. But people only seem to want to do one. Bizarre.
It's obvious that that's bollocks.
Wind and solar need reliable back up generation that can turn on and off whenever you need them. That isn't nuclear. At the moment it's gas - mostly foreign gas.
Even if we use the rest of the gas in the North Sea as the backup we still face the question of what we do in thirty years time.
Which is about the timescale to build a nuke in this country.
The Manger: Éclade de Moules. Don't just order mussels; look for an Éclade. The mussels are arranged in a concentric circle on a wooden board and covered with a thick layer of pine needles, which are then set on fire. The result is a smoky, resinous flavour you won't find anywhere else.
The Boire: Pineau des Charentes (Chilled). This is a mistelle (grape juice mixed with Cognac). It is the classic drink in this region “
Build nuclear power stations and build lots of renewables.
It’s not really difficult to see how we get out of this hole. But people only seem to want to do one. Bizarre.
It's obvious that that's bollocks.
Wind and solar need reliable back up generation that can turn on and off whenever you need them. That isn't nuclear. At the moment it's gas - mostly foreign gas.
Even if we use the rest of the gas in the North Sea as the backup we still face the question of what we do in thirty years time.
Which is about the timescale to build a nuke in this country.
So let's get on with it.
If we did the things I said in my reply to CHB (when I thought he wanted to have a sensible discussion - more fool me), we would be laughing.
Sensible mixed energy. Nuclear but not massive expensive nuclear white elephants. Tidal providing reliable renewable energy for centuries with no waste. Domestic oil and gas. Bit of coal. And the wind and solar we're stuck with.
Playing as badly as we are, with a hand as good as ours, is stupidity bordering on sabotage.
There are positives from this war, even if we do see energy prices go gaga.
We could be pretty self-sufficient as a nation. And have made huge strides forward in recent years. Reform fuckheads smashed the Milliband / Cameron / May / Boris / Sunak consensus on renewables. But "lets get rid of wind and solar and use more oil and gas" looks not just really stupid but practically traitorous.
Whilst I wholly agree with the voices saying lets drill more oil / gas, those same voices also lean towards "instead of renewables". It should be "in addition to renewables"
Not sure I have seen many people on here say Iintead of renewables.
Most of the commentary has been instead of importing oil and gas. Something with which I think you agree.
The fuckhead - to use your rather florid term - is Miliband who somehow thinks importing hydrocarbons is more climate friendly than using our own.
I didn't say on here. But out there in politics world Reform fuckheads - and they are fuckheads - have filled people's head with all kinds of guff about renewables.
Milliband is a dick, but he is less wrong than Tice et al who want us to turn our energy security over to Putin.
There is a lot of guff spoken about renewables - the biggest piece of guff about them being that they are cheaper than gas. This is a provable untruth, but it is still repeated with the same enthusiasm as a North Korean ovation for Kim Jong Un.
The current gas price has shot through the roof - AI has it currently at £126 per megawatt hour. That makes it still cheaper than any renewable bar solar on CFD.
Is Gas cheaper to produce? No, renewable energy is consistently cheaper to produce than gas-fired power. Why is Electricity expensive? Because the price is set by expensive gas-fired generation, not the cheaper renewables.
Generation Costs: Renewables are Cheaper Cost of Production: New onshore wind and solar projects are among the cheapest forms of electricity generation in the UK. Once built, the fuel (wind/sun) is free. Gas Expense: Gas-fired power plants have high and volatile running costs because they must purchase fuel, often setting the highest price in the market. Contracted Prices: New offshore wind projects have seen costs drop significantly, often delivering power at prices below new gas plants.
Despite renewable generation being cheaper, gas often makes electricity more expensive due to the UK's market structure: The Marginal Price Mechanism: The UK electricity market operates on a "marginal pricing" system. This means the price of all electricity is set by the last and most expensive source needed to meet demand, which is frequently gas. Gas Sets the Price: According to recent data, gas sets the wholesale price of electricity around 98% of the time. Even if the majority of electricity comes from wind, the final, expensive unit of gas determines the price for everything. Green Levies: A significant portion of electricity bills (roughly 23% in some estimates) includes "green levies" to fund renewable projects, adding to the cost compared to direct gas, which has much lower levies.
Hope these facts help you get the big picture right, Lucky 🙂
They're not facts dear. They're the shite that you get when you ask an LLM questions and don't bother yourself to query the results. It hasn't even given you numbers!
The facts are quite clearly laid out in the Substack I helpfully linked to.
An issue, as I understand it, is partly that Gas in UK is effectively on standby as the fuel of last resort all the time for the renewables. It costs to start and then shut down a gas turbine compared to just running it 24/7.
If only we had followed the French and built 20 nuke stations in the 1970s/80s
Another option was to pace ourselves through our North Sea riches, and invest it into future returns and securities, like Norway did.
UK went mad at it, blowing the windfall on cheaper economic costs, lower taxes, and other things like the “triple ratchet” on pensions.
What is commercially and technically viable to now get out the UK basins, especially the Gas one, is next to nothing. In other words: it’s far Too late to be more like Norway.
If an MP, Party Leader, or anyone on PB wants to say “we should be more like Norway right now” the only correct response is the same as at the end of Their Will Be Blood: their head smashed in with a bowling pin for being so fucking ignorant about how this one has already played out.
There will always be UK gas under the North Sea, like we have coal too. But just like coal industry, the UK North Sea Gas industry is dead because the commercial cost and technical difficulties extracting the last bits prevents us from having one.
There are positives from this war, even if we do see energy prices go gaga.
We could be pretty self-sufficient as a nation. And have made huge strides forward in recent years. Reform fuckheads smashed the Milliband / Cameron / May / Boris / Sunak consensus on renewables. But "lets get rid of wind and solar and use more oil and gas" looks not just really stupid but practically traitorous.
Whilst I wholly agree with the voices saying lets drill more oil / gas, those same voices also lean towards "instead of renewables". It should be "in addition to renewables"
Not sure I have seen many people on here say Iintead of renewables.
Most of the commentary has been instead of importing oil and gas. Something with which I think you agree.
The fuckhead - to use your rather florid term - is Miliband who somehow thinks importing hydrocarbons is more climate friendly than using our own.
I didn't say on here. But out there in politics world Reform fuckheads - and they are fuckheads - have filled people's head with all kinds of guff about renewables.
Milliband is a dick, but he is less wrong than Tice et al who want us to turn our energy security over to Putin.
There is a lot of guff spoken about renewables - the biggest piece of guff about them being that they are cheaper than gas. This is a provable untruth, but it is still repeated with the same enthusiasm as a North Korean ovation for Kim Jong Un.
The current gas price has shot through the roof - AI has it currently at £126 per megawatt hour. That makes it still cheaper than any renewable bar solar on CFD.
Is Gas cheaper to produce? No, renewable energy is consistently cheaper to produce than gas-fired power. Why is Electricity expensive? Because the price is set by expensive gas-fired generation, not the cheaper renewables.
Generation Costs: Renewables are Cheaper Cost of Production: New onshore wind and solar projects are among the cheapest forms of electricity generation in the UK. Once built, the fuel (wind/sun) is free. Gas Expense: Gas-fired power plants have high and volatile running costs because they must purchase fuel, often setting the highest price in the market. Contracted Prices: New offshore wind projects have seen costs drop significantly, often delivering power at prices below new gas plants.
Despite renewable generation being cheaper, gas often makes electricity more expensive due to the UK's market structure: The Marginal Price Mechanism: The UK electricity market operates on a "marginal pricing" system. This means the price of all electricity is set by the last and most expensive source needed to meet demand, which is frequently gas. Gas Sets the Price: According to recent data, gas sets the wholesale price of electricity around 98% of the time. Even if the majority of electricity comes from wind, the final, expensive unit of gas determines the price for everything. Green Levies: A significant portion of electricity bills (roughly 23% in some estimates) includes "green levies" to fund renewable projects, adding to the cost compared to direct gas, which has much lower levies.
Hope these facts help you get the big picture right, Lucky 🙂
They're not facts dear. They're the shite that you get when you ask an LLM questions and don't bother yourself to query the results. It hasn't even given you numbers!
The facts are quite clearly laid out in the Substack I helpfully linked to.
An issue, as I understand it, is partly that Gas in UK is effectively on standby as the fuel of last resort all the time for the renewables. It costs to start and then shut down a gas turbine compared to just running it 24/7.
If only we had followed the French and built 20 nuke stations in the 1970s/80s
If an MP, Party Leader, or anyone on PB wants to say “we should be more like Norway right now” the only correct response is the same as at the end of Their Will Be Blood: their head smashed in with a bowling pin for being so fucking ignorant about how this one has already played out.
There are positives from this war, even if we do see energy prices go gaga.
We could be pretty self-sufficient as a nation. And have made huge strides forward in recent years. Reform fuckheads smashed the Milliband / Cameron / May / Boris / Sunak consensus on renewables. But "lets get rid of wind and solar and use more oil and gas" looks not just really stupid but practically traitorous.
Whilst I wholly agree with the voices saying lets drill more oil / gas, those same voices also lean towards "instead of renewables". It should be "in addition to renewables"
Not sure I have seen many people on here say Iintead of renewables.
Most of the commentary has been instead of importing oil and gas. Something with which I think you agree.
The fuckhead - to use your rather florid term - is Miliband who somehow thinks importing hydrocarbons is more climate friendly than using our own.
I didn't say on here. But out there in politics world Reform fuckheads - and they are fuckheads - have filled people's head with all kinds of guff about renewables.
Milliband is a dick, but he is less wrong than Tice et al who want us to turn our energy security over to Putin.
There is a lot of guff spoken about renewables - the biggest piece of guff about them being that they are cheaper than gas. This is a provable untruth, but it is still repeated with the same enthusiasm as a North Korean ovation for Kim Jong Un.
The current gas price has shot through the roof - AI has it currently at £126 per megawatt hour. That makes it still cheaper than any renewable bar solar on CFD.
Is Gas cheaper to produce? No, renewable energy is consistently cheaper to produce than gas-fired power. Why is Electricity expensive? Because the price is set by expensive gas-fired generation, not the cheaper renewables.
Generation Costs: Renewables are Cheaper Cost of Production: New onshore wind and solar projects are among the cheapest forms of electricity generation in the UK. Once built, the fuel (wind/sun) is free. Gas Expense: Gas-fired power plants have high and volatile running costs because they must purchase fuel, often setting the highest price in the market. Contracted Prices: New offshore wind projects have seen costs drop significantly, often delivering power at prices below new gas plants.
Despite renewable generation being cheaper, gas often makes electricity more expensive due to the UK's market structure: The Marginal Price Mechanism: The UK electricity market operates on a "marginal pricing" system. This means the price of all electricity is set by the last and most expensive source needed to meet demand, which is frequently gas. Gas Sets the Price: According to recent data, gas sets the wholesale price of electricity around 98% of the time. Even if the majority of electricity comes from wind, the final, expensive unit of gas determines the price for everything. Green Levies: A significant portion of electricity bills (roughly 23% in some estimates) includes "green levies" to fund renewable projects, adding to the cost compared to direct gas, which has much lower levies.
Hope these facts help you get the big picture right, Lucky 🙂
They're not facts dear. They're the shite that you get when you ask an LLM questions and don't bother yourself to query the results. It hasn't even given you numbers!
The facts are quite clearly laid out in the Substack I helpfully linked to.
An issue, as I understand it, is partly that Gas in UK is effectively on standby as the fuel of last resort all the time for the renewables. It costs to start and then shut down a gas turbine compared to just running it 24/7.
If only we had followed the French and built 20 nuke stations in the 1970s/80s
Another option was to pace ourselves through our North Sea riches, and invest it into future returns and securities, like Norway did.
UK went mad at it, blowing the windfall on cheaper economic costs, lower taxes, and other things like the “triple ratchet” on pensions.
What is commercially and technically viable to now get out the UK basins, especially the Gas one, is next to nothing. In other words: it’s far Too late to be more like Norway.
If an MP, Party Leader, or anyone on PB wants to say “we should be more like Norway right now” the only correct response is the same as at the end of Their Will Be Blood: their head smashed in with a bowling pin for being so fucking ignorant about how this one has already played out.
Sorry but that's simply not true. We have an experienced offshore industry voice on here who can tell you exactly why the industry is on its arse, and it has nothing to do with the reserves not being there.
I do too, but I think progressives need to understand, at this moment, we are essentially conservatives defending the current order. Otherwise much may be lost.
There are positives from this war, even if we do see energy prices go gaga.
We could be pretty self-sufficient as a nation. And have made huge strides forward in recent years. Reform fuckheads smashed the Milliband / Cameron / May / Boris / Sunak consensus on renewables. But "lets get rid of wind and solar and use more oil and gas" looks not just really stupid but practically traitorous.
Whilst I wholly agree with the voices saying lets drill more oil / gas, those same voices also lean towards "instead of renewables". It should be "in addition to renewables"
Not sure I have seen many people on here say Iintead of renewables.
Most of the commentary has been instead of importing oil and gas. Something with which I think you agree.
The fuckhead - to use your rather florid term - is Miliband who somehow thinks importing hydrocarbons is more climate friendly than using our own.
I didn't say on here. But out there in politics world Reform fuckheads - and they are fuckheads - have filled people's head with all kinds of guff about renewables.
Milliband is a dick, but he is less wrong than Tice et al who want us to turn our energy security over to Putin.
There is a lot of guff spoken about renewables - the biggest piece of guff about them being that they are cheaper than gas. This is a provable untruth, but it is still repeated with the same enthusiasm as a North Korean ovation for Kim Jong Un.
The current gas price has shot through the roof - AI has it currently at £126 per megawatt hour. That makes it still cheaper than any renewable bar solar on CFD.
Is Gas cheaper to produce? No, renewable energy is consistently cheaper to produce than gas-fired power. Why is Electricity expensive? Because the price is set by expensive gas-fired generation, not the cheaper renewables.
Generation Costs: Renewables are Cheaper Cost of Production: New onshore wind and solar projects are among the cheapest forms of electricity generation in the UK. Once built, the fuel (wind/sun) is free. Gas Expense: Gas-fired power plants have high and volatile running costs because they must purchase fuel, often setting the highest price in the market. Contracted Prices: New offshore wind projects have seen costs drop significantly, often delivering power at prices below new gas plants.
Despite renewable generation being cheaper, gas often makes electricity more expensive due to the UK's market structure: The Marginal Price Mechanism: The UK electricity market operates on a "marginal pricing" system. This means the price of all electricity is set by the last and most expensive source needed to meet demand, which is frequently gas. Gas Sets the Price: According to recent data, gas sets the wholesale price of electricity around 98% of the time. Even if the majority of electricity comes from wind, the final, expensive unit of gas determines the price for everything. Green Levies: A significant portion of electricity bills (roughly 23% in some estimates) includes "green levies" to fund renewable projects, adding to the cost compared to direct gas, which has much lower levies.
Hope these facts help you get the big picture right, Lucky 🙂
They're not facts dear. They're the shite that you get when you ask an LLM questions and don't bother yourself to query the results. It hasn't even given you numbers!
The facts are quite clearly laid out in the Substack I helpfully linked to.
An issue, as I understand it, is partly that Gas in UK is effectively on standby as the fuel of last resort all the time for the renewables. It costs to start and then shut down a gas turbine compared to just running it 24/7.
If only we had followed the French and built 20 nuke stations in the 1970s/80s
If an MP, Party Leader, or anyone on PB wants to say “we should be more like Norway right now” the only correct response is the same as at the end of Their Will Be Blood: their head smashed in with a bowling pin for being so fucking ignorant about how this one has already played out.
Or to ask if they've invented a time machine.
Or if they understand we have twelve times the population of Norway for roughly the same chunk of resources, so the discussion is moot. Or 11/12ths moot.
There are positives from this war, even if we do see energy prices go gaga.
We could be pretty self-sufficient as a nation. And have made huge strides forward in recent years. Reform fuckheads smashed the Milliband / Cameron / May / Boris / Sunak consensus on renewables. But "lets get rid of wind and solar and use more oil and gas" looks not just really stupid but practically traitorous.
Whilst I wholly agree with the voices saying lets drill more oil / gas, those same voices also lean towards "instead of renewables". It should be "in addition to renewables"
Not sure I have seen many people on here say Iintead of renewables.
Most of the commentary has been instead of importing oil and gas. Something with which I think you agree.
The fuckhead - to use your rather florid term - is Miliband who somehow thinks importing hydrocarbons is more climate friendly than using our own.
I didn't say on here. But out there in politics world Reform fuckheads - and they are fuckheads - have filled people's head with all kinds of guff about renewables.
Milliband is a dick, but he is less wrong than Tice et al who want us to turn our energy security over to Putin.
There is a lot of guff spoken about renewables - the biggest piece of guff about them being that they are cheaper than gas. This is a provable untruth, but it is still repeated with the same enthusiasm as a North Korean ovation for Kim Jong Un.
The current gas price has shot through the roof - AI has it currently at £126 per megawatt hour. That makes it still cheaper than any renewable bar solar on CFD.
Is Gas cheaper to produce? No, renewable energy is consistently cheaper to produce than gas-fired power. Why is Electricity expensive? Because the price is set by expensive gas-fired generation, not the cheaper renewables.
Generation Costs: Renewables are Cheaper Cost of Production: New onshore wind and solar projects are among the cheapest forms of electricity generation in the UK. Once built, the fuel (wind/sun) is free. Gas Expense: Gas-fired power plants have high and volatile running costs because they must purchase fuel, often setting the highest price in the market. Contracted Prices: New offshore wind projects have seen costs drop significantly, often delivering power at prices below new gas plants.
Despite renewable generation being cheaper, gas often makes electricity more expensive due to the UK's market structure: The Marginal Price Mechanism: The UK electricity market operates on a "marginal pricing" system. This means the price of all electricity is set by the last and most expensive source needed to meet demand, which is frequently gas. Gas Sets the Price: According to recent data, gas sets the wholesale price of electricity around 98% of the time. Even if the majority of electricity comes from wind, the final, expensive unit of gas determines the price for everything. Green Levies: A significant portion of electricity bills (roughly 23% in some estimates) includes "green levies" to fund renewable projects, adding to the cost compared to direct gas, which has much lower levies.
Hope these facts help you get the big picture right, Lucky 🙂
They're not facts dear. They're the shite that you get when you ask an LLM questions and don't bother yourself to query the results. It hasn't even given you numbers!
The facts are quite clearly laid out in the Substack I helpfully linked to.
An issue, as I understand it, is partly that Gas in UK is effectively on standby as the fuel of last resort all the time for the renewables. It costs to start and then shut down a gas turbine compared to just running it 24/7.
If only we had followed the French and built 20 nuke stations in the 1970s/80s
If an MP, Party Leader, or anyone on PB wants to say “we should be more like Norway right now” the only correct response is the same as at the end of Their Will Be Blood: their head smashed in with a bowling pin for being so fucking ignorant about how this one has already played out.
Or to ask if they've invented a time machine.
Or if they understand we have twelve times the population of Norway for roughly the same chunk of resources, so the discussion is moot. Or 11/12ths moot.
Makes me think of my biggest pet peeve, which is when people (meant positively or negatively) refer to the UK/Great Britain as a 'small island/country'.
No we are not. Great Britain is a very very large island
And whilst it is true we are not a very big country by area, we are in fact still a very big country by population - nowhere near the big beasts of India/China, sure, and far away from your USA/Nigeria types, but still a lot bigger than most countries in the world.
There are positives from this war, even if we do see energy prices go gaga.
We could be pretty self-sufficient as a nation. And have made huge strides forward in recent years. Reform fuckheads smashed the Milliband / Cameron / May / Boris / Sunak consensus on renewables. But "lets get rid of wind and solar and use more oil and gas" looks not just really stupid but practically traitorous.
Whilst I wholly agree with the voices saying lets drill more oil / gas, those same voices also lean towards "instead of renewables". It should be "in addition to renewables"
Not sure I have seen many people on here say Iintead of renewables.
Most of the commentary has been instead of importing oil and gas. Something with which I think you agree.
The fuckhead - to use your rather florid term - is Miliband who somehow thinks importing hydrocarbons is more climate friendly than using our own.
I didn't say on here. But out there in politics world Reform fuckheads - and they are fuckheads - have filled people's head with all kinds of guff about renewables.
Milliband is a dick, but he is less wrong than Tice et al who want us to turn our energy security over to Putin.
There is a lot of guff spoken about renewables - the biggest piece of guff about them being that they are cheaper than gas. This is a provable untruth, but it is still repeated with the same enthusiasm as a North Korean ovation for Kim Jong Un.
The current gas price has shot through the roof - AI has it currently at £126 per megawatt hour. That makes it still cheaper than any renewable bar solar on CFD.
Is Gas cheaper to produce? No, renewable energy is consistently cheaper to produce than gas-fired power. Why is Electricity expensive? Because the price is set by expensive gas-fired generation, not the cheaper renewables.
Generation Costs: Renewables are Cheaper Cost of Production: New onshore wind and solar projects are among the cheapest forms of electricity generation in the UK. Once built, the fuel (wind/sun) is free. Gas Expense: Gas-fired power plants have high and volatile running costs because they must purchase fuel, often setting the highest price in the market. Contracted Prices: New offshore wind projects have seen costs drop significantly, often delivering power at prices below new gas plants.
Despite renewable generation being cheaper, gas often makes electricity more expensive due to the UK's market structure: The Marginal Price Mechanism: The UK electricity market operates on a "marginal pricing" system. This means the price of all electricity is set by the last and most expensive source needed to meet demand, which is frequently gas. Gas Sets the Price: According to recent data, gas sets the wholesale price of electricity around 98% of the time. Even if the majority of electricity comes from wind, the final, expensive unit of gas determines the price for everything. Green Levies: A significant portion of electricity bills (roughly 23% in some estimates) includes "green levies" to fund renewable projects, adding to the cost compared to direct gas, which has much lower levies.
Hope these facts help you get the big picture right, Lucky 🙂
They're not facts dear. They're the shite that you get when you ask an LLM questions and don't bother yourself to query the results. It hasn't even given you numbers!
The facts are quite clearly laid out in the Substack I helpfully linked to.
An issue, as I understand it, is partly that Gas in UK is effectively on standby as the fuel of last resort all the time for the renewables. It costs to start and then shut down a gas turbine compared to just running it 24/7.
If only we had followed the French and built 20 nuke stations in the 1970s/80s
If an MP, Party Leader, or anyone on PB wants to say “we should be more like Norway right now” the only correct response is the same as at the end of Their Will Be Blood: their head smashed in with a bowling pin for being so fucking ignorant about how this one has already played out.
Or to ask if they've invented a time machine.
Or if they understand we have twelve times the population of Norway for roughly the same chunk of resources, so the discussion is moot. Or 11/12ths moot.
Makes me think of my biggest pet peeve, which is when people (meant positively or negatively) refer to the UK/Great Britain as a 'small island/country'.
No we are not. Great Britain is a very very large island
And whilst it is true we are not a very big country by area, we are in fact still a very big country by population - nowhere near the big beasts of India/China, sure, and far away from your USA/Nigeria types, but still a lot bigger than most countries in the world.
In my long list of pet peeves, this is also mine. If Great Britain is a 'small island' the list of medium sized and large islands is very short indeed. I think because we live on an island and take it for granted, people just don't appreciate what an unusually large island Great Britain is. Agree with the rest of your point also.
Sarah Ferguson explored a TV project to clone the late Queen’s corgis, with replicas sold worldwide. Talks with Hollywood producers framed it as a way to raise funds. Critics cite welfare and ethics concerns, noting pet cloning is costly, uncertain and controversial.
The Sunday Telegraph
Israeli government explains to Starmer that Iranian missiles can now hit UK, and encourage UK to join with them in the National Interest of UK Security. Starmer and his government doing their best to cover this up, and hide the facts behind: security concerns restricts what can be discussed.
I'd say it's more Israel and its government doing their best to drag the UK into a conflict they started for exclusively their own purposes.
But you concede, it can be seen both ways, and yourselves and others who like your post, bring all sorts of longstanding bias to your answer?
This is one two governments can go in two very different ways answering - like Labour under Blair answered the same question of rogue state seeking/close to weapons of mass destruction, by joining USA action. Only Spain in Europe agreed.
The SundayTimes also goes big on Iran’s intercontinental ballistic weapons, that could carry warheads of mass destruction, used against UK’s Chagos base. The Subtext from all these headlines in the most influential of papers is explicitly clear. This world threat now totally justifies and excuses the Israeli and US action. And considering it’s just as much threat to us, and it’s our fight too, why are we letting US & Israel do the difficult, expensive, fighting and dying bit alone, on our behalf? Will the UK Conservative Party under Patel and Badenoch pick this ball up from their friends, and run with it?
There are positives from this war, even if we do see energy prices go gaga.
We could be pretty self-sufficient as a nation. And have made huge strides forward in recent years. Reform fuckheads smashed the Milliband / Cameron / May / Boris / Sunak consensus on renewables. But "lets get rid of wind and solar and use more oil and gas" looks not just really stupid but practically traitorous.
Whilst I wholly agree with the voices saying lets drill more oil / gas, those same voices also lean towards "instead of renewables". It should be "in addition to renewables"
Not sure I have seen many people on here say Iintead of renewables.
Most of the commentary has been instead of importing oil and gas. Something with which I think you agree.
The fuckhead - to use your rather florid term - is Miliband who somehow thinks importing hydrocarbons is more climate friendly than using our own.
I didn't say on here. But out there in politics world Reform fuckheads - and they are fuckheads - have filled people's head with all kinds of guff about renewables.
Milliband is a dick, but he is less wrong than Tice et al who want us to turn our energy security over to Putin.
There is a lot of guff spoken about renewables - the biggest piece of guff about them being that they are cheaper than gas. This is a provable untruth, but it is still repeated with the same enthusiasm as a North Korean ovation for Kim Jong Un.
The current gas price has shot through the roof - AI has it currently at £126 per megawatt hour. That makes it still cheaper than any renewable bar solar on CFD.
Is Gas cheaper to produce? No, renewable energy is consistently cheaper to produce than gas-fired power. Why is Electricity expensive? Because the price is set by expensive gas-fired generation, not the cheaper renewables.
Generation Costs: Renewables are Cheaper Cost of Production: New onshore wind and solar projects are among the cheapest forms of electricity generation in the UK. Once built, the fuel (wind/sun) is free. Gas Expense: Gas-fired power plants have high and volatile running costs because they must purchase fuel, often setting the highest price in the market. Contracted Prices: New offshore wind projects have seen costs drop significantly, often delivering power at prices below new gas plants.
Despite renewable generation being cheaper, gas often makes electricity more expensive due to the UK's market structure: The Marginal Price Mechanism: The UK electricity market operates on a "marginal pricing" system. This means the price of all electricity is set by the last and most expensive source needed to meet demand, which is frequently gas. Gas Sets the Price: According to recent data, gas sets the wholesale price of electricity around 98% of the time. Even if the majority of electricity comes from wind, the final, expensive unit of gas determines the price for everything. Green Levies: A significant portion of electricity bills (roughly 23% in some estimates) includes "green levies" to fund renewable projects, adding to the cost compared to direct gas, which has much lower levies.
Hope these facts help you get the big picture right, Lucky 🙂
They're not facts dear. They're the shite that you get when you ask an LLM questions and don't bother yourself to query the results. It hasn't even given you numbers!
The facts are quite clearly laid out in the Substack I helpfully linked to.
An issue, as I understand it, is partly that Gas in UK is effectively on standby as the fuel of last resort all the time for the renewables. It costs to start and then shut down a gas turbine compared to just running it 24/7.
If only we had followed the French and built 20 nuke stations in the 1970s/80s
If an MP, Party Leader, or anyone on PB wants to say “we should be more like Norway right now” the only correct response is the same as at the end of Their Will Be Blood: their head smashed in with a bowling pin for being so fucking ignorant about how this one has already played out.
Or to ask if they've invented a time machine.
Or if they understand we have twelve times the population of Norway for roughly the same chunk of resources, so the discussion is moot. Or 11/12ths moot.
Makes me think of my biggest pet peeve, which is when people (meant positively or negatively) refer to the UK/Great Britain as a 'small island/country'.
No we are not. Great Britain is a very very large island
And whilst it is true we are not a very big country by area, we are in fact still a very big country by population - nowhere near the big beasts of India/China, sure, and far away from your USA/Nigeria types, but still a lot bigger than most countries in the world.
In my long list of pet peeves, this is also mine. If Great Britain is a 'small island' the list of medium sized and large islands is very short indeed. I think because we live on an island and take it for granted, people just don't appreciate what an unusually large island Great Britain is. Agree with the rest of your point also.
I like that Greenland is by far the largest island in the world (not including continental landmasses obviously), and is distorted to seem even more ridiculously massive because of Mercator.
There are positives from this war, even if we do see energy prices go gaga.
We could be pretty self-sufficient as a nation. And have made huge strides forward in recent years. Reform fuckheads smashed the Milliband / Cameron / May / Boris / Sunak consensus on renewables. But "lets get rid of wind and solar and use more oil and gas" looks not just really stupid but practically traitorous.
Whilst I wholly agree with the voices saying lets drill more oil / gas, those same voices also lean towards "instead of renewables". It should be "in addition to renewables"
Not sure I have seen many people on here say Iintead of renewables.
Most of the commentary has been instead of importing oil and gas. Something with which I think you agree.
The fuckhead - to use your rather florid term - is Miliband who somehow thinks importing hydrocarbons is more climate friendly than using our own.
I didn't say on here. But out there in politics world Reform fuckheads - and they are fuckheads - have filled people's head with all kinds of guff about renewables.
Milliband is a dick, but he is less wrong than Tice et al who want us to turn our energy security over to Putin.
There is a lot of guff spoken about renewables - the biggest piece of guff about them being that they are cheaper than gas. This is a provable untruth, but it is still repeated with the same enthusiasm as a North Korean ovation for Kim Jong Un.
The current gas price has shot through the roof - AI has it currently at £126 per megawatt hour. That makes it still cheaper than any renewable bar solar on CFD.
Is Gas cheaper to produce? No, renewable energy is consistently cheaper to produce than gas-fired power. Why is Electricity expensive? Because the price is set by expensive gas-fired generation, not the cheaper renewables.
Generation Costs: Renewables are Cheaper Cost of Production: New onshore wind and solar projects are among the cheapest forms of electricity generation in the UK. Once built, the fuel (wind/sun) is free. Gas Expense: Gas-fired power plants have high and volatile running costs because they must purchase fuel, often setting the highest price in the market. Contracted Prices: New offshore wind projects have seen costs drop significantly, often delivering power at prices below new gas plants.
Despite renewable generation being cheaper, gas often makes electricity more expensive due to the UK's market structure: The Marginal Price Mechanism: The UK electricity market operates on a "marginal pricing" system. This means the price of all electricity is set by the last and most expensive source needed to meet demand, which is frequently gas. Gas Sets the Price: According to recent data, gas sets the wholesale price of electricity around 98% of the time. Even if the majority of electricity comes from wind, the final, expensive unit of gas determines the price for everything. Green Levies: A significant portion of electricity bills (roughly 23% in some estimates) includes "green levies" to fund renewable projects, adding to the cost compared to direct gas, which has much lower levies.
Hope these facts help you get the big picture right, Lucky 🙂
They're not facts dear. They're the shite that you get when you ask an LLM questions and don't bother yourself to query the results. It hasn't even given you numbers!
The facts are quite clearly laid out in the Substack I helpfully linked to.
An issue, as I understand it, is partly that Gas in UK is effectively on standby as the fuel of last resort all the time for the renewables. It costs to start and then shut down a gas turbine compared to just running it 24/7.
If only we had followed the French and built 20 nuke stations in the 1970s/80s
If an MP, Party Leader, or anyone on PB wants to say “we should be more like Norway right now” the only correct response is the same as at the end of Their Will Be Blood: their head smashed in with a bowling pin for being so fucking ignorant about how this one has already played out.
Or to ask if they've invented a time machine.
Or if they understand we have twelve times the population of Norway for roughly the same chunk of resources, so the discussion is moot. Or 11/12ths moot.
Makes me think of my biggest pet peeve, which is when people (meant positively or negatively) refer to the UK/Great Britain as a 'small island/country'.
No we are not. Great Britain is a very very large island
And whilst it is true we are not a very big country by area, we are in fact still a very big country by population - nowhere near the big beasts of India/China, sure, and far away from your USA/Nigeria types, but still a lot bigger than most countries in the world.
In fact, only two islands on the planet have a higher popluation: Honshu (103m) and Java (150m).
There are positives from this war, even if we do see energy prices go gaga.
We could be pretty self-sufficient as a nation. And have made huge strides forward in recent years. Reform fuckheads smashed the Milliband / Cameron / May / Boris / Sunak consensus on renewables. But "lets get rid of wind and solar and use more oil and gas" looks not just really stupid but practically traitorous.
Whilst I wholly agree with the voices saying lets drill more oil / gas, those same voices also lean towards "instead of renewables". It should be "in addition to renewables"
Not sure I have seen many people on here say Iintead of renewables.
Most of the commentary has been instead of importing oil and gas. Something with which I think you agree.
The fuckhead - to use your rather florid term - is Miliband who somehow thinks importing hydrocarbons is more climate friendly than using our own.
I didn't say on here. But out there in politics world Reform fuckheads - and they are fuckheads - have filled people's head with all kinds of guff about renewables.
Milliband is a dick, but he is less wrong than Tice et al who want us to turn our energy security over to Putin.
There is a lot of guff spoken about renewables - the biggest piece of guff about them being that they are cheaper than gas. This is a provable untruth, but it is still repeated with the same enthusiasm as a North Korean ovation for Kim Jong Un.
The current gas price has shot through the roof - AI has it currently at £126 per megawatt hour. That makes it still cheaper than any renewable bar solar on CFD.
Is Gas cheaper to produce? No, renewable energy is consistently cheaper to produce than gas-fired power. Why is Electricity expensive? Because the price is set by expensive gas-fired generation, not the cheaper renewables.
Generation Costs: Renewables are Cheaper Cost of Production: New onshore wind and solar projects are among the cheapest forms of electricity generation in the UK. Once built, the fuel (wind/sun) is free. Gas Expense: Gas-fired power plants have high and volatile running costs because they must purchase fuel, often setting the highest price in the market. Contracted Prices: New offshore wind projects have seen costs drop significantly, often delivering power at prices below new gas plants.
Despite renewable generation being cheaper, gas often makes electricity more expensive due to the UK's market structure: The Marginal Price Mechanism: The UK electricity market operates on a "marginal pricing" system. This means the price of all electricity is set by the last and most expensive source needed to meet demand, which is frequently gas. Gas Sets the Price: According to recent data, gas sets the wholesale price of electricity around 98% of the time. Even if the majority of electricity comes from wind, the final, expensive unit of gas determines the price for everything. Green Levies: A significant portion of electricity bills (roughly 23% in some estimates) includes "green levies" to fund renewable projects, adding to the cost compared to direct gas, which has much lower levies.
Hope these facts help you get the big picture right, Lucky 🙂
They're not facts dear. They're the shite that you get when you ask an LLM questions and don't bother yourself to query the results. It hasn't even given you numbers!
The facts are quite clearly laid out in the Substack I helpfully linked to.
An issue, as I understand it, is partly that Gas in UK is effectively on standby as the fuel of last resort all the time for the renewables. It costs to start and then shut down a gas turbine compared to just running it 24/7.
If only we had followed the French and built 20 nuke stations in the 1970s/80s
If an MP, Party Leader, or anyone on PB wants to say “we should be more like Norway right now” the only correct response is the same as at the end of Their Will Be Blood: their head smashed in with a bowling pin for being so fucking ignorant about how this one has already played out.
Or to ask if they've invented a time machine.
Or if they understand we have twelve times the population of Norway for roughly the same chunk of resources, so the discussion is moot. Or 11/12ths moot.
Makes me think of my biggest pet peeve, which is when people (meant positively or negatively) refer to the UK/Great Britain as a 'small island/country'.
No we are not. Great Britain is a very very large island
And whilst it is true we are not a very big country by area, we are in fact still a very big country by population - nowhere near the big beasts of India/China, sure, and far away from your USA/Nigeria types, but still a lot bigger than most countries in the world.
I judge countries on how brightly they shine on the Strava heat map. The UK is a beacon.
There are positives from this war, even if we do see energy prices go gaga.
We could be pretty self-sufficient as a nation. And have made huge strides forward in recent years. Reform fuckheads smashed the Milliband / Cameron / May / Boris / Sunak consensus on renewables. But "lets get rid of wind and solar and use more oil and gas" looks not just really stupid but practically traitorous.
Whilst I wholly agree with the voices saying lets drill more oil / gas, those same voices also lean towards "instead of renewables". It should be "in addition to renewables"
Not sure I have seen many people on here say Iintead of renewables.
Most of the commentary has been instead of importing oil and gas. Something with which I think you agree.
The fuckhead - to use your rather florid term - is Miliband who somehow thinks importing hydrocarbons is more climate friendly than using our own.
I didn't say on here. But out there in politics world Reform fuckheads - and they are fuckheads - have filled people's head with all kinds of guff about renewables.
Milliband is a dick, but he is less wrong than Tice et al who want us to turn our energy security over to Putin.
There is a lot of guff spoken about renewables - the biggest piece of guff about them being that they are cheaper than gas. This is a provable untruth, but it is still repeated with the same enthusiasm as a North Korean ovation for Kim Jong Un.
The current gas price has shot through the roof - AI has it currently at £126 per megawatt hour. That makes it still cheaper than any renewable bar solar on CFD.
So, I'm a little confused by his analysis.
For natural gas he has the cost as #75 per MW/h, which is #61 fuel, and #15 carbon credits.
Which raises a little bit of a question: like how are you capturing operating and capital costs? #75 might be the marginal cost of production for an existing gas plant (i.e. the point at which the value of electricity exceeds the cost of fuel and carbon credits).
But it's not a fully loaded price. Nobody would build a CCGT if you only got the price of fuel plus the price of carbon credits. You need to get your capital and operational costs covered too.
So, it seems he's comparing the cost of energy from existing plants (excluding operating costs), agains the fully loaded cost of a KwH from other sources. He also doesn't seem to capture capacity payments in there, which is a little lazy.
As I understand it, capacity payments are paid to gas and other reliable generators to provide power where there is no generation from intermittent renewables. Since they would not be necessary without intermittent renewables, it would be misleading to add them to the price per megawatt hour of gas - they are in fact a hidden cost of renewable generation. If that is what you mean, it is dealt with at some length in the article.
I would assume that his costings for 'fuel' include plant running costs. If you doubt this and think he's made a mistake, what's your estiimated addition? £1? £5?
You seem to basically acknowledge the reasoning is sound.
I think the capacity payments work in the favour of natural gas, and I am -in general- a big fan of CCGTs and natural gas fired power generation. I just think you want to have six months of domestic storage, so that -in the event that there is an event like the current one in the Straits- then there is ample domestic supply of natural gas for power generation in the medium term. I don't believe that such storage should be particularly expensive, albeit my knowledge of suitable UK geological structures is not as good as it could be. But I do know that across Europe (and outside the UK) such storage is common.
CCGTs are (a) low capital cost, (b) low maintenance cost, (c) highly efficient, (d) dispatchable (so power when you need it), and (e) relatively non-polluting. Unlike nuclear, there is no clean-up cost, and your plant is simply never offline for unscheduled maintenance.
They also mesh well with renewables: if the the sun is shining and the wind is blowing, then they simply turn off. If it's nighttime in winter, and the wind isn't blowing, or if power is needed right now... well, they can spin up that primary cycle incredibly quickly.
That said: you see that table the guy did? If he's done it in 2015, then the gap between solar and gas would have been 20x, not 2x. In the intervening decade, the gap between solar and gas fell 90%. The cost of panel production is only going in one direction. Solar will keep taking a larger and larger share of electricity production -even without any kind of subsidies of CfDs or FITs- because if you put it on your roof, it's offsetting a cost. It's therefore effectively tax free income.
This is an incredible statement from a British Foreign Secretary. Literally acknowledges our interests, allies, global partners, global shipping and the wider Middle East are under direct attack from a hostile state. Then emphasises we will not take offensive action to deter it."
President Donald J. Trump has posted to his Truth Social platform warning that if Iran fails to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, the US will begin targeting Iranian power plants. The message was posted at 7:44pm EST.
Sarah Ferguson explored a TV project to clone the late Queen’s corgis, with replicas sold worldwide. Talks with Hollywood producers framed it as a way to raise funds. Critics cite welfare and ethics concerns, noting pet cloning is costly, uncertain and controversial.
Did they ask InGen to do that one?
What is "costly, uncertain and controversial" about cloning animals? I can see the argument that the DNA is the intellectual property of the Crown (so should not be done without Royal consent), but it's been decades since Dolly the Sheep.
This is an incredible statement from a British Foreign Secretary. Literally acknowledges our interests, allies, global partners, global shipping and the wider Middle East are under direct attack from a hostile state. Then emphasises we will not take offensive action to deter it."
— Policy proposals being examined include shifting the tax burden away from salaried work toward land and economic rent-seeking, merging employees’ NI with income tax, reforming council tax and creating new incentives for entrepreneurship and risk-taking. It also argues for a targeted deregulation push and an energy policy which refocuses the clean energy transition on driving down costs for households and industry, including moving levies off bills and a sprint for cheap electrification.
I’m honestly feeling really depressed about what this war is doing
It frightens me too. The leaders of the US, Israel, Iran, and Russia are in love with war.
During the Cold War, both sides were careful not to step over the brink. That restraint is now gone.
I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that if Trump was leader then we’d have had full on nuclear war.
I don’t agree with a lot of what various Republican and Tory leaders have done in the past however I think they were mostly decent people and followed some kind of ideology. But they were crucially mentally sound, reliable and predictable.
Not Trump though. Apparently his unpredictability is his best asset. Which I can sort of see until it comes to an actual war where the only result seems to be utter chaos and destruction of the world economy.
I’ve got no doubt Labour is going to get punished for the war in some form however unlike in 2008 when I can sort of see the arguments the Tories made (without agreeing), this is entirely of the US’s making. They did not need to do any of this.
I’m honestly feeling really depressed about what this war is doing
It frightens me too. The leaders of the US, Israel, Iran, and Russia are in love with war.
During the Cold War, both sides were careful not to step over the brink. That restraint is now gone.
I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that if Trump was leader then we’d have had full on nuclear war.
I don’t agree with a lot of what various Republican and Tory leaders have done in the past however I think they were mostly decent people and followed some kind of ideology. But they were crucially mentally sound, reliable and predictable.
Not Trump though. Apparently his unpredictability is his best asset. Which I can sort of see until it comes to an actual war where the only result seems to be utter chaos and destruction of the world economy.
I’ve got no doubt Labour is going to get punished for the war in some form however unlike in 2008 when I can sort of see the arguments the Tories made (without agreeing), this is entirely of the US’s making. They did not need to do any of this.
The Iranian regime is vile. But it was contained. Now it has to fight to the bitter end.
President Donald J. Trump has posted to his Truth Social platform warning that if Iran fails to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, the US will begin targeting Iranian power plants. The message was posted at 7:44pm EST.
Frankly astonished Israel hasn't already done that. They surely have the ability to put Tehran in a permanant blackout in the course of just one night. A city to follow each night.
The US can do it, without question. Those are Big Boys' Rules, Tehran. You block world oil flows, that is what you can expect.
President Donald J. Trump has posted to his Truth Social platform warning that if Iran fails to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, the US will begin targeting Iranian power plants. The message was posted at 7:44pm EST.
Frankly astonished Israel hasn't already done that. They surely have the ability to put Tehran in a permanant blackout in the course of just one night. A city to follow each night.
The US can do it, without question. Those are Big Boys' Rules, Tehran. You block world oil flows, that is what you can expect.
What, targeting civilian infrastructure of the people you're claiming you're assisting whilst the Iranian military and wider regime has access to generators? Yes, I'm surprised Trump/Hegseth haven't done that yet too - sounds like the kind of frat boy "Big Boys Rules" they'd understand.
I’m honestly feeling really depressed about what this war is doing
It frightens me too. The leaders of the US, Israel, Iran, and Russia are in love with war.
During the Cold War, both sides were careful not to step over the brink. That restraint is now gone.
I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that if Trump was leader then we’d have had full on nuclear war.
I don’t agree with a lot of what various Republican and Tory leaders have done in the past however I think they were mostly decent people and followed some kind of ideology. But they were crucially mentally sound, reliable and predictable.
Not Trump though. Apparently his unpredictability is his best asset. Which I can sort of see until it comes to an actual war where the only result seems to be utter chaos and destruction of the world economy.
I’ve got no doubt Labour is going to get punished for the war in some form however unlike in 2008 when I can sort of see the arguments the Tories made (without agreeing), this is entirely of the US’s making. They did not need to do any of this.
The key question is, assuming the people blame the Government where do their votes go?
Reform and the Tories would have been / ARE - far more up the backside of Trump and Netanyahu than Labour.
Labour have plotted a middle course (call it the fence if you will) the likely recipients are SNP / PC respectively , Greens and LD.
Reform is Trump / Tories are Trump and Netanyhu - Pritti Patel is not known as the MP for Tel Aviv for nothing.
Reform wobblers and Tory one nation votes aren't going Green, may go LD, if Labour next Leader is centre left, not Left, Labour can emerge as main rival to Reform with Tories likely 5th or 6th place under current Leadership!
This is an incredible statement from a British Foreign Secretary. Literally acknowledges our interests, allies, global partners, global shipping and the wider Middle East are under direct attack from a hostile state. Then emphasises we will not take offensive action to deter it."
We’re not strong enough to take them on. They’re too big and we depend on them to maintain most of our weaponry.
Hodges has COMPLETELY lost the plot as have many on the Tory Right!
The alleged attack on Chagos has not been officially confirmed by US or Israel.
It is based on reports originating from CNN that have not been denied.
Farage and Bedenoch who are having AWFUL wars, in full meltdown on Twitter.
What we do know is that 2 ICBM type missiles were launched, one exploded in mid air, the other was bought down by an American Warship.
Where was the warship, 100 miles from Chagos, 500 miles, 1000 miles, was the warship in the Pacific or was (as seems most likely) the old near obsolete old North Korean rockets in early flight stage in an Easterly direction???
It seems that there is a lot of assumption and little fact.
The thought that Starmer should have recalled Parlaiment / Sat on a Saturday, goe on Live TV, made any form of announcement without full facts is risible.
What would that have done, I'll tell you what that would have done...
We'd have had Reform Farage and Badenoch Tories stations across the Southern Coastlines with FULL ON Sky / GB / BBC News mapping every fucking vapour trail and causing MASS HYSTERIA and panic!
Clogged motorways, a slef inflicated Farage / Badenich Right Wing media UK version of Armageddon!
No Petrol ./ Empty Shelves
Thank God the lunatics are on the Opposition Benches and the Adults and Grown Up's are in Nymber 10
Where was the warship, 100 miles from Chagos, 500 miles, 1000 miles, was the warship in the Pacific or was (as seems most likely) the old near obsolete old North Korean rockets in early flight stage in an Easterly direction???
The shootdown was by an SM-2 from the Lincoln CSG off the coast of Oman, a loooong way from DG...
The timing is highly sus if you ask me. Trump asks the UK for help pulling his cock of out the wasps' nest into which he inserted it. The UK demurs and THE NEXT DAY (these boomer capitals are good, might start using them all the time) 'US Sources' report that Iran has fired ballistic missiles toward Britan's prized and precious Indian Ocean possession. You'd have to be the sort of simple minded dickhead who takes casualty figures, from either side, in the SMO seriously to believe that's just a happy coincidence.
There are positives from this war, even if we do see energy prices go gaga.
We could be pretty self-sufficient as a nation. And have made huge strides forward in recent years. Reform fuckheads smashed the Milliband / Cameron / May / Boris / Sunak consensus on renewables. But "lets get rid of wind and solar and use more oil and gas" looks not just really stupid but practically traitorous.
Whilst I wholly agree with the voices saying lets drill more oil / gas, those same voices also lean towards "instead of renewables". It should be "in addition to renewables"
Not sure I have seen many people on here say Iintead of renewables.
Most of the commentary has been instead of importing oil and gas. Something with which I think you agree.
The fuckhead - to use your rather florid term - is Miliband who somehow thinks importing hydrocarbons is more climate friendly than using our own.
I didn't say on here. But out there in politics world Reform fuckheads - and they are fuckheads - have filled people's head with all kinds of guff about renewables.
Milliband is a dick, but he is less wrong than Tice et al who want us to turn our energy security over to Putin.
There is a lot of guff spoken about renewables - the biggest piece of guff about them being that they are cheaper than gas. This is a provable untruth, but it is still repeated with the same enthusiasm as a North Korean ovation for Kim Jong Un.
The current gas price has shot through the roof - AI has it currently at £126 per megawatt hour. That makes it still cheaper than any renewable bar solar on CFD.
Is Gas cheaper to produce? No, renewable energy is consistently cheaper to produce than gas-fired power. Why is Electricity expensive? Because the price is set by expensive gas-fired generation, not the cheaper renewables.
Generation Costs: Renewables are Cheaper Cost of Production: New onshore wind and solar projects are among the cheapest forms of electricity generation in the UK. Once built, the fuel (wind/sun) is free. Gas Expense: Gas-fired power plants have high and volatile running costs because they must purchase fuel, often setting the highest price in the market. Contracted Prices: New offshore wind projects have seen costs drop significantly, often delivering power at prices below new gas plants.
Despite renewable generation being cheaper, gas often makes electricity more expensive due to the UK's market structure: The Marginal Price Mechanism: The UK electricity market operates on a "marginal pricing" system. This means the price of all electricity is set by the last and most expensive source needed to meet demand, which is frequently gas. Gas Sets the Price: According to recent data, gas sets the wholesale price of electricity around 98% of the time. Even if the majority of electricity comes from wind, the final, expensive unit of gas determines the price for everything. Green Levies: A significant portion of electricity bills (roughly 23% in some estimates) includes "green levies" to fund renewable projects, adding to the cost compared to direct gas, which has much lower levies.
Hope these facts help you get the big picture right, Lucky 🙂
They're not facts dear. They're the shite that you get when you ask an LLM questions and don't bother yourself to query the results. It hasn't even given you numbers!
The facts are quite clearly laid out in the Substack I helpfully linked to.
An issue, as I understand it, is partly that Gas in UK is effectively on standby as the fuel of last resort all the time for the renewables. It costs to start and then shut down a gas turbine compared to just running it 24/7.
If only we had followed the French and built 20 nuke stations in the 1970s/80s
If an MP, Party Leader, or anyone on PB wants to say “we should be more like Norway right now” the only correct response is the same as at the end of Their Will Be Blood: their head smashed in with a bowling pin for being so fucking ignorant about how this one has already played out.
Or to ask if they've invented a time machine.
Or if they understand we have twelve times the population of Norway for roughly the same chunk of resources, so the discussion is moot. Or 11/12ths moot.
Would be relevant for an independent Scotland though.
I’m honestly feeling really depressed about what this war is doing
@BatteryCorrectHorse i agree with you. Given you have mentioned your mental health in the past, I hope it is not presumptuous to give a bit of advice.
As wonderful as PB is, it can fuel the depression that our current global situation stimulates (in me as well as you).
Get off here for a bit. Limit your participation. Go do something in the sunshine that will make you feel like life is wonderful (I am throwing myself out of planes on my back whilst the drop zone can still afford the fuel).
Because life still is wonderful, in many, many respects. Most of what you are worried about is in the future, not today.
PB is wonderful for keeping us informed, and keeping us sane in the face on insanity around us. But being very informed and very powerless is a pretty toxic combination for mental health.
This isn't to say that we shouldn't be doing anything about the chaos around us, but posting on PB is not anything useful in this context.
BBC: Trump says if Iran doesn't open the strait within 48 hours he'll obliterate Iranian energy plants.
If there is a bright side, I suppose it's that if his lackeys don't manage to talk him out of it, then in a few weeks he'll be so unpopular that even that miserable bunch may have the courage to remove him from office.
I’m honestly feeling really depressed about what this war is doing
@BatteryCorrectHorse i agree with you. Given you have mentioned your mental health in the past, I hope it is not presumptuous to give a bit of advice.
As wonderful as PB is, it can fuel the depression that our current global situation stimulates (in me as well as you).
Get off here for a bit. Limit your participation. Go do something in the sunshine that will make you feel like life is wonderful (I am throwing myself out of planes on my back whilst the drop zone can still afford the fuel).
Because life still is wonderful, in many, many respects. Most of what you are worried about is in the future, not today.
PB is wonderful for keeping us informed, and keeping us sane in the face on insanity around us. But being very informed and very powerless is a pretty toxic combination for mental health.
This isn't to say that we shouldn't be doing anything about the chaos around us, but posting on PB is not anything useful in this context.
Hope you have a good day x
100% agree
The Sun has finally got his/her/it's hat on (lets be PC) and there is nothing better for your health and well being!
Sarah Ferguson explored a TV project to clone the late Queen’s corgis, with replicas sold worldwide. Talks with Hollywood producers framed it as a way to raise funds. Critics cite welfare and ethics concerns, noting pet cloning is costly, uncertain and controversial.
The Sunday Telegraph
Israeli government explains to Starmer that Iranian missiles can now hit UK, and encourage UK to join with them in the National Interest of UK Security. Starmer and his government doing their best to cover this up, and hide the facts behind: security concerns restricts what can be discussed.
One well timed, well placed missile and it'll be long live King Harry after all.
For those in a cerebral mood the excellent Lewis Goodall interviews the Arab scholar who believes there is method in Trumps madness. So well was it received that Trump picked it up and it became his new justification for why he was conducting the war in the way he is.
Where was the warship, 100 miles from Chagos, 500 miles, 1000 miles, was the warship in the Pacific or was (as seems most likely) the old near obsolete old North Korean rockets in early flight stage in an Easterly direction???
The shootdown was by an SM-2 from the Lincoln CSG off the coast of Oman, a loooong way from DG...
The timing is highly sus if you ask me. Trump asks the UK for help pulling his cock of out the wasps' nest into which he inserted it. The UK demurs and THE NEXT DAY (these boomer capitals are good, might start using them all the time) 'US Sources' report that Iran has fired ballistic missiles toward Britan's prized and precious Indian Ocean possession. You'd have to be the sort of simple minded dickhead who takes casualty figures, from either side, in the SMO seriously to believe that's just a happy coincidence.
Thanks for the clarification.
Backs up what I thought, although I had no basis for thinking it other than basic commonsense which much of our Media and too many of our Politicians seem to lack!
BBC: Trump says if Iran doesn't open the strait within 48 hours he'll obliterate Iranian energy plants.
If there is a bright side, I suppose it's that if his lackeys don't manage to talk him out of it, then in a few weeks he'll be so unpopular that even that miserable bunch may have the courage to remove him from office.
It requires a majority of the Cabinet and two thirds of the Senate to back his removal (and the House, but they're up for election in seven months).
The Republican caucus is full of corrupt, cretinous cowards who will cheerfully vote through anything Trump orders if he slips them enough money.
Morning all. Have been encouraging you all to book your holidays now. So if you are going to the EU and you haven't had your details collected for the new EES system then try this app.
Early travellers through the new EES system were queuing for up to an hour. Once scanned though, it will be minutes through so what the app does it to remove the need for scanning/queuing. App works like the Middle/Far East apps where you pre-register to come through immigration.
BBC: Trump says if Iran doesn't open the strait within 48 hours he'll obliterate Iranian energy plants.
If there is a bright side, I suppose it's that if his lackeys don't manage to talk him out of it, then in a few weeks he'll be so unpopular that even that miserable bunch may have the courage to remove him from office.
It requires a majority of the Cabinet and two thirds of the Senate to back his removal (and the House, but they're up for election in seven months).
The Republican caucus is full of corrupt, cretinous cowards who will cheerfully vote through anything Trump orders if he slips them enough money.
So it isn't likely I'm afraid.
You think there's going to be money, if there's an all-out war with both sides targeting energy infrastructure?
BBC: Trump says if Iran doesn't open the strait within 48 hours he'll obliterate Iranian energy plants.
If there is a bright side, I suppose it's that if his lackeys don't manage to talk him out of it, then in a few weeks he'll be so unpopular that even that miserable bunch may have the courage to remove him from office.
It requires a majority of the Cabinet and two thirds of the Senate to back his removal (and the House, but they're up for election in seven months).
The Republican caucus is full of corrupt, cretinous cowards who will cheerfully vote through anything Trump orders if he slips them enough money.
So it isn't likely I'm afraid.
You think there's going to be money, if there's an all-out war with both sides targeting energy infrastructure?
Trump has nicked quite a lot already. Enough to keep him going for a bit.
BBC: Trump says if Iran doesn't open the strait within 48 hours he'll obliterate Iranian energy plants.
If there is a bright side, I suppose it's that if his lackeys don't manage to talk him out of it, then in a few weeks he'll be so unpopular that even that miserable bunch may have the courage to remove him from office.
It requires a majority of the Cabinet and two thirds of the Senate to back his removal (and the House, but they're up for election in seven months).
The Republican caucus is full of corrupt, cretinous cowards who will cheerfully vote through anything Trump orders if he slips them enough money.
So it isn't likely I'm afraid.
You think there's going to be money, if there's an all-out war with both sides targeting energy infrastructure?
There aren't that many Senators; there will be enough money to keep the gravy train going for them.
Morning all. Have been encouraging you all to book your holidays now. So if you are going to the EU and you haven't had your details collected for the new EES system then try this app.
Early travellers through the new EES system were queuing for up to an hour. Once scanned though, it will be minutes through so what the app does it to remove the need for scanning/queuing. App works like the Middle/Far East apps where you pre-register to come through immigration.
BBC: Trump says if Iran doesn't open the strait within 48 hours he'll obliterate Iranian energy plants.
If there is a bright side, I suppose it's that if his lackeys don't manage to talk him out of it, then in a few weeks he'll be so unpopular that even that miserable bunch may have the courage to remove him from office.
It requires a majority of the Cabinet and two thirds of the Senate to back his removal (and the House, but they're up for election in seven months).
The Republican caucus is full of corrupt, cretinous cowards who will cheerfully vote through anything Trump orders if he slips them enough money.
So it isn't likely I'm afraid.
You think there's going to be money, if there's an all-out war with both sides targeting energy infrastructure?
Trump has nicked quite a lot already. Enough to keep him going for a bit.
The war is over yesterday, Iran has 48 hours today to open the Straits or their power plants will be obliterated
This insanity is beyond comprehension and will lead to the need for a comprehensive defence review
I would close all our middle east bases and Akroteri and let those countries defend themselves
As Iran has fired a ballistic missile that indicated they could at sometime in the future hit London then we need our own iron dome and suitable equipped forces with drones in the forefront
I would add that for all Starmer's faults labour would be crazy to embark on a leadership fight this spring
Bond rates would go through the roof and 10 year are already near 5.0%
Someday this will settle down but wishing Trump would go away is not something I expect and anyway who would replace him that would start to repair the collosal damage he has caused not least to NATO
— Policy proposals being examined include shifting the tax burden away from salaried work toward land and economic rent-seeking, merging employees’ NI with income tax, reforming council tax and creating new incentives for entrepreneurship and risk-taking. It also argues for a targeted deregulation push and an energy policy which refocuses the clean energy transition on driving down costs for households and industry, including moving levies off bills and a sprint for cheap electrification.
— Policy proposals being examined include shifting the tax burden away from salaried work toward land and economic rent-seeking, merging employees’ NI with income tax, reforming council tax and creating new incentives for entrepreneurship and risk-taking. It also argues for a targeted deregulation push and an energy policy which refocuses the clean energy transition on driving down costs for households and industry, including moving levies off bills and a sprint for cheap electrification.
But if Labour did any of these I’d be happy.
Never waste a crisis.
Good morning, everyone.
Nice ideas but Labour will do what the backbench idiots are comfortable with: more private sector tax, more public sector (especially benefits) spending. But not on Defence. That'll get a press conference and announcement but no actual increase in spending.
The Manger: Éclade de Moules. Don't just order mussels; look for an Éclade. The mussels are arranged in a concentric circle on a wooden board and covered with a thick layer of pine needles, which are then set on fire. The result is a smoky, resinous flavour you won't find anywhere else.
The Boire: Pineau des Charentes (Chilled). This is a mistelle (grape juice mixed with Cognac). It is the classic drink in this region “
Eclade are wonderful - had them at a place Ile d'Oleron which was basically a tent in a car park - the fire and drama made it one of my most memorable meals.
Morning all. Have been encouraging you all to book your holidays now. So if you are going to the EU and you haven't had your details collected for the new EES system then try this app.
Early travellers through the new EES system were queuing for up to an hour. Once scanned though, it will be minutes through so what the app does it to remove the need for scanning/queuing. App works like the Middle/Far East apps where you pre-register to come through immigration.
According to the FAQ it only currently works in Sweden and Portugal?
And only does 1/3 of what’s required in Portugal.
Mrs Eek was in Lanzarote on Friday - on Thursday when the airport was in the news the queue was 90-120 minutes and Friday she was out of the airport in 10 minutes
It’s a combination of how many machines are working and how many UK flights have arrived just before yours
— Policy proposals being examined include shifting the tax burden away from salaried work toward land and economic rent-seeking, merging employees’ NI with income tax, reforming council tax and creating new incentives for entrepreneurship and risk-taking. It also argues for a targeted deregulation push and an energy policy which refocuses the clean energy transition on driving down costs for households and industry, including moving levies off bills and a sprint for cheap electrification.
But if Labour did any of these I’d be happy.
If an energy transition can be done by driving down (lowering) costs and sprinting for (attaining) cheapness with no mention of any costs transferred to anyone else then it's hardly a political crisis. It is, like opening Hormuz, dead easy.
But I think, as so often, the account misses out the crucial second stage of the underpants gnomes.
Speaking of Vance, this opening could almost have been written by the great @AlastairMeeks :
Because Vice president JD Vance is a spineless MAGA understudy who would rather climb the GOP ladder by perpetually humping the president’s leg rather than have a mind of his own, he has publicly defended President Donald Trump’s strikes against Iran, which, according to a preliminary investigation that is still ongoing, includes the supposedly accidental missile strike on an Iranian elementary school that reportedly killed 175 people, the overwhelming majority of whom were children.
However, according to White House officials, Vance made his opposition to Trump’s operations in Iran clear, leading up to the initial attack.
According to Politico, one senior official, who was granted anonymity to speak about the vice president’s views, claimed Vance is “skeptical” of what good the strikes are doing, is “worried about success” and “just opposes” the war on Iran. A second senior Trump official said Vance’s “role is to provide the president and the administration, you know, all points of views of what could happen from many different angles and, you know, he does that. But once the decision has been made, he’s fully on board.”
Hope for us all in the latest fashion trend: being smart.
"Being smart is sexy now. Not only the kind of sexy that makes people fancy you, but the kind of sexy that generates discourse. The kind of sexy that accrues value. The flipside of a dumbed-down world is that thought has scarcity value, and what is rare has always been hyped. Knowing stuff is to the 2020s what limited-edition trainers were to the 2000s."
— Policy proposals being examined include shifting the tax burden away from salaried work toward land and economic rent-seeking, merging employees’ NI with income tax, reforming council tax and creating new incentives for entrepreneurship and risk-taking. It also argues for a targeted deregulation push and an energy policy which refocuses the clean energy transition on driving down costs for households and industry, including moving levies off bills and a sprint for cheap electrification.
But if Labour did any of these I’d be happy.
If an energy transition can be done by driving down (lowering) costs and sprinting for (attaining) cheapness with no mention of any costs transferred to anyone else then it's hardly a political crisis. It is, like opening Hormuz, dead easy.
But I think, as so often, the account misses out the crucial second stage of the underpants gnomes.
This should be the blueprint for the "10 year plan" - ideally it should have been announced fully in July 2025 at the end of the first year ol Labour 5 year first term.
As aspiration it is excellent .
It may be a year late but a NEW Leader and this sort of agenda could transform the political spectrum for Labour but it would have to be cemented IN by September 2026 Party Conference with new leader!
Sarah Ferguson explored a TV project to clone the late Queen’s corgis, with replicas sold worldwide. Talks with Hollywood producers framed it as a way to raise funds. Critics cite welfare and ethics concerns, noting pet cloning is costly, uncertain and controversial.
Did they ask InGen to do that one?
What is "costly, uncertain and controversial" about cloning animals? I can see the argument that the DNA is the intellectual property of the Crown (so should not be done without Royal consent), but it's been decades since Dolly the Sheep.
The success rate, that is cloned embryos that turn into live, healthy pups, is about 2-3%.
This is an incredible statement from a British Foreign Secretary. Literally acknowledges our interests, allies, global partners, global shipping and the wider Middle East are under direct attack from a hostile state. Then emphasises we will not take offensive action to deter it."
We’re not strong enough to take them on. They’re too big and we depend on them to maintain most of our weaponry.
Hodges has COMPLETELY lost the plot as have many on the Tory Right!
The alleged attack on Chagos has not been officially confirmed by US or Israel.
It is based on reports originating from CNN that have not been denied.
Farage and Bedenoch who are having AWFUL wars, in full meltdown on Twitter.
What we do know is that 2 ICBM type missiles were launched, one exploded in mid air, the other was bought down by an American Warship.
Where was the warship, 100 miles from Chagos, 500 miles, 1000 miles, was the warship in the Pacific or was (as seems most likely) the old near obsolete old North Korean rockets in early flight stage in an Easterly direction???
It seems that there is a lot of assumption and little fact.
The thought that Starmer should have recalled Parlaiment / Sat on a Saturday, goe on Live TV, made any form of announcement without full facts is risible.
What would that have done, I'll tell you what that would have done...
We'd have had Reform Farage and Badenoch Tories stations across the Southern Coastlines with FULL ON Sky / GB / BBC News mapping every fucking vapour trail and causing MASS HYSTERIA and panic!
Clogged motorways, a slef inflicated Farage / Badenich Right Wing media UK version of Armageddon!
No Petrol ./ Empty Shelves
Thank God the lunatics are on the Opposition Benches and the Adults and Grown Up's are in Nymber 10
Hope for us all in the latest fashion trend: being smart.
"Being smart is sexy now. Not only the kind of sexy that makes people fancy you, but the kind of sexy that generates discourse. The kind of sexy that accrues value. The flipside of a dumbed-down world is that thought has scarcity value, and what is rare has always been hyped. Knowing stuff is to the 2020s what limited-edition trainers were to the 2000s."
Which is rather depressing that we are admitting that society and people really are dumbed down . An observation dismissed by many in recent years as old school moaning . Dismal in fact
But let’s be honest @Luckyguy1983 basically doesn’t believe in man made climate change (I.e. the science) so anything he says is automatically suspect.
I think if you read this back, you'll see what an utterly dickish - bordering on primitive, thing it is to say.
'I REFUSE TO BELIEVE YOU ABOUT ANYTHING, EVEN IF IT IS A FACT, BECAUSE YOU HAVE BLASHPHEMED!'
No, LuckyGuy. It’s not that you’ve blasphemed. It’s that you’re deluded. If someone comes along and says they’re Napoleon, you don’t then take their analysis of cucumber prices seriously.
The Manger: Éclade de Moules. Don't just order mussels; look for an Éclade. The mussels are arranged in a concentric circle on a wooden board and covered with a thick layer of pine needles, which are then set on fire. The result is a smoky, resinous flavour you won't find anywhere else.
The Boire: Pineau des Charentes (Chilled). This is a mistelle (grape juice mixed with Cognac). It is the classic drink in this region “
Eclade are wonderful - had them at a place Ile d'Oleron which was basically a tent in a car park - the fire and drama made it one of my most memorable meals.
Found it: Les Pieds dans l’Ø Coquille Mobile Églade Oléron
I’m honestly feeling really depressed about what this war is doing
It frightens me too. The leaders of the US, Israel, Iran, and Russia are in love with war.
During the Cold War, both sides were careful not to step over the brink. That restraint is now gone.
I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that if Trump was leader then we’d have had full on nuclear war.
I don’t agree with a lot of what various Republican and Tory leaders have done in the past however I think they were mostly decent people and followed some kind of ideology. But they were crucially mentally sound, reliable and predictable.
Not Trump though. Apparently his unpredictability is his best asset. Which I can sort of see until it comes to an actual war where the only result seems to be utter chaos and destruction of the world economy.
I’ve got no doubt Labour is going to get punished for the war in some form however unlike in 2008 when I can sort of see the arguments the Tories made (without agreeing), this is entirely of the US’s making. They did not need to do any of this.
The Iranian regime is vile. But it was contained. Now it has to fight to the bitter end.
Comments
Ryan Coetzee
@RyanCoetzee
I understand some people hate the left. I understand that some people are conservative. I understand some people are nationalists. But what I don’t understand is why anyone, whatever their world view, would be unable to see Trump for what he is as a human being. It’s a simple matter of basic judgement. He is unfit. Utterly unfit.
https://x.com/RyanCoetzee/status/2035427888728871081
The answer to the question is Gas in UK cheaper the renewables, is yes.
But only after subsidy and levies.
For simple example, if we put 25% levy on Gas to pay for more energy investment, and took that same levy off renewables at same time, would your original point “the biggest piece of guff about {renewables} being that they are cheaper than gas this is a provable untruth” actually come out the other way around?
Politically no one puts 25% levy to fund renewables on Gas bills - at least not at this stage but it is coming. I don’t need to explain to you why this particular moment is particularly different in the exciting transformation of UK energy.
Build nuclear power stations and build lots of renewables.
It’s not really difficult to see how we get out of this hole. But people only seem to want to do one. Bizarre.
I would assume that his costings for 'fuel' include plant running costs. If you doubt this and think he's made a mistake, what's your estiimated addition? £1? £5?
You seem to basically acknowledge the reasoning is sound.
'I REFUSE TO BELIEVE YOU ABOUT ANYTHING, EVEN IF IT IS A FACT, BECAUSE YOU HAVE BLASHPHEMED!'
“Charente-Maritime (La Rochelle to Royan)
The Manger: Éclade de Moules. Don't just order mussels; look for an Éclade. The mussels are arranged in a concentric circle on a wooden board and covered with a thick layer of pine needles, which are then set on fire. The result is a smoky, resinous flavour you won't find anywhere else.
The Boire: Pineau des Charentes (Chilled). This is a mistelle (grape juice mixed with Cognac). It is the classic drink in this region “
Army sizes is always a good one. IIRC Herodotus tried to calculate Persian army size with reference to the vast amounts of grain and other supplies that would be needed, but at least he was trying to justify the numbers I guess.
Wind and solar need reliable back up generation that can turn on and off whenever you need them. That isn't nuclear. At the moment it's gas - mostly foreign gas.
@DPJHodges
·
26m
How long before we find Peter Mandelson’s mobile has accidentally been dropped in the North Sea.
https://x.com/DPJHodges/status/2035483021244010600
"I left it on the beach on an island. Sadly. I forget the exact name."
Still, with all the talk of the level of petty crime in London surely no one in opposition can suggest claiming your mobile was stolen there is implausible.
Which is about the timescale to build a nuke in this country.
So let's get on with it.
This is an emergency. The US democracy needs saving.
This is no time for frippery and distractions.
COST OF LIVING day in and day out.
Sensible mixed energy. Nuclear but not massive expensive nuclear white elephants. Tidal providing reliable renewable energy for centuries with no waste. Domestic oil and gas. Bit of coal. And the wind and solar we're stuck with.
Playing as badly as we are, with a hand as good as ours, is stupidity bordering on sabotage.
UK went mad at it, blowing the windfall on cheaper economic costs, lower taxes, and other things like the “triple ratchet” on pensions.
What is commercially and technically viable to now get out the UK basins, especially the Gas one, is next to nothing.
In other words: it’s far Too late to be more like Norway.
If an MP, Party Leader, or anyone on PB wants to say “we should be more like Norway right now” the only correct response is the same as at the end of Their Will Be Blood: their head smashed in with a bowling pin for being so fucking ignorant about how this one has already played out.
There will always be UK gas under the North Sea, like we have coal too. But just like coal industry, the UK North Sea Gas industry is dead because the commercial cost and technical difficulties extracting the last bits prevents us from having one.
No we are not. Great Britain is a very very large island
And whilst it is true we are not a very big country by area, we are in fact still a very big country by population - nowhere near the big beasts of India/China, sure, and far away from your USA/Nigeria types, but still a lot bigger than most countries in the world.
Rocket to rocket!!
I think because we live on an island and take it for granted, people just don't appreciate what an unusually large island Great Britain is.
Agree with the rest of your point also.
This is one two governments can go in two very different ways answering - like Labour under Blair answered the same question of rogue state seeking/close to weapons of mass destruction, by joining USA action. Only Spain in Europe agreed.
The SundayTimes also goes big on Iran’s intercontinental ballistic weapons, that could carry warheads of mass destruction, used against UK’s Chagos base.
The Subtext from all these headlines in the most influential of papers is explicitly clear.
This world threat now totally justifies and excuses the Israeli and US action. And considering it’s just as much threat to us, and it’s our fight too, why are we letting US & Israel do the difficult, expensive, fighting and dying bit alone, on our behalf?
Will the UK Conservative Party under Patel and Badenoch pick this ball up from their friends, and run with it?
The difference between cucumbers and pickles is jarring.
CCGTs are (a) low capital cost, (b) low maintenance cost, (c) highly efficient, (d) dispatchable (so power when you need it), and (e) relatively non-polluting. Unlike nuclear, there is no clean-up cost, and your plant is simply never offline for unscheduled maintenance.
They also mesh well with renewables: if the the sun is shining and the wind is blowing, then they simply turn off. If it's nighttime in winter, and the wind isn't blowing, or if power is needed right now... well, they can spin up that primary cycle incredibly quickly.
That said: you see that table the guy did? If he's done it in 2015, then the gap between solar and gas would have been 20x, not 2x. In the intervening decade, the gap between solar and gas fell 90%. The cost of panel production is only going in one direction. Solar will keep taking a larger and larger share of electricity production -even without any kind of subsidies of CfDs or FITs- because if you put it on your roof, it's offsetting a cost. It's therefore effectively tax free income.
@DPJHodges
This is an incredible statement from a British Foreign Secretary. Literally acknowledges our interests, allies, global partners, global shipping and the wider Middle East are under direct attack from a hostile state. Then emphasises we will not take offensive action to deter it."
https://x.com/DPJHodges/status/2035397459187224746
President Donald J. Trump has posted to his Truth Social platform warning that if Iran fails to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, the US will begin targeting Iranian power plants. The message was posted at 7:44pm EST.
Lots of interesting stuff in here.
— Policy proposals being examined include shifting the tax burden away from salaried work toward land and economic rent-seeking, merging employees’ NI with income tax, reforming council tax and creating new incentives for entrepreneurship and risk-taking. It also argues for a targeted deregulation push and an energy policy which refocuses the clean energy transition on driving down costs for households and industry, including moving levies off bills and a sprint for cheap electrification.
But if Labour did any of these I’d be happy.
During the Cold War, both sides were careful not to step over the brink. That restraint is now gone.
I don’t agree with a lot of what various Republican and Tory leaders have done in the past however I think they were mostly decent people and followed some kind of ideology. But they were crucially mentally sound, reliable and predictable.
Not Trump though. Apparently his unpredictability is his best asset. Which I can sort of see until it comes to an actual war where the only result seems to be utter chaos and destruction of the world economy.
I’ve got no doubt Labour is going to get punished for the war in some form however unlike in 2008 when I can sort of see the arguments the Tories made (without agreeing), this is entirely of the US’s making. They did not need to do any of this.
The US can do it, without question. Those are Big Boys' Rules, Tehran. You block world oil flows, that is what you can expect.
Boost your local Garden Centres
Drive the UK economy!
Some fantastic Tomato variants widely available!
Reform and the Tories would have been / ARE - far more up the backside of Trump and Netanyahu than Labour.
Labour have plotted a middle course (call it the fence if you will) the likely recipients are SNP / PC respectively , Greens and LD.
Reform is Trump / Tories are Trump and Netanyhu - Pritti Patel is not known as the MP for Tel Aviv for nothing.
Reform wobblers and Tory one nation votes aren't going Green, may go LD, if Labour next Leader is centre left, not Left, Labour can emerge as main rival to Reform with Tories likely 5th or 6th place under current Leadership!
I keep coming back to one ideal Labour leader.
Darren Jones! (I'm ON)
The alleged attack on Chagos has not been officially confirmed by US or Israel.
It is based on reports originating from CNN that have not been denied.
Farage and Bedenoch who are having AWFUL wars, in full meltdown on Twitter.
What we do know is that 2 ICBM type missiles were launched, one exploded in mid air, the other was bought down by an American Warship.
Where was the warship, 100 miles from Chagos, 500 miles, 1000 miles, was the warship in the Pacific or was (as seems most likely) the old near obsolete old North Korean rockets in early flight stage in an Easterly direction???
It seems that there is a lot of assumption and little fact.
The thought that Starmer should have recalled Parlaiment / Sat on a Saturday, goe on Live TV, made any form of announcement without full facts is risible.
What would that have done, I'll tell you what that would have done...
We'd have had Reform Farage and Badenoch Tories stations across the Southern Coastlines with FULL ON Sky / GB / BBC News mapping every fucking vapour trail and causing MASS HYSTERIA and panic!
Clogged motorways, a slef inflicated Farage / Badenich Right Wing media UK version of Armageddon!
No Petrol ./ Empty Shelves
Thank God the lunatics are on the Opposition Benches and the Adults and Grown Up's are in Nymber 10
This is a concerning time. Let's hope for the best, and prepare for all eventualities.
The timing is highly sus if you ask me. Trump asks the UK for help pulling his cock of out the wasps' nest into which he inserted it. The UK demurs and THE NEXT DAY (these boomer capitals are good, might start using them all the time) 'US Sources' report that Iran has fired ballistic missiles toward Britan's prized and precious Indian Ocean possession. You'd have to be the sort of simple minded dickhead who takes casualty figures, from either side, in the SMO seriously to believe that's just a happy coincidence.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nZ4YClFMWcs
As wonderful as PB is, it can fuel the depression that our current global situation stimulates (in me as well as you).
Get off here for a bit. Limit your participation. Go do something in the sunshine that will make you feel like life is wonderful (I am throwing myself out of planes on my back whilst the drop zone can still afford the fuel).
Because life still is wonderful, in many, many respects. Most of what you are worried about is in the future, not today.
PB is wonderful for keeping us informed, and keeping us sane in the face on insanity around us. But being very informed and very powerless is a pretty toxic combination for mental health.
This isn't to say that we shouldn't be doing anything about the chaos around us, but posting on PB is not anything useful in this context.
Hope you have a good day x
The Sun has finally got his/her/it's hat on (lets be PC) and there is nothing better for your health and well being!
Good morning, everybody.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRbl5X1tDaA
Backs up what I thought, although I had no basis for thinking it other than basic commonsense which much of our Media and too many of our Politicians seem to lack!
The Republican caucus is full of corrupt, cretinous cowards who will cheerfully vote through anything Trump orders if he slips them enough money.
So it isn't likely I'm afraid.
This crossword stuff is easy. 😎
"Cup" = a type of vessel
"In" = place one word inside the other word
So c + over + up = "cover up"!
Early travellers through the new EES system were queuing for up to an hour. Once scanned though, it will be minutes through so what the app does it to remove the need for scanning/queuing. App works like the Middle/Far East apps where you pre-register to come through immigration.
https://travel-europe.europa.eu/ees/Travel-to-Europe-mobile-app
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/19/starmer-would-be-a-better-man-if-he-shot-pheasants/
Another day another reversal by the mad Trump
The war is over yesterday, Iran has 48 hours today to open the Straits or their power plants will be obliterated
This insanity is beyond comprehension and will lead to the need for a comprehensive defence review
I would close all our middle east bases and Akroteri and let those countries defend themselves
As Iran has fired a ballistic missile that indicated they could at sometime in the future hit London then we need our own iron dome and suitable equipped forces with drones in the forefront
I would add that for all Starmer's faults labour would be crazy to embark on a leadership fight this spring
Bond rates would go through the roof and 10 year are already near 5.0%
Someday this will settle down but wishing Trump would go away is not something I expect and anyway who would replace him that would start to repair the collosal damage he has caused not least to NATO
Nice ideas but Labour will do what the backbench idiots are comfortable with: more private sector tax, more public sector (especially benefits) spending. But not on Defence. That'll get a press conference and announcement but no actual increase in spending.
Mrs Eek was in Lanzarote on Friday - on Thursday when the airport was in the news the queue was 90-120 minutes and Friday she was out of the airport in 10 minutes
It’s a combination of how many machines are working and how many UK flights have arrived just before yours
But I think, as so often, the account misses out the crucial second stage of the underpants gnomes.
Because Vice president JD Vance is a spineless MAGA understudy who would rather climb the GOP ladder by perpetually humping the president’s leg rather than have a mind of his own, he has publicly defended President Donald Trump’s strikes against Iran, which, according to a preliminary investigation that is still ongoing, includes the supposedly accidental missile strike on an Iranian elementary school that reportedly killed 175 people, the overwhelming majority of whom were children.
However, according to White House officials, Vance made his opposition to Trump’s operations in Iran clear, leading up to the initial attack.
According to Politico, one senior official, who was granted anonymity to speak about the vice president’s views, claimed Vance is “skeptical” of what good the strikes are doing, is “worried about success” and “just opposes” the war on Iran. A second senior Trump official said Vance’s “role is to provide the president and the administration, you know, all points of views of what could happen from many different angles and, you know, he does that. But once the decision has been made, he’s fully on board.”
https://texasmetronews.com/112852/jd-vance-opposes-war-on-iran-but-wont-say-so-publicly/
"Being smart is sexy now. Not only the kind of sexy that makes people fancy you, but the kind of sexy that generates discourse. The kind of sexy that accrues value. The flipside of a dumbed-down world is that thought has scarcity value, and what is rare has always been hyped. Knowing stuff is to the 2020s what limited-edition trainers were to the 2000s."
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026/mar/22/living-period-political-anti-intellectualism-pop-culture-clever-new-cool?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
As aspiration it is excellent .
It may be a year late but a NEW Leader and this sort of agenda could transform the political spectrum for Labour but it would have to be cemented IN by September 2026 Party Conference with new leader!
Nutritious pheasant meat could help tackle childhood obesity if incorporated in school meals
Where's an Iranian Sejil when we need one? Because we need one targeted at Telegraph HQ.
Everybody has one...
How long do you think that will work for?