FlyTheNest

Morning all.

(All Blacks v Wallabies)

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/ ... -test-live" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... or-pay-cap" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good Morning and a rare cloudless one here in beautiful Bergen, Norway.

Interesting of course to be in Europe but not the EU. I can't claim to have any great insight from my few days here. I do notice little things that wouldn't be allowed under those awful EU regs that help us avoid injury. There are beggars in the street here, though fewer than in Leeds I would say.

HindleA wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... or-pay-cap

"George Osborne ignored poverty warnings on 1% pay cap"

Probably better than the BBC take on the story

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45994303" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"George Osborne kept pay cap despite child poverty warning"

The Guardian ends with
"George Osborne has been approached for comment."

while the BBC waters down the story by including his defence as justification

Despite this warning, the then Chancellor George Osborne announced a fresh clampdown on public sector pay in his first Conservative Budget, after five years of coalition.

Mr Osborne did though announce what he called a "National Living Wage", starting at £7.20 and rising to £9 an hour by 2020, to replace the £6.50 minimum wage, in the same Budget.

Mr Osborne's civil servants told him this "could mitigate" the impact of the wage squeeze for some.

Gyroscope Journalism, spin and balance at the same time.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... hey-change" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When do the clocks go back and could 2018 be the last time they change?
EU countries could ditch practice as research finds effects of changing time are worse than previously thought

Not us, of course, because we're leaving the EU and UK politicians are obsessed with BST for incomprehensible reasons which are completely beyond me, which means we're stuck with disruptive clock changes for the foreseeable. Changing the time has never and never will change the amount of daylight hours in a day. If people are that obsessed with getting more daylight in the summer, they can get up earlier and leave the rest of us alone, thank you very much.

From a grumpy remoaner.

tinybgoat wrote:

HindleA wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... or-pay-cap

"George Osborne ignored poverty warnings on 1% pay cap"Probably better than the BBC take on the storyhttps://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45994303" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"George Osborne kept pay cap despite child poverty warning"The Guardian ends with "George Osborne has been approached for comment."
while the BBC waters down the story by including his defence as justification

Despite this warning, the then Chancellor George Osborne announced a fresh clampdown on public sector pay in his first Conservative Budget, after five years of coalition.
Mr Osborne did though announce what he called a "National Living Wage", starting at £7.20 and rising to £9 an hour by 2020, to replace the £6.50 minimum wage, in the same Budget.
Mr Osborne's civil servants told him this "could mitigate" the impact of the wage squeeze for some.

Gyroscope Journalism, spin and balance at the same time.

Fair enough from the bbc, well almost !
The sting is in the tail which I listened to earlier- " Mr Osborne's civil servants told him this "could mitigate" the impact of the wage squeeze for some.
Next question "How many is 'some'?"

HindleA wrote:(All Blacks v Wallabies)

Yup.

The production had some issues getting the contrast of the virtual advertising right:

Willow904 wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... hey-change

When do the clocks go back and could 2018 be the last time they change?
EU countries could ditch practice as research finds effects of changing time are worse than previously thought

Not us, of course, because we're leaving the EU and UK politicians are obsessed with BST for incomprehensible reasons which are completely beyond me, which means we're stuck with disruptive clock changes for the foreseeable. Changing the time has never and never will change the amount of daylight hours in a day. If people are that obsessed with getting more daylight in the summer, they can get up earlier and leave the rest of us alone, thank you very much.

From a grumpy remoaner.

You are right to be grumpy about this, personally I have never seen the point. Though having an extra hour's kip is always nice.

From Wren-Lewis

"If you do not have the media to call out lies, they will pass as the truth and democracy dies."
The day Theresa May lied in parliament about something I wrote

link posted here yesterday on the politics thread

Good-afternoon, everyone

citizenJA wrote:From Wren-Lewis

"If you do not have the media to call out lies, they will pass as the truth and democracy dies."
The day Theresa May lied in parliament about something I wrote

link posted here yesterday on the politics thread

Good piece, as is usual from him.

Plenty of giggles here — https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-st ... -1-5703506" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just ONE example of many —

” That was Nick Griffin during the 2009 European election campaign. Hilariously the photo chosen by his BNP on their ‘Battle for Britain’ posters turned out to be a version of the aircraft used exclusively by Polish pilots from the famed RAF 303 Squadron.”

” Bloody forriners, coming over here, winning our battles …”

The reminder of the clown supporters disguised as WW2 pilots for the 4-1 defeat by Germany in South Africa still raises a smile

Also …

” The fact that the Hurricane was responsible for more enemy aircraft destroyed is eclipsed by the Spitfire’s graceful silhouette and romantic legend. Glamour usually outshines performance, in war as in love. ”

http://www.historynet.com/supermarine-s ... rcraft.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AnatolyKasparov wrote:

citizenJA wrote:From Wren-Lewis

"If you do not have the media to call out lies, they will pass as the truth and democracy dies."
The day Theresa May lied in parliament about something I wrote

link posted here yesterday on the politics thread

Good piece, as is usual from him.

The media calling Trump out on his lies doesn't seem to be changing many minds though ?
And at home the evident cruelties of the so-called welfare system , WCA etc, are blithely ignored by millions.
Quickly outside before the rain arrives !

more from same Wren-Lewis article

"When I became part of John McDonnell’s Economic Advisory Council I knew that would put me in the political spotlight.
---
I left over Labour’s support for Brexit in part because my clear and public anti-Brexit views could be used to attack Labour, when the people driving Brexit were Conservatives."

(cJA emphasis)

I appreciate this bit
I acknowledge Wren-Lewis has at least one other reason for leaving that council
But it struck me
the disreputable and conniving (Tory government, for example) force decent people against walls or into ditches with just a few words and other decent people get conned into believing in non-existent enemies

I've not explained my thought well
It shouldn't have been necessary for Wren-Lewis leaving the Labour economic council for the reason he states but he's right having done so
It's exhausting having to counter lies over and over

It's mind-numbing, lies told one after another, each one more outrageous than the last

"Ed Miliband is weak", the political activist responded to my question, why not vote Labour?
He encouraged others vote for a different left-wing party getting rid of Tory government
He wasn't a bad guy, he genuinely disliked Tory government, knew their policies were bad and hurting people
I don't think he'd have like it if I'd asked him how long he'd been Dave Cameron's speech writer
This is some years ago, of course

frog222 wrote:---
...Glamour usually outshines performance, in war as in love. ”

(cJA edit)
in politics too

Jolyon Maugham is rather good, when he isn't 'FBFE-ing*' all over twitter. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... injunction" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

*or whatever the acronym is

This doesn't look good...

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

refitman wrote:Jolyon Maugham is rather good, when he isn't 'FBFE-ing*' all over twitter. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... injunction" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

*or whatever the acronym is

His comparing Corbyn to Mussolini the other day was particularly egregious.

refitman wrote:Jolyon Maugham is rather good, when he isn't 'FBFE-ing*' all over twitter. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... injunction" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

*or whatever the acronym is

I don't care for acronyms, don't like them.
off-topic aside

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... e-shooting" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

At Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Donald Trump expressed sympathy for the victims. Asked if gun laws needed to be changed to prevent such shootings, the president said: “If they had protection inside the results would have been far better. If they had some kind of a protection inside the temple, maybe it would have been a much different situation.”

President Trump appears to be lamenting the lack of firearms in houses of worship. Or maybe he's insinuating churchgoers should avail themselves of bullet proof vests. It's hard to tell. What is clear is that he thinks gun victims should be the ones to change their behaviour, not gun owners whose behaviour of having guns and using them to shoot people is just one of those unfortunate facts of life that can't be helped.

Fracking: second tremor in 24 hours recorded in Blackpool

Tremor at Cuadrilla site in Little Plumpton is 18th since fracking restarted 12 days ago


A second tremor in a 24-hour period has been recorded at the UK’s only active fracking site near Blackpool.

Cuadrilla was forced to halt operations for 18 hours on Friday after a 0.8-magnitude tremor. Fracking restarted on Saturday morning before a second tremor was detected.

Saturday’s tremor is the 18th in the area since fracking recommenced 12 days ago. It was too small to be felt above ground and was not categorised as a “red” event by the Oil and Gas Authority, unlike the one on Friday, because it occurred after operations had finished at 1pm. The company only has permission to frack until that time on Saturdays. (Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... -blackpool

https://www.itv.com/news/2018-10-23/dem ... es-reveal/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fascinating times, when the Trumpian embargo on Iranian oil sales on the 4th or is it the 5th (?) almost coincides with the US elections on the 6th.

The Iowan Right’s mythic past is very like the Brexiteers’ fascination with WW2, Spitfires (!), Empire, the Buccaneering Elizabethan era … and of course Royal Yachts to show the flag –

” The idea of Western civilization is for him – this is not a question of race but it is a question of a great civilization that should not disappear.

“But if you let too many immigrants in, then this civilization will disappear.”

The word is recurrent: “civilization.” As used by King, it evokes a pure mythic past, which is now said to face a dire external threat, which also turns out to be insidiously internal. In his recent book How Fascism Works, the philosopher Jason Stanley identified such mythologizing as the shared cornerstone of anti-democratic political movements across the 20th century.

“These myths are generally based on fantasies of a non-existent past uniformity,” Stanley writes, “which survives in the traditions of the small towns and countryside that remain relatively unpolluted by the liberal decadence of the cities.” ”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... o-congress" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is something of a Cry for Help there —

“Stop the world I want to get off ! “

Of course when the vast majority of anglo-saxons and other north europeans were , comparatively, raggedy-arsed tribesmen ,( although with chiefs who had good taste in some artifacts, and even in places were rather venturesome in self-government, and part of a thousand-mile+ trading network ) people further south and east were inventing number, science, sociology, water-engineering and advanced agriculture.

To name but a few achievements…

Steve King's grandparents are from European nations, not the Sauk, Sioux or Mesquakie people (not an exhaustive list) living for centuries in the current North American continent region King represents in the US House of Congress.

“But if you let too many immigrants in, then this civilization will disappear.”
- Steve King

Some people manage it okay. You don't.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... o-congress" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Free-booting gangsters destroy the peace and prosperity of regular people
Thuggish brutality, lying betrayal and unimaginative, wanton destruction of lives and resources is nothing to brag about, not ever

goodnight, everyone
love,
cJA

https://www.theguardian.com/society/201 ... ess-crisis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good morning all, everybody making use of their extra hour in bed?

Good morfternoon.

Andrew Marr being (deliberately) obtuse in his interview with John McDonnell.

Not sure if listening to Carleton Hobbs as Sherlock Holmes constitutes "making use"..

Philip Hammond is not challenged, by Andrew Marr, on his assertion that Universal Credit is a "new" benefit.

It's a fucked up attempt at combining some by no means all and only particular versions of existing.

Would have simplified by reducing by the massive amount of one,some of the time,in our case.The "danger" as I see it,is that it will become the fall guy and attention diverted from the continuing harm otherwise

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Good morning all, everybody making use of their extra hour in bed?

I made a clean spot and ended up sluicing the whole room

Good-morning, everyone

Remember to alter your FtN clocks everybody.

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Remember to alter your FtN clocks everybody.

Thanks for the reminder.

I've been a bit pre-occupied lately nursing a sick guinea pig. Privately prescribed antibiotics & painkillers are shockingly expensive, aren't they? A real reminder of how lucky we are with the NHS. Illness is hard enough to cope with without the worry of the cost. Not to mention it really piles the pressure on when you know that the small drops of Metacam you're trying to get down your guinea pig's throat rather than down their chin cost you a fiver! Anyway, he's eating and drinking ok so hopefully will make a full recovery, despite my less than impressive skills with a miniature syringe.

@Willow904

Yes - I've always made the comparison between the NHS and US-style private health care whenever I've had occasion to use the vet. service. It's very sobering*.

Edited to add -
*Anyone (mentioning no names) want to add their two-penn'orth?

*hic

Anyway..........everybody looking forward to the Budget tomorrow?

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... d-economic" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Usual what he doesn't say/read actual especially small print.

15.30 reminder.

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Anyway..........everybody looking forward to the Budget tomorrow?

But will it be the Budget? Philip Hammond seems a bit iffy on that point.

Jair Bolsonaro on brink of victory in Brazil as fears for democracy grow

Opponents fear far-right candidate will plunge Brazil back into authoritarianism (Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... cracy-grow

Just been and caught the final day of the Roman Dead exhibition in Docklands. Fascinating stuff if slightly ghoulish...

PorFavor wrote:

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Anyway..........everybody looking forward to the Budget tomorrow?

But will it be the Budget? Philip Hammond seems a bit iffy on that point.

Did I hear him say that there might well be another one if we leave with No deal?

That sounds like he's told Chote to forecast on the basis that somehow we'll get a deal on a similar basis to where we are now.