Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd August 2025
Re: Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd August 2025
Plenty of good comments from OopNorth on the John McD above, also this at the Times --
Whatever Keir Starmer says, Heathrow’s third runway is a folly
If Starmer and Reeves are enthusiastic is becoming a guarantee that 'x' is a sillly stunt ?
Whatever Keir Starmer says, Heathrow’s third runway is a folly
https://archive.ph/KnFfLFor a flight to nowhere, at least it’s a popular one. Heathrow’s third runway is back on the radar again: a reheated version of its pre-Covid plan, only this time with a jumbo £49 billion price tag.
It’s got a political tailwind, too, with the PM saying he’ll do “whatever it takes” to get “spades in the ground” by 2030 and Rachel Reeves bizarrely making it her No 1 growth project.
Yet there are good reasons Britain has been failing to build this landing strip since 1968. And none of them have gone away,
If Starmer and Reeves are enthusiastic is becoming a guarantee that 'x' is a sillly stunt ?
Re: Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd August 2025
BIG BIZNESS !
EX "Escort services are risky not only for the people who are drawn into prostitution, but also for their clients. Sex workers often videotape their companions in order to blackmail them later. This was the case, for example, with the Belarusian Anastasia Vashukevich (“Nastya Rybka”), who was involved in a scandal with the oligarch Oleg Deripaska, and Sergei Prikhodko, Deputy Chairman of the Russian government. Compromising materials on high-profile businessmen and politicians are often gathered by intelligence services, a method commonly known as a ‘honey trap’. One occasion when this was used was the case of the Estonian military officer Deniss Metsavas, who was sentenced to 15.5 years for collaborating with Russian military intelligence. Metsavas said he had spent time with a girl during his trip to Smolensk, and then learnt from an officer of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) that she had filed a rape claim against him, and that only spying for Russia could save him from prosecution and disgrace.
Belyakov was in a unique position: not only was he on friendly terms with Epstein and in charge of SPIEF but he was also an FSB Academy graduate. He enrolled in the Academy in 1993, after completing two years of conscript service. Having graduated from the Academy in 1998, he served a year in the FSB border guards "
https://bsky.app/profile/mynameredacted ... gdeww2jk22
EX "Escort services are risky not only for the people who are drawn into prostitution, but also for their clients. Sex workers often videotape their companions in order to blackmail them later. This was the case, for example, with the Belarusian Anastasia Vashukevich (“Nastya Rybka”), who was involved in a scandal with the oligarch Oleg Deripaska, and Sergei Prikhodko, Deputy Chairman of the Russian government. Compromising materials on high-profile businessmen and politicians are often gathered by intelligence services, a method commonly known as a ‘honey trap’. One occasion when this was used was the case of the Estonian military officer Deniss Metsavas, who was sentenced to 15.5 years for collaborating with Russian military intelligence. Metsavas said he had spent time with a girl during his trip to Smolensk, and then learnt from an officer of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) that she had filed a rape claim against him, and that only spying for Russia could save him from prosecution and disgrace.
Belyakov was in a unique position: not only was he on friendly terms with Epstein and in charge of SPIEF but he was also an FSB Academy graduate. He enrolled in the Academy in 1993, after completing two years of conscript service. Having graduated from the Academy in 1998, he served a year in the FSB border guards "
https://bsky.app/profile/mynameredacted ... gdeww2jk22
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Sky'sGoneOut
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Re: Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd August 2025
It's bridge picture time again!
(On the way last night from one pub to another).
(On the way last night from one pub to another).
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Sky'sGoneOut
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Re: Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd August 2025
My Mum continues to defy medical predictions (my Dad and I have even had her out in her wheelchair over the last couple of days).
The best/worst moment came when I was sitting outside a pub on Friday evening when suddenly it felt like someone had poured half a bucket of water over me. I was confused about what had happened for a few seconds before realising I'd been blessed by a herring gull. It went all over my head, my shirt, my t-shirt and my trousers. I had to scrounge a rag from the barmaid and spend a good 15 minutes in the toilet wiping everything down with water and hand wash. Fortunately it mustn’t have been eating fish or I'd have stank. Judging by the consistency and (relative) lack of odour I'm guessing it'd been feasting on chips. Naturally everyone who witnessed the splattering thought it was hilarious. Me not so much. I had my favourite shirt on.
The best/worst moment came when I was sitting outside a pub on Friday evening when suddenly it felt like someone had poured half a bucket of water over me. I was confused about what had happened for a few seconds before realising I'd been blessed by a herring gull. It went all over my head, my shirt, my t-shirt and my trousers. I had to scrounge a rag from the barmaid and spend a good 15 minutes in the toilet wiping everything down with water and hand wash. Fortunately it mustn’t have been eating fish or I'd have stank. Judging by the consistency and (relative) lack of odour I'm guessing it'd been feasting on chips. Naturally everyone who witnessed the splattering thought it was hilarious. Me not so much. I had my favourite shirt on.
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Sky'sGoneOut
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Re: Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd August 2025
Everyone ready for Storm Floris? Coming down on the train this afternoon there were warnings in York and Leeds stations warning people not to attempt to travel anywhere North of Newcastle tomorrow. It was all rather ominous.
Anyway, onto politics.
Wait what? That's horrible, and that, and how has that even been allowed to happen? I don't want to be hearing this shit. I demand the sacking of the entirety of the world's media. Henceforth all stories will be happy and positive. Preferably including a cute fluffy bunny or the heartwarming tale of a disadvantaged child overcoming adversity. What do you mean 'what about the children in Gaza'? It's sad and depressing, who wants to see that? Maybe airdrop some glitter on them, make them sparkly, then they'll look more cheerful.
And all this shit about the Soviets, and pretty much every dictatorial authoritarian regime before them being told what they want to hear rather than the reality of the situation, I'm all for it. If the hippies taught us anything it's that the power of positivity can conquer all. Yeah it may have proved an unsustainably vacuous philosophy, though to be fair many went on to monetise it quite successfully.
People always want to be told what they want to hear, whether they be Ceaușescu, Trump or your Reform voting neighbour.
The Enlightenment was a long time ago and mostly involved men in wigs telling their lessers how to think, now we have the most incredible font of knowledge ever known to mankind, the democratisation of centuries of thought, and it's mostly used for porn and reinforcing our own prejudices.
We're fucking idiots.
Anyway, onto politics.
Wait what? That's horrible, and that, and how has that even been allowed to happen? I don't want to be hearing this shit. I demand the sacking of the entirety of the world's media. Henceforth all stories will be happy and positive. Preferably including a cute fluffy bunny or the heartwarming tale of a disadvantaged child overcoming adversity. What do you mean 'what about the children in Gaza'? It's sad and depressing, who wants to see that? Maybe airdrop some glitter on them, make them sparkly, then they'll look more cheerful.
And all this shit about the Soviets, and pretty much every dictatorial authoritarian regime before them being told what they want to hear rather than the reality of the situation, I'm all for it. If the hippies taught us anything it's that the power of positivity can conquer all. Yeah it may have proved an unsustainably vacuous philosophy, though to be fair many went on to monetise it quite successfully.
People always want to be told what they want to hear, whether they be Ceaușescu, Trump or your Reform voting neighbour.
The Enlightenment was a long time ago and mostly involved men in wigs telling their lessers how to think, now we have the most incredible font of knowledge ever known to mankind, the democratisation of centuries of thought, and it's mostly used for porn and reinforcing our own prejudices.
We're fucking idiots.