Danny
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Post by Danny on Aug 12, 2022 17:22:53 GMT
Seems to be some difficulties over the Russian controlled Ukrainian nuclear plant. It seems Russian troops are using it as a base, while Ukrainian plant workers are suffering worsening conditions.
If Russia anticipates losing control of the plant, then it seems very unlikely they would willingly depart leaving it in a functional condition. The question then is how much damage they would commit. In principle, if they have fuel storage capacity they could completely de-fuel it and then destroy the reactor body, leaving a radioactive but probably contained mess.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2022 17:32:31 GMT
OF? ?? OF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is this how you wrote your police reports?
”I twisted his neck very slightly - which unfortunately meant he spent some time in hospital ** - but otherwise he COULD OF nicked off.”
** Three mumfs.A point of order, Crofty. The expression "nicked off" is a cricketing term. Well, the fuzz - clearly - must of nicked it. Typical.
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Post by reggieside on Aug 12, 2022 17:34:12 GMT
Labours response to the energy bill crunch is pathetic - they should be taking gordon browns and martin lewis advice (and - whisper it - jermey corbyn's) on this - its a national emergency that needs to tackled immediately - otherwise millions of people are going to have their lives smashed. uttlerly self defeating political cowardice when they could be taking an acutal lead and speaking for the nation. But it seems "vaguely trying to be not being quite as useless as the tories" seems to be their electoral strategy.
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shevii
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Post by shevii on Aug 12, 2022 17:39:54 GMT
Of course, why on earth the focus and opprobrium is on the party that has absolutely zero power to implement anything at the moment, or influence very much those who can, rather than on the party in power and who has been governing the country for 12 years, is a very moot point. Because an opposition are supposed to show what they would do differently, partly to put pressure on the government to do more (as was the case when Labour trailed windfall tax) but also any competent opposition leader should be showing the electorate that they have a solution to their problems. Blair would never have left such a policy vacuum rumble on- he would have chosen a path and then run with it for 2 years. Policy at a time when people are most attentive and then reminding the electorate on a regular basis. This week the people's hero was Martin Lewis - should have been Starmer. Also this prepayment meter equality, worthy as it is, is being budgeted as around a £1 a week saving so scarcely worthy of a separate announcement.
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Post by crossbat11 on Aug 12, 2022 17:55:20 GMT
Doesn't sound at all good for Rushdie. It would appear from eye witness accounts that he was subject to a sustained and frenzied attack. He is likely to have received multiple stab wounds to his upper torso and neck. It sounds too as if he was attacked from behind.
Listening to news reports, I've been reminded of how long ago it was since the fatwa was issued against him for his comments on the Prophet Muhammad in his novel "Satanic Verses". 34 years ago.
Religious fanaticism and hatred appears to be passed down through the generations. A festering poison with an eternal shelf life.
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Post by crossbat11 on Aug 12, 2022 18:41:08 GMT
With the effects of climate change now with us, and likely to intensify, I would imagine a key element of adaptation is the development of genetically modified food crops that are tolerant, even resistant, to drought conditions. At present, it appears that we lack these, certainly in this country where we have far less experience of drought conditions. We probably need to play catch-up fast:- www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/12/mass-crop-failures-expected-in-england-as-farmers-demand-hosepipe-bansI was interested in this topic by a recent encounter I had with a local farmer. My wife and I were walking a footpath that took us through a large wheat field that was being harvested at the time. Ironically, we'd been talking about the likely poor harvest because of the chronic lack of rainfall and the rise in the price of wheat that would ensue. As we stopped to navigate our path across the partially harvested field, the farmer, who was taking a break, came to our assistance. We chatted to him about the harvest. He surprised us by saying that it was one of the best he'd known. Not only in terms of yield but quality too. The protein content of the wheat was exceptional, apparently. He said the rain that fell heavily in early Spring, and the amount of sunshine since, had been ideal growing conditions. He said nothing about any genetic modification of the wheat that had helped it tolerate the drought, but I suspect it may have been a factor. Despite the opposition to GM foodstuffs, I wonder if this is the way we have to go now in order to maintain the reliable production of essential and staple food. Maybe we already are on the journey. www.fwi.co.uk/machinery/technology/uk-scientists-develop-drought-tolerant-wheat-plants#:~:text=Scientists%20have%20developed%20wheat%20plants,more%20efficiently%2C%20while%20maintaining%20yields.
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Danny
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Post by Danny on Aug 12, 2022 19:07:03 GMT
As we stopped to navigate our path across the partially harvested field, the farmer, who was taking a break, came to our assistance. We chatted to him about the harvest. He surprised us by saying that it was one of the best he'd known. Not only in terms of yield but quality too. The protein content of the wheat was exceptional, apparently. He said the rain that fell heavily in early Spring, and the amount of sunshine since, had been ideal growing conditions. He said nothing about any genetic modification of the wheat that had helped it tolerate the drought, but I suspect it may have been a factor. I recall seeing trailers of straw being transported a while ago now, so harvest must be well under way. What you want for harvest is dry, and dry, and then a bit of more dry. timing is everything.
What I did find disturbing was when I recently caught some farming today, which was talking about Australia. Where they reckoned the risk of starting fires was so serious they had introduced powers to ban farmers reaping their crops, because of the risk they start a fire. Now thats disturbing, because if farmers face a risk they might be forbidden to take their harvest, then obviously they could not take the risk of planting one.
Some of the fires at the moment are a handy reminder that planting trees to sequester carbon from the atmosphere is only a temporary solution.
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Post by catmanjeff on Aug 12, 2022 19:21:16 GMT
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Post by crossbat11 on Aug 12, 2022 19:24:07 GMT
@danny
Yes, I understand the need for dry weather when harvesting, and the farmer I spoke too also mentioned the absence of heavy storm rainfall during the early summer months being a bonus too, preventing large sections of the crop being driven down and rendered useless. Wet summers were his enemy too, but when you contemplate the zero rainfall/drought during the main growing months this year, and the arid soil conditions caused, it is remarkable that they are currently harvesting, albeit ten days early, such a remarkably good crop of wheat.
Good news too for both the UK and world's market, maybe partially offsetting the Ukraine blockade.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2022 19:41:17 GMT
@danny Yes, I understand the need for dry weather when harvesting, and the farmer I spoke too also mentioned the absence of heavy storm rainfall during the early summer months being a bonus too, preventing large sections of the crop being driven down and rendered useless. Wet summers were his enemy too, but when you contemplate the zero rainfall/drought during the main growing months this year, and the arid soil conditions caused, it is remarkable that they are currently harvesting, albeit ten days early, such a remarkably good crop of wheat. Good news too for both the UK and world's market, maybe partially offsetting the Ukraine blockade. It may be good news for the UK
But ..
If it's like that here then what is it going to be like in large swathes of Africa that can no longer feed their people ?
How big a wall ( both literal and metaphorical ) will we have to build to keep them out?
And what sort of a society will that transform us into ?
Somehow I'm not filled with unalloyed joy on contemplating the alleged benefits
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shevii
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Post by shevii on Aug 12, 2022 20:06:51 GMT
With the effects of climate change now with us, and likely to intensify, I would imagine a key element of adaptation is the development of genetically modified food crops that are tolerant, even resistant, to drought conditions. At present, it appears that we lack these, certainly in this country where we have far less experience of drought conditions. We probably need to play catch-up fast:- www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/12/mass-crop-failures-expected-in-england-as-farmers-demand-hosepipe-bansI was interested in this topic by a recent encounter I had with a local farmer. My wife and I were walking a footpath that took us through a large wheat field that was being harvested at the time. Ironically, we'd been talking about the likely poor harvest because of the chronic lack of rainfall and the rise in the price of wheat that would ensue. As we stopped to navigate our path across the partially harvested field, the farmer, who was taking a break, came to our assistance. We chatted to him about the harvest. He surprised us by saying that it was one of the best he'd known. Not only in terms of yield but quality too. The protein content of the wheat was exceptional, apparently. He said the rain that fell heavily in early Spring, and the amount of sunshine since, had been ideal growing conditions. He said nothing about any genetic modification of the wheat that had helped it tolerate the drought, but I suspect it may have been a factor. Despite the opposition to GM foodstuffs, I wonder if this is the way we have to go now in order to maintain the reliable production of essential and staple food. Maybe we already are on the journey. www.fwi.co.uk/machinery/technology/uk-scientists-develop-drought-tolerant-wheat-plants#:~:text=Scientists%20have%20developed%20wheat%20plants,more%20efficiently%2C%20while%20maintaining%20yields. Your post got me thinking and googling and haven't come to a conclusion yet. I was instinctively against them to not mess with nature and risk something that defeats the object as has been the case in the past, but as you say needs must if there are no red flags and while there are some worry areas does seem like there would be potential environmental positives as well. On environment I hope everyone has put out water for the birdies and hedgehogs- a friend in London said she was seeing the bees and waspies on her bird baths even before she had finished filling them.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2022 20:27:13 GMT
@danny Yes, I understand the need for dry weather when harvesting, and the farmer I spoke too also mentioned the absence of heavy storm rainfall during the early summer months being a bonus too, preventing large sections of the crop being driven down and rendered useless. Wet summers were his enemy too, but when you contemplate the zero rainfall/drought during the main growing months this year, and the arid soil conditions caused, it is remarkable that they are currently harvesting, albeit ten days early, such a remarkably good crop of wheat. Good news too for both the UK and world's market, maybe partially offsetting the Ukraine blockade. And of course as ever, theres always another perspective ..
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Post by hireton on Aug 12, 2022 20:29:10 GMT
Truss continues to reveal a lack of seriousness and judgment. Her antisemtic accusation against the Civil Service had been met with general incredulity including this from Stephen Pollard:
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2022 21:06:47 GMT
Smells of the usual right wing link up between tea party anti-tax, Putin and support for hard line anti-muslim Zionists in Israel. See Trump.
Watch next for more deep state paedos within the left wing woke media.
We're in for at least 2 years of this culture war anti woke shit, and have to listen to the defenders of the right blame the left for it. And even if they get kicked out next time, they are converting the Tories into their own party, like Trump did to the Republicans.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2022 21:10:43 GMT
@danny Yes, I understand the need for dry weather when harvesting, and the farmer I spoke too also mentioned the absence of heavy storm rainfall during the early summer months being a bonus too, preventing large sections of the crop being driven down and rendered useless. Wet summers were his enemy too, but when you contemplate the zero rainfall/drought during the main growing months this year, and the arid soil conditions caused, it is remarkable that they are currently harvesting, albeit ten days early, such a remarkably good crop of wheat. Good news too for both the UK and world's market, maybe partially offsetting the Ukraine blockade. It may be good news for the UK
But ..
If it's like that here then what is it going to be like in large swathes of Africa that can no longer feed their people ?
How big a wall ( both literal and metaphorical ) will we have to build to keep them out?
And what sort of a society will that transform us into ?
Somehow I'm not filled with unalloyed joy on contemplating the alleged benefits
I don’t think Batty was cheering on global warning! - just being pleased that it’s not bad news everywhere, all the time.
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oldnat
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Post by oldnat on Aug 12, 2022 21:12:15 GMT
Labour would "reimburse energy firms" who are already making excessive profits!!!!!!
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Post by crossbat11 on Aug 12, 2022 21:46:06 GMT
Sad eyed Lass of the Lakelands (aka Lakeland Lass)
Two rather odd responses to my posts on wheat harvests in the UK this summer and the need to look at developing drought tolerant crops worldwide as we adapt to the effects of climate change.
Quite what the references to building walls to prevent fleeing Africans getting here, and the clear implication that I was adopting some sort of "I'm Alright Jack" attitude, were all about, is beyond me.
You also attached, by way of another guarded rebuke, the very same Guardian article about failed crops in the UK this year that I did in my earlier post! I'd attached it to support my argument that we needed to move quickly to prevent this repeating itself every summer now the frequency of droughts is increasing. This led me to conclude that GM foodstuffs may be the way to go.
Your responses puzzled me with their tone and the inclination you obviously had to make the issue divisive. It shouldn't be. This really is a subject when we're all in together. I was using parochial observations to make that very point.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2022 21:58:45 GMT
Hard to see a get out for Trump if they found the documents reported at his private property.
It’s against the law and that’s pretty much an open and shut case. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke.
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Post by isa on Aug 12, 2022 21:59:52 GMT
Yes, la Dietrich has a terrific set-to with Una Merkel! Marlene's rendition of 'You've Got That Look' is one of the sexiest numbers on film I reckon. Just a brilliant film. Not surprised Footlight Parade has proved elusive for you. I don't recall it ever appearing on terrestrial telly in the UK. I got it on Blu-ray from eBay from Spain. Apart from being B&W, and nearly 90 years old, it looks brand new. Stunning picture quality to set off two of Busby Berkeley's most creative numbers, 'Shanghai Lil' and 'By a Waterfall'. Cagney sings and dances, more than adequately, and finally falls into sassy Joan Blondell's welcoming arms at the end. Terrific entertainment. Another Cagney film I haven't seen for a long time is "Yankee Doodle Dandy" a biopic of the life of George M. Cohan. It too has plenty of singing and dancing and ends with the scene of Cohan being presented with the Congressional Gold Medal by FDR and doing an (unrehearsed) tap-dance down the steps. The military parade he joins at this point are singing "Over there", which Cohan himself wrote. I think YDD was on telly not so very long ago. BBC2 I think. A tour de force from Cagney, who deservedly won the Best Actor Oscar that year.
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Post by pete on Aug 12, 2022 22:04:37 GMT
Hard to see a get out for Trump if they found the documents reported at his private property. It’s against the law and that’s pretty much an open and shut case. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke. His get out card is his moron support. They could watch a video of him selling nuclear secrets to Russia/Saudi's/North Korea/China and they'll still shout fake. I wish the fucker would piss off and kick the bucket, world would be much safer.
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Post by pete on Aug 12, 2022 22:06:25 GMT
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Post by isa on Aug 12, 2022 22:11:01 GMT
Another Cagney film I haven't seen for a long time is "Yankee Doodle Dandy" a biopic of the life of George M. Cohan. It too has plenty of singing and dancing and ends with the scene of Cohan being presented with the Congressional Gold Medal by FDR and doing an (unrehearsed) tap-dance down the steps. The military parade he joins at this point are singing "Over there", which Cohan himself wrote. My Favourite Cagney film, which preceded Yankee Doodle Dandy by a year and perhaps allowed Cagney to break out from his stereotype as a gangster to do Yankee Doodle Dandy was The Stawberry BlondeTo my shame, I don't recall watching The Strawberry Blonde, but am aware of where it sits in the Cagney canon. I think it might have been on TP in the past, and have made a mental note to check it out next time. Thanks for the reminder.
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Post by pete on Aug 12, 2022 22:17:53 GMT
Some interesting twitter chat about freeports/charter cities
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2022 22:25:59 GMT
Hard to see a get out for Trump if they found the documents reported at his private property. It’s against the law and that’s pretty much an open and shut case. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke. His get out card is his moron support. They could watch a video of him selling nuclear secrets to Russia/Saudi's/North Korea/China and they'll still shout fake. I wish the fucker would piss off and kick the bucket, world would be much safer. Maybe so but I don’t see pleading the fifth - if turns out to be true that he had removed classified documents illegally - will be much help to him.
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Post by isa on Aug 12, 2022 22:29:05 GMT
@ WB61, ISA. I've loved Cagney movies all my life. In the v early '30s talkies he did much to establish a "naturalistic" movie-acting style: as in Public Enemy, where he moves beyond a wooden, stagey style. But he was all surface action. He was too dynamic to have a reflective inner life like Bogart, whose cooler style proved more durable n influential. In his final great moment Cagney in White Heat is deranged, destroyed but undefeated as he takes half the world wuth him. Absolutely. Even in the musical Footlight Parade his manic energy is there. He just doesn't go around filling people full of lead! He co-starred with Bogart in The Roaring Twenties at a time when his star was just starting to wane and Bogie's was a couple of years from superstardom. The contrast in style you mention is apparent in the film, one of my own Cagney favourites.
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Post by RAF on Aug 12, 2022 22:36:12 GMT
Hard to see a get out for Trump if they found the documents reported at his private property. It’s against the law and that’s pretty much an open and shut case. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke. What intrigues me about the raid is that when Trump left the White House there were images of people removing large boxes of documents in open sight. There were even reports that some White House paintings had disappeared! It's taken a very long time for officials to follow this up.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2022 22:38:51 GMT
Hard to see a get out for Trump if they found the documents reported at his private property. It’s against the law and that’s pretty much an open and shut case. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke. What intrigues me about the raid is that when Trump left the White House there were images of people removing large boxes of documents in open sight. There were even reports that some White House paintings had disappeared! It's taken a very long time for officials to follow this up. Yes, all very strange. Just like America.
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Dave
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... I'm dreaming dreams, I'm scheming schemes, I'm building castles high ..
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Post by Dave on Aug 12, 2022 22:53:05 GMT
The brilliance of Cagney in Angels with Dirty Faces is that what, 80 to 90 years on, people can still argue whether he was doing a favour for his friend by acting scared in front of the kids or whether he was genuinely scared.
I think the former but it was such a nuanced, yet intense scene that who could say for certain. As an aside, that film for me, had the best sliding doors moment in a film. That fateful fence.
As old as that film is it doesn’t seem to be anywhere near as old as the ‘ideas’ and ‘thoughts’ emanating from Truss. She has nothing to offer us that will be of any, significant use these next couple of years. It’s surreal to watch.
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Post by mercian on Aug 12, 2022 23:08:07 GMT
Apologies as usual for the lengthy post, but I don't spend all day on here and it takes some catching up lately! joeboy"How did British Gas behave like a 'Nazi dictatorship? Pleases inform us because I'm completely puzzled by that comment." Well, since you ask... (that's for John Finnemore fans). Soon after we got married we moved into a house which just had gas fires in each main room. There was an advert on the back of a bus which offered free inspections of gas fires. It was coming up to winter and we had 3 children including a new-born. I thought it would be a good idea to have the gas fires checked. The chap came along and just slapped stickers on the fires that said if we used them we'd get a £600 fine and that British Gas could fix them for an amount I can't remember but it was well into the hundreds. This was in about 1982 and that was a lot of money to us at that stage, and the whole thing seemed like a con trick. I won't go into all the details of the saga but we had a long series of visitors including a bloke dressed like Blakey in On the Buses who muttered to his mate that 'We've got a right one here'. It went on for months and I had to get in a Calor gas heater and an electric fire for the winter. It went all the way up to the chairman of the Gas Board and eventually the Ombudsman. Eventually they offered to fix all the fires for £20 which I reluctantly accepted because of my wife's desperate pleading. 🤣 ------------------------------------------ thexterminatingdalek"There is no slack. We read articles about saving money and most sound profligate compared to our existing frugal lifestyle." Agreed. We couldn't meet the anticipated bills out of pensions alone and we do live pretty frugally. I'm lucky enough to be able to switch some investments from accumulation to income which is keeping us afloat, but capital is declining in real terms. ------------------------------ @danny "Things like internet and netflix seem set to go up, which are increasingly essential rather than luxuries." I can see the internet, but Netflix? Really? ------------------------------- moby"'Hate' is not too strong a word for how I feel about brexit and it's consequences." Not good for your mental health to not accept and live with reality. Seriously. --------------------------------- crossbat11"Truss seems to have glided seamlessly from academia to politics." According to Wikipedia: "From 1996 to 2000, Truss worked for Shell, during which time she qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) in 1999. In 2000, Truss was employed by Cable & Wireless and rose to economic director before leaving in 2005." And later from you "Work exists, self evidently, but is much of it the sort that liberates people and makes their lives better?" Has it ever? ------------------------------- mandolinist"I do draw the line at chillblains though, which I suffered throughout my childhood." Do you remember those lovely ice patterns on the inside of windows? I wasn't too happy when as a small boy I slipped on the ice when I got out of bed though! ---------------------- robbiealive"In his final great moment Cagney in White Heat is deranged, destroyed but undefeated as he takes half the world wuth him." Sounds like me! --------------------------- shevii"I was instinctively against them [GM crops] to not mess with nature and risk something that defeats the object as has been the case in the past," I can't see anything wrong with GM crops if it's basically just accelerating what has been done for centuries by farmers and natural selection. I'm much more dubious about cross-species GM such as the story from some years ago about genes from sea creature were supposedly put into wheat to make it glow in the dark so that crop sprayers could work at night!
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Post by leftieliberal on Aug 12, 2022 23:12:58 GMT
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