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Post by hireton on Aug 13, 2022 14:32:41 GMT
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c-a-r-f-r-e-w
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A step on the way toward the demise of the liberal elite? Or just a blip…
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Post by c-a-r-f-r-e-w on Aug 13, 2022 14:35:48 GMT
How Britain’s inflation epicentre exposed the North-South divide
“Winter might seem a while away as the mercury soars this summer but the residents of Burnley, in Lancashire, are right to be worried. Nestled in the Pennines, it is Britain’s inflation epicentre – the area where the cost of living crisis is being felt most.
Research by Centre for Cities suggests inflation in the town hit 11.5pc in May, the highest rate in the country and well above the national reading of 9.4pc.
Burnley and nearby Blackburn, Blackpool and Bradford suffering much faster price rises, as a clear North-South divide emerges.”
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Residents in these northern towns are being squeezed most because of leakier, less insulated housing and a higher reliance on cars, which exposes them to soaring prices at the pump, according to Centre for Cities.
Burnley’s rate of living cost increases are also almost three percentage points higher than London and Cambridge where price pressures are at their weakest at 8.8pc.”
Telegraph
And… some petrol stations still taking the mick
“However, the reduction in prices at the pump has lagged behind the fall in wholesale costs of about 30p a litre after peaking at the beginning of June. The AA said that each 5p in wholesale cost brings a further 1p in VAT, reinforcing the argument that petrol should fall at least 30p a litre.
At least one forecourt in Belfast is offering fuel below 160p a litre, which is where the UK average should be heading in the coming weeks.
Analysis by the RAC has suggested that consumers should be paying closer towards 162p a litre for fuel at forecourts, given the decline in wholesale costs. It said that it was independent retailers that were “leading the way” with price cuts to their fuel and undercutting the big supermarkets.”
Times
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Post by graham on Aug 13, 2022 14:53:50 GMT
The Arbeit Macht Frei wing of the Tory party asserts itself! A phraseology Mr Lynch would approve of it would seem. I would like to hear him use it - and indeed Labour backbenchers.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2022 15:12:12 GMT
A phraseology Mr Lynch would approve of it would seem. I would like to hear him use it - and indeed Labour backbenchers. I don't doubt it.!
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Post by alec on Aug 13, 2022 15:23:38 GMT
Interesting comparison between petrol prices and heating oil. The price for kerosene, which is essentially diesel, rose to around £1.05 a litre in early summer, which was I think a record level. [Prices briefly rose to this kind of level in 2007 just before the financial crash]. However, I've just managed to top up our tank at £0.85 a litre, so down around 20%. In context, pre-invasion we were expecting prices of around £0.40 - £0.45, so we're now seeing a doubling compared to that. The sharp falls, with more to come, don't match what is happening with road fuel, so I suspect it is legitimate to ask questions.
Also, as an aside, the heating oil price does show that not everyone is facing such a bad winter with bills, as those not on gas look like being shielded from the worst of this. Heating oil prices are high, but not extraordinarily so, and are currently within the bounds of what we would think of as normal fluctuations, albeit close to the top end of normal. Many properties, particularly in rural areas, are on oil, and the differential between the price movements in oil and gas mean that tackling the cost of energy crisis through tax cuts is just barmy. My heating bills will be OK this year, my electricity costs will rise, but are a small proportion of my energy spend. Why should I get a tax cut, or receive a subsidy to help with my heating, when my heating costs are just on the top side of normal?
The way to tackle this is to craft a specific package focused mainly in gas, with some assistance for electricity as well, particularly for those households on electric heating. All very doable for a government that functions, which is really where the problem lies.
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Post by leftieliberal on Aug 13, 2022 15:35:10 GMT
Dry Rhine threatens to trigger a full-scale industrial shock
As Germany has closed down its nuclear power stations and there is now a shortage of gas to get them through next winter, they are relying on burning dirty coal (lignite). Unfortunately it is mainly shipped by barge down the Rhine, so a lack of water in the river could mean electricity blackouts. Even the Telegraph is right sometimes.
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Post by leftieliberal on Aug 13, 2022 15:38:55 GMT
Wasps probably think the ground if fine for playing rugby on.
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alurqa
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Post by alurqa on Aug 13, 2022 15:41:32 GMT
On the plus side… “ The ability to launch satellites from British soil for the first time should bolster intelligence services, the head of the country’s first spaceport has said.
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She believes that rapid response times could act as a deterrent to hostile states. “Why would you take out an asset that’s easily replaced? That’s the ambition — that there will be a rocket ready to go if any of the Five Eyes nations need a responsive launch.””
Times You may not even need to launch your own satellites! Space is certainly a rapidly growing industry, with already disruptive or potentially disruptive ideas being implemented. Spacex has really helped the Ukraine, and it is now illegal to use Starlink in Russia. You may be interested in this. techcrunch.com/2022/07/29/heres-what-swarm-has-been-up-to-in-the-10-months-since-being-acquired-by-spacexHere’s what Swarm has been up to in the 10 months since being acquired by SpaceX Regular rocket rides and Starlink synergies make for big leaps ahead It’s been nearly a year since satellite Internet-of-Things connectivity provider Swarm was acquired by SpaceX, and Swarm co-founder and CEO Sara Spangelo (now senior director of Satellite Engineering at SpaceX) is ready to talk about what Swarm’s been up to in that time. SpaceX is not known to be a super acquisitive company, so I was curious to hear about what it’s been like for Spangelo and for Swarm. Mostly, it’s been 10 months of rapid acceleration, she says.
One of Swarm’s biggest blockers in terms of speed of deployment and growing its network was the ability to actually launch its satellites, which themselves are tiny — the company says they’re “the smallest operational satellites in space,” at little more than the size of your average sandwich. Spangelo said that unlocking launch availability has been one of the biggest benefits of operating under the SpaceX umbrella so far.And later is a use case: Another recent customer, Rainforest Connection, uses Swarm’s IoT network to connect simple acoustic sensors deployed in the Brazilian rainforest.
“Basically, they have just an acoustic sensor, like you have on your phone, and it basically just hears a chainsaw, and then calls in the people that will stop the [deforestation],” she said. “That one is just so cool to me — that such a simple sensor can have like such a big impact, because it’s so hard to find these things.”Arduinos are ubiquitous, and with IoT (Internet of Things) maturing it is inevitable that ideas such as this will have widespread commercial applications.
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c-a-r-f-r-e-w
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A step on the way toward the demise of the liberal elite? Or just a blip…
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Post by c-a-r-f-r-e-w on Aug 13, 2022 15:43:51 GMT
Dry Rhine threatens to trigger a full-scale industrial shock
As Germany has closed down its nuclear power stations and there is now a shortage of gas to get them through next winter, they are relying on burning dirty coal (lignite). Unfortunately it is mainly shipped by barge down the Rhine, so a lack of water in the river could mean electricity blackouts. Even the Telegraph is right sometimes. yes, my “parallel universe” observation wasn’t intended to imply it was inevitably delusional. More a reflection on how different organs of the media may attend to different things.
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c-a-r-f-r-e-w
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A step on the way toward the demise of the liberal elite? Or just a blip…
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Post by c-a-r-f-r-e-w on Aug 13, 2022 15:47:55 GMT
Wasps probably think the ground if fine for playing rugby on. Indeed, they just played three days of Rugby Sevens on it for the Commonwealth Games 🤬🤬
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2022 15:55:47 GMT
graham “ Whilst Truss - ie Mrs O'Leary “ I think it’s her business how she prefers to be known professionally, not yours.
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c-a-r-f-r-e-w
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A step on the way toward the demise of the liberal elite? Or just a blip…
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Post by c-a-r-f-r-e-w on Aug 13, 2022 15:58:03 GMT
On the plus side… “ The ability to launch satellites from British soil for the first time should bolster intelligence services, the head of the country’s first spaceport has said.
...
She believes that rapid response times could act as a deterrent to hostile states. “Why would you take out an asset that’s easily replaced? That’s the ambition — that there will be a rocket ready to go if any of the Five Eyes nations need a responsive launch.””
Times You may not even need to launch your own satellites! … And later is a use case: Another recent customer, Rainforest Connection, uses Swarm’s IoT network to connect simple acoustic sensors deployed in the Brazilian rainforest.
“Basically, they have just an acoustic sensor, like you have on your phone, and it basically just hears a chainsaw, and then calls in the people that will stop the [deforestation],” she said. “That one is just so cool to me — that such a simple sensor can have like such a big impact, because it’s so hard to find these things.”Arduinos are ubiquitous, and with IoT (Internet of Things) maturing it is inevitable that ideas such as this will have widespread commercial applications. Yes, that is an interesting and surprising application, and indeed, with sensors and the tech to link them becoming so cheap, there are liable to be lots of applications (some of them perhaps a little worrying re: surveillance etc.) There are benefits to having our own launch capability though. It’s also handy for cutting costs with easy launches (including suborbital) to test satellite robustness before committing to a proper launch of the full system). There is apparently a lot of science you can research with cheap suborbital launches.
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steve
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Post by steve on Aug 13, 2022 16:04:12 GMT
colin I've noticed a considerable amount of unfettered praise for trade union leader Mick Lynch and while he is without a doubt an effective and articulate leader of his union for which he rightly deserves praise perhaps the adoration needs to be pegged back a knotch or two. Particularly in relation to his position on the European union Mr Lynch is massively out of step with the views of most progressive parties and frankly is total bollocks to boot It's advisable to establish what an individual believes before assigning them the status of hero, Mr Lynch's European union position would probably put more off if he was actually a political leader than it would attract and would be the opposite of a unifying figure. That doesn't mean of course it isn't fun seeing him stick it to Tory politicians and their client media.
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pjw1961
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Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.
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Post by pjw1961 on Aug 13, 2022 16:13:21 GMT
The Arbeit Macht Frei wing of the Tory party asserts itself! A phraseology Mr Lynch would approve of it would seem. It is not wholly inappropriate. Fascism always seeks to suppress trade union activity, whereas democracy recognises it as legitimate (see point 9 on Emilio Gentile's list of ten characteristics of Fascism for example). The current government needs to urgently reconsider just how many of the Fascist boxes they are currently ticking, otherwise we need to call it out for what it is before its too late. There are many decent Tory voters and MPs; they really need to wake up and see that the Conservative Party is turning into. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_fascism
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Post by moby on Aug 13, 2022 16:34:36 GMT
Interesting comparison between petrol prices and heating oil. The price for kerosene, which is essentially diesel, rose to around £1.05 a litre in early summer, which was I think a record level. [Prices briefly rose to this kind of level in 2007 just before the financial crash]. However, I've just managed to top up our tank at £0.85 a litre, so down around 20%. In context, pre-invasion we were expecting prices of around £0.40 - £0.45, so we're now seeing a doubling compared to that. The sharp falls, with more to come, don't match what is happening with road fuel, so I suspect it is legitimate to ask questions. Also, as an aside, the heating oil price does show that not everyone is facing such a bad winter with bills, as those not on gas look like being shielded from the worst of this. Heating oil prices are high, but not extraordinarily so, and are currently within the bounds of what we would think of as normal fluctuations, albeit close to the top end of normal. Many properties, particularly in rural areas, are on oil, and the differential between the price movements in oil and gas mean that tackling the cost of energy crisis through tax cuts is just barmy. My heating bills will be OK this year, my electricity costs will rise, but are a small proportion of my energy spend. Why should I get a tax cut, or receive a subsidy to help with my heating, when my heating costs are just on the top side of normal? The way to tackle this is to craft a specific package focused mainly in gas, with some assistance for electricity as well, particularly for those households on electric heating. All very doable for a government that functions, which is really where the problem lies. Yes I've just been quoted 0.81 litre on Boilerjuice. Is that who you use alec? I've also been chopping loads of wood for the burner which can heat the water thereby avoiding putting the rayburn on and using heating oil. I'm also designing a chocolate poodle wheel so I also get cheap leccy to watch Netflix.
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c-a-r-f-r-e-w
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A step on the way toward the demise of the liberal elite? Or just a blip…
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Post by c-a-r-f-r-e-w on Aug 13, 2022 16:38:55 GMT
Boris Johnson will not be able to make Downing Street comeback, says Jacob Rees-Mogg
'Life just isn't like that', the minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency has claimed
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Appearing on GB News on Saturday, Mr Rees-Mogg was asked whether Mr Johnson wanted to make a comeback.
“Nobody's come back having lost the leadership of the party since Gladstone,” Mr Rees-Mogg replied. “And I just don't think in modern politics, the chance of coming back is realistic.
“Lots of people think they're going to be called back by a grateful nation which is why Harold MacMillan waited 20 years before accepting his peerage… Life just isn't like that.”
Telegraph
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Post by mercian on Aug 13, 2022 16:43:02 GMT
pjw1961The Tories can't be Fascists because they can't make the trains run on time 😁
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pjw1961
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Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.
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Post by pjw1961 on Aug 13, 2022 16:54:57 GMT
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Post by graham on Aug 13, 2022 16:55:33 GMT
graham “ Whilst Truss - ie Mrs O'Leary “ I think it’s her business how she prefers to be known professions - but it’s certainly not yours. We can make our own decisions on that. I am certainly not going to follow the example of the person who referred to her as 'Mark Field's Old Shag - Ready Rubbed.'
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Post by alec on Aug 13, 2022 16:59:11 GMT
moby - No, I'm in a local buying group. Was wondering whether to wait for another month (probably should have, as prices are still falling) but decided to go early in case autumn brought a rush of orders. If you are chopping wood now, you shouldn't really be using it this winter, unless it's already been felled for a while and is well seasoned. Technically, I think there are now rules forbidding self supply of wood fuels, for reasons of air pollution control, but between you and me, just make sure it's good and dry. If you did want to check the moisture content and you have an oven that you can regulate well, take some of the wood and cook it slowly - no more than 105C, weighing the wood before and then every 30 mins - 1 hour until the weight stabilises. If you have a moisture content (wet basis - MCwb = weight of water in sample/total initial weight of sample) of <20% you're doing fine and it's good to burn. Not sure about the chocolate poodle wheel though. Might be better to eat the chocolate yourself for the direct energy gain, and then stuff the poodle into your bed in lieu of a hot water bottle. Mind, the last time I slept with my dog in the same room I didn't get a wink of sleep. It's incredibly how much noise a dog licking his bollocks makes, and even more incredible how long he licks them for.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2022 17:05:48 GMT
graham “ Whilst Truss - ie Mrs O'Leary “ I think it’s her business how she prefers to be known professions - but it’s certainly not yours. We can make our own decisions on that. I am certainly not going to follow the example of the person who referred to her as 'Mark Field's Old Shag - Ready Rubbed.' Yet somehow you managed to do so.
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Post by moby on Aug 13, 2022 17:24:32 GMT
moby - No, I'm in a local buying group. Was wondering whether to wait for another month (probably should have, as prices are still falling) but decided to go early in case autumn brought a rush of orders. If you are chopping wood now, you shouldn't really be using it this winter, unless it's already been felled for a while and is well seasoned. Technically, I think there are now rules forbidding self supply of wood fuels, for reasons of air pollution control, but between you and me, just make sure it's good and dry. If you did want to check the moisture content and you have an oven that you can regulate well, take some of the wood and cook it slowly - no more than 105C, weighing the wood before and then every 30 mins - 1 hour until the weight stabilises. If you have a moisture content (wet basis - MCwb = weight of water in sample/total initial weight of sample) of <20% you're doing fine and it's good to burn. Not sure about the chocolate poodle wheel though. Might be better to eat the chocolate yourself for the direct energy gain, and then stuff the poodle into your bed in lieu of a hot water bottle. Mind, the last time I slept with my dog in the same room I didn't get a wink of sleep. It's incredibly how much noise a dog licking his bollocks makes, and even more incredible how long he licks them for. Yes I think I'll wait a bit longer. Thankfully the previous owner had kindly left us a load of wood which he said had been stored for at least 18 months and was below 20% moisture, so the wood I'm chopping now is for 18 months time. Dylan has threatened me with the RSPCA so I'm re-assessing that one.
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Post by moby on Aug 13, 2022 17:27:49 GMT
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pjw1961
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Post by pjw1961 on Aug 13, 2022 17:38:45 GMT
pjw1961 The Tories can't be Fascists because they can't make the trains run on time 😁 That is quite a good joke but just out of interest I thought I would google "did Mussolini make the trains run on time?" and the answer seems to be not really, although he was interested in the subject. "Italy's railway had entered into a state of disrepair after World War I, but after the war ended, there had been a number of measures implemented to boost efficiency. Mussolini, of course, liked to say he was responsible for those improvements. However, those changes actually took place before he assumed power, so technically, he couldn't really take credit (although that didn't stop him). More to the point, the trains didn't always run on time, either. When Mussolini seized the reins as Italy's dictator in the 1920s, it wasn't a popular move. So, he may have believed his plan for a reliable mode of public transportation would improve his public standing. By riding the coattails of a rail rebuilding project that was already underway when he took over the country, he hoped the trains would help his political aspirations from, well, derailing. Notably, the regime built particularly extravagant stations for the main lines that tourists and visiting politicians were most likely to see, all the better to boost his reputation [source: Dudley]." history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/did-mussolini-really-keep-trains-running-on-time.htmApparently the best hope science has for making trains run on time is Artificial Intelligence (per the Economist).
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Post by graham on Aug 13, 2022 17:38:50 GMT
Yes he's my MP. I think he's taking some more time out to let the dust settle I grew up in Pembrokeshire and remember the former Carmarthen seat as mainly a Labour/Liberal contest when represented by Megan Lloyd George until Gwynfor Evans took the seat at the by election which followed her death in July 1966. In those days - and indeed up to 1979 - the Tory vote was pretty derisory with many voting for Plaid to defeat Labour.I know the boundaries are now very different but am unclear as to what has made the Tories more competitive in more recent elections.
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alurqa
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Post by alurqa on Aug 13, 2022 17:50:24 GMT
It's incredibly how much noise a dog licking his bollocks makes, and even more incredible how long he licks them for. Just as long as it's his that he's licking, otherwise I could understand why you couldn't get to sleep. :-)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2022 18:12:07 GMT
A phraseology Mr Lynch would approve of it would seem. It is not wholly inappropriate. Fascism always seeks to suppress trade union activity, whereas democracy recognises it as legitimate (see point 9 on Emilio Gentile's list of ten characteristics of Fascism for example). The current government needs to urgently reconsider just how many of the Fascist boxes they are currently ticking, otherwise we need to call it out for what it is before its too late. There are many decent Tory voters and MPs; they really need to wake up and see that the Conservative Party is turning into. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_fascismYes I just looked up the wiki on fascism too. And come to a different opinion .
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Post by graham on Aug 13, 2022 19:47:26 GMT
Beyond retaining secret ballots and not restoring the Closed Shop I would have no objection to all the Anti-Trade Union Legislation of the 1979 - 1997 Govts being repealed.
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oldnat
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Post by oldnat on Aug 13, 2022 20:22:26 GMT
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oldnat
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Post by oldnat on Aug 13, 2022 20:26:14 GMT
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