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 28, 2022 15:43:24 GMT
Could it not be argued even earlier? Couldn't nuclear power, wind power, wave power have been pushed much more in the Blair years? I'm not sticking up for the Tories, as I hate them, but as an island surely we could have slowly become energy (regarding heating homes/offices/factories/hospitals) self sufficient years ago with a bit more thought? It might've mean taking on the nutty right-wingers who seem to run are country in the Tory party and press but those scum need putting back in their boxes. I'm not often fair to Blair and maybe New Labour could have pushed it more than they did but they were moving in that direction and then all that gradual progress died in 2010 when the Tories got rid of all the Green Crap- feed in tariffs left to the whims of the suppliers, insulation subsidies etc cut to virtually nothing. We were on the point of looking at solar panels for our house when the subsidies dried up. Trimming a 15-20 year payback to, say, 10 years makes it much more appealing "investment". Plus a long term plan and commitment to solar would make companies much more willing to invest in training. alec made an excellent post yesterday that no-one seems to be asking the questions about how the government can gain control over energy, and everything is influenced by neolib free market considerations. A lot of governments (including New Labour) had energy policies seems to have been short term subsidies to get private companies to do something with no return for the government on those subsidies if and when companies are making excess profits. Yes, New Labour did make strides on incentivising renewables. The difficulty is that there’s a need to cover all the bases and politicians often don’t do that, so something gets us, one way or the other. E.g. not sorting energy storage as well, or having rubbish contracts so we still pay a lot even if the renewable energy is cheap. And not investing in alternatives e.g. Nuclear. (Then there’s all the demand-management stuff, and the utility of investing a lot more in insulation etc.) But even if they do all that, the problem is another government (like Cameron/Osbourne/Clegg etc.) can rapidly screw it all up, dismantling the storage and killing off the subsidies and retiring nuclear early and negotiating some new rubbish contracts. Which brings us back to wrong universe again. .
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Danny
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Post by Danny on Aug 28, 2022 15:49:04 GMT
Very difficult winter ahead and it's frightening that so many will struggle to provide a basic need - warmth in a cold climate. This is Government failure on an epic scale, and the rot set in the Tory - Lib Dem coalition when Sir Ed Davey flip flopped over fracking and promises of a new series of nuclear power stations (including one in Anglesey near me) came to nothing. Theresa May, then Boris Johnson - same again. No strategy and little delivery of an energy masterplan and the ridiculous concept of heat pumps. Apparently now cheaper to run petrol cars than electric ones as well. What a mess. But the root causes that mean it is so bad in the UK are political and start in 2010. Fracking will make no difference whatsoever to the situation. The potential amount of fuel recovery is tiny compared to the problem. So even if it had all been done ten years ago, it would make no difference. However in general it does illustrate that there is no fundamental shortage of fossil fuels. Its just we told all the mining companies to stop developing new sources, while also telling power generators we were perfectly happy for them to use more gas so long as it replaced coal. Duh...did no one see the problem? This isnt about the Russian war, its about a world shortfall in accesible supplies before that, because of policy.
Nuclear power is way more expensive than renewables. It also does not help resolve the problem with a renewables based energy policy, which is where energy comes from at night when the wind doesnt blow. Nuclear is only suitable for baseload power, ie permanently on demand. What you need is an intermittent source of energy to fill in gaps. Ironcally, gas might be well suited to do this. To make that work you need to build a lot more renewables, and then just switch on gas as needed. The amount of CO2 release would be negligible compared to the total problem of CO2 release.
Incidentally, russia was recently accused of flaring off gas instead of supplying it to germany. Not clear what really happened there, but there is lots of gas bing flared off all over the world because there is no means to capture and use it. Has often been seen as a waste product of oil production, but its CO2 going strainght into the atmosphere for no gain to us at all. I found figures for world gas and oil production, but none for world gas wastage rates.
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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 28, 2022 16:03:15 GMT
Very difficult winter ahead and it's frightening that so many will struggle to provide a basic need - warmth in a cold climate. This is Government failure on an epic scale, and the rot set in the Tory - Lib Dem coalition when Sir Ed Davey flip flopped over fracking and promises of a new series of nuclear power stations (including one in Anglesey near me) came to nothing. Theresa May, then Boris Johnson - same again. No strategy and little delivery of an energy masterplan and the ridiculous concept of heat pumps. Apparently now cheaper to run petrol cars than electric ones as well. What a mess. But the root causes that mean it is so bad in the UK are political and start in 2010. Could it not be argued even earlier? Couldn't nuclear power, wind power, wave power have been pushed much more in the Blair years? I'm not sticking up for the Tories, as I hate them, but as an island surely we could have slowly become energy (regarding heating homes/offices/factories/hospitals) self sufficient years ago with a bit more thought? It might've mean taking on the nutty right-wingers who seem to run are country in the Tory party and press but those scum need putting back in their boxes. Still, I don't really now enough about it, one for scientists like Carfrew etc who understand and know more about it. But I do know were seriously in the shit and relying on idiots to get us out of it. One might argue that whoever was in power, they didn’t really get a grip on energy policy in the entire post-war period. We were not prepared for the oil crisis in the Seventies, and in the Eighties and Nineties, where North Sea oil and gas gave us a temporary reprieve and a chance to reorient for the longer term, we didn't make the best of it. The need to have reliably cheap and sustainable energy is so important and affects so many things we should be investing way more into it and not just leaving it to the private sector. The public seem to get this but the main parties have been captured by the right. In a poll I quoted recently only 8% of the public want energy in private hands. Trouble is that most of our main parties are in that extreme 8%. (I hesitate when it comes to SNP policy on the matter, while the Greens did recently announce that they support nationalisation of the big five energy firms).
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oldnat
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Post by oldnat on Aug 28, 2022 16:07:40 GMT
So, either the report on the proposed constitutional amendment is in error (quite possible), or Conference/NEC is going to have to select which "other" Nationalist parties are to be proscribed, and which are to be acceptable, or the proposed amendment is simply ill thought out posturing.In the current phase of yr campaign against the Labour party (I hesitate to call it a vendetta) If asking questions about what a proposed constitutional change for Labour means is a "campaign against the Labour party", then Alun Davies of Llafur is at war with it!
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Danny
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Post by Danny on Aug 28, 2022 16:17:49 GMT
Well, my admittedly rather sketchy understanding, having read some of what Professor Minford has been saying, supposedly an influence on Truss, is that inflation doesn’t result in practice if the Bank of England signals a serious intent to bear down on inflation. This might normally involve swingeing interest rate rises, but according to Minford, in practice these won’t be necessary so long as there’s a clear intent to act on inflation, as that will in turn cause people and businesses to change their spending habits, with the consequence that the inflation won’t actually happen. E.g. if people think big interest rate rises might be on the way, they will reign in borrowing and spending, which will in turn limit inflation. So you don’t need the big interest rate rises after all. Assuming of course that we can trust this method… Isnt that a bit like in Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado, where ko-Ko the tailor is condemned to be executed. But because the Mikado's word is law and absolute, being under sentence of death is tantamount to being dead. So they dont bother with the execution, and make him Lord high executioner instead. Being as he is first on the list to be executued, then no one else can be executed either. About as sensible a solution as that we have seen for brexit, covid or energy. I think like any conjouring trick, the Bank/Minford could have a point if they can persuade people inflation is only transitory and under control. If it failes to be so controlled, then the illusion collapses. Thats pretty much the tactic used in the 70s. Which then wore very thin. Although we havnt had inflation lately, we have already had stagnant or falling wages for many for fifteen years and they already arent happy. Another possibility is we simply move to recession.
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Post by ladyvalerie on Aug 28, 2022 16:23:13 GMT
So, either the report on the proposed constitutional amendment is in error (quite possible), or Conference/NEC is going to have to select which "other" Nationalist parties are to be proscribed, and which are to be acceptable, or the proposed amendment is simply ill thought out posturing.In the current phase of yr campaign against the Labour party (I hesitate to call it a vendetta) you have used the phrases "silly posturing" (twice) and "ill thought out [sic] posturing". I'm not sure what sensible posturing or well-thought-through posturing would look like. Anyway to be helpful: if you continue to post in this vein may I suggest macho posturing: macho I think being the more fashionable qualifier of posturing these days? The “report on a the proposed constitutional amendment” is courtesy of the Sun newspaper who also don’t like the Labour Party.
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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 28, 2022 16:34:45 GMT
Well, my admittedly rather sketchy understanding, having read some of what Professor Minford has been saying, supposedly an influence on Truss, is that inflation doesn’t result in practice if the Bank of England signals a serious intent to bear down on inflation. This might normally involve swingeing interest rate rises, but according to Minford, in practice these won’t be necessary so long as there’s a clear intent to act on inflation, as that will in turn cause people and businesses to change their spending habits, with the consequence that the inflation won’t actually happen. E.g. if people think big interest rate rises might be on the way, they will reign in borrowing and spending, which will in turn limit inflation. So you don’t need the big interest rate rises after all. Assuming of course that we can trust this method… Isnt that a bit like in Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado, where ko-Ko the tailor is condemned to be executed. But because the Mikado's word is law and absolute, being under sentence of death is tantamount to being dead. So they dont bother with the execution, and make him Lord high executioner instead. Being as he is first on the list to be executued, then no one else can be executed either. About as sensible a solution as that we have seen for brexit, covid or energy. I think like any conjouring trick, the Bank/Minford could have a point if they can persuade people inflation is only transitory and under control. If it failes to be so controlled, then the illusion collapses. Thats pretty much the tactic used in the 70s. Which then wore very thin. Although we havnt had inflation lately, we have already had stagnant or falling wages for many for fifteen years and they already arent happy. Another possibility is we simply move to recession. Haha, yes it might be like the Mikado. The more one thinks about it, the more one has to entertain the possibility that it might have issues. Ok, so Minford was defending Truss’s tax cuts, saying that they won’t be inflationary, and the BoE wouldn’t therefore have to put up rates, thus harming the economy, if… …the Bank signals it will put rates up if inflation results. Since people and business will rein in spending as a precaution. And then rates won’t actually have to go up. But of course, if people do rein in spending, then in effect you may get the demand destruction you would have got if you had put up rates anyway. It still harms the economy, in the way it would have done if rates had gone up?
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Post by robbiealive on Aug 28, 2022 16:44:51 GMT
In the current phase of yr campaign against the Labour party (I hesitate to call it a vendetta) If asking questions about what a proposed constitutional change for Labour means is a "campaign against the Labour party", then Alun Davies of Llafur is at war with it!A Maverick Speaks. Is that the same Alun Davies who was forced to sack his own political adviser when it was disclosed by others that he had entered into a relationship with her; who himself was sacked from the Welsh cabinet for illegally seeking confidential information about his fellow Assembly members; who has been found guilty of more than one other serious breach of the ministerial code; who was dropped from the Welsh cabinet by Drakeford when he became leader in 2018, & hence has had nothing to do with Labour's recent success; and who last year was suspended from the Labour group for Johnson-like gross violations of the Covid rules passed by his own government. Frankly I don't give a damn. In the event of a hung Parliament Labour will negotiate with the other parties, whatever is said now: & yes there will be macho posturing by all the parties concerned. including the SNP, along the way: so be it.
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oldnat
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Post by oldnat on Aug 28, 2022 16:51:31 GMT
The “report on a the proposed constitutional amendment” is courtesy of the Sun newspaper who also don’t like the Labour Party. They don't, but that doesn't mean the report is automatically false. If that were true, then everything all those of us who post criticisms of the Tories would have to be false as well, as few of us like them - even colin at the moment!
However, if you provide assurance that no such amendment is being proposed, then Alun Davies will be relieved.
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Post by Mark on Aug 28, 2022 16:55:32 GMT
Mark: "To give one example, chocolate covered biscuits."Are you sure you've thought this through? How will a cut in vat on chocolate biscuits help you, if your dietary requirements mean you can't eat them? If anything, the availability of non-chocolate biscuits will decline further if the price premium on choc biscuits reduces. The list of vat-liable 'foods' quoted earlier was pretty much all highly processed junk food. Are you really sure you want to increase the attractiveness of those products relative to fresh, unprocessed products? And is giving a boost to tobacco demand really a good idea? Finally, the EU minimum rate for standard vat is 15%, so if Truss reduces our rate to that, as mooted, she is doing nothing that couldn't have been done as an EU member. Yes, I have thought it through....although I will be the first to admit that few will agree with my views on this, possibly those that share my views on most things will disagree the strongest. On biscuits, yes, I am fully aware that this won't benefit me personally. While I am not rich - and may well be hard hit with what's coming down the road, it's not all about me. The bottom line is, people *do* buy the chocolate biscuits - that I can't eat - and in large numbers. I completely get the health aspect, but, in an an emergency situation, when treats are fewer and further between, especially for those least well off, when life will be miserable for many, is what is effectively using austerity to promote health benefits the way forward? Ok, I eggagerate, but, not totally. As to tobacco, it is highly addictive - and as already said something disproportionately used by those less well off. Yes, there is help for those that want to quit, but, like all drugs, to be successful, the want has to be genuine. It would still be expensive, there would be few taking it up because it is slightly less so (and young people are more likely to take the far cheaper vaping option), but, a VAT cut would offer some financial help in a time of emergency for those already addicted and paying to feed their habit every day.
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oldnat
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Post by oldnat on Aug 28, 2022 17:25:08 GMT
robbiealive
"Frankly I don't give a damn. In the event of a hung Parliament Labour will negotiate with the other parties, whatever is said now: & yes there will be macho posturing by all the parties concerned. including the SNP, along the way: so be it."
I wouldn't expect you to care much. If the proposal goes ahead then it may remove some resistance in England to voting Labour - which (simply by dint of numbers, is where the election will be won). That there may be collateral damage to Labour in the 3 other polities would be a matter of no concern.
As I said originally, SLab promised no coalitions with anyone before the locals, then fudged alliances with the Tories afterwards. The idea of a formal coalition with the SNP is a nonsense idea anyway as I suspect, so is the idea of Confidence and Supply. It would suit neither party. Changing Labour's constitution to rule out a non-existent reality simply seems foolish from Labour's point of view, and may not happen in reality.
Of course, if there is a Labour government it can choose to reverse Tory policy and work with some or all of the devolved governments, or continue the process of taking back control to Westminster.
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Post by jayblanc on Aug 28, 2022 17:30:54 GMT
I completely get the health aspect, but, in an an emergency situation, when treats are fewer and further between, especially for those least well off, when life will be miserable for many, is what is effectively using austerity to promote health benefits the way forward? Ok, I eggagerate, but, not totally. As to tobacco, it is highly addictive - and as already said something disproportionately used by those less well off. Yes, there is help for those that want to quit, but, like all drugs, to be successful, the want has to be genuine. It would still be expensive, there would be few taking it up because it is slightly less so (and young people are more likely to take the far cheaper vaping option), but, a VAT cut would offer some financial help in a time of emergency for those already addicted and paying to feed their habit every day. VAT on goods has never been applied on the basis of 'whats good for you' but the completely arbitrary division of goods into 'luxury' and 'essential'. Chocolate covered biscuits - Luxury, VAT Standard Rate applied A four tier wedding cake - Essential, Zero Rated Frozen Ice Cream - Luxury, VAT Standard Rate applied Frozen Baked Alaska - Essential, Zero Rated Liquor Chocolates - Luxury, VAT Standard Rate applied Rum Babas - Essential, Zero Rated and so on...
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Post by bardin1 on Aug 28, 2022 17:41:51 GMT
VAT on goods has never been applied on the basis of 'whats good for you' but the completely arbitrary division of goods into 'luxury' and 'essential'. Chocolate covered biscuits - Luxury, VAT Standard Rate applied A four tier wedding cake - Essential, Zero Rated Frozen Ice Cream - Luxury, VAT Standard Rate applied Frozen Baked Alaska - Essential, Zero Rated Liquor Chocolates - Luxury, VAT Standard Rate applied Rum Babas - Essential, Zero Rated and so on... Liz Truss could capitalise on this "Let them eat Baked Alaska" has a nice ring to it
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Post by ladyvalerie on Aug 28, 2022 17:49:09 GMT
The “report on a the proposed constitutional amendment” is courtesy of the Sun newspaper who also don’t like the Labour Party. They don't, but that doesn't mean the report is automatically false. If that were true, then everything all those of us who post criticisms of the Tories would have to be false as well, as few of us like them - even colin at the moment!
However, if you provide assurance that no such amendment is being proposed, then Alun Davies will be relieved.Of course it isn’t “automatically false”. There must be days when Boris Johnson tells the truth! When I read something a on Twitter I always check the source and would never take anything I see in The Sun at face value. I would seek corroboration from more reliable informants. No doubt you have done that.
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Post by robbiealive on Aug 28, 2022 17:59:17 GMT
robbiealive
"Frankly I don't give a damn. In the event of a hung Parliament Labour will negotiate with the other parties, whatever is said now: & yes there will be macho posturing by all the parties concerned. including the SNP, along the way: so be it."
I wouldn't expect you to care much. If the proposal goes ahead then it may remove some resistance in England to voting Labour - which (simply by dint of numbers, is where the election will be won). That there may be collateral damage to Labour in the 3 other polities would be a matter of no concern.
As I said originally, SLab promised no coalitions with anyone before the locals, then fudged alliances with the Tories afterwards. The idea of a formal coalition with the SNP is a nonsense idea anyway as I suspect, so is the idea of Confidence and Supply. It would suit neither party. Changing Labour's constitution to rule out a non-existent reality simply seems foolish from Labour's point of view, and may not happen in reality.
Of course, if there is a Labour government it can choose to reverse Tory policy and work with some or all of the devolved governments, or continue the process of taking back control to Westminster. I agree. There isn't going to be a formal coalition. All we know is that no party is going to keep the Tories in power, esp now we have this beserker bunch in charge. As is well known, one of the tactics in the 2015 GE was the Tory charge that Miliband would be in the SNP's pocket. It is said that this not only affected the Labour vote in Tory/Labour marginals but also disinclined Tories from voting Lib Dem in southern and western Tory/Lib-Dem marginals for fear of contributing to the coalition of chaos. I remember my Tory/Brexiteer bro peddaling this line as soon as it surfaced, I think late in the campaign. I have no idea how wider evidemce of this tendency can be discerned from the polling evidence. Starmer, who seems over-cautious, has this in mind.
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oldnat
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Post by oldnat on Aug 28, 2022 18:28:02 GMT
Electricity prices on the island of Ireland set to rise by 35% in October. It doesn't seem clear why the rise is so much lower than in GB.
www.rte.ie/news/business/2022/0802/1313424-electric-ireland-price-increases/
NI electricity is supplied through the Irish Grid, which is controlled by the Irish government. Ireland was slow to invest in renewables and the Celtic Connector to/from Brittany won't be functioning for 3/4 years yet, so the island still needs to import electricity through GB, where electricity prices are still tied to gas prices, and potentially subject to restricted flow from continental Europe.
The drought in southern and eastern Norway has seriously affected reservoir refilling so prices are rising, though the northern zones have ample, and their prices remain low. Norway has said that exports to the EEA can't be reduced due to the agreement on mutual support, but supply to GB may suffer.
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alurqa
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Post by alurqa on Aug 28, 2022 18:40:46 GMT
There must be days when Boris Johnson tells the truth! Well I imagine quite a few, given the length of the relationships section in his wiki page. 'Sorry luv, I'm off. Got a new woman.'
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c-a-r-f-r-e-w
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Post by c-a-r-f-r-e-w on Aug 28, 2022 18:55:45 GMT
So tomorrow is the opening of another chapter in the affairs of space travel, as NASA returns to the realms of sending astronauts beyond earth orbit. The first launch of what might be considered the successor to Apollo, takes off from Cape Canaveral, with the launch window beginning at 1.30pm BST. It is an unmanned launch journeying around the moon, with two close fly-bys only 62 miles above the surface, testing the systems ahead of future launches intended to return astronauts to the moon, and not just for a couple of days but to establish a longer-term base there. This in turn is intended as a stepping stone for taking astronauts to Mars (and taking the fight back to the Mysterons). As a test launch, they are pushing the envelope a bit to stress-test it, including a faster-than-normal re-entry, so there is a greater chance of an RUD (Rapid Unplanned Disassembly) NASA Livestream here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=21X5lGlDOfg
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oldnat
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Post by oldnat on Aug 28, 2022 19:07:03 GMT
carfrew
"RUD (Rapid Unplanned Disassembly)" was applied by the DUP to Stormont because they lost.
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alurqa
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Post by alurqa on Aug 28, 2022 19:43:00 GMT
carfrew
"RUD (Rapid Unplanned Disassembly)" was applied by the DUP to Stormont because they lost. If it was Pointless Unplanned Disassembly it would spell DUP backwards. (But it isn't so it doesn't.)
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Post by crossbat11 on Aug 28, 2022 19:54:37 GMT
Ole Batty is probably going to be sick as a parrot and drunk as a skunk by the time he makes his next, post 1-0 Villa thrashing, later today. David Cameron didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
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alurqa
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Post by alurqa on Aug 28, 2022 19:55:07 GMT
So tomorrow is the opening of another chapter in the affairs of space travel, as NASA returns to the realms of sending astronauts beyond earth orbit. The first launch of what might be considered the successor to Apollo, takes off from Cape Canaveral, with the launch window beginning at 1.30pm BST. It is an unmanned launch journeying around the moon, with two close fly-bys only 62 miles above the surface, testing the systems ahead of future launches intended to return astronauts to the moon, and not just for a couple of days but to establish a longer-term base there. This in turn is intended as a stepping stone for taking astronauts to Mars (and taking the fight back to the Mysterons). As a test launch, they are pushing the envelope a bit to stress-test it, including a faster-than-normal re-entry, so there is a greater chance of an RUD (Rapid Unplanned Disassembly) NASA Livestream here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=21X5lGlDOfgAll that rocket, and they are going to throw so much of it away. At least when Musk launches his Spaceship you'll get it all back (we hope!). Still, Artemis has been good at keeping all those hundreds of thousands of spacey folk employed, just long enough that they can all get jobs at SpaceX when, at $2bn per launch, several launches later Nasa runs out of money and they all go and work for Musk. :-)
The FAA have at least been successful in stopping Musk trying to get his candle up before Nasa's. It can't be made to look like a white elephant before it launches, can it? Me, cynical?
Still, fingers crossed they get it up tomorrow. But they have two more windows over the next week before they would be forced to roll it back to the shed and recharge the batteries of the flight termination system (the system that is designed to blow it up if it goes off course -- with all that hydrogen it would be a bigly big bang).
Still, worth a watch. :-)
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2022 20:13:58 GMT
I was deeply touched by your story of the winter of 62/63 and your walk home from school through 10 inch snow drifts. It brought a tear to my eye thinking that the sweet, innocent, alcoholic child 👦 you described so movingly was destined to become a Nigel Farage supporter and vote for Brexit. If we’d only known at the time (and the Middle Lands weren’t so far away from civilisation…...)
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c-a-r-f-r-e-w
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Post by c-a-r-f-r-e-w on Aug 28, 2022 20:19:21 GMT
Bidding wars, cash up-front and ‘auditions’ – inside Britain’s broken renting market“Young professionals seeking private rental property tell of ‘hundreds’ applying for the same let” www.theguardian.com/money/2022/aug/28/bidding-wars-cash-up-front-and-auditions-inside-britains-broken-renting-market… “ Holloway is one of thousands caught up in what campaigners are calling the “cost of renting crisis”. High demand and lack of housing supply have led to landlords and agencies raising rents to record levels at a time when soaring energy prices and rising inflation mean millions are already struggling to keep up with bills.
‘I didn’t realise how bad renting in London was’: civil servant Beth Holloway, 23, pictured at her graduation. Data from Rightmove shows that rents in Britain have hit record highs, jumping by more than 20% year on year in some areas such as Manchester, and 15.8% in London. Tenants report landlords raising their rents by as much as £700 a month, effectively forcing them out. Others who moved out of their flats say they checked property sites days later to see their former homes relisted for double the original price.
A survey by PropertyMark, a membership organisation for estate agents, found that letting agents received an average of 127 new applications per branch in July but had only 11 properties available to rent. A record 82% reported month-on-month increases in rates.”
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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 28, 2022 20:28:10 GMT
So tomorrow is the opening of another chapter in the affairs of space travel, as NASA returns to the realms of sending astronauts beyond earth orbit. The first launch of what might be considered the successor to Apollo, takes off from Cape Canaveral, with the launch window beginning at 1.30pm BST. It is an unmanned launch journeying around the moon, with two close fly-bys only 62 miles above the surface, testing the systems ahead of future launches intended to return astronauts to the moon, and not just for a couple of days but to establish a longer-term base there. This in turn is intended as a stepping stone for taking astronauts to Mars (and taking the fight back to the Mysterons). As a test launch, they are pushing the envelope a bit to stress-test it, including a faster-than-normal re-entry, so there is a greater chance of an RUD (Rapid Unplanned Disassembly) NASA Livestream here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=21X5lGlDOfgAll that rocket, and they are going to throw so much of it away. At least when Musk launches his Spaceship you'll get it all back (we hope!). Still, Artemis has been good at keeping all those hundreds of thousands of spacey folk employed, just long enough that they can all get jobs at SpaceX when, at $2bn per launch, several launches later Nasa runs out of money and they all go and work for Musk. :-)
The FAA have at least been successful in stopping Musk trying to get his candle up before Nasa's. It can't be made to look like a white elephant before it launches, can it? Me, cynical?
And they’re planning on using Musk’s Starship to get them back off the moon anyway aren’t they? I was a bit surprised too that after all this time and expense they are still relying on Shuttle tech for the engines etc. But anyway, at least they are doing something now and having seen UFO back in the day it’s clear we need a base on the moon for when the aliens come.
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oldnat
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Posts: 6,097
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Post by oldnat on Aug 28, 2022 20:51:53 GMT
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Post by RAF on Aug 28, 2022 20:53:50 GMT
Bidding wars, cash up-front and ‘auditions’ – inside Britain’s broken renting market“Young professionals seeking private rental property tell of ‘hundreds’ applying for the same let” www.theguardian.com/money/2022/aug/28/bidding-wars-cash-up-front-and-auditions-inside-britains-broken-renting-market… “ Holloway is one of thousands caught up in what campaigners are calling the “cost of renting crisis”. High demand and lack of housing supply have led to landlords and agencies raising rents to record levels at a time when soaring energy prices and rising inflation mean millions are already struggling to keep up with bills.
‘I didn’t realise how bad renting in London was’: civil servant Beth Holloway, 23, pictured at her graduation. Data from Rightmove shows that rents in Britain have hit record highs, jumping by more than 20% year on year in some areas such as Manchester, and 15.8% in London. Tenants report landlords raising their rents by as much as £700 a month, effectively forcing them out. Others who moved out of their flats say they checked property sites days later to see their former homes relisted for double the original price.
A survey by PropertyMark, a membership organisation for estate agents, found that letting agents received an average of 127 new applications per branch in July but had only 11 properties available to rent. A record 82% reported month-on-month increases in rates.” Yeah, it's really tough here, and I live on the outskirts of London. It will get worse too as most properties for rent are buy-to-lets. As interest rates continue to rise so will mortgage repayments for landlords and hence rents for tenants. My rent hasn't gone up as much as for some people, but it's still now 1450 a month for a 2 bedroomed flat.
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Post by somerjohn on Aug 28, 2022 21:01:02 GMT
Mark: "On biscuits, yes, I am fully aware that this won't benefit me personally. While I am not rich - and may well be hard hit with what's coming down the road, it's not all about me."
Ah, sorry. All that stuff about having to cycle five miles to get a decent selection of non-chocolate biscuits confused me. I hadn't realised your point was "people need a few treats."
Personally I'd have thought help with their energy bills was a higher priority, but each to their own.
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Post by alec on Aug 28, 2022 21:11:27 GMT
If anyone is interested, if you are concerned about heat loss through solid walls but can't afford full scale dry lining or external insulation, or are prevented from doing such things by planning or technical considerations, you could improve the energy efficiency relatively cheaply by using internal wall liners like Sempatap Thermal - see here static.prod.cmostores.com/uploads/attachments/1/sempatap-thermal-data-sheet.pdf
It is a flexible 10mm thick liner that can be applied like wallpaper and should reduce heat loss by around a third or so. It's very good if you have a cold wall or suffer condensation issues in specific areas, although it still means you need to refit switches and plugs if you want to do a proper job (you could leave electrical fitting in place and fit the liner around them, although that is a bit of a bodge job.)
Prices have increased markedly of late, up to around £25 per square meter excluding the specialist adhesive required, but this may be of some use to people looking to prepare for a difficult winter.
I have no financial interest in this or any other insulation products, btw.
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Post by alec on Aug 28, 2022 21:18:15 GMT
Truss appears confused. Apparently she is rejecting further general help with energy bills as these would be insufficiently targeted, while simultaneously briefing the possibility of an completely un-targeted across the board cut in VAT.
I guess she needs to create a distinction between the idea of a tax cut and a handout, but the tautological definitions are meaningless once you explore the actual effects and set these against the justifications given.
I get the feeling we'll see a good deal more of these philosophically meaningless confusions under a Truss premiership.
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