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Post by leftieliberal on Nov 26, 2024 22:10:21 GMT
I can think of workers co-operatives, syndicalism and community companies as meeting this definition. Although I believe it has reached the stage that capital has sown the seeds of its own destruction, I do not believe that the economic democratic socialism I believe will happen in my life time. Regarding common ownership, I agree, it doesn’t always have to be nationalisation. I have sometimes suggested just having a state player in the market. Others on here have talked about mutuals etc. before. (Although as laszlo4new pointed out before now, in terms of socialism it doesn’t always have to be “ownership”, but “control” may suffice With energy we are already getting some common ownership of community schemes? Did leftieliberal say he was involved in one a while back or have I got wires crossed?) This is a link to my last post about the co-operative wind farm of which I am a member: ukpollingreport2.proboards.com/post/148916So far, I am getting about £3/month saving on my electricity bill [1] (a shade above 5% return on investment after taking into account the tax refund I got because it is an EIS scheme) and I get 5% of my investment back every year for 20 years on top of this (and if I don't live that long the share goes to a nominated relative). I think there should be a bigger saving over the winter months, but we will have to see what it is. [1] The electricity bill covers much else besides generating costs, which is what I am saving by having a share in a co-operative. |
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Post by mercian on Nov 26, 2024 22:17:17 GMT
Re Farage and Putin, for all those ( mercian ) who have time for Farage while simultaneously having a picture of Spitfires over the South Downs on their wall do you think if around at that time Farage would have been a Churchill or a Halifax? Halifax without a doubt. A strange feature of the new populist right is that they don't want to tell us how strong we are but how weak and in need of protection we are internally and externally. It strikes me that it's a movement for prey animals. Prey animals sounds harmless but they're easy to corral, are very easily scared and move unthinkingly in large packs stomping all under their feet. I was reading about a new civil defence leaflet that's recently been sent to all households in Sweden. It makes clear early on that if their country is invaded Swedes must never believe enemy disinformation that their armed forces have surrendered. The publication states: 'We will never stop fighting'. Not prey animals. I did post some time ago that I have been going off Farage lately because of his remarks about Putin and Trump. However for context this is what he said in 2014 according to Sky News: 'Nigel Farage has named Russia's Vladimir Putin as the leader he most admires, calling his handling of the Syria crisis "brilliant". The UKIP leader said he liked the Russian president for the way he worked rather than for his political and personal approach.' And this is what he said in February this year: 'Nigel Farage has admitted he was “wrong” about Vladimir Putin after he launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine.' At other times he has said that NATO's eastward expansion gave Putin an excuse. I think this is true. We may not agree with Putin's logic but I can see how he could sell NATO's expansion to his own people as a threat to Russia. |
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Post by mercian on Nov 26, 2024 22:26:02 GMT
I’ve been trying to find a list, see if you and Steve et cetera are on it… Today's batch per Huffpost: "Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves are among those unable to enter the country from now on, the Russian foreign ministry announced ... The other cabinet members who have been banned are Shabana Mahmood, Pat McFadden, Ed Milliband, Wes Streeting, Steve Reed, Jonathan Reynolds, Liz Kendall, Jo Stevens, Bridget Phillipson, Hillary Benn, Lucy Powell and Angela Smith. Junior defence minister Maria Eagle is also banned, as are Labour MPs Derek Twigg and Gurinder Josan, plus Tory MP Andrew Snowden. Journalists Tom Ball and Dan Woodland are also banned, as is RAF commanding officer Keith Bissett, Ministry of Defence adviser Ben Judah and a number of businessmen and women." A bit of a contrast to the Cold War, when Wilson went to Russia at their invitation. hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1966-03-01/debates/24236374-ab3e-4d23-a2f8-6300bc45e474/Moscow(PrimeMinisterSVisit) |
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Post by leftieliberal on Nov 26, 2024 22:38:04 GMT
It seems to me that the drive to go green so precipitously is actually moving us backwards. Why would anyone want to buy a car that is much more expensive when new, is less convenient to refuel and has a more limited range than its petrol equivalent? I understand that running costs are lower, but against that second-hand value is pretty dubious because the batteries degrade over time and are expensive to replace. I have been looking at getting a new (actually second-hand) car as my current car has a corrosion issue, even though it passed its MoT OK last month. I'm looking at a plug-in hybrid, which gives me the best of both worlds: up to 39 miles on the battery which I can charge at home and hybrid performance for longer journeys with no range anxiety. |
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pjw1961
Member
Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.
Posts: 8,606
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Post by pjw1961 on Nov 26, 2024 22:45:59 GMT
Harold Wilson also went to the Soviet Union when he was President of the Board of Trade under Attlee and ended up in Wisden as a result: "In 1950 he (Wilson) spoke at a lunch celebrating the centenary of John Wisden & Co., and regaled those present with an account of some recent trade talks in Moscow. During a break, the English delegation apparently attempted an impromptu game of cricket in some nearby woods - but an undercover policeman was not keen on such a dangerous pastime. Mr Wilson explained: "I persuaded him, after some negotiation, to take up his position at square leg, out of the way of even my bowling."" I actually have to full text of this in a book, so can't reproduce it here. Apparently Wilson bowled (like many of us) non-turning off breaks. Wilson's punchline to the anecdote was that the NKVD officer entirely failed to go for an easy catch off his bowling. |
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pjw1961
Member
Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.
Posts: 8,606
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Post by pjw1961 on Nov 26, 2024 22:52:14 GMT
I should clarify that, despite my previous post, I actually bowled non-turning leg breaks, with the non-turning off-break as my cunningly disguised variety delivery.
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Post by alec on Nov 26, 2024 23:07:28 GMT
Ukraine: Russian sources saying that they have withdrawn from Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region. This had been the focus of some strong attacks, with claims Russia was making progress, but as with some other assaults, heavy losses and eventual failure have been the result. Back home, there are increasing signals that something major is unraveling in the Russian economy. It looks like their central bank has given up burning through reserves to buy rubles to keep the exchange rate stable, and even with record interest rates of 21%, the ruble continued to slide today, losing another 3%. This appears to be having a major effect on property markets, with new build flats in cities across the country falling in value by 50 - 80% in the year to September. There is some talk of a major liquidity crisis developing within the economy.
To add to the confusion, Ukrainian defence sources are talking about an 'immanent' second major incursion. This is probably a bluff, as I don't think Ukraine would telegraph such a move in advance, but there are signs that the use of long ranged weapons has had an effect on the shorter range battle areas.
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steve
Member
Posts: 12,717
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Post by steve on Nov 26, 2024 23:16:10 GMT
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Post by c-a-r-f-r-e-w on Nov 26, 2024 23:57:15 GMT
Yes that’s how sanctions commonly work. You may take a hit yourself, not just the other guy. |
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Post by c-a-r-f-r-e-w on Nov 27, 2024 0:02:12 GMT
Regarding common ownership, I agree, it doesn’t always have to be nationalisation. I have sometimes suggested just having a state player in the market. Others on here have talked about mutuals etc. before. (Although as laszlo4new pointed out before now, in terms of socialism it doesn’t always have to be “ownership”, but “control” may suffice With energy we are already getting some common ownership of community schemes? Did leftieliberal say he was involved in one a while back or have I got wires crossed?) This is a link to my last post about the co-operative wind farm of which I am a member: ukpollingreport2.proboards.com/post/148916So far, I am getting about £3/month saving on my electricity bill [1] (a shade above 5% return on investment after taking into account the tax refund I got because it is an EIS scheme) and I get 5% of my investment back every year for 20 years on top of this (and if I don't live that long the share goes to a nominated relative). I think there should be a bigger saving over the winter months, but we will have to see what it is. [1] The electricity bill covers much else besides generating costs, which is what I am saving by having a share in a co-operative. Thanks leftie! Is this sort of thing becoming more common, one wonders? |
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Post by lens on Nov 27, 2024 0:26:27 GMT
Interesting bar charts there. That preference for hybrids over plug ins is replicated in EU i think. Is this customers saying , we can't be arsed to hunt charging stations, and these are cheaper to buy and less complex with no battery related stress. ? ie making judgements on the basis of their own experience and circumstance rather than grand political declarations ? It seems to me that the drive to go green so precipitously is actually moving us backwards. Why would anyone want to buy a car that is much more expensive when new, is less convenient to refuel and has a more limited range than its petrol equivalent? I understand that running costs are lower, but against that second-hand value is pretty dubious because the batteries degrade over time and are expensive to replace. I've got to bite on that one mercian . "Much more expensive when new"? Just not true any more - not if you compare like with like. (As example, a BYD Dolphin with a Honda Jazz?) "Less convenient to refuel"? Can be just the opposite! You may drive a couple of hundred miles in a day, come home, park on drive, plug in, and a "full tank" in the morning. No queueing at petrol stations - much more convenient? (And yes - I appreciate not everyone may have a drive, but if you do......) "More limited range than its petrol equivalent"? Not really true any more, though difficult to generalise. Varies between models and type of driving. (Same as combustion engineed cars.) But not difficult to get 300-400 miles per charge on something like a Tesla. "The batteries degrade over time and are expensive to replace." That may have been a serious concern with something like an early Nissan Leaf - but it's really nothing to be concerned about now. There are plenty of reports of Tesla's used as taxis with several hundred thousand miles, and still going strong with little battery degradation. You may get the odd problem, but I know of diesel cars whose engines did more than "degrade over time" and were expensive to replace. (Timing belts anyone?) Look, I'll admit it's not all a one way street, and there can be disadvantages as well as advantages. But to say it's "moving backwards" as a blanket statement is just plain wrong. And in general the statements you made tend to come from people who don't have an EV, and any grain of truth in any of them is often now outdated anyway. There are other comments which could be made such as "require much less maintenance" as well. (That's especially true apparently versus hybrids, which are probably worse of all from a maintenance/reliability point of view.) |
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