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mackpomm

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Everything posted by mackpomm

  1. But still you feel the need to label yourself as "not LGBTQ"? Does this admirable tolerance extend to Unionists?
  2. I think gdevoy was clearly saying we should make the best of what we've got, imperfect as it is, and that you can look out over the river and listen to George telling you about the rabbits and the alfalfa all you want.
  3. OFFS, i thought you would be enjoying the sleep of the righteous on the Piano Row by now. EFTA membership would be complex. And there's a queue, not least likely Ukraine.. The requirement to allow free movement of labour alone would require border controls with England and there would necessarily be customs posts with England. It's not a magic bullet.....and the issues of currency and fiscal adjustment remain.
  4. I agree that potential for advantageous change would be greater in an independent Scotland, but without an independent, vigorously investigative media sector I'm not able to quantify that advantage or feel confident about its persistence. I also agree that joining the Union would not be to our advantage. But we are nevertheless already part of the Union. Unfortunately (and sadly....and in the hope that Beaker is safely tucked up for the night), i think that since the UK has already left the single market, the economic costs of independence involving a customs border with our largest market, England, issues relating to the currency and fiscal adjustment are likely to vastly outweigh all other potential advantages.
  5. I think the RHI offering was flawed from inception, ideal for big houses with their own woodlands, with no performance efficiency requirement on the non domestic schemes ie with dubious green credentials. Expecting estate owners to not make the best of what was on offer, albeit unfortunate from the taxpayer's perspective, is perhaps expecting too much? The scandal is that when loopholes or potential for optimising the scheme's effect were highlighted, often by the regulator, government ministers did nothing. I'm not sure whether it's my heart over-riding my head or vice versa but i doubt leaving the union would change anything. Politicians and governments everywhere are self interested and reward their supporters, typically like secrecy and are shy of accountability when things go wrong, even in Scotland. What might make a difference is if a public service broadcaster, like the BBC, felt free and was motivated to report the Open Democracy analysis. Likewise other mainstream media, including the Scotsman, The Herald and Daily Record on which Scotland relies. I suspect the only coverage will be in The Guardian, meaning most of the population will remain unaware. It's only public scrutiny that will encourage politicians to be their best selves.
  6. Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through. (A different) Jonathan Swift Judge Jonathan Swift has a record of supporting government, some would argue regardless. I read The Pen and the Sword by Michael Foot years ago. It was beautifully written but tough going apart from the section on political pamphlets and promotions. Swift was a hero of Foot, Foot was a hero of mine. Foot also wrote Guilty Men, damning those who appeased Germany in the 1930s. Yet Foot himself was destroyed by the establishment press whilst Labour Leader, as an appeaser, a pacifier, unfit and unwilling to protect Britain's interests. So now we have a press, politicians and (arguably) supporting judiciary who do and say just as they please, for the benefit of the few. Sorry, I'm stating the obvious.... but feel partly responsible, because like the rest of the UK, I didn't direct any energy towards defence of a man who wasn't wearing a donkey jacket at the Cenotaph; as much as I liked Foot, I didn't imagine he was electable. But I think i missed the real, big, issue. It's just been a very slippery slope since. Thatcher won her second term and is vilified by many because of her industrial and social policy. To my mind, the real damage was the distance she travelled from content and debate, to timing and delivery. She recognised that populist support, gained by whatever tub-thumping means, anaesthetised the patient, allowing political and social surgery, from which the country will probably never recover. I think Boris and the likes of Priti Patel understand the game in a similar way and are just as dangerous. This is an immigration policy only incidentally, yes it involves migrants, but their primary objectives are other.
  7. From todays Independent: Priti Patel Rwanda deportations to go ahead without promised watchdog to monitor conditions Monitoring committee will not be set up for months by flights set to begin next week By Jon Stone Priti Patel is deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda without a promised watchdog intended to oversee the process and protect their rights, The Independent has learned. Earlier this year the government committed to setting up a monitoring committee for the controversial removal programme – which would report back on conditions and raise the alarm over any problems. But ministers have now quietly admitted that the watchdog, as well as a separate joint committee, have still not been set up despite the Home Office pressing ahead with the first flights next week. It comes as the UN's refugee agency said the entire programme was in breach of Britain's commitments under the 1951 UN refugee convention and the High Court considers whether to grant an injunction to stop flights. Immigration minister Tom Pursglove last month told a parliamentary evidence session that the monitoring committee was about "providing proper oversight" of the scheme – which human rights groups warn risks the safety of asylum seekers and breaches the UK's legal obligations. ....there will have to be a similar commitment from voluntary groups/NGOs otherwise the consequences could be horrific. Our government doesn't feel the need to pretend to be keeping an eye on personal outcomes. How f**king irresponsible.
  8. I had to look that up... with a frisson of nostalgia for the toil and trouble of the Hubble. But well, I don't suppose beryllium-gold tiles are getting any cheaper either.
  9. Prices at the pump are 90% determined by the crude oil price. It's always good to have some someone to blame but the number of independent retailers who have been squeezed out of the market over the last 50 years suggests that for pump prices to fall significantly, either or both the tax-take or crude oil price must fall. I agree wholeheartedly that successive governments have failed, largely to avoid electoral discomfort, to transition to alternative fuels (and modes of transport). It probably sounds a bit idealistic/niaf, but i believe that if Europe and the UK are to bear the extreme economic costs of this war, then our economies should be put on a "war footing" and maximum resources and effort directed towards reconfiguring our energy and transport sectors. The short term economic pain would be severe and hence unpopular with electorates but the long term gains not least economically and environmentally would be enormous. Otherwise the costs and uncertainties of our reliance on fossil fuels will drag on for decades. I suspect, despite the Churchillian undertone, this sort of war footing would not appeal to Boris.
  10. .....the 7% makes sense as an annualised figure and is roughly equivalent to the 1st Q GDP deflator of 1.8% (ie (1.018%)⁴) although they are not the same thing. I agree the shock to price levels and degree of persistence in consumer expenditure will become much more obvious in the coming months and the revision to initial figures will be more pronounced.
  11. Both diesel and petrol are about 2€ a litre in Germany at the moment....using the exchange rate that's equivalent to £1.70/litre. Prices were a lot higher but the government reduced their tax-take on petrol/diesel temporarily (3 months) by 29,55/14 cents per litre on 1st June. It’s not clear the extent to which oil companies will pass the discount onto drivers, but it looks like petrol has become around 15 to 30 cents cheaper per litre, and diesel 11 to 14 cents cheaper. Even just locally, there's a 10% variation on pump prices, with some under 1.90€, others at 2.15€. Without the subsidy, prices would be higher here than in the UK.
  12. I had already looked and couldn't find it. It looks like a recent monthly figure annualised......and irrelevant to GDP growth which is published in real and nominal terms with a published price adjustment, the GDP deflator.
  13. I don't think this statement is accurate. Brent Blend is currently $124pb, a week ago the price was $117pb, a month ago $103pb, a year ago $70pb. In addition the GB pound has depreciated by over 10% against the US dollar over the last year. There may be profiteering but the wholesale price (or the cost of delivery to retail oulets) is not dropping.
  14. I dont think this accurate. From the Office of National Statistics: Real GDP (adjusted to reflect changes in prices) increased by 0.8% in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2022 and is now estimated to be 0.7% above its pre-coronavirus level. Nominal GDP (just the total of GBP not adjusted to reflect prices changes) rose by 2.5% in Quarter 1 2022 and is 11.0% higher than the same quarter a year ago. It is now 8.6% above its pre-coronavirus pandemic levels. The implied GDP deflator rose by 1.8% in Quarter 1 2022 (compared with Quarter 4 2021), mainly driven by a 1.3% increase in the implied price of household consumption. The monthly statistics, which are calculated on a different base year, do indeed show negligible or negative real growth in February and March. The GDP deflator reflects changes in price level. Doubtless the deflator will increase markedly over coming months. It's always difficult when figures are quoted, it's not always clear whether figures are monthly/monthly annualised, quarterly/quarterly annualised, or quarter against last quarter or quarter against the same quarter last year....but I can't see where the 17% price index increase you quote can be found.
  15. Now....in order to make real Vorsprung.... he needed the technology..... Two training hampers arrived at the darkened flat in the Dundonald Road. The first hamper contained bratwurst, an old sewing machine and some surgical instruments, the second hamper contained a muffled groan....
  16. ....followed by the ball. Killie were 1 - 0 up! The German trainer looked down at Scott on the Seville turf and said "For years we did not arm anybody, not even ourselves. There are no eintractable problems here son, now we do legs too" ...and he swiftly sewed Scott's leg back on.
  17. Scott cast his mind back, he knew what the gemme wuz..."they would normally come wi five loaves and a home gate of 5 thousand eh?" You have one wish left, said the genie....
  18. ....Rory liked to wear the River Plate strip he got from Lroy on the golf course and soon he mingled with the dancing Red Stripe cans as Petaz's collection of Sweet Little Mystery tracks and the shimmering heat of Caprington took its toll.... "Aye music can help but keepin hydrated is the key" offered Rory, noticing the beaded sweat on Scott's brow......
  19. "That'll be the hayfever effecting your eyes, there's a lot of pollen about. Try these, my buddy Willie swore by them"...said Del....."he says they dinnae make you sleepy either" Scott popped a couple, then noticing the use-by date was 1978, another couple, just in case....
  20. ....the coo stopped just before Shortlees and wandered back, dropping into The Forum to chew the cud over the milk solid content and the perfect gelato. The higher the fat content the better they decided, preferably from blue and white Jerseys. Scott began to wake up as he heard Derek saying "...some folks said you couldnae dae that...hit a coos arse ah mean. Am impressed lad. But mibbe cut oot the dairy products for a bit and no more ice cream eh? " Scott set down the cones, thinking the field of dreams hadnae gone to seed yet, in fact it was really quite colourful, if needing a cut. I'll make hay whilst the sun shines and have a summer long pre-season he promised himself... Just then Derek appeared with a lawnmower....
  21. Aye its warm blustered Chris, looking at his gloves, but it's the swarm I'm concerned with, I've been adding honey supers and queen excluders to the hives. Anyway, it's no Polen I'm worried about, it's f**king Ukraine, ah need some sort of redemption.... Robbo didn't like seeing a grown man cry so he....
  22. ".. ..where football hudnae been played at Rugby Park for years, the field was a wildflower meadow, changing rooms were milking parlours and the milk float was driven by a fellow called McDicken.
  23. But the instructions for the lead pipe were as unintelligible as the instructions for the microwave.......
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