If you're not in the U.S., what's up in your part of the world? Showing 901-950 of 3,266

[Lizzie]

Scout wrote: "Are you seeing inflation in food and gas prices, Ian? Any shortages there? At the grocery store yesterday, the trucks hadn't come in to stock beef and chicken, and the milk shelves were bare. Toile..."

Our grocery stores were bare of milk too this past week.

[J.J.]

I haven't seen milk out of stock, but lately Aldis has been out of mozzarella cheese of all things.

[J.]

I'm going to need somebody to explain this one.

New Zealand to criminalise attack planning after mall stabbing
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pa...

My first question was, "If he wasn't a NZ citizen, why wasn't he deported straight from the prison?" But according to the article, the courts sealed that information. Was he a government informant? Or was the G just covering up its own failure? Whatever the answers are, it seems unwise to allow new laws to be foisted on people without a full and public investigation of where the government failed.

The store and the few "anti-knife" protestors that I've seen in other reports have lost the plot. Seriously, if you're worried about imitators, just keep the cutlery in a case.

[Ian]

J. wrote: "I'm going to need somebody to explain this one.

New Zealand to criminalise attack planning after mall stabbing
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pa......"

It is somewhat difficult, but here's my take. Note that information is really sketchy, which suggests something went wrong from the govt. actions.

He arrived in 2011, and was a normal person, trouble-free until about 2016. I think within that time he gained citizenship. That made deportation somewhat difficult. He was not a govt. informant, but I think there is most likely someone did something they shouldn't. The official reason of sealing the information was not explained at all well, and thanks to the virus outbreak, the court case was in private. That may not seem reasonable, but remember nobody alive was accused of anything. However, incompetence somewhere was most likely concealed, partly on the grounds there was no legal reason to call for it to be open. If the anti-terrorist people were involved, which seems most likely, the law requires their activities to be concealed unless they are accused of something.

As for "new laws" Ardern, as an ex-publicity expert, has this habit of announcing what she knows the public want to hear, and then go away and think about it. There is no new law so far, and when questioned publicly there have been a number of contradictory statements, including from the Minister for Justice, who is supposed to be responsible for said law, although it is clear he did not initiate it. Of course, when I say that, as far as I know so far there is no actual draft.

Supermarkets taking away knives is just silly, in my opinion, although to be fair I have never bought a knife in a supermarket. You get much better quality from specialist shops.

[Philip]

As mentioned in other threads, UK news has been dominated by major change in tax policy which still probably doesn't go far enough

For US colleagues its an extension of our socialistic welfare state to provide social care for the elderly and disabled adults (much coverage misses this element). Medical care is covered by the NHS but help with cleaning and feeding is often not. System has been creaking whilst penalising those in their own homes. Now a low tax Conservative government has broken a manifesto promise and decided to do something which they had promised to do.

The opposition are in quandary but still managed to vote against something they themselves were proposing. Will be interesting to see how it plays in forthcoming elections. Response from devolved governments was complaints they didn't have more money except in Scotland who were having another Independence debate whilst pocketing more tax mostly raised in England.

Politicians don't you love them...Not

[Philip]

In separate news have been reading about WhatsApp's (Facebook's) little fine for data protection.

https://www.theguardian.com/technolog...

Again not covered on TV news and has lots of other implications. Companies sharing data with other parts in a group structure as well as lying, misleading and other bad behaviour even when warned to stop

[[deleted user]]

One rogue state passes judgement on another:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/5...

[Ian]

A little unfair to regard Australia a rogue state for following ICC rules, Beau? And note, this support for Oz comes from a Kiwi!!!!

[[deleted user]]

You're right, Ian, I'm being unfair. The new Afghan state is only banning women from playing cricket. The new Australian state beats them with sticks if they leave home with their faces uncovered. Afghanistan is positively enlightened by comparison.

Nothing against Aussie cricket. I'm proud to have sat with the Barmy Army at the SCG, MCG, Gabba and Wacca. Great days, although England lost on every occasion I was there.

[Papaphilly]

Beau wrote: "You're right, Ian, I'm being unfair. The new Afghan state is only banning women from playing cricket. The new Australian state beats them with sticks if they leave home with their faces uncovered. ..."

So maybe you should stop going to the matches, You are obviously a jinx.

[Ian]

J. wrote: "I'm going to need somebody to explain this one.

New Zealand to criminalise attack planning after mall stabbing
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pa......"

Further to this, the information is not suppressed in general. They suppressed the terrorist's name for a few days, the reason being his relations should not have to read about it in the newspaper. It is now public.

In addition we are now starting to find out there was serious incompetence. Mr Ahamed actually applied to have his residency cancelled. Had that happened, we could have deported him, but for some reason it was declined. Maybe they thought this was a sign of insanity, but even so, why not let him go? More will come out over time.

[Ian]

Beau, you are not alone in losing to Australia when they are at home. They usually have a rather good treat, and because of the size of Australia every pitch has grown under different climatic conditions, so they all behave differently. Last time we went there, the match at the Wacca was effectively won at the toss. The pitch was unplayable by day 3. But beside that, once you learn how to play on one pitch, it is too late as the next one is totally different.

[J.J.]

Philip wrote: "In separate news have been reading about WhatsApp's (Facebook's) little fine for data protection.

https://www.theguardian.com/technolog...-..."

The problem is these fines are always nothing but a slap on the wrist for the companies. They'll keep ignoring the regulations and paying the fines because they're making money from it. To work, the fines have to be big enough to threaten the company with bankruptcy, or the governments have say enough and ban them from doing business altogether.

[[deleted user]]

Papaphilly wrote: "So maybe you should stop going to the matches, You are obviously a jinx."

It’s been years since I went to the cricket. And guess what, Papaphilly…as soon as I stopped going, England changed from a laughing stock to the best team in the world :)

Tbh, I only used to really go to drink beer in the sunshine, which explains why I’ve never visited a cricket ground further north than Birmingham, England.

Football (soccer) and tennis are my real loves, but I occasionally enjoy watching athletics and boxing too.

[Ian]

Beau, Currently they are not quite the best team in the world. Does that mean you have sneaked back in to watch the odd game?

[[deleted user]]

Ian wrote: "Beau, Currently they are not quite the best team in the world. Does that mean you have sneaked back in to watch the odd game?"

Ha ha, nice one, Ian :) No, I don't even follow it anymore, so have no idea who's got the best team. Always admired NZ and loved Richard Hadlee. Kiwis are great sportsmen.

[Philip]

Cricket mentioned as India fall foul of COVID and final test between England and India cancelled est costs £20m in lost revenue

[Ian]

I mentioned this in the Covid thread, where I mentioned Beau could have the opportunity to further jinx England, but no such luck, thanks to the virus. Sorry, Beau, for the lost opportunity :-)

[[deleted user]]

Ah yes, Ian, I saw some of the Indian players are suffering from Hayfever and cried off. Should be series drawn then :)

BTW, I've just had a look at the cricket rankings. NZ are ranked top in Test & ODIs. How has this happened? Has Sir Richard come out of retirement or has the strong cider I've consumed affected my vision?

[Ian]

Actually, Beau, we have some younger players who are quite good. Of course, now the only way is down the lists, and it will happen.

As for the strong cider, I suggest you continue to enjoy it :-) I have tased some quite good strong cider in SW England.

[Philip]

Beau wrote: "Ah yes, Ian, I saw some of the Indian players are suffering from Hayfever and cried off. Should be series drawn then :)

BTW, I've just had a look at the cricket rankings. NZ are ranked top in Test..."

Actually nothing to do with COVID and more to do with IPL wanting players free of COVID allegedly deal done to pay off ECB in UK £20m loss on test match for IPL revenues of $300m - just not cricket old chap...

[Ian]

That is an unattractive alternative that makes a lot of sense - greed strikes before honour

[[deleted user]]

Government considering emergency state-backed loans to energy companies

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-5...

Stick it on the tab.

Taken from the article:

Wholesale gas prices have risen by 250% since January after a cold winter put pressure on Europe's supplies, running down levels of stored gas.

What cold winter? And aren’t we in a period of global warming? Are they sure that a certain government intervention last winter didn’t affect the supply chain somewhere – somewhere – down the line?

Over the weekend, most media outlets led with the likelihood that this will affect meat supplies in the run up to Christmas. Meat – like with the other industries most affected by the restrictions of the past 18 months, one of the carbon-cutting crusaders' real bugbears. Coincidence or are they chuckling into their tofu?

Coincidence or not, rest assured that the residents of Downing Street and The White House will still be tucking into turkey this Christmas.

[Graeme]

Poverty is only for the poor....

Europe could frack for gas but chose not to.

REF: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainab...

[Ian]

Beau, I thought you were more or less finishing summer. If there isn't enough gas to keep you warm now, the next few months may need another blanket.

[Luís]

Around here, the vote for local elections is about to take place. PS (left-moderate party) were gaining substantial majorities in the last polls (if I'm not wrong, the legislative elections - in which the prime minister takes office). I am a political supporter of the moderate left strand in my country.

[Philip]

UK News
Energy crisis
Food crisis
EU crisis (France)
Canada election
US travel ban lifted
Pakistan cricket tour cancelled
COVID - not in headlines.....

[[deleted user]]

We’ve had 18 months of the War on Freedom and Travel, which doubled up as the first phase of an exercise in how to alter human behaviour. There has been plenty of collateral damage.

Now, beginning as a problem for industry, we have the opening phase of the War on Gas Boilers and Meat Eating. Again, there will be huge collateral damage:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/...

(There’s a picture of Philip at the top of the above article.)

https://news.sky.com/story/energy-cri...

Ranjit Singh Boparan, the owner of Bernard Matthews and 2 Sisters Food Group:

"The CO2 issue is a massive body blow and puts us at breaking point, it really does - that's poultry, beef, pork, as well as the wider food industry."

I have already noticed meat disappearing from the shelves. Sober political commentators are warning that it will no longer be available in as little as two weeks. When will it return and will we need a digital pass to purchase it?

Meanwhile, the phoney phase of the War on Cars has also begun, as the useful fools, comprising of youngsters who live on trust funds and affluent pensioners, block the nation’s busiest roads and motorways for the umpteenth day in a row:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...

Next year, the War on Cars will get really interesting. Expect petrol ‘shortages’ (or possibly something more imaginative).

A series of huge coincidences or an act of God, all with the unintended consequence of slashing manmade CO2, or part of an overall War on Carbon devised by powerful human beings?

[Ian]

An interesting point about gas shortages is most people probably don't know that the petroleum industry is a little unusual in that its markets are designed around what it produces. The reason 91 octane petrol is popular is so they can use that certain fraction, some of which would go to waste otherwise. Motors are designed for the fuel.

Now, when something is not used as much, that fraction can't be sold, and rather than start dumping or burning huge amounts of hydrocarbons, overall production will slow. There is a bit of flexibility in altering the fuel mix, but not a lot. And if the total production of oil falls, so w=ill the production of gas because a lot of gas comes associated with oil. The hydrocarbons come in a standard mix, and further gas is made in refineries, especially if you have to do a lot of chemistry to make, say, a good mix of jet fuel that can take the low temperatures. So some of the gas shortages may arise for no other reason than the use of oil products as a whole is dropping off, and of course some countries are burning gas to make up for other closed electricity genereation.

[[deleted user]]

Very interesting information, Ian. Thank you. Much more convincing than Boris's blanket claim that it is due to the economy firing on all cylinders after being temporarily shutdown or the media blaming it on a cold (last) winter.

[[deleted user]]

As public pressure forces the government to clamp down on protestors blocking our roads and motorways, the War on Petrol enters a new phase:

Petrol station closures

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/57810729

For those purely blaming Brexit, read the article. This is the BBC, and even they admit that the response to covid is a significant cause.

Travel, meat, gas boilers, cars…what’s the next target for the carbon-cutting crusaders working tirelessly in the shadows?

[Papaphilly]

Maybe, just maybe, they should give up theirs first and set up an example for the rest of the unwashed masses.

[Ian]

Thanks to the virus, everything is out of whack. Eventually it will settle down, but the scary thing is where it settles will depend to some extent on the skill of politicians, and that skill set worries me.

[J.]

Ian wrote: "Thanks to the virus, everything is out of whack. Eventually it will settle down, but the scary thing is where it settles will depend to some extent on the skill of politicians, and that skill set w..."

I tend to agree. I'm also concerned for you Kiwis and Ausies.

I am of course troubled by the images of police attacking protesters in Australia. But beyond that, the massive quarantines that y'all have imposed on your islands have incurred a kind of debt. The rest of us have been paying the butcher's bill, day by day. But y'all have been kicking it down the road. If you do everything just right, you may be able to reopen to international trade and travel without too much pain. However if you make any slip ups, your butcher's bill may come due all at once.

[Papaphilly]

Except they may miss the butchers bill if they can get vaccinated to become immune or at least reach herd immunity.

[Ian]

Right now the government is doing its best to get everyone vaccinated. It should be possible to get over 90% vaccinated by mid October, except, of course, the problem with those who refuse. One thing is certain: our hospitals will not be able to cope with a massive delta outbreak, so it is vaccinate, lockdown, or have people dying in the corridors.

[[deleted user]]

British people are amongst the most intelligent in the world:

Drivers queue for hours at closed petrol station

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...

[J.]

Beau wrote: "British people are amongst the most intelligent in the world:

Drivers queue for hours at closed petrol station

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england..."

Isn't standing in line the true national sport of Great Britain?

[Philip]

J. wrote: "Beau wrote: "British people are amongst the most intelligent in the world:

Drivers queue for hours at closed petrol station

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england..."

Isn't stand..."

It's a queue old chap. We do not stand in-line we form an orderly queue except in public houses where there are various hidden queuing rules as described in Pub Etiquette within Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour

[Ian]

For what it is worth, I recall being in a queue for petrol once - in Praha on day 2 of the Russian invasion. It took me ten minutes to get to the pump, and it was the first place I had seen since entering that was selling petrol.

[[deleted user]]

Philip wrote: "We form an orderly queue except in public houses where there are various hidden queuing rules as described in Pub Etiquette within Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour"

It's called 'bar presence', dear boy. I had it when I was younger but it disappeared when the following generations grew taller than us. That's why I now go out for a drink before, rather than after, dinner.

Book looks good.

[Philip]

Beau wrote: "Philip wrote: "We form an orderly queue except in public houses where there are various hidden queuing rules as described in Pub Etiquette within Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English B..."

The section on queuing in pubs is worth the book on its own

[[deleted user]]

As GB's temporarily (I hope) falling apart, I've decided to look at Australia for a bit of schadenfreude:

Annastacia Palaszczuk says Queensland is the ‘place to be’

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-...

You must be joking.

Australian Medical Association calls for vaping ban

https://www.skynews.com.au/lifestyle/...

Australian officials really are turning into a bunch of fascists. Can't stop meddling and telling people what to do, can they?

[Ian]

Um, Beau, have you ever heard a politician say, "Just about everywhere is better than our place. Sorry for botching it all up here, but never mind, I shall continue botching away so maybe you should all go somewhere else"?

[J.]

"Politicians are the same all over the world. Always building bridges where there are no rivers."
- Nikita Khrushchev

[Philip]

On topic
UK news
Furlough scheme ends today
Sentencing for horrendous murder due today
Grade inflation for teacher assessed to be wound back
Protestors blocking M25 - again
Petrol panic declining
Still raining

[[deleted user]]

Philip wrote: "Furlough scheme ends today"

I was gobsmacked to just hear that 1.6m people are still on it. Didn't think it was anything like that number. Let's hope some of them have an HGV licence.

[Philip]

Beau wrote: "Philip wrote: "Furlough scheme ends today"

I was gobsmacked to just hear that 1.6m people are still on it. Didn't think it was anything like that number. Let's hope some of them have an HGV licence."

Cooks, chefs, meat processors, shop assistants, waiters and probably some HGV - shame a few politicians aren't on it and kept on it permanently - forgot we already pay them to sit and do nothing

[Papaphilly]

Ian wrote: "Um, Beau, have you ever heard a politician say, "Just about everywhere is better than our place. Sorry for botching it all up here, but never mind, I shall continue botching away so maybe you shoul..."


As a matter of fact.....

[Ian]

Well, go on :-) A useful quote coming???