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Post by captainconfident on May 2, 2024 18:55:58 GMT
That ship sailed when Obama decided not to do anything about the Russians/Syrians dumping drums of chemicals and nerve agents on civilians from helicopters. The world failed to come together on that, just as it can't on climate change. So Putin can get away with denying he is a psycopath and sadist. I should qualify that. 2nd epilogue of War and Peace, Tolstoy points out in a tricky argument that the high commanders only vicariously experience war from behind desks, but didn't actually get their hands bloody, yet it is the mass of the lower and lowest soldiers who have done the 'drowning and slaying' and yet escape practically unreproached. The 'power' of the army is not Napoleon or the multitude of commands made by Napoleon, most of which had no effect at all. The power of the army is the combined will of the footsoldiers to come together and go to other countries to hack and maim their fellow man, for which 'war' gives a free pass to do. Think IDF and see them gunning down the women carrying buckets if water to the hospital. Was Netinjahu responsible for that? Are the soldiers absolved of reproach because they are soldiers? Because their side declared 'war'? Or are they not, because as individuals they have a responsibility not to lose their humanity, and if other people are murdering freely, it doesn't mean they have to join in. In the same way the German army was the motive power that made Hitlers orders flesh. Tolstoy argues that if just some groups of humble soldiers said 'i'm not doing it', it might have rippled up and stalled the machine. But they didn't and deserve blame to a man. Hitler, Putin the theoretical killers, the soldiers on a par as the actual killers. Chloropicrin is identified in the Chemical weapons convention as a banned chemical but seems to be just a sort of tear gas, whereas sarin was sprayed on the Syrian civilians. But arguably you either enforce the CWC or it is no longer worth the paper. Sorry for going on a bit.
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Post by captainconfident on May 2, 2024 10:13:44 GMT
I don’t even know what theories they are promoting. Anyway I do like the concept of 15 minute city. I had a very enjoy stay in Belgium last weekend. It’s all about location, location, location. Easy access to everything from international transport, nice food and drinks, place of worship, shops and entertainment. What a good idea. I walked most of the time to get to places I want during my stay. Along with all other Flemings, we think of our country as a shambles. You don't mean to say something has been efficient for once? We're in the shadow of Netherlands where everything works, always conscious of being in the shade. Anyway, isn't the 15 minute city one of these issues that has been politicised? A woke project to take away our cars? Some objection, maybe from the US where everything is political.
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Post by captainconfident on May 2, 2024 9:01:44 GMT
Would Voter ID brings a new element of surprises? I went to the polling station this morning for casting 3 votes for 3 different things. No queues, My ID was checked by one person and other two people were double checking their sheets before handing out the papers to me. Anyway, I spent almost 10 mins there and heard at least 4 people didn’t bring the acceptable ID. Maybe those four were the imposters, and government policy is going as planned?
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Post by captainconfident on May 1, 2024 22:47:09 GMT
How would not wanting to use a particular toilet lead to getting a urinary tract infection? This laughable basis for changing government policy has been reported unchallenged by the biased MSM, where Kemi Badenoch has been active today tackling the best issue she could think of to get reelected. Turns out Badenoch got this absurd idea second hand from the idiot MP for Walsall who had spotted a mixed use toilet at the Walsall Academy.
"The traditional toilet blocks were still available nearby for students to use, and that the new block had been designed using feedback from students to improve their safety."
“The students said that they felt safer with the open-plan nature of the toilets, as some had experienced bullying in ‘closed’-style toilets previously. This was also the feedback from the parent group,” Walsall Academy spokesperson.
So in this tale, the girl who didn't want to use the mixed use toilet must have picked up the UTI from using the nearby girls toilets. Nobody pointed that out. If you can in fact get a uti from a toilet. Which nobody asked either.
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Post by captainconfident on May 1, 2024 21:13:58 GMT
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Post by captainconfident on May 1, 2024 20:38:20 GMT
Looks like his politics are about as flaky as his bowling was
Thanks, that really is an amusing link. Looking forward to more interviews with Monty, comedy gold!
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Post by captainconfident on May 1, 2024 18:24:01 GMT
Although I strongly advise against it since they will not be coming back and will probably have a horrible death in a muddy field somewhere, people who feel that Ukrainians should die instead of negotiating in a war they cannot win should be aware it is possible to volunteer to fight for Ukraine as an overseas national*. * - Which of course they will not do because they do not want to be blown to pieces by Russian Artillery and Thermobaric weapons, it is ok when someone else is dying and suffering of course.. Go somewhere else with your russian rhetoric. Pretending to care about Ukrainians just to subordinate to russia. . . pathetic Oi k6, get hip to the groove. Angry is not a Russian agent. He is simply a mirror site of the talking points of Youtube influencer Colonel Doubledown McWhackjob. A man who deleted all his Youtube posts from 2022 because they were so wildly wrong. But you can revel in the whole of his 2023 output. This link will provide you with everything you need to know and will provide you with a basic grounding in all of Angrys talking points. www.youtube.com/results?search_query=colonel+Douglas+macgregor+ukraine
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Post by captainconfident on Apr 30, 2024 9:44:25 GMT
Interconnectors have trebled their contribution to base load on the UK grid in the last four years, so they are clearly part of the mix.
What has not been mentioned yet is Vehicle to Grid storage which has the potential to buffer supply and demand - if EVs grow at the rate they are coupled with ramping up the national charging infrastructure and a smarter grid. Beyond that, to deliver a carbon free grid by 2030 or 2035 the will probably need hydrogen turbines.
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Post by captainconfident on Apr 28, 2024 23:39:10 GMT
As someone facing the hardship of living in the EU, I think the problem is exactly as mentioned above, no ID card in the UK. There's going to be a host community where you may have relations, where you may be looked after to some extent. Through that you get paid work. What does the ID card do for you? It is access to all services both private and public. It smooths your way through the day and scarcely one goes by without me sticking it in some reader or other. Goodness knows what the government knows about me but if they wanted, practically everything. But as it is, you couldn't function in society without one and you are supposed to have it with you at all times (at least in B/NL), if the police want to id you, you have to show it, I think it's a legal requirement. You can't make a life here long term without this card. What did I think of that when I moved here? Gestapo! We fought the war not to have "Your papers please". But you have to lump it and get one, using your passport in the mean time. Then I realised that most Belgians don't have passports, this is enough of a passport and why pay again? Plus it makes life simple. In an increasingly complex world you need to snap your fingers, be recognised and get on with your business. Actually online, recognition is with Itsme, something you use to confirm your bank transfers over a certain size, log in to gvt databases and personal records, your health records etc. You sign up to Itsme using your eID, then you are using your phone finger print to use the app. Is there an equivalent to this in the UK? www.itsme-id.com/en-BE
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Post by captainconfident on Apr 28, 2024 19:37:19 GMT
After Brexit, this government ran out of ideas. They don't raise enough money to cover spending year on year and so public services got cut to the bone and started failing. Because the only bone they think the public likes is "cut taxes" and without money they can't fix the problems they created, they stalled completely. Liz Truss demonstrated the problem perfectly.
So they have no direction, scarcely are able to fill a queen/King's speech except with trivia. But with immigration, they can keep the focus away from their economic paralysis. Its their one shield, their attention deflector. If the small boats stopped, they would be naked in the publics gaze, no direction, no viable policies, nothing to say.
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Post by captainconfident on Apr 28, 2024 19:11:24 GMT
If you think immigration is the main problem facing the country, or maybe for Tory MPs "the only think we could remotely credibly promise to fix", . . Lost my train if thought.... Oh yes, if immigration is the main problem then its not the hundreds in small boats, its the tens of thousands of yearly post Brexit immigrants. The government gets an easy ride with its sleight of hand concerning solving the boat problem while playing down its failure to honour other promises. And the solution to the boats would have been speeding up the asylum system and making a show of expelling failed asylum seekers. Instead they give hope to would be boaters by providing seemingly indefinite accommodation, however shoddy. They keep the small boats coming deliberately so they have an issue the can loudly pretend to be 'solving'. Don't disagree with a lot of that. I wonder what the technical (not resource-wise) issues are with deciding on immigration status being slow. Is it simply waiting for an interview or is it case officers sending out questions to 3rd parties in different countries waiting for an answer? I wonder.... Well the obvious answer is and always has been an arrangement with the French and Belgians for offshore processing. Neither of these governments enjoy having camps of people waiting to jump lorries or picking them up from the sea. The failure to take this approach from the start points to how valuable stoking the small boats issue is to this government.
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Post by captainconfident on Apr 28, 2024 18:47:28 GMT
If you think immigration is the main problem facing the country, or maybe for Tory MPs "the only think we could remotely credibly promise to fix", . . Lost my train if thought....
Oh yes, if immigration is the main problem then its not the hundreds in small boats, its the tens of thousands of yearly post Brexit immigrants. The government gets an easy ride with its sleight of hand concerning solving the boat problem while playing down its failure to honour other promises. And the solution to the boats would have been speeding up the asylum system and making a show of expelling failed asylum seekers. Instead they give hope to would be boaters by providing seemingly indefinite accommodation, however shoddy. They keep the small boats coming deliberately so they have an issue the can loudly pretend to be 'solving'.
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Post by captainconfident on Apr 28, 2024 17:44:03 GMT
You don't think as they do, 'anything might be better than the current situation'? Penny with her big sword got the old boys all worked up. Maybe they are right. Bozza wasn't a lot more than a barrow load of slogans. Flash of publicity for the fresh and statuesque leader and her "New ideas" expressed in three word phrases, straight to election. I think it's plausible. Problem, she is more likely to want to lead the opposition for 5 years than chuck herself on the funeral pyre in a few months. I agree that Penny The Sword Bearer would make a reasonable - certainly better - next leader of the Conservatives. though lets face it the bar has been set pretty low. I think she will have greater appeal to the wider electorate than other candidates. But problem is: would they even choose her ? Priti Patel seems to be quite high in the list of who is being touted as a 'straw person' (yes that was deliberate). If they want to make 'stopping the boats' number one in their list, they might even think that Suella would appeal to the masses. The problem is they seem to have not a clue who the 'masses' actually are, despite their certainty about knowing what they think. I'm also with you that Penny would be much more sane to wait until after the possible defeat at the coming election before stepping forward. The idea of being the chief swordswoman going into the next election seems like insanity. Unless one takes on the role much closer to a required election date when even the most loonie of the clan can't envisage a 'late surge'. You can see an argument for Patel or Braveman among worried Tories on the right. If Reform is likely the spoiler in your constituency, how about grabbing their policies and heading for the election under a pedigree right winger? I can write the new slogan: "Leave the ECHR!". Obviously this looks better on paper than said out loud. Needs a rethink. "No Net Zero!" "Get Brexit Done Properly!". I'm on a roll here. Think they'll hire me? I would guess the danger would be a proper splinting of the party with defections, a poor look to present to the public when you need their votes. It seems there is no way to turn, and by default, Rishi will be the captain on the bridge when the ship sinks.
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Post by captainconfident on Apr 28, 2024 14:58:46 GMT
I see the Sunday papers - at least my one - are full of rumours that Tory "rebels" are plotting to oust Sunak (again) and go on a 100 day policy blitz to win back support for the party. With the headline policy being "to curb immigration". Has anyone explained to loonies who seem to now make up a large portion of the PCP that the Tories recent history of having revolving door of leaders is a good chunk of their problem. The next big chunk of their problem is the endless stream of unfit to be in office retrobates that they seem to have, with the endless sequence of scandals of financial or personal propriety implications. You don't think as they do, 'anything might be better than the current situation'? Penny with her big sword got the old boys all worked up. Maybe they are right. Bozza wasn't a lot more than a barrow load of slogans. Flash of publicity for the fresh and statuesque leader and her "New ideas" expressed in three word phrases, straight to election. I think it's plausible. Problem, she is more likely to want to lead the opposition for 5 years than chuck herself on the funeral pyre in a few months.
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Post by captainconfident on Apr 28, 2024 13:13:32 GMT
Yeah, sometimes. The issue is all the other times when fossil fuels are providing considerably more. eg last week when they were the largest source. That isnt likely to change due to the nature of electricity provision and demand eg inertia, grid balancing, base load etc. If other sources cant provide that 100% of the time then fossil fuels are still required or its blackouts, and those fossil fuel plants still have to be paid for when they arent being paid for electricity. If you read the second half of the report, it says These technical requirements include maintaining the frequency of electricity supplies at close to 50Hz and responding to rapid changes in supply and demand through operational reserves.
NGESO also maintains the ability to restart the grid in the case of a total shutdown, sometimes referred to as “black start”, but now more formally called “restoration”.
Increases in wind and solar capacity mean low-carbon sources are now already sufficient to meet 100% of electricity demand in some periods. However, on the technical side, the 2025 target has been a “significant engineering challenge”, Dyke says:
“Getting to the 2025 ambition has been a significant engineering challenge, which we are solving.”
Grid services have, historically, been provided by fossil fuel power plants. Over the past five years, however, NGESO has been changing the way it procures these services, as well as reforming the rules of grid operation and the way it balances the grid in real time.
For example, through its “pathfinder” projects NGESO has contracted a series of sites that can offer grid services without fossil fuels. These include “synchronous condensers”, effectively giant spinning turbines that provide grid stability without burning fossil fuels.
Other key innovations include the use of batteries to manage the frequency of the grid and “grid forming inverters”, which use sophisticated power electronics to offer different types of grid support.
This development means renewable projects will be able to contribute grid stability services, such as “inertia”, that have traditionally only been offered by conventional fossil fuel generators.
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