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Great suggestions, Malus. Keep 'em coming.

Have man-portable carbon capture devices been invented yet? They should be mandatory for all cyclists. Could even build it into the seats. And then we could collect and recycle the gasses (don't humans emit methane?) as bio-fuel.

 Shadow Captain Edithae wrote:
Great suggestions, Malus. Keep 'em coming.

Have man-portable carbon capture devices been invented yet? They should be mandatory for all cyclists.

The tories would be pleased, this could be what they've always dreamed of being able to put in place: a tax on sex.

I don't see what a tax on bicycles is supposed to achieve.

It would be expensive and difficult to collect, and government policy is to encourage cycling, not discourage it.

 Kilkrazy wrote:
I don't see what a tax on bicycles is supposed to achieve.

It would be expensive and difficult to collect, and government policy is to encourage cycling, not discourage it.

But think of the tax revenues the Exchequer would raise on cyclist's flatulance!

 Future War Cultist wrote:
Basing duty on emissions discriminates against the poor. The rich can afford to buy brand new cars with eco hybrid electric engines etc. that have little to zero road tax whilst poor people who have to buy older cars second hand cars pay more in tax because they’re dirtier. I know we need to encourage cleaner cars but this method does irk me a little.

Tax rates are based on how polluting the car was compared to cars at the time of sale. Newer cars might be less polluting, but the limits go down all the time but cars retain the banding they had when new. Cars getting older makes little difference to the tax they are charged other than small increases to keep up with inflation.

Herzlos wrote:

 AndrewGPaul wrote:

As for not being able to shift the wheel, that's for a couple of reasons - mechanics over-tightening the nuts with power tools, and alloy wheels welding themselves to the hub. I've been reduced on occasion to kicking the wrench to loosen them, to the point I was worried the car would come off the jack.

Technically you're meant to free the nuts up before jacking it up. It makes it a bit easier to do and means there's no risk of pushing it off the jack.

What he said, also as soon as you have the wheel off lie the wheel on its side and place it under the body of the car near the jacking point. That way if the jack fails or the car rolls off the jack somehow it wont end up on the deck, damaging the car and more importantly crushing any part of you that happens to be under it at the time.

Any thoughts on the accusations against Salmond?

It's a political crisis for the SNP.

Salmond is the biggest beast in Scottish politics, and his own party is at war with him.

I don't suppose it will end it if he wins his case in the Court of Sessions, as the government will appeal.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
In related news, Van Rompuy, ex-PM of Belgium, warns that Hard Brexit risks breaking up the UK.

I don't think there's any doubt about that. In fact Remainers where I work are sure that Scotland will be independent within 10 years even after a soft Brexit.

However for a Europeaner to say it merely reinforces Brexiteer determination to get away from their baleful influence.

At least the Grand National will be safe from Irish horses.

 Kilkrazy wrote:


At least the Grand National will be safe from Irish horses.

That's the wrong way round given how brutal the grand national can be. I would suggest it should be that Irish horses will be safe from the grand national!

And on the Ireland border issue. Here is RMogg suggesting that at the border we should bring back individual inspections...

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jacob-rees-mogg_uk_5b81cea2e4b07295151373ae?hce&utm_hp_ref=uk-homepage

 Whirlwind wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:


At least the Grand National will be safe from Irish horses.

That's the wrong way round given how brutal the grand national can be. I would suggest it should be that Irish horses will be safe from the grand national!

And on the Ireland border issue. Here is RMogg suggesting that at the border we should bring back individual inspections...

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jacob-rees-mogg_uk_5b81cea2e4b07295151373ae?hce&utm_hp_ref=uk-homepage

On the Irish border issue, aren't the EU obligated to put up a hard border on their side as per their own regulations?

Asking the UK for a solution to the border issue whilst their own rules lay down what happens when an EU member state borders a non EU member?

 Mr. Burning wrote:

 Whirlwind wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:


At least the Grand National will be safe from Irish horses.

That's the wrong way round given how brutal the grand national can be. I would suggest it should be that Irish horses will be safe from the grand national!

And on the Ireland border issue. Here is RMogg suggesting that at the border we should bring back individual inspections...

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jacob-rees-mogg_uk_5b81cea2e4b07295151373ae?hce&utm_hp_ref=uk-homepage

On the Irish border issue, aren't the EU obligated to put up a hard border on their side as per their own regulations?

Asking the UK for a solution to the border issue whilst their own rules lay down what happens when an EU member state borders a non EU member?

Yes, unless the UK is part of the customs union as a part of a deal.

But this is why the UK's position has been so ridiculous. Despite it being written clearly in black and white from the beginning, they have still attempted to "negotiate" this point as they put themselves in the corner by announcing that the UK would be leaving the customs union.

It’s not a border that everyone has to go through every day.

a true Brexiteer, facts be damned.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_border

Every month around 177,000 lorries, 208,000 vans, and 1,850,000 cars cross the border.[citation needed] Around 30,000 people cross the border daily to travel to work.[18]

30K odd people cross the border , every day.

may in fact be more
https://www.factcheckni.org/facts/do-30000-people-cross-ireland-northern-ireland-border-daily/


still BLUE passports though eh ?



http://uk.businessinsider.com/vince-cable-september-speech-lib-dem-resignation-rumours-2018-8

rumours that Cable might step down.



THERE WILL BE ADEQUATE TOILETS.

What a time to be alive.

Brexit won't lead to piles of human excrement being strewn liberally around the M20 and the port of Calais as long as we spend a fortune on provision of portable lavatories whichthen won't be available for festivals and fairs.

That's got to be some kind of bonus!

The Observer's view on the danger of Hard Brexit.
Another week and Britain’s feeble and ill-formed negotiating strategy is laid bare yet again.

I went ahead and fitted four new tyres to the car by the way. A mere £160. Hopefully that should do it for a couple of years. Meanwhile I’ll still pay the tax of £27 a month...and the £40 a week in petrol it takes to run it around....and the £101 a month insurance too.

You know, I’m suddenly getting the feeling that this car is very expensive to run.

It costs you more than mine does me, but I expect your insurance is a lot higher because you're younger.

Yeah that's pretty high insurance, but them I'm old.
£160 for 4 tyres is really good. I'm double that for all but cheapies.

Another Brexit triumph!

Prime Minister May has used her trip to Southern Africa to get agreement to make trade deals with four nations to replace the ones we've already got and will lose next March.

Four down, 89 to go!

http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2017/november/tradoc_156399.pdf

"Most African countries are exporting to the EU duty-free"

https://twitter.com/BBCr4today/status/1034334558936805377

at least as strong as we are now..

https://twitter.com/jonlis1/status/1034376904399368193

Sorry, there is no scope for African exporters to benefit from Brexit. Tariffs are already zero for majority of African countries and almost all others get them vastly reduced. Standards for agriculture imports will also not change. The minister is either ignorant or lying.

ignorant or a liar.. take your pick.






that moment when you cannot negotiate the "easiest deal in history".

 Kilkrazy wrote:
Another Brexit triumph!

Prime Minister May has used her trip to Southern Africa to get agreement to make trade deals with four nations to replace the ones we've already got and will lose next March.

Four down, 89 to go!

Oh but there is a sting and a threat int he tail. We'll only give them aid money where there benefits the UK...

I am unashamed about the need to ensure that our aid programme works for the UK.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/theresa-may-makes-unashamed-vow-to-use-uk-aid-to-boost-postbrexit-investment-in-africa-a3921091.html

Now my understanding of aid is to help countries there are with dire levels of poverty in an unprejudiced way. As soon as you start offering it is a bribe or threat, then this is just going back to the old days of colonialism where we are trying to control countries through money and power. She is just a foul smelling rat that would withhold money from aid that should support bringing people away from starvation or desperate poverty simply because it didn't benefit the UK.

However she is reassuring everyone that Wrexit "wouldn’t be the end of the world". So she is obviously setting the bar really high with that one. Never mind the arrogance that in some way Wrexit could in any way mean the end of the world.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/theresa-may-rejects-chancellors-warnings-on-no-deal-brexit-saying-it-wouldnt-be-the-end-of-the-world-a3921501.html

However the language might suggest that we are heading for a hard Wrexit. Which might be on the back of Macron coming out and saying he won't agree anything that lets the EU unravel which basically scuppers a large part of May's other unspecified 'customs union'.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/emmanuel-macron-therese-may-brexit-no-deal-uk-eu-a8509731.html

Liam Fox sounds like he is trying to excuse himself for handing in late school work. "But miss the dog ate it; I was sick; the questions were too hard" etc

 Future War Cultist wrote:
I went ahead and fitted four new tyres to the car by the way. A mere £160. Hopefully that should do it for a couple of years. Meanwhile I’ll still pay the tax of £27 a month...and the £40 a week in petrol it takes to run it around....and the £101 a month insurance too.

You know, I’m suddenly getting the feeling that this car is very expensive to run.

Cars are expensive to run... I really want a car as well, so I looked into cheap second-hand cars and was delighted to find out those were very affordable even for me. But then I looked further and found out that the initial purchase cost is only a tiny fraction of the actual price of a car... Anyways, rest assured that cars aren't much cheaper here on the mainland.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Whirlwind wrote:

 Kilkrazy wrote:
Another Brexit triumph!

Prime Minister May has used her trip to Southern Africa to get agreement to make trade deals with four nations to replace the ones we've already got and will lose next March.

Four down, 89 to go!

Oh but there is a sting and a threat int he tail. We'll only give them aid money where there benefits the UK...

I am unashamed about the need to ensure that our aid programme works for the UK.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/theresa-may-makes-unashamed-vow-to-use-uk-aid-to-boost-postbrexit-investment-in-africa-a3921091.html

Now my understanding of aid is to help countries there are with dire levels of poverty in an unprejudiced way. As soon as you start offering it is a bribe or threat, then this is just going back to the old days of colonialism where we are trying to control countries through money and power. She is just a foul smelling rat that would withhold money from aid that should support bringing people away from starvation or desperate poverty simply because it didn't benefit the UK.

Wait... So Britain is now so desperate to get trade deals they are threatening poor third world countries to withhold aid programs unless they agree to the UK's new trade deal? That is pretty disgusting behaviour. I am sad now. I did not think Britain could sink this low... At least not in the 21st century anymore.

We can sink a whole lot further yet I'm sure.

 Darkjim wrote:
We can sink a whole lot further yet I'm sure.

Please don't take it as a challenge. You are not in a competition with Trump of "how deep can my country sink".

 Darkjim wrote:
We can sink a whole lot further yet I'm sure.

It's the metaphorical Titanic all over again.

"I know lets choose this route"

"Isn't that route regularly crossed by icebergs"

"That's nonsense, we don't need to listen to the experts, this will be the greatest voyage ever because we say so"

"Iceberg ahead...don't worry we are unsinkable"

"Crunch"

"Don't blame us says the captain, you lot wanted to get on"

"It's like a million voices suddenly cried out and then were silenced..." says the EU spokesperson the following day.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Iron_Captain wrote:

Wait... So Britain is now so desperate to get trade deals they are threatening poor third world countries to withhold aid programs unless they agree to the UK's new trade deal? That is pretty disgusting behaviour. I am sad now. I did not think Britain could sink this low... At least not in the 21st century anymore.

Yep, just like the school yard bully that all teachers know will amount to nothing when they grow old. Unfortunately too many people on the comments sections in the papers either agree or thing we shouldn't be handing out any money at all.

Yeah this car was cheap to buy (£650 for a then 12 year old four door 2 litre with only 60,000 miles on the clock) but it has had £500 worth of work carried out on it over the past 3 years. And the running costs are pretty high. It is fast though. Very fast.

Going back to politics, here in Northern Ireland we now have 589 days without a government under our belts. We won’t be making the record books ahead of Belgium however, and that’s because we are only a devolved government and so we don’t count. The MLAs still get their wages though. Must be so nice.

Oh, and the Primark has burned down:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-northern-ireland-45330801

Which is a terrible shame because that building goes back to 1785. But from what I gathered it’s going to be beyond repair.

You can get some cracking deals on older larger engined cars these days, if you can stomach the running costs. Everyone runs away from gas guzzlers but if you don't do huge mileage the low fuel economy doesn't matter.

My last 3 cars have done 20mpg, 25mpg and 33mpg, but I didn't do that many miles until recently

I'm "shocked" that the so-called Scallop War has so far gone unremarked:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45337091

French fishermen have been accused of throwing insults, rocks and smoke bombs at their British rivals in the English Channel in a vicious scrap over scallops.

Appeals for calm were issued by Britain's National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, which said some boats had been filmed manoeuvring dangerously.

Personally, I would have added a pause before, and some quotes around, the word ... "dangerously"
.

Eh, equip our vessels with cannon and reenact Trafalgar on the frogs.

 master of ordinance wrote:
Eh, equip our vessels with cannon and reenact Trafalgar on the frogs.

To be fair it does look like the French have a point. They are restricted from gathering scallops to 6 months by the French government, but uk fisherman can catch the, all year round. That both makes the uk fleets cheaper (catch more per boat) and potentially diminishes stocks before they get there. The irony in this is that some people as part of Wrexit want to control our own waters but now we are arguing we should be able to plunder others as well.

They don’t. That’s down to the French government. If they want to go beyond the EU rules that’s up to them. If they want to implement those rules for everyone on the basis of conservation or anything else they need to do it the right way. There is no irony at all, unless those fishermen involved are pro Brexit.

It’s a case of live by the sword, die by the sword. The French are one of the strongest pro EU countries, and one of the loudest voices in the EU fisheries, along with Spain, and access to fishing waters is part of that. Don’t like it? Lobby the EU to change the law. Don’t try to enforce your own version of the law.

https://twitter.com/OrkneyLibrary/status/1034457842869329922


fair old bit of history eh ?