OneGuyFromBarlick

I got the impression that Musk was struggling a bit in his latest attempt to dominate the world! Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke....

The sooner he goes to Mars the better! (I wonder if there is a planet called Hell?)

Peter Bardenfleth-Hansen, former senior director of Tesla's Europe, Middle East and Asia division, commenting on Musk's recent behaviour...
"There's no doubt his flirting with the right in politics, running around on TV with a chainsaw is not exactly helping his image. He may be getting a bigger fanbase within a specific type of clientele, but they're not the ones that are buying the Teslas. They're not the ones putting money in to his company. So he has a problem."

`Tesla shares slump after European sales fall' LINK
Shares in electric car maker Tesla have slumped more than 9% after EU and UK sales fell by almost half in January. The drop in Tesla shares took the company's valuation back below $1trn for the first time since November 2024. Tesla has been facing stiff competition in the European market from Chinese and other manufacturers. In addition, Tesla owner Elon Musk has been making controversial political waves on both sides of the Atlantic, an analyst said.

Peter, that assessment squares with my impressions about Musk of late. I think he's letting his imagination run away with him and forecast that it will end in tears. Trump is not going to allow anyone to steal his thunder.

Starmer March 2nd 2025 about 1500- " Because the one thing our history tells us is that if there is conflict in Europe, it will wash up on our shores,"

Is that always true

I just heard a Ukrainian commentator talking about Trump's initiative with Putin say this.....
"If Russia stops fighting the war will end. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine will end."

I think he "borrowed" that from Benjamin Netenyahu - or even perhaps Golda Meir.


Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke Badenoch continues to disappoint -

From a sketch recently

Kemi’s voice really is a thing of beauty. Rich, lustrous, natural – it also has the great political quality of commanding attention. When she has found something to say with it, she will be formidable. We are a little way off that happy day.

I didn't know that David, thanks for alerting me to it.
I think that commentator on Kemi Badenoch has put his/her finger on it. She's not yet found the formula for getting the Tories back in gear as a united party. They still seem to be arguing about what went wrong and who is to blame. Politics is reduced to opposing everything that Labour does. We do not hear productive alternatives, surely the function of opposition.

"Blowing out someone's light doesn't make your own light brighter"
Reported to have been said by the Chinese Premier.

The Chinese Premier has probably never been a miner or caver. Imagine a group of miners, each with a light on his helmet. This makes the mine/cave well lit. The leader tells the others to put out their lights. Immediately the leader's light is brighter in the ensuing darkness.
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Kirill Dmitriev, President Putin's envoy for foreign investment and economic cooperation....
"We believe Elon Musk is a great visionary, a great leader and a very successful person," Dmitriev tells Steve Rosenberg. "Russia has a lot to offer for a mission to Mars because we have some nuclear technologies which can be applicable. There are some video conferences we believe will be upcoming with, let's say, the Musk team." BBC
Watch this space!

The world turned upside down by one man.....

Senator John F Kennedy speaking of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

"As I've said before - she's the reason they put directions on a shampoo bottle"

Tony Benn..... "Dare to be a Daniel!"

The Duchess of York has said she is "sure" the late Queen Elizabeth II speaks to her through her corgis.
Now, Ferguson has said her former mother-in-law is communicating to her through her beloved pets.
Speaking at the Creative Women Platform Forum she said: "I have her [Queen Elizabeth's] dogs, I have her corgis so every morning they come in and go 'woof woof' and I'm sure its her talking to me."
She has previously said what an honour it was to have been given the dogs.

Nurse the screens please quickly. . . . . . . . .

Hadn't heard that David but not at all surprised. Anything to get attention, especially now Andy isn't such a reliable meal ticket and roof over her head....
What a strange world the minor royals live in.....

Worth a look and a think - I think we are in the foothills of the new internet. It explains a few things . I don't like it.

From Reason
"The current iteration of AI already edits our emails, sorts our inboxes, and picks the next song we listen to. But convenience is just the start. Soon, the same technology could determine which ideas ever reach your mind—or form within it. Two possible futures lie ahead. In one, artificial intelligence becomes a shadow censor: Hidden ranking rules will throttle dissent, liability fears will chill speech, default recommendations and flattering prompts will dull our judgment, and people will stop questioning the information they're given. This is algorithmic tyranny. "

"The cost of idea suppression is personal. Consider a child whose asthma could improve with an off-label treatment. Even if this medication is successfully used by thousands of people, an AI search may only show "approved" protocols, burying the lifesaving option. Once a few central systems become our standard for truth, people might believe no alternative is worth investigating. From medicine to finance to politics, invisible boundaries now have the power to shape what we can know and consider. Against these evolving threats stand timeless principles we have to protect and promote".

PS I meant to post this yesterday - I don't like her but she's on the money here. . . .

@IsabelOakeshott

AFTER 9 months of absolutely zero success @Keir_Starmer warning people smugglers that he's "coming after them," marks the point at which he goes from laughable to pitiful. His whole comms team should be fired.

David. Perhaps that's part of the reason why we are being told so little about politics. The AI robots are working on a 'need to know' basis.
As for Starmer, you could well be right. I have never rated him as you well know. Pathetic.

This quote is entirely fictitious

The PM -
Well - I think that went quite well . We hosted an EU meeting in London, and got our toe firmly in the door marked "Return to the EU and ignore the referendum". There'll be a fuss for a few days, but nothing we can't ignore. No one seems to have has noticed yet that the 'young people ' granted free movement, can be accompanied by their relatives of any age. Quite a clever move that.

It may be David but that's the sort of level politics is being conducted on these days.

See THIS BBC report.
Downing Street has said that bosses at the Thames Water "rewarding themselves for failure is clearly not acceptable". after news emerged that they were going to give bonuses to the executives who had negotiated Billions of Pounds in loans.

This made me smile just a little. . .

"I have already read my 'smart' meters and submitted the readings.... "

That was the reason for the inverted commas David.... My phase 2 meters are state of the art and BG have spent hours of fitter's time trying to get them to work but no joy. They ask for readings on the 22nd of each month.
(By the way, last month's dual fuel bill was £84.)

Stanley wrote: ↑23 May 2025, 02:29 That was the reason for the inverted commas David...

In the land of the 'grocer's apostrophe' it is pleasing, and a joy to comment on, to see such precise use of inverted commas. I must confess I considered leaving them out - for added emphasis, but quickly dismissed the idea - as not really required, and dishonest. There is sufficient irony in the quote even with them included.

"EU-US trade is unmatched & must be guided by mutual respect, not threats," European Union Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič wrote on social media, external. "We stand ready to defend our interests."
This was in response to more threats from the Trump, this time to impose a 50% tariff on all goods from the EU starting on June 1st.