Björn Heile

Hurray for Plaid! Also some indication that Reform is being hit by tactical voting, which gives me some hope that they're not going to do as well as widely predicted.

Why electricity costs so much in the UK (it’s not all about the weather) Many countries in Europe pay much less for their energy.

"Nearly 40% of the electricity produced by Scottish wind farms has been wasted so far this year, because the grid was not able to move it to other parts of the UK or store it."

theconversation.com/why-electric...

I'm reading this before 8am in the morning. But sure!

That's the fastest they can organise a focus group. I wish I were joking.

I'm sorry! Mine were refugees from what became Poland. I don't blame anyone for that, just to make that clear...

I speak as someone whose grandparents could have been Nazis but weren't, as far as I know. I find it difficult to forgive them for their inaction; there is no way I would ever forgive them if they had been Nazis, no matter how 'nice' they may have been in person!

I see they are threatening us with a good time, again.

Cartoon drawing of James Bond. He is saying "It's 007.. or +4407 if you're addressing me from outside the UK"

I have a third cartoon in the current Private Eye.

I'm fully expecting to appear in Pedants Corner with this one.

Saying that Nazis are arseholes is a 'group generalization' and some of them were the 'kindest, most wonderful people'. You heard it here first!

When did people in power start to constantly comment on things that aren't directly under their control? From memory, that didn't seem to happen so much in the past, but maybe I'm wrong.

How that idea has re-emerged is really beyond me! It's the same with the German Chancellor, Merz, who recently complained about city street scenes (apparently, meaning too many brown and black faces) and doubling down when challenged. That sort of thing was taboo until recently.

Another example of a Tory who started out none too bright and refused to ever learn from their obvious mistakes and thus became dumber and dumber.
'Brexit Bulldog' may have been Dead Ringers' finest hour.

They are not very bright, are they?

That argument was always bizarre. You don't need presidents any more than kings. Lots of countries don't have a formal head of state. Many others have a purely ceremonial one.

"Listen love.." says Nigel Farage to Mishal Husain, someone streets ahead of him intellectually. A little glimpse into the Britain he wants to get back to.

Mitigation efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and meet the Paris Agreement have been offset by economic growth - Communications Earth & Environment Global carbon dioxide intensity declined from 2015 to 2024 following the Paris Agreement, but total emissions still increased due to economic growth, according to a global analysis of population, gros...

Good news: carbon intensity has declined

Bad news: carbon emissions increased, due to the rapid rise in world GDP

Also bad news: the chance of staying below 2°C remained low, at 17%

Better news: chance of going above 3°C has gone down substantially, from 26% to 9%

And weirdly unnecessary because 'they see as' already expresses a subjective viewpoint held by others, so no further distancing is necessary.

Now, here's a surprise! 🙄
Maybe, just maybe, people will finally learn. But chances are, they'll continue to make the same mistake over and over again, with the same, long discredited arguments.

I don't think I would have known about it if I hadn't seen it regularly. And we didn't buy anything. We liked the taste, but it didn't seem exceptional, and it's likely to get better.

Clydeside distillery from the outside, at night, 2018

Clydeside distillery from the inside, 2023

It may not surprise you that I visited the distillery a while back. I was also positively surprised. I had observed the distillery being built and opened (it's not far from where I live), and it looked more like a tourist attraction, but it's indeed good stuff.

Every white English person must apologise.

That’s how it works, yes?

Coach house, Belmont Lane, #WestEnd, #Glasgow.

And it's always white men who think that being offended is good for you.

True to form, that chat would be held on the open version.

At a festival, the band we were watching were on a roll until they launched into Edwin Starr's 'War! The lead singer shouted 'War! Huh! What is it good for!?' then pointed the mic at a girl in the front row. Clearly never having heard the song before, she hesitated before saying '...uh, killing people?' That pretty much finished the show right there as the band were laughing too hard to play. They tried a few times to get things going again, but ended up staggering off early.

Reddit comment of the day.

And, anyway, should we trust politicians instead, not to mention politicians like *him*?

Often not only intuitively but reflectedly as well. In my Master's level course in research skills, we review literature on music and anxiety (the topic was chosen by students). Most medical and psychological studies are worthless because they don't understand music and don't talk to anyone who does

Square that circle: 'this project *has the potential* to push the frontier...'. Likewise, that article *should have been read* by millions.

That newest policy about 'A level English' epitomises that, since it has precisely zero benefits. It doesn't help anyone and simply creates an arbitrary obstacle. I suppose it's meant to signal that the government is 'tough on immigration', but it will hardly pacify the racists.

In the cold light of reason, you're probably right.