I can’t believe that Johnson’s fuckjar has popped another baby. Who thinks Sav the Jav used his wife’s knitting needles and a sink plunger to induce it? Another tactic to move attention away from parties?
Brexit, for once some facts.
- Thread starter flecc
- Start date
Probably, but he doesn't need it.
The Leveson inquiry into the press has been reintroduced with a possible revival of a case against The Sun. Since Prince Harry may well be one of the litigants in his claim against The Sun and Murdoch's News Corp, it's assured of plenty of space in the media. The shortly to be old news about Downing Street parties will largely disappear.
.
Him and Lebedev and who else? Put the samovar on, pour the vodka out, prepare some salmon and caviar blinis, anyone? Johnson's coming round to celebrate.
Led By Donkeys
@ByDonkeys
Who does Boris Johnson and his government really work for? In our opinion, not you.
(Location: Portsmouth Harbour)
Led By Donkeys
@ByDonkeys
Kathryn Stone OBE seems popular again:
MPs press for new investigation into Boris Johnson flat refurbishment
Watchdog urged to start inquiry after Electoral Commission report suggests PM misled his ethics adviser
MPs press for new investigation into Boris Johnson flat refurbishment
Watchdog urged to start inquiry after Electoral Commission report suggests PM misled his ethics adviser
I did think that the timing was suspiciously opportune - perhaps they'll announce a new Bank Holiday next? Fsckjar Sprogged Day?
The one I am intrigued with is an MIT development which is liquid metal. Basically vats of molten calcium and magnesium are heated to about 600 Celsius and there is a immiscible liquid boundary between them which acts as the electrolyte. They plan it for utility scale, so not coming to an ebike shortly.what is interesting is that it is totally inert and transportable , when frozen , even if fully charged the materials are very low cost , and its performance if anything improves with age , because the materials become purer. And the charge , discharge change over is a few secondsMolten salt batteries?
Salt breakthrough could halve the cost of storing solar energy
Danish nuclear startup Seaborg accidentally developed a solution for storing solar energy, and its sister company Hyme is going to sell it.sifted.eu
Molten-salt battery - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
It certainly looks interesting:
A battery made of molten metals
A new rechargeable, liquid battery made of molten metals and developed at MIT could one day play a critical role in the massive expansion of solar generation, which will be needed to mitigate climate change by midcentury.
news.mit.edu
Judging by the University projects I've known, they don't seem to spin out into markets as often as one might expect, even the projects which look very commercially viable. Investors generally want an immediate (or in the short term) return, and if that doesn't happen, they just buy into another commercially viable looking project. They add the patents to their portfolio, but stop investing in one project while chasing more. In the UK, many tech investors are groups composed of people from the legal and medical professions - great at property investment, not so good at judging technology. Investors over the pond seem to have a very short attention spans. How many patents does your University hold? Have many good inventions became products?
Last edited:
..I am attaching this because it neatly hits a number of topics we have embroiled ourselves with over the last few years. And because you will not have access to the Irish Times . I don't think Breton is holding his breath..., But remember this is election year in France.
Johnson should thank EU for supplying 70% of UK vaccines – commissioner
Thierry Breton says big tech algorithms will be ‘audited’ to ensure compliance with rules
about 16 hours ago
Naomi O’Leary in Brussels
European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton. Photograph: Thierry Monasse/Getty
The European Union is “still waiting” for UK prime minister Boris Johnson to say thank you for manufacturing the bulk of the Covid-19 vaccines administered in the United Kingdom, says European Commissioner Thierry Breton.
The French former chief executive, who leads EU co-ordination on vaccine manufacturing and industrial policy, made the comments in an interview with The Irish Times ahead of a trip to Dublin in which he will discuss booster orders and forthcoming reforms to tech regulation.
“We provided during this very difficult period roughly 70 per cent of what our British friends needed in terms of vaccines, because they were not able to produce themselves what was needed,” says Breton.
“I didn’t ask the prime minister, Boris Johnson, to say thank you to Europe, because I know it may be difficult for him,” he continued.
“Being responsible for all the industries in Europe, I’ve seen men and women working day and night, in 55 factories, to make sure that we’d be able to provide enough doses for everyone, including our British friends,” the internal market commissioner said.
“It would have been generous for him to say thank you, at least for these women and men who worked so hard to make sure that the British population would be able to get the vaccines that unfortunately the UK was not able to deliver, but we did,” he added.
“I’m still waiting for the thanks.”
The EU has exported 128 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to the UK, according to commission figures – more than enough for the entire British population – though some were in turn sent elsewhere.
A dispute over who had priority for orders after expected deliveries from AstraZeneca fell drastically short earlier this year soured EU-UK relations and brought Brussels to the brink of using the contentious article 16 clause of Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit agreement to enforce oversight of exports to the UK.
“AstraZeneca was was supposed to deliver 300 million doses. And they didn’t. And I don’t blame them, I know it’s very difficult,” says Breton.
“It hurt everyone, including the UK, because the UK was thinking that they would be able to rely on AstraZeneca and they were not able to. So we delivered what the UK needed. All the mRNA vaccines that vaccinated a large amount of the population in the UK were developed and manufactured in European plants.”
Breton notes that Ireland overtook the UK in its vaccination rate in July, and wants to “congratulate” the Irish rollout teams during his visit.
Omicron uncertainty
Scientists are currently assessing whether vaccines need to be updated to respond to the new Omicron variant. If so, it will take two to three months for the new generation of boosters to start to be delivered to EU countries.
Under orders already placed earlier this year, manufacturers have agreed to update the vaccines if needed for variants and the EU has a “priority right” for deliveries.
“The good news is we have the technology; it’s working. We have huge firepower in terms of production. In one month, we can produce enough vaccines to vaccinate all the adult population of Europe,” says Breton.
He notes that he is speaking on the one-year anniversary of the first Covid-19 jab, given to 90-year-old Margaret Keenan in a Coventry hospital. “We did this in just one year. Usually it takes five to 10 years,” he says.
Asked about criticism that the EU has not supported waivers of vaccine patents that supporters argue would open up access to more of the world, Breton says the bloc has supplied vaccines to 120 countries and is providing financial support to develop vaccine manufacturing hubs in South Africa and Senegal. He also urges EU countries to be prepared to donate vaccines, as they will end up with an excess.
The visit comes as the EU prepares to overhaul its regulation of the digital sector, and with Ireland’s enforcement record on the tech giants stationed in the country under mounting scrutiny.
Under the proposed overhaul, the European Commission will play a direct enforcement role when problems are deemed to be “systemic” and tech giants will be more accountable to national courts if they break local laws or are called to provide material for investigations, officials say.
Anti-vax propaganda
The explosion of anti-vaccine disinformation on social media, and the revelations of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, have increased momentum for toughened rules on content. Breton’s team recall seeing anti-vax videos become among the most popular content on Facebook.
“The one that was most unbelievable was: ‘I won’t get a vaccine, because if I get a vaccine, I will have some nanoparticles, and then 5G antenna will be able to track what I’m doing’,” Breton recalls. “This one was ... pretty far.”
The commissioner says he knows most of the platform chief executives “personally” and has relationships with some stretching back to his time as a chief executive for various tech and communication companies, including France Télécom.
Has he mentioned the disinformation problem to them? “Yes, many times. They were all saying: ‘Yes, don’t worry, Mr Commissioner, we will take decisions.’ They were all committed to taking action but they didn’t. Well, some did. The result was a mixture,” he recalls.
“I’m not going to give names, but they were not inclined to change their algorithm.”
He is building a team with “specific skills” within the commission’s communication industry division that will be able to hold the platforms to account on content.
He likens it to the capacity to regulate the banking and finance industry built up within the commission since the financial crisis.
“We will be able to audit their own algorithm, and make sure that it is compatible with our regulation,” says Breton. “We will just do this for the big gatekeepers or systemic players, the systemic platforms. So, we will organise ourselves.”
Johnson should thank EU for supplying 70% of UK vaccines – commissioner
Thierry Breton says big tech algorithms will be ‘audited’ to ensure compliance with rules
about 16 hours ago
Naomi O’Leary in Brussels
European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton. Photograph: Thierry Monasse/Getty
The European Union is “still waiting” for UK prime minister Boris Johnson to say thank you for manufacturing the bulk of the Covid-19 vaccines administered in the United Kingdom, says European Commissioner Thierry Breton.
The French former chief executive, who leads EU co-ordination on vaccine manufacturing and industrial policy, made the comments in an interview with The Irish Times ahead of a trip to Dublin in which he will discuss booster orders and forthcoming reforms to tech regulation.
“We provided during this very difficult period roughly 70 per cent of what our British friends needed in terms of vaccines, because they were not able to produce themselves what was needed,” says Breton.
“I didn’t ask the prime minister, Boris Johnson, to say thank you to Europe, because I know it may be difficult for him,” he continued.
“Being responsible for all the industries in Europe, I’ve seen men and women working day and night, in 55 factories, to make sure that we’d be able to provide enough doses for everyone, including our British friends,” the internal market commissioner said.
“It would have been generous for him to say thank you, at least for these women and men who worked so hard to make sure that the British population would be able to get the vaccines that unfortunately the UK was not able to deliver, but we did,” he added.
“I’m still waiting for the thanks.”
The EU has exported 128 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to the UK, according to commission figures – more than enough for the entire British population – though some were in turn sent elsewhere.
A dispute over who had priority for orders after expected deliveries from AstraZeneca fell drastically short earlier this year soured EU-UK relations and brought Brussels to the brink of using the contentious article 16 clause of Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit agreement to enforce oversight of exports to the UK.
“AstraZeneca was was supposed to deliver 300 million doses. And they didn’t. And I don’t blame them, I know it’s very difficult,” says Breton.
“It hurt everyone, including the UK, because the UK was thinking that they would be able to rely on AstraZeneca and they were not able to. So we delivered what the UK needed. All the mRNA vaccines that vaccinated a large amount of the population in the UK were developed and manufactured in European plants.”
Breton notes that Ireland overtook the UK in its vaccination rate in July, and wants to “congratulate” the Irish rollout teams during his visit.
Omicron uncertainty
Scientists are currently assessing whether vaccines need to be updated to respond to the new Omicron variant. If so, it will take two to three months for the new generation of boosters to start to be delivered to EU countries.
Under orders already placed earlier this year, manufacturers have agreed to update the vaccines if needed for variants and the EU has a “priority right” for deliveries.
“The good news is we have the technology; it’s working. We have huge firepower in terms of production. In one month, we can produce enough vaccines to vaccinate all the adult population of Europe,” says Breton.
He notes that he is speaking on the one-year anniversary of the first Covid-19 jab, given to 90-year-old Margaret Keenan in a Coventry hospital. “We did this in just one year. Usually it takes five to 10 years,” he says.
Asked about criticism that the EU has not supported waivers of vaccine patents that supporters argue would open up access to more of the world, Breton says the bloc has supplied vaccines to 120 countries and is providing financial support to develop vaccine manufacturing hubs in South Africa and Senegal. He also urges EU countries to be prepared to donate vaccines, as they will end up with an excess.
The visit comes as the EU prepares to overhaul its regulation of the digital sector, and with Ireland’s enforcement record on the tech giants stationed in the country under mounting scrutiny.
Under the proposed overhaul, the European Commission will play a direct enforcement role when problems are deemed to be “systemic” and tech giants will be more accountable to national courts if they break local laws or are called to provide material for investigations, officials say.
Anti-vax propaganda
The explosion of anti-vaccine disinformation on social media, and the revelations of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, have increased momentum for toughened rules on content. Breton’s team recall seeing anti-vax videos become among the most popular content on Facebook.
“The one that was most unbelievable was: ‘I won’t get a vaccine, because if I get a vaccine, I will have some nanoparticles, and then 5G antenna will be able to track what I’m doing’,” Breton recalls. “This one was ... pretty far.”
The commissioner says he knows most of the platform chief executives “personally” and has relationships with some stretching back to his time as a chief executive for various tech and communication companies, including France Télécom.
Has he mentioned the disinformation problem to them? “Yes, many times. They were all saying: ‘Yes, don’t worry, Mr Commissioner, we will take decisions.’ They were all committed to taking action but they didn’t. Well, some did. The result was a mixture,” he recalls.
“I’m not going to give names, but they were not inclined to change their algorithm.”
He is building a team with “specific skills” within the commission’s communication industry division that will be able to hold the platforms to account on content.
He likens it to the capacity to regulate the banking and finance industry built up within the commission since the financial crisis.
“We will be able to audit their own algorithm, and make sure that it is compatible with our regulation,” says Breton. “We will just do this for the big gatekeepers or systemic players, the systemic platforms. So, we will organise ourselves.”
Agreed, Johnson should thank them, for honouring contracts. Was very good of them. They nearly didn't tho... So credit where credit due...I am attaching this because it neatly hits a number of topics we have embroiled ourselves with over the last few years. And because you will not have access to the Irish Times . I don't think Breton is holding his breath..., But remember this is election year in France.
Johnson should thank EU for supplying 70% of UK vaccines – commissioner
Thierry Breton says big tech algorithms will be ‘audited’ to ensure compliance with rules
about 16 hours ago
Naomi O’Leary in Brussels
European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton. Photograph: Thierry Monasse/Getty
The European Union is “still waiting” for UK prime minister Boris Johnson to say thank you for manufacturing the bulk of the Covid-19 vaccines administered in the United Kingdom, says European Commissioner Thierry Breton.
The French former chief executive, who leads EU co-ordination on vaccine manufacturing and industrial policy, made the comments in an interview with The Irish Times ahead of a trip to Dublin in which he will discuss booster orders and forthcoming reforms to tech regulation.
“We provided during this very difficult period roughly 70 per cent of what our British friends needed in terms of vaccines, because they were not able to produce themselves what was needed,” says Breton.
“I didn’t ask the prime minister, Boris Johnson, to say thank you to Europe, because I know it may be difficult for him,” he continued.
“Being responsible for all the industries in Europe, I’ve seen men and women working day and night, in 55 factories, to make sure that we’d be able to provide enough doses for everyone, including our British friends,” the internal market commissioner said.
“It would have been generous for him to say thank you, at least for these women and men who worked so hard to make sure that the British population would be able to get the vaccines that unfortunately the UK was not able to deliver, but we did,” he added.
“I’m still waiting for the thanks.”
The EU has exported 128 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to the UK, according to commission figures – more than enough for the entire British population – though some were in turn sent elsewhere.
A dispute over who had priority for orders after expected deliveries from AstraZeneca fell drastically short earlier this year soured EU-UK relations and brought Brussels to the brink of using the contentious article 16 clause of Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit agreement to enforce oversight of exports to the UK.
“AstraZeneca was was supposed to deliver 300 million doses. And they didn’t. And I don’t blame them, I know it’s very difficult,” says Breton.
“It hurt everyone, including the UK, because the UK was thinking that they would be able to rely on AstraZeneca and they were not able to. So we delivered what the UK needed. All the mRNA vaccines that vaccinated a large amount of the population in the UK were developed and manufactured in European plants.”
Breton notes that Ireland overtook the UK in its vaccination rate in July, and wants to “congratulate” the Irish rollout teams during his visit.
Omicron uncertainty
Scientists are currently assessing whether vaccines need to be updated to respond to the new Omicron variant. If so, it will take two to three months for the new generation of boosters to start to be delivered to EU countries.
Under orders already placed earlier this year, manufacturers have agreed to update the vaccines if needed for variants and the EU has a “priority right” for deliveries.
“The good news is we have the technology; it’s working. We have huge firepower in terms of production. In one month, we can produce enough vaccines to vaccinate all the adult population of Europe,” says Breton.
He notes that he is speaking on the one-year anniversary of the first Covid-19 jab, given to 90-year-old Margaret Keenan in a Coventry hospital. “We did this in just one year. Usually it takes five to 10 years,” he says.
Asked about criticism that the EU has not supported waivers of vaccine patents that supporters argue would open up access to more of the world, Breton says the bloc has supplied vaccines to 120 countries and is providing financial support to develop vaccine manufacturing hubs in South Africa and Senegal. He also urges EU countries to be prepared to donate vaccines, as they will end up with an excess.
The visit comes as the EU prepares to overhaul its regulation of the digital sector, and with Ireland’s enforcement record on the tech giants stationed in the country under mounting scrutiny.
Under the proposed overhaul, the European Commission will play a direct enforcement role when problems are deemed to be “systemic” and tech giants will be more accountable to national courts if they break local laws or are called to provide material for investigations, officials say.
Anti-vax propaganda
The explosion of anti-vaccine disinformation on social media, and the revelations of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, have increased momentum for toughened rules on content. Breton’s team recall seeing anti-vax videos become among the most popular content on Facebook.
“The one that was most unbelievable was: ‘I won’t get a vaccine, because if I get a vaccine, I will have some nanoparticles, and then 5G antenna will be able to track what I’m doing’,” Breton recalls. “This one was ... pretty far.”
The commissioner says he knows most of the platform chief executives “personally” and has relationships with some stretching back to his time as a chief executive for various tech and communication companies, including France Télécom.
Has he mentioned the disinformation problem to them? “Yes, many times. They were all saying: ‘Yes, don’t worry, Mr Commissioner, we will take decisions.’ They were all committed to taking action but they didn’t. Well, some did. The result was a mixture,” he recalls.
“I’m not going to give names, but they were not inclined to change their algorithm.”
He is building a team with “specific skills” within the commission’s communication industry division that will be able to hold the platforms to account on content.
He likens it to the capacity to regulate the banking and finance industry built up within the commission since the financial crisis.
“We will be able to audit their own algorithm, and make sure that it is compatible with our regulation,” says Breton. “We will just do this for the big gatekeepers or systemic players, the systemic platforms. So, we will organise ourselves.”
Investigative report claims Pfizer paid money to spread lies about AstraZeneca Covid jab
According to an investigation by the UK-based Channel 4, drug major Pfizer allegedly paid experts to lie about Covid vaccine made by its rival AstraZeneca along with Oxford University. Pfizer has denied the claims being made in the investigative report to be aired on Friday. As per the...
www.wionews.com
Absolutely nobody has any morals or real pride these days.
Can you imagine Jim Clark and Graham Hill bickering like Hamilton and Verstappen. Or any past heroes driving like Verstappen did last weekend. Win at any cost.
Or Enzo Ferrari, Colin Chapman spouting like Christian Horner and Toto Wolf...
World really has lost its values.
Biggest Pharma companies in world lying about their own products and those of rivals, whilst pocketing billions out of ordinary people's misery..
Johnson behaving like this.. All the lot of them arguing, heckling and screaming like kids in Hoc... Its more soul destroying than Covid..
That big old house in Italy away from the lot of them JA was talking about sounds a great idea
Pfizer has a long history of deeply questionable practices.Investigative report claims Pfizer paid money to spread lies about AstraZeneca Covid jab
According to an investigation by the UK-based Channel 4, drug major Pfizer allegedly paid experts to lie about Covid vaccine made by its rival AstraZeneca along with Oxford University. Pfizer has denied the claims being made in the investigative report to be aired on Friday. As per the...www.wionews.com
Absolutely nobody has any morals or real pride these days.
Can you imagine Jim Clark and Graham Hill bickering like Hamilton and Verstappen. Or any past heroes driving like Verstappen did last weekend. Win at any cost.
Or Enzo Ferrari, Colin Chapman spouting like Christian Horner and Toto Wolf...
World really has lost its values.
Biggest Pharma companies in world lying about their own products and those of rivals, whilst pocketing billions out of ordinary people's misery..
Johnson behaving like this.. All the lot of them arguing, heckling and screaming like kids in Hoc... Its more soul destroying than Covid..
That big old house in Italy away from the lot of them JA was talking about sounds a great idea
Their Levoxyl (levothyroxine) product was so incredibly bad (in around 1998 or so) that they were forced to entirely withdraw it from the market. Reformulate entirely. Relaunch.
Even after that, the FDA had to issue a special advisory because of the possibility of choking if people swallowed it without a full glass of water.
Despite all that, when the FDA demanded that all levothyroxine products in the USA had to re-apply for authorisation (due to continuing appalling production standards), Pfizer couldn't just submit their lovingly reformulated product. (If you had just redesigned a new car, you'd expect it to pass current standards. The FDA didn't crack the whip and tighten the requirements hugely. And other companies that had been producing Allegros managed to get through faster.)
And that is one of the lesser stories about them.
Beyond that we have a rotten Westminster facade of democratic representation that's really about lobbying for big capital, "special interest groups", whoever flaunt cash at the shortlist of "elected" mp's parties draw up on the basis of their own incestuous internal corrupt politics.
Listened to PM on radio 4 a moment ago on iplayer and heard one of Johnson's biographers say that his essentially a good egg that's a bit creative, not subject to the rules us ordinary mortals live by. First wondered how utterly ******* thick the establishment think the ordinary punter is. Then, on reflection, realised their assessments probably quite accurate.
A great opportunity for Grayling there
Something towards fifty years later, and I still cannot face Jack Daniels. Drunk from an instant coffee jar.
New Covid restrictions for dummies
But how do you get him to stand still enough to get on the second coat?
The answers my friend,
Are blowing out of Boris's arse,
The answers are blowing, straight out of his arse.
But not exactly new! Years ago, I used to see lorries of pozzolan (or some variant of the name) quite regularly.Politics is "Showbiz for ugly people", but in this new age of immense media driven persuasion, sadly there is increasing crossover between those worlds.
Danieldl - is there any mention of the virtues of Roman concrete for the construction of wind power mast foundations, on your Masters course? It exudes less CO2 and can last for millennia - the Colosseum is still standing, and when used for port construction, it's gets stronger over time (for a time) with seawater. Stick that in your Masters and smoke it! (We'll need the ash from ash trees and the like, volcanic ash no longer required).
Roman seawater concrete holds the secret to cutting carbon emissions
Scientists analyzed samples from a Roman breakwater submerged in the Bay of Naples for over two millennia, revealing the secrets of crystal chemistry that allow Roman seawater concrete to resist chemical attack and wave action for centuries. Materials and processes for manufacturing...www.sciencedaily.com
Just what will Geidt decide to do?
Boris Johnson’s standards adviser on brink of quitting over Downing Street flat
Lord Geidt considering his position after Prime Minister allegedly misled him over refurbishment
By Harry Yorke, Whitehall Editor and Gordon Rayner, Associate Editor 9 December 2021 • 9:45pm
www.telegraph.co.uk
Boris Johnson’s standards adviser on brink of quitting over Downing Street flat
Lord Geidt considering his position after Prime Minister allegedly misled him over refurbishment
By Harry Yorke, Whitehall Editor and Gordon Rayner, Associate Editor 9 December 2021 • 9:45pm
Boris Johnson’s standards adviser Lord Geidt on brink of quitting over Downing Street flat
Adviser considering his position after Prime Minister allegedly misled him over refurbishment