WriteHo

Fuel Prices @janewatkins 14/05/22 Author: AHDB. In: AHDB.

How oil companies profiteered during COVID and how the difference between red (untaxed) diesel and white (taxed) diesel shows that taxation is an important factor, #oil #fuelduty #petrol #costofliving

FINANCIAL Views 1

Soros and EU behind anti-Musk campaign @samina 12/05/22 Author: Harriet Alexander. In: Mail Online.

An intense campaign was launched against #elonmusk to stop him taking over #twitter. It was run by the usual suspects with #Soros and #EU as dominant players. Soros is dedicated to world domination like a bond villain. #globalconspiracy

POLITICS Views 2

Time to rethink physics @gobote 10/05/22 Author: Marcus Chown. In: New Humanist.

If the laws of physics can change and evolve, however, so too can the 'the space of possible futures', says Smolin. Nature can create new things. 'The impression that we have that we can create novelty is true,' says Smolin. #physics #time #leesmolin

SCIENCE Views 2

Sir Keir Starmer and the Trilateral Commission @gobote 10/05/22 Author: Paul Knaggs. In: Labour Heartlands.

It's very hard to understand how Sir Keir Starmer thinks belonging to this elitist group will enhance the cause of socialism or the working class. #trilateral #keirstarmer #labour

POLITICS Views 1

Gordon Obote @gobote
Replying to: @gobote 10/05/22
Can the leader of the Labour Party be or have been a member of the Trilateral Commission? The two things are opposites so Starmer must be subverting Labour.

POLITICS TALK

Will Charles be the next Monarch? @janewatkins 10/05/22

After his performance at the Queen's speech I doubt it. #monarchy #charlesIII

POLITICS

Gordon Obote @gobote
Replying to: @janewatkins 10/05/22
His heart wasn't in it. Maybe he will hand the crown to William like playing pass the parcel. #monarchy #william

Popular, dwarf fruit trees to grow in pots @janewatkins 10/05/22 Author: Kelly Taylor. In: Urban Garden Gal.

Fruit trees grow well in pots as long as they are grown on a dwarf rootstock, which means they grow to about half the size of a regular fruit tree. #gardening #fruittrees

HOBBIES Views 1

Ukraine war: temporary glitch or tipping point? @higgled 08/05/22 Author: Jane O’Sullivan. In: The Overpopulation Project.

The lesson from this study was that building ever-more interdependent global systems to deal with the steady increase in food demand is building a house of cards. #limitstogrowth #globalsystemsmodels

ECOLOGY Views 3

Child Penalties on Earnings @gillyw 06/05/22 Author: Inaki Villanueva. In: Applied Economist Website.

Females experience a serious drop in earnings after the birth of the first child. This is linked to women remaining at home to look after the children. #parenthood #earnings

FINANCIAL Views 5

China's Growth Prospects @rasmun 06/05/22 Author: Adam Tooze.

"The shift in Western discourse on China over the last five years has been dramatic. Trade wars, tech wars, COVID, Xi Jinping's crackdowns, the real estate bubble, Omicron and now Putin's war have all contributed." #economics #china #gdp

FINANCIAL Views 4

Gill Weedon @gillyw
Replying to: @rasmun 06/05/22
Amazing that China is supposed to have the global headroom to increase GDP to four times the present value. Is there enough resource in the world and enough ecological reserve for this to happen? #china #ecologicalfootprint

Population in the IPCC's new mitigation report @rasmun 06/05/22 Author: Philip Cafaro. In: The Overpopulation Project.

Globally, GDP per capita and population growth remained the strongest drivers of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion in the last decade. #climatechange #globalwarming #population

ECOLOGY Views 5

Paul Higgins @higgled
Replying to: @rasmun 08/05/22
Thanks for posting this site. Really interesting.

Tbilisi @sandjo 06/05/22 Author: Wandering.

The wine is superb and the Georgian heat produces sweet tasting wine that make you curse the need not to become an alcoholic.Tbilisi has hot springs and for 50 Lari you can hire a room with its own geothermal plunge pool. The locals call these the "sulphur baths". #tbilisi #georgia

TRAVEL Views 2

Samina Patel @samina
Replying to: @sandjo 06/05/22
Wow. I have never been to Georgia but it sounds amazing.

Silk Road: Khiva, Uzbekistan @sandjo 06/05/22 Author: Stu Jarvis.

"The last oasis before the brutal crossing of the Karakum desert into Persia, the ancient city of Khiva on the Silk Road flourished from humble origins into a city of architectural splendor. Even more remarkable, it is still standing today." #khiva #silkroad #uzbekistan

TRAVEL Views 4

Heliodorus, Greek ambassador in India @sandjo 06/05/22 Author: Argyraspid. In: Megas Alexandros.

Heliodorus, in the present case, is a Greek ambassador, who was sent by the Indo-Greek King Antialcidas Nikephoros to the court of King Bhagabhadra who ruled over north, east and central India around 110 BC. #alexanderthegreat

HISTORY Views 2

The Mogao Caves at Dunhuang @sandjo 06/05/22 Author: Wandering.

From the artistic viewpoint Mahayana Buddhism is intrinsically richer than most religions because it is full of symbolism, from cloud-like entities that can sweep you up to the heavens to nasty demons that represent greed etc. #dunhuang #china #buddhism

TRAVEL Views 2

Sturgeon lacks the intelligence in both senses.. @higgled 05/05/22 Author: Effie Deans. In: The Daily Globe.

"There are few real democracies in the world. We are threatened by tyranny not merely in Russia, but also in China. We cannot afford an idiot son who thinks that he is already Godfather. The UK can afford no division at all, not from Remainers and not from Scottish nationalists." #scotland

POLITICS Views 2

Badgers: what they eat and other facts @gobote 05/05/22 Author: Helen Keating. In: The Woodland Trust.

The staple food of badgers is usually earthworms which generally make up around 80% of their diet. They can eat several hundred worms each night. #badgers

ECOLOGY Views 1

Pond Ponderings @gobote 05/05/22 Author: Gareth Harbottle. In: British Dragonfly Society.

2020 was a successful first summer for the pond with Common Darters emerging. 7 exuviae were found, an adult which I managed to photograph with my SLR and one in the process of emerging, hastily captured on my phone before dashing to work. #dragonflies #gardening

ECOLOGY Views 1

POLITICS TALK

The new politics: Democracy, Corporatism and Asia @gillyw 05/05/22

The split is becoming ever clearer. Corporatists such as multinationals and postmarxists against the people with asian tyranny hoping to defeat both. #postmarxism #bilderberg #china #populism

POLITICS

Gordon Obote @gobote
Replying to: @gillyw 05/05/22
But the corporatists hold all the cards in the West: the universities, teachers, civil service, big business. The "hive" is only getting stronger. Lets hope Musk really does believe in freedom.

And more comments..

Brands should force Twitter to uphold .. policies @rasmun 05/05/22 Author: Brian Fung. In: CNN Business.

Coca-Cola (CCEP), Disney (DIS) and Kraft (KHC) are facing calls to boycott Twitter if the company's soon-to-be owner, billionaire Elon Musk, rolls back content moderation policies limiting hate speech and election misinformation. #musk #bilderberg #multinational

MEDIA Views 2

Gill Weedon @gillyw
Replying to: @rasmun 05/05/22
It is ironic that a billionaire is taking on the billionaires and multinationals.

UK magazine digital edition sales surge in 2021 @rasmun 05/05/22 Author: Andrew Kersley. In: Press Gazette.

The Economist retained its spot as the UK magazine with the largest digital edition circulation, reaching nearly one million subscribers in 2021, according to the latest ABC report. #magazines #online

MEDIA Views 1

The use of suicide to control partners @rasmun 05/05/22 Author: Scott Fitzpatrick. In: The Conversation.

"For some men, suicide may be way of exerting control over (ex) partners, even in death". #suicide #idpolitics

MIND Views 1

The Transaltlantic Slave Trade @samina 04/05/22 Author: J Sydenham. In: There and Where.

About 12m Africans were shipped across the Atlantic over a period of 400 years (with most occurring in the 18th and 19th centuries). #slavery

HISTORY Views 3

How Blair broke Britain @higgled 03/05/22

"Whether Blair had the faintest idea what he was talking about is unclear. This was a man .. whose first text message to his fixer Alastair Campbell read: 'This is amazing, you can send words on a phone.'" #blair #newlabour #labour #unherd

POLITICS Views 3

Samina Patel @samina
Replying to: @higgled 04/05/22
How #blair has escaped universal condemnation is a mystery. He was even retained by the dictator of Kazakstan for £ millions.

POLITICS TALK

Is China preventing WWIII? @higgled 03/05/22

In the Cold War Mutually Assured Destruction meant that Russia and NATO would destroy each other if it came to war. Now MAD means handing the world to China or India..how MAD is that? #china #wwiii #mad #nuclearwar

POLITICS

Samina Patel @samina
Replying to: @higgled 04/05/22
This lets the generals breathe a sigh of relief. They can get on with war again.

Why do we listen to music? @tammyw 03/05/22

As we listen, we create a virtual sound space in which the notes are heard. For example, we construct the idea of movement within music. In doing so, we use a metaphor to describe that which scientifically consists simply in the vibration of sound waves. #mind #psychology

MUSIC Views 2

Don't Worry Darling stars Styles and Pugh @tammyw 02/05/22

Harry Styles is shaping up as a big name for 2022. He is number 1 in the record charts with "As It Was" and starring in the movie "Dont Worry Darling". #harrystyles #pop #uk

MUSIC Views 3

The official top 40 albums of 2021 @tammyw 02/05/22

Adele's 30 was officially the biggest album of 2021 in the UK, the Official Charts Company can confirm today. The long-awaited comeback record from one of the country's most popular music exports proved worth the wait. #top40albums #uk #pop

MUSIC Views 2

Irish Nationalists urged not to be disheartened @higgled 30/04/22

Sinn Fein may get power but will this lead to Irish union? Support for a united Ireland among voters stands at almost one-third, fresh polling reveals. #ireland #borderpoll #irishunion

POLITICS Views 1

Jane Watkins @janewatkins
Replying to: @higgled 30/04/22
Once they get power I would expect the support for union to soar - look at what has happened to Scottish support for independence since the SNP got power.

EU says pay for Russian gas in euros.. @higgled 30/04/22

EU companies may be able to work around Russia's demand to receive gas payments in roubles without breaching sanctions if they pay in euros or dollars which are then converted into the Russian currency. #eu #Russia #sanctions

POLITICS Views 1

Funny jokes for adults @higgled 30/04/22

Well, I enjoyed these. #jokes #adult

HUMOUR Views 2

Fothergills Garden Diaries @higgled 30/04/22

I was looking around for what I should be doing in the garden and found this article that covers each month. It is written by a commercial grower but has few ads. #gardening

HOBBIES Views 1

Love Reading @janewatkins 30/04/22

"Our mission is to share book love and encourage reading for pleasure by offering the tools, advice and information needed to help our members and browsers find their next favourite book." #bookreviews #uk

BOOKS Views 1

A Little Blog of Books @janewatkins 30/04/22

Wondering what to read next? This blog has some interesting book reviews and is worth a visit. #bookreviews #uk

BOOKS Views 2

POLITICS TALK

Germany stops tank supplies for gas? @tammyw 27/04/22

These two articles: *Germany_will_not_have_to_pay_for_gas_in_roubles and *Germany_u-turns_on_tank_delivery seem related. Of course, the EU manages external trade deals....

POLITICS

Jane Watkins @janewatkins
Replying to: @tammyw 27/04/22
The @BBC haven't mentioned the holding back of the tanks, are you sure this is not a rumour?

And more comments..

Germany u-turns on tank delivery @rasmun 27/04/22

Germany has u-turned on its decision to directly militarily support Ukraine, as Russia's foreign minister warned it could lead to World War Three. #russia #Ukraine #germany

POLITICS Views 3

Germany will not have to pay for gas in roubles @tammyw 27/04/22

"Germany has confirmed it will continue to pay for Russian gas in euros or dollars, following a call between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russian President Vladimir Putin last night." #germany #Ukraine #gas

FINANCIAL Views 3

Can beavers make you feel better? @tammyw 27/04/22

Through their eco-engineering, beavers have been shown to increase biodiversity and abundance of wildlife at the landscape scale: including plants, insects, fish, amphibians, birds and mammals #beavers #uk

ECOLOGY Views 3

The Philosophy of Dostoevsky @tammyw 27/04/22

Effie Deans' review of Dostoevsky. "Even when I first went to Russia in the latter years of the twentieth century I found it to be at times startling different from the Britain in which I had grown up." #Dostoevsky #russia #philosophy

BOOKS Views 3

Handel Concerti Grossi @gillyw 25/04/22

The Concerti Grossi Op 6 were composed during the autumn of 1739, and published in April 1740, by which time Handel's music was finding increasing favor at the Vauxhall Gardens. @gillymusic #classical #handel

MUSIC Views 3

Samina Patel @samina
Replying to: @gillyw 04/05/22
Thank you for posting this @gillyw

Vivaldi Cello Concertos @gillyw 25/04/22

Antonio Vivaldi was a virtuoso violinist, a virtuoso composer and a virtuoso teacher. A Venetian all his life, Vivaldi epitomizes Italian Baroque Music like no other composer. #gillymusic #vivaldi #classical

MUSIC Views 1

POLITICS TALK

Is the cashless society the end of freedom? @higgled 23/04/22

Payment by phone, central bank digital currencies and even implanted microchips for payments. See *Microchip_implants_let_you_pay_with_your_hand. What happens if the government goes bad? #cashless #cbdc

POLITICS

Jane Watkins @janewatkins
Replying to: @higgled 23/04/22
A lot of people think this all good. If you haven't done anything wrong why would you worry?

Microchip implants let you pay with your hand @higgled 23/04/22

"There is a dark side to the technology that has a potential for abuse, to those with no love of individual freedom, it opens up seductive new vistas for control, manipulation and oppression." #cashfree #chipimplant #freedom

POLITICS Views 3

Marxism and Identity Politics @rasmun 23/04/22

Analysis of ID Politics: The greater the dispossession of the racial and gendered Other, the higher the pile of scraps under the table of the capitalist class. Such a strategy effectively destroys all grounds for mass, anti-capitalist solidarity and resistance. #idpo

POLITICS Views 2

The Labrador: The world's favourite dog @higgled 22/04/22

Ben Fogle's summary of his book by the same name. He charts the history of the labrador, a dog breed he's loved throughout his life. #labrador #pets #uk

BOOKS Views 4

The Mysteries of British History @rasmun 22/04/22

British historians like to portray the Anglo-Saxons as primitives who lived in wooden huts. According to the myth these primitives were extremely lucky because the Normans came and within 100-200 years had built a church or cathedral in every town and village. #norman #saxon #uk

HISTORY Views 4

POLITICS TALK

Anyone noticed all adverts now show minorities? @janewatkins 20/04/22

I like people from all over but its getting weird that every advert has one person from each minority. Most British people are from the majority...obviously. It feels like social engineering. #idpolitics #minorities

POLITICS

John Rasmun @rasmun
Replying to: @janewatkins 20/04/22
That is because it is social engineering.

And more comments..

Russia-Ukraine war by the numbers @higgled 20/04/22

Al Jazeera has some of the best war coverage. As the article says: As the Russian offensive enters its fifty-sixth day, we track where the fighting is happening and how we got here. #Ukraine #Russia

NEWS Views 4

Jane Watkins @janewatkins
Replying to: @higgled 20/04/22
Its a sad day when Al Jazeera is better than @BBCNews'>@BBCNews for factual reporting. What has happened to the @BBC ? The @DCMS should save one TV channel for public service and sell off the rest.

How much gold .. to buy a house in the UK? @higgled 20/04/22

House prices are currently rising at roughly 11% a year, and you're telling me inflation is only 6%? Pull the other one. #houseprices #property #inflation

FINANCIAL Views 4

OTHER TALK

Problem replying to Talking Points @writeho 20/04/22

Wednesday 20th April. This will be fixed soon. Watch out for the comment count increasing on this post. @writeho

OTHER

John Rasmun @rasmun
Replying to: @writeho 20/04/22
Just testing to see if you've fixed it.

POLITICS TALK

Is it time for Boris to resign? @rasmun 20/04/22

How important were the parties? Just workmates who had been together all day having a cake in the office and having drinks at meetings or wild parties to celebrate. #borisjohnson

POLITICS

Paul Higgins @higgled
Replying to: @rasmun 20/04/22
Its not just the 'parties', its the general sense of mismanagement the @Conservatives knew that if they had to work together to keep the govt running they would fall foul of their own legislation. They should have exempted govt. #borisjohnson

Big 4 of agriculture unlikely to exit Russia.. @rasmun 19/04/22

Despite sanctions and all the bluster the top agricultural multinationals are staying with Russia. #Russia #commodities #Ukraine

FINANCIAL Views 2

Population impact of migration @higgled 18/04/22

Immigration added more than a million people to the UK (about equivalent to the population of Birmingham) every 3 years between 2001 and 2016 (more here). #migration #uk #population

POLITICS Views 3

Why US and Nato wanted Russia to attack Ukraine @higgled 18/04/22

Robert H. Wade argues that while nothing can excuse Russia's invasion, the Kremlin has effectively fallen into a trap laid by the US and Nato that is intended to bring down Putin's regime. #Ukraine #Russia #NATO #lse

POLITICS Views 2

Social Media drives girls mad @higgled 16/04/22

NHS figures show that almost a quarter of 17 to 19 year old girls in the UK suffer from emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression... #depression #anxiety #socialmedia #twitter #facebook

HEALTH Views 1

Psilocybin for Depression Study @higgled 16/04/22

All patients showed some reductions in their depression scores at 1-week post-treatment and maximal effects were seen at 5 weeks, with results remaining positive at 3 and 6 months. #Psilocybe #depression

HEALTH Views 4

Twitters chickens come home to roost @rasmun 16/04/22

Excellent review of the corrupt state of social media: "Media figures everywhere are openly complaining that they dislike the Musk move because they're terrified he will censor people less." #twitter #socialmedia #elonmusk #censorship

POLITICS Views 4

Paul Higgins @higgled
Replying to: @rasmun 16/04/22
It is madness to allow social media to be controlled by a handful of American billionaires. Why doesn't the UK act? #twitter #facebook #instagram

And more comments..

Saudi Arabia Ditching Dollar For Chinese Sales? @gillyw 13/04/22

Oil producers sell their product to the US (and the rest of the world) for dollars, which they then recycle into dollar-denominated assets and, while investing in dollar-denominated markets, explicitly prop up the USD as the world reserve currency. #dollar #dedolarisation #oil

FINANCIAL Views 2

IMF warns about sanctions and dollar dominance @gillyw 13/04/22

Financial sanctions imposed on Russia threaten to gradually dilute the dominance of the U.S. dollar and could result in a more fragmented international monetary system, Gita Gopinath, IMF's First Deputy Managing Director, told The Financial Times. #dollar #dedolarisation #imf

FINANCIAL Views 4

John Rasmun @rasmun
Replying to: @gillyw 19/04/22
This will be the big story of the next decade. If the dollar falls then US power will shrink.

Beano Jokes @gillyw 13/04/22

The Beano is still alive and well: "I couldn't figure out why the baseball kept getting larger. Then it hit me." #jokes #beano

HUMOUR Views 2

The Microbiome @samina 13/04/22

The microbiome consists of microbes that are both helpful and potentially harmful. Most benefit both the human body and microbiota and some, in smaller numbers, are promote disease. In a healthy body, pathogenic and symbiotic microbiota coexist without problems. #health #microbiome

HEALTH Views 2

Aegina @samina 13/04/22

Of all the little islands in the Saronic gulf, this one is kept off the tourist map as an Athenian's little secret; a small island just 35 kilometers from Piraeus. #Greece #Aegina

TRAVEL Views 2

Gill Weedon @gillyw
Replying to: @samina 13/04/22
We can only dream. I think I will fly from a little regional airport to dodge the queues!

Exploring the Stonehenge Landscape @samina 13/04/22

The Stonehenge Landscape contains over 400 ancient sites, that includes burial mounds known as barrows, Woodhenge, the Durrington Walls, the Stonehenge Cursus, the Avenue, and surrounds the monument of Stonehenge which is managed by English Heritage. #archaeology #stonehenge #UK

HISTORY Views 2

Descartes and the Discovery of the Mind-Body Prob @sandjo 09/04/22

Our mind-body problem is not just a difficulty about how the mind and body are related and how they affect one another. It is also a difficulty about how they can be related and how they can affect one another. #Descartes

MIND Views 3

Spring Cannot Be Cancelled @sandjo 07/04/22

Perversely, the new restrictions on movement had presented an opportunity for Hockney. One of the selling points of the house was that he wouldn't have to drive anywhere to find his subjects, as it was all there in the trees, streams and skies on his grounds. #Hockney

BOOKS Views 5

Myanmar on My Mind @rasmun 06/04/22

The dominant colors of each place seemed to be gold and an earthy reddish-brown, warm and radiant beneath untainted blue skies. 'Myanmar is even more beautiful than its neighbors,' my father declared. 'It has this quality of light you don't really find in Thailand.' #myanmar #burma

TRAVEL Views 7

Borisgate, Partygate and the Velcro Effect @gillyw 06/04/22

The crisis that has engulfed Boris Johnson's government in recent weeks. Each day seems to have brought about new revelations, piling crisis upon crisis and headlines of ever greater toxicity. #Boris #partygate #borisjohnson #conservatives #uk

POLITICS Views 8

John Rasmun @rasmun
Replying to: @gillyw 06/04/22
Partygate raises the important point that it is not partygate by itself that was crucial, it is the general mismanagement

And more comments..

A pair of cows were talking @gillyw 06/04/22

A pair of cows were talking in the field. One says, 'Have you heard about the mad cow disease that's going around?' 'Yeah,' the other cow says. 'Makes me glad I'm a penguin.' #jokes #readersdigest

HUMOUR Views 5

John Rasmun @rasmun
Replying to: @gillyw 07/04/22
Brilliant!

Select economists on Ukraine crisis @rasmun 05/04/22

If President Biden and European leaders had declared, in advance, in public, and in detail, the harsh and pathbreaking sanctions now imposed on Russia, Putin might have reconsidered. #Ukraine #Russia #sanctions

POLITICS Views 2

Gill Weedon @gillyw
Replying to: @rasmun 06/04/22
I remember politicians saying clearly that the sanctions would be the most punishing ever imposed.