Bear Pit: now the sole domicile of politics at LuLa

[digitaldog]

Not sure I understand your comment either!  Perhaps there is a fundamental difference in the way the systems work.  Here, if a house is off grid, then solar power can supply electricity to save a petrol generator.  It is possible to get generators that will kick in automatically if the other source can't cope. 

Here, a home can be on or off the grid and have solar power with or without battery backup. In my case, I'm on the grid. Any extra power I generate that I don't use goes back to the grid for others. We have been paid for this extra electricity by the provider for 10 years, that contract was only for 10 years, and now we 'bank' the extra. So if we make more than we use in June (long days) but less in December (shorter days, more power used to heat), we use our credits from June. Most homes here are on the grid (lots of advantages, a few disadvantages).

[Rob C]

I am by no means of the left, and insofar as Britain is concerned, increasingly less so of the right.

In my perfectly balanced world, all essentials such as electricity, water, gas, sewerage and waste removal services would be run by central government. The private sector should never be allowed to control any part of these things; it doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out that such services appear, to the private sector, to offer them bottomless pits of wealth for the taking.

I would be incline to keep local government fingers out of those particular pies as well: few organised endeavours offer as much opportunity for easy corruption and the favouring of “special” suppliers as does local government.

If there is one terrible flaw with my argument, it’s that unions would once again assume the old powers of extortion they once enjoyed. Anyone else remember those magical days and nights of union-driven British electricity and gas cuts, of travelling from a power-dead zone to a live one, just to give the family a hot meal?

[Robert Roaldi]

I am by no means of the left, and insofar as Britain is concerned, increasingly less so of the right.

In my perfectly balanced world, all essentials such as electricity, water, gas, sewerage and waste removal services would be run by central government. The private sector should never be allowed to control any part of these things; it doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out that such services appear, to the private sector, to offer them bottomless pits of wealth for the taking.

I would be incline to keep local government fingers out of those particular pies as well: few organised endeavours offer as much opportunity for easy corruption and the favouring of “special” suppliers as does local government.

If there is one terrible flaw with my argument, it’s that unions would once again assume the old powers of extortion they once enjoyed. Anyone else remember those magical days and nights of union-driven British electricity and gas cuts, of travelling from a power-dead zone to a live one, just to give the family a hot meal?

Public regulated utilities worked well for years. But they tended to get needlessly fat because the incentives were badly designed. Then someone decided that they were evil and made money looting them for private equity. (I know, I know, it's not that simple.)

Privately run utilities give the impression of being efficient, and they might be, but it's silly to pretend that health care, electricity, etc., don't have a public interest component and that the narrow private interests of the owners may not always coincide with the public good. That is also a matter of incentives design.

For every union you show me that overplayed their hand and ruined an enterprise, I can probably show you utterly corrupt or more likely incompetent management that did worse. You have to watch everyone all the time.

[Robert Roaldi]

The latest silliness is that Trump wants to impose tariffs on foreign films for reasons of national security. He claims that the US film industry is in big trouble, which is the first I hear of this. (The Canadian prime ministerial hopeful Pierre Polièvre has been claiming for a couple of years that Canada is broken, so it's not like politicians don't say dumb shit.)  I assume Trump means that the film industry throughout the world is behaving in a predatory manner against Hollywood. Maybe he just doesn't like subtitles. I wonder if he likes films from the UK, or does he have trouble with the accents. This is a very limiting outlook on life. I can understand English, French and Italian and I can't tell you what a benefit it is to understand jokes in their original language.

Despite the shenanigans, Hegseth survives. He wants to cut back on the number of 4-star generals and other senior officials. Will DOGE make cuts in the cabinet, I wonder?

According to the media, Elon's mom is upset with the worldwide treatment of Tesla and says so in tweets. It's good to have a supportive mom.

[Rhossydd]

I assume Trump means that the film industry throughout the world is behaving in a predatory manner against Hollywood.

Certainly some countries are giving tax breaks for making film in their countries, eg UK, Australia, New Zealand etc.
Of course it's not just tax breaks that cause films to be made elsewhere; locations and local technical expertise and facilities are also major draws.

So it's not difficult to see that the orange one thinks it's not fair. Quite how he thinks he can actually impose tariffs on it is an interesting question he probably hasn't considered.
Just another example of 'bull in a china shop' thoughtless politics. 

[Robert Roaldi]

Certainly some countries are giving tax breaks for making film in their countries, eg UK, Australia, New Zealand etc.
Of course it's not just tax breaks that cause films to be made elsewhere; locations and local technical expertise and facilities are also major draws.

So it's not difficult to see that the orange one thinks it's not fair. Quite how he thinks he can actually impose tariffs on it is an interesting question he probably hasn't considered.
Just another example of 'bull in a china shop' thoughtless politics.

He must think that the US a free market utopia.

[Rob C]

Certainly some countries are giving tax breaks for making film in their countries, eg UK, Australia, New Zealand etc.
Of course it's not just tax breaks that cause films to be made elsewhere; locations and local technical expertise and facilities are also major draws.

So it's not difficult to see that the orange one thinks it's not fair. Quite how he thinks he can actually impose tariffs on it is an interesting question he probably hasn't considered.
Just another example of 'bull in a china shop' thoughtless politics.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the entertainment industry across the world is actually having a hard time balancing budgets. Taxation has often been used as a form of subsidy, and whilst it might well do the trick in the short term, there must come a time when reality checks are made, and hard decisions pronounced. That was what Maggie Thatcher was confronted with, the nettle she ultimately had to grasp. Governments can buy votes for a while, but one day, the public well runs dry. The public plumber, that clean-up man or woman then gets the reward for standing too close to the fan.

Everything costs so much money, money that tickets once provided, but that may now be looked for, hoped for, from tv and internet delivery subscriptions. With everything on tap like it is now, it’s easy to get jaded and just not bother watching anymore. Back in the 80s or 90s, we had an annual subscription to Sky Movies, but after a couple of years we let it lapse. Different titles, different faces, but exactly the same predictable plots. That said, there certainly do exist series that are watchable again after two or three years. I enjoyed Justified quite a lot, Breaking Bad too, though I had to be persuaded to give the latter about three starts before I got hooked; once I did, it was wonderful. Another show that I have watched several times is the four-part John Wick one: a takeaway from that production is that the actors in it are all terrible shots and have rubber bones. One further lesson the Wick series taught me is this: Alsatians are far more intelligent dogs than pit bulls.

[Robert Roaldi]

Trump also said he wants to re-open Alcatraz because of all the serial rapists and murderers running loose in the US. That's an interesting portrait he's painting. The country with the world's highest incarceration rate, the largest gun ownership, a very large number of armed police and police agencies, many 'tough-on-crime' initiatives, and yet there are still large numbers of dangerous criminals running around seemingly with impunity, according to him anyway. Who in the hell have they been putting in jail then?

How can this be and why would Alcatraz help with it if it were true? It's yet more distraction, it must be, but from what. Is it all distraction now all the time?

In a snippet from an interview I saw online, the interviewer asked Trump how he felt about the large number of Americans who are unhappy with the current economic situation and its future. He shrugged and more or less said he didn't care because he won. Meaning that he got what he wanted from them, their vote, so he doesn't need to keep them happy any longer. This is a very honest answer from someone who seems to live very transactionally. At least he didn't lie about that, which is something.

I saw an article this morning (maybe from thehill.com but not really sure anymore) that he acknowledged yesterday that people will probably suffer more economically than first predicted. No shit?

[MattBurt]

I saw an article this morning (maybe from thehill.com but not really sure anymore) that he acknowledged yesterday that people will probably suffer more economically than first predicted. No shit?

Who could have seen that coming? Besides all the economists and everyone else.

[Robert Roaldi]

I watched all that I could stomach of the 'discussion' between Trump and new PM of Canada Carney. Does anyone understand what the hell Trump was talking about? Is he gaga or on drugs? Seriously, he was never an orator but that was cringe-worthy. People voted for that?

Apparently he knows a lot of people in construction, whom he loves. Maybe he can hire them to retrofit Alcatraz.

It's all too stupid for words, isn't it. I read now and then that the US military has trouble recruiting personnel. No damn wonder.

[Rhossydd]

Does anyone understand what the hell Trump was talking about? Is he gaga or on drugs? Seriously, he was never an orator but that was cringe-worthy. People voted for that?

It's difficult to understand how anyone can listen to more than 3 minutes of him talking and think 'Yes, I want him to lead the world'.

For a while I wondered if the clips we see of him in the UK were just picked to make him look stupid. Having now watched some live feeds it's clear they tried to take the most rational segments to show.

[Rob C]

Quite apart from the damage to the image abroad of the US, it’s very unfortunate for the actual Americans living abroad. Of those that I have met over the years, I can only say positive things - positive things, because that’s how they seem to be as people: generally optimistic and upbeat, open, and good company. That’s exactly the way I have found Canadians out here, too.

Perhaps there is actually more to unite those two nations than there is to drive wedges between them. Why on Earth create daft tensions between them?

[Robert Roaldi]

Quite apart from the damage to the image abroad of the US, it’s very unfortunate for the actual Americans living abroad. Of those that I have met over the years, I can only say positive things - positive things, because that’s how they seem to be as people: generally optimistic and upbeat, open, and good company. That’s exactly the way I have found Canadians out here, too.

My experience as well.

Perhaps there is actually more to unite those two nations than there is to drive wedges between them. Why on Earth create daft tensions between them?

You're not alone in asking that question.

[Robert Roaldi]

I know that those pesky environmental regulations annoy some people, but it's possible they exist for a reason. Elon didn't bother fitting pollution control on some of his generating equipment, matter of priority I guess. If you're busy saving the world, some collateral damage is acceptable. To him anyway. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/apr/24/elon-musk-xai-memphis.

Btw, I learned a new word to describe Elon Musk fanboys: Elongelicals.

[BernardLanguillier]

It's difficult to understand how anyone can listen to more than 3 minutes of him talking and think 'Yes, I want him to lead the world'.

For a while I wondered if the clips we see of him in the UK were just picked to make him look stupid. Having now watched some live feeds it's clear they tried to take the most rational segments to show.

I have never met an applicant for a managerial position remotely close to his level of incompetence. Simply incredible. And if he had be hired by an incredible mishap, I would fire him within a few days if he worked for me.

I have never thought that about any other political leader I can recall, whether I am aligned or not with their political views.

At this point this really isn't a Democrat vs Republican debate. It's about sanity.

Cheers,
Bernard

[Jeremy Roussak]

Btw, I learned a new word to describe Elon Musk fanboys: Elongelicals.

A British comedian commented that he couldn't wait for a scandal, which would be called Elongate.

Jeremy

[Robert Roaldi]

A British comedian commented that he couldn't wait for a scandal, which would be called Elongate.

Jeremy

Love it.

[digitaldog]

I want Qatar to buy me a new DSLR!

[Robert Roaldi]

I want Qatar to buy me a new DSLR!

That plane is going to look so gaudy outfitted entirely in gold.

Qatar is a supporter of Hamas and Houthis, isn't it? I'm surprised one plane was enough. If they'd thrown in another couple, he could have started up a charter airline with the spares.


Is Trump getting a military parade on his birthday or not, do we know for sure?

Tariffs are partly off for 90 days again, at least with China. Quick, build those manufacturing plants while nobody is paying attention, catch everyone left-footed, bring on that golden age. Are you sick and tired of all the winning yet?

[Rob C]

I think it's got to a level of cynicism where nobody is surprised by anything anymore.

Metaphorically speaking, and as Marcellus remarked: methinks there is something rotten in the state of Denmark.