In todays news...

[KungFooBob]

I identify as identical twins.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I identify as identical twins.

Well, I can't tell you apart.

[irie]

... the utter disaster that is brexit ...

The fact is that since Brexit the UK's economic performance has been rather better than comparable major European economies. OK, you can muck around with data using different exchange rates, but the fact is that the UK is demonstrably NOT the sick man of Europe. That's a myth much beloved by the BBC and the EU and other naysayers, and endlessly repeated in the Facebook, Twitter, and other social media echo chambers.
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UK is not the sick man of Europe.jpg (1.29 MiB) Viewed 240 times

[Pirahna]

The fact is that since Brexit the UK's economic performance has been rather better than comparable major European economies.......

I don't pretend to have much knowledge of economics, but if I Google for "British economic performance since Brexit" the returned search results don't exactly paint a glowing picture.

[irie]

The fact is that since Brexit the UK's economic performance has been rather better than comparable major European economies.......

I don't pretend to have much knowledge of economics, but if I Google for "British economic performance since Brexit" the returned search results don't exactly paint a glowing picture.

This is the bit that matters.

[Pirahna]

The fact is that since Brexit the UK's economic performance has been rather better than comparable major European economies.......

I don't pretend to have much knowledge of economics, but if I Google for "British economic performance since Brexit" the returned search results don't exactly paint a glowing picture.

This is the bit that matters.

So stuff like this?

The UK has fallen far behind the EU since Brexit

https://www.newstatesman.com/chart-of-t ... nce-brexit

[irie]

I don't pretend to have much knowledge of economics, but if I Google for "British economic performance since Brexit" the returned search results don't exactly paint a glowing picture.

This is the bit that matters.

So stuff like this?

The UK has fallen far behind the EU since Brexit

https://www.newstatesman.com/chart-of-t ... nce-brexit

This report provides the most detailed assessment to date of the long-run impacts of the final deal agreed with the EU. It finds that the long-run impacts will mean significant change for some sectors of our economy – for example, fishing – but that the aggregate effect will be to reduce household incomes as a result of a weaker pound, and lower investment and trade. This adjustment will be substantial, but we should not expect it to fundamentally alter the nature of our economy, including the UK’s overall services focus and export specialisation.

Unsurprisingly, that report attempts to justify the above opinions.

In any case, the EU 27 are not "comparable major European economies" (which are France, Germany and Italy).

[Hoonercat]

Ben Wallace has made a shrewd decision not to contest the Con leadership, because whoever gets it is in for a shoeing at the next GE...

Too risky, the closing of Operation Northmoor may throw up some awkward questions, even though he was only defence secretary for the latter part of it.

But Royal Military Police investigators who worked on Operation Northmoor told Panorama they had been obstructed in their efforts to gather evidence, blocked from visiting the sites of the shootings, and frustrated in attempts to interview senior leadership.
"We were hitting brick walls in every direction," one senior investigator said.
"I believe there was pressure from above to shut down the investigation. It became increasingly clear to me that it didn't matter what evidence we were able to gather, these cases were never going to be allowed to go to court."

[slowsider]

Oh, the horror!

Chickpea crisis likely to impact middle class yoghurt weavers

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... a-shortage

Oh

People that don't usually buy them will now panic buy. We get through a lot in tagines n' stuff. (Tend to do a lot of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking. If there's a preserved lemon shortage I'm emigrating. ).

(I know, I know, you can preserve them yourself - and have done - but Beldi are )

Getting worse now, predicted shortage of passata, risotto rice and olive oil due to drought in Norn Italy

[Yorick]

Shitty headlines

If you read the article, it says that if you paid for stuff when you ordered the car, they're free.
But you can choose to save money when buying, then add them later.
Seems a great idea

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/news.sky ... l-12651279

[McNab]

Shitty headlines

If you read the article, it says that if you paid for stuff when you ordered the car, they're free.
But you can choose to save money when buying, then add them later.
Seems a great idea

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/news.sky ... l-12651279

A subscription for heated seats. I can't quite work out if it's a crazy idea or genius.

If you plan to sell in 3 years, then you save yourself £100 and the next owner has to stump up. Or you pay £15 a month only for the 4 or 5 coldest months of the year.

But then if you are paying £40k+ for a new car, it seems penny pinching.

[KungFooBob]

Don't KTM already do that with their bikes?

You pay extra for them to turn stuff on in the ECU?

[Mr. Dazzle]

I can't quite work out if it's a crazy idea or genius.

Probably depends if you're BMW or not

Deffo the way of the future though, 'on demand' subscription services are part of everyone's expectations now and cars see the opportunity to cash in.

[Horse]

One justification is that you're only likely to need heated seats for a few months, so pay only then.

From the manufacturer's side, they simplify ordering and build, there are fewer variants.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Also means they can sell the same thing multiple times to multiple people.

[Cousin Jack]

Deffo the way of the future though, 'on demand' subscription services are part of everyone's expectations now and cars see the opportunity to cash in.

Deffo the way that big monopolies or near monopolies (eg Microsoft) want to go. Not the way I want it to go!

[cheb]

The logic of only paying for them in the coldest months is sound, but what happens when that meets with the manufacturer's T&C fees.

[Horse]

Don't KTM already do that with their bikes?

You pay extra for them to turn stuff on in the ECU?

At least one of the airbag jacket suppliers has a subscription option.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Aircraft engine suppliers have been doing this for donkey's years. Rolls-Royce sells loads of their big engines on "Power by the Hour", you pay them for X hours of Y engine thrust and they take care of everything else (i.e. servicing). They've got teams and teams of people at their HQ remotely monitoring engines in the fleet so they can service the engines exactly when they need it and not before. Saves everyone time and money.

If cars went all the way in like that it might make sense, but if they charge you subscription AND seperate purchase/service as well they're taking the piss a bit.

[Horse]

Company I worked for 'forgot' to pay the annual subscription for their [Internet connected] alarm system.

It stopped working.

They paid.

It started working again.