In the news

I know right, shallow bowing lefty bastard.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/08/nazi-gold-train-investigators-start-excavating-poland

I'm getting increasingly annoyed by this 'gold train' label. In the unlikely event that this is indeed filled with 'gold', this isn't modern 'treasure', but instead spoils of war and terror, most likely plunder stolen from victims of Nazi persecution, and a more sombre tone is required in the reporting.

It also doesn't seem likely that the story of this train is related to the "Komplex Riese"; while there is a moderate complex of tunnels related to this around Chateau Książ, apparently about 2km long in total, it is now being reported that the train was simply buried, not driven into a tunnel as per earlier reports. At 90m long, it seems to be a fairly short train and could well just be a Nazi military train whose operators wanted to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Red Army. Such actions were commonplace in the dying days of the war.

Likewise, connecting the train with myths surrounding the Komplex Riese about its alleged purpose for developing a Wunderwaffe ('miracle weapon', not 'magic weapon' as in the Guardian article) is not helpful. While it is entirely possible that some secret may be uncovered there, the complex was unfinished and based on current knowledge it is not likely that any industrial activity ever took place there.

I do hope that the sensationalised coverage will subside and hopefully not be followed up by conspiracy theories in the event that they don't find anything earth-shattering.

I was ok until they mentioned dowsing.
They can all do one.

I see a shower of marketing fartsniffers have re-branded the cultural wasteland of soulless tat shops, shit hotels and tacky musical theatre venues formerly known as 'The Strand' as 'Northbank'. yeah, good luck with that shitheads, let us know how that works out for you.

Northbank's been going a while. Weird guys wandering round in branded bowler hats with blue ribbons trying to be useful. Odd. At least Leading London Cultural Venue For Hire, Somerset House, seems to have some invisible barrier for them and they are unable to cross the threshold.

presumably that's because SH is in the (not so)newly rebranded borough of #MidTown (nee Holborn).

Bindun, Shirley?

^ #passport

Does Northbank Stop at Waterloo Bridge then? I've seen the be-hatted chumps malingering in the cycle lane bit that leads to Wellington St.

And midtown can >>>. Wasn't there lots of shady non-legal anti-cycle enforcement when the brand was still fresh and they were pushing it pretty hard?

there was indeed. 'midtown rangers' were handing out 'fines' for 'weaving in and out of traffic' and 'cycling too close to trucks'. fun times.

More disgusting behaviour from Corbyn. Creating food waste by shunning his peers, wasting time talking to people who WAGED WAR against a regime who had close ties to our Royal Family and our biggest selling newspaper!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/remembrance-sunday-jeremy-corbyn-skipped-vip-lunch-to-stay-behind-after-ceremony-and-applaud-wwii-a6726591.html

What I love about this story, which has run and run, is how he hid the house behind a haystack for a long time.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/farmer-who-hid-illegallybuilt-castle-behind-haystack-now-faces-jail-despite-claiming-it-is-home-to-a3110551.html

If I remember correctly, he bought the salvaged stained glass dome from Brighton's West Pier and added that above the stairs. So I hope they don't make him literally take a wrecking ball to it.

He thought he was being clever by hiding it for 4 years (so that planning permission would be automatically retrospectively granted) but the judge decided that the hay bales were integral to the build and the building hadn't been completed until the hay bales were removed. Therefore it's not been 4 years since completion and so it doesn't qualify for retrospective planning. He didn't see that coming did he...

Yes, I remember reading that.

Breaches of planning law are, of course, to be taken very seriously.

Who says satire is dead? David Cameron writes to his local council, complaining about the cuts to frontline services.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/11/david-cameron-letter-cuts-oxfordshire

The chutzpah of the man is quite breathtaking.

They say to never assume evil when it can be mere ignorance...but I find it hard to believe there's no plan behind this or awareness.

Yes, there are big pressures due to slowing growth/no growth and more elderly that didn't pay enough into their pension pot due to a poorly thought out system based on population growth/too low payins, issues that nearly all countries in Europe suffer from.

My parents in The Netherlands are complaining too you're much more on your own when you lose your job, yet the cuts to health care there aren't as blatant as here.

Well, perhaps this motivates people to be more engaged in politics, 38degrees is already doing a good job. It's mopping with the tap open, but you gotta start somewhere :)

"the prime minister refuses to dignify the letter with a comment"

I just posted some wank about this on FB, but I'll post quickly here as well.

but I find it hard to believe there's no plan behind this or awareness.

Of course there's a plan and it's pretty simple: Permanent austerity + big society = neoliberal paradise.

In a way we let it happen perhaps?

Mumbles something about the French a couple hundred years ago... ;)

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crickhowell-welsh-town-moves-offshore-to-avoid-tax-on-local-business-a6728971.html

Don't get mad, get even

I've been to Crickhowell, bloody lovely there.

I've no comment in the article, just how nice a place it is.

freaky...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-34789661

Yorkshire? They were probably doing maths and got told "Mildred bought 8 apples for £6..."