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The Trans-Pennine route upgrade business base got rejected recently and they've had to go back and have another think.

Did that business case have the same 400% error now apparent in the HS2 business case?

Luckily I kept this from the last time

It's a great way to sell PPE

On ebay the price of the disposable masks I bought for our trip to HK has gone up by 10% in a week.

As I understand it surgical masks are not good at preventing inhaling airborne virus but are good at restricting the amount of infected air that you breathe out. They do however reduce the chances of infected people spreading the disease. Doctors and nurses wear masks to protect the patients from the doctors and nurses.
In Brisbane going to the Invasion Day events is a good idea, wearing a mask won't make a difference.

There is no longer any provision for an extension of the transition period beyond December 2020. Section 33 of the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act says

A Minister of the Crown may not agree in the Joint Committee to an extension of the implementation period.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2020/1/section/33/enacted

It's all arse about. There are at least four fast routes between London and the north. Building a HS cross Pennine network would bring many more people/trips links to existing London routes as well as replacing millions of car trips in the area.
The existing HS2 plans will only serve a fraction of that population, some decades in the future. The main beneficiaries of HS2 are the engineering construction companies and their political friends. It should be stopped now.

Here in Singapore arrival checks are common practice

When I first went to Singapore they were checking for dirty western hippies. Long hair and beards were not allowed. Men with hair touching their collar or longer were offered the choice of no entry or a session with the shears.

Shanghai municipal health authority has texted everyone to say that if you have a temperature of 37.8 or above, or have been to Wuhan in the last 14 days, you have to go to hospital to get checked.

Here in the UK they are saying don't go to a public hospital or surgery but call NHS 111 first. They don't want the virus spreading to other already sick people.

Last week the NYT's "The Daily" podcast covered part of the Sanders' campaign. It focussed on the drive to win over the Latino vote for Tío Bernie. Apparently hard core Bernie fans replay videos of his campaigning in the 1970s and 80s.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/podcasts/the-daily/bernie-sanders-latino.html

We're going to Sydney in March. I have just ordered some facemasks, not for the smoke but because we are spending a few days in Hong Kong on the way. Staying with nephew. It seemed like a good idea at the time we booked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK36n8Ut2bE

I always thougt there was something strange about Assen & Drenthe in The Netherlands.

and this
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/17/eu-nationals-fearful-brexit-windrush
Europeans will have to learn to live with the low level anxiety that we of the Windrush generation face. Even though we have all the right paperwork and permissions there is a chance that a detail will be lost or unavailable leading to being blocked for housing, jobs, healthcare or being held up at the border.
My advice is not to read any Kafka. It is not good for your mental health.

^^^^^ Thanks. You learn something new every day.

^^^^ This is not dumb. It is very clever pandering to his crowd who love it. He makes self-deprecating jokes about his hair and orange look. At the same time it enrages his enemies in the environmental movement - his crowd love that. He produces a few sound/video bites that get shared far wider than his usual audience, even here.

Why are most of the media covering up the name of the burnt out lorry operator? Eddie Stobart.

Man made climate change denialism is the issue that has defined Australian politics for over a decade. Four prime ministers and a couple of leaders of the opposition have been removed by their own party for being on the wrong side. As with brexit it began when a minority group within one party managed to grab the balance of power. They then blocked any policy change towards reducing carbon use.
For almost 200 years the Australian economy and easy lifestyle have depended on ruthless exploitation of the natural and mineral resources the white immigrants found there. To take effective climate action requires a fundamental change to the whole culture of the country.
The arsonist myth about bushfires has been around for a long time. It is a convenient cover for those who have done nothing about climate change. The evidence suggests that about 1% of the current fire damage is due to arson.

^^ thanks. I just spoke to my Dad. He was up all night in case they had to move again. The house has survived the night but there is no power to make cups of tea or re-charge the phones. They are better off than many other people but still pretty frightening for someone aged 99 with very little eyesight. The fire service had done some back burning around the housing area last week so there is less fresh fuel if the fires come back again.

My dad lives just on the east edge of the massive fire south of Nowra. The current advice from the fire service is:

It is too late to leave. Seek shelter as the fire approaches. Seek shelter in a solid structure to protect yourself from the heat of the fire.
Monitor the conditions and know what you will do if the fire threatens.
Be alert to embers and spot fires.

They have been evacuated to the community centre for the second time this week. A few hours ago the southerly wind change came through with gusts up to 50mph. The temperature dropped from 40 degrees to 22. It is now the middle of the night so they won't know if the house is OK until tomorrow.

I am gladdened by the appearance of some debate on the issues of public vs private ownership, the role of the state etc. At the same time I am saddened that this is only happening now. One of the immense failures of the recent Labour party leadership was to assume that people understood the issues or were engaged at all. They produced a manifesto that resonated strongly within their own echo chamber but meant little to the bulk of the population who had not been engaged in the policy discussion.

I wish I had time to engage with all the arguments in recent posts, but that would mean cancelling Christmas. One caught my eye

I'd chop all bus passes as all they mean is buses are more expensive for working age people.

Simply not true. Bus passes provide financial support for bus operators, they make it possible to run more services and give a social and environmental benefit to everyone. London Buses is a nationalised industry with physical services provided by private contractors. It is one of the most successful transport undertakings in the world. The wholesale privatisation of buses outside London has been a failure with high fares and hopeless service.
The highest profile privatisation disaster was Railtrack. Investors made a fortune while service levels dropped. The result was at least four major fatal rail crashes with dozens killed and hundreds injured. That is why Network rail has since been re-nationalised.

It's a tactic to win as the compromise candidate when the electorate is split down the middle.

I'm not necessarily suggesting that someone stands as "interim" leader. Just someone who promises to put themself up for re-election by 2022.

The Labour Party and the country need a leader of the opposition who can

1. face off to Johnson and the media
   
2. start a process of reconstruction, policy review and unification in the party
   
3. facilitate leadership elections in 2022
   
   

Nothing more. The Tories had four leaders between 1997 and 2005, they still couldn't find a winner.

Famously, life expectancy varies by over ten years between adjacent streets in Islington.

Both Boris Johnson and Tony Blair used to live within spitting distance of the most deprived estate in Islington.