Innovindil

Trouble is it doesn't look like there was a protest. It was 6 people driving a van into a gate. Considering what the company is, who is likely to have done such a thing, who owns the company, and that counter terrorism police are involved in the investigation. I dare say it should be labelled as a potential terror attack. Maybe overreacting because it strikes close to home, but "protest" seems for lack of a better word, bleeeeeeerghhh.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g6nyd7922o Pretty worrying that the BBC are describing this as a protest tbh.

Tbh you're both welcome to feel that way I guess. I just don't understand a system where a few can table 1200 amendments, fully knowing there won't be time to debate all of them, just to block a piece of legislation. If they're muddying the waters enough to not even have a final vote on the legislation, especially after the time they've had, they are neither taking "unpopular decisions" or "fixing crappy legislation".

Personally think it's a blow to all of us. It's an important topic that deserves genuine discussion. Majority of MPs backed it (at first) and the majority of the population broadly support it. The only positive I see in this being delayed and potentially scrapped altogether, is it's one more tick in the absolish the house of lords column.

The trouble with taking data in a vacuum is that one piece of it can mislead. Here's an example: Taxes on workers in Britain rose at the fastest rate among the world’s richest economies last year, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Holy cow. That sounds bad! However, here another: Despite the rapid increase, the measure of tax on work in Britain, at 32.4%, remained below the OECD average of 35.1%. It ranged from 0% in Colombia to 52.5% in Belgium. Phew. We're saved! Neither point taken on their own makes the slightest bit of difference.

Tbf the "narrative" is that the overall taxes based on the entire economy are at their highest since World War 2. Which is absolutely true. It's a bit like celebrating the unemployment rate coming down. 11000 fewer people in work... Lowest job vacancies in 5 years... Devil is in the detail.

You'd reckon the police could find better ways to spend their time tbh. People who use these things make 0 difference. They wouldn't pay sky/bt anyway. Why pay when you can't watch the team you want to see ffs.

That's not the black and white bit I'm referring to. I'm talking about the idea that both the prime minister and this sacked civil servant can have an opposing view on who is right and who is wrong in relation to who's responsibility it is. The process itself should be black and white. If "Mr x" approves the appointment then it's "Mr x" responsible for it. It's no good for Starmer to be saying "He should have told me Mandelson failed vetting" and Robbins replying "No I shouldn't have". Where's the clear cut rules on who's responsibility it is? This is about appointing someone to an ambassador position to the most powerful country on earth, not some tiny little fiefdom in the middle of nowhere. It matters who makes that call.

Beyond wanting to blame the civil servant or the prime minister for this mess... How on earth do we have a process in place that is supposed to keep wrong uns out of powerful positions that is somehow open to interpretation? How the hell can Starmer and Robbins both think they are right? How on earth is our system of checks not absolutely ironclad black and white?

Just had the email through asking what spare capacity we have. Hopefully our response is "as much as you need".

Is now a bad time to say what I do for a living?...Probably

I'd expect there might be will for it IF Starmer steps down/gets the boot. And the reality is they didn't want him in the seat to protect Starmer and keep drama to a minimum. If they changed their minds after he's gone, they'd get a few pelters, but I reckon if it got the man the majority wants into the hot seat, "yesterday's" decision would be fast forgotten. And the £££ for the mayor race would be magically found IDD.

Can Burnham run for another seat if someone steps down? Or does that decision to bar him earlier mean he can't try for a seat in x amount of time?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/16/revealed-mandelson-failed-vetting-but-foreign-office-overruled-decision Should spell the end of Starmer.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c87w5ld0p80o Can't wait to see if we'll be getting a slice of this pie at work. Already do quite a few jobs for RR, surely they'll ask for our hands in this. Should be a really exciting project.

Golden time for tv I enjoy. The Boys, Scrubs and a Malcolm in the middle reboot in the same week. Meanwhile, Netflix has jack shit these days.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwywvrye76lo Can anyone explain to me in a way that I can hopefully understand why this guy was investigated and cleared of being a nonce, but was allowed to have a very well paying role in the BBC for years, yet someone like Mason Greenwood, who was investigated and cleared was practically hounded out of the country? Where's the consistency? This time of garbage is driving me more and more insane. I've got a family member serving years in the slammer, the only evidence against him was a story someone decided to tell. I know for a fact he didn't do what he's been convicted of, but we don't have the tens of thousands of pounds needed to fight it, or the "famous" clout to somehow be immune to laws. Sick to death of this crap tbh. I know the world isn't meant to be fair, but the entire system is broken.

"I have a plan for everything, okay?" he told a reporter from the New York Post when asked about spiking oil prices. "I have a plan for everything. You'll be very happy." Thank Jebus. Here I was thinking they were bombing the shit out of a country without a plan. Silly me.

Only have to glance at Afghanistan to see how much it would take to bring real, lasting change. Which makes all this Iran bugaboo seem even more pointless. Especially when you hear it was started without even a semblance of a plan in place for what the end of it looked like.

Tbf I don't think the present is being very kind to them either. Saw a figure yesterday saying some 27% of Americans support this Iran nonsense. Dunno where it came from but if it's accurate you've got to think that's one of the lowest approval ratings for war the American people have ever come out with. Usually they all love a bombing run.

At least with cocoa prices falling through the floor, we can expect the recipes to go back to "normal" and prices to drop... Right?

Item tracker was the easiest win in blizz gaming history. People been screaming for it for years. Warlock definitely needs some nerfs. Running around with a spirit sword and lore helm and doing all hell content. That bind demon skill is ridiculously OP for only having 1 point in it.

Loving it. Decided to wait for ladder reset to finally try it and it's a lot of fun. Gonna take another 25 years to balance it probably. Will have to see what else they've got planned. Blizzard have always missed a step with Diablo 2, sat on one of the greatest games ever made. Shouldn't take 25 years to do something with it (bar the remake).

A single nasal spray vaccine could protect against all coughs, colds and flus, as well as bacterial lung infections, and may even ease allergies, say US researchers. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2g8rz7yedo Sign me right up. 2 young uns started preschool/playschool and we've all been sick with some sort of cough/cold/flu for 6 weeks now. Damn thing would fly off the shelves if it works.

Not for being a nonce, but it's a start. Hope he's having a happy birthday.