Big J

I do think that Trump is something new, insofar as the normal social and political norms just don't seem to apply to him. The lifetime of shameful conduct just doesn't seem to matter to his devotees. Anyway, his presidency will be a turning point for the US. Either a sudden realisation that the idolisation of money and celebrity above all else is morally and socially toxic. Or a continued fall into the abyss of transactional, America-first ologarchy where the rich get richer and financial and polical power become one and the same.

There is nothing wrong with having intelligent discourse. Just because a significant proportion of the population is too stupid or too selfish to comprehend the consequences of voting for fascism, doesn't mean it shouldn't be called out for what it is. I'll hold my hand up and say that I'm not a great believer in democracy, and that simply because I don't believe that the majority of the voting public is qualified to make such important decisions. In your case Gareth, I profoundly disagree with pretty much everything you say, but at least you have a strongly held opinion that has been researched. We're never going to agree and we'd always vote against each other, but that's your right and even if you get on my tits sometimes, I respect the fact that you're here discussing things. So, so many people vote based on spurious nonsense, misinformation and tradition. Knowing that the electorate is so easily maleable, politicians focus on short termism, soundbites and populist rhetoric (on both sides). Very little gets done for the greater good now, and next to nothing with a long term outlook. The political news cycle is far too short, and as such, real progress never happens.

He sounds roughly as qualified for his job as Hegseth does for Sec Def. Or Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence. Or just about any other of Trump's appointments. My point is that political appointments to jobs requiring specific technical expertise are ridiculous. Rory Stewart has gone over this many times on TRIP, illustrating numerous examples where ministers were appointed with no idea about the department they were set to lead. And then, every cabinet reshuffle meant that often, ministers had insufficient time to familiarise themselves with their brief. Politicians are often self serving, ambitious and selfish. They will position themselves in such a way that makes their reelection more likely, and constructing a framework of sychophants and yes-men will likely make that goal easier. I just believe that the motivations of Republicans and Democrats differ substantially (for the most part - there are exceptions). Republicans are largely motivated by self-enrichment, furtherance of ideological ideals that are often bigoted and exclusionary, and increasingly, xenophobia. Democrats have a better track record of pushing for social change that benefits society on a broader basis. That's not to say that the Dems haven't done stuff that I profoundly disagree with, but for me, they are the lesser of two evils. Fundamentally, American society is morally corrupt, with such tragically extreme economic outcomes that it is one of the least equal countries in the world, and consequently has the lowest life expectancy in the developed world. This is fueled in large part by huge numbers of deaths in younger and middle age, usually from diseases or afflictions of 'misery'. These include drug deaths, suicide, gun violence and other homicides. MAGA is a sort of reaction and overreaction to a conscious (or unconscious) realisation that there are gigantic, systemic issues with the way that US society is structured and the direction it's going in. Unfortunately, MAGA will only exacerbate the situation, and support for that ideology will add fuel to the (dumpster?) fire. In short, the US is driving towards a brick wall. The MAGA lot are all stamping on the accelerator whilst the Dems are arguing amongst themselves about what is a car, what is acceleration and debating the existance of the wall. Head in the sand and all that.

Trump's base can be roughly split into two camps - those that hold their nose and vote for him because they believe they'll make more money with him in charge and those that can be described as 'low information'. As Trump once said: "We love the uneducated!" The US political system is a total mess. Between the election college, the vast sums of money involved, gerrymandering, voter suppression, continual lying and propaganda (on both sides, though greatly more from the GOP), without expending a very large amount of time and energy on the topic, it's hard to know what is actually going on. For what it's worth, I think that whilst Biden's domestic record was pretty good throughout his term, his support of Israel has been appalling. His inability to step aside at an appropriate time cost the Dems the election as they were unable to have a primary, which delegitimised Harris. FWIW, I don't think Kamala was a bad candidate, but they had better. And in the end, Biden just took a 'f**k it, I don't care anymore' attitude, and threw pardons out left right and centre. If I were in his position, I'd probably have done the same, but I'd be a terribly corrupt politician and I expect, nay, demand better standards from our elected officials Which ever way you look at it, America is now fulfilling almost all the criteria of fascistic rule. You may disagree, you may not. You may be OK with that, or (hopefully) not. The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC displays a poster written by Laurence Britt in 2003, entitled "The 14 early warning signs of Fascism". Tell me if you disagree that this is the way that the US is going. My comments are in brackets. Powerful and continuing nationalism (the MAGA movement is defined by this) Disdain for human rights (child separation policy of the first administration. Attempted revokation of 14th amendment ie birthright citizenship) Identification of enemies as a unifying cause (DEI, trans, immigrants) Supremacy of the military (continued overtures towards taking territory from smaller nations) Rampant sexism (I don't need to explain this one really - grab them by the....?) Controlled mass media (Fox News, the accelerating capitulation by Meta, ABC settling a defamation case, etc etc) Obsession with national security (the immigration emergency executive order) Religion and government intertwined (much the Maga movement is fundamentalist, and Trump has repeatedly compared himself to the Messiah, saying that God spared him for a reason with the attempted assassination) Corporate power protected (money is king for Trump - his tax cuts in the first term were worth three times as much to the top 1% as the bottom 60%) Labor power suppressed (he, like Musk, is fiercely anti union, and anti worker rights in general). Disdain for intellectual & the arts (his disregard for medical and scientific expertise is well-known. He has dissolved the Presidents committee on the arts, as an executive order) Obsession with crime and punishment (he has asked the question as to whether protesters could be shot during the BLM protests) Rampant cronyism and corruption (you could write a book on this one point alone) Fraudulent elections (his claims that the 2020 election was stolen were fraudulent. He has continually tried to undermine the legitimacy of elections in the US, but has been amusingly quiet on the topic when it went his way. It has been mooted that he will attempt to make constitutional changes to allow him to run for a third term). You can say that you like what he's doing - I find that easier to understand than saying that you don't believe that he is doing what he is doing. Everyone has a different world view, and some are indeed more isolationist and self-focused. I'm pretty antisocial and insular, but I try to work on the basis of being respectful and causing no harm. As such, I find Trump's politics to be offensive as he profits from the suffering of others, by way of deception, misinformation and outright lying. Sadly, that style of politics is gaining a foothold here in Europe too, so who knows what the future holds.

There is a world of difference between having no discrimination under any circumstances and absolutely no diversity. The nuance is what's important, and what is lost of Trump and his type. All diversity bad, all free speech good, all immigrants bad, all tax cuts good, all environmental legislation bad....etc etc etc It's a bit like being ruled by a four year old.

Of course Trump didn't cause the crash, but executive orders to gut the service that protects people whilst in the air are never going to positively affect any situation. I'm the first to admit that inclusivity cannot be applied universally as certain physical and mental conditions should proclude someone from a position. But recognising that fact and the actions that Trump et al are pursuing are two different things. A sort of sledgehammer to crack a walnut situation.

I swore that I would stay away from this thread...... My 2 cents on the situation now is that the US is unashamedly an oligarchy. And most of the people that voted for Trump couldn't give a toss. The US government now exists principally as a money making device for those that buy into the Maga ideology. Musk invested $250m to get Trump elected and made $70b as a result. All the tech bros are lining up behind him now too. When you have more money than you can every spend, the pursuit of power and influence must be the only way to pass the time. You've got Pam Bondi nominated as the Attorney General, having previously been a lobbyist for private prison companies. Pete Hegseth, a weekend Fox news anchor, serial sex abuser and drunk is now running the world's largest military with three million employees and a budget of nearly a trillion dollars. Tulsi Gabbard, a recognised security risk, Al Assad sympathiser and Russophile is nominated as director of National Intelligence. Kash Pattel, someone who has expressed in categorical terms a desire to use law enforcement agencies to enact retribution on Trump's polical adversaries, is nominated as FBI director. RFK Jr as HHS Sec, despite being a vaccine efficacy denier and with a whole host of crazy ideas about health. The list goes on. Trump's withdrawel from the Paris climate accords is a financial own goal. The US is already lagging badly behind China in terms of green technology and the estimated trillion they'll save by pulling out would be dwarfed by the estimated 10 trillion they'd make by being at the forefront of the green energy wave. Project 2025 is in full force. Tens of thousands of experienced civil servants are being removed and being replaced by sychophants whose primary qualification is fealty to Trump. The anti-immigration rhetoric is an economic own goal. Even Musk acknowledges this. I agree that DEI has gone a little too far, but equally, the Trump reaction to it is a massive over reaction. As an avid cyclist, I don't want to see biologically male athletes in women's sport, but I also acknowledge that gender is a touch more complicated than what you're born as. Trump has rowed back on so many of his campaign trail promises: * he'll stop the war in Ukraine in 24hrs. Well it turns out it's a bit more complicated than that. Wouldn't want to piss off Putin either, now would he? * inflation - the price of eggs is now higher than ever * end birthright citizenship - clearly unconstitutional and has already been ruled as such. Also, consider how in the intervening time between reelection and taking office that Trump launched a digital currency for his own personal enrichment. Effectively taking advantage of the office of POTUS to make money. It's ethically deeply questionable. And then the release of the Jan 6 rioters. In the weeks prior to the pardons, Vance stated that violent offenders obviously wouldn't be released. Then Trump let them all out. White supremecists and people that brutally assaulted police officers, some of whom have since taken their own lives. It's mortifying. Greenland, Canada and Panama - what the actual f**k? I believe that we are witnessing the beginning of a sharp deterioration in the morality of western society, but with the US being the focal point for the time being. I also believe that sadly, the memory of WW2 is so distant now, present only in a few thousand very elderly people, that the sacrifices of those that fought for a generally peaceful and prosperous world order are being forgotten. History is doomed to repeat itself, and every period of peace is sadly followed by something far more unstable. As a side note, please try to keep the debate and discussion on this thread civil. If everyone avoids personal insults, it's far easier to have a productive conversation. I'm 90% a left winger, but it's not to say that there aren't arguments outside of my normal political orbit that don't resonate with me. So please, keep it civil - imagine you were having the conversation face to face rather than furiously bashing a laptop keyboard

Stay safe everyone. My friend at the Met Office reckons there is a good chance that the all time record for highest ever wind speed in Ireland will be broken (currently 182kph). I've never seen forecast wind speeds like these before. This is for a village on the west coast called Carna. For reference 47 m/s is 170kph and is verging on a category 3 hurricane.

A beautiful morning on the bike today, after 20-25cm snow yesterday. 100km at minus 6°c and epic beard-cicles afterwards ⛄

It is still snowing and there is 20-25cm of snow now. Went sledging and it was a lot of fun. The pictures aren't uploading for some reason - I'll try from my phone...

A lot of snow has fallen overnight. Enough that I was supposed to be doing an extra shift at work today but I won't bother as I'm fairly sure the forklift will be having serious trouble moving. And it constitutes 'unnecessary' travel. I'll get some photos once it's light. Because it's windy too (-4c), it has drifted as well. Not something you see so often here.

It's not a workshop, but we recently fitted a diesel heater in our VW T5. It's not exactly this model, but ours is very similar: VEVOR Diesel Luftvärmare Allt-i-ett 12V 5KW LCD-fjärrkontroll för husbil inomhus | VEVOR EU EUR.VEVOR.COM Upptäck VEVOR Diesel Luftvärmare Allt-i-ett 12V 5KW LCD-fjärrkontroll för husbil inomhus, Uppgradera din värmeupplevelse med vår effektiva lösning, designad för att... It's a pain on colder mornings getting the car defrosted, and on very cold days (below minus 10c), getting the engine up to temperature takes a long time due to the very relaxed nature of driving here. With the diesel heater, the car is entirely defrosted in 10-15 minutes from a minus 10c frost and you can leave it on for a while afterwards to keep you warm so that you don't have to draw heat from the engine. Uses sod all diesel too (less than 1 litre a week at the moment). When I use the van in summer to go cycling in Norway, I can use the heater overnight as I like to stay as high as possible (altitude acclimatisation) and even in July, it can be pretty chilly. Maybe the best £200 upgrade I've ever made to a car.

Hurrah! It's arrived. Happy New Machine Day

I struggle with Christmas somewhat. It's all very sociable and I have limited energy for that. We always have family staying - usually my wife's parents, brother and sister in law over Christmas and then my mum over New Year. I am good and bake, cook and do the dishwasher as required, and I'm sociable for most of the day, but I also cycle a lot during this period. There is this challenge on Strava called the Festive 500 where you cycle 500km between the 24th and New Years Eve. So I'm doing that. I swear it was invented by grumpy, antisocial dads who just need some time to themselves! 😆 I don't like the concept of gift giving either because I don't like to have things that I don't want or need, and find the overconsumption and waste associated with this time of year rather frustrating. Especially with the kids, who just want pointless, plastic shite that is lost/broken/forgotten in a month. But I do really enjoy all the Christmas lights around the village. Sweden still does Christmas very tastefully, and even though we've not had any snow this year, it still looked lovely. Either way, the highlight of my Christmas (holiday) is having more time out in the forest on the gravel bike, even if I did nearly get taken out by five wild boar yesterday! 😄

I'm reminded of a Gyles Brandreth quote: "The definition of a Scottish Gentleman is someone who knows how to play the bagpipes, but chooses not to"

Just started at the other large sawmill in the village this week as work had been a bit inconsistent at the first. But the first are desperate for me too now, so it seems I have two jobs! In the long term, I'm hoping to split my time between the two, but I am not sure that'll be optimal for everyone. We'll see.

I'm in Sweden but work in the sawmilling industry. I'm British, but also have a German passport, so I didn't have to deal with post-Brexit red tape. @josharb87 would be my first port of call. He's worked extensively in arboriculture and would be able to offer good advice. For general "moving to Sweden" stuff, I can help, though I live very rurally, so our situation is quite different to that of someone in a city.

Fell it and replace with something nicer. Literally anything is nicer than a leylandii.

Not surprising anyone here, I suspect.

The forecast is extreme for the Bristol channel. I checked Minehead and it's forecast a steady 105kph gusting almost 150kph. We did a lovely thinning job on a hill above the town in 2021. It's going to get hit square on. Id be surprised if much is left standing after that. Shallow, rocky soil and 100ft plus Douglas fir. Included is the forecast for Minehead tomorrow morning

It was only minus 3c, so normal (fairly cheap) winter cycling gloves are fine. When it's much below that I switch to ski mittens. In my previous post, it should read serious gales, not serious fakes. Bloody autocorrect.

Some serious fakes forecast for Saturday in the SW of England. I saw a sustained wind speed of 75kph for Barnstaple. Winter is a bit late arriving here but we've had some reasonable frosts and light snow the last few days. Here are a few photos and a video from the last two days on the bike. VID_20241204_123150_527~2.mp4