If you want to watch shows while travelling, get the fucking train.

I’m not sure where the treasury slush fund accusation comes from?

Morning star being a rag, it’s borderline embarrassing at this point.

As you say, the idea that pension funds can somehow become treasury slush is nonsense. What they could very much become though is a very quick way to incease assets under management for the sovereign wealth fund.

Is it everything I wanted? No.

Is it a relief to have a budget that is at least economically literate? Fuck yes.

Do I want more next year? Absolutely.

OK, go on, how does reducing the NI cost for small businesses fuck them over?

Wait, do they actually think getting it to summarise the wiki page on the trolley problem is actually going to stop their people mowers mowing down people?

The comment I originally replied to was asking about removal of appetite. The point I was making was that appetite isn’t the only reason people consume calories.

The jabs do not cause you to exercise, and losing weight without some level of exercise to build fitness is also not healthy.

The point Streeting is making is that you can’t just eat to excess and expect, 20 years later, that the NHS can fix all your problems with an injection.

It’s the same way that alcoholics are not given liver or kidney transplants, or smokers new lungs, because even if you did the transplants all the other problems (cancers, etc) would still exist.

Primary healthcare is really complicated because you’re dealing with people who are generally speaking not at the worse bit, yet, and so patient’s motivation to consider, let alone make, changes can be non-existent.

This in turn is what makes a preventative healthcare model so much harder to achieve. The best way to treat T2 diabetes is to not get there in the first place, but friends of mine routinely have conversations with patients where their likelihood of having T2D, or stroke, heart attack, etc, is very high within the next 5 years, and are met with blunt refusals to even consider something as trivial as a lower calorie butter/spread, and instead just demand a jab.

This is not everyone, but it is a significant proportion, and it’s right the Health Secretary to remind people that while the NHS does exist, and will support you if you get there, that it’s better for yourself to not end up there in the first place.

I’m glad it’s working for you, I truly am.

But my point is that there are a variety of reasons, it will help some people with some of them, and won’t help others. As you’ll see in all the issued guidance, it’s prescribed alongside diet and lifestyle changes. As in, move more and eat healthier foods, in lower quantities.

If that helps, awesome, I’m not going to bash people who need medication to function - as I literally am one of those people - but it’s not a silver bullet.

The benefit of climbing meaning you maintain a level of physical fitness definitely outweighs the risk of you breaking a bone, or dying.

The issue with obesity is that it dramatically increases the risks of loads of other illnesses, many of which kill you very slowly.

You fundamentally should never trust a study commissioned by the company who sells the product.

It’s far too great a conflict of interest.

There’s a false premise here that people only eat when/because they are hungry, as in, they are in need of calories, and stop when they aren’t.

They don’t. People eat for loads of reasons, and many of us have really unhealthy relationships with food, e.g. we eat it we’re sad, or bored, or to punish ourselves, etc.

Then there’s calorie density, you may not even realise how much you’re consuming. For example, a pint of beer has a similar amount of calories to a mars bar. You could quite comfortably drink 4 pints over an afternoon, consume 1000 calories, and then go out for a meal, in a way that you probably wouldn’t eat 4 mars bars, and then have a meal.

But it’s not been peer reviewed, this study has not appeared in a scientific journal yet, and it was funded by the drug manufacturers. So are people getting a bit overexcited?

I mean, come on.

Having many friends who work in primary care, this is a common view among professionals.

On a fundamental basis, it’s almost impossible to outrun a bad diet, even some people with gastric bands manage to put the weight back on after a few years.

There are many social cofactors in people’s weight - shit job and irregular hours make it very difficult to cook, multiple jobs, an inability to cook, cheap food being pumped full of shite, very little money, etc etc etc - which also need to be fixed.

But oxempic, and the rest, are the equivalent to a very effective hangover cure. Just cos you can drink 15 pints and pop a pill in the morning to feel better, doesn’t mean you should, or that’s it’s healthy to do so.

OK, byeeee 👋

While I’m glad she’s done this, let’s not forget that Warsi is hardly the bastion of enlightened centrism, let alone anything progressive.

My argument since the election has essentially been, until the budget we don’t know what political decisions Reeves will make.

Reclassifying debt and assets in line with the IMF absolutely makes sense economically, and the Tories didn’t do it for political (ie brutalise the poor) reasons.

If the budget comes, and meaningful investment is not a centrepiece, then we can justifibly start calling Reeves many names under the sun, but until then, we cannot in good faith pretend we know what she’ll do.

Yes, I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt. I really hope I’m right in doing so.

If I’m not, then fair enough, and I won’t pretend otherwise.

Surely not!

Setting the bar at pension credit recipients is too low, I would have much rather they brought forward the expected £400 uplift to the state pension, and removed the winter fuel payment at the same time. That way everyone who needs it would still get it, and those with private pensions / other sources of income would pay more income tax.

The moral argument for why poor pensioners need the payment is valid, but keep in mind that less pensioners live in poverty than working people - which is wild when you consider the demographic bulge the boomers represent. Neither children nor pensioners should freeze over winter in one of the largest economies in the world, with relatively moderate winters.

Lastly, about 25% of pensioners live in households with over £1m in assets. Granted, most of that wealth is tied up in the house, but if you own a £1m house that you can’t afford to heat, bluntly, fucking move.

I asked ChatGPT what it thought of this:

The phrase “rats leaving a sinking ship” often conjures images of individuals abandoning a failing situation in search of safety, reflecting a natural instinct for self-preservation. In the world of tech, leadership changes can evoke similar sentiments, particularly when a high-profile figure like Mira Murati steps down as CTO. Her departure may signal deeper issues within the company, leading to speculation about its stability and future direction. Just as rats flee a deteriorating vessel, employees and stakeholders might interpret her exit as a warning sign, prompting concerns about the organization’s health and long-term viability.

Murati’s tenure as CTO brought innovation and leadership, positioning the company as a front-runner in its industry. Her decision to leave could suggest an unraveling of the strategic vision that once propelled the organization forward. This parallel highlights the instinctive reaction of those within the company; employees may feel uncertain about their future, mirroring the chaos and trepidation felt aboard a ship in distress. The fear of instability can lead to a wave of resignations, as others seek to secure their own positions before the situation worsens.

However, not every departure must be viewed through a negative lens. Just as rats leaving a sinking ship might find new, more promising environments, Murati’s exit could open doors for fresh leadership and innovative ideas. This shift might provide an opportunity for rejuvenation and growth within the company, allowing it to adapt and evolve. While the immediate reaction may be one of alarm, such transitions can also lead to renewed focus and a stronger foundation, illustrating that change—though often unsettling—can ultimately foster resilience and progress.

Emphasis mine - no shit!

Also, good luck to those enterprising rats finding a more promising environment in the, er, sea…

A 20 year deal, with no power produced until 2028?

Either MS really do know something we don’t, or this bubble has grained a layer of strontium.

The lying liar is lying? No, shurely knot!