5.2%, from memory.

As to why, that's a question for the ages.

Thanks!

I have history going back with a now sadly departed friend to 1981.
Originally a US bike, I understand, imported to the UK in 1974.

Yup, gets my vote.

This was my Monday:

Maybe just surcharge their electricity imports from the grid, in true Capitalist fashion?

You know what we need here? Less supposition, more actual evidence.

...especially when the supposition is then followed by "yes, that's *definitely* what happened, therefore Starmer must resign!"

It's all very tedious.

Bullseye.

I've never really trusted America as a nation, except in as much as one could predict exactly what they would do in any given situation. "America First!" has *always* been the guiding principle.
But, yeah, just badly shaved apes doing badly shaved ape stuff, I guess. We're no different.

I own a Triumph Speed Triple 1200RS. 177bhp, utterly insane.

I also own a 2024 BSA Gold Star 650 and a 1973 BMW R75/5, and I much prefer riding those. Must be getting old, but I'm comfortable with that.

I should be out there right now, but I'm suffering a near-terminal attack of ennui, causing a complete inability to pick a destination or a purpose. So I will opt for an afternoon with a good book, instead.

Everyone wants to be the person who bought down a PM these days, irrespective of reason, guilt, whatever. It's quite tedious, but I don't see a solution for it.

Re. the Independent story - what evidence did they present in the original story? And why do they think MI6 handles vetting?

That one word "called" *always* gives away that the speaker is a pompous arse who knows about 3.7% of what they think they know.

"The chancellor said that she and Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, would set out more details within days on ways of ensuring the wholesale price of electricity is set more often by renewables"

That's *huge*. Good work, Labour!

Just the phrase "Biblical Womanhood" on its own should be a massive red flag, and possibly grounds for a full legal investigation and removal of all women and children to a place of safety.

I bloody love mine. They paid for themselves years ago, and continue to generate an income almost exactly equal to our annual electricity bill, even in these days of hugely inflated per-unit charges.

"Your terms are acceptable."

Very ugly solution, gallows. A guillotine is far more elegant.

I like to remind these fuckwits that their patron saint, Ayn Rand, relied on Social Security and Medicare in later life. Which is hilarious.

Plot twist: What if we made the *only* tax-deductible for corporations their salary bil?. Nothing else to be used to reduce taxable profits, although I might be persuaded on input raw materials, possibly.

So the only way for them to reduce the tax bill would be to employ more people.

<shrug>
Facts are important. Hyperbole does not work with published figures.

But if you want to reduce it to personal abuse, fine. You do you, dude.

Yup.

Yup. We started a personal unplugging from fossil fuels about ten years or so ago. We've barely noticed this latest little tantrum in the Middle East, except for a bit of swearing when I fill up the cans for the lawnmowers.

Fuel duty is nowhere near 85%. Do better.

I was thinking more of the "Beatles are bigger than Jesus" kerfuffle.

So now we have a better insight into Trump's mind. He wants to be John Lennon.

An interesting point just struck me.
When did these "handshake" photos change to both people facing the camera? I'm sure they used to be taken side-one, with the two people facing one another, looking at each other, like normal people greetings.

Nah. I mean, that would be entirely in character for RFK, but if someone so obviously unhealthy and lacking in basic physical self-care as Trump were being looked after by fake doctors, he's be dead by now.

After much soul-searching, I abstained from the vote on those exact grounds. It seemed like a stupid question to be asking a tired, aging computer programmer.
I wish now that I hadn't, I should have gone with my gut feeling and voted to stay in. Over-thinking things is a terrible affliction.

Be careful what you wish for. There is plenty left that Trump could do to make things even worse than he has already made them.