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#1

Off the Record / Re: Plane Crash in India, at l...

Last post by grumbler - Today at 08:43:00 PM

I'm actually surprised in a modern aircraft the pilots have the ability to cut off fuel manually like that.

The cutoff switches are how the plots turn off the engines at the gate. They cannot be turned off by accident and there is no procedure on any checklist on any plane that calls for a fuel cutoff below 400 feet. This is a case of murder/suicide. Not an accident at all.

#2

Off the Record / Re: Grand unified books thread

Last post by Bauer - Today at 08:07:52 PM

I've been reading a fantasy series I found by reviews on kindle,  called Bastion immortal great souls by Phil Tucker.  It's kinda like a diablo style rpg game, where people are reincarnated and have to learn to regain their powers leveling up.  They are supposedly fighting against hell after hell invaded their world.

Wasn't really expecting a lot but am enjoying it.  The first book sort of drags on quite a bit but once you get towards the second half I started to enjoy it.  The descriptions of the different powers in battles, interesting world and fiends are what it's all about.  Just don't expect much else.

#3

Off the Record / Re: Plane Crash in India, at l...

Last post by DGuller - Today at 07:30:26 PM

I'm actually surprised in a modern aircraft the pilots have the ability to cut off fuel manually like that.

You probably need that ability for some emergency situation, and in any case, it seems like there are too many ways for suicidal pilots to accomplish their goal to design plane controls around that possibility.

#4

Off the Record / Re: Plane Crash in India, at l...

Last post by DGuller - Today at 07:27:45 PM

The moment we learned that both engines failed almost simultaneously, I figured it had to be something like that.  Even with fuel contamination you'd think one engine would fail a bit earlier than the other.

#5

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Josquius - Today at 06:22:07 PM

I actually agree with the line that we are becoming an island of strangers....
Though it has fuck all to do with immigration.
More the hollowing out of local government, the decline of high streets and pubs, car centricity, economic inequality, and all manner of other things.

I do like a lot of what Burnham says when I see him. The work with Manchester sorting it's transport out is great. I wouldn't be surprised if he is next labour leader too.

Though Manchester desirable?...

[Compare this to the decidedly upbeat atmosphere to be found 160 miles away in Manchester, which is experiencing the kind of economic boom that has proved elusive to Westminster and Whitehall. Greater Manchester has enjoyed the highest productivity growth of any British region in the last two decades – far outperforming London – and under the leadership of its mayor Andy Burnham's leadership, Manchester has taken back control of the local bus network, improving reliability and passenger numbers.Last week, a survey of 10,000 people saw Manchester being crowned as the "most desirable place to live in the UK". Almost half of those surveyed believed Manchester should now replace London as the capital. And with the Oasis sell-out tour reminding everyone of the sound of the city, one person surveyed remarked: "Everybody's moving back to Manchester. The youngsters love it."]

#6

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Sheilbh - Today at 05:54:22 PM

Interesting from Sonia Sodha - I wouldn't bet folding money on it (and I think Tory Party rules make it difficult)....but for the first time, especially with the Carney example, I could see a scenario where both main parties end up going into the next election with a leader who is not currently an MP. Burnham for Labour, as set out below (as a long-term Burnham fan - shameless political opportunist and actually quite effective in power) - and, I suspect, Johnson for the Tories:

Why many believe Andy Burnham can harness Manchester's moment and be a better prime minister than Keir Starmer
Productivity is up, the number of young professionals wanting move to the northern city has reached an all-time high, and Manchester mayor's personal ratings are soaring. As Starmer struggles at home, could the King of the North work his magic in Westminster once more? Sonia Sodha weighs up his chances...
Thursday 10 July 2025 06:00 BST

Labour marked its first anniversary in government with its most difficult week yet: a spectacular U-turn on welfare cuts and a chancellor struggling to hold back tears in the Commons, all capped off with Keir Starmer's approval ratings sinking to an all-time low. However well Starmer does on foreign policy, on the home front, he continues to flounder. Little wonder then that, even amidst all the pomp and deal-making coming from a state visit from the French president, the party's MPs are in a low mood.

Compare this to the decidedly upbeat atmosphere to be found 160 miles away in Manchester, which is experiencing the kind of economic boom that has proved elusive to Westminster and Whitehall. Greater Manchester has enjoyed the highest productivity growth of any British region in the last two decades – far outperforming London – and under the leadership of its mayor Andy Burnham's leadership, Manchester has taken back control of the local bus network, improving reliability and passenger numbers.

Last week, a survey of 10,000 people saw Manchester being crowned as the "most desirable place to live in the UK". Almost half of those surveyed believed Manchester should now replace London as the capital. And with the Oasis sell-out tour reminding everyone of the sound of the city, one person surveyed remarked: "Everybody's moving back to Manchester. The youngsters love it."

The turnaround of fortunes for the northern powerhouse can be traced to a number of factors, from investment, renewed transport systems and devolution – with many crediting "King of the North" Burnham for having a Midas touch.

If it sometimes seems as though Starmer can do no right, Greater Manchester's mayor is riding high, prompting the inevitable question: has the northern king morphed into Starmer's prince across the water?

Speculation has been fuelled by two of Burnham's recent interventions. In late May, he set out what can only be described as an alternate governing strategy at a conference convened by soft-left grouping Compass at the Ministry of Sound nightclub in London. He may not have mentioned Starmer by name, but it was clear exactly who his criticism was aimed at when he argued that Labour's mission should be to be a "unifying, popular left" rather than a "divisive, populist right".

This came just a couple of weeks after Starmer was criticised for aping Reform rhetoric on immigration with his warning that the UK could become "an island of strangers", comments he has recently said he "deeply regrets".

Then speaking at Glastonbury, Burnham did not shy away from pressing on a painful wound ahead of a key vote on welfare cuts that was always going to be a test of Starmer's authority. "What's been announced is half a U-turn, a 50 per cent U-turn... I'd still hope MPs vote against the whole bill," he said.

Two days later, the government abandoned the cuts altogether in the face of a parliamentary rebellion that could not be quelled. Not even Starmer's 156-strong majority can insulate him from questions about his future, and Burnham's criticisms have put him in the frame as a potential successor.

Burnham has long been an outspoken critic of Westminster. He first earned his "King in the North" moniker after taking on Boris Johnson over pandemic restrictions; the navy worker's jacket he wore to deliver a defiant speech outside Bridgewater Hall was subsequently displayed by the People's Museum in Manchester.

And although Burnham and Starmer have enjoyed a good working relationship in the past – Starmer became a member of Burnham's shadow home team after his election to parliament, and Burnham voted for him to become Labour leader in 2019 – tensions emerged in the years that followed, with Burnham openly accusing Starmer's aides of briefing against him back in 2023.

Since Labour swept the electoral map last July, Burnham has not refrained from continuing to call out Westminster, where he feels it's not serving his patch well. He's continued to press the government to deliver on its manifesto pledge to introduce a Hillsborough Law, in the face of complaints that ministers have watered down their proposals.

Back in January, he was one of the first Labour figures to break with the leadership to say that the government should hold a national inquiry into grooming gangs. As well as an open and cheerful demeanour, he has an instinct for sniffing out the political mood and an easy communication style, attributes which are missing in more stiff-necked Starmer.

Devolution has created a number of Labour politicians who have power bases quite independent from the national party. But alongside the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Burnham is the most visible and successful of them all; he was re-elected for his third mayoral term with an impressive 63 per cent of the Greater Manchester vote. And unlike Khan, who has said he is "not at all" interested in becoming Labour leader, Burnham has refrained from ruling this out.

You might not think it from the way he talks about London, but Lancashire-born Burnham had a long and distinguished Westminster career before donning the mayoral crown. After graduating from Cambridge, he worked first as a researcher for Tessa Jowell and later as a special adviser to culture secretary Chris Smith.

Elected MP for Leigh in 2001, he quickly climbed the ministerial ranks, progressing through chief secretary to the Treasury, culture secretary and finally health secretary before Labour lost the 2010 election. He ran for the Labour leadership twice, losing first to Ed Miliband in 2010 and then, despite being the early favourite, to Jeremy Corbyn in 2015.

There were those on the right of the party who poked fun at him for seemingly running against Westminster despite his establishment status, but he has stuck to his guns, saying it was all that time in the capital that showed him too many in the civil service don't understand the North and are too quick to write it off.

In many ways, Burnham has had the last laugh. Yes, he may have over-egged his anti-Westminster credentials in the course of his migration back north, but unlike many politicians on the right and the left, he has an easy authenticity and exudes a sense of being comfortable in his own skin.

Like his first political boss, Tessa Jowell, he's hard to dislike. He gives away 15 per cent of his mayoral salary to initiatives to reduce homelessness in Manchester. His likeability shows up where it counts: he regularly tops surveys of Labour members as the most popular candidate to succeed Starmer.

Not only that, a national poll by Lord Ashcroft back in April found Burnham commanded more than twice the level of support of the next candidate, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, amongst the general public.

In his Compass speech in May, Burnham sketched out a firmly soft left alternative to Rachel Reeves' ironclad fiscal rules, calling for a more radical programme of housebuilding, including more social housing, free travel for teenagers, more emphasis on apprenticeships and technical education as well as reiterating his opposition to cuts to welfare and the winter fuel payment. He also wants to change the tribal culture of Westminster, supporting proportional representation and scrapping the party whipping system altogether.

One of his former ministerial colleagues from the New Labour years expresses scepticism about the workability of such a manifesto. But his track record in Manchester is a different thing altogether: "He's been on quite the journey in the last 20 years and whatever happens, he will go down in Manchester's history as an extraordinary leader," they tell me.

But if Burnham sees the ultimate prize as the premiership, there are some hurdles he needs to clear, unlike in the US, where governors and mayors can make a direct run for the top job. On a practical level, he would need to return to Westminster as an MP. He's previously said he will serve out his third term as mayor, which ends in 2028, which would leave him free to run for parliament in 2029. Were it to look like a prime ministerial vacancy was opening up before then – still unlikely at this stage, though not impossible – that becomes much logistically trickier.

Any candidate running to be leader of the party also needs to be nominated by at least a fifth of, or 81 Labour MPs. Burnham undoubtedly has a supporter base amongst the soft left of the parliamentary party. But he would be competing for support against Rayner, who has similar politics. And MPs who are prioritising stability over talk of a leadership election see his recent critical interventions as a hindrance.

"If he wants to be King of the North, that's fine, but stop sending white walkers to the south to destroy the fragile peace we are trying to build after 14 years of a Tory government," one member of the 2024 intake tells me. "He's deeply unhelpful" is the verdict of another MP.

Perhaps the starkest difference between Starmer and Burnham, though, isn't their politics, but their half-empty/half-full approach to governing. Starmer has been criticised for being too gloomy in the early months, although few would deny him the concession that the challenge facing Labour in 2024 is far tougher than the economically rosy days of the late 1990s.

Apart from Burnham, that is: "I actually feel that the 2024 moment is a more advantageous moment for Labour to be coming into government than in 1997, even though most other people would feel it's the other way round," he said at the end of last year.

The reason? The fact that devolution has created a regional infrastructure that wasn't there in 1997. That's a cheerful take from Manchester's mayor at a time when there isn't much cheer to be found amongst the nation's politicians. Could Burnham carry that optimism all the way to Downing Street? If he does, it could be a winning combination.

The 2024 intake MP with the detailed Game of Thrones reference should be named and shamed.

Total aside but on the "island of strangers" line - after Starmer first said it, then repeated it. Then told his biographer in a lengthy interview that he hadn't read the speech properly beforehand and "deeply regretted it" - he has today insisted that the "sentiment stands" and he doesn't disavow anything, except that single phrase. Looking forward to the future updates we'll no doubt be getting

#7

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by HVC - Today at 05:42:50 PM

With advancements in AI soon his mind, such that remains, can be uploaded into an electronic form. Long live the virtual god emperor.

#8

Off the Record / Re: TV/Movies Megathread

Last post by Admiral Yi - Today at 05:33:42 PM

What do you mean?

I mean the movie invites us to engage with the plot, get invested in the characters, try to figure out the whodunit, and then at the reveals that everything we've been watching is a lie.

#9

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Oexmelin - Today at 05:19:01 PM

What a lifetime of playing football can do to the human brain: link

#10

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...

Last post by Zoupa - Today at 05:00:34 PM

With the kind of manoeuvre warfare the US doctrine employs, I would hope they're working on anti-drone capabilities. And I don't mean jammers or electronic countermeasures. Those are unreliable as hell. You need to develop kinetic counters to fpv drones asap.