StringJunky

Going from DST to GMT is the killer for me. As I've said, I don't care which standard is used.

Because it breaks people, like me. SAD is a real thing, then someone comes along and magnifies it with DST . I don't give shit which one is used, but it would be nice to see a smooth, natural transition through the seasons. It is psychologically terrible for a lot of people. My brother goes to Goa to soften the blow.

The animosity towards UK/US administrations will only increase. The first thing we Brits need to do is to get rid of Sunak and Co. I voted for him, to my shame. This conflict is edifying in seeing countries and their leaders personal positions blooming like Rotten Corpse flowers. They bloom about every 7-9 years. Is that a bit harsh?

Sorry, how do you mean? Edit: You mean Putin calling in all his favours via Novichok or some other concoction

How many creditors will call in his debts once the water starts lapping over the bows.

Supreme Leader 2025. I thought Christianity was about sharing, community and loving thy neighbour?

This is the future if the orange one with the luxurious bouffant wins.

For the paranoid: artist's or drafting tape.

LOL! Yes, one will be dowsing ones bottom with water to put out a burning 'ring''.

Negative things and positive co-exist together throughout our lives. It's up to ourselves to choose which ones we want to see. I often experience crippling depression and happen to have just acquired four budgies. They interrupt my negativity in positive ways. If you are alone and have nothing to care about, find something to care about.... be it others in some capacity, or in looking after some other living thing. Immerse yourself in their needs, or elsewhere, where there is the possibility of reciprocation. Negative past experiences, for instance, need positive new experiences to push them away into insignificance.

In the UK there is a product called Roberson's CRYSTAL CLEAR 'SHELLAC' VARNISH used for doing gilded objects. It is UV resistant and non-yellowing.

If an area is repetitively rubbed, as playing an instrument, no lacquer will survive. Look at any well played guitar. It's the price of playing. Does a person want a musical instrument or a museum piece? You can't have it both ways. The best instruments have the thinnest and most brittle finishes. How long can that last? I've looked into acoustic guitar making for some years and the issues are the same. I've also had one made and insisted on the thinnest finish and bracing. Both are anathema to durability, but are conducive to good tone, as in expressing the higher frequencies and harmonics. Brittleness of the wood and finish determine how clear and resonant the notes are.

Russia still has communist factions that align well with the FR Russian politicians. Putin reveres Stalin and latter Marxist-Leninist as far as I understand. Putin ain't no practicing Communist.

AFAIK, from my interest in photography, acidity is the bane of archiving. Acid-free paper and other substrates are used in museum quality work. UV is another one.

Go too far left or right, one ends up basically the same as the other.

The US is not unique in its attitude; it's what happens when one side is holding too much of the rope. It's human nature to get cocky and pushy when one is standing on the top of the hill.

I know there are decent people in the US, I talk to you guys everyday, but one has to look at the sum total of effects of your political establishment on the world... wankers included. I'm looking more at the forest that is each country rather than the individual trees within each forest.

Of course. The EU needs to let go of their fiscal dependence militarily. I no longer see the US as a reliable partner moving forward. Does that make me part of the "extreme radical Left"? The UK is bound to them at the hip, so it will have to be outside of them. I'm deliberately not considering loyalties here, but an attempt at a more dispassionate view that is more inclusive of different political philosophies where fiscal and geopolitical compromise is a keyword. As it happens, the EU and Ukraine appear to be actively stepping up to the plate in terms of their defence industrial base to meet the needs of Ukraine. Hopefully, this is a precursor to military independence from the US and to democratize the power base more equitably. The road to peaceful existence is a stable equivalence of political and military power... not this totally asymmetric situation that we have here. That, I feel, is the solution to removing the hubris of the OP title.

Says an American One has to consider the US bounces from right of centre to far right intermittently over a long period, so, on balance, it's too far to the right. It doesn't need to be an overnight revolution. It means Europe having more of the rope to balance things out. Just look at the supply issues happening for Ukraine now. Time to move away. From your use of 'liberals' means that I can safely ignore your opinion.

Does anyone think that the geopolitical centre of gravity needs to move away from the US and towards more collectively level-headed democracies? At 62, I'm starting to think that American influence and dominance is too toxic for the world. Even on the 'left' of the American political spectrum, the likes of Biden are merely paying lip-service to world peace as long as no one takes a slice of their pie. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. The extent to which we are now seeing the worst elements of British politicians embracing the worst elements of US politics is disturbing. The UK has the most far right government I've seen in my lifetime here... and getting worse. Couple those with the FR Israeli administration justifying each others actions, we have a perfect storm of conspiring instigators for the issues we have today.

It means only a short-sighted idiot could conceive of such an idea.

I understand your ADX prisons are pretty hardcore on security. Concrete beds, windows that you can only see the sky. Just the ticket.

Good point. I forgot per capita.