Seemingly trivial things that intrigue you

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  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,230
    Pross said:

    surrey_commuter said:

    rick_chasey said:

    morstar said:

    What's the thinking behind the press being briefed on policy announcements prior to the announcement?

    BJ's announcement today has been consistently briefed to the press. Why?

    If the reaction is really bad they can change it before the official announcement, was always my assumption.
    Whatever he briefs and whatever he says it will come as a hammer blow to those who think we will be back to normal by Easter
    I doubt anyone thinks that will happen and I'm not sure any sane person ever did. We will hopefully have moved partially out of "lockdown" though. I suspect if anyone pushed him on that comment he would bluster and say something like "of course we didn't mean pre-pandemic normality but something more normal than we were at the time" (assuming he gave any sort of answer at all).
    I think the "normal by Easter" was only ever a briefing, not a statement, so reliable as something they wanted to say, but not something they will ever admit to saying.
  • morstar
    morstar Posts: 6,190
    Pross said:

    I've mentioned the pre-briefing thing in the trvially annoying thread before. If it is being mentioned on the news that "later today the PM will announce x" then x has already been announced as it is being reported so there's no reason for the PM to re-announce it.

    So you found it annoying and I found it intriguing...

    I actually think it’s both but apologies for overlap.

    Just think, on some social media platforms I could have been flamed by hundreds for such a lapse.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,490
    morstar said:

    Pross said:

    I've mentioned the pre-briefing thing in the trvially annoying thread before. If it is being mentioned on the news that "later today the PM will announce x" then x has already been announced as it is being reported so there's no reason for the PM to re-announce it.

    So you found it annoying and I found it intriguing...

    I actually think it’s both but apologies for overlap.

    Just think, on some social media platforms I could have been flamed by hundreds for such a lapse.
    Sorry, that wasn't intended as a dig. I'd agree it falls into both categories. I'm not sure when it became a thing that all major announcements were officially leaked. I suspect it is a result of the 24 hour news era along with the levels of spin that Campbell first brought into politics.
  • morstar
    morstar Posts: 6,190
    Pross said:

    morstar said:

    Pross said:

    I've mentioned the pre-briefing thing in the trvially annoying thread before. If it is being mentioned on the news that "later today the PM will announce x" then x has already been announced as it is being reported so there's no reason for the PM to re-announce it.

    So you found it annoying and I found it intriguing...

    I actually think it’s both but apologies for overlap.

    Just think, on some social media platforms I could have been flamed by hundreds for such a lapse.
    Sorry, that wasn't intended as a dig. I'd agree it falls into both categories. I'm not sure when it became a thing that all major announcements were officially leaked. I suspect it is a result of the 24 hour news era along with the levels of spin that Campbell first brought into politics.
    Wasn’t taken as a dig at all. Just observing that in some corners of the internet it would have been a crime worthy of my death.

    But yes, I definitely see it as part of the spin process. Just wondering if anybody had deep insight into exactly what mechanisms are at work. Probably looking too hard for strategic gains when it probably just testing the water with loose ideas that can refined subject to feedback.

    Uturn redirection mechanism. Urm in other words.
  • surrey_commuter
    surrey_commuter Posts: 18,866
    Pross said:

    surrey_commuter said:

    rick_chasey said:

    morstar said:

    What's the thinking behind the press being briefed on policy announcements prior to the announcement?

    BJ's announcement today has been consistently briefed to the press. Why?

    If the reaction is really bad they can change it before the official announcement, was always my assumption.
    Whatever he briefs and whatever he says it will come as a hammer blow to those who think we will be back to normal by Easter
    I doubt anyone thinks that will happen and I'm not sure any sane person ever did. We will hopefully have moved partially out of "lockdown" though. I suspect if anyone pushed him on that comment he would bluster and say something like "of course we didn't mean pre-pandemic normality but something more normal than we were at the time" (assuming he gave any sort of answer at all).
    A number of people on here argued the point pre Xmas and one of them, as of two weeks ago still thought I was in line to eat my hat
  • surrey_commuter
    surrey_commuter Posts: 18,866
    Pross said:

    morstar said:

    Pross said:

    I've mentioned the pre-briefing thing in the trvially annoying thread before. If it is being mentioned on the news that "later today the PM will announce x" then x has already been announced as it is being reported so there's no reason for the PM to re-announce it.

    So you found it annoying and I found it intriguing...

    I actually think it’s both but apologies for overlap.

    Just think, on some social media platforms I could have been flamed by hundreds for such a lapse.
    Sorry, that wasn't intended as a dig. I'd agree it falls into both categories. I'm not sure when it became a thing that all major announcements were officially leaked. I suspect it is a result of the 24 hour news era along with the levels of spin that Campbell first brought into politics.
    Rick is the politics expert but I believe that pre-Blair you would have been dragged before the Speaker by Black Rod for usurping the authority of Parliament for not breaking the news there
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,612
    Hah I'm really not SC and I don't know at all about that.

    I was always under the impression that leaking to the press was a tried and tested part of the way Westminster works, a tool that MPs use, not without risk.
    _
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,490
    rick_chasey said:

    Hah I'm really not SC and I don't know at all about that.

    I was always under the impression that leaking to the press was a tried and tested part of the way Westminster works, a tool that MPs use, not without risk.

    I think leaks always happened but they were always "sources close to" whereas now the leak is official which to me means that is the actual announcement rendering the press conference to formally announce something that has been reported all day completely pointless.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,612
    Pross said:

    rick_chasey said:

    Hah I'm really not SC and I don't know at all about that.

    I was always under the impression that leaking to the press was a tried and tested part of the way Westminster works, a tool that MPs use, not without risk.

    I think leaks always happened but they were always "sources close to" whereas now the leak is official which to me means that is the actual announcement rendering the press conference to formally announce something that has been reported all day completely pointless.
    It could equally be someone who is deeply unhappy with lockdowns who is in a position to know what the plans are before they are announced, we just don't know.
    _
  • morstar
    morstar Posts: 6,190
    Pross said:

    rick_chasey said:

    Hah I'm really not SC and I don't know at all about that.

    I was always under the impression that leaking to the press was a tried and tested part of the way Westminster works, a tool that MPs use, not without risk.

    I think leaks always happened but they were always "sources close to" whereas now the leak is official which to me means that is the actual announcement rendering the press conference to formally announce something that has been reported all day completely pointless.
    This is my take. They are no longer leaks (be they deliberate or a subversion) but this is press briefing in advance of announcements.

    As you say, renders the announcement pointless theatre.

    Although you could argue that’s what PMQ’s can be.

    In fact, parliament full stop.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,230
    edited February 2021
    rick_chasey said:

    Pross said:

    rick_chasey said:

    Hah I'm really not SC and I don't know at all about that.

    I was always under the impression that leaking to the press was a tried and tested part of the way Westminster works, a tool that MPs use, not without risk.

    I think leaks always happened but they were always "sources close to" whereas now the leak is official which to me means that is the actual announcement rendering the press conference to formally announce something that has been reported all day completely pointless.
    It could equally be someone who is deeply unhappy with lockdowns who is in a position to know what the plans are before they are announced, we just don't know.
    I think we do when it is phrased like this in The Times:

    Downing Street said that the first easings of lockdown reflected Johnson’s concern that the pandemic had been especially hard on children and people unable to see family and friends.

    He said: “Our priority has always been getting children back into school, which we know is crucial for their education, as well as their mental and physical wellbeing, and we will also be prioritising ways for people to reunite with loved ones safely.

    “Our decisions will be made on the latest data at every step, and we will be cautious about this approach so that we do not undo the progress we have achieved so far, and the sacrifices each and every one of you has made to keep yourself and others safe.”



  • Jezyboy
    Jezyboy Posts: 2,911
    I would think it also gives print media much needed relevance in an Internet age.
  • morstar
    morstar Posts: 6,190
    I wonder if anybody is still looking at year old toilet rolls?
  • monkimark
    monkimark Posts: 1,515
    edited February 2021
    There's a set of bike racks near my work that very rarely get used (possibly because the one time i know of someone using them for an hour, their bike was stolen). It's become a sort of unofficial motorbike parking bay but last night I noticed 4 sets of wheels had been left in 4 adjacent bays at some point in the afternoon, tied to the racks with parcel tape.

    Only one of the 8 wheels has a tyre, none of them have skewers. There are some Mavic Aksium and Fulcrum amongst them so not standard abandoned BSO wheels.

    What on earth is going on there?

  • elbowloh
    elbowloh Posts: 7,078
    and they're tied, not locked? Weird?

    A wheel amnesty...
    Felt F1 2014
    Felt Z6 2012
    Red Arthur Caygill steel frame
    Tall....
    www.seewildlife.co.uk
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,490
    Yodel - "Sorry we missed you, we have left your delivery from Wiggle in a secure location"
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,202
    monkimark said:

    There's a set of bike racks near my work that very rarely get used (possibly because the one time i know of someone using them for an hour, their bike was stolen). It's become a sort of unofficial motorbike parking bay but last night I noticed 4 sets of wheels had been left in 4 adjacent bays at some point in the afternoon, tied to the racks with parcel tape.

    Only one of the 8 wheels has a tyre, none of them have skewers. There are some Mavic Aksium and Fulcrum amongst them so not standard abandoned BSO wheels.

    What on earth is going on there?

    Damn! That is fascinating.

    Art installation?

    Was given them, but wanted to keep them secure before collection? Why pairs though?
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,202
    monkimark said:

    There's a set of bike racks near my work that very rarely get used (possibly because the one time i know of someone using them for an hour, their bike was stolen). It's become a sort of unofficial motorbike parking bay but last night I noticed 4 sets of wheels had been left in 4 adjacent bays at some point in the afternoon, tied to the racks with parcel tape.

    Only one of the 8 wheels has a tyre, none of them have skewers. There are some Mavic Aksium and Fulcrum amongst them so not standard abandoned BSO wheels.

    What on earth is going on there?

    Yes, so it isn't a mass swap out...Ummm....
  • monkimark
    monkimark Posts: 1,515
    edited February 2021
    All 8 wheels still there this morning - the parcel tape is obviously more secure than my mates bike lock...
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,612
    Small sample size of 5 but I get on extremely well with people from Lebanon.
    _
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    Maybe they are bobby trapped.
  • elbowloh
    elbowloh Posts: 7,078
    webboo said:

    Maybe they are bobby trapped.

    Pins, Ball or policemen?
    Felt F1 2014
    Felt Z6 2012
    Red Arthur Caygill steel frame
    Tall....
    www.seewildlife.co.uk
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 14,626
    I'm intrigued to know why government ministers and scientists can't press a button themselves to change slides.
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 27,638
    First.Aspect said:

    I'm intrigued to know why government ministers and scientists can't press a button themselves to change slides.

    I've wondered this. If the southern region technical rep from a roofing membrane manufacturer can give a lunchtime CPD talk using a wireless clicker for his Powerpoint, you'd think the actual Prime Minister could run to a similar piece of kit.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • morstar
    morstar Posts: 6,190
    rjsterry said:

    First.Aspect said:

    I'm intrigued to know why government ministers and scientists can't press a button themselves to change slides.

    I've wondered this. If the southern region technical rep from a roofing membrane manufacturer can give a lunchtime CPD talk using a wireless clicker for his Powerpoint, you'd think the actual Prime Minister could run to a similar piece of kit.
    It’s quite common and incredibly annoying.
    I have attended webinars where presenters are remote.
    I find the polite but repetitive ‘next slide please’ annoying but tolerable but attended one where they just barked ‘slide’. This came across very badly even though I suspect it was a voice recognition program they were barking at.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,490
    First.Aspect said:

    I'm intrigued to know why government ministers and scientists can't press a button themselves to change slides.

    Why have a dog and bark yourself? Just showing their power and that they have "people" to do menial tasks for them.
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 14,626
    Pross said:

    First.Aspect said:

    I'm intrigued to know why government ministers and scientists can't press a button themselves to change slides.

    Why have a dog and bark yourself? Just showing their power and that they have "people" to do menial tasks for them.
    Yeah but BBC weather is much slicker.

    The government is still at the stage of, "The Larch".... "The Larch".
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,490
    Slightly intrigued today by the inability of people to walk in a straight line on a path. Overtaking numerous people today whilst J was out running and they would be on one side, I'd move to the other to pass and by time I'd get alongside them they had veered to the other side and sometimes back again. How do they get through life without bumping into things? The complete lack of their surroundings must put them in all sorts of dangerous situations.
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,202
    Pross said:

    Slightly intrigued today by the inability of people to walk in a straight line on a path. Overtaking numerous people today whilst J was out running and they would be on one side, I'd move to the other to pass and by time I'd get alongside them they had veered to the other side and sometimes back again. How do they get through life without bumping into things? The complete lack of their surroundings must put them in all sorts of dangerous situations.

    They are probably out walking in pairs so are talking to each other, minds adrift, consequently their attention isn't quite what it should be.
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 7,202
    monkimark said:

    All 8 wheels still there this morning - the parcel tape is obviously more secure than my mates bike lock...

    Are they still there?

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