Disqus - Latest Comments for MarkWadsworth

Re: You think the 2022 two day heatwave was bad and worse is to come – so when did global warming start?

Mark Wadsworth — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 10:21:03 -0000

Ah, good one... leaving the year until the end.

Re: Velvet Glove, Iron Fist: E-cigarette use costs $15 billion a year?!?

Mark Wadsworth — Tue, 24 May 2022 09:52:46 -0000

good debunk, as per usual.

Re: Velvet Glove, Iron Fist: Graphic warnings on alcohol

Mark Wadsworth — Sat, 16 Apr 2022 06:57:34 -0000

they could save a lot of money if they just asked you :-)

Re: Velvet Glove, Iron Fist: What is 'ultra-processed food'?

Mark Wadsworth — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 10:33:56 -0000

"unless you bake the bread yourself in which case it becomes magically healthier"

A joy to read, as ever,

Did you invent "fun sponge"? I'm going to start saying that.

I also love the five ingredients cut off. So a decent salad is now unhealthy, and we reduce our "five a day" down to "four a day".

Re: The Boiling Frog: The Zombies Are Too White: The Politics Of Video Games.

Mark Wadsworth — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 09:50:30 -0000

"Given the infancy of the medium and its technological limitations".

They were already superb twenty-five years ago (I had a Sony Playstation) and have got steadily better since then. I got bored after a couple of years, but I can see the appeal. 3D motion sensitive headsets, car/jet seats that mimic movement of car/jet etc. I had a go at a friend's, the experience is amazing (but as mentioned, not my thing at all, I prefer the real world).

Re: Mark Drakeford you insane little man – this is why I had to break your asinine rules for Wales twice this morning

Mark Wadsworth — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 09:51:37 -0000

I'm glad your lap top is working, that seems to be the main thing for now. Best of luck with new baby, but didn't you keep the stuff from baby #1?

Re: The day the Tory Party told liberty to go f*ck itself

Mark Wadsworth — Sat, 19 Sep 2020 15:44:13 -0000

Agreed, apart from the fact that at present, daily covid-19 deaths are about ten and only about five people a day are killed by or in motor vehicle collisions. But either way, not big numbers. We as a society can cope with it.

Re: Velvet Glove, Iron Fist: The thirdhand smoke grift

Mark Wadsworth — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 04:42:49 -0000

"I quite like the idea of the half-witted hypochondriacs of California obsessively scrubbing every surface of their home to get rid of trace levels of chemicals that are even less dangerous than the cleaning products they're using"

You saved the best til last!

Re: Velvet Glove, Iron Fist: ASH claims that over a million people have quit smoking

Mark Wadsworth — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 10:12:43 -0000

I love the photo, he's wearing a face mask (as a nod to public health) but has pulled it down so he can smoke.

Re: Velvet Glove, Iron Fist: Smoking and COVID-19: evidence update

Mark Wadsworth — Mon, 04 May 2020 08:27:40 -0000

splendid stuff, keep up the good work, although it will get harder once the people compiling the stats realise they show the opposite of what they want them to show :-)

Re: Humanity Is No Longer A Priority For the NHS | Dick Puddlecote

Mark Wadsworth — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 11:22:18 -0000

"Car parks. You know, where cars spew out deadly exhaust fumes that can kill in minutes in the wrong circumstances. Remember when it was about the vague 'perils' of secondhand smoke ... in enclosed places? Those days are long gone."

Aye. They have gone completely mental.

Re: Brexit: it's a deal, Jim…

Mark Wadsworth — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 08:46:00 -0000

Excellent summary! let's hope it doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

Re: Did Banning Lead Lower Crime?

Mark Wadsworth — Tue, 14 May 2019 02:37:53 -0000

What makes the lead/crime link more plausible is that this was a world wide phenomenon.

The abortion/crime link is plausible but more specific to USA or Romania (examples in the book).

Re: Stamp duty is making the housing crisis even worse

Mark Wadsworth — Wed, 08 May 2019 04:22:25 -0000

Yup. Let's make a start by replacing council tax, business rates, SDLT and inheritance tax with a national Land Value Tax.

Re: Private: Getting your Head around the Universal Basic Income

Mark Wadsworth — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 10:32:39 -0000

Good write up, thanks.

Re: At long last, economists appreciate that private debt was the catalyst for the crisis

Mark Wadsworth — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 07:18:45 -0000

How is this news? People first pointed out the 18-year credit/land price bubble/bust cycle a century ago. Fred Harrison predicted the 2007-08 credit crunch back in 1997.

Re: The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Royal Fashion Awards: Crown Prince Frederik’s Birthday Banquet

Mark Wadsworth — Mon, 28 May 2018 03:54:16 -0000

I don't know what "boob shelf" means, so I scrolled back up to look at the dress but I am none the wiser.

Can you explain what "boob shelf" means, please?

Re: Shania Twain - your cowardice in the face of the liberal mob don't impress me much - TomWinnifrith.com

Mark Wadsworth — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 02:52:16 -0000

"I've always hard a soft spot for Shania Twain"

Is that a typo or a clever play on words

All I can say is, I like some of her songs and will continue to like them, regardless of the events of this article. She seems to have a sense of humour and looks nice.

Re: A universal basic income could be a price worth paying to cut regulations

Mark Wadsworth — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 09:32:01 -0000

excellent summary

Couple of minor niggles - for a start, no serious worked through calculation ever said £10,000 a year, a better starting figure is £4,000 or so, which could be 'funded' by abolishing most working age, non-disability and non-housing related welfare and the tax-free personal allowance. That would not require tax increases and surprisingly few people would see a noticeable difference in their weekly income (after paying tax and receiving UBI). But it has all the merits of simplicity and getting the government off people's backs.

And mathematically, you are wrong about negative income tax, it is in fact the same as UBI.

Re: Oxfam would rather make us all poorer than feed the world

Mark Wadsworth — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 09:51:52 -0000

You clearly haven't read the report or the recommendations. Oxfam's report is not anti-capitalist or anti-free market, it is pillorying rent seeking, cronyism, corporatism, land grabs, protections for the already wealthy etc. But that's what you Neo Lib's are paid to defend, isn't it?

Re: The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Readers' Favorite Outfits of 2017, Day Division: Place Your Votes!

Mark Wadsworth — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 05:27:35 -0000

True. 7 is just 6 with extra big sleeves sewn on.

Re: The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Readers' Favorite Outfits of 2017, Day Division: Place Your Votes!

Mark Wadsworth — Sat, 30 Dec 2017 18:54:56 -0000

Thanks for going to so much bother.

6 and 7 look very similar to me.

Re: The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Monday Tidbits for December 4: Decking the Palace Halls

Mark Wadsworth — Sun, 10 Dec 2017 08:55:29 -0000

Frederik and Mary are doing candles. Tricky, take ages to light and just as long to put out again. What's wrong with fairy lights?

Re: With free trade, the Irish border is an issue for the EU, not the UK

Mark Wadsworth — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 14:57:01 -0000

Great stuff. Unilateral trade solves a shed load of perceived problems.

Re: The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Royal Fashion Awards: Prince Gabriel’s Christening

Mark Wadsworth — Sun, 03 Dec 2017 01:06:09 -0000

"I have one, and I can't say I look good in it" that's a very honest thing to say 😀