France has a massive debt crisis. So why is it spending billions a year subsidising business? | Alexander Hurst
Happy open-minded countryside living Urban Elite, European. Interests: addressing the UN SDGs & climate change. Glad to be woke.
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France has a massive debt crisis. So why is it spending billions a year subsidising business? | Alexander Hurst
I should have had my coffee before putting down line four. Wordle 1,536 5/6 🟨⬛⬛🟨⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
On average across Europe since the late-1990s, the headline tax environment facing high earners and wealth holders has eased: corporate rates are much lower; many wealth-tax bases were scrapped or narrowed; and top PIT rates are generally below their 2000 levels. Just think about this for a moment.
I think more people have been praying for something else for Trump, and it ain't jail. Considering today's rumours about his health, they may be working.
Will Sam Coates be giving any attention to the Green Party leadership results tomorrow if it was Reform that they would get an entire week, including leadership hustings Yet for the other smaller parties they get sweet FA from both Sky and the BBC Maybe time to ask questions in the Hoc
And Badenoch is a woman and not white, Pritti Patel was a woman and not white, and Braverman was a woman and not white. It doesn't matter what their skin colour is, or their sex, it's what they can do to help the country become a better place for everyone.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has announced a 10-point plan to prepare the country for the climate emergency, warning: “If we don’t want to bequeath our children a Spain that’s grey from fire and flames, or a Spain that’s brown from floods, then we need a Spain that’s greener.”
Most people in the US live near the coast or the Great Lakes; connect them up, as that is all you need.
That's the difference here, the train is half the time of driving and in some instances, as it's city centre to city centre, the same time as a short-haul flight. Additionally, the short-haul flights between Rome and Milan ceased operation as they couldn't compete with the high-speed trains.
In Europe fast trains go beyond international boundaries. With the current huge infrastructure builds for the Trans-European Networks going ahead with base tunnels through the Alps, Rail Baltica and the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link things are going to get faster here. As Sam said, it's an American thing
Who is pushing this line that "Taxpayers are being told refugees are being housed at Taxpayers' expense...."? It's the right-leaning media that are owned by a few very rich people.
This point is moving away from the topic of discussion and seems to be just you attacking the UK. There are no utopias; there is no perfect society.
The billionaires will fight any targeting of their wealth, and this is where popular fronts will need to be strong to push through legal changes. The Brexit Leave campaign was heavily bankrolled by a small number of very wealthy donors; flag-shaggers don't understand they've been played.
and it has continued to worsen over time.
He is an ex-PM and did some good things for the country.
Iraq, on the other hand, was illegal, which is why France kept out of it.
We need to tax the rich.
In strict Charter terms, the opening phase of the Afghan invasion was not an authorised “invasion”, but it was widely treated by states and the Council as lawful collective self-defence against the 9/11 armed attacks. The longer campaign then rested on explicit Security Council mandates.
Sorry Otto, I'm slipping this in here as it is significant, but no one is talking about it?
The flag-shagggers will be the first to be in the boats, as they're a selfish bunch and won't hang around to try an fix the mess they created.
Imagine being so ‘patriotic’ you spend your Saturday vandalising roundabouts like Temu Banksy. NHS underfunded, schools crumbling, but don’t worry — we’ve got freshly glossed patriotism between Tesco and the A46.
I'm in France, and my local station, serving a town of 25,000 people, has a fast TGV train (300km/h) to central Paris every two hours and many local trains to neighbours larger towns. The US train system needs to be redeveloped.
And that is the problem. The US train network has been in decline since the 50s, to the point where it's now largely ineffective as a comprehensive transportation system. In Europe, there has been a resurgence in rail use, with freight now realising the cost benefits of shifting from road to rail.
The problem will come when they start using words spelt phonetically.
I got it. Wordle 1,535 3/6 🟨⬛🟩⬛⬛ ⬛🟨⬛🟩🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Next you'll see the far right media saying they're political prisoners
They have been arrested at least. www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/crime/r...
'Awright ma ....' Wordle 1,534 4/6 🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛ ⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨 ⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
It is a realisation that this is happening. It's just another form of advertising and has been used in politics since the beginning of society.
Yet when the pro-EU demonstrations were happening with millions of people across the country asking for a second referendum, you didn't hear so much from the media as you do now. We're being led.
It's just mob rule. If you can influence' the people', then they'll do your will. Why do you think offshore billionaires own loss-making newspapers?
It's a good one today. Wordle 1,533 4/6 🟨⬛🟩⬛⬛ ⬛🟩⬛⬛🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Good luck
Something the US government doesn't do Wordle 1,532 4/6 🟨🟩🟩⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
I couldn't see this for ages. Wordle 1,531 3/6 🟨⬛⬛🟩⬛ ⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
#SanDiego Meet Pickles & Socks a beautiful bonded pair of sisters. They were sadly dumped in my neighborhood, both found under car hoods. They are approximately 2 months old & need a loving home together. Pickles gets very sad if her sister is too far from her. If you're interested, please reply
Definitely don't repost the research that anti-wind groups are trying to bury using lawsuits www.climatedevlab.brown.edu/services-1 drive.google.com/file/d/1TAZw...
It's behind a paywall.
Make Sure Everyone Knows 😊💙 HOLY S**T look at this: Florida GOP Senator Rick Scott just quietly disclosed stock trades a year late – worth $26 MILLION – on companies HE LEGISLATED. 😳 This is corrupt to its core, and he's hoping no one will notice. You know what to do.
"Food and energy has gone from 15% to 20%... people can't spend on all the other things in the economy to drive growth" Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy, on the share of household budgets taken up by food and energy costs. #Newsnight
@bbcnewsnight.bsky.social please tell BBC News we’re sick of 4 MP Party Reform being rammed down our throats daily with drivel like this👇🏼report The @libdems.org.uk have 72 MPs, Greens 4, SNP 9 but they don’t get a look in 🤷🏼♂️ Soon BBC News will report what Farage has for breakfast 🙄
Yes, very true.
I wasn't looking at the clue in line four and wasted a line. Wordle 1,529 6/6 ⬛⬛🟨⬛🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟨🟩🟨🟨 ⬛🟨🟩🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
I think it was probably, I hadn't thought of the other words. 😀
The only word that could fit, that I could think of Wordle 1,528 4/6 🟨🟨⬛🟨⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
I nearly had it in three. Wordle 1,527 4/6 ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟩🟨🟩 🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
#SpotTheScammer #SpotTheBot @bailey1985.bsky.social - YAWN... yet another bot with a pic of a petite golf playing Asian woman in the bio. @moderation.bsky.app sort this out please. There are hundreds of them
❗️We will not give our land to the occupiers, – Zelenskyy during the celebrations of the National Flag Day in Kyiv. He also emphasized that the security of democratic countries is possible only together with a strong Ukraine.
this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like
This is less apparent in the US at the moment. Wordle 1,526 4/6 ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩 ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Yes, it is.
An easier one today. Wordle 1,525 4/6 🟨🟨🟨⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
CCS is a money pit and will never work.
"CCC is deeply conservative on near-term changes to consumption norms, while embracing dangerously optimistic projections of future carbon removal technologies" Important #ClimateEmergency conclusions. Relying on fantasy #CCS indefensible theconversation.com/the-uks-year...
Me too, it still makes me so sad when I remember it.
It is very nearly the tenth anniversary of that brief moment when, for 2 or 3 days, British newspapers remembered refugees are desperate human beings who need our help, rather than scum that it's okay to threaten with violence.
It may have something to do with Brexit, just a thought.
‘They should be ashamed’: Green backsliding is wrecking Europe, EU’s first climate chief warns #EuropeanUnion https://www.politico.eu/article/green-backsliding-eu-climate-chief-connie-hedegaard-brussels-politics/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication
The days of easy Wordel's seems to be over. Wordle 1,524 5/6 🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟨🟨⬛🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟨🟩🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
You don't see this often Wordle 1,523 5/6 ⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛ ⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟩🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
🇫🇷 Macron calls for a "quadrilateral meeting" involving Putin, Trump, Zelensky, and the Europeans.
In case you aren’t paying attention to the latest in Texas… She has since been given “permission” to go to her office inside the Capitol building but is still not being permitted to leave the building without a police escort. Reminder: She has broken zero laws.
cool as a cucumber Wordle 1,522 4/6 ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ 🟨⬛⬛⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Trump is reminding me more and more of Rowley Birkin QC from The Fast Show. youtu.be/1Cwyq3XWeHE?...
And this sort of behaviour has been going on for years, and the Israeli authorities turn a blind eye to it. www.bbc.com/news/article...
I will post this everyday to remind us. She’s was always right!
I didn't think this was a problem, but it did take me a little while Wordle 1,521 4/6 ⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛ ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟩 ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
An easy one today Wordle 1,520 4/6 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟨🟨🟩⬛ ⬛🟨⬛⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
I could steer the car and get it into a layby and out of traffic.
I had a very scary situation yesterday in my @kia.fr EV6. The Motor Control System failed, andat he time I was driving at 130km/h on the autoroute. No power at all. I was lucky not to be in a crash.
Again, not a word I use every day, but not hard. Wordle 1,519 4/6 🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩 ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
A close one. Wordle 1,518 6/6 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛ ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
It's not a "less liberal government" but one that realises it has less power than back then, with social media controlled by large-scale bot farms and the media supporting a far-right agenda. The hollowing out of our institutions over the past 14 years under the Tories didn't help either.
The three short months between VE Day in May and VJ day in August changed the contours of the postwar world, reshaping British politics, the map of Europe and the future of conflict in a new nuclear age. My column ahead of tomorrow's 80th anniversary commemorations www.easterneye.biz/vj-day-india...
I should have gone with the obscure on line five. Wordle 1,517 5/6 ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨 ⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
I wouldn’t call it a conjuring trick; the point is these incidents do occur, and they’re part of a wider pattern in how the media frames them. It's an example highlighted by Femi, as we saw last year in the Southport murders. However, linking sources helps keep the focus on the facts.
Did the film that came out last year, Civil War (2024), predict what'll happen in the coming years?
I've never even heard this word before. Wordle 1,516 5/6 ⬛🟨⬛🟩⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨🟩⬛🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
No, it hasn't run its course as the story is relevant. The media are still pushing inflammatory rhetoric backing the Reform agenda. Why they are doing this is another question.
This hits the point, over and over.
This is so true and it's worth saying.
Reskeeting with Alt Text so everyone can read this quote from Tressie McMillan Cottom in the NY Times
It comes from NHS and public health teams saying: "We should write leaflets and websites at a reading age of 9–11 so that the majority of adults, including those with low literacy, can understand them."
That exact NHS quote is “The average reading age of adults in the UK is 9–11 years old” is from health literacy guidance, and in that context “reading age” is a document design benchmark, not a national literacy measurement. Talk about lack of comprehension.
Estonia sounds a chilling historical alarm ahead of the Trump – Putin summit — likening it to Munich 1938, when appeasement unleashed devastation.
Show me the quote where it says that as I've shown you many where you are wrong.
I've also put the same figures in a table, as you might not be able to understand maths.
"Adults in England scored, on average, 272 points in literacy, significantly above the OECD average of 260 points." (Page 7) That's GSCE level, aged 16
I quoted from the very same report you gave me, showing you were wrong. "In England, 18% of adults were defined as having low proficiency in literacy, compared with 26% across the OECD, on average. Adults with low proficiency were those whose scores placed them at PIAAC Level 1 or below." (Page 8)
England is above the OECD average and near the top in the G7
To follow up on the figures in the report you posted. On the PIAAC scale, England’s average literacy score of 272 works out to an estimated reading age of about 16, essentially GCSE level, not 11.
You weren't good at those reading skills in the end, were you? 🤣 Probably one of the 18%.
So you don't even read your own report. You just spout Daily Fail-like tripe of figures that aren't supported. Even when you post a report that includes the figures, I show you in the same report that you're wrong; 18% is not the average. You may need maths classes as well. A good day to you, also
The MSM reports are aimed at these low-attaining readers, as they are the ones easily swayed, but remember, they are a minority. Now it's up to the majority to reclaim the narrative.
You can't read as I showed in the quotes from the very same report you posted.
Also, "Young people (16–24 year olds) in England had significantly improved literacy and numeracy scores compared with young people in 2012." So much for declining standards
Also, "Adults in England scored, on average, 272 points in literacy, significantly above the OECD average of 260 points." So you may want to do some reading also.
You may want to read it - "In England, 18% of adults were defined as having low proficiency in literacy, compared with 26% across the OECD, on average. Adults with low proficiency were those whose scores placed them at PIAAC Level 1 or below." As I said, a minority.