This is totally NSFW, if you’re a dragonfly. It may also cause depression among male viewers. If you’re absolutely sure you can handle XXX-rated dragonfly action, then click on the pleasant picture below to peek through the leafy window and into the dragonfly boudoir.
(Pics taken this afternoon in the botanical gardens of Victoria Park, Bath, with a Fuji Finepix F70 EXR compact digital camera.)
We're almost done with the politics stuff, viewers. Normal WoSblog service will be resumed shortly, but first I thought I might as well share with you an email I received this morning.
Back on Monday, when uncertainty still ruled as to who'd be forming the next government, the website 38 Degrees invited its users to send emergency emails to Labour MPs, urging them not to block any potential "progressive alliance" by vowing to vote against electoral reform, as many threatened to.
The momentum behind a Lib-Lab coalition seems at the time of writing to be slipping away, as one braindead Labour MP or grandee after another comes out to argue against it in front of an eager media. If Labour's 1983 election manifesto was the longest suicide note in history, today's collected BBC News interviews could be among the shortest.
Because here's what happens if Labour retards like David Blunkett, John Reid, Tom Harris and Wee Dougie Alexander scupper this agreement.
1. That the Tories hadn’t offered the Lib Dems anything on electoral reform. The sudden, desperate and resentful least-possible offer of a referendum on the absolutely useless AV (which does almost nothing for the Lib Dems) was a panic reaction to Brown’s game-changing resignation.
At least, it’s statistically probable that you do. The majority – 53% – of votes cast by the British electorate last Thursday were worthless, because they were cast for candidates who didn’t win, and are therefore simply thrown in the bin by the First Past The Post electoral system.
So if you were one of the thousands of people locked out of polling stations across the country on Thursday night, don’t fret too much. Your vote would probably have been completely ignored anyway.
Because the aim was a hung parliament, and we got just about the hung-est parliament possible. The Tories need the Lib Dems to form a majority, Labour needs nearly everyone to form a majority, and the smallest parties could yet have the crucial say. Wow, that's hung. But what now?
I haven't been to bed yet. I may be cranky. But with over 90% of results in, it's not really possible to draw any conclusions from last night's election other than (a) almost everyone in Britain is a pathetic, brainless cretin, and (b) everything about our "democracy" is a sick black joke at our expense.
With just two days until an election that could mark either one of the greatest days in British political history or one of the blackest, we're all a bit nervous about the future. But one thing that's great for easing tension is free cash, and that's what appears to be on offer from Stan James this week.
The terrifying image above is Ladbrokes' predicted map of the UK come Friday morning. (You can find much more detail on it here.) It makes a few questionable assertions and contradicts itself in a number of places (eg Glasgow East), but where's the money?
So the debates are over. We've heard at great length from three right-wing politicians, offering us three slightly different flavours of right-wing policies. No alternative voices were permitted.
And the really troubling thing about this election is that that means NOBODY is speaking for the majority of the British population. It almost certainly means that nobody is speaking for you. Which, you might think, is a pretty odd way to be running a supposed democracy.
Hatey McHateface on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “Just for a moment there, Alf, I thought you had a serious point to make. I guess the joke’s on…” Aug 25, 17:19
Alf Baird on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: ““What a chump was Swinney to accept the Smith Commission crap.” Yes, Swinney also tells the SNP faithful he is…” Aug 25, 17:15
sarah on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “@ sam: interesting stuff re Barnett and Caithness. Thanks for posting.” Aug 25, 16:53
sam on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “Over the period 2010 to 2019 austerity cuts led to a reduction of about £540 billion. Local government funding and…” Aug 25, 16:43
Aidan on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “@Sam – the funding received under the Barnett formula is consolidated though, so it’s up to the Scottish Government how…” Aug 25, 15:29
James on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “But Scotland will still be artificially ‘poor’. All part of the Onion dividend.” Aug 25, 14:46
Alf Baird on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: ““How did the imperial UK construct prove its immorality yesterday?” So many examples, Hatey, you’re obviously not paying attention to…” Aug 25, 14:34
sam on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “https://caithness-business.co.uk/article/32159 “What a needs?based formula actually means A needs?based formula allocates funding according to measurable indicators of need, not just…” Aug 25, 14:23
Captain Caveman on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: ““That it?” I’m betting that’s a phrase you’ve heard quite often.” Aug 25, 13:25
sam on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “Neither of us can say with truth if the Formula meets the needs of Scotland. Here is the abstract from…” Aug 25, 12:37
James on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “Jappy; “As a civil servant in London in the 1960s, and being part of the establishment, I always accepted the…” Aug 25, 12:34
James on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “As I posted earlier. “Disingenuous Adrian”. But hey, worth a try, champ.” Aug 25, 12:31
Spartan 117 on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “Fada bho abhainn an t-sluaigh, as a favourite band of mine sang back in 1991. Zero understanding of the world…” Aug 25, 12:16
gm on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “Swinney was warned, by trained honest people, that the Smith Commission was a miserable effort at containment, nothing more and…” Aug 25, 12:00
Aidan on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “Actually James, it’s you trying to post in “scotch”, by which I mean the incoherent meaningless ramblings of someone who…” Aug 25, 11:21
Captain Caveman on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “”Aw, Adrian’s trying to post in Scotch” Wait, what? “Adrian” (I think you meant Aidan) is trying to post in…” Aug 25, 11:06
Aidan on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “That’s absolutely right Sam, and one of Joel Barnett’s main criticism is that Scotland’s advantage was essentially baked into the…” Aug 25, 11:06
Hatey McHateface on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “I’m gonna refute that any plausible Scot ever refers to himself as Scotch. And I’m gonna question why you slipped…” Aug 25, 10:55
sam on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “Caithness Business Index “It is based on outdated population data The population share used in the formula is updated only…” Aug 25, 10:53
Hatey McHateface on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: ““Scotland’s energy prices are certainly the highest among all the energy-rich nations” But then you have to define “nation”, Alf.…” Aug 25, 10:50
sam on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “Barnett thought his Formula was “grossly unfair” due to inequalities in public spending. He thought it would be a temporary…” Aug 25, 10:48
James on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “Aw, Adrian’s trying to post in Scotch. Bless. Give it up. petal.” Aug 25, 10:40
James on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “We need a unionist troll, quick; post something disingenuous to refute that “100%Yes” post above, in case any Scotch get…” Aug 25, 10:36
Alf Baird on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: ““Scotland hasn’t got the highest energy prices in the world” We’ve been though this before Hatey yet you still appear…” Aug 25, 10:31
Hatey McHateface on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “Good post, Jay. Now, inch yourself to the very edge of the precipice, look boldly over the vertiginous, sheer drop,…” Aug 25, 10:28
sam on You’ll Have Had Your Supper: “Barnett Formula according to Caithness Business Index 1. It ignores Scotland’s needs The formula does not consider:Rurality; Island geography; Higher…” Aug 25, 10:26
Hatey McHateface on Before Action: “Thought you were already done. But I was wrong – you’re back again. Seemingly you want a Block function alongside…” Aug 25, 10:20
