Utopia, you are standing in it!

Image credit: sustainable-bus.com H/T JohnM
One bus…30 fire fighters. Best wear running shoes and travel light if boarding such a vehicle. This has happened before.
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Dozens of electric buses will be taken off the streets of Paris temporarily “as a precaution” after two of the vehicles caught fire, public transport operator RATP said on Friday. The Local – France reporting.

Following a second blaze on Friday morning, in which no one was hurt, “RATP has taken the decision to suspend use of 149 electric buses” of manufacturer Bollore’s Bluebus 5SE model, the state-owned company said.

The number 71 bus that caught fire in southeast Paris early on Friday released thick clouds of black smoke and a strong smell of burning plastic, according to an AFP journalist on the scene.

“The bus driver immediately evacuated all the passengers. Nobody was hurt,” RATP said, while the city…

Stardate: 1709 (2266)
Original Air Date: December 15, 1966
Writer: Paul Schneider
Director: Vincent McEveety

“In a different reality… I could have called you friend.”

“Balance of Terror” is an absolute classic of early Trek. This brilliant episode examines the true cost of war and asks us to consider who we consider to be “barbarians.” “Balance of Terror” opens with a charming wedding scene between two crewmen –Ensign Angela Martine (Barbara Baldavin) and Lt. Robert Tomlinson (Stephen Mines). Kirk is set to officiate the wedding, however in truth something more sinister is lurking behind the scenes. Spock privately notifies the Captain that two outposts (Earth Outposts 2 and 3) have mysteriously gone silent, and now the Enterprise is headed toward Outpost 4. Kirk hides his consternation and begins officiating the wedding ceremony anyway:

“Since the days of the first wooden vessels, all ship masters…

Since I’m a big fan of spending caps, I’m very happy to be in Zurich as part of the Free Market Road Show.

Switzerland’s spending cap (called “the debt brake“) is probably the best system in the world. It does have an escape clause for emergencies, so the government did increase spending during the pandemic.

But as this chart illustrates, Swiss lawmakers were much more responsible than their American counterparts. Over the past few years, IMF data shows that the national debt (as a share of GDP) increased by about 3.4 percent in Switzerland compared to 12.8 percent in the United States.

Even more amazing, Switzerland is now quickly restoring spending restraint.

Indeed, as reported by Le News, Switzerland already is going to be back to fiscal balance by the end of this year.

The Covid-19 pandemic plunged Switzerland’s budget into the red in 2020…

Edward IV (April 1442 – April 9, 1483) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from March 4, 1461 to October 3, 1470, then again from April 11, 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England fought between the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions between 1455 and 1487.

Edward was born on April 28, 1442 at Rouen in Normandy, eldest surviving son of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville. Until his father’s death, he was known as the Earl of March. Both his parents were direct descendants of King Edward III, giving Edward a potential claim to the throne. This was strengthened in 1447, when York became heir to the childless King Henry VI on the death of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester.

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester was the fourth and youngest son…

There’s a lot of good stuff to chew on in this Hollywood Reporter take on Netflix hitting the wall, this time from a content quality and quantity point of view.

They greenlit an insane number of series and movies, threw a lot of money at people who either knew how to indulge themselves in spending it, or have no business spending it in the first place.

Spielberg and I have been saying that for years.

Kim Masters’ piece on their reckoning is here, schadenfreude and all. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/netflixs-big-wake-up-call-the-power-clash-behind-the-crash-1235136004/