I am an IT bod with a mountain rescue team in the UK. Personally I would bin starlink in a heartbeat. I dislike Elon, I dislike the privatisation of satellite garbage. The impact it had on the night sky, on astronomy. I dislike the pettish for abuse from a fascist American oligarchy and government.

However… For now it is by far the single best option when cell communications are out of range.

Constrained supply

But there are empty properties now. There is supply. House prices are too high for all of the property to be affordable. That is because property as an appreciating investment is valuable. You can only live in one house, to buy multiple properties and have that appreciated investment, you are a landlord.

Low interest rates

allow you to buy a property. They allow people investing in housing to buy many. It results in the above.

Banks pushing bigger mortgages

Sure

Help to buy

Allows affordable housing to become an investment. See my first point.

Rich people were losing to much money

Yep, some of those people were landlords who were finding city prices dropping.

Clearly landlord culture isn’t the “only” problem. But fuck me it’s a big part of the issue.

Ban landlord culture and property prices drop.

Kinda sucks for those already with a mortgage. Defending rental culture because someone might lose out now only guarantees that an ever increasing majority lose out in the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZTGwcHQfLY

In short … America (and largely europe) no longer makes dies for things. We’ve even exported the knowledge of the die making process.

“Made in America” “Made in the UK” “Made in France” all mean largely the same thing. Imported materials, imported dies, imported components assembled in “<x>”

Which flag do we use for English?

I won’t allow the stars and stripes

cough Vietnam cough

America should really be the country that knows it’s massive superpower isn’t enough against an unwilling guerilla

Manure or rock, sure. I get that.

Plywood or sheet rock, standard sizes of sheet rock here in the UK for in a panel van and I have no worries about them getting wet out damaged en route.

Given the length limit of a truck bed, I can get much bigger things in a van then I could a truck.

Given your opinions are on the reasonable side of truck owners

What advantage does a truck have over a panel van for work use?

Yes I’m European. Yes I actually want a truck for some unknown social reason. But every time I look at trucks I think the beds are either too small or I think my shit is going to get wet back there. An enclosed panel van has a bigger converted storage area.

I’m not saying we should…

But negative tariffs on eggs coming out of the USA and ridiculous tariffs on eggs going into the USA would tickle my funny bone

You’re crediting him with far too much competence.

His handler has said he has to continue, and he’ll obey

Or calling the NHS expensive and inneficient. Underfunding it would be extremism as well.