Mark And Pete

On social media this week, Elmo – yes, the red fuzzy Sesame Street character – posed a question to his followers, with nothing but good intent. "Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?" the X page for Elmo posted. A barrage of responses – tens of thousands of them – were brutally honest and downright cynical about the dread people are feeling. What does this say about politics and society today? Mark and Pete have the answers.

The “Doomsday Clock” of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was kept at 90 seconds to midnight this week—the closest to midnight that the clock has been set since it was created in 1947. Midnight is defined by The Bulletin as “nuclear annihilation.” Is this the right approach? Mark and Pete have the answers.

Tata Steel will close its two blast furnaces in Britain by the end of this year, with the loss of up to 2,800 jobs at its Port Talbot steelworks in Wales. The closures are part of India-owned Tata Steel's plan to turn around its loss-making UK steelmaking business by switching to lower carbon electric arc furnaces. What should be done? Mark and Pete have the answers.

This scandal is hard to believe, it is that bad. Those in charge of the Post Office wanted to protect their bonuses, they didn’t want to make their own jobs a little more difficult, or admit that they might have made some errors. More junior staff just didn’t want to make a fuss, I suspect. Frankly, if they had come clean and said “look, the Fujitsu system is flawed, so maybe it is not the sub-postmasters fault”, then it would not really have been that big a deal. But out of greed, laziness and apathy, they were happy to see other lives destroyed.They should be ashamed of themselves. Mark and Pete have the answers.

It is now the case, as of 1 January 2024, that it is possible for individuals and companies to rework and use the earliest version of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. This is because the US copyright has expired in the earliest versions of the cartoon characters which were shown in the Steamboat Willie film. What does the mean for the future of Disney and its beloved characters?

On Sunday (31st Dec 23), London’s Big Ben commemorated the 100th anniversary of its New Year’s “bongs” being broadcast worldwide. Also the New Years honours list of knighthoods and the like was announced. Mark and Pete comment with a mix of jollity and abject horror.

Peering into our crystal ball for 2024, we predict that businesses will keep churning out AI tools, and that this will effect everything from wars to elections to religion to business opportunities. As ever Mark and Pete have the answers.

The true meaning of Christmas is found in a certain gift give to us by God. And in presents given and the presence of loved ones. Mark and Pete give the real meaning a business, religious and popular music perspective. Includes music by Mariah Careyhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0774P1WMN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_340_o00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

On Wednesday, the USGA and R&A released a wide-ranging and detailed look at distance in the game of golf, and specifically, how it’s changed over the years. It’s part of the governing bodies’ years-long investigation into whether technology in golf needs to be reigned-in. In sharing the findings, the duo makes clear that their focus is on “the longest hitters,” and not “impacting hitting distances for shorter hitters at the recreational level.”What's to be done? Mark and Pete have the answer.

Time magazine named US pop superstar Taylor Swift as its Person of the Year, calling the musical force of nature the "hero of her own story".Swift has smashed industry records this year with both her tour and the film of the globetrotting musical cavalcade that is estimated to bring in over $3 billion (US$2 billion) of revenue as her adoring fans flock to see her in the flesh.But is that really enough? Mark and Pete have the answer.

Seen as symbols of freedom in Greece, the Parthenon Marbles were controversially removed from the country by Elgin a British diplomat in a move which ignited a debate which has lasted for more than two centuries - and which could now be about to take another significant twist. What is to be done? Mark and Pete have the answers.

Poor weather around the world is likely to cause global wine production to drop to a six-decade low this year.The International Organisation of Vine and #Wine (OIV) says that wine production around the world is likely to be about 7% lower in 2023 than last year.Such a yield would be the worst since 1961.

The upcoming series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! has been hit by a last minute glitch weeks before the launch - with a huge star being asked to fly to Australia at the 11th hour to complete the line-up.

Carol Vorderman and Gary Lineker have been very vocal on social media, but only one of them have lost their job.The BBC’s announcement of an independent review of its social mediaguidelines was aimed at defusing the crisis over Gary Lineker’s tweets over government ministers’ language about its asylum policies and bring the presenter back into the fold, at least in the short term.However, the practicalities of creating a set of rules to rein in star behaviour, while avoiding accusations of stifling free speech, are far from straightforward. What is to be done: Mark and Pete have the answers.

Following a lot of hype—and a quarter century of work—“Now and Then,” presumably the last song to feature all four original Beatles, is here. Is AI the future?

The war on drugs has failed. Why, with cocaine smuggling at recorde "highs" what can be done. Mark and Pete weigh in.

With the recent by-election losses the Conservative party led by Rishi Sunak looks like it maybe in trouble at the next genereal election which would mean Keir Starmer replacing Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister. Is this a good thing? Who is better for Britain?

Europeans throw away 2 million tonnes of textiles each year. Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned. Many of us donate our unwanted clothes to charity shops & clothing collection banks - but do we really know what happens to them then? What is the solution?

Marc et Pierred enqueter. Paris is burning its luggage and bed linen as it battles a “scourge” of bedbugs, stoking fears of infestation around the world as pest controllers report an uptick in inquiries and transport operators and hoteliers seek to assuage concerns.The city of light is reportedly under siege from the nocturnal bloodsuckers, leading the French transport minister, Clément Beaune, to meet transport operators. “It’s a real nightmare,” says Yacine, a schoolteacher in Paris who declined to give his surname. “I’m so afraid to take the Métro, I don’t go to the cinema – it’s very alarmant.” Marc et Pierre enquêter

The world famous Sycamore Gap tree may regrow after being felled in a shocking act of vandalism, but it will take years to reach any height and is unlikely to be as “statuesque” as before.The sycamore, which was in the 1991 Kevin Costner hit Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, was one of the world’s most photographed trees. People had got engaged under it, loved-ones’ ashes were scattered at its base, but the 108ft tree next to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland was felled overnight on Wednesday. `Mark and Pete investigate