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It’s a 12.5% betting chance that Putin will be out by May 1st – politicalbetting.com

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  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,475

    VOT:

    PB collective:

    I missed this last night

    https://www.channel4.com/programmes/michael-mosley-who-made-britain-fat

    I'd presumed it would be on a catchup service.... I was wrong. Any ideas on how to find E01?


    Channel 4-7 Tue 15 Mar 3:40am - 4:40am according to RT (Radio Times). Whether it will be online after that is anyone's guess.
    Cheers. I'll dig out the tv and set it to record. Its a shame its not so easily accessible. Although I'm glad I don't have to wait for the box set!
    All4 can be a bit of a maze but they do catch up by day, and Mosley's programme seems to be available from yesterday's schedule.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 17,337
    Taz said:

    HYUFD said:

    61% now see Nuclear War as one of the most likely causes of human extinction, as it takes a clear lead over global warming in second

    Nuclear War 61% (+18%)
    Global Warming 41% (-1%)
    Pandemic 29% (-1%)
    Meteor 25% (nc)
    Volcano 18% (-5%)
    Bees dying out 16% (nc)

    https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1501893049089150976?s=20&t=U5v3vnWGKdUFKBfAaHOnNA

    Volcano is an interesting one.

    The Yellowstone Caldera will go up one day and this one I read about recently caused cooling for 100 years

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toba_catastrophe_theory
    The volcano one is the only one we can't do anything to prevent or ameliorate. If a big enough volcano goes off, and we don't have a self-sustaining outpost off-planet, then it's all over.

    Close enough supernova is in the same category, except we'd need to have spread considerably further from Earth to survive it.
  • BigRichBigRich Posts: 3,489

    BigRich said:

    Nigelb said:

    Interesting if true.
    Odesa Military Administration rep says that squadrons of the Russian Black Sea Fleet withdrew from Odesa to occupied Crimea and postponed a landing on the Odesa coast
    https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1501921361106771969

    A munity on a battleship was one of the triggering points of the Russian revolution...

    And Odessa featured in the story.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_battleship_Potemkin
    Yes, but it was the 1905 revelation not the more fames 1917 revelations.

    Also a transformative film came out of it, which while not an accurate portrayal of the events of the munity was I believe the first time a Montage was used.
    Isn't that the one with the baby's pram going down steps?

    Good point about the timing: but it's part of the revolution's folklore (hence the film).
    Yes, that's right it had a baby in a pram going down steps. At the time it was made it was a real masterpiece in cinematography. The director had done his own thing and not at all what the propaganda department has asked for, but when they watched it they were so impressed that, that they used the directors cut.

    the real history is completely different form the film, but as it was an event many had heard about the soviets needed to 'change history' to make it fit the new narrative.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 68,412
    .

    Lol, incoming 'Oborne was always a crank'.

    'Russia-Ukraine war: Jeremy Corbyn was right all along about Putin and his oligarchs

    ..In this column I will defend the former Labour leader against these latest attacks.

    There are three good reasons for coming to the rescue of this failed politician whose time as a major player in British politics is over.
    The first is a simple matter of putting the record straight. Corbyn's leadership of Labour was defined by one slur and lie against him after another. The lies have started again and simple decency suggests they should be rebutted.
    The second is that the Tory Party and Labour establishment have their reasons for taking aim at Corbyn. He gives them an alibi. For the Tories and the Labour establishment, mocking Corbyn distracts from their own long-lived collaboration with Vladimir Putin and his oligarchs.
    The third reason is the most important of all. The smearing of Jeremy Corbyn tells us there is something very wrong about contemporary public discourse. The former Labour leader may be a dissident, but he speaks with deep knowledge of foreign affairs. We need more such dissident voices, not less.'

    https://twitter.com/OborneTweets/status/1501934856682426372?s=20&t=7SkCLRGPnOja-TiRdlGFpw

    "Fewer, not less !" incoming.
  • The government is set to permit the sale of Chelsea as long as Roman Abramovich does not receive a single penny.

    Ministers have granted a special licence to allow Chelsea to continue to operate and are expected to approve a second licence until the end of the season which would allow a sale but only under tight restrictions. It does delay the planned sale, which could have gone through next week.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chelsea-sale-back-on-table-but-roman-abramovich-won-t-receive-a-penny-76g75l75s
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 31,266

    VOT:

    PB collective:

    I missed this last night

    https://www.channel4.com/programmes/michael-mosley-who-made-britain-fat

    I'd presumed it would be on a catchup service.... I was wrong. Any ideas on how to find E01?


    Channel 4-7 Tue 15 Mar 3:40am - 4:40am according to RT (Radio Times). Whether it will be online after that is anyone's guess.
    Cheers. I'll dig out the tv and set it to record. Its a shame its not so easily accessible. Although I'm glad I don't have to wait for the box set!
    I sent a tweet asking why it wasn't available on the catch-up service.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 31,266
    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    "Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western leaders have gone out of their way to condemn Putin and express their solidarity with the victims of the conflict. And yet, one cannot help but suspect that behind closed doors they are raising toasts to the Russian President.

    After all, this war is nothing less than a godsend for Western elites. Domestically, it is a well-known fact that periods of international crisis or war tend to bolster the popularity of a country’s government or political leaders (the rally-around-the-flag effect) — especially if the country in question doesn’t actually have boots on the ground, and therefore coffins returning home, in which case it’s all gain and no pain."

    https://unherd.com/2022/03/america-has-won-europes-war/

    Thanks for that. I enjoy your Unherd links even though I rarely agree.
    He asserts "Biden, Macron, Johnson and Trudeau have all been performing abysmally in the polls".
    Is that true?
    Every poll for years shows Macron re-elected. Trudeau just has been.
    Boris is behind, but only recently and not greatly for a mid-term incumbent.
    Biden's polling is poor, but again, not unprecedentedly so.
    He then asserts this to be because of authoritarian responses to COVID. The only surprise is how well most governments popularity held up.
    The rest seems to be a thinly veiled attempt to show how the West forced Putin to invade to shore up domestic support.
    In short. Usual bollocks.
    I thought this article was mostly wrongheaded but it was interesting to read nonetheless.
  • On behalf of all football fans could Abu Dhabi/UAE and Saudi Arabia launch an unprovoked invasion of some country please.
  • MattW said:

    Did PP just do a mini reverse-ferret on Visas?

    Progress. Of a sort.

    Patel seems under attack by the cabinet and her future must be as a back bencher, the sooner the better
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 31,266
    edited March 2022

    Leon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    All the Russians I have met REALLY enjoy a western-style consumer society. They LOVE western products, fashions, etc (tho I guess some can be replaced by China), they adore escaping the Russian winter and going on hols to the tropics

    Quite the thread, about Lavrov's stepdaugther, living the life in London. https://twitter.com/pevchikh/status/1501878715709632518
    Illuminating

    And yes, Russians like that will already be cursing Putin. But it won't stop with the kids-of-oligarchs, it will soon be any middle class Russian with any aspirations. Putin has fucked their dreams
    There are a number of rich Russians children at both my daughters schools.

    There are all (according to my daughters), extremely woke, despise the whole Russian system and bang on about the "revolution"

    I presume that comes after they have finished spending Daddies money, but I'm not sure that Putin & Co. have reckoned on what comes next....
    It's easy to say all the right things regarding being Woke, without having any intention of actually doing anything. Talking in general, not specifically.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 17,337

    On behalf of all football fans could Abu Dhabi/UAE and Saudi Arabia launch an unprovoked invasion of some country please.

    Both busy with Yemen, I believe.

    They'd have to attack someone we didn't want them to attack (so Iran wouldn't count).
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 56,139
    Andy_JS said:

    Leon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    All the Russians I have met REALLY enjoy a western-style consumer society. They LOVE western products, fashions, etc (tho I guess some can be replaced by China), they adore escaping the Russian winter and going on hols to the tropics

    Quite the thread, about Lavrov's stepdaugther, living the life in London. https://twitter.com/pevchikh/status/1501878715709632518
    Illuminating

    And yes, Russians like that will already be cursing Putin. But it won't stop with the kids-of-oligarchs, it will soon be any middle class Russian with any aspirations. Putin has fucked their dreams
    There are a number of rich Russians children at both my daughters schools.

    There are all (according to my daughters), extremely woke, despise the whole Russian system and bang on about the "revolution"

    I presume that comes after they have finished spending Daddies money, but I'm not sure that Putin & Co. have reckoned on what comes next....
    It's easy to say all the right things regarding being Woke, without actually having any intention to do anything.
    Kids will also tend to glom onto whatever is fashionable. What they believe when they are 25 and are directly affected by this stuff may be different.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 56,139

    On behalf of all football fans could Abu Dhabi/UAE and Saudi Arabia launch an unprovoked invasion of some country please.

    And Stan Kronke. Perhaps he could declare war on Andorra.
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,460
    Aslan said:



    I haven't traveled as much as you but I have done a fair bit, and I am struck by how this is true virtually everywhere. Whether it's pretty wealthy Costa Ricans or dirt poor Ethiopians, all of them are Westernizing rapidly and want to be part of Western culture (even if they don't see it as "Western" themselves). The one massive exception to this is in many Muslim parts of the world, which seem to have a conscious rejection of Western fashion (with exceptions like Tunisia and Lebanon).

    When I had a few visits to China in my previous job I was asked several times about the prospects for various British football teams in the next season. They were shocked that I had no idea. I asked if they followed Chinese football with equal passion - they said nah, it was boring by comparison.
  • rcs1000 said:

    On behalf of all football fans could Abu Dhabi/UAE and Saudi Arabia launch an unprovoked invasion of some country please.

    And Stan Kronke. Perhaps he could declare war on Andorra.
    Arsenal are a joke club.

    £40,000,001 was the unimpeachable moment of small club syndrome.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 22,284

    If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 22,284

    dixiedean said:

    Football bod saying on Sky typical spend for EPL club on away travel to other EPL games is £30k. Puts into perspective what a totally different world players live in.

    What on Earth does that consist of?

    Doesn't strike me as very much. Assuming 30 people travel, spend of £1,000 per person for two night in a five star hotel including meals and other stuff. Easy to see how they reach £30k.
    Do premier league players even share rooms these day?
    I doubt it. Anything that risks making sleep harder to attain will surely be avoided.
    Other than Burley, they more than likely stay in a Travelodge specificly because you can have 4 in a room via those sofa beds....

    I've actually met Sean Dyche, he is a top bloke and super grounded. He is really big on players not thinking they are Billy Big Bollocks just because they play in the premier league.
    Sounds grim. I wouldn't be happy if my employer insisted I share a hotel room on a business trip.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 48,143
    rcs1000 said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Leon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    All the Russians I have met REALLY enjoy a western-style consumer society. They LOVE western products, fashions, etc (tho I guess some can be replaced by China), they adore escaping the Russian winter and going on hols to the tropics

    Quite the thread, about Lavrov's stepdaugther, living the life in London. https://twitter.com/pevchikh/status/1501878715709632518
    Illuminating

    And yes, Russians like that will already be cursing Putin. But it won't stop with the kids-of-oligarchs, it will soon be any middle class Russian with any aspirations. Putin has fucked their dreams
    There are a number of rich Russians children at both my daughters schools.

    There are all (according to my daughters), extremely woke, despise the whole Russian system and bang on about the "revolution"

    I presume that comes after they have finished spending Daddies money, but I'm not sure that Putin & Co. have reckoned on what comes next....
    It's easy to say all the right things regarding being Woke, without actually having any intention to do anything.
    Kids will also tend to glom onto whatever is fashionable. What they believe when they are 25 and are directly affected by this stuff may be different.
    The similarity to the views of the rich, fashionable people who invited Bolsheviks to their souries in St Petersburg, before WWI is interesting though.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 118,367
    edited March 2022

    If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
    I married a plastic scouser. Pre plague I often spent £20k a year following Liverpool.

    But tell me more about me having no connection with Liverpool.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,266

    If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
    But Everton aren't going bust.
    There has been absolutely no-one apart from on here suggesting it in the slightest.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 77,411

    The government is set to permit the sale of Chelsea as long as Roman Abramovich does not receive a single penny.

    Ministers have granted a special licence to allow Chelsea to continue to operate and are expected to approve a second licence until the end of the season which would allow a sale but only under tight restrictions. It does delay the planned sale, which could have gone through next week.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chelsea-sale-back-on-table-but-roman-abramovich-won-t-receive-a-penny-76g75l75s

    So it's a straight loss of £1.64B (£140m purchase + £1.5B loan) for him ?
  • eekeek Posts: 27,352
    You've heard of people being fired by text and / or zoom.

    How about by a line in a slightly large pay check (it's in America / India so it is correct)

    https://www.cnet.com/tech/better-com-lays-off-3000-more-employees-after-firing-900-over-zoom/?presentid=webnews
  • BigRichBigRich Posts: 3,489
    3 or 4 days ago we all cheered on as the Ukrainians shot down 9 Russian aircraft in a day, since than they do not seem to have shot down that many, does anybody know why?

    Possibility's:

    a) Ukrainians might have just had a luckily day.
    b) Ukrainians may have run out of missiles, or other setbacks.
    c) The Russians may not be flying as much or a low as before.

    obviously c) would be the most satisfying, but does anybody have any insight?
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,266
    edited March 2022
    When I raised the question of how many Ukrainians have valid passports the other day, I was assured they had compulsory ID cards, so that was OK. No problem.
    Today's reverse ferret is for holders of valid passports only.
  • Pulpstar said:

    The government is set to permit the sale of Chelsea as long as Roman Abramovich does not receive a single penny.

    Ministers have granted a special licence to allow Chelsea to continue to operate and are expected to approve a second licence until the end of the season which would allow a sale but only under tight restrictions. It does delay the planned sale, which could have gone through next week.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chelsea-sale-back-on-table-but-roman-abramovich-won-t-receive-a-penny-76g75l75s

    So it's a straight loss of £1.64B (£140m purchase + £1.5B loan) for him ?
    Yes. But opportunity lost of £3 billion potential sale.
  • eekeek Posts: 27,352

    If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
    Everton are likely to be relegated regardless of an financial penalties - did you see them play on Monday night??
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,475

    rcs1000 said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Leon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    All the Russians I have met REALLY enjoy a western-style consumer society. They LOVE western products, fashions, etc (tho I guess some can be replaced by China), they adore escaping the Russian winter and going on hols to the tropics

    Quite the thread, about Lavrov's stepdaugther, living the life in London. https://twitter.com/pevchikh/status/1501878715709632518
    Illuminating

    And yes, Russians like that will already be cursing Putin. But it won't stop with the kids-of-oligarchs, it will soon be any middle class Russian with any aspirations. Putin has fucked their dreams
    There are a number of rich Russians children at both my daughters schools.

    There are all (according to my daughters), extremely woke, despise the whole Russian system and bang on about the "revolution"

    I presume that comes after they have finished spending Daddies money, but I'm not sure that Putin & Co. have reckoned on what comes next....
    It's easy to say all the right things regarding being Woke, without actually having any intention to do anything.
    Kids will also tend to glom onto whatever is fashionable. What they believe when they are 25 and are directly affected by this stuff may be different.
    The similarity to the views of the rich, fashionable people who invited Bolsheviks to their souries in St Petersburg, before WWI is interesting though.
    Whisky souries?
  • BigRichBigRich Posts: 3,489
    Leon said:

    On a return visit to “World of Stonehenge” at the British Museum, I discover that my trade is indeed an ancient one



    I thought you mostly crafted Flint, they do not look like Flint to me, but then I'm not a professional Flint Napper.
  • dixiedean said:

    If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
    But Everton aren't going bust.
    There has been absolutely no-one apart from on here suggesting it in the slightest.
    I should have been clearer, Chelsea have the potential to go bust and or relegated.

    Everton just relegated.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,459
    BigRich said:

    3 or 4 days ago we all cheered on as the Ukrainians shot down 9 Russian aircraft in a day, since than they do not seem to have shot down that many, does anybody know why?

    Possibility's:

    a) Ukrainians might have just had a luckily day.
    b) Ukrainians may have run out of missiles, or other setbacks.
    c) The Russians may not be flying as much or a low as before.

    obviously c) would be the most satisfying, but does anybody have any insight?

    d) don't believe anything you read, see or hear (especially on twitter) about the conflict.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    Pulpstar said:

    The government is set to permit the sale of Chelsea as long as Roman Abramovich does not receive a single penny.

    Ministers have granted a special licence to allow Chelsea to continue to operate and are expected to approve a second licence until the end of the season which would allow a sale but only under tight restrictions. It does delay the planned sale, which could have gone through next week.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chelsea-sale-back-on-table-but-roman-abramovich-won-t-receive-a-penny-76g75l75s

    So it's a straight loss of £1.64B (£140m purchase + £1.5B loan) for him ?
    Yes. But opportunity lost of £3 billion potential sale.
    Well hang on these are freezes rather than confiscations surely? So RA doesn't get a penny now but it goes into a frozen bank account in his name?
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670

    On behalf of all football fans could Abu Dhabi/UAE and Saudi Arabia launch an unprovoked invasion of some country please.

    Like Yemen? I think they have to choose a non Muslim target to get a response by the West.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 22,284

    If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
    I married a plastic scouser. Pre plague I often spent £20k a year following Liverpool.

    But tell me more about me having no connection with Liverpool.
    In what sense do you have a link with Liverpool? You weren't born there, you have never lived there, and your family don't come from there. Your only link is by marriage seemingly. Some might say you are just a glory grabber!
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,475
    edited March 2022
    BigRich said:

    Leon said:

    On a return visit to “World of Stonehenge” at the British Museum, I discover that my trade is indeed an ancient one



    I thought you mostly crafted Flint, they do not look like Flint to me, but then I'm not a professional Flint Napper.
    Looks like pink granite to me, that would take a helluva lot of knapping. A labour of love one might say..
  • dixiedean said:

    When I raised the question of how many Ukrainians have valid passports the other day, I was assured they had compulsory ID cards, so that was OK. No problem.
    Today's reverse ferret is for holders of valid passports only.

    Not according to the BBC

    BBC News - Ukrainians with passports can apply for UK visas online
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60686254
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 22,284
    dixiedean said:

    If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
    But Everton aren't going bust.
    There has been absolutely no-one apart from on here suggesting it in the slightest.

    Indeed. It's another bizarre PB fantasy. Weird.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,266
    edited March 2022

    dixiedean said:

    If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
    But Everton aren't going bust.
    There has been absolutely no-one apart from on here suggesting it in the slightest.
    I should have been clearer, Chelsea have the potential to go bust and or relegated.

    Everton just relegated.
    Oh indeed. With or without a points deduction.
    It takes quite some skill to assemble such an incompetent bunch to go down.
    AND be subsequently punished for spending too much.
    A unique double never before achieved.
    It's a Grand Old Team.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 22,284
    eek said:

    If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
    Everton are likely to be relegated regardless of an financial penalties - did you see them play on Monday night??
    I saw the 'highlights' – yes. I agree they are at high risk of going down. My point was a purported Liverpool FC fan hoping they go bust – a very odd wish I would say. Rivalries are at the heart of football for most fans.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 68,412

    rcs1000 said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Leon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    All the Russians I have met REALLY enjoy a western-style consumer society. They LOVE western products, fashions, etc (tho I guess some can be replaced by China), they adore escaping the Russian winter and going on hols to the tropics

    Quite the thread, about Lavrov's stepdaugther, living the life in London. https://twitter.com/pevchikh/status/1501878715709632518
    Illuminating

    And yes, Russians like that will already be cursing Putin. But it won't stop with the kids-of-oligarchs, it will soon be any middle class Russian with any aspirations. Putin has fucked their dreams
    There are a number of rich Russians children at both my daughters schools.

    There are all (according to my daughters), extremely woke, despise the whole Russian system and bang on about the "revolution"

    I presume that comes after they have finished spending Daddies money, but I'm not sure that Putin & Co. have reckoned on what comes next....
    It's easy to say all the right things regarding being Woke, without actually having any intention to do anything.
    Kids will also tend to glom onto whatever is fashionable. What they believe when they are 25 and are directly affected by this stuff may be different.
    The similarity to the views of the rich, fashionable people who invited Bolsheviks to their souries in St Petersburg, before WWI is interesting though.
    Whisky souries?
    A soirée serving sours.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 94,914

    kle4 said:

    Aslan said:

    Aslan said:

    Regarding the maternity hospital, the Russians claim that the hospital had ceased to function as a hospital several days ago, and had become a base for a Ukrainian military division. This seemed likely to me yesterday, even without the claims - using schools, hospitals, Churches, Mosques etc. as military bases is a very common tactic of urban warfare, because when they're attacked, it's of course considered an atrocity.

    One side of this conflict is in the right, one side is in the wrong, but that doesn't stop the Ukrainians from fighting a propaganda war. As Western countries, we need to be extremely conscious of this, because the Ukrainians are desperate for Western nations to attack Russia, and will use every lever possible to make this a reality.

    It seems "likely" to you based on no evidence at all except Russia claims it.
    No, it seemed likely to me BEFORE I read the Russians' claims. As I said, basing themselves in a building like a hospital is a common and logical tactic for a military defending urban territory. It also seemed unlikely that Russia would actively bomb a hospital full of expectant mothers and newborns, even if they were the embodiment of evil, because it would hand a propaganda coup to the other side. The other alternative was that it was a cock up, which was highly possible.
    Russia has spent the last week completely leveling a Russian speaking city to the ground. After their Plan A has fallen apart, and they know they can't win militarily so hope to force Ukraine to give some concessions to avoid the sort of destruction seen in Chechnya. They have deliberately switched to a policy of terror so don't care about PR value any more. It serves their purposes that stuff is as brutal as possible.
    I've seen the argument that the Russians just don't care because they now just want to kill, and the alternative riff, which is that they are attempting actively to provoke a NATO response. I really don't buy either of these. I think they're determined to plow on and are prepared to kill some civilians in the process (which is bad) but I don't think they benefit from bombing normal hospitals. Qui Bono is a sound principle, and the benefit in this to me is all the Ukrainians'.
    That doesn't make any sense. Faking a hospital bombing or rather lying about military use of it which would make it a legitimate target would not benefit the Ukrainians in the slightes since it would come out and would prevent an international response to a future event as it would be doubted.

    If it doesnt benefit Russia to do it it makes even less sense and doesn't benefit Ukraine to lie about provoking it.

    This seems on the same lines as 'X wouldn't do Y because theyd know it would hinder them, therefore it must be Z' yet people do counterproductive things all the time - the invasion itself being a case in point.
    No, it wouldn't 'come out', and it's breathtakingly naive to suggest it would. We're on one side of this and so are our media.
    Far from being breathtakingly naiive it is realistic, and your response is that of a conspiracy theorist - and as with any such conspiracy the number of people who would be needed to maintain the lie would ensure it came out. How naiive are you to think they could fake a bombing or hide the presence of military units without at least a single person not in on the lie being aware.
  • IshmaelZ said:

    Pulpstar said:

    The government is set to permit the sale of Chelsea as long as Roman Abramovich does not receive a single penny.

    Ministers have granted a special licence to allow Chelsea to continue to operate and are expected to approve a second licence until the end of the season which would allow a sale but only under tight restrictions. It does delay the planned sale, which could have gone through next week.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chelsea-sale-back-on-table-but-roman-abramovich-won-t-receive-a-penny-76g75l75s

    So it's a straight loss of £1.64B (£140m purchase + £1.5B loan) for him ?
    Yes. But opportunity lost of £3 billion potential sale.
    Well hang on these are freezes rather than confiscations surely? So RA doesn't get a penny now but it goes into a frozen bank account in his name?
    From The Times.

    The government would have to have
    oversight of the sale and what would
    happen to the revenue for the sale - for
    example, the proceeds could go to a
    completely independent charity such as
    the Disasters Emergency Committee.
  • bigglesbiggles Posts: 5,624
    If Chelsea can’t negotiate sponsorship deals for the coming season or project any income, then it’s audited accounts will be interesting.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 94,914

    The government is set to permit the sale of Chelsea as long as Roman Abramovich does not receive a single penny.

    Ministers have granted a special licence to allow Chelsea to continue to operate and are expected to approve a second licence until the end of the season which would allow a sale but only under tight restrictions. It does delay the planned sale, which could have gone through next week.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chelsea-sale-back-on-table-but-roman-abramovich-won-t-receive-a-penny-76g75l75s

    He'll sell it to Oman Bramovich for a dollar.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 53,130
    edited March 2022

    On behalf of all football fans could Abu Dhabi/UAE and Saudi Arabia launch an unprovoked invasion of some country please.

    No thanks, don’t want sanctions out here if that’s okay! One war on my plate is quite enough at the moment.
  • AslanAslan Posts: 1,673
    Astonishing. Entire Russian tank column had to retreat because they were taking such heavy losses on way into Kyiv.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/tau3tl/incoming_russian_convoy_got_smashed_at_eastern/
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 94,914
    BigRich said:

    Leon said:

    On a return visit to “World of Stonehenge” at the British Museum, I discover that my trade is indeed an ancient one



    I thought you mostly crafted Flint, they do not look like Flint to me, but then I'm not a professional Flint Napper.
    Knapping and crafting is part of the same category of work.
  • bigglesbiggles Posts: 5,624
    edited March 2022
    kle4 said:

    kle4 said:

    Aslan said:

    Aslan said:

    Regarding the maternity hospital, the Russians claim that the hospital had ceased to function as a hospital several days ago, and had become a base for a Ukrainian military division. This seemed likely to me yesterday, even without the claims - using schools, hospitals, Churches, Mosques etc. as military bases is a very common tactic of urban warfare, because when they're attacked, it's of course considered an atrocity.

    One side of this conflict is in the right, one side is in the wrong, but that doesn't stop the Ukrainians from fighting a propaganda war. As Western countries, we need to be extremely conscious of this, because the Ukrainians are desperate for Western nations to attack Russia, and will use every lever possible to make this a reality.

    It seems "likely" to you based on no evidence at all except Russia claims it.
    No, it seemed likely to me BEFORE I read the Russians' claims. As I said, basing themselves in a building like a hospital is a common and logical tactic for a military defending urban territory. It also seemed unlikely that Russia would actively bomb a hospital full of expectant mothers and newborns, even if they were the embodiment of evil, because it would hand a propaganda coup to the other side. The other alternative was that it was a cock up, which was highly possible.
    Russia has spent the last week completely leveling a Russian speaking city to the ground. After their Plan A has fallen apart, and they know they can't win militarily so hope to force Ukraine to give some concessions to avoid the sort of destruction seen in Chechnya. They have deliberately switched to a policy of terror so don't care about PR value any more. It serves their purposes that stuff is as brutal as possible.
    I've seen the argument that the Russians just don't care because they now just want to kill, and the alternative riff, which is that they are attempting actively to provoke a NATO response. I really don't buy either of these. I think they're determined to plow on and are prepared to kill some civilians in the process (which is bad) but I don't think they benefit from bombing normal hospitals. Qui Bono is a sound principle, and the benefit in this to me is all the Ukrainians'.
    That doesn't make any sense. Faking a hospital bombing or rather lying about military use of it which would make it a legitimate target would not benefit the Ukrainians in the slightes since it would come out and would prevent an international response to a future event as it would be doubted.

    If it doesnt benefit Russia to do it it makes even less sense and doesn't benefit Ukraine to lie about provoking it.

    This seems on the same lines as 'X wouldn't do Y because theyd know it would hinder them, therefore it must be Z' yet people do counterproductive things all the time - the invasion itself being a case in point.
    No, it wouldn't 'come out', and it's breathtakingly naive to suggest it would. We're on one side of this and so are our media.
    Far from being breathtakingly naiive it is realistic, and your response is that of a conspiracy theorist - and as with any such conspiracy the number of people who would be needed to maintain the lie would ensure it came out. How naiive are you to think they could fake a bombing or hide the presence of military units without at least a single person not in on the lie being aware.
    Yes. To fake the bombing of a fully staffed maternity hospital with patients, under the gaze of the watching media, would be completely impossible.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    IshmaelZ said:

    Pulpstar said:

    The government is set to permit the sale of Chelsea as long as Roman Abramovich does not receive a single penny.

    Ministers have granted a special licence to allow Chelsea to continue to operate and are expected to approve a second licence until the end of the season which would allow a sale but only under tight restrictions. It does delay the planned sale, which could have gone through next week.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chelsea-sale-back-on-table-but-roman-abramovich-won-t-receive-a-penny-76g75l75s

    So it's a straight loss of £1.64B (£140m purchase + £1.5B loan) for him ?
    Yes. But opportunity lost of £3 billion potential sale.
    Well hang on these are freezes rather than confiscations surely? So RA doesn't get a penny now but it goes into a frozen bank account in his name?
    From The Times.

    The government would have to have
    oversight of the sale and what would
    happen to the revenue for the sale - for
    example, the proceeds could go to a
    completely independent charity such as
    the Disasters Emergency Committee.
    Shit. No brief for the oligarchs, but you can't actually do that sort of thing in a rule of law kinda country.
  • If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
    I married a plastic scouser. Pre plague I often spent £20k a year following Liverpool.

    But tell me more about me having no connection with Liverpool.
    In what sense do you have a link with Liverpool? You weren't born there, you have never lived there, and your family don't come from there. Your only link is by marriage seemingly. Some might say you are just a glory grabber!
    I’m a child of the 80s.

    I’m also very non white, in the 80s, football fans weren’t very welcoming.

    Only chance I had to watch football was on the TV, in those days you had like 12 matches on TV, mostly Liverpool.

    If I was a glory grabber, I’d have been a Chelsea and Man City fan recently.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,266

    dixiedean said:

    When I raised the question of how many Ukrainians have valid passports the other day, I was assured they had compulsory ID cards, so that was OK. No problem.
    Today's reverse ferret is for holders of valid passports only.

    Not according to the BBC

    BBC News - Ukrainians with passports can apply for UK visas online
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60686254
    That's what your link says further down. It is confusing as it contradicts itself.
    Radio reporting valid passports only.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 94,914
    edited March 2022

    Lol, incoming 'Oborne was always a crank'.

    'Russia-Ukraine war: Jeremy Corbyn was right all along about Putin and his oligarchs

    ..In this column I will defend the former Labour leader against these latest attacks.

    There are three good reasons for coming to the rescue of this failed politician whose time as a major player in British politics is over.
    The first is a simple matter of putting the record straight. Corbyn's leadership of Labour was defined by one slur and lie against him after another. The lies have started again and simple decency suggests they should be rebutted.
    The second is that the Tory Party and Labour establishment have their reasons for taking aim at Corbyn. He gives them an alibi. For the Tories and the Labour establishment, mocking Corbyn distracts from their own long-lived collaboration with Vladimir Putin and his oligarchs.
    The third reason is the most important of all. The smearing of Jeremy Corbyn tells us there is something very wrong about contemporary public discourse. The former Labour leader may be a dissident, but he speaks with deep knowledge of foreign affairs. We need more such dissident voices, not less.'

    https://twitter.com/OborneTweets/status/1501934856682426372?s=20&t=7SkCLRGPnOja-TiRdlGFpw

    I'd be more inclined to the charge he was right all along about X (in this case the oligarchs), were it not for including the bit about all teh rest of the claims against him being lies and slurs as well. If I were minded to defend the man I'd do so on the basis he was fairly targeted on a great many things, but not on X, stick more to that headline point.

    I do like the last point though. It's true we do need to ensure a variety of voices, but the logic used works equally well in insisting even if someone is completely wrong they shouldn't be criticised (because seemingly criticism is unfair on 'dissident' voices)
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    edited March 2022

    On behalf of all football fans could Abu Dhabi/UAE and Saudi Arabia launch an unprovoked invasion of some country please.

    Both busy with Yemen, I believe.

    They'd have to attack someone we didn't want them to attack (so Iran wouldn't count).
    When is Yemen getting a NFZ?
  • IshmaelZ said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    Pulpstar said:

    The government is set to permit the sale of Chelsea as long as Roman Abramovich does not receive a single penny.

    Ministers have granted a special licence to allow Chelsea to continue to operate and are expected to approve a second licence until the end of the season which would allow a sale but only under tight restrictions. It does delay the planned sale, which could have gone through next week.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chelsea-sale-back-on-table-but-roman-abramovich-won-t-receive-a-penny-76g75l75s

    So it's a straight loss of £1.64B (£140m purchase + £1.5B loan) for him ?
    Yes. But opportunity lost of £3 billion potential sale.
    Well hang on these are freezes rather than confiscations surely? So RA doesn't get a penny now but it goes into a frozen bank account in his name?
    From The Times.

    The government would have to have
    oversight of the sale and what would
    happen to the revenue for the sale - for
    example, the proceeds could go to a
    completely independent charity such as
    the Disasters Emergency Committee.
    Shit. No brief for the oligarchs, but you can't actually do that sort of thing in a rule of law kinda country.
    Well Roman had said he would give proceeds of the sale to charities for the victim of the war. He hasn’t ruled out giving money to Russian soldiers.

    This way the government ensured it only goes to Ukrainian recipients.
  • Aslan said:

    Astonishing. Entire Russian tank column had to retreat because they were taking such heavy losses on way into Kyiv.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/tau3tl/incoming_russian_convoy_got_smashed_at_eastern/

    … and they were advancing in broad daylight. They must be desperate to make ground. Why the hurry?
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 77,411
    dixiedean said:

    When I raised the question of how many Ukrainians have valid passports the other day, I was assured they had compulsory ID cards, so that was OK. No problem.
    Today's reverse ferret is for holders of valid passports only.

    If ID cards are compulsory, but passports are not then surely it makes sense to extend the offer to Ukranian ID or passport holders ?

    In normal times, sure a Visa should need a passport but it looks like a stunning lack of imagination from the Home Office to not amend this requirement now when the country is in the middle of a war, and has a mandatory ID card scheme.

    Though I think I have answered my own point here.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 68,412
    kle4 said:

    kle4 said:

    Aslan said:

    Aslan said:

    Regarding the maternity hospital, the Russians claim that the hospital had ceased to function as a hospital several days ago, and had become a base for a Ukrainian military division. This seemed likely to me yesterday, even without the claims - using schools, hospitals, Churches, Mosques etc. as military bases is a very common tactic of urban warfare, because when they're attacked, it's of course considered an atrocity.

    One side of this conflict is in the right, one side is in the wrong, but that doesn't stop the Ukrainians from fighting a propaganda war. As Western countries, we need to be extremely conscious of this, because the Ukrainians are desperate for Western nations to attack Russia, and will use every lever possible to make this a reality.

    It seems "likely" to you based on no evidence at all except Russia claims it.
    No, it seemed likely to me BEFORE I read the Russians' claims. As I said, basing themselves in a building like a hospital is a common and logical tactic for a military defending urban territory. It also seemed unlikely that Russia would actively bomb a hospital full of expectant mothers and newborns, even if they were the embodiment of evil, because it would hand a propaganda coup to the other side. The other alternative was that it was a cock up, which was highly possible.
    Russia has spent the last week completely leveling a Russian speaking city to the ground. After their Plan A has fallen apart, and they know they can't win militarily so hope to force Ukraine to give some concessions to avoid the sort of destruction seen in Chechnya. They have deliberately switched to a policy of terror so don't care about PR value any more. It serves their purposes that stuff is as brutal as possible.
    I've seen the argument that the Russians just don't care because they now just want to kill, and the alternative riff, which is that they are attempting actively to provoke a NATO response. I really don't buy either of these. I think they're determined to plow on and are prepared to kill some civilians in the process (which is bad) but I don't think they benefit from bombing normal hospitals. Qui Bono is a sound principle, and the benefit in this to me is all the Ukrainians'.
    That doesn't make any sense. Faking a hospital bombing or rather lying about military use of it which would make it a legitimate target would not benefit the Ukrainians in the slightes since it would come out and would prevent an international response to a future event as it would be doubted.

    If it doesnt benefit Russia to do it it makes even less sense and doesn't benefit Ukraine to lie about provoking it.

    This seems on the same lines as 'X wouldn't do Y because theyd know it would hinder them, therefore it must be Z' yet people do counterproductive things all the time - the invasion itself being a case in point.
    No, it wouldn't 'come out', and it's breathtakingly naive to suggest it would. We're on one side of this and so are our media.
    Far from being breathtakingly naiive it is realistic, and your response is that of a conspiracy theorist - and as with any such conspiracy the number of people who would be needed to maintain the lie would ensure it came out. How naiive are you to think they could fake a bombing or hide the presence of military units without at least a single person not in on the lie being aware.
    I see the Russian embassy was making a thing of one of the pregnant women in images of the aftermath being a well known model.

    Who was well known to be heavily pregnant.

    @Luckyguy1983 's naïveté is in believing that all media shares the same bias and the same agenda.
    That is true only of totalitarian regimes, and even there it's very hard to keep fake stories consistent for very long.
    (Especially when your boss keeps changing his narrative lies.)
  • biggles said:

    If Chelsea can’t negotiate sponsorship deals for the coming season or project any income, then it’s audited accounts will be interesting.

    They’ve had going concern issues for years I think.
  • MISTYMISTY Posts: 1,594
    Aslan said:

    Astonishing. Entire Russian tank column had to retreat because they were taking such heavy losses on way into Kyiv.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/tau3tl/incoming_russian_convoy_got_smashed_at_eastern/

    Reminds me that the Germans used to call the army's WWII Shermans 'Tommy Cookers'
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 31,266
    "Russia has never seemed so far from the West. And yet Ragozin still suspects that, had the opportunity been seized, it could have gone another way:

    If Russia were properly invited into the European Union and NATO in the late 1990s, and the early 2000s, Putin would have made a perfect Eurocrat. It’s just that in this fork, he chose to go that way, the West chose not to press on Russia being integrated. It decided that it would be better to get the neighbours of Russia on board, which led to Russia’s alienation and isolation."

    https://unherd.com/thepost/leonid-ragozin/
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 61,830
    edited March 2022
    dixiedean said:

    dixiedean said:

    When I raised the question of how many Ukrainians have valid passports the other day, I was assured they had compulsory ID cards, so that was OK. No problem.
    Today's reverse ferret is for holders of valid passports only.

    Not according to the BBC

    BBC News - Ukrainians with passports can apply for UK visas online
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60686254
    That's what your link says further down. It is confusing as it contradicts itself.
    Radio reporting valid passports only.
    Confusing is fair comment but it does seem Patel did announce it as per the BBC and Yvette Cooper seems OK though she was angry over the delays to date
  • Andy_CookeAndy_Cooke Posts: 4,961
    IshmaelZ said:

    HYUFD said:

    Nuclear War overtakes global warming for the first time in new Yougov poll of most likely cause of human extinction

    Nuclear War 61% (+18%)
    Global Warming 41% (-1%)
    Pandemic 29% (-1%)
    Meteor 25% (nc)

    https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1501893049089150976?s=20&t=U5v3vnWGKdUFKBfAaHOnNA

    Except meteor none of those are extinction level. Silly poll
    I'd go with:
    - Artificial Super Intelligence
    - "Dark Forest"
    - Flood Basalt
    - Supervolcano
    - Asteroid/Comet Impact
    - Nearby Supernova/Gamma-ray burst
    - Nanobot apocalypse

    In approximately that order for full-on extinction events
  • FlatlanderFlatlander Posts: 4,426
    edited March 2022
    Aslan said:

    Astonishing. Entire Russian tank column had to retreat because they were taking such heavy losses on way into Kyiv.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/tau3tl/incoming_russian_convoy_got_smashed_at_eastern/

    Which muppet thought it was a good idea to group those vehicles together when under fire? Guarantees a hit.

    Good use of what is presumably not much more than a consumer drone to do some spotting.
  • OllyTOllyT Posts: 5,006
    edited March 2022

    On behalf of all football fans could Abu Dhabi/UAE and Saudi Arabia launch an unprovoked invasion of some country please.

    Be careful what you wish for. Once Trump becomes President the US becomes the most likely candidate for an unprovoked attack on another country - so that would be the end of Liverpool and ManU
  • MattWMattW Posts: 21,749
    dixiedean said:

    When I raised the question of how many Ukrainians have valid passports the other day, I was assured they had compulsory ID cards, so that was OK. No problem.
    Today's reverse ferret is for holders of valid passports only.

    Did she define "valid"?

    If an ID card is a passport, then that should be adequate.

    Unless she means what Ukr calls an "international passport".

    Incidentally, I have just been told that Driving Licences are no longer accepted as proof of address when buying a house. Utility bill or similar required.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 31,266
    Strong words from the Economist.

    "Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship
    The Stalinisation of Russia
    As it sinks in that he cannot win in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is resorting to repression at home"

    https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/03/12/the-stalinisation-of-russia
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 77,411
    Covid now less dangerous than the flu in the UK.
  • FairlieredFairliered Posts: 4,743

    Carnyx said:

    In news from the Great Scottish Central Desert ((c) PBTories), Cumbernauld's famously brutalist architecture is to undergo improvement.

    https://www.thenational.scot/news/19983461.cumbernauld-town-centre-demolished-redeveloped-north-lanarkshire-council/?ref=ebbn

    Piss off Putin. He'll demolish your town centre for free....
    Cumbernauld looks like Putin’s been there already.
  • BigRichBigRich Posts: 3,489

    IshmaelZ said:

    HYUFD said:

    Nuclear War overtakes global warming for the first time in new Yougov poll of most likely cause of human extinction

    Nuclear War 61% (+18%)
    Global Warming 41% (-1%)
    Pandemic 29% (-1%)
    Meteor 25% (nc)

    https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1501893049089150976?s=20&t=U5v3vnWGKdUFKBfAaHOnNA

    Except meteor none of those are extinction level. Silly poll
    I'd go with:
    - Artificial Super Intelligence
    - "Dark Forest"
    - Flood Basalt
    - Supervolcano
    - Asteroid/Comet Impact
    - Nearby Supernova/Gamma-ray burst
    - Nanobot apocalypse

    In approximately that order for full-on extinction events
    What is 'Dark Forest' ?

    Actually do I what to know?
  • biggles said:

    If Chelsea can’t negotiate sponsorship deals for the coming season or project any income, then it’s audited accounts will be interesting.

    They’ve had going concern issues for years I think.
    A football club doesn't end up £1,500,000,000 in debt if its carrying its own weight financially.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,459
    Aslan said:

    Astonishing. Entire Russian tank column had to retreat because they were taking such heavy losses on way into Kyiv.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/tau3tl/incoming_russian_convoy_got_smashed_at_eastern/

    You get that from those 44 seconds?
  • BigRichBigRich Posts: 3,489
    Andy_JS said:

    Strong words from the Economist.

    "Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship
    The Stalinisation of Russia
    As it sinks in that he cannot win in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is resorting to repression at home"

    https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/03/12/the-stalinisation-of-russia

    At this point I don't think Putin can allow even a modicum of 'free speech' in Russia while he is alive and in power.
  • AslanAslan Posts: 1,673

    Aslan said:

    Astonishing. Entire Russian tank column had to retreat because they were taking such heavy losses on way into Kyiv.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/tau3tl/incoming_russian_convoy_got_smashed_at_eastern/

    Which muppet thought it was a good idea to group those vehicles together when under fire? Guarantees a hit.

    Good use of what is presumably not much more than a consumer drone to do some spotting.
    The Russians are having to come in via roads because their poorly maintained equipment cannot deal with the mud.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 21,749
    dixiedean said:

    When I raised the question of how many Ukrainians have valid passports the other day, I was assured they had compulsory ID cards, so that was OK. No problem.
    Today's reverse ferret is for holders of valid passports only.

    BBC article says "passport or ID card". PP says "passports".

    One concerning bit from PP's statement is perhaps that cross-Europe capacity at Visa centres is only 13k appointments per week.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,541
    BigRich said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    HYUFD said:

    Nuclear War overtakes global warming for the first time in new Yougov poll of most likely cause of human extinction

    Nuclear War 61% (+18%)
    Global Warming 41% (-1%)
    Pandemic 29% (-1%)
    Meteor 25% (nc)

    https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1501893049089150976?s=20&t=U5v3vnWGKdUFKBfAaHOnNA

    Except meteor none of those are extinction level. Silly poll
    I'd go with:
    - Artificial Super Intelligence
    - "Dark Forest"
    - Flood Basalt
    - Supervolcano
    - Asteroid/Comet Impact
    - Nearby Supernova/Gamma-ray burst
    - Nanobot apocalypse

    In approximately that order for full-on extinction events
    What is 'Dark Forest' ?

    Actually do I what to know?
    That any alien species that broadcasts is existence is rapidly extinguished.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 21,749

    Carnyx said:

    In news from the Great Scottish Central Desert ((c) PBTories), Cumbernauld's famously brutalist architecture is to undergo improvement.

    https://www.thenational.scot/news/19983461.cumbernauld-town-centre-demolished-redeveloped-north-lanarkshire-council/?ref=ebbn

    Piss off Putin. He'll demolish your town centre for free....
    Cumbernauld looks like Putin’s been there already.
    Are they still using the old slogan, that was set up for a bit of satire?

    What's it called? Cumbernauld !!!
  • CookieCookie Posts: 12,892

    If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
    I married a plastic scouser. Pre plague I often spent £20k a year following Liverpool.

    But tell me more about me having no connection with Liverpool.
    In what sense do you have a link with Liverpool? You weren't born there, you have never lived there, and your family don't come from there. Your only link is by marriage seemingly. Some might say you are just a glory grabber!
    I’m a child of the 80s.

    I’m also very non white, in the 80s, football fans weren’t very welcoming.

    Only chance I had to watch football was on the TV, in those days you had like 12 matches on TV, mostly Liverpool.

    If I was a glory grabber, I’d have been a Chelsea and Man City fan recently.
    No, because you only get one chance. Even glory grabbers don't move from team to team. That would make the whole thing pointless.
    You make a half-decent case, but 'because they were big when I started watching football' is never going to elicit much sympathy.
    The order of respect that people will give you for the team you support - and don't pretend you don't know this, deep down - is as follows:
    1) Your local team. (Properly your local team - if you grown up in suburban Stockport, it's Stockport County, not Manchester Utd/City. If you grow up in Urmston and support Manchester United people will allow it, although it takes some of the fun out of it.)
    2) The team your family supported before you.
    3) A not particularly good team who you ended up with for an off-beat reason but have nevertheless stuck with (I knew a fella from Lancaster who - with no particular reason to support one team or another - was taken to buy his first football shirt at the age of 8. Who will it be? Blackburn were both Lancastrian AND successful at the time. It was before Morecambe were a league side, but they were close by. Some from school supported teams from Manchester or Liverpool. He gazed happily at the shirts before him, before being called by his father over to the sale bin (the family didn't have much money) and being given a choice of Sheffield United, Middlesbrough or Stoke. Somewhat glumly, he chose Sheffield United. But he stuck with them subsequently and went on to follow them home and away.
    4) A terrible team for no readily apparent reason.
    5) Your nearest 'big' team (see point 1 above).
    6) A big team who aren't even your second nearest.

    Basically, you don't even get to choose. Your team is assigned to you by an almost mystical process. Because watching football is, at bottom, about identity. (If it was about entertainment you'd be watching rugby instead.)
  • FlatlanderFlatlander Posts: 4,426
    edited March 2022
    BigRich said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    HYUFD said:

    Nuclear War overtakes global warming for the first time in new Yougov poll of most likely cause of human extinction

    Nuclear War 61% (+18%)
    Global Warming 41% (-1%)
    Pandemic 29% (-1%)
    Meteor 25% (nc)

    https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1501893049089150976?s=20&t=U5v3vnWGKdUFKBfAaHOnNA

    Except meteor none of those are extinction level. Silly poll
    I'd go with:
    - Artificial Super Intelligence
    - "Dark Forest"
    - Flood Basalt
    - Supervolcano
    - Asteroid/Comet Impact
    - Nearby Supernova/Gamma-ray burst
    - Nanobot apocalypse

    In approximately that order for full-on extinction events
    What is 'Dark Forest' ?

    Actually do I what to know?
    Aliens.
    TOPPING said:

    Aslan said:

    Astonishing. Entire Russian tank column had to retreat because they were taking such heavy losses on way into Kyiv.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/tau3tl/incoming_russian_convoy_got_smashed_at_eastern/

    You get that from those 44 seconds?
    At the end they are clearly heading away from Kiev (you can confirm that on Google Earth).

    Whether that is just a retreat so that they can level the town, or a retreat to think about doing something else, we obviously have no idea.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 27,525
    kle4 said:

    kle4 said:

    Aslan said:

    Aslan said:

    Regarding the maternity hospital, the Russians claim that the hospital had ceased to function as a hospital several days ago, and had become a base for a Ukrainian military division. This seemed likely to me yesterday, even without the claims - using schools, hospitals, Churches, Mosques etc. as military bases is a very common tactic of urban warfare, because when they're attacked, it's of course considered an atrocity.

    One side of this conflict is in the right, one side is in the wrong, but that doesn't stop the Ukrainians from fighting a propaganda war. As Western countries, we need to be extremely conscious of this, because the Ukrainians are desperate for Western nations to attack Russia, and will use every lever possible to make this a reality.

    It seems "likely" to you based on no evidence at all except Russia claims it.
    No, it seemed likely to me BEFORE I read the Russians' claims. As I said, basing themselves in a building like a hospital is a common and logical tactic for a military defending urban territory. It also seemed unlikely that Russia would actively bomb a hospital full of expectant mothers and newborns, even if they were the embodiment of evil, because it would hand a propaganda coup to the other side. The other alternative was that it was a cock up, which was highly possible.
    Russia has spent the last week completely leveling a Russian speaking city to the ground. After their Plan A has fallen apart, and they know they can't win militarily so hope to force Ukraine to give some concessions to avoid the sort of destruction seen in Chechnya. They have deliberately switched to a policy of terror so don't care about PR value any more. It serves their purposes that stuff is as brutal as possible.
    I've seen the argument that the Russians just don't care because they now just want to kill, and the alternative riff, which is that they are attempting actively to provoke a NATO response. I really don't buy either of these. I think they're determined to plow on and are prepared to kill some civilians in the process (which is bad) but I don't think they benefit from bombing normal hospitals. Qui Bono is a sound principle, and the benefit in this to me is all the Ukrainians'.
    That doesn't make any sense. Faking a hospital bombing or rather lying about military use of it which would make it a legitimate target would not benefit the Ukrainians in the slightes since it would come out and would prevent an international response to a future event as it would be doubted.

    If it doesnt benefit Russia to do it it makes even less sense and doesn't benefit Ukraine to lie about provoking it.

    This seems on the same lines as 'X wouldn't do Y because theyd know it would hinder them, therefore it must be Z' yet people do counterproductive things all the time - the invasion itself being a case in point.
    No, it wouldn't 'come out', and it's breathtakingly naive to suggest it would. We're on one side of this and so are our media.
    Far from being breathtakingly naiive it is realistic, and your response is that of a conspiracy theorist - and as with any such conspiracy the number of people who would be needed to maintain the lie would ensure it came out. How naiive are you to think they could fake a bombing or hide the presence of military units without at least a single person not in on the lie being aware.
    What you're suggesting is that 'out' and 'in' are two opposing conditions for a news story, and a story can be either one or the other. The reality is massively more nuanced, the truth is many sided and layered, the slant of the carriers of the news and whether a story is current all affects the likelihood of it being covered.

    Ukraine hospital bombing is front page, leading bulletin news. Ukraine hospital bombing claims proving to be a bit dodgy is not that. It goes against the grain, it doesn't fit the narrative, it's slightly embarrassing, and it's yesterday's news. The situation quickly moves to the next outrage. You don't need to keep something a 'secret' for the vast majority of people to go about their lives unencumbered by it.
  • Cookie said:

    If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
    I married a plastic scouser. Pre plague I often spent £20k a year following Liverpool.

    But tell me more about me having no connection with Liverpool.
    In what sense do you have a link with Liverpool? You weren't born there, you have never lived there, and your family don't come from there. Your only link is by marriage seemingly. Some might say you are just a glory grabber!
    I’m a child of the 80s.

    I’m also very non white, in the 80s, football fans weren’t very welcoming.

    Only chance I had to watch football was on the TV, in those days you had like 12 matches on TV, mostly Liverpool.

    If I was a glory grabber, I’d have been a Chelsea and Man City fan recently.
    No, because you only get one chance. Even glory grabbers don't move from team to team. That would make the whole thing pointless.
    You make a half-decent case, but 'because they were big when I started watching football' is never going to elicit much sympathy.
    The order of respect that people will give you for the team you support - and don't pretend you don't know this, deep down - is as follows:
    1) Your local team. (Properly your local team - if you grown up in suburban Stockport, it's Stockport County, not Manchester Utd/City. If you grow up in Urmston and support Manchester United people will allow it, although it takes some of the fun out of it.)
    2) The team your family supported before you.
    3) A not particularly good team who you ended up with for an off-beat reason but have nevertheless stuck with (I knew a fella from Lancaster who - with no particular reason to support one team or another - was taken to buy his first football shirt at the age of 8. Who will it be? Blackburn were both Lancastrian AND successful at the time. It was before Morecambe were a league side, but they were close by. Some from school supported teams from Manchester or Liverpool. He gazed happily at the shirts before him, before being called by his father over to the sale bin (the family didn't have much money) and being given a choice of Sheffield United, Middlesbrough or Stoke. Somewhat glumly, he chose Sheffield United. But he stuck with them subsequently and went on to follow them home and away.
    4) A terrible team for no readily apparent reason.
    5) Your nearest 'big' team (see point 1 above).
    6) A big team who aren't even your second nearest.

    Basically, you don't even get to choose. Your team is assigned to you by an almost mystical process. Because watching football is, at bottom, about identity. (If it was about entertainment you'd be watching rugby instead.)
    My father is a Liverpool fan.

    He was a huge fan of Shankly and Paisley.

    As the grandson of immigrants to this country so I didn’t have much footballing heritage to tap.
  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,791
    Andy_JS said:

    "Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks on ending the war in Ukraine, political news website Politico reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

    Mr Schröder has come under fierce criticism at home and abroad for refusing to sever his close ties to Moscow following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Several of his office staff quit last week after he insisted on keeping his senior roles at Kremlin-linked energy giants Rosneft and Gazprom. Schröder, a Social Democrat, served as German chancellor from 1998 to 2005. He has since enjoyed a lucrative business career thanks to his Russian energy roles."

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/10/russia-ukraine-news-latest-war-putin-zelensky-weapons-attacks/

    That guy should be sanctioned. Just for shits and giggles
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 68,412

    Aslan said:

    Astonishing. Entire Russian tank column had to retreat because they were taking such heavy losses on way into Kyiv.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/tau3tl/incoming_russian_convoy_got_smashed_at_eastern/

    Which muppet thought it was a good idea to group those vehicles together when under fire? Guarantees a hit.

    Good use of what is presumably not much more than a consumer drone to do some spotting.
    The guy in charge was apparently killed.
  • boulayboulay Posts: 5,322

    biggles said:

    If Chelsea can’t negotiate sponsorship deals for the coming season or project any income, then it’s audited accounts will be interesting.

    They’ve had going concern issues for years I think.
    Surely if Abramovich was asking for £3b before (not including the 1.5b loans in that price, oh no….) then if it’s sold for 1.5b and the debt is also passed onto the new owners then ultimately Abramovich can just call in that debt once sanctions are eased potentially in tue future?

    And if that’s the case then is there anything stopping Abramovich/the offshore company selling that debt to a Middle East investor so Abramovich receives the funds paid into an account in say Dubai?
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 27,525
    Andy_JS said:

    "Russia has never seemed so far from the West. And yet Ragozin still suspects that, had the opportunity been seized, it could have gone another way:

    If Russia were properly invited into the European Union and NATO in the late 1990s, and the early 2000s, Putin would have made a perfect Eurocrat. It’s just that in this fork, he chose to go that way, the West chose not to press on Russia being integrated. It decided that it would be better to get the neighbours of Russia on board, which led to Russia’s alienation and isolation."

    https://unherd.com/thepost/leonid-ragozin/

    America would never have accepted it, because EU money + Russian hardware and natural resources = a viable alternative power bloc to the US.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 51,574

    BigRich said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    HYUFD said:

    Nuclear War overtakes global warming for the first time in new Yougov poll of most likely cause of human extinction

    Nuclear War 61% (+18%)
    Global Warming 41% (-1%)
    Pandemic 29% (-1%)
    Meteor 25% (nc)

    https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1501893049089150976?s=20&t=U5v3vnWGKdUFKBfAaHOnNA

    Except meteor none of those are extinction level. Silly poll
    I'd go with:
    - Artificial Super Intelligence
    - "Dark Forest"
    - Flood Basalt
    - Supervolcano
    - Asteroid/Comet Impact
    - Nearby Supernova/Gamma-ray burst
    - Nanobot apocalypse

    In approximately that order for full-on extinction events
    What is 'Dark Forest' ?

    Actually do I what to know?
    Aliens.
    TOPPING said:

    Aslan said:

    Astonishing. Entire Russian tank column had to retreat because they were taking such heavy losses on way into Kyiv.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/tau3tl/incoming_russian_convoy_got_smashed_at_eastern/

    You get that from those 44 seconds?
    At the end they are clearly heading away from Kiev (you can confirm that on Google Earth).

    Whether that is just a retreat so that they can level the town, or a retreat to think about doing something else, we obviously have no idea.
    Looks like a retreat to stop getting their butt kicked. Interesting that it is all being filmed by a Ukrainian drone. Doesn't seem to be any air support.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 35,337
    Housebuilding tycoon Steve Morgan offers to sponsor 1,000 Ukrainian refugees + give them free housing for 6 months.
    "Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have to stop the delays."

    (PS Morgan has donated at least £1.25m to the Tories since 2019)
    https://www.business-live.co.uk/enterprise/redrow-founder-steve-morgan-pay-23348390
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,541
    Andy_JS said:

    "Russia has never seemed so far from the West. And yet Ragozin still suspects that, had the opportunity been seized, it could have gone another way:

    If Russia were properly invited into the European Union and NATO in the late 1990s, and the early 2000s, Putin would have made a perfect Eurocrat. It’s just that in this fork, he chose to go that way, the West chose not to press on Russia being integrated. It decided that it would be better to get the neighbours of Russia on board, which led to Russia’s alienation and isolation."

    https://unherd.com/thepost/leonid-ragozin/

    There were moves to get Russia into NATO in the 90s. Never went anywhere.
  • Cookie said:

    If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
    I married a plastic scouser. Pre plague I often spent £20k a year following Liverpool.

    But tell me more about me having no connection with Liverpool.
    In what sense do you have a link with Liverpool? You weren't born there, you have never lived there, and your family don't come from there. Your only link is by marriage seemingly. Some might say you are just a glory grabber!
    I’m a child of the 80s.

    I’m also very non white, in the 80s, football fans weren’t very welcoming.

    Only chance I had to watch football was on the TV, in those days you had like 12 matches on TV, mostly Liverpool.

    If I was a glory grabber, I’d have been a Chelsea and Man City fan recently.
    No, because you only get one chance. Even glory grabbers don't move from team to team. That would make the whole thing pointless.
    You make a half-decent case, but 'because they were big when I started watching football' is never going to elicit much sympathy.
    The order of respect that people will give you for the team you support - and don't pretend you don't know this, deep down - is as follows:
    1) Your local team. (Properly your local team - if you grown up in suburban Stockport, it's Stockport County, not Manchester Utd/City. If you grow up in Urmston and support Manchester United people will allow it, although it takes some of the fun out of it.)
    2) The team your family supported before you.
    3) A not particularly good team who you ended up with for an off-beat reason but have nevertheless stuck with (I knew a fella from Lancaster who - with no particular reason to support one team or another - was taken to buy his first football shirt at the age of 8. Who will it be? Blackburn were both Lancastrian AND successful at the time. It was before Morecambe were a league side, but they were close by. Some from school supported teams from Manchester or Liverpool. He gazed happily at the shirts before him, before being called by his father over to the sale bin (the family didn't have much money) and being given a choice of Sheffield United, Middlesbrough or Stoke. Somewhat glumly, he chose Sheffield United. But he stuck with them subsequently and went on to follow them home and away.
    4) A terrible team for no readily apparent reason.
    5) Your nearest 'big' team (see point 1 above).
    6) A big team who aren't even your second nearest.

    Basically, you don't even get to choose. Your team is assigned to you by an almost mystical process. Because watching football is, at bottom, about identity. (If it was about entertainment you'd be watching rugby instead.)
    My father is a Liverpool fan.

    He was a huge fan of Shankly and Paisley.

    As the grandson of immigrants to this country so I didn’t have much footballing heritage to tap.
    Inheriting the team of your father is a perfectly valid reason to support a club.

    Heck, you're entitled to support whoever you want to support, for whatever reasons you want to support them - and its not on anyone else to judge you for it. Its your support, you can give it to whoever you want.

    The idea that someone who's been to Anfield many, many times is "not a real fan" is just bizarre.

    Personally I support two clubs in two very different leagues, both for personal reasons, and have no difficulties reconciling that.
  • CookieCookie Posts: 12,892

    Cookie said:

    If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
    I married a plastic scouser. Pre plague I often spent £20k a year following Liverpool.

    But tell me more about me having no connection with Liverpool.
    In what sense do you have a link with Liverpool? You weren't born there, you have never lived there, and your family don't come from there. Your only link is by marriage seemingly. Some might say you are just a glory grabber!
    I’m a child of the 80s.

    I’m also very non white, in the 80s, football fans weren’t very welcoming.

    Only chance I had to watch football was on the TV, in those days you had like 12 matches on TV, mostly Liverpool.

    If I was a glory grabber, I’d have been a Chelsea and Man City fan recently.
    No, because you only get one chance. Even glory grabbers don't move from team to team. That would make the whole thing pointless.
    You make a half-decent case, but 'because they were big when I started watching football' is never going to elicit much sympathy.
    The order of respect that people will give you for the team you support - and don't pretend you don't know this, deep down - is as follows:
    1) Your local team. (Properly your local team - if you grown up in suburban Stockport, it's Stockport County, not Manchester Utd/City. If you grow up in Urmston and support Manchester United people will allow it, although it takes some of the fun out of it.)
    2) The team your family supported before you.
    3) A not particularly good team who you ended up with for an off-beat reason but have nevertheless stuck with (I knew a fella from Lancaster who - with no particular reason to support one team or another - was taken to buy his first football shirt at the age of 8. Who will it be? Blackburn were both Lancastrian AND successful at the time. It was before Morecambe were a league side, but they were close by. Some from school supported teams from Manchester or Liverpool. He gazed happily at the shirts before him, before being called by his father over to the sale bin (the family didn't have much money) and being given a choice of Sheffield United, Middlesbrough or Stoke. Somewhat glumly, he chose Sheffield United. But he stuck with them subsequently and went on to follow them home and away.
    4) A terrible team for no readily apparent reason.
    5) Your nearest 'big' team (see point 1 above).
    6) A big team who aren't even your second nearest.

    Basically, you don't even get to choose. Your team is assigned to you by an almost mystical process. Because watching football is, at bottom, about identity. (If it was about entertainment you'd be watching rugby instead.)
    My father is a Liverpool fan.

    He was a huge fan of Shankly and Paisley.

    As the grandson of immigrants to this country so I didn’t have much footballing heritage to tap.
    I'm not meaning to have a go, by the way. Every tradition has to start somewhere, and you've clearly invested a lot of time and effort over the years in Liverpool. But supporting a successful team when you're not from that city in particular is never going to elicit a great deal of sympathy. Supporting a successful team when they ARE your local team is never going to get you much sympathy, but at least a little 'oh well, suppose you can't help it'.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 51,574
    Nigelb said:

    BigRich said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    HYUFD said:

    Nuclear War overtakes global warming for the first time in new Yougov poll of most likely cause of human extinction

    Nuclear War 61% (+18%)
    Global Warming 41% (-1%)
    Pandemic 29% (-1%)
    Meteor 25% (nc)

    https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1501893049089150976?s=20&t=U5v3vnWGKdUFKBfAaHOnNA

    Except meteor none of those are extinction level. Silly poll
    I'd go with:
    - Artificial Super Intelligence
    - "Dark Forest"
    - Flood Basalt
    - Supervolcano
    - Asteroid/Comet Impact
    - Nearby Supernova/Gamma-ray burst
    - Nanobot apocalypse

    In approximately that order for full-on extinction events
    What is 'Dark Forest' ?

    Actually do I what to know?
    Planet wiped out by a massive black forest gateau wielded by an alien civilisation.
    That would just be the cherry on the top of the past few years.....
  • Cookie said:

    Cookie said:

    If Chelsea and/or Everton go bust/get relegated I think I might actually die of laughter.

    Forget the quadruple, this would be the double.

    FWIW - I think Chelsea are screwed, they lost close to £150 million last season, and net losses of over a £1.5 billion over the last decade or two.

    If Roman cannot pump money into the club, they are buggered.

    I reckon they could get deducted points this season which might knock them out the CL places and more likely points deduction next season.

    It was also reported yesterday that Everton might also get points deduction next season.

    You are not a real football fan if you want your derby rivals to go bust.

    That said, you have absolutely no connection with Merseyside as far as I can ascertain so probably don't care about the maintenance of the Merseyside derby.
    I married a plastic scouser. Pre plague I often spent £20k a year following Liverpool.

    But tell me more about me having no connection with Liverpool.
    In what sense do you have a link with Liverpool? You weren't born there, you have never lived there, and your family don't come from there. Your only link is by marriage seemingly. Some might say you are just a glory grabber!
    I’m a child of the 80s.

    I’m also very non white, in the 80s, football fans weren’t very welcoming.

    Only chance I had to watch football was on the TV, in those days you had like 12 matches on TV, mostly Liverpool.

    If I was a glory grabber, I’d have been a Chelsea and Man City fan recently.
    No, because you only get one chance. Even glory grabbers don't move from team to team. That would make the whole thing pointless.
    You make a half-decent case, but 'because they were big when I started watching football' is never going to elicit much sympathy.
    The order of respect that people will give you for the team you support - and don't pretend you don't know this, deep down - is as follows:
    1) Your local team. (Properly your local team - if you grown up in suburban Stockport, it's Stockport County, not Manchester Utd/City. If you grow up in Urmston and support Manchester United people will allow it, although it takes some of the fun out of it.)
    2) The team your family supported before you.
    3) A not particularly good team who you ended up with for an off-beat reason but have nevertheless stuck with (I knew a fella from Lancaster who - with no particular reason to support one team or another - was taken to buy his first football shirt at the age of 8. Who will it be? Blackburn were both Lancastrian AND successful at the time. It was before Morecambe were a league side, but they were close by. Some from school supported teams from Manchester or Liverpool. He gazed happily at the shirts before him, before being called by his father over to the sale bin (the family didn't have much money) and being given a choice of Sheffield United, Middlesbrough or Stoke. Somewhat glumly, he chose Sheffield United. But he stuck with them subsequently and went on to follow them home and away.
    4) A terrible team for no readily apparent reason.
    5) Your nearest 'big' team (see point 1 above).
    6) A big team who aren't even your second nearest.

    Basically, you don't even get to choose. Your team is assigned to you by an almost mystical process. Because watching football is, at bottom, about identity. (If it was about entertainment you'd be watching rugby instead.)
    My father is a Liverpool fan.

    He was a huge fan of Shankly and Paisley.

    As the grandson of immigrants to this country so I didn’t have much footballing heritage to tap.
    I'm not meaning to have a go, by the way. Every tradition has to start somewhere, and you've clearly invested a lot of time and effort over the years in Liverpool. But supporting a successful team when you're not from that city in particular is never going to elicit a great deal of sympathy. Supporting a successful team when they ARE your local team is never going to get you much sympathy, but at least a little 'oh well, suppose you can't help it'.
    I recall discussing football with TSE and other Liverpool fans on here over a decade ago when Liverpool were on the verge of bankruptcy under Hicks and Gillette.

    In those those days Liverpool were about as "successful" as 1990s English Cricket.
  • MISTYMISTY Posts: 1,594
    And so the cricket is

    A. Impressive resurgence in West Indian Test play, much to be welcomed, big shot in the arm for this form of the game (........Ambrose and Walsh....oooh weren't they?...)

    Or

    B. England bag of sh**te.

  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 51,574
    Ask them "Should you, your family and everybody you love, die in a nuclear conflagration in order to help Ukraine?" Then show me the polling.
  • MISTY said:

    And so the cricket is

    A. Impressive resurgence in West Indian Test play, much to be welcomed, big shot in the arm for this form of the game (........Ambrose and Walsh....oooh weren't they?...)

    Or

    B. England bag of sh**te.

    Yes.
  • Scott_xP said:

    Housebuilding tycoon Steve Morgan offers to sponsor 1,000 Ukrainian refugees + give them free housing for 6 months.
    "Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have to stop the delays."

    (PS Morgan has donated at least £1.25m to the Tories since 2019)
    https://www.business-live.co.uk/enterprise/redrow-founder-steve-morgan-pay-23348390

    Excellent start for Michael Gove

    And as an aside I once employed Steve as a young teenager in the late 1960s
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,541

    Ask them "Should you, your family and everybody you love, die in a nuclear conflagration in order to help Ukraine?" Then show me the polling.
    "Would that include my in-laws?"
  • Ask them "Should you, your family and everybody you love, die in a nuclear conflagration in order to help Ukraine?" Then show me the polling.
    It does worry you just how detached the public can be
This discussion has been closed.