FPPT: Andy_JS mentioned that he didn't understand American football. I am almost certain that my ignorance of cricket is greater than his of American football. Years ago, I recall reading "Murder Must Advertise" and being baffled by the description of the cricket match (if that's the right word).
(I'm not asking for instruction, though I might have a question or two for you folks, if I ever get around to watching a match in this area. Next summer, perhaps?)
Grr, my local now realises they can’t put cricket and rugby on at the same time, as they’re both on the same weird subscription service and they only have one subscription!
FPPT: Andy_JS mentioned that he didn't understand American football. I am almost certain that my ignorance of cricket is greater than his of American football. Years ago, I recall reading "Murder Must Advertise" and being baffled by the description of the cricket match (if that's the right word).
(I'm not asking for instruction, though I might have a question or two for you folks, if I ever get around to watching a match in this area. Next summer, perhaps?)
Grr, my local now realises they can’t put cricket and rugby on at the same time, as they’re both on the same weird subscription service and they only have one subscription!
Sounds legit ;-)
It actually is legit, StarzPlay Arabia is the local version of Netflix.
I just told the manager that if they’re going to have both rugby and cricket, then perhaps two subscriptions might be a good idea!
At no other time since Labour was removed from office in 2010 has it looked more like a party that is hungry to be in government, believes it can win, and is thinking seriously about what it would do with power.
The grimness of what they are likely to inherit from the Tories induces shudders in Labour people. “It will be hell,” predicts one senior shadow cabinet member. Yet along with prickles of trepidation there are also tingles of anticipation about the prospect of getting their hands on the levers of power.
There could be a year or more to go before the country is marking ballot papers. “The opinion poll lead now does not tell you what will happen at the election,” warns one of Labour’s most senior strategists. The calamity-strewn and faction-riven Tory conference gave every impression that Rishi Sunak has lost the plot and his party has lost heart in him, but Labour people work on the assumption that the Conservative machine will get its act together to conduct a ferociously anti-Labour campaign. “They will come at us hard. It will be brutal,” predicts one member of the shadow cabinet.
Fear of failure has not been entirely banished from Sir Keir’s party, but a highly successful conference was mostly characterised by rising hope. No sensible Labour person acts as if an election victory is in the bag, but they do sound like people who think they have advanced to within touching distance of power.
Hamas' leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar at the top of Israel's kill list
He was arrested and imprisoned by the Israelis in 1988 on charges of attempted murder but was released in 2011 – one of more than 1,000 Palestinian inmates who were exchanged for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held hostage by Hamas for five years.
Sinwar is believed to have been behind the torture and murder of a Hamas commander, Mahmoud Ishtiwi, who was accused of embezzlement and what Hamas called moral turpitude – code for being homosexual.
Hamas’s charter calls for the destruction of Israel and Sinwar is known to oppose any attempt to compromise or mediate with the Jewish state. He still lives in Khan Younis, the place of his birth. Israeli planes bombed his house at the weekend, but Hamas insisted there were no casualties in the attack.
FPPT: Andy_JS mentioned that he didn't understand American football. I am almost certain that my ignorance of cricket is greater than his of American football. Years ago, I recall reading "Murder Must Advertise" and being baffled by the description of the cricket match (if that's the right word).
(I'm not asking for instruction, though I might have a question or two for you folks, if I ever get around to watching a match in this area. Next summer, perhaps?)
The Ford (with CVW-8) is in the Eastern Med and the Eisenhower (with CVW-3) has just put out from Oceana, VA and so is weeks away.
Also in the Eastern Med are the Normandy, Hudney, Ramage, Carney and Roosevelt. (Guided Missile Cruiser and 4 x Guided Missile Destroyer).
Shappsie has sent RFA Argus (aviation training/PCR) but asks us all not to be embarrassed at the paucity of the contribution,
No escort for Argus?
GPMG on the starboard rail fitted for but not with ammo.
Ah, thanks. When my dad was on a carrier c. 1945, and on destroyers after that, they always had at least one destroyer trailing along after each carrier to fish out the over-intrepid aviators, and do any other odd jobs up to and including attacking enemy cruisers and subs. But I presume the modern RN assume they'll always have a spare budgie available to do the job, whatever job. [Edit: I do know Argus is (primarily?) helicopters.]
You are underestimating the lean, agile, AI-enabled character of today's RN. Argus has no deployed aviation - it's got no hangar for a start. So no need for escort or SAR. Smart thinking that wins wars.
Ta. Extraordinary - I hadn't realised she lacked a hangar. She *looks* as if she has one, or even two, with that boxy superstructure - even uglier result than when they put hangars on the cruisers Blake and Lion
Enough of the cricket, I'm going off to watch England teach the Fijians a lesson in how to lose.
22.3 was a four, so five overs.
Ooh, pub found another channel (Willow HD) showing the cricket, so we can watch both at once.
No wickets that last over - only a maiden instead.
Can't be many maidens expected in aa game like this, required run rate is shooting up as well as having few wickets remaining we're going to run out of overs remaining too.
Enough of the cricket, I'm going off to watch England teach the Fijians a lesson in how to lose.
22.3 was a four, so five overs.
Ooh, pub found another channel (Willow HD) showing the cricket, so we can watch both at once.
No wickets that last over - only a maiden instead.
Can't be many maidens expected in aa game like this, required run rate is shooting up as well as having few wickets remaining we're going to run out of overs remaining too.
Enough of the cricket, I'm going off to watch England teach the Fijians a lesson in how to lose.
22.3 was a four, so five overs.
Ooh, pub found another channel (Willow HD) showing the cricket, so we can watch both at once.
No wickets that last over - only a maiden instead.
Can't be many maidens expected in aa game like this, required run rate is shooting up as well as having few wickets remaining we're going to run out of overs remaining too.
Required run rate goes over 7.
28 runs scored in last 10 overs. 18 off the last 8.
The Ford (with CVW-8) is in the Eastern Med and the Eisenhower (with CVW-3) has just put out from Oceana, VA and so is weeks away.
Also in the Eastern Med are the Normandy, Hudney, Ramage, Carney and Roosevelt. (Guided Missile Cruiser and 4 x Guided Missile Destroyer).
Shappsie has sent RFA Argus (aviation training/PCR) but asks us all not to be embarrassed at the paucity of the contribution,
I must say that I really like the idea of our ships being named after classic albums of 1970s folk/prog rock.
With a helicopter platform and on board hospital it seems RFS Argus is better suited to evacuating and treating refugees than bombing them.
The frigates HMS Thick as a Brick and HMS Selling England by the Pound escorting RFA Tales from Togographic Oceans. It has something rather Ian M Banks about it.
Culture ships named themselves, so I guess the Argus would name itself What The F@## Have I Got Myself In To?
Enough of the cricket, I'm going off to watch England teach the Fijians a lesson in how to lose.
22.3 was a four, so five overs.
Ooh, pub found another channel (Willow HD) showing the cricket, so we can watch both at once.
No wickets that last over - only a maiden instead.
Can't be many maidens expected in aa game like this, required run rate is shooting up as well as having few wickets remaining we're going to run out of overs remaining too.
Required run rate goes over 7.
28 runs scored in last 10 overs. 18 off the last 8.
This is abysmal.
It is the price of wickets and England have paid plenty. Everything depends on Brook now and its a very big ask if those who come in with him are scoring so slowly.
The Ford (with CVW-8) is in the Eastern Med and the Eisenhower (with CVW-3) has just put out from Oceana, VA and so is weeks away.
Also in the Eastern Med are the Normandy, Hudney, Ramage, Carney and Roosevelt. (Guided Missile Cruiser and 4 x Guided Missile Destroyer).
Shappsie has sent RFA Argus (aviation training/PCR) but asks us all not to be embarrassed at the paucity of the contribution,
I must say that I really like the idea of our ships being named after classic albums of 1970s folk/prog rock.
With a helicopter platform and on board hospital it seems RFS Argus is better suited to evacuating and treating refugees than bombing them.
The frigates HMS Thick as a Brick and HMS Selling England by the Pound escorting RFA Tales from Togographic Oceans. It has something rather Ian M Banks about it.
The Fijian Super Rugby team are called Fijian Drua - which refers to the traditional Fijian canoe. The equivalent name in Wales could be the Welsh Coracles.
So what was the immediate response to the appalling Hamas attacks? To call time on their peace talks with Israel. At the same time no change regards their re-engagement with Iran. Also co-ordinating oil production cuts with Russia. If they are furious they have a funny way of showing it.
I think the Saudis have been totally flat-footed by events of the past week, and they don’t really know what to think.
I’ve been saying for months that the West needs to be lobbying OPEC hard, to pump like crazy and get Russia out of the market, reducing Putin’s capacity to wage war in Europe and helping OPEC nations in the long term.
Everything suggests the Saudis don't want to cripple Putin.
So what was the immediate response to the appalling Hamas attacks? To call time on their peace talks with Israel. At the same time no change regards their re-engagement with Iran. Also co-ordinating oil production cuts with Russia. If they are furious they have a funny way of showing it.
I think the Saudis have been totally flat-footed by events of the past week, and they don’t really know what to think.
I’ve been saying for months that the West needs to be lobbying OPEC hard, to pump like crazy and get Russia out of the market, reducing Putin’s capacity to wage war in Europe and helping OPEC nations in the long term.
Everything suggests the Saudis don't want to cripple Putin.
Mrs DA despatched me and my platoon of Ukrainian sappers to the WI hall this weekend to render a gable end and replace some flashing. I noticed two phenomena of import to political betting during my interactions with the horrid old tory coelacanths that make that building their lair.
1. They refer to the Daily Mail as "The Paper" as if no other newspaper exists. It and GB News are their exclusive source of news.
2. They love Swella and it's everybody else's fault that all of her channel schemes haven't worked.
Conclusion: Swella will win with the members. If anointed by the DM she should be the unbackable favourite. Hurrah for the blueshirts.
So what was the immediate response to the appalling Hamas attacks? To call time on their peace talks with Israel. At the same time no change regards their re-engagement with Iran. Also co-ordinating oil production cuts with Russia. If they are furious they have a funny way of showing it.
I think the Saudis have been totally flat-footed by events of the past week, and they don’t really know what to think.
I’ve been saying for months that the West needs to be lobbying OPEC hard, to pump like crazy and get Russia out of the market, reducing Putin’s capacity to wage war in Europe and helping OPEC nations in the long term.
Everything suggests the Saudis don't want to cripple Putin.
Which is a massive failure of Western diplomacy.
Do you expect them to prefer western liberal democracy?
Shouldn't we have thought a bit more about their new 'understanding' with Iran facilitated by China?
Random pub quiz question, to which I don’t know the answer. Have England every played simultaneous World Cup matches in two of the three major sports? I suspect not.
Mrs DA despatched me and my platoon of Ukrainian sappers to the WI hall this weekend to render a gable end and replace some flashing. I noticed two phenomena of import to political betting during my interactions with the horrid old tory coelacanths that make that building their lair.
1. They refer to the Daily Mail as "The Paper" as if no other newspaper exists. It and GB News are their exclusive source of news.
2. They love Swella and it's everybody else's fault that all of her channel schemes haven't worked.
Conclusion: Swella will win with the members. If anointed by the DM she should be the unbackable favourite. Hurrah for the blueshirts.
No nuggets re the ethnic cleansing of Gaza or the tyranny of not being allowed to drive your shonky old diesel wherever you like?
Random pub quiz question, to which I don’t know the answer. Have England every played simultaneous World Cup matches in two of the three major sports? I suspect not.
So what was the immediate response to the appalling Hamas attacks? To call time on their peace talks with Israel. At the same time no change regards their re-engagement with Iran. Also co-ordinating oil production cuts with Russia. If they are furious they have a funny way of showing it.
I think the Saudis have been totally flat-footed by events of the past week, and they don’t really know what to think.
I’ve been saying for months that the West needs to be lobbying OPEC hard, to pump like crazy and get Russia out of the market, reducing Putin’s capacity to wage war in Europe and helping OPEC nations in the long term.
Everything suggests the Saudis don't want to cripple Putin.
Which is a massive failure of Western diplomacy.
Do you expect them to prefer western liberal democracy?
Shouldn't we have thought a bit more about their new 'understanding' with Iran facilitated by China?
Well the Chinese and Russians aren’t the ones selling them F-35s. The West had a massive amount of leverage and didn’t use it. Biden has failed to build on Trump’s successes in the region.
I am reminded when England got thrashed by Zimbabwe at cricket, bowled out by a chicken farmer....
Eddo Brandes in 1992. He was rather portly too.
He of the most famous retort to a sledge in cricket.
I preferred Botham's put down of Marsh.
McGrath's wife was on the wrong end of another sledge as well, when McGrath asked Ramnaresh Sarwan (in the middle of a match-winning hundred) 'what does Lara's dick taste like?' getting the immediate answer, 'How would I know? Ask your wife.'
McGrath nearly got violent and had to be restrained...
So what was the immediate response to the appalling Hamas attacks? To call time on their peace talks with Israel. At the same time no change regards their re-engagement with Iran. Also co-ordinating oil production cuts with Russia. If they are furious they have a funny way of showing it.
I think the Saudis have been totally flat-footed by events of the past week, and they don’t really know what to think.
I’ve been saying for months that the West needs to be lobbying OPEC hard, to pump like crazy and get Russia out of the market, reducing Putin’s capacity to wage war in Europe and helping OPEC nations in the long term.
Everything suggests the Saudis don't want to cripple Putin.
tbf everything also suggested Israel does not want to cripple Putin.
@DavidL you just had to say it all hinged on Brook, didn't you?!
No, it was a while ago and a statement of the obvious. Wood and Rashid did quite well but the main batsmen left them with far, far too much to do. I said I was apprehensive about this chase but I didn't quite expect humiliation.
The Ford (with CVW-8) is in the Eastern Med and the Eisenhower (with CVW-3) has just put out from Oceana, VA and so is weeks away.
Also in the Eastern Med are the Normandy, Hudney, Ramage, Carney and Roosevelt. (Guided Missile Cruiser and 4 x Guided Missile Destroyer).
Shappsie has sent RFA Argus (aviation training/PCR) but asks us all not to be embarrassed at the paucity of the contribution,
For all those of you who don't speak @DuraAce, let me translate.
The Americans have sent one big aircraft carrier and one really big aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean, along with five other ships that can launch cruise missiles to hit land and other missiles to hit planes and ships. The aircraft on the carriers can kill other planes and subs but can only drop small bombs on land. This is a fleet that can provide some support to ground troops but is better thought of as a means of enforcing air superiority and making sure no other top-tier navies stick their noses in.
The Brits have sent the Royal Navy equivalent of a hospital with a helipad. It can look after injured but that's about it. It was in the movie "World War Z" with Brad Pitt and Peter Capaldi, so there's...that. Yay, us.
There is one big factor that will play a part in the next Labour leadership election.
The pressure to elect a woman will be huge.
In all likelihood the Tories will have had 4 female leaders by that point (based on the fact that the 3 candidates most likely to get the crown after the next GE are Braverman, Badenoch or Mordaunt). I personally don't think identity politics should come into it, but it isn't my decision, and thinking like some in Labour think, I just cannot see how they will accept another white male leader.
Mrs DA despatched me and my platoon of Ukrainian sappers to the WI hall this weekend to render a gable end and replace some flashing. I noticed two phenomena of import to political betting during my interactions with the horrid old tory coelacanths that make that building their lair.
1. They refer to the Daily Mail as "The Paper" as if no other newspaper exists. It and GB News are their exclusive source of news.
2. They love Swella and it's everybody else's fault that all of her channel schemes haven't worked.
Conclusion: Swella will win with the members. If anointed by the DM she should be the unbackable favourite. Hurrah for the blueshirts.
No nuggets re the ethnic cleansing of Gaza or the tyranny of not being allowed to drive your shonky old diesel wherever you like?
Not sure either that the coelacanths would like the comparison any more than the original Irish Blueshirts would.
I am reminded when England got thrashed by Zimbabwe at cricket, bowled out by a chicken farmer....
Eddo Brandes in 1992. He was rather portly too.
He of the most famous retort to a sledge in cricket.
I preferred Botham's put down of Marsh.
McGrath's wife was on the wrong end of another sledge as well, when McGrath asked Ramnaresh Sarwan (in the middle of a match-winning hundred) 'what does Lara's dick taste like?' getting the immediate answer, 'How would I know? Ask your wife.'
McGrath nearly got violent and had to be restrained...
Yeah, I’ve seen the YouTube of it. A pointless homophobic crack. Can dish it out, can’t take it.
His wife was ill at the time, and she Sadly lost her life a few years later, but Sarwan wouldn’t know that. What is it with some people who think they can be as abusive as they want and try to get under peoples skins but when they get it back they take the hump.
I am reminded when England got thrashed by Zimbabwe at cricket, bowled out by a chicken farmer....
Eddo Brandes in 1992. He was rather portly too.
He of the most famous retort to a sledge in cricket.
I preferred Botham's put down of Marsh.
McGrath's wife was on the wrong end of another sledge as well, when McGrath asked Ramnaresh Sarwan (in the middle of a match-winning hundred) 'what does Lara's dick taste like?' getting the immediate answer, 'How would I know? Ask your wife.'
McGrath nearly got violent and had to be restrained...
Just looked up the Marsh-Botham sledge. Not heard it before. Made me laugh but I think it would trigger a few these days.
I am reminded when England got thrashed by Zimbabwe at cricket, bowled out by a chicken farmer....
Eddo Brandes in 1992. He was rather portly too.
He of the most famous retort to a sledge in cricket.
I preferred Botham's put down of Marsh.
McGrath's wife was on the wrong end of another sledge as well, when McGrath asked Ramnaresh Sarwan (in the middle of a match-winning hundred) 'what does Lara's dick taste like?' getting the immediate answer, 'How would I know? Ask your wife.'
McGrath nearly got violent and had to be restrained...
Just looked up the Marsh-Botham sledge. Not heard it before. Made me laugh but I think it would trigger a few these days.
Marsh and Botham definitely win the sledging award.
I cannot believe none of you have mentioned the greatest sledge ever.
Australia batsman Mark Waugh was unimpressed when England bowler Jimmy Ormond (career batting average 15.16) came out to bat in the final Oval Test of the 2001 Ashes.
Waugh, brother of Australia captain Steve, let rip at slip:
"Mate, what are you doing here? There's no way you're good enough to play for England."
To which Ormond replied:
"Maybe not, but at least I'm the best player in my family."
The Ford (with CVW-8) is in the Eastern Med and the Eisenhower (with CVW-3) has just put out from Oceana, VA and so is weeks away.
Also in the Eastern Med are the Normandy, Hudney, Ramage, Carney and Roosevelt. (Guided Missile Cruiser and 4 x Guided Missile Destroyer).
Shappsie has sent RFA Argus (aviation training/PCR) but asks us all not to be embarrassed at the paucity of the contribution,
For all those of you who don't speak @DuraAce, let me translate.
The Americans have sent one big aircraft carrier and one really big aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean, along with five other ships that can launch cruise missiles to hit land and other missiles to hit planes and ships. The aircraft on the carriers can kill other planes and subs but can only drop small bombs on land. This is a fleet that can provide some support to ground troops but is better thought of as a means of enforcing air superiority and making sure no other top-tier navies stick their noses in.
The Brits have sent the Royal Navy equivalent of a hospital with a helipad. It can look after injured but that's about it. It was in the movie "World War Z" with Brad Pitt and Peter Capaldi, so there's...that. Yay, us.
We don’t need a carrier (even if we had one…) in the Eastern Med
I cannot believe none of you have mentioned the greatest sledge ever.
Australia batsman Waugh was unimpressed when England bowler Ormond (career batting average 15.16) came out to bat in the final Oval Test of the 2001 Ashes. Waugh, brother of Australia captain Steve, let rip at slip:
"Mate, what are you doing here? There's no way you're good enough to play for England."
To which Ormond replied: "Maybe not, but at least I'm the best player in my family."
Brilliant. That’s a belter.
I seem to remember for a while he was known as Afghanistan. The forgotten Waugh.
I cannot believe none of you have mentioned the greatest sledge ever.
Australia batsman Waugh was unimpressed when England bowler Ormond (career batting average 15.16) came out to bat in the final Oval Test of the 2001 Ashes. Waugh, brother of Australia captain Steve, let rip at slip:
"Mate, what are you doing here? There's no way you're good enough to play for England."
To which Ormond replied: "Maybe not, but at least I'm the best player in my family."
Brilliant. That’s a belter.
I seem to remember for a while he was known as Afghanistan. The forgotten Waugh.
I was once on the end of a brutal sledge.
I came into bat, played and missed my first few deliveries and their wicketkeeper said to the bowler
'Bowl it straight, this fucker would miss his own funeral.'
Burnham's time has been and gone. If he'd been in Parliament after 2019 I think he'd probably have become Lab leader over SKS but that ship has sailed now.
After SKS Labour will surely have to elect a female leader?
I cannot believe none of you have mentioned the greatest sledge ever.
Australia batsman Waugh was unimpressed when England bowler Ormond (career batting average 15.16) came out to bat in the final Oval Test of the 2001 Ashes. Waugh, brother of Australia captain Steve, let rip at slip:
"Mate, what are you doing here? There's no way you're good enough to play for England."
To which Ormond replied: "Maybe not, but at least I'm the best player in my family."
Brilliant. That’s a belter.
I seem to remember for a while he was known as Afghanistan. The forgotten Waugh.
I was once on the end of a brutal sledge.
I came into bat, played and missed my first few deliveries and their wicketkeeper said to the bowler
'Bowl it straight, this fucker would miss his own funeral.'
The Ford (with CVW-8) is in the Eastern Med and the Eisenhower (with CVW-3) has just put out from Oceana, VA and so is weeks away.
Also in the Eastern Med are the Normandy, Hudney, Ramage, Carney and Roosevelt. (Guided Missile Cruiser and 4 x Guided Missile Destroyer).
Shappsie has sent RFA Argus (aviation training/PCR) but asks us all not to be embarrassed at the paucity of the contribution,
For all those of you who don't speak @DuraAce, let me translate.
The Americans have sent one big aircraft carrier and one really big aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean, along with five other ships that can launch cruise missiles to hit land and other missiles to hit planes and ships. The aircraft on the carriers can kill other planes and subs but can only drop small bombs on land. This is a fleet that can provide some support to ground troops but is better thought of as a means of enforcing air superiority and making sure no other top-tier navies stick their noses in.
The Brits have sent the Royal Navy equivalent of a hospital with a helipad. It can look after injured but that's about it. It was in the movie "World War Z" with Brad Pitt and Peter Capaldi, so there's...that. Yay, us.
We don’t need a carrier (even if we had one…) in the Eastern Med
We have Akrotiri.
A hospital ship strikes me as quite useful
The British go to save lives, the yanks go to take them. I know which country I would rather be praising.
Mrs DA despatched me and my platoon of Ukrainian sappers to the WI hall this weekend to render a gable end and replace some flashing. I noticed two phenomena of import to political betting during my interactions with the horrid old tory coelacanths that make that building their lair.
1. They refer to the Daily Mail as "The Paper" as if no other newspaper exists. It and GB News are their exclusive source of news.
2. They love Swella and it's everybody else's fault that all of her channel schemes haven't worked.
Conclusion: Swella will win with the members. If anointed by the DM she should be the unbackable favourite. Hurrah for the blueshirts.
No nuggets re the ethnic cleansing of Gaza or the tyranny of not being allowed to drive your shonky old diesel wherever you like?
The winner of the Easter Bonnet Competition once told me they should let Milosevic out of jail so he could "finish the job".
Stroud councillor quits Labour over Starmer comments.
Jessie Hoskin, a councillor for Cainscross ward on Stroud District Council, posted on Facebook she was unhappy about his remarks "supporting war crimes against Palestinian people".
The Ford (with CVW-8) is in the Eastern Med and the Eisenhower (with CVW-3) has just put out from Oceana, VA and so is weeks away.
Also in the Eastern Med are the Normandy, Hudney, Ramage, Carney and Roosevelt. (Guided Missile Cruiser and 4 x Guided Missile Destroyer).
Shappsie has sent RFA Argus (aviation training/PCR) but asks us all not to be embarrassed at the paucity of the contribution,
For all those of you who don't speak @DuraAce, let me translate.
The Americans have sent one big aircraft carrier and one really big aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean, along with five other ships that can launch cruise missiles to hit land and other missiles to hit planes and ships. The aircraft on the carriers can kill other planes and subs but can only drop small bombs on land. This is a fleet that can provide some support to ground troops but is better thought of as a means of enforcing air superiority and making sure no other top-tier navies stick their noses in.
The Brits have sent the Royal Navy equivalent of a hospital with a helipad. It can look after injured but that's about it. It was in the movie "World War Z" with Brad Pitt and Peter Capaldi, so there's...that. Yay, us.
We don’t need a carrier (even if we had one…) in the Eastern Med
We have Akrotiri.
A hospital ship strikes me as quite useful
Indeed it looks like someone in the MoD has engaged thinking mode. Sending a hospital ship with helipad is likely to be very astute. Great publicity to be evacuating wounded children when the IDF declares a ceasefire.
Comments
(I'm not asking for instruction, though I might have a question or two for you folks, if I ever get around to watching a match in this area. Next summer, perhaps?)
https://www.melcarson.com/rules-of-cricket-simplified.html
Once you understand the ins and outs of the sport, it’s easy.
I just told the manager that if they’re going to have both rugby and cricket, then perhaps two subscriptions might be a good idea!
At no other time since Labour was removed from office in 2010 has it looked more like a party that is hungry to be in government, believes it can win, and is thinking seriously about what it would do with power.
The grimness of what they are likely to inherit from the Tories induces shudders in Labour people. “It will be hell,” predicts one senior shadow cabinet member. Yet along with prickles of trepidation there are also tingles of anticipation about the prospect of getting their hands on the levers of power.
There could be a year or more to go before the country is marking ballot papers. “The opinion poll lead now does not tell you what will happen at the election,” warns one of Labour’s most senior strategists. The calamity-strewn and faction-riven Tory conference gave every impression that Rishi Sunak has lost the plot and his party has lost heart in him, but Labour people work on the assumption that the Conservative machine will get its act together to conduct a ferociously anti-Labour campaign. “They will come at us hard. It will be brutal,” predicts one member of the shadow cabinet.
Fear of failure has not been entirely banished from Sir Keir’s party, but a highly successful conference was mostly characterised by rising hope. No sensible Labour person acts as if an election victory is in the bag, but they do sound like people who think they have advanced to within touching distance of power.
He was arrested and imprisoned by the Israelis in 1988 on charges of attempted murder but was released in 2011 – one of more than 1,000 Palestinian inmates who were exchanged for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held hostage by Hamas for five years.
Sinwar is believed to have been behind the torture and murder of a Hamas commander, Mahmoud Ishtiwi, who was accused of embezzlement and what Hamas called moral turpitude – code for being homosexual.
Hamas’s charter calls for the destruction of Israel and Sinwar is known to oppose any attempt to compromise or mediate with the Jewish state. He still lives in Khan Younis, the place of his birth. Israeli planes bombed his house at the weekend, but Hamas insisted there were no casualties in the attack.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/10/09/hamas-yahya-sinwar-israel-defence-forces-gaza-palestine/
Sounds a lovely chap.
https://x.com/sdphq/status/1713233882647085297?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
Not that it helps now Sam Curran is out. 6 down not even halfway to the target.
Enough of the cricket, I'm going off to watch England teach the Fijians a lesson in how to lose.
Ooh, pub found another channel (Willow HD) showing the cricket, so we can watch both at once.
To think I voted for them in 1983!
Can't be many maidens expected in aa game like this, required run rate is shooting up as well as having few wickets remaining we're going to run out of overs remaining too.
This is abysmal.
Lab wins a decisive majority = Starmer in for a decade
Lab minority government = early second election, with Starmer win against a Tory party led by someone as mad as Truss.
Lab at next election not able to form government or losing? Probably still Starmer stays on.
Con win at GE (no laughing at the back!) Starmer resigns with project discredited, no Burnham in Commons.
The only real possibility of an early contest is an early resignation for medical reasons, in which case Angela gets the gig.
Jess is as thick as mince. In the last labour leader campaign she really showed how dense she is. Keep her there as a ‘darling’ of the Blairites.
Stockport Cher, like it, possibly as they really should have a woman leader next. Phillipson possibly ?
Good game.
Utterly pathetic. Don't deserve to win this.
Ah, my coat, how kind
(Incidentally the Consider Phlebas ship "Clear Air Turbulence" is named after the album of the same name by the Ian Gillan Band)
#cymrudrua
(switches on television)
Holy shi(yes, we've all seen the pictures - Ed)
Still need over a hundred runs. This isn't just a loss, its a humiliation and is going to trash our net run rate too.
We aren't getting out of this group stage.
They've only ever beaten Scotland in the World Cup before, so this will be their first ever victory against a proper cricketing nation at a World Cup.
1. They refer to the Daily Mail as "The Paper" as if no other newspaper exists. It and GB News are their exclusive source of news.
2. They love Swella and it's everybody else's fault that all of her channel schemes haven't worked.
Conclusion: Swella will win with the members. If anointed by the DM she should be the unbackable favourite. Hurrah for the blueshirts.
Surprisingly he's managed to pivot to Israel, which I didn't think he can do in time. Here's his latest drop
"Israel's Defence Strategy & the IDF - Doctrine, Mobilisation, and Recent Lessons", Perun, YouTube, 15Oct2023, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xbkakrwmFo , 72 minutes
Shouldn't we have thought a bit more about their new 'understanding' with Iran facilitated by China?
He of the most famous retort to a sledge in cricket.
McGrath's wife was on the wrong end of another sledge as well, when McGrath asked Ramnaresh Sarwan (in the middle of a match-winning hundred) 'what does Lara's dick taste like?' getting the immediate answer, 'How would I know? Ask your wife.'
McGrath nearly got violent and had to be restrained...
The Americans have sent one big aircraft carrier and one really big aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean, along with five other ships that can launch cruise missiles to hit land and other missiles to hit planes and ships. The aircraft on the carriers can kill other planes and subs but can only drop small bombs on land. This is a fleet that can provide some support to ground troops but is better thought of as a means of enforcing air superiority and making sure no other top-tier navies stick their noses in.
The Brits have sent the Royal Navy equivalent of a hospital with a helipad. It can look after injured but that's about it. It was in the movie "World War Z" with Brad Pitt and Peter Capaldi, so there's...that. Yay, us.
Oh, you're talking about the cricket, rather than British politics.
The pressure to elect a woman will be huge.
In all likelihood the Tories will have had 4 female leaders by that point (based on the fact that the 3 candidates most likely to get the crown after the next GE are Braverman, Badenoch or Mordaunt). I personally don't think identity politics should come into it, but it isn't my decision, and thinking like some in Labour think, I just cannot see how they will accept another white male leader.
As badly as England have played, nothing should take away from how well Afghanistan have played today. They deserve this and credit to them.
His wife was ill at the time, and she Sadly lost her life a few years later, but Sarwan wouldn’t know that. What is it with some people who think they can be as abusive as they want and try to get under peoples skins but when they get it back they take the hump.
Great bowler but not a good person.
"Insanely Massive Rocket Attack just now against Tel Aviv."
https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1713584774575534550
Australia batsman Mark Waugh was unimpressed when England bowler Jimmy Ormond (career batting average 15.16) came out to bat in the final Oval Test of the 2001 Ashes.
Waugh, brother of Australia captain Steve, let rip at slip:
"Mate, what are you doing here? There's no way you're good enough to play for England."
To which Ormond replied:
"Maybe not, but at least I'm the best player in my family."
We have Akrotiri.
A hospital ship strikes me as quite useful
I seem to remember for a while he was known as Afghanistan. The forgotten Waugh.
https://www.theonion.com/the-onion-stands-with-israel-because-it-seems-like-yo-1850922505
https://x.com/sentdefender/status/1713589842603352332?s=61&t=s0ae0IFncdLS1Dc7J0P_TQ
I came into bat, played and missed my first few deliveries and their wicketkeeper said to the bowler
'Bowl it straight, this fucker would miss his own funeral.'
After SKS Labour will surely have to elect a female leader?
https://twitter.com/mericamemed/status/1712453064790274095
Stroud councillor quits Labour over Starmer comments.
Jessie Hoskin, a councillor for Cainscross ward on Stroud District Council, posted on Facebook she was unhappy about his remarks "supporting war crimes against Palestinian people".
Reports of Iran putting together a Shia militia.
https://x.com/natsecjeff/status/1713523133054111928?s=61&t=s0ae0IFncdLS1Dc7J0P_TQ