Talking of the return to 1930s, was whoever set my daughter’s non verbal reasoning homework trying to tell us something?
(Yes I know it’s the “good” way round).
The Nelson Publishing Company used a swastika as their symbol for decades.
Which is ironic in today's terms as the Nelson* family were Jewish.
*Nothing to do with the other Nelson family, who were not Jewish as far as I know.
I have a number of volumes on my bookcase with the swastika embossed on their spines. Prewar editions of Kipling published by Macmillan. A Hindu symbol meaning good fortune.
Loyal Man U fans heading for the exit with ten minutes to go. Be a long drive back to the Home Counties.
All that money Man Utd have spent and Harry Maguire and Johnny Evans were their centre backs today!!!
A real princes and paupers look to the Premiership table at the moment.
It used to be that two points per game would put you in contention for the title, now Aston Villa have 22 points from 10 games but are only 5th. At the other end 1 point per game was reckoned to be needed to avoid relegation, but Bournemouth have only 6 points from 10 games but are (just) above the relegation zone.
Neutrals will take some delight from seeing two big-spending teams (Man Utd and Chelsea) who looked like they might permanently share the title between them almost a couple of decades ago, now both marooned in mid-table obscurity.
You have to go back to 2010-11 to find the last time that a team got relegated with 38 points (1 point per game) or more. There used to be a degree of equality in the PL, because of the way the Sky money was distributed. It wasn't good for ratings to have an uncompetitive league, so Sky doled out the cash to keep a degree of competition. Now that TV money is dwarfed by the £ billions being thrown into the league from the Saudis etc. The result is that the points differential between the top and bottom has widened, 35 points is typically enough to survive nowadays.
The best season in the last decade (as Foxy will no doubt agree) was 2015-16 when a team who at the start were one of the favourites for relegation won it, with most of the nation cheering them on. That is never going to happen again.
Talking of the return to 1930s, was whoever set my daughter’s non verbal reasoning homework trying to tell us something?
(Yes I know it’s the “good” way round).
The Nelson Publishing Company used a swastika as their symbol for decades.
Which is ironic in today's terms as the Nelson* family were Jewish.
*Nothing to do with the other Nelson family, who were not Jewish as far as I know.
I have a number of volumes on my bookcase with the swastika embossed on their spines. Prewar editions of Kipling published by Macmillan. A Hindu symbol meaning good fortune.
I tried explaining to a little old lady in Nepal, why one of the lines of little brass boxes wasn’t selling to tourists.
It was engraved swastikas with swastikas engraved inside the first lot. All the swastikas, pretty much.
I’ve traveled widely around the world. I know this wil come as a surprise but it’s true. Over 100 countries
After all that travel I’ve developed a rule of thumb. Anywhere you go in the world most people are nice. They really are. They want to help, they like a joke, they enjoy smiling - they want you to smile as well
Maybe 70% of people anywhere are like this. Nice. About 15% will be cold and aloof and maybe a bit prejudiced against you. But nothing terrible. Another 8% will be mad. And 7% will be actively evil and nasty
The trouble comes - in any country/society/nationality - when that 7% gains access to power and it gets worse if they find a way to keep hold of power. As these bastards are often smart and as they are happy to kill to maintain power, you get countries that never seem to escape the rule of the evil 7%
Russia might be an example. Also Gaza
I found this working in the Middle East in the 80s and 90s. The ex-pats (of all varieties, Yanks, Brits, Aussies, Frogs and every other Western country) would get together in enclaves and talk about how terrible the locals were.
"Don't talk to the Arabs, don't trust them, they are dirty, they steal, they are little better than savages."
And yet when you actually went out and worked and lived with them for months on end away from the 'civilised' communities you quickly realised they were, of course, just like us. Good, bad, happy, sad, honest and dishonest. Almost of of them were friendly, wanted to talk about football, their families and those bastards in charge. What they really hated was being treated like shit by guests in their own country.
I have a real downer on ex-pat communities ever since.
How does an ex-pat community differ from any standard immigrant community ?
Just stop posting shit like this palestinians are the victim here didnt you know (sarcasm for the hard of thinking)
It is quite possible for both Palestinians and Jews to be victims.
I agree, however many on the left are of the opinion jews cant because they see them as not oppressed. The whole racism is only valid if you are the oppressed minority schtick. Now some jews have power and influence, so do some whites so do some arabs.....the majority of all creeds and colours have little power or influence.
Or is it possible CCHQ has had another look at the boundaries? It will be interesting to see what they do about photo ID to vote, given Conservative revisionism there as well.
People have already gone for or lost seat selections on the new boundaries, at this point it would only cause the party greater awkwardness to try to upend the process, which probably requires new legislation.
Indeed parliamentary candidates for all the main parties are being selected on the basis of the new boundaries not the old. That is where the real complication will emerge if further delays on their approval.
The handful of net extra seats the Tories would pick up are negligible now given Starmer is heading for a landslide victory on current polls anyway boundary changes or no boundary changes
If Hunt goes, more seats are in play. And if Sunak goes, it's all to play for.
Except the Tories are still closer to Labour under Sunak than they were when Truss left.
The main problem for the Tories is still cost of living and the need to get inflation down further, not the leadership and an incoming Labour government would have the same problem
Russians are the nastiest bunch of scumbags on the planet
Referring to entire groups in such a way is pretty stupid.
For example, a couple of the Russians I know are the most utterly honest people I have ever met.
They will not tell a lie, even to save the face of a boss standing in front of them - to them it is preferable to lose a job than to kiss arse up the chain. One of them did this in front of me.
I have this issue when Leon goes on about Turks. I know a fair few Turks, and I don't recognise much of what he says. But then again, the ones in my family are all thoroughly middle-class, and I rarely get to meet my wife's wider family. The majority of Turks I know are in the UK, and they are of course, a self-selecting group. So when someone says something about Turkish views I disagree with, I can say that it's not true of the ones I know; but that does not mean that it is wrong. Just that I don't recognise it.
Er, what??? When have I ever said anything about Turks?!
They are some of the friendliest, most hospitable people on the planet. I like them a lot
Indeed it’s because they are generally so nice that their appalling, satanic mistreatment of the Armenians is such a profound and saddening mystery
I believe you said something the other week that made me bite my tongue. Annoyingly cannot remember what it was, though... I don't think it involved taxi drivers...
Seriously. Withdraw that accusation if you can’t back it up
I’ve traveled widely in Turkey and have good Turkish friends. I can only presume you misconstrued a joke - if there is any basis at all to what you say
IIRC you suggested that anti-semitism was common among the Turks you had met which was contrary to your experiences with Syrians and Jordanians.
I’ve traveled widely around the world. I know this wil come as a surprise but it’s true. Over 100 countries
After all that travel I’ve developed a rule of thumb. Anywhere you go in the world most people are nice. They really are. They want to help, they like a joke, they enjoy smiling - they want you to smile as well
Maybe 70% of people anywhere are like this. Nice. About 15% will be cold and aloof and maybe a bit prejudiced against you. But nothing terrible. Another 8% will be mad. And 7% will be actively evil and nasty
The trouble comes - in any country/society/nationality - when that 7% gains access to power and it gets worse if they find a way to keep hold of power. As these bastards are often smart and as they are happy to kill to maintain power, you get countries that never seem to escape the rule of the evil 7%
Russia might be an example. Also Gaza
I found this working in the Middle East in the 80s and 90s. The ex-pats (of all varieties, Yanks, Brits, Aussies, Frogs and every other Western country) would get together in enclaves and talk about how terrible the locals were.
"Don't talk to the Arabs, don't trust them, they are dirty, they steal, they are little better than savages."
And yet when you actually went out and worked and lived with them for months on end away from the 'civilised' communities you quickly realised they were, of course, just like us. Good, bad, happy, sad, honest and dishonest. Almost of of them were friendly, wanted to talk about football, their families and those bastards in charge. What they really hated was being treated like shit by guests in their own country.
I have a real downer on ex-pat communities ever since.
How does an ex-pat community differ from any standard immigrant community ?
ex pat communities often make ghettos of their own kind, sometimes immigrants do as well through choice, sometimes immigrants are forced to make ghettos due to finances.
The key is intergration not making a ghetto of your own type. I saw this in slough. We lived in a street with white, blacks, muslims, hindus etc....we all rubbed along fine. Then we moved house....myself and the girlfriend lived close to a mosque, the only white people for several streets the rest muslim and mostly the poorer end of the spectrum....we were not welcome there...girlfriend was often spat on by kids and called white trash, raising the issue with the parents gained us a shrug and a response of well she is going around in a tee shirt and not covering her head like a proper women.
Scrap the 100 and return to 50 overs ODIs otherwise the players get no practice for the World Cup format
I read a book that argued England's 2019 world cup winning generation cut their teeth playing the old 40-over format, which have them an edge in 50-over games.
I am, of course, eagerly anticipating future international T20 success for England when the next generation of players benefits from the Hundred.
How long will it take this useless government to ban the dogs from hell .
Another attack and how many more people will be seriously injured or killed before action is taken .
Maybe we should carpet bomb areas of the country known to have high concentrations of XL Bullies, to take them out. I know there'd be some collateral damage to innocent non-dog-owning civilians, but it may be worth it to protect the rest of us from the evil dogs.
Two possibly interesting facts on Gaza: When Sharon withdrew from Gaza, an Israeli who owned a fancy greenhouse there, raising, as I recall, oranges, left it intact. It was destroyed by, if I recall correctly, Hamas.
Second, at the time of the attack, Israeli had given 20K work permits to Gazans.
Even Gaza's normal destitute state was dependent upon Israel for economic survival.
That has now gone forever.
Why everyone continues to ignore the reality that Gaza has no chance of economically sustaining more than about 15% of its current population is a mystery.
For any chance of a long term settlement the majority of Gazans need to be relocated.
Two possibly interesting facts on Gaza: When Sharon withdrew from Gaza, an Israeli who owned a fancy greenhouse there, raising, as I recall, oranges, left it intact. It was destroyed by, if I recall correctly, Hamas.
Second, at the time of the attack, Israeli had given 20K work permits to Gazans.
Even Gaza's normal destitute state was dependent upon Israel for economic survival.
That has now gone forever.
Why everyone continues to ignore the reality that Gaza has no chance of economically sustaining more than about 15% of its current population is a mystery.
For any chance of a long term settlement the majority of Gazans need to be relocated.
While probably the reality of what will happen I think Israel has another option first.
Release all hostages and surrender all hamas militants for trial is the task. In return Israel helps Gaza become a viable state with funding and infrastructure and democratic elections
How long will it take this useless government to ban the dogs from hell .
Another attack and how many more people will be seriously injured or killed before action is taken .
Maybe we should carpet bomb areas of the country known to have high concentrations of XL Bullies, to take them out. I know there'd be some collateral damage to innocent non-dog-owning civilians, but it may be worth it to protect the rest of us from the evil dogs.
Last week they were busy reporting Hamas news, and now they're trying to undermine voices of any reason. Lise Doucet, interviewing the Jordanian Foreign Minister (I think), again and again pressed on all the issues of discord. Reporting is their job, not this awful opinion-forcing.
But a shitty kid chants something horrid about Bobby Charlton and he is in the nick straight away.
Is that part of the main demo? The banner has a hammer & sickle, the crowd is barely worthy of the name, and there are seemingly unconcerned passers-by walking through the frame.
Otherwise, you are right. There have been a few arrests but not many. The commissioner has asked for better laws. It has been suggested the police will make further arrests after watching footage but that might be wishful thinking.
Ah, the Trotskyite Tankies*, then.
*Many of the Piers Corbyn left profess to be Trotskyites. But also adore the Soviet Union, and often, Joseph Fucking Stalin.
It's all a bit like Citizen Smith, where one of Wolfie's followers was a recent convert from the NF, and when he invited his friends to a demo "there were more swastikas and iron crosses than at Bormann's stag night."
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
Last week they were busy reporting Hamas news, and now they're trying to undermine voices of any reason. Lise Doucet, interviewing the Jordanian Foreign Minister (I think), again and again pressed on all the issues of discord. Reporting is their job, not this awful opinion-forcing.
The worst interview was the Sky News one with Hamas, where the bloke kept trying to give Hamas an out that it was really a bit like a house party that got accidentally posted on Facebook and it all got a bit out of hand.
Talking of the return to 1930s, was whoever set my daughter’s non verbal reasoning homework trying to tell us something?
(Yes I know it’s the “good” way round).
The Nelson Publishing Company used a swastika as their symbol for decades.
Which is ironic in today's terms as the Nelson* family were Jewish.
*Nothing to do with the other Nelson family, who were not Jewish as far as I know.
I have a number of volumes on my bookcase with the swastika embossed on their spines. Prewar editions of Kipling published by Macmillan. A Hindu symbol meaning good fortune.
The Pulizer Prize winning book Maus has a swasika on the spine for all to see. I have copy on my bookshelf.
Russians are the nastiest bunch of scumbags on the planet
Referring to entire groups in such a way is pretty stupid.
For example, a couple of the Russians I know are the most utterly honest people I have ever met.
They will not tell a lie, even to save the face of a boss standing in front of them - to them it is preferable to lose a job than to kiss arse up the chain. One of them did this in front of me.
I have this issue when Leon goes on about Turks. I know a fair few Turks, and I don't recognise much of what he says. But then again, the ones in my family are all thoroughly middle-class, and I rarely get to meet my wife's wider family. The majority of Turks I know are in the UK, and they are of course, a self-selecting group. So when someone says something about Turkish views I disagree with, I can say that it's not true of the ones I know; but that does not mean that it is wrong. Just that I don't recognise it.
Er, what??? When have I ever said anything about Turks?!
They are some of the friendliest, most hospitable people on the planet. I like them a lot
Indeed it’s because they are generally so nice that their appalling, satanic mistreatment of the Armenians is such a profound and saddening mystery
I believe you said something the other week that made me bite my tongue. Annoyingly cannot remember what it was, though... I don't think it involved taxi drivers...
Seriously. Withdraw that accusation if you can’t back it up
I’ve traveled widely in Turkey and have good Turkish friends. I can only presume you misconstrued a joke - if there is any basis at all to what you say
IIRC you suggested that anti-semitism was common among the Turks you had met which was contrary to your experiences with Syrians and Jordanians.
That was it, thanks. It also fits in with my comment.
But a shitty kid chants something horrid about Bobby Charlton and he is in the nick straight away.
Is that part of the main demo? The banner has a hammer & sickle, the crowd is barely worthy of the name, and there are seemingly unconcerned passers-by walking through the frame.
Otherwise, you are right. There have been a few arrests but not many. The commissioner has asked for better laws. It has been suggested the police will make further arrests after watching footage but that might be wishful thinking.
Ah, the Trotskyite Tankies*, then.
*Many of the Piers Corbyn left profess to be Trotskyites. But also adore the Soviet Union, and often, Joseph Fucking Stalin.
It's all a bit like Citizen Smith, where one of Wolfie's followers was a recent convert from the NF, and when he invited his friends to a demo "there were more swastikas and iron crosses than at Bormann's stag night."
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
A surprising number of people think that being a Buddhist means you *must* be a good person.
The Imperial Japanese Army demonstrated the opposite, for a start.
I've just finished the annual ghastly business of carving a pumpkin. I hate doing it every year.
And, as if on cue, the first fireworks are let off.
Pumpkin? It was a neep (Anglice: swede) when I were a bairn. Much worse to carve and hollow out.
Last night's mash was a judicious admixture of spud and swede to tempt the jaded palate.
'Swede', of course, is a contraction of 'Swedish Turnip'. It's hard to tell them apart by taste, but the nordic variant is longer rather than spherical.
Last week they were busy reporting Hamas news, and now they're trying to undermine voices of any reason. Lise Doucet, interviewing the Jordanian Foreign Minister (I think), again and again pressed on all the issues of discord. Reporting is their job, not this awful opinion-forcing.
The worst interview was the Sky News one with Hamas, where the bloke kept trying to give Hamas an out that it was really a bit like a house party that got accidentally posted on Facebook and it all got a bit out of hand.
We're not obliged to pay for Sky's opinions though. The BBC could be a real force for good, perhaps has been. Now it's undermining the UK and celebrating fiction for ratings (presumably vs Al Jazeera).
There are reports the Russian military might send troops in. Note that Russian troops have not got a brilliant track record at resolving such situations peacefully...
But a shitty kid chants something horrid about Bobby Charlton and he is in the nick straight away.
Is that part of the main demo? The banner has a hammer & sickle, the crowd is barely worthy of the name, and there are seemingly unconcerned passers-by walking through the frame.
Otherwise, you are right. There have been a few arrests but not many. The commissioner has asked for better laws. It has been suggested the police will make further arrests after watching footage but that might be wishful thinking.
Ah, the Trotskyite Tankies*, then.
*Many of the Piers Corbyn left profess to be Trotskyites. But also adore the Soviet Union, and often, Joseph Fucking Stalin.
It's all a bit like Citizen Smith, where one of Wolfie's followers was a recent convert from the NF, and when he invited his friends to a demo "there were more swastikas and iron crosses than at Bormann's stag night."
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
A surprising number of people think that being a Buddhist means you *must* be a good person.
The Imperial Japanese Army demonstrated the opposite, for a start.
The IJA was Shinto-ist, surely?
Edit. But the present administration in Myanmar claims Buddhist links AIUI.
I've just finished the annual ghastly business of carving a pumpkin. I hate doing it every year.
And, as if on cue, the first fireworks are let off.
Pumpkin? It was a neep (Anglice: swede) when I were a bairn. Much worse to carve and hollow out.
Last night's mash was a judicious admixture of spud and swede to tempt the jaded palate.
'Swede', of course, is a contraction of 'Swedish Turnip'. It's hard to tell them apart by taste, but the nordic variant is longer rather than spherical.
Ok with lashings of butter and quite a bit of seasoning.
There are reports the Russian military might send troops in. Note that Russian troops have not got a brilliant track record at resolving such situations peacefully...
Nothing like a good bit of civil unrest in Russia, to distract their military from other adventures.
But a shitty kid chants something horrid about Bobby Charlton and he is in the nick straight away.
Is that part of the main demo? The banner has a hammer & sickle, the crowd is barely worthy of the name, and there are seemingly unconcerned passers-by walking through the frame.
Otherwise, you are right. There have been a few arrests but not many. The commissioner has asked for better laws. It has been suggested the police will make further arrests after watching footage but that might be wishful thinking.
Ah, the Trotskyite Tankies*, then.
*Many of the Piers Corbyn left profess to be Trotskyites. But also adore the Soviet Union, and often, Joseph Fucking Stalin.
It's all a bit like Citizen Smith, where one of Wolfie's followers was a recent convert from the NF, and when he invited his friends to a demo "there were more swastikas and iron crosses than at Bormann's stag night."
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
A surprising number of people think that being a Buddhist means you *must* be a good person.
The Imperial Japanese Army demonstrated the opposite, for a start.
The IJA was Shinto-ist, surely?
That's what I thought. With a bit of ancestor worship thrown in.
But a shitty kid chants something horrid about Bobby Charlton and he is in the nick straight away.
Is that part of the main demo? The banner has a hammer & sickle, the crowd is barely worthy of the name, and there are seemingly unconcerned passers-by walking through the frame.
Otherwise, you are right. There have been a few arrests but not many. The commissioner has asked for better laws. It has been suggested the police will make further arrests after watching footage but that might be wishful thinking.
Ah, the Trotskyite Tankies*, then.
*Many of the Piers Corbyn left profess to be Trotskyites. But also adore the Soviet Union, and often, Joseph Fucking Stalin.
It's all a bit like Citizen Smith, where one of Wolfie's followers was a recent convert from the NF, and when he invited his friends to a demo "there were more swastikas and iron crosses than at Bormann's stag night."
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
A surprising number of people think that being a Buddhist means you *must* be a good person.
The Imperial Japanese Army demonstrated the opposite, for a start.
See also the Myanmar government for a contemporary example.
There are reports the Russian military might send troops in. Note that Russian troops have not got a brilliant track record at resolving such situations peacefully...
But a shitty kid chants something horrid about Bobby Charlton and he is in the nick straight away.
Is that part of the main demo? The banner has a hammer & sickle, the crowd is barely worthy of the name, and there are seemingly unconcerned passers-by walking through the frame.
Otherwise, you are right. There have been a few arrests but not many. The commissioner has asked for better laws. It has been suggested the police will make further arrests after watching footage but that might be wishful thinking.
Ah, the Trotskyite Tankies*, then.
*Many of the Piers Corbyn left profess to be Trotskyites. But also adore the Soviet Union, and often, Joseph Fucking Stalin.
It's all a bit like Citizen Smith, where one of Wolfie's followers was a recent convert from the NF, and when he invited his friends to a demo "there were more swastikas and iron crosses than at Bormann's stag night."
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
A surprising number of people think that being a Buddhist means you *must* be a good person.
The Imperial Japanese Army demonstrated the opposite, for a start.
The IJA was Shinto-ist, surely?
A chunk of the Japanese, then as now, were Buddhist. Shinto isn’t exactly an exclusive religion by the way. It’s way more complicated than that.
The Buddhist priests in Japan simply defined Chinese (and other subject peoples) as lower than lice. Which meant slaughtering them was OK…
But a shitty kid chants something horrid about Bobby Charlton and he is in the nick straight away.
Is that part of the main demo? The banner has a hammer & sickle, the crowd is barely worthy of the name, and there are seemingly unconcerned passers-by walking through the frame.
Otherwise, you are right. There have been a few arrests but not many. The commissioner has asked for better laws. It has been suggested the police will make further arrests after watching footage but that might be wishful thinking.
Ah, the Trotskyite Tankies*, then.
*Many of the Piers Corbyn left profess to be Trotskyites. But also adore the Soviet Union, and often, Joseph Fucking Stalin.
It's all a bit like Citizen Smith, where one of Wolfie's followers was a recent convert from the NF, and when he invited his friends to a demo "there were more swastikas and iron crosses than at Bormann's stag night."
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
A surprising number of people think that being a Buddhist means you *must* be a good person.
The Imperial Japanese Army demonstrated the opposite, for a start.
See also the Myanmar government for a contemporary example.
There are reports the Russian military might send troops in. Note that Russian troops have not got a brilliant track record at resolving such situations peacefully...
There are reports the Russian military might send troops in. Note that Russian troops have not got a brilliant track record at resolving such situations peacefully...
Are the Russians for or against the pogrom?
I fear, given their track record, they'll just be for killing as many people as possible. It's a great Russian tradition, after all...
But a shitty kid chants something horrid about Bobby Charlton and he is in the nick straight away.
Is that part of the main demo? The banner has a hammer & sickle, the crowd is barely worthy of the name, and there are seemingly unconcerned passers-by walking through the frame.
Otherwise, you are right. There have been a few arrests but not many. The commissioner has asked for better laws. It has been suggested the police will make further arrests after watching footage but that might be wishful thinking.
Ah, the Trotskyite Tankies*, then.
*Many of the Piers Corbyn left profess to be Trotskyites. But also adore the Soviet Union, and often, Joseph Fucking Stalin.
It's all a bit like Citizen Smith, where one of Wolfie's followers was a recent convert from the NF, and when he invited his friends to a demo "there were more swastikas and iron crosses than at Bormann's stag night."
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
A surprising number of people think that being a Buddhist means you *must* be a good person.
The Imperial Japanese Army demonstrated the opposite, for a start.
See also the Myanmar government for a contemporary example.
But a shitty kid chants something horrid about Bobby Charlton and he is in the nick straight away.
Is that part of the main demo? The banner has a hammer & sickle, the crowd is barely worthy of the name, and there are seemingly unconcerned passers-by walking through the frame.
Otherwise, you are right. There have been a few arrests but not many. The commissioner has asked for better laws. It has been suggested the police will make further arrests after watching footage but that might be wishful thinking.
Ah, the Trotskyite Tankies*, then.
*Many of the Piers Corbyn left profess to be Trotskyites. But also adore the Soviet Union, and often, Joseph Fucking Stalin.
It's all a bit like Citizen Smith, where one of Wolfie's followers was a recent convert from the NF, and when he invited his friends to a demo "there were more swastikas and iron crosses than at Bormann's stag night."
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
A surprising number of people think that being a Buddhist means you *must* be a good person.
The Imperial Japanese Army demonstrated the opposite, for a start.
The IJA was Shinto-ist, surely?
A chunk of the Japanese, then as now, were Buddhist. Shinto isn’t exactly an exclusive religion by the way. It’s way more complicated than that.
The Buddhist priests in Japan simply defined Chinese (and other subject peoples) as lower than lice. Which meant slaughtering them was OK…
Wasn’t it the 12C Bishop of Arles who said something about God knowing his own?
But a shitty kid chants something horrid about Bobby Charlton and he is in the nick straight away.
Is that part of the main demo? The banner has a hammer & sickle, the crowd is barely worthy of the name, and there are seemingly unconcerned passers-by walking through the frame.
Otherwise, you are right. There have been a few arrests but not many. The commissioner has asked for better laws. It has been suggested the police will make further arrests after watching footage but that might be wishful thinking.
Ah, the Trotskyite Tankies*, then.
*Many of the Piers Corbyn left profess to be Trotskyites. But also adore the Soviet Union, and often, Joseph Fucking Stalin.
It's all a bit like Citizen Smith, where one of Wolfie's followers was a recent convert from the NF, and when he invited his friends to a demo "there were more swastikas and iron crosses than at Bormann's stag night."
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
A surprising number of people think that being a Buddhist means you *must* be a good person.
The Imperial Japanese Army demonstrated the opposite, for a start.
The IJA was Shinto-ist, surely?
A chunk of the Japanese, then as now, were Buddhist. Shinto isn’t exactly an exclusive religion by the way. It’s way more complicated than that.
The Buddhist priests in Japan simply defined Chinese (and other subject peoples) as lower than lice. Which meant slaughtering them was OK…
Wasn’t it the 12C Bishop of Arles who said something about God knowing his own?
But a shitty kid chants something horrid about Bobby Charlton and he is in the nick straight away.
Is that part of the main demo? The banner has a hammer & sickle, the crowd is barely worthy of the name, and there are seemingly unconcerned passers-by walking through the frame.
Otherwise, you are right. There have been a few arrests but not many. The commissioner has asked for better laws. It has been suggested the police will make further arrests after watching footage but that might be wishful thinking.
Ah, the Trotskyite Tankies*, then.
*Many of the Piers Corbyn left profess to be Trotskyites. But also adore the Soviet Union, and often, Joseph Fucking Stalin.
It's all a bit like Citizen Smith, where one of Wolfie's followers was a recent convert from the NF, and when he invited his friends to a demo "there were more swastikas and iron crosses than at Bormann's stag night."
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
A surprising number of people think that being a Buddhist means you *must* be a good person.
The Imperial Japanese Army demonstrated the opposite, for a start.
The IJA was Shinto-ist, surely?
A chunk of the Japanese, then as now, were Buddhist. Shinto isn’t exactly an exclusive religion by the way. It’s way more complicated than that.
The Buddhist priests in Japan simply defined Chinese (and other subject peoples) as lower than lice. Which meant slaughtering them was OK…
Wasn’t it the 12C Bishop of Arles who said something about God knowing his own?
Thanks to Nigelb, Andy_Cooke, viewcode, Sean_F, and Malmesbury, for their guesses about that odd building.
The picture was taken at Paradise, Washington, and shows the top of the old Henry M. Jackson visitor center:
'The architecture, which was consistent with the modernist style common to many of the Mission 66 projects, although a distinct departure from National Park Service Rustic, was always controversial. Drawing frequent comparisons to a flying saucer, it reminded others of a sunken Seattle Space Needle.[4] It was accused of not fulfilling its goal of appropriateness for its setting, instead being "incompatible with the rustic character of Paradise".[5] Others disagreed with this assertion, claiming that "although it doesn't match the rustic styling of Paradise's other buildings, its grandness seems to fit the location.'
I liked it for its absurdity, but admit that it was impractical: 'The roof of the original structure was not designed to handle the copious amounts of snowfall in the Paradise area each winter, requiring the consumption of 300 to 500 US gallons (1,100 to 1,900 L; 250 to 420 imp gal) of diesel fuel per day during the snow season to melt snow and prevent the roof from collapsing.'
(Years ago, I read that the late Senator Jackson got the money for the building by agreeing with a Hawaiian colleague that the building could be designed by a Hawaiian firm. For me, the story has always been "too good to check".)
I've just finished the annual ghastly business of carving a pumpkin. I hate doing it every year.
And, as if on cue, the first fireworks are let off.
Pumpkin? It was a neep (Anglice: swede) when I were a bairn. Much worse to carve and hollow out.
Last night's mash was a judicious admixture of spud and swede to tempt the jaded palate.
'Swede', of course, is a contraction of 'Swedish Turnip'. It's hard to tell them apart by taste, but the nordic variant is longer rather than spherical.
Ok with lashings of butter and quite a bit of seasoning.
And draining it thoroughly if mashed. And with lashings of salt. Then giving it to somebody else to eat.
I've just finished the annual ghastly business of carving a pumpkin. I hate doing it every year.
And, as if on cue, the first fireworks are let off.
Pumpkin? It was a neep (Anglice: swede) when I were a bairn. Much worse to carve and hollow out.
Last night's mash was a judicious admixture of spud and swede to tempt the jaded palate.
'Swede', of course, is a contraction of 'Swedish Turnip'. It's hard to tell them apart by taste, but the nordic variant is longer rather than spherical.
Ok with lashings of butter and quite a bit of seasoning.
And draining it thoroughly if mashed. And with lashings of salt. Then giving it to somebody else to eat.
Me, please, with pepper and haggis, or stewed in chunks with hoggett or mutton.
I've just finished the annual ghastly business of carving a pumpkin. I hate doing it every year.
And, as if on cue, the first fireworks are let off.
Pumpkin? It was a neep (Anglice: swede) when I were a bairn. Much worse to carve and hollow out.
Last night's mash was a judicious admixture of spud and swede to tempt the jaded palate.
'Swede', of course, is a contraction of 'Swedish Turnip'. It's hard to tell them apart by taste, but the nordic variant is longer rather than spherical.
Ok with lashings of butter and quite a bit of seasoning.
And draining it thoroughly if mashed. And with lashings of salt. Then giving it to somebody else to eat.
Me, please, with pepper and haggis, or stewed in chunks with hoggett or mutton.
Or is it possible CCHQ has had another look at the boundaries? It will be interesting to see what they do about photo ID to vote, given Conservative revisionism there as well.
People have already gone for or lost seat selections on the new boundaries, at this point it would only cause the party greater awkwardness to try to upend the process, which probably requires new legislation.
Indeed parliamentary candidates for all the main parties are being selected on the basis of the new boundaries not the old. That is where the real complication will emerge if further delays on their approval.
The handful of net extra seats the Tories would pick up are negligible now given Starmer is heading for a landslide victory on current polls anyway boundary changes or no boundary changes
If Hunt goes, more seats are in play. And if Sunak goes, it's all to play for.
Except the Tories are still closer to Labour under Sunak than they were when Truss left.
The main problem for the Tories is still cost of living and the need to get inflation down further, not the leadership and an incoming Labour government would have the same problem
"than they were when Truss left"
I saw what you did there. Worse than a LD with his y-axes.
That's like some French administrator comparing a town's economy to that of Saint-Pierre, on the island of Martinique, in 1903.
I’ve traveled widely around the world. I know this wil come as a surprise but it’s true. Over 100 countries
After all that travel I’ve developed a rule of thumb. Anywhere you go in the world most people are nice. They really are. They want to help, they like a joke, they enjoy smiling - they want you to smile as well
Maybe 70% of people anywhere are like this. Nice. About 15% will be cold and aloof and maybe a bit prejudiced against you. But nothing terrible. Another 8% will be mad. And 7% will be actively evil and nasty
The trouble comes - in any country/society/nationality - when that 7% gains access to power and it gets worse if they find a way to keep hold of power. As these bastards are often smart and as they are happy to kill to maintain power, you get countries that never seem to escape the rule of the evil 7%
Russia might be an example. Also Gaza
I found this working in the Middle East in the 80s and 90s. The ex-pats (of all varieties, Yanks, Brits, Aussies, Frogs and every other Western country) would get together in enclaves and talk about how terrible the locals were.
"Don't talk to the Arabs, don't trust them, they are dirty, they steal, they are little better than savages."
And yet when you actually went out and worked and lived with them for months on end away from the 'civilised' communities you quickly realised they were, of course, just like us. Good, bad, happy, sad, honest and dishonest. Almost of of them were friendly, wanted to talk about football, their families and those bastards in charge. What they really hated was being treated like shit by guests in their own country.
I have a real downer on ex-pat communities ever since.
How does an ex-pat community differ from any standard immigrant community ?
They are transient and basically have little or no investment in the host country beyond making money while they are there.
Nothing wrong with that as such but it is the attitudes they hold whilst they are there which suck.
The bar for the government banning things needs to be fairly high, I'm afraid. And I'm not sure that your personal dislike of astroturf is enough.
On the contrary. It's utterly ****ing outrageous. Water runoff, microplastics ditto, damage done to what's left of the ecosystem, the need to replace every 15 or whatever years ... you'd be better with letting the front garden go to weed.
I’ve traveled widely around the world. I know this wil come as a surprise but it’s true. Over 100 countries
After all that travel I’ve developed a rule of thumb. Anywhere you go in the world most people are nice. They really are. They want to help, they like a joke, they enjoy smiling - they want you to smile as well
Maybe 70% of people anywhere are like this. Nice. About 15% will be cold and aloof and maybe a bit prejudiced against you. But nothing terrible. Another 8% will be mad. And 7% will be actively evil and nasty
The trouble comes - in any country/society/nationality - when that 7% gains access to power and it gets worse if they find a way to keep hold of power. As these bastards are often smart and as they are happy to kill to maintain power, you get countries that never seem to escape the rule of the evil 7%
Russia might be an example. Also Gaza
I found this working in the Middle East in the 80s and 90s. The ex-pats (of all varieties, Yanks, Brits, Aussies, Frogs and every other Western country) would get together in enclaves and talk about how terrible the locals were.
"Don't talk to the Arabs, don't trust them, they are dirty, they steal, they are little better than savages."
And yet when you actually went out and worked and lived with them for months on end away from the 'civilised' communities you quickly realised they were, of course, just like us. Good, bad, happy, sad, honest and dishonest. Almost of of them were friendly, wanted to talk about football, their families and those bastards in charge. What they really hated was being treated like shit by guests in their own country.
I have a real downer on ex-pat communities ever since.
How does an ex-pat community differ from any standard immigrant community ?
The kind Richard means (I think) tend to be high-earning specialists who think they're superior to locals. We had some in Basel who would spend their evenings in the English-Speaking Club - I remember one saying he wouldn't "lower himself" to learn German. It's a bit different from low-income types scratching a living on the margin.
But a shitty kid chants something horrid about Bobby Charlton and he is in the nick straight away.
Is that part of the main demo? The banner has a hammer & sickle, the crowd is barely worthy of the name, and there are seemingly unconcerned passers-by walking through the frame.
Otherwise, you are right. There have been a few arrests but not many. The commissioner has asked for better laws. It has been suggested the police will make further arrests after watching footage but that might be wishful thinking.
Ah, the Trotskyite Tankies*, then.
*Many of the Piers Corbyn left profess to be Trotskyites. But also adore the Soviet Union, and often, Joseph Fucking Stalin.
It's all a bit like Citizen Smith, where one of Wolfie's followers was a recent convert from the NF, and when he invited his friends to a demo "there were more swastikas and iron crosses than at Bormann's stag night."
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
A surprising number of people think that being a Buddhist means you *must* be a good person.
The Imperial Japanese Army demonstrated the opposite, for a start.
The IJA was Shinto-ist, surely?
A chunk of the Japanese, then as now, were Buddhist. Shinto isn’t exactly an exclusive religion by the way. It’s way more complicated than that.
The Buddhist priests in Japan simply defined Chinese (and other subject peoples) as lower than lice. Which meant slaughtering them was OK…
Wasn’t it the 12C Bishop of Arles who said something about God knowing his own?
Papal legate Arnaud Amalric at the siege of Beziers during the Albigensian Crusade
I’ve traveled widely around the world. I know this wil come as a surprise but it’s true. Over 100 countries
After all that travel I’ve developed a rule of thumb. Anywhere you go in the world most people are nice. They really are. They want to help, they like a joke, they enjoy smiling - they want you to smile as well
Maybe 70% of people anywhere are like this. Nice. About 15% will be cold and aloof and maybe a bit prejudiced against you. But nothing terrible. Another 8% will be mad. And 7% will be actively evil and nasty
The trouble comes - in any country/society/nationality - when that 7% gains access to power and it gets worse if they find a way to keep hold of power. As these bastards are often smart and as they are happy to kill to maintain power, you get countries that never seem to escape the rule of the evil 7%
Russia might be an example. Also Gaza
I found this working in the Middle East in the 80s and 90s. The ex-pats (of all varieties, Yanks, Brits, Aussies, Frogs and every other Western country) would get together in enclaves and talk about how terrible the locals were.
"Don't talk to the Arabs, don't trust them, they are dirty, they steal, they are little better than savages."
And yet when you actually went out and worked and lived with them for months on end away from the 'civilised' communities you quickly realised they were, of course, just like us. Good, bad, happy, sad, honest and dishonest. Almost of of them were friendly, wanted to talk about football, their families and those bastards in charge. What they really hated was being treated like shit by guests in their own country.
I have a real downer on ex-pat communities ever since.
How does an ex-pat community differ from any standard immigrant community ?
Ex-pat communities always expect to go home to the ‘motherland’ eventually.
"Israel has been openly committing war crimes for 22 days, but the Western leaders cannot even call on Israel for a ceasefire, let alone react to it," Erdogan told the crowd in Istanbul, who waved Palestinian flags.
"We will tell the whole world that Israel is a war criminal. We are making preparations for this. We will declare Israel a war criminal," he said.
In an hour-long speech, Erdogan also repeated his assertion that Hamas was not a terrorist organisation, describing Israel as an occupier.
I’ve traveled widely around the world. I know this wil come as a surprise but it’s true. Over 100 countries
After all that travel I’ve developed a rule of thumb. Anywhere you go in the world most people are nice. They really are. They want to help, they like a joke, they enjoy smiling - they want you to smile as well
Maybe 70% of people anywhere are like this. Nice. About 15% will be cold and aloof and maybe a bit prejudiced against you. But nothing terrible. Another 8% will be mad. And 7% will be actively evil and nasty
The trouble comes - in any country/society/nationality - when that 7% gains access to power and it gets worse if they find a way to keep hold of power. As these bastards are often smart and as they are happy to kill to maintain power, you get countries that never seem to escape the rule of the evil 7%
Russia might be an example. Also Gaza
I found this working in the Middle East in the 80s and 90s. The ex-pats (of all varieties, Yanks, Brits, Aussies, Frogs and every other Western country) would get together in enclaves and talk about how terrible the locals were.
"Don't talk to the Arabs, don't trust them, they are dirty, they steal, they are little better than savages."
And yet when you actually went out and worked and lived with them for months on end away from the 'civilised' communities you quickly realised they were, of course, just like us. Good, bad, happy, sad, honest and dishonest. Almost of of them were friendly, wanted to talk about football, their families and those bastards in charge. What they really hated was being treated like shit by guests in their own country.
I have a real downer on ex-pat communities ever since.
How does an ex-pat community differ from any standard immigrant community ?
Ex-pat communities always expect to go home to the ‘motherland’ eventually.
Though that is pretty common across all immigrants, the expectation of making their fortune then going home. Life then gets in the way. My grandparents came to see the old country for a couple of years, and sixty years later had never got back home.
But a shitty kid chants something horrid about Bobby Charlton and he is in the nick straight away.
Is that part of the main demo? The banner has a hammer & sickle, the crowd is barely worthy of the name, and there are seemingly unconcerned passers-by walking through the frame.
Otherwise, you are right. There have been a few arrests but not many. The commissioner has asked for better laws. It has been suggested the police will make further arrests after watching footage but that might be wishful thinking.
Ah, the Trotskyite Tankies*, then.
*Many of the Piers Corbyn left profess to be Trotskyites. But also adore the Soviet Union, and often, Joseph Fucking Stalin.
It's all a bit like Citizen Smith, where one of Wolfie's followers was a recent convert from the NF, and when he invited his friends to a demo "there were more swastikas and iron crosses than at Bormann's stag night."
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
A surprising number of people think that being a Buddhist means you *must* be a good person.
The Imperial Japanese Army demonstrated the opposite, for a start.
The IJA was Shinto-ist, surely?
A chunk of the Japanese, then as now, were Buddhist. Shinto isn’t exactly an exclusive religion by the way. It’s way more complicated than that.
The Buddhist priests in Japan simply defined Chinese (and other subject peoples) as lower than lice. Which meant slaughtering them was OK…
Wasn’t it the 12C Bishop of Arles who said something about God knowing his own?
Simon de Montfort
For years I thought I had a family connection to Simon de M (the younger - scourge of the Cathars) as he had bright back Muslim mercebtaries to his Leicester lands as bailiffs, and they were named for the Muslim nickname of the day. But it turned out no: my surname was simply a slur for swarthy people.
There are reports the Russian military might send troops in. Note that Russian troops have not got a brilliant track record at resolving such situations peacefully...
The rumours about Putin's death are continuing. In this video apparently it came quicker after Israeli doctors refused to treat him anymore after Russia started working closely with Iran!
I know that good news are scarce at the moment.
So I decided to translate this for you. Rumors about Putin's death again. Yes, those are not news, those are rumors. But this can bring a smile to your face.
It is common for Russia to "bury" their leaders. Not so long ago, Kadyrov was "buried". Before that, it was rumored that Prigozhin was not killed in the plane crash - but that it was a cover and he is currently in Africa or Venezuela.
Dagestan is of course the most southerly Russian republic and borders Azerbeijan. Would Turkey/Azer support Islamists in the Caucasus?
During lockdown-times I watched "From Russia to Iran: Crossing Wild Frontier" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7748314/). He walks through Dagestan and it comes across as not somewhere to loiter. But a very enjoyable programme.
But a shitty kid chants something horrid about Bobby Charlton and he is in the nick straight away.
Is that part of the main demo? The banner has a hammer & sickle, the crowd is barely worthy of the name, and there are seemingly unconcerned passers-by walking through the frame.
Otherwise, you are right. There have been a few arrests but not many. The commissioner has asked for better laws. It has been suggested the police will make further arrests after watching footage but that might be wishful thinking.
Ah, the Trotskyite Tankies*, then.
*Many of the Piers Corbyn left profess to be Trotskyites. But also adore the Soviet Union, and often, Joseph Fucking Stalin.
It's all a bit like Citizen Smith, where one of Wolfie's followers was a recent convert from the NF, and when he invited his friends to a demo "there were more swastikas and iron crosses than at Bormann's stag night."
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
A surprising number of people think that being a Buddhist means you *must* be a good person.
The Imperial Japanese Army demonstrated the opposite, for a start.
The IJA was Shinto-ist, surely?
A chunk of the Japanese, then as now, were Buddhist. Shinto isn’t exactly an exclusive religion by the way. It’s way more complicated than that.
The Buddhist priests in Japan simply defined Chinese (and other subject peoples) as lower than lice. Which meant slaughtering them was OK…
Wasn’t it the 12C Bishop of Arles who said something about God knowing his own?
Simon de Montfort
For years I thought I had a family connection to Simon de M (the younger - scourge of the Cathars) as he had bright back Muslim mercebtaries to his Leicester lands as bailiffs, and they were named for the Muslim nickname of the day. But it turned out no: my surname was simply a slur for swarthy people.
That said, you probably are descended from Simon De Montfort - most of us probably are. Proving it is tricky*
"Israel has been openly committing war crimes for 22 days, but the Western leaders cannot even call on Israel for a ceasefire, let alone react to it," Erdogan told the crowd in Istanbul, who waved Palestinian flags.
"We will tell the whole world that Israel is a war criminal. We are making preparations for this. We will declare Israel a war criminal," he said.
In an hour-long speech, Erdogan also repeated his assertion that Hamas was not a terrorist organisation, describing Israel as an occupier.
I’ve traveled widely around the world. I know this wil come as a surprise but it’s true. Over 100 countries
After all that travel I’ve developed a rule of thumb. Anywhere you go in the world most people are nice. They really are. They want to help, they like a joke, they enjoy smiling - they want you to smile as well
Maybe 70% of people anywhere are like this. Nice. About 15% will be cold and aloof and maybe a bit prejudiced against you. But nothing terrible. Another 8% will be mad. And 7% will be actively evil and nasty
The trouble comes - in any country/society/nationality - when that 7% gains access to power and it gets worse if they find a way to keep hold of power. As these bastards are often smart and as they are happy to kill to maintain power, you get countries that never seem to escape the rule of the evil 7%
Russia might be an example. Also Gaza
I found this working in the Middle East in the 80s and 90s. The ex-pats (of all varieties, Yanks, Brits, Aussies, Frogs and every other Western country) would get together in enclaves and talk about how terrible the locals were.
"Don't talk to the Arabs, don't trust them, they are dirty, they steal, they are little better than savages."
And yet when you actually went out and worked and lived with them for months on end away from the 'civilised' communities you quickly realised they were, of course, just like us. Good, bad, happy, sad, honest and dishonest. Almost of of them were friendly, wanted to talk about football, their families and those bastards in charge. What they really hated was being treated like shit by guests in their own country.
I have a real downer on ex-pat communities ever since.
How does an ex-pat community differ from any standard immigrant community ?
Ex-pat communities always expect to go home to the ‘motherland’ eventually.
Though that is pretty common across all immigrants, the expectation of making their fortune then going home. Life then gets in the way. My grandparents came to see the old country for a couple of years, and sixty years later had never got back home.
Our ex-pat son is starting to talk about bringing his Thai wife to UK, after 20+ years in Thailand. Don’t think he’s thought everything through, though.
In all this, ah, "excitement" these last few days, I forgot to tell you all that Mum won Redbridge in Bloom (front garden container category) after re-entering for the first time since 2019 (which she also won)!
My liberal tendencies are always tested this time of year by the fireworks.
Ban the lot of em outside of organised displays and licensed community events, I say.
Bah humbug.
Given it's anti-RC sectarianism, I can't imagine why it is allowed to persist.
The number of RCs I know who enthusiastically celebrate Bonfire Night… I’ve even pointed out the irony. But the kids love it apparently.
There's no such thing as Bonfire Night. It's Bonfire Month round here, preceded (apparently) by Halloween Weekend. Does anyone else remember public information films advising householders how to defend their timorous cats and dogs from bangs and screams on 'Bonfire Night'? From the same studio as 'Protect and Survive'.
Dagestan is of course the most southerly Russian republic and borders Azerbeijan. Would Turkey/Azer support Islamists in the Caucasus?
During lockdown-times I watched "From Russia to Iran: Crossing Wild Frontier" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7748314/). He walks through Dagestan and it comes across as not somewhere to loiter. But a very enjoyable programme.
I’ve traveled widely around the world. I know this wil come as a surprise but it’s true. Over 100 countries
After all that travel I’ve developed a rule of thumb. Anywhere you go in the world most people are nice. They really are. They want to help, they like a joke, they enjoy smiling - they want you to smile as well
Maybe 70% of people anywhere are like this. Nice. About 15% will be cold and aloof and maybe a bit prejudiced against you. But nothing terrible. Another 8% will be mad. And 7% will be actively evil and nasty
The trouble comes - in any country/society/nationality - when that 7% gains access to power and it gets worse if they find a way to keep hold of power. As these bastards are often smart and as they are happy to kill to maintain power, you get countries that never seem to escape the rule of the evil 7%
Russia might be an example. Also Gaza
I found this working in the Middle East in the 80s and 90s. The ex-pats (of all varieties, Yanks, Brits, Aussies, Frogs and every other Western country) would get together in enclaves and talk about how terrible the locals were.
"Don't talk to the Arabs, don't trust them, they are dirty, they steal, they are little better than savages."
And yet when you actually went out and worked and lived with them for months on end away from the 'civilised' communities you quickly realised they were, of course, just like us. Good, bad, happy, sad, honest and dishonest. Almost of of them were friendly, wanted to talk about football, their families and those bastards in charge. What they really hated was being treated like shit by guests in their own country.
I have a real downer on ex-pat communities ever since.
How does an ex-pat community differ from any standard immigrant community ?
Ex-pat communities always expect to go home to the ‘motherland’ eventually.
Though that is pretty common across all immigrants, the expectation of making their fortune then going home. Life then gets in the way. My grandparents came to see the old country for a couple of years, and sixty years later had never got back home.
Our ex-pat son is starting to talk about bringing his Thai wife to UK, after 20+ years in Thailand. Don’t think he’s thought everything through, though.
My grandparents did go back to Australia in the early fifties after 2 decades, with the intention of settling back there. I think my grandmother was keen, but after a month they came back to Lancashire. Australia wasn't the country that they had left, and they weren't the same people that had left either. Living abroad changes people.
Black Israelites/ Hebrews fight Pro-Hamas protesters in Chicago
FYI BHI believe they are the real Jews, and Jews like me are fake Khazarians.
Did not have this on my 2023 bingo card.
There has long been an identification between the African diaspora and Zion. It stems from identification between the Israelites exiled to Babylon and their own experience. It is a frequent theme in Reggae music, Sprituals, and even Boney M.
Not sure if its been flagged here, but there is a growing storm in Scotland over "industrial level" deletions of WhatsApp messages related to Covid. Apparently all Sturgeon's messages were wiped despite earlier public assurances that they would be made available. Not just Nicola either. Swinney and Yousaf implicated too.
Not sure how this will play out but, for once, the Scottish media seems to be fully engaged.
Or maybe she's just holding this all back for her memoir?
It's not that she's wiped them, she just can't recall her password.
Ripa act.....claiming you cant access encrypted data as you don't have the password is a 2 year jail term
Arguably harsh since almost every ecommerce site finds it necessary to have a "forgotten password" procedure, and so does PB.
There is a difference a forgotten password procedure allows you access back to your account and messages....claiming you cant give your encrypted messages because you forgot the password is entirely different. Now quite possible nicola sturgeoun has forgotten her password....also quite possible many people jailed under that act have as well but that has never been a viable defence under the law.
It is not I am anti snp here....I am however anti politician when they pass laws and think they should not apply to them equally
she is dodgy, all whatsapp messages manually deleted , along with all her buddies and seemingly 100 gov employees.
“The situation at the airport in Dagestan, Russia is still not yet under control. Preparations are underway for the evacuation of all the Jewish community in the Republic (around 400 members)”
Black Israelites/ Hebrews fight Pro-Hamas protesters in Chicago
FYI BHI believe they are the real Jews, and Jews like me are fake Khazarians.
Did not have this on my 2023 bingo card.
There has long been an identification between the African diaspora and Zion. It stems from identification between the Israelites exiled to Babylon and their own experience. It is a frequent theme in Reggae music, Sprituals, and even Boney M.
I’ve traveled widely around the world. I know this wil come as a surprise but it’s true. Over 100 countries
After all that travel I’ve developed a rule of thumb. Anywhere you go in the world most people are nice. They really are. They want to help, they like a joke, they enjoy smiling - they want you to smile as well
Maybe 70% of people anywhere are like this. Nice. About 15% will be cold and aloof and maybe a bit prejudiced against you. But nothing terrible. Another 8% will be mad. And 7% will be actively evil and nasty
The trouble comes - in any country/society/nationality - when that 7% gains access to power and it gets worse if they find a way to keep hold of power. As these bastards are often smart and as they are happy to kill to maintain power, you get countries that never seem to escape the rule of the evil 7%
Russia might be an example. Also Gaza
I found this working in the Middle East in the 80s and 90s. The ex-pats (of all varieties, Yanks, Brits, Aussies, Frogs and every other Western country) would get together in enclaves and talk about how terrible the locals were.
"Don't talk to the Arabs, don't trust them, they are dirty, they steal, they are little better than savages."
And yet when you actually went out and worked and lived with them for months on end away from the 'civilised' communities you quickly realised they were, of course, just like us. Good, bad, happy, sad, honest and dishonest. Almost of of them were friendly, wanted to talk about football, their families and those bastards in charge. What they really hated was being treated like shit by guests in their own country.
I have a real downer on ex-pat communities ever since.
How does an ex-pat community differ from any standard immigrant community ?
Ex-pat communities always expect to go home to the ‘motherland’ eventually.
Though that is pretty common across all immigrants, the expectation of making their fortune then going home. Life then gets in the way. My grandparents came to see the old country for a couple of years, and sixty years later had never got back home.
Our ex-pat son is starting to talk about bringing his Thai wife to UK, after 20+ years in Thailand. Don’t think he’s thought everything through, though.
My grandparents did go back to Australia in the early fifties after 2 decades, with the intention of settling back there. I think my grandmother was keen, but after a month they came back to Lancashire. Australia wasn't the country that they had left, and they weren't the same people that had left either. Living abroad changes people.
My father talked about going back to Wales sometimes but never got nearer than Yeovil!
"Millions across the world have taken to the streets - in Scotland, the UK, USA, in Tel Aviv - and many more countries across the world demanding peace. They are the conscience of our world, I hope they are heard and humanity prevails. Blessed are the peacemakers."
We all get that his inlaws are trapped in Gaza. But do we really need to see encouragement given to those who have "taken to the streets." Is that helping? Or just raising the temperature?
Not sure if its been flagged here, but there is a growing storm in Scotland over "industrial level" deletions of WhatsApp messages related to Covid. Apparently all Sturgeon's messages were wiped despite earlier public assurances that they would be made available. Not just Nicola either. Swinney and Yousaf implicated too.
Not sure how this will play out but, for once, the Scottish media seems to be fully engaged.
Or maybe she's just holding this all back for her memoir?
It's not that she's wiped them, she just can't recall her password.
Ripa act.....claiming you cant access encrypted data as you don't have the password is a 2 year jail term
Arguably harsh since almost every ecommerce site finds it necessary to have a "forgotten password" procedure, and so does PB.
There is a difference a forgotten password procedure allows you access back to your account and messages....claiming you cant give your encrypted messages because you forgot the password is entirely different. Now quite possible nicola sturgeoun has forgotten her password....also quite possible many people jailed under that act have as well but that has never been a viable defence under the law.
It is not I am anti snp here....I am however anti politician when they pass laws and think they should not apply to them equally
she is dodgy, all whatsapp messages manually deleted , along with all her buddies and seemingly 100 gov employees.
Maybe she mistakenly thought she was only deleting all the messages relating to her stitch up of Alex Salmond.
“The situation at the airport in Dagestan, Russia is still not yet under control. Preparations are underway for the evacuation of all the Jewish community in the Republic (around 400 members)”
I've just finished the annual ghastly business of carving a pumpkin. I hate doing it every year.
And, as if on cue, the first fireworks are let off.
Pumpkin? It was a neep (Anglice: swede) when I were a bairn. Much worse to carve and hollow out.
Last night's mash was a judicious admixture of spud and swede to tempt the jaded palate.
'Swede', of course, is a contraction of 'Swedish Turnip'. It's hard to tell them apart by taste, but the nordic variant is longer rather than spherical.
Ok with lashings of butter and quite a bit of seasoning.
And draining it thoroughly if mashed. And with lashings of salt. Then giving it to somebody else to eat.
Me, please, with pepper and haggis, or stewed in chunks with hoggett or mutton.
The more kinds of mash with haggis, the better.
Heathen, haggis is a magnificent dish with neeps and Tatties.
Comments
The best season in the last decade (as Foxy will no doubt agree) was 2015-16 when a team who at the start were one of the favourites for relegation won it, with most of the nation cheering them on. That is never going to happen again.
It was engraved swastikas with swastikas engraved inside the first lot. All the swastikas, pretty much.
The main problem for the Tories is still cost of living and the need to get inflation down further, not the leadership and an incoming Labour government would have the same problem
The key is intergration not making a ghetto of your own type. I saw this in slough. We lived in a street with white, blacks, muslims, hindus etc....we all rubbed along fine. Then we moved house....myself and the girlfriend lived close to a mosque, the only white people for several streets the rest muslim and mostly the poorer end of the spectrum....we were not welcome there...girlfriend was often spat on by kids and called white trash, raising the issue with the parents gained us a shrug and a response of well she is going around in a tee shirt and not covering her head like a proper women.
Ghettos of same think are the issue
I am, of course, eagerly anticipating future international T20 success for England when the next generation of players benefits from the Hundred.
That has now gone forever.
Why everyone continues to ignore the reality that Gaza has no chance of economically sustaining more than about 15% of its current population is a mystery.
For any chance of a long term settlement the majority of Gazans need to be relocated.
Release all hostages and surrender all hamas militants for trial is the task.
In return Israel helps Gaza become a viable state with funding and infrastructure and democratic elections
Edit @Nigelb beat me to it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piz_Gloria
Last week they were busy reporting Hamas news, and now they're trying to undermine voices of any reason. Lise Doucet, interviewing the Jordanian Foreign Minister (I think), again and again pressed on all the issues of discord. Reporting is their job, not this awful opinion-forcing.
Or Otto, in A Fish Called Wanda, who was both a devout Buddhist, and a professional assassin.
The Imperial Japanese Army demonstrated the opposite, for a start.
'Swede', of course, is a contraction of 'Swedish Turnip'. It's hard to tell them apart by taste, but the nordic variant is longer rather than spherical.
https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1718696622698135612
There are reports the Russian military might send troops in. Note that Russian troops have not got a brilliant track record at resolving such situations peacefully...
Edit. But the present administration in Myanmar claims Buddhist links AIUI.
Ban the lot of em outside of organised displays and licensed community events, I say.
Bah humbug.
The Buddhist priests in Japan simply defined Chinese (and other subject peoples) as lower than lice. Which meant slaughtering them was OK…
Clocks went back today (on the weekend) and my kids are going to school tomorrow.
Hate to break it to you, but it was half term.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmaray_Tunnel
https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/2023-10-29/ty-article/.premium/crowds-storm-russian-airport-as-flight-from-israel-lands/0000018b-7cbb-d51e-a3cb-7dff63d00000
EDIT: Sorry, paywalled
The picture was taken at Paradise, Washington, and shows the top of the old Henry M. Jackson visitor center:
'The architecture, which was consistent with the modernist style common to many of the Mission 66 projects, although a distinct departure from National Park Service Rustic, was always controversial. Drawing frequent comparisons to a flying saucer, it reminded others of a sunken Seattle Space Needle.[4] It was accused of not fulfilling its goal of appropriateness for its setting, instead being "incompatible with the rustic character of Paradise".[5] Others disagreed with this assertion, claiming that "although it doesn't match the rustic styling of Paradise's other buildings, its grandness seems to fit the location.'
I liked it for its absurdity, but admit that it was impractical: 'The roof of the original structure was not designed to handle the copious amounts of snowfall in the Paradise area each winter, requiring the consumption of 300 to 500 US gallons (1,100 to 1,900 L; 250 to 420 imp gal) of diesel fuel per day during the snow season to melt snow and prevent the roof from collapsing.'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise,_Washington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_M._Jackson_Visitor_Center
(Years ago, I read that the late Senator Jackson got the money for the building by agreeing with a Hawaiian colleague that the building could be designed by a Hawaiian firm. For me, the story has always been "too good to check".)
I saw what you did there. Worse than a LD with his y-axes.
That's like some French administrator comparing a town's economy to that of Saint-Pierre, on the island of Martinique, in 1903.
Nothing wrong with that as such but it is the attitudes they hold whilst they are there which suck.
Here’s a photo of the mountains of Dagestan taken this week from the Alazani valley:
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/erdogan-address-pro-palestinian-rally-eve-turkeys-centenary-2023-10-28/
"Israel has been openly committing war crimes for 22 days, but the Western leaders cannot even call on Israel for a ceasefire, let alone react to it," Erdogan told the crowd in Istanbul, who waved Palestinian flags.
"We will tell the whole world that Israel is a war criminal. We are making preparations for this. We will declare Israel a war criminal," he said.
In an hour-long speech, Erdogan also repeated his assertion that Hamas was not a terrorist organisation, describing Israel as an occupier.
I know that good news are scarce at the moment.
So I decided to translate this for you. Rumors about Putin's death again.
Yes, those are not news, those are rumors. But this can bring a smile to your face.
It is common for Russia to "bury" their leaders. Not so long ago, Kadyrov was "buried". Before that, it was rumored that Prigozhin was not killed in the plane crash - but that it was a cover and he is currently in Africa or Venezuela.
Another tradition of the "Russian world'.
https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1718654544744251829
Also worth reading this short thread on why Dagestan is where if there is a rebellion inside Russia it might start there.
i have been saying this for a year now, the place to watch is dagastain...if the russian federation falls dagastain will probably be where it starts.
https://twitter.com/secretsqrl123/status/1718690273759232169
Put the two together and you do wonder if something might be afoot in Russia.
(* = impossible)
Black Israelites/ Hebrews fight Pro-Hamas protesters in Chicago
FYI BHI believe they are the real Jews, and Jews like me are fake Khazarians.
Did not have this on my 2023 bingo card.
“The situation at the airport in Dagestan, Russia is still not yet under control.
Preparations are underway for the evacuation of all the Jewish community in the Republic (around 400 members)”
https://x.com/erezneumark/status/1718731521710838154?s=61&t=GGp3Vs1t1kTWDiyA-odnZg
https://twitter.com/HumzaYousaf/status/1718322742972342750
"Millions across the world have taken to the streets - in Scotland, the UK, USA, in Tel Aviv - and many more countries across the world demanding peace. They are the conscience of our world, I hope they are heard and humanity prevails. Blessed are the peacemakers."
We all get that his inlaws are trapped in Gaza. But do we really need to see encouragement given to those who have "taken to the streets." Is that helping? Or just raising the temperature?