An interesting and entertaining header Alanbrooke. David V Goliiath a nice touch and the point that hits the nail square on. It doesn't really matter what your personal history this is a visceral conflict and the wonderful Old Testament story of David and Goliath which we were taught as children is more a determinant of where we individually stand than who gave the deeds to who 3000 years ago or who should or shouldn't have 80 years ago or who you ethnically identify with.
I had lunch with a pretty hard headed advertising chum yesterday who I have never heard express a coherent political view on anything being furious about the Israeli's actions. He was litterally livid. He couldn't stand the thought of Israel bombing children whether or not they were shielding Hamas operatives or anyone else. It really hurt him.
Whatever we may feel about who started what, this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose and he's getting severely battered for it. Whether he had it coming is neither here nor there. We are all watching a dumb animal being mercilessly beaten and few can watch it dispassionately. It's hurting us individually and we're rooting for the animal.
It's for that reason that there will be a million green and red flags next week-end. Not that they don't like Jews or Israelis.
"this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose"
Rape of women so violent their pelvises were broken. Murder of babies in their cots. Cutting off limbs. Beheading with a shovel. Slicing off women's breasts. Gouging out mens eyes. Gunning down teenagers and old people. Disembowelling a pregnant woman. Burning people alive.
This is your idea of tweaking someone's nose is it?
I am rooting for those who suffered this, their families, their friends and those who are dying now because of the actions of those who did this.
And I despise those who are making people here in this country, Jews living here, feel unsafe and unwanted. They include my own cousin, who has an Irish father, and a son in primary school where they have had to pay for extra security because of threats from the sorts of people who wave Palestinian flags, celebrate massacres and call them inspiring. And then there are people like you who stand by and, as you've made clear on this forum, dismiss their concerns.
Your cousin's son goes to a Jewish school? Does that mean you have an ultra orthodox Jewish cousin? That's interesting particularly if she married out as you suggest by saying their father is Irish and I'm presuming not Jewish?
Well we can speak with some knowledge then. There is so much ignorance on the subject it's often difficult to know where to start and hardly worth bothering with. The number of people who don't even know any Jews as I'm discovering on here is remarkable.
My family were orthodox in the old fashioned Orthodox/Reform meaning of the word and compared to most at the time we were considered religious. Milk/Meat kosher kitchen no smoking on Saturdays attendance at major festivals etc. Then aged 18 my sister fell in love with a Jewish boy who had met a young rabbi at Leeds University who converted him to the next level of Orthodox and they married and moved into another world.
Posts of yours berating Muslims for their treatment of wives making them cover up used to make me smile. Ultra Orthodox can't shake hands with members of the opposite sex whether Jew or Gentile. Visiting my mother in hospital with my sister I had to explain that she wasn't being rude but she couldn't shake their hands for religeous reasons. They don't wear wigs for vanity Much of the rest is too bizarre for a forum like this but as you probably know birth control is not only forbidden but abstinance is too and she now has twelve children all of them have been to Jewish schools and have or will have arranged marriages when they're eighteen.
They are the future of the Jewdaism. The rest like your cousin will marry out and "I had a Jewish cousin/aunt/grandfather" is what you'll be left with. This is why Israrel are so keen to attract Jews from wherever they can find them. Even questionable ones like the Ethiopians. Because at least when they go dating there's an above average chance it'll be with another Jew.
A lot going on there, Rog.
Between me you and the lampost. I wondered who on here was likely to be Jewish-man married to Jewish second cousin not counting- and you were the most likely. Please don't be insulted but though it's not like meeting someone you can sometimes tell. And I do not want an answer. Just someone privately thinking I might be peceptive and not a lying moron will do.
Do you not think it possible that you are allowing your own personal experience to cloud your perception of the Jewish community as a whole? Whether or not you agree with certain cultural practices, if they are lawful they should be tolerated and everyone should at least feel safe in their own city or country.
"But evidence has been piling up that Haley might actually have something on her hands — buoyed by strong debate performances, poll numbers that have been consistently climbing and a growing chorus of Republicans telling all the boys to pack up and let her take Trump head on.
On the latter, there seems to be broad agreement that for Haley, New Hampshire is, if not make-or-break, definitely the venue that can solidify her status as the non-Trump Republican in this race."
“People forget that New Hampshire is not a Republican-only primary.”
Still a bit too early to say for me whether Haley is a flash in the pan or not (there have been many throughout the typical primary process), but from what I see of her, there is something impressive there.
If she did face Biden in an election, I do believe she’d win at a canter.
If Haley is the GOP candidate I think Biden might step down and let Newsom take the spot. Biden persists because he thinks only he can beat Trump. He's already done it once.
I think so too. Biden v Trump in Nov is to some extent a related event double imo. The implied price of Neither v Neither is about 10/1 and I'm looking for ways to back that. Reasoning: I only give Trump a 50% chance of being the GOP nominee and if he isn't I think Biden is only 50/50 to run. Therefore 'neither' it should be more like 3/1 than 10/1. Or let's say 5/1 max.
You can lay Biden/Trump on the nominee market on Betfair at 1.66.
EDIT But that's not Neither v Neither. Its AND plus OR rather than AND.
On topic, I am not sure that the world really cares what Eire thinks. I am not sure I really care if it has negative consequences for them either.
Not dissimilar to the UK then The first part obvs, I know negative consequences for the UK concerns you a great deal.
Good job the UK isn’t a vital part of putting the the frighteners on Iran, HMS QE (which I note the RN calls the Nation’s flagship) seems to spend almost as much time in port as her sister ship which is permanently moored there as source of spare parts.
Were Ferguson's involved in any of the building of it.
An interesting and entertaining header Alanbrooke. David V Goliiath a nice touch and the point that hits the nail square on. It doesn't really matter what your personal history this is a visceral conflict and the wonderful Old Testament story of David and Goliath which we were taught as children is more a determinant of where we individually stand than who gave the deeds to who 3000 years ago or who should or shouldn't have 80 years ago or who you ethnically identify with.
I had lunch with a pretty hard headed advertising chum yesterday who I have never heard express a coherent political view on anything being furious about the Israeli's actions. He was litterally livid. He couldn't stand the thought of Israel bombing children whether or not they were shielding Hamas operatives or anyone else. It really hurt him.
Whatever we may feel about who started what, this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose and he's getting severely battered for it. Whether he had it coming is neither here nor there. We are all watching a dumb animal being mercilessly beaten and few can watch it dispassionately. It's hurting us individually and we're rooting for the animal.
It's for that reason that there will be a million green and red flags next week-end. Not that they don't like Jews or Israelis.
"this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose"
Rape of women so violent their pelvises were broken. Murder of babies in their cots. Cutting off limbs. Beheading with a shovel. Slicing off women's breasts. Gouging out mens eyes. Gunning down teenagers and old people. Disembowelling a pregnant woman. Burning people alive.
This is your idea of tweaking someone's nose is it?
I am rooting for those who suffered this, their families, their friends and those who are dying now because of the actions of those who did this.
And I despise those who are making people here in this country, Jews living here, feel unsafe and unwanted. They include my own cousin, who has an Irish father, and a son in primary school where they have had to pay for extra security because of threats from the sorts of people who wave Palestinian flags, celebrate massacres and call them inspiring. And then there are people like you who stand by and, as you've made clear on this forum, dismiss their concerns.
Your cousin's son goes to a Jewish school? Does that mean you have an ultra orthodox Jewish cousin? That's interesting particularly if she married out as you suggest by saying their father is Irish and I'm presuming not Jewish?
Well we can speak with some knowledge then. There is so much ignorance on the subject it's often difficult to know where to start and hardly worth bothering with. The number of people who don't even know any Jews as I'm discovering on here is remarkable.
My family were orthodox in the old fashioned Orthodox/Reform meaning of the word and compared to most at the time we were considered religious. Milk/Meat kosher kitchen no smoking on Saturdays attendance at major festivals etc. Then aged 18 my sister fell in love with a Jewish boy who had met a young rabbi at Leeds University who converted him to the next level of Orthodox and they married and moved into another world.
Posts of yours berating Muslims for their treatment of wives making them cover up used to make me smile. Ultra Orthodox can't shake hands with members of the opposite sex whether Jew or Gentile. Visiting my mother in hospital with my sister I had to explain that she wasn't being rude but she couldn't shake their hands for religeous reasons. They don't wear wigs for vanity Much of the rest is too bizarre for a forum like this but as you probably know birth control is not only forbidden but abstinance is too and she now has twelve children all of them have been to Jewish schools and have or will have arranged marriages when they're eighteen.
They are the future of the Jewdaism. The rest like your cousin will marry out and "I had a Jewish cousin/aunt/grandfather" is what you'll be left with. This is why Israrel are so keen to attract Jews from wherever they can find them. Even questionable ones like the Ethiopians. Because at least when they go dating there's an above average chance it'll be with another Jew.
A lot going on there, Rog.
Between me you and the lampost. I wondered who on here was likely to be Jewish-man married to Jewish second cousin not counting- and you were the most likely. Please don't be insulted but though it's not like meeting someone you can sometimes tell. And I do not want an answer. Just someone privately thinking I might be peceptive and not a lying moron will do.
Do you not think it possible that you are allowing your own personal experience to cloud your perception of the Jewish community as a whole? Whether or not you agree with certain cultural practices, if they are lawful they should be tolerated and everyone should at least feel safe in their own city or country.
Also if you think Jews are Goliath and Arabs are David, you have zoomed in too far and need to reset your map to factory settings.
If pro-Palestinian marchers disrupt Remembrance Sunday, I wonder what effect it will have.
Will people continue to wear poppies, the national flower of Palestine in Palestinian colours?
Sure there will be a blue and white "poppy" available for those inclined. Maybe a blue and yellow Ukraine one for those desperate to be seen neutral whilst still virtue signalling.
I intend to wear an invisible* poppy this year, to avoid causing offence to anyone or expressing any unintentional opinions on anything.
*to be fair, this has been my practice since wearing the poppy appeared to become mandatory for some - I felt at that point it lost meaning, really.
Similar, I still might wear one on the day (depending if Im out and pass a seller), but dislike the performative aspect of two weeks beforehand. A bit like the clap for nurses or taking the knee, less is sometimes more.
Yes. Less is more. Obvs no-one should feel compelled to wear a poppy, but it is discourteous to subvert the custom by messing with colours and other bits of subtext.
Personally I wear one on 11th November and Remembrance Sunday (which is always between 8th and 14th November) and in between the two dates.
I mildly object to the BBC style 'two weeks' dictat and that everyone on TV has to wear one. It should be personal choice. My wife's family felt very let down by the British Legion and hence do not wear poppies.
"But evidence has been piling up that Haley might actually have something on her hands — buoyed by strong debate performances, poll numbers that have been consistently climbing and a growing chorus of Republicans telling all the boys to pack up and let her take Trump head on.
On the latter, there seems to be broad agreement that for Haley, New Hampshire is, if not make-or-break, definitely the venue that can solidify her status as the non-Trump Republican in this race."
“People forget that New Hampshire is not a Republican-only primary.”
Still a bit too early to say for me whether Haley is a flash in the pan or not (there have been many throughout the typical primary process), but from what I see of her, there is something impressive there.
If she did face Biden in an election, I do believe she’d win at a canter.
If Haley is the GOP candidate I think Biden might step down and let Newsom take the spot. Biden persists because he thinks only he can beat Trump. He's already done it once.
I think so too. Biden v Trump in Nov is to some extent a related event double imo. The implied price of Neither v Neither is about 10/1 and I'm looking for ways to back that. Reasoning: I only give Trump a 50% chance of being the GOP nominee and if he isn't I think Biden is only 50/50 to run. Therefore 'neither' it should be more like 3/1 than 10/1. Or let's say 5/1 max.
I think you're greatly overestimating the chances of either standing down. Partly, that's a matter of their own psychology but it's also a matter of process. For any leading candidate to drop out once they have plenty of delegates in the bag creates a lot of chaos - and the later they drop out the more chaos it creates. Trump won't care about that but also has a much higher bar for withdrawing; Biden will care about the state of the Democrat race he'd be leaving if he withdrew.
Good header @Alanbrooke Ireland does indeed seem to have come to a settled view on this.
Ironically a generation or two ago Ireland might have seen in Israel parallels with its own past as a small country fighting to win independence against larger neighbours. That has changed hugely.
It doesn't matter much however many march in Dublin, London or Dacca or who they support. The only country Isael listens to is the USA, and the only places with influence on Hamas are in the neighbouring countries.
I agree with that. What has me scratching my head is what Ireland hopes to gain from its stance. Usually Ireland sits at the back of the class and says little ( see Ukraine ) but on this one its at the front. I cant really see what the country is seeking to gain versus the downside if it goes wrong.
I don't think Ireland's stance is a sophisticated political calculation of upside versus downside. It is equivalent to joining a pro Palestinian protest march. There's nothing to gain except expressing a strongly held moral view that needs expression. Just keeping quiet would feel wrong.
They don't have to buttlick the US and agree with them at all costs
I wonder whether because of their neutral role in the war they don't learn as much WW2 history as others in Europe and so the persecution of Europe's Jewish population maybe plays less of a role in their thinking on this issue. Without that context I think the conflict would look rather different.
I’ve come to realise WW2 history isn’t enough to understand the Jewish experience of persecution either. It was after reading Simon Schama’s history of the Jews that I finally got it: a people who have never been safe for long, living as guests with uncertain status in other peoples countries for, essentially, 2,000 years.
It doesn’t of course excuse the bullying behaviour Israel has exhibited for years towards Palestinian civilians on the West Bank but it does explain the deep suspicion of diplomacy and promises when under attack.
There is a brilliant book on the subject of the Jews of Europe in the prewar period, covering a rich diversity of traditions and politics. It focuses on the Jews themselves rather than the anti-semites.
Zionism began in the late nineteenth century, so a long time before WW2 and was motivated not just by the very real threats of European anti-semitism, but also the fear of cultural extinction via assimilation into secular European culture.
I think that is the core of it. It's fear of losing your identity. I think this was a driver in Brexit: fear of losing your English identity to a United States of Europe or to a large influx of immigrants with different cultures. It's a powerful motivation. It's existential.
It also tends to be wrong; cultures persist for a surprisingly long time despite everything changing around them.
For a very, very long time if one accepts the Jewish diaspora began BCE.
I think Judaism has a high fence around it with its taboo on mixed marriages and multitude of rituals and prohibitions. I really don't understand why it attracts such suspicion and antipathy but this may possibly contribute to it.
The trouble with a lot of analysis here and elsewhere, and perhaps with demographics in general, is that we lump together quite heterogeneous groups. Blacks vote Labour; Hindus love Rishi; pensioners vote Tory. Amongst my Jewish friends, I can see equal numbers of in- and out-marriages. Most Jews are not ultra-orthodox. Most Jews do not wear hats or kippahs or yarmulkes outside of religious ceremonies. Most Jews do not go to faith schools. My friends might be worried about extended families back in Israel but are still happy to pop down to the shops without fearing for their lives.
If pro-Palestinian marchers disrupt Remembrance Sunday, I wonder what effect it will have.
Will people continue to wear poppies, the national flower of Palestine in Palestinian colours?
Sure there will be a blue and white "poppy" available for those inclined. Maybe a blue and yellow Ukraine one for those desperate to be seen neutral whilst still virtue signalling.
I intend to wear an invisible* poppy this year, to avoid causing offence to anyone or expressing any unintentional opinions on anything.
*to be fair, this has been my practice since wearing the poppy appeared to become mandatory for some - I felt at that point it lost meaning, really.
Similar, I still might wear one on the day (depending if Im out and pass a seller), but dislike the performative aspect of two weeks beforehand. A bit like the clap for nurses or taking the knee, less is sometimes more.
Yes. Less is more. Obvs no-one should feel compelled to wear a poppy, but it is discourteous to subvert the custom by messing with colours and other bits of subtext.
Personally I wear one on 11th November and Remembrance Sunday (which is always between 8th and 14th November) and in between the two dates.
I mildly object to the BBC style 'two weeks' dictat and that everyone on TV has to wear one. It should be personal choice. My wife's family felt very let down by the British Legion and hence do not wear poppies.
I didn’t wear one for some time, then one of my uncles had excellent support from the Legion. So now I do! Speak as you find, isn’t it!
If pro-Palestinian marchers disrupt Remembrance Sunday, I wonder what effect it will have.
Will people continue to wear poppies, the national flower of Palestine in Palestinian colours?
Sure there will be a blue and white "poppy" available for those inclined. Maybe a blue and yellow Ukraine one for those desperate to be seen neutral whilst still virtue signalling.
I intend to wear an invisible* poppy this year, to avoid causing offence to anyone or expressing any unintentional opinions on anything.
*to be fair, this has been my practice since wearing the poppy appeared to become mandatory for some - I felt at that point it lost meaning, really.
Similar, I still might wear one on the day (depending if Im out and pass a seller), but dislike the performative aspect of two weeks beforehand. A bit like the clap for nurses or taking the knee, less is sometimes more.
Yes. Less is more. Obvs no-one should feel compelled to wear a poppy, but it is discourteous to subvert the custom by messing with colours and other bits of subtext.
Personally I wear one on 11th November and Remembrance Sunday (which is always between 8th and 14th November) and in between the two dates.
I mildly object to the BBC style 'two weeks' dictat and that everyone on TV has to wear one. It should be personal choice. My wife's family felt very let down by the British Legion and hence do not wear poppies.
It’s something my opinion has shifted on over the years. When I was younger I thought it was a pretty simple gesture and I didn’t really understand why some people felt so “anti” it. Nowadays I’m very much for doing what you feel you should or want to - it’s purely performative to do otherwise.
I admit I usually make the donation but don’t wear the poppy.
So although Labour is still maintaining a healthy 21 point lead over the Conservatives, the Labour lead is down 3 points in a week and Labour support is down 4 points at the same time as Green support is up 4 points.
I had expected some sampling reversion to the mean - the previous poll with Labour on 48% was exceptional. Nonetheless, if you were expecting Labour to lose support from its own supporters on the back of Keir Starmer's continued failure to criticise Israel's actions in any meaningful way, you would be expect a movement from Labour to the Green Party, which is exactly what we are seeing at the top level. So I think the slight fall in the Labour lead is probably in part down to Starmer's stance on Gaza. It may be clearer when the cross breaks are published, allowing the movement in 2019 Labour voters to be seen.
YouGov has a conservative share which is appoximately 2% lower than the average of polling companies. It is generally similar on the Labour share, and 1% lower on the LibDems. It is approximately 1.5% higher on both Ref and Green.
It is the shift which is interesting, and I would tend to agree that the Labour to Green switch is likely to be as a result of Starmer's stance on Gaza.
An interesting and entertaining header Alanbrooke. David V Goliiath a nice touch and the point that hits the nail square on. It doesn't really matter what your personal history this is a visceral conflict and the wonderful Old Testament story of David and Goliath which we were taught as children is more a determinant of where we individually stand than who gave the deeds to who 3000 years ago or who should or shouldn't have 80 years ago or who you ethnically identify with.
I had lunch with a pretty hard headed advertising chum yesterday who I have never heard express a coherent political view on anything being furious about the Israeli's actions. He was litterally livid. He couldn't stand the thought of Israel bombing children whether or not they were shielding Hamas operatives or anyone else. It really hurt him.
Whatever we may feel about who started what, this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose and he's getting severely battered for it. Whether he had it coming is neither here nor there. We are all watching a dumb animal being mercilessly beaten and few can watch it dispassionately. It's hurting us individually and we're rooting for the animal.
It's for that reason that there will be a million green and red flags next week-end. Not that they don't like Jews or Israelis.
"this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose"
Rape of women so violent their pelvises were broken. Murder of babies in their cots. Cutting off limbs. Beheading with a shovel. Slicing off women's breasts. Gouging out mens eyes. Gunning down teenagers and old people. Disembowelling a pregnant woman. Burning people alive.
This is your idea of tweaking someone's nose is it?
I am rooting for those who suffered this, their families, their friends and those who are dying now because of the actions of those who did this.
And I despise those who are making people here in this country, Jews living here, feel unsafe and unwanted. They include my own cousin, who has an Irish father, and a son in primary school where they have had to pay for extra security because of threats from the sorts of people who wave Palestinian flags, celebrate massacres and call them inspiring. And then there are people like you who stand by and, as you've made clear on this forum, dismiss their concerns.
Your cousin's son goes to a Jewish school? Does that mean you have an ultra orthodox Jewish cousin? That's interesting particularly if she married out as you suggest by saying their father is Irish and I'm presuming not Jewish?
Well we can speak with some knowledge then. There is so much ignorance on the subject it's often difficult to know where to start and hardly worth bothering with. The number of people who don't even know any Jews as I'm discovering on here is remarkable.
My family were orthodox in the old fashioned Orthodox/Reform meaning of the word and compared to most at the time we were considered religious. Milk/Meat kosher kitchen no smoking on Saturdays attendance at major festivals etc. Then aged 18 my sister fell in love with a Jewish boy who had met a young rabbi at Leeds University who converted him to the next level of Orthodox and they married and moved into another world.
Posts of yours berating Muslims for their treatment of wives making them cover up used to make me smile. Ultra Orthodox can't shake hands with members of the opposite sex whether Jew or Gentile. Visiting my mother in hospital with my sister I had to explain that she wasn't being rude but she couldn't shake their hands for religeous reasons. They don't wear wigs for vanity Much of the rest is too bizarre for a forum like this but as you probably know birth control is not only forbidden but abstinance is too and she now has twelve children all of them have been to Jewish schools and have or will have arranged marriages when they're eighteen.
They are the future of the Jewdaism. The rest like your cousin will marry out and "I had a Jewish cousin/aunt/grandfather" is what you'll be left with. This is why Israrel are so keen to attract Jews from wherever they can find them. Even questionable ones like the Ethiopians. Because at least when they go dating there's an above average chance it'll be with another Jew.
A lot going on there, Rog.
Between me you and the lampost. I wondered who on here was likely to be Jewish-man married to Jewish second cousin not counting- and you were the most likely. Please don't be insulted but though it's not like meeting someone you can sometimes tell. And I do not want an answer. Just someone privately thinking I might be peceptive and not a lying moron will do.
Is that to me or @Cyclefree. I am not 100% getting the first bit of your post.
I know you are Jewish and therefore you have every right to think what you think about it all. I am also very well aware that you (and indeed "the left") would be dispatched in short order by the people who acted as they did on October 7th.
You could have been standing there all day shouting "but the 1967 borders provide for a...." and they would have slotted you just like all the others in their IDF uniforms.
I wonder whether because of their neutral role in the war they don't learn as much WW2 history as others in Europe and so the persecution of Europe's Jewish population maybe plays less of a role in their thinking on this issue. Without that context I think the conflict would look rather different.
I’ve come to realise WW2 history isn’t enough to understand the Jewish experience of persecution either. It was after reading Simon Schama’s history of the Jews that I finally got it: a people who have never been safe for long, living as guests with uncertain status in other peoples countries for, essentially, 2,000 years.
It doesn’t of course excuse the bullying behaviour Israel has exhibited for years towards Palestinian civilians on the West Bank but it does explain the deep suspicion of diplomacy and promises when under attack.
There is a brilliant book on the subject of the Jews of Europe in the prewar period, covering a rich diversity of traditions and politics. It focuses on the Jews themselves rather than the anti-semites.
Zionism began in the late nineteenth century, so a long time before WW2 and was motivated not just by the very real threats of European anti-semitism, but also the fear of cultural extinction via assimilation into secular European culture.
I think that is the core of it. It's fear of losing your identity. I think this was a driver in Brexit: fear of losing your English identity to a United States of Europe or to a large influx of immigrants with different cultures. It's a powerful motivation. It's existential.
It also tends to be wrong; cultures persist for a surprisingly long time despite everything changing around them.
For a very, very long time if one accepts the Jewish diaspora began BCE.
I think Judaism has a high fence around it with its taboo on mixed marriages and multitude of rituals and prohibitions. I really don't understand why it attracts such suspicion and antipathy but this may possibly contribute to it.
The trouble with a lot of analysis here and elsewhere, and perhaps with demographics in general, is that we lump together quite heterogeneous groups. Blacks vote Labour; Hindus love Rishi; pensioners vote Tory. Amongst my Jewish friends, I can see equal numbers of in- and out-marriages. Most Jews are not ultra-orthodox. Most Jews do not wear hats or kippahs or yarmulkes outside of religious ceremonies. Most Jews do not go to faith schools. My friends might be worried about extended families back in Israel but are still happy to pop down to the shops without fearing for their lives.
If pro-Palestinian marchers disrupt Remembrance Sunday, I wonder what effect it will have.
Will people continue to wear poppies, the national flower of Palestine in Palestinian colours?
Sure there will be a blue and white "poppy" available for those inclined. Maybe a blue and yellow Ukraine one for those desperate to be seen neutral whilst still virtue signalling.
I intend to wear an invisible* poppy this year, to avoid causing offence to anyone or expressing any unintentional opinions on anything.
*to be fair, this has been my practice since wearing the poppy appeared to become mandatory for some - I felt at that point it lost meaning, really.
Similar, I still might wear one on the day (depending if Im out and pass a seller), but dislike the performative aspect of two weeks beforehand. A bit like the clap for nurses or taking the knee, less is sometimes more.
Yes. Less is more. Obvs no-one should feel compelled to wear a poppy, but it is discourteous to subvert the custom by messing with colours and other bits of subtext.
Personally I wear one on 11th November and Remembrance Sunday (which is always between 8th and 14th November) and in between the two dates.
I mildly object to the BBC style 'two weeks' dictat and that everyone on TV has to wear one. It should be personal choice. My wife's family felt very let down by the British Legion and hence do not wear poppies.
It’s something my opinion has shifted on over the years. When I was younger I thought it was a pretty simple gesture and I didn’t really understand why some people felt so “anti” it. Nowadays I’m very much for doing what you feel you should or want to - it’s purely performative to do otherwise.
I admit I usually make the donation but don’t wear the poppy.
At Sainsbury's they've got all options covered. The poppy-sellers' table takes cash or card, or if you do not want a poppy, you can donate at the check-out. Other supermarkets are available.
I will never get over the fact that people on PB consider a poppy to be debatable and entangle it with other causes or virtue signalling. I bought a poppy a week ago and felt rather guilty I had to pop to another shop to get change to do it instead of lobbing a note in.
As long as Britain endures it will have armed forces, and as long as wars exist they will die in them. A poppy for a fortnight each year is a simple and cheap way of saying thank you, for future sacrifice and for remembrance of the past.
Ask the people of Derry how they feel about the poppy and the army.
We live in a world of grey, not black and white.
You want warfare to be nice and fair? Armies do things which if they did them in peacetime and as civilians would incur arrest and severe punishment. PB has a predominantly wealthy and older clientele, who want the world to be nice and orderly and polite and analysable and safe. But it's not, and we are three meals and an infinitely-manipulable sense of morality away from absolutely savage cruelty. Like it or lump it the British armed forces are one of the very few things standing between that and you and me, and a small piece of symbolism is a very small price for such a large debt.
“We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.”
George Orwell? I'd agree but be careful about going full Jack Nicholson/A Few Good Men.
It was far from cringe. It was actually one of the most revealing interviews about AI that I’ve ever seen. In under an hour Musk - cleverly coaxed out of his awkwardness by Sunak - gave an incredibly cogent analysis of AI - what it can do, where it will go, how it might impact
Musk didn’t hold back either. “All jobs will go” - and soon. And much else
A future for Rishi as a talk show host, do we think? The new Parky?
Dunno about that, though there is the Harold Wilson Friday Night Saturday Morning precedent. Does he have the hinterland for that? I bet John Major could have done that pretty well.
Perhaps a poacher turned gamekeeper political interviewer, like Brian Walden or Matthew Parris. Perhaps in a parallel universe where he jumped off the escalator as a junior minister, Rory Stewart like.
I wonder whether because of their neutral role in the war they don't learn as much WW2 history as others in Europe and so the persecution of Europe's Jewish population maybe plays less of a role in their thinking on this issue. Without that context I think the conflict would look rather different.
I’ve come to realise WW2 history isn’t enough to understand the Jewish experience of persecution either. It was after reading Simon Schama’s history of the Jews that I finally got it: a people who have never been safe for long, living as guests with uncertain status in other peoples countries for, essentially, 2,000 years.
It doesn’t of course excuse the bullying behaviour Israel has exhibited for years towards Palestinian civilians on the West Bank but it does explain the deep suspicion of diplomacy and promises when under attack.
There is a brilliant book on the subject of the Jews of Europe in the prewar period, covering a rich diversity of traditions and politics. It focuses on the Jews themselves rather than the anti-semites.
Zionism began in the late nineteenth century, so a long time before WW2 and was motivated not just by the very real threats of European anti-semitism, but also the fear of cultural extinction via assimilation into secular European culture.
I think that is the core of it. It's fear of losing your identity. I think this was a driver in Brexit: fear of losing your English identity to a United States of Europe or to a large influx of immigrants with different cultures. It's a powerful motivation. It's existential.
It also tends to be wrong; cultures persist for a surprisingly long time despite everything changing around them.
For a very, very long time if one accepts the Jewish diaspora began BCE.
I think Judaism has a high fence around it with its taboo on mixed marriages and multitude of rituals and prohibitions. I really don't understand why it attracts such suspicion and antipathy but this may possibly contribute to it.
The trouble with a lot of analysis here and elsewhere, and perhaps with demographics in general, is that we lump together quite heterogeneous groups. Blacks vote Labour; Hindus love Rishi; pensioners vote Tory. Amongst my Jewish friends, I can see equal numbers of in- and out-marriages. Most Jews are not ultra-orthodox. Most Jews do not wear hats or kippahs or yarmulkes outside of religious ceremonies. Most Jews do not go to faith schools. My friends might be worried about extended families back in Israel but are still happy to pop down to the shops without fearing for their lives.
When I was doing my A Level Zoology exam, many, many years ago, there was a lad sitting in the corner obviously doing an exam but wearing a kippah. He’d never been in the Biology VIth. Turned out that Hebrew was scheduled for the same day! Never seen Lionel in a kippah before, either.
Rishi’s next move after politics seems pretty obvious to me. He’s off back to Silicon Valley to do a Clegg. He’ll probably end up at XTwitter if he’s getting chummy with Elon.
If pro-Palestinian marchers disrupt Remembrance Sunday, I wonder what effect it will have.
Will people continue to wear poppies, the national flower of Palestine in Palestinian colours?
Sure there will be a blue and white "poppy" available for those inclined. Maybe a blue and yellow Ukraine one for those desperate to be seen neutral whilst still virtue signalling.
I intend to wear an invisible* poppy this year, to avoid causing offence to anyone or expressing any unintentional opinions on anything.
*to be fair, this has been my practice since wearing the poppy appeared to become mandatory for some - I felt at that point it lost meaning, really.
Similar, I still might wear one on the day (depending if Im out and pass a seller), but dislike the performative aspect of two weeks beforehand. A bit like the clap for nurses or taking the knee, less is sometimes more.
Yes. Less is more. Obvs no-one should feel compelled to wear a poppy, but it is discourteous to subvert the custom by messing with colours and other bits of subtext.
Personally I wear one on 11th November and Remembrance Sunday (which is always between 8th and 14th November) and in between the two dates.
I mildly object to the BBC style 'two weeks' dictat and that everyone on TV has to wear one. It should be personal choice. My wife's family felt very let down by the British Legion and hence do not wear poppies.
I didn’t wear one for some time, then one of my uncles had excellent support from the Legion. So now I do! Speak as you find, isn’t it!
My maternal grandmother also got excellent support from the Legion in her final years - far better than she did from an other organisation. Not a million miles from you, I think (and who knows, maybe similar era - late 90s) so my reflect a good local team.
So, I always donate and I used to wear (from whenever I bought it from a vendor up until the later of 11th and Remembrance Sunday) but now I just donate, generally - I might pop one on if out and about on 11th or the Sunday.
It was far from cringe. It was actually one of the most revealing interviews about AI that I’ve ever seen. In under an hour Musk - cleverly coaxed out of his awkwardness by Sunak - gave an incredibly cogent analysis of AI - what it can do, where it will go, how it might impact
Musk didn’t hold back either. “All jobs will go” - and soon. And much else
It was far from cringe. It was actually one of the most revealing interviews about AI that I’ve ever seen. In under an hour Musk - cleverly coaxed out of his awkwardness by Sunak - gave an incredibly cogent analysis of AI - what it can do, where it will go, how it might impact
Musk didn’t hold back either. “All jobs will go” - and soon. And much else
I suggest that "All jobs will go" is 100% untrue, without foundation, impossible and misconceived. As always, some jobs will go but a greater number will be created.
Musk is extraordinarily dim for a genius. His stuff about some kid of his being better of with an AI buddy because he is less good at making friends is toe-curling (especially for the kid). And the stuff about the problem being to find meaning and purpose goes back to well before the wheel, and is not a new insight.
You have no idea what you’re talking about. You clearly haven’t interacted with an unnerfed ChatGPT - with some or all of the guardrails down they are witty, wise, friendly. They adapt to your personality and remember your conversations and recall your quirks, desires, interests
Their responses are immediate and human
I gleaned from the interview that Musk has an autistic child - who struggles to make friends in real life. That’s what musk heavily implied (and it’s not a surprise as autism is partly genetic and musk has self confessed Asperger’s)
For people like that these machines will be a godsend. They really will become friends for the lonely. Better than any pet or Minecraft buddy
TBH I’m really struggling with the intersection of AI and PB when most of you haven’t got a single clue about it. You’re on the level of daily mail commenters
I will never get over the fact that people on PB consider a poppy to be debatable and entangle it with other causes or virtue signalling. I bought a poppy a week ago and felt rather guilty I had to pop to another shop to get change to do it instead of lobbing a note in.
As long as Britain endures it will have armed forces, and as long as wars exist they will die in them. A poppy for a fortnight each year is a simple and cheap way of saying thank you, for future sacrifice and for remembrance of the past.
Ask the people of Derry how they feel about the poppy and the army.
We live in a world of grey, not black and white.
You want warfare to be nice and fair? Armies do things which if they did them in peacetime and as civilians would incur arrest and severe punishment. PB has a predominantly wealthy and older clientele, who want the world to be nice and orderly and polite and analysable and safe. But it's not, and we are three meals and an infinitely-manipulable sense of morality away from absolutely savage cruelty. Like it or lump it the British armed forces are one of the very few things standing between that and you and me, and a small piece of symbolism is a very small price for such a large debt.
“We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.”
George Orwell? I'd agree but be careful about going full Jack Nicholson/A Few Good Men.
Apparently the exact phrase was never said except as a paraphrase by Richard Grenier who in 1993 said "As George Orwell pointed out, people sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.". People got confused and thought the paraphrase was a quote, and then attributed the ersatz quote to Orwell. Comedy ensued.
People who said something similar in the past include Kipling, Orwell, Churchill and Le Carré.
Biden's comments are no doubt informed by the geopolitical situation and things like AI but otherwise look like just the usual Presidential pre-electioneering to me.
Difficult times and important decisions ahead. I'm the guy for the job. Reelect me.
A spin on the old 'No Time For a Novice'. In this case 'No Time for a Nutter'.
Rishi’s next move after politics seems pretty obvious to me. He’s off back to Silicon Valley to do a Clegg. He’ll probably end up at XTwitter if he’s getting chummy with Elon.
Yes, the one consolation is that he'll probably end up making more money than Boris, which Boris will no doubt find annoying.
It was far from cringe. It was actually one of the most revealing interviews about AI that I’ve ever seen. In under an hour Musk - cleverly coaxed out of his awkwardness by Sunak - gave an incredibly cogent analysis of AI - what it can do, where it will go, how it might impact
Musk didn’t hold back either. “All jobs will go” - and soon. And much else
A future for Rishi as a talk show host, do we think? The new Parky?
He was genuinely good. Smooth, relaxed, moderately charming, suave. And totally on top of the AI brief. He really knows that world
Also he got the best out of Musk. Which is never easy - Musk is shy, nervous, socially awkward, super intelligent, an Aspie. Truly great interviewers like Rogan struggle with Musk
Sunak had him on stage in a live setting in a major event and Musk was calm, lucid, eloquent - after an initial nervousness. Weird as it sounds I think Sunak would be good on TV - much better than Boris who is too unfocused and chaotic in his thoughts, speech
It was far from cringe. It was actually one of the most revealing interviews about AI that I’ve ever seen. In under an hour Musk - cleverly coaxed out of his awkwardness by Sunak - gave an incredibly cogent analysis of AI - what it can do, where it will go, how it might impact
Musk didn’t hold back either. “All jobs will go” - and soon. And much else
It was far from cringe. It was actually one of the most revealing interviews about AI that I’ve ever seen. In under an hour Musk - cleverly coaxed out of his awkwardness by Sunak - gave an incredibly cogent analysis of AI - what it can do, where it will go, how it might impact
Musk didn’t hold back either. “All jobs will go” - and soon. And much else
I suggest that "All jobs will go" is 100% untrue, without foundation, impossible and misconceived. As always, some jobs will go but a greater number will be created.
Musk is extraordinarily dim for a genius. His stuff about some kid of his being better of with an AI buddy because he is less good at making friends is toe-curling (especially for the kid). And the stuff about the problem being to find meaning and purpose goes back to well before the wheel, and is not a new insight.
You have no idea what you’re talking about. You clearly haven’t interacted with an unnerfed ChatGPT - with some or all of the guardrails down they are witty, wise, friendly. They adapt to your personality and remember your conversations and recall your quirks, desires, interests
Their responses are immediate and human
I gleaned from the interview that Musk has an autistic child - who struggles to make friends in real life. That’s what musk heavily implied (and it’s not a surprise as autism is partly genetic and musk has self confessed Asperger’s)
For people like that these machines will be a godsend. They really will become friends for the lonely. Better than any pet or Minecraft buddy
TBH I’m really struggling with the intersection of AI and PB when most of you haven’t got a single clue about it. You’re on the level of daily mail commenters
It was far from cringe. It was actually one of the most revealing interviews about AI that I’ve ever seen. In under an hour Musk - cleverly coaxed out of his awkwardness by Sunak - gave an incredibly cogent analysis of AI - what it can do, where it will go, how it might impact
Musk didn’t hold back either. “All jobs will go” - and soon. And much else
It was far from cringe. It was actually one of the most revealing interviews about AI that I’ve ever seen. In under an hour Musk - cleverly coaxed out of his awkwardness by Sunak - gave an incredibly cogent analysis of AI - what it can do, where it will go, how it might impact
Musk didn’t hold back either. “All jobs will go” - and soon. And much else
I suggest that "All jobs will go" is 100% untrue, without foundation, impossible and misconceived. As always, some jobs will go but a greater number will be created.
Musk is extraordinarily dim for a genius. His stuff about some kid of his being better of with an AI buddy because he is less good at making friends is toe-curling (especially for the kid). And the stuff about the problem being to find meaning and purpose goes back to well before the wheel, and is not a new insight.
You have no idea what you’re talking about. You clearly haven’t interacted with an unnerfed ChatGPT - with some or all of the guardrails down they are witty, wise, friendly. They adapt to your personality and remember your conversations and recall your quirks, desires, interests
Their responses are immediate and human
I gleaned from the interview that Musk has an autistic child - who struggles to make friends in real life. That’s what musk heavily implied (and it’s not a surprise as autism is partly genetic and musk has self confessed Asperger’s)
For people like that these machines will be a godsend. They really will become friends for the lonely. Better than any pet or Minecraft buddy
TBH I’m really struggling with the intersection of AI and PB when most of you haven’t got a single clue about it. You’re on the level of daily mail commenters
Shape up or I’m moving to Reddit for good
Good points. Well made. Especially the one about me not knowing what I am talking about. However I shall also take Asquith's usual advice about the future.
The proportion of low-paid employee jobs for hourly pay fell to record lows of 8.9%. The great retirement post-covid probably needs to be considered too.
"But evidence has been piling up that Haley might actually have something on her hands — buoyed by strong debate performances, poll numbers that have been consistently climbing and a growing chorus of Republicans telling all the boys to pack up and let her take Trump head on.
On the latter, there seems to be broad agreement that for Haley, New Hampshire is, if not make-or-break, definitely the venue that can solidify her status as the non-Trump Republican in this race."
“People forget that New Hampshire is not a Republican-only primary.”
Still a bit too early to say for me whether Haley is a flash in the pan or not (there have been many throughout the typical primary process), but from what I see of her, there is something impressive there.
If she did face Biden in an election, I do believe she’d win at a canter.
If Haley is the GOP candidate I think Biden might step down and let Newsom take the spot. Biden persists because he thinks only he can beat Trump. He's already done it once.
I think so too. Biden v Trump in Nov is to some extent a related event double imo. The implied price of Neither v Neither is about 10/1 and I'm looking for ways to back that. Reasoning: I only give Trump a 50% chance of being the GOP nominee and if he isn't I think Biden is only 50/50 to run. Therefore 'neither' it should be more like 3/1 than 10/1. Or let's say 5/1 max.
You can lay Biden/Trump on the nominee market on Betfair at 1.66.
EDIT But that's not Neither v Neither. Its AND plus OR rather than AND.
Yep, that pays if either isn't the nominee and I have done that actually at 1.6. I've got a pretty big short on Donald Trump when you add it all up. If I've got this wrong and he wins the whole thing my losses (if I did no more bets from here) will be a fair bit more than the tidy sum I won betting against him on the last US election.
Another thing Musk said which was fascinating - and a little disquieting - is that “AI will get an order of magnitude better in the next 12 months”
That was his explicit statement. And if anyone should know it is him - he was a founder investor with OpenAI and Tesla are developing their own AI very fast (they might be ahead of Boston Dynamics in robotics)
So that’s GPT4 times an order of magnitude within the year - if Musk is right. With that be AGI? Or will it be so close to AGI it makes no difference?
If it is the case it explains Biden’s sudden, sweeping executive order on AI and his extraordinary remarks about the world changing forever in the next 2-3 years
It also explains much of the weirdness on TwitterX like Jimmy Apples
Rishi’s next move after politics seems pretty obvious to me. He’s off back to Silicon Valley to do a Clegg. He’ll probably end up at XTwitter if he’s getting chummy with Elon.
Yes, the one consolation is that he'll probably end up making more money than Boris, which Boris will no doubt find annoying.
What's the point? He's hugely wealthy as it is. I suppose there's a sense of not wanting to be seen living off his wife's money. But come on. I doubt he went into politics for the money. He was in Silicon Valley in the first place. He was obviously interested in politics and public life.
So much of the criticism of Rishi on here descends into superficiality. That ought to encourage him.
Rishi’s next move after politics seems pretty obvious to me. He’s off back to Silicon Valley to do a Clegg. He’ll probably end up at XTwitter if he’s getting chummy with Elon.
Yes, the one consolation is that he'll probably end up making more money than Boris, which Boris will no doubt find annoying.
What's the point? He's hugely wealthy as it is. I suppose there's a sense of not wanting to be seen living off his wife's money. But come on. I doubt he went into politics for the money. He was in Silicon Valley in the first place. He was obviously interested in politics and public life.
So much of the criticism of Rishi on here descends into superficiality. That ought to encourage him.
A lot of the wealthy just like to keep working. I work with a guy who by most standards is a rich guy. But he;s 82, has a heart condition and his wife wants him to stop. But he wont as work is what keeps him alive.
Sunak probably just isnt the type who wants to go and lie on a beach for 30 years,
If "All jobs will go" due to AI, then that makes the human race redundant, IMHO.
Did you ever read any of Bank's Culture novels? The human-like creatures in that effectively sat in the gap between pets and playthings of the Culture’s super-intelligences.
And it’s still a better fate that most people throughout history have received.
If "All jobs will go" due to AI, then that makes the human race redundant, IMHO.
Well yes. That’s the terrifying implication
Tbh I thing he was being both hyperbolic and gnomic
It will be a long time before every single job goes as we know it. Maybe some - strippers and vicars - will never go
However the implication that the big majority of jobs, as we know them, will go - is correct. This has happened before in the Industrial Revolution, so it’s not unprecedented
The difference here is that it will happen very fast and that we can’t be sure new jobs will replace the old. Hopefully they will but hmm
If "All jobs will go" due to AI, then that makes the human race redundant, IMHO.
Well yes. That’s the terrifying implication
Tbh I thing he was being both hyperbolic and gnomic
It will be a long time before every single job goes as we know it. Maybe some - strippers and vicars - will never go
However the implication that the big majority of jobs, as we know them, will go - is correct. This has happened before in the Industrial Revolution, so it’s not unprecedented
The difference here is that it will happen very fast and that we can’t be sure new jobs will replace the old. Hopefully they will but hmm
Rishi’s next move after politics seems pretty obvious to me. He’s off back to Silicon Valley to do a Clegg. He’ll probably end up at XTwitter if he’s getting chummy with Elon.
Yes, the one consolation is that he'll probably end up making more money than Boris, which Boris will no doubt find annoying.
What's the point? He's hugely wealthy as it is. I suppose there's a sense of not wanting to be seen living off his wife's money. But come on. I doubt he went into politics for the money. He was in Silicon Valley in the first place. He was obviously interested in politics and public life.
So much of the criticism of Rishi on here descends into superficiality. That ought to encourage him.
A lot of the wealthy just like to keep working. I work with a guy who by most standards is a rich guy. But he;s 82, has a heart condition and his wife wants him to stop. But he wont as work is what keeps him alive.
Sunak probably just isnt the type who wants to go and lie on a beach for 30 years,
My point was that he probably isn't as driven by the $1m salary as much as others would be.
If "All jobs will go" due to AI, then that makes the human race redundant, IMHO.
Then what are machines going to do ?
Wage war against each other.
It does rather make you wonder what the point of it all is. You make great strides so that nobody has any money because they dont have a job and entrust your future to HAL and hope the programmers havent screwed up,
Somewhere along the line we need a good look at this
Rishi’s next move after politics seems pretty obvious to me. He’s off back to Silicon Valley to do a Clegg. He’ll probably end up at XTwitter if he’s getting chummy with Elon.
Yes, the one consolation is that he'll probably end up making more money than Boris, which Boris will no doubt find annoying.
What's the point? He's hugely wealthy as it is. I suppose there's a sense of not wanting to be seen living off his wife's money. But come on. I doubt he went into politics for the money. He was in Silicon Valley in the first place. He was obviously interested in politics and public life.
So much of the criticism of Rishi on here descends into superficiality. That ought to encourage him.
A lot of the wealthy just like to keep working. I work with a guy who by most standards is a rich guy. But he;s 82, has a heart condition and his wife wants him to stop. But he wont as work is what keeps him alive.
Sunak probably just isnt the type who wants to go and lie on a beach for 30 years,
My point was that he probably isn't as driven by the $1m salary as much as others would be.
If "All jobs will go" due to AI, then that makes the human race redundant, IMHO.
Did you ever read any of Bank's Culture novels? The human-like creatures in that effectively sat in the gap between pets and playthings of the Culture’s super-intelligences.
And it’s still a better fate that most people throughout history have received.
Musk actually cited the Banks Culture novels in the Sunak interview! He said “if you want to know what the future is like, read the Culture novels by Banks”
Damnit. I shall have to read them now. I like Banks but I’ve avoided all his books since Wasp Factory as he was such an annoying Scot Nat
An interesting and entertaining header Alanbrooke. David V Goliiath a nice touch and the point that hits the nail square on. It doesn't really matter what your personal history this is a visceral conflict and the wonderful Old Testament story of David and Goliath which we were taught as children is more a determinant of where we individually stand than who gave the deeds to who 3000 years ago or who should or shouldn't have 80 years ago or who you ethnically identify with.
I had lunch with a pretty hard headed advertising chum yesterday who I have never heard express a coherent political view on anything being furious about the Israeli's actions. He was litterally livid. He couldn't stand the thought of Israel bombing children whether or not they were shielding Hamas operatives or anyone else. It really hurt him.
Whatever we may feel about who started what, this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose and he's getting severely battered for it. Whether he had it coming is neither here nor there. We are all watching a dumb animal being mercilessly beaten and few can watch it dispassionately. It's hurting us individually and we're rooting for the animal.
It's for that reason that there will be a million green and red flags next week-end. Not that they don't like Jews or Israelis.
"this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose"
Rape of women so violent their pelvises were broken. Murder of babies in their cots. Cutting off limbs. Beheading with a shovel. Slicing off women's breasts. Gouging out mens eyes. Gunning down teenagers and old people. Disembowelling a pregnant woman. Burning people alive.
This is your idea of tweaking someone's nose is it?
I am rooting for those who suffered this, their families, their friends and those who are dying now because of the actions of those who did this.
And I despise those who are making people here in this country, Jews living here, feel unsafe and unwanted. They include my own cousin, who has an Irish father, and a son in primary school where they have had to pay for extra security because of threats from the sorts of people who wave Palestinian flags, celebrate massacres and call them inspiring. And then there are people like you who stand by and, as you've made clear on this forum, dismiss their concerns.
Your cousin's son goes to a Jewish school? Does that mean you have an ultra orthodox Jewish cousin? That's interesting particularly if she married out as you suggest by saying their father is Irish and I'm presuming not Jewish?
Well we can speak with some knowledge then. There is so much ignorance on the subject it's often difficult to know where to start and hardly worth bothering with. The number of people who don't even know any Jews as I'm discovering on here is remarkable.
My family were orthodox in the old fashioned Orthodox/Reform meaning of the word and compared to most at the time we were considered religious. Milk/Meat kosher kitchen no smoking on Saturdays attendance at major festivals etc. Then aged 18 my sister fell in love with a Jewish boy who had met a young rabbi at Leeds University who converted him to the next level of Orthodox and they married and moved into another world.
Posts of yours berating Muslims for their treatment of wives making them cover up used to make me smile. Ultra Orthodox can't shake hands with members of the opposite sex whether Jew or Gentile. Visiting my mother in hospital with my sister I had to explain that she wasn't being rude but she couldn't shake their hands for religeous reasons. They don't wear wigs for vanity Much of the rest is too bizarre for a forum like this but as you probably know birth control is not only forbidden but abstinance is too and she now has twelve children all of them have been to Jewish schools and have or will have arranged marriages when they're eighteen.
They are the future of the Jewdaism. The rest like your cousin will marry out and "I had a Jewish cousin/aunt/grandfather" is what you'll be left with. This is why Israrel are so keen to attract Jews from wherever they can find them. Even questionable ones like the Ethiopians. Because at least when they go dating there's an above average chance it'll be with another Jew.
A lot going on there, Rog.
Between me you and the lampost. I wondered who on here was likely to be Jewish-man married to Jewish second cousin not counting- and you were the most likely. Please don't be insulted but though it's not like meeting someone you can sometimes tell. And I do not want an answer. Just someone privately thinking I might be peceptive and not a lying moron will do.
Is that to me or @Cyclefree. I am not 100% getting the first bit of your post.
I know you are Jewish and therefore you have every right to think what you think about it all. I am also very well aware that you (and indeed "the left") would be dispatched in short order by the people who acted as they did on October 7th.
You could have been standing there all day shouting "but the 1967 borders provide for a...." and they would have slotted you just like all the others in their IDF uniforms.
Jews seem to be a right wing obsession that started four or five years ago. At first I thought it was an easy virtue signal. Pretty hard to spot in a crowd and if they moved into your area they wouldn't affect the value of your house. Well not downwards anyway.
But then it got tied up with Corbyn and Labour and Regev and it became altogether more sinister. And now with Israel and Palestine it's very difficult to see politically where things will go. This could be a very testing time for Starmer
If "All jobs will go" due to AI, then that makes the human race redundant, IMHO.
Did you ever read any of Bank's Culture novels? The human-like creatures in that effectively sat in the gap between pets and playthings of the Culture’s super-intelligences.
And it’s still a better fate that most people throughout history have received.
Musk actually cited the Banks Culture novels in the Sunak interview! He said “if you want to know what the future is like, read the Culture novels by Banks”
Damnit. I shall have to read them now. I like Banks but I’ve avoided all his books since Wasp Factory as he was such an annoying Scot Nat
I'd suggest reading the first two and then, if you're not feeling it, skipping the rest.
If "All jobs will go" due to AI, then that makes the human race redundant, IMHO.
Did you ever read any of Bank's Culture novels? The human-like creatures in that effectively sat in the gap between pets and playthings of the Culture’s super-intelligences.
And it’s still a better fate that most people throughout history have received.
If you can find it, read Ben Aaronovitch’s “The Also People” in which Dr Who meets a thinly-disguised version of Banks’ Culture.
I will never get over the fact that people on PB consider a poppy to be debatable and entangle it with other causes or virtue signalling. I bought a poppy a week ago and felt rather guilty I had to pop to another shop to get change to do it instead of lobbing a note in.
As long as Britain endures it will have armed forces, and as long as wars exist they will die in them. A poppy for a fortnight each year is a simple and cheap way of saying thank you, for future sacrifice and for remembrance of the past.
Ask the people of Derry how they feel about the poppy and the army.
An interesting and entertaining header Alanbrooke. David V Goliiath a nice touch and the point that hits the nail square on. It doesn't really matter what your personal history this is a visceral conflict and the wonderful Old Testament story of David and Goliath which we were taught as children is more a determinant of where we individually stand than who gave the deeds to who 3000 years ago or who should or shouldn't have 80 years ago or who you ethnically identify with.
I had lunch with a pretty hard headed advertising chum yesterday who I have never heard express a coherent political view on anything being furious about the Israeli's actions. He was litterally livid. He couldn't stand the thought of Israel bombing children whether or not they were shielding Hamas operatives or anyone else. It really hurt him.
Whatever we may feel about who started what, this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose and he's getting severely battered for it. Whether he had it coming is neither here nor there. We are all watching a dumb animal being mercilessly beaten and few can watch it dispassionately. It's hurting us individually and we're rooting for the animal.
It's for that reason that there will be a million green and red flags next week-end. Not that they don't like Jews or Israelis.
"this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose"
Rape of women so violent their pelvises were broken. Murder of babies in their cots. Cutting off limbs. Beheading with a shovel. Slicing off women's breasts. Gouging out mens eyes. Gunning down teenagers and old people. Disembowelling a pregnant woman. Burning people alive.
This is your idea of tweaking someone's nose is it?
I am rooting for those who suffered this, their families, their friends and those who are dying now because of the actions of those who did this.
And I despise those who are making people here in this country, Jews living here, feel unsafe and unwanted. They include my own cousin, who has an Irish father, and a son in primary school where they have had to pay for extra security because of threats from the sorts of people who wave Palestinian flags, celebrate massacres and call them inspiring. And then there are people like you who stand by and, as you've made clear on this forum, dismiss their concerns.
Your cousin's son goes to a Jewish school? Does that mean you have an ultra orthodox Jewish cousin? That's interesting particularly if she married out as you suggest by saying their father is Irish and I'm presuming not Jewish?
Well we can speak with some knowledge then. There is so much ignorance on the subject it's often difficult to know where to start and hardly worth bothering with. The number of people who don't even know any Jews as I'm discovering on here is remarkable.
My family were orthodox in the old fashioned Orthodox/Reform meaning of the word and compared to most at the time we were considered religious. Milk/Meat kosher kitchen no smoking on Saturdays attendance at major festivals etc. Then aged 18 my sister fell in love with a Jewish boy who had met a young rabbi at Leeds University who converted him to the next level of Orthodox and they married and moved into another world.
Posts of yours berating Muslims for their treatment of wives making them cover up used to make me smile. Ultra Orthodox can't shake hands with members of the opposite sex whether Jew or Gentile. Visiting my mother in hospital with my sister I had to explain that she wasn't being rude but she couldn't shake their hands for religeous reasons. They don't wear wigs for vanity Much of the rest is too bizarre for a forum like this but as you probably know birth control is not only forbidden but abstinance is too and she now has twelve children all of them have been to Jewish schools and have or will have arranged marriages when they're eighteen.
They are the future of the Jewdaism. The rest like your cousin will marry out and "I had a Jewish cousin/aunt/grandfather" is what you'll be left with. This is why Israrel are so keen to attract Jews from wherever they can find them. Even questionable ones like the Ethiopians. Because at least when they go dating there's an above average chance it'll be with another Jew.
A lot going on there, Rog.
Between me you and the lampost. I wondered who on here was likely to be Jewish-man married to Jewish second cousin not counting- and you were the most likely. Please don't be insulted but though it's not like meeting someone you can sometimes tell. And I do not want an answer. Just someone privately thinking I might be peceptive and not a lying moron will do.
Is that to me or @Cyclefree. I am not 100% getting the first bit of your post.
I know you are Jewish and therefore you have every right to think what you think about it all. I am also very well aware that you (and indeed "the left") would be dispatched in short order by the people who acted as they did on October 7th.
You could have been standing there all day shouting "but the 1967 borders provide for a...." and they would have slotted you just like all the others in their IDF uniforms.
Jews seem to be a right wing obsession that started four or five years ago. At first I thought it was an easy virtue signal. Pretty hard to spot in a crowd and if they moved into your area they wouldn't affect the value of your house. Well not downwards anyway.
But then it got tied up with Corbyn and Labour and Regev and it became altogether more sinister. And now with Israel and Palestine it's very difficult to see politically where things will go. This could be a very testing time for Starmer
The MAGA Right go on about George Soros, Zelenskyy and Hollywood elites being in a vast conspiracy… but then are also very pro-Israel.
If "All jobs will go" due to AI, then that makes the human race redundant, IMHO.
Well yes. That’s the terrifying implication
Tbh I thing he was being both hyperbolic and gnomic
It will be a long time before every single job goes as we know it. Maybe some - strippers and vicars - will never go
However the implication that the big majority of jobs, as we know them, will go - is correct. This has happened before in the Industrial Revolution, so it’s not unprecedented
The difference here is that it will happen very fast and that we can’t be sure new jobs will replace the old. Hopefully they will but hmm
If Rishi was as skilled a host as you claim he was he wouldn't have allowed his guest to be hyperbolic and gnomic.
It was far from cringe. It was actually one of the most revealing interviews about AI that I’ve ever seen. In under an hour Musk - cleverly coaxed out of his awkwardness by Sunak - gave an incredibly cogent analysis of AI - what it can do, where it will go, how it might impact
Musk didn’t hold back either. “All jobs will go” - and soon. And much else
A future for Rishi as a talk show host, do we think? The new Parky?
He was genuinely good. Smooth, relaxed, moderately charming, suave. And totally on top of the AI brief. He really knows that world
Also he got the best out of Musk. Which is never easy - Musk is shy, nervous, socially awkward, super intelligent, an Aspie. Truly great interviewers like Rogan struggle with Musk
Sunak had him on stage in a live setting in a major event and Musk was calm, lucid, eloquent - after an initial nervousness. Weird as it sounds I think Sunak would be good on TV - much better than Boris who is too unfocused and chaotic in his thoughts, speech
The proportion of low-paid employee jobs for hourly pay fell to record lows of 8.9%. The great retirement post-covid probably needs to be considered too.
In a larger sense, net zero is a red herring. The rival green deals of America, Europe, and China are chiefly a struggle for technological dominance and no longer about the climate.
Britons can opt out of this economic competition and stew on the sidelines, but is that what Brexit was supposed to be?
If "All jobs will go" due to AI, then that makes the human race redundant, IMHO.
Did you ever read any of Bank's Culture novels? The human-like creatures in that effectively sat in the gap between pets and playthings of the Culture’s super-intelligences.
And it’s still a better fate that most people throughout history have received.
Musk actually cited the Banks Culture novels in the Sunak interview! He said “if you want to know what the future is like, read the Culture novels by Banks”
Damnit. I shall have to read them now. I like Banks but I’ve avoided all his books since Wasp Factory as he was such an annoying Scot Nat
Banks' Culture novels:
"Since the majority of its biological population can have almost anything they want without the need to work, there is little need for laws or enforcement, and the culture is described by Banks as space socialism."
It seems just like the post-Indy Scotland then....
If "All jobs will go" due to AI, then that makes the human race redundant, IMHO.
Did you ever read any of Bank's Culture novels? The human-like creatures in that effectively sat in the gap between pets and playthings of the Culture’s super-intelligences.
And it’s still a better fate that most people throughout history have received.
Musk actually cited the Banks Culture novels in the Sunak interview! He said “if you want to know what the future is like, read the Culture novels by Banks”
Damnit. I shall have to read them now. I like Banks but I’ve avoided all his books since Wasp Factory as he was such an annoying Scot Nat
His Sci-Fi is much, much better than his Iain Banks novels as a generality. Less weird and often very funny. I would recommend Player of Games, Excession and Use of Weapons.
If "All jobs will go" due to AI, then that makes the human race redundant, IMHO.
Did you ever read any of Bank's Culture novels? The human-like creatures in that effectively sat in the gap between pets and playthings of the Culture’s super-intelligences.
And it’s still a better fate that most people throughout history have received.
Musk actually cited the Banks Culture novels in the Sunak interview! He said “if you want to know what the future is like, read the Culture novels by Banks”
Damnit. I shall have to read them now. I like Banks but I’ve avoided all his books since Wasp Factory as he was such an annoying Scot Nat
Banks' Culture novels:
"Since the majority of its biological population can have almost anything they want without the need to work, there is little need for laws or enforcement, and the culture is described by Banks as space socialism."
It seems just like the post-Indy Scotland then....
Certainly in terms of the lack of work. Maybe not so much in terms of having what we want.
It was far from cringe. It was actually one of the most revealing interviews about AI that I’ve ever seen. In under an hour Musk - cleverly coaxed out of his awkwardness by Sunak - gave an incredibly cogent analysis of AI - what it can do, where it will go, how it might impact
Musk didn’t hold back either. “All jobs will go” - and soon. And much else
A future for Rishi as a talk show host, do we think? The new Parky?
That would be excellent, and the sooner he embarks on this new career path the better.
Good header @Alanbrooke Ireland does indeed seem to have come to a settled view on this.
Ironically a generation or two ago Ireland might have seen in Israel parallels with its own past as a small country fighting to win independence against larger neighbours. That has changed hugely.
It doesn't matter much however many march in Dublin, London or Dacca or who they support. The only country Isael listens to is the USA, and the only places with influence on Hamas are in the neighbouring countries.
I agree with that. What has me scratching my head is what Ireland hopes to gain from its stance. Usually Ireland sits at the back of the class and says little ( see Ukraine ) but on this one its at the front. I cant really see what the country is seeking to gain versus the downside if it goes wrong.
I don't think Ireland's stance is a sophisticated political calculation of upside versus downside. It is equivalent to joining a pro Palestinian protest march. There's nothing to gain except expressing a strongly held moral view that needs expression. Just keeping quiet would feel wrong.
They don't have to buttlick the US and agree with them at all costs
If Ireland don't have to, then the UK doesn't have to either, but oddly we do, to a bizarre degree.
In a larger sense, net zero is a red herring. The rival green deals of America, Europe, and China are chiefly a struggle for technological dominance and no longer about the climate.
Britons can opt out of this economic competition and stew on the sidelines, but is that what Brexit was supposed to be?
To put Russian personnel losses of 300,000+ in 18 months in perspective: from 1941-46 US losses in WWll were about 405,000 for both the European and Pacific wars.
This Hezbollah guy Nasrallah doesnt half ramble on.
Ranting on for ages but not actually saying anything.
The longer it goes on the more likely it is the usual bluster disguising inaction from Hezbollah? Which means they won’t attack Israel. Which is an extremely good thing as that’s the most likely way for this war to escalate
If "All jobs will go" due to AI, then that makes the human race redundant, IMHO.
Did you ever read any of Bank's Culture novels? The human-like creatures in that effectively sat in the gap between pets and playthings of the Culture’s super-intelligences.
And it’s still a better fate that most people throughout history have received.
Musk actually cited the Banks Culture novels in the Sunak interview! He said “if you want to know what the future is like, read the Culture novels by Banks”
Damnit. I shall have to read them now. I like Banks but I’ve avoided all his books since Wasp Factory as he was such an annoying Scot Nat
Banks' Culture novels:
"Since the majority of its biological population can have almost anything they want without the need to work, there is little need for laws or enforcement, and the culture is described by Banks as space socialism."
It seems just like the post-Indy Scotland then....
Certainly in terms of the lack of work. Maybe not so much in terms of having what we want.
How shit must the rUK be?
'Scotland's unemployment rate has increased slightly to 3.2%, according to new figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that an estimated 89,000 Scots adults were unemployed between March and May, up from 85,000 in the previous three months.
Scotland's unemployment rate is below the UK-wide rate, which was 4% in the latest period.'
This Hezbollah guy Nasrallah doesnt half ramble on.
Ranting on for ages but not actually saying anything.
The longer it goes on the more likely it is the usual bluster disguising inaction from Hezbollah? Which means they won’t attack Israel. Which is an extremely good thing as that’s the most likely way for this war to escalate
Well he's still saying how heroic Hamas are and encouraging them to continue. But so far not committing himself.
An interesting and entertaining header Alanbrooke. David V Goliiath a nice touch and the point that hits the nail square on. It doesn't really matter what your personal history this is a visceral conflict and the wonderful Old Testament story of David and Goliath which we were taught as children is more a determinant of where we individually stand than who gave the deeds to who 3000 years ago or who should or shouldn't have 80 years ago or who you ethnically identify with.
I had lunch with a pretty hard headed advertising chum yesterday who I have never heard express a coherent political view on anything being furious about the Israeli's actions. He was litterally livid. He couldn't stand the thought of Israel bombing children whether or not they were shielding Hamas operatives or anyone else. It really hurt him.
Whatever we may feel about who started what, this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose and he's getting severely battered for it. Whether he had it coming is neither here nor there. We are all watching a dumb animal being mercilessly beaten and few can watch it dispassionately. It's hurting us individually and we're rooting for the animal.
It's for that reason that there will be a million green and red flags next week-end. Not that they don't like Jews or Israelis.
"this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose"
Rape of women so violent their pelvises were broken. Murder of babies in their cots. Cutting off limbs. Beheading with a shovel. Slicing off women's breasts. Gouging out mens eyes. Gunning down teenagers and old people. Disembowelling a pregnant woman. Burning people alive.
This is your idea of tweaking someone's nose is it?
I am rooting for those who suffered this, their families, their friends and those who are dying now because of the actions of those who did this.
And I despise those who are making people here in this country, Jews living here, feel unsafe and unwanted. They include my own cousin, who has an Irish father, and a son in primary school where they have had to pay for extra security because of threats from the sorts of people who wave Palestinian flags, celebrate massacres and call them inspiring. And then there are people like you who stand by and, as you've made clear on this forum, dismiss their concerns.
Even if badly expressed, and even if some here wish it were not true, it does seem to be the case that support for Israel is dropping as its response to the 7th October outrages is perceived to be disproportionate. Even Israel's staunchest ally, the United States, has warned about this. It is not just something made up by social media malcontents.
There is good faith criticism to be made of Israel.
And there is a lot of bad faith criticism made by people who do not want Israel to defend itself and/or who hate Jews.
There is rather more of the latter than people are willing to admit. The increase in anti-Jewish hatred in this and other countries is evidence of that. Ireland is not immune from this. It is shameful.
And it is precisely because of this that Israel will take steps that will make many of us despair. Because even after a massacre as brutal and sadistic as this one, it - and Jews elsewhere - cannot count on basic human decency and sympathy.
I actually don't think there's been much active anti-semitism (insults in the street, attacks on synagogues) in recent years, but a lot of people do wrongly think Jewish=Israeli, and daily reports of what appear to be Israeli war crimes stir up latent anti-semitism and even expand it to people who never gave it a thought, even though it's as unfair as blaming random people of Arab descent for Hamas's hideous pogrom.
Personally, as someone who was on Labour Friends of Irrael's executive (though I only later found out that I'm of Jewish descent), I think:
1. The Hamas slaughter of civilians was inexcusably horrible and retaliation is entirely justified. 2. Assassinate Hamas leaders, certainly. Go into Gaza, if necessary. But show you're trying to minimise civilian casualties and don't cut off 2 million men, women and children from medicine, food and water, since that too is criminal. 3. Neither are the fault of people who live in Britain - whether of Jewish or Palestianian backgrounds - whatever their personal sympathies may be. During the Indo-Pakistani wars, people of both backgrounds in Nottingham agreed to leave each other in peace, since it clearly wasn't their doing - we need to follow that now.
The Israeli response looks indiscriminate and OTT brutal. Dread to think what the final Palestinian toll will be. Huge numbers of innocent people are going to be killed, injured, displaced, and Israel won't be any less vulnerable at the end of it. Their response is however no surprise in the light of Oct 7th. Forget the official 'war aim' (impossible in any case), the driver for what they're doing now is vengeance for that and 'that' was off-the-scale in size and barbarity. So what we have here, the way I see it, is another one of those things you sometimes come across that are at the same time wrong, unjustifiable, ill considered, and understandable.
What is Israel's alternative?
It's fine to say: "Go after Hamas's leadership", but what mechanism is there to do this? What is the surgical knife that will remove Hamas without hurting any civilians, especially when Hamas bury themselves within the civilians?
And if some civilian deaths are deemed 'acceptable' to attack Hamas, then how many? It's an impossible question, because saying 'none' means Israel cannot defend itself from the evil, and saying 'as many as it takes' is hideous.
Assassination. Starting with the Hamas leadership sitting safely in Qatar.
That's a good answer, thanks. But do you think that would be a fast enough process to stop Hamas attacking again? If we had assassinated Hitler in 1940, would Germany still have prosecuted the war? Yes, absolutely. Hamas is not just a terrorist organisation, but a government.
Besides, assassinations are hard to do with zero civilian casualties as well.
I also dislike the idea of carrying assassinations over into other relatively uninvolved states. I thought we all disapproved of Saudi's assassination of Khashoggi in Turkey? Or the Salisbury mess?
By the way, on-topic, it shouldn't be underestimated how rapidly the Irish-American population is dissolving.
In 1980, 40m identified as Irish-American, or about one-sixth of the population; by 2020, that had dropped to 31m, or less than one-tenth. But as well as a drop in actual and proportionate numbers, there's also a fall-off in intensity of identity. Until well after WW2, there were still distinct Irish-American neighbourhoods, formed from the mass immigration that ended in 1914 but for a little epilogue in the 1920s - times still recent enough to be in living memory for most, with plenty of first-generation immigrants. Assimilation and personal ties with relations becoming much more distant as generations pass mean that to be an 'Irish American' has almost no practical meaning, albeit for some it still has emotional resonance (one obvious and prominent example being President Biden - but he's over 80, which kind-of makes my point).
Give it another 20 years and even the media and politicians might cotton on to the notion that the Irish-American lobby is an echo in their minds, with the inevitable consequences for a cooling of relations between the two states, even without things like Dublin going off the deep end on Gaza.
An interesting and entertaining header Alanbrooke. David V Goliiath a nice touch and the point that hits the nail square on. It doesn't really matter what your personal history this is a visceral conflict and the wonderful Old Testament story of David and Goliath which we were taught as children is more a determinant of where we individually stand than who gave the deeds to who 3000 years ago or who should or shouldn't have 80 years ago or who you ethnically identify with.
I had lunch with a pretty hard headed advertising chum yesterday who I have never heard express a coherent political view on anything being furious about the Israeli's actions. He was litterally livid. He couldn't stand the thought of Israel bombing children whether or not they were shielding Hamas operatives or anyone else. It really hurt him.
Whatever we may feel about who started what, this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose and he's getting severely battered for it. Whether he had it coming is neither here nor there. We are all watching a dumb animal being mercilessly beaten and few can watch it dispassionately. It's hurting us individually and we're rooting for the animal.
It's for that reason that there will be a million green and red flags next week-end. Not that they don't like Jews or Israelis.
"this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose"
Rape of women so violent their pelvises were broken. Murder of babies in their cots. Cutting off limbs. Beheading with a shovel. Slicing off women's breasts. Gouging out mens eyes. Gunning down teenagers and old people. Disembowelling a pregnant woman. Burning people alive.
This is your idea of tweaking someone's nose is it?
I am rooting for those who suffered this, their families, their friends and those who are dying now because of the actions of those who did this.
And I despise those who are making people here in this country, Jews living here, feel unsafe and unwanted. They include my own cousin, who has an Irish father, and a son in primary school where they have had to pay for extra security because of threats from the sorts of people who wave Palestinian flags, celebrate massacres and call them inspiring. And then there are people like you who stand by and, as you've made clear on this forum, dismiss their concerns.
Your cousin's son goes to a Jewish school? Does that mean you have an ultra orthodox Jewish cousin? That's interesting particularly if she married out as you suggest by saying their father is Irish and I'm presuming not Jewish?
Well we can speak with some knowledge then. There is so much ignorance on the subject it's often difficult to know where to start and hardly worth bothering with. The number of people who don't even know any Jews as I'm discovering on here is remarkable.
My family were orthodox in the old fashioned Orthodox/Reform meaning of the word and compared to most at the time we were considered religious. Milk/Meat kosher kitchen no smoking on Saturdays attendance at major festivals etc. Then aged 18 my sister fell in love with a Jewish boy who had met a young rabbi at Leeds University who converted him to the next level of Orthodox and they married and moved into another world.
Posts of yours berating Muslims for their treatment of wives making them cover up used to make me smile. Ultra Orthodox can't shake hands with members of the opposite sex whether Jew or Gentile. Visiting my mother in hospital with my sister I had to explain that she wasn't being rude but she couldn't shake their hands for religeous reasons. They don't wear wigs for vanity Much of the rest is too bizarre for a forum like this but as you probably know birth control is not only forbidden but abstinance is too and she now has twelve children all of them have been to Jewish schools and have or will have arranged marriages when they're eighteen.
They are the future of the Jewdaism. The rest like your cousin will marry out and "I had a Jewish cousin/aunt/grandfather" is what you'll be left with. This is why Israrel are so keen to attract Jews from wherever they can find them. Even questionable ones like the Ethiopians. Because at least when they go dating there's an above average chance it'll be with another Jew.
A lot going on there, Rog.
Between me you and the lampost. I wondered who on here was likely to be Jewish-man married to Jewish second cousin not counting- and you were the most likely. Please don't be insulted but though it's not like meeting someone you can sometimes tell. And I do not want an answer. Just someone privately thinking I might be peceptive and not a lying moron will do.
Is that to me or @Cyclefree. I am not 100% getting the first bit of your post.
I know you are Jewish and therefore you have every right to think what you think about it all. I am also very well aware that you (and indeed "the left") would be dispatched in short order by the people who acted as they did on October 7th.
You could have been standing there all day shouting "but the 1967 borders provide for a...." and they would have slotted you just like all the others in their IDF uniforms.
Jews seem to be a right wing obsession that started four or five years ago. At first I thought it was an easy virtue signal. Pretty hard to spot in a crowd and if they moved into your area they wouldn't affect the value of your house. Well not downwards anyway.
But then it got tied up with Corbyn and Labour and Regev and it became altogether more sinister. And now with Israel and Palestine it's very difficult to see politically where things will go. This could be a very testing time for Starmer
No it started with a resurgence of antisemitism on the left. I was shocked after the EU referendum when the question was being asked as to whether leave voters were racist and Vernon Bogdanor said he considered it a minor issue and that the real racism problem in British politics was on the left in the form of antisemitism.
This Hezbollah guy Nasrallah doesnt half ramble on.
Ranting on for ages but not actually saying anything.
The longer it goes on the more likely it is the usual bluster disguising inaction from Hezbollah? Which means they won’t attack Israel. Which is an extremely good thing as that’s the most likely way for this war to escalate
Well he's still saying how heroic Hamas are and encouraging them to continue. But so far not committing himself.
Yes my guess is this is just performative bloviating
Let’s hope I’m right. He’s got thousands watching him in Tehran in the main square
I will never get over the fact that people on PB consider a poppy to be debatable and entangle it with other causes or virtue signalling. I bought a poppy a week ago and felt rather guilty I had to pop to another shop to get change to do it instead of lobbing a note in.
As long as Britain endures it will have armed forces, and as long as wars exist they will die in them. A poppy for a fortnight each year is a simple and cheap way of saying thank you, for future sacrifice and for remembrance of the past.
Ask the people of Derry how they feel about the poppy and the army.
We live in a world of grey, not black and white.
You want warfare to be nice and fair? Armies do things which if they did them in peacetime and as civilians would incur arrest and severe punishment. PB has a predominantly wealthy and older clientele, who want the world to be nice and orderly and polite and analysable and safe. But it's not, and we are three meals and an infinitely-manipulable sense of morality away from absolutely savage cruelty. Like it or lump it the British armed forces are one of the very few things standing between that and you and me, and a small piece of symbolism is a very small price for such a large debt.
“We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.”
George Orwell? I'd agree but be careful about going full Jack Nicholson/A Few Good Men.
Apparently the exact phrase was never said except as a paraphrase by Richard Grenier who in 1993 said "As George Orwell pointed out, people sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.". People got confused and thought the paraphrase was a quote, and then attributed the ersatz quote to Orwell. Comedy ensued.
People who said something similar in the past include Kipling, Orwell, Churchill and Le Carré.
"But a "sense of fear" has led to fresh, serious discussions in government according to Gerald Knaus, chair of the European Stability Initiative think tank in Berlin.
He's dismissive of border checks and EU plans to fast-track asylum applications, describing them all as "fake solutions."
Mr Knaus was the brains behind the contentious 2016 deal which saw Turkey promised aid and visa-free travel in return for stemming the flow of migrants into the EU.
He believes this kind of agreement should be revived and expanded to countries such as Senegal, Morocco and Rwanda."
An interesting and entertaining header Alanbrooke. David V Goliiath a nice touch and the point that hits the nail square on. It doesn't really matter what your personal history this is a visceral conflict and the wonderful Old Testament story of David and Goliath which we were taught as children is more a determinant of where we individually stand than who gave the deeds to who 3000 years ago or who should or shouldn't have 80 years ago or who you ethnically identify with.
I had lunch with a pretty hard headed advertising chum yesterday who I have never heard express a coherent political view on anything being furious about the Israeli's actions. He was litterally livid. He couldn't stand the thought of Israel bombing children whether or not they were shielding Hamas operatives or anyone else. It really hurt him.
Whatever we may feel about who started what, this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose and he's getting severely battered for it. Whether he had it coming is neither here nor there. We are all watching a dumb animal being mercilessly beaten and few can watch it dispassionately. It's hurting us individually and we're rooting for the animal.
It's for that reason that there will be a million green and red flags next week-end. Not that they don't like Jews or Israelis.
"this is a film where the little guy tweeked the big guys nose"
Rape of women so violent their pelvises were broken. Murder of babies in their cots. Cutting off limbs. Beheading with a shovel. Slicing off women's breasts. Gouging out mens eyes. Gunning down teenagers and old people. Disembowelling a pregnant woman. Burning people alive.
This is your idea of tweaking someone's nose is it?
I am rooting for those who suffered this, their families, their friends and those who are dying now because of the actions of those who did this.
And I despise those who are making people here in this country, Jews living here, feel unsafe and unwanted. They include my own cousin, who has an Irish father, and a son in primary school where they have had to pay for extra security because of threats from the sorts of people who wave Palestinian flags, celebrate massacres and call them inspiring. And then there are people like you who stand by and, as you've made clear on this forum, dismiss their concerns.
Your cousin's son goes to a Jewish school? Does that mean you have an ultra orthodox Jewish cousin? That's interesting particularly if she married out as you suggest by saying their father is Irish and I'm presuming not Jewish?
Well we can speak with some knowledge then. There is so much ignorance on the subject it's often difficult to know where to start and hardly worth bothering with. The number of people who don't even know any Jews as I'm discovering on here is remarkable.
My family were orthodox in the old fashioned Orthodox/Reform meaning of the word and compared to most at the time we were considered religious. Milk/Meat kosher kitchen no smoking on Saturdays attendance at major festivals etc. Then aged 18 my sister fell in love with a Jewish boy who had met a young rabbi at Leeds University who converted him to the next level of Orthodox and they married and moved into another world.
Posts of yours berating Muslims for their treatment of wives making them cover up used to make me smile. Ultra Orthodox can't shake hands with members of the opposite sex whether Jew or Gentile. Visiting my mother in hospital with my sister I had to explain that she wasn't being rude but she couldn't shake their hands for religeous reasons. They don't wear wigs for vanity Much of the rest is too bizarre for a forum like this but as you probably know birth control is not only forbidden but abstinance is too and she now has twelve children all of them have been to Jewish schools and have or will have arranged marriages when they're eighteen.
They are the future of the Jewdaism. The rest like your cousin will marry out and "I had a Jewish cousin/aunt/grandfather" is what you'll be left with. This is why Israrel are so keen to attract Jews from wherever they can find them. Even questionable ones like the Ethiopians. Because at least when they go dating there's an above average chance it'll be with another Jew.
A lot going on there, Rog.
Between me you and the lampost. I wondered who on here was likely to be Jewish-man married to Jewish second cousin not counting- and you were the most likely. Please don't be insulted but though it's not like meeting someone you can sometimes tell. And I do not want an answer. Just someone privately thinking I might be peceptive and not a lying moron will do.
Is that to me or @Cyclefree. I am not 100% getting the first bit of your post.
I know you are Jewish and therefore you have every right to think what you think about it all. I am also very well aware that you (and indeed "the left") would be dispatched in short order by the people who acted as they did on October 7th.
You could have been standing there all day shouting "but the 1967 borders provide for a...." and they would have slotted you just like all the others in their IDF uniforms.
Jews seem to be a right wing obsession that started four or five years ago. At first I thought it was an easy virtue signal. Pretty hard to spot in a crowd and if they moved into your area they wouldn't affect the value of your house. Well not downwards anyway.
But then it got tied up with Corbyn and Labour and Regev and it became altogether more sinister. And now with Israel and Palestine it's very difficult to see politically where things will go. This could be a very testing time for Starmer
The MAGA Right go on about George Soros, Zelenskyy and Hollywood elites being in a vast conspiracy… but then are also very pro-Israel.
To unpack Wogers comment
1) Righties become interested in Jewish rights 2) therefore Hewish rights protests are suspect.
Question - Turkey has gone down the semi-demi-quasi-Fascist route. Complete with repression of a minority (the Kurds) in a violent conflict. Does this invalidate anti-Turkish racism concerns?
If "All jobs will go" due to AI, then that makes the human race redundant, IMHO.
Did you ever read any of Bank's Culture novels? The human-like creatures in that effectively sat in the gap between pets and playthings of the Culture’s super-intelligences.
And it’s still a better fate that most people throughout history have received.
Musk actually cited the Banks Culture novels in the Sunak interview! He said “if you want to know what the future is like, read the Culture novels by Banks”
Damnit. I shall have to read them now. I like Banks but I’ve avoided all his books since Wasp Factory as he was such an annoying Scot Nat
His Sci-Fi is much, much better than his Iain Banks novels as a generality. Less weird and often very funny. I would recommend Player of Games, Excession and Use of Weapons.
"Excession" has dated: since it's basically a pastiche of USENET newsgroups, this is not surprising. Although some of its concepts do live on in my mind, with OCPs being the obvious one, but also the overoptimistic silly ship that tries to makes first contact. The latter always springs to mind when younger people try to get to grips with the harder end of politics and get the crap beaten out of them.
Plus, if I'm remembering the right spacecraft, there is a part of me that wants to go out like the Sleeper Service tried to. Foreshadowing? Well, hopefully I won't find out for some time...
"Player of Games" and "Use of Weapons" are classics and worth reading even if not a genre fan.
With his non-SF stuff, I remember "The Bridge" the best
If "All jobs will go" due to AI, then that makes the human race redundant, IMHO.
Did you ever read any of Bank's Culture novels? The human-like creatures in that effectively sat in the gap between pets and playthings of the Culture’s super-intelligences.
And it’s still a better fate that most people throughout history have received.
Musk actually cited the Banks Culture novels in the Sunak interview! He said “if you want to know what the future is like, read the Culture novels by Banks”
Damnit. I shall have to read them now. I like Banks but I’ve avoided all his books since Wasp Factory as he was such an annoying Scot Nat
Banks' Culture novels:
"Since the majority of its biological population can have almost anything they want without the need to work, there is little need for laws or enforcement, and the culture is described by Banks as space socialism."
It seems just like the post-Indy Scotland then....
Certainly in terms of the lack of work. Maybe not so much in terms of having what we want.
How shit must the rUK be?
'Scotland's unemployment rate has increased slightly to 3.2%, according to new figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that an estimated 89,000 Scots adults were unemployed between March and May, up from 85,000 in the previous three months.
Scotland's unemployment rate is below the UK-wide rate, which was 4% in the latest period.'
Apologies if mentioned before but Cameron (R) is now ahead of Beshear in the polling in the race for the Kentucky Governorship by 1 point. Previously, Beshear had a high single digit plus lead.
Comments
EDIT But that's not Neither v Neither. Its AND plus OR rather than AND.
Look at this recent pro-Israel demo in Trafalgar Square. Look hard at the crowd, none are from central casting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVSCtxJ5Ozw&t=4099s
So now I do!
Speak as you find, isn’t it!
I admit I usually make the donation but don’t wear the poppy.
It is the shift which is interesting, and I would tend to agree that the Labour to Green switch is likely to be as a result of Starmer's stance on Gaza.
I know you are Jewish and therefore you have every right to think what you think about it all. I am also very well aware that you (and indeed "the left") would be dispatched in short order by the people who acted as they did on October 7th.
You could have been standing there all day shouting "but the 1967 borders provide for a...." and they would have slotted you just like all the others in their IDF uniforms.
Perhaps a poacher turned gamekeeper political interviewer, like Brian Walden or Matthew Parris. Perhaps in a parallel universe where he jumped off the escalator as a junior minister, Rory Stewart like.
Never seen Lionel in a kippah before, either.
So, I always donate and I used to wear (from whenever I bought it from a vendor up until the later of 11th and Remembrance Sunday) but now I just donate, generally - I might pop one on if out and about on 11th or the Sunday.
Their responses are immediate and human
I gleaned from the interview that Musk has an autistic child - who struggles to make friends in real life. That’s what musk heavily implied (and it’s not a surprise as autism is partly genetic and musk has self confessed Asperger’s)
For people like that these machines will be a godsend. They really will become friends for the lonely. Better than any pet or Minecraft buddy
TBH I’m really struggling with the intersection of AI and PB when most of you haven’t got a single clue about it. You’re on the level of daily mail commenters
Shape up or I’m moving to Reddit for good
People who said something similar in the past include Kipling, Orwell, Churchill and Le Carré.
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/11/07/rough-men/
https://twitter.com/HumzaYousaf/status/1720410640718688602
He then went on to explain he will do this by in effect ignoring the planning laws.
This will involve him taking on lots of his natural supporters. In the election run up this is the first hint of policy. And one where he is exposed.
Also he got the best out of Musk. Which is never easy - Musk is shy, nervous, socially awkward, super intelligent, an Aspie. Truly great interviewers like Rogan struggle with Musk
Sunak had him on stage in a live setting in a major event and Musk was calm, lucid, eloquent - after an initial nervousness. Weird as it sounds I think Sunak would be good on TV - much better than Boris who is too unfocused and chaotic in his thoughts, speech
When this first erupted his statements were calm, balanced,,non partisan and just want8ng a resolution.
Shame he sought to play politics with it after that.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/lowandhighpayuk/2023
The proportion of low-paid employee jobs for hourly pay fell to record lows of 8.9%. The great retirement post-covid probably needs to be considered too.
That was his explicit statement. And if anyone should know it is him - he was a founder investor with OpenAI and Tesla are developing their own AI very fast (they might be ahead of Boston Dynamics in robotics)
So that’s GPT4 times an order of magnitude within the year - if Musk is right. With that be AGI? Or will it be so close to AGI it makes no difference?
If it is the case it explains Biden’s sudden, sweeping executive order on AI and his extraordinary remarks about the world changing forever in the next 2-3 years
It also explains much of the weirdness on TwitterX like Jimmy Apples
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/rishi-sunak-is-too-late-the-ai-monster-is-at-the-door/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqDqFJ2-8A0&t=1620s
So much of the criticism of Rishi on here descends into superficiality. That ought to encourage him.
Sunak probably just isnt the type who wants to go and lie on a beach for 30 years,
And it’s still a better fate that most people throughout history have received.
Tbh I thing he was being both hyperbolic and gnomic
It will be a long time before every single job goes as we know it. Maybe some - strippers and vicars - will never go
However the implication that the big majority of jobs, as we know them, will go - is correct. This has happened before in the Industrial Revolution, so it’s not unprecedented
The difference here is that it will happen very fast and that we can’t be sure new jobs will replace the old. Hopefully they will but hmm
Somewhere along the line we need a good look at this
Damnit. I shall have to read them now. I like Banks but I’ve avoided all his books since Wasp Factory as he was such an annoying Scot Nat
But then it got tied up with Corbyn and Labour and Regev and it became altogether more sinister. And now with Israel and Palestine it's very difficult to see politically where things will go. This could be a very testing time for Starmer
'That Rembrandt was shit, look at this 18 breasted warrior princess wot I did'
“Tomorrow, @xAI will release its first AI to a select group.
In some important respects, it is the best that currently exists.”
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1720372289378590892?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw
More likely, they will see growing stuff as a complete waste - and starve us all to death.
Britons can opt out of this economic competition and stew on the sidelines, but is that what Brexit was supposed to be?
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/11/03/orsted-fiasco-derail-onward-march-offshore-wind/
50/50
"Since the majority of its biological population can have almost anything they want without the need to work, there is little need for laws or enforcement, and the culture is described by Banks as space socialism."
It seems just like the post-Indy Scotland then....
Ranting on for ages but not actually saying anything.
'Scotland's unemployment rate has increased slightly to 3.2%, according to new figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that an estimated 89,000 Scots adults were unemployed between March and May, up from 85,000 in the previous three months.
Scotland's unemployment rate is below the UK-wide rate, which was 4% in the latest period.'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66162215
Besides, assassinations are hard to do with zero civilian casualties as well.
I also dislike the idea of carrying assassinations over into other relatively uninvolved states. I thought we all disapproved of Saudi's assassination of Khashoggi in Turkey? Or the Salisbury mess?
In 1980, 40m identified as Irish-American, or about one-sixth of the population; by 2020, that had dropped to 31m, or less than one-tenth. But as well as a drop in actual and proportionate numbers, there's also a fall-off in intensity of identity. Until well after WW2, there were still distinct Irish-American neighbourhoods, formed from the mass immigration that ended in 1914 but for a little epilogue in the 1920s - times still recent enough to be in living memory for most, with plenty of first-generation immigrants. Assimilation and personal ties with relations becoming much more distant as generations pass mean that to be an 'Irish American' has almost no practical meaning, albeit for some it still has emotional resonance (one obvious and prominent example being President Biden - but he's over 80, which kind-of makes my point).
Give it another 20 years and even the media and politicians might cotton on to the notion that the Irish-American lobby is an echo in their minds, with the inevitable consequences for a cooling of relations between the two states, even without things like Dublin going off the deep end on Gaza.
Let’s hope I’m right. He’s got thousands watching him in Tehran in the main square
"But a "sense of fear" has led to fresh, serious discussions in government according to Gerald Knaus, chair of the European Stability Initiative think tank in Berlin.
He's dismissive of border checks and EU plans to fast-track asylum applications, describing them all as "fake solutions."
Mr Knaus was the brains behind the contentious 2016 deal which saw Turkey promised aid and visa-free travel in return for stemming the flow of migrants into the EU.
He believes this kind of agreement should be revived and expanded to countries such as Senegal, Morocco and Rwanda."
Rwanda, huh?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-67238144
1) Righties become interested in Jewish rights
2) therefore Hewish rights protests are suspect.
Question - Turkey has gone down the semi-demi-quasi-Fascist route. Complete with repression of a minority (the Kurds) in a violent conflict. Does this invalidate anti-Turkish racism concerns?
Plus, if I'm remembering the right spacecraft, there is a part of me that wants to go out like the Sleeper Service tried to. Foreshadowing? Well, hopefully I won't find out for some time...
"Player of Games" and "Use of Weapons" are classics and worth reading even if not a genre fan.
With his non-SF stuff, I remember "The Bridge" the best
https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment/timeseries/ycnc/lms