I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
Yeah that's really terrible, being alert to what might trigger far right rancids to whip up race hate.
Its the denial and cover up which leads to distrust in the system.
Or more prosaically it's racists looking for an excuse to 'race'.
Possibly.
But if there's less to 'race' then that reduces the problem to begin with.
There also happens to have been a newsworthy murder trial involving an immigrant recently:
But here's a question which governments would answer if they're honest.
How many murders / stabbings / crime generally / social problems / economic dislocation are deemed acceptable for a level of immigration ?
I don't tend to go to Leon's posts for a point. As for your suggested 'question', it's jaundiced and a bit silly with it.
"We will take 500,000 immigrants next year and with this we expect and have planned for an extra 150 murders, 2,000 rapes, 5,000 stabbings, and 30,000 instances of racial microaggressions."
C'mon, Richard. Please.
Why is it silly ?
There are positives and negatives from immigration and these vary depending on how many and who the immigrants are.
And just like any other policy the relative positives and negatives involved need to be estimated to decide whether the policy is worthwhile or not.
Otherwise you have immigration without any planning on how it will affect demand for housing and public services for instance.
I’ve provided you with a link showing no relationship between immigration and increased crime. (If anything, immigration appears to be associated with slightly lower crime.)
In a few seats, maybe. Something like 6 or 7% of the total UK population is Muslim, and I'd bet that a majority are not likely to shift their vote from the mainstream parties. There will be cases like Bethnal Green or Bradford West where there is a significant enough base who are willing to vote contrary (as with Respect) but in general FPTP makes it difficult to be a significant electoral force.
I'd also venture that most Muslims in the UK don't particularly define their politics through the lens of their religion.
The interesting thing about Islam, however, is that it is not just a religion. It is a religion and a political system and a political belief also.
Any more or less than any other religion? All religions are internally diverse in beliefs and practices. Beliefs about ultimate truths and how one should live one's life can obviously be expected to impact on one's politics, but how much will vary.
Yes moreso. You are right but Islam is a political system unlike Christianity.
The UK is a Christian theocracy headed by a man anointed by God to oversee the government, whose history for several centuries has been one Christian denomination fighting another for supremacy and where the major Christian religious dates are enforced public holidays.
"We don't do religion" is not something you would hear in Muslim countries.
As with so many witnesses, one is immediately struck by how dense she is. She seems barely able to comprehend the questions, let alone why and how they played a part in the conviction of so many innocents.
In a few seats, maybe. Something like 6 or 7% of the total UK population is Muslim, and I'd bet that a majority are not likely to shift their vote from the mainstream parties. There will be cases like Bethnal Green or Bradford West where there is a significant enough base who are willing to vote contrary (as with Respect) but in general FPTP makes it difficult to be a significant electoral force.
I'd also venture that most Muslims in the UK don't particularly define their politics through the lens of their religion.
I think in general that last statement is true. Perhaps with the exception of certain issues - Palestine perhaps being one, some morality / conscience questions also such as abortion, perhaps stretching to others such as the place of women especially for older generations.
There's also that hostility probably also drives people back to core values as a kind of refuge, which for parts of the Islamic-background communities will for some be traditional values. I'd say that is the same process as Jewish people looking to Israel.
It's also notable that Islam does evolve, albeit with imo more difficulty than Christianity or Judaism due to differences (less flexibility) in beliefs around the nature of the Quran vs the Old/New Testaments vs the Old Testament respectively.
For example there are a number of Islamic Conference (now Islamic Cooperation) countries which no longer embrace the death penalty (ie Sharia evolves as well) and no Islamic Country now imposes the Jizya tax on Jews or Christians. The only places that embrace that practice are those controlled by ISIS and certain Taliban.
And of course certain political movements / individuals use driving people to extremes as a means of their own self-promotion. No names for OGH's sake.
I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
It is perfectly simple if you think about it journalistically. The newspaper was able to interview the Brazilian chap but not the murderer who was in custody. Until the Garda confirmed the perpetrator's ethnicity and immigration status, all the papers had were rumours that the guy looked a bit foreign. Blame the police, not the press. Even then, unless the chap had all his papers on him, it would have taken some time for the police to confirm who he was by which time the riot was in full swing.
That’s bollocks. If they knew he was a “naturalised Irish citizen of 20 years standing” then the paper obviously knew his non Irish and Algerian ancestry
I’m not defending the hooligan rioters. A bunch of them ended up looting shops. Way to show you’re a mob of morons
However Ireland really DOES have a problem with Woke media trying to hide awkward facts and smearing anyone with anxieties as racist. Possibly even worse than the UK
Again, the newspaper was presumably reporting whatever information the police released. It is not as if reporters could ask the chap himself as he was already in a police cell. Of course, the absence of information allowed rumours to spread in the streets and on social media but you can't blame the papers for not reporting what they did not know.
I confess I’d never heard of this Conor mcgregor character before
A UFC fighter it seems. He has become the figurehead of the antiWoke Irish
He has 10 MILLION followers on Twitter. So a really huge influencer
You've seriously never heard of Conor McGregor? Wow.
Yes, I am aware the failing is mine!
I have no interest in or understanding of the UFC world. No more than I do in video gaming and e-sports
I accept both are massive around the world - but hey, life is short
Conor McGregor, love him or hate him, has transcended the UFC world. His is a very interesting story and there is a good Netflix doc about him.
Well I just watched a video of him beating the absolute quintessence of shit out of some opponent, so he can certainty fight. In an entertaining way
The fighting is the least interesting part of him and of late it hasn't gone too well. His "journey" is, meanwhile, very interesting. Modest background, extremely focused on what he wanted from an early age, achieved phenomenal success at one point in fighting, businessman who sold the drinks business he founded for $600m...
Google any UFC pre-fight press conference to understand why he is showbiz.
As for this minute, however, he is having a bit of a moment.
He isn't having a bit of a moment...he has a long history of saying and doing nasty stuff (and not just the usual fighting talk nonsense), has close associations with gangsters, and really just a scummy human being....
he was also massively overrated in UFC, he was useful for them to explode their brand, so they carefully promoted this massaged version, but really he was never best of the best. Powerful left hand, but sub par on the ground, which once exposed as soon as he fought the very best.
He won plenty of fights. "Overrated" is meaningless. If you win the fight you won the fight. I mean even as a boxer he wasn't overrated because no one apart from himself rated him as any good and so it proved.
In a few seats, maybe. Something like 6 or 7% of the total UK population is Muslim, and I'd bet that a majority are not likely to shift their vote from the mainstream parties. There will be cases like Bethnal Green or Bradford West where there is a significant enough base who are willing to vote contrary (as with Respect) but in general FPTP makes it difficult to be a significant electoral force.
I'd also venture that most Muslims in the UK don't particularly define their politics through the lens of their religion.
The interesting thing about Islam, however, is that it is not just a religion. It is a religion and a political system and a political belief also.
Any more or less than any other religion? All religions are internally diverse in beliefs and practices. Beliefs about ultimate truths and how one should live one's life can obviously be expected to impact on one's politics, but how much will vary.
Yes moreso. You are right but Islam is a political system unlike Christianity.
The UK is a Christian theocracy headed by a man anointed by God to oversee the government, whose history for several centuries has been one Christian denomination fighting another for supremacy and where the major Christian religious dates are enforced public holidays.
"We don't do religion" is not something you would hear in Muslim countries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism_in_Turkey is one example of state-led secularism in a Muslim country. Meanwhile, in the UK, we have special places for Christian religious leaders in our legislature.
Friend's uncle died recently. Sepsis. Had been bedridden for ages, in and out of hospital. It was missed by all the doctors in hospital. The only surprise would be if anyone was surprised that you can go into an NHS hospital with a reasonable chance of never getting out of it.
What was that Times front page the other day about the NHS being "toxic". It was literally toxic in the case of my mate's uncle. And many thousands of other cases also.
How can people with learning disabilities be more at risk, physiologically? In terms of not being able to communicate symptoms I get it but how otherwise?
You might need to ask Foxy or possibly Turbotubbs. My guess would be that people with learning disabilities are less likely to be able to follow complicated treatment instructions, or are more likely to have comorbidities (other health problems) but that is only guesswork.
Many learning disabilities are associated with other conditions that increase vulnerability - I've not found the original study to check whether they controlled for this, either for comorbidities or sepsis risk controlling for baseline risk of infections in general.
My research is mostly on people with severe long term conditions and e.g. many neurological conditions are also associated with increased susceptibility to a range of infections. Cerebral palsy, for example, comes - particularly at the more severe ends - with increased likelihood of respiratory illnesses. Many others are similar. It's often an infection that leads to death, rather than the underlying condition directly.
ETA: And also, likely, your points about communicating symptoms (and some symptoms such as alertness etc being easier missed in those patients) and perhaps also some bias in those treating, even if it's as simple as less interaction between clinicians and patients with learning difficulties making deterioration less obvious.
I recall many years ago, c. 1985, a study which showed that people in homes for the LD were particularly at risk of hepatitis. The reason I recall it is that it (rseported in my copy of New Sci) considerably interested a chap with whom I was sharing a house as he was a social worker working in just such a home. He took it into work to discuss the possibility of the relevant immunizations, for staff as well as residents. Can't remember if it was over and above the norm for residential homes generally, though presumably it was to be reported in that way.
But, in any case, I can well believe that many such conditions have multiple effects of which the headline one is only one. Trisomy-21 isn't just about mental ability but about much else. Even the ones that aren't genetic could be similar - one thinks of foetal alcohol syndrome or premature birth with what it might do to the development of the immune system, I expect.
Yep, the Trisomy 21 association with hepatitis is well documented (and, I think, at least partly understood now, although that's not my area).
On premature birth, there's some fascinating research in the past few years showing worse outcomes (in education) associated* with even moderately early birth, e.g. 36, 37, 38 weeks that we'd normally consider term and also increased risk of respiratory conditions. Has modified some practice around early inductions and early c-sections to make them later, while balancing other risks, of course.
*on average, of course the variation within any given gestation age is much bigger than the variation between ages - unpacking the cause of the average differences and risk factors for it is current research (not for me, but for people I know)
I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
It is perfectly simple if you think about it journalistically. The newspaper was able to interview the Brazilian chap but not the murderer who was in custody. Until the Garda confirmed the perpetrator's ethnicity and immigration status, all the papers had were rumours that the guy looked a bit foreign. Blame the police, not the press. Even then, unless the chap had all his papers on him, it would have taken some time for the police to confirm who he was by which time the riot was in full swing.
That’s bollocks. If they knew he was a “naturalised Irish citizen of 20 years standing” then the paper obviously knew his non Irish and Algerian ancestry
I’m not defending the hooligan rioters. A bunch of them ended up looting shops. Way to show you’re a mob of morons
However Ireland really DOES have a problem with Woke media trying to hide awkward facts and smearing anyone with anxieties as racist. Possibly even worse than the UK
Again, the newspaper was presumably reporting whatever information the police released. It is not as if reporters could ask the chap himself as he was already in a police cell. Of course, the absence of information allowed rumours to spread in the streets and on social media but you can't blame the papers for not reporting what they did not know.
I confess I’d never heard of this Conor mcgregor character before
A UFC fighter it seems. He has become the figurehead of the antiWoke Irish
He has 10 MILLION followers on Twitter. So a really huge influencer
You've seriously never heard of Conor McGregor? Wow.
Yes, I am aware the failing is mine!
I have no interest in or understanding of the UFC world. No more than I do in video gaming and e-sports
I accept both are massive around the world - but hey, life is short
Conor McGregor, love him or hate him, has transcended the UFC world. His is a very interesting story and there is a good Netflix doc about him.
Well I just watched a video of him beating the absolute quintessence of shit out of some opponent, so he can certainty fight. In an entertaining way
The fighting is the least interesting part of him and of late it hasn't gone too well. His "journey" is, meanwhile, very interesting. Modest background, extremely focused on what he wanted from an early age, achieved phenomenal success at one point in fighting, businessman who sold the drinks business he founded for $600m...
Google any UFC pre-fight press conference to understand why he is showbiz.
As for this minute, however, he is having a bit of a moment.
He isn't having a bit of a moment...he has a long history of saying and doing nasty stuff (and not just the usual fighting talk nonsense), has close associations with gangsters, and really just a scummy human being....
he was also massively overrated in UFC, he was useful for them to explode their brand, so they carefully promoted this massaged version, but really he was never best of the best. Powerful left hand, but sub par on the ground, which once exposed as soon as he fought the very best.
He won plenty of fights. "Overrated" is meaningless. If you win the fight you won the fight. I mean even as a boxer he wasn't overrated because no one apart from himself rated him as any good and so it proved.
I said "love him or hate him".
He is showbiz is what I said also and he is.
No in fighting there is a huge amount of padding of records by careful match making. The UFC built him into a big deal because he had entertaining trash talk at a time when the best where very calm collected individuals (which doesn't get excitement outside of the core MMA fans).
The only top tier fighters he was beat Aldo and Holloway, and Aldo was a freak one punch from the bell....if that fight went any time, Aldo is world class on the ground.
In a few seats, maybe. Something like 6 or 7% of the total UK population is Muslim, and I'd bet that a majority are not likely to shift their vote from the mainstream parties. There will be cases like Bethnal Green or Bradford West where there is a significant enough base who are willing to vote contrary (as with Respect) but in general FPTP makes it difficult to be a significant electoral force.
I'd also venture that most Muslims in the UK don't particularly define their politics through the lens of their religion.
The interesting thing about Islam, however, is that it is not just a religion. It is a religion and a political system and a political belief also.
Any more or less than any other religion? All religions are internally diverse in beliefs and practices. Beliefs about ultimate truths and how one should live one's life can obviously be expected to impact on one's politics, but how much will vary.
Yes moreso. You are right but Islam is a political system unlike Christianity.
The UK is a Christian theocracy headed by a man anointed by God to oversee the government, whose history for several centuries has been one Christian denomination fighting another for supremacy and where the major Christian religious dates are enforced public holidays.
"We don't do religion" is not something you would hear in Muslim countries.
Isn't that the exception proving the rule thing we all had a ding-dong about recently.
The fact that you find one Muslim country which is secular in outlook shows to me that all the other Muslim countries are not secular but are theocracies.
In a few seats, maybe. Something like 6 or 7% of the total UK population is Muslim, and I'd bet that a majority are not likely to shift their vote from the mainstream parties. There will be cases like Bethnal Green or Bradford West where there is a significant enough base who are willing to vote contrary (as with Respect) but in general FPTP makes it difficult to be a significant electoral force.
I'd also venture that most Muslims in the UK don't particularly define their politics through the lens of their religion.
The interesting thing about Islam, however, is that it is not just a religion. It is a religion and a political system and a political belief also.
Any more or less than any other religion? All religions are internally diverse in beliefs and practices. Beliefs about ultimate truths and how one should live one's life can obviously be expected to impact on one's politics, but how much will vary.
Yes moreso. You are right but Islam is a political system unlike Christianity.
The UK is a Christian theocracy headed by a man anointed by God to oversee the government, whose history for several centuries has been one Christian denomination fighting another for supremacy and where the major Christian religious dates are enforced public holidays.
"We don't do religion" is not something you would hear in Muslim countries.
Whilst true, the present irreligiosity in Britain is something of a historical anomaly, and I don't know if it will still be the case in, say, 2100
In a few seats, maybe. Something like 6 or 7% of the total UK population is Muslim, and I'd bet that a majority are not likely to shift their vote from the mainstream parties. There will be cases like Bethnal Green or Bradford West where there is a significant enough base who are willing to vote contrary (as with Respect) but in general FPTP makes it difficult to be a significant electoral force.
I'd also venture that most Muslims in the UK don't particularly define their politics through the lens of their religion.
The interesting thing about Islam, however, is that it is not just a religion. It is a religion and a political system and a political belief also.
Any more or less than any other religion? All religions are internally diverse in beliefs and practices. Beliefs about ultimate truths and how one should live one's life can obviously be expected to impact on one's politics, but how much will vary.
Yes moreso. You are right but Islam is a political system unlike Christianity.
The UK is a Christian theocracy headed by a man anointed by God to oversee the government, whose history for several centuries has been one Christian denomination fighting another for supremacy and where the major Christian religious dates are enforced public holidays.
"We don't do religion" is not something you would hear in Muslim countries.
Whilst true, the present irreligiosity in Britain is something of a historical anomaly, and I don't know if it will still be the case in, say, 2100
Thank you for that useful comment. Shall we have a bet on it. If, in 2101, we are forced to pray three times a day I will pay you £1 using a pound coin.
Friend's uncle died recently. Sepsis. Had been bedridden for ages, in and out of hospital. It was missed by all the doctors in hospital. The only surprise would be if anyone was surprised that you can go into an NHS hospital with a reasonable chance of never getting out of it.
What was that Times front page the other day about the NHS being "toxic". It was literally toxic in the case of my mate's uncle. And many thousands of other cases also.
How can people with learning disabilities be more at risk, physiologically? In terms of not being able to communicate symptoms I get it but how otherwise?
You might need to ask Foxy or possibly Turbotubbs. My guess would be that people with learning disabilities are less likely to be able to follow complicated treatment instructions, or are more likely to have comorbidities (other health problems) but that is only guesswork.
Many learning disabilities are associated with other conditions that increase vulnerability - I've not found the original study to check whether they controlled for this, either for comorbidities or sepsis risk controlling for baseline risk of infections in general.
My research is mostly on people with severe long term conditions and e.g. many neurological conditions are also associated with increased susceptibility to a range of infections. Cerebral palsy, for example, comes - particularly at the more severe ends - with increased likelihood of respiratory illnesses. Many others are similar. It's often an infection that leads to death, rather than the underlying condition directly.
ETA: And also, likely, your points about communicating symptoms (and some symptoms such as alertness etc being easier missed in those patients) and perhaps also some bias in those treating, even if it's as simple as less interaction between clinicians and patients with learning difficulties making deterioration less obvious.
I recall many years ago, c. 1985, a study which showed that people in homes for the LD were particularly at risk of hepatitis. The reason I recall it is that it (rseported in my copy of New Sci) considerably interested a chap with whom I was sharing a house as he was a social worker working in just such a home. He took it into work to discuss the possibility of the relevant immunizations, for staff as well as residents. Can't remember if it was over and above the norm for residential homes generally, though presumably it was to be reported in that way.
But, in any case, I can well believe that many such conditions have multiple effects of which the headline one is only one. Trisomy-21 isn't just about mental ability but about much else. Even the ones that aren't genetic could be similar - one thinks of foetal alcohol syndrome or premature birth with what it might do to the development of the immune system, I expect.
Yep, the Trisomy 21 association with hepatitis is well documented (and, I think, at least partly understood now, although that's not my area).
On premature birth, there's some fascinating research in the past few years showing worse outcomes (in education) associated* with even moderately early birth, e.g. 36, 37, 38 weeks that we'd normally consider term and also increased risk of respiratory conditions. Has modified some practice around early inductions and early c-sections to make them later, while balancing other risks, of course.
*on average, of course the variation within any given gestation age is much bigger than the variation between ages - unpacking the cause of the average differences and risk factors for it is current research (not for me, but for people I know)
ETA: given the association with 'homes for the LD', is that why the Liberal Democrats are known as the yellow peril?
ReallyETA: I don't seem to know the difference between the edit and quote buttons
I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
It is perfectly simple if you think about it journalistically. The newspaper was able to interview the Brazilian chap but not the murderer who was in custody. Until the Garda confirmed the perpetrator's ethnicity and immigration status, all the papers had were rumours that the guy looked a bit foreign. Blame the police, not the press. Even then, unless the chap had all his papers on him, it would have taken some time for the police to confirm who he was by which time the riot was in full swing.
That’s bollocks. If they knew he was a “naturalised Irish citizen of 20 years standing” then the paper obviously knew his non Irish and Algerian ancestry
I’m not defending the hooligan rioters. A bunch of them ended up looting shops. Way to show you’re a mob of morons
However Ireland really DOES have a problem with Woke media trying to hide awkward facts and smearing anyone with anxieties as racist. Possibly even worse than the UK
Again, the newspaper was presumably reporting whatever information the police released. It is not as if reporters could ask the chap himself as he was already in a police cell. Of course, the absence of information allowed rumours to spread in the streets and on social media but you can't blame the papers for not reporting what they did not know.
I confess I’d never heard of this Conor mcgregor character before
A UFC fighter it seems. He has become the figurehead of the antiWoke Irish
He has 10 MILLION followers on Twitter. So a really huge influencer
10 million followers is more than the population of Ireland so a lot of those must be his UFC fans in America and elsewhere, but yes.
He’s yet another denizen of the AndrewTate-iverse. Should be ignored primarily on matters of taste, he dropped £2.2m on this monstrosity.
I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
It is perfectly simple if you think about it journalistically. The newspaper was able to interview the Brazilian chap but not the murderer who was in custody. Until the Garda confirmed the perpetrator's ethnicity and immigration status, all the papers had were rumours that the guy looked a bit foreign. Blame the police, not the press. Even then, unless the chap had all his papers on him, it would have taken some time for the police to confirm who he was by which time the riot was in full swing.
That’s bollocks. If they knew he was a “naturalised Irish citizen of 20 years standing” then the paper obviously knew his non Irish and Algerian ancestry
I’m not defending the hooligan rioters. A bunch of them ended up looting shops. Way to show you’re a mob of morons
However Ireland really DOES have a problem with Woke media trying to hide awkward facts and smearing anyone with anxieties as racist. Possibly even worse than the UK
Again, the newspaper was presumably reporting whatever information the police released. It is not as if reporters could ask the chap himself as he was already in a police cell. Of course, the absence of information allowed rumours to spread in the streets and on social media but you can't blame the papers for not reporting what they did not know.
I confess I’d never heard of this Conor mcgregor character before
A UFC fighter it seems. He has become the figurehead of the antiWoke Irish
He has 10 MILLION followers on Twitter. So a really huge influencer
You've seriously never heard of Conor McGregor? Wow.
Yes, I am aware the failing is mine!
I have no interest in or understanding of the UFC world. No more than I do in video gaming and e-sports
I accept both are massive around the world - but hey, life is short
Conor McGregor, love him or hate him, has transcended the UFC world. His is a very interesting story and there is a good Netflix doc about him.
Well I just watched a video of him beating the absolute quintessence of shit out of some opponent, so he can certainty fight. In an entertaining way
The fighting is the least interesting part of him and of late it hasn't gone too well. His "journey" is, meanwhile, very interesting. Modest background, extremely focused on what he wanted from an early age, achieved phenomenal success at one point in fighting, businessman who sold the drinks business he founded for $600m...
Google any UFC pre-fight press conference to understand why he is showbiz.
As for this minute, however, he is having a bit of a moment.
He isn't having a bit of a moment...he has a long history of saying and doing nasty stuff (and not just the usual fighting talk nonsense), has close associations with gangsters, and really just a scummy human being....
he was also massively overrated in UFC, he was useful for them to explode their brand, so they carefully promoted this massaged version, but really he was never best of the best. Powerful left hand, but sub par on the ground, which once exposed as soon as he fought the very best.
He won plenty of fights. "Overrated" is meaningless. If you win the fight you won the fight. I mean even as a boxer he wasn't overrated because no one apart from himself rated him as any good and so it proved.
I said "love him or hate him".
He is showbiz is what I said also and he is.
No in fighting there is a huge amount of padding of records by careful match making. The UFC built him into a big deal because he had entertaining trash talk at a time when the best where very calm collected individuals.
You are misunderstanding the UFC. It is entertainment pure and simple and of course there is matchmaking that is the point. But when he went in with the fighters he fought and won and people paid for it. He was the UFC for some time and he knew it. He was where Paddy the Baddy is trying to get to now and I don't particularly rate Paddy as a great fighter.
In a few seats, maybe. Something like 6 or 7% of the total UK population is Muslim, and I'd bet that a majority are not likely to shift their vote from the mainstream parties. There will be cases like Bethnal Green or Bradford West where there is a significant enough base who are willing to vote contrary (as with Respect) but in general FPTP makes it difficult to be a significant electoral force.
I'd also venture that most Muslims in the UK don't particularly define their politics through the lens of their religion.
The interesting thing about Islam, however, is that it is not just a religion. It is a religion and a political system and a political belief also.
Any more or less than any other religion? All religions are internally diverse in beliefs and practices. Beliefs about ultimate truths and how one should live one's life can obviously be expected to impact on one's politics, but how much will vary.
Yes moreso. You are right but Islam is a political system unlike Christianity.
The UK is a Christian theocracy headed by a man anointed by God to oversee the government, whose history for several centuries has been one Christian denomination fighting another for supremacy and where the major Christian religious dates are enforced public holidays.
"We don't do religion" is not something you would hear in Muslim countries.
Whilst true, the present irreligiosity in Britain is something of a historical anomaly, and I don't know if it will still be the case in, say, 2100
Thank you for that useful comment. Shall we have a bet on it. If, in 2101, we are forced to pray three times a day I will pay you £1 using a pound coin.
I am tempted to take it but I doubt I would be alive to collect...
Friend's uncle died recently. Sepsis. Had been bedridden for ages, in and out of hospital. It was missed by all the doctors in hospital. The only surprise would be if anyone was surprised that you can go into an NHS hospital with a reasonable chance of never getting out of it.
What was that Times front page the other day about the NHS being "toxic". It was literally toxic in the case of my mate's uncle. And many thousands of other cases also.
How can people with learning disabilities be more at risk, physiologically? In terms of not being able to communicate symptoms I get it but how otherwise?
You might need to ask Foxy or possibly Turbotubbs. My guess would be that people with learning disabilities are less likely to be able to follow complicated treatment instructions, or are more likely to have comorbidities (other health problems) but that is only guesswork.
Many learning disabilities are associated with other conditions that increase vulnerability - I've not found the original study to check whether they controlled for this, either for comorbidities or sepsis risk controlling for baseline risk of infections in general.
My research is mostly on people with severe long term conditions and e.g. many neurological conditions are also associated with increased susceptibility to a range of infections. Cerebral palsy, for example, comes - particularly at the more severe ends - with increased likelihood of respiratory illnesses. Many others are similar. It's often an infection that leads to death, rather than the underlying condition directly.
ETA: And also, likely, your points about communicating symptoms (and some symptoms such as alertness etc being easier missed in those patients) and perhaps also some bias in those treating, even if it's as simple as less interaction between clinicians and patients with learning difficulties making deterioration less obvious.
I recall many years ago, c. 1985, a study which showed that people in homes for the LD were particularly at risk of hepatitis. The reason I recall it is that it (rseported in my copy of New Sci) considerably interested a chap with whom I was sharing a house as he was a social worker working in just such a home. He took it into work to discuss the possibility of the relevant immunizations, for staff as well as residents. Can't remember if it was over and above the norm for residential homes generally, though presumably it was to be reported in that way.
But, in any case, I can well believe that many such conditions have multiple effects of which the headline one is only one. Trisomy-21 isn't just about mental ability but about much else. Even the ones that aren't genetic could be similar - one thinks of foetal alcohol syndrome or premature birth with what it might do to the development of the immune system, I expect.
Yep, the Trisomy 21 association with hepatitis is well documented (and, I think, at least partly understood now, although that's not my area).
On premature birth, there's some fascinating research in the past few years showing worse outcomes (in education) associated* with even moderately early birth, e.g. 36, 37, 38 weeks that we'd normally consider term and also increased risk of respiratory conditions. Has modified some practice around early inductions and early c-sections to make them later, while balancing other risks, of course.
*on average, of course the variation within any given gestation age is much bigger than the variation between ages - unpacking the cause of the average differences and risk factors for it is current research (not for me, but for people I know)
On premature birth, there's some fascinating research in the past few years showing worse outcomes (in education) associated* with even moderately early birth, e.g. 36, 37, 38 weeks that we'd normally consider term and also increased risk of respiratory conditions.
I had to admit this was a bit of a worry for our daughter (Induction followed by emergency c @ 37 wks), but she's getting the hang of some two syllable words "engine" (For a picture of a fire engine), can distinguish cars, vans and buses and spotted the traffic light we were at was definitely "red" at 19 months and can stack block towers of 7 or so to her head height since a while ago so I'm pleased with her progress ^^; She was definitely behind I felt at the start mind.
In a few seats, maybe. Something like 6 or 7% of the total UK population is Muslim, and I'd bet that a majority are not likely to shift their vote from the mainstream parties. There will be cases like Bethnal Green or Bradford West where there is a significant enough base who are willing to vote contrary (as with Respect) but in general FPTP makes it difficult to be a significant electoral force.
I'd also venture that most Muslims in the UK don't particularly define their politics through the lens of their religion.
The interesting thing about Islam, however, is that it is not just a religion. It is a religion and a political system and a political belief also.
Any more or less than any other religion? All religions are internally diverse in beliefs and practices. Beliefs about ultimate truths and how one should live one's life can obviously be expected to impact on one's politics, but how much will vary.
Yes moreso. You are right but Islam is a political system unlike Christianity.
The UK is a Christian theocracy headed by a man anointed by God to oversee the government, whose history for several centuries has been one Christian denomination fighting another for supremacy and where the major Christian religious dates are enforced public holidays.
"We don't do religion" is not something you would hear in Muslim countries.
Whilst true, the present irreligiosity in Britain is something of a historical anomaly, and I don't know if it will still be the case in, say, 2100
Thank you for that useful comment. Shall we have a bet on it. If, in 2101, we are forced to pray three times a day I will pay you £1 using a pound coin.
I am tempted to take it but I doubt I would be alive to collect...
Put it in your will. You'd be surprised how long it can take to claim assets. My granny died c. 1975 but I claimed her 1920s life insurance policy on my dad's life when he died a few years back (it was taken out with the Pru to cover his funeral costs if he died as a baby in the pre-antibiotic era and all that).
I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
It is perfectly simple if you think about it journalistically. The newspaper was able to interview the Brazilian chap but not the murderer who was in custody. Until the Garda confirmed the perpetrator's ethnicity and immigration status, all the papers had were rumours that the guy looked a bit foreign. Blame the police, not the press. Even then, unless the chap had all his papers on him, it would have taken some time for the police to confirm who he was by which time the riot was in full swing.
That’s bollocks. If they knew he was a “naturalised Irish citizen of 20 years standing” then the paper obviously knew his non Irish and Algerian ancestry
I’m not defending the hooligan rioters. A bunch of them ended up looting shops. Way to show you’re a mob of morons
However Ireland really DOES have a problem with Woke media trying to hide awkward facts and smearing anyone with anxieties as racist. Possibly even worse than the UK
Again, the newspaper was presumably reporting whatever information the police released. It is not as if reporters could ask the chap himself as he was already in a police cell. Of course, the absence of information allowed rumours to spread in the streets and on social media but you can't blame the papers for not reporting what they did not know.
I confess I’d never heard of this Conor mcgregor character before
A UFC fighter it seems. He has become the figurehead of the antiWoke Irish
He has 10 MILLION followers on Twitter. So a really huge influencer
You've seriously never heard of Conor McGregor? Wow.
Yes, I am aware the failing is mine!
I have no interest in or understanding of the UFC world. No more than I do in video gaming and e-sports
I accept both are massive around the world - but hey, life is short
Conor McGregor, love him or hate him, has transcended the UFC world. His is a very interesting story and there is a good Netflix doc about him.
Well I just watched a video of him beating the absolute quintessence of shit out of some opponent, so he can certainty fight. In an entertaining way
The fighting is the least interesting part of him and of late it hasn't gone too well. His "journey" is, meanwhile, very interesting. Modest background, extremely focused on what he wanted from an early age, achieved phenomenal success at one point in fighting, businessman who sold the drinks business he founded for $600m...
Google any UFC pre-fight press conference to understand why he is showbiz.
As for this minute, however, he is having a bit of a moment.
He isn't having a bit of a moment...he has a long history of saying and doing nasty stuff (and not just the usual fighting talk nonsense), has close associations with gangsters, and really just a scummy human being....
he was also massively overrated in UFC, he was useful for them to explode their brand, so they carefully promoted this massaged version, but really he was never best of the best. Powerful left hand, but sub par on the ground, which once exposed as soon as he fought the very best.
He won plenty of fights. "Overrated" is meaningless. If you win the fight you won the fight. I mean even as a boxer he wasn't overrated because no one apart from himself rated him as any good and so it proved.
I said "love him or hate him".
He is showbiz is what I said also and he is.
No in fighting there is a huge amount of padding of records by careful match making. The UFC built him into a big deal because he had entertaining trash talk at a time when the best where very calm collected individuals.
You are misunderstanding the UFC. It is entertainment pure and simple and of course there is matchmaking that is the point. But when he went in with the fighters he fought and won and people paid for it. He was the UFC for some time and he knew it. He was where Paddy the Baddy is trying to get to now and I don't particularly rate Paddy as a great fighter.
It is and it isn't. They are hyping Paddy the Baddy, who isn't very good, but UFC has evolved now, the best are fighting the best far more often. Also paddy the baddy for all their efforts isn't really that popular, because the fan base is more mature and increasingly want to see the skill not only trash talk.
McGregor was their chosen golden ticket to explode the company to sell for billions. Right place, right time. Nasty piece of work. Where as the likes of GSP, Khabib, real deal elite MMA fighters.
In a few seats, maybe. Something like 6 or 7% of the total UK population is Muslim, and I'd bet that a majority are not likely to shift their vote from the mainstream parties. There will be cases like Bethnal Green or Bradford West where there is a significant enough base who are willing to vote contrary (as with Respect) but in general FPTP makes it difficult to be a significant electoral force.
I'd also venture that most Muslims in the UK don't particularly define their politics through the lens of their religion.
The interesting thing about Islam, however, is that it is not just a religion. It is a religion and a political system and a political belief also.
Any more or less than any other religion? All religions are internally diverse in beliefs and practices. Beliefs about ultimate truths and how one should live one's life can obviously be expected to impact on one's politics, but how much will vary.
Yes moreso. You are right but Islam is a political system unlike Christianity.
The UK is a Christian theocracy headed by a man anointed by God to oversee the government, whose history for several centuries has been one Christian denomination fighting another for supremacy and where the major Christian religious dates are enforced public holidays.
"We don't do religion" is not something you would hear in Muslim countries.
Isn't that the exception proving the rule thing we all had a ding-dong about recently.
The fact that you find one Muslim country which is secular in outlook shows to me that all the other Muslim countries are not secular but are theocracies.
Very disappointing that the VVD says without having negotiated for a minute that it does not want to participate in a center-right cabinet. I don't think this is what VVD voters want either. Pity. I hope they change their minds because governing is better than tolerating. 10:45 AM · Nov 24, 2023"
I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
It is perfectly simple if you think about it journalistically. The newspaper was able to interview the Brazilian chap but not the murderer who was in custody. Until the Garda confirmed the perpetrator's ethnicity and immigration status, all the papers had were rumours that the guy looked a bit foreign. Blame the police, not the press. Even then, unless the chap had all his papers on him, it would have taken some time for the police to confirm who he was by which time the riot was in full swing.
That’s bollocks. If they knew he was a “naturalised Irish citizen of 20 years standing” then the paper obviously knew his non Irish and Algerian ancestry
I’m not defending the hooligan rioters. A bunch of them ended up looting shops. Way to show you’re a mob of morons
However Ireland really DOES have a problem with Woke media trying to hide awkward facts and smearing anyone with anxieties as racist. Possibly even worse than the UK
Again, the newspaper was presumably reporting whatever information the police released. It is not as if reporters could ask the chap himself as he was already in a police cell. Of course, the absence of information allowed rumours to spread in the streets and on social media but you can't blame the papers for not reporting what they did not know.
I confess I’d never heard of this Conor mcgregor character before
A UFC fighter it seems. He has become the figurehead of the antiWoke Irish
He has 10 MILLION followers on Twitter. So a really huge influencer
You've seriously never heard of Conor McGregor? Wow.
Yes, I am aware the failing is mine!
I have no interest in or understanding of the UFC world. No more than I do in video gaming and e-sports
I accept both are massive around the world - but hey, life is short
Conor McGregor, love him or hate him, has transcended the UFC world. His is a very interesting story and there is a good Netflix doc about him.
Well I just watched a video of him beating the absolute quintessence of shit out of some opponent, so he can certainty fight. In an entertaining way
The fighting is the least interesting part of him and of late it hasn't gone too well. His "journey" is, meanwhile, very interesting. Modest background, extremely focused on what he wanted from an early age, achieved phenomenal success at one point in fighting, businessman who sold the drinks business he founded for $600m...
Google any UFC pre-fight press conference to understand why he is showbiz.
As for this minute, however, he is having a bit of a moment.
He isn't having a bit of a moment...he has a long history of saying and doing nasty stuff (and not just the usual fighting talk nonsense), has close associations with gangsters, and really just a scummy human being....
he was also massively overrated in UFC, he was useful for them to explode their brand, so they carefully promoted this massaged version, but really he was never best of the best. Powerful left hand, but sub par on the ground, which once exposed as soon as he fought the very best.
He won plenty of fights. "Overrated" is meaningless. If you win the fight you won the fight. I mean even as a boxer he wasn't overrated because no one apart from himself rated him as any good and so it proved.
In a few seats, maybe. Something like 6 or 7% of the total UK population is Muslim, and I'd bet that a majority are not likely to shift their vote from the mainstream parties. There will be cases like Bethnal Green or Bradford West where there is a significant enough base who are willing to vote contrary (as with Respect) but in general FPTP makes it difficult to be a significant electoral force.
I'd also venture that most Muslims in the UK don't particularly define their politics through the lens of their religion.
The interesting thing about Islam, however, is that it is not just a religion. It is a religion and a political system and a political belief also.
Any more or less than any other religion? All religions are internally diverse in beliefs and practices. Beliefs about ultimate truths and how one should live one's life can obviously be expected to impact on one's politics, but how much will vary.
Yes moreso. You are right but Islam is a political system unlike Christianity.
The UK is a Christian theocracy headed by a man anointed by God to oversee the government, whose history for several centuries has been one Christian denomination fighting another for supremacy and where the major Christian religious dates are enforced public holidays.
"We don't do religion" is not something you would hear in Muslim countries.
Isn't that the exception proving the rule thing we all had a ding-dong about recently.
The fact that you find one Muslim country which is secular in outlook shows to me that all the other Muslim countries are not secular but are theocracies.
The Shah of Iran banned headscarves. Algeria banned burqas for civil servants in 2018. Morocco banned the sale of burqas in 2017.
Sudan became an officially secular state in 2019. Secularism is one of the fundamental principles of the Bangladeshi constitution.
In a few seats, maybe. Something like 6 or 7% of the total UK population is Muslim, and I'd bet that a majority are not likely to shift their vote from the mainstream parties. There will be cases like Bethnal Green or Bradford West where there is a significant enough base who are willing to vote contrary (as with Respect) but in general FPTP makes it difficult to be a significant electoral force.
I'd also venture that most Muslims in the UK don't particularly define their politics through the lens of their religion.
The interesting thing about Islam, however, is that it is not just a religion. It is a religion and a political system and a political belief also.
Any more or less than any other religion? All religions are internally diverse in beliefs and practices. Beliefs about ultimate truths and how one should live one's life can obviously be expected to impact on one's politics, but how much will vary.
Yes moreso. You are right but Islam is a political system unlike Christianity.
The UK is a Christian theocracy headed by a man anointed by God to oversee the government, whose history for several centuries has been one Christian denomination fighting another for supremacy and where the major Christian religious dates are enforced public holidays.
Indeed. Every time I see people claiming the UK hasn't had serious race riots for decades, I think of Glasgow, Liverpool and Belfast ...
Edit: and the public holidays pertain only to several subgroups of Christians (and not all of them to all of them, within living memory: Christmas in Scotland ...).
I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
It is perfectly simple if you think about it journalistically. The newspaper was able to interview the Brazilian chap but not the murderer who was in custody. Until the Garda confirmed the perpetrator's ethnicity and immigration status, all the papers had were rumours that the guy looked a bit foreign. Blame the police, not the press. Even then, unless the chap had all his papers on him, it would have taken some time for the police to confirm who he was by which time the riot was in full swing.
That’s bollocks. If they knew he was a “naturalised Irish citizen of 20 years standing” then the paper obviously knew his non Irish and Algerian ancestry
I’m not defending the hooligan rioters. A bunch of them ended up looting shops. Way to show you’re a mob of morons
However Ireland really DOES have a problem with Woke media trying to hide awkward facts and smearing anyone with anxieties as racist. Possibly even worse than the UK
Again, the newspaper was presumably reporting whatever information the police released. It is not as if reporters could ask the chap himself as he was already in a police cell. Of course, the absence of information allowed rumours to spread in the streets and on social media but you can't blame the papers for not reporting what they did not know.
I confess I’d never heard of this Conor mcgregor character before
A UFC fighter it seems. He has become the figurehead of the antiWoke Irish
He has 10 MILLION followers on Twitter. So a really huge influencer
You've seriously never heard of Conor McGregor? Wow.
Yes, I am aware the failing is mine!
I have no interest in or understanding of the UFC world. No more than I do in video gaming and e-sports
I accept both are massive around the world - but hey, life is short
Conor McGregor, love him or hate him, has transcended the UFC world. His is a very interesting story and there is a good Netflix doc about him.
Well I just watched a video of him beating the absolute quintessence of shit out of some opponent, so he can certainty fight. In an entertaining way
The fighting is the least interesting part of him and of late it hasn't gone too well. His "journey" is, meanwhile, very interesting. Modest background, extremely focused on what he wanted from an early age, achieved phenomenal success at one point in fighting, businessman who sold the drinks business he founded for $600m...
Google any UFC pre-fight press conference to understand why he is showbiz.
As for this minute, however, he is having a bit of a moment.
He isn't having a bit of a moment...he has a long history of saying and doing nasty stuff (and not just the usual fighting talk nonsense), has close associations with gangsters, and really just a scummy human being....
he was also massively overrated in UFC, he was useful for them to explode their brand, so they carefully promoted this massaged version, but really he was never best of the best. Powerful left hand, but sub par on the ground, which once exposed as soon as he fought the very best.
Agreed - he is a nasty piece of work; a B-tier competitor who has parlayed his innate dickishness into a showbiz career, while consistently losing any bout that matters. Also would not be surprised if his drinks biz turns out, like other celebrity booze brands, to have been wildly overvalued.
Very disappointing that the VVD says without having negotiated for a minute that it does not want to participate in a center-right cabinet. I don't think this is what VVD voters want either. Pity. I hope they change their minds because governing is better than tolerating. 10:45 AM · Nov 24, 2023"
On topic, I think if there is any sign of recovery, however slight, in the coming weeks, sustained into Feb, the government will go for May.
One little considered factor here is that maybe Sunak wants it over with. I know that doesn’t hugely chime with our impression of politicians as wanting to cling onto office, but consider. Sunak was potentially going to retire when Truss won the contest last year. It was her spectacularly imploding that caused him to step into the breach. He must know now that chances are he’s out of a job in a few months anyway. What is he practically going to do with the extra 5 months?
I think he already has one eye on his post-premiership, and the interview with Musk was telling. I think he wants to go back to California, and take up a high profile job in the tech world. If that is his plan, is another 5 months of being unpopular in the UK really worth it? He’s done the job, it’s on his CV.
It kind of makes sense.
There's no reason to think the Tories are going to do any better in November than May. Why not get it over with, and move on to whatever comes next?
I think if I were in his shoes I would only pass over the Spring option if I thought there was a real risk of an extinction event. We're not there yet, though not a million miles off it either, so maybe he'll wait and see how things are shaping and if he thinks the Tories can survive with a decent rump (say 150 seats or so) he may think that is worth taking, rather than risk holding on to a time when a wipeout is on the cards.
Thankfully I am not in his shoes. They're way to small for me.
In a few seats, maybe. Something like 6 or 7% of the total UK population is Muslim, and I'd bet that a majority are not likely to shift their vote from the mainstream parties. There will be cases like Bethnal Green or Bradford West where there is a significant enough base who are willing to vote contrary (as with Respect) but in general FPTP makes it difficult to be a significant electoral force.
I'd also venture that most Muslims in the UK don't particularly define their politics through the lens of their religion.
The interesting thing about Islam, however, is that it is not just a religion. It is a religion and a political system and a political belief also.
Any more or less than any other religion? All religions are internally diverse in beliefs and practices. Beliefs about ultimate truths and how one should live one's life can obviously be expected to impact on one's politics, but how much will vary.
Yes moreso. You are right but Islam is a political system unlike Christianity.
The UK is a Christian theocracy headed by a man anointed by God to oversee the government, whose history for several centuries has been one Christian denomination fighting another for supremacy and where the major Christian religious dates are enforced public holidays.
"We don't do religion" is not something you would hear in Muslim countries.
Isn't that the exception proving the rule thing we all had a ding-dong about recently.
The fact that you find one Muslim country which is secular in outlook shows to me that all the other Muslim countries are not secular but are theocracies.
The Shah of Iran banned headscarves. Algeria banned burqas for civil servants in 2018. Morocco banned the sale of burqas in 2017.
Sudan became an officially secular state in 2019. Secularism is one of the fundamental principles of the Bangladeshi constitution.
Contending that Iran is not a theocracy would be one of the more demanding stretches on PB I think.
I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
It is perfectly simple if you think about it journalistically. The newspaper was able to interview the Brazilian chap but not the murderer who was in custody. Until the Garda confirmed the perpetrator's ethnicity and immigration status, all the papers had were rumours that the guy looked a bit foreign. Blame the police, not the press. Even then, unless the chap had all his papers on him, it would have taken some time for the police to confirm who he was by which time the riot was in full swing.
That’s bollocks. If they knew he was a “naturalised Irish citizen of 20 years standing” then the paper obviously knew his non Irish and Algerian ancestry
I’m not defending the hooligan rioters. A bunch of them ended up looting shops. Way to show you’re a mob of morons
However Ireland really DOES have a problem with Woke media trying to hide awkward facts and smearing anyone with anxieties as racist. Possibly even worse than the UK
Again, the newspaper was presumably reporting whatever information the police released. It is not as if reporters could ask the chap himself as he was already in a police cell. Of course, the absence of information allowed rumours to spread in the streets and on social media but you can't blame the papers for not reporting what they did not know.
I confess I’d never heard of this Conor mcgregor character before
A UFC fighter it seems. He has become the figurehead of the antiWoke Irish
He has 10 MILLION followers on Twitter. So a really huge influencer
10 million followers is more than the population of Ireland so a lot of those must be his UFC fans in America and elsewhere, but yes.
He’s yet another denizen of the AndrewTate-iverse. Should be ignored primarily on matters of taste, he dropped £2.2m on this monstrosity.
What fish does he have in there then?
It’s actually a tiny model of O’Connell St, if you shake it really hard it becomes engulfed in very white snowflakes.
Friend's uncle died recently. Sepsis. Had been bedridden for ages, in and out of hospital. It was missed by all the doctors in hospital. The only surprise would be if anyone was surprised that you can go into an NHS hospital with a reasonable chance of never getting out of it.
What was that Times front page the other day about the NHS being "toxic". It was literally toxic in the case of my mate's uncle. And many thousands of other cases also.
How can people with learning disabilities be more at risk, physiologically? In terms of not being able to communicate symptoms I get it but how otherwise?
You might need to ask Foxy or possibly Turbotubbs. My guess would be that people with learning disabilities are less likely to be able to follow complicated treatment instructions, or are more likely to have comorbidities (other health problems) but that is only guesswork.
Many learning disabilities are associated with other conditions that increase vulnerability - I've not found the original study to check whether they controlled for this, either for comorbidities or sepsis risk controlling for baseline risk of infections in general.
My research is mostly on people with severe long term conditions and e.g. many neurological conditions are also associated with increased susceptibility to a range of infections. Cerebral palsy, for example, comes - particularly at the more severe ends - with increased likelihood of respiratory illnesses. Many others are similar. It's often an infection that leads to death, rather than the underlying condition directly.
ETA: And also, likely, your points about communicating symptoms (and some symptoms such as alertness etc being easier missed in those patients) and perhaps also some bias in those treating, even if it's as simple as less interaction between clinicians and patients with learning difficulties making deterioration less obvious.
I recall many years ago, c. 1985, a study which showed that people in homes for the LD were particularly at risk of hepatitis. The reason I recall it is that it (rseported in my copy of New Sci) considerably interested a chap with whom I was sharing a house as he was a social worker working in just such a home. He took it into work to discuss the possibility of the relevant immunizations, for staff as well as residents. Can't remember if it was over and above the norm for residential homes generally, though presumably it was to be reported in that way.
But, in any case, I can well believe that many such conditions have multiple effects of which the headline one is only one. Trisomy-21 isn't just about mental ability but about much else. Even the ones that aren't genetic could be similar - one thinks of foetal alcohol syndrome or premature birth with what it might do to the development of the immune system, I expect.
Yep, the Trisomy 21 association with hepatitis is well documented (and, I think, at least partly understood now, although that's not my area).
On premature birth, there's some fascinating research in the past few years showing worse outcomes (in education) associated* with even moderately early birth, e.g. 36, 37, 38 weeks that we'd normally consider term and also increased risk of respiratory conditions. Has modified some practice around early inductions and early c-sections to make them later, while balancing other risks, of course.
*on average, of course the variation within any given gestation age is much bigger than the variation between ages - unpacking the cause of the average differences and risk factors for it is current research (not for me, but for people I know)
On premature birth, there's some fascinating research in the past few years showing worse outcomes (in education) associated* with even moderately early birth, e.g. 36, 37, 38 weeks that we'd normally consider term and also increased risk of respiratory conditions.
I had to admit this was a bit of a worry for our daughter (Induction followed by emergency c @ 37 wks), but she's getting the hang of some two syllable words "engine" (For a picture of a fire engine), can distinguish cars, vans and buses and spotted the traffic light we were at was definitely "red" at 19 months so I'm pleased with her progress ^^; She was definitely behind I felt at the start mind.
The differences are small (and quite likely for someone born at 37 weeks to be well above the average for those born at full term - there are other far more important factors).
You also have to keep in mind that your daughter was really -3 weeks at birth. When you think about the changes in the first few weeks/months, that's really quite a difference.
Sounds like she's some way ahead of our almost 18 month old. Has been fascinating to see the differences in our kids - one born at 41.2 weeks, one at 38.1 and the most recent at 40.1. The eldest is an all round smartarse now, but the middle (a girl) was way ahead, at 18 months, of where he was at 18 months. No. 3 looks much more like no. 1 in development, just a few words at 18 months - no.2 had loads. Kids vary
In a few seats, maybe. Something like 6 or 7% of the total UK population is Muslim, and I'd bet that a majority are not likely to shift their vote from the mainstream parties. There will be cases like Bethnal Green or Bradford West where there is a significant enough base who are willing to vote contrary (as with Respect) but in general FPTP makes it difficult to be a significant electoral force.
I'd also venture that most Muslims in the UK don't particularly define their politics through the lens of their religion.
The interesting thing about Islam, however, is that it is not just a religion. It is a religion and a political system and a political belief also.
Very disappointing that the VVD says without having negotiated for a minute that it does not want to participate in a center-right cabinet. I don't think this is what VVD voters want either. Pity. I hope they change their minds because governing is better than tolerating. 10:45 AM · Nov 24, 2023"
They've ruled out working in a centre-right cabinet? Seems odd, you'd think that would be right up their street. What about working with Wilders? Are they open to that?
I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
It is perfectly simple if you think about it journalistically. The newspaper was able to interview the Brazilian chap but not the murderer who was in custody. Until the Garda confirmed the perpetrator's ethnicity and immigration status, all the papers had were rumours that the guy looked a bit foreign. Blame the police, not the press. Even then, unless the chap had all his papers on him, it would have taken some time for the police to confirm who he was by which time the riot was in full swing.
That’s bollocks. If they knew he was a “naturalised Irish citizen of 20 years standing” then the paper obviously knew his non Irish and Algerian ancestry
I’m not defending the hooligan rioters. A bunch of them ended up looting shops. Way to show you’re a mob of morons
However Ireland really DOES have a problem with Woke media trying to hide awkward facts and smearing anyone with anxieties as racist. Possibly even worse than the UK
Again, the newspaper was presumably reporting whatever information the police released. It is not as if reporters could ask the chap himself as he was already in a police cell. Of course, the absence of information allowed rumours to spread in the streets and on social media but you can't blame the papers for not reporting what they did not know.
I confess I’d never heard of this Conor mcgregor character before
A UFC fighter it seems. He has become the figurehead of the antiWoke Irish
He has 10 MILLION followers on Twitter. So a really huge influencer
You've seriously never heard of Conor McGregor? Wow.
Yes, I am aware the failing is mine!
I have no interest in or understanding of the UFC world. No more than I do in video gaming and e-sports
I accept both are massive around the world - but hey, life is short
Conor McGregor, love him or hate him, has transcended the UFC world. His is a very interesting story and there is a good Netflix doc about him.
Well I just watched a video of him beating the absolute quintessence of shit out of some opponent, so he can certainty fight. In an entertaining way
The fighting is the least interesting part of him and of late it hasn't gone too well. His "journey" is, meanwhile, very interesting. Modest background, extremely focused on what he wanted from an early age, achieved phenomenal success at one point in fighting, businessman who sold the drinks business he founded for $600m...
Google any UFC pre-fight press conference to understand why he is showbiz.
As for this minute, however, he is having a bit of a moment.
He isn't having a bit of a moment...he has a long history of saying and doing nasty stuff (and not just the usual fighting talk nonsense), has close associations with gangsters, and really just a scummy human being....
he was also massively overrated in UFC, he was useful for them to explode their brand, so they carefully promoted this massaged version, but really he was never best of the best. Powerful left hand, but sub par on the ground, which once exposed as soon as he fought the very best.
Agreed - he is a nasty piece of work; a B-tier competitor who has parlayed his innate dickishness into a showbiz career, while consistently losing any bout that matters. Also would not be surprised if his drinks biz turns out, like other celebrity booze brands, to have been wildly overvalued.
But, like that other cad and bounder, BoJo, you can't help liking him.
But more importantly than that he identified correctly the dynamic of the UFC, exploited it, made it work for him, earned more money than anyone else because Dana had to keep him happy, used it as a launchpad for Proper Twelve, which was subsequently sold for $600m, and generally kept himself in the news.
And he is a fighter. That is his chosen vocation so just to climb through the ropes is an achievement. Yes he lost to Nate and Khabib but them's the breaks.
I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
Yeah that's really terrible, being alert to what might trigger far right rancids to whip up race hate.
Either you mention race, or you don’t. Either it is significant, or it isn’t
This paper twisted the news - deliberately - so that the hero’s race was deemed important - Brazilian, yay! - and yet the villain’s race - Algerian, yikes - had to be hidden
Just report the damn news
It's no scandal (indeed it's the opposite of one) for a media outlet to be sensitive to provoking racial violence in their output. There's no such thing as THE news let alone the 'damn' news. Every story in every medium is influenced by decisions taken as to what to include, exclude, highlight, not highlight. You know this.
Oh do shut up
What's bugging you? You want a safe space to chat about race?
It’s your utter boringness. Sorry
You have always been quite boring but you leavened that with the occasional wise remark or even a hint of dry wit
That seems to have gone and we are left with the residue: scrotum-gratingly predictable Woke pabulum
Maybe some people appreciate it; and fair enough if so. From now on I shall politely ignore you
Well look, I'll carry on being boring old logical and judicious me (with a trace of occasional colour and mischief) and you carry on being very sloppy and incredibly fascinating and 'freethinking' or whatever else it is you think you're being.
But there's no need to ignore me. That would be weird. We're in the same room and it's quite a small one.
The Tesla Model S Plaid is half a second slower, but also trashes the Porsche.
That many modern electric cars are much much better at 0-60 than pretty much any ICE is a long established fact. As well as a number of other acceleration tests, in a straight line. It is an artefact of a power train with the capacity for significant regenerative braking, among other things.
In fact it was a major selling point of the original Tesla Roadster - a sub 4 second car for *only* that much.
The van drivers in London have discovered this - they love "launching" their electric vans.
Regenerative braking is only for energy recovery, it doesn't magically improve braking performance.
The limiting factor on braking is almost all tyres and some F-R suspension balance. The braking components themselves (CCB, etc) only become relevant after repeated heavy braking efforts when heat management starts to be a consideration.
I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
Yeah that's really terrible, being alert to what might trigger far right rancids to whip up race hate.
Its the denial and cover up which leads to distrust in the system.
Or more prosaically it's racists looking for an excuse to 'race'.
Possibly.
But if there's less to 'race' then that reduces the problem to begin with.
There also happens to have been a newsworthy murder trial involving an immigrant recently:
But here's a question which governments would answer if they're honest.
How many murders / stabbings / crime generally / social problems / economic dislocation are deemed acceptable for a level of immigration ?
I don't tend to go to Leon's posts for a point. As for your suggested 'question', it's jaundiced and a bit silly with it.
"We will take 500,000 immigrants next year and with this we expect and have planned for an extra 150 murders, 2,000 rapes, 5,000 stabbings, and 30,000 instances of racial microaggressions."
C'mon, Richard. Please.
Why is it silly ?
There are positives and negatives from immigration and these vary depending on how many and who the immigrants are.
And just like any other policy the relative positives and negatives involved need to be estimated to decide whether the policy is worthwhile or not.
Otherwise you have immigration without any planning on how it will affect demand for housing and public services for instance.
The government should indeed have 'projected population size' as an input into decisions around infrastructure and public services. Hopefully our competence on this (along with much else) will increase once this lot have gone.
They’ve been pretty shoddy on this as well. It took them about a few hours this morning to actually update their website to confirm that there were issues.
Friend's uncle died recently. Sepsis. Had been bedridden for ages, in and out of hospital. It was missed by all the doctors in hospital. The only surprise would be if anyone was surprised that you can go into an NHS hospital with a reasonable chance of never getting out of it.
What was that Times front page the other day about the NHS being "toxic". It was literally toxic in the case of my mate's uncle. And many thousands of other cases also.
How can people with learning disabilities be more at risk, physiologically? In terms of not being able to communicate symptoms I get it but how otherwise?
You might need to ask Foxy or possibly Turbotubbs. My guess would be that people with learning disabilities are less likely to be able to follow complicated treatment instructions, or are more likely to have comorbidities (other health problems) but that is only guesswork.
Many learning disabilities are associated with other conditions that increase vulnerability - I've not found the original study to check whether they controlled for this, either for comorbidities or sepsis risk controlling for baseline risk of infections in general.
My research is mostly on people with severe long term conditions and e.g. many neurological conditions are also associated with increased susceptibility to a range of infections. Cerebral palsy, for example, comes - particularly at the more severe ends - with increased likelihood of respiratory illnesses. Many others are similar. It's often an infection that leads to death, rather than the underlying condition directly.
ETA: And also, likely, your points about communicating symptoms (and some symptoms such as alertness etc being easier missed in those patients) and perhaps also some bias in those treating, even if it's as simple as less interaction between clinicians and patients with learning difficulties making deterioration less obvious.
I recall many years ago, c. 1985, a study which showed that people in homes for the LD were particularly at risk of hepatitis. The reason I recall it is that it (rseported in my copy of New Sci) considerably interested a chap with whom I was sharing a house as he was a social worker working in just such a home. He took it into work to discuss the possibility of the relevant immunizations, for staff as well as residents. Can't remember if it was over and above the norm for residential homes generally, though presumably it was to be reported in that way.
But, in any case, I can well believe that many such conditions have multiple effects of which the headline one is only one. Trisomy-21 isn't just about mental ability but about much else. Even the ones that aren't genetic could be similar - one thinks of foetal alcohol syndrome or premature birth with what it might do to the development of the immune system, I expect.
Yep, the Trisomy 21 association with hepatitis is well documented (and, I think, at least partly understood now, although that's not my area).
On premature birth, there's some fascinating research in the past few years showing worse outcomes (in education) associated* with even moderately early birth, e.g. 36, 37, 38 weeks that we'd normally consider term and also increased risk of respiratory conditions. Has modified some practice around early inductions and early c-sections to make them later, while balancing other risks, of course.
*on average, of course the variation within any given gestation age is much bigger than the variation between ages - unpacking the cause of the average differences and risk factors for it is current research (not for me, but for people I know)
On premature birth, there's some fascinating research in the past few years showing worse outcomes (in education) associated* with even moderately early birth, e.g. 36, 37, 38 weeks that we'd normally consider term and also increased risk of respiratory conditions.
I had to admit this was a bit of a worry for our daughter (Induction followed by emergency c @ 37 wks), but she's getting the hang of some two syllable words "engine" (For a picture of a fire engine), can distinguish cars, vans and buses and spotted the traffic light we were at was definitely "red" at 19 months so I'm pleased with her progress ^^; She was definitely behind I felt at the start mind.
The differences are small (and quite likely for someone born at 37 weeks to be well above the average for those born at full term - there are other far more important factors).
You also have to keep in mind that your daughter was really -3 weeks at birth. When you think about the changes in the first few weeks/months, that's really quite a difference.
Sounds like she's some way ahead of our almost 18 month old. Has been fascinating to see the differences in our kids - one born at 41.2 weeks, one at 38.1 and the most recent at 40.1. The eldest is an all round smartarse now, but the middle (a girl) was way ahead, at 18 months, of where he was at 18 months. No. 3 looks much more like no. 1 in development, just a few words at 18 months - no.2 had loads. Kids vary
Indeed, children vary, and length of time between conception and, for example, school entry, becomes less important as time goes on. Our eldest, now 60, was 8 weeks early, and was very slow to walk and talk, and indeed, no more than good-ish average at school. Left school at 16 for apprenticeship as an electronics engineer. However after completing said apprenticeship he became motivated to study further, went to Uni and came out with a 2:1, aggravated at just missing a first. Had a very successful career with F1 Management. Now consulting.
I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
It is perfectly simple if you think about it journalistically. The newspaper was able to interview the Brazilian chap but not the murderer who was in custody. Until the Garda confirmed the perpetrator's ethnicity and immigration status, all the papers had were rumours that the guy looked a bit foreign. Blame the police, not the press. Even then, unless the chap had all his papers on him, it would have taken some time for the police to confirm who he was by which time the riot was in full swing.
That’s bollocks. If they knew he was a “naturalised Irish citizen of 20 years standing” then the paper obviously knew his non Irish and Algerian ancestry
I’m not defending the hooligan rioters. A bunch of them ended up looting shops. Way to show you’re a mob of morons
However Ireland really DOES have a problem with Woke media trying to hide awkward facts and smearing anyone with anxieties as racist. Possibly even worse than the UK
Again, the newspaper was presumably reporting whatever information the police released. It is not as if reporters could ask the chap himself as he was already in a police cell. Of course, the absence of information allowed rumours to spread in the streets and on social media but you can't blame the papers for not reporting what they did not know.
I confess I’d never heard of this Conor mcgregor character before
A UFC fighter it seems. He has become the figurehead of the antiWoke Irish
He has 10 MILLION followers on Twitter. So a really huge influencer
10 million followers is more than the population of Ireland so a lot of those must be his UFC fans in America and elsewhere, but yes.
He’s yet another denizen of the AndrewTate-iverse. Should be ignored primarily on matters of taste, he dropped £2.2m on this monstrosity.
The Irish police still haven’t ID’d the Dublin attacker
They have him in custody; they know exactly who he is
Again it’s the sense of evasiveness that makes people even angrier. Who does it benefit, if they continue to stall?
Do the police ever publicly ID before charging?
(Serious question - isn't it always 'a man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of'. UK, maybe England, perspective of course, I'm not familiar with possible differences in Ireland. Sometimes the media will name a well-known person on arrest, but they tend to wait for people no one has heard of.)
The Tesla Model S Plaid is half a second slower, but also trashes the Porsche.
That many modern electric cars are much much better at 0-60 than pretty much any ICE is a long established fact. As well as a number of other acceleration tests, in a straight line. It is an artefact of a power train with the capacity for significant regenerative braking, among other things.
In fact it was a major selling point of the original Tesla Roadster - a sub 4 second car for *only* that much.
The van drivers in London have discovered this - they love "launching" their electric vans.
Regenerative braking is only for energy recovery, it doesn't magically improve braking performance.
The limiting factor on braking is almost all tyres and some F-R suspension balance. The braking components themselves (CCB, etc) only become relevant after repeated heavy braking efforts when heat management starts to be a consideration.
What I meant was the capacity in the system - motor size, power conversion, battery size - has to be large to give the ability to recover and store decent amounts of energy during deceleration.
This means that that the whole system is pretty much setup to deliver lots of power going the other way - acceleration.
AFAIK leeches have never stopped being used. They were certainly supplied from the pharmacy department where I worked in the 90’s. I had to source some in an emergency one night, and they were brought up to Essex from S Wales by motorcycle courier. Used in the Plastic Surgery department.
The Irish police still haven’t ID’d the Dublin attacker
They have him in custody; they know exactly who he is
Again it’s the sense of evasiveness that makes people even angrier. Who does it benefit, if they continue to stall?
Do the police ever publicly ID before charging?
(Serious question - isn't it always 'a man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of'. UK, maybe England, perspective of course, I'm not familiar with possible differences in Ireland. Sometimes the media will name a well-known person on arrest, but they tend to wait for people no one has heard of.)
Ridiculous conspiracy theories are spreading on social media
Lots of people are claiming it was a mossad operative! Others say it’s a white Irish guy and the “Nazis” are lying. Others are claiming he’s not nationalised at all and is a recent migrant
I have no idea which is true if any (tho I’m fairly skeptical about the mossad idea, to put it mildly)
The only way you stop this inflammatory speculation is by telling the people the truth, surely? That is better than a void of silence or, worse, a sense that the authorities are lying
AFAIK leeches have never stopped being used. They were certainly supplied from the pharmacy department where I worked in the 90’s. I had to source some in an emergency one night, and they were brought up to Essex from S Wales by motorcycle courier. Used in the Plastic Surgery department.
My boss had some leeches used to remove blood from a healing wound on his eyebrow - c. 1990 - in Edinburgh!
In a few seats, maybe. Something like 6 or 7% of the total UK population is Muslim, and I'd bet that a majority are not likely to shift their vote from the mainstream parties. There will be cases like Bethnal Green or Bradford West where there is a significant enough base who are willing to vote contrary (as with Respect) but in general FPTP makes it difficult to be a significant electoral force.
I'd also venture that most Muslims in the UK don't particularly define their politics through the lens of their religion.
The interesting thing about Islam, however, is that it is not just a religion. It is a religion and a political system and a political belief also.
Any more or less than any other religion? All religions are internally diverse in beliefs and practices. Beliefs about ultimate truths and how one should live one's life can obviously be expected to impact on one's politics, but how much will vary.
Yes moreso. You are right but Islam is a political system unlike Christianity.
The UK is a Christian theocracy headed by a man anointed by God to oversee the government, whose history for several centuries has been one Christian denomination fighting another for supremacy and where the major Christian religious dates are enforced public holidays.
"We don't do religion" is not something you would hear in Muslim countries.
Isn't that the exception proving the rule thing we all had a ding-dong about recently.
The fact that you find one Muslim country which is secular in outlook shows to me that all the other Muslim countries are not secular but are theocracies.
The Shah of Iran banned headscarves. Algeria banned burqas for civil servants in 2018. Morocco banned the sale of burqas in 2017.
Sudan became an officially secular state in 2019. Secularism is one of the fundamental principles of the Bangladeshi constitution.
Contending that Iran is not a theocracy would be one of the more demanding stretches on PB I think.
Iran was not a theocracy under the Shah. I've given you multiple other examples.
West Midlands police to be placed under special measures Second biggest force in England and Wales accused of carrying out poor investigations and failing victims of crime
That's four police forces in special measures now. I don't suppose laying off thousands of experienced coppers under Cameron and replacing them with trainees under Boris has helped much.
I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
Yeah that's really terrible, being alert to what might trigger far right rancids to whip up race hate.
Either you mention race, or you don’t. Either it is significant, or it isn’t
This paper twisted the news - deliberately - so that the hero’s race was deemed important - Brazilian, yay! - and yet the villain’s race - Algerian, yikes - had to be hidden
Just report the damn news
It's no scandal (indeed it's the opposite of one) for a media outlet to be sensitive to provoking racial violence in their output. There's no such thing as THE news let alone the 'damn' news. Every story in every medium is influenced by decisions taken as to what to include, exclude, highlight, not highlight. You know this.
Oh do shut up
What's bugging you? You want a safe space to chat about race?
It’s your utter boringness. Sorry
You have always been quite boring but you leavened that with the occasional wise remark or even a hint of dry wit
That seems to have gone and we are left with the residue: scrotum-gratingly predictable Woke pabulum
Maybe some people appreciate it; and fair enough if so. From now on I shall politely ignore you
Well look, I'll carry on being boring old logical and judicious me (with a trace of occasional colour and mischief) and you carry on being very sloppy and incredibly fascinating and 'freethinking' or whatever else it is you think you're being.
But there's no need to ignore me. That would be weird. We're in the same room and it's quite a small one.
If you tell someone you're ignoring them you've fallen at the first hurdle.
West Midlands police to be placed under special measures Second biggest force in England and Wales accused of carrying out poor investigations and failing victims of crime
That's four police forces in special measures now. I don't suppose laying off thousands of experienced coppers under Cameron and replacing them with trainees under Boris has helped much.
May I suggest we rebrand this. Make special measures the normal group, and any that are actually good can apply to be in a new mega special measures category. Will save a lot of time moving them down one by one into special measures.
(Incidentally we really should knight him while he's still alive)
Gosh James Burke. That really is a bridge back in time. Those 'enthuse and inform' science progs of half a century ago. You had to be a good presenter to make them count.
I think 745,000 is an extraordinary number. Thank goodness it was all under our control.
When oh when will the public realise that the government does not want to do anything about immigration.
The deceit by both parties is laughable - the Cons: tens of thousands; Lab: the Cons have failed by not controlling immigration.
But what was that definition of insanity again?
The UK does not want to bring down immigration. I think plenty of Brexit voters, as an example, were sold a pup but their relative intelligence was done to death yesterday so I won't bang on about that again today.
The point of Brexit for me was to give those in charge the opportunity to reduce migration, or rather take away from them the excuse that their hands were tied by FOM
The increase in immigration is incredible really. The shame for those who believe it’s too high is that there isn’t a party to vote for that would do anything about it.
I think 745,000 is an extraordinary number. Thank goodness it was all under our control.
When oh when will the public realise that the government does not want to do anything about immigration.
The deceit by both parties is laughable - the Cons: tens of thousands; Lab: the Cons have failed by not controlling immigration.
But what was that definition of insanity again?
The UK does not want to bring down immigration. I think plenty of Brexit voters, as an example, were sold a pup but their relative intelligence was done to death yesterday so I won't bang on about that again today.
The point of Brexit for me was to give those in charge the opportunity to reduce migration, or rather take away from them the excuse that their hands were tied by FOM
The increase in immigration is incredible really. The shame for those who believe it’s too high is that there isn’t a party to vote for that would do anything about it.
The Bristol Bus Shelter has had over 1 million views on twitter....
All publicity is good publicity.
They'll be doing pilgrimages there next.
Which, when you think about it, may be apt.
Excellent transport links. Direct by plane, even better than Knock, where the shrine is 20km away. And you can get a bus there from Bristol Temple Meads rail station and all.
I note that the Irish Times was super keen to racially identify the Brazilian hero who whacked the knife man (and, indeed, well done him) yet in the very same article it refused to racially identify the actual knife man - merely saying he is a “naturalised Irish citizen who has been in Ireland for 20 years”. No mention that he is - it seems -Algerian
Its these lies and double standards which drive people nuts and make everything worse
Yeah that's really terrible, being alert to what might trigger far right rancids to whip up race hate.
Either you mention race, or you don’t. Either it is significant, or it isn’t
This paper twisted the news - deliberately - so that the hero’s race was deemed important - Brazilian, yay! - and yet the villain’s race - Algerian, yikes - had to be hidden
Just report the damn news
It's no scandal (indeed it's the opposite of one) for a media outlet to be sensitive to provoking racial violence in their output. There's no such thing as THE news let alone the 'damn' news. Every story in every medium is influenced by decisions taken as to what to include, exclude, highlight, not highlight. You know this.
Oh do shut up
What's bugging you? You want a safe space to chat about race?
It’s your utter boringness. Sorry
You have always been quite boring but you leavened that with the occasional wise remark or even a hint of dry wit
That seems to have gone and we are left with the residue: scrotum-gratingly predictable Woke pabulum
Maybe some people appreciate it; and fair enough if so. From now on I shall politely ignore you
Well look, I'll carry on being boring old logical and judicious me (with a trace of occasional colour and mischief) and you carry on being very sloppy and incredibly fascinating and 'freethinking' or whatever else it is you think you're being.
But there's no need to ignore me. That would be weird. We're in the same room and it's quite a small one.
If you tell someone you're ignoring them you've fallen at the first hurdle.
I'll be hurt if he sticks to it though. It's mean and not what PB is all about.
Mind you, I've put Bart in the Fridge on Gaza (because sometimes needs must) but I think it's ok when it's just on a specific topic.
I think 745,000 is an extraordinary number. Thank goodness it was all under our control.
When oh when will the public realise that the government does not want to do anything about immigration.
The deceit by both parties is laughable - the Cons: tens of thousands; Lab: the Cons have failed by not controlling immigration.
But what was that definition of insanity again?
The UK does not want to bring down immigration. I think plenty of Brexit voters, as an example, were sold a pup but their relative intelligence was done to death yesterday so I won't bang on about that again today.
The point of Brexit for me was to give those in charge the opportunity to reduce migration, or rather take away from them the excuse that their hands were tied by FOM
The increase in immigration is incredible really. The shame for those who believe it’s too high is that there isn’t a party to vote for that would do anything about it.
Ever heard of Respect? Or the Islamic Party of Great Britain? There is a market out there - especially when Muslims are feeling ignored and watching grim scenes on the TV - but don't get over excited.
But they never really took off, did they? One was dominated too much by the eccentric Galloway the other was too weird
That’s why I said “serious” Muslim party. As the Muslim population grows it is quite possible to see a more impactful party forming - something more like Plaid Cymru - who actually win constituencies, regularly, and are influential at lower levels of governance
It is inevitable in my opinion. It was happening in East London already, and the Labour Party’s stance on Palestine seems to have sped things up
I think 745,000 is an extraordinary number. Thank goodness it was all under our control.
When oh when will the public realise that the government does not want to do anything about immigration.
The deceit by both parties is laughable - the Cons: tens of thousands; Lab: the Cons have failed by not controlling immigration.
But what was that definition of insanity again?
The UK does not want to bring down immigration. I think plenty of Brexit voters, as an example, were sold a pup but their relative intelligence was done to death yesterday so I won't bang on about that again today.
The point of Brexit for me was to give those in charge the opportunity to reduce migration, or rather take away from them the excuse that their hands were tied by FOM
The increase in immigration is incredible really. The shame for those who believe it’s too high is that there isn’t a party to vote for that would do anything about it.
Given this, you really should have less time for Boris Johnson than you do. He pretty much took leave voters and 2019 Red Wall voters for fools. We've left the single market and lost FoM for no gain whatsover.
I think 745,000 is an extraordinary number. Thank goodness it was all under our control.
When oh when will the public realise that the government does not want to do anything about immigration.
The deceit by both parties is laughable - the Cons: tens of thousands; Lab: the Cons have failed by not controlling immigration.
But what was that definition of insanity again?
The UK does not want to bring down immigration. I think plenty of Brexit voters, as an example, were sold a pup but their relative intelligence was done to death yesterday so I won't bang on about that again today.
The point of Brexit for me was to give those in charge the opportunity to reduce migration, or rather take away from them the excuse that their hands were tied by FOM
The increase in immigration is incredible really. The shame for those who believe it’s too high is that there isn’t a party to vote for that would do anything about it.
Reform?
I suppose so. If Farage becomes leader again he would surely make hay with the latest immigration numbers.
(Incidentally we really should knight him while he's still alive)
Gosh James Burke. That really is a bridge back in time. Those 'enthuse and inform' science progs of half a century ago. You had to be a good presenter to make them count.
That genre is on YouTube now - that, and its offshoots as YouTube is enshittified. Basically all I watch these days is 5-60 minute documentaries written by an enthusiast on a thing. More accurately "listen to", as I'm usually working at the time. So right now I'm working on thing Z, typing this to you on Y, and listening to "The End of Scarcity" on BBC Sounds. Things like CuriosityStream/Nebula, Armchair History, are making their way like the Hollywood studios of the 20s and game developers of the 90s.
I think 745,000 is an extraordinary number. Thank goodness it was all under our control.
When oh when will the public realise that the government does not want to do anything about immigration.
The deceit by both parties is laughable - the Cons: tens of thousands; Lab: the Cons have failed by not controlling immigration.
But what was that definition of insanity again?
The UK does not want to bring down immigration. I think plenty of Brexit voters, as an example, were sold a pup but their relative intelligence was done to death yesterday so I won't bang on about that again today.
The point of Brexit for me was to give those in charge the opportunity to reduce migration, or rather take away from them the excuse that their hands were tied by FOM
The increase in immigration is incredible really. The shame for those who believe it’s too high is that there isn’t a party to vote for that would do anything about it.
Did you expect net migration to come down via Brexit? Do you expect net migration to be higher, similar or lower in the next ten years than the last ten years? How much control do you think the government have over the numbers?
I think 745,000 is an extraordinary number. Thank goodness it was all under our control.
When oh when will the public realise that the government does not want to do anything about immigration.
The deceit by both parties is laughable - the Cons: tens of thousands; Lab: the Cons have failed by not controlling immigration.
But what was that definition of insanity again?
The UK does not want to bring down immigration. I think plenty of Brexit voters, as an example, were sold a pup but their relative intelligence was done to death yesterday so I won't bang on about that again today.
The point of Brexit for me was to give those in charge the opportunity to reduce migration, or rather take away from them the excuse that their hands were tied by FOM
The increase in immigration is incredible really. The shame for those who believe it’s too high is that there isn’t a party to vote for that would do anything about it.
Did you expect net migration to come down via Brexit? Do you expect net migration to be higher, similar or lower in the next ten years than the last ten years? How much control do you think the government have over the numbers?
How much control do you think the government have over the numbers?
Lots !
Who is responsible for issuing UK visa? What we do. UK Visas and Immigration is responsible for making millions of decisions every year about who has the right to visit or stay in the country, with a firm emphasis on national security and a culture of customer satisfaction for people who come here legally. UKVI is part of the Home Office.
Yes the You Gove poll shows the Cons vote going from 21 (you cannot get much lower than that) to 25 BUT Techne polling on the 22 and 23rd November, same dates as You Gov, have the Cons DOWN from 22 to 21. Really it does not matter when the election is held it will probably be a near wipe out.
I think 745,000 is an extraordinary number. Thank goodness it was all under our control.
When oh when will the public realise that the government does not want to do anything about immigration.
The deceit by both parties is laughable - the Cons: tens of thousands; Lab: the Cons have failed by not controlling immigration.
But what was that definition of insanity again?
The UK does not want to bring down immigration. I think plenty of Brexit voters, as an example, were sold a pup but their relative intelligence was done to death yesterday so I won't bang on about that again today.
The point of Brexit for me was to give those in charge the opportunity to reduce migration, or rather take away from them the excuse that their hands were tied by FOM
The increase in immigration is incredible really. The shame for those who believe it’s too high is that there isn’t a party to vote for that would do anything about it.
Reform?
I suppose so. If Farage becomes leader again he would surely make hay with the latest immigration numbers.
Instead he's in the Jungle and rather flopping. Viewing figures poor. Is he playing it too safe on the show iyo?
Ever heard of Respect? Or the Islamic Party of Great Britain? There is a market out there - especially when Muslims are feeling ignored and watching grim scenes on the TV - but don't get over excited.
But they never really took off, did they? One was dominated too much by the eccentric Galloway the other was too weird
That’s why I said “serious” Muslim party. As the Muslim population grows it is quite possible to see a more impactful party forming - something more like Plaid Cymru - who actually win constituencies, regularly, and are influential at lower levels of governance
It is inevitable in my opinion. It was happening in East London already, and the Labour Party’s stance on Palestine seems to have sped things up
You think it’s a bad thing, I think it’s a good thing. Any such party would presumably attract much more conservative Muslims who see their religious identity as paramount. At the moment those people are in the Labour Party and - as I see it - neither side benefits from this
Much better to have them out and in their own party and we can see what they believe and desire - and we can choose how we feel about it
At the same time they will have a democratic voice and won’t have to abide by policies they abhor - eg Labour support for Israel at the moment
I think 745,000 is an extraordinary number. Thank goodness it was all under our control.
When oh when will the public realise that the government does not want to do anything about immigration.
The deceit by both parties is laughable - the Cons: tens of thousands; Lab: the Cons have failed by not controlling immigration.
But what was that definition of insanity again?
The UK does not want to bring down immigration. I think plenty of Brexit voters, as an example, were sold a pup but their relative intelligence was done to death yesterday so I won't bang on about that again today.
The point of Brexit for me was to give those in charge the opportunity to reduce migration, or rather take away from them the excuse that their hands were tied by FOM
The increase in immigration is incredible really. The shame for those who believe it’s too high is that there isn’t a party to vote for that would do anything about it.
Given this, you really should have less time for Boris Johnson than you do. He pretty much took leave voters and 2019 Red Wall voters for fools. We've left the single market and lost FoM for no gain whatsover.
Well, yes. Boris was never really a true Leaver with an axe to grind over immigration was he? At heart he is a cosmopolitan liberal, and jumped on the Leave side to enhance the likelihood of becoming PM. My main positive comments about him were about his charisma being an asset electorally, which few people who dislike him/lost the referendum could bring themselves to admit; so they took my comments as me praising him as a ‘fan’ - the other side of the coin to their ‘hater’
But it still remains that, without him, Leave would probably not have won & without him being Con leader, there’d have likely been a second referendum. Saying that, the ideal outcome for me would probably have been a narrow referendum defeat leading to a surge in support for UKIP and a more prominent role for Farage
I think 745,000 is an extraordinary number. Thank goodness it was all under our control.
When oh when will the public realise that the government does not want to do anything about immigration.
The deceit by both parties is laughable - the Cons: tens of thousands; Lab: the Cons have failed by not controlling immigration.
But what was that definition of insanity again?
The UK does not want to bring down immigration. I think plenty of Brexit voters, as an example, were sold a pup but their relative intelligence was done to death yesterday so I won't bang on about that again today.
The point of Brexit for me was to give those in charge the opportunity to reduce migration, or rather take away from them the excuse that their hands were tied by FOM
The increase in immigration is incredible really. The shame for those who believe it’s too high is that there isn’t a party to vote for that would do anything about it.
Did you expect net migration to come down via Brexit? Do you expect net migration to be higher, similar or lower in the next ten years than the last ten years? How much control do you think the government have over the numbers?
How much control do you think the government have over the numbers?
Lots !
Who is responsible for issuing UK visa? What we do. UK Visas and Immigration is responsible for making millions of decisions every year about who has the right to visit or stay in the country, with a firm emphasis on national security and a culture of customer satisfaction for people who come here legally. UKVI is part of the Home Office.
Indeed. It's why the wailing and gnashing of teeth by Tory politicians about how terrible the figures are is so ridiculous. These migration figures represent UK policy. We could have zero net immigration next year if the Government chose. (I don't think they should, but it's within their power.)
I think 745,000 is an extraordinary number. Thank goodness it was all under our control.
When oh when will the public realise that the government does not want to do anything about immigration.
The deceit by both parties is laughable - the Cons: tens of thousands; Lab: the Cons have failed by not controlling immigration.
But what was that definition of insanity again?
The UK does not want to bring down immigration. I think plenty of Brexit voters, as an example, were sold a pup but their relative intelligence was done to death yesterday so I won't bang on about that again today.
The point of Brexit for me was to give those in charge the opportunity to reduce migration, or rather take away from them the excuse that their hands were tied by FOM
The increase in immigration is incredible really. The shame for those who believe it’s too high is that there isn’t a party to vote for that would do anything about it.
Reform?
I suppose so. If Farage becomes leader again he would surely make hay with the latest immigration numbers.
Instead he's in the Jungle and rather flopping. Viewing figures poor. Is he playing it too safe on the show iyo?
I don’t think so, he’s just saying what he always has said. He’ll still probably be leader of Reform at the next GE
Comments
I said "love him or hate him".
He is showbiz is what I said also and he is.
On premature birth, there's some fascinating research in the past few years showing worse outcomes (in education) associated* with even moderately early birth, e.g. 36, 37, 38 weeks that we'd normally consider term and also increased risk of respiratory conditions. Has modified some practice around early inductions and early c-sections to make them later, while balancing other risks, of course.
*on average, of course the variation within any given gestation age is much bigger than the variation between ages - unpacking the cause of the average differences and risk factors for it is current research (not for me, but for people I know)
The only top tier fighters he was beat Aldo and Holloway, and Aldo was a freak one punch from the bell....if that fight went any time, Aldo is world class on the ground.
The fact that you find one Muslim country which is secular in outlook shows to me that all the other Muslim countries are not secular but are theocracies.
ReallyETA: I don't seem to know the difference between the edit and quote buttons
I had to admit this was a bit of a worry for our daughter (Induction followed by emergency c @ 37 wks), but she's getting the hang of some two syllable words "engine" (For a picture of a fire engine), can distinguish cars, vans and buses and spotted the traffic light we were at was definitely "red" at 19 months and can stack block towers of 7 or so to her head height since a while ago so I'm pleased with her progress ^^; She was definitely behind I felt at the start mind.
McGregor was their chosen golden ticket to explode the company to sell for billions. Right place, right time. Nasty piece of work. Where as the likes of GSP, Khabib, real deal elite MMA fighters.
@geertwilderspvv
Very disappointing that the VVD says without having negotiated for a minute that it does not want to participate in a center-right cabinet. I don't think this is what VVD voters want either. Pity. I hope they change their minds because governing is better than tolerating.
10:45 AM · Nov 24, 2023"
https://twitter.com/geertwilderspvv/status/1728001846348763268
Sudan became an officially secular state in 2019. Secularism is one of the fundamental principles of the Bangladeshi constitution.
Edit: and the public holidays pertain only to several subgroups of Christians (and not all of them to all of them, within living memory: Christmas in Scotland ...).
There's no reason to think the Tories are going to do any better in November than May. Why not get it over with, and move on to whatever comes next?
I think if I were in his shoes I would only pass over the Spring option if I thought there was a real risk of an extinction event. We're not there yet, though not a million miles off it either, so maybe he'll wait and see how things are shaping and if he thinks the Tories can survive with a decent rump (say 150 seats or so) he may think that is worth taking, rather than risk holding on to a time when a wipeout is on the cards.
Thankfully I am not in his shoes. They're way to small for me.
You also have to keep in mind that your daughter was really -3 weeks at birth. When you think about the changes in the first few weeks/months, that's really quite a difference.
Sounds like she's some way ahead of our almost 18 month old. Has been fascinating to see the differences in our kids - one born at 41.2 weeks, one at 38.1 and the most recent at 40.1. The eldest is an all round smartarse now, but the middle (a girl) was way ahead, at 18 months, of where he was at 18 months. No. 3 looks much more like no. 1 in development, just a few words at 18 months - no.2 had loads. Kids vary
https://news.sky.com/story/oscar-pistorius-to-be-granted-parole-from-january-nearly-11-years-after-murdering-girlfriend-13014421
And as @FrancisUrquhart noted, he has beaten top tier fighters.
But more importantly than that he identified correctly the dynamic of the UFC, exploited it, made it work for him, earned more money than anyone else because Dana had to keep him happy, used it as a launchpad for Proper Twelve, which was subsequently sold for $600m, and generally kept himself in the news.
And he is a fighter. That is his chosen vocation so just to climb through the ropes is an achievement. Yes he lost to Nate and Khabib but them's the breaks.
But there's no need to ignore me. That would be weird. We're in the same room and it's quite a small one.
The limiting factor on braking is almost all tyres and some F-R suspension balance. The braking components themselves (CCB, etc) only become relevant after repeated heavy braking efforts when heat management starts to be a consideration.
It’s been voted the best city hotel in Asia, and I can see why. Superb
HARD RECOMMEND
The Rosewood in Phnom Penh: book a “Mekong Suite”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67514068
The cashless society!
Our eldest, now 60, was 8 weeks early, and was very slow to walk and talk, and indeed, no more than good-ish average at school. Left school at 16 for apprenticeship as an electronics engineer.
However after completing said apprenticeship he became motivated to study further, went to Uni and came out with a 2:1, aggravated at just missing a first. Had a very successful career with F1 Management.
Now consulting.
They have him in custody; they know exactly who he is
Again it’s the sense of evasiveness that makes people even angrier. Who does it benefit, if they continue to stall?
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-aAFz0ala0
(Incidentally we really should knight him while he's still alive)
Good to see it's not just the cuddlies getting attention.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/24/medicinal-leeches-set-for-comeback-in-scottish-highlands
(Serious question - isn't it always 'a man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of'. UK, maybe England, perspective of course, I'm not familiar with possible differences in Ireland. Sometimes the media will name a well-known person on arrest, but they tend to wait for people no one has heard of.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UCGt9i_Vjo&t=9s
This means that that the whole system is pretty much setup to deliver lots of power going the other way - acceleration.
Used in the Plastic Surgery department.
Lots of people are claiming it was a mossad operative! Others say it’s a white Irish guy and the “Nazis” are lying. Others are claiming he’s not nationalised at all and is a recent migrant
I have no idea which is true if any (tho I’m fairly skeptical about the mossad idea, to put it mildly)
The only way you stop this inflammatory speculation is by telling the people the truth, surely? That is better than a void of silence or, worse, a sense that the authorities are lying
Former PM seen quoting from Chinese-funded study in support of Sri Lankan development
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/nov/24/fresh-china-questions-for-david-cameron-video-port-project
They are having a water festival so all these garish boats are going up and down the Mekong
Tomorrow the gay king will be here
All publicity is good publicity.
It’s doing even better than Thanet Parkway station. Which is impressive
Second biggest force in England and Wales accused of carrying out poor investigations and failing victims of crime
That's four police forces in special measures now. I don't suppose laying off thousands of experienced coppers under Cameron and replacing them with trainees under Boris has helped much.
The increase in immigration is incredible really. The shame for those who believe it’s too high is that there isn’t a party to vote for that would do anything about it.
Which, when you think about it, may be apt.
If it was the girl who hosted me for lunch today then well done you. She’s delightful - pretty and smart and very funny (and full of gossip)
The Khmer girl was equally fun: Khmer girls are genuinely sassy
Mind you, I've put Bart in the Fridge on Gaza (because sometimes needs must) but I think it's ok when it's just on a specific topic.
We've left the single market and lost FoM for no gain whatsover.
Do you expect net migration to be higher, similar or lower in the next ten years than the last ten years?
How much control do you think the government have over the numbers?
Lots !
Who is responsible for issuing UK visa?
What we do. UK Visas and Immigration is responsible for making millions of decisions every year about who has the right to visit or stay in the country, with a firm emphasis on national security and a culture of customer satisfaction for people who come here legally. UKVI is part of the Home Office.
Really it does not matter when the election is held it will probably be a near wipe out.
Much better to have them out and in their own party and we can see what they believe and desire - and we can choose how we feel about it
At the same time they will have a democratic voice and won’t have to abide by policies they abhor - eg Labour support for Israel at the moment
It is also, as you say; probably inevitable
But it still remains that, without him, Leave would probably not have won & without him being Con leader, there’d have likely been a second referendum. Saying that, the ideal outcome for me would probably have been a narrow referendum defeat leading to a surge in support for UKIP and a more prominent role for Farage