It works because about 90% off people never click the link or try and find actual evidence.
Python is awful - don't use whitespace to represent significancy...
It is no more ridiculous than using lots of brackets (of varying types).
Python has fantastic, clean syntax. It has incredible data science libraries. And these days, computers (and computing power) is cheap.
Other than occasional bits of Javascript, when I have a need to do something webby, I wouldn't use anything else. There's simply no point, because quick to write, readable code, is worth a lot more than a few processor cycles.
oh I just have a dislike of Python but I started off when Javascript was Livescript and Perl was the in thing.
I personally prefer the latest version of Delphi (i.e. C# )..
99% of my "coding" these days is data analysis, where Python + Pandas + Jupyter is absolutely superb, especially if you use Google's hosted Colab service. I'm playing around with massive datasets and running analyses in seconds that would historically have taken days. (And also required a team of people.)
You use whatever has the best libraries for whatever it is you want to do. If that's Python, then great. And if it's JavaScript, for God's sake use TypeScript!
The real problem with Python and JavaScript is the large numbers of self taught people.
Who haven’t heard of code structure, testing pyramids or even code versioning tools.
“No, Quant Boy, the Python file you emailed me isn’t going directly into production. Aside from the fact it doesn’t actually run, we need tests. And test data. And some QA. and running on all the non-prod environments first…. Also, where is the specification? ‘cause Compliance will quite interested in how we are pricing stuff.”
Everyone can and should now point at Crowdstrike, as a reminder of what happens when you don’t QA your new code and just shove it into production.
Boeing has entered the chat with a 737 Max and a Starliner capsule.
Yes, but those failures are much more structural than operational. Literally structural in some cases.
The ‘is-it-a-door-or-is-it-not-a-door’ question will already be front and centre at every engineering company and regulator. No, of course you don’t need a written process and two certified inspectors to sign off closing a door…
Pleased to report that Pineapple Fritters at the 2nd closest chippy cost £1.40.
Which is a bit much compared to the £5 for the mini-fish, fishcake, chips and mushy peas, but OTOH they are cooked in front of you just like the Teppanyaki at the long-lamented Broadgate Tatsuso.
Pleased to report that Pineapple Fritters at the 2nd closest chippy cost £1.40.
Which is a but much compared to the £5 for the mini-fish, fishcake, chips and mushy peas, but OTOH they are cooked in front of you just like the Teppanyaki at the long-lamented Broadgate Tatsuso.
I've taken the profit on my Jenrick @ 14s. I watched him the other day, closely this time, and I think he'll be a turn-off to most people. He might still get it but he's too short now imo. So is Badenoch. I think laying the both is a good play.
Try and be neutral and open your mind. Who would you most dislike as Tory leader? As in, who would be the most capable opponent of Labour, & the most likely to revive the Tories?
Well I do try and be neutral for the betting. Of these six? Best for Labour would be Badenoch. Worst would be Cleverly.
I agree about Cleverly. Disagree about Badenoch when scum like Jenrick exist although I agree she will probably be one of the easier opponents. All Labour would have to do is repeatedly point out his latest bastardly deed - and there would be one - he wouldn't be able to help himself.
Betting wise the opportunities at these prices are backing Stride and Cleverly imo. Which is basically my position (I've also laid Jenrick, but when he was shorter, and it's partly a hate lay anyway).
Put a gun to my head and I think Tugenhadt will win but I'd rather back him at shorter odds when it becomes clearer he has a path to, this stuff is too unstable atm to be backing anyone unless at or close to double digits imo.
Tugsy is the dull, dreary candidate the Tories need to counter dull, dreary Starmer. Although he has gone for the mandatory "we are leaving the ECHR" nonsense when he knows that would be foolish.
As Private Eye said, and probably others, we are at that stage in the leadership race where centrists like Jenrick and Tugendhat are trying to sound extreme and right-wingers like Kemi and Priti to appear conciliatory.
Jenrick used to be a centrist but he's definitely moved right, and that was before the leadership election was available. Tugendhat has moved right since the election was announced and frankly isn't credible to my mind with his damascene ECHR binning ideas. Cleverly is way more credible than Tugendhat to my mind as a relative centrist option for the Tories.
Seems to be a degree of panic among the Russian milibloggers over events in Kursk Oblast. Massive confusion about where Ukrainian forces are, and whether forces encountered are part of the main body of troops or sabotage/reconnaissance groups.
No sign yet of Russian reinforcements stabilizing the situation, though there are videos of lots of Ukrainian equipment being taken out by Lancet drones.
Still not sure whether this is just a raid, or the start of a large effort to seize Russian territory for use in bargaining during peace negotiations, or a strategy to lengthen the front line to weaken the Russian defence of occupied Ukrainian territory.
It’s all very weird. There’s a suggestion that the Russian town of Sudzha (highlighted) is about to fall to Ukrainian troops, who have already made several km of progress into Russia. The Russians appear to be totally flat-footed, with no spare troops anywhere to come to their aid.
Reports I've heard point out that troops in Russia are likely to be wet-behind-the-ears conscripts, who are not sent to Ukraine.
I've no idea on the UA tactics, unless they expect it to draw Russian troops away from frontlines in quantities justifying the 2-3k UA troops who are reported to be involved.
I thought Russia was sending its conscripts to the meat grinder after just a few weeks of training, so whom is it that's too wet-behind-the-ear to even be on the front line?
Three good options exist for going into Russia.
1: Cause Russian generals to panic, get rid of Putin, and sue for peace. 2: Cause Russia to panic, pull troops from the front line to defend Russian territory. 3: Blitz through to liberate Ukrainian territory via Russian territory, bypassing the mines and defences laid by Russia in Ukrainian territory.
The panic has now produced reports of clashes with Ukrainian forces near Kromskie Byki - which is halfway between the border and the Kursk nuclear power plant.
If this is legit, it's most likely Ukrainian sabotage/reconnaissance groups causing mischief in Russian rear areas, rather than an advance that will reach that far, but it's reminiscent of how Ukrainian forces were able to cause havoc with Russian supply lines in the first month of the war.
You can see how this could develop into a major crisis of credibility for Putin if this continues.
Seems to be a degree of panic among the Russian milibloggers over events in Kursk Oblast. Massive confusion about where Ukrainian forces are, and whether forces encountered are part of the main body of troops or sabotage/reconnaissance groups.
No sign yet of Russian reinforcements stabilizing the situation, though there are videos of lots of Ukrainian equipment being taken out by Lancet drones.
Still not sure whether this is just a raid, or the start of a large effort to seize Russian territory for use in bargaining during peace negotiations, or a strategy to lengthen the front line to weaken the Russian defence of occupied Ukrainian territory.
It’s all very weird. There’s a suggestion that the Russian town of Sudzha (highlighted) is about to fall to Ukrainian troops, who have already made several km of progress into Russia. The Russians appear to be totally flat-footed, with no spare troops anywhere to come to their aid.
Reports I've heard point out that troops in Russia are likely to be wet-behind-the-ears conscripts, who are not sent to Ukraine.
I've no idea on the UA tactics, unless they expect it to draw Russian troops away from frontlines in quantities justifying the 2-3k UA troops who are reported to be involved.
The UA troops involved are presumably some of the best they have, who must know that they are on a suicide mission if they can’t extract themselves.
But it does highlight that Russia can’t defend its own border, with their forces spread thinly to allow deployments further South.
If this is a successful raid by UA troops, we might well see this as a regular occurrence. I can’t imagine that the UA army can actually hold any Russian territory for more than a few days, but they’ve shown they can do it and draw what’s likely to be a massive redeployment of Russian troops from more important (to UA) places.
I’m being sent to Pristina. Has anyone else been sent to Pristina? What can you do if you’re sent to Pristina?
I'd recommend flags and garb with a silver stylized double-headed eagle on a red shield with a crown above the shield on a red on blue on white horizontal tricolor.
Seems to be a degree of panic among the Russian milibloggers over events in Kursk Oblast. Massive confusion about where Ukrainian forces are, and whether forces encountered are part of the main body of troops or sabotage/reconnaissance groups.
No sign yet of Russian reinforcements stabilizing the situation, though there are videos of lots of Ukrainian equipment being taken out by Lancet drones.
Still not sure whether this is just a raid, or the start of a large effort to seize Russian territory for use in bargaining during peace negotiations, or a strategy to lengthen the front line to weaken the Russian defence of occupied Ukrainian territory.
The local "Realist" campaigners on their little high street stall (Corbyn worship and Palestine also available) were trying to sell this as a horrific attack by Ukrainian fascists intent on ethnic cleansing of Russians and stealing the territory.
This attack by Ukraine shows that Russia's invasion was merely a preemptive counterattack.
I’m being sent to Pristina. Has anyone else been sent to Pristina? What can you do if you’re sent to Pristina?
I'd recommend flags and garb with a silver stylized double-headed eagle on a red shield with a crown above the shield on a red on blue on white horizontal tricolor.
I’m being sent there because it is apparently the cheapest destination in Europe (absent Belarus, Ukraine for obvs). Looks like that’s right. 2 nights in the best 5 star in the country is about £120
I’m being sent to Pristina. Has anyone else been sent to Pristina? What can you do if you’re sent to Pristina?
I'd recommend flags and garb with a silver stylized double-headed eagle on a red shield with a crown above the shield on a red on blue on white horizontal tricolor.
I’m being sent there because it is apparently the cheapest destination in Europe (absent Belarus, Ukraine for obvs). Looks like that’s right. 2 nights in the best 5 star in the country is about £120
£60 a night. That’s £1,800 a month. All bills included, and I bet if you actually wanted to stay for a month the price would be reduced to a grand or so.
I’m being sent to Pristina. Has anyone else been sent to Pristina? What can you do if you’re sent to Pristina?
I'd recommend flags and garb with a silver stylized double-headed eagle on a red shield with a crown above the shield on a red on blue on white horizontal tricolor.
I’m being sent there because it is apparently the cheapest destination in Europe (absent Belarus, Ukraine for obvs). Looks like that’s right. 2 nights in the best 5 star in the country is about £120
£60 a night. That’s £1,800 a month. All bills included, and I bet if you actually wanted to stay for a month the price would be reduced to a grand or so.
Also, it looks REALLY nice. This could be an incredible discovery. The new Montenegro!
Kate Hoey @CatharineHoey Still no answer to why it will take to next year before Alex Rudakubana the alleged murderer of the 3 young girls in South Oct will stand trial ?
Seems to be a degree of panic among the Russian milibloggers over events in Kursk Oblast. Massive confusion about where Ukrainian forces are, and whether forces encountered are part of the main body of troops or sabotage/reconnaissance groups.
No sign yet of Russian reinforcements stabilizing the situation, though there are videos of lots of Ukrainian equipment being taken out by Lancet drones.
Still not sure whether this is just a raid, or the start of a large effort to seize Russian territory for use in bargaining during peace negotiations, or a strategy to lengthen the front line to weaken the Russian defence of occupied Ukrainian territory.
It’s all very weird. There’s a suggestion that the Russian town of Sudzha (highlighted) is about to fall to Ukrainian troops, who have already made several km of progress into Russia. The Russians appear to be totally flat-footed, with no spare troops anywhere to come to their aid.
Reports I've heard point out that troops in Russia are likely to be wet-behind-the-ears conscripts, who are not sent to Ukraine.
I've no idea on the UA tactics, unless they expect it to draw Russian troops away from frontlines in quantities justifying the 2-3k UA troops who are reported to be involved.
The UA troops involved are presumably some of the best they have, who must know that they are on a suicide mission if they can’t extract themselves.
But it does highlight that Russia can’t defend its own border, with their forces spread thinly to allow deployments further South.
If this is a successful raid by UA troops, we might well see this as a regular occurrence. I can’t imagine that the UA army can actually hold any Russian territory for more than a few days, but they’ve shown they can do it and draw what’s likely to be a massive redeployment of Russian troops from more important (to UA) places.
It's also a demonstration that a border of that length cannot be defended, except through deterrence. Which is why any credible peace deal requires NATO membership for Ukraine.
I’m being sent to Pristina. Has anyone else been sent to Pristina? What can you do if you’re sent to Pristina?
You’re 325 years too late for the war there.
Head back to Kiev.
Kursk for the true adrenaline junky. I believe the Kursk nuclear plant now only has women staff (men off to the meat grinder etc), brownie points for first western hack to interview them.
Seems to be a degree of panic among the Russian milibloggers over events in Kursk Oblast. Massive confusion about where Ukrainian forces are, and whether forces encountered are part of the main body of troops or sabotage/reconnaissance groups.
No sign yet of Russian reinforcements stabilizing the situation, though there are videos of lots of Ukrainian equipment being taken out by Lancet drones.
Still not sure whether this is just a raid, or the start of a large effort to seize Russian territory for use in bargaining during peace negotiations, or a strategy to lengthen the front line to weaken the Russian defence of occupied Ukrainian territory.
It’s all very weird. There’s a suggestion that the Russian town of Sudzha (highlighted) is about to fall to Ukrainian troops, who have already made several km of progress into Russia. The Russians appear to be totally flat-footed, with no spare troops anywhere to come to their aid.
Reports I've heard point out that troops in Russia are likely to be wet-behind-the-ears conscripts, who are not sent to Ukraine.
I've no idea on the UA tactics, unless they expect it to draw Russian troops away from frontlines in quantities justifying the 2-3k UA troops who are reported to be involved.
I thought Russia was sending its conscripts to the meat grinder after just a few weeks of training, so whom is it that's too wet-behind-the-ear to even be on the front line?
Three good options exist for going into Russia.
1: Cause Russian generals to panic, get rid of Putin, and sue for peace. 2: Cause Russia to panic, pull troops from the front line to defend Russian territory. 3: Blitz through to liberate Ukrainian territory via Russian territory, bypassing the mines and defences laid by Russia in Ukrainian territory.
I'll add 4: Advancing into Russia easier than retaking fortified occupied Ukraine, makes Ukraine look more like a "winner", and therefore more likely to sustain US support. 5: Seizing Russian territory without triggering an "escalation" makes it easier for nervous Western partners to believe that Ukraine can retake Crimea without triggering nuclear war. 6: Occupied areas of Russia can be traded for occupied areas of Ukraine in future peace negotiations.
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
Seems to be a degree of panic among the Russian milibloggers over events in Kursk Oblast. Massive confusion about where Ukrainian forces are, and whether forces encountered are part of the main body of troops or sabotage/reconnaissance groups.
No sign yet of Russian reinforcements stabilizing the situation, though there are videos of lots of Ukrainian equipment being taken out by Lancet drones.
Still not sure whether this is just a raid, or the start of a large effort to seize Russian territory for use in bargaining during peace negotiations, or a strategy to lengthen the front line to weaken the Russian defence of occupied Ukrainian territory.
It’s all very weird. There’s a suggestion that the Russian town of Sudzha (highlighted) is about to fall to Ukrainian troops, who have already made several km of progress into Russia. The Russians appear to be totally flat-footed, with no spare troops anywhere to come to their aid.
Reports I've heard point out that troops in Russia are likely to be wet-behind-the-ears conscripts, who are not sent to Ukraine.
I've no idea on the UA tactics, unless they expect it to draw Russian troops away from frontlines in quantities justifying the 2-3k UA troops who are reported to be involved.
I thought Russia was sending its conscripts to the meat grinder after just a few weeks of training, so whom is it that's too wet-behind-the-ear to even be on the front line?
Three good options exist for going into Russia.
1: Cause Russian generals to panic, get rid of Putin, and sue for peace. 2: Cause Russia to panic, pull troops from the front line to defend Russian territory. 3: Blitz through to liberate Ukrainian territory via Russian territory, bypassing the mines and defences laid by Russia in Ukrainian territory.
I might hazard a guess that the ones left behind to guard the borders might well be those who didn’t have the connections to get them out of conscription but were well connected / able to bribe the right people enough to get a safe posting well away from any actual fighting. Until the Ukranians turned up on their doorstep of course.
Also:
4. Take enough territory to force the Russians to make some very hard choices about troop deployment.
Moving troops from one front to another & having them be effective takes a week & ties up the supply network something awful. Sounds like a great way to take the pressure off the other fronts for a week or so.
oh, and possibly also:
5. Bring the rail line supplying the front north of Kharkiv under fire control of Ukranian drones / artillery.
Might be reasonable objectives if the Ukranians can take & hold this Russian territory.
Stretch goal:
6. Do a Prigozhin & take Kursk followed by a thunder run to Moscow before the Russians can do anything about it.
Kate Hoey @CatharineHoey Still no answer to why it will take to next year before Alex Rudakubana the alleged murderer of the 3 young girls in South Oct will stand trial ?
Community notes can be very entertaining sometimes. A genuinely great idea.
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
The abortion bills can favour either party, depending on the exact wording of the question.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
Seems to be a degree of panic among the Russian milibloggers over events in Kursk Oblast. Massive confusion about where Ukrainian forces are, and whether forces encountered are part of the main body of troops or sabotage/reconnaissance groups.
No sign yet of Russian reinforcements stabilizing the situation, though there are videos of lots of Ukrainian equipment being taken out by Lancet drones.
Still not sure whether this is just a raid, or the start of a large effort to seize Russian territory for use in bargaining during peace negotiations, or a strategy to lengthen the front line to weaken the Russian defence of occupied Ukrainian territory.
It’s all very weird. There’s a suggestion that the Russian town of Sudzha (highlighted) is about to fall to Ukrainian troops, who have already made several km of progress into Russia. The Russians appear to be totally flat-footed, with no spare troops anywhere to come to their aid.
Reports I've heard point out that troops in Russia are likely to be wet-behind-the-ears conscripts, who are not sent to Ukraine.
I've no idea on the UA tactics, unless they expect it to draw Russian troops away from frontlines in quantities justifying the 2-3k UA troops who are reported to be involved.
I thought Russia was sending its conscripts to the meat grinder after just a few weeks of training, so whom is it that's too wet-behind-the-ear to even be on the front line?
Three good options exist for going into Russia.
1: Cause Russian generals to panic, get rid of Putin, and sue for peace. 2: Cause Russia to panic, pull troops from the front line to defend Russian territory. 3: Blitz through to liberate Ukrainian territory via Russian territory, bypassing the mines and defences laid by Russia in Ukrainian territory.
I might hazard a guess that the ones left behind to guard the borders might well be those who didn’t have the connections to get them out of conscription but were well connected / able to bribe the right people enough to get a safe posting well away from any actual fighting. Until the Ukranians turned up on their doorstep of course.
Also:
4. Take enough territory to force the Russians to make some very hard choices about troop deployment.
Moving troops from one front to another & having them be effective takes a week & ties up the supply network something awful. Sounds like a great way to take the pressure off the other fronts for a week or so.
oh, and possibly also:
5. Bring the rail line supplying the front north of Kharkiv under fire control of Ukranian drones / artillery.
Might be reasonable objectives if the Ukranians can take & hold this Russian territory.
Stretch goal:
6. Do a Prigozhin & take Kursk followed by a thunder run to Moscow before the Russians can do anything about it.
(They probably won’t do this one...)
Doing a Gulf War 1 style hook around the back of the front line would be audacious, but I doubt they have anywhere near the resources to be able to carry that one off.
Kate Hoey @CatharineHoey Still no answer to why it will take to next year before Alex Rudakubana the alleged murderer of the 3 young girls in South Oct will stand trial ?
Community notes can be very entertaining sometimes. A genuinely great idea.
People dis Twitter* under Musk, but he has implemented two genuinely useful features:
(1) Community notes (2) People I follow
It means I see fewer Marjorie Taylor Greene posts. Which is good.
Kate Hoey @CatharineHoey Still no answer to why it will take to next year before Alex Rudakubana the alleged murderer of the 3 young girls in South Oct will stand trial ?
Community notes can be very entertaining sometimes. A genuinely great idea.
People dis Twitter* under Musk, but he has implemented two genuinely useful features:
(1) Community notes (2) People I follow
It means I see fewer Marjorie Taylor Greene posts. Which is good.
I’m being sent to Pristina. Has anyone else been sent to Pristina? What can you do if you’re sent to Pristina?
I'd recommend flags and garb with a silver stylized double-headed eagle on a red shield with a crown above the shield on a red on blue on white horizontal tricolor.
I’m being sent there because it is apparently the cheapest destination in Europe (absent Belarus, Ukraine for obvs). Looks like that’s right. 2 nights in the best 5 star in the country is about £120
£60 a night. That’s £1,800 a month. All bills included, and I bet if you actually wanted to stay for a month the price would be reduced to a grand or so.
Also, it looks REALLY nice. This could be an incredible discovery. The new Montenegro!
I went through it when I was 16, as I was driven across Yugoslavia on the way to Thessaloniki. I remember it all being nicer than the run through Czechoslovakia and Hungary, which was still very obviously under Soviet domination, Prague having been invaded less than a decade before. Tito's hand was somewhat less heavy. Impressions were helped by it being the summer of 1976, which was even sunnier on the continent than it was back in the UK.
The roads were fast death traps though, with a cross marking a fatility every few hundred metres.
I think it's a start of the narrative for modern day Kosovo.
£10 to a charity of your choice if you come back with a photo of Monica Lewinsky on it in the style of the bull famously added to the Milton Keynes concrete cows.
(I will not take responsibility for resulting time in gaol.)
Kate Hoey @CatharineHoey Still no answer to why it will take to next year before Alex Rudakubana the alleged murderer of the 3 young girls in South Oct will stand trial ?
Community notes can be very entertaining sometimes. A genuinely great idea.
People dis Twitter* under Musk, but he has implemented two genuinely useful features:
(1) Community notes (2) People I follow
It means I see fewer Marjorie Taylor Greene posts. Which is good.
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
The abortion bills can favour either party, depending on the exact wording of the question.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
The number of third trimester abortions anywhere is absolutely tiny, and usually only happens when there are serious medical issues.
Kate Hoey @CatharineHoey Still no answer to why it will take to next year before Alex Rudakubana the alleged murderer of the 3 young girls in South Oct will stand trial ?
Community notes can be very entertaining sometimes. A genuinely great idea.
People dis Twitter* under Musk, but he has implemented two genuinely useful features:
(1) Community notes (2) People I follow
It means I see fewer Marjorie Taylor Greene posts. Which is good.
* I refuse to call it "X"
Community Notes predates Musk
OK.
Well that's one new thing - the People I follow option - that Musk's Twitter has implemented that I like.
Seems to be a degree of panic among the Russian milibloggers over events in Kursk Oblast. Massive confusion about where Ukrainian forces are, and whether forces encountered are part of the main body of troops or sabotage/reconnaissance groups.
No sign yet of Russian reinforcements stabilizing the situation, though there are videos of lots of Ukrainian equipment being taken out by Lancet drones.
Still not sure whether this is just a raid, or the start of a large effort to seize Russian territory for use in bargaining during peace negotiations, or a strategy to lengthen the front line to weaken the Russian defence of occupied Ukrainian territory.
It’s all very weird. There’s a suggestion that the Russian town of Sudzha (highlighted) is about to fall to Ukrainian troops, who have already made several km of progress into Russia. The Russians appear to be totally flat-footed, with no spare troops anywhere to come to their aid.
Reports I've heard point out that troops in Russia are likely to be wet-behind-the-ears conscripts, who are not sent to Ukraine.
I've no idea on the UA tactics, unless they expect it to draw Russian troops away from frontlines in quantities justifying the 2-3k UA troops who are reported to be involved.
I thought Russia was sending its conscripts to the meat grinder after just a few weeks of training, so whom is it that's too wet-behind-the-ear to even be on the front line?
Three good options exist for going into Russia.
1: Cause Russian generals to panic, get rid of Putin, and sue for peace. 2: Cause Russia to panic, pull troops from the front line to defend Russian territory. 3: Blitz through to liberate Ukrainian territory via Russian territory, bypassing the mines and defences laid by Russia in Ukrainian territory.
I might hazard a guess that the ones left behind to guard the borders might well be those who didn’t have the connections to get them out of conscription but were well connected / able to bribe the right people enough to get a safe posting well away from any actual fighting. Until the Ukranians turned up on their doorstep of course.
Also:
4. Take enough territory to force the Russians to make some very hard choices about troop deployment.
Moving troops from one front to another & having them be effective takes a week & ties up the supply network something awful. Sounds like a great way to take the pressure off the other fronts for a week or so.
oh, and possibly also:
5. Bring the rail line supplying the front north of Kharkiv under fire control of Ukranian drones / artillery.
Might be reasonable objectives if the Ukranians can take & hold this Russian territory.
Stretch goal:
6. Do a Prigozhin & take Kursk followed by a thunder run to Moscow before the Russians can do anything about it.
(They probably won’t do this one...)
Doing a Gulf War 1 style hook around the back of the front line would be audacious, but I doubt they have anywhere near the resources to be able to carry that one off.
I don't think they have sufficient troops, logistic capacity, training, or air support to do so, no.
But, until now, there's been an imbalance where Ukraine has had to defend all of its border with Russia and Belarus to defend against potential attack, and Russia haven't.
Making more of the border with Russia an active frontline probably favours Ukraine, and it's better if the frontline is inside Russia (as in Kursk) than inside Ukraine (as north of Kharkiv).
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
Trump has made clear he will leave abortion law to each state, he does not back a Federal abortion ban as some evangelicals want
Kate Hoey @CatharineHoey Still no answer to why it will take to next year before Alex Rudakubana the alleged murderer of the 3 young girls in South Oct will stand trial ?
Community notes can be very entertaining sometimes. A genuinely great idea.
People dis Twitter* under Musk, but he has implemented two genuinely useful features:
(1) Community notes (2) People I follow
It means I see fewer Marjorie Taylor Greene posts. Which is good.
* I refuse to call it "X"
Free Speech backed up by Community Notes is actually really useful.
This one was my personal favourite. The White House deleted it to avoid the context being given.
Kate Hoey @CatharineHoey Still no answer to why it will take to next year before Alex Rudakubana the alleged murderer of the 3 young girls in South Oct will stand trial ?
Community notes can be very entertaining sometimes. A genuinely great idea.
People dis Twitter* under Musk, but he has implemented two genuinely useful features:
(1) Community notes (2) People I follow
It means I see fewer Marjorie Taylor Greene posts. Which is good.
* I refuse to call it "X"
Community Notes predates Musk
OK.
Well that's one new thing - the People I follow option - that Musk's Twitter has implemented that I like.
He also sacked 90% of the staff and yet the site is fine, which is quite a managerial triumph
OTOH renaming it “X” ranks as one of the stupidest commercial decisions of the decade
Seems to be a degree of panic among the Russian milibloggers over events in Kursk Oblast. Massive confusion about where Ukrainian forces are, and whether forces encountered are part of the main body of troops or sabotage/reconnaissance groups.
No sign yet of Russian reinforcements stabilizing the situation, though there are videos of lots of Ukrainian equipment being taken out by Lancet drones.
Still not sure whether this is just a raid, or the start of a large effort to seize Russian territory for use in bargaining during peace negotiations, or a strategy to lengthen the front line to weaken the Russian defence of occupied Ukrainian territory.
It’s all very weird. There’s a suggestion that the Russian town of Sudzha (highlighted) is about to fall to Ukrainian troops, who have already made several km of progress into Russia. The Russians appear to be totally flat-footed, with no spare troops anywhere to come to their aid.
Reports I've heard point out that troops in Russia are likely to be wet-behind-the-ears conscripts, who are not sent to Ukraine.
I've no idea on the UA tactics, unless they expect it to draw Russian troops away from frontlines in quantities justifying the 2-3k UA troops who are reported to be involved.
I thought Russia was sending its conscripts to the meat grinder after just a few weeks of training, so whom is it that's too wet-behind-the-ear to even be on the front line?
Three good options exist for going into Russia.
1: Cause Russian generals to panic, get rid of Putin, and sue for peace. 2: Cause Russia to panic, pull troops from the front line to defend Russian territory. 3: Blitz through to liberate Ukrainian territory via Russian territory, bypassing the mines and defences laid by Russia in Ukrainian territory.
I might hazard a guess that the ones left behind to guard the borders might well be those who didn’t have the connections to get them out of conscription but were well connected / able to bribe the right people enough to get a safe posting well away from any actual fighting. Until the Ukranians turned up on their doorstep of course.
Also:
4. Take enough territory to force the Russians to make some very hard choices about troop deployment.
Moving troops from one front to another & having them be effective takes a week & ties up the supply network something awful. Sounds like a great way to take the pressure off the other fronts for a week or so.
oh, and possibly also:
5. Bring the rail line supplying the front north of Kharkiv under fire control of Ukranian drones / artillery.
Might be reasonable objectives if the Ukranians can take & hold this Russian territory.
Stretch goal:
6. Do a Prigozhin & take Kursk followed by a thunder run to Moscow before the Russians can do anything about it.
(They probably won’t do this one...)
Doing a Gulf War 1 style hook around the back of the front line would be audacious, but I doubt they have anywhere near the resources to be able to carry that one off.
People have dreamed of deep strike cavalry raids, behind the lines, for centuries.
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
Trump has made clear he will leave abortion law to each state, he does not back a Federal abortion ban as some evangelicals want
Leaving aside the minor detail that Trump's word is worth less than a DFE briefing paper, you may not have noticed but the rest of the Republican party including JD Vance does not seem to agree with him.
Kate Hoey @CatharineHoey Still no answer to why it will take to next year before Alex Rudakubana the alleged murderer of the 3 young girls in South Oct will stand trial ?
Community notes can be very entertaining sometimes. A genuinely great idea.
People dis Twitter* under Musk, but he has implemented two genuinely useful features:
(1) Community notes (2) People I follow
It means I see fewer Marjorie Taylor Greene posts. Which is good.
* I refuse to call it "X"
Community Notes predates Musk
Sort of.
There was a program that created Notes that predated Musk, but it wasn't very widespread nor was it open source - and it had a different name.
I’ve emotionally gone from being mentally and emotionally reconciled to a Trump win to having hope that Harris actually might do it. Sadly it’s the hope that kills you.
*Raises eyebrows*
Has Governor Walz's daughter taken up a new career?
You’re going to have to explain that one to me.
She’s called Hope and may have become an assassin according to your post…
It wasn’t really worth explaining…
But she is called Hope as she was an IVF baby and somehow the Republicans have managed to put themselves in the position of looking anti-IVF.
I thought they *were* anti-IVF?
I am anti taxpayer-funded IVF.
In the scheme of things I can think of a whole set of items that I object to far more.
Giving a family a chance of children seems to be a noble use of a tiny percentage of what I pay in taxes.
Certainly with fertility rates now below replacement level in the UK and USA
Sadly, reproductive services are something that the NHS have all but abandoned.
Technically, they still aim to offer three cycles to under-40s, and one to those aged 40 and 41 - but in most of the country are nowhere close to achieving this. The usual pattern is to mange the problem by delaying long enough that people age out of eligibility, so if you're in your mid 30s they'll drag it out so you get one cycle at 38 or 39, and another a couple of years later. And that's only if you're very persistent.
In reality, most people on average need around four cycles, with some trying up to six before giving up. Each cycle typically costs around £10k.
Fertility rapidly declines once you hit your late 20s, but as a society we've set ourselves up so that people are unable to even consider having children until a decade later. So we're effectively expecting people to pay £20k or so on average to be able to have children, and that's before you even get on to the nightmarish situation that NHS maternity services are in.
Agreed, though there is the freezing eggs option too.
Of course in the 1930s there was mass unemployment and most people of all ages rented but yet most 20 to 30 year olds had children and the fertility rate was above average so it is also a lifestyle choice, especially with more women wanting careers and leaving children until their 30s and early 40s if they decide to have them at all
Egg-freezing is £20k and only works about half the time. It's also less likely to be covered by private health insurance than IVF, though some employers do explicitly fund it separately.
As for it being a lifestyle choice, I think it's a bit stronger than that. It's a choice between building your career, being able to rent a flat by yourself, and generally having a stable life that you control before getting pregnant - or having kids in your 20s, and hoping that the state will provide an adequate safety net if things go wrong.
Not many people trust that safety net these days, and I don't think it's fair to blame them for that.
As with so much else, the best way to fix this would be to ease the pressure on housing. If the best a 20-something at the start of a professional career can expect is to live in a houseshare for the next decade, then is it any wonder why they're not settling down and having kids?
Absolutely!
And this is another reason why too everyone who is working ought to be able to afford a home of their own, from their own efforts, with no inheritance in their twenties as was achievable in the past and could be again if the prices were more appropriate.
An inheritance if you get one (and many won't) is likely to come in your sixties or later nowadays and won't get you on the housing ladder in your twenties.
Most people rented 100 years ago, they still managed to have children in their 20s
'Managed' is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.
Society was organised entirely differently, and there were little to no reliable forms of contraception.
I am staggered by those who stagger through life waiting for an inheritance.
Inheritance is irrelevant to this argument as it 100 years ago most couples in their 20s rented and did not have an inheritance but still managed to have children.
Of course we could also go Vatican and restrict contraception too, certainly to 20-35 year olds at peak fertility in settled relationships
I'm not sure how settled most of those relationships would be if contraception was entirely eliminated.
Full Vatican of course would be no sex unless married and no contraception if having sex in marriage
Of course, we could just ignore religion in our everyday lives.
And continue with below replacement level birthrate
So you make it inevitable that millions are born into poverty and end up reliant on the state. I thought you Tories hated benefit culture, now you want to turn the taps on?
No that is the other extreme. Below replacement level birth rates just make it inevitable those of working age have to pay ever higher taxes to support the old, retirement ages become later as we need to work longer and economic growth slows.
Conservatives support the family too, they may not be socialists but they are not laissez faire economic liberals either. Plus now it is the middle class having lower birth rates than the working class if anything as graduate women delay childbirth for careers first
Oh come on, @HYUFD: you must know that the exceptionally high cost of housing is a massive deterrent to having children early.
One of my best friends, who I've known since fourth form, got married at 22, bought a house, and had kids early. He worked for the council.
That would be completely impossible today.
His children are not going to be able to afford houses - even assuming they save a significant proportion of their disposable income - until they are into their 30s.
It is part of the answer but not the only one, as I said on the previous thread in the 1930s most 20-30 year olds rented and a few were unemployed in the depression but most had 2 or more children by 35.
Yes we need more affordable homes to buy or rent but women continuing to prioritise graduate careers as their focus until their mid 30s-early 40s rather than marriage and children as well will continue to keep the fertility rate down
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
The abortion bills can favour either party, depending on the exact wording of the question.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
The number of third trimester abortions anywhere is absolutely tiny, and usually only happens when there are serious medical issues.
The number of Democrat politicians signing laws allowing for elective third-trimester abortions, on the other hand, is significant.
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
The abortion bills can favour either party, depending on the exact wording of the question.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
In both cases the wording would amend the state constitution to guarantee access to abortion until 'fetal viability.'
I doubt Jenrick's comments will harm him with the ERG and rightwing Tory MP lane he is looking to win to get to the last 2, it is Tugendhat and Stride contesting the liberal One Nation wing, with Cleverly also looking to join, not him
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
The abortion bills can favour either party, depending on the exact wording of the question.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
The number of third trimester abortions anywhere is absolutely tiny, and usually only happens when there are serious medical issues.
The number of Democrat politicians signing laws allowing for elective third-trimester abortions, on the other hand, is significant.
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
The abortion bills can favour either party, depending on the exact wording of the question.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
The number of third trimester abortions anywhere is absolutely tiny, and usually only happens when there are serious medical issues.
The number of Democrat politicians signing laws allowing for elective third-trimester abortions, on the other hand, is significant.
Sure: but all the law did was codify the existing Minnesota Supreme Court's rulings - i.e. foetal viability. You make it sound like he's dramatically increased when babies can be aborted in Minnesota, when he has done no such thing.
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
The abortion bills can favour either party, depending on the exact wording of the question.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
Yes and given the selection of Walz, it's clear it's the Democratic ticket that the extremist one on abortion.
I doubt Jenrick's comments will harm him with the ERG and rightwing Tory MP lane he is looking to win to get to the last 2, it is Tugendhat and Stride contesting the liberal One Nation wing, with Cleverly also looking to join, not him
I doubt Tom or Mel will make it to the last 2. One of them might make it to the last four.
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
The abortion bills can favour either party, depending on the exact wording of the question.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
Yes and given the selection of Walz, it's clear it's the Democratic ticket that the extremist one on abortion.
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
The abortion bills can favour either party, depending on the exact wording of the question.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
In both cases the wording would amend the state constitution to guarantee access to abortion until 'fetal viability.'
Which has proven extremely popular.
The eventual result will be the de-politisisation of the issue in national politics, and more of an issue in State-level politics.
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
Trump has made clear he will leave abortion law to each state, he does not back a Federal abortion ban as some evangelicals want
He's also spoken very highly of Project 2025, which is pretty explicitly in favour of a nationwide abortion ban, and isn't too keen on contraceptives either.
I doubt Jenrick's comments will harm him with the ERG and rightwing Tory MP lane he is looking to win to get to the last 2, it is Tugendhat and Stride contesting the liberal One Nation wing, with Cleverly also looking to join, not him
I doubt Tom or Mel will make it to the last 2. One of them might make it to the last four.
But I suspect that'll be:
Badenoch Jenrick Cleverly Patel
In the last Parliament that would have given us Cleverly plus one other for the grand final. I don't really know how the current PCP is made up. Are there any moderates left?
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
The abortion bills can favour either party, depending on the exact wording of the question.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
Yes and given the selection of Walz, it's clear it's the Democratic ticket that the extremist one on abortion.
Could you remind of how often anti-abortion ballot propositions have passed in the US?
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
The abortion bills can favour either party, depending on the exact wording of the question.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
Yes and given the selection of Walz, it's clear it's the Democratic ticket that the extremist one on abortion.
Yes. He signed legislation dropping the requirements to record and notify babies born alive after abortion because of the numbers and impact of this hard fact.
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
Trump has made clear he will leave abortion law to each state, he does not back a Federal abortion ban as some evangelicals want
Trump is what a typical New York social liberal would have been 20 years ago.
The Bill Maher viewpoint, where he says that his opinions haven’t changed for decades, but those of his (Dem) party have changed significantly.
I’ve emotionally gone from being mentally and emotionally reconciled to a Trump win to having hope that Harris actually might do it. Sadly it’s the hope that kills you.
*Raises eyebrows*
Has Governor Walz's daughter taken up a new career?
You’re going to have to explain that one to me.
She’s called Hope and may have become an assassin according to your post…
It wasn’t really worth explaining…
But she is called Hope as she was an IVF baby and somehow the Republicans have managed to put themselves in the position of looking anti-IVF.
I thought they *were* anti-IVF?
I am anti taxpayer-funded IVF.
In the scheme of things I can think of a whole set of items that I object to far more.
Giving a family a chance of children seems to be a noble use of a tiny percentage of what I pay in taxes.
Certainly with fertility rates now below replacement level in the UK and USA
Sadly, reproductive services are something that the NHS have all but abandoned.
Technically, they still aim to offer three cycles to under-40s, and one to those aged 40 and 41 - but in most of the country are nowhere close to achieving this. The usual pattern is to mange the problem by delaying long enough that people age out of eligibility, so if you're in your mid 30s they'll drag it out so you get one cycle at 38 or 39, and another a couple of years later. And that's only if you're very persistent.
In reality, most people on average need around four cycles, with some trying up to six before giving up. Each cycle typically costs around £10k.
Fertility rapidly declines once you hit your late 20s, but as a society we've set ourselves up so that people are unable to even consider having children until a decade later. So we're effectively expecting people to pay £20k or so on average to be able to have children, and that's before you even get on to the nightmarish situation that NHS maternity services are in.
Agreed, though there is the freezing eggs option too.
Of course in the 1930s there was mass unemployment and most people of all ages rented but yet most 20 to 30 year olds had children and the fertility rate was above average so it is also a lifestyle choice, especially with more women wanting careers and leaving children until their 30s and early 40s if they decide to have them at all
Egg-freezing is £20k and only works about half the time. It's also less likely to be covered by private health insurance than IVF, though some employers do explicitly fund it separately.
As for it being a lifestyle choice, I think it's a bit stronger than that. It's a choice between building your career, being able to rent a flat by yourself, and generally having a stable life that you control before getting pregnant - or having kids in your 20s, and hoping that the state will provide an adequate safety net if things go wrong.
Not many people trust that safety net these days, and I don't think it's fair to blame them for that.
As with so much else, the best way to fix this would be to ease the pressure on housing. If the best a 20-something at the start of a professional career can expect is to live in a houseshare for the next decade, then is it any wonder why they're not settling down and having kids?
Absolutely!
And this is another reason why too everyone who is working ought to be able to afford a home of their own, from their own efforts, with no inheritance in their twenties as was achievable in the past and could be again if the prices were more appropriate.
An inheritance if you get one (and many won't) is likely to come in your sixties or later nowadays and won't get you on the housing ladder in your twenties.
Most people rented 100 years ago, they still managed to have children in their 20s
'Managed' is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.
Society was organised entirely differently, and there were little to no reliable forms of contraception.
I am staggered by those who stagger through life waiting for an inheritance.
Inheritance is irrelevant to this argument as it 100 years ago most couples in their 20s rented and did not have an inheritance but still managed to have children.
Of course we could also go Vatican and restrict contraception too, certainly to 20-35 year olds at peak fertility in settled relationships
I'm not sure how settled most of those relationships would be if contraception was entirely eliminated.
Full Vatican of course would be no sex unless married and no contraception if having sex in marriage
Of course, we could just ignore religion in our everyday lives.
And continue with below replacement level birthrate
So you make it inevitable that millions are born into poverty and end up reliant on the state. I thought you Tories hated benefit culture, now you want to turn the taps on?
No that is the other extreme. Below replacement level birth rates just make it inevitable those of working age have to pay ever higher taxes to support the old, retirement ages become later as we need to work longer and economic growth slows.
Conservatives support the family too, they may not be socialists but they are not laissez faire economic liberals either. Plus now it is the middle class having lower birth rates than the working class if anything as graduate women delay childbirth for careers first
Oh come on, @HYUFD: you must know that the exceptionally high cost of housing is a massive deterrent to having children early.
One of my best friends, who I've known since fourth form, got married at 22, bought a house, and had kids early. He worked for the council.
That would be completely impossible today.
His children are not going to be able to afford houses - even assuming they save a significant proportion of their disposable income - until they are into their 30s.
It is part of the answer but not the only one, as I said on the previous thread in the 1930s most 20-30 year olds rented and a few were unemployed in the depression but most had 2 or more children by 35.
Yes we need more affordable homes to buy or rent but women continuing to prioritise graduate careers as their focus until their mid 30s-early 40s rather than marriage and children as well will continue to keep the fertility rate down
What has the 1930s got to do with modern Britain and re your last paragraph my daughter in law had her first child at 30 and her third child at 40 so she is hardly keeping fertility rates down
On a more serious note, if you want something serious to look into try illegal hunting of songbirds and their export to Italy for food.
That's a big trade in that region, I believe.
When I worked in London at a depot on the Underground I used to work with a bunch of Kosovans. Scary guys but if they warmed to you they were great company. Thankfully they seemed to like me.
FPT FeersumEnjineeya said: » show previous quotes Looking at the stats for European countries, there seems to be a pretty close correlation between religious devotion and low birth rates. Countries with higher levels of church attendance (e.g. Italy, Spain, Greece) have lower birth rates than more secular countries (e.g. France, Denmark). So it would seem that less, rather than more, religion is needed in order to raise birth rates.
Not true, Catholic Ireland for example has the highest birth rate in Europe and above average religious devotion. In France it is immigrant Muslims having the most babies, same with Denmark. In Italy and Spain it is over 60s most religious and they are well past child bearing years.
The highest global birthrate in the world is in Africa which is also the most religious continent in the world
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
Trump has made clear he will leave abortion law to each state, he does not back a Federal abortion ban as some evangelicals want
He's also spoken very highly of Project 2025, which is pretty explicitly in favour of a nationwide abortion ban, and isn't too keen on contraceptives either.
Ahh, so your last point explains why he has acquired Boris Johnson's endorsement.
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
The abortion bills can favour either party, depending on the exact wording of the question.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
In both cases the wording would amend the state constitution to guarantee access to abortion until 'fetal viability.'
Which has proven extremely popular.
The eventual result will be the de-politisisation of the issue in national politics, and more of an issue in State-level politics.
I believe abortion access should be decided at the State level, with the proviso - of course - that the Federal government has the right to regulate interstate commerce, which effectively means it gets the final say on whether people are able to buy mifepristone or not.
However, Project 2025 - which Vance is a pretty big supporter of - is pretty explicit in how the Federal government can go about making abortion illegal nationwide.
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
Trump has made clear he will leave abortion law to each state, he does not back a Federal abortion ban as some evangelicals want
He's also spoken very highly of Project 2025, which is pretty explicitly in favour of a nationwide abortion ban, and isn't too keen on contraceptives either.
'Three days later, Trump posted to Truth Social: “I know nothing about Project 2025.”
“I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal,” he wrote.'
I’ve emotionally gone from being mentally and emotionally reconciled to a Trump win to having hope that Harris actually might do it. Sadly it’s the hope that kills you.
*Raises eyebrows*
Has Governor Walz's daughter taken up a new career?
You’re going to have to explain that one to me.
She’s called Hope and may have become an assassin according to your post…
It wasn’t really worth explaining…
But she is called Hope as she was an IVF baby and somehow the Republicans have managed to put themselves in the position of looking anti-IVF.
I thought they *were* anti-IVF?
I am anti taxpayer-funded IVF.
In the scheme of things I can think of a whole set of items that I object to far more.
Giving a family a chance of children seems to be a noble use of a tiny percentage of what I pay in taxes.
Certainly with fertility rates now below replacement level in the UK and USA
Sadly, reproductive services are something that the NHS have all but abandoned.
Technically, they still aim to offer three cycles to under-40s, and one to those aged 40 and 41 - but in most of the country are nowhere close to achieving this. The usual pattern is to mange the problem by delaying long enough that people age out of eligibility, so if you're in your mid 30s they'll drag it out so you get one cycle at 38 or 39, and another a couple of years later. And that's only if you're very persistent.
In reality, most people on average need around four cycles, with some trying up to six before giving up. Each cycle typically costs around £10k.
Fertility rapidly declines once you hit your late 20s, but as a society we've set ourselves up so that people are unable to even consider having children until a decade later. So we're effectively expecting people to pay £20k or so on average to be able to have children, and that's before you even get on to the nightmarish situation that NHS maternity services are in.
Agreed, though there is the freezing eggs option too.
Of course in the 1930s there was mass unemployment and most people of all ages rented but yet most 20 to 30 year olds had children and the fertility rate was above average so it is also a lifestyle choice, especially with more women wanting careers and leaving children until their 30s and early 40s if they decide to have them at all
Egg-freezing is £20k and only works about half the time. It's also less likely to be covered by private health insurance than IVF, though some employers do explicitly fund it separately.
As for it being a lifestyle choice, I think it's a bit stronger than that. It's a choice between building your career, being able to rent a flat by yourself, and generally having a stable life that you control before getting pregnant - or having kids in your 20s, and hoping that the state will provide an adequate safety net if things go wrong.
Not many people trust that safety net these days, and I don't think it's fair to blame them for that.
As with so much else, the best way to fix this would be to ease the pressure on housing. If the best a 20-something at the start of a professional career can expect is to live in a houseshare for the next decade, then is it any wonder why they're not settling down and having kids?
Absolutely!
And this is another reason why too everyone who is working ought to be able to afford a home of their own, from their own efforts, with no inheritance in their twenties as was achievable in the past and could be again if the prices were more appropriate.
An inheritance if you get one (and many won't) is likely to come in your sixties or later nowadays and won't get you on the housing ladder in your twenties.
Most people rented 100 years ago, they still managed to have children in their 20s
'Managed' is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.
Society was organised entirely differently, and there were little to no reliable forms of contraception.
I am staggered by those who stagger through life waiting for an inheritance.
Inheritance is irrelevant to this argument as it 100 years ago most couples in their 20s rented and did not have an inheritance but still managed to have children.
Of course we could also go Vatican and restrict contraception too, certainly to 20-35 year olds at peak fertility in settled relationships
I'm not sure how settled most of those relationships would be if contraception was entirely eliminated.
Full Vatican of course would be no sex unless married and no contraception if having sex in marriage
Of course, we could just ignore religion in our everyday lives.
And continue with below replacement level birthrate
Looking at the stats for European countries, there seems to be a pretty close correlation between religious devotion and low birth rates. Countries with higher levels of church attendance (e.g. Italy, Spain, Greece) have lower birth rates than more secular countries (e.g. France, Denmark). So it would seem that less, rather than more, religion is needed in order to raise birth rates.
Not true, Catholic Ireland for example has the highest birth rate in Europe and above average religious devotion. In France it is immigrant Muslims having the most babies, same with Denmark. In Italy and Spain it is over 60s most religious and they are well past child bearing years.
Hyufd, this is bullshit. Romania has a higher birth rate than Ireland, as do Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Iceland. (France is of course the highest.)
I doubt Jenrick's comments will harm him with the ERG and rightwing Tory MP lane he is looking to win to get to the last 2, it is Tugendhat and Stride contesting the liberal One Nation wing, with Cleverly also looking to join, not him
I doubt Tom or Mel will make it to the last 2. One of them might make it to the last four.
But I suspect that'll be:
Badenoch Jenrick Cleverly Patel
I doubt it, there are enough One Nation liberal MPs to get Tom or Mel to the last 2 as they got Sunak, Hunt, May and Cameron beforehand. Especially given the Tory parliamentary party is more southern than in 2019
It works because about 90% off people never click the link or try and find actual evidence.
Python is awful - don't use whitespace to represent significancy...
It is no more ridiculous than using lots of brackets (of varying types).
Python has fantastic, clean syntax. It has incredible data science libraries. And these days, computers (and computing power) is cheap.
Other than occasional bits of Javascript, when I have a need to do something webby, I wouldn't use anything else. There's simply no point, because quick to write, readable code, is worth a lot more than a few processor cycles.
oh I just have a dislike of Python but I started off when Javascript was Livescript and Perl was the in thing.
I personally prefer the latest version of Delphi (i.e. C# )..
99% of my "coding" these days is data analysis, where Python + Pandas + Jupyter is absolutely superb, especially if you use Google's hosted Colab service. I'm playing around with massive datasets and running analyses in seconds that would historically have taken days. (And also required a team of people.)
You use whatever has the best libraries for whatever it is you want to do. If that's Python, then great. And if it's JavaScript, for God's sake use TypeScript!
The real problem with Python and JavaScript is the large numbers of self taught people.
Who haven’t heard of code structure, testing pyramids or even code versioning tools.
“No, Quant Boy, the Python file you emailed me isn’t going directly into production. Aside from the fact it doesn’t actually run, we need tests. And test data. And some QA. and running on all the non-prod environments first…. Also, where is the specification? ‘cause Compliance will quite interested in how we are pricing stuff.”
While I largely agree with what you say, it is also great to have the freedom to implement stuff as you see fit without having to specify every last widget to the n-th degree. Obviously that's easier when working iteratively as a sole developer on small projects.
Also, bad code implemented by self-taught developers is by no means restricted to Python and JavaScript. The codebase at my last workplace was a tangled mess of undocumented C++ dating back decades and presided over by an old-school self-taught coder with a pathological hatred of whitespace and line breaks. That was the last straw for me.
Seems to be a degree of panic among the Russian milibloggers over events in Kursk Oblast. Massive confusion about where Ukrainian forces are, and whether forces encountered are part of the main body of troops or sabotage/reconnaissance groups.
No sign yet of Russian reinforcements stabilizing the situation, though there are videos of lots of Ukrainian equipment being taken out by Lancet drones.
Still not sure whether this is just a raid, or the start of a large effort to seize Russian territory for use in bargaining during peace negotiations, or a strategy to lengthen the front line to weaken the Russian defence of occupied Ukrainian territory.
It’s all very weird. There’s a suggestion that the Russian town of Sudzha (highlighted) is about to fall to Ukrainian troops, who have already made several km of progress into Russia. The Russians appear to be totally flat-footed, with no spare troops anywhere to come to their aid.
Reports I've heard point out that troops in Russia are likely to be wet-behind-the-ears conscripts, who are not sent to Ukraine.
I've no idea on the UA tactics, unless they expect it to draw Russian troops away from frontlines in quantities justifying the 2-3k UA troops who are reported to be involved.
The UA troops involved are presumably some of the best they have, who must know that they are on a suicide mission if they can’t extract themselves.
But it does highlight that Russia can’t defend its own border, with their forces spread thinly to allow deployments further South.
If this is a successful raid by UA troops, we might well see this as a regular occurrence. I can’t imagine that the UA army can actually hold any Russian territory for more than a few days, but they’ve shown they can do it and draw what’s likely to be a massive redeployment of Russian troops from more important (to UA) places.
The folk looking at this escapade with greatest interest will be in Beijing.
Everything east of the Urals is yours for the taking, guys...
I doubt Jenrick's comments will harm him with the ERG and rightwing Tory MP lane he is looking to win to get to the last 2, it is Tugendhat and Stride contesting the liberal One Nation wing, with Cleverly also looking to join, not him
I doubt Tom or Mel will make it to the last 2. One of them might make it to the last four.
But I suspect that'll be:
Badenoch Jenrick Cleverly Patel
In the last Parliament that would have given us Cleverly plus one other for the grand final. I don't really know how the current PCP is made up. Are there any moderates left?
The choice to go to the members is from the 121 newly elected conservative mps and with a bit of luck they will have the sense to keep to the centre and ensure Jenrick and Patel are not sent to the members
Tugendhat and Cleverly would give the party a chance of moving away from the toxic right-wing
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
The abortion bills can favour either party, depending on the exact wording of the question.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
Yes and given the selection of Walz, it's clear it's the Democratic ticket that the extremist one on abortion.
Yes. He signed legislation dropping the requirements to record and notify babies born alive after abortion because of the numbers and impact of this hard fact.
He signed legislation, as @rcs1000 noted, that codified various bits of case law into statute to make sure the Supreme Court's inept attempts at judicial proceedings couldn't get rid of them.
Whether you agree with abortion or not, that's hardly an unreasonable position to take.
Meanwhile, agitation for a nationwide ban on abortion under any circumstances is not merely unreasonable and extreme, it's fucking ludicrous.
Vance is an absolutist, never mind an extremist. Anyone suggesting Walz is more extreme than him on this issue is simply working from dogmatism.
It works because about 90% off people never click the link or try and find actual evidence.
Python is awful - don't use whitespace to represent significancy...
It is no more ridiculous than using lots of brackets (of varying types).
Python has fantastic, clean syntax. It has incredible data science libraries. And these days, computers (and computing power) is cheap.
Other than occasional bits of Javascript, when I have a need to do something webby, I wouldn't use anything else. There's simply no point, because quick to write, readable code, is worth a lot more than a few processor cycles.
oh I just have a dislike of Python but I started off when Javascript was Livescript and Perl was the in thing.
I personally prefer the latest version of Delphi (i.e. C# )..
99% of my "coding" these days is data analysis, where Python + Pandas + Jupyter is absolutely superb, especially if you use Google's hosted Colab service. I'm playing around with massive datasets and running analyses in seconds that would historically have taken days. (And also required a team of people.)
You use whatever has the best libraries for whatever it is you want to do. If that's Python, then great. And if it's JavaScript, for God's sake use TypeScript!
The real problem with Python and JavaScript is the large numbers of self taught people.
Who haven’t heard of code structure, testing pyramids or even code versioning tools.
“No, Quant Boy, the Python file you emailed me isn’t going directly into production. Aside from the fact it doesn’t actually run, we need tests. And test data. And some QA. and running on all the non-prod environments first…. Also, where is the specification? ‘cause Compliance will quite interested in how we are pricing stuff.”
While I largely agree with what you say, it is also great to have the freedom to implement stuff as you see fit without having to specify every last widget to the n-th degree. Obviously that's easier when working iteratively as a sole developer on small projects.
Also, bad code implemented by self-taught developers is by no means restricted to Python and JavaScript. The codebase at my last workplace was a tangled mess of undocumented C++ dating back decades and presided over by an old-school self-taught coder with a pathological hatred of whitespace and line breaks. That was the last straw for me.
Indeed
Just that these days the self taught types are hacking in Python.
There was this mad guy who was going to replace Excel with a spreadsheet backed by Python as the scripting language. Whatever happened to him?
It is worth remembering both Arizona and Nevada will have abortion access on the ballot. In the mid-terms, in states where that was a question it proved damaging to the Republicans.
The abortion bills can favour either party, depending on the exact wording of the question.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
Yes and given the selection of Walz, it's clear it's the Democratic ticket that the extremist one on abortion.
Yes. He signed legislation dropping the requirements to record and notify babies born alive after abortion because of the numbers and impact of this hard fact.
It is, of course, worth remembering that the numbers here are tiny: in 2021 there were three cases of babies being born alive after failed abortions in Minnesota, and in 2020 there were none.
For what it's worth, I would severely limit abortions after 20 weeks, and would maintain the reporting requirement. But I think there's a tendency to claim that late term abortions are commonplace when they simply aren't. And when they do happen, it's usually because of very serious fetal abnormalities.
Seems to be a degree of panic among the Russian milibloggers over events in Kursk Oblast. Massive confusion about where Ukrainian forces are, and whether forces encountered are part of the main body of troops or sabotage/reconnaissance groups.
No sign yet of Russian reinforcements stabilizing the situation, though there are videos of lots of Ukrainian equipment being taken out by Lancet drones.
Still not sure whether this is just a raid, or the start of a large effort to seize Russian territory for use in bargaining during peace negotiations, or a strategy to lengthen the front line to weaken the Russian defence of occupied Ukrainian territory.
It’s all very weird. There’s a suggestion that the Russian town of Sudzha (highlighted) is about to fall to Ukrainian troops, who have already made several km of progress into Russia. The Russians appear to be totally flat-footed, with no spare troops anywhere to come to their aid.
Reports I've heard point out that troops in Russia are likely to be wet-behind-the-ears conscripts, who are not sent to Ukraine.
I've no idea on the UA tactics, unless they expect it to draw Russian troops away from frontlines in quantities justifying the 2-3k UA troops who are reported to be involved.
The UA troops involved are presumably some of the best they have, who must know that they are on a suicide mission if they can’t extract themselves.
But it does highlight that Russia can’t defend its own border, with their forces spread thinly to allow deployments further South.
If this is a successful raid by UA troops, we might well see this as a regular occurrence. I can’t imagine that the UA army can actually hold any Russian territory for more than a few days, but they’ve shown they can do it and draw what’s likely to be a massive redeployment of Russian troops from more important (to UA) places.
The folk looking at this escapade with greatest interest will be in Beijing.
Everything east of the Urals is yours for the taking, guys...
Oh indeed, if the Russians can’t defend their border with Ukraine 100km North of the conflict zone, what chance they can defend 10,000km of border anywhere else?
Comments
The ‘is-it-a-door-or-is-it-not-a-door’ question will already be front and centre at every engineering company and regulator. No, of course you don’t need a written process and two certified inspectors to sign off closing a door…
Which is a bit much compared to the £5 for the mini-fish, fishcake, chips and mushy peas, but OTOH they are cooked in front of you just like the Teppanyaki at the long-lamented Broadgate Tatsuso.
Three good options exist for going into Russia.
1: Cause Russian generals to panic, get rid of Putin, and sue for peace.
2: Cause Russia to panic, pull troops from the front line to defend Russian territory.
3: Blitz through to liberate Ukrainian territory via Russian territory, bypassing the mines and defences laid by Russia in Ukrainian territory.
If this is legit, it's most likely Ukrainian sabotage/reconnaissance groups causing mischief in Russian rear areas, rather than an advance that will reach that far, but it's reminiscent of how Ukrainian forces were able to cause havoc with Russian supply lines in the first month of the war.
You can see how this could develop into a major crisis of credibility for Putin if this continues.
But it does highlight that Russia can’t defend its own border, with their forces spread thinly to allow deployments further South.
If this is a successful raid by UA troops, we might well see this as a regular occurrence. I can’t imagine that the UA army can actually hold any Russian territory for more than a few days, but they’ve shown they can do it and draw what’s likely to be a massive redeployment of Russian troops from more important (to UA) places.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/europe/lads-love-taxi-driver-much-33402976?utm_source=linkCopy&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar
Head back to Kiev.
Has anyone had any success listening to things live using Twitter Spaces?
Ask Ron DeSantis.
https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/5/24/23736883/ron-desantis-presidential-announcement-twitter
Kate Hoey
@CatharineHoey
Still no answer to why it will take to next year before Alex Rudakubana the alleged murderer of the 3 young girls in South
Oct will stand trial ?
(TBH I think you will need to be creative.)
Which is why any credible peace deal requires NATO membership for Ukraine.
@Redistrict
·
2h
New
@CookPolitical
: It’s back to a Toss Up. Three Electoral College rating changes:
AZ: Lean R to Toss Up
NV Lean R to Toss Up
GA: Lean R to Toss Up
https://x.com/Redistrict/status/1821510305396220325
I believe the Kursk nuclear plant now only has women staff (men off to the meat grinder etc), brownie points for first western hack to interview them.
#New General Election Poll
🔴 Trump 49% (+5)
🔵 Harris 44%
Rasmussen #C - 1749 LV - 8/7
@PpollingNumbers
https://x.com/PpollingNumbers/status/1821548407418200187
@CNBC
General Election Poll
🔴 Trump 48% (+2)
🔵 Harris 46%
POS/Hart #B - 1001 RV - 8/4
https://x.com/PpollingNumbers/status/1821544979551916033
#New General Election Poll - Wisconsin
🔵 Harris 48% (+3)
🔴 Trump 45%
RMG #C - 800 RV - 8/5
https://x.com/PpollingNumbers/status/1821537198929289250
Farage not so good.
4: Advancing into Russia easier than retaking fortified occupied Ukraine, makes Ukraine look more like a "winner", and therefore more likely to sustain US support.
5: Seizing Russian territory without triggering an "escalation" makes it easier for nervous Western partners to believe that Ukraine can retake Crimea without triggering nuclear war.
6: Occupied areas of Russia can be traded for occupied areas of Ukraine in future peace negotiations.
Number 6 on the list of “things to do in Pristina” is a concrete sign saying “Newborn” in big letters
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g295385-d2343599-Reviews-Newborn_Monument-Pristina.html
https://x.com/ukraine_map/status/1821210546609250379
Also:
4. Take enough territory to force the Russians to make some very hard choices about troop deployment.
Moving troops from one front to another & having them be effective takes a week & ties up the supply network something awful. Sounds like a great way to take the pressure off the other fronts for a week or so.
oh, and possibly also:
5. Bring the rail line supplying the front north of Kharkiv under fire control of Ukranian drones / artillery.
Might be reasonable objectives if the Ukranians can take & hold this Russian territory.
Stretch goal:
6. Do a Prigozhin & take Kursk followed by a thunder run to Moscow before the Russians can do anything about it.
(They probably won’t do this one...)
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/tommy-robinson-moans-luxury-cyprus-holiday-ruined-after-stoking-riots-from-abroad/ar-AA1ossZj?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=5b7350eff73b47c2959123078a951c07&ei=12
“It was just a letters. Even not a “newborn”. Not really monument. Located a bit of outside a central walking street.”
There's a funny dotted line for the border with Serbia, and no "Kosovo" country named.
Republicans are already going hard on the Dems who have supported third-trimester abortions, including a certain VP candidate.
Polling on the subject almost everywhere in the US supports a more European approach, with a 12-20 week limit.
https://x.com/NoContextBrits/status/1821482936803250338
(1) Community notes
(2) People I follow
It means I see fewer Marjorie Taylor Greene posts. Which is good.
* I refuse to call it "X"
The roads were fast death traps though, with a cross marking a fatility every few hundred metres.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16962898
£10 to a charity of your choice if you come back with a photo of Monica Lewinsky on it in the style of the bull famously added to the Milton Keynes concrete cows.
(I will not take responsibility for resulting time in gaol.)
https://youtu.be/d3Mrfut-FSw?si=SkTdTR7GlZvO_bSE
Well that's one new thing - the People I follow option - that Musk's Twitter has implemented that I like.
But, until now, there's been an imbalance where Ukraine has had to defend all of its border with Russia and Belarus to defend against potential attack, and Russia haven't.
Making more of the border with Russia an active frontline probably favours Ukraine, and it's better if the frontline is inside Russia (as in Kursk) than inside Ukraine (as north of Kharkiv).
But I think we should send Leon to Cornhome.
This one was my personal favourite. The White House deleted it to avoid the context being given.
OTOH renaming it “X” ranks as one of the stupidest commercial decisions of the decade
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grierson's_Raid
Most ended badly, but a few…
They dreamed of this, particularly, in WWI - break the front and go for a run through open country …. http://www.landships.info/landships/tank_articles/musical_box.html
There was a program that created Notes that predated Musk, but it wasn't very widespread nor was it open source - and it had a different name.
The current version dates from Musk.
Yes we need more affordable homes to buy or rent but women continuing to prioritise graduate careers as their focus until their mid 30s-early 40s rather than marriage and children as well will continue to keep the fertility rate down
Including Tim Walz.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/minnesota-governor-signs-broad-abortion-rights-bill-law-rcna68513
Which has proven extremely popular.
Existing protections already exist.
Well done Walz.
But I suspect that'll be:
Badenoch
Jenrick
Cleverly
Patel
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/17/politics/kfile-jd-vance-abortion-comments/index.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy8x03e6605o
That's a big trade in that region, I believe.
The Bill Maher viewpoint, where he says that his opinions haven’t changed for decades, but those of his (Dem) party have changed significantly.
» show previous quotes
Looking at the stats for European countries, there seems to be a pretty close correlation between religious devotion and low birth rates. Countries with higher levels of church attendance (e.g. Italy, Spain, Greece) have lower birth rates than more secular countries (e.g. France, Denmark). So it would seem that less, rather than more, religion is needed in order to raise birth rates.
Not true, Catholic Ireland for example has the highest birth rate in Europe and above average religious devotion. In France it is immigrant Muslims having the most babies, same with Denmark. In Italy and Spain it is over 60s most religious and they are well past child bearing years.
The highest global birthrate in the world is in Africa which is also the most religious continent in the world
However, Project 2025 - which Vance is a pretty big supporter of - is pretty explicit in how the Federal government can go about making abortion illegal nationwide.
“Pray for S, one of the asylum seekers I worked with in Gateshead, beaten up by 2 men with iron bars last night.”
https://x.com/meggilley1/status/1821455725656240585?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw
The riots have stopped but a lower level violence will now replace it. Smaller acts. Local “events”
Bleak as bleh. I may actually move to lovely Pristina
“I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal,” he wrote.'
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/11/politics/trump-allies-project-2025/index.html
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Fertility_statistics
Also, I'd hesitate before calling Ireland 'Catholic' now.
Also, bad code implemented by self-taught developers is by no means restricted to Python and JavaScript. The codebase at my last workplace was a tangled mess of undocumented C++ dating back decades and presided over by an old-school self-taught coder with a pathological hatred of whitespace and line breaks. That was the last straw for me.
Everything east of the Urals is yours for the taking, guys...
Tugendhat and Cleverly would give the party a chance of moving away from the toxic right-wing
Whether you agree with abortion or not, that's hardly an unreasonable position to take.
Meanwhile, agitation for a nationwide ban on abortion under any circumstances is not merely unreasonable and extreme, it's fucking ludicrous.
Vance is an absolutist, never mind an extremist. Anyone suggesting Walz is more extreme than him on this issue is simply working from dogmatism.
Just that these days the self taught types are hacking in Python.
There was this mad guy who was going to replace Excel with a spreadsheet backed by Python as the scripting language. Whatever happened to him?
For what it's worth, I would severely limit abortions after 20 weeks, and would maintain the reporting requirement. But I think there's a tendency to claim that late term abortions are commonplace when they simply aren't. And when they do happen, it's usually because of very serious fetal abnormalities.