A 1% lead on the economy isn't really a huge margin for Harris though, especially given Hillary won the popular vote by 2% and lost still. It also depends in which swing states she has that lead or not
Harris leading on the economy is massive when she leads on everything else and the economy was Trump's last straw to grasp to.
She doesn't lead on immigration and the border where Trump is clearly ahead
How did you manage to paint yourself into the only-Trump-supporter-on-PB corner?
Because
Here's What Meghan Markle Said About Kamala Harris Back in 2020
"I'm so excited to see that kind of representation," the Duchess of Sussex said.
A 1% lead on the economy isn't really a huge margin for Harris though, especially given Hillary won the popular vote by 2% and lost still. It also depends in which swing states she has that lead or not
Harris leading on the economy is massive when she leads on everything else and the economy was Trump's last straw to grasp to.
She doesn't lead on immigration and the border where Trump is clearly ahead
How did you manage to paint yourself into the only-Trump-supporter-on-PB corner?
Because
Here's What Meghan Markle Said About Kamala Harris Back in 2020
"I'm so excited to see that kind of representation," the Duchess of Sussex said.
So what would we like to see ditched from the Olympics. In no particular order:
Football Rugby Tennis Golf Basketball
Boxing.
Boxing is off the list for Los Angeles. Seems it pissed off the IOC once too often.
Is boxing officially off or is the IOC still casting around for a boxing governing body after it sacked the Russia-dominated IBA?
Trouble with Los Angeles is they are introducing a bunch of American-only sports: softball, baseball and flag (American) football, along with squash and lacrosse. (They are also scheduling the athletics in week one, followed by swimming, rather than the other way round which is usual.)
One gets the impression they want to save boxing and it's all to do with the governing body problem.
The American sports are there as part of a programme of including optional events to encourage local interest, although why in the name of God the Paris organising committee picked break dancing rather than, say, boules, artistic Gallic shrugging or maybe synchronised slow motion tractor driving is beyond me.
Boxing is a great Olympic sport, one of the original sports from a century ago and the pinnacle of the amateur competition - but the organisation and governance is a total mess, and they probably need a timeout to sort themselves out.
Boxing is one of the original sports from the Ancient Games (although the rules were slightly different.)
The problem is indeed the governing body which is essentially a criminal organisation.
So what would we like to see ditched from the Olympics. In no particular order:
Football Rugby Tennis Golf Basketball
Boxing.
Boxing is off the list for Los Angeles. Seems it pissed off the IOC once too often.
Is boxing officially off or is the IOC still casting around for a boxing governing body after it sacked the Russia-dominated IBA?
Trouble with Los Angeles is they are introducing a bunch of American-only sports: softball, baseball and flag (American) football, along with squash and lacrosse. (They are also scheduling the athletics in week one, followed by swimming, rather than the other way round which is usual.)
I’m not certain, but I thought it was off the list for now, but could be back on the list pending future decisions.
So what would we like to see ditched from the Olympics. In no particular order:
Football Rugby Tennis Golf Basketball
Boxing.
Boxing is off the list for Los Angeles. Seems it pissed off the IOC once too often.
Is boxing officially off or is the IOC still casting around for a boxing governing body after it sacked the Russia-dominated IBA?
Trouble with Los Angeles is they are introducing a bunch of American-only sports: softball, baseball and flag (American) football, along with squash and lacrosse. (They are also scheduling the athletics in week one, followed by swimming, rather than the other way round which is usual.)
One gets the impression they want to save boxing and it's all to do with the governing body problem.
The American sports are there as part of a programme of including optional events to encourage local interest, although why in the name of God the Paris organising committee picked break dancing rather than, say, boules, artistic Gallic shrugging or maybe synchronised slow motion tractor driving is beyond me.
Boxing is a great Olympic sport, one of the original sports from a century ago and the pinnacle of the amateur competition - but the organisation and governance is a total mess, and they probably need a timeout to sort themselves out.
Great sport? Boxing glorifies violence against the person!
As our Sunil demonstrated a while back, there is more than one plausible way to compile a medal table.
The classic way is to list by golds first, and use silver and bronze as tie-breakers. The US tends however to do it by total medals. That usually enhances their position (and ours too).
Another way is to award points per medal - e.g. Gold 5, Silver 3, Bronze 1. Sunil did this and again it flattered us and the US. You can sod about with the ratios too, in which case you might well want to allocate relatively more for golds, because they really are a lot more valuable than silver and bronze.
A more controversial method would be to allocate more weight to the high status events. Most people accept that Track and Field is the centrepiece of the games, so medals there could be scored higher, with maybe a bonus for blue riband events like the 100m sprint, 1500m and marathon. Swimming, cycling and rowing would be in the mid-range. You could deduct points for winning the breakdancing.
How do like it so far?
Personally I think it was a highly successful games - for Paris, for France, and for the GB team.
I'd go for:
Gold 4 Silver 2 Bronze 1
There's also expectations versus reality.
The silver in synchronised swimming seems to be better than yet another silver in the velodrome or athletics relays.
And then there are comparisons with other countries - the relative performance is much worse this year.
The British team finishes seventh on golds, fourth on silvers and second on bronzes. I think the general idea now is to pretend that winning stuff isn't really that important after all, and to celebrate how hard everyone tried instead.
Team GB. Amongst the most successful losers in the world.
Think of the mountain of lottery tickets that were sacrificed to that end.
Edit: would make a good ski-jump in East London.
My original remarks may have been slightly churlish, but the skipload of bronzes does tell a story - as well as the outright collapses in performance in a variety of previously successful disciplines. As I've remarked previously, there'll be a number of sports governing bodies that are going to have their lotto loot cut drastically or removed at the end of all this.
Applauding effort is the correct approach for infants' school sports day or Parkrun, but elite level competition is a different matter. Celebrating near misses all the time is how you get the England football team and its extraordinary record of utter failure.
Those in charge of dishing out the lottery money are known for being pretty ruthless with both sports and athletes, when it comes to renewal of funding after each Games. Anyone older than about 20 who isn’t coming home from Paris with a medal, is likely to find themselves defunded and needing to find their own sponsors if they want to be in Los Angeles. It’s a brutal industry if you’re not winning.
As our Sunil demonstrated a while back, there is more than one plausible way to compile a medal table.
The classic way is to list by golds first, and use silver and bronze as tie-breakers. The US tends however to do it by total medals. That usually enhances their position (and ours too).
Another way is to award points per medal - e.g. Gold 5, Silver 3, Bronze 1. Sunil did this and again it flattered us and the US. You can sod about with the ratios too, in which case you might well want to allocate relatively more for golds, because they really are a lot more valuable than silver and bronze.
A more controversial method would be to allocate more weight to the high status events. Most people accept that Track and Field is the centrepiece of the games, so medals there could be scored higher, with maybe a bonus for blue riband events like the 100m sprint, 1500m and marathon. Swimming, cycling and rowing would be in the mid-range. You could deduct points for winning the breakdancing.
How do like it so far?
Personally I think it was a highly successful games - for Paris, for France, and for the GB team.
I'd go for:
Gold 4 Silver 2 Bronze 1
There's also expectations versus reality.
The silver in synchronised swimming seems to be better than yet another silver in the velodrome or athletics relays.
And then there are comparisons with other countries - the relative performance is much worse this year.
The British team finishes seventh on golds, fourth on silvers and second on bronzes. I think the general idea now is to pretend that winning stuff isn't really that important after all, and to celebrate how hard everyone tried instead.
Team GB. Amongst the most successful losers in the world.
Think of the mountain of lottery tickets that were sacrificed to that end.
Edit: would make a good ski-jump in East London.
My original remarks may have been slightly churlish, but the skipload of bronzes does tell a story - as well as the outright collapses in performance in a variety of previously successful disciplines. As I've remarked previously, there'll be a number of sports governing bodies that are going to have their lotto loot cut drastically or removed at the end of all this.
Applauding effort is the correct approach for infants' school sports day or Parkrun, but elite level competition is a different matter. Celebrating near misses all the time is how you get the England football team and its extraordinary record of utter failure.
Those in charge of dishing out the lottery money are known for being pretty ruthless with both sports and athletes, when it comes to renewal of funding after each Games. Anyone older than about 20 who isn’t coming home from Paris with a medal, is likely to find themselves defunded and needing to find their own sponsors if they want to be in Los Angeles. It’s a brutal industry if you’re not winning.
A 1% lead on the economy isn't really a huge margin for Harris though, especially given Hillary won the popular vote by 2% and lost still. It also depends in which swing states she has that lead or not
Harris leading on the economy is massive when she leads on everything else and the economy was Trump's last straw to grasp to.
She doesn't lead on immigration and the border where Trump is clearly ahead
How did you manage to paint yourself into the only-Trump-supporter-on-PB corner?
Because
Here's What Meghan Markle Said About Kamala Harris Back in 2020
"I'm so excited to see that kind of representation," the Duchess of Sussex said.
Trump is melting under the pressure. He's now angrily claiming Harris used AI to create her crowd scenes.
What have the GOP done? They've nominated someone having a mental breakdown in public.
Trump has always been clearly insane, and obviously stupid. Admittedly I find it hard to square this with him actually having been able to deliver a broadly coherent Presidency, but I'm sure the base observations are true.
It's entirely clear that he'll hate being a clear second to anyone, and he'll hate it even worse if that's a black female.
So what would we like to see ditched from the Olympics. In no particular order:
Football Rugby Tennis Golf Basketball
Boxing.
Boxing is off the list for Los Angeles. Seems it pissed off the IOC once too often.
Is boxing officially off or is the IOC still casting around for a boxing governing body after it sacked the Russia-dominated IBA?
Trouble with Los Angeles is they are introducing a bunch of American-only sports: softball, baseball and flag (American) football, along with squash and lacrosse. (They are also scheduling the athletics in week one, followed by swimming, rather than the other way round which is usual.)
One gets the impression they want to save boxing and it's all to do with the governing body problem.
The American sports are there as part of a programme of including optional events to encourage local interest, although why in the name of God the Paris organising committee picked break dancing rather than, say, boules, artistic Gallic shrugging or maybe synchronised slow motion tractor driving is beyond me.
Boxing is a great Olympic sport, one of the original sports from a century ago and the pinnacle of the amateur competition - but the organisation and governance is a total mess, and they probably need a timeout to sort themselves out.
Great sport? Boxing glorifies violence against the person!
Given what we now know about brain injuries, it's really not justifiable.
So what would we like to see ditched from the Olympics. In no particular order:
Football Rugby Tennis Golf Basketball
Boxing.
Boxing is off the list for Los Angeles. Seems it pissed off the IOC once too often.
Is boxing officially off or is the IOC still casting around for a boxing governing body after it sacked the Russia-dominated IBA?
Trouble with Los Angeles is they are introducing a bunch of American-only sports: softball, baseball and flag (American) football, along with squash and lacrosse. (They are also scheduling the athletics in week one, followed by swimming, rather than the other way round which is usual.)
I’m not certain, but I thought it was off the list for now, but could be back on the list pending future decisions.
The cynic in me thinks they will find a way to get it on the programme. It certainly gets bums on seats and that will concentrate minds.
I kind of hope they ban it this time round at least. I just don't see how the IOC can do any kind of acceptable deal with the hoods that run the game now.
Currently the RCP EC states' poll average has Trump ahead still 287 EC votes to 251 for Harris.
Trump holds Ohio and Florida yes as well as North Carolina but also picks up Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona and Nevada of key swing states Biden won in 2020.
So what would we like to see ditched from the Olympics. In no particular order:
Football Rugby Tennis Golf Basketball
Boxing.
Boxing is off the list for Los Angeles. Seems it pissed off the IOC once too often.
Is boxing officially off or is the IOC still casting around for a boxing governing body after it sacked the Russia-dominated IBA?
Trouble with Los Angeles is they are introducing a bunch of American-only sports: softball, baseball and flag (American) football, along with squash and lacrosse. (They are also scheduling the athletics in week one, followed by swimming, rather than the other way round which is usual.)
One gets the impression they want to save boxing and it's all to do with the governing body problem.
The American sports are there as part of a programme of including optional events to encourage local interest, although why in the name of God the Paris organising committee picked break dancing rather than, say, boules, artistic Gallic shrugging or maybe synchronised slow motion tractor driving is beyond me.
Boxing is a great Olympic sport, one of the original sports from a century ago and the pinnacle of the amateur competition - but the organisation and governance is a total mess, and they probably need a timeout to sort themselves out.
Great sport? Boxing glorifies violence against the person!
Given what we now know about brain injuries, it's really not justifiable.
A lot of familiar and popular sports are coming under stress for the same reason.
So what would we like to see ditched from the Olympics. In no particular order:
Football Rugby Tennis Golf Basketball
Boxing.
Boxing is off the list for Los Angeles. Seems it pissed off the IOC once too often.
Is boxing officially off or is the IOC still casting around for a boxing governing body after it sacked the Russia-dominated IBA?
Trouble with Los Angeles is they are introducing a bunch of American-only sports: softball, baseball and flag (American) football, along with squash and lacrosse. (They are also scheduling the athletics in week one, followed by swimming, rather than the other way round which is usual.)
One gets the impression they want to save boxing and it's all to do with the governing body problem.
The American sports are there as part of a programme of including optional events to encourage local interest, although why in the name of God the Paris organising committee picked break dancing rather than, say, boules, artistic Gallic shrugging or maybe synchronised slow motion tractor driving is beyond me.
Boxing is a great Olympic sport, one of the original sports from a century ago and the pinnacle of the amateur competition - but the organisation and governance is a total mess, and they probably need a timeout to sort themselves out.
Great sport? Boxing glorifies violence against the person!
Boxing ties together two current PB debates. Olympics but also, via the Marquess of Queensbury, free speech and libel.
Trump is melting under the pressure. He's now angrily claiming Harris used AI to create her crowd scenes.
What have the GOP done? They've nominated someone having a mental breakdown in public.
Trump has always been clearly insane, and obviously stupid. Admittedly I find it hard to square this with him actually having been able to deliver a broadly coherent Presidency, but I'm sure the base observations are true.
It's entirely clear that he'll hate being a clear second to anyone, and he'll hate it even worse if that's a black female.
Fairly competent/conventional team (with some blatant exceptions) around him last time around.
It would be very, very different if he were to be elected this time.
Currently the RCP EC states' poll average has Trump ahead still 287 EC votes to 251 for Harris.
Trump holds Ohio and Florida yes as well as North Carolina but also picks up Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona and Nevada of key swing states Biden won in 2020.
As our Sunil demonstrated a while back, there is more than one plausible way to compile a medal table.
The classic way is to list by golds first, and use silver and bronze as tie-breakers. The US tends however to do it by total medals. That usually enhances their position (and ours too).
Another way is to award points per medal - e.g. Gold 5, Silver 3, Bronze 1. Sunil did this and again it flattered us and the US. You can sod about with the ratios too, in which case you might well want to allocate relatively more for golds, because they really are a lot more valuable than silver and bronze.
A more controversial method would be to allocate more weight to the high status events. Most people accept that Track and Field is the centrepiece of the games, so medals there could be scored higher, with maybe a bonus for blue riband events like the 100m sprint, 1500m and marathon. Swimming, cycling and rowing would be in the mid-range. You could deduct points for winning the breakdancing.
How do like it so far?
Personally I think it was a highly successful games - for Paris, for France, and for the GB team.
I'd go for:
Gold 4 Silver 2 Bronze 1
There's also expectations versus reality.
The silver in synchronised swimming seems to be better than yet another silver in the velodrome or athletics relays.
And then there are comparisons with other countries - the relative performance is much worse this year.
The British team finishes seventh on golds, fourth on silvers and second on bronzes. I think the general idea now is to pretend that winning stuff isn't really that important after all, and to celebrate how hard everyone tried instead.
Team GB. Amongst the most successful losers in the world.
Think of the mountain of lottery tickets that were sacrificed to that end.
Edit: would make a good ski-jump in East London.
My original remarks may have been slightly churlish, but the skipload of bronzes does tell a story - as well as the outright collapses in performance in a variety of previously successful disciplines. As I've remarked previously, there'll be a number of sports governing bodies that are going to have their lotto loot cut drastically or removed at the end of all this.
Applauding effort is the correct approach for infants' school sports day or Parkrun, but elite level competition is a different matter. Celebrating near misses all the time is how you get the England football team and its extraordinary record of utter failure.
Those in charge of dishing out the lottery money are known for being pretty ruthless with both sports and athletes, when it comes to renewal of funding after each Games. Anyone older than about 20 who isn’t coming home from Paris with a medal, is likely to find themselves defunded and needing to find their own sponsors if they want to be in Los Angeles. It’s a brutal industry if you’re not winning.
So what would we like to see ditched from the Olympics. In no particular order:
Football Rugby Tennis Golf Basketball
Boxing.
Boxing is off the list for Los Angeles. Seems it pissed off the IOC once too often.
Is boxing officially off or is the IOC still casting around for a boxing governing body after it sacked the Russia-dominated IBA?
Trouble with Los Angeles is they are introducing a bunch of American-only sports: softball, baseball and flag (American) football, along with squash and lacrosse. (They are also scheduling the athletics in week one, followed by swimming, rather than the other way round which is usual.)
One gets the impression they want to save boxing and it's all to do with the governing body problem.
The American sports are there as part of a programme of including optional events to encourage local interest, although why in the name of God the Paris organising committee picked break dancing rather than, say, boules, artistic Gallic shrugging or maybe synchronised slow motion tractor driving is beyond me.
Boxing is a great Olympic sport, one of the original sports from a century ago and the pinnacle of the amateur competition - but the organisation and governance is a total mess, and they probably need a timeout to sort themselves out.
Boxing is one of the original sports from the Ancient Games (although the rules were slightly different.)
The problem is indeed the governing body which is essentially a criminal organisation.
It's best dropped.
If I were you, I'd withdraw the bit in bold. You don't want to get sued for libel or worse, beaten up by a furious Mafiosa.
Trump is melting under the pressure. He's now angrily claiming Harris used AI to create her crowd scenes.
What have the GOP done? They've nominated someone having a mental breakdown in public.
Trump has always been clearly insane, and obviously stupid. Admittedly I find it hard to square this with him actually having been able to deliver a broadly coherent Presidency, but I'm sure the base observations are true.
It's entirely clear that he'll hate being a clear second to anyone, and he'll hate it even worse if that's a black female.
Fairly competent/conventional team (with some blatant exceptions) around him last time around.
It would be very, very different if he were to be elected this time.
The enormous gap between the reality and image his cult believes in is a bubble.
The problem is, that in finance (for example), many people have gone bust waiting for the irrationality to end in a market.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
Trump is melting under the pressure. He's now angrily claiming Harris used AI to create her crowd scenes.
What have the GOP done? They've nominated someone having a mental breakdown in public.
Total melt down is possible. A massive electoral college landslide would make any attempt at contesting the result ridiculous.
Trump doesn't see ridiculous the way normal human adults do - see, e.g. the ghastly decoration of the Trump casino in Atlantic City, the numerous felony convictions over trivia, the attempted civil war in 2021, the call to Zelensky tying foreign aid to an investigation into Hunter Biden and his love life.
So just because sane people think it's ridiculous it doesn't mean it won't happen.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
Some excellent suggestions there, Andy!
I would add that I personally would object to dressage for the same reason I object to the likes of art swimming and breakdancing, except that dressage was part of the original games. It therefore gets a grudging pass with me.
A 1% lead on the economy isn't really a huge margin for Harris though, especially given Hillary won the popular vote by 2% and lost still. It also depends in which swing states she has that lead or not
Harris leading on the economy is massive when she leads on everything else and the economy was Trump's last straw to grasp to.
She doesn't lead on immigration and the border where Trump is clearly ahead
How did you manage to paint yourself into the only-Trump-supporter-on-PB corner?
Because
Here's What Meghan Markle Said About Kamala Harris Back in 2020
"I'm so excited to see that kind of representation," the Duchess of Sussex said.
A 1% lead on the economy isn't really a huge margin for Harris though, especially given Hillary won the popular vote by 2% and lost still. It also depends in which swing states she has that lead or not
Harris leading on the economy is massive when she leads on everything else and the economy was Trump's last straw to grasp to.
She doesn't lead on immigration and the border where Trump is clearly ahead
How did you manage to paint yourself into the only-Trump-supporter-on-PB corner?
Because
Here's What Meghan Markle Said About Kamala Harris Back in 2020
"I'm so excited to see that kind of representation," the Duchess of Sussex said.
As our Sunil demonstrated a while back, there is more than one plausible way to compile a medal table.
The classic way is to list by golds first, and use silver and bronze as tie-breakers. The US tends however to do it by total medals. That usually enhances their position (and ours too).
Another way is to award points per medal - e.g. Gold 5, Silver 3, Bronze 1. Sunil did this and again it flattered us and the US. You can sod about with the ratios too, in which case you might well want to allocate relatively more for golds, because they really are a lot more valuable than silver and bronze.
A more controversial method would be to allocate more weight to the high status events. Most people accept that Track and Field is the centrepiece of the games, so medals there could be scored higher, with maybe a bonus for blue riband events like the 100m sprint, 1500m and marathon. Swimming, cycling and rowing would be in the mid-range. You could deduct points for winning the breakdancing.
How do like it so far?
Personally I think it was a highly successful games - for Paris, for France, and for the GB team.
I'd go for:
Gold 4 Silver 2 Bronze 1
There's also expectations versus reality.
The silver in synchronised swimming seems to be better than yet another silver in the velodrome or athletics relays.
And then there are comparisons with other countries - the relative performance is much worse this year.
The British team finishes seventh on golds, fourth on silvers and second on bronzes. I think the general idea now is to pretend that winning stuff isn't really that important after all, and to celebrate how hard everyone tried instead.
Team GB. Amongst the most successful losers in the world.
Think of the mountain of lottery tickets that were sacrificed to that end.
Edit: would make a good ski-jump in East London.
My original remarks may have been slightly churlish, but the skipload of bronzes does tell a story - as well as the outright collapses in performance in a variety of previously successful disciplines. As I've remarked previously, there'll be a number of sports governing bodies that are going to have their lotto loot cut drastically or removed at the end of all this.
Applauding effort is the correct approach for infants' school sports day or Parkrun, but elite level competition is a different matter. Celebrating near misses all the time is how you get the England football team and its extraordinary record of utter failure.
Those in charge of dishing out the lottery money are known for being pretty ruthless with both sports and athletes, when it comes to renewal of funding after each Games. Anyone older than about 20 who isn’t coming home from Paris with a medal, is likely to find themselves defunded and needing to find their own sponsors if they want to be in Los Angeles. It’s a brutal industry if you’re not winning.
Some people are so desperate for GB to have medals that they'lll campaign for that as an OLympic sport alongside (as already discussed) twoccing and pocket billiards.
A 1% lead on the economy isn't really a huge margin for Harris though, especially given Hillary won the popular vote by 2% and lost still. It also depends in which swing states she has that lead or not
Harris leading on the economy is massive when she leads on everything else and the economy was Trump's last straw to grasp to.
She doesn't lead on immigration and the border where Trump is clearly ahead
How did you manage to paint yourself into the only-Trump-supporter-on-PB corner?
Because
Here's What Meghan Markle Said About Kamala Harris Back in 2020
"I'm so excited to see that kind of representation," the Duchess of Sussex said.
A 1% lead on the economy isn't really a huge margin for Harris though, especially given Hillary won the popular vote by 2% and lost still. It also depends in which swing states she has that lead or not
Harris leading on the economy is massive when she leads on everything else and the economy was Trump's last straw to grasp to.
She doesn't lead on immigration and the border where Trump is clearly ahead
How did you manage to paint yourself into the only-Trump-supporter-on-PB corner?
Because
Here's What Meghan Markle Said About Kamala Harris Back in 2020
"I'm so excited to see that kind of representation," the Duchess of Sussex said.
Lying Trump and other MAGA conspiracy theorists are claiming a photo of the crowd in front of Kamala Harris’ Air Force Two is “fake” and “there was nobody there”. The crowd was real, here’s a video.
A 1% lead on the economy isn't really a huge margin for Harris though, especially given Hillary won the popular vote by 2% and lost still. It also depends in which swing states she has that lead or not
Harris leading on the economy is massive when she leads on everything else and the economy was Trump's last straw to grasp to.
She doesn't lead on immigration and the border where Trump is clearly ahead
How did you manage to paint yourself into the only-Trump-supporter-on-PB corner?
Because
Here's What Meghan Markle Said About Kamala Harris Back in 2020
"I'm so excited to see that kind of representation," the Duchess of Sussex said.
A 1% lead on the economy isn't really a huge margin for Harris though, especially given Hillary won the popular vote by 2% and lost still. It also depends in which swing states she has that lead or not
Harris leading on the economy is massive when she leads on everything else and the economy was Trump's last straw to grasp to.
She doesn't lead on immigration and the border where Trump is clearly ahead
How did you manage to paint yourself into the only-Trump-supporter-on-PB corner?
Because
Here's What Meghan Markle Said About Kamala Harris Back in 2020
"I'm so excited to see that kind of representation," the Duchess of Sussex said.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
I rather like that, but am baffled by the comparison of sailing with ballooning. Sailing is physically challenging as well as requiring skill. I presume with ballooning you just get blown along with the wind so you haven't even got that comparison because tacking on a beat (the most exciting and strenuous part of sailing) will take you into the direction of the wind rather than being blown along by it.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
The breaking was great! Drop the equestrian events. The Olympics should be for humans only, not horses. Add kabaddi and kho-kho to get India excited. No need for golf, but we should add croquet. There’s a sport of skill and very televisual! Maybe add unicycle hockey and unicycle BMX racing. Too many arbitrary team sports where you just add together people’s performances (e.g. team gymnastics): they just benefit the big, rich countries. Drop them.
Lying Trump and other MAGA conspiracy theorists are claiming a photo of the crowd in front of Kamala Harris’ Air Force Two is “fake” and “there was nobody there”. The crowd was real, here’s a video.
Jules Morgan 🧸 @glamelegance · 1h When they start arguing about her crowd size, they’re losing.
Do any PBers have memories looooooooong enough, to remember that the Trump Administration began, with the newly-installed POTUS making absurd claims concerning crowd size at his innauguration? Which were refuted by official crowd counters AND photographic evidence?
Having been mean about Britain for weeks, gotta say Richmond riverside looks pretty good this evening
Somehow we need to make all the left behind towns have a hint of Richmond upon Thames. It’s not going to be easy - but we really really really need to try
Cleaning out town centres, getting rid of litter, erasing graffiti, giving little towns a reason to be proud. That’s the way. The French do it. We can, too
Lying Trump and other MAGA conspiracy theorists are claiming a photo of the crowd in front of Kamala Harris’ Air Force Two is “fake” and “there was nobody there”. The crowd was real, here’s a video.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
Some excellent suggestions there, Andy!
I would add that I personally would object to dressage for the same reason I object to the likes of art swimming and breakdancing, except that dressage was part of the original games. It therefore gets a grudging pass with me.
Personally, I don't think there should be any sports in summer or winter olympics whuch rely on judges to tell you how nicely you're doing it. This includes gymnastics. But a friend of mine has suggested a less fundamentalist approach: you can have events which rely on judges, but only if there is a significant element of danger involved. Thus, gymnastics, diving, bmxing in: breaking, surfing, ice dancing out.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
Some excellent suggestions there, Andy!
I would add that I personally would object to dressage for the same reason I object to the likes of art swimming and breakdancing, except that dressage was part of the original games. It therefore gets a grudging pass with me.
Personally, I don't think there should be any sports in summer or winter olympics whuch rely on judges to tell you how nicely you're doing it. This includes gymnastics. But a friend of mine has suggested a less fundamentalist approach: you can have events which rely on judges, but only if there is a significant element of danger involved. Thus, gymnastics, diving, bmxing in: breaking, surfing, ice dancing out.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
Some excellent suggestions there, Andy!
I would add that I personally would object to dressage for the same reason I object to the likes of art swimming and breakdancing, except that dressage was part of the original games. It therefore gets a grudging pass with me.
Personally, I don't think there should be any sports in summer or winter olympics whuch rely on judges to tell you how nicely you're doing it. This includes gymnastics. But a friend of mine has suggested a less fundamentalist approach: you can have events which rely on judges, but only if there is a significant element of danger involved. Thus, gymnastics, diving, bmxing in: breaking, surfing, ice dancing out.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
Some excellent suggestions there, Andy!
I would add that I personally would object to dressage for the same reason I object to the likes of art swimming and breakdancing, except that dressage was part of the original games. It therefore gets a grudging pass with me.
Personally, I don't think there should be any sports in summer or winter olympics whuch rely on judges to tell you how nicely you're doing it. This includes gymnastics. But a friend of mine has suggested a less fundamentalist approach: you can have events which rely on judges, but only if there is a significant element of danger involved. Thus, gymnastics, diving, bmxing in: breaking, surfing, ice dancing out.
On medals, I'm interested in the -6 on cycling golds, and why the total is so low.
I think the absence of Charlotte Dujardin the horse dancer, after whipping her horse abusively (24 strokes in one minute), may be significant. She has 3 golds, 1 silver and 2 bronzes from the last 3 Olympics.
On the cycling, I think two points:
1 - I get the impression that the training regime is marginally less hard charging than previously, although it is also the case that other countries have had 15-20 years to catch up since we really started getting our edge in 2004.
2 - I'm interested in whether our poisonous road culture, which is notably worse than most others in Western Europe in attitudes, has any long term impact on participation.
I haven't been able to find enough data to inform on this one (I suspect this impacts at this time more on wider professional cycling and where they choose to base), yet it is only 9 weeks since Kate Richardson had to withdraw from the Womens Tour de France after a driver of a 4x4 left her with a fractured scapula after hitting her when squeezing past on a 4m wide country lane near Holmfirth.
I suspect we had a golden age of cyclists of whom the Kennys were the last.
The loss of Katie Archibald was also a blow.
What seemed worrying in that in the distance events the GB team were nowhere in both Omniums and the Men's Madison. And didn't seem to have a clue as to how to get into them.
Yes - that's interesting comment. I don't follow the sport in detail, as my activism focus is heavily around access / equality / inclusiveness, and within that the political angle.
I have no clear information on how strong youth teams are, but I am well aware of a resource crisis within the UK event sector.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
I rather like that, but am baffled by the comparison of sailing with ballooning. Sailing is physically challenging as well as requiring skill. I presume with ballooning you just get blown along with the wind so you haven't even got that comparison because tacking on a beat (the most exciting and strenuous part of sailing) will take you into the direction of the wind rather than being blown along by it.
I’m possibly wanting ballooning more than I should. I think a huge ballooning competition would be an epic was to open the Games. Of course, it’s very weather-dependent. If it’s blowing a hooly, say, they might have to cancel it. Unless they decide it has to go ahead anyway, in which case it could be even more of a spectacle.
Maybe we could add a propellor, driven from an on-board bicycle to give some more control and direction. Probably getting a bit too silly, though.
(Considers breaking, synchronised drowning, and dressage). Nah, let’s go with it.
Having been mean about Britain for weeks, gotta say Richmond riverside looks pretty good this evening
Somehow we need to make all the left behind towns have a hint of Richmond upon Thames. It’s not going to be easy - but we really really really need to try
Cleaning out town centres, getting rid of litter, erasing graffiti, giving little towns a reason to be proud. That’s the way. The French do it. We can, too
I sketched out an idea for a thread header about this a while back. Possibly a new raison d'etre for the Tories: making Britain beautiful. Somewhere we can be proud to leave to our grandchildren.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
Some excellent suggestions there, Andy!
I would add that I personally would object to dressage for the same reason I object to the likes of art swimming and breakdancing, except that dressage was part of the original games. It therefore gets a grudging pass with me.
Personally, I don't think there should be any sports in summer or winter olympics whuch rely on judges to tell you how nicely you're doing it. This includes gymnastics. But a friend of mine has suggested a less fundamentalist approach: you can have events which rely on judges, but only if there is a significant element of danger involved. Thus, gymnastics, diving, bmxing in: breaking, surfing, ice dancing out.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
Some excellent suggestions there, Andy!
I would add that I personally would object to dressage for the same reason I object to the likes of art swimming and breakdancing, except that dressage was part of the original games. It therefore gets a grudging pass with me.
Personally, I don't think there should be any sports in summer or winter olympics whuch rely on judges to tell you how nicely you're doing it. This includes gymnastics. But a friend of mine has suggested a less fundamentalist approach: you can have events which rely on judges, but only if there is a significant element of danger involved. Thus, gymnastics, diving, bmxing in: breaking, surfing, ice dancing out.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
Some excellent suggestions there, Andy!
I would add that I personally would object to dressage for the same reason I object to the likes of art swimming and breakdancing, except that dressage was part of the original games. It therefore gets a grudging pass with me.
Personally, I don't think there should be any sports in summer or winter olympics whuch rely on judges to tell you how nicely you're doing it. This includes gymnastics. But a friend of mine has suggested a less fundamentalist approach: you can have events which rely on judges, but only if there is a significant element of danger involved. Thus, gymnastics, diving, bmxing in: breaking, surfing, ice dancing out.
On medals, I'm interested in the -6 on cycling golds, and why the total is so low.
I think the absence of Charlotte Dujardin the horse dancer, after whipping her horse abusively (24 strokes in one minute), may be significant. She has 3 golds, 1 silver and 2 bronzes from the last 3 Olympics.
On the cycling, I think two points:
1 - I get the impression that the training regime is marginally less hard charging than previously, although it is also the case that other countries have had 15-20 years to catch up since we really started getting our edge in 2004.
2 - I'm interested in whether our poisonous road culture, which is notably worse than most others in Western Europe in attitudes, has any long term impact on participation.
I haven't been able to find enough data to inform on this one (I suspect this impacts at this time more on wider professional cycling and where they choose to base), yet it is only 9 weeks since Kate Richardson had to withdraw from the Womens Tour de France after a driver of a 4x4 left her with a fractured scapula after hitting her when squeezing past on a 4m wide country lane near Holmfirth.
I suspect we had a golden age of cyclists of whom the Kennys were the last.
The loss of Katie Archibald was also a blow.
What seemed worrying in that in the distance events the GB team were nowhere in both Omniums and the Men's Madison. And didn't seem to have a clue as to how to get into them.
Yes - that's interesting comment. I don't follow the sport in detail, as my activism focus is heavily around access / equality / inclusiveness, and within that the political angle.
I have no clear information on how strong youth teams are, but I am well aware of a resource crisis within the UK event sector.
Is it not just a case of GB spotting a gap to be exploited a few years back, and other nations having caught up? We're not doing badly - just not dominating like we did 12 years ago.
A Finnish neo-Nazi shared instructions to commit arson and urged people to file false reports in order to waste police resources during the riots last week.
The man in his early twenties, whom The Times is not naming, can be revealed as an instigator of the far-right action last week. He helped run a group chat on the app Telegram, where tens of thousands of people shared ideas for riot locations and hateful content about immigrants and Jewish people.
Social media sites have come under increased scrutiny since the stabbings in Southport. Misinformation about the suspect spread quickly, as well as locations for possible protests and incitement for riots.
The individual is understood to live in southern Finland and began posting extreme right-wing content online as a teenager. According to police records unearthed by journalists at YLE, the Finnish public broadcaster, he was previously investigated by Finnish police for making an illegal threat. He became an administrator for the Southport Wake Up group on Telegram, which became connected to the riots.
Having been mean about Britain for weeks, gotta say Richmond riverside looks pretty good this evening
Somehow we need to make all the left behind towns have a hint of Richmond upon Thames. It’s not going to be easy - but we really really really need to try
Cleaning out town centres, getting rid of litter, erasing graffiti, giving little towns a reason to be proud. That’s the way. The French do it. We can, too
I sketched out an idea for a thread header about this a while back. Possibly a new raison d'etre for the Tories: making Britain beautiful. Somewhere we can be proud to leave to our grandchildren.
Conservatives should care about conserving the beauty of our towns and landscape, it's the way to regain the light green vote in the Shires in particular.
It's not something they have been interested in recent years.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
I rather like that, but am baffled by the comparison of sailing with ballooning. Sailing is physically challenging as well as requiring skill. I presume with ballooning you just get blown along with the wind so you haven't even got that comparison because tacking on a beat (the most exciting and strenuous part of sailing) will take you into the direction of the wind rather than being blown along by it.
I’m possibly wanting ballooning more than I should. I think a huge ballooning competition would be an epic was to open the Games. Of course, it’s very weather-dependent. If it’s blowing a hooly, say, they might have to cancel it. Unless they decide it has to go ahead anyway, in which case it could be even more of a spectacle.
Maybe we could add a propellor, driven from an on-board bicycle to give some more control and direction. Probably getting a bit too silly, though.
(Considers breaking, synchronised drowning, and dressage). Nah, let’s go with it.
On dressage: there is no obvious reason why the Olympics should be restricted to humans, but nor an obvious reason why the only non-human competitors should be horses. What about greyhound racing?
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
I rather like that, but am baffled by the comparison of sailing with ballooning. Sailing is physically challenging as well as requiring skill. I presume with ballooning you just get blown along with the wind so you haven't even got that comparison because tacking on a beat (the most exciting and strenuous part of sailing) will take you into the direction of the wind rather than being blown along by it.
I’m possibly wanting ballooning more than I should. I think a huge ballooning competition would be an epic was to open the Games. Of course, it’s very weather-dependent. If it’s blowing a hooly, say, they might have to cancel it. Unless they decide it has to go ahead anyway, in which case it could be even more of a spectacle.
Maybe we could add a propellor, driven from an on-board bicycle to give some more control and direction. Probably getting a bit too silly, though.
(Considers breaking, synchronised drowning, and dressage). Nah, let’s go with it.
On dressage: there is no obvious reason why the Olympics should be restricted to humans, but nor an obvious reason why the only non-human competitors should be horses. What about greyhound racing?
I don’t think we have big enough greyhounds to sit on.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
I rather like that, but am baffled by the comparison of sailing with ballooning. Sailing is physically challenging as well as requiring skill. I presume with ballooning you just get blown along with the wind so you haven't even got that comparison because tacking on a beat (the most exciting and strenuous part of sailing) will take you into the direction of the wind rather than being blown along by it.
I’m possibly wanting ballooning more than I should. I think a huge ballooning competition would be an epic was to open the Games. Of course, it’s very weather-dependent. If it’s blowing a hooly, say, they might have to cancel it. Unless they decide it has to go ahead anyway, in which case it could be even more of a spectacle.
Maybe we could add a propellor, driven from an on-board bicycle to give some more control and direction. Probably getting a bit too silly, though.
(Considers breaking, synchronised drowning, and dressage). Nah, let’s go with it.
On dressage: there is no obvious reason why the Olympics should be restricted to humans, but nor an obvious reason why the only non-human competitors should be horses. What about greyhound racing?
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
Some excellent suggestions there, Andy!
I would add that I personally would object to dressage for the same reason I object to the likes of art swimming and breakdancing, except that dressage was part of the original games. It therefore gets a grudging pass with me.
Personally, I don't think there should be any sports in summer or winter olympics whuch rely on judges to tell you how nicely you're doing it. This includes gymnastics. But a friend of mine has suggested a less fundamentalist approach: you can have events which rely on judges, but only if there is a significant element of danger involved. Thus, gymnastics, diving, bmxing in: breaking, surfing, ice dancing out.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
I rather like that, but am baffled by the comparison of sailing with ballooning. Sailing is physically challenging as well as requiring skill. I presume with ballooning you just get blown along with the wind so you haven't even got that comparison because tacking on a beat (the most exciting and strenuous part of sailing) will take you into the direction of the wind rather than being blown along by it.
I’m possibly wanting ballooning more than I should. I think a huge ballooning competition would be an epic was to open the Games. Of course, it’s very weather-dependent. If it’s blowing a hooly, say, they might have to cancel it. Unless they decide it has to go ahead anyway, in which case it could be even more of a spectacle.
Maybe we could add a propellor, driven from an on-board bicycle to give some more control and direction. Probably getting a bit too silly, though.
(Considers breaking, synchronised drowning, and dressage). Nah, let’s go with it.
On dressage: there is no obvious reason why the Olympics should be restricted to humans, but nor an obvious reason why the only non-human competitors should be horses. What about greyhound racing?
I don’t think we have big enough greyhounds to sit on.
Having been mean about Britain for weeks, gotta say Richmond riverside looks pretty good this evening
Somehow we need to make all the left behind towns have a hint of Richmond upon Thames. It’s not going to be easy - but we really really really need to try
Cleaning out town centres, getting rid of litter, erasing graffiti, giving little towns a reason to be proud. That’s the way. The French do it. We can, too
I sketched out an idea for a thread header about this a while back. Possibly a new raison d'etre for the Tories: making Britain beautiful. Somewhere we can be proud to leave to our grandchildren.
Some time ago, I asked a councillor about why, when they had knocked down a rather ugly boat club building they'd owned, they had no fucking idea what to do next.
He wobbled about accessibility of the river. I pointed out that apart from the vast number of steps and public boat haulages along the river, which no one uses, the boat clubs *are* the people accessing the river. Providing disabled rowing and even free rowing for local state schools. And hosting canoe and paddle boarding clubs.
I asked why they couldn't build some nice arched boat houses (maybe a coffee shop), rent them to clubs and then about 6 floors of flats on top. Worked at Richmond.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
I rather like that, but am baffled by the comparison of sailing with ballooning. Sailing is physically challenging as well as requiring skill. I presume with ballooning you just get blown along with the wind so you haven't even got that comparison because tacking on a beat (the most exciting and strenuous part of sailing) will take you into the direction of the wind rather than being blown along by it.
I’m possibly wanting ballooning more than I should. I think a huge ballooning competition would be an epic was to open the Games. Of course, it’s very weather-dependent. If it’s blowing a hooly, say, they might have to cancel it. Unless they decide it has to go ahead anyway, in which case it could be even more of a spectacle.
Maybe we could add a propellor, driven from an on-board bicycle to give some more control and direction. Probably getting a bit too silly, though.
(Considers breaking, synchronised drowning, and dressage). Nah, let’s go with it.
On dressage: there is no obvious reason why the Olympics should be restricted to humans, but nor an obvious reason why the only non-human competitors should be horses. What about greyhound racing?
I did a bit of ballooning (many years ago) and the annual championships in Albequeque New Mexico are amazing. The object is to take off and land two hours later, with the winner being the person who lands CLOSEST to the take-off point! It's very difficult - steering is effected by going up and down, utilising the different currents in the air. This enables a sort of tacking to be achieved. Because the weather system is continental not maritime, the wind and air currents are much more regular and constant, allowing some very controlled navigation, in an almost circular direction.
Having been mean about Britain for weeks, gotta say Richmond riverside looks pretty good this evening
Somehow we need to make all the left behind towns have a hint of Richmond upon Thames. It’s not going to be easy - but we really really really need to try
Cleaning out town centres, getting rid of litter, erasing graffiti, giving little towns a reason to be proud. That’s the way. The French do it. We can, too
I sketched out an idea for a thread header about this a while back. Possibly a new raison d'etre for the Tories: making Britain beautiful. Somewhere we can be proud to leave to our grandchildren.
If there's a grift in it for them why not?
The simple fact is that austerity decimated civic society and services so the place looks a shambles. After 14 years of Conservative Governments inner cities are derelict, the highways are pot-holed and our green and pleasant land is a repository for fly-tipped waste. I don't suppose resolving all that is high on Labour's to-do list, and it certainly won't be on the next Conservative Government's top fifty agenda.
A 1% lead on the economy isn't really a huge margin for Harris though, especially given Hillary won the popular vote by 2% and lost still. It also depends in which swing states she has that lead or not
Harris leading on the economy is massive when she leads on everything else and the economy was Trump's last straw to grasp to.
She doesn't lead on immigration and the border where Trump is clearly ahead
How did you manage to paint yourself into the only-Trump-supporter-on-PB corner?
Because
Here's What Meghan Markle Said About Kamala Harris Back in 2020
"I'm so excited to see that kind of representation," the Duchess of Sussex said.
Having been mean about Britain for weeks, gotta say Richmond riverside looks pretty good this evening
Somehow we need to make all the left behind towns have a hint of Richmond upon Thames. It’s not going to be easy - but we really really really need to try
Cleaning out town centres, getting rid of litter, erasing graffiti, giving little towns a reason to be proud. That’s the way. The French do it. We can, too
I sketched out an idea for a thread header about this a while back. Possibly a new raison d'etre for the Tories: making Britain beautiful. Somewhere we can be proud to leave to our grandchildren.
If there's a grift in it for them why not?
The simple fact is that austerity decimated civic society and services so the place looks a shambles. After 14 years of Conservative Governments inner cities are derelict, the highways are pot-holed and our green and pleasant land is a repository for fly-tipped waste. I don't suppose resolving all that is high on Labour's to-do list, and it certainly won't be on the next Conservative Government's top fifty agenda.
It absolutely should be. Its one way they can win again
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
I rather like that, but am baffled by the comparison of sailing with ballooning. Sailing is physically challenging as well as requiring skill. I presume with ballooning you just get blown along with the wind so you haven't even got that comparison because tacking on a beat (the most exciting and strenuous part of sailing) will take you into the direction of the wind rather than being blown along by it.
I’m possibly wanting ballooning more than I should. I think a huge ballooning competition would be an epic was to open the Games. Of course, it’s very weather-dependent. If it’s blowing a hooly, say, they might have to cancel it. Unless they decide it has to go ahead anyway, in which case it could be even more of a spectacle.
Maybe we could add a propellor, driven from an on-board bicycle to give some more control and direction. Probably getting a bit too silly, though.
(Considers breaking, synchronised drowning, and dressage). Nah, let’s go with it.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket): - Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine) - Swimming obstacle race - Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?): - Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun) - Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion) - Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
I rather like that, but am baffled by the comparison of sailing with ballooning. Sailing is physically challenging as well as requiring skill. I presume with ballooning you just get blown along with the wind so you haven't even got that comparison because tacking on a beat (the most exciting and strenuous part of sailing) will take you into the direction of the wind rather than being blown along by it.
I’m possibly wanting ballooning more than I should. I think a huge ballooning competition would be an epic was to open the Games. Of course, it’s very weather-dependent. If it’s blowing a hooly, say, they might have to cancel it. Unless they decide it has to go ahead anyway, in which case it could be even more of a spectacle.
Maybe we could add a propellor, driven from an on-board bicycle to give some more control and direction. Probably getting a bit too silly, though.
(Considers breaking, synchronised drowning, and dressage). Nah, let’s go with it.
On dressage: there is no obvious reason why the Olympics should be restricted to humans, but nor an obvious reason why the only non-human competitors should be horses. What about greyhound racing?
I don’t think we have big enough greyhounds to sit on.
Elephant racing, perhaps.
Elephant polo.
The last time I heard about it, the World Champions at Elephant Polo were Scotland. If they become the GB team - like the Curlers did - then there could be a gold medal in it for us.
Washington State Primary - August 6, 2024 - Results as of Saturday Aug 10
In the great Evergreen State of WA, votes from last Tuesday's "Top Two" primary are still trickling in (including signatures & other required info re: challenged ballots) but the broad outline is clear . . . and clearly favorable for Democrats, in terms of sheer numbers AND trends re: primary > general outcomes over recent decades:
> Turnout - As of Saturday about 150k ballots remain to be counted statewide, or less than 10% of final turnout, which is coming in at just above 1.9m out of just under 4.9m active registered voters.
> Govenor - Incumbent Dem Gov. Jay Inslee is not runnning this year, so open seat race; currently in the Top Two and thus advancing to general election ballot are Democrat & current state attorney general Bob Ferguson (45.5%) and Republican & former congressman Dave Reichert (27.5%); far back in 3rd & 4th place are Republican & former school board member (until recalled) Semi Bird (10.5%) and Democrat & state senator Mark Mullett (6.1%) trailed by 24 also-also rans (10.7%); further note that declared Democrats currently account for 55.2% of total vote
> State Treasurer & Auditor - Both of these races feature just two primary candidates, who automatically (in absence of declared writein candidates) advance to general election, in each case the Democratic incumbent versus Republican challenger; currently party split for Treasurer is Dem 58.6, Rep 41.3, writeins 0.1%; for Auditor split is Dem 49.1%, Rep 40.8%, writeins 0.1%)
> Commissioner of Public Lands - open seat as incumbent Democrat decided to run for something else, first for Gov, then dropped out of that to run for US House for 6th district (and came in 3rd & thus out in the primary); candidates are two Republicans and five Democrats - too much of a good thing for Dems as they chopped the Dem vote so fine that on Primary night the Top Two were the 2 GOPers; currently in 1st place is Republican & former congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (22.0%) who voted to impeach You Know Who after his attempted couphowever, and fighting it out for 2nd place is Democratic King Co Councilmember Dave Upthegrove (20.8%) who's now leading Republican MAGA-maniac Sue Kuehl Pederson (20.7%) by just +2,014 votes out of over 1.7m cast in this race. Further note that the party split for this office, responsible for state public lands (especially timberlands) and WA dept of natural resources, is currently Dem 57.2%, Rep 42.7%, writeins 0.1%
Comments
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/royals/article-13723189/RICHARD-EDEN-Palace-sources-say-desperate-Harry-Meghan-suddenly-keen-build-bridges-royals-REAL-reason.html
The problem is indeed the governing body which is essentially a criminal organisation.
It's best dropped.
If you can get 1,000 people to send you $5 a month…
It's entirely clear that he'll hate being a clear second to anyone, and he'll hate it even worse if that's a black female.
I kind of hope they ban it this time round at least. I just don't see how the IOC can do any kind of acceptable deal with the hoods that run the game now.
As a patriotic Brit, I will do so.
It would be very, very different if he were to be elected this time.
Just accept he's coping, in his own way.
https://x.com/jaheale/status/1822685456946868274
Some of Victoria Pendleton's pics after the 2008 Olympics were a bit spicy.
She is a ludicrous popinjay.
Trump-fluffers (and Putin-pimpers) kindly (or not) explain!
The problem is, that in finance (for example), many people have gone bust waiting for the irrationality to end in a market.
Bin off the "artistic swimming," breaking, boxing (too much chance of being corrupt with dodgy judges and the entire IBA debacle), and greco-roman wrestling (sorry, but that's literally just in because of being Olympics, isn't it?). (The only reason I'm fine with dressage continuing is that we're good at it)
Return (in addition to the sports being returned next time, like cricket):
- Ballooning (if sailing's fine, ballooning's fine)
- Swimming obstacle race
- Pistol duelling (they apparently used wax bullets last time; paintballs would be fine)
Add in (in addition to new ones like squash - seriously, artistic swimming was in and this wasn't?):
- Larger paintball competition (we can watch from overhead and with drones; this could be really fun)
- Hang-gliding competitions (the possibility of co-ordinating with the above so that teams can call in close air support is available for discussion)
- Field gun competition to finish off (to effectively substitute for the Ancient Olympic hoplitodromos
So just because sane people think it's ridiculous it doesn't mean it won't happen.
Complication: in five of the eight plausible swing states, the Governor is a Democrat.
So, on a careful check, is the Secretary of State.
That holds good for Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania.
The exceptions are Georgia, Ohio and Florida.
However, the Governor and Secretary of State of Georgia both hate Trump's guts.
That means only in Ohio and Florida would he have a realistic path to fraudulent slates.
And Harris could win even without winning in Florida and Ohio.
Sad and deluded.
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour Terry Jermy 11,847 26.7
Conservative Liz Truss 11,217 25.3
I would add that I personally would object to dressage for the same reason I object to the likes of art swimming and breakdancing, except that dressage was part of the original games. It therefore gets a grudging pass with me.
#dejavu
Some of us, more relaxed ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bMOTTJqGgM
Man murdered partner after accusing her of having affair with step-son
Colin Kennedy, 63, was found guilty of the 'malevolent butchery' of Catherine Stewart at their home in Airdrie.
https://news.stv.tv/west-central/man-murdered-partner-after-accusing-her-of-having-affair-with-step-son
@MikeSington
Lying Trump and other MAGA conspiracy theorists are claiming a photo of the crowd in front of Kamala Harris’ Air Force Two is “fake” and “there was nobody there”. The crowd was real, here’s a video.
https://x.com/MikeSington/status/1822681552096309708
Jules Morgan 🧸
@glamelegance
·
1h
When they start arguing about her crowd size, they’re losing.
To paraphrase the Duke, I don't know what effect they will have on the enemy, but by God, they terrify me.
https://x.com/BrianRoemmele/status/1822343209571488031
Proverbs 26:11 strikes again!
Somehow we need to make all the left behind towns have a hint of Richmond upon Thames. It’s not going to be easy - but we really really really need to try
Cleaning out town centres, getting rid of litter, erasing graffiti, giving little towns a reason to be proud. That’s the way. The French do it. We can, too
Donny has tipped over into lunacy.
Getting his ass kicked by a woman is clearly world shattering for him.
Also, the usual projection from the guy who waves at empty airfields.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0rw8rxvljro
Duelling (swords)
Duelling (flamethrowers)
I have no clear information on how strong youth teams are, but I am well aware of a resource crisis within the UK event sector.
Of course, it’s very weather-dependent. If it’s blowing a hooly, say, they might have to cancel it. Unless they decide it has to go ahead anyway, in which case it could be even more of a spectacle.
Maybe we could add a propellor, driven from an on-board bicycle to give some more control and direction. Probably getting a bit too silly, though.
(Considers breaking, synchronised drowning, and dressage). Nah, let’s go with it.
Duelling (Nuclear weapons, proper size)
The man in his early twenties, whom The Times is not naming, can be revealed as an instigator of the far-right action last week. He helped run a group chat on the app Telegram, where tens of thousands of people shared ideas for riot locations and hateful content about immigrants and Jewish people.
Social media sites have come under increased scrutiny since the stabbings in Southport. Misinformation about the suspect spread quickly, as well as locations for possible protests and incitement for riots.
The individual is understood to live in southern Finland and began posting extreme right-wing content online as a teenager. According to police records unearthed by journalists at YLE, the Finnish public broadcaster, he was previously investigated by Finnish police for making an illegal threat. He became an administrator for the Southport Wake Up group on Telegram, which became connected to the riots.
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/finnish-neo-nazi-shared-arson-manual-on-telegram-ahead-of-uk-riots-hkvdj5wn3
It's not something they have been interested in recent years.
Elephant racing, perhaps.
He wobbled about accessibility of the river. I pointed out that apart from the vast number of steps and public boat haulages along the river, which no one uses, the boat clubs *are* the people accessing the river. Providing disabled rowing and even free rowing for local state schools. And hosting canoe and paddle boarding clubs.
I asked why they couldn't build some nice arched boat houses (maybe a coffee shop), rent them to clubs and then about 6 floors of flats on top. Worked at Richmond.
Wibble, wibble, wibble.
So the site is an empty hole.
The simple fact is that austerity decimated civic society and services so the place looks a shambles. After 14 years of Conservative Governments inner cities are derelict, the highways are pot-holed and our green and pleasant land is a repository for fly-tipped waste. I don't suppose resolving all that is high on Labour's to-do list, and it certainly won't be on the next Conservative Government's top fifty agenda.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-is-britain-so-ugly/
In the great Evergreen State of WA, votes from last Tuesday's "Top Two" primary are still trickling in (including signatures & other required info re: challenged ballots) but the broad outline is clear . . . and clearly favorable for Democrats, in terms of sheer numbers AND trends re: primary > general outcomes over recent decades:
> Turnout - As of Saturday about 150k ballots remain to be counted statewide, or less than 10% of final turnout, which is coming in at just above 1.9m out of just under 4.9m active registered voters.
> Govenor - Incumbent Dem Gov. Jay Inslee is not runnning this year, so open seat race; currently in the Top Two and thus advancing to general election ballot are Democrat & current state attorney general Bob Ferguson (45.5%) and Republican & former congressman Dave Reichert (27.5%); far back in 3rd & 4th place are Republican & former school board member (until recalled) Semi Bird (10.5%) and Democrat & state senator Mark Mullett (6.1%) trailed by 24 also-also rans (10.7%); further note that declared Democrats currently account for 55.2% of total vote
> State Treasurer & Auditor - Both of these races feature just two primary candidates, who automatically (in absence of declared writein candidates) advance to general election, in each case the Democratic incumbent versus Republican challenger; currently party split for Treasurer is Dem 58.6, Rep 41.3, writeins 0.1%; for Auditor split is Dem 49.1%, Rep 40.8%, writeins 0.1%)
> Commissioner of Public Lands - open seat as incumbent Democrat decided to run for something else, first for Gov, then dropped out of that to run for US House for 6th district (and came in 3rd & thus out in the primary); candidates are two Republicans and five Democrats - too much of a good thing for Dems as they chopped the Dem vote so fine that on Primary night the Top Two were the 2 GOPers; currently in 1st place is Republican & former congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (22.0%) who voted to impeach You Know Who after his attempted couphowever, and fighting it out for 2nd place is Democratic King Co Councilmember Dave Upthegrove (20.8%) who's now leading Republican MAGA-maniac Sue Kuehl Pederson (20.7%) by just +2,014 votes out of over 1.7m cast in this race. Further note that the party split for this office, responsible for state public lands (especially timberlands) and WA dept of natural resources, is currently Dem 57.2%, Rep 42.7%, writeins 0.1%