@SpeakerJohnson The House is working overtime to limit the abuses of activist federal judges. Our @JudiciaryGOP will expose the worst offenders in a high profile hearing & we are preparing urgent legislative action, like the @repdarrellissa bill to stop unfounded nationwide injunctions.
Wick in mid July, as the one tourist that only went there by mistake has a panic attack in Morrisons car park, is robbed by an embittered Afghan asylum seeker, and is taken by ambulance to Inverness
They're screwed. Sales in Europe are cratering because few want to drive a car associated with Musk. Likewise Musk has alienated pretty much the entire Tesla customer base in the US, and the MAGA crowd hate EVs so there's not much to be gained from appealing to that market.
China is slipping away from them too simply because the domestic Chinese brands like BYD build better and cheaper cars.
The Cybertruck has become a running joke and will never be available in any market, like the UK and EU, that has actual automotive safety standards. It won't sell in the numbers required to pay for the development effort. It's a financial back hole and a well run company would ditch it.
I expect Tesla to have to pause production at certain Gigafactories fairly soon, they can't keep pumping out cars that are not selling.
I read somewhere in the last day or two that he has promised to double production in the USA.
That would be a 'brave' decision. Perhaps Musk really does expect to be hailed as some kind of hero for his DOGE work and assumes the customers will come flocking back.
I think I'm in the 29% - at least when it comes to bicycles. It's more of an emotional thing, particularly if you've spent the time and effort to replace parts (and eventually the frame) rather than stick it in the bin the moment it plays up.
Interesting - I have replaced almost everything except the frame on mine, but if I bought a new frame and transfered all the existing components I think I would consider it a new bike.
Perhaps - if more than 50% of the value/weight of the parts have been there for more than 50% of the life of the bike, then it's the same bike? In my head they have a kind of soul - I certainly developed a strong attachment to the car I climbed all my Munros with*, for example.
* Not literally, though Clarkson did bag Cnoc an Fhreiceadain with a Discovery.
I think most people would have a very strong prejudice against saying that they weren't the same person they used to be, because most of the cells in their body have been replaced by new ones.
How long does it take for all one's cells to be completely replaced? Some would like to argue that they weren't the person who ran up all that debt.
It varies. Some cells turnover very quickly, particularly epithelial, but others are with us for life. Hence they gradually accumulate errors and damage as part of senescence.
Within even those cells there will gradually be turnover though, as we enter the fractal edge of life. Yet we have continuity so are the same person, even if I wouldn't feel much in common with my forty year younger self. I have changed and the world has changed.
Your corneal endothelium, for example. I discovered I have Fuchs’ dystrophy, which drove the lesson home somewhat.
It is possible to have corneal transplants, but do they become part of you, or do you become part of them?
The Adverts explored this philosophical point in their seminal work "Looking through Gary Gilmores Eyes".
I think I'm in the 29% - at least when it comes to bicycles. It's more of an emotional thing, particularly if you've spent the time and effort to replace parts (and eventually the frame) rather than stick it in the bin the moment it plays up.
Interesting - I have replaced almost everything except the frame on mine, but if I bought a new frame and transfered all the existing components I think I would consider it a new bike.
Perhaps - if more than 50% of the value/weight of the parts have been there for more than 50% of the life of the bike, then it's the same bike? In my head they have a kind of soul - I certainly developed a strong attachment to the car I climbed all my Munros with*, for example.
* Not literally, though Clarkson did bag Cnoc an Fhreiceadain with a Discovery.
I think most people would have a very strong prejudice against saying that they weren't the same person they used to be, because most of the cells in their body have been replaced by new ones.
How long does it take for all one's cells to be completely replaced? Some would like to argue that they weren't the person who ran up all that debt.
It varies. Some cells turnover very quickly, particularly epithelial, but others are with us for life. Hence they gradually accumulate errors and damage as part of senescence.
Within even those cells there will gradually be turnover though, as we enter the fractal edge of life. Yet we have continuity so are the same person, even if I wouldn't feel much in common with my forty year younger self. I have changed and the world has changed.
Your corneal endothelium, for example. I discovered I have Fuchs’ dystrophy, which drove the lesson home somewhat.
It is possible to have corneal transplants, but do they become part of you, or do you become part of them?
The Adverts explored this philosophical point in their seminal work "Looking through Gary Gilmores Eyes".
Wick in mid July, as the one tourist that only went there by mistake has a panic attack in Morrisons car park, is robbed by an embittered Afghan asylum seeker, and is taken by ambulance to Inverness
Nonsense! I went to Wick in July 2022 (by train!) and survived!
@SpeakerJohnson The House is working overtime to limit the abuses of activist federal judges. Our @JudiciaryGOP will expose the worst offenders in a high profile hearing & we are preparing urgent legislative action, like the @repdarrellissa bill to stop unfounded nationwide injunctions.
My periodic check: are we agreed the USA is becoming a dictatorship yet, or is the - um -jury still out?
Yes, it is so becoming; that is the intention. The jury is not still out. The jury is still out about outcomes. Remaining questions include:
Is the intention a continuing 'elected' dictatorship or a rigged/non elected one?
Will the SCOTUS intervene decisively, and if so will their judgment be enforced?
Will there be an enforced clamp down on the jurisdiction of the courts?
Will the, fairly wide, degree of free speech (under intimidation) and free media be allowed to continue?
Will there be a 'Reichstag Fire' event?
Will there be a counter-coup?
Seems to me the only thing the House is working on at the moment is limiting the judges. Has anyone heard a peep from them otherwise?
As long as there is a GOP majority and they, to a man and woman, refuse to see what fascism is being promoted in their name, and lack the courage to do now what will be much harder later, SFAICS there only role is as useful idiots. And the Dems are little better. America is in a fight for the future of the free world and its defence, and only one side is fighting. I hope, without much hope, that a cunning plan is being formed.
@SpeakerJohnson The House is working overtime to limit the abuses of activist federal judges. Our @JudiciaryGOP will expose the worst offenders in a high profile hearing & we are preparing urgent legislative action, like the @repdarrellissa bill to stop unfounded nationwide injunctions.
@SpeakerJohnson The House is working overtime to limit the abuses of activist federal judges. Our @JudiciaryGOP will expose the worst offenders in a high profile hearing & we are preparing urgent legislative action, like the @repdarrellissa bill to stop unfounded nationwide injunctions.
I love really chic, desirable places out of season
The last rays of sun on Menton or Monaco in early October, deckchairs folded, yet sill the douceur du vivre
Venice in mid December, or late January brrrr but oooooooh the lights on the wet cobbles and misty canals
Punta del Este in March, the pines sway in a cooling breeze in a slant of faded golden sun, the fisherman stand and scent autumn as the last pretty girl from that Malbec dynasty packs her beach towels, and trails sand to her boyfriend’s Tesla
Venice in November/December is my favourite. The waters begin to take on that shimmering lead-black tone.
I love really chic, desirable places out of season
The last rays of sun on Menton or Monaco in early October, deckchairs folded, yet sill the douceur du vivre
Venice in mid December, or late January brrrr but oooooooh the lights on the wet cobbles and misty canals
Punta del Este in March, the pines sway in a cooling breeze in a slant of faded golden sun, the fisherman stand and scent autumn as the last pretty girl from that Malbec dynasty packs her beach towels, and trails sand to her boyfriend’s Tesla
Amsterdam in deepest winter is superb. The black canals, the darkness except for the windows full of twinkly lights, the wet, shiny tiny bridges.
Adolescence. Gosh. Could only cope with the first episode tonight. It’s not exactly Ballykissangel is it?
Mrs Foxy and I have managed the first two. Quite heavy, but I think will have quite an impact on the national conversation
Great acting, plotting not afraid of breaking new ground, with cunning camera work that maintains the feeling of claustrophobia.
I remember when I first started watching films as a kid, cuts between scenes seemed utterly unnatural and distracting.
I was trying to think what Adolescence reminded me of. The same claustrophobia, the soundtrack-less grey atmosphere, the confused terror of people suddenly finding their world turned upside down, the sense I can tell already that there’ll be no happy ending. And the feeling this will stay with people for a long time.
I love really chic, desirable places out of season
The last rays of sun on Menton or Monaco in early October, deckchairs folded, yet sill the douceur du vivre
Venice in mid December, or late January brrrr but oooooooh the lights on the wet cobbles and misty canals
Punta del Este in March, the pines sway in a cooling breeze in a slant of faded golden sun, the fisherman stand and scent autumn as the last pretty girl from that Malbec dynasty packs her beach towels, and trails sand to her boyfriend’s Tesla
Venice in November/December is my favourite. The waters begin to take on that shimmering lead-black tone.
Yes, that is absolutely the best time to see Venice. Especially when they have the Christmas lights. It’s beyond magical
Indeed I wonder if it is the best time, period. Summer is fucking hideous with the crowds but even if you took the crowds away it would be horribly hot and sticky. In December it is pure melancholy poetry, everywhere is grey and wet and beautiful and haunted by a trillion ghosts, and then you merrily crowd into some little bar for cheap wine and those Venetian tapas and you emerge as the moon shines over deserted St Marks Square - deserted!
An Egyptian asylum seeker began a £12 million people-smuggling operation, which carried 3,700 migrants from Africa to Europe, within days of arriving in the UK on a small boat. He ran the operation from a home he was given in Isleworth, west London
Our borders are a joke 4:34 PM · Mar 22, 2025 77.2K Views"
@SpeakerJohnson The House is working overtime to limit the abuses of activist federal judges. Our @JudiciaryGOP will expose the worst offenders in a high profile hearing & we are preparing urgent legislative action, like the @repdarrellissa bill to stop unfounded nationwide injunctions.
I love really chic, desirable places out of season
The last rays of sun on Menton or Monaco in early October, deckchairs folded, yet sill the douceur du vivre
Venice in mid December, or late January brrrr but oooooooh the lights on the wet cobbles and misty canals
Punta del Este in March, the pines sway in a cooling breeze in a slant of faded golden sun, the fisherman stand and scent autumn as the last pretty girl from that Malbec dynasty packs her beach towels, and trails sand to her boyfriend’s Tesla
Amsterdam in deepest winter is superb. The black canals, the darkness except for the windows full of twinkly lights, the wet, shiny tiny bridges.
Lyon in November. Dense fogs. Definitely noom.
Yes I like Lyon. In that French way it’s a bit TOO pretty and curated to be noomy in summer, but in winter it has something else going on, the cosy bistros (bichon?) in the silk weavers quarter. A hatchery of revolution to be sure
BTW It is really remarkable, the sense of wealth on this stretch of Uruguayan coast, mile after mile of chic modernist villas and quietly expensive cars - hidden in the dunes and pine stands, behind the pampas grass (they can’t ALL be swingers). it goes on for an hour or more. It feels like every successful businessman/gangster in Latin America has invested here. I now see why they call it the Switzerland of South America
I think I'm in the 29% - at least when it comes to bicycles. It's more of an emotional thing, particularly if you've spent the time and effort to replace parts (and eventually the frame) rather than stick it in the bin the moment it plays up.
Interesting - I have replaced almost everything except the frame on mine, but if I bought a new frame and transfered all the existing components I think I would consider it a new bike.
Perhaps - if more than 50% of the value/weight of the parts have been there for more than 50% of the life of the bike, then it's the same bike? In my head they have a kind of soul - I certainly developed a strong attachment to the car I climbed all my Munros with*, for example.
* Not literally, though Clarkson did bag Cnoc an Fhreiceadain with a Discovery.
I think most people would have a very strong prejudice against saying that they weren't the same person they used to be, because most of the cells in their body have been replaced by new ones.
How long does it take for all one's cells to be completely replaced? Some would like to argue that they weren't the person who ran up all that debt.
It varies. Some cells turnover very quickly, particularly epithelial, but others are with us for life. Hence they gradually accumulate errors and damage as part of senescence.
Within even those cells there will gradually be turnover though, as we enter the fractal edge of life. Yet we have continuity so are the same person, even if I wouldn't feel much in common with my forty year younger self. I have changed and the world has changed.
Your corneal endothelium, for example. I discovered I have Fuchs’ dystrophy, which drove the lesson home somewhat.
It is possible to have corneal transplants, but do they become part of you, or do you become part of them?
The Adverts explored this philosophical point in their seminal work "Looking through Gary Gilmores Eyes".
One in 10 of us have no close friends, according to a new survey. Opinium questioned 10,000 adults across the UK and found middle-aged men are the most lonely. Researchers say a lack of meaningful social contact is leading to more stress and higher mortality rates."
The joke in Only Fools and Horses on Trigger's Broom only works if you are in the 63%. I feel like one of my British cultural touchstones has been undermined.
One in 10 of us have no close friends, according to a new survey. Opinium questioned 10,000 adults across the UK and found middle-aged men are the most lonely. Researchers say a lack of meaningful social contact is leading to more stress and higher mortality rates."
I love really chic, desirable places out of season
The last rays of sun on Menton or Monaco in early October, deckchairs folded, yet sill the douceur du vivre
Venice in mid December, or late January brrrr but oooooooh the lights on the wet cobbles and misty canals
Punta del Este in March, the pines sway in a cooling breeze in a slant of faded golden sun, the fisherman stand and scent autumn as the last pretty girl from that Malbec dynasty packs her beach towels, and trails sand to her boyfriend’s Tesla
Amsterdam in deepest winter is superb. The black canals, the darkness except for the windows full of twinkly lights, the wet, shiny tiny bridges.
Lyon in November. Dense fogs. Definitely noom.
Yes I like Lyon. In that French way it’s a bit TOO pretty and curated to be noomy in summer, but in winter it has something else going on, the cosy bistros (bichon?) in the silk weavers quarter. A hatchery of revolution to be sure
BTW It is really remarkable, the sense of wealth on this stretch of Uruguayan coast, mile after mile of chic modernist villas and quietly expensive cars - hidden in the dunes and pine stands, behind the pampas grass (they can’t ALL be swingers). it goes on for an hour or more. It feels like every successful businessman/gangster in Latin America has invested here. I now see why they call it the Switzerland of South America
Bouchons in Lyon. I agree, at their best in winter.
As recreated for the discerning Senegalese diner in this Dakar hangout:
@SpeakerJohnson The House is working overtime to limit the abuses of activist federal judges. Our @JudiciaryGOP will expose the worst offenders in a high profile hearing & we are preparing urgent legislative action, like the @repdarrellissa bill to stop unfounded nationwide injunctions.
I love really chic, desirable places out of season
The last rays of sun on Menton or Monaco in early October, deckchairs folded, yet sill the douceur du vivre
Venice in mid December, or late January brrrr but oooooooh the lights on the wet cobbles and misty canals
Punta del Este in March, the pines sway in a cooling breeze in a slant of faded golden sun, the fisherman stand and scent autumn as the last pretty girl from that Malbec dynasty packs her beach towels, and trails sand to her boyfriend’s Tesla
Amsterdam in deepest winter is superb. The black canals, the darkness except for the windows full of twinkly lights, the wet, shiny tiny bridges.
Lyon in November. Dense fogs. Definitely noom.
Yes I like Lyon. In that French way it’s a bit TOO pretty and curated to be noomy in summer, but in winter it has something else going on, the cosy bistros (bichon?) in the silk weavers quarter. A hatchery of revolution to be sure
BTW It is really remarkable, the sense of wealth on this stretch of Uruguayan coast, mile after mile of chic modernist villas and quietly expensive cars - hidden in the dunes and pine stands, behind the pampas grass (they can’t ALL be swingers). it goes on for an hour or more. It feels like every successful businessman/gangster in Latin America has invested here. I now see why they call it the Switzerland of South America
Those silk weavers were a bloody handful mind you.
@SpeakerJohnson The House is working overtime to limit the abuses of activist federal judges. Our @JudiciaryGOP will expose the worst offenders in a high profile hearing & we are preparing urgent legislative action, like the @repdarrellissa bill to stop unfounded nationwide injunctions.
@SpeakerJohnson The House is working overtime to limit the abuses of activist federal judges. Our @JudiciaryGOP will expose the worst offenders in a high profile hearing & we are preparing urgent legislative action, like the @repdarrellissa bill to stop unfounded nationwide injunctions.
My periodic check: are we agreed the USA is becoming a dictatorship yet, or is the - um -jury still out?
Yes, it is so becoming; that is the intention. The jury is not still out. The jury is still out about outcomes. Remaining questions include:
Is the intention a continuing 'elected' dictatorship or a rigged/non elected one?
Will the SCOTUS intervene decisively, and if so will their judgment be enforced?
Will there be an enforced clamp down on the jurisdiction of the courts?
Will the, fairly wide, degree of free speech (under intimidation) and free media be allowed to continue?
Will there be a 'Reichstag Fire' event?
Will there be a counter-coup?
(So far this is all at the very worst end of my expectations).
It is looking grimmer and grimmer. Do the surviving ex presidents have any soft power to prevent this?
The remaining ex-Presidents haven't even been bothered enough to comment on Trump's illegal actions. They have been utterly shameful.
Has anyone on PB been reading about Trump in depth from an American perspective? I wonder if we're getting a proper grasp from reading our media? In one direction or the other.
@SpeakerJohnson The House is working overtime to limit the abuses of activist federal judges. Our @JudiciaryGOP will expose the worst offenders in a high profile hearing & we are preparing urgent legislative action, like the @repdarrellissa bill to stop unfounded nationwide injunctions.
Although each incarnation of the Sugababes kept the name, they were not the same band.
Is Genesis without Gabriel the same as Genesis with Gabriel?
You can like both, but they are explicitly not the same.
Yes Genesis is the same band, as long as there's continuity.
Are we living in the same country we were living in when this thread opened?
Since this thread opened some people in the UK have died. Since this thread opened some people in the UK have been born. Since this thread opened some flights have departed the UK taking people who have emigrated out of the country. Since this thread opened some flights have arrived bringing people who are migrating into the country.
Does this change in population mean we are now another country?
This one-time geographer thinks the country is the land more than the people who inhabit it. So no.
As a physical geographer, is social geography a work of the devil to be cast out?
Tbh I found physical geography a bit dull so I'm not the one to ask! Social geography is only one part of human geography, how it all blends together to make up the whole was what always interested me.
A geologist is looking at you sternly over the top of his glasses.
One in 10 of us have no close friends, according to a new survey. Opinium questioned 10,000 adults across the UK and found middle-aged men are the most lonely. Researchers say a lack of meaningful social contact is leading to more stress and higher mortality rates."
@SpeakerJohnson The House is working overtime to limit the abuses of activist federal judges. Our @JudiciaryGOP will expose the worst offenders in a high profile hearing & we are preparing urgent legislative action, like the @repdarrellissa bill to stop unfounded nationwide injunctions.
My periodic check: are we agreed the USA is becoming a dictatorship yet, or is the - um -jury still out?
Yes, it is so becoming; that is the intention. The jury is not still out. The jury is still out about outcomes. Remaining questions include:
Is the intention a continuing 'elected' dictatorship or a rigged/non elected one?
Will the SCOTUS intervene decisively, and if so will their judgment be enforced?
Will there be an enforced clamp down on the jurisdiction of the courts?
Will the, fairly wide, degree of free speech (under intimidation) and free media be allowed to continue?
Will there be a 'Reichstag Fire' event?
Will there be a counter-coup?
(So far this is all at the very worst end of my expectations).
It is looking grimmer and grimmer. Do the surviving ex presidents have any soft power to prevent this?
The remaining ex-Presidents haven't even been bothered enough to comment on Trump's illegal actions. They have been utterly shameful.
Has anyone on PB been reading about Trump in depth from an American perspective? I wonder if we're getting a proper grasp from reading our media? In one direction or the other.
I have perhaps 100ish friends from the US gleaned from many years of many different threads of my life, and the overwhelming reaction has been one of horror and outrage. Sadly in this instance I think that says more about my choice of friends than it does about the views of US public in general.
@SpeakerJohnson The House is working overtime to limit the abuses of activist federal judges. Our @JudiciaryGOP will expose the worst offenders in a high profile hearing & we are preparing urgent legislative action, like the @repdarrellissa bill to stop unfounded nationwide injunctions.
@SpeakerJohnson The House is working overtime to limit the abuses of activist federal judges. Our @JudiciaryGOP will expose the worst offenders in a high profile hearing & we are preparing urgent legislative action, like the @repdarrellissa bill to stop unfounded nationwide injunctions.
My periodic check: are we agreed the USA is becoming a dictatorship yet, or is the - um -jury still out?
Yes, it is so becoming; that is the intention. The jury is not still out. The jury is still out about outcomes. Remaining questions include:
Is the intention a continuing 'elected' dictatorship or a rigged/non elected one?
Will the SCOTUS intervene decisively, and if so will their judgment be enforced?
Will there be an enforced clamp down on the jurisdiction of the courts?
Will the, fairly wide, degree of free speech (under intimidation) and free media be allowed to continue?
Will there be a 'Reichstag Fire' event?
Will there be a counter-coup?
(So far this is all at the very worst end of my expectations).
It is looking grimmer and grimmer. Do the surviving ex presidents have any soft power to prevent this?
The legislation suggested by Johnson has no chance of getting through the Senate unless the GOP remove the filibuster . It’s more designed to terrify the judiciary as some are named and then threatened by the Maga cult . Many of the cases Trump is having a tirade about will end up in the Supreme Court and it’s really now down to that court to save what remains of US democracy .
That of course is a terrifying thought given some of their rulings over recent years. If Trump was then to ignore the Supreme Court if they ruled against him I think there will be a complete break down in law and order and huge civil unrest .
@SpeakerJohnson The House is working overtime to limit the abuses of activist federal judges. Our @JudiciaryGOP will expose the worst offenders in a high profile hearing & we are preparing urgent legislative action, like the @repdarrellissa bill to stop unfounded nationwide injunctions.
My periodic check: are we agreed the USA is becoming a dictatorship yet, or is the - um -jury still out?
Yes, it is so becoming; that is the intention. The jury is not still out. The jury is still out about outcomes. Remaining questions include:
Is the intention a continuing 'elected' dictatorship or a rigged/non elected one?
Will the SCOTUS intervene decisively, and if so will their judgment be enforced?
Will there be an enforced clamp down on the jurisdiction of the courts?
Will the, fairly wide, degree of free speech (under intimidation) and free media be allowed to continue?
Will there be a 'Reichstag Fire' event?
Will there be a counter-coup?
(So far this is all at the very worst end of my expectations).
It is looking grimmer and grimmer. Do the surviving ex presidents have any soft power to prevent this?
The remaining ex-Presidents haven't even been bothered enough to comment on Trump's illegal actions. They have been utterly shameful.
I doubt any of the surviving Presidents voted for Trump, they all voted for Harris and Bush probably only voted down ballot not for President.
However Trump won the presidential election and the popular vote and the GOP the Congress so if ex Presidents opposed him Trump just can reinforce his messyas being the anti establishment voice of the people. Until the midterms he remains untouched
One in 10 of us have no close friends, according to a new survey. Opinium questioned 10,000 adults across the UK and found middle-aged men are the most lonely. Researchers say a lack of meaningful social contact is leading to more stress and higher mortality rates."
Join a sports club, join a church, amateur dramatics, cookery classes, a political party, plenty you can do even if you haven't kept in touch with school or university friends or have friends at work
One in 10 of us have no close friends, according to a new survey. Opinium questioned 10,000 adults across the UK and found middle-aged men are the most lonely. Researchers say a lack of meaningful social contact is leading to more stress and higher mortality rates."
Join a sports club, join a church, amateur dramatics, cookery classes, a political party, plenty you can do even if you haven't kept in touch with school or university friends or have friends at work
One in 10 of us have no close friends, according to a new survey. Opinium questioned 10,000 adults across the UK and found middle-aged men are the most lonely. Researchers say a lack of meaningful social contact is leading to more stress and higher mortality rates."
Join a sports club, join a church, amateur dramatics, cookery classes, a political party, plenty you can do even if you haven't kept in touch with school or university friends or have friends at work
Bowling alone.
It feels tragic, but is it? Some people are happy being alone; and some are not…. One should never assume
The ability to make and keep friends feels, to me, partly innate. And partly learned
I am lucky that I have it (if it is luck), I find it easy to make friends, I have LEARNED that you then have to work at it, to keep them, however. You must cultivate them like plants, they need the water of communication every so often. Stay in touch!
On the other hand I am crap at family/domestic life. I find it constricting and kick against it, in ways which hurt others (and me)
I envy others the apparent happiness of domestic contentment, even as others have envied me the ability to make friends on the go. We all play the hand we are dealt
One in 10 of us have no close friends, according to a new survey. Opinium questioned 10,000 adults across the UK and found middle-aged men are the most lonely. Researchers say a lack of meaningful social contact is leading to more stress and higher mortality rates."
One in 10 of us have no close friends, according to a new survey. Opinium questioned 10,000 adults across the UK and found middle-aged men are the most lonely. Researchers say a lack of meaningful social contact is leading to more stress and higher mortality rates."
Join a sports club, join a church, amateur dramatics, cookery classes, a political party, plenty you can do even if you haven't kept in touch with school or university friends or have friends at work
Volunteer at a heritage railway. You don't have to be all that into trains, it's the shared sense of purpose that really makes it work.
I do not believe people have properly internalized how titanic the shifts against Democrats were poised to be among Black voters if Biden had stayed on the ticket.
Virtually every major minority group (Asians, Latinos, and Native Americans) all saw a huge shift to the right. People are somehow still confident that Black voters, who didn't shift much at all by comparison, would still be fine if the party publicly bypassed Harris for Whitmer...
The grim economic analysis, produced by the respected Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), comes before the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, makes her spring statement on Wednesday in which she will announce new cuts to public spending rather than increase borrowing or raise taxes, so as to keep within the government’s “iron clad” fiscal rules...
It would be the first time in seventy years that living standards have fallen during a Parliament. Eden still won the subsequent election.
I hadn't realised Attlee lost twice against the Conservatives despite getting 48.8% of the vote to their 48%, both times.
One in 10 of us have no close friends, according to a new survey. Opinium questioned 10,000 adults across the UK and found middle-aged men are the most lonely. Researchers say a lack of meaningful social contact is leading to more stress and higher mortality rates."
I have to admit, that apart from wife and 3 or 4 adult children/siblings, I have only 1 friend, and I wouldn't describe him as close.
I think men struggle with this a lot, we tend to just meet up with our wives' friends' partners. (Sidebar - are those apostrophes right)? It's particularly hard with young children I think. There's a local charity near me connecting dads, particularly single dads.
Witkoff, the guy leading US negotiations praises Trump, and can't name the 5 Ukrainian oblasts Russia is claiming. Can't be bothered with basic facts and likes a brutal dictator and war criminal. This is the Trump administration.
"I don't regard Putin as a bad guy," he said. "He's super smart."
Witkoff, who met Putin ten days ago, said the Russian president had been "gracious" and "straight up" with him. Putin told him, he added, that he had prayed for Trump after an assassination attempt against him last year. He also said Putin had commissioned a portrait of the US president as a gift and Trump was "clearly touched by it". ... He said: "The largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions, Donbas, Crimea, you know the names and there are two others."
Witkoff, the guy leading US negotiations praises Trump, and can't name the 5 Ukrainian oblasts Russia is claiming. Can't be bothered with basic facts and likes a brutal dictator and war criminal. This is the Trump administration.
"I don't regard Putin as a bad guy," he said. "He's super smart."
Witkoff, who met Putin ten days ago, said the Russian president had been "gracious" and "straight up" with him. Putin told him, he added, that he had prayed for Trump after an assassination attempt against him last year. He also said Putin had commissioned a portrait of the US president as a gift and Trump was "clearly touched by it". ... He said: "The largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions, Donbas, Crimea, you know the names and there are two others."
I was just going to link to that, and praise the BBC for calling out bullshit.
"Witkoff made several assertions that are either not true or disputed:
He said Ukrainian troops in Kursk were surrounded, something denied by Ukraine's government and uncorroborated by any open-source data
He said the four partially occupied regions of Ukraine had held "referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule". There were referendums only in some of the occupied parts of Ukraine at different times and the methodology and results were widely discredited and disputed
He said the four partially occupied oblasts were Russian-speaking. There are many Russian-speaking parts of Ukraine but this has never indicated support for Russia."
One in 10 of us have no close friends, according to a new survey. Opinium questioned 10,000 adults across the UK and found middle-aged men are the most lonely. Researchers say a lack of meaningful social contact is leading to more stress and higher mortality rates."
I have to admit, that apart from wife and 3 or 4 adult children/siblings, I have only 1 friend, and I wouldn't describe him as close.
I think men struggle with this a lot, we tend to just meet up with our wives' friends' partners. (Sidebar - are those apostrophes right)? It's particularly hard with young children I think. There's a local charity near me connecting dads, particularly single dads.
You'd be amazed how many mates keep in touch once you've got your own tyre and wheel balancing machines. It never fucking ends.
I once broke into a friend's house in broad daylight to intercept a letter that his mistress had sent his wife while he was enjoying the benefits of a long haul aviation career in San Diego and his wife was at work. #brocode
Witkoff, the guy leading US negotiations praises Trump, and can't name the 5 Ukrainian oblasts Russia is claiming. Can't be bothered with basic facts and likes a brutal dictator and war criminal. This is the Trump administration.
"I don't regard Putin as a bad guy," he said. "He's super smart."
Witkoff, who met Putin ten days ago, said the Russian president had been "gracious" and "straight up" with him. Putin told him, he added, that he had prayed for Trump after an assassination attempt against him last year. He also said Putin had commissioned a portrait of the US president as a gift and Trump was "clearly touched by it". ... He said: "The largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions, Donbas, Crimea, you know the names and there are two others."
I was just going to link to that, and praise the BBC for calling out bullshit.
"Witkoff made several assertions that are either not true or disputed:
He said Ukrainian troops in Kursk were surrounded, something denied by Ukraine's government and uncorroborated by any open-source data
He said the four partially occupied regions of Ukraine had held "referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule". There were referendums only in some of the occupied parts of Ukraine at different times and the methodology and results were widely discredited and disputed
He said the four partially occupied oblasts were Russian-speaking. There are many Russian-speaking parts of Ukraine but this has never indicated support for Russia."
The US administration is just regurgitating Russian propaganda. It will not end well for Ukraine.
Witkoff, the guy leading US negotiations praises Trump, and can't name the 5 Ukrainian oblasts Russia is claiming. Can't be bothered with basic facts and likes a brutal dictator and war criminal. This is the Trump administration.
"I don't regard Putin as a bad guy," he said. "He's super smart."
Witkoff, who met Putin ten days ago, said the Russian president had been "gracious" and "straight up" with him. Putin told him, he added, that he had prayed for Trump after an assassination attempt against him last year. He also said Putin had commissioned a portrait of the US president as a gift and Trump was "clearly touched by it". ... He said: "The largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions, Donbas, Crimea, you know the names and there are two others."
I was just going to link to that, and praise the BBC for calling out bullshit.
"Witkoff made several assertions that are either not true or disputed:
He said Ukrainian troops in Kursk were surrounded, something denied by Ukraine's government and uncorroborated by any open-source data
He said the four partially occupied regions of Ukraine had held "referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule". There were referendums only in some of the occupied parts of Ukraine at different times and the methodology and results were widely discredited and disputed
He said the four partially occupied oblasts were Russian-speaking. There are many Russian-speaking parts of Ukraine but this has never indicated support for Russia."
A tech company has a server that many of its worldwide systems rely on. (*) Many systems and processes rely on interrogating that server, which has apparently been called the same name for decades. Every few years, the server, and its backups, get replaced. But no-one cares, as it only exists to everyone else as a name. The server has almost mythical status, as no-one outside global IT knows, or cares, where it is located. It is just (NAME)
From the perspective of everyone using it, even when it is replaced, it is still the 'same' server, even if the hardware is totally different. From that perspective - the user's perspective - Trigger's Broom is still the 'same' broom, as it fulfils exactly the same role as it always has.
In the same way, the average lifespan of a cell in the human body is under ten years. Does the many-time replacement of most of my cells mean that I am, or am not, the same person I was when I was born, 52 years ago today, when only a few cells in my brain, muscles and eyes remain the same?
(*) And yes, there are redundant fallback backups at different places around the world.
They're screwed. Sales in Europe are cratering because few want to drive a car associated with Musk. Likewise Musk has alienated pretty much the entire Tesla customer base in the US, and the MAGA crowd hate EVs so there's not much to be gained from appealing to that market.
China is slipping away from them too simply because the domestic Chinese brands like BYD build better and cheaper cars.
The Cybertruck has become a running joke and will never be available in any market, like the UK and EU, that has actual automotive safety standards. It won't sell in the numbers required to pay for the development effort. It's a financial back hole and a well run company would ditch it.
I expect Tesla to have to pause production at certain Gigafactories fairly soon, they can't keep pumping out cars that are not selling.
I read somewhere in the last day or two that he has promised to double production in the USA.
That would be a 'brave' decision. Perhaps Musk really does expect to be hailed as some kind of hero for his DOGE work and assumes the customers will come flocking back.
Musk seems to have been rather lucky with court cases in the past. I just found out that his lawyers won the case last October against Tesla shareholders by arguing that "no reasonable investor would rely on" the Tesla CEO's statements about Tesla because he's obviously full of shit, or words to that effect.
Have we done the school in multi-cultural Eastleigh that has cancelled its traditional Easter celebrations for religious diversity’s sake and will instead focus on Refugee week and aim to become a sanctuary school. Some annoyance out there.
I might watch this Snow White thing as it seems it may be shaping up to be greatest turkey in tv/movie history.
It'll be a close-run thing with Megalopolis...
One of the things I dislike with films is when they just remake the same film. In the same way that The Force Awakens is basically just the original Star Wars, done worse. It's good when they're brave enough to try and alter, or even subvert, a well-known film or concept.
The problem, of course, is fans. Hardcore fans act as though they own the thing they love, and anything that goes against their image of something is BAD and needs SHOUTING ABOUT. This is particularly true for Star Wars and Star Trek fans. Instead of treating the latest thing as another angle or perspective on something.
(Not so much Doctor Who fans IME, perhaps because Doctor Who has had so many iterations and variations that it is stupidly internally inconsistent anyway...)
They're screwed. Sales in Europe are cratering because few want to drive a car associated with Musk. Likewise Musk has alienated pretty much the entire Tesla customer base in the US, and the MAGA crowd hate EVs so there's not much to be gained from appealing to that market.
China is slipping away from them too simply because the domestic Chinese brands like BYD build better and cheaper cars.
The Cybertruck has become a running joke and will never be available in any market, like the UK and EU, that has actual automotive safety standards. It won't sell in the numbers required to pay for the development effort. It's a financial back hole and a well run company would ditch it.
I expect Tesla to have to pause production at certain Gigafactories fairly soon, they can't keep pumping out cars that are not selling.
I read somewhere in the last day or two that he has promised to double production in the USA.
That would be a 'brave' decision. Perhaps Musk really does expect to be hailed as some kind of hero for his DOGE work and assumes the customers will come flocking back.
Musk seems to have been rather lucky with court cases in the past. I just found out that his lawyers won the case last October against Tesla shareholders by arguing that "no reasonable investor would rely on" the Tesla CEO's statements about Tesla because he's obviously full of shit, or words to that effect.
And yet the board want to give him a $56 billion pay deal bung.
Adolescence. I watched Episode 1 on a (4 hours late) plane. Alternately tearing up and sitting with my mouth hanging open. Not just the content and the acting - which were both brutal - its the realisation about 17 minutes in that its a single shot. Episode 2 had been cued up by Clarkson asking "how did they shoot that, its impossible". And it is, and yet here we are Episode 3 will be studied in acting schools for decades Episode 4 had me practically weeping at the end
I know, I'm going on about it like Leon goes on about Covid. Sorry...
Witkoff, the guy leading US negotiations praises Trump, and can't name the 5 Ukrainian oblasts Russia is claiming. Can't be bothered with basic facts and likes a brutal dictator and war criminal. This is the Trump administration.
"I don't regard Putin as a bad guy," he said. "He's super smart."
Witkoff, who met Putin ten days ago, said the Russian president had been "gracious" and "straight up" with him. Putin told him, he added, that he had prayed for Trump after an assassination attempt against him last year. He also said Putin had commissioned a portrait of the US president as a gift and Trump was "clearly touched by it". ... He said: "The largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions, Donbas, Crimea, you know the names and there are two others."
I was just going to link to that, and praise the BBC for calling out bullshit.
"Witkoff made several assertions that are either not true or disputed:
He said Ukrainian troops in Kursk were surrounded, something denied by Ukraine's government and uncorroborated by any open-source data
He said the four partially occupied regions of Ukraine had held "referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule". There were referendums only in some of the occupied parts of Ukraine at different times and the methodology and results were widely discredited and disputed
He said the four partially occupied oblasts were Russian-speaking. There are many Russian-speaking parts of Ukraine but this has never indicated support for Russia."
The article is good but the headline is absurdly:
Trump envoy dismisses Starmer plan for Ukraine
It's actually worse than the BBC article, which misses some details
Putin “told me a story ... about how when the president was shot, he went to his local church and met with his priest and prayed for the president,” Witkoff said. Putin did it “not because ... he could become the president of the United States, but because he had a friendship with him, and he was praying for his friend.”
Is this guy a fucking moron, or does he think that other people are stupid enough to buy this shit?
Witkoff, the guy leading US negotiations praises Trump, and can't name the 5 Ukrainian oblasts Russia is claiming. Can't be bothered with basic facts and likes a brutal dictator and war criminal. This is the Trump administration.
"I don't regard Putin as a bad guy," he said. "He's super smart."
Witkoff, who met Putin ten days ago, said the Russian president had been "gracious" and "straight up" with him. Putin told him, he added, that he had prayed for Trump after an assassination attempt against him last year. He also said Putin had commissioned a portrait of the US president as a gift and Trump was "clearly touched by it". ... He said: "The largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions, Donbas, Crimea, you know the names and there are two others."
I was just going to link to that, and praise the BBC for calling out bullshit.
"Witkoff made several assertions that are either not true or disputed:
He said Ukrainian troops in Kursk were surrounded, something denied by Ukraine's government and uncorroborated by any open-source data
He said the four partially occupied regions of Ukraine had held "referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule". There were referendums only in some of the occupied parts of Ukraine at different times and the methodology and results were widely discredited and disputed
He said the four partially occupied oblasts were Russian-speaking. There are many Russian-speaking parts of Ukraine but this has never indicated support for Russia."
The article is good but the headline is absurdly:
Trump envoy dismisses Starmer plan for Ukraine
It's actually worse than the BBC article, which misses some details
Putin “told me a story ... about how when the president was shot, he went to his local church and met with his priest and prayed for the president,” Witkoff said. Putin did it “not because ... he could become the president of the United States, but because he had a friendship with him, and he was praying for his friend.”
Is this guy a fucking moron, or does he think that other people are stupid enough to buy this shit?
One in 10 of us have no close friends, according to a new survey. Opinium questioned 10,000 adults across the UK and found middle-aged men are the most lonely. Researchers say a lack of meaningful social contact is leading to more stress and higher mortality rates."
I have to admit, that apart from wife and 3 or 4 adult children/siblings, I have only 1 friend, and I wouldn't describe him as close.
I think men struggle with this a lot, we tend to just meet up with our wives' friends' partners. (Sidebar - are those apostrophes right)? It's particularly hard with young children I think. There's a local charity near me connecting dads, particularly single dads.
You'd be amazed how many mates keep in touch once you've got your own tyre and wheel balancing machines. It never fucking ends.
I once broke into a friend's house in broad daylight to intercept a letter that his mistress had sent his wife while he was enjoying the benefits of a long haul aviation career in San Diego and his wife was at work. #brocode
Joking aside, that is a good tip.
There's an interesting and amusing book on the topic of male friendship that I would recommend.
You are right that male friendships revolve around a shared activity, such as car repairs, heritage railways, football etc. It's rare for men to meet up to be purely social and for psychological support.
As I approach retirement I am conscious that most of my social relationships revolve around work , so have been consciously cultivating new ones in other areas of life.
Other bands with no original members include Yes, Gong, Judas Priest, Sepultura, Opeth, Littlle River Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Iron Butterfly and Renaissance.
Other bands with no original members include Yes, Gong, Judas Priest, Sepultura, Opeth, Littlle River Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Iron Butterfly and Renaissance.
Adolescence. I watched Episode 1 on a (4 hours late) plane. Alternately tearing up and sitting with my mouth hanging open. Not just the content and the acting - which were both brutal - its the realisation about 17 minutes in that its a single shot. Episode 2 had been cued up by Clarkson asking "how did they shoot that, its impossible". And it is, and yet here we are Episode 3 will be studied in acting schools for decades Episode 4 had me practically weeping at the end
I know, I'm going on about it like Leon goes on about Covid. Sorry...
Single shot movies are defined as one shot or looking like one shot. It was really well done though.
The other day I saw some film of the filming showing the actors handing over the camera to each other to make it a single shot. One was filming outside of a car and then the camera handed over to an actor in the car filming outside of it. Another was an actor filming people walking in front of her, She hands the camera over to one of the people she is filming, who now films her walking in front of them.
It looked impossible yet the scenes were seamless. No sign of the handover of the camera. Absolutely brilliant watching it done, but I would have been oblivious of it just watching the scenes, as I guess it should be.
Brilliant skill.
Stephen Graham was in a (not very good) film about an angry chef which was all done in one shot.
It spawned a TV show.
I think he is a very good actor. I vaguely remember the show you are referring to being advertised but didn't watch it. When interviewed he always comes over well. He comes over as passionate and interesting.
@SpeakerJohnson The House is working overtime to limit the abuses of activist federal judges. Our @JudiciaryGOP will expose the worst offenders in a high profile hearing & we are preparing urgent legislative action, like the @repdarrellissa bill to stop unfounded nationwide injunctions.
Adolescence. I watched Episode 1 on a (4 hours late) plane. Alternately tearing up and sitting with my mouth hanging open. Not just the content and the acting - which were both brutal - its the realisation about 17 minutes in that its a single shot. Episode 2 had been cued up by Clarkson asking "how did they shoot that, its impossible". And it is, and yet here we are Episode 3 will be studied in acting schools for decades Episode 4 had me practically weeping at the end
I know, I'm going on about it like Leon goes on about Covid. Sorry...
Single shot movies are defined as one shot or looking like one shot. It was really well done though.
The other day I saw some film of the filming showing the actors handing over the camera to each other to make it a single shot. One was filming outside of a car and then the camera handed over to an actor in the car filming outside of it. Another was an actor filming people walking in front of her, She hands the camera over to one of the people she is filming, who now films her walking in front of them.
It looked impossible yet the scenes were seamless. No sign of the handover of the camera. Absolutely brilliant watching it done, but I would have been oblivious of it just watching the scenes, as I guess it should be.
Brilliant skill.
Stephen Graham was in a (not very good) film about an angry chef which was all done in one shot.
It spawned a TV show.
I think he is a very good actor. I vaguely remember the show you are referring to being advertised but didn't watch it. When interviewed he always comes over well. He comes over as passionate and interesting.
One in 10 of us have no close friends, according to a new survey. Opinium questioned 10,000 adults across the UK and found middle-aged men are the most lonely. Researchers say a lack of meaningful social contact is leading to more stress and higher mortality rates."
I have to admit, that apart from wife and 3 or 4 adult children/siblings, I have only 1 friend, and I wouldn't describe him as close.
I think men struggle with this a lot, we tend to just meet up with our wives' friends' partners. (Sidebar - are those apostrophes right)? It's particularly hard with young children I think. There's a local charity near me connecting dads, particularly single dads.
You'd be amazed how many mates keep in touch once you've got your own tyre and wheel balancing machines. It never fucking ends.
I once broke into a friend's house in broad daylight to intercept a letter that his mistress had sent his wife while he was enjoying the benefits of a long haul aviation career in San Diego and his wife was at work. #brocode
Mental, you sound like a great guy to have a pint with. @Dura_Ace
Comments
I just thought you were suggesting I might get hold of some new peepers that way.
Lyon in November. Dense fogs. Definitely noom.
https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/seventeen-years-after-that-nice-mr-musk-sued-me-victory-is-mine-z6m5lq90t
It’s Threads, but an internal Threads.
Indeed I wonder if it is the best time, period. Summer is fucking hideous with the crowds but even if you took the crowds away it would be horribly hot and sticky. In December it is pure melancholy poetry, everywhere is grey and wet and beautiful and haunted by a trillion ghosts, and then you merrily crowd into some little bar for cheap wine and those Venetian tapas and you emerge as the moon shines over deserted St Marks Square - deserted!
@GoodwinMJ
An Egyptian asylum seeker began a £12 million people-smuggling operation, which carried 3,700 migrants from Africa to Europe, within days of arriving in the UK on a small boat. He ran the operation from a home he was given in Isleworth, west London
Our borders are a joke
4:34 PM · Mar 22, 2025
77.2K Views"
https://x.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1903485467988758825
BTW It is really remarkable, the sense of wealth on this stretch of Uruguayan coast, mile after mile of chic modernist villas and quietly expensive cars - hidden in the dunes and pine stands, behind the pampas grass (they can’t ALL be swingers). it goes on for an hour or more. It feels like every successful businessman/gangster in Latin America has invested here. I now see why they call it the Switzerland of South America
@thisisgoradio
One in 10 of us have no close friends, according to a new survey.
Opinium questioned 10,000 adults across the UK and found middle-aged men are the most lonely.
Researchers say a lack of meaningful social contact is leading to more stress and higher mortality rates."
https://x.com/thisisgoradio/status/1897910138356264987
As recreated for the discerning Senegalese diner in this Dakar hangout:
Trump isn't doing this on his own.
In that world, ex-presidents do not comment on their successors and remain quiet in dignified silence.
That world is being obliterated and they need to speak out.
At least Cheney (snr) said Trump was the worst threat to the Republic since its founding during the election.
That of course is a terrifying thought given some of their rulings over recent years. If Trump was then to ignore the Supreme Court if they ruled against him I think there will be a complete break down in law and order and huge civil unrest .
Mark Carney
@MarkJCarney
Elbows up, Canada.
https://x.com/MarkJCarney/status/1903567614267310182
With Mike Myers.
However Trump won the presidential election and the popular vote and the GOP the Congress so if ex Presidents opposed him Trump just can reinforce his messyas being the anti establishment voice of the people. Until the midterms he remains untouched
It’s a case of Luke Skywalker v The Death Star.
The ability to make and keep friends feels, to me, partly innate. And partly learned
I am lucky that I have it (if it is luck), I find it easy to make friends, I have LEARNED that you then have to work at it, to keep them, however. You must cultivate them like plants, they need the water of communication every so often. Stay in touch!
On the other hand I am crap at family/domestic life. I find it constricting and kick against it, in ways which hurt others (and me)
I envy others the apparent happiness of domestic contentment, even as others have envied me the ability to make friends on the go. We all play the hand we are dealt
Eric Daugherty
@EricLDaugh
·
12h
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is running for president in 2028
https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1903419387174175071
There is probably no way another candidate than Harris would have beaten Trump.
https://x.com/lxeagle17/status/1903635670750683223
I've said this before but I think major Democrats and strategists *still* take the Black vote entirely for granted.
I do not believe people have properly internalized how titanic the shifts against Democrats were poised to be among Black voters if Biden had stayed on the ticket.
Virtually every major minority group (Asians, Latinos, and Native Americans) all saw a huge shift to the right. People are somehow still confident that Black voters, who didn't shift much at all by comparison, would still be fine if the party publicly bypassed Harris for Whitmer...
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/22/all-uk-families-to-be-worse-off-by-2030-as-poor-bear-the-brunt-new-data-warns
Living standards for all UK families are set to fall by 2030, with those on the lowest incomes declining twice as fast as middle and high earners, according to new data that raises serious questions about Keir Starmer’s pledge to make working people better off.
The grim economic analysis, produced by the respected Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), comes before the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, makes her spring statement on Wednesday in which she will announce new cuts to public spending rather than increase borrowing or raise taxes, so as to keep within the government’s “iron clad” fiscal rules...
It would be the first time in seventy years that living standards have fallen during a Parliament.
Eden still won the subsequent election.
I hadn't realised Attlee lost twice against the Conservatives despite getting 48.8% of the vote to their 48%, both times.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62zm4eqvp7o
"I don't regard Putin as a bad guy," he said. "He's super smart."
Witkoff, who met Putin ten days ago, said the Russian president had been "gracious" and "straight up" with him. Putin told him, he added, that he had prayed for Trump after an assassination attempt against him last year. He also said Putin had commissioned a portrait of the US president as a gift and Trump was "clearly touched by it".
...
He said: "The largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions, Donbas, Crimea, you know the names and there are two others."
"Witkoff made several assertions that are either not true or disputed:
He said Ukrainian troops in Kursk were surrounded, something denied by Ukraine's government and uncorroborated by any open-source data
He said the four partially occupied regions of Ukraine had held "referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule". There were referendums only in some of the occupied parts of Ukraine at different times and the methodology and results were widely discredited and disputed
He said the four partially occupied oblasts were Russian-speaking. There are many Russian-speaking parts of Ukraine but this has never indicated support for Russia."
I once broke into a friend's house in broad daylight to intercept a letter that his mistress had sent his wife while he was enjoying the benefits of a long haul aviation career in San Diego and his wife was at work. #brocode
Or the US administration.
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/briefs/musk-pac-offers-wisconsin-voters-100-for-signing-petition-against-activist-judges/
Trump envoy dismisses Starmer plan for Ukraine
A tech company has a server that many of its worldwide systems rely on. (*) Many systems and processes rely on interrogating that server, which has apparently been called the same name for decades. Every few years, the server, and its backups, get replaced. But no-one cares, as it only exists to everyone else as a name. The server has almost mythical status, as no-one outside global IT knows, or cares, where it is located. It is just (NAME)
From the perspective of everyone using it, even when it is replaced, it is still the 'same' server, even if the hardware is totally different. From that perspective - the user's perspective - Trigger's Broom is still the 'same' broom, as it fulfils exactly the same role as it always has.
In the same way, the average lifespan of a cell in the human body is under ten years. Does the many-time replacement of most of my cells mean that I am, or am not, the same person I was when I was born, 52 years ago today, when only a few cells in my brain, muscles and eyes remain the same?
(*) And yes, there are redundant fallback backups at different places around the world.
https://x.com/sammywoodhouse1/status/1903537439676760145?s=61
One of the things I dislike with films is when they just remake the same film. In the same way that The Force Awakens is basically just the original Star Wars, done worse. It's good when they're brave enough to try and alter, or even subvert, a well-known film or concept.
The problem, of course, is fans. Hardcore fans act as though they own the thing they love, and anything that goes against their image of something is BAD and needs SHOUTING ABOUT. This is particularly true for Star Wars and Star Trek fans. Instead of treating the latest thing as another angle or perspective on something.
(Not so much Doctor Who fans IME, perhaps because Doctor Who has had so many iterations and variations that it is stupidly internally inconsistent anyway...)
NEW THREAD
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/putin-said-prayed-donald-trump-2024-assassination-attempt-rcna197629
Putin “told me a story ... about how when the president was shot, he went to his local church and met with his priest and prayed for the president,” Witkoff said. Putin did it “not because ... he could become the president of the United States, but because he had a friendship with him, and he was praying for his friend.”
Is this guy a fucking moron, or does he think that other people are stupid enough to buy this shit?
There's an interesting and amusing book on the topic of male friendship that I would recommend.
https://www.maxdickins.com/billy-no-mates
You are right that male friendships revolve around a shared activity, such as car repairs, heritage railways, football etc. It's rare for men to meet up to be purely social and for psychological support.
As I approach retirement I am conscious that most of my social relationships revolve around work , so have been consciously cultivating new ones in other areas of life.
Lots of bedwetting goes on about Musk in these parts but this is really shabby.
https://x.com/ianbremmer/status/1903648999283782011?s=61