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  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,378

    On Mandelson; yet more evidence that bringing in political appointments to diplomatic posts is a stupid idea. Plush positions like US ambassador should be reserved for hard working civil servants, bless them.

    On the same topic, £75,000 feels a lot to pay out for someone removed in disgrace, but then again he did procure two snooker tables for business department officials to enjoy, which presumably did wonderful things to mandarins wellbeing and productivity, so let's call it even from a taxpayers perspective.

    It's nothing

    Dildo Harding fecked up every job she ever had. They gave her 37 billion quid to build a glorified spreadsheet.

  • nico67nico67 Posts: 7,260
    The Daily Mail article seems they found a couple of disgruntled expats and that’s it. I doubt very much there’ll be a mass exodus back to Blighty .

  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 58,192
    https://x.com/infolibnews/status/2032191579981529591

    Netanyahu: The war in Iran is turning Israel into a "global superpower."
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 57,859
    Andy_JS said:

    We just had a ferocious rainstorm here in the Midlands.

    I'll see your rain and raise you a hail storm.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 22,240
    Brixian59 said:

    On Mandelson; yet more evidence that bringing in political appointments to diplomatic posts is a stupid idea. Plush positions like US ambassador should be reserved for hard working civil servants, bless them.

    On the same topic, £75,000 feels a lot to pay out for someone removed in disgrace, but then again he did procure two snooker tables for business department officials to enjoy, which presumably did wonderful things to mandarins wellbeing and productivity, so let's call it even from a taxpayers perspective.

    It's nothing

    Dildo Harding fecked up every job she ever had. They gave her 37 billion quid to build a glorified spreadsheet.

    I assume you never used a ‘free’ Covid test kit then! I am sick of idiots moaning about all the money spent. I know people who still have covid tests stockpiled at home. They used to take two boxes home every day.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 78,039

    https://x.com/infolibnews/status/2032191579981529591

    Netanyahu: The war in Iran is turning Israel into a "global superpower."

    So it’s not just Trump and Another Richard that are totally tonto.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 57,859

    The UK's asylum appeals backlog has reached a record high, almost doubling in size in almost a year, according to data published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on Thursday.

    There were 80,333 appeals waiting to be heard at the end of 2025, up from 41,987 a year earlier and the average waiting time for an asylum appeal was 63 weeks, up from 48 weeks in 2024.

    I suspect that this is an inevitable consequence of the current government's efforts to have more and quicker decisions made at first instance. Who could possibly have foreseen such a thing?
  • nico67nico67 Posts: 7,260

    https://x.com/infolibnews/status/2032191579981529591

    Netanyahu: The war in Iran is turning Israel into a "global superpower."

    He’s insane . Unless he means how many people the IDF can slaughter in which case yes they’re a superpower .
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,378

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    stodge said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    Another day, another, well, we'll see, at Cheltenham.

    I come on here and read we are going to deport immigrants - I thought we already deported those whose applications for asylum were unsuccessful but it seems instead as was the case once with tax and spend, we are embarking on a dutch auction to see who can be the "hardest" on immigration. A fine example of what happens when your have Government and Opposition positions determined by focus groups and tweets rather than what is good for the country.

    It also seems we want to continue with one of our stupidest moves in the past 30-40 years - there's no problem with taking infrastructure out of public hands but we sell it to foreign companies. Fine, we get a nice little sum in the coffers but longer term you end up with the spectacle of British consumers having to pay more for their electricity and gas to foreign companies who use that to subsidise the costs their home customers pay.

    Poor foreign people aren't welcome but rich foreign companies are - we begrudge any money going to the former but we are happy to pay more than we should to the latter - makes no sense at all.

    How do you explain so many favourites turned over by winners so far out in the betting at this Cheltenham Stodge?

    Correct me where I have the science wrong, Punters back horses down to shorter odds - a few antepost fancied runners have drifted, and won, whilst some horses have come in on the betting in the last week to go off favourites and come nowhere - I should know, I was on them and watched them go backwards as 40-1 outsiders glided passed them.

    It’s got to be something to do with where punters are getting their guidance? It should be based on what we have seen, evidence based? Course and distance hasn’t changed nor has the going.

    Is mainstream media, alt and social media, pushing some runners without enough evidence, or journalism not previewing races objectively enough?
    Might be all of that or none of that.

    Mullins has had a right go at Jon Pullin and Cheltenham over the going but the problem is the course drains so well and so quickly you can have the wettest January and February for years and you are still having to water to stop the ground going too fast.

    At Auteuil, they water constantly to provide Soft or Heavy ground all year round and Cheltenham could provide that on one of the courses I imagine but the truth is the course just doesn't hold the moisture as it once did.

    Throw in the nonsense of the starts and you get a meeting which for me is getting too big for its own boots. I'd take it back to three days and move some of the championship races to other tracks.

    I'd also look seriously at having the whole Festival in mid February with the National at the end of February IF you want a soft ground spectacle.

    You can't have the three main staying chases (the Betfair, the King George and the Gold Cup) all run on Good ground - you need to guarantee one can be run on genuinely soft or even heavy turf.

    I'm sure the Ed Chamberlins of this world will have you believe Cheltenham is an unqualified triumph which, to paraphrase Mary Poppins, is "practically perfect in every way". It isn't and pandering to the crowds to get 60,000 every day through the gates misses the point if the racing itself is the victim whether it's the starts or the surface.

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    Kemi going in boots on over Starmer having sent petrol prices through the roof with his war with Iran.

    I wonder if she's thought about blockading Ebbsfleet and Fawley with trucks and tractors like Hague did in 2000.

    Go on girl!

    Surely Starmer just says: I never supported this war, but you did - you own these rises.
    Some insane idiots actually believe her shit

    They need sectioning.

    Global oil price rises are all Starmer's fault

    That what she is saying.

    Well Ed Miliband thinks we can save the climate by setting an example to other countries so why wouldn't the same logic work here?

    If we set an example by going to war with Iran and everyone else followed our lead, it would surely be over in no time, leading to a glut of oil on global markets.
    You seriously think that.
    Your off your rocker

    Thanks to 14 years and 22% cut in defence spending under Kemi Badenoch Tory Party our Armed Forces are hollowed out.

    So let's assume we'd have gone all in, every available plane, ship

    What difference would we have made

    2% 3%??

    Every citizen, city, town, village in this Country would be at risk to soothe the blinking idiots fucking vanity.

    2% or 3% would be more than our share of global climate emissions.

    It's more about our ability to lead by example and encourage others to step up. Is Keir Starmer not a globally respected figure to whom people around the world look for guidance on moral and political questions? If people saw him getting involved, it would be a signal to the likes of Xi and Modi to get on the right side of history.
    What's global warming got to do with declaring war on Iran

    What's petrol pump increases got to do with starmer
    There's no skill in finding a favourite

    Hours studying form can regularly find legitimate handicap winners at double figure prices with enough regularity to make a profit.

    I've had an 18!1 winner and 25/1,, and 33/1 each way places horses this week

    Problem is it takes me an hour to research a 20 runner race so 1 or 2 max a day

    So many variables

    Handicap mark
    Weigh
    Going
    Right or Left handed
    Undulating or Flat
    Trainer form
    Jockey form

    Mares tend to win at certain points of their cycle


    If you are claiming hormonal fluctuations do create barrier to horses winning, does that apply to all life on earth, including humans? Ladies cannot produce their best “whilst on heat?”

    Do you wish to withdraw what you said about racing mares?

    My latest prediction is, you are heading for a spell in “the toilets” or worse.
    Mares in horse racing have decidedly better form at certain stages in there 6 month cycle.

    I've studied it for profit.

    Trainers are aware of it and specifically run in certain months.

    I've recently made a tidy sum on an Irish mare called Milan away. She won and placed in a number of races in an 8 week window.

    Back in the day the East German athletes were encouraged, sickeningly so in some cases to get pregnant 6 to 8 weeks before major Championships. The peak hormonal boost in the first trimester.

    The bastards then made them have abortions.

    Back to horses you'll often find a 6 or 7 year old mare on flat or jumps will have peak form in 8 week periods twice a year.

    If feminists can't cope with an excellent way to profit in the sport if kings tough shit.

    I'll find some examples in the coming weeks and post them for you to check out.
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,378

    Brixian59 said:

    On Mandelson; yet more evidence that bringing in political appointments to diplomatic posts is a stupid idea. Plush positions like US ambassador should be reserved for hard working civil servants, bless them.

    On the same topic, £75,000 feels a lot to pay out for someone removed in disgrace, but then again he did procure two snooker tables for business department officials to enjoy, which presumably did wonderful things to mandarins wellbeing and productivity, so let's call it even from a taxpayers perspective.

    It's nothing

    Dildo Harding fecked up every job she ever had. They gave her 37 billion quid to build a glorified spreadsheet.

    I assume you never used a ‘free’ Covid test kit then! I am sick of idiots moaning about all the money spent. I know people who still have covid tests stockpiled at home. They used to take two boxes home every day.
    Dido was tasked with building a track and trace system

    It never worked and the money vanished.

    Countless Tories made millions setting up new companies and got fast tracked to the VIP lane

    Just wait for the COVID Enquiry to report.

    Tories will never recover
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,654

    https://x.com/infolibnews/status/2032191579981529591

    Netanyahu: The war in Iran is turning Israel into a "global superpower."

    Patrick Wintour
    @patrickwintour

    Trump has given Israel roughly a week to show that it can bring home regime change in Iran. According to Kayhan London “Israeli micro-drones and UAVs began targeting IRGC, Basij, and Law Enforcement checkpoints in several cities including Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz.
    “Under conditions where keeping streets under control is a key element for preserving the survival of the entire regime, targeting the suppressors at checkpoints is in fact a strike against the last protective shields of the Islamic Republic.”
    The death toll is likely to be high. This is Netanyahu’s best and probably last chance to fulfil a decades long plan to destroy the regime. He knows he is working against a clock and the oil price.

    https://x.com/patrickwintour/status/2032178421489389755
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,378
    nico67 said:

    https://x.com/infolibnews/status/2032191579981529591

    Netanyahu: The war in Iran is turning Israel into a "global superpower."

    He’s insane . Unless he means how many people the IDF can slaughter in which case yes they’re a superpower .
    Finally people are realising this moronic cnut makes Piol Pot look like U Thant.

  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 63,482
    DavidL said:

    Aaron Rupar
    @atrupar

    Trump is delulu: "Jobs are coming in through the roof and we have factories being built all over the country. We've taken in $18 trillion plus in 11 months."

    https://x.com/atrupar/status/2032193635454800139

    The US fiscal deficit for 2026 is forecast to be $1.9trn which is 5.8% of GDP. So $18trn in 11 months would be over 50% of GDP. Which is a rather long way of saying the man is genuinely mad.
    He just makes up shit.

    This is not new news.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,654
    edited 9:13PM
    DavidL said:

    Andy_JS said:

    We just had a ferocious rainstorm here in the Midlands.

    I'll see your rain and raise you a hail storm.
    Wild conditions at the Forest match.

    Edit: I'm watching on TV not actually there!
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 15,433
    edited 9:18PM

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    stodge said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    Another day, another, well, we'll see, at Cheltenham.

    I come on here and read we are going to deport immigrants - I thought we already deported those whose applications for asylum were unsuccessful but it seems instead as was the case once with tax and spend, we are embarking on a dutch auction to see who can be the "hardest" on immigration. A fine example of what happens when your have Government and Opposition positions determined by focus groups and tweets rather than what is good for the country.

    It also seems we want to continue with one of our stupidest moves in the past 30-40 years - there's no problem with taking infrastructure out of public hands but we sell it to foreign companies. Fine, we get a nice little sum in the coffers but longer term you end up with the spectacle of British consumers having to pay more for their electricity and gas to foreign companies who use that to subsidise the costs their home customers pay.

    Poor foreign people aren't welcome but rich foreign companies are - we begrudge any money going to the former but we are happy to pay more than we should to the latter - makes no sense at all.

    How do you explain so many favourites turned over by winners so far out in the betting at this Cheltenham Stodge?

    Correct me where I have the science wrong, Punters back horses down to shorter odds - a few antepost fancied runners have drifted, and won, whilst some horses have come in on the betting in the last week to go off favourites and come nowhere - I should know, I was on them and watched them go backwards as 40-1 outsiders glided passed them.

    It’s got to be something to do with where punters are getting their guidance? It should be based on what we have seen, evidence based? Course and distance hasn’t changed nor has the going.

    Is mainstream media, alt and social media, pushing some runners without enough evidence, or journalism not previewing races objectively enough?
    Might be all of that or none of that.

    Mullins has had a right go at Jon Pullin and Cheltenham over the going but the problem is the course drains so well and so quickly you can have the wettest January and February for years and you are still having to water to stop the ground going too fast.

    At Auteuil, they water constantly to provide Soft or Heavy ground all year round and Cheltenham could provide that on one of the courses I imagine but the truth is the course just doesn't hold the moisture as it once did.

    Throw in the nonsense of the starts and you get a meeting which for me is getting too big for its own boots. I'd take it back to three days and move some of the championship races to other tracks.

    I'd also look seriously at having the whole Festival in mid February with the National at the end of February IF you want a soft ground spectacle.

    You can't have the three main staying chases (the Betfair, the King George and the Gold Cup) all run on Good ground - you need to guarantee one can be run on genuinely soft or even heavy turf.

    I'm sure the Ed Chamberlins of this world will have you believe Cheltenham is an unqualified triumph which, to paraphrase Mary Poppins, is "practically perfect in every way". It isn't and pandering to the crowds to get 60,000 every day through the gates misses the point if the racing itself is the victim whether it's the starts or the surface.

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    Kemi going in boots on over Starmer having sent petrol prices through the roof with his war with Iran.

    I wonder if she's thought about blockading Ebbsfleet and Fawley with trucks and tractors like Hague did in 2000.

    Go on girl!

    Surely Starmer just says: I never supported this war, but you did - you own these rises.
    Some insane idiots actually believe her shit

    They need sectioning.

    Global oil price rises are all Starmer's fault

    That what she is saying.

    Well Ed Miliband thinks we can save the climate by setting an example to other countries so why wouldn't the same logic work here?

    If we set an example by going to war with Iran and everyone else followed our lead, it would surely be over in no time, leading to a glut of oil on global markets.
    You seriously think that.
    Your off your rocker

    Thanks to 14 years and 22% cut in defence spending under Kemi Badenoch Tory Party our Armed Forces are hollowed out.

    So let's assume we'd have gone all in, every available plane, ship

    What difference would we have made

    2% 3%??

    Every citizen, city, town, village in this Country would be at risk to soothe the blinking idiots fucking vanity.

    2% or 3% would be more than our share of global climate emissions.

    It's more about our ability to lead by example and encourage others to step up. Is Keir Starmer not a globally respected figure to whom people around the world look for guidance on moral and political questions? If people saw him getting involved, it would be a signal to the likes of Xi and Modi to get on the right side of history.
    What's global warming got to do with declaring war on Iran

    What's petrol pump increases got to do with starmer
    There's no skill in finding a favourite

    Hours studying form can regularly find legitimate handicap winners at double figure prices with enough regularity to make a profit.

    I've had an 18!1 winner and 25/1,, and 33/1 each way places horses this week

    Problem is it takes me an hour to research a 20 runner race so 1 or 2 max a day

    So many variables

    Handicap mark
    Weigh
    Going
    Right or Left handed
    Undulating or Flat
    Trainer form
    Jockey form

    Mares tend to win at certain points of their cycle


    If you are claiming hormonal fluctuations do create barrier to horses winning, does that apply to all life on earth, including humans? Ladies cannot produce their best “whilst on heat?”

    Do you wish to withdraw what you said about racing mares?

    My latest prediction is, you are heading for a spell in “the toilets” or worse.
    "Laddies" toilet?
    They are communal.

    You can tell how long Leon and Isam have spent there, from their graffiti on the walls.

    Brixians graffiti are likely to be Neanderthal cave paintings.
  • GeorgeMikesGeorgeMikes Posts: 18
    edited 9:14PM
    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    On Mandelson; yet more evidence that bringing in political appointments to diplomatic posts is a stupid idea. Plush positions like US ambassador should be reserved for hard working civil servants, bless them.

    On the same topic, £75,000 feels a lot to pay out for someone removed in disgrace, but then again he did procure two snooker tables for business department officials to enjoy, which presumably did wonderful things to mandarins wellbeing and productivity, so let's call it even from a taxpayers perspective.

    It's nothing

    Dildo Harding fecked up every job she ever had. They gave her 37 billion quid to build a glorified spreadsheet.

    I assume you never used a ‘free’ Covid test kit then! I am sick of idiots moaning about all the money spent. I know people who still have covid tests stockpiled at home. They used to take two boxes home every day.
    Dido was tasked with building a track and trace system

    It never worked and the money vanished.

    Countless Tories made millions setting up new companies and got fast tracked to the VIP lane

    Just wait for the COVID Enquiry to report.

    Tories will never recover
    Yes, it was fairly obviously corrupt. The funny thing is that they must have known it would all become a matter of public record. It's both a sign of how desperately low the conservative administration had slipped, and perhaps a bit of thinking 'we might all be dead next week, might as well cash in'.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 57,859
    rcs1000 said:

    DavidL said:

    Aaron Rupar
    @atrupar

    Trump is delulu: "Jobs are coming in through the roof and we have factories being built all over the country. We've taken in $18 trillion plus in 11 months."

    https://x.com/atrupar/status/2032193635454800139

    The US fiscal deficit for 2026 is forecast to be $1.9trn which is 5.8% of GDP. So $18trn in 11 months would be over 50% of GDP. Which is a rather long way of saying the man is genuinely mad.
    He just makes up shit.

    This is not new news.
    And those jobs coming in through the roof (slaters and scaffolders, perhaps?) don't seem to be stopping the unemployment rate gradually creeping up to 4.5%.
  • Are we down to one supporter of the Iran War
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 15,433
    edited 9:16PM
    Yokes - We attacked Iran with no clear plan for regime change - say the Israeli security sources.

    Is there much substance to Israel security services so publicly calling this bit out?

    I’m suspicious. Surely the government/politicians can argue back, planning all this involves the security services, and security services cannot speak out publicly like this in the middle of a war.

    More likely this is a media outlet publishing what it wants to be true, journalists only existing in an echo chamber of made up stories like this one?

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/12/israel-iran-us-attack-no-plan-for-regime-change-security-sources

    A supplementary question, if I may. Israel sending coordinates for US to target and hit without really knowing what they are shooting at - how large scale do we guess this is, in this war? Is it something US military command happy to embrace, or told to go this route by their politicians?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,048
    nico67 said:

    The Daily Mail article seems they found a couple of disgruntled expats and that’s it. I doubt very much there’ll be a mass exodus back to Blighty .

    I wouldn't be so sure

    People do not like being bombed

    East Asian cities will benefit. No one is going to attack Singapore. Bangkok is pretty safe. Hong Kong suddenly looks less scary

    But there may also be a benefit to London, Paris, etc

    If our government had any sense (they do not) they would sieze this moment to reverse some of the non-dom changes and make golden visas available to people wanting to flee Dubai for London. The tax gain would be significant. Unfortunately, we are governed by Labour
  • nico67nico67 Posts: 7,260
    edited 9:20PM
    What’s most disgusting is the two stains on humanity trying to get Iranian civilians to protest and get slaughtered.

    If the USA and Israel want regime change then put boots on the ground otherwise just STFU !

  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 29,041
    ydoethur said:

    https://x.com/infolibnews/status/2032191579981529591

    Netanyahu: The war in Iran is turning Israel into a "global superpower."

    So it’s not just Trump and Another Richard that are totally tonto.
    Perhaps you would prefer it I would cheer along and wave the pompoms.

    Okay then.

    Joe Biden is fit for office.
    Hunter Biden is a victim of a political witch hunt.
    Even if Hunter Biden is guilty he will never be given a presidential pardon.
    The prosecutions of Trump are masterpieces of legal planning.
    Trump cannot win because his crowds are so small.
    Dems never gerrymander.

    Alternatively I'll keep pointing out the occasional uncomfortable truth.

    And you know why that's important ?

    Because when groupthink become obligatory people stop thinking.
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,378

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    On Mandelson; yet more evidence that bringing in political appointments to diplomatic posts is a stupid idea. Plush positions like US ambassador should be reserved for hard working civil servants, bless them.

    On the same topic, £75,000 feels a lot to pay out for someone removed in disgrace, but then again he did procure two snooker tables for business department officials to enjoy, which presumably did wonderful things to mandarins wellbeing and productivity, so let's call it even from a taxpayers perspective.

    It's nothing

    Dildo Harding fecked up every job she ever had. They gave her 37 billion quid to build a glorified spreadsheet.

    I assume you never used a ‘free’ Covid test kit then! I am sick of idiots moaning about all the money spent. I know people who still have covid tests stockpiled at home. They used to take two boxes home every day.
    Dido was tasked with building a track and trace system

    It never worked and the money vanished.

    Countless Tories made millions setting up new companies and got fast tracked to the VIP lane

    Just wait for the COVID Enquiry to report.

    Tories will never recover
    Yes, it was fairly obviously corrupt. The funny thing is that they must have known it would all become a matter of public record. It's both a sign of how desperately low the conservative administration had slipped, and perhaps a bit of thinking 'we might all be dead next week, might as well cash in'.
    I have a good friend in the East Midlands who had excellent work wear contacts with China and a business established 20 years.

    He filled in all the forms, proved his track record nd got agreed delivery schedules for PPE specifically masks supied by him for asbestos and other dangerous wirk

    The Chinese confirmed masks were compliant for hospitals.

    He never heard back

    He was then told by his Contacts that a newco in UK had bought every bit of PPE they had at 4 x the going rate. He found out the name of the newco.

    4 directors, 3 of which were councillors. The company traded for 14 months and was then liquidated owing hundreds of thousands. Very similar to One case
  • RandallFlaggRandallFlagg Posts: 1,443

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15638471/Dubai-finished-Expats-say-leave-never-come-tax-free-dream-shattered-war-officials-begin-prosecuting-people-posting-videos-missiles.html

    'Dubai is finished': Expats say they will leave and never come back as tax-free dream is shattered by war and officials begin prosecuting people for posting videos of missiles

    Victory for Rachel in Accounts.
  • RogerRoger Posts: 22,539
    Apparently Israel too don't allow photos of missiles. In fact they go further and don't allow photos of buildings which have been hit. Mind you they aren't a tax haven

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r19KiozCjbg
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 58,192
    https://x.com/FaytuksNetwork/status/2032187413347365230

    Information used to target Basij checkpoints in Tehran airstrikes was provided by ordinary Iranians via Israeli Persian-language social media accounts, a senior Israeli security official says. The tips are vetted by Israeli intelligence before any strike is carried out. — WSJ
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 13,667
    A

    https://x.com/infolibnews/status/2032191579981529591

    Netanyahu: The war in Iran is turning Israel into a "global superpower."

    Patrick Wintour
    @patrickwintour

    Trump has given Israel roughly a week to show that it can bring home regime change in Iran. According to Kayhan London “Israeli micro-drones and UAVs began targeting IRGC, Basij, and Law Enforcement checkpoints in several cities including Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz.
    “Under conditions where keeping streets under control is a key element for preserving the survival of the entire regime, targeting the suppressors at checkpoints is in fact a strike against the last protective shields of the Islamic Republic.”
    The death toll is likely to be high. This is Netanyahu’s best and probably last chance to fulfil a decades long plan to destroy the regime. He knows he is working against a clock and the oil price.

    https://x.com/patrickwintour/status/2032178421489389755
    I don't get the sense that the Iranian regime will settle after a week (and that's assuming that have any semblance of control over the various IRGC units). But this kind of reporting suggests to me that Trump doesn't understand that at all.

    I don't want to go all Barty but the Israelis/Americans need to prepare for a months/years long campaign of desperately trying to keep the strait open.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 57,859

    ydoethur said:

    https://x.com/infolibnews/status/2032191579981529591

    Netanyahu: The war in Iran is turning Israel into a "global superpower."

    So it’s not just Trump and Another Richard that are totally tonto.
    Perhaps you would prefer it I would cheer along and wave the pompoms.

    Okay then.

    Joe Biden is fit for office.
    Hunter Biden is a victim of a political witch hunt.
    Even if Hunter Biden is guilty he will never be given a presidential pardon.
    The prosecutions of Trump are masterpieces of legal planning.
    Trump cannot win because his crowds are so small.
    Dems never gerrymander.

    Alternatively I'll keep pointing out the occasional uncomfortable truth.

    And you know why that's important ?

    Because when groupthink become obligatory people stop thinking.
    “In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
  • BlancheLivermoreBlancheLivermore Posts: 7,654
    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    stodge said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    Another day, another, well, we'll see, at Cheltenham.

    I come on here and read we are going to deport immigrants - I thought we already deported those whose applications for asylum were unsuccessful but it seems instead as was the case once with tax and spend, we are embarking on a dutch auction to see who can be the "hardest" on immigration. A fine example of what happens when your have Government and Opposition positions determined by focus groups and tweets rather than what is good for the country.

    It also seems we want to continue with one of our stupidest moves in the past 30-40 years - there's no problem with taking infrastructure out of public hands but we sell it to foreign companies. Fine, we get a nice little sum in the coffers but longer term you end up with the spectacle of British consumers having to pay more for their electricity and gas to foreign companies who use that to subsidise the costs their home customers pay.

    Poor foreign people aren't welcome but rich foreign companies are - we begrudge any money going to the former but we are happy to pay more than we should to the latter - makes no sense at all.

    How do you explain so many favourites turned over by winners so far out in the betting at this Cheltenham Stodge?

    Correct me where I have the science wrong, Punters back horses down to shorter odds - a few antepost fancied runners have drifted, and won, whilst some horses have come in on the betting in the last week to go off favourites and come nowhere - I should know, I was on them and watched them go backwards as 40-1 outsiders glided passed them.

    It’s got to be something to do with where punters are getting their guidance? It should be based on what we have seen, evidence based? Course and distance hasn’t changed nor has the going.

    Is mainstream media, alt and social media, pushing some runners without enough evidence, or journalism not previewing races objectively enough?
    Might be all of that or none of that.

    Mullins has had a right go at Jon Pullin and Cheltenham over the going but the problem is the course drains so well and so quickly you can have the wettest January and February for years and you are still having to water to stop the ground going too fast.

    At Auteuil, they water constantly to provide Soft or Heavy ground all year round and Cheltenham could provide that on one of the courses I imagine but the truth is the course just doesn't hold the moisture as it once did.

    Throw in the nonsense of the starts and you get a meeting which for me is getting too big for its own boots. I'd take it back to three days and move some of the championship races to other tracks.

    I'd also look seriously at having the whole Festival in mid February with the National at the end of February IF you want a soft ground spectacle.

    You can't have the three main staying chases (the Betfair, the King George and the Gold Cup) all run on Good ground - you need to guarantee one can be run on genuinely soft or even heavy turf.

    I'm sure the Ed Chamberlins of this world will have you believe Cheltenham is an unqualified triumph which, to paraphrase Mary Poppins, is "practically perfect in every way". It isn't and pandering to the crowds to get 60,000 every day through the gates misses the point if the racing itself is the victim whether it's the starts or the surface.

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    Kemi going in boots on over Starmer having sent petrol prices through the roof with his war with Iran.

    I wonder if she's thought about blockading Ebbsfleet and Fawley with trucks and tractors like Hague did in 2000.

    Go on girl!

    Surely Starmer just says: I never supported this war, but you did - you own these rises.
    Some insane idiots actually believe her shit

    They need sectioning.

    Global oil price rises are all Starmer's fault

    That what she is saying.

    Well Ed Miliband thinks we can save the climate by setting an example to other countries so why wouldn't the same logic work here?

    If we set an example by going to war with Iran and everyone else followed our lead, it would surely be over in no time, leading to a glut of oil on global markets.
    You seriously think that.
    Your off your rocker

    Thanks to 14 years and 22% cut in defence spending under Kemi Badenoch Tory Party our Armed Forces are hollowed out.

    So let's assume we'd have gone all in, every available plane, ship

    What difference would we have made

    2% 3%??

    Every citizen, city, town, village in this Country would be at risk to soothe the blinking idiots fucking vanity.

    2% or 3% would be more than our share of global climate emissions.

    It's more about our ability to lead by example and encourage others to step up. Is Keir Starmer not a globally respected figure to whom people around the world look for guidance on moral and political questions? If people saw him getting involved, it would be a signal to the likes of Xi and Modi to get on the right side of history.
    What's global warming got to do with declaring war on Iran

    What's petrol pump increases got to do with starmer
    There's no skill in finding a favourite

    Hours studying form can regularly find legitimate handicap winners at double figure prices with enough regularity to make a profit.

    I've had an 18!1 winner and 25/1,, and 33/1 each way places horses this week

    Problem is it takes me an hour to research a 20 runner race so 1 or 2 max a day

    So many variables

    Handicap mark
    Weigh
    Going
    Right or Left handed
    Undulating or Flat
    Trainer form
    Jockey form

    Mares tend to win at certain points of their cycle


    If you are claiming hormonal fluctuations do create barrier to horses winning, does that apply to all life on earth, including humans? Ladies cannot produce their best “whilst on heat?”

    Do you wish to withdraw what you said about racing mares?

    My latest prediction is, you are heading for a spell in “the toilets” or worse.
    Mares in horse racing have decidedly better form at certain stages in there 6 month cycle.

    I've studied it for profit.

    Trainers are aware of it and specifically run in certain months.

    I've recently made a tidy sum on an Irish mare called Milan away. She won and placed in a number of races in an 8 week window.

    Back in the day the East German athletes were encouraged, sickeningly so in some cases to get pregnant 6 to 8 weeks before major Championships. The peak hormonal boost in the first trimester.

    The bastards then made them have abortions.

    Back to horses you'll often find a 6 or 7 year old mare on flat or jumps will have peak form in 8 week periods twice a year.

    If feminists can't cope with an excellent way to profit in the sport if kings tough shit.

    I'll find some examples in the coming weeks and post them for you to check out.
    I bet some of the East Germans sounded like men

    Maybe Kemi is one of them..
  • MattWMattW Posts: 32,587

    https://x.com/infolibnews/status/2032191579981529591

    Netanyahu: The war in Iran is turning Israel into a "global superpower."

    Patrick Wintour
    @patrickwintour

    Trump has given Israel roughly a week to show that it can bring home regime change in Iran. According to Kayhan London “Israeli micro-drones and UAVs began targeting IRGC, Basij, and Law Enforcement checkpoints in several cities including Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz.
    “Under conditions where keeping streets under control is a key element for preserving the survival of the entire regime, targeting the suppressors at checkpoints is in fact a strike against the last protective shields of the Islamic Republic.”
    The death toll is likely to be high. This is Netanyahu’s best and probably last chance to fulfil a decades long plan to destroy the regime. He knows he is working against a clock and the oil price.

    https://x.com/patrickwintour/status/2032178421489389755
    Presumably Mr N means the Global Superpower he is leading by the nose?

    Anyhoo, Mr Trump has declared that the Iranian Navy is destroyed, and that the Strait of Hormuz is a minor issue, and the war is nearly over.

    Why does he need a global coalition of allies that do not make any difference anyway?
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 29,041
    nico67 said:

    What’s most disgusting is the two stains on humanity trying to get Iranian civilians to protest and get slaughtered.

    If the USA and Israel want regime change then put boots on the ground otherwise just STFU !

    For regime change to be successful in the long term then it has to predominantly come from the local people with aid but not imposition from outside.

    Which is why regime changes in Eastern Europe in 1989-1991 were successful and why those in the Middle East have tended to fail.

  • MattWMattW Posts: 32,587

    DavidL said:

    Andy_JS said:

    We just had a ferocious rainstorm here in the Midlands.

    I'll see your rain and raise you a hail storm.
    Wild conditions at the Forest match.

    Edit: I'm watching on TV not actually there!
    It's rain and wind here, I can confirm.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 38,020

    https://x.com/infolibnews/status/2032191579981529591

    Netanyahu: The war in Iran is turning Israel into a "global superpariah."

    FTFY.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,048
    ON topic, I just cooked celeriac for the first time

    Yes, it's this kind of news that makes PB addictive and compelling

    But how nice is celeriac? Wow. Had it in a mash with potato and loads of butter, sea salt, kampot pepper, chili flakes, mmmm

    CELERIAC

    You read it here last
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 13,667
    MattW said:

    DavidL said:

    Andy_JS said:

    We just had a ferocious rainstorm here in the Midlands.

    I'll see your rain and raise you a hail storm.
    Wild conditions at the Forest match.

    Edit: I'm watching on TV not actually there!
    It's rain and wind here, I can confirm.
    21GW of wind while spot prices over £100 per MWh. Long may it continue.
  • nico67nico67 Posts: 7,260

    nico67 said:

    What’s most disgusting is the two stains on humanity trying to get Iranian civilians to protest and get slaughtered.

    If the USA and Israel want regime change then put boots on the ground otherwise just STFU !

    For regime change to be successful in the long term then it has to predominantly come from the local people with aid but not imposition from outside.

    Which is why regime changes in Eastern Europe in 1989-1991 were successful and why those in the Middle East have tended to fail.

    There’s a vast difference between Eastern Europe and Iran .

    You weren’t dealing with a bunch of religious nut jobs in the former !
  • boulayboulay Posts: 8,466
    edited 9:34PM
    Leon said:

    ON topic, I just cooked celeriac for the first time

    Yes, it's this kind of news that makes PB addictive and compelling

    But how nice is celeriac? Wow. Had it in a mash with potato and loads of butter, sea salt, kampot pepper, chili flakes, mmmm

    CELERIAC

    You read it here last

    There was a time in the late 90s, early 2000s where you couldn’t escape celeriac mash. It was like Covid slowly creeping out of the Wuhan high end restaurants until it had reached even the outposts of the Cock and Bull in Newent.

    I’m guessing CELERIAC IS BACK.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,393

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    stodge said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    Another day, another, well, we'll see, at Cheltenham.

    I come on here and read we are going to deport immigrants - I thought we already deported those whose applications for asylum were unsuccessful but it seems instead as was the case once with tax and spend, we are embarking on a dutch auction to see who can be the "hardest" on immigration. A fine example of what happens when your have Government and Opposition positions determined by focus groups and tweets rather than what is good for the country.

    It also seems we want to continue with one of our stupidest moves in the past 30-40 years - there's no problem with taking infrastructure out of public hands but we sell it to foreign companies. Fine, we get a nice little sum in the coffers but longer term you end up with the spectacle of British consumers having to pay more for their electricity and gas to foreign companies who use that to subsidise the costs their home customers pay.

    Poor foreign people aren't welcome but rich foreign companies are - we begrudge any money going to the former but we are happy to pay more than we should to the latter - makes no sense at all.

    How do you explain so many favourites turned over by winners so far out in the betting at this Cheltenham Stodge?

    Correct me where I have the science wrong, Punters back horses down to shorter odds - a few antepost fancied runners have drifted, and won, whilst some horses have come in on the betting in the last week to go off favourites and come nowhere - I should know, I was on them and watched them go backwards as 40-1 outsiders glided passed them.

    It’s got to be something to do with where punters are getting their guidance? It should be based on what we have seen, evidence based? Course and distance hasn’t changed nor has the going.

    Is mainstream media, alt and social media, pushing some runners without enough evidence, or journalism not previewing races objectively enough?
    Might be all of that or none of that.

    Mullins has had a right go at Jon Pullin and Cheltenham over the going but the problem is the course drains so well and so quickly you can have the wettest January and February for years and you are still having to water to stop the ground going too fast.

    At Auteuil, they water constantly to provide Soft or Heavy ground all year round and Cheltenham could provide that on one of the courses I imagine but the truth is the course just doesn't hold the moisture as it once did.

    Throw in the nonsense of the starts and you get a meeting which for me is getting too big for its own boots. I'd take it back to three days and move some of the championship races to other tracks.

    I'd also look seriously at having the whole Festival in mid February with the National at the end of February IF you want a soft ground spectacle.

    You can't have the three main staying chases (the Betfair, the King George and the Gold Cup) all run on Good ground - you need to guarantee one can be run on genuinely soft or even heavy turf.

    I'm sure the Ed Chamberlins of this world will have you believe Cheltenham is an unqualified triumph which, to paraphrase Mary Poppins, is "practically perfect in every way". It isn't and pandering to the crowds to get 60,000 every day through the gates misses the point if the racing itself is the victim whether it's the starts or the surface.

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    Kemi going in boots on over Starmer having sent petrol prices through the roof with his war with Iran.

    I wonder if she's thought about blockading Ebbsfleet and Fawley with trucks and tractors like Hague did in 2000.

    Go on girl!

    Surely Starmer just says: I never supported this war, but you did - you own these rises.
    Some insane idiots actually believe her shit

    They need sectioning.

    Global oil price rises are all Starmer's fault

    That what she is saying.

    Well Ed Miliband thinks we can save the climate by setting an example to other countries so why wouldn't the same logic work here?

    If we set an example by going to war with Iran and everyone else followed our lead, it would surely be over in no time, leading to a glut of oil on global markets.
    You seriously think that.
    Your off your rocker

    Thanks to 14 years and 22% cut in defence spending under Kemi Badenoch Tory Party our Armed Forces are hollowed out.

    So let's assume we'd have gone all in, every available plane, ship

    What difference would we have made

    2% 3%??

    Every citizen, city, town, village in this Country would be at risk to soothe the blinking idiots fucking vanity.

    2% or 3% would be more than our share of global climate emissions.

    It's more about our ability to lead by example and encourage others to step up. Is Keir Starmer not a globally respected figure to whom people around the world look for guidance on moral and political questions? If people saw him getting involved, it would be a signal to the likes of Xi and Modi to get on the right side of history.
    What's global warming got to do with declaring war on Iran

    What's petrol pump increases got to do with starmer
    There's no skill in finding a favourite

    Hours studying form can regularly find legitimate handicap winners at double figure prices with enough regularity to make a profit.

    I've had an 18!1 winner and 25/1,, and 33/1 each way places horses this week

    Problem is it takes me an hour to research a 20 runner race so 1 or 2 max a day

    So many variables

    Handicap mark
    Weigh
    Going
    Right or Left handed
    Undulating or Flat
    Trainer form
    Jockey form

    Mares tend to win at certain points of their cycle


    If you are claiming hormonal fluctuations do create barrier to horses winning, does that apply to all life on earth, including humans? Ladies cannot produce their best “whilst on heat?”

    Do you wish to withdraw what you said about racing mares?

    My latest prediction is, you are heading for a spell in “the toilets” or worse.
    Mares in horse racing have decidedly better form at certain stages in there 6 month cycle.

    I've studied it for profit.

    Trainers are aware of it and specifically run in certain months.

    I've recently made a tidy sum on an Irish mare called Milan away. She won and placed in a number of races in an 8 week window.

    Back in the day the East German athletes were encouraged, sickeningly so in some cases to get pregnant 6 to 8 weeks before major Championships. The peak hormonal boost in the first trimester.

    The bastards then made them have abortions.

    Back to horses you'll often find a 6 or 7 year old mare on flat or jumps will have peak form in 8 week periods twice a year.

    If feminists can't cope with an excellent way to profit in the sport if kings tough shit.

    I'll find some examples in the coming weeks and post them for you to check out.
    I bet some of the East Germans sounded like men

    Maybe Kemi is one of them..
    Kenny Badenoch?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,048
    boulay said:

    Leon said:

    ON topic, I just cooked celeriac for the first time

    Yes, it's this kind of news that makes PB addictive and compelling

    But how nice is celeriac? Wow. Had it in a mash with potato and loads of butter, sea salt, kampot pepper, chili flakes, mmmm

    CELERIAC

    You read it here last

    There was a time in the late 90s, early 2000s where you couldn’t escape celeriac mash. It was like Covid slowly creeping out of the Wuhan high end restaurants until it had reached even the outposts of the Cock and Bull in Newent.

    I’m guessing CELERIAC IS BACK.
    How did I miss CELERIAC 1.0??

    It's like missing the Beatles and the Stones and only getting into Britpop with Blur and Oasis

    Nonetheless. CELERIAC. Wild!
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 57,859
    First 6 days of the war cost the US $11.3bn Defence Officials tell Congress.
    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/first-6-days-iran-war-cost-11-billion-pentagon-tells-senators-rcna263060

    Does rather put our proposed increases of defence spending into perspective, doesn't it?
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 15,433

    Are we down to one supporter of the Iran War

    Dear Barty Bobbins - you are supporting this war, and all its consequences, for a specific outcome - that many of us don’t mind happening actually after the horrors of January, but we recognise that it has NEVER been serious part of the mission statement, planning or operations or any resolve in the way the war is being conducted. The Israeli security services don’t even believe it ever was. On this basis, is it fair of us shaking our heads at you? Is it time for you to stop holding out?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,048
    Actually it's quite reassuring that, having travelled the world, been to 100 countries, fucked 10000000 women, done everything legal and most things illegal, a grizzled and raddled old libertine like me can still find a remarkable new vegetable, quietly hanging out in every supermarket. Celeriac
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 58,192
    Multiple reports of an attack on a French airbase:

    https://x.com/ME_Observer_/status/2032201397672767679

    A French helicopter was hit as a result of an attack by Iran-backed factions on the French airbase in Erbil, and 6 French soldiers were injured in the attack
    French forces impose a curfew in the area
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,378

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    stodge said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    Another day, another, well, we'll see, at Cheltenham.

    I come on here and read we are going to deport immigrants - I thought we already deported those whose applications for asylum were unsuccessful but it seems instead as was the case once with tax and spend, we are embarking on a dutch auction to see who can be the "hardest" on immigration. A fine example of what happens when your have Government and Opposition positions determined by focus groups and tweets rather than what is good for the country.

    It also seems we want to continue with one of our stupidest moves in the past 30-40 years - there's no problem with taking infrastructure out of public hands but we sell it to foreign companies. Fine, we get a nice little sum in the coffers but longer term you end up with the spectacle of British consumers having to pay more for their electricity and gas to foreign companies who use that to subsidise the costs their home customers pay.

    Poor foreign people aren't welcome but rich foreign companies are - we begrudge any money going to the former but we are happy to pay more than we should to the latter - makes no sense at all.

    How do you explain so many favourites turned over by winners so far out in the betting at this Cheltenham Stodge?

    Correct me where I have the science wrong, Punters back horses down to shorter odds - a few antepost fancied runners have drifted, and won, whilst some horses have come in on the betting in the last week to go off favourites and come nowhere - I should know, I was on them and watched them go backwards as 40-1 outsiders glided passed them.

    It’s got to be something to do with where punters are getting their guidance? It should be based on what we have seen, evidence based? Course and distance hasn’t changed nor has the going.

    Is mainstream media, alt and social media, pushing some runners without enough evidence, or journalism not previewing races objectively enough?
    Might be all of that or none of that.

    Mullins has had a right go at Jon Pullin and Cheltenham over the going but the problem is the course drains so well and so quickly you can have the wettest January and February for years and you are still having to water to stop the ground going too fast.

    At Auteuil, they water constantly to provide Soft or Heavy ground all year round and Cheltenham could provide that on one of the courses I imagine but the truth is the course just doesn't hold the moisture as it once did.

    Throw in the nonsense of the starts and you get a meeting which for me is getting too big for its own boots. I'd take it back to three days and move some of the championship races to other tracks.

    I'd also look seriously at having the whole Festival in mid February with the National at the end of February IF you want a soft ground spectacle.

    You can't have the three main staying chases (the Betfair, the King George and the Gold Cup) all run on Good ground - you need to guarantee one can be run on genuinely soft or even heavy turf.

    I'm sure the Ed Chamberlins of this world will have you believe Cheltenham is an unqualified triumph which, to paraphrase Mary Poppins, is "practically perfect in every way". It isn't and pandering to the crowds to get 60,000 every day through the gates misses the point if the racing itself is the victim whether it's the starts or the surface.

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    Kemi going in boots on over Starmer having sent petrol prices through the roof with his war with Iran.

    I wonder if she's thought about blockading Ebbsfleet and Fawley with trucks and tractors like Hague did in 2000.

    Go on girl!

    Surely Starmer just says: I never supported this war, but you did - you own these rises.
    Some insane idiots actually believe her shit

    They need sectioning.

    Global oil price rises are all Starmer's fault

    That what she is saying.

    Well Ed Miliband thinks we can save the climate by setting an example to other countries so why wouldn't the same logic work here?

    If we set an example by going to war with Iran and everyone else followed our lead, it would surely be over in no time, leading to a glut of oil on global markets.
    You seriously think that.
    Your off your rocker

    Thanks to 14 years and 22% cut in defence spending under Kemi Badenoch Tory Party our Armed Forces are hollowed out.

    So let's assume we'd have gone all in, every available plane, ship

    What difference would we have made

    2% 3%??

    Every citizen, city, town, village in this Country would be at risk to soothe the blinking idiots fucking vanity.

    2% or 3% would be more than our share of global climate emissions.

    It's more about our ability to lead by example and encourage others to step up. Is Keir Starmer not a globally respected figure to whom people around the world look for guidance on moral and political questions? If people saw him getting involved, it would be a signal to the likes of Xi and Modi to get on the right side of history.
    What's global warming got to do with declaring war on Iran

    What's petrol pump increases got to do with starmer
    There's no skill in finding a favourite

    Hours studying form can regularly find legitimate handicap winners at double figure prices with enough regularity to make a profit.

    I've had an 18!1 winner and 25/1,, and 33/1 each way places horses this week

    Problem is it takes me an hour to research a 20 runner race so 1 or 2 max a day

    So many variables

    Handicap mark
    Weigh
    Going
    Right or Left handed
    Undulating or Flat
    Trainer form
    Jockey form

    Mares tend to win at certain points of their cycle


    If you are claiming hormonal fluctuations do create barrier to horses winning, does that apply to all life on earth, including humans? Ladies cannot produce their best “whilst on heat?”

    Do you wish to withdraw what you said about racing mares?

    My latest prediction is, you are heading for a spell in “the toilets” or worse.
    Mares in horse racing have decidedly better form at certain stages in there 6 month cycle.

    I've studied it for profit.

    Trainers are aware of it and specifically run in certain months.

    I've recently made a tidy sum on an Irish mare called Milan away. She won and placed in a number of races in an 8 week window.

    Back in the day the East German athletes were encouraged, sickeningly so in some cases to get pregnant 6 to 8 weeks before major Championships. The peak hormonal boost in the first trimester.

    The bastards then made them have abortions.

    Back to horses you'll often find a 6 or 7 year old mare on flat or jumps will have peak form in 8 week periods twice a year.

    If feminists can't cope with an excellent way to profit in the sport if kings tough shit.

    I'll find some examples in the coming weeks and post them for you to check out.
    I bet some of the East Germans sounded like men

    Maybe Kemi is one of them..
    Kenny Badenoch?
    I remember a few of them east Europeans Koch, Kratochvilova had more body hair than Jimmy Page.

    All but one vanished after Wall came down

    Heike Dreschler, one of the few clean ones who spilled the beans on the rape and abuse
  • boulayboulay Posts: 8,466
    Leon said:

    Actually it's quite reassuring that, having travelled the world, been to 100 countries, fucked 10000000 women, done everything legal and most things illegal, a grizzled and raddled old libertine like me can still find a remarkable new vegetable, quietly hanging out in every supermarket. Celeriac

    I wouldn’t worry, I’m guessing I will work out how fun AI is in about 15 years. Things come to us at different times, but when we are ready.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,393
    DavidL said:

    First 6 days of the war cost the US $11.3bn Defence Officials tell Congress.
    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/first-6-days-iran-war-cost-11-billion-pentagon-tells-senators-rcna263060

    How can they afford it?
  • FairlieredFairliered Posts: 7,657
    Leon said:

    nico67 said:

    The Daily Mail article seems they found a couple of disgruntled expats and that’s it. I doubt very much there’ll be a mass exodus back to Blighty .

    I wouldn't be so sure

    People do not like being bombed

    East Asian cities will benefit. No one is going to attack Singapore. Bangkok is pretty safe. Hong Kong suddenly looks less scary

    But there may also be a benefit to London, Paris, etc

    If our government had any sense (they do not) they would sieze this moment to reverse some of the non-dom changes and make golden visas available to people wanting to flee Dubai for London. The tax gain would be significant. Unfortunately, we are governed by Labour
    Unfortunately, we are governed by Labour.
    You voted for them!
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 29,041
    DavidL said:

    First 6 days of the war cost the US $11.3bn Defence Officials tell Congress.
    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/first-6-days-iran-war-cost-11-billion-pentagon-tells-senators-rcna263060

    Does rather put our proposed increases of defence spending into perspective, doesn't it?

    You need to divide by 8 for the different size of the national GDP and then by 1.3 to convert to pounds.

    Also, take into account sunk costs, use by date on the weaponry and the opportunity costs.

    The US military is so far mostly engaged in the equivalent of a live fire training exercise.
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,378

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    stodge said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    Another day, another, well, we'll see, at Cheltenham.

    I come on here and read we are going to deport immigrants - I thought we already deported those whose applications for asylum were unsuccessful but it seems instead as was the case once with tax and spend, we are embarking on a dutch auction to see who can be the "hardest" on immigration. A fine example of what happens when your have Government and Opposition positions determined by focus groups and tweets rather than what is good for the country.

    It also seems we want to continue with one of our stupidest moves in the past 30-40 years - there's no problem with taking infrastructure out of public hands but we sell it to foreign companies. Fine, we get a nice little sum in the coffers but longer term you end up with the spectacle of British consumers having to pay more for their electricity and gas to foreign companies who use that to subsidise the costs their home customers pay.

    Poor foreign people aren't welcome but rich foreign companies are - we begrudge any money going to the former but we are happy to pay more than we should to the latter - makes no sense at all.

    How do you explain so many favourites turned over by winners so far out in the betting at this Cheltenham Stodge?

    Correct me where I have the science wrong, Punters back horses down to shorter odds - a few antepost fancied runners have drifted, and won, whilst some horses have come in on the betting in the last week to go off favourites and come nowhere - I should know, I was on them and watched them go backwards as 40-1 outsiders glided passed them.

    It’s got to be something to do with where punters are getting their guidance? It should be based on what we have seen, evidence based? Course and distance hasn’t changed nor has the going.

    Is mainstream media, alt and social media, pushing some runners without enough evidence, or journalism not previewing races objectively enough?
    Might be all of that or none of that.

    Mullins has had a right go at Jon Pullin and Cheltenham over the going but the problem is the course drains so well and so quickly you can have the wettest January and February for years and you are still having to water to stop the ground going too fast.

    At Auteuil, they water constantly to provide Soft or Heavy ground all year round and Cheltenham could provide that on one of the courses I imagine but the truth is the course just doesn't hold the moisture as it once did.

    Throw in the nonsense of the starts and you get a meeting which for me is getting too big for its own boots. I'd take it back to three days and move some of the championship races to other tracks.

    I'd also look seriously at having the whole Festival in mid February with the National at the end of February IF you want a soft ground spectacle.

    You can't have the three main staying chases (the Betfair, the King George and the Gold Cup) all run on Good ground - you need to guarantee one can be run on genuinely soft or even heavy turf.

    I'm sure the Ed Chamberlins of this world will have you believe Cheltenham is an unqualified triumph which, to paraphrase Mary Poppins, is "practically perfect in every way". It isn't and pandering to the crowds to get 60,000 every day through the gates misses the point if the racing itself is the victim whether it's the starts or the surface.

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    Kemi going in boots on over Starmer having sent petrol prices through the roof with his war with Iran.

    I wonder if she's thought about blockading Ebbsfleet and Fawley with trucks and tractors like Hague did in 2000.

    Go on girl!

    Surely Starmer just says: I never supported this war, but you did - you own these rises.
    Some insane idiots actually believe her shit

    They need sectioning.

    Global oil price rises are all Starmer's fault

    That what she is saying.

    Well Ed Miliband thinks we can save the climate by setting an example to other countries so why wouldn't the same logic work here?

    If we set an example by going to war with Iran and everyone else followed our lead, it would surely be over in no time, leading to a glut of oil on global markets.
    You seriously think that.
    Your off your rocker

    Thanks to 14 years and 22% cut in defence spending under Kemi Badenoch Tory Party our Armed Forces are hollowed out.

    So let's assume we'd have gone all in, every available plane, ship

    What difference would we have made

    2% 3%??

    Every citizen, city, town, village in this Country would be at risk to soothe the blinking idiots fucking vanity.

    2% or 3% would be more than our share of global climate emissions.

    It's more about our ability to lead by example and encourage others to step up. Is Keir Starmer not a globally respected figure to whom people around the world look for guidance on moral and political questions? If people saw him getting involved, it would be a signal to the likes of Xi and Modi to get on the right side of history.
    What's global warming got to do with declaring war on Iran

    What's petrol pump increases got to do with starmer
    There's no skill in finding a favourite

    Hours studying form can regularly find legitimate handicap winners at double figure prices with enough regularity to make a profit.

    I've had an 18!1 winner and 25/1,, and 33/1 each way places horses this week

    Problem is it takes me an hour to research a 20 runner race so 1 or 2 max a day

    So many variables

    Handicap mark
    Weigh
    Going
    Right or Left handed
    Undulating or Flat
    Trainer form
    Jockey form

    Mares tend to win at certain points of their cycle


    If you are claiming hormonal fluctuations do create barrier to horses winning, does that apply to all life on earth, including humans? Ladies cannot produce their best “whilst on heat?”

    Do you wish to withdraw what you said about racing mares?

    My latest prediction is, you are heading for a spell in “the toilets” or worse.
    Mares in horse racing have decidedly better form at certain stages in there 6 month cycle.

    I've studied it for profit.

    Trainers are aware of it and specifically run in certain months.

    I've recently made a tidy sum on an Irish mare called Milan away. She won and placed in a number of races in an 8 week window.

    Back in the day the East German athletes were encouraged, sickeningly so in some cases to get pregnant 6 to 8 weeks before major Championships. The peak hormonal boost in the first trimester.

    The bastards then made them have abortions.

    Back to horses you'll often find a 6 or 7 year old mare on flat or jumps will have peak form in 8 week periods twice a year.

    If feminists can't cope with an excellent way to profit in the sport if kings tough shit.

    I'll find some examples in the coming weeks and post them for you to check out.
    I bet some of the East Germans sounded like men

    Maybe Kemi is one of them..
    I'm quite sure Kemi would argue she is all woman then argue and argue and argue

  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,048
    Some quite disturbing images emerging, of attacks on Dubai towers

    Impossible to know if they are

    1. Fake
    2. Sort of faked
    3. Real but from a different place or time
    4. Real but seriously suppressed by the Dubai Government

    The Dubai regime has made a grave error in jailing people for negative tweets, films of drones, etc. This is going to hugely boost mistrust of *everything Dubai*, and therefore increase hostility to the city in general, and, likewise, only amplify fears in the absence of accepted truth
  • carnforthcarnforth Posts: 8,458
    Leon said:

    ON topic, I just cooked celeriac for the first time

    Yes, it's this kind of news that makes PB addictive and compelling

    But how nice is celeriac? Wow. Had it in a mash with potato and loads of butter, sea salt, kampot pepper, chili flakes, mmmm

    CELERIAC

    You read it here last

    You've never had it as a purée under a piece of meat at a restaurant?

    Try this next:

    https://northernbelle.co.uk/news/recipe-celeriac-veloute
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,554

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    stodge said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    Another day, another, well, we'll see, at Cheltenham.

    I come on here and read we are going to deport immigrants - I thought we already deported those whose applications for asylum were unsuccessful but it seems instead as was the case once with tax and spend, we are embarking on a dutch auction to see who can be the "hardest" on immigration. A fine example of what happens when your have Government and Opposition positions determined by focus groups and tweets rather than what is good for the country.

    It also seems we want to continue with one of our stupidest moves in the past 30-40 years - there's no problem with taking infrastructure out of public hands but we sell it to foreign companies. Fine, we get a nice little sum in the coffers but longer term you end up with the spectacle of British consumers having to pay more for their electricity and gas to foreign companies who use that to subsidise the costs their home customers pay.

    Poor foreign people aren't welcome but rich foreign companies are - we begrudge any money going to the former but we are happy to pay more than we should to the latter - makes no sense at all.

    How do you explain so many favourites turned over by winners so far out in the betting at this Cheltenham Stodge?

    Correct me where I have the science wrong, Punters back horses down to shorter odds - a few antepost fancied runners have drifted, and won, whilst some horses have come in on the betting in the last week to go off favourites and come nowhere - I should know, I was on them and watched them go backwards as 40-1 outsiders glided passed them.

    It’s got to be something to do with where punters are getting their guidance? It should be based on what we have seen, evidence based? Course and distance hasn’t changed nor has the going.

    Is mainstream media, alt and social media, pushing some runners without enough evidence, or journalism not previewing races objectively enough?
    Might be all of that or none of that.

    Mullins has had a right go at Jon Pullin and Cheltenham over the going but the problem is the course drains so well and so quickly you can have the wettest January and February for years and you are still having to water to stop the ground going too fast.

    At Auteuil, they water constantly to provide Soft or Heavy ground all year round and Cheltenham could provide that on one of the courses I imagine but the truth is the course just doesn't hold the moisture as it once did.

    Throw in the nonsense of the starts and you get a meeting which for me is getting too big for its own boots. I'd take it back to three days and move some of the championship races to other tracks.

    I'd also look seriously at having the whole Festival in mid February with the National at the end of February IF you want a soft ground spectacle.

    You can't have the three main staying chases (the Betfair, the King George and the Gold Cup) all run on Good ground - you need to guarantee one can be run on genuinely soft or even heavy turf.

    I'm sure the Ed Chamberlins of this world will have you believe Cheltenham is an unqualified triumph which, to paraphrase Mary Poppins, is "practically perfect in every way". It isn't and pandering to the crowds to get 60,000 every day through the gates misses the point if the racing itself is the victim whether it's the starts or the surface.

    Brixian59 said:

    Brixian59 said:

    Kemi going in boots on over Starmer having sent petrol prices through the roof with his war with Iran.

    I wonder if she's thought about blockading Ebbsfleet and Fawley with trucks and tractors like Hague did in 2000.

    Go on girl!

    Surely Starmer just says: I never supported this war, but you did - you own these rises.
    Some insane idiots actually believe her shit

    They need sectioning.

    Global oil price rises are all Starmer's fault

    That what she is saying.

    Well Ed Miliband thinks we can save the climate by setting an example to other countries so why wouldn't the same logic work here?

    If we set an example by going to war with Iran and everyone else followed our lead, it would surely be over in no time, leading to a glut of oil on global markets.
    You seriously think that.
    Your off your rocker

    Thanks to 14 years and 22% cut in defence spending under Kemi Badenoch Tory Party our Armed Forces are hollowed out.

    So let's assume we'd have gone all in, every available plane, ship

    What difference would we have made

    2% 3%??

    Every citizen, city, town, village in this Country would be at risk to soothe the blinking idiots fucking vanity.

    2% or 3% would be more than our share of global climate emissions.

    It's more about our ability to lead by example and encourage others to step up. Is Keir Starmer not a globally respected figure to whom people around the world look for guidance on moral and political questions? If people saw him getting involved, it would be a signal to the likes of Xi and Modi to get on the right side of history.
    What's global warming got to do with declaring war on Iran

    What's petrol pump increases got to do with starmer
    There's no skill in finding a favourite

    Hours studying form can regularly find legitimate handicap winners at double figure prices with enough regularity to make a profit.

    I've had an 18!1 winner and 25/1,, and 33/1 each way places horses this week

    Problem is it takes me an hour to research a 20 runner race so 1 or 2 max a day

    So many variables

    Handicap mark
    Weigh
    Going
    Right or Left handed
    Undulating or Flat
    Trainer form
    Jockey form

    Mares tend to win at certain points of their cycle


    If you are claiming hormonal fluctuations do create barrier to horses winning, does that apply to all life on earth, including humans? Ladies cannot produce their best “whilst on heat?”

    Do you wish to withdraw what you said about racing mares?

    My latest prediction is, you are heading for a spell in “the toilets” or worse.
    Mares in horse racing have decidedly better form at certain stages in there 6 month cycle.

    I've studied it for profit.

    Trainers are aware of it and specifically run in certain months.

    I've recently made a tidy sum on an Irish mare called Milan away. She won and placed in a number of races in an 8 week window.

    Back in the day the East German athletes were encouraged, sickeningly so in some cases to get pregnant 6 to 8 weeks before major Championships. The peak hormonal boost in the first trimester.

    The bastards then made them have abortions.

    Back to horses you'll often find a 6 or 7 year old mare on flat or jumps will have peak form in 8 week periods twice a year.

    If feminists can't cope with an excellent way to profit in the sport if kings tough shit.

    I'll find some examples in the coming weeks and post them for you to check out.
    I bet some of the East Germans sounded like men

    Maybe Kemi is one of them..
    Kenny Badenoch?
    "Oh my God! The bastards killed Kenny Badenoch!"
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,378
    Leon said:

    nico67 said:

    The Daily Mail article seems they found a couple of disgruntled expats and that’s it. I doubt very much there’ll be a mass exodus back to Blighty .

    I wouldn't be so sure

    People do not like being bombed

    East Asian cities will benefit. No one is going to attack Singapore. Bangkok is pretty safe. Hong Kong suddenly looks less scary

    But there may also be a benefit to London, Paris, etc

    If our government had any sense (they do not) they would sieze this moment to reverse some of the non-dom changes and make golden visas available to people wanting to flee Dubai for London. The tax gain would be significant. Unfortunately, we are governed by Labour
    Richard and Isabel told the Daily Mail it's Benn intolerable

    Isabel ls 3 kids are really upset as none of their 3 dads can get here.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,048
    boulay said:

    Leon said:

    Actually it's quite reassuring that, having travelled the world, been to 100 countries, fucked 10000000 women, done everything legal and most things illegal, a grizzled and raddled old libertine like me can still find a remarkable new vegetable, quietly hanging out in every supermarket. Celeriac

    I wouldn’t worry, I’m guessing I will work out how fun AI is in about 15 years. Things come to us at different times, but when we are ready.
    My obsession with AI - which has bored all my friends and family titless these past four years, even more than it has bored PB - is now turning into serious wonga

    Turns out that being obsessive about technology at an early stage can be rather beneficial when that tech turns into the Next Big Thing

    But I am not allowed to talk about it, so you'll just have to guess how I used it
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 29,041
    nico67 said:

    nico67 said:

    What’s most disgusting is the two stains on humanity trying to get Iranian civilians to protest and get slaughtered.

    If the USA and Israel want regime change then put boots on the ground otherwise just STFU !

    For regime change to be successful in the long term then it has to predominantly come from the local people with aid but not imposition from outside.

    Which is why regime changes in Eastern Europe in 1989-1991 were successful and why those in the Middle East have tended to fail.

    There’s a vast difference between Eastern Europe and Iran .

    You weren’t dealing with a bunch of religious nut jobs in the former !
    How many of the Iranian people are religious nut jobs is one of the unknown variables.

    As is how supportive of the Iranian state are the non-Persian peoples of Iran.
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 13,667
    DavidL said:

    First 6 days of the war cost the US $11.3bn Defence Officials tell Congress.
    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/first-6-days-iran-war-cost-11-billion-pentagon-tells-senators-rcna263060

    Does rather put our proposed increases of defence spending into perspective, doesn't it?

    Hmm. I suspect that's a bit like Royal Weddings costing £200 million or whatever it is. The vast majority of the costs are already sunk, it's just that the cops are guarding the Mall rather than (not) investigating bike thefts.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 38,020

    ydoethur said:

    https://x.com/infolibnews/status/2032191579981529591

    Netanyahu: The war in Iran is turning Israel into a "global superpower."

    So it’s not just Trump and Another Richard that are totally tonto.
    Perhaps you would prefer it I would cheer along and wave the pompoms.

    Okay then.

    Joe Biden is fit for office.
    Hunter Biden is a victim of a political witch hunt.
    Even if Hunter Biden is guilty he will never be given a presidential pardon.
    The prosecutions of Trump are masterpieces of legal planning.
    Trump cannot win because his crowds are so small.
    Dems never gerrymander.

    Alternatively I'll keep pointing out the occasional uncomfortable truth.

    And you know why that's important ?

    Because when groupthink become obligatory people stop thinking.
    Now you are being silly.

    Biden was suffering from an age related neurological disorder, he was not fit for re election. Trump is suffering from dementia, add in his narcissism and that is a dangerous cocktail.

    Hunter Biden is probably a bad 'un, but he is a rank amateur compared to Trump and Beavis and Butthead.

    The dereliction of duty from Merrick Garland was off the scale. He could have and should have prosecuted Trump for 01/06/21 and Epstein.

    Trump is the one fixated with crowd size. No one else.

    Dems gerrymander too, although I can understand why Newsom is doing what he is doing. But Dems also have a piss poor track record when they can manipulate an election. Kennedy in 1960 is probably a case in point.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 29,041
    Leon said:

    boulay said:

    Leon said:

    ON topic, I just cooked celeriac for the first time

    Yes, it's this kind of news that makes PB addictive and compelling

    But how nice is celeriac? Wow. Had it in a mash with potato and loads of butter, sea salt, kampot pepper, chili flakes, mmmm

    CELERIAC

    You read it here last

    There was a time in the late 90s, early 2000s where you couldn’t escape celeriac mash. It was like Covid slowly creeping out of the Wuhan high end restaurants until it had reached even the outposts of the Cock and Bull in Newent.

    I’m guessing CELERIAC IS BACK.
    How did I miss CELERIAC 1.0??

    It's like missing the Beatles and the Stones and only getting into Britpop with Blur and Oasis

    Nonetheless. CELERIAC. Wild!
    Have you ever tried colcannon ?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,654
    This evening's Trump whine. He isn't getting enough credit for being in office when it hits 250 years of independence.


    Acyn
    @Acyn
    ·
    53m
    Trump: We have the Olympics, the World Cup, and twenty—you know, the 250. I did all three all of them. I got the Olympics, the World Cup, and then I got 250 but I’ve never been given credit for it. They won’t give me credit for 250 years but I’m here for 250.

    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2032197976295432323
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,048

    Leon said:

    boulay said:

    Leon said:

    ON topic, I just cooked celeriac for the first time

    Yes, it's this kind of news that makes PB addictive and compelling

    But how nice is celeriac? Wow. Had it in a mash with potato and loads of butter, sea salt, kampot pepper, chili flakes, mmmm

    CELERIAC

    You read it here last

    There was a time in the late 90s, early 2000s where you couldn’t escape celeriac mash. It was like Covid slowly creeping out of the Wuhan high end restaurants until it had reached even the outposts of the Cock and Bull in Newent.

    I’m guessing CELERIAC IS BACK.
    How did I miss CELERIAC 1.0??

    It's like missing the Beatles and the Stones and only getting into Britpop with Blur and Oasis

    Nonetheless. CELERIAC. Wild!
    Have you ever tried colcannon ?
    Colcannon mash?? Yes, I adore it. A slight faff to make but DELISH
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,393

    This evening's Trump whine. He isn't getting enough credit for being in office when it hits 250 years of independence.


    Acyn
    @Acyn
    ·
    53m
    Trump: We have the Olympics, the World Cup, and twenty—you know, the 250. I did all three all of them. I got the Olympics, the World Cup, and then I got 250 but I’ve never been given credit for it. They won’t give me credit for 250 years but I’m here for 250.

    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2032197976295432323

    1783 to 2026 is only 243 years.

    #pedanticbetting
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 13,667
    edited 9:53PM
    US Tanker has gone down over Iraq (apparently).

    Edit, is true: : https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2032211125882745265?s=20
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 29,041

    This evening's Trump whine. He isn't getting enough credit for being in office when it hits 250 years of independence.


    Acyn
    @Acyn
    ·
    53m
    Trump: We have the Olympics, the World Cup, and twenty—you know, the 250. I did all three all of them. I got the Olympics, the World Cup, and then I got 250 but I’ve never been given credit for it. They won’t give me credit for 250 years but I’m here for 250.

    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2032197976295432323

    Watch the linked video.

    Trump seems to be attempting ironic comedy with the 250 comment.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 87,081
    In a crazy, volatile world, it's good to know there are still some things you can rely on.

    In Moscow, General Leonov, the commander of Russia’s air defense forces, fell out of a window.
    https://x.com/OlenaRohoza/status/2031747029882257509
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 29,041
    Nigelb said:

    In a crazy, volatile world, it's good to know there are still some things you can rely on.

    In Moscow, General Leonov, the commander of Russia’s air defense forces, fell out of a window.
    https://x.com/OlenaRohoza/status/2031747029882257509

    Was he intercepted before he hit the ground ?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,654
    Leon said:

    boulay said:

    Leon said:

    ON topic, I just cooked celeriac for the first time

    Yes, it's this kind of news that makes PB addictive and compelling

    But how nice is celeriac? Wow. Had it in a mash with potato and loads of butter, sea salt, kampot pepper, chili flakes, mmmm

    CELERIAC

    You read it here last

    There was a time in the late 90s, early 2000s where you couldn’t escape celeriac mash. It was like Covid slowly creeping out of the Wuhan high end restaurants until it had reached even the outposts of the Cock and Bull in Newent.

    I’m guessing CELERIAC IS BACK.
    How did I miss CELERIAC 1.0??

    It's like missing the Beatles and the Stones and only getting into Britpop with Blur and Oasis

    Nonetheless. CELERIAC. Wild!
    "How did I miss CELERIAC 1.0??"

    You were off your face in those years perhaps?
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 38,020
    Eabhal said:

    US Tanker has gone down over Iraq (apparently).

    I hate to say this but @Leon was probably correct. Trump is going to end this with nukes isn't he?
  • BartholomewRobertsBartholomewRoberts Posts: 28,057

    Are we down to one supporter of the Iran War

    Dear Barty Bobbins - you are supporting this war, and all its consequences, for a specific outcome - that many of us don’t mind happening actually after the horrors of January, but we recognise that it has NEVER been serious part of the mission statement, planning or operations or any resolve in the way the war is being conducted. The Israeli security services don’t even believe it ever was. On this basis, is it fair of us shaking our heads at you? Is it time for you to stop holding out?
    Define what you are shaking heads at first.

    I don't support Trump.
    I don't support what America is doing.

    I do support regime change.
    I have said repeatedly boots should go on the ground if required.

    If Trump TACOs out then he has buggered this up royally.

    I have said all along I would not be surprised to see Trump TACO out. Hell, I put a TACO in my avatar!
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,393

    This evening's Trump whine. He isn't getting enough credit for being in office when it hits 250 years of independence.


    Acyn
    @Acyn
    ·
    53m
    Trump: We have the Olympics, the World Cup, and twenty—you know, the 250. I did all three all of them. I got the Olympics, the World Cup, and then I got 250 but I’ve never been given credit for it. They won’t give me credit for 250 years but I’m here for 250.

    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2032197976295432323

    Watch the linked video.

    Trump seems to be attempting ironic comedy with the 250 comment.
    "The Treaty of Paris, signed by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States on September 3, 1783, officially ended the War of American Independence and recognized the Thirteen Colonies, which had been part of colonial British America, to be free, sovereign and independent unified states."
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,654

    Shashank Joshi
    @shashj
    ·
    43m
    Remarkable. "Iranian missiles have trapped about 15% of global oil supplies on the far side of the strait. That is roughly twice the disruption the world suffered in the 1970s"

    https://x.com/shashj/status/2032202798243213323
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,654

    Eabhal said:

    US Tanker has gone down over Iraq (apparently).

    I hate to say this but @Leon was probably correct. Trump is going to end this with nukes isn't he?
    At some point he is going to learn that Truman used two nukes and he is going to want to break the record bigly.

  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 57,859
    Eabhal said:

    DavidL said:

    First 6 days of the war cost the US $11.3bn Defence Officials tell Congress.
    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/first-6-days-iran-war-cost-11-billion-pentagon-tells-senators-rcna263060

    Does rather put our proposed increases of defence spending into perspective, doesn't it?

    Hmm. I suspect that's a bit like Royal Weddings costing £200 million or whatever it is. The vast majority of the costs are already sunk, it's just that the cops are guarding the Mall rather than (not) investigating bike thefts.
    That's true but it won't be doing much damage to the share price of the manufacturers of these expensive missiles and bombs who will build replacements. It also highlights another problem that the US has had before. WTF is there in Iran that is worth spending even close to that amount of money on to destroy? We saw this in both Iraq and Afghanistan when $1m missiles were being used to take out cars with a machine gun mount worth $10k maximum.

    What we are seeing in Ukraine is that effective kit is cheap and readily replaceable kit and its not something that either the US or UK defence establishments are very good at.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,654
    edited 9:58PM
    Nigelb said:

    In a crazy, volatile world, it's good to know there are still some things you can rely on.

    In Moscow, General Leonov, the commander of Russia’s air defense forces, fell out of a window.
    https://x.com/OlenaRohoza/status/2031747029882257509

    Is this related to there being no internet in Moscow last couple of days?

    Coup fears?
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 29,041
    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    boulay said:

    Leon said:

    ON topic, I just cooked celeriac for the first time

    Yes, it's this kind of news that makes PB addictive and compelling

    But how nice is celeriac? Wow. Had it in a mash with potato and loads of butter, sea salt, kampot pepper, chili flakes, mmmm

    CELERIAC

    You read it here last

    There was a time in the late 90s, early 2000s where you couldn’t escape celeriac mash. It was like Covid slowly creeping out of the Wuhan high end restaurants until it had reached even the outposts of the Cock and Bull in Newent.

    I’m guessing CELERIAC IS BACK.
    How did I miss CELERIAC 1.0??

    It's like missing the Beatles and the Stones and only getting into Britpop with Blur and Oasis

    Nonetheless. CELERIAC. Wild!
    Have you ever tried colcannon ?
    Colcannon mash?? Yes, I adore it. A slight faff to make but DELISH
    Its odd how fast food is dominated by chips when mashed potatoes can give many more options.
  • carnforthcarnforth Posts: 8,458
    Eabhal said:

    DavidL said:

    First 6 days of the war cost the US $11.3bn Defence Officials tell Congress.
    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/first-6-days-iran-war-cost-11-billion-pentagon-tells-senators-rcna263060

    Does rather put our proposed increases of defence spending into perspective, doesn't it?

    Hmm. I suspect that's a bit like Royal Weddings costing £200 million or whatever it is. The vast majority of the costs are already sunk, it's just that the cops are guarding the Mall rather than (not) investigating bike thefts.
    IIRC missiles have a shelf life, much like PPE. Use 'em or lose 'em.
  • carnforthcarnforth Posts: 8,458

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    boulay said:

    Leon said:

    ON topic, I just cooked celeriac for the first time

    Yes, it's this kind of news that makes PB addictive and compelling

    But how nice is celeriac? Wow. Had it in a mash with potato and loads of butter, sea salt, kampot pepper, chili flakes, mmmm

    CELERIAC

    You read it here last

    There was a time in the late 90s, early 2000s where you couldn’t escape celeriac mash. It was like Covid slowly creeping out of the Wuhan high end restaurants until it had reached even the outposts of the Cock and Bull in Newent.

    I’m guessing CELERIAC IS BACK.
    How did I miss CELERIAC 1.0??

    It's like missing the Beatles and the Stones and only getting into Britpop with Blur and Oasis

    Nonetheless. CELERIAC. Wild!
    Have you ever tried colcannon ?
    Colcannon mash?? Yes, I adore it. A slight faff to make but DELISH
    Its odd how fast food is dominated by chips when mashed potatoes can give many more options.
    Bit hard to eat with your fingers, though.
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 34,155

    This evening's Trump whine. He isn't getting enough credit for being in office when it hits 250 years of independence.


    Acyn
    @Acyn
    ·
    53m
    Trump: We have the Olympics, the World Cup, and twenty—you know, the 250. I did all three all of them. I got the Olympics, the World Cup, and then I got 250 but I’ve never been given credit for it. They won’t give me credit for 250 years but I’m here for 250.

    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2032197976295432323

    1783 to 2026 is only 243 years.

    #pedanticbetting
    To be fair they had the big 200 year celebrations in 1976 not 1983. No idea why but it was the big anniversary date in the US.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 87,081
    Israeli military drops charges against soldiers accused of sexually assaulting Palestinian detainee

    https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-war-palestinians-prison-abuse-b11e5f0639b7fe51c5ea101f4b320f56
    ..Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the announcement, while human rights groups accused the military of ignoring one of the gravest instances of abuse in the country’s network of wartime prisons.

    “Israel’s military advocate general just gave his soldiers license to rape -- so long as the victim is Palestinian,” said Sari Bashi, executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, after the case was dismissed...

    ..The now-dismissed indictment against the soldiers accused them of an assault that included dragging a Palestinian prisoner along the floor, stepping on him, tasering him, and sexually assaulting him by stabbing him in the rectum. The Palestinian was taken to an Israeli hospital with fractured ribs and a perforated rectum that required surgery before he was returned to the prison.

    The allegations of abuse at the facility gained steam when, in August 2024, Israeli news broadcast a leaked video..

  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 87,081

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    boulay said:

    Leon said:

    ON topic, I just cooked celeriac for the first time

    Yes, it's this kind of news that makes PB addictive and compelling

    But how nice is celeriac? Wow. Had it in a mash with potato and loads of butter, sea salt, kampot pepper, chili flakes, mmmm

    CELERIAC

    You read it here last

    There was a time in the late 90s, early 2000s where you couldn’t escape celeriac mash. It was like Covid slowly creeping out of the Wuhan high end restaurants until it had reached even the outposts of the Cock and Bull in Newent.

    I’m guessing CELERIAC IS BACK.
    How did I miss CELERIAC 1.0??

    It's like missing the Beatles and the Stones and only getting into Britpop with Blur and Oasis

    Nonetheless. CELERIAC. Wild!
    Have you ever tried colcannon ?
    Colcannon mash?? Yes, I adore it. A slight faff to make but DELISH
    Its odd how fast food is dominated by chips when mashed potatoes can give many more options.
    Ever try eating mash with your fingers ?
  • MightyAlexMightyAlex Posts: 1,895
    Eabhal said:

    US Tanker has gone down over Iraq (apparently).

    Edit, is true: : https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2032211125882745265?s=20

    Shot down, apparently they nearly got a second.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 47,044

    Eabhal said:

    US Tanker has gone down over Iraq (apparently).

    I hate to say this but @Leon was probably correct. Trump is going to end this with nukes isn't he?
    At some point he is going to learn that Truman used two nukes and he is going to want to break the record bigly.

    If someone manages to get the concept that the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to prevent the deaths of US troops into Trump’s addled, mashed celeriac brain, that will be the time of maximum danger.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 87,081

    This evening's Trump whine. He isn't getting enough credit for being in office when it hits 250 years of independence.


    Acyn
    @Acyn
    ·
    53m
    Trump: We have the Olympics, the World Cup, and twenty—you know, the 250. I did all three all of them. I got the Olympics, the World Cup, and then I got 250 but I’ve never been given credit for it. They won’t give me credit for 250 years but I’m here for 250.

    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2032197976295432323

    1783 to 2026 is only 243 years.

    #pedanticbetting
    To be fair they had the big 200 year celebrations in 1976 not 1983. No idea why but it was the big anniversary date in the US.
    I guess they took the declaration as read ?
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 54,562
    Leon said:

    ON topic, I just cooked celeriac for the first time

    Yes, it's this kind of news that makes PB addictive and compelling

    But how nice is celeriac? Wow. Had it in a mash with potato and loads of butter, sea salt, kampot pepper, chili flakes, mmmm

    CELERIAC

    You read it here last

    There’s someone who’s never had a veg box from Abel & Cole. You’re so far behind the curve.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 47,044
    Nigelb said:

    Israeli military drops charges against soldiers accused of sexually assaulting Palestinian detainee

    https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-war-palestinians-prison-abuse-b11e5f0639b7fe51c5ea101f4b320f56
    ..Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the announcement, while human rights groups accused the military of ignoring one of the gravest instances of abuse in the country’s network of wartime prisons.

    “Israel’s military advocate general just gave his soldiers license to rape -- so long as the victim is Palestinian,” said Sari Bashi, executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, after the case was dismissed...

    ..The now-dismissed indictment against the soldiers accused them of an assault that included dragging a Palestinian prisoner along the floor, stepping on him, tasering him, and sexually assaulting him by stabbing him in the rectum. The Palestinian was taken to an Israeli hospital with fractured ribs and a perforated rectum that required surgery before he was returned to the prison.

    The allegations of abuse at the facility gained steam when, in August 2024, Israeli news broadcast a leaked video..

    Shitrit by name…

    Here’s Meir Shitrit, who raped a Palestinian detainee on camera, being trotted out as a hero on Israeli national TV

    Israeli reservists staged riots in his defense, and the lawyer who tried to prosecute him is now under house arrest

    The sickest society


    https://x.com/maxblumenthal/status/2032122901286044000?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q

  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 58,192
    edited 10:16PM

    Eabhal said:

    US Tanker has gone down over Iraq (apparently).

    Edit, is true: : https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2032211125882745265?s=20

    Shot down, apparently they nearly got a second.
    It sounds more like they collided.

    "This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire."
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 134,624
    Eabhal said:

    DavidL said:

    First 6 days of the war cost the US $11.3bn Defence Officials tell Congress.
    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/first-6-days-iran-war-cost-11-billion-pentagon-tells-senators-rcna263060

    Does rather put our proposed increases of defence spending into perspective, doesn't it?

    Hmm. I suspect that's a bit like Royal Weddings costing £200 million or whatever it is. The vast majority of the costs are already sunk, it's just that the cops are guarding the Mall rather than (not) investigating bike thefts.
    Royal Weddings also raise billions
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/apr/29/royal-wedding-tourism-boost
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 134,624

    Eabhal said:

    US Tanker has gone down over Iraq (apparently).

    Edit, is true: : https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2032211125882745265?s=20

    Shot down, apparently they nearly got a second.
    'This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.'
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 13,667
    edited 10:23PM
    HYUFD said:

    Eabhal said:

    US Tanker has gone down over Iraq (apparently).

    Edit, is true: : https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2032211125882745265?s=20

    Shot down, apparently they nearly got a second.
    'This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.'
    I'm pretty sure that will end up being the case - but this is the Trump administration so you cannot take their word for anything. A day ago the DOD said they were escorting ships through Hormuz when that was complete bollocks.
  • TazTaz Posts: 25,892

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15638471/Dubai-finished-Expats-say-leave-never-come-tax-free-dream-shattered-war-officials-begin-prosecuting-people-posting-videos-missiles.html

    'Dubai is finished': Expats say they will leave and never come back as tax-free dream is shattered by war and officials begin prosecuting people for posting videos of missiles

    Dubai hoping the "Influencers" are fucking off?
    And the women who go on ‘modelling’ assignments.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,393

    This evening's Trump whine. He isn't getting enough credit for being in office when it hits 250 years of independence.


    Acyn
    @Acyn
    ·
    53m
    Trump: We have the Olympics, the World Cup, and twenty—you know, the 250. I did all three all of them. I got the Olympics, the World Cup, and then I got 250 but I’ve never been given credit for it. They won’t give me credit for 250 years but I’m here for 250.

    https://x.com/Acyn/status/2032197976295432323

    1783 to 2026 is only 243 years.

    #pedanticbetting
    To be fair they had the big 200 year celebrations in 1976 not 1983. No idea why but it was the big anniversary date in the US.
    It's like the Irish declaring independence prematurely in 1916!
  • TazTaz Posts: 25,892

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15638471/Dubai-finished-Expats-say-leave-never-come-tax-free-dream-shattered-war-officials-begin-prosecuting-people-posting-videos-missiles.html

    'Dubai is finished': Expats say they will leave and never come back as tax-free dream is shattered by war and officials begin prosecuting people for posting videos of missiles

    My wife has a friend from years ago, in contact in FB, who is very happy clappy in posts about how great the authorities are for keeping people safe.

    Meanwhile

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c743g4yn4k8o
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 27,948
    In a world full of murder, madness and great evil there is something oddly sweet about PB, a forum where grown adults can use the word "wowsers" unironically.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 90,406
    edited 10:40PM
    Duplantis breaks pole vault record for 15th time

    Each time, $100k bonus from World Athletics...nice little earner to just keep going 1cm at a time.
  • nico67nico67 Posts: 7,260
    edited 10:42PM
    Taz said:

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15638471/Dubai-finished-Expats-say-leave-never-come-tax-free-dream-shattered-war-officials-begin-prosecuting-people-posting-videos-missiles.html

    'Dubai is finished': Expats say they will leave and never come back as tax-free dream is shattered by war and officials begin prosecuting people for posting videos of missiles

    My wife has a friend from years ago, in contact in FB, who is very happy clappy in posts about how great the authorities are for keeping people safe.

    Meanwhile

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c743g4yn4k8o
    You scratch the glitzy surface and the veneer comes off pretty quickly !

    It’s outrageous that someone can be charged for simply taking footage of a missile . How many people even knew about this ridiculous law ?

  • RattersRatters Posts: 1,860

    Duplantis breaks pole vault record for 15th time

    Each time, $100k bonus from World Athletics...nice little earner to just keep going 1cm at a time.

    I mean he is so far ahead of the field I feel like he deserves to be a millionaire or more for the effort. Fair play to him.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 90,406
    edited 10:46PM
    Ratters said:

    Duplantis breaks pole vault record for 15th time

    Each time, $100k bonus from World Athletics...nice little earner to just keep going 1cm at a time.

    I mean he is so far ahead of the field I feel like he deserves to be a millionaire or more for the effort. Fair play to him.
    Compared to other events though it seems a tad unfair e.g. 100m even if you are well ahead of the field you can't judge to the 0.01s to keep breaking the record. High jump and pole vault are the two that you can exploit this.

    He isn't the first to do this though, Sergey Bubka did it 35 times (if you include indoor and outdoor) over his career.
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 17,989
    IanB2 said:

    Leon said:

    ON topic, I just cooked celeriac for the first time

    Yes, it's this kind of news that makes PB addictive and compelling

    But how nice is celeriac? Wow. Had it in a mash with potato and loads of butter, sea salt, kampot pepper, chili flakes, mmmm

    CELERIAC

    You read it here last

    There’s someone who’s never had a veg box from Abel & Cole. You’re so far behind the curve.
    Wait till he has a kohlrabi.
  • MightyAlexMightyAlex Posts: 1,895

    Eabhal said:

    US Tanker has gone down over Iraq (apparently).

    Edit, is true: : https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2032211125882745265?s=20

    Shot down, apparently they nearly got a second.
    It sounds more like they collided.

    "This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire."
    S'pose we'll find out in a few days but the Iranian backed Iraqi militias seem quite adamant it was them.
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