Good for him - a very good answer to the question.
Protesting Police brutality is "from Game of Thrones", 100% correct, a very good answer?
Stop drinking so early in the day, guys.
Bending the knee has been a sign of subjugation since time immemorial and I don't want my leaders subjugating themselves before Marxist protesters. Hope that helps.
Can you enlighten me to whom Kaepernick (& various other black sportsmen) was subjugating himself when bending his knee?
What relevance does his personal interpretation of the gesture have to us? Why should a British Foreign Secretary kneel because an American footballer wants to campaign about specific issues of police brutality in his own country that have no relevance here?
Let US protest groups use their own gestures in their own way without forcing them on us.
The relevance is that the current meme of taking the knee stems from Kaepernick so I'd imagine if a British Foreign Secretary is going to blether shyte on the subject he should probably be referencing that rather than *checks notes* Game of Thrones.
On the contrary, the GoT reference got his point across in a way that everyone who watched the show would understand and which framed his argument from his desired perspective. A textbook piece of effective political communication, actually.
Speaking purely to the minority of people who happened to have watched a subscription TV show is a textbook piece of effective political communication?
You're peaking a bit early today. Leaving yourself nowhere to go.
He's right, though. Raab very clearly wanted to get across the idea that kneeling in support of Black Lives Matter is an act of subjugation, not of solidarity. Why Raab would want to do that is pretty clear. The government is intent on fighting a culture war. It has nothing else to offer.
I fear you're right. So so depressing.
The Culture war was launched decades ago by the Left. It is too late for you to start crying about it now.
I can't get over the idiocy of Raab. I've never been a fan of his but to me this is worse than his comments about the importance of Dover.
Whatever you think about BLM, this news story has been one of the biggest foreign stories for years and domestically has been one of the biggest news stories for two to three weeks now.
Whatever you think of the symbolism of kneeling, for Raab as Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State to have not even bothered to learn what the symbolism of one of the biggest news stories in this country even means - and to be proud and willing to announce such ignorance on the news . . . its gobsmacking.
The man is incompetent and should be gone. Disagree with the symbolism all you like, but to not even bother to learn about it is remarkable.
Was Raab really that ignorant or was it game planned by Dom as a 6D chess move? Promulgate the idea that kneeling stems from a low-brow TV fantasy drama, this then reflects poorly on BLM, who look like they're smashing up statues simply because they watch too much crap TV, this then reflects well on Boris, who knows Latin and long words and stuff. It's naughty, it's underhand, but it just might work!
Mr. xP, kneeling can also occur at marriage proposals and when being knighted. I didn't say he was swearing fealty. I said that when he was kneeling, he was kneeling.
Given that the UK chapter of BLM favours dismantling capitalism, patriarchy, and British institutions, it would be a very strange Conservative minister who expressed solidarity with them.
Raab is right not to do it if he doesn't want to. It would look phony and forced. The sort of thing which detracts from the cause rather than helps it.
But he has spoilt things somewhat by talking utter bollox about "kneeling" and "Game of Thrones". Why not say he is "not up for token gestures" rather than just not up for THIS token gesture?
As it is, it begs the obvious question -
"Ok, Dom, understood, kneeling is a no no, except to the Queen, so how about doing something else to demonstrate your anti-racist credentials? Something that does not make you think of Her Majesty or Game of Thrones. Like - yes this would surely work - how about you put a black glove on, lower your eyes to the floor, and raise a fist? Cool with that?"
See what I mean? - He is being a bit of a plonker, I'm afraid.
How about something old fashioned and just saying you do not support racism? Not sure this insistence on some kind of body sign is necessary .Hitler used to like nazi salutes by sportspeople and we have sensibly moved away from forced (or coerced ) symbolism in the last 80 years only to have it thrust upon us again. It may come down to Amercians being a bit more show off than the British . Given we are trying to not import their race relations it seems odd we have to do some kind of sign be it kneeling, fist raising etc
When Brown and Darling did this it was BAD. I take it, now Johnson and Sunak are using the QA device it is good.
I remember 40 odd years ago my economics A level tutor told me increases in M3 was inflationary and generally BAD. Presumably increases in M3 are now good.
It is Pandora's box and it has been opened. Politicians see literally free money with no immediate or obvious downside. What's not to like?
Of course its "free" until the day it is not. In my view it remains very dangerous. We got away with the last time mainly because there had been significant reductions in the supply of money as CDOs and the like were wound down. Its not immediately obvious to me what the equivalent is this time.
Is this a real thing or has The Spectator just invented it for Priti, miffed that she keeps getting it in the neck?
Sadly it's real. Many BAME conservatives have spent the last couple of weeks receiving copious amounts of racist hate mail, mostly because they don't see themselves as victims but as successes.
Terms like "coconut" being used, meaning someone brown on the outside but white on the inside.
Labour BAME politicians have been receiving masses of racist hate mail for years but Tories have never seemed too concerned about that.
You'll be surprised to find out that yes, they were concerned, many stood up to condemn racist abuse of Diane Abbot among others at the last two elections.
They stood right behind those calling Abbot innumerate and illiterate though, not all criticism of someone from the BAME "community" is racist.
Should the Guardian be allowed to publish cartoons like this?
That cartoon shows graphically the unbridled hatred the left has for BAME tories. Its like they broke a sacred pact. We brought you here to vote labour in eternity. Where's the gratitude?
What is interesting about that cartoon is that it uses racist tropes against Hindus (and presumed Hindus) directly from the racist propaganda from extremists in another culture.
Steve Bell is, in my opinion, a vile cartoonist. No satire, no lampooning, no parody, just bile.
And worst of all, he is not funny.
I am not even sure that is the worst of it (although its true). The example of Patel in that cartoon goes way beyond not funny. It is stunning that a mainstream publication saw fit to publish it.
It's not great. One recoils.
"not great"?
To draw someone ethnically Hindu as a cow is "not great"? If it had been a picture of a black Labour minister drawn as a monkey, or a Muslim Labour minister drawn as a pig would you call it "not great"?
I appreciate you said "recoils" and good for that, but its beyond the pale. The Guardian hasn't moved on from its support of the Confederacy it seems if it thinks publishing a cartoon like that is acceptable. If the Daily Mail had shown a cartoon of Diane Abbott as a monkey I think you'd get an immense response to denounce that.
I often say "not great" to indicate severe disapproval.
Your "Abbott as a monkey" comparison is crass and clumsy.
Don't be crass and clumsy, Philip.
Why is it crass and clumsy? It is literally the same thing, a racist image that would be utterly disgusting to be either drawn or published. What was worse than crass and clumsy was for the Guardian to publish what it did which was every bit as bad as if another paper had published Abbott as a monkey.
Steve Bell has done it too often for it not to be deliberate, but he gets away with it because there is a level of deniability. There is no deniability about drawing Abbott as a monkey. In any case, that The Guardian uses him is an utter disgrace.
There is no deniability about drawing Patel as a cow either. Its literally the same concept and utterly racist.
That the Guardian uses him is an utter disgrace, that it hasn't sacked him and the editor who approved it being published and apologised fulsomely is a disgrace.
The 2nd interesting story on More or Less was looking at the assertion that most people who have died would have died anyway in a few months of something else.
Not true. Typically an 80 year old will live for 10 years more and will have a number of health issues i.e. the very people who are being described as only having a few months to live.
To take an extreme example - An 80 year old man who smokes, who is obese and has heart disease has an additionally life expectancy of 5 years!
You do get some striking results from life expectancy algorithms. You have longer left than you think, is the general rule. Mine gives 82 which is quite amazing. I'd take that.
Also, regarding long life, I came across an interesting nugget the other day -
A study was apparently done a while back of a large number of men in good health aged 60, who were assessed and interviewed, then tracked as to how long they lived. The data was reviewed to see if there was anything other than the obvious (no smoking, no heavy drinking etc) which was a predictor of a long life - defined here as making at least 90.
And there was. There was a factor which stood out a mile and this was the ability to stand on your head for 15 minutes. All of the 60 year olds who could do this lived beyond 90 - and those who not only could do it but actually made a practice of doing it every day as part of their normal routine lived the longest of all, often into their late 90s and beyond.
So. Moral there.
You made that up in the hope that PB tory gammons all across the country will now be balancing precariously on their skulls, didn't you?
I can't get over the idiocy of Raab. I've never been a fan of his but to me this is worse than his comments about the importance of Dover.
Whatever you think about BLM, this news story has been one of the biggest foreign stories for years and domestically has been one of the biggest news stories for two to three weeks now.
Whatever you think of the symbolism of kneeling, for Raab as Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State to have not even bothered to learn what the symbolism of one of the biggest news stories in this country even means - and to be proud and willing to announce such ignorance on the news . . . its gobsmacking.
The man is incompetent and should be gone. Disagree with the symbolism all you like, but to not even bother to learn about it is remarkable.
Was Raab really that ignorant or was it game planned by Dom as a 6D chess move? Promulgate the idea that kneeling stems from a low-brow TV fantasy drama, this then reflects poorly on BLM, who look like they're smashing up statues simply because they watch too much crap TV, this then reflects well on Boris, who knows Latin and long words and stuff. It's naughty, it's underhand, but it just might work!
The comments underneath the Mail's article show that section of the public is foursquare behind Raab. Thousands to single figures in upvotes.
Good for him - a very good answer to the question.
Protesting Police brutality is "from Game of Thrones", 100% correct, a very good answer?
Stop drinking so early in the day, guys.
Bending the knee has been a sign of subjugation since time immemorial and I don't want my leaders subjugating themselves before Marxist protesters. Hope that helps.
Can you enlighten me to whom Kaepernick (& various other black sportsmen) was subjugating himself when bending his knee?
What relevance does his personal interpretation of the gesture have to us? Why should a British Foreign Secretary kneel because an American footballer wants to campaign about specific issues of police brutality in his own country that have no relevance here?
Let US protest groups use their own gestures in their own way without forcing them on us.
The relevance is that the current meme of taking the knee stems from Kaepernick so I'd imagine if a British Foreign Secretary is going to blether shyte on the subject he should probably be referencing that rather than *checks notes* Game of Thrones.
On the contrary, the GoT reference got his point across in a way that everyone who watched the show would understand and which framed his argument from his desired perspective. A textbook piece of effective political communication, actually.
Speaking purely to the minority of people who happened to have watched a subscription TV show is a textbook piece of effective political communication?
You're peaking a bit early today. Leaving yourself nowhere to go.
He's right, though. Raab very clearly wanted to get across the idea that kneeling in support of Black Lives Matter is an act of subjugation, not of solidarity. Why Raab would want to do that is pretty clear. The government is intent on fighting a culture war. It has nothing else to offer.
I fear you're right. So so depressing.
The Culture war was launched decades ago by the Left. It is too late for you to start crying about it now.
Was Raab really that ignorant or was it game planned by Dom as a 6D chess move? Promulgate the idea that kneeling stems from a low-brow TV fantasy drama, this then reflects poorly on BLM, who look like they're smashing up statues simply because they watch too much crap TV, this then reflects well on Boris, who knows Latin and long words and stuff. It's naughty, it's underhand, but it just might work!
Good for him - a very good answer to the question.
Protesting Police brutality is "from Game of Thrones", 100% correct, a very good answer?
Stop drinking so early in the day, guys.
Bending the knee has been a sign of subjugation since time immemorial and I don't want my leaders subjugating themselves before Marxist protesters. Hope that helps.
Can you enlighten me to whom Kaepernick (& various other black sportsmen) was subjugating himself when bending his knee?
What relevance does his personal interpretation of the gesture have to us? Why should a British Foreign Secretary kneel because an American footballer wants to campaign about specific issues of police brutality in his own country that have no relevance here?
Let US protest groups use their own gestures in their own way without forcing them on us.
The relevance is that the current meme of taking the knee stems from Kaepernick so I'd imagine if a British Foreign Secretary is going to blether shyte on the subject he should probably be referencing that rather than *checks notes* Game of Thrones.
On the contrary, the GoT reference got his point across in a way that everyone who watched the show would understand and which framed his argument from his desired perspective. A textbook piece of effective political communication, actually.
Speaking purely to the minority of people who happened to have watched a subscription TV show is a textbook piece of effective political communication?
You're peaking a bit early today. Leaving yourself nowhere to go.
Er, it was an incredibly popular programme that ran for almost a decade. Tens of millions of people will understand the reference, and that's good enough.
Yes. It is dog whistling of the first order.
I was trying not to conclude that - getting so bored with this "culture war" crap - but others of my ilk have steered me to the obvious. Oh dear. Ah well.
You shouldn't be supporting this sort of stuff, you really shouldn't, but I don't suppose you'll listen to me.
Except that we didn't start this particular culture war - were Boris or Raab or any other conservative talking about it two months ago? No.
Do I approve of a Conservative Government pushing back against a wholesale attempt to impose a fundamental reworking of our culture, history, and language based on a protest movement imported from the US and used as a vehicle for Marxism? Absolutely.
The protesters and their fellow-travellers on the far-left are free to stop it at any time they like. Any minute of any day. But they won't.
I can't get over the idiocy of Raab. I've never been a fan of his but to me this is worse than his comments about the importance of Dover.
Whatever you think about BLM, this news story has been one of the biggest foreign stories for years and domestically has been one of the biggest news stories for two to three weeks now.
Whatever you think of the symbolism of kneeling, for Raab as Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State to have not even bothered to learn what the symbolism of one of the biggest news stories in this country even means - and to be proud and willing to announce such ignorance on the news . . . its gobsmacking.
The man is incompetent and should be gone. Disagree with the symbolism all you like, but to not even bother to learn about it is remarkable.
I agree. A remarkably tin ear. Bewildered by those praising him this morning.
I see the left has their own version of poppy and clapping fascists. How amazing they have transformed into the very thing they have raged against for so many years.
People should make their own choice, just as they do with poppies.
But that the Foreign Secretary could go on TV and show such ignorance that he doesn't know the origins of the symbolism is gobsmacking. It ranks up there with the young ignorant idiot being interviewed by Channel 4 that went viral earlier this week when she said about Churchill that she has never met him.
The difference is that Raab is not just an MP but Foreign Secretary.
If a Labour MP said that they didn't want to wear a poppy then I would understand that is their choice. If an MP said they didn't know the origins of the poppy and it was maybe to do with a TV show that would be another matter.
His ignorance is remarkable. Raab is an idiot and he should go.
One could argue that his job is to be a punctilious politician who gets things done, not be a general-knowledge expert in a pub quiz team. (This was the line when he ran into trouble over the Dover-Calais crossing.)
There is pub quiz team knowledge and knowing ferries run to and from Dover to Calais and there is a chasm of knowledge in between.
Less picked up was In the same speech he also showed he had not a clue what 'just in time' meant (He seemed to think it was a case of not letting strawberries go off and flowers drooping). If you are negotiating Brexit and don't know that we are in deep deep trouble.
Was Raab really that ignorant or was it game planned by Dom as a 6D chess move? Promulgate the idea that kneeling stems from a low-brow TV fantasy drama, this then reflects poorly on BLM, who look like they're smashing up statues simply because they watch too much crap TV, this then reflects well on Boris, who knows Latin and long words and stuff. It's naughty, it's underhand, but it just might work!
The 2nd interesting story on More or Less was looking at the assertion that most people who have died would have died anyway in a few months of something else.
Not true. Typically an 80 year old will live for 10 years more and will have a number of health issues i.e. the very people who are being described as only having a few months to live.
To take an extreme example - An 80 year old man who smokes, who is obese and has heart disease has an additionally life expectancy of 5 years!
You do get some striking results from life expectancy algorithms. You have longer left than you think, is the general rule. Mine gives 82 which is quite amazing. I'd take that.
Also, regarding long life, I came across an interesting nugget the other day -
A study was apparently done a while back of a large number of men in good health aged 60, who were assessed and interviewed, then tracked as to how long they lived. The data was reviewed to see if there was anything other than the obvious (no smoking, no heavy drinking etc) which was a predictor of a long life - defined here as making at least 90.
And there was. There was a factor which stood out a mile and this was the ability to stand on your head for 15 minutes. All of the 60 year olds who could do this lived beyond 90 - and those who not only could do it but actually made a practice of doing it every day as part of their normal routine lived the longest of all, often into their late 90s and beyond.
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience.
I ask again, who was Kapernick being "subservient" to?
The US constitution. The point was he wouldn't stand, but just sitting on his arse looked disrespectful, so he had to think of another way to mark the national anthem.
Indeed it is about respect not subservience. Just as joining in with the symbolism is about respect not subservience.
If I enter a Temple and am asked to kneel I will kneel, not because I believe in their religion (I don't) but out of respect. Kaepernick knelt to show respect to the flag and anthem while symbolising his protest.
Joining in the protest is not about subjugating anyone. It is entirely about respect and we should treat each other with respect not subjugation.
Is this a real thing or has The Spectator just invented it for Priti, miffed that she keeps getting it in the neck?
Sadly it's real. Many BAME conservatives have spent the last couple of weeks receiving copious amounts of racist hate mail, mostly because they don't see themselves as victims but as successes.
Terms like "coconut" being used, meaning someone brown on the outside but white on the inside.
Labour BAME politicians have been receiving masses of racist hate mail for years but Tories have never seemed too concerned about that.
You'll be surprised to find out that yes, they were concerned, many stood up to condemn racist abuse of Diane Abbot among others at the last two elections.
They stood right behind those calling Abbot innumerate and illiterate though, not all criticism of someone from the BAME "community" is racist.
Should the Guardian be allowed to publish cartoons like this?
That cartoon shows graphically the unbridled hatred the left has for BAME tories. Its like they broke a sacred pact. We brought you here to vote labour in eternity. Where's the gratitude?
What is interesting about that cartoon is that it uses racist tropes against Hindus (and presumed Hindus) directly from the racist propaganda from extremists in another culture.
Steve Bell is, in my opinion, a vile cartoonist. No satire, no lampooning, no parody, just bile.
And worst of all, he is not funny.
I am not even sure that is the worst of it (although its true). The example of Patel in that cartoon goes way beyond not funny. It is stunning that a mainstream publication saw fit to publish it.
It's not great. One recoils.
"not great"?
To draw someone ethnically Hindu as a cow is "not great"? If it had been a picture of a black Labour minister drawn as a monkey, or a Muslim Labour minister drawn as a pig would you call it "not great"?
I appreciate you said "recoils" and good for that, but its beyond the pale. The Guardian hasn't moved on from its support of the Confederacy it seems if it thinks publishing a cartoon like that is acceptable. If the Daily Mail had shown a cartoon of Diane Abbott as a monkey I think you'd get an immense response to denounce that.
I often say "not great" to indicate severe disapproval.
Your "Abbott as a monkey" comparison is crass and clumsy.
Don't be crass and clumsy, Philip.
Why is it crass and clumsy? It is literally the same thing, a racist image that would be utterly disgusting to be either drawn or published. What was worse than crass and clumsy was for the Guardian to publish what it did which was every bit as bad as if another paper had published Abbott as a monkey.
Steve Bell has done it too often for it not to be deliberate, but he gets away with it because there is a level of deniability. There is no deniability about drawing Abbott as a monkey. In any case, that The Guardian uses him is an utter disgrace.
There is no deniability about drawing Patel as a cow either. Its literally the same concept and utterly racist.
That the Guardian uses him is an utter disgrace, that it hasn't sacked him and the editor who approved it being published and apologised fulsomely is a disgrace.
I am not so sure. Black people have been portrayed as monkeys - sub-humans - for centuries. I don't think the Hindus and Cows meme is so commonly used. The Patel cartoon is the first time I ever saw it and had to think about it, for example. As you say, though, it is indefensible.
I see the left has their own version of poppy and clapping fascists. How amazing they have transformed into the very thing they have raged against for so many years.
People should make their own choice, just as they do with poppies.
But that the Foreign Secretary could go on TV and show such ignorance that he doesn't know the origins of the symbolism is gobsmacking. It ranks up there with the young ignorant idiot being interviewed by Channel 4 that went viral earlier this week when she said about Churchill that she has never met him.
The difference is that Raab is not just an MP but Foreign Secretary.
If a Labour MP said that they didn't want to wear a poppy then I would understand that is their choice. If an MP said they didn't know the origins of the poppy and it was maybe to do with a TV show that would be another matter.
His ignorance is remarkable. Raab is an idiot and he should go.
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience. Some aspect of this is definitely borne from some people wanting others to be subservient, though definitely not all. I suspect it's the same set of people who want to be "on the right side of history".
In this case it comes from American football, and has little or nothing to do with subservience. Taking a knee, long before Kaepernick's protest, is quite a different form of symbolism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarterback_kneel https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/take-a-knee Quarterback Vinny Testaverde took a knee on the final play of the game, symbolically closing out his 21-year career in the place it began. It's a sign of respect and concern to take a knee when a player is hurt...
Universities need to act now on free speech on the campus, or the baleful eye of Cummings and the need for 'sector reorganization' will fall on them.
They actually have bigger problems, certainly in Scotland where the Universities are facing a complete shit storm.
The Scottish government gives £1820 per student with a set number of places. This of course is absolutely unsustainable for anything other than the most basic of institutions so Universities have sought English students (£9250 a pop) and foreign non EU students (up to £24K) to cross subsidise. The Russell group members in particular have been very successful at this allowing the Universities to thrive with an ever smaller part of their cohort being made up of Scottish students.
Boris has now capped the number of English grants that will be paid to Scottish Universities and the foreigners are not coming because of Covid. The Scottish Government is not able to increase the number of places it funds because it has no money. I am not sure whether the likes of Edinburgh, St Andrews and Glasgow will survive. It really depends on how long the foreign market takes to recover but the clock is ticking
.
Edinburgh, St Andrews and Glasgow will survive if the become pro-Scottish. If they don’t, they won’t.
That is the inevitable consequence of being national institutions funded by the taxpayer. Either you work in the broad interests of the nation or else you try your luck in the free market.
Those 3 are the only world class universities Scotland has, lose those, lose world class higher education in Scotland
Says Rupert Murdoch.
The rest of the planet does not see the world through those London-tinted spectacles that so distort your vision.
Only 2 Scottish universities in the global top 100, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
In fairness that is as many in the top 50 as the entire EU. It's almost as if there was a link between adequately funding Universities and their performance, isn't it?
I may be wrong about this , but do get the impression that league tables re-standing of Universities are largely based on the breadth and depth of the research facilities provided for postgraduate work. Do they really convey much at all in respect of first degrees - BA and Bsc courses?
Mr. xP, kneeling can also occur at marriage proposals and when being knighted. I didn't say he was swearing fealty. I said that when he was kneeling, he was kneeling.
Given that the UK chapter of BLM favours dismantling capitalism, patriarchy, and British institutions, it would be a very strange Conservative minister who expressed solidarity with them.
Raab is right not to do it if he doesn't want to. It would look phony and forced. The sort of thing which detracts from the cause rather than helps it.
But he has spoilt things somewhat by talking utter bollox about "kneeling" and "Game of Thrones". Why not say he is "not up for token gestures" rather than just not up for THIS token gesture?
As it is, it begs the obvious question -
"Ok, Dom, understood, kneeling is a no no, except to the Queen, so how about doing something else to demonstrate your anti-racist credentials? Something that does not make you think of Her Majesty or Game of Thrones. Like - yes this would surely work - how about you put a black glove on, lower your eyes to the floor, and raise a fist? Cool with that?"
See what I mean? - He is being a bit of a plonker, I'm afraid.
How about something old fashioned and just saying you do not support racism? Not sure this insistence on some kind of body sign is necessary .Hitler used to like nazi salutes by sportspeople and we have sensibly moved away from forced (or coerced ) symbolism in the last 80 years only to have it thrust upon us again. It may come down to Amercians being a bit more show off than the British . Given we are trying to not import their race relations it seems odd we have to do some kind of sign be it kneeling, fist raising etc
Well indeed saying you don't want to join in is understandable.
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience.
I ask again, who was Kapernick being "subservient" to?
The US constitution. The point was he wouldn't stand, but just sitting on his arse looked disrespectful, so he had to think of another way to mark the national anthem.
Indeed it is about respect not subservience. Just as joining in with the symbolism is about respect not subservience.
If I enter a Temple and am asked to kneel I will kneel, not because I believe in their religion (I don't) but out of respect. Kaepernick knelt to show respect to the flag and anthem while symbolising his protest.
Joining in the protest is not about subjugating anyone. It is entirely about respect and we should treat each other with respect not subjugation.
Was Raab really that ignorant or was it game planned by Dom as a 6D chess move? Promulgate the idea that kneeling stems from a low-brow TV fantasy drama, this then reflects poorly on BLM, who look like they're smashing up statues simply because they watch too much crap TV, this then reflects well on Boris, who knows Latin and long words and stuff. It's naughty, it's underhand, but it just might work!
What I would be slightly concerned about if I was Biden in that only two of those states (Florida and Michigan), does he get to 50% of the vote and then only marginally. Several states (Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona) have 10%+ of respondents saying either don't know or third party votes. That would raise fears about shy Trump voters.
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience.
I ask again, who was Kapernick being "subservient" to?
The US constitution. The point was he wouldn't stand, but just sitting on his arse looked disrespectful, so he had to think of another way to mark the national anthem.
Indeed it is about respect not subservience. Just as joining in with the symbolism is about respect not subservience.
If I enter a Temple and am asked to kneel I will kneel, not because I believe in their religion (I don't) but out of respect. Kaepernick knelt to show respect to the flag and anthem while symbolising his protest.
Joining in the protest is not about subjugating anyone. It is entirely about respect and we should treat each other with respect not subjugation.
And forcing people to keel isn't subjugation.
Nobody should be forced to do. I don't think anyone has said anyone should be forced to do so.
Good for him - a very good answer to the question.
Protesting Police brutality is "from Game of Thrones", 100% correct, a very good answer?
Stop drinking so early in the day, guys.
Bending the knee has been a sign of subjugation since time immemorial and I don't want my leaders subjugating themselves before Marxist protesters. Hope that helps.
Can you enlighten me to whom Kaepernick (& various other black sportsmen) was subjugating himself when bending his knee?
What relevance does his personal interpretation of the gesture have to us? Why should a British Foreign Secretary kneel because an American footballer wants to campaign about specific issues of police brutality in his own country that have no relevance here?
Let US protest groups use their own gestures in their own way without forcing them on us.
The relevance is that the current meme of taking the knee stems from Kaepernick so I'd imagine if a British Foreign Secretary is going to blether shyte on the subject he should probably be referencing that rather than *checks notes* Game of Thrones.
On the contrary, the GoT reference got his point across in a way that everyone who watched the show would understand and which framed his argument from his desired perspective. A textbook piece of effective political communication, actually.
Speaking purely to the minority of people who happened to have watched a subscription TV show is a textbook piece of effective political communication?
You're peaking a bit early today. Leaving yourself nowhere to go.
Christ, this is unbelievable, I have found myself agreeing with Kinablu twice in a morning. Yes, GoT has a disproportionate following amongst media types / higher income households but, if you want a wider and more normal programme to reference, do Coronation Street or Emmerdale.
That is a little concerning.
But it would appear it was a "culture war" thing and so was aimed at the alt right hipster crowd.
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience.
I ask again, who was Kapernick being "subservient" to?
The US constitution. The point was he wouldn't stand, but just sitting on his arse looked disrespectful, so he had to think of another way to mark the national anthem.
Indeed it is about respect not subservience. Just as joining in with the symbolism is about respect not subservience.
If I enter a Temple and am asked to kneel I will kneel, not because I believe in their religion (I don't) but out of respect. Kaepernick knelt to show respect to the flag and anthem while symbolising his protest.
Joining in the protest is not about subjugating anyone. It is entirely about respect and we should treat each other with respect not subjugation.
I hate anthems as well especially at sport events (oh god did i sigh when they started doing it at the Ashes) . I firmly believe sport should be free of politics . The premier League should not be forcing players (even through extreme peer pressure and you will look a knob if you dont do it when everybody else does arguments) to do BLM stuff (especially as one of the aims of BLM is to crush capitalism)
Today I learnt that Toby Young was a supporter of Living Marxism and their libel of ITN.
I don't know why I am so surprised.
Really? The Bosnian campaign was very much a Clinton/Blair project. Presumably Tobes hated it for that reason and was desperate for it to be discredited.
A lot of people across the political spectrum supported Living Marxism in the libel case in a very unedifying way. I always found it deeply weird at the time but seeing all the names now 20 years on is even weirder.
Living Marxism's attempts to re-write the history of the camps was motivated by the fact that in their heart of hearts, these people applauded those camps and sympathised with their cause and wished to see it triumph. That was the central and - in the final hour, the only - issue. Shame, then, on those fools, supporters of the pogrom, cynics and dilettantes who supported them, gave them credence and endorsed their vile enterprise.
A massively important article and one that should be repeatedly shoved in the face of people on here who continually post shit from the RCP cadre to the board.
I see the left has their own version of poppy and clapping fascists. How amazing they have transformed into the very thing they have raged against for so many years.
People should make their own choice, just as they do with poppies.
But that the Foreign Secretary could go on TV and show such ignorance that he doesn't know the origins of the symbolism is gobsmacking. It ranks up there with the young ignorant idiot being interviewed by Channel 4 that went viral earlier this week when she said about Churchill that she has never met him.
The difference is that Raab is not just an MP but Foreign Secretary.
If a Labour MP said that they didn't want to wear a poppy then I would understand that is their choice. If an MP said they didn't know the origins of the poppy and it was maybe to do with a TV show that would be another matter.
His ignorance is remarkable. Raab is an idiot and he should go.
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience. Some aspect of this is definitely borne from some people wanting others to be subservient, though definitely not all. I suspect it's the same set of people who want to be "on the right side of history".
The symbolism isn't bending the knee though and kneeling has other symbolism than that and has for centuries too. Kneeling can symbolise respect, reverence many things.
I'm an atheist but I have knelt before in both Churches and Temples long before any of this came about. In those instances it wasn't about subservience or subjugation it was about showing respect.
Personally I find this difficult. I would not kneel nor did I clap, but I support those who do. I just find it all a bit personally embarrassing, but then I don't express emotions.
Re a church - I will go to a wedding or christening, but I will not kneel. I will sit and I will stand when others do, but I won't kneel, I won't sing, I won't close my eyes. I will not take part.
I would not make any gesture to royalty (chance would be a fine thing) other than to shake hands and talk to them as equals.
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience.
I ask again, who was Kapernick being "subservient" to?
The US constitution. The point was he wouldn't stand, but just sitting on his arse looked disrespectful, so he had to think of another way to mark the national anthem.
Indeed it is about respect not subservience. Just as joining in with the symbolism is about respect not subservience.
If I enter a Temple and am asked to kneel I will kneel, not because I believe in their religion (I don't) but out of respect. Kaepernick knelt to show respect to the flag and anthem while symbolising his protest.
Joining in the protest is not about subjugating anyone. It is entirely about respect and we should treat each other with respect not subjugation.
I hate anthems as well especially at sport events (oh god did i sigh when they started doing it at the Ashes) . I firmly believe sport should be free of politics . The premier League should not be forcing players (even through extreme peer pressure and you will look a knob if you dont do it when everybody else does arguments) to do BLM stuff (especially as one of the aims of BLM is to crush capitalism)
Standing up to racism is very relevant to football. Kick It Out and other campaigns have long predated this.
Taking a symbolic knee to show respect against racism seems little different to me than them wearing a poppy at Remembrance Day or holding a minutes silence then.
Good for him - a very good answer to the question.
Protesting Police brutality is "from Game of Thrones", 100% correct, a very good answer?
Stop drinking so early in the day, guys.
Bending the knee has been a sign of subjugation since time immemorial and I don't want my leaders subjugating themselves before Marxist protesters. Hope that helps.
Can you enlighten me to whom Kaepernick (& various other black sportsmen) was subjugating himself when bending his knee?
What relevance does his personal interpretation of the gesture have to us? Why should a British Foreign Secretary kneel because an American footballer wants to campaign about specific issues of police brutality in his own country that have no relevance here?
Let US protest groups use their own gestures in their own way without forcing them on us.
The relevance is that the current meme of taking the knee stems from Kaepernick so I'd imagine if a British Foreign Secretary is going to blether shyte on the subject he should probably be referencing that rather than *checks notes* Game of Thrones.
On the contrary, the GoT reference got his point across in a way that everyone who watched the show would understand and which framed his argument from his desired perspective. A textbook piece of effective political communication, actually.
Speaking purely to the minority of people who happened to have watched a subscription TV show is a textbook piece of effective political communication?
You're peaking a bit early today. Leaving yourself nowhere to go.
He's right, though. Raab very clearly wanted to get across the idea that kneeling in support of Black Lives Matter is an act of subjugation, not of solidarity. Why Raab would want to do that is pretty clear. The government is intent on fighting a culture war. It has nothing else to offer.
I fear you're right. So so depressing.
The Culture war was launched decades ago by the Left. It is too late for you to start crying about it now.
When do you think it started, out of interest?
Well I first heard the term used by Socialist Worker Party speakers in the current context when I was at university in the 1980s. I had always assumed it arose at that time as a fight back against Thatcherism. Whether it was around earlier I don't know as I was not involved in politics before then.
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience.
I ask again, who was Kapernick being "subservient" to?
The US constitution. The point was he wouldn't stand, but just sitting on his arse looked disrespectful, so he had to think of another way to mark the national anthem.
Indeed it is about respect not subservience. Just as joining in with the symbolism is about respect not subservience.
If I enter a Temple and am asked to kneel I will kneel, not because I believe in their religion (I don't) but out of respect. Kaepernick knelt to show respect to the flag and anthem while symbolising his protest.
Joining in the protest is not about subjugating anyone. It is entirely about respect and we should treat each other with respect not subjugation.
I hate anthems as well especially at sport events (oh god did i sigh when they started doing it at the Ashes) . I firmly believe sport should be free of politics . The premier League should not be forcing players (even through extreme peer pressure and you will look a knob if you dont do it when everybody else does arguments) to do BLM stuff (especially as one of the aims of BLM is to crush capitalism)
Standing up to racism is very relevant to football. Kick It Out and other campaigns have long predated this.
Taking a symbolic knee to show respect against racism seems little different to me than them wearing a poppy at Remembrance Day or holding a minutes silence then.
Ending racism doesn't mean crushing capitalism.
It does to Black Lives Matter.
Why does that make them worthy of any respect whatsoever?
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience.
I ask again, who was Kapernick being "subservient" to?
The US constitution. The point was he wouldn't stand, but just sitting on his arse looked disrespectful, so he had to think of another way to mark the national anthem.
Indeed it is about respect not subservience. Just as joining in with the symbolism is about respect not subservience.
If I enter a Temple and am asked to kneel I will kneel, not because I believe in their religion (I don't) but out of respect. Kaepernick knelt to show respect to the flag and anthem while symbolising his protest.
Joining in the protest is not about subjugating anyone. It is entirely about respect and we should treat each other with respect not subjugation.
I hate anthems as well especially at sport events (oh god did i sigh when they started doing it at the Ashes) . I firmly believe sport should be free of politics . The premier League should not be forcing players (even through extreme peer pressure and you will look a knob if you dont do it when everybody else does arguments) to do BLM stuff (especially as one of the aims of BLM is to crush capitalism)
Standing up to racism is very relevant to football. Kick It Out and other campaigns have long predated this.
Taking a symbolic knee to show respect against racism seems little different to me than them wearing a poppy at Remembrance Day or holding a minutes silence then.
Ending racism doesn't mean crushing capitalism.
It does to Black Lives Matter.
Why does that make them worthy of any respect whatsoever?
That's why I've said deal with the legitimate concerns, stand up to racism, kick it out and give no succour to any other nonsense.
When you deal with the legitimate concerns, you have no reason to hear them for their illegitimate ones.
The 2nd interesting story on More or Less was looking at the assertion that most people who have died would have died anyway in a few months of something else.
Not true. Typically an 80 year old will live for 10 years more and will have a number of health issues i.e. the very people who are being described as only having a few months to live.
To take an extreme example - An 80 year old man who smokes, who is obese and has heart disease has an additionally life expectancy of 5 years!
You do get some striking results from life expectancy algorithms. You have longer left than you think, is the general rule. Mine gives 82 which is quite amazing. I'd take that.
Also, regarding long life, I came across an interesting nugget the other day -
A study was apparently done a while back of a large number of men in good health aged 60, who were assessed and interviewed, then tracked as to how long they lived. The data was reviewed to see if there was anything other than the obvious (no smoking, no heavy drinking etc) which was a predictor of a long life - defined here as making at least 90.
And there was. There was a factor which stood out a mile and this was the ability to stand on your head for 15 minutes. All of the 60 year olds who could do this lived beyond 90 - and those who not only could do it but actually made a practice of doing it every day as part of their normal routine lived the longest of all, often into their late 90s and beyond.
So. Moral there.
I can do a hand stand. Will I make 100?
On one hand?
If so - great chance.
If he can do a one handed handstand at 99 I would say there is a good chance he doesn't make it to 100.
I see the left has their own version of poppy and clapping fascists. How amazing they have transformed into the very thing they have raged against for so many years.
People should make their own choice, just as they do with poppies.
But that the Foreign Secretary could go on TV and show such ignorance that he doesn't know the origins of the symbolism is gobsmacking. It ranks up there with the young ignorant idiot being interviewed by Channel 4 that went viral earlier this week when she said about Churchill that she has never met him.
The difference is that Raab is not just an MP but Foreign Secretary.
If a Labour MP said that they didn't want to wear a poppy then I would understand that is their choice. If an MP said they didn't know the origins of the poppy and it was maybe to do with a TV show that would be another matter.
His ignorance is remarkable. Raab is an idiot and he should go.
It seems your ignorance is equally remarkable. Kaepernick's kneeling was a means of non violent protest. That is why it struck such a chord. Kneeling by the police and authorities is a sign of submission, of repentance. It is crass, pointless and has annoyed a great many black commentators as it makes it seem as if the BLM protestors want subjugation of the whites rather than equality.
Actually you are wrong, I have followed this story since before he was kneeling and kneeling was not his original protest. The original protest was sitting on a bench during the anthem but that was condemned as disrespectful to the national anthem and to the veterans.
So after speaking with veterans groups he changed the protest from sitting on a bench during the anthem to kneeling, because that was more respectful than sitting.
Again kneeling is a traditional symbolism of respect not just subjugation.
No it really isn't. That is just desperate spinning.
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience.
I ask again, who was Kapernick being "subservient" to?
The US constitution. The point was he wouldn't stand, but just sitting on his arse looked disrespectful, so he had to think of another way to mark the national anthem.
Indeed it is about respect not subservience. Just as joining in with the symbolism is about respect not subservience.
If I enter a Temple and am asked to kneel I will kneel, not because I believe in their religion (I don't) but out of respect. Kaepernick knelt to show respect to the flag and anthem while symbolising his protest.
Joining in the protest is not about subjugating anyone. It is entirely about respect and we should treat each other with respect not subjugation.
I hate anthems as well especially at sport events (oh god did i sigh when they started doing it at the Ashes) . I firmly believe sport should be free of politics . The premier League should not be forcing players (even through extreme peer pressure and you will look a knob if you dont do it when everybody else does arguments) to do BLM stuff (especially as one of the aims of BLM is to crush capitalism)
Standing up to racism is very relevant to football. Kick It Out and other campaigns have long predated this.
Taking a symbolic knee to show respect against racism seems little different to me than them wearing a poppy at Remembrance Day or holding a minutes silence then.
Ending racism doesn't mean crushing capitalism.
It does to Black Lives Matter.
Why does that make them worthy of any respect whatsoever?
That's why I've said deal with the legitimate concerns, stand up to racism, kick it out and give no succour to any other nonsense.
When you deal with the legitimate concerns, you have no reason to hear them for their illegitimate ones.
Dealing with concerns though is vastly different than a forced show of alligience to a body that obviously has a wider agenda of extreme politics .This is especially repugnant to do in a sporting event
I see the left has their own version of poppy and clapping fascists. How amazing they have transformed into the very thing they have raged against for so many years.
People should make their own choice, just as they do with poppies.
But that the Foreign Secretary could go on TV and show such ignorance that he doesn't know the origins of the symbolism is gobsmacking. It ranks up there with the young ignorant idiot being interviewed by Channel 4 that went viral earlier this week when she said about Churchill that she has never met him.
The difference is that Raab is not just an MP but Foreign Secretary.
If a Labour MP said that they didn't want to wear a poppy then I would understand that is their choice. If an MP said they didn't know the origins of the poppy and it was maybe to do with a TV show that would be another matter.
His ignorance is remarkable. Raab is an idiot and he should go.
It seems your ignorance is equally remarkable. Kaepernick's kneeling was a means of non violent protest. That is why it struck such a chord. Kneeling by the police and authorities is a sign of submission, of repentance. It is crass, pointless and has annoyed a great many black commentators as it makes it seem as if the BLM protestors want subjugation of the whites rather than equality.
In a US context it is nothing of the sort. It's an indication for hostilities to cease temporarily - a little like calling the mark in rugby, though the comparison isn't exact.
Is this a real thing or has The Spectator just invented it for Priti, miffed that she keeps getting it in the neck?
Sadly it's real. Many BAME conservatives have spent the last couple of weeks receiving copious amounts of racist hate mail, mostly because they don't see themselves as victims but as successes.
Terms like "coconut" being used, meaning someone brown on the outside but white on the inside.
Labour BAME politicians have been receiving masses of racist hate mail for years but Tories have never seemed too concerned about that.
You'll be surprised to find out that yes, they were concerned, many stood up to condemn racist abuse of Diane Abbot among others at the last two elections.
They stood right behind those calling Abbot innumerate and illiterate though, not all criticism of someone from the BAME "community" is racist.
Should the Guardian be allowed to publish cartoons like this?
That cartoon shows graphically the unbridled hatred the left has for BAME tories. Its like they broke a sacred pact. We brought you here to vote labour in eternity. Where's the gratitude?
What is interesting about that cartoon is that it uses racist tropes against Hindus (and presumed Hindus) directly from the racist propaganda from extremists in another culture.
Steve Bell is, in my opinion, a vile cartoonist. No satire, no lampooning, no parody, just bile.
And worst of all, he is not funny.
I am not even sure that is the worst of it (although its true). The example of Patel in that cartoon goes way beyond not funny. It is stunning that a mainstream publication saw fit to publish it.
It's not great. One recoils.
"not great"?
To draw someone ethnically Hindu as a cow is "not great"? If it had been a picture of a black Labour minister drawn as a monkey, or a Muslim Labour minister drawn as a pig would you call it "not great"?
I appreciate you said "recoils" and good for that, but its beyond the pale. The Guardian hasn't moved on from its support of the Confederacy it seems if it thinks publishing a cartoon like that is acceptable. If the Daily Mail had shown a cartoon of Diane Abbott as a monkey I think you'd get an immense response to denounce that.
I often say "not great" to indicate severe disapproval.
Your "Abbott as a monkey" comparison is crass and clumsy.
Don't be crass and clumsy, Philip.
Why is it crass and clumsy? It is literally the same thing, a racist image that would be utterly disgusting to be either drawn or published. What was worse than crass and clumsy was for the Guardian to publish what it did which was every bit as bad as if another paper had published Abbott as a monkey.
Steve Bell has done it too often for it not to be deliberate, but he gets away with it because there is a level of deniability. There is no deniability about drawing Abbott as a monkey. In any case, that The Guardian uses him is an utter disgrace.
I see the left has their own version of poppy and clapping fascists. How amazing they have transformed into the very thing they have raged against for so many years.
People should make their own choice, just as they do with poppies.
But that the Foreign Secretary could go on TV and show such ignorance that he doesn't know the origins of the symbolism is gobsmacking. It ranks up there with the young ignorant idiot being interviewed by Channel 4 that went viral earlier this week when she said about Churchill that she has never met him.
The difference is that Raab is not just an MP but Foreign Secretary.
If a Labour MP said that they didn't want to wear a poppy then I would understand that is their choice. If an MP said they didn't know the origins of the poppy and it was maybe to do with a TV show that would be another matter.
His ignorance is remarkable. Raab is an idiot and he should go.
It seems your ignorance is equally remarkable. Kaepernick's kneeling was a means of non violent protest. That is why it struck such a chord. Kneeling by the police and authorities is a sign of submission, of repentance. It is crass, pointless and has annoyed a great many black commentators as it makes it seem as if the BLM protestors want subjugation of the whites rather than equality.
Actually you are wrong, I have followed this story since before he was kneeling and kneeling was not his original protest. The original protest was sitting on a bench during the anthem but that was condemned as disrespectful to the national anthem and to the veterans.
So after speaking with veterans groups he changed the protest from sitting on a bench during the anthem to kneeling, because that was more respectful than sitting.
Again kneeling is a traditional symbolism of respect not just subjugation.
No it really isn't. That is just desperate spinning.
I see the left has their own version of poppy and clapping fascists. How amazing they have transformed into the very thing they have raged against for so many years.
People should make their own choice, just as they do with poppies.
But that the Foreign Secretary could go on TV and show such ignorance that he doesn't know the origins of the symbolism is gobsmacking. It ranks up there with the young ignorant idiot being interviewed by Channel 4 that went viral earlier this week when she said about Churchill that she has never met him.
The difference is that Raab is not just an MP but Foreign Secretary.
If a Labour MP said that they didn't want to wear a poppy then I would understand that is their choice. If an MP said they didn't know the origins of the poppy and it was maybe to do with a TV show that would be another matter.
His ignorance is remarkable. Raab is an idiot and he should go.
It seems your ignorance is equally remarkable. Kaepernick's kneeling was a means of non violent protest. That is why it struck such a chord. Kneeling by the police and authorities is a sign of submission, of repentance. It is crass, pointless and has annoyed a great many black commentators as it makes it seem as if the BLM protestors want subjugation of the whites rather than equality.
In a US context it is nothing of the sort. It's an indication for hostilities to cease temporarily - a little like calling the mark in rugby, though the comparison isn't exact.
'Kneel before Zod!..... just to show how much you respect my point of view'
I see the left has their own version of poppy and clapping fascists. How amazing they have transformed into the very thing they have raged against for so many years.
People should make their own choice, just as they do with poppies.
But that the Foreign Secretary could go on TV and show such ignorance that he doesn't know the origins of the symbolism is gobsmacking. It ranks up there with the young ignorant idiot being interviewed by Channel 4 that went viral earlier this week when she said about Churchill that she has never met him.
The difference is that Raab is not just an MP but Foreign Secretary.
If a Labour MP said that they didn't want to wear a poppy then I would understand that is their choice. If an MP said they didn't know the origins of the poppy and it was maybe to do with a TV show that would be another matter.
His ignorance is remarkable. Raab is an idiot and he should go.
It seems your ignorance is equally remarkable. Kaepernick's kneeling was a means of non violent protest. That is why it struck such a chord. Kneeling by the police and authorities is a sign of submission, of repentance. It is crass, pointless and has annoyed a great many black commentators as it makes it seem as if the BLM protestors want subjugation of the whites rather than equality.
In a US context it is nothing of the sort. It's an indication for hostilities to cease temporarily - a little like calling the mark in rugby, though the comparison isn't exact.
'Kneel before Zod!..... just to show how much you respect my point of view'
Kneeling together in respect is not the same as one person kneeling before another 🙄
Universities need to act now on free speech on the campus, or the baleful eye of Cummings and the need for 'sector reorganization' will fall on them.
They actually have bigger problems, certainly in Scotland where the Universities are facing a complete shit storm.
The Scottish government gives £1820 per student with a set number of places. This of course is absolutely unsustainable for anything other than the most basic of institutions so Universities have sought English students (£9250 a pop) and foreign non EU students (up to £24K) to cross subsidise. The Russell group members in particular have been very successful at this allowing the Universities to thrive with an ever smaller part of their cohort being made up of Scottish students.
Boris has now capped the number of English grants that will be paid to Scottish Universities and the foreigners are not coming because of Covid. The Scottish Government is not able to increase the number of places it funds because it has no money. I am not sure whether the likes of Edinburgh, St Andrews and Glasgow will survive. It really depends on how long the foreign market takes to recover but the clock is ticking
.
Edinburgh, St Andrews and Glasgow will survive if the become pro-Scottish. If they don’t, they won’t.
That is the inevitable consequence of being national institutions funded by the taxpayer. Either you work in the broad interests of the nation or else you try your luck in the free market.
Those 3 are the only world class universities Scotland has, lose those, lose world class higher education in Scotland
Says Rupert Murdoch.
The rest of the planet does not see the world through those London-tinted spectacles that so distort your vision.
Only 2 Scottish universities in the global top 100, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
In fairness that is as many in the top 50 as the entire EU. It's almost as if there was a link between adequately funding Universities and their performance, isn't it?
I may be wrong about this , but do get the impression that league tables re-standing of Universities are largely based on the breadth and depth of the research facilities provided for postgraduate work. Do they really convey much at all in respect of first degrees - BA and Bsc courses?
I think it does but you can argue about the weighting. Suppose you are studying physics and you have the choice of learning in a cutting edge laboratory with people testing the boundaries of knowledge in that subject and willing to let you play even a small part or learning the same stuff that has been churned out in a school like manner for you to learn and repeat on demand: which is going to make you a better physicist?
I think that the answer is obvious in that example but I would accept that there are many other potential examples which might not be so clear cut. What I think is clear is the University is or should be the equivalent of the mediaeval monastery, a combination of a place which does practical things like teach people how to read and also a place of scholarship and learning.
The fact that we have 4 Universities ranked in the top 10 in the world is undoubtedly one of our greatest strengths and we need to give urgent though as to how we avoid losing it.
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience.
I ask again, who was Kapernick being "subservient" to?
The US constitution. The point was he wouldn't stand, but just sitting on his arse looked disrespectful, so he had to think of another way to mark the national anthem.
Indeed it is about respect not subservience. Just as joining in with the symbolism is about respect not subservience.
If I enter a Temple and am asked to kneel I will kneel, not because I believe in their religion (I don't) but out of respect. Kaepernick knelt to show respect to the flag and anthem while symbolising his protest.
Joining in the protest is not about subjugating anyone. It is entirely about respect and we should treat each other with respect not subjugation.
Is this a real thing or has The Spectator just invented it for Priti, miffed that she keeps getting it in the neck?
Sadly it's real. Many BAME conservatives have spent the last couple of weeks receiving copious amounts of racist hate mail, mostly because they don't see themselves as victims but as successes.
Terms like "coconut" being used, meaning someone brown on the outside but white on the inside.
Labour BAME politicians have been receiving masses of racist hate mail for years but Tories have never seemed too concerned about that.
You'll be surprised to find out that yes, they were concerned, many stood up to condemn racist abuse of Diane Abbot among others at the last two elections.
They stood right behind those calling Abbot innumerate and illiterate though, not all criticism of someone from the BAME "community" is racist.
Should the Guardian be allowed to publish cartoons like this?
That cartoon shows graphically the unbridled hatred the left has for BAME tories. Its like they broke a sacred pact. We brought you here to vote labour in eternity. Where's the gratitude?
What is interesting about that cartoon is that it uses racist tropes against Hindus (and presumed Hindus) directly from the racist propaganda from extremists in another culture.
Steve Bell is, in my opinion, a vile cartoonist. No satire, no lampooning, no parody, just bile.
And worst of all, he is not funny.
I am not even sure that is the worst of it (although its true). The example of Patel in that cartoon goes way beyond not funny. It is stunning that a mainstream publication saw fit to publish it.
If the same cartoon was a Muslim minister drawn as a pig it would be rightly condemned. That the guardian has chosen to turn a blind eye to their own racism is not surprising to anyone that has been paying attention to their equivocation on anti-Semitism by Labour.
As I said, the left hates us because we're successful and now very noticeably at the top of a right wing government.
I don't hate you, Max. I really don't.
Am I the wrong sort of Left?
You're fellow travellers revel in equivocating about racism levelled at people like me.
Well if so they shouldn't.
I'm curious as to whether you feel the following statements are both true and - if so - which one you feel to be more true?
(i) Racism against Asians in the UK is just as prevalent as that against Blacks but Asians on the whole are better at rising above it and succeeding regardless.
(ii) Asians on the whole do better than Blacks in the UK and a big reason for this is that although they do face racism they do not face as much of it as Blacks do.
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience.
I ask again, who was Kapernick being "subservient" to?
The US constitution. The point was he wouldn't stand, but just sitting on his arse looked disrespectful, so he had to think of another way to mark the national anthem.
Indeed it is about respect not subservience. Just as joining in with the symbolism is about respect not subservience.
If I enter a Temple and am asked to kneel I will kneel, not because I believe in their religion (I don't) but out of respect. Kaepernick knelt to show respect to the flag and anthem while symbolising his protest.
Joining in the protest is not about subjugating anyone. It is entirely about respect and we should treat each other with respect not subjugation.
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience.
I ask again, who was Kapernick being "subservient" to?
The US constitution. The point was he wouldn't stand, but just sitting on his arse looked disrespectful, so he had to think of another way to mark the national anthem.
Indeed it is about respect not subservience. Just as joining in with the symbolism is about respect not subservience.
If I enter a Temple and am asked to kneel I will kneel, not because I believe in their religion (I don't) but out of respect. Kaepernick knelt to show respect to the flag and anthem while symbolising his protest.
Joining in the protest is not about subjugating anyone. It is entirely about respect and we should treat each other with respect not subjugation.
currently looks like Biden's easiest route to victory is winning Michigan + Florida + states Clinton won
FL going Dem means Biden just has to hold everything Clinton did in 2016 and take literally ANY other battleground state that Trump won. I can't see Trump sweeping AZ, NC and all the rust belt if FL is gone. FLorida indicates it's highly likely over. Biden can win without Florida too, mind.
The 2nd interesting story on More or Less was looking at the assertion that most people who have died would have died anyway in a few months of something else.
Not true. Typically an 80 year old will live for 10 years more and will have a number of health issues i.e. the very people who are being described as only having a few months to live.
To take an extreme example - An 80 year old man who smokes, who is obese and has heart disease has an additionally life expectancy of 5 years!
You do get some striking results from life expectancy algorithms. You have longer left than you think, is the general rule. Mine gives 82 which is quite amazing. I'd take that.
Also, regarding long life, I came across an interesting nugget the other day -
A study was apparently done a while back of a large number of men in good health aged 60, who were assessed and interviewed, then tracked as to how long they lived. The data was reviewed to see if there was anything other than the obvious (no smoking, no heavy drinking etc) which was a predictor of a long life - defined here as making at least 90.
And there was. There was a factor which stood out a mile and this was the ability to stand on your head for 15 minutes. All of the 60 year olds who could do this lived beyond 90 - and those who not only could do it but actually made a practice of doing it every day as part of their normal routine lived the longest of all, often into their late 90s and beyond.
So. Moral there.
I can do a hand stand. Will I make 100?
On one hand?
If so - great chance.
If he can do a one handed handstand at 99 I would say there is a good chance he doesn't make it to 100.
- I'd say it depends how often and where he's doing it.
If he's constantly at it, including out in public - kind of showing off and giving it the big "I am" - then, yes, there's going to be an accident.
Just grab the code from Github and get the f on with it.
Seems reasonable.
I said if the centralised model didn't work they should switch it, I don't see a reason for this to cause a delay. They should have had a team working on Plan B already and given the code is open source from Germany how long should it take to adapt?
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience.
I ask again, who was Kapernick being "subservient" to?
The US constitution. The point was he wouldn't stand, but just sitting on his arse looked disrespectful, so he had to think of another way to mark the national anthem.
Indeed it is about respect not subservience. Just as joining in with the symbolism is about respect not subservience.
If I enter a Temple and am asked to kneel I will kneel, not because I believe in their religion (I don't) but out of respect. Kaepernick knelt to show respect to the flag and anthem while symbolising his protest.
Joining in the protest is not about subjugating anyone. It is entirely about respect and we should treat each other with respect not subjugation.
Universities need to act now on free speech on the campus, or the baleful eye of Cummings and the need for 'sector reorganization' will fall on them.
They actually have bigger problems, certainly in Scotland where the Universities are facing a complete shit storm.
The Scottish government gives £1820 per student with a set number of places. This of course is absolutely unsustainable for anything other than the most basic of institutions so Universities have sought English students (£9250 a pop) and foreign non EU students (up to £24K) to cross subsidise. The Russell group members in particular have been very successful at this allowing the Universities to thrive with an ever smaller part of their cohort being made up of Scottish students.
Boris has now capped the number of English grants that will be paid to Scottish Universities and the foreigners are not coming because of Covid. The Scottish Government is not able to increase the number of places it funds because it has no money. I am not sure whether the likes of Edinburgh, St Andrews and Glasgow will survive. It really depends on how long the foreign market takes to recover but the clock is ticking
.
Edinburgh, St Andrews and Glasgow will survive if the become pro-Scottish. If they don’t, they won’t.
That is the inevitable consequence of being national institutions funded by the taxpayer. Either you work in the broad interests of the nation or else you try your luck in the free market.
Those 3 are the only world class universities Scotland has, lose those, lose world class higher education in Scotland
Says Rupert Murdoch.
The rest of the planet does not see the world through those London-tinted spectacles that so distort your vision.
Only 2 Scottish universities in the global top 100, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
In fairness that is as many in the top 50 as the entire EU. It's almost as if there was a link between adequately funding Universities and their performance, isn't it?
I may be wrong about this , but do get the impression that league tables re-standing of Universities are largely based on the breadth and depth of the research facilities provided for postgraduate work. Do they really convey much at all in respect of first degrees - BA and Bsc courses?
I think it does but you can argue about the weighting. Suppose you are studying physics and you have the choice of learning in a cutting edge laboratory with people testing the boundaries of knowledge in that subject and willing to let you play even a small part or learning the same stuff that has been churned out in a school like manner for you to learn and repeat on demand: which is going to make you a better physicist?
I think that the answer is obvious in that example but I would accept that there are many other potential examples which might not be so clear cut. What I think is clear is the University is or should be the equivalent of the mediaeval monastery, a combination of a place which does practical things like teach people how to read and also a place of scholarship and learning.
The fact that we have 4 Universities ranked in the top 10 in the world is undoubtedly one of our greatest strengths and we need to give urgent though as to how we avoid losing it.
I would agree with that , but not really so sure that a student attending Medical School at - say - Leeds or London Universities is likely to emerge having less to offer the world than someone from Oxbridge. That is probably even more true of the Humanities and Social Sciences - English,History, Politics, Philosophy , Law etc.
I always assumed that the baseball players kneeling when the national anthem was playing was a declaration as black people they felt alienated from the American dream, and that they were being forced to be subservient to it, so they were satirically kneeling before it. I don't know how it evolved into the current situation, nor do I want to know. It's one thing to decide to make a political gesture - quite another to expect someone else to. The former is an expression of freedom and personal choice; the latter borders on authoritarianism.
Seroprevalence of Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in Healthcare Workers in Non-epidemic Region: A Report from Iwate Prefecture in Japan https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.15.20132316v1 Background: As of June 8, 2020, Iwate is the only one of 47 prefectures in Japan with no confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. Serological survey for COVID-19 antibodies is crucial in area with low prevalence as well as epidemic area when addressing health and social issues caused by COVID-19. Rapid, accurate and easy-to-use antibody tests as well laboratory-based antibody tests are necessary for confirming immunity in a given community. Methods:Serum samples from healthcare workers (n = 1,000, mean 40 ± 11 years) of Iwate Prefectural Central Hospital, Iwate, Japan were tested for the prevalence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies. Two laboratory-based quantitative tests (Abbott Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgG and Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assays) and one point-of-care (POC) qualitative test (Alfa Instant-view plus COVID-19 Test) were performed simultaneously. Sensitivity and specificity were 100%, 99.6% in Abbott assay; 100%, 99.8% in Roche assay; 97.8%, 94.6% in Alfa POC test, respectively. Results:The laboratory-based quantitative tests showed positive in 4 of 1,000 samples (0.4%) (95% CI: 0.01 to 0.79): 4/1,000 (0.4%) (95% CI: 0.01 to 0.79) in Abbott; 0/1,000 (0%) in Roche. Positive samples were not detected for both Abbott and Roche assays. The POC qualitative test showed positive in 33 of 1,000 samples (3.3%) (95% CI: 2.19 to 4.41), showing higher rates than those of the laboratory-based quantitative tests. There were no samples with simultaneous positive reaction for two quantitative tests and a POC test. Conclusions: Infected COVID-2 cases were not confirmed by a retrospective serological study in healthcare workers of our hospital. The POC qualitative tests with lower specificity have the potential for higher false positive reactions than the laboratory-based quantitative tests in areas with very low prevalence of COVID-19....
Just grab the code from Github and get the f on with it.
Seems reasonable.
I said if the centralised model didn't work they should switch it, I don't see a reason for this to cause a delay. They should have had a team working on Plan B already and given the code is open source from Germany how long should it take to adapt?
Given there is no centralised database, shouldn't it be really quick to implement?
Is this a real thing or has The Spectator just invented it for Priti, miffed that she keeps getting it in the neck?
Sadly it's real. Many BAME conservatives have spent the last couple of weeks receiving copious amounts of racist hate mail, mostly because they don't see themselves as victims but as successes.
Terms like "coconut" being used, meaning someone brown on the outside but white on the inside.
Labour BAME politicians have been receiving masses of racist hate mail for years but Tories have never seemed too concerned about that.
You'll be surprised to find out that yes, they were concerned, many stood up to condemn racist abuse of Diane Abbot among others at the last two elections.
They stood right behind those calling Abbot innumerate and illiterate though, not all criticism of someone from the BAME "community" is racist.
Should the Guardian be allowed to publish cartoons like this?
That cartoon shows graphically the unbridled hatred the left has for BAME tories. Its like they broke a sacred pact. We brought you here to vote labour in eternity. Where's the gratitude?
What is interesting about that cartoon is that it uses racist tropes against Hindus (and presumed Hindus) directly from the racist propaganda from extremists in another culture.
Steve Bell is, in my opinion, a vile cartoonist. No satire, no lampooning, no parody, just bile.
And worst of all, he is not funny.
I am not even sure that is the worst of it (although its true). The example of Patel in that cartoon goes way beyond not funny. It is stunning that a mainstream publication saw fit to publish it.
It's not great. One recoils.
"not great"?
To draw someone ethnically Hindu as a cow is "not great"? If it had been a picture of a black Labour minister drawn as a monkey, or a Muslim Labour minister drawn as a pig would you call it "not great"?
I appreciate you said "recoils" and good for that, but its beyond the pale. The Guardian hasn't moved on from its support of the Confederacy it seems if it thinks publishing a cartoon like that is acceptable. If the Daily Mail had shown a cartoon of Diane Abbott as a monkey I think you'd get an immense response to denounce that.
I often say "not great" to indicate severe disapproval.
Your "Abbott as a monkey" comparison is crass and clumsy.
Don't be crass and clumsy, Philip.
Why is it crass and clumsy? It is literally the same thing, a racist image that would be utterly disgusting to be either drawn or published. What was worse than crass and clumsy was for the Guardian to publish what it did which was every bit as bad as if another paper had published Abbott as a monkey.
Steve Bell has done it too often for it not to be deliberate, but he gets away with it because there is a level of deniability. There is no deniability about drawing Abbott as a monkey. In any case, that The Guardian uses him is an utter disgrace.
Just grab the code from Github and get the f on with it.
Seems reasonable.
I said if the centralised model didn't work they should switch it, I don't see a reason for this to cause a delay. They should have had a team working on Plan B already and given the code is open source from Germany how long should it take to adapt?
Bending the knee has for centuries been an act of subservience.
I ask again, who was Kapernick being "subservient" to?
The US constitution. The point was he wouldn't stand, but just sitting on his arse looked disrespectful, so he had to think of another way to mark the national anthem.
Indeed it is about respect not subservience. Just as joining in with the symbolism is about respect not subservience.
If I enter a Temple and am asked to kneel I will kneel, not because I believe in their religion (I don't) but out of respect. Kaepernick knelt to show respect to the flag and anthem while symbolising his protest.
Joining in the protest is not about subjugating anyone. It is entirely about respect and we should treat each other with respect not subjugation.
I hate anthems as well especially at sport events (oh god did i sigh when they started doing it at the Ashes) . I firmly believe sport should be free of politics . The premier League should not be forcing players (even through extreme peer pressure and you will look a knob if you dont do it when everybody else does arguments) to do BLM stuff (especially as one of the aims of BLM is to crush capitalism)
Standing up to racism is very relevant to football. Kick It Out and other campaigns have long predated this.
Taking a symbolic knee to show respect against racism seems little different to me than them wearing a poppy at Remembrance Day or holding a minutes silence then.
Ending racism doesn't mean crushing capitalism.
Yes. Football is reliant on the talents of young black men and this issue must be keenly felt.
Is this a real thing or has The Spectator just invented it for Priti, miffed that she keeps getting it in the neck?
Sadly it's real. Many BAME conservatives have spent the last couple of weeks receiving copious amounts of racist hate mail, mostly because they don't see themselves as victims but as successes.
Terms like "coconut" being used, meaning someone brown on the outside but white on the inside.
Labour BAME politicians have been receiving masses of racist hate mail for years but Tories have never seemed too concerned about that.
You'll be surprised to find out that yes, they were concerned, many stood up to condemn racist abuse of Diane Abbot among others at the last two elections.
They stood right behind those calling Abbot innumerate and illiterate though, not all criticism of someone from the BAME "community" is racist.
Should the Guardian be allowed to publish cartoons like this?
That cartoon shows graphically the unbridled hatred the left has for BAME tories. Its like they broke a sacred pact. We brought you here to vote labour in eternity. Where's the gratitude?
What is interesting about that cartoon is that it uses racist tropes against Hindus (and presumed Hindus) directly from the racist propaganda from extremists in another culture.
Steve Bell is, in my opinion, a vile cartoonist. No satire, no lampooning, no parody, just bile.
And worst of all, he is not funny.
I am not even sure that is the worst of it (although its true). The example of Patel in that cartoon goes way beyond not funny. It is stunning that a mainstream publication saw fit to publish it.
It's not great. One recoils.
"not great"?
To draw someone ethnically Hindu as a cow is "not great"? If it had been a picture of a black Labour minister drawn as a monkey, or a Muslim Labour minister drawn as a pig would you call it "not great"?
I appreciate you said "recoils" and good for that, but its beyond the pale. The Guardian hasn't moved on from its support of the Confederacy it seems if it thinks publishing a cartoon like that is acceptable. If the Daily Mail had shown a cartoon of Diane Abbott as a monkey I think you'd get an immense response to denounce that.
I often say "not great" to indicate severe disapproval.
Your "Abbott as a monkey" comparison is crass and clumsy.
Don't be crass and clumsy, Philip.
Why is it crass and clumsy? It is literally the same thing, a racist image that would be utterly disgusting to be either drawn or published. What was worse than crass and clumsy was for the Guardian to publish what it did which was every bit as bad as if another paper had published Abbott as a monkey.
Steve Bell has done it too often for it not to be deliberate, but he gets away with it because there is a level of deniability. There is no deniability about drawing Abbott as a monkey. In any case, that The Guardian uses him is an utter disgrace.
As far as I'm concerned, Bell is at an end.
Finding your inner woke and cancelling him?
No, cancelled him years ago. Just couldn't resist the pun.
This was so bloody obvious from the start. We all said it, we all knew it.
Yet again, the country would have been better off governed by me, doing half an hour a day, during my first gin and T, than by this shower of imbeciles
Scarily, that might even be true. Though probably not.
Interesting that the Bank expects the QE to last for the rest of the year. The May indicators must have been much better than expected. It definitely looked that way to me when I went back to work, the data was a lot more positive than I expected.
Universities need to act now on free speech on the campus, or the baleful eye of Cummings and the need for 'sector reorganization' will fall on them.
They actually have bigger problems, certainly in Scotland where the Universities are facing a complete shit storm.
The Scottish government gives £1820 per student with a set number of places. This of course is absolutely unsustainable for anything other than the most basic of institutions so Universities have sought English students (£9250 a pop) and foreign non EU students (up to £24K) to cross subsidise. The Russell group members in particular have been very successful at this allowing the Universities to thrive with an ever smaller part of their cohort being made up of Scottish students.
Boris has now capped the number of English grants that will be paid to Scottish Universities and the foreigners are not coming because of Covid. The Scottish Government is not able to increase the number of places it funds because it has no money. I am not sure whether the likes of Edinburgh, St Andrews and Glasgow will survive. It really depends on how long the foreign market takes to recover but the clock is ticking
.
Edinburgh, St Andrews and Glasgow will survive if the become pro-Scottish. If they don’t, they won’t.
That is the inevitable consequence of being national institutions funded by the taxpayer. Either you work in the broad interests of the nation or else you try your luck in the free market.
Those 3 are the only world class universities Scotland has, lose those, lose world class higher education in Scotland
Says Rupert Murdoch.
The rest of the planet does not see the world through those London-tinted spectacles that so distort your vision.
Only 2 Scottish universities in the global top 100, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
In fairness that is as many in the top 50 as the entire EU. It's almost as if there was a link between adequately funding Universities and their performance, isn't it?
I may be wrong about this , but do get the impression that league tables re-standing of Universities are largely based on the breadth and depth of the research facilities provided for postgraduate work. Do they really convey much at all in respect of first degrees - BA and Bsc courses?
I think it does but you can argue about the weighting. Suppose you are studying physics and you have the choice of learning in a cutting edge laboratory with people testing the boundaries of knowledge in that subject and willing to let you play even a small part or learning the same stuff that has been churned out in a school like manner for you to learn and repeat on demand: which is going to make you a better physicist?
I think that the answer is obvious in that example but I would accept that there are many other potential examples which might not be so clear cut. What I think is clear is the University is or should be the equivalent of the mediaeval monastery, a combination of a place which does practical things like teach people how to read and also a place of scholarship and learning.
The fact that we have 4 Universities ranked in the top 10 in the world is undoubtedly one of our greatest strengths and we need to give urgent though as to how we avoid losing it.
I would agree with that , but not really so sure that a student attending Medical School at - say - Leeds or London Universities is likely to emerge having less to offer the world than someone from Oxbridge. That is probably even more true of the Humanities and Social Sciences - English,History, Politics, Philosophy , Law etc.
Medical school is arguably a poor example as the students have to move around between hospitals, so the training is arguably more homogenised. But in any case I'm not sure how much medical undergrads get to see in the way of research, these days, compared to say zoologists or biochemists who often end up doing actual research projects and special essay topics. The special essay I did ended up determining my entire career as a researcher (in part). And there seems to be even more emphasis on actual research projects as well as science communication, literacy, etc., these days in the fields in which I am familiar.
The other thing I am uneasy about is the merger of the polytechnics and universities. The polys did excellent work in their realm and it seemed a shame to lose them into the university mould. Edit: I'm not sure how such league tablkes take that loss into account.
This was so bloody obvious from the start. We all said it, we all knew it.
Yet again, the country would have been better off governed by me, doing half an hour a day, during my first gin and T, than by this shower of imbeciles
Scarily, that might even be true. Though probably not.
I think a PB all hands government of national unity would absolutely have done a better job than the government since early February. We've consistently been able to predict where the government was going to have issues and what the potential solutions were.
Universities need to act now on free speech on the campus, or the baleful eye of Cummings and the need for 'sector reorganization' will fall on them.
They actually have bigger problems, certainly in Scotland where the Universities are facing a complete shit storm.
The Scottish government gives £1820 per student with a set number of places. This of course is absolutely unsustainable for anything other than the most basic of institutions so Universities have sought English students (£9250 a pop) and foreign non EU students (up to £24K) to cross subsidise. The Russell group members in particular have been very successful at this allowing the Universities to thrive with an ever smaller part of their cohort being made up of Scottish students.
Boris has now capped the number of English grants that will be paid to Scottish Universities and the foreigners are not coming because of Covid. The Scottish Government is not able to increase the number of places it funds because it has no money. I am not sure whether the likes of Edinburgh, St Andrews and Glasgow will survive. It really depends on how long the foreign market takes to recover but the clock is ticking
.
Edinburgh, St Andrews and Glasgow will survive if the become pro-Scottish. If they don’t, they won’t.
That is the inevitable consequence of being national institutions funded by the taxpayer. Either you work in the broad interests of the nation or else you try your luck in the free market.
Those 3 are the only world class universities Scotland has, lose those, lose world class higher education in Scotland
Says Rupert Murdoch.
The rest of the planet does not see the world through those London-tinted spectacles that so distort your vision.
Only 2 Scottish universities in the global top 100, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
In fairness that is as many in the top 50 as the entire EU. It's almost as if there was a link between adequately funding Universities and their performance, isn't it?
I may be wrong about this , but do get the impression that league tables re-standing of Universities are largely based on the breadth and depth of the research facilities provided for postgraduate work. Do they really convey much at all in respect of first degrees - BA and Bsc courses?
I think it does but you can argue about the weighting. Suppose you are studying physics and you have the choice of learning in a cutting edge laboratory with people testing the boundaries of knowledge in that subject and willing to let you play even a small part or learning the same stuff that has been churned out in a school like manner for you to learn and repeat on demand: which is going to make you a better physicist?
I think that the answer is obvious in that example but I would accept that there are many other potential examples which might not be so clear cut. What I think is clear is the University is or should be the equivalent of the mediaeval monastery, a combination of a place which does practical things like teach people how to read and also a place of scholarship and learning.
The fact that we have 4 Universities ranked in the top 10 in the world is undoubtedly one of our greatest strengths and we need to give urgent though as to how we avoid losing it.
I would agree with that , but not really so sure that a student attending Medical School at - say - Leeds or London Universities is likely to emerge having less to offer the world than someone from Oxbridge. That is probably even more true of the Humanities and Social Sciences - English,History, Politics, Philosophy , Law etc.
I agree it is complicated. Very, very few of us have original thoughts that are actually useful or even interesting. I certainly don't. There is a role for the University as a factory producing the next generation of white collar clones sausage like. But I do think we should aspire to better. If Scotland lost its Universities in the top 100, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews or if they were reduced to sausage makers the country would be much diminished.
Comments
Of course its "free" until the day it is not. In my view it remains very dangerous. We got away with the last time mainly because there had been significant reductions in the supply of money as CDOs and the like were wound down. Its not immediately obvious to me what the equivalent is this time.
That the Guardian uses him is an utter disgrace, that it hasn't sacked him and the editor who approved it being published and apologised fulsomely is a disgrace.
https://twitter.com/paulwaugh/status/1273583733019496454
Do I approve of a Conservative Government pushing back against a wholesale attempt to impose a fundamental reworking of our culture, history, and language based on a protest movement imported from the US and used as a vehicle for Marxism? Absolutely.
The protesters and their fellow-travellers on the far-left are free to stop it at any time they like. Any minute of any day. But they won't.
Less picked up was In the same speech he also showed he had not a clue what 'just in time' meant (He seemed to think it was a case of not letting strawberries go off and flowers drooping). If you are negotiating Brexit and don't know that we are in deep deep trouble.
https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/1273583441473347585
If so - great chance.
If I enter a Temple and am asked to kneel I will kneel, not because I believe in their religion (I don't) but out of respect. Kaepernick knelt to show respect to the flag and anthem while symbolising his protest.
Joining in the protest is not about subjugating anyone. It is entirely about respect and we should treat each other with respect not subjugation.
https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1273576441570111488
Taking a knee, long before Kaepernick's protest, is quite a different form of symbolism:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarterback_kneel
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/take-a-knee
Quarterback Vinny Testaverde took a knee on the final play of the game, symbolically closing out his 21-year career in the place it began.
It's a sign of respect and concern to take a knee when a player is hurt...
Claiming its about Game of Thrones is not.
You've never heard of Good Cop / Bad Cop, have you? The message is out:
'You kneel if you want to. The Foreign Secretary's not for kneeling'
But it would appear it was a "culture war" thing and so was aimed at the alt right hipster crowd.
I know! - What are we coming to?
Re a church - I will go to a wedding or christening, but I will not kneel. I will sit and I will stand when others do, but I won't kneel, I won't sing, I won't close my eyes. I will not take part.
I would not make any gesture to royalty (chance would be a fine thing) other than to shake hands and talk to them as equals.
Taking a symbolic knee to show respect against racism seems little different to me than them wearing a poppy at Remembrance Day or holding a minutes silence then.
Ending racism doesn't mean crushing capitalism.
Why does that make them worthy of any respect whatsoever?
When you deal with the legitimate concerns, you have no reason to hear them for their illegitimate ones.
538 have got their 2020 polling averages up now:
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/our-new-polling-averages-show-biden-leads-trump-by-9-points-nationally/
currently looks like Biden's easiest route to victory is winning Michigan + Florida + states Clinton won
Yes, you have praised Boris - I knew we'd get you on board one day!
It's an indication for hostilities to cease temporarily - a little like calling the mark in rugby, though the comparison isn't exact.
https://twitter.com/MaioccoNBCS/status/771582927075315712
Check the date on this. It is about respect.
I think that the answer is obvious in that example but I would accept that there are many other potential examples which might not be so clear cut. What I think is clear is the University is or should be the equivalent of the mediaeval monastery, a combination of a place which does practical things like teach people how to read and also a place of scholarship and learning.
The fact that we have 4 Universities ranked in the top 10 in the world is undoubtedly one of our greatest strengths and we need to give urgent though as to how we avoid losing it.
I'm curious as to whether you feel the following statements are both true and - if so - which one you feel to be more true?
(i) Racism against Asians in the UK is just as prevalent as that against Blacks but Asians on the whole are better at rising above it and succeeding regardless.
(ii) Asians on the whole do better than Blacks in the UK and a big reason for this is that although they do face racism they do not face as much of it as Blacks do.
https://twitter.com/ruskin147/status/1273592249755021314
Sorry, respray.
Just grab the code from Github and get the f on with it.
Biden can win without Florida too, mind.
If he's constantly at it, including out in public - kind of showing off and giving it the big "I am" - then, yes, there's going to be an accident.
When do they ever learn.
I said if the centralised model didn't work they should switch it, I don't see a reason for this to cause a delay. They should have had a team working on Plan B already and given the code is open source from Germany how long should it take to adapt?
https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/technology-53095336?__twitter_impression=true
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.15.20132316v1
Background: As of June 8, 2020, Iwate is the only one of 47 prefectures in Japan with no confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. Serological survey for COVID-19 antibodies is crucial in area with low prevalence as well as epidemic area when addressing health and social issues caused by COVID-19. Rapid, accurate and easy-to-use antibody tests as well laboratory-based antibody tests are necessary for confirming immunity in a given community. Methods:Serum samples from healthcare workers (n = 1,000, mean 40 ± 11 years) of Iwate Prefectural Central Hospital, Iwate, Japan were tested for the prevalence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies. Two laboratory-based quantitative tests (Abbott Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgG and Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assays) and one point-of-care (POC) qualitative test (Alfa Instant-view plus COVID-19 Test) were performed simultaneously. Sensitivity and specificity were 100%, 99.6% in Abbott assay; 100%, 99.8% in Roche assay; 97.8%, 94.6% in Alfa POC test, respectively. Results:The laboratory-based quantitative tests showed positive in 4 of 1,000 samples (0.4%) (95% CI: 0.01 to 0.79): 4/1,000 (0.4%) (95% CI: 0.01 to 0.79) in Abbott; 0/1,000 (0%) in Roche. Positive samples were not detected for both Abbott and Roche assays. The POC qualitative test showed positive in 33 of 1,000 samples (3.3%) (95% CI: 2.19 to 4.41), showing higher rates than those of the laboratory-based quantitative tests. There were no samples with simultaneous positive reaction for two quantitative tests and a POC test. Conclusions: Infected COVID-2 cases were not confirmed by a retrospective serological study in healthcare workers of our hospital. The POC qualitative tests with lower specificity have the potential for higher false positive reactions than the laboratory-based quantitative tests in areas with very low prevalence of COVID-19....
https://twitter.com/marcelsalathe/status/1273535844528336896
Just couldn't resist the pun.
Least surprising news ever.
Though probably not.
Maybe no one from government does lurk and read PB after all.
The other thing I am uneasy about is the merger of the polytechnics and universities. The polys did excellent work in their realm and it seemed a shame to lose them into the university mould. Edit: I'm not sure how such league tablkes take that loss into account.
1)The man in the pic at the top of the thread looks like Corporal Jones.
2) NEW THREAD