Thank goodness the French hesistancy was not as the polling indicated.
People who know France better than I do were always pretty sanguine about that- they expected both the initial moaning and the acceptance of the jab when offered.
Besides, the French vaccination ads are very persuasive;
France is doing well but their numbers are flattered by the number of 12-17 year olds they’re vaccinating. Their vaccination rate for older people is still lower than ours.
What a ridiculous comment. Epidemiologically ridiculous.
Under 18's are, despite what we parents might occasionally think, still human beings. They catch and transmit the virus.
Counting only adults is artificially massaging the statistics.
Vaccinations stats MUST include whole populations. Why? Because everyone can spread this.
If the UK don't get jabbing under-18's then we create the perfect petri dish for mutations.
Remind us of your qualifications in virology, epidemiology and medical ethics.
Remind us of your comprehension of trends and statistics
knowing better than the JCVI....
The JCVI paper on this is quite nuanced. Have you actually read it? Whilst it tallies with Germany's position it goes counter to many, if not most, other developed countries including the US whose FDA is more stringent than probably anywhere else in the world. They have not only approved vaccinating under 18's in the 12-17 range but will probably also begin vaccinating 9-12 year olds.
The UK's decision not to vaccinate 21% of its population, in tandem with unlocking is a very, very, very, dangerous game to be playing. Children catch and spread this virus.
What is the medical position on heat-not-burn? If all smokers switched to that, would lung cancer slump? If so, I'm fine with them making money out of it.
The camerawork on the triathlon is hilarious. The motorbikes with cameras on keep turning corners and losing sight of the runners and the TV feed team clearly has no warning before it happens.
The motorbikes in the men’s cycling road race were a disgrace: the idiots were pulling along the chasing group a lot of the time. Nearly cost Carapaz his victory.
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
Doubt he'll be nominated.
You wouldn't have thought so but cycling does punch above its weight so it may be a question of which cyclist: Pidcock; erstwhile favourite Mark Cavendish (out to 10 on Betfair); Jason or Laura Kenny if they win; A N Other.
Grabbing 50/1 Tom Daley was inspired (now joint-favourite with Dina Asher-Smith) but these days I think it safer to wait and see who is nominated, as you suggest.
So far I think there are three or four very likely nominees:
Mark Cavendish Adam Peaty Tom Daley Alun Wyn Jones
In the last three years, the BBC have limited it to six nominees, but I guess they might have a few more in an Olympic year. You can be certain that at least one woman will be nominated. You can be certain that at least on disability sports competitor will be nominated. That's why it's tricky for the likes of Pidcock to get a look in.
Mark Cavendish is the one I have doubts about (not alone – he has doubled in price) especially if Laura Kenny wins gold. Cavendish did not quite break Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins or win the TdF itself, and giving Laura Kenny the (unofficial) cycling slot also ticks the female box. What I do not know, because I do not really understand the cycling lobby, is whether (if no-one else wins anything) in a toss-up between Cavendish and Pidcock, who would be favoured.
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Thank goodness the French hesistancy was not as the polling indicated.
People who know France better than I do were always pretty sanguine about that- they expected both the initial moaning and the acceptance of the jab when offered.
Besides, the French vaccination ads are very persuasive;
France is doing well but their numbers are flattered by the number of 12-17 year olds they’re vaccinating. Their vaccination rate for older people is still lower than ours.
What a ridiculous comment. Epidemiologically ridiculous.
Under 18's are, despite what we parents might occasionally think, still human beings. They catch and transmit the virus.
Counting only adults is artificially massaging the statistics.
Vaccinations stats MUST include whole populations. Why? Because everyone can spread this.
If the UK don't get jabbing under-18's then we create the perfect petri dish for mutations.
Remind us of your qualifications in virology, epidemiology and medical ethics.
Statistics as well since he wants to compare data sets with different inclusion criteria
This pandemic has been a treasure trove of misunderstood or misinterpreted statistical 'facts' has it not.
But the EU played its part. As a former adviser to the Italian government, Ricciardi faulted EU countries for making decisions based on "emotion" rather than science. Scientists and politicians quietly blamed Brexit......
AstraZeneca was used as a “scapegoat” at a time when the EU was struggling to ramp up vaccinations. Macron calling the vaccine quasi-ineffective will "stick forever," he adds. And he calls the EU’s lawsuit against the drugmaker "morally untenable" given that the company is producing the most vaccines for the globe......
"The thing that terrifies me more than anything else is that the one vaccine that's not-for-profit is the one that has been dumped on over and over and over again," he said. He points out that no other drugmaker offered to produce at such a low cost — even Pfizer got the U.S. government to offset its costs to supply COVAX.
He made clear he doesn't represent AstraZeneca or make decisions for the company, but if he did, "I would not sign up for a deal like this ever again."
The reason they run a very tight set of technical regulations with few deviations allowed is that they don't want to destroy the sport. As it's a relatively immature technology the concern is, with enough latitude in the regulations, one of the OEMs would come up with a technical innovation that would give them absolutely crushing superiority.
This is exactly what happened in TT Zero which had a very loose Formula Libre approach to electric motorcycle racing. In the vast latitude permitted by the few regulations the Mugen team with Honda know how became overpoweringly dominant. They won 6 titles in a row at last count and are lapping the island at 122mph (as fast as Foggy in the late 90s). Their nearest competitor is lapping at 102mph (as fast as Surtees in late 50s). The result is that the event is now utterly pointless as a competitive exercise.
FE have had nine different race winners and a tight championship so they're probably happy with their more controlled approach.
We know why they’re doing what they are, but with so many Works teams on board they really should be using the series to push the limits of the actual technology - rather than just the marketing of it.
Because the actual technology needs pushing hard, and has a lot of road relevance. You can have a rule about teams supplying each other if you wish, or publishing designs and cross-licensing IP.
The vision of us all driving EVs a decade from now needs the EVs to be much better than they are now.
There’s a massive reward for the next company that than make a jump in battery tech, so why not get a racing series where everyone can test their prototypes?
Mr. Divvie, well, thank you for sharing a new entry in the long annals of commentator nincompoopery.
That's perhaps the worst broadcasting dimwittery since a chap on Sky commented on there never being a beheading in France before (referring to a terrorist attack).
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
Doubt he'll be nominated.
You wouldn't have thought so but cycling does punch above its weight so it may be a question of which cyclist: Pidcock; erstwhile favourite Mark Cavendish (out to 10 on Betfair); Jason or Laura Kenny if they win; A N Other.
Grabbing 50/1 Tom Daley was inspired (now joint-favourite with Dina Asher-Smith) but these days I think it safer to wait and see who is nominated, as you suggest.
So far I think there are three or four very likely nominees:
Mark Cavendish Adam Peaty Tom Daley Alun Wyn Jones
In the last three years, the BBC have limited it to six nominees, but I guess they might have a few more in an Olympic year. You can be certain that at least one woman will be nominated. You can be certain that at least on disability sports competitor will be nominated. That's why it's tricky for the likes of Pidcock to get a look in.
Mark Cavendish is the one I have doubts about (not alone – he has doubled in price) especially if Laura Kenny wins gold. Cavendish did not quite break Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins or win the TdF itself, and giving Laura Kenny the (unofficial) cycling slot also ticks the female box. What I do not know, because I do not really understand the cycling lobby, is whether (if no-one else wins anything) in a toss-up between Cavendish and Pidcock, who would be favoured.
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Cavendish still won the Green Jersey (I know the competition wasn't quite so strong, but he still had to get it done and actually finish the tour). If the Lions clinch the series, then I think Wyn Jones is nailed on to be nominated. He probably doesn't win, but I wouldn't rule him out if the Olympic votes are evenly split.
Now that the threat of the pandemic has subsided, people are looking at work as the problem. Next will come the rush of exits, a phenomenon that behavioural expert Dr Anthony Klotz dubbed the “Great Resignation” after America recorded its highest number of resignations since records began.
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
Doubt he'll be nominated.
You wouldn't have thought so but cycling does punch above its weight so it may be a question of which cyclist: Pidcock; erstwhile favourite Mark Cavendish (out to 10 on Betfair); Jason or Laura Kenny if they win; A N Other.
Grabbing 50/1 Tom Daley was inspired (now joint-favourite with Dina Asher-Smith) but these days I think it safer to wait and see who is nominated, as you suggest.
So far I think there are three or four very likely nominees:
Mark Cavendish Adam Peaty Tom Daley Alun Wyn Jones
In the last three years, the BBC have limited it to six nominees, but I guess they might have a few more in an Olympic year. You can be certain that at least one woman will be nominated. You can be certain that at least on disability sports competitor will be nominated. That's why it's tricky for the likes of Pidcock to get a look in.
Mark Cavendish is the one I have doubts about (not alone – he has doubled in price) especially if Laura Kenny wins gold. Cavendish did not quite break Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins or win the TdF itself, and giving Laura Kenny the (unofficial) cycling slot also ticks the female box. What I do not know, because I do not really understand the cycling lobby, is whether (if no-one else wins anything) in a toss-up between Cavendish and Pidcock, who would be favoured.
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Cavendish still won the Green Jersey (I know the competition wasn't quite so strong, but he still had to get it done and actually finish the tour). If the Lions clinch the series, then I think Wyn Jones is nailed on to be nominated. He probably doesn't win, but I wouldn't rule him out if the Olympic votes are evenly split.
Why would the loose head prop who hasn't played a test yet get nominated?
Brilliant photo of a 13 year old Tom Daley at Number 10, just posted by - yes - Andy Burnham
I think Burnham has it. That unique gift of knowing the exact right thing to say. It seems trivial, it isn’t. Blair had it. Clinton too. By itself it’s not enough, but it certainly gets you a long way.
So lots of wibbling about how poor an olympics we were going to have. Just watching out third gold of the morning now... Not saying we are going to smash it, but some of the chat was a bit previous. 😀
I would love to be wrong, my worry is that in rowing, track cycling and sailing we're going to be well down in London and Rio. Those are a lot of gold medals for us.
Absolutely. Just pointing out how we’ve already got 3 golds and only half way through day 3. Lots of our medals come in odd places, such as the dancing kicking and falling into water etc.
Too many daft events in the Olympics. It should be slashed down to approx 20 key sports, including:
Athletics Swimming Cycling Equestrian Gymnastics Fencing Wrestling Water polo
Sports which definitely should not be there include:
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
He’s England’s best one-day road cyclist by a long way; and MTB, obviously. But the problem is the UK is unusually obsessed by stage racing and velodrome events, and he doesn’t feature there at all.
Because Team GB has been extremely successful in track cycling events since 2008. A certain Chris Hoy started it all off.
No. Velodrome has been popular in England for over a century. Mainly because road racing was made virtually impossible due to daft local authorities.
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
Doubt he'll be nominated.
You wouldn't have thought so but cycling does punch above its weight so it may be a question of which cyclist: Pidcock; erstwhile favourite Mark Cavendish (out to 10 on Betfair); Jason or Laura Kenny if they win; A N Other.
Grabbing 50/1 Tom Daley was inspired (now joint-favourite with Dina Asher-Smith) but these days I think it safer to wait and see who is nominated, as you suggest.
So far I think there are three or four very likely nominees:
Mark Cavendish Adam Peaty Tom Daley Alun Wyn Jones
In the last three years, the BBC have limited it to six nominees, but I guess they might have a few more in an Olympic year. You can be certain that at least one woman will be nominated. You can be certain that at least on disability sports competitor will be nominated. That's why it's tricky for the likes of Pidcock to get a look in.
Mark Cavendish is the one I have doubts about (not alone – he has doubled in price) especially if Laura Kenny wins gold. Cavendish did not quite break Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins or win the TdF itself, and giving Laura Kenny the (unofficial) cycling slot also ticks the female box. What I do not know, because I do not really understand the cycling lobby, is whether (if no-one else wins anything) in a toss-up between Cavendish and Pidcock, who would be favoured.
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Cavendish still won the Green Jersey (I know the competition wasn't quite so strong, but he still had to get it done and actually finish the tour). If the Lions clinch the series, then I think Wyn Jones is nailed on to be nominated. He probably doesn't win, but I wouldn't rule him out if the Olympic votes are evenly split.
Why would the loose head prop who hasn't played a test yet get nominated?
Why are they all called Jones?!
To be clear, Alun Wyn Jones, the world's most capped Rugby Union player.
Thank goodness the French hesistancy was not as the polling indicated.
People who know France better than I do were always pretty sanguine about that- they expected both the initial moaning and the acceptance of the jab when offered.
Besides, the French vaccination ads are very persuasive;
France is doing well but their numbers are flattered by the number of 12-17 year olds they’re vaccinating. Their vaccination rate for older people is still lower than ours.
What a ridiculous comment. Epidemiologically ridiculous.
Under 18's are, despite what we parents might occasionally think, still human beings. They catch and transmit the virus.
Counting only adults is artificially massaging the statistics.
Vaccinations stats MUST include whole populations. Why? Because everyone can spread this.
If the UK don't get jabbing under-18's then we create the perfect petri dish for mutations.
Remind us of your qualifications in virology, epidemiology and medical ethics.
Statistics as well since he wants to compare data sets with different inclusion criteria
This pandemic has been a treasure trove of misunderstood or misinterpreted statistical 'facts' has it not.
The R value for misleading information about Covid on Twitter has consistently exceeded the R value for Covid, for sure.
But then, R0 for nonsense on Twitter does tend towards infinity
So lots of wibbling about how poor an olympics we were going to have. Just watching out third gold of the morning now... Not saying we are going to smash it, but some of the chat was a bit previous. 😀
I would love to be wrong, my worry is that in rowing, track cycling and sailing we're going to be well down in London and Rio. Those are a lot of gold medals for us.
Absolutely. Just pointing out how we’ve already got 3 golds and only half way through day 3. Lots of our medals come in odd places, such as the dancing kicking and falling into water etc.
Too many daft events in the Olympics. It should be slashed down to approx 20 key sports, including:
Athletics Swimming Cycling Equestrian Gymnastics Fencing Wrestling Water polo
Sports which definitely should not be there include:
Soccer Golf Tennis Softball Skateboarding
Yeah any sport where the Olympic gold isn't the pinnacle is probably something that shouldn't be there. Football, golf and tennis seem like they were added to try and get viewers but ultimately that's not what people watch at the Olympics.
The Astra-Zeneca story is one of virtue being unrewarded. Offering to make a vaccine at production cost price was greeted with false accusations. Macron "It doesn't work in old people." A classic case of deliberate ignorance.
Most of my time in the Pharmaceutical industry was spent working for Roche. I found them a brilliant company but the Swiss have a firm grasp of economics. "At production cost only?" That would have made their heads spin.
It was an incredibly generous offer. One which will never be repeated after the sour reaction to it.
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
Doubt he'll be nominated.
You wouldn't have thought so but cycling does punch above its weight so it may be a question of which cyclist: Pidcock; erstwhile favourite Mark Cavendish (out to 10 on Betfair); Jason or Laura Kenny if they win; A N Other.
Grabbing 50/1 Tom Daley was inspired (now joint-favourite with Dina Asher-Smith) but these days I think it safer to wait and see who is nominated, as you suggest.
So far I think there are three or four very likely nominees:
Mark Cavendish Adam Peaty Tom Daley Alun Wyn Jones
In the last three years, the BBC have limited it to six nominees, but I guess they might have a few more in an Olympic year. You can be certain that at least one woman will be nominated. You can be certain that at least on disability sports competitor will be nominated. That's why it's tricky for the likes of Pidcock to get a look in.
Mark Cavendish is the one I have doubts about (not alone – he has doubled in price) especially if Laura Kenny wins gold. Cavendish did not quite break Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins or win the TdF itself, and giving Laura Kenny the (unofficial) cycling slot also ticks the female box. What I do not know, because I do not really understand the cycling lobby, is whether (if no-one else wins anything) in a toss-up between Cavendish and Pidcock, who would be favoured.
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Cavendish still won the Green Jersey (I know the competition wasn't quite so strong, but he still had to get it done and actually finish the tour). If the Lions clinch the series, then I think Wyn Jones is nailed on to be nominated. He probably doesn't win, but I wouldn't rule him out if the Olympic votes are evenly split.
I think Cav failing to win the Champs Elysees hurts his chances. That's the unofficial road cylcing sprinter's world cup. Peaty should probably win it right now - he's the only gold winner to have defended his olympic title so far.
So lots of wibbling about how poor an olympics we were going to have. Just watching out third gold of the morning now... Not saying we are going to smash it, but some of the chat was a bit previous. 😀
I would love to be wrong, my worry is that in rowing, track cycling and sailing we're going to be well down in London and Rio. Those are a lot of gold medals for us.
Absolutely. Just pointing out how we’ve already got 3 golds and only half way through day 3. Lots of our medals come in odd places, such as the dancing kicking and falling into water etc.
Too many daft events in the Olympics. It should be slashed down to approx 20 key sports, including:
Athletics Swimming Cycling Equestrian Gymnastics Fencing Wrestling Water polo
Sports which definitely should not be there include:
Soccer Golf Tennis Softball Skateboarding
Yeah any sport where the Olympic gold isn't the pinnacle is probably something that shouldn't be there. Football, golf and tennis seem like they were added to try and get viewers but ultimately that's not what people watch at the Olympics.
I used to think like that, but I've come round to thinking that if people want to compete in those events and people want to turn up and watch, what's the problem? What changed my mind was seeing just how happy Justin Rose was standing on the podium in Rio.
Also, people turn up to watch the football. 86,000 were at Wembley for the men's final in 2012. That seems fine to me.
The one I don't get is squash. Why isn't that in the Olympics? Seems an obvious one in terms of it being physically demanding and it would be the pinnacle of the sport.
There’s a massive reward for the next company that than make a jump in battery tech, so why not get a racing series where everyone can test their prototypes?
The road and track environments are so different that it's not the best place for OEMs to spend their R&D money. Almost no technology comes directly from racing to mass production cars. If they want better battery tech for road cars they aren't going to find it by flogging an open wheeled single seater around street circuits 10 times/year.
Did Andy Burnham have that photo ready to go? He put it out within minutes. I don’t doubt his sincerity, I’m just admiring the ruthless skill. That’s genius use of social media. That’s a politician who knows his internet
Burnham should be the next Labour leader ASAFP. He’s gone away and thought about what it takes.
He’s likeable, yet gritty. He cleverly avoided the Taint of Corbyn. He’s quietly patriotic. He isn’t a Remoaner like Starmer.
‘Brexit: Labour's Andy Burnham indicates he will campaign for Leave in second referendum
Mayor of Greater Manchester is first senior Labour figure to break with pro-Remain colleagues’
The Astra-Zeneca story is one of virtue being unrewarded. Offering to make a vaccine at production cost price was greeted with false accusations. Macron "It doesn't work in old people." A classic case of deliberate ignorance.
Most of my time in the Pharmaceutical industry was spent working for Roche. I found them a brilliant company but the Swiss have a firm grasp of economics. "At production cost only?" That would have made their heads spin.
It was an incredibly generous offer. One which will never be repeated after the sour reaction to it.
+100
One company, in an industry which generally has a terrible reputation for profiteering, put their head above the parapet and offered to help the world for free in a crisis. And got royally dumped on for their trouble.
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
Doubt he'll be nominated.
You wouldn't have thought so but cycling does punch above its weight so it may be a question of which cyclist: Pidcock; erstwhile favourite Mark Cavendish (out to 10 on Betfair); Jason or Laura Kenny if they win; A N Other.
Grabbing 50/1 Tom Daley was inspired (now joint-favourite with Dina Asher-Smith) but these days I think it safer to wait and see who is nominated, as you suggest.
So far I think there are three or four very likely nominees:
Mark Cavendish Adam Peaty Tom Daley Alun Wyn Jones
In the last three years, the BBC have limited it to six nominees, but I guess they might have a few more in an Olympic year. You can be certain that at least one woman will be nominated. You can be certain that at least on disability sports competitor will be nominated. That's why it's tricky for the likes of Pidcock to get a look in.
Mark Cavendish is the one I have doubts about (not alone – he has doubled in price) especially if Laura Kenny wins gold. Cavendish did not quite break Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins or win the TdF itself, and giving Laura Kenny the (unofficial) cycling slot also ticks the female box. What I do not know, because I do not really understand the cycling lobby, is whether (if no-one else wins anything) in a toss-up between Cavendish and Pidcock, who would be favoured.
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Cavendish still won the Green Jersey (I know the competition wasn't quite so strong, but he still had to get it done and actually finish the tour). If the Lions clinch the series, then I think Wyn Jones is nailed on to be nominated. He probably doesn't win, but I wouldn't rule him out if the Olympic votes are evenly split.
I think Cav failing to win the Champs Elysees hurts his chances. That's the unofficial road cylcing sprinter's world cup. Peaty should probably win it right now - he's the only gold winner to have defended his olympic title so far.
What's that got to do with it? SPotY is not about sporting merit. It is about who is nominated by the BBC, and then who the public votes for on the night.
And who the cycling lobby gets behind – they win far more often than you'd expect from the sport's (relative lack of) popularity in this country.
Did Andy Burnham have that photo ready to go? He put it out within minutes. I don’t doubt his sincerity, I’m just admiring the ruthless skill. That’s genius use of social media. That’s a politician who knows his internet
Burnham should be the next Labour leader ASAFP. He’s gone away and thought about what it takes.
He’s likeable, yet gritty. He cleverly avoided the Taint of Corbyn. He’s quietly patriotic. He isn’t a Remoaner like Starmer.
‘Brexit: Labour's Andy Burnham indicates he will campaign for Leave in second referendum
Mayor of Greater Manchester is first senior Labour figure to break with pro-Remain colleagues’
He’s a winner. He’d quite possibly beat Boris in 2023
It's a sample stock photo, so almost certainly found after a 30-second google. If pre-prepared, he'd have paid the going rate for the actual photo, or dug out his own copy from his "future memoirs" file.
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
Doubt he'll be nominated.
You wouldn't have thought so but cycling does punch above its weight so it may be a question of which cyclist: Pidcock; erstwhile favourite Mark Cavendish (out to 10 on Betfair); Jason or Laura Kenny if they win; A N Other.
Grabbing 50/1 Tom Daley was inspired (now joint-favourite with Dina Asher-Smith) but these days I think it safer to wait and see who is nominated, as you suggest.
So far I think there are three or four very likely nominees:
Mark Cavendish Adam Peaty Tom Daley Alun Wyn Jones
In the last three years, the BBC have limited it to six nominees, but I guess they might have a few more in an Olympic year. You can be certain that at least one woman will be nominated. You can be certain that at least on disability sports competitor will be nominated. That's why it's tricky for the likes of Pidcock to get a look in.
Mark Cavendish is the one I have doubts about (not alone – he has doubled in price) especially if Laura Kenny wins gold. Cavendish did not quite break Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins or win the TdF itself, and giving Laura Kenny the (unofficial) cycling slot also ticks the female box. What I do not know, because I do not really understand the cycling lobby, is whether (if no-one else wins anything) in a toss-up between Cavendish and Pidcock, who would be favoured.
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Cavendish still won the Green Jersey (I know the competition wasn't quite so strong, but he still had to get it done and actually finish the tour). If the Lions clinch the series, then I think Wyn Jones is nailed on to be nominated. He probably doesn't win, but I wouldn't rule him out if the Olympic votes are evenly split.
I think Cav failing to win the Champs Elysees hurts his chances. That's the unofficial road cylcing sprinter's world cup. Peaty should probably win it right now - he's the only gold winner to have defended his olympic title so far.
What's that got to do with it? SPotY is not about sporting merit. It is about who is nominated by the BBC, and then who the public votes for on the night.
And who the cycling lobby gets behind – they win far more often than you'd expect from the sport's (relative lack of) popularity in this country.
I'm a massive fan of Cav and think his comeback is amazing. But he did fail to win on the Champs Elysees, which is the ICONIC stage for someone in his position. Tom Pidcock has just won an olympic gold and there'll be more success in the velodrome which may well split the vote if another cyclist makes the shortlist. If it's going off of publicity friendliness then Daley might well be the one to beat now.
Did Andy Burnham have that photo ready to go? He put it out within minutes. I don’t doubt his sincerity, I’m just admiring the ruthless skill. That’s genius use of social media. That’s a politician who knows his internet
Burnham should be the next Labour leader ASAFP. He’s gone away and thought about what it takes.
He’s likeable, yet gritty. He cleverly avoided the Taint of Corbyn. He’s quietly patriotic. He isn’t a Remoaner like Starmer.
‘Brexit: Labour's Andy Burnham indicates he will campaign for Leave in second referendum
Mayor of Greater Manchester is first senior Labour figure to break with pro-Remain colleagues’
He’s a winner. He’d quite possibly beat Boris in 2023
It's a sample stock photo, so almost certainly found after a 30-second google. If pre-prepared, he'd have paid the going rate for the actual photo, or dug out his own copy from his "future memoirs" file.
Burnham is in the photo, looking at young Daley in a proud, kind, endearing way. It’s the PERFECT photo. It reflects well on Burnham, quietly, while honouring Daley, mainly. That’s not ‘30 seconds of googling’. That’s bravura use of social media. A talent that is rare in Labour circles. Pitch perfect
On @LBC@Keir_Starmer softening Labour's opposition to vaccine passports from "not for everyday use" to "not for everyday use in health, dentistry and food." Also hints exemption from isolation for contacts of Covid cases from 16/8 should NOT apply to members of same household.
Did Andy Burnham have that photo ready to go? He put it out within minutes. I don’t doubt his sincerity, I’m just admiring the ruthless skill. That’s genius use of social media. That’s a politician who knows his internet
Burnham should be the next Labour leader ASAFP. He’s gone away and thought about what it takes.
He’s likeable, yet gritty. He cleverly avoided the Taint of Corbyn. He’s quietly patriotic. He isn’t a Remoaner like Starmer.
‘Brexit: Labour's Andy Burnham indicates he will campaign for Leave in second referendum
Mayor of Greater Manchester is first senior Labour figure to break with pro-Remain colleagues’
He’s a winner. He’d quite possibly beat Boris in 2023
It's a sample stock photo, so almost certainly found after a 30-second google. If pre-prepared, he'd have paid the going rate for the actual photo, or dug out his own copy from his "future memoirs" file.
Given so many people's failure to be able to use Google that counts as a plus too.
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
Doubt he'll be nominated.
You wouldn't have thought so but cycling does punch above its weight so it may be a question of which cyclist: Pidcock; erstwhile favourite Mark Cavendish (out to 10 on Betfair); Jason or Laura Kenny if they win; A N Other.
Grabbing 50/1 Tom Daley was inspired (now joint-favourite with Dina Asher-Smith) but these days I think it safer to wait and see who is nominated, as you suggest.
So far I think there are three or four very likely nominees:
Mark Cavendish Adam Peaty Tom Daley Alun Wyn Jones
In the last three years, the BBC have limited it to six nominees, but I guess they might have a few more in an Olympic year. You can be certain that at least one woman will be nominated. You can be certain that at least on disability sports competitor will be nominated. That's why it's tricky for the likes of Pidcock to get a look in.
Mark Cavendish is the one I have doubts about (not alone – he has doubled in price) especially if Laura Kenny wins gold. Cavendish did not quite break Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins or win the TdF itself, and giving Laura Kenny the (unofficial) cycling slot also ticks the female box. What I do not know, because I do not really understand the cycling lobby, is whether (if no-one else wins anything) in a toss-up between Cavendish and Pidcock, who would be favoured.
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Cavendish still won the Green Jersey (I know the competition wasn't quite so strong, but he still had to get it done and actually finish the tour). If the Lions clinch the series, then I think Wyn Jones is nailed on to be nominated. He probably doesn't win, but I wouldn't rule him out if the Olympic votes are evenly split.
Why would the loose head prop who hasn't played a test yet get nominated?
Why are they all called Jones?!
To be clear, Alun Wyn Jones, the world's most capped Rugby Union player.
Jones, Wyn. Prop Jones, Alun Wyn. Lock and possibly cyborg
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
Doubt he'll be nominated.
You wouldn't have thought so but cycling does punch above its weight so it may be a question of which cyclist: Pidcock; erstwhile favourite Mark Cavendish (out to 10 on Betfair); Jason or Laura Kenny if they win; A N Other.
Grabbing 50/1 Tom Daley was inspired (now joint-favourite with Dina Asher-Smith) but these days I think it safer to wait and see who is nominated, as you suggest.
So far I think there are three or four very likely nominees:
Mark Cavendish Adam Peaty Tom Daley Alun Wyn Jones
In the last three years, the BBC have limited it to six nominees, but I guess they might have a few more in an Olympic year. You can be certain that at least one woman will be nominated. You can be certain that at least on disability sports competitor will be nominated. That's why it's tricky for the likes of Pidcock to get a look in.
Mark Cavendish is the one I have doubts about (not alone – he has doubled in price) especially if Laura Kenny wins gold. Cavendish did not quite break Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins or win the TdF itself, and giving Laura Kenny the (unofficial) cycling slot also ticks the female box. What I do not know, because I do not really understand the cycling lobby, is whether (if no-one else wins anything) in a toss-up between Cavendish and Pidcock, who would be favoured.
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Cavendish still won the Green Jersey (I know the competition wasn't quite so strong, but he still had to get it done and actually finish the tour). If the Lions clinch the series, then I think Wyn Jones is nailed on to be nominated. He probably doesn't win, but I wouldn't rule him out if the Olympic votes are evenly split.
I think Cav failing to win the Champs Elysees hurts his chances. That's the unofficial road cylcing sprinter's world cup. Peaty should probably win it right now - he's the only gold winner to have defended his olympic title so far.
What's that got to do with it? SPotY is not about sporting merit. It is about who is nominated by the BBC, and then who the public votes for on the night.
And who the cycling lobby gets behind – they win far more often than you'd expect from the sport's (relative lack of) popularity in this country.
The big SPoTY unknowns, are the length of the shortlist and the voting process. These can quite dramatically affect the way it plays out on the night.
A single cyclist nominated in a shorter list, stands a great chance of winning.
Brilliant photo of a 13 year old Tom Daley at Number 10, just posted by - yes - Andy Burnham
I think Burnham has it. That unique gift of knowing the exact right thing to say. It seems trivial, it isn’t. Blair had it. Clinton too. By itself it’s not enough, but it certainly gets you a long way.
You'd think he'd stump up the money to use the photo though. Probably copyight infringement to pop it out there without paying (maybe Alamy terms do allow you to put the watermarked photos out for free).
On @LBC@Keir_Starmer softening Labour's opposition to vaccine passports from "not for everyday use" to "not for everyday use in health, dentistry and food." Also hints exemption from isolation for contacts of Covid cases from 16/8 should NOT apply to members of same household.
There’s a massive reward for the next company that than make a jump in battery tech, so why not get a racing series where everyone can test their prototypes?
The road and track environments are so different that it's not the best place for OEMs to spend their R&D money. Almost no technology comes directly from racing to mass production cars. If they want better battery tech for road cars they aren't going to find it by flogging an open wheeled single seater around street circuits 10 times/year.
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
Doubt he'll be nominated.
You wouldn't have thought so but cycling does punch above its weight so it may be a question of which cyclist: Pidcock; erstwhile favourite Mark Cavendish (out to 10 on Betfair); Jason or Laura Kenny if they win; A N Other.
Grabbing 50/1 Tom Daley was inspired (now joint-favourite with Dina Asher-Smith) but these days I think it safer to wait and see who is nominated, as you suggest.
So far I think there are three or four very likely nominees:
Mark Cavendish Adam Peaty Tom Daley Alun Wyn Jones
In the last three years, the BBC have limited it to six nominees, but I guess they might have a few more in an Olympic year. You can be certain that at least one woman will be nominated. You can be certain that at least on disability sports competitor will be nominated. That's why it's tricky for the likes of Pidcock to get a look in.
Mark Cavendish is the one I have doubts about (not alone – he has doubled in price) especially if Laura Kenny wins gold. Cavendish did not quite break Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins or win the TdF itself, and giving Laura Kenny the (unofficial) cycling slot also ticks the female box. What I do not know, because I do not really understand the cycling lobby, is whether (if no-one else wins anything) in a toss-up between Cavendish and Pidcock, who would be favoured.
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Cavendish still won the Green Jersey (I know the competition wasn't quite so strong, but he still had to get it done and actually finish the tour). If the Lions clinch the series, then I think Wyn Jones is nailed on to be nominated. He probably doesn't win, but I wouldn't rule him out if the Olympic votes are evenly split.
I think Cav failing to win the Champs Elysees hurts his chances. That's the unofficial road cylcing sprinter's world cup. Peaty should probably win it right now - he's the only gold winner to have defended his olympic title so far.
What's that got to do with it? SPotY is not about sporting merit. It is about who is nominated by the BBC, and then who the public votes for on the night.
And who the cycling lobby gets behind – they win far more often than you'd expect from the sport's (relative lack of) popularity in this country.
I'm a massive fan of Cav and think his comeback is amazing. But he did fail to win on the Champs Elysees, which is the ICONIC stage for someone in his position. Tom Pidcock has just won an olympic gold and there'll be more success in the velodrome which may well split the vote if another cyclist makes the shortlist. If it's going off of publicity friendliness then Daley might well be the one to beat now.
I have to say, apart from him not breaking the record, not winning in Paris didn't strike me as being such a big deal. I note that Cav also won the World Road Race in 2011, which might have helped him too.
I'm fairly sure he'll be nominated, but don't really have a feel for if he has a chance of winning. If one or both of the Kennys win gold, then I think they probably have a better chance that Cav.
So lots of wibbling about how poor an olympics we were going to have. Just watching out third gold of the morning now... Not saying we are going to smash it, but some of the chat was a bit previous. 😀
I would love to be wrong, my worry is that in rowing, track cycling and sailing we're going to be well down in London and Rio. Those are a lot of gold medals for us.
Absolutely. Just pointing out how we’ve already got 3 golds and only half way through day 3. Lots of our medals come in odd places, such as the dancing kicking and falling into water etc.
Too many daft events in the Olympics. It should be slashed down to approx 20 key sports, including:
Athletics Swimming Cycling Equestrian Gymnastics Fencing Wrestling Water polo
Sports which definitely should not be there include:
Soccer Golf Tennis Softball Skateboarding
Yeah any sport where the Olympic gold isn't the pinnacle is probably something that shouldn't be there. Football, golf and tennis seem like they were added to try and get viewers but ultimately that's not what people watch at the Olympics.
I used to think like that, but I've come round to thinking that if people want to compete in those events and people want to turn up and watch, what's the problem? What changed my mind was seeing just how happy Justin Rose was standing on the podium in Rio.
Also, people turn up to watch the football. 86,000 were at Wembley for the men's final in 2012. That seems fine to me.
The one I don't get is squash. Why isn't that in the Olympics? Seems an obvious one in terms of it being physically demanding and it would be the pinnacle of the sport.
Agree on squash, I think for football, tennis and golf (and maybe basketball) they are already such moneyed sports that it doesn't really make a difference to the sports to be there or not and could be replaced by other sports such as squash or others where winning Olympic gold is best prize. Football specifically is difficult to host as it needs multiple training sites, many large stadiums and buy in from the big national associations to send reasonably good under 23s.
Plus congratulations to @LaurenW_TKD for making her Taekwondo final. #Olympics’
Obviously written by a bot. Or a human bot. Generic, forgettable, pointless. Who cares
Yet you get the sense Burnham cares. You get the sense he’s watching it, and responding - like a real human person, with his avocado toast halfway to his mouth and a tiny tear in his eye. Very impressive.
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
Doubt he'll be nominated.
You wouldn't have thought so but cycling does punch above its weight so it may be a question of which cyclist: Pidcock; erstwhile favourite Mark Cavendish (out to 10 on Betfair); Jason or Laura Kenny if they win; A N Other.
Grabbing 50/1 Tom Daley was inspired (now joint-favourite with Dina Asher-Smith) but these days I think it safer to wait and see who is nominated, as you suggest.
So far I think there are three or four very likely nominees:
Mark Cavendish Adam Peaty Tom Daley Alun Wyn Jones
In the last three years, the BBC have limited it to six nominees, but I guess they might have a few more in an Olympic year. You can be certain that at least one woman will be nominated. You can be certain that at least on disability sports competitor will be nominated. That's why it's tricky for the likes of Pidcock to get a look in.
Mark Cavendish is the one I have doubts about (not alone – he has doubled in price) especially if Laura Kenny wins gold. Cavendish did not quite break Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins or win the TdF itself, and giving Laura Kenny the (unofficial) cycling slot also ticks the female box. What I do not know, because I do not really understand the cycling lobby, is whether (if no-one else wins anything) in a toss-up between Cavendish and Pidcock, who would be favoured.
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Cavendish still won the Green Jersey (I know the competition wasn't quite so strong, but he still had to get it done and actually finish the tour). If the Lions clinch the series, then I think Wyn Jones is nailed on to be nominated. He probably doesn't win, but I wouldn't rule him out if the Olympic votes are evenly split.
Why would the loose head prop who hasn't played a test yet get nominated?
Why are they all called Jones?!
To be clear, Alun Wyn Jones, the world's most capped Rugby Union player.
Jones, Wyn. Prop Jones, Alun Wyn. Lock and possibly cyborg
People say about cycling and shoo ins for SPOTY but the 2020 Giro winner (And 2020 was thin on the ground for victories of any sort for British athletes) Tao Geoghegan Hart wasn't even nominated
There’s a massive reward for the next company that than make a jump in battery tech, so why not get a racing series where everyone can test their prototypes?
The road and track environments are so different that it's not the best place for OEMs to spend their R&D money. Almost no technology comes directly from racing to mass production cars. If they want better battery tech for road cars they aren't going to find it by flogging an open wheeled single seater around street circuits 10 times/year.
Rally cars to mass production is the true path.
Get an e-rally series going.
There's Extreme E but it's balls and the Saudis are involved.
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
He’s England’s best one-day road cyclist by a long way; and MTB, obviously. But the problem is the UK is unusually obsessed by stage racing and velodrome events, and he doesn’t feature there at all.
Because Team GB has been extremely successful in track cycling events since 2008. A certain Chris Hoy started it all off.
No. Velodrome has been popular in England for over a century. Mainly because road racing was made virtually impossible due to daft local authorities.
And quite a few before Chris Hoy, too. I'm not well acquainted with the Scots, though.
Leaving aside the likes of Chris Boardman, you can go back to folks like Reg Harris, who won 4 world titles in the 1940s/50s.
Did we ever have the Belgian tradition of week-long track races?
Did Andy Burnham have that photo ready to go? He put it out within minutes. I don’t doubt his sincerity, I’m just admiring the ruthless skill. That’s genius use of social media. That’s a politician who knows his internet
Burnham should be the next Labour leader ASAFP. He’s gone away and thought about what it takes.
He’s likeable, yet gritty. He cleverly avoided the Taint of Corbyn. He’s quietly patriotic. He isn’t a Remoaner like Starmer.
‘Brexit: Labour's Andy Burnham indicates he will campaign for Leave in second referendum
Mayor of Greater Manchester is first senior Labour figure to break with pro-Remain colleagues’
He’s a winner. He’d quite possibly beat Boris in 2023
It's a sample stock photo, so almost certainly found after a 30-second google. If pre-prepared, he'd have paid the going rate for the actual photo, or dug out his own copy from his "future memoirs" file.
Given so many people's failure to be able to use Google that counts as a plus too.
To be fair to Burnham, that image doesn’t come up with a quick google image search for Burnham and Daley.
You have to search for Brown and Daley to find it, Burnham would have known that the PM would be the person mentioned in the report.
AB was SoS Sport at the time, as many Liverpool fans remember.
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
Doubt he'll be nominated.
You wouldn't have thought so but cycling does punch above its weight so it may be a question of which cyclist: Pidcock; erstwhile favourite Mark Cavendish (out to 10 on Betfair); Jason or Laura Kenny if they win; A N Other.
Grabbing 50/1 Tom Daley was inspired (now joint-favourite with Dina Asher-Smith) but these days I think it safer to wait and see who is nominated, as you suggest.
So far I think there are three or four very likely nominees:
Mark Cavendish Adam Peaty Tom Daley Alun Wyn Jones
In the last three years, the BBC have limited it to six nominees, but I guess they might have a few more in an Olympic year. You can be certain that at least one woman will be nominated. You can be certain that at least on disability sports competitor will be nominated. That's why it's tricky for the likes of Pidcock to get a look in.
Mark Cavendish is the one I have doubts about (not alone – he has doubled in price) especially if Laura Kenny wins gold. Cavendish did not quite break Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins or win the TdF itself, and giving Laura Kenny the (unofficial) cycling slot also ticks the female box. What I do not know, because I do not really understand the cycling lobby, is whether (if no-one else wins anything) in a toss-up between Cavendish and Pidcock, who would be favoured.
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Cavendish still won the Green Jersey (I know the competition wasn't quite so strong, but he still had to get it done and actually finish the tour). If the Lions clinch the series, then I think Wyn Jones is nailed on to be nominated. He probably doesn't win, but I wouldn't rule him out if the Olympic votes are evenly split.
Why would the loose head prop who hasn't played a test yet get nominated?
Why are they all called Jones?!
To be clear, Alun Wyn Jones, the world's most capped Rugby Union player.
Jones, Wyn. Prop Jones, Alun Wyn. Lock and possibly cyborg
And I always thought his surname was Wyn Jones...
The quickest way to piss off a Welsh Rugby fan is to make that mistake.
So definitely don't do it deliberately (insert winkey smiley here)
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
Doubt he'll be nominated.
You wouldn't have thought so but cycling does punch above its weight so it may be a question of which cyclist: Pidcock; erstwhile favourite Mark Cavendish (out to 10 on Betfair); Jason or Laura Kenny if they win; A N Other.
Grabbing 50/1 Tom Daley was inspired (now joint-favourite with Dina Asher-Smith) but these days I think it safer to wait and see who is nominated, as you suggest.
So far I think there are three or four very likely nominees:
Mark Cavendish Adam Peaty Tom Daley Alun Wyn Jones
In the last three years, the BBC have limited it to six nominees, but I guess they might have a few more in an Olympic year. You can be certain that at least one woman will be nominated. You can be certain that at least on disability sports competitor will be nominated. That's why it's tricky for the likes of Pidcock to get a look in.
Mark Cavendish is the one I have doubts about (not alone – he has doubled in price) especially if Laura Kenny wins gold. Cavendish did not quite break Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins or win the TdF itself, and giving Laura Kenny the (unofficial) cycling slot also ticks the female box. What I do not know, because I do not really understand the cycling lobby, is whether (if no-one else wins anything) in a toss-up between Cavendish and Pidcock, who would be favoured.
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Cavendish still won the Green Jersey (I know the competition wasn't quite so strong, but he still had to get it done and actually finish the tour). If the Lions clinch the series, then I think Wyn Jones is nailed on to be nominated. He probably doesn't win, but I wouldn't rule him out if the Olympic votes are evenly split.
Why would the loose head prop who hasn't played a test yet get nominated?
Why are they all called Jones?!
To be clear, Alun Wyn Jones, the world's most capped Rugby Union player.
Jones, Wyn. Prop Jones, Alun Wyn. Lock and possibly cyborg
Has any commentator ever had the gorgeous privilege of saying ‘Wyn Jones lost it there?’
The Astra-Zeneca story is one of virtue being unrewarded. Offering to make a vaccine at production cost price was greeted with false accusations. Macron "It doesn't work in old people." A classic case of deliberate ignorance.
Most of my time in the Pharmaceutical industry was spent working for Roche. I found them a brilliant company but the Swiss have a firm grasp of economics. "At production cost only?" That would have made their heads spin.
It was an incredibly generous offer. One which will never be repeated after the sour reaction to it.
+100
One company, in an industry which generally has a terrible reputation for profiteering, put their head above the parapet and offered to help the world for free in a crisis. And got royally dumped on for their trouble.
Both Oxford and AZ went into this with a huge dose of naivete in thinking the rest of the pharma industry wouldn't fight back against an effectively free competitor and thinking that the world would thank them for their selflessness. That has been dispelled and both the Jenner Institute and AZ will never do anything like it again.
So lots of wibbling about how poor an olympics we were going to have. Just watching out third gold of the morning now... Not saying we are going to smash it, but some of the chat was a bit previous. 😀
I would love to be wrong, my worry is that in rowing, track cycling and sailing we're going to be well down in London and Rio. Those are a lot of gold medals for us.
Absolutely. Just pointing out how we’ve already got 3 golds and only half way through day 3. Lots of our medals come in odd places, such as the dancing kicking and falling into water etc.
Too many daft events in the Olympics. It should be slashed down to approx 20 key sports, including:
Athletics Swimming Cycling Equestrian Gymnastics Fencing Wrestling Water polo
Sports which definitely should not be there include:
Soccer Golf Tennis Softball Skateboarding
Yeah any sport where the Olympic gold isn't the pinnacle is probably something that shouldn't be there. Football, golf and tennis seem like they were added to try and get viewers but ultimately that's not what people watch at the Olympics.
I used to think like that, but I've come round to thinking that if people want to compete in those events and people want to turn up and watch, what's the problem? What changed my mind was seeing just how happy Justin Rose was standing on the podium in Rio.
Also, people turn up to watch the football. 86,000 were at Wembley for the men's final in 2012. That seems fine to me.
The one I don't get is squash. Why isn't that in the Olympics? Seems an obvious one in terms of it being physically demanding and it would be the pinnacle of the sport.
Agree on squash, I think for football, tennis and golf (and maybe basketball) they are already such moneyed sports that it doesn't really make a difference to the sports to be there or not and could be replaced by other sports such as squash or others where winning Olympic gold is best prize. Football specifically is difficult to host as it needs multiple training sites, many large stadiums and buy in from the big national associations to send reasonably good under 23s.
And yet, winning Olympic tennis gold REALLY mattered for Andy Murray - and the nation watching him, I remember the moment distinctly - and it surely broke his mental hoodoo. He went on to Wimbledon victory quite soon afterwards
Lol, BetVictor would only allow me £2 @ 50-1 on Tom Daley for SPoTY.
Lucky to get that now he's won. What price Matty Lee?
I wonder if Tom Pidcock counts for the powerful SPotY cycling lobby.
Doubt he'll be nominated.
You wouldn't have thought so but cycling does punch above its weight so it may be a question of which cyclist: Pidcock; erstwhile favourite Mark Cavendish (out to 10 on Betfair); Jason or Laura Kenny if they win; A N Other.
Grabbing 50/1 Tom Daley was inspired (now joint-favourite with Dina Asher-Smith) but these days I think it safer to wait and see who is nominated, as you suggest.
So far I think there are three or four very likely nominees:
Mark Cavendish Adam Peaty Tom Daley Alun Wyn Jones
In the last three years, the BBC have limited it to six nominees, but I guess they might have a few more in an Olympic year. You can be certain that at least one woman will be nominated. You can be certain that at least on disability sports competitor will be nominated. That's why it's tricky for the likes of Pidcock to get a look in.
Mark Cavendish is the one I have doubts about (not alone – he has doubled in price) especially if Laura Kenny wins gold. Cavendish did not quite break Eddy Merckx's record for Tour de France stage wins or win the TdF itself, and giving Laura Kenny the (unofficial) cycling slot also ticks the female box. What I do not know, because I do not really understand the cycling lobby, is whether (if no-one else wins anything) in a toss-up between Cavendish and Pidcock, who would be favoured.
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Cavendish still won the Green Jersey (I know the competition wasn't quite so strong, but he still had to get it done and actually finish the tour). If the Lions clinch the series, then I think Wyn Jones is nailed on to be nominated. He probably doesn't win, but I wouldn't rule him out if the Olympic votes are evenly split.
Why would the loose head prop who hasn't played a test yet get nominated?
Why are they all called Jones?!
To be clear, Alun Wyn Jones, the world's most capped Rugby Union player.
Jones, Wyn. Prop Jones, Alun Wyn. Lock and possibly cyborg
And I always thought his surname was Wyn Jones...
The quickest way to piss off a Welsh Rugby fan is to make that mistake.
So definitely don't do it deliberately (insert winkey smiley here)
The quickest way to piss off a Welsh rugby fan is for England to beat them.
Plus congratulations to @LaurenW_TKD for making her Taekwondo final. #Olympics’
Obviously written by a bot. Or a human bot. Generic, forgettable, pointless. Who cares
Yet you get the sense Burnham cares. You get the sense he’s watching it, and responding - like a real human person, with his avocado toast halfway to his mouth and a tiny tear in his eye. Very impressive.
Yeah serious lack of excitement or enthusiasm from the Starmer team there. Fits the man though so maybe he did it himself.
The Astra-Zeneca story is one of virtue being unrewarded. Offering to make a vaccine at production cost price was greeted with false accusations. Macron "It doesn't work in old people." A classic case of deliberate ignorance.
Most of my time in the Pharmaceutical industry was spent working for Roche. I found them a brilliant company but the Swiss have a firm grasp of economics. "At production cost only?" That would have made their heads spin.
It was an incredibly generous offer. One which will never be repeated after the sour reaction to it.
+100
One company, in an industry which generally has a terrible reputation for profiteering, put their head above the parapet and offered to help the world for free in a crisis. And got royally dumped on for their trouble.
Both Oxford and AZ went into this with a huge dose of naivete in thinking the rest of the pharma industry wouldn't fight back against an effectively free competitor and thinking that the world would thank them for their selflessness. That has been dispelled and both the Jenner Institute and AZ will never do anything like it again.
Although what really annoys the French, I think, is that they still haven’t managed to produce a working vaccine of their own.
So we’ll known I had to google her. And I’m a politics geek.
If you didn’t know of Laura Pidcock, you missed the 2019 election night’s “Portillo Moment”!
Thousands of Brexiteer Tories will remind themselves three decades from now, were you up for Pidcock?
I was tuned in to the Scottish coverage and I cannot recall that being mentioned. These are long shows of course so I may have been having a pee.
Is there a reason I should have heard of her?
(Portillo was very famous indeed at the time of his seat loss. I do remember that one warmly.)
Laura Pidcock was Corbyn's leading fangirl, would have been a cabinet minister in a Corbyn government and reputed to be his choice to succeed him as Labour leader.
Regarding Andy the King of The North Burnham. Mate of mine yesterday pointed out that the Andy Burnham Gary Neville Jamie Carragher axis of northern based commentators seem to reach all kinds of people that serkeir can only dream of.
"Imagine what happens if Gareth Southgate gets involved..." he said, and yeah, imagine. Other countries have seen sports stars transition into politics and become Governor, Prime Minister and President. Even if GNev doesn't fancy the top job himself, he and his northern mates could do a lot to influence a lot of people away from Boris and the bungocracy towards an alternative.
Lots has been said about Burnham not being available for the leadership. Cobblers, a safe seat can be found quickly enough should it come down to it. Stepping away from Westminster as Jezbollah poisoned the well was a smart move - Burnham not only is seen as a clean skin, he is also delivering as Mayor of Greater Lancashire.
Miss Vance, great. An airheaded authoritarian measure proposed by a government that promised not to introduce it, now being slowly supported by a cowardly idiot Leader of the Opposition.
It's an authoritarian measure that the public will hate, Starmer. Many Conservative MPs are against it. You can defeat the Government, do the right thing, *and* get popular approval. What the fuck is stopping you, you metropolitan cretin?
Plus congratulations to @LaurenW_TKD for making her Taekwondo final. #Olympics’
Obviously written by a bot. Or a human bot. Generic, forgettable, pointless. Who cares
Yet you get the sense Burnham cares. You get the sense he’s watching it, and responding - like a real human person, with his avocado toast halfway to his mouth and a tiny tear in his eye. Very impressive.
Yeah serious lack of excitement or enthusiasm from the Starmer team there. Fits the man though so maybe he did it himself.
Yes, the most depressing yet plausible take is that Starmer typed that himself. Sitting there with a finger poised, slowly thinking ‘oh, now I’ve got to type @, and now I’ve got to type “silver medal emoji”’
He just hasn’t got it. I’m increasingly convinced that Burnham has got it, and could be a new Blair. We shall see
So we’ll known I had to google her. And I’m a politics geek.
If you didn’t know of Laura Pidcock, you missed the 2019 election night’s “Portillo Moment”!
Thousands of Brexiteer Tories will remind themselves three decades from now, were you up for Pidcock?
I was tuned in to the Scottish coverage and I cannot recall that being mentioned. These are long shows of course so I may have been having a pee.
Is there a reason I should have heard of her?
(Portillo was very famous indeed at the time of his seat loss. I do remember that one warmly.)
Laura Pidcock was Corbyn's leading fangirl, would have been a cabinet minister in a Corbyn government and reputed to be his choice to succeed him as Labour leader.
She was their answer to Jacob Rees Mogg, only ruder and stupider.
But the EU played its part. As a former adviser to the Italian government, Ricciardi faulted EU countries for making decisions based on "emotion" rather than science. Scientists and politicians quietly blamed Brexit......
AstraZeneca was used as a “scapegoat” at a time when the EU was struggling to ramp up vaccinations. Macron calling the vaccine quasi-ineffective will "stick forever," he adds. And he calls the EU’s lawsuit against the drugmaker "morally untenable" given that the company is producing the most vaccines for the globe......
"The thing that terrifies me more than anything else is that the one vaccine that's not-for-profit is the one that has been dumped on over and over and over again," he said. He points out that no other drugmaker offered to produce at such a low cost — even Pfizer got the U.S. government to offset its costs to supply COVAX.
He made clear he doesn't represent AstraZeneca or make decisions for the company, but if he did, "I would not sign up for a deal like this ever again."
Also, how much better off might the world be if a manufacturer that actually knew how to produce vaccines had been given the vaccine Oxford created? The article is a bit thin and doesn't answer this question despite the subheading: "AstraZeneca and the EU might have ruined Africa’s best chance out of the pandemic." Which probably underplays the impact of eg the failure of the US to give approval - surely that has had far more impact (outside France) than Macron's idiotic remarks. For example, my wife, who has been treating and vaccinating people in Germany, and follows the German coronavirus news, had not even heard of Macron's remarks until I mentioned them to her. Or search German media for Macron saying AstraZeneca Impfstoff being "quasi unwirksam". If it barely registered in neighbouring Germany I don't know why it would have much impact in most of the the rest of the world. I know Macron has been quoted a lot in British media, and on pb.com, but there are other reasons for that repetition.
What is the medical position on heat-not-burn? If all smokers switched to that, would lung cancer slump? If so, I'm fine with them making money out of it.
I’ve not dug into HNB specifically but I believe it’s viewed as lower risk
So lots of wibbling about how poor an olympics we were going to have. Just watching out third gold of the morning now... Not saying we are going to smash it, but some of the chat was a bit previous. 😀
I would love to be wrong, my worry is that in rowing, track cycling and sailing we're going to be well down in London and Rio. Those are a lot of gold medals for us.
Absolutely. Just pointing out how we’ve already got 3 golds and only half way through day 3. Lots of our medals come in odd places, such as the dancing kicking and falling into water etc.
Too many daft events in the Olympics. It should be slashed down to approx 20 key sports, including:
Athletics Swimming Cycling Equestrian Gymnastics Fencing Wrestling Water polo
Sports which definitely should not be there include:
Soccer Golf Tennis Softball Skateboarding
Yeah any sport where the Olympic gold isn't the pinnacle is probably something that shouldn't be there. Football, golf and tennis seem like they were added to try and get viewers but ultimately that's not what people watch at the Olympics.
I used to think like that, but I've come round to thinking that if people want to compete in those events and people want to turn up and watch, what's the problem? What changed my mind was seeing just how happy Justin Rose was standing on the podium in Rio.
Also, people turn up to watch the football. 86,000 were at Wembley for the men's final in 2012. That seems fine to me.
The one I don't get is squash. Why isn't that in the Olympics? Seems an obvious one in terms of it being physically demanding and it would be the pinnacle of the sport.
Agree on squash, I think for football, tennis and golf (and maybe basketball) they are already such moneyed sports that it doesn't really make a difference to the sports to be there or not and could be replaced by other sports such as squash or others where winning Olympic gold is best prize. Football specifically is difficult to host as it needs multiple training sites, many large stadiums and buy in from the big national associations to send reasonably good under 23s.
And yet, winning Olympic tennis gold REALLY mattered for Andy Murray - and the nation watching him, I remember the moment distinctly - and it surely broke his mental hoodoo. He went on to Wimbledon victory quite soon afterwards
Part of that was because it was at Wimbledon, though which is a historic tennis club. It was, according to player accounts who were in the 2012 tournament, very much like playing Wimbledon for a second time that year. I don't think playing at some random Tokyo tennis club will have the same effect as walking out onto centre court for any tennis player.
There’s a massive reward for the next company that than make a jump in battery tech, so why not get a racing series where everyone can test their prototypes?
The road and track environments are so different that it's not the best place for OEMs to spend their R&D money. Almost no technology comes directly from racing to mass production cars. If they want better battery tech for road cars they aren't going to find it by flogging an open wheeled single seater around street circuits 10 times/year.
Actually... I disagree. Whilst that might have been the case for traditional petrol-based cars, I think there will be quite a bit of transfer between racing and mass production.
Formula E has been set up quite well, and efficiency means a heck of a lot. One of the few areas the team can develop is the drivetrain hardware and software, and I can imagine lessons learnt from this - and even some software - being directly applicable to road cars, e.g. for energy recovery strategies. The motor, inverter and to a lesser extent gearbox tech might also be readily converted to road car use.
Did Andy Burnham have that photo ready to go? He put it out within minutes. I don’t doubt his sincerity, I’m just admiring the ruthless skill. That’s genius use of social media. That’s a politician who knows his internet
Burnham should be the next Labour leader ASAFP. He’s gone away and thought about what it takes.
He’s likeable, yet gritty. He cleverly avoided the Taint of Corbyn. He’s quietly patriotic. He isn’t a Remoaner like Starmer.
‘Brexit: Labour's Andy Burnham indicates he will campaign for Leave in second referendum
Mayor of Greater Manchester is first senior Labour figure to break with pro-Remain colleagues’
He’s a winner. He’d quite possibly beat Boris in 2023
It's a sample stock photo, so almost certainly found after a 30-second google. If pre-prepared, he'd have paid the going rate for the actual photo, or dug out his own copy from his "future memoirs" file.
So we’ll known I had to google her. And I’m a politics geek.
If you didn’t know of Laura Pidcock, you missed the 2019 election night’s “Portillo Moment”!
Thousands of Brexiteer Tories will remind themselves three decades from now, were you up for Pidcock?
I was tuned in to the Scottish coverage and I cannot recall that being mentioned. These are long shows of course so I may have been having a pee.
Is there a reason I should have heard of her?
(Portillo was very famous indeed at the time of his seat loss. I do remember that one warmly.)
Laura Pidcock was Corbyn's leading fangirl, would have been a cabinet minister in a Corbyn government and reputed to be his choice to succeed him as Labour leader.
She was their answer to Jacob Rees Mogg, only ruder and stupider.
I never thought I would see the name Pidcock and winner in the same sentence.
Comments
Alun Wyn Jones? He might be nominated but it is hard to see him winning, even if he picks up a putative Welsh block vote. Rugby is not popular with SPotY voters: only Jonny Wilkinson won SPotY when he kicked England to its Rugby World Cup win (18 years ago now; suddenly I'm feeling old).
Wonderful. What a dude to see it through over 15 years. Immense
He is nailed on SPOTY
The spirit of Partridge is abroad, literally!
AstraZeneca was used as a “scapegoat” at a time when the EU was struggling to ramp up vaccinations. Macron calling the vaccine quasi-ineffective will "stick forever," he adds. And he calls the EU’s lawsuit against the drugmaker "morally untenable" given that the company is producing the most vaccines for the globe......
"The thing that terrifies me more than anything else is that the one vaccine that's not-for-profit is the one that has been dumped on over and over and over again," he said. He points out that no other drugmaker offered to produce at such a low cost — even Pfizer got the U.S. government to offset its costs to supply COVAX.
He made clear he doesn't represent AstraZeneca or make decisions for the company, but if he did, "I would not sign up for a deal like this ever again."
https://www.politico.eu/article/how-astrazeneca-threw-away-its-shot/
Because the actual technology needs pushing hard, and has a lot of road relevance. You can have a rule about teams supplying each other if you wish, or publishing designs and cross-licensing IP.
The vision of us all driving EVs a decade from now needs the EVs to be much better than they are now.
There’s a massive reward for the next company that than make a jump in battery tech, so why not get a racing series where everyone can test their prototypes?
A reporter, reporting on the Boat Race....
That's perhaps the worst broadcasting dimwittery since a chap on Sky commented on there never being a beheading in France before (referring to a terrorist attack).
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/07/26/return-office-risks-stirring-rush-exits/
I think Burnham has it. That unique gift of knowing the exact right thing to say. It seems trivial, it isn’t. Blair had it. Clinton too. By itself it’s not enough, but it certainly gets you a long way.
Athletics
Swimming
Cycling
Equestrian
Gymnastics
Fencing
Wrestling
Water polo
Sports which definitely should not be there include:
Soccer
Golf
Tennis
Softball
Skateboarding
To be clear, Alun Wyn Jones, the world's most capped Rugby Union player.
But then, R0 for nonsense on Twitter does tend towards infinity
Thousands of Brexiteer Tories will remind themselves three decades from now, were you up for Pidcock?
I think it was:
Running
Javelin
Chariot racing
Shot put
Wrestling
Boxing
Archery
Fencing
I'm surprised that's never been attempted as an official sport.
I wonder how many he will be "too busy writing a speech" to then meet...
The Astra-Zeneca story is one of virtue being unrewarded. Offering to make a vaccine at production cost price was greeted with false accusations. Macron "It doesn't work in old people." A classic case of deliberate ignorance.
Most of my time in the Pharmaceutical industry was spent working for Roche. I found them a brilliant company but the Swiss have a firm grasp of economics. "At production cost only?" That would have made their heads spin.
It was an incredibly generous offer. One which will never be repeated after the sour reaction to it.
Peaty should probably win it right now - he's the only gold winner to have defended his olympic title so far.
Also, people turn up to watch the football. 86,000 were at Wembley for the men's final in 2012. That seems fine to me.
The one I don't get is squash. Why isn't that in the Olympics? Seems an obvious one in terms of it being physically demanding and it would be the pinnacle of the sport.
I don't remember fencing.
I hope @BluestBlue is ok btw speaking of classical matters, not heard from him for a bit.
Burnham should be the next Labour leader ASAFP. He’s gone away and thought about what it takes.
He’s likeable, yet gritty. He cleverly avoided the Taint of Corbyn. He’s quietly patriotic. He isn’t a Remoaner like Starmer.
‘Brexit: Labour's Andy Burnham indicates he will campaign for Leave in second referendum
Mayor of Greater Manchester is first senior Labour figure to break with pro-Remain colleagues’
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-labour-second-referendum-andy-burnham-remain-corbyn-a9219651.html
He’s a winner. He’d quite possibly beat Boris in 2023
One company, in an industry which generally has a terrible reputation for profiteering, put their head above the parapet and offered to help the world for free in a crisis. And got royally dumped on for their trouble.
And who the cycling lobby gets behind – they win far more often than you'd expect from the sport's (relative lack of) popularity in this country.
If it's going off of publicity friendliness then Daley might well be the one to beat now.
On @LBC @Keir_Starmer softening Labour's opposition to vaccine passports from "not for everyday use" to "not for everyday use in health, dentistry and food." Also hints exemption from isolation for contacts of Covid cases from 16/8 should NOT apply to members of same household.
https://twitter.com/adamfleming/status/1419573922010476545?s=20
I know its dentists who are (justifiably) absolutely paranoid about COVID.....
Jones, Alun Wyn. Lock and possibly cyborg
A single cyclist nominated in a shorter list, stands a great chance of winning.
Get an e-rally series going.
I'm fairly sure he'll be nominated, but don't really have a feel for if he has a chance of winning. If one or both of the Kennys win gold, then I think they probably have a better chance that Cav.
‘It’s a Magic Monday for #TeamGB at #Tokyo2020
🥇 @adam_peaty 🥇 @TomDaley1994 🥇 @mattydiver 🥇 @TomPid 🥈 @Lixsanyee
Plus congratulations to @LaurenW_TKD for making her Taekwondo final. #Olympics’
Obviously written by a bot. Or a human bot. Generic, forgettable, pointless. Who cares
Yet you get the sense Burnham cares. You get the sense he’s watching it, and responding - like a real human person, with his avocado toast halfway to his mouth and a tiny tear in his eye. Very impressive.
Leaving aside the likes of Chris Boardman, you can go back to folks like Reg Harris, who won 4 world titles in the 1940s/50s.
Did we ever have the Belgian tradition of week-long track races?
You have to search for Brown and Daley to find it, Burnham would have known that the PM would be the person mentioned in the report.
AB was SoS Sport at the time, as many Liverpool fans remember.
Jeepers, even party leaders like Wullie Rennie often get immense DK figures.
So definitely don't do it deliberately (insert winkey smiley here)
In a rather pleasing coincidence it could stand for ‘Swansea/Abertawe.’
Fortunately, of course, this happens very seldom.
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/discussion/9807/page-not-found-politicalbetting-com#latest
But it is pretty disgusting.
Is there a reason I should have heard of her?
(Portillo was very famous indeed at the time of his seat loss. I do remember that one warmly.)
Unless the commentator was saying he was like a Graeco-Roman god?
"Imagine what happens if Gareth Southgate gets involved..." he said, and yeah, imagine. Other countries have seen sports stars transition into politics and become Governor, Prime Minister and President. Even if GNev doesn't fancy the top job himself, he and his northern mates could do a lot to influence a lot of people away from Boris and the bungocracy towards an alternative.
Lots has been said about Burnham not being available for the leadership. Cobblers, a safe seat can be found quickly enough should it come down to it. Stepping away from Westminster as Jezbollah poisoned the well was a smart move - Burnham not only is seen as a clean skin, he is also delivering as Mayor of Greater Lancashire.
It's an authoritarian measure that the public will hate, Starmer. Many Conservative MPs are against it. You can defeat the Government, do the right thing, *and* get popular approval. What the fuck is stopping you, you metropolitan cretin?
He just hasn’t got it. I’m increasingly convinced that Burnham has got it, and could be a new Blair. We shall see
Fencing
Swimming
Riding
Running-Shooting
(Re-adapted down to 4 events in the Olympics)
The article is a bit thin and doesn't answer this question despite the subheading:
"AstraZeneca and the EU might have ruined Africa’s best chance out of the pandemic."
Which probably underplays the impact of eg the failure of the US to give approval - surely that has had far more impact (outside France) than Macron's idiotic remarks.
For example, my wife, who has been treating and vaccinating people in Germany, and follows the German coronavirus news, had not even heard of Macron's remarks until I mentioned them to her. Or search German media for Macron saying AstraZeneca Impfstoff being "quasi unwirksam". If it barely registered in neighbouring Germany I don't know why it would have much impact in most of the the rest of the world.
I know Macron has been quoted a lot in British media, and on pb.com, but there are other reasons for that repetition.
Formula E has been set up quite well, and efficiency means a heck of a lot. One of the few areas the team can develop is the drivetrain hardware and software, and I can imagine lessons learnt from this - and even some software - being directly applicable to road cars, e.g. for energy recovery strategies. The motor, inverter and to a lesser extent gearbox tech might also be readily converted to road car use.
“Pre-prepared” indeed!