You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
Gross Septic vulgarity aside, the Roller powered by a Merlin has a pleasing symmetry. Mental Australians have built at least one 5000cc v twin motorcycle with 2 pots off a Merlin.
There's an easy test for complete idiots because complete idiots mock the flu jab.
Because they are idiots and don't understand what the flu is.
I had it and it was fucking awful. I get the flu jab now every year because I never, ever want to get the flu again.
Actually, the flu jab is one I probably will get because not forcibly being able to mix (a measure cheered to the rafters on here), has apparently made our immune systems less robust.
So you'll get the flu jab but not the covid one, despite the latter being far more beneficial for you.
My judgement is that a year without mixing means flu has a much greater chance of f8cking me than covid.
Absolutely.
Any scientific evidence to back that up? Covid is far more serious than the flu, especially as you get older.
Sans lockdown, you would probably be correct. A year without mixing, without giving our immune systems the workouts they usually get? Dunno.
I think you do not understand the immune system that well. It is challenged ALL THE TIME, and 99.9 % you never even notice.
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
Gross Septic vulgarity aside, the Roller powered by a Merlin has a pleasing symmetry. Mental Australians have built at least one 5000cc v twin motorcycle with 2 pots off a Merlin.
Gross Septic vulgarity aside, the Roller powered by a Merlin has a pleasing symmetry. Mental Australians have built at least one 5000cc v twin motorcycle with 2 pots off a Merlin.
Conservative donors have no influence on policy, insists Grant Shapps
Conservative donors are not "immoral" and have no influence on government policy, minister Grant Shapps has insisted, amid cash-for-access claims. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58098887
I'm bothered if I'd give loadsamoney to a party if I didn't think there was going to be something in it for me.
Pretty much everyone who has ever talked to a politician, whether in their MP surgery, or at the annual black tie £25k a table party dinner, is looking for something for themselves or their business.
I don't think I'd go near Priti P in a political context if I didn't want something. Mark you, I don't think she'd come near me if she didn't want my vote. Which she's NOT going to get.
Gross Septic vulgarity aside, the Roller powered by a Merlin has a pleasing symmetry. Mental Australians have built at least one 5000cc v twin motorcycle with 2 pots off a Merlin.
The Aussies are having a phenomenal Olympics, we aren't going to catch them. Bogus Russia will likely overtake us as well, leaving us in 6th, which is pretty good (eg ahead of all EU nations, for a start)
I do wonder if being unlocked-down (until now) has helped Australia, physically and/or psychologically. The Kiwis are also having a good Games
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
I was quoting the tweet too!
Ah the graphic! Missed the roundings.....
Oh yes, I agree it's fairly crude. My 50% of SLAB voters was just to say 'half' and actually it's technically an underestimate, though I saw no point in fussing further than that.
It is actually quite significant especially as we are always assured on here that SLAB voters can be infallibly assumed to be British nationalists for such purposes as tactical voting and indyrefs. I'd thopught most of the moveable ones had already shifted so an apparent 5 percentage points vs 8 percentahe points for population is quite high. Definitely worth further scrutiny.
I don't think 100,000 cases or a new lockdown is out of the question at some point during the remainder of 2021 or 2022. I'd consider it at the correct odds ( 5-1 perhaps ?) I'd back on overs for 50k at even money if forced given yesterday's case numbers and specimen date loading.
He does have a lot of very cool race cars; Elva 100, Aston Martin DB2/4 and a few 70s rally cars.
I think, personally, he's a decent enough bloke. I just think for the Remain/Rejoin side that I support he's completely counterproductive.
I've always thought he's quite a laugh, and would be good for a pint down the pub, *provided* you don't ever get him onto the subject of Europe.
As soon as you do he becomes a swivel-eyed, foam-flecked, arm-flaying raving nutter.
Obviously I’m a Remainer, but I do like Verhofstadt. Also Donald Tusk was class. Even Juncker was a gas.
Prefer all of them to the conspicuous incompetence and petty insecurity of Van der Leyen.
Indeed- part of the trouble with the belittling of people like Tusk (clearly one of the good guys, going back to the 1980s, when being a good guy in Eastern Europe was braver than most of us would have been) was that it left nowhere to go when someone like vdL came along.
Lots of "joyous & civic" (sic) nationalism in the replies:
It was a pleasure to visit @PoliceScotland's headquarters at Tulliallan Castle yesterday.
The police play a vital role in protecting the public and it was great to see first hand how they are preparing for the challenge of policing @COP26. in November this year.
Leaving aside different points in cycle etc, on a 7 day basis, Spain and France are very comparable to UK according to OWID. OWID also suggests Spain and France reporting is massively variable on a single day basis.
It's a nonsense stat anyway, to make any kind of point about how well countries are doing. But taking a single day (with likely different reporting lags between countries) speaks of dubious motivation.
Scott'n paste orgasms whenever he senses gloom and doom for the UK v EU. Notice how he's avoiding the Olympic Medal table.
Didn't someone post on this before and note that the EU are way ahead of us on medals?
It was the idiot Dickson who pretended it was one country with no limits on the number of competitor entries. BDS is a serious illness and apparently there is no vaccine or cure.
Swings and roundabouts. Yes, the EU gets more competitors per event (which in most cases makes zero difference to podium places), but on the other hand the EU misses out on loads of relay and team podium placing.
It doesn’t matter how you look at it, the English are getting utterly thrashed by the EU at this Olympics.
It is Team GB competing not England.
The Commonwealth has also won more golds than the EU
Let's be done with all the jingoistic petty nationalism and just call it TeamBoris.
I think we are getting a bit carried away with this population nonsense re Olympic medals. Obviously it is important, but once you are over a certain critical mass other factors kick in.
Based on population NZ should be rubbish at rugby, W Indies rubbish at cricket and so on and an obvious one is skiing. I don't think it surprising to anyone that Austria and Switzerland are pretty handy at it. I wonder why?!
A critical mass in a less popular sport can work wonders. From personal experience of my 2 children getting to the top of judo is much easier than swimming and requires a lot less effort as it is a lot less competitive. If you want to get to the top of a sport and you are physically and spatially suited, obviously you should pick the ones that fits your natural traits, but more importantly pick one that is less popular.
Or of course (as is and should be the case) pick ones you enjoy.
Enjoyment is one thing, of course...
The other question, pressing for my wife and I as our eldest is now three and needs to start the journey to elite sport if he's going to make it, is which sport offers the best financial return for parents, on average? Obviously football is big bucks, but lots and lots of competitors. What's the sport that gives us the greatest chance of retiring to our own tropical island when he's in his early 20s, say?
(Obviously - I hope! - I'm not serious about this, but the question is kind of interesting - many sports require innate talent/physical prowess - but there are probably others - snooker? darts? curling? where with sufficient application perhaps almost anyone could become an elite competitor? Snooker, of those, has the highest earnings, I guess?)
Football in the UK by a distance. There will be dozens more millionaires from UK football than all our other sports combined. Of the sports you mention darts has the best prize money. Other lottery funded minor sports might be easier to make a normal living from than football but not to get filthy rich.
If Mr S is being serious, and I rather hope he isn't, it rather depends on the school the little chap goes to/is sent to. Football, or darts, are unlikely to be an option for an alumnus of Eton, Harrow or Winchester. The days of Old Carthusians or Wanderers winning the FA Cup are long gone. On the other hand, while getting to the top in cricket doesn't quite bring in the same money, it's much easier from the likes of, to take a local example, Bedford.
Eton is a soccer school: they do now play Rugby, but it is very much a second choice.
Back when I used to take a rugby team at my (state) school, we had a few years were we played Eton: when we went there the boys couldn’t use the main changing rooms because they were reserved for the football teams.
Just a thought; what are the chances of dementia in later life as a result of playing football, and heading the ball, as against playing rugby?
My Dad was pretty decent back in the 60s, Yorkshire Schoolboys, York City reserves, England Universities, and maintains that the risk has decreased massively since they stopped using leather balls that soak up water.
Wouldn't be at all surprised. Still dislike though the fact that our local non-league team had, under it's previous manager, almost a fetish for head-tennis.
I remember the first time my dad took us to see Chelmsford (same local non-league team?) and up until that point, must have been early 90s I guess, I'd only seen top flight football on telly or (what is now) championship football in person at Ipswich or Southend. Chelmsford City FC versus whoever was a hell of a shock. Not sure the ball touched the ground for the first 20 minutes!
No, but not far away! Used to watch Southend when Younger Son wanted to go, but was too young to go by himself. Certainly a lot more FOOT ball than the team I'll probably watch this autumn.
Edit; Just seen your addendum, and not them either. Close, though.
Ah, the really local team, that I didn't know existed, despite my brother living under a mile away. I'll have to tell him off for never taking me!
Lots of "joyous & civic" (sic) nationalism in the replies:
It was a pleasure to visit @PoliceScotland's headquarters at Tulliallan Castle yesterday.
The police play a vital role in protecting the public and it was great to see first hand how they are preparing for the challenge of policing @COP26. in November this year.
There's an easy test for complete idiots because complete idiots mock the flu jab.
Because they are idiots and don't understand what the flu is.
I had it and it was fucking awful. I get the flu jab now every year because I never, ever want to get the flu again.
Actually, the flu jab is one I probably will get because not forcibly being able to mix (a measure cheered to the rafters on here), has apparently made our immune systems less robust.
So you'll get the flu jab but not the covid one, despite the latter being far more beneficial for you.
My judgement is that a year without mixing means flu has a much greater chance of f8cking me than covid.
Leaving aside different points in cycle etc, on a 7 day basis, Spain and France are very comparable to UK according to OWID. OWID also suggests Spain and France reporting is massively variable on a single day basis.
It's a nonsense stat anyway, to make any kind of point about how well countries are doing. But taking a single day (with likely different reporting lags between countries) speaks of dubious motivation.
Scott'n paste orgasms whenever he senses gloom and doom for the UK v EU. Notice how he's avoiding the Olympic Medal table.
Didn't someone post on this before and note that the EU are way ahead of us on medals?
It was the idiot Dickson who pretended it was one country with no limits on the number of competitor entries. BDS is a serious illness and apparently there is no vaccine or cure.
Swings and roundabouts. Yes, the EU gets more competitors per event (which in most cases makes zero difference to podium places), but on the other hand the EU misses out on loads of relay and team podium placing.
It doesn’t matter how you look at it, the English are getting utterly thrashed by the EU at this Olympics.
It is Team GB competing not England.
The Commonwealth has also won more golds than the EU
Let's be done with all the jingoistic petty nationalism and just call it TeamBoris.
I think we are getting a bit carried away with this population nonsense re Olympic medals. Obviously it is important, but once you are over a certain critical mass other factors kick in.
Based on population NZ should be rubbish at rugby, W Indies rubbish at cricket and so on and an obvious one is skiing. I don't think it surprising to anyone that Austria and Switzerland are pretty handy at it. I wonder why?!
A critical mass in a less popular sport can work wonders. From personal experience of my 2 children getting to the top of judo is much easier than swimming and requires a lot less effort as it is a lot less competitive. If you want to get to the top of a sport and you are physically and spatially suited, obviously you should pick the ones that fits your natural traits, but more importantly pick one that is less popular.
Or of course (as is and should be the case) pick ones you enjoy.
Enjoyment is one thing, of course...
The other question, pressing for my wife and I as our eldest is now three and needs to start the journey to elite sport if he's going to make it, is which sport offers the best financial return for parents, on average? Obviously football is big bucks, but lots and lots of competitors. What's the sport that gives us the greatest chance of retiring to our own tropical island when he's in his early 20s, say?
(Obviously - I hope! - I'm not serious about this, but the question is kind of interesting - many sports require innate talent/physical prowess - but there are probably others - snooker? darts? curling? where with sufficient application perhaps almost anyone could become an elite competitor? Snooker, of those, has the highest earnings, I guess?)
Football in the UK by a distance. There will be dozens more millionaires from UK football than all our other sports combined. Of the sports you mention darts has the best prize money. Other lottery funded minor sports might be easier to make a normal living from than football but not to get filthy rich.
If Mr S is being serious, and I rather hope he isn't, it rather depends on the school the little chap goes to/is sent to. Football, or darts, are unlikely to be an option for an alumnus of Eton, Harrow or Winchester. The days of Old Carthusians or Wanderers winning the FA Cup are long gone. On the other hand, while getting to the top in cricket doesn't quite bring in the same money, it's much easier from the likes of, to take a local example, Bedford.
Eton is a soccer school: they do now play Rugby, but it is very much a second choice.
Back when I used to take a rugby team at my (state) school, we had a few years were we played Eton: when we went there the boys couldn’t use the main changing rooms because they were reserved for the football teams.
Just a thought; what are the chances of dementia in later life as a result of playing football, and heading the ball, as against playing rugby?
My Dad was pretty decent back in the 60s, Yorkshire Schoolboys, York City reserves, England Universities, and maintains that the risk has decreased massively since they stopped using leather balls that soak up water.
Wouldn't be at all surprised. Still dislike though the fact that our local non-league team had, under it's previous manager, almost a fetish for head-tennis.
I remember the first time my dad took us to see Chelmsford (same local non-league team?) and up until that point, must have been early 90s I guess, I'd only seen top flight football on telly or (what is now) championship football in person at Ipswich or Southend. Chelmsford City FC versus whoever was a hell of a shock. Not sure the ball touched the ground for the first 20 minutes!
No, but not far away! Used to watch Southend when Younger Son wanted to go, but was too young to go by himself. Certainly a lot more FOOT ball than the team I'll probably watch this autumn.
Edit; Just seen your addendum, and not them either. Close, though.
Ah, the really local team, that I didn't know existed, despite my brother living under a mile away. I'll have to tell him off for never taking me!
I don't think 100,000 cases or a new lockdown is out of the question at some point during the remainder of 2021 or 2022. I'd consider it at the correct odds ( 5-1 perhaps ?) I'd back on overs for 50k at even money if forced given yesterday's case numbers and specimen date loading.
Brave to bet on something so subject to measurement influence. If we had a continental European testing regime you'd have to be under on that.
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
I was quoting the tweet too!
Ah the graphic! Missed the roundings.....
Oh yes, I agree it's fairly crude. My 50% of SLAB voters was just to say 'half' and actually it's technically an underestimate, though I saw no point in fussing further than that.
It is actually quite significant especially as we are always assured on here that SLAB voters can be infallibly assumed to be British nationalists for such purposes as tactical voting and indyrefs. I'd thopught most of the moveable ones had already shifted so an apparent 5 percentage points vs 8 percentahe points for population is quite high. Definitely worth further scrutiny.
Might be in the details, but do we know that the country-specific options were only offered in those countries? Sturgeon often has fairly high ratings among English voters. I, for one, might be open to voting SNP if they'll follow a UDI with annexation of England. Or, at least, Yorkshire
Gross Septic vulgarity aside, the Roller powered by a Merlin has a pleasing symmetry. Mental Australians have built at least one 5000cc v twin motorcycle with 2 pots off a Merlin.
The Aussies are having a phenomenal Olympics, we aren't going to catch them. Bogus Russia will likely overtake us as well, leaving us in 6th, which is pretty good (eg ahead of all EU nations, for a start)
I do wonder if being unlocked-down (until now) has helped Australia, physically and/or psychologically. The Kiwis are also having a good Games
Nope, think we will catch them - we are one behind in Gold, with two boxing finals to come and possibly more in other areas.
ROC, we are ahead on Golds, if not medals.
Reckon we will probably end up with around 55+, Nate Silver thinks more like 60+
Conservative donors have no influence on policy, insists Grant Shapps
Conservative donors are not "immoral" and have no influence on government policy, minister Grant Shapps has insisted, amid cash-for-access claims. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58098887
I'm bothered if I'd give loadsamoney to a party if I didn't think there was going to be something in it for me.
Pretty much everyone who has ever talked to a politician, whether in their MP surgery, or at the annual black tie £25k a table party dinner, is looking for something for themselves or their business.
I don't think I'd go near Priti P in a political context if I didn't want something. Mark you, I don't think she'd come near me if she didn't want my vote. Which she's NOT going to get.
I was watching Elysium. Have to admit the Jodie Foster character did remind me of Priti Patel. I'm sure Priti would like to9 take similarly robust action against the migrant boats coming across the Channel...
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
I was quoting the tweet too!
Ah the graphic! Missed the roundings.....
Oh yes, I agree it's fairly crude. My 50% of SLAB voters was just to say 'half' and actually it's technically an underestimate, though I saw no point in fussing further than that.
It is actually quite significant especially as we are always assured on here that SLAB voters can be infallibly assumed to be British nationalists for such purposes as tactical voting and indyrefs. I'd thopught most of the moveable ones had already shifted so an apparent 5 percentage points vs 8 percentahe points for population is quite high. Definitely worth further scrutiny.
On that chart most remaining SLab voters would actually second choice the Scottish LDs and SCons not the SNP.
It was of course SLab tactical votes which kept the likes of Edinburgh Western and Fife NE and Aberdeenshire West and Eastwood Unionist in May and helped prevent the SNP getting a majority
Gross Septic vulgarity aside, the Roller powered by a Merlin has a pleasing symmetry. Mental Australians have built at least one 5000cc v twin motorcycle with 2 pots off a Merlin.
The Aussies are having a phenomenal Olympics, we aren't going to catch them. Bogus Russia will likely overtake us as well, leaving us in 6th, which is pretty good (eg ahead of all EU nations, for a start)
I do wonder if being unlocked-down (until now) has helped Australia, physically and/or psychologically. The Kiwis are also having a good Games
Nope, think we will catch them - we are one behind in Gold, with two boxing finals to come and possibly more in other areas.
ROC, we are ahead on Golds, if not medals.
Reckon we will probably end up with around 55+, Nate Silver thinks more like 60+
But checking the schedules the Aussies have a few gold chances left, as well. And given the run they are on, they might seize them all
There's an easy test for complete idiots because complete idiots mock the flu jab.
Because they are idiots and don't understand what the flu is.
I had it and it was fucking awful. I get the flu jab now every year because I never, ever want to get the flu again.
Actually, the flu jab is one I probably will get because not forcibly being able to mix (a measure cheered to the rafters on here), has apparently made our immune systems less robust.
So you'll get the flu jab but not the covid one, despite the latter being far more beneficial for you.
My judgement is that a year without mixing means flu has a much greater chance of f8cking me than covid.
Absolutely.
Any scientific evidence to back that up? Covid is far more serious than the flu, especially as you get older.
Sans lockdown, you would probably be correct. A year without mixing, without giving our immune systems the workouts they usually get? Dunno.
Leaving aside different points in cycle etc, on a 7 day basis, Spain and France are very comparable to UK according to OWID. OWID also suggests Spain and France reporting is massively variable on a single day basis.
It's a nonsense stat anyway, to make any kind of point about how well countries are doing. But taking a single day (with likely different reporting lags between countries) speaks of dubious motivation.
Scott'n paste orgasms whenever he senses gloom and doom for the UK v EU. Notice how he's avoiding the Olympic Medal table.
Didn't someone post on this before and note that the EU are way ahead of us on medals?
It was the idiot Dickson who pretended it was one country with no limits on the number of competitor entries. BDS is a serious illness and apparently there is no vaccine or cure.
Swings and roundabouts. Yes, the EU gets more competitors per event (which in most cases makes zero difference to podium places), but on the other hand the EU misses out on loads of relay and team podium placing.
It doesn’t matter how you look at it, the English are getting utterly thrashed by the EU at this Olympics.
It is Team GB competing not England.
The Commonwealth has also won more golds than the EU
Let's be done with all the jingoistic petty nationalism and just call it TeamBoris.
I think we are getting a bit carried away with this population nonsense re Olympic medals. Obviously it is important, but once you are over a certain critical mass other factors kick in.
Based on population NZ should be rubbish at rugby, W Indies rubbish at cricket and so on and an obvious one is skiing. I don't think it surprising to anyone that Austria and Switzerland are pretty handy at it. I wonder why?!
A critical mass in a less popular sport can work wonders. From personal experience of my 2 children getting to the top of judo is much easier than swimming and requires a lot less effort as it is a lot less competitive. If you want to get to the top of a sport and you are physically and spatially suited, obviously you should pick the ones that fits your natural traits, but more importantly pick one that is less popular.
Or of course (as is and should be the case) pick ones you enjoy.
Enjoyment is one thing, of course...
The other question, pressing for my wife and I as our eldest is now three and needs to start the journey to elite sport if he's going to make it, is which sport offers the best financial return for parents, on average? Obviously football is big bucks, but lots and lots of competitors. What's the sport that gives us the greatest chance of retiring to our own tropical island when he's in his early 20s, say?
(Obviously - I hope! - I'm not serious about this, but the question is kind of interesting - many sports require innate talent/physical prowess - but there are probably others - snooker? darts? curling? where with sufficient application perhaps almost anyone could become an elite competitor? Snooker, of those, has the highest earnings, I guess?)
Football in the UK by a distance. There will be dozens more millionaires from UK football than all our other sports combined. Of the sports you mention darts has the best prize money. Other lottery funded minor sports might be easier to make a normal living from than football but not to get filthy rich.
If Mr S is being serious, and I rather hope he isn't, it rather depends on the school the little chap goes to/is sent to. Football, or darts, are unlikely to be an option for an alumnus of Eton, Harrow or Winchester. The days of Old Carthusians or Wanderers winning the FA Cup are long gone. On the other hand, while getting to the top in cricket doesn't quite bring in the same money, it's much easier from the likes of, to take a local example, Bedford.
Eton is a soccer school: they do now play Rugby, but it is very much a second choice.
Back when I used to take a rugby team at my (state) school, we had a few years were we played Eton: when we went there the boys couldn’t use the main changing rooms because they were reserved for the football teams.
Just a thought; what are the chances of dementia in later life as a result of playing football, and heading the ball, as against playing rugby?
I would think that depends a great deal on the player and their position in both sports. Bottom line is that any collision with sufficient force involving the head creates brain trauma, and that includes heading the ball - and the more regular the trauma, the more damage is done.
Looking back that seems to have a veritable Boris-esque silliness about it; at the time we were conditioned into believing it was the very height of cool.
The dementia and football story is an interesting and confusing one.
The biggest study found that ex footballers lived on average longer than their control group, but that they are several times more likely to suffer from dementia.
The interpretation and publicity of that study has almost universally been that playing elite football is dangerous because of increased chances of dementia. Parents are now worried about kids playing football. All the other benefits of fitness, social bonds from team sport and diet have been forgotten.
The interpretation should primarily have been to emphasise how important sport can be, with thought on how we can reduce dementia a secondary factor.
Unless you get vaxxed, you face a lifetime of holidays in Cleethorpes
Wasn't he talking about the requirements of foreign countries?
Not something within the gift of the UK government.
He's hinting that ALL countries will require this, and I am pretty sure he is right. The worldwide terror of a new variant is so intense airlines and hotels and the rest of the travel world will demand vaxports. Indeed it is probably the best (only?) way they can truly revive.
And there is a shared global interest in massively pressuring the unvaxxed to get the bloody jab
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
I was quoting the tweet too!
Ah the graphic! Missed the roundings.....
Oh yes, I agree it's fairly crude. My 50% of SLAB voters was just to say 'half' and actually it's technically an underestimate, though I saw no point in fussing further than that.
It is actually quite significant especially as we are always assured on here that SLAB voters can be infallibly assumed to be British nationalists for such purposes as tactical voting and indyrefs. I'd thopught most of the moveable ones had already shifted so an apparent 5 percentage points vs 8 percentahe points for population is quite high. Definitely worth further scrutiny.
Might be in the details, but do we know that the country-specific options were only offered in those countries? Sturgeon often has fairly high ratings among English voters. I, for one, might be open to voting SNP if they'll follow a UDI with annexation of England. Or, at least, Yorkshire
Good point. But 5% seems almost too low in that scenario.
I can't find the data tables - but if this is the same survey then nobody is expressing a wish to vote SNP in England as first choice, which implies a restriction of options.
There's an easy test for complete idiots because complete idiots mock the flu jab.
Because they are idiots and don't understand what the flu is.
I had it and it was fucking awful. I get the flu jab now every year because I never, ever want to get the flu again.
Actually, the flu jab is one I probably will get because not forcibly being able to mix (a measure cheered to the rafters on here), has apparently made our immune systems less robust.
So you'll get the flu jab but not the covid one, despite the latter being far more beneficial for you.
My judgement is that a year without mixing means flu has a much greater chance of f8cking me than covid.
Absolutely.
But the flu shot will be newer and less tested than the Covid one.
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
I was quoting the tweet too!
Ah the graphic! Missed the roundings.....
Oh yes, I agree it's fairly crude. My 50% of SLAB voters was just to say 'half' and actually it's technically an underestimate, though I saw no point in fussing further than that.
It is actually quite significant especially as we are always assured on here that SLAB voters can be infallibly assumed to be British nationalists for such purposes as tactical voting and indyrefs. I'd thopught most of the moveable ones had already shifted so an apparent 5 percentage points vs 8 percentahe points for population is quite high. Definitely worth further scrutiny.
On that chart most remaining SLab voters would actually second choice the Scottish LDs and SCons not the SNP.
It was of course SLab tactical votes which kept the likes of Edinburgh Western and Fife NE and Aberdeenshire West and Eastwood Unionist in May and helped prevent the SNP getting a majority
5% of Labour voters in the UK choosing SNP = crudely about 50% or more in Scotland alone, assuming (as Selebian notes) a country specific restriction in options.
I don't think 100,000 cases or a new lockdown is out of the question at some point during the remainder of 2021 or 2022. I'd consider it at the correct odds ( 5-1 perhaps ?) I'd back on overs for 50k at even money if forced given yesterday's case numbers and specimen date loading.
Brave to bet on something so subject to measurement influence. If we had a continental European testing regime you'd have to be under on that.
Lol - the broad ebb and flow of UK testing is a known known. It's not going to be suddenly stopped overnight and will head to back over a millionish when the kids are back in school. Obviously if we had the same testing regime as Sudan the bet would be a nonsense. But we don't.
There's an easy test for complete idiots because complete idiots mock the flu jab.
Because they are idiots and don't understand what the flu is.
I had it and it was fucking awful. I get the flu jab now every year because I never, ever want to get the flu again.
Tbh I'd sign up for a vaccine to the common cold now if they were available even though I barely get them, and when I do they're light. The likes of @contrarian have moved me very much even further in favour of vaccination for all viruses. And quite frankly I wouldn't say no to see a two tier society with the likes of @Rural_Voter (Who is considerably madder than contrarian) locked in his home.
A lot of "here's why we need to stay in our homes" posts from Aussie mates on my FB feed (yes I'm just old enough to be on FB).
What an absolute shit show.
Who the f**k cares how many medals they have; they are unlikely to reach the stated required 70% vaccination level until Christmas until which point they look likely to remain locked down.
I'm sure these people will be flocking to the tories when the time comes....
I would imagine the handful of Brits who go to Mexico for their summer holidays would be mainly rich Remainers anyway
A handful of voters you don't care about here, a handful of voters you don't care about there and pretty soon it begins to add up to real opposition to your government.
There's an easy test for complete idiots because complete idiots mock the flu jab.
Because they are idiots and don't understand what the flu is.
I had it and it was fucking awful. I get the flu jab now every year because I never, ever want to get the flu again.
Actually, the flu jab is one I probably will get because not forcibly being able to mix (a measure cheered to the rafters on here), has apparently made our immune systems less robust.
So you'll get the flu jab but not the covid one, despite the latter being far more beneficial for you.
My judgement is that a year without mixing means flu has a much greater chance of f8cking me than covid.
Absolutely.
Any scientific evidence to back that up? Covid is far more serious than the flu, especially as you get older.
Sans lockdown, you would probably be correct. A year without mixing, without giving our immune systems the workouts they usually get? Dunno.
I think you do not understand the immune system that well. It is challenged ALL THE TIME, and 99.9 % you never even notice.
Contrarian is possibly correct that population vulnerability to the flu is higher this year, though, since the number of flu cases has flatlined over the last year, and immune response tends to fade over time. Of course it remains an open question as to whether there is a large outbreak of a novel strain this winter.
Gross Septic vulgarity aside, the Roller powered by a Merlin has a pleasing symmetry. Mental Australians have built at least one 5000cc v twin motorcycle with 2 pots off a Merlin.
The Aussies are having a phenomenal Olympics, we aren't going to catch them. Bogus Russia will likely overtake us as well, leaving us in 6th, which is pretty good (eg ahead of all EU nations, for a start)
I do wonder if being unlocked-down (until now) has helped Australia, physically and/or psychologically. The Kiwis are also having a good Games
Nope, think we will catch them - we are one behind in Gold, with two boxing finals to come and possibly more in other areas.
ROC, we are ahead on Golds, if not medals.
Reckon we will probably end up with around 55+, Nate Silver thinks more like 60+
But checking the schedules the Aussies have a few gold chances left, as well. And given the run they are on, they might seize them all
ROC will surely overtake us on golds?
There are two possible golds in Boxing, you have Tom Daley and maybe two more on the Track, which takes us to 20.
There are probably a few others which are possibles eg showjumping (but less so given the team changes), pentathlon and a possible 4x100m relay.
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To avoid meeting Nicola Sturgeon...
I approve of Boris putting Nicola in her place. It’s a delicate balance, and he needs to avoid insulting the Scots, but Nicola pretends to a status she simply does not have.
Nicola is the democratically elected leader of her country. Scots expect their choice to be respected.
Incidentally, expecting Boris Johnson to be “delicate” has got to be a gold medal performance in wishful thinking.
Sturgeon is a troll, and this was a transparent PR stunt.
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
I was quoting the tweet too!
Ah the graphic! Missed the roundings.....
Oh yes, I agree it's fairly crude. My 50% of SLAB voters was just to say 'half' and actually it's technically an underestimate, though I saw no point in fussing further than that.
It is actually quite significant especially as we are always assured on here that SLAB voters can be infallibly assumed to be British nationalists for such purposes as tactical voting and indyrefs. I'd thopught most of the moveable ones had already shifted so an apparent 5 percentage points vs 8 percentahe points for population is quite high. Definitely worth further scrutiny.
A big weakness for SLab in Scotland is that voters are more aware that many activists lean towards nationalism. It tends to be hidden by the fact that they are totally swamped by the SNP but I think explains the fact that the Tory vote has rebounded and held relatively well in recent years. They are the only clearly unequivocal unionist party. however it inevitably weakerns the Unionist vote and therefore the case.
Conservative donors have no influence on policy, insists Grant Shapps
Conservative donors are not "immoral" and have no influence on government policy, minister Grant Shapps has insisted, amid cash-for-access claims. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58098887
I'm bothered if I'd give loadsamoney to a party if I didn't think there was going to be something in it for me.
The dementia and football story is an interesting and confusing one.
The biggest study found that ex footballers lived on average longer than their control group, but that they are several times more likely to suffer from dementia.
The interpretation and publicity of that study has almost universally been that playing elite football is dangerous because of increased chances of dementia. Parents are now worried about kids playing football. All the other benefits of fitness, social bonds from team sport and diet have been forgotten.
The interpretation should primarily have been to emphasise how important sport can be, with thought on how we can reduce dementia a secondary factor.
Do you have easy access to that study. Would be interesting. You would think footballers on average would live longer than a control group. Quite unscientifically recently I was surprised by the announcements of several famous ex-footballers dying in their 70s which I thought was rather young. Probably a blip, or more likely me just noticing the names I remember from my teens and not noticing the 90+ ones passing away who I had never heard of.
Lots of "joyous & civic" (sic) nationalism in the replies:
It was a pleasure to visit @PoliceScotland's headquarters at Tulliallan Castle yesterday.
The police play a vital role in protecting the public and it was great to see first hand how they are preparing for the challenge of policing @COP26. in November this year.
Not respecting the office or the man, shocking stuff.
Never mind Police Scotland, what idiot posted the Olympics video of Boris that makes it look like he has lunched rather too well? Did no-one realise climbing the stairs would make him appear to sway from side to side, which added to the hair makes him look tired and emotional? I'm not sure whether it is worse with sound on or off. https://twitter.com/i/status/1422579951279165448
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
I was quoting the tweet too!
Carlotta lives in Neo-Unionist-Land. She sees what she wants to see.
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To avoid meeting Nicola Sturgeon...
I approve of Boris putting Nicola in her place. It’s a delicate balance, and he needs to avoid insulting the Scots, but Nicola pretends to a status she simply does not have.
She is the First Minister. And this is not an isolated incident but a sustained pattern of refusal to engage. Which is not good for government at any level.
Nicola is given an inch and takes a yard. She pretty much weaponises all her engagements with U.K. level people and institutions.
Perhaps a period of isolation is indeed called for.
"Is called for": it's been inflicted by the government in Whitehall for years now, was my point.
Well we probably agree that Whitehall’s approach to Scotland has been disastrous.
But I’m fed up with Nicola. She is largely given a free ride by the media, too, even though she wants to BREAK UP MY COUNTRY.
Please be precise: your state. Noit your country.
Not this crap again.
Nationalists rightly dont like being told their view of nationality is invalid. Unionists rightly dont like it either.
Country status is inherently arbitrary as all matters of borders and identity are. They are real if people consider them real, and if they can persuade others internationally they can get recognised.
Insulting people by saying their country is not a country is just being impolite for no reason, since theres no objective reality to it.
The UK is my country. England is too, in this country of countries. It is perfectly ok for people to not feel the same and to want to break up either of those entities or indeed both. But they don't get to determine what others feel anymore than I could determine what they feel.
Well for me my only country is Scotland, UK is not and never has been a "country" and anyone pretending so is not right in the tattie.
A lot of "here's why we need to stay in our homes" posts from Aussie mates on my FB feed (yes I'm just old enough to be on FB).
What an absolute shit show.
Who the f**k cares how many medals they have; they are unlikely to reach the stated required 70% vaccination level until Christmas until which point they look likely to remain locked down.
Yurgh.
Has anywhere managed the double of keeping Covid out with lockdown/travel restrictions, and then vaccinating quickly so they don't get caught by Delta?
China would be close, if their vaccines were better. Singapore maybe?
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To avoid meeting Nicola Sturgeon...
I approve of Boris putting Nicola in her place. It’s a delicate balance, and he needs to avoid insulting the Scots, but Nicola pretends to a status she simply does not have.
Nicola is the democratically elected leader of her country. Scots expect their choice to be respected.
Incidentally, expecting Boris Johnson to be “delicate” has got to be a gold medal performance in wishful thinking.
Sturgeon is a troll, and this was a transparent PR stunt.
The dementia and football story is an interesting and confusing one.
The biggest study found that ex footballers lived on average longer than their control group, but that they are several times more likely to suffer from dementia.
The interpretation and publicity of that study has almost universally been that playing elite football is dangerous because of increased chances of dementia. Parents are now worried about kids playing football. All the other benefits of fitness, social bonds from team sport and diet have been forgotten.
The interpretation should primarily have been to emphasise how important sport can be, with thought on how we can reduce dementia a secondary factor.
Why don't they just ban heading the ball ?
They will limit it severely in training and it is already banned for young kids (not sure what age, probably depends by country).
Banning heading the ball completely would make it a sport solely for those with low centre of gravity. There are not many sports where people the size of Lionel Messi and Didier Drogba can both be world class in the same position, it would be a big shame to take that away from football.
It might happen eventually as society gets ever more risk averse (well averse to specific risks such as dementia from football as opposed to general risks such as not playing enough sport) but not in the short term, and rightly so.
Gross Septic vulgarity aside, the Roller powered by a Merlin has a pleasing symmetry. Mental Australians have built at least one 5000cc v twin motorcycle with 2 pots off a Merlin.
The Aussies are having a phenomenal Olympics, we aren't going to catch them. Bogus Russia will likely overtake us as well, leaving us in 6th, which is pretty good (eg ahead of all EU nations, for a start)
I do wonder if being unlocked-down (until now) has helped Australia, physically and/or psychologically. The Kiwis are also having a good Games
Nope, think we will catch them - we are one behind in Gold, with two boxing finals to come and possibly more in other areas.
ROC, we are ahead on Golds, if not medals.
Reckon we will probably end up with around 55+, Nate Silver thinks more like 60+
But checking the schedules the Aussies have a few gold chances left, as well. And given the run they are on, they might seize them all
ROC will surely overtake us on golds?
There are two possible golds in Boxing, you have Tom Daley and maybe two more on the Track, which takes us to 20.
There are probably a few others which are possibles eg showjumping (but less so given the team changes), pentathlon and a possible 4x100m relay.
The dementia and football story is an interesting and confusing one.
The biggest study found that ex footballers lived on average longer than their control group, but that they are several times more likely to suffer from dementia.
The interpretation and publicity of that study has almost universally been that playing elite football is dangerous because of increased chances of dementia. Parents are now worried about kids playing football. All the other benefits of fitness, social bonds from team sport and diet have been forgotten.
The interpretation should primarily have been to emphasise how important sport can be, with thought on how we can reduce dementia a secondary factor.
Do you have easy access to that study. Would be interesting. You would think footballers on average would live longer than a control group. Quite unscientifically recently I was surprised by the announcements of several famous ex-footballers dying in their 70s which I thought was rather young. Probably a blip, or more likely me just noticing the names I remember from my teens and not noticing the 90+ ones passing away who I had never heard of.
Given that many footballers come from poorer backgrounds, and then are catapulted into the world of non-stop medical monitoring and supervision, combined with diet etc.... I would have been surprised if footballers didn't live longer than their origin peer groups.
There's an easy test for complete idiots because complete idiots mock the flu jab.
Because they are idiots and don't understand what the flu is.
I had it and it was fucking awful. I get the flu jab now every year because I never, ever want to get the flu again.
Actually, the flu jab is one I probably will get because not forcibly being able to mix (a measure cheered to the rafters on here), has apparently made our immune systems less robust.
So you'll get the flu jab but not the covid one, despite the latter being far more beneficial for you.
My judgement is that a year without mixing means flu has a much greater chance of f8cking me than covid.
Absolutely.
Any scientific evidence to back that up? Covid is far more serious than the flu, especially as you get older.
Sans lockdown, you would probably be correct. A year without mixing, without giving our immune systems the workouts they usually get? Dunno.
I think you do not understand the immune system that well. It is challenged ALL THE TIME, and 99.9 % you never even notice.
Contrarian is possibly correct that population vulnerability to the flu is higher this year, though, since the number of flu cases has flatlined over the last year, and immune response tends to fade over time. Of course it remains an open question as to whether there is a large outbreak of a novel strain this winter.
He's still wrong though - the Covid IFR slope is much more age skewed than any flu pandemic including 1918. You have to remember if you're over 50 and unvaccinated the current hospitalisation, IFR and case rates are meaningless given the statistically insignificant subset of the UK population you're in now.
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To avoid meeting Nicola Sturgeon...
I approve of Boris putting Nicola in her place. It’s a delicate balance, and he needs to avoid insulting the Scots, but Nicola pretends to a status she simply does not have.
Nicola is the democratically elected leader of her country. Scots expect their choice to be respected.
Incidentally, expecting Boris Johnson to be “delicate” has got to be a gold medal performance in wishful thinking.
Sturgeon is a troll, and this was a transparent PR stunt.
What she wanted was the Johnson Perp walk into Bute House in front of booing saltire waving Nats.....like last time.....
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
I was quoting the tweet too!
Carlotta lives in Neo-Unionist-Land. She sees what she wants to see.
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
"imagined" LOL , does she post anything other than slights
Lots of "joyous & civic" (sic) nationalism in the replies:
It was a pleasure to visit @PoliceScotland's headquarters at Tulliallan Castle yesterday.
The police play a vital role in protecting the public and it was great to see first hand how they are preparing for the challenge of policing @COP26. in November this year.
Not respecting the office or the man, shocking stuff.
Never mind Police Scotland, what idiot posted the Olympics video of Boris that makes it look like he has lunched rather too well? Did no-one realise climbing the stairs would make him appear to sway from side to side, which added to the hair makes him look tired and emotional? I'm not sure whether it is worse with sound on or off. https://twitter.com/i/status/1422579951279165448
He must spend hours getting his hair to look like that!
A lot of "here's why we need to stay in our homes" posts from Aussie mates on my FB feed (yes I'm just old enough to be on FB).
What an absolute shit show.
Who the f**k cares how many medals they have; they are unlikely to reach the stated required 70% vaccination level until Christmas until which point they look likely to remain locked down.
Yurgh.
Has anywhere managed the double of keeping Covid out with lockdown/travel restrictions, and then vaccinating quickly so they don't get caught by Delta?
China would be close, if their vaccines were better. Singapore maybe?
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To avoid meeting Nicola Sturgeon...
I approve of Boris putting Nicola in her place. It’s a delicate balance, and he needs to avoid insulting the Scots, but Nicola pretends to a status she simply does not have.
Nicola is the democratically elected leader of her country. Scots expect their choice to be respected.
Incidentally, expecting Boris Johnson to be “delicate” has got to be a gold medal performance in wishful thinking.
Sturgeon is a troll, and this was a transparent PR stunt.
What she wanted was the Johnson Perp walk into Bute House in front of booing saltire waving Nats.....like last time.....
He is such a coward he could not handle the challenge. Leads from the fridge. For all her faults you would not have seen Thatcher cowering, she would have been there waving her handbag , not skulking in secret locations hidden from the public so he could pretend he was a leader.
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
I was quoting the tweet too!
Ah the graphic! Missed the roundings.....
Oh yes, I agree it's fairly crude. My 50% of SLAB voters was just to say 'half' and actually it's technically an underestimate, though I saw no point in fussing further than that.
It is actually quite significant especially as we are always assured on here that SLAB voters can be infallibly assumed to be British nationalists for such purposes as tactical voting and indyrefs. I'd thopught most of the moveable ones had already shifted so an apparent 5 percentage points vs 8 percentahe points for population is quite high. Definitely worth further scrutiny.
On that chart most remaining SLab voters would actually second choice the Scottish LDs and SCons not the SNP.
It was of course SLab tactical votes which kept the likes of Edinburgh Western and Fife NE and Aberdeenshire West and Eastwood Unionist in May and helped prevent the SNP getting a majority
Speaking of Edinburgh Western..
I had occasion to be on Corstorphine main street last week, 2 separate SLD offices with shop window sized photos of Cole-Hamilton & Jardine with matching Cheshire cat grins. 'Orrible it was..
The dementia and football story is an interesting and confusing one.
The biggest study found that ex footballers lived on average longer than their control group, but that they are several times more likely to suffer from dementia.
The interpretation and publicity of that study has almost universally been that playing elite football is dangerous because of increased chances of dementia. Parents are now worried about kids playing football. All the other benefits of fitness, social bonds from team sport and diet have been forgotten.
The interpretation should primarily have been to emphasise how important sport can be, with thought on how we can reduce dementia a secondary factor.
Do you have easy access to that study. Would be interesting. You would think footballers on average would live longer than a control group. Quite unscientifically recently I was surprised by the announcements of several famous ex-footballers dying in their 70s which I thought was rather young. Probably a blip, or more likely me just noticing the names I remember from my teens and not noticing the 90+ ones passing away who I had never heard of.
The dementia and football story is an interesting and confusing one.
The biggest study found that ex footballers lived on average longer than their control group, but that they are several times more likely to suffer from dementia.
The interpretation and publicity of that study has almost universally been that playing elite football is dangerous because of increased chances of dementia. Parents are now worried about kids playing football. All the other benefits of fitness, social bonds from team sport and diet have been forgotten.
The interpretation should primarily have been to emphasise how important sport can be, with thought on how we can reduce dementia a secondary factor.
Do you have easy access to that study. Would be interesting. You would think footballers on average would live longer than a control group. Quite unscientifically recently I was surprised by the announcements of several famous ex-footballers dying in their 70s which I thought was rather young. Probably a blip, or more likely me just noticing the names I remember from my teens and not noticing the 90+ ones passing away who I had never heard of.
Given that many footballers come from poorer backgrounds, and then are catapulted into the world of non-stop medical monitoring and supervision, combined with diet etc.... I would have been surprised if footballers didn't live longer than their origin peer groups.
Win or lose, we're on the booze. The carefully supervised diets and fitness regimes are a recent innovation. Count the chins on the England 1970 World Cup squad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ-EutNDgZQ
Gross Septic vulgarity aside, the Roller powered by a Merlin has a pleasing symmetry. Mental Australians have built at least one 5000cc v twin motorcycle with 2 pots off a Merlin.
The Aussies are having a phenomenal Olympics, we aren't going to catch them. Bogus Russia will likely overtake us as well, leaving us in 6th, which is pretty good (eg ahead of all EU nations, for a start)
I do wonder if being unlocked-down (until now) has helped Australia, physically and/or psychologically. The Kiwis are also having a good Games
The "no lockdown" certainly makes a lot of sense as a big factor for their performance. Especially in anything team related like rowing. I wonder how many hours in the boat the Aus and NZ teams have had compared to their competitors over the last 18 months.
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
I was quoting the tweet too!
Ah the graphic! Missed the roundings.....
Oh yes, I agree it's fairly crude. My 50% of SLAB voters was just to say 'half' and actually it's technically an underestimate, though I saw no point in fussing further than that.
It is actually quite significant especially as we are always assured on here that SLAB voters can be infallibly assumed to be British nationalists for such purposes as tactical voting and indyrefs. I'd thopught most of the moveable ones had already shifted so an apparent 5 percentage points vs 8 percentahe points for population is quite high. Definitely worth further scrutiny.
A big weakness for SLab in Scotland is that voters are more aware that many activists lean towards nationalism. It tends to be hidden by the fact that they are totally swamped by the SNP but I think explains the fact that the Tory vote has rebounded and held relatively well in recent years. They are the only clearly unequivocal unionist party. however it inevitably weakerns the Unionist vote and therefore the case.
Hmm, not entirely sure [edit] of that.
SLD are also clearly unionist, too, btw, but there aren't that many of them outside key concentrations (with RP an honourable addition).
It seems to me that SLAB in the Scottish media is always presented as an Unionist party - I don't think there is much attention to what individual activists below MP/MSP level get up to. But it is very much competing with the Tories for the Britnat vote (as opposed to the Irish Unionist element). The closest to indy Labour get is occasional comments from SLAB's masters in London about perhaps allowing a referendum to happen (which is a majority view in Scotland, separately from the intended actual vote, and allowing for delays caused by the current covid epidemic). Which is perhaps sufficient for a Tory attack line, as is the accusation of a Labour minority government dependent on the SNP. Certainly SLAB MPs and MSPs get very hot under the collar at such ideological backsliding.
The dementia and football story is an interesting and confusing one.
The biggest study found that ex footballers lived on average longer than their control group, but that they are several times more likely to suffer from dementia.
The interpretation and publicity of that study has almost universally been that playing elite football is dangerous because of increased chances of dementia. Parents are now worried about kids playing football. All the other benefits of fitness, social bonds from team sport and diet have been forgotten.
The interpretation should primarily have been to emphasise how important sport can be, with thought on how we can reduce dementia a secondary factor.
Why don't they just ban heading the ball ?
They will limit it severely in training and it is already banned for young kids (not sure what age, probably depends by country).
Banning heading the ball completely would make it a sport solely for those with low centre of gravity. There are not many sports where people the size of Lionel Messi and Didier Drogba can both be world class in the same position, it would be a big shame to take that away from football.
It might happen eventually as society gets ever more risk averse (well averse to specific risks such as dementia from football as opposed to general risks such as not playing enough sport) but not in the short term, and rightly so.
I'm not a football enthusiast, so can't really argue the point, but would it really spoil the game like that ? Height advantage would still matter in some situations, despite the limitation (&, FWIW, I hate that thing where the goalkeeper boots the ball halfway up the field for someone to head).
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To avoid meeting Nicola Sturgeon...
I approve of Boris putting Nicola in her place. It’s a delicate balance, and he needs to avoid insulting the Scots, but Nicola pretends to a status she simply does not have.
Nicola is the democratically elected leader of her country. Scots expect their choice to be respected.
Incidentally, expecting Boris Johnson to be “delicate” has got to be a gold medal performance in wishful thinking.
Sturgeon is a troll, and this was a transparent PR stunt.
Thought you'd be a bit quiet on this front after making a tit of yourself by falling for fake news about Sturgeon not congratulating a winning SCon mp?
There's an easy test for complete idiots because complete idiots mock the flu jab.
Because they are idiots and don't understand what the flu is.
I had it and it was fucking awful. I get the flu jab now every year because I never, ever want to get the flu again.
Actually, the flu jab is one I probably will get because not forcibly being able to mix (a measure cheered to the rafters on here), has apparently made our immune systems less robust.
So you'll get the flu jab but not the covid one, despite the latter being far more beneficial for you.
My judgement is that a year without mixing means flu has a much greater chance of f8cking me than covid.
Absolutely.
Any scientific evidence to back that up? Covid is far more serious than the flu, especially as you get older.
Sans lockdown, you would probably be correct. A year without mixing, without giving our immune systems the workouts they usually get? Dunno.
I think you do not understand the immune system that well. It is challenged ALL THE TIME, and 99.9 % you never even notice.
Contrarian is possibly correct that population vulnerability to the flu is higher this year, though, since the number of flu cases has flatlined over the last year, and immune response tends to fade over time. Of course it remains an open question as to whether there is a large outbreak of a novel strain this winter.
He's still wrong though - the Covid IFR slope is much more age skewed than any flu pandemic including 1918. You have to remember if you're over 50 and unvaccinated the current hospitalisation, IFR and case rates are meaningless given the statistically insignificant subset of the UK population you're in now.
I'm only defending him on one particular point; the rest of it is nonsense.
The dementia and football story is an interesting and confusing one.
The biggest study found that ex footballers lived on average longer than their control group, but that they are several times more likely to suffer from dementia.
The interpretation and publicity of that study has almost universally been that playing elite football is dangerous because of increased chances of dementia. Parents are now worried about kids playing football. All the other benefits of fitness, social bonds from team sport and diet have been forgotten.
The interpretation should primarily have been to emphasise how important sport can be, with thought on how we can reduce dementia a secondary factor.
Do you have easy access to that study. Would be interesting. You would think footballers on average would live longer than a control group. Quite unscientifically recently I was surprised by the announcements of several famous ex-footballers dying in their 70s which I thought was rather young. Probably a blip, or more likely me just noticing the names I remember from my teens and not noticing the 90+ ones passing away who I had never heard of.
Is the dementia percentage age controlled? ie did the footballers just increase their risk of dementia by not dying of heart disease or smoking related illness?
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To avoid meeting Nicola Sturgeon...
I approve of Boris putting Nicola in her place. It’s a delicate balance, and he needs to avoid insulting the Scots, but Nicola pretends to a status she simply does not have.
Nicola is the democratically elected leader of her country. Scots expect their choice to be respected.
Incidentally, expecting Boris Johnson to be “delicate” has got to be a gold medal performance in wishful thinking.
Sturgeon is a troll, and this was a transparent PR stunt.
What she wanted was the Johnson Perp walk into Bute House in front of booing saltire waving Nats.....like last time.....
He is such a coward he could not handle the challenge. Leads from the fridge. For all her faults you would not have seen Thatcher cowering, she would have been there waving her handbag , not skulking in secret locations hidden from the public so he could pretend he was a leader.
Isn't Bude House currently being repaired with very limited access to it...
The dementia and football story is an interesting and confusing one.
The biggest study found that ex footballers lived on average longer than their control group, but that they are several times more likely to suffer from dementia.
The interpretation and publicity of that study has almost universally been that playing elite football is dangerous because of increased chances of dementia. Parents are now worried about kids playing football. All the other benefits of fitness, social bonds from team sport and diet have been forgotten.
The interpretation should primarily have been to emphasise how important sport can be, with thought on how we can reduce dementia a secondary factor.
Do you have easy access to that study. Would be interesting. You would think footballers on average would live longer than a control group. Quite unscientifically recently I was surprised by the announcements of several famous ex-footballers dying in their 70s which I thought was rather young. Probably a blip, or more likely me just noticing the names I remember from my teens and not noticing the 90+ ones passing away who I had never heard of.
Given that many footballers come from poorer backgrounds, and then are catapulted into the world of non-stop medical monitoring and supervision, combined with diet etc.... I would have been surprised if footballers didn't live longer than their origin peer groups.
Win or lose, we're on the booze. The carefully supervised diets and fitness regimes are a recent innovation. Count the chins on the England 1970 World Cup squad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ-EutNDgZQ
Yes. In the days of Mr Gascoigne, a relative who coached rowing at a high level pointed out that the entire England football squad was, visibly, utterly unfit.
The dementia and football story is an interesting and confusing one.
The biggest study found that ex footballers lived on average longer than their control group, but that they are several times more likely to suffer from dementia.
The interpretation and publicity of that study has almost universally been that playing elite football is dangerous because of increased chances of dementia. Parents are now worried about kids playing football. All the other benefits of fitness, social bonds from team sport and diet have been forgotten.
The interpretation should primarily have been to emphasise how important sport can be, with thought on how we can reduce dementia a secondary factor.
Do you have easy access to that study. Would be interesting. You would think footballers on average would live longer than a control group. Quite unscientifically recently I was surprised by the announcements of several famous ex-footballers dying in their 70s which I thought was rather young. Probably a blip, or more likely me just noticing the names I remember from my teens and not noticing the 90+ ones passing away who I had never heard of.
Is the dementia percentage age controlled? ie did the footballers just increase their risk of dementia by not dying of heart disease or smoking related illness?
From skimming the abstract and knowing how these cohort studies are normally done the analysis is stratified, so people of similar "age at death" are being compared.
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
I was quoting the tweet too!
Ah the graphic! Missed the roundings.....
Oh yes, I agree it's fairly crude. My 50% of SLAB voters was just to say 'half' and actually it's technically an underestimate, though I saw no point in fussing further than that.
It is actually quite significant especially as we are always assured on here that SLAB voters can be infallibly assumed to be British nationalists for such purposes as tactical voting and indyrefs. I'd thopught most of the moveable ones had already shifted so an apparent 5 percentage points vs 8 percentahe points for population is quite high. Definitely worth further scrutiny.
A big weakness for SLab in Scotland is that voters are more aware that many activists lean towards nationalism. It tends to be hidden by the fact that they are totally swamped by the SNP but I think explains the fact that the Tory vote has rebounded and held relatively well in recent years. They are the only clearly unequivocal unionist party. however it inevitably weakerns the Unionist vote and therefore the case.
Hmm, not entirely sure [edit] of that.
SLD are also clearly unionist, too, btw, but there aren't that many of them outside key concentrations (with RP an honourable addition).
It seems to me that SLAB in the Scottish media is always presented as an Unionist party - I don't think there is much attention to what individual activists below MP/MSP level get up to. But it is very much competing with the Tories for the Britnat vote (as opposed to the Irish Unionist element). The closest to indy Labour get is occasional comments from SLAB's masters in London about perhaps allowing a referendum to happen (which is a majority view in Scotland, separately from the intended actual vote, and allowing for delays caused by the current covid epidemic). Which is perhaps sufficient for a Tory attack line, as is the accusation of a Labour minority government dependent on the SNP. Certainly SLAB MPs and MSPs get very hot under the collar at such ideological backsliding.
I'd say even now that the tribal aspects of Labour being a movement, cause and tradition (all terms very much open to interpretation) is much stronger in SLab than Unionism per se. The latter is a constitutional position, not a foundation stone of the Labour party. Of course the one common factor both north and south is hatred of the SNP for stealing 'their' voters.
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
I was quoting the tweet too!
Ah the graphic! Missed the roundings.....
Oh yes, I agree it's fairly crude. My 50% of SLAB voters was just to say 'half' and actually it's technically an underestimate, though I saw no point in fussing further than that.
It is actually quite significant especially as we are always assured on here that SLAB voters can be infallibly assumed to be British nationalists for such purposes as tactical voting and indyrefs. I'd thopught most of the moveable ones had already shifted so an apparent 5 percentage points vs 8 percentahe points for population is quite high. Definitely worth further scrutiny.
On that chart most remaining SLab voters would actually second choice the Scottish LDs and SCons not the SNP.
It was of course SLab tactical votes which kept the likes of Edinburgh Western and Fife NE and Aberdeenshire West and Eastwood Unionist in May and helped prevent the SNP getting a majority
Speaking of Edinburgh Western..
I had occasion to be on Corstorphine main street last week, 2 separate SLD offices with shop window sized photos of Cole-Hamilton & Jardine with matching Cheshire cat grins. 'Orrible it was..
Of interest is the stupid reaction to a sensible proposal. In quite a few areas, structured and carefully designed gym work can have extraordinary effects in terms of counteracting the depilating effects of various long term ailments. Not curing, but making life easier.
For example, a relative of mine suffers from early onset arthritis. By carefully structured gym work, she had built up muscles that actually help take the load off the joints. Which in turn has actually reduced inflammation (it's an immune disease that causes the body to attack the joints) and basically improved her life.
You left out SNP 5% and PC 3% - a hell of a lot considering the relative populations of the nations. 50% split to SNP sounds about right - actually a little higher than I had expected given some of the shift has happened.
Carlottas job is to ignore the elephant in the room.
Carlotta was quoting the Redfield & Winton tweet......but as usual the Nats are quick to take offence for imagined slights.....
I was quoting the tweet too!
Ah the graphic! Missed the roundings.....
Oh yes, I agree it's fairly crude. My 50% of SLAB voters was just to say 'half' and actually it's technically an underestimate, though I saw no point in fussing further than that.
It is actually quite significant especially as we are always assured on here that SLAB voters can be infallibly assumed to be British nationalists for such purposes as tactical voting and indyrefs. I'd thopught most of the moveable ones had already shifted so an apparent 5 percentage points vs 8 percentahe points for population is quite high. Definitely worth further scrutiny.
On that chart most remaining SLab voters would actually second choice the Scottish LDs and SCons not the SNP.
It was of course SLab tactical votes which kept the likes of Edinburgh Western and Fife NE and Aberdeenshire West and Eastwood Unionist in May and helped prevent the SNP getting a majority
Speaking of Edinburgh Western..
I had occasion to be on Corstorphine main street last week, 2 separate SLD offices with shop window sized photos of Cole-Hamilton & Jardine with matching Cheshire cat grins. 'Orrible it was..
It's a good proposal though, despite the sneering at the photos
The 1500 men's final is STACKED. Probably the strongest and deepest race of the entire games. Which means it'll probably be a slow* and tactical one.....
* Slow for freaks like Kipsang, Cheruiyot and Ingebrittsen...
Getting a medal in that one would be amazing for Team GB.
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To avoid meeting Nicola Sturgeon...
I approve of Boris putting Nicola in her place. It’s a delicate balance, and he needs to avoid insulting the Scots, but Nicola pretends to a status she simply does not have.
She is the First Minister. And this is not an isolated incident but a sustained pattern of refusal to engage. Which is not good for government at any level.
Nicola is given an inch and takes a yard. She pretty much weaponises all her engagements with U.K. level people and institutions.
Perhaps a period of isolation is indeed called for.
"Is called for": it's been inflicted by the government in Whitehall for years now, was my point.
Well we probably agree that Whitehall’s approach to Scotland has been disastrous.
But I’m fed up with Nicola. She is largely given a free ride by the media, too, even though she wants to BREAK UP MY COUNTRY.
Please be precise: your state. Noit your country.
Not this crap again.
Nationalists rightly dont like being told their view of nationality is invalid. Unionists rightly dont like it either.
Country status is inherently arbitrary as all matters of borders and identity are. They are real if people consider them real, and if they can persuade others internationally they can get recognised.
Insulting people by saying their country is not a country is just being impolite for no reason, since theres no objective reality to it.
The UK is my country. England is too, in this country of countries. It is perfectly ok for people to not feel the same and to want to break up either of those entities or indeed both. But they don't get to determine what others feel anymore than I could determine what they feel.
Well for me my only country is Scotland, UK is not and never has been a "country" and anyone pretending so is not right in the tattie.
This is my precise point malc. You dont consider it your country, whatever legalities exist. That's your view and its fine. You cannot be forced to feel an attachment to the UK.
Why be so rude and deny the validity of others taking a different view though? Who are you to claim you have the right to declare your country is a country but others who take a different view cannot do the same?
That's just plain disrespectful to one another and I cannot see the point - my view that the UK is my country, held by many, in no way diminishes your strong view that only Scotland is your country. Sure, someone will point to states and law, but your identity remains unaffected to you.
Why cannot my identity be real? Because it was a legal construct centuries ago? All countries are constructs, they are all real if enough people feel they are.
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To avoid meeting Nicola Sturgeon...
I approve of Boris putting Nicola in her place. It’s a delicate balance, and he needs to avoid insulting the Scots, but Nicola pretends to a status she simply does not have.
Nicola is the democratically elected leader of her country. Scots expect their choice to be respected.
Incidentally, expecting Boris Johnson to be “delicate” has got to be a gold medal performance in wishful thinking.
Sturgeon is a troll, and this was a transparent PR stunt.
Tory troll calls somebody else a troll. Yawn.
Sturgeon correctly called out for her actions. I see that you do not disagree.
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To avoid meeting Nicola Sturgeon...
I approve of Boris putting Nicola in her place. It’s a delicate balance, and he needs to avoid insulting the Scots, but Nicola pretends to a status she simply does not have.
She is the First Minister. And this is not an isolated incident but a sustained pattern of refusal to engage. Which is not good for government at any level.
Nicola is given an inch and takes a yard. She pretty much weaponises all her engagements with U.K. level people and institutions.
Perhaps a period of isolation is indeed called for.
"Is called for": it's been inflicted by the government in Whitehall for years now, was my point.
Well we probably agree that Whitehall’s approach to Scotland has been disastrous.
But I’m fed up with Nicola. She is largely given a free ride by the media, too, even though she wants to BREAK UP MY COUNTRY.
Please be precise: your state. Noit your country.
Not this crap again.
Nationalists rightly dont like being told their view of nationality is invalid. Unionists rightly dont like it either.
Country status is inherently arbitrary as all matters of borders and identity are. They are real if people consider them real, and if they can persuade others internationally they can get recognised.
Insulting people by saying their country is not a country is just being impolite for no reason, since theres no objective reality to it.
The UK is my country. England is too, in this country of countries. It is perfectly ok for people to not feel the same and to want to break up either of those entities or indeed both. But they don't get to determine what others feel anymore than I could determine what they feel.
Well for me my only country is Scotland, UK is not and never has been a "country" and anyone pretending so is not right in the tattie.
This is my precise point malc. You dont consider it your country, whatever legalities exist. That's your view and its fine. You cannot be forced to feel an attachment to the UK.
Why be so rude and deny the validity of others taking a different view though? Who are you to claim you have the right to declare your country is a country but others who take a different view cannot do the same?
That's just plain disrespectful to one another and I cannot see the point - my view that the UK is my country, held by many, in no way diminishes your strong view that only Scotland is your country. Sure, someone will point to states and law, but your identity remains unaffected to you.
Why cannot my identity be real? Because it was a legal construct centuries ago? All countries are constructs, they are all real if enough people feel they are.
@kle4 Kle, I in no way deny you that right and in fact wonder why anyone considers themselves UK or British. What I do no like are the people on here trying to pretend that it is all one country, they usually mean Greater England but are scared to put that , when everyone one knows it is made up of separate countries. To me this is the problem of the union , they are desperately trying to erase fact that we want to do things differently and Westminster base everything on getting re-elected and so favour England as you would expect and at that even specific parts of England. As <10% of overall population we are never going to get a good deal, it will always be what England needs as politician's only care about getting re-elected. Hence why we should be on our own and sink or swim.
Comments
I'm sure these people will be flocking to the tories when the time comes....
https://youtu.be/0S9oBUY7Wf8
Which she's NOT going to get.
I do wonder if being unlocked-down (until now) has helped Australia, physically and/or psychologically. The Kiwis are also having a good Games
It is actually quite significant especially as we are always assured on here that SLAB voters can be infallibly assumed to be British nationalists for such purposes as tactical voting and indyrefs. I'd thopught most of the moveable ones had already shifted so an apparent 5 percentage points vs 8 percentahe points for population is quite high. Definitely worth further scrutiny.
"Vaccines to be required for open travel ‘for evermore’, says Shapps"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/05/covid-vaccines-required-open-travel-for-evermore-grant-shapps
Unless you get vaxxed, you face a lifetime of holidays in Cleethorpes
I'd back on overs for 50k at even money if forced given yesterday's case numbers and specimen date loading.
It was a pleasure to visit @PoliceScotland's headquarters at Tulliallan Castle yesterday.
The police play a vital role in protecting the public and it was great to see first hand how they are preparing for the challenge of policing @COP26. in November this year.
https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1423230400227381254?s=20
ROC, we are ahead on Golds, if not medals.
Reckon we will probably end up with around 55+, Nate Silver thinks more like 60+
It was of course SLab tactical votes which kept the likes of Edinburgh Western and Fife NE and Aberdeenshire West and Eastwood Unionist in May and helped prevent the SNP getting a majority
ROC will surely overtake us on golds?
Not something within the gift of the UK government.
And there is a shared global interest in massively pressuring the unvaxxed to get the bloody jab
I can't find the data tables - but if this is the same survey then nobody is expressing a wish to vote SNP in England as first choice, which implies a restriction of options.
https://redfieldandwiltonstrategies.com/latest-gb-voting-intention-2-august-2021/
Obviously if we had the same testing regime as Sudan the bet would be a nonsense. But we don't.
What an absolute shit show.
Who the f**k cares how many medals they have; they are unlikely to reach the stated required 70% vaccination level until Christmas until which point they look likely to remain locked down.
Yurgh.
Of course it remains an open question as to whether there is a large outbreak of a novel strain this winter.
There are probably a few others which are possibles eg showjumping (but less so given the team changes), pentathlon and a possible 4x100m relay.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1422579951279165448
China would be close, if their vaccines were better. Singapore maybe?
Banning heading the ball completely would make it a sport solely for those with low centre of gravity. There are not many sports where people the size of Lionel Messi and Didier Drogba can both be world class in the same position, it would be a big shame to take that away from football.
It might happen eventually as society gets ever more risk averse (well averse to specific risks such as dementia from football as opposed to general risks such as not playing enough sport) but not in the short term, and rightly so.
You have to remember if you're over 50 and unvaccinated the current hospitalisation, IFR and case rates are meaningless given the statistically insignificant subset of the UK population you're in now.
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/discussion/comment/3485830/#Comment_3485830
As you can see I am a cheating wanker and made two predictions (both wrong).
On the prediction game, can I go for 200,000 Friday 14th January, 2022 ?
We'll see.
I had occasion to be on Corstorphine main street last week, 2 separate SLD offices with shop window sized photos of Cole-Hamilton & Jardine with matching Cheshire cat grins. 'Orrible it was..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ-EutNDgZQ
SLD are also clearly unionist, too, btw, but there aren't that many of them outside key concentrations (with RP an honourable addition).
It seems to me that SLAB in the Scottish media is always presented as an Unionist party - I don't think there is much attention to what individual activists below MP/MSP level get up to. But it is very much competing with the Tories for the Britnat vote (as opposed to the Irish Unionist element). The closest to indy Labour get is occasional comments from SLAB's masters in London about perhaps allowing a referendum to happen (which is a majority view in Scotland, separately from the intended actual vote, and allowing for delays caused by the current covid epidemic). Which is perhaps sufficient for a Tory attack line, as is the accusation of a Labour minority government dependent on the SNP. Certainly SLAB MPs and MSPs get very hot under the collar at such ideological backsliding.
Height advantage would still matter in some situations, despite the limitation (&, FWIW, I hate that thing where the goalkeeper boots the ball halfway up the field for someone to head).
For example, a relative of mine suffers from early onset arthritis. By carefully structured gym work, she had built up muscles that actually help take the load off the joints. Which in turn has actually reduced inflammation (it's an immune disease that causes the body to attack the joints) and basically improved her life.
Which means it'll probably be a slow* and tactical one.....
* Slow for freaks like Kipsang, Cheruiyot and Ingebrittsen...
Getting a medal in that one would be amazing for Team GB.
Why be so rude and deny the validity of others taking a different view though? Who are you to claim you have the right to declare your country is a country but others who take a different view cannot do the same?
That's just plain disrespectful to one another and I cannot see the point - my view that the UK is my country, held by many, in no way diminishes your strong view that only Scotland is your country. Sure, someone will point to states and law, but your identity remains unaffected to you.
Why cannot my identity be real? Because it was a legal construct centuries ago? All countries are constructs, they are all real if enough people feel they are.
Hence why we should be on our own and sink or swim.