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Just about all the national papers lead on the same story – politicalbetting.com

In my view the most poignant front page is from the Daily Mail which reminds us of what Biden said when he announced his pull-out decision.
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Biden 5.1 / 5.3
Trump 6.2 / 6.8
Harris 7.4 / 7.6
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.176878927
The Taliban's takeover of almost all of Afghanistan was rapid; far more rapid than most expected. Might they have felt that the 'government' was weak, and feared that if they did not take over, other groups such as IS might have had a chance to spread?
In other words, the Taliban took over quickly, not just because they could, but because they felt threatened by the presence of other players on the field?
Biden's biggest humiliations may yet be ahead though. If IS starts planning spectaculars outside of Afghanistan from within Afghanistan again, then the past 20 years really will have been for nothing.
I do worry about spectaculars timed for the anniversary of 9-11, with Biden at the same point in his Presidency as George W Bush was - but no appetite or plan to take steps to end that ability.
Brighter this morning but cooler (it is early, though). Only 11 degC so far.
Mr J, although there was, in the middle of the last century a 'sort' of Afghan government, whether or not it's writ ran far depended, I'm pretty sure, on it's relationship with the local warlords, tribal chiefs or whatever. Yes, 'western civilisation' and modern Muslim values were penetrating, but not necessarily very far.
Harris has lengthened too, she was level pegging with Trump yesterday
Surely this will put voters off elderly candidates?
Eviction monitorium is ended. The Conservitive cowards on the coirt won't even put their name to it.
As Gardner points out on R4, it is remarkable that now the US and Taliban are starting to co-ordinate against ISIS.
What that bit of the Muslim world needs is a respected scholar, or leader who has a somewhat different interpretation of the Koran.
… The guidance comes after the UK government’s much derided Sewell report – which introduced itself as a response to “negative calls to decolonise the curriculum” – was accused of putting a positive spin on slavery earlier this year.
… Rowena Arshad, professor in multicultural and anti-racist education at Moray House, University of Edinburgh… said she considered the emphasis on decolonising the curriculum “hugely significant”.
“It shows the Scottish government listening to teachers, pupils and parents. The Sewell report was a disgrace and the Scottish government is choosing its own path and looking at decolonising as the beginning of a new approach”.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/aug/26/teachers-in-scotland-given-guidance-on-decolonising-the-curriculum
Now they have an old man shaking his fists and shouting at the local kids for putting a stink bomb through the letter box.
As others have noted, Biden will end up dropping some bombs on some empty tents but the IS attacks will keep coming.
If Harris were to become President now, she would be a near cert for Democratic nominee in 2024.
Defence Secretary @BWallaceMP: “It is with deep regret that not everyone has been able to be evacuated during this process”
https://twitter.com/haynesdeborah/status/1431139079350071298
Best of, with your trip.
And there was no reason to think it would have been any better in 2000, or will be in 2040.
Also it has a headline "Biden pledges to 'hunt down' suicide bombers." They may not have thought that one through.
Telegraph
This could dominate news cycles for years to come.
The colonial mindset never learns.
There are no good options now. Other than to complete the withdrawal with as little death as possible,
Grave-looking press conference, grainy satellite footage, big smoking hole in the ground, dead brown people, and hey presto, the media will love Biden again.
Be careful what you wish for, am not sure what replaces it will be in our national interest..
The same sinister forces are at work within western societies: trying to flatten, uniformise and standardise everything. Why? We are removing a lot of beauty from the world. Just as we cherish the blue whale, the Siberian tiger and the red squirrel, we should appreciate the beauty and intrinsic value of the Gaelic language, shinty and the College of Justice.
You forgot that as being one of those jobs you do not want to accept no matter how good the benefits are.
General Melchett had more credibility than these buffoons.
I can tell you that the comments under his Nowzad announcement are many and extremely positive.
- new passport
- animal health certificate (all thirteen pages!)
- full animal vaccination record
- green card
- vehicle log book
- sworn declaration for France
- EU advance passenger registration form
- German low emission sticker
- Swiss motorway vignette
- Austrian motorway virtual vignette
- pre-departure covid testing pack
- day 2 covid testing pack
- NHS covid pass
- NHS translations in French and Italian
- completed Eurotunnel API
All ready to go! (apart from any actual luggage)
But she's not an idiot. You don't rise to the top of the prosecution ladder in California by being a shrinking violet, you do it by being efficient at putting people behind bars, and claiming credit for it.
Harris, with the post covid boom in her pocket and being able to blame problems in Afghanistan on her predecessor, would be in a pretty good position.
Israel: 172 killed 817 wounded 1 captured
United Kingdom: 16 killed 96 wounded
France: 10 killed 33 wounded
Kabul Crisis, so far:
United States: 13 killed, ?, ?
United Kingdom: ?, ?, ?
Germany: ?, ?, ?
Denmark: ?, ?, ?
the list is long
"Grave-looking press conference, grainy satellite footage, big smoking hole in the ground, dead brown people, and hey presto, the media will love Biden again."
The press don't work like that. There's always collateral damage to highlight and it becomes a 'war crime'.
Did I read Mr Dickson correctly? "Rowena Arshad, professor in multicultural and anti-racist education at Moray House, University of Edinburgh… said she considered the emphasis on decolonising the curriculum “hugely significant”. We now have a Chair for 'decolonising the curriculum' ? WTF.
Will she decide that it's essential we leave the Taliban alone and support their attempt to prevent women being educated, for example?
39m.
Plenty of Afghanis I'm sure oblivious to what's happening at Kabul.
Samuel Jenkinson
@samueljenkinson
Meat and fish in British supermarkets is actually better than in Belgium. Not just by price, but also choice. It’s actually enraging me walking around how much more I pay for everything and what just isn’t available.
4:14 PM · Aug 26, 2021 from Hull, England·Twitter for iPhone
https://twitter.com/samueljenkinson/status/1430911583073538048
She ended up as Veep, and could well be Prez soon.
There are more ways to win than going through the struggle of actually winning.
2. Taliban control all 34 provinces of Afghanistan. If you are gay or have taught in a girls school or served in the army or are related to anyone who has, you are going to be at least a little bit interested.
You were correct in your post the other day. What I thought was a case of Simpson's paradox wasn't as you pointed out, it was just basic misuse of data. I read up on it again today and can see why Robert thought it might be. My apologies for getting this wrong, in my defence it was new to me and looks very, very similar, but it is far far more subtle.
I tried thinking of other ways to explain what HYUFD was getting wrong to him. I thought of an example of replacing schools and pupils with bags containing marbles (some large, some small) in two boxes. One box where the bags are a mix of marbles and one where the large marbles are all put in one bag and the other bags have the small ones. But he will just say it is another hypothetical and not understand that once you prove it fails in one hypothetical you have proved what you are doing is flawed for all situations (proof by contradiction). I even used a variable for the number of large and small marbles so it wasn't specific and could be used for any mix. Then decided 'what is the point'.
I thought of other really silly examples; eg by comparing co-ed with non co-ed or by demonstrating that the more extreme you make the selection the more the results change without any changes in anything else i.e. nonsense.
What puzzles me is why HYUFD doesn't sit back and think why are so many people on here telling me I am wrong and not go and check.
Also how does he not get that once you use a stat out of context its use is no longer factual. It was an obvious comparing apples with pears scenario or comparing a pre-selected subset of data from one sample to the whole set of another.
He thinks a stat used out of contest is a fact when it isn't, yet a proof by contradiction he doesn't see is a fact when it is. He doesn't know what a fact is!
Also I don't get the obsession of dismissing the use of maths and logic as being just a smart-arse as if it is something that should only be used in some academic circle and not real life. A bit like we have had enough of experts.
Of course there are valid arguments that can be put in favour of Grammar schools, after all I am only expressing an opinion (not a fact).
NerysHughes and his hospital face mask argument springs to mind as another example of a stat being completely misapplied and him not getting it when pointed out by so many on here.
This isn’t a new question of course. It’s as old as civilisation and is a complex one to answer. Glib statements about war mongering don’t really add much.
She did a very poor job, and was outshined by Buttigieg, among others.
But she wasn't the sitting President.
Basically, the heatwave in the western US this year was statistically impossible: it was simply beyond the parameters of any of the models. The knock on effects in wildfires, drought, loss of energy production and excess deaths caused by heat are all combining with each other in highly alarming ways. Climate change is not a future risk, its a current reality in an area of the US which still have a fast growing population.
"They wouldn't da -"
Boom.
'Join the Army. Travel to different, exotic places. Meet interesting people with different backgrounds. And kill them!'
https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests