Sunak still favourite for next CON leader but only a 20% chance – politicalbetting.com
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If you like a hard fast game, try Rugby League.Leon said:
A matter of taste, surely. I adore the blood and thunder of proper rugby union. The crunching tackles, the horrible injuries, the rucks and mauls. The contrast with the free flowing back movements is what makes it, at its best, the finest team sport in the world for the spectator (tho it can also be very turgid and boring)kjh said:
Rubbish re women's rugby. Lots of open play with less reliance on forwards, for obvious reasons.Leon said:
I can't watch it. I find it feeble. Women's rugby is even worsetheelephant said:
they are desperately promoting womens football but i have serious doubts it will ever have more than 10% of the popularity of the mans gamekjh said:
Women are often superior at ultra endurance sports, also some sports in which they are clearly inferior they can produce a greater spectacle. Women's rugby is more like men's 7s.Leon said:
HahahaChelyabinsk said:
Yes.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
Venus and Serena Williams had claimed that they could beat any male player ranked outside the world's top 200, so Braasch, then ranked 203rd, challenged them both. Braasch was described by one journalist as "a man whose training regime centered around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple of bottles of ice cold lager".[59][58] The matches took place on court number 12 in Melbourne Park,[60] after Braasch had finished a round of golf and two shandies. He first took on Serena and after leading 5–0, beat her 6–1. Venus then walked on court and again Braasch was victorious, this time winning 6–2.[58] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance". He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun"[61] and that the big difference was that men can chase down shots much more easily and put spin on the ball that female players could not handle. The Williams sisters adjusted their claim to beating men outside the top 350.[58]
Women are rubbish at most sports. Why do we even watch them? Pathetic weaklings playing patball
The answer to this entire debate is to have no gender divides at all. Let the best human win. Endex
Women's tennis I can tolerate, just about. Partly because it is more about the gladiatorial confrontation than the sport; the clash of styles and personalities
I do like to watch women dance, however. Much much more than any man. I'm quite the balletomane
I find sevens rugby boring quite quickly, and women's rugby is even more boring than THAT. To me. Clearly we differ0 -
Apparently Putin doesn't use modern computing devices. That's why he has a huge bank of old-fashioned phones on his desk whenever he makes a speech.rottenborough said:Ken Dilanian
@KenDilanianNBC
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2h
New: A U.S. official tells NBC News accurate information about Russia’s failures on the battlefield – and the impact of crippling sanctions - is not making its way to Putin himself “because his senior advisors are too afraid to tell him the truth.”
@PeterAlexander
https://twitter.com/KenDilanianNBC/status/1509154381874319369
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He could always just look on social media.0 -
Many of the best footballers are short, low centre and gravity and all that. So in football, most women would be forced to play against Lionel Messi, Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden. Have you seen how strong Sterling is (well when he isn't in the penalty box, then his body seems to lose all strength)..LostPassword said:
Well it raises an interesting alternative. At the moment we have men's football and women's football. What if we had tall football and short football?BigRich said:On the subject of women in mixed sports:
I understand that there is some accounts from the Romans of Female gladiators, with the normal set up being a Female gladiator fighting a male dwarf, with most of the time the female wining and the Mail Dwarf dyeing.
Not sure how relevant it is to todays debate, but seemed like one of the rare occasions that I can drop that bit of knowledge in to the conversation.
Average height of a man is about 5'11", and of a woman 5'7", so the average height overall is 5'9". If you had football for over 5'9" and for those shorter than 5'9", would the short teams still be mostly women, but with a few short men too, and might a couple of tall women make it into tall football?
You could have similar for rugby - lightweight rugby where all the players have to be below a weight limit, and heavyweight rugby for the brickhouse giants.
Then you'd have a physically relevant division, but I'm not sure whether the muscle mass advantage for men would still make it uneven.0 -
It certainly depends on the sport as to whether there is an immutable male advantage and how big of a one.Phil said:
One of the complicating factors is that sport governing bodies were / are incredibly sexist: Pretty much every sport where woman could in fact compete on an equal level with men usually banned women from competing with men at the highest levels. The olympics is riddled with ridiculous “women’s versions” of sports that were created to prevent women & men competing, not because women were the “weaker sex” but because male egos couldn’t cope with women beating them.kinabalu said:
It's exaggeration to talk about an existential threat but women's sport does need controls to protect the integrity of competition. I think this issue will be resolved before too long.turbotubbs said:
Wasn't there the whole battle of the sexes thing in tennis? Bobby Riggs vs Billy Jean King. Although he was apparently 55 at the time.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:
There's a comment in the Times op-ed by Owen Slot about Bridges:Dura_Ace said:
The smorgasbord of hormonal treatments she is on will also make it very difficult, if not pointless, to baseline her bio-passport. All competitive cycling is a chemical weapons arms race...Taz said:
Emily Bridges in the cycling world will be the really interesting one. Before she transitioned she was far from mediocre, unless the tall US Swimmer.
"Bridges was dropped from the elite men's squad because of poor performances.
Started identifying as a woman two weeks later. Was immediately rehired by British Cycling as part of the women's team."
If this is true - I have no idea - it is grounds for suspicion that people have started to game the trans debate, for personal gain in sports.
And why would they not? The potential benefits are enormous
I always thought it would first happen in tennis, which relies so heavily on strength and speed, and where women make so much money, despite being seriously weaker and slower than men. A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
This whole debate is on dangerous ground though. You either accept that women are intrinsically weaker, slower etc so must have their own sport, or you have no women in most sports. There are clear exceptions such as horse racing/jumping, shooting, archery etc, and possibly extreme endurance running, but for most sports, most of the time, no women would ever reach the top of the sport. i don't think we want that. The growing appeal and success of womens cricket, football and rugby is testament to this, and is providing inspiration and role models for young girls to aspire to.
I think where women have most ground to make up as regards a status gap is in team sports. It's quite important this gap is narrowed because team sports are a particularly healthy thing to participate in and aspire to.0 -
This can't be completely true, because otherwise he would not have agreed to withdrawing troops from around Kyiv.rottenborough said:Ken Dilanian
@KenDilanianNBC
·
2h
New: A U.S. official tells NBC News accurate information about Russia’s failures on the battlefield – and the impact of crippling sanctions - is not making its way to Putin himself “because his senior advisors are too afraid to tell him the truth.”
@PeterAlexander
https://twitter.com/KenDilanianNBC/status/1509154381874319369
===
He could always just look on social media.
The abandonment of the attempt to encircle Kyiv, as a prelude to pounding the city into submission, is the first clear sign of realism entering into Russian decision-making.0 -
Hand size is very important for spin and closely correlated with height.turbotubbs said:
Height is also important, even for spin.OldKingCole said:
Whether it's a question of time, development and training I don't know but women's cricket seems less physical than mens. The ball generally isn't hit as hard or bowled quite as fast.Cookie said:
I remember watching the women's football European championships in, about, 2005. It was on BBC3 (and quite possibly the only thing ever to justify that channels existence. Even the continuity announcements managed to be inane. Anyway.) I was absolutely delighted: because I was both correct in my preconceived opinion that as an example of sporting excellence it would be rubbish - and it was; it was noticeable how much less hard they could kick the thing; the running was rubbish; the tackling was uncompetitive; any of the sides in the tournament would have been trounced by a Vauxhall Conference side - and also wrong in that assuming this mattered: this was sport played by players who were representing their country by players who really wanted to win, and so it mattered and was genuinely entertaining: and it was also shorn of all the cynicism and nobbery and constant cheating that makes the men's game so unedifying. And also, the players tried right to the end in a way the England men's team of the time under Sven absolutely wouldn't (it would have been a case of - whatever the game situation - with 20 minutes to go, take off whoever is most creative and bring on Phil Neville and then try to keep possession in the corners. God that England team were dull. And dislikeable.)Leon said:
HahahaChelyabinsk said:
Yes.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
Venus and Serena Williams had claimed that they could beat any male player ranked outside the world's top 200, so Braasch, then ranked 203rd, challenged them both. Braasch was described by one journalist as "a man whose training regime centered around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple of bottles of ice cold lager".[59][58] The matches took place on court number 12 in Melbourne Park,[60] after Braasch had finished a round of golf and two shandies. He first took on Serena and after leading 5–0, beat her 6–1. Venus then walked on court and again Braasch was victorious, this time winning 6–2.[58] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance". He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun"[61] and that the big difference was that men can chase down shots much more easily and put spin on the ball that female players could not handle. The Williams sisters adjusted their claim to beating men outside the top 350.[58]
Women are rubbish at most sports. Why do we even watch them? Pathetic weaklings playing patball
The answer to this entire debate is to have no gender divides at all. Let the best human win. Endex
EDIT: Ooh, look - my first 'modern' opinion of the day!
Not sure about the skills in slow bowling though; can't see why that shouldn't be as good, or, given women's long fingers, better.1 -
Perfectly good game, league. But I don't see why you'd take rucking and mauling out of a game.OldKingCole said:
If you like a hard fast game, try Rugby League.Leon said:
A matter of taste, surely. I adore the blood and thunder of proper rugby union. The crunching tackles, the horrible injuries, the rucks and mauls. The contrast with the free flowing back movements is what makes it, at its best, the finest team sport in the world for the spectator (tho it can also be very turgid and boring)kjh said:
Rubbish re women's rugby. Lots of open play with less reliance on forwards, for obvious reasons.Leon said:
I can't watch it. I find it feeble. Women's rugby is even worsetheelephant said:
they are desperately promoting womens football but i have serious doubts it will ever have more than 10% of the popularity of the mans gamekjh said:
Women are often superior at ultra endurance sports, also some sports in which they are clearly inferior they can produce a greater spectacle. Women's rugby is more like men's 7s.Leon said:
HahahaChelyabinsk said:
Yes.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
Venus and Serena Williams had claimed that they could beat any male player ranked outside the world's top 200, so Braasch, then ranked 203rd, challenged them both. Braasch was described by one journalist as "a man whose training regime centered around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple of bottles of ice cold lager".[59][58] The matches took place on court number 12 in Melbourne Park,[60] after Braasch had finished a round of golf and two shandies. He first took on Serena and after leading 5–0, beat her 6–1. Venus then walked on court and again Braasch was victorious, this time winning 6–2.[58] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance". He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun"[61] and that the big difference was that men can chase down shots much more easily and put spin on the ball that female players could not handle. The Williams sisters adjusted their claim to beating men outside the top 350.[58]
Women are rubbish at most sports. Why do we even watch them? Pathetic weaklings playing patball
The answer to this entire debate is to have no gender divides at all. Let the best human win. Endex
Women's tennis I can tolerate, just about. Partly because it is more about the gladiatorial confrontation than the sport; the clash of styles and personalities
I do like to watch women dance, however. Much much more than any man. I'm quite the balletomane
I find sevens rugby boring quite quickly, and women's rugby is even more boring than THAT. To me. Clearly we differ
It's basically a training exercise for a specific aspect of rugby union.0 -
Wot - and see happy Russian soldiers saving cats?rottenborough said:Ken Dilanian
@KenDilanianNBC
·
2h
New: A U.S. official tells NBC News accurate information about Russia’s failures on the battlefield – and the impact of crippling sanctions - is not making its way to Putin himself “because his senior advisors are too afraid to tell him the truth.”
@PeterAlexander
https://twitter.com/KenDilanianNBC/status/1509154381874319369
===
He could always just look on social media.
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I think they can't hide the fact they haven't captured Kyiv from him, but other stuff.. well, yes.LostPassword said:
This can't be completely true, because otherwise he would not have agreed to withdrawing troops from around Kyiv.rottenborough said:Ken Dilanian
@KenDilanianNBC
·
2h
New: A U.S. official tells NBC News accurate information about Russia’s failures on the battlefield – and the impact of crippling sanctions - is not making its way to Putin himself “because his senior advisors are too afraid to tell him the truth.”
@PeterAlexander
https://twitter.com/KenDilanianNBC/status/1509154381874319369
===
He could always just look on social media.
The abandonment of the attempt to encircle Kyiv, as a prelude to pounding the city into submission, is the first clear sign of realism entering into Russian decision-making.
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Cricket is a sport where men and women could play together, with the exception of fast bowling. Some of the greatest batsmen of all time have been very small, such as Tendulkar, Lara and Gavaskar. Spin bowlers as well.2
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We are talking about two different things. You are proclaiming a geofenced area as some amazing achievement (it is impressive, but it's been done before.) I talk about the real game-changer - generalised autonomous driving. Say, the ability to drive me from my house to my sister's house.Leon said:
YOU said it wouldn't happen. It is happeningJosiasJessop said:
Who said it wouldn't happen? We're talking about a strictly geofenced area, not general autonomous driving.Leon said:
Another thing that we were reassured on here would never happen (it's 30 years away! 50!)FrancisUrquhart said:Some San Franciscans may have already noticed @Waymo cars with empty driver’s seats. Now it’s official: we’ve started fully autonomous operations in SF
https://twitter.com/dmitri_dolgov/status/1509169630689955842?s=20&t=2aF2LDmP7Z7WHm9Gs3MLyQ
The two are radically different, for a whole host of reasons.1 -
Scotland is no worse than England some good some bad and advantage that you don't need a mortgage up here to watch your team. We have won as many tournaments as England in the last 50 years as well so pretty even.noneoftheabove said:
Shame about Scotland eh?malcolmg said:
It is dire, though a fair bit of men's is as welltheelephant said:
they are desperately promoting womens football but i have serious doubts it will ever have more than 10% of the popularity of the mans gamekjh said:
Women are often superior at ultra endurance sports, also some sports in which they are clearly inferior they can produce a greater spectacle. Women's rugby is more like men's 7s.Leon said:
HahahaChelyabinsk said:
Yes.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
Venus and Serena Williams had claimed that they could beat any male player ranked outside the world's top 200, so Braasch, then ranked 203rd, challenged them both. Braasch was described by one journalist as "a man whose training regime centered around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple of bottles of ice cold lager".[59][58] The matches took place on court number 12 in Melbourne Park,[60] after Braasch had finished a round of golf and two shandies. He first took on Serena and after leading 5–0, beat her 6–1. Venus then walked on court and again Braasch was victorious, this time winning 6–2.[58] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance". He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun"[61] and that the big difference was that men can chase down shots much more easily and put spin on the ball that female players could not handle. The Williams sisters adjusted their claim to beating men outside the top 350.[58]
Women are rubbish at most sports. Why do we even watch them? Pathetic weaklings playing patball
The answer to this entire debate is to have no gender divides at all. Let the best human win. Endex0 -
☹️ If heartless aggressors on wrong headed missions win, it’s hard to understand God’s purpose.TimS said:
I hope they are and that things really are bleak for Russia. I've discerned a subtle change of atmosphere in the last couple of days' commentary on Ukraine. A few pessimistic straws in the wind:FrankBooth said:
Apparently they are using their revenues to prop up the currency. Is that ever a wise strategy?rottenborough said:Today's No Shit Sherlock award goes to...
"The ruble’s stronger showing is most likely driven by artificial factors and might not be a good marker that the Russian economy is improving, said Yevgeny Nadorshin, the chief economist at the PF Capital consulting company in Moscow."
NY Times blog
- Seemingly a marked slowdown in reports of Ukrainian capture or destruction of Russian equipment
- Very little news about demoralised Russian soldiers or large scale surrenders
- Mariupol looking like it's within days or even hours of full capture
- Reports of heavy shelling (by Russian forces) North West of the capital despite their announced retreat
- Strains showing in NATO and EU unity and that vague sense that some countries are rather too keen to offer that off-ramp
- More visible Pro-Russian sentiment on social media. Have the bots managed to find their way back?
- Better quality propaganda and psyops on the Russian side. The stories of soldiers rescuing cats being today's novelty
- A more cocky and confident note overall from Russian officials
Is it just my imagination or is Russia having quite a good week? I really hope not. They need to lose, and badly, or things will only get worse over the next few years.
Living with this horror especially Putin beginning to win it, is like something from the Book of Job.0 -
Greed will get the upper hand pretty soon and they will be fighting over who can offer them the best trade dealsTimS said:
I hope they are and that things really are bleak for Russia. I've discerned a subtle change of atmosphere in the last couple of days' commentary on Ukraine. A few pessimistic straws in the wind:FrankBooth said:
Apparently they are using their revenues to prop up the currency. Is that ever a wise strategy?rottenborough said:Today's No Shit Sherlock award goes to...
"The ruble’s stronger showing is most likely driven by artificial factors and might not be a good marker that the Russian economy is improving, said Yevgeny Nadorshin, the chief economist at the PF Capital consulting company in Moscow."
NY Times blog
- Seemingly a marked slowdown in reports of Ukrainian capture or destruction of Russian equipment
- Very little news about demoralised Russian soldiers or large scale surrenders
- Mariupol looking like it's within days or even hours of full capture
- Reports of heavy shelling (by Russian forces) North West of the capital despite their announced retreat
- Strains showing in NATO and EU unity and that vague sense that some countries are rather too keen to offer that off-ramp
- More visible Pro-Russian sentiment on social media. Have the bots managed to find their way back?
- Better quality propaganda and psyops on the Russian side. The stories of soldiers rescuing cats being today's novelty
- A more cocky and confident note overall from Russian officials
Is it just my imagination or is Russia having quite a good week? I really hope not. They need to lose, and badly, or things will only get worse over the next few years.1 -
Russia has conceded defeat in the Battle for Kyiv, has also retreated to the Snov river (where it's destroyed bridges to create a defensive line) in Chernihiv oblast, and has suffered a major defeat at Trostyanets in Sumy oblast.TimS said:
I hope they are and that things really are bleak for Russia. I've discerned a subtle change of atmosphere in the last couple of days' commentary on Ukraine. A few pessimistic straws in the wind:FrankBooth said:
Apparently they are using their revenues to prop up the currency. Is that ever a wise strategy?rottenborough said:Today's No Shit Sherlock award goes to...
"The ruble’s stronger showing is most likely driven by artificial factors and might not be a good marker that the Russian economy is improving, said Yevgeny Nadorshin, the chief economist at the PF Capital consulting company in Moscow."
NY Times blog
- Seemingly a marked slowdown in reports of Ukrainian capture or destruction of Russian equipment
- Very little news about demoralised Russian soldiers or large scale surrenders
- Mariupol looking like it's within days or even hours of full capture
- Reports of heavy shelling (by Russian forces) North West of the capital despite their announced retreat
- Strains showing in NATO and EU unity and that vague sense that some countries are rather too keen to offer that off-ramp
- More visible Pro-Russian sentiment on social media. Have the bots managed to find their way back?
- Better quality propaganda and psyops on the Russian side. The stories of soldiers rescuing cats being today's novelty
- A more cocky and confident note overall from Russian officials
Is it just my imagination or is Russia having quite a good week? I really hope not. They need to lose, and badly, or things will only get worse over the next few years.
Clearly the Ukrainians don't have the reserves to follow-up on these successes rapidly. They had to be careful not to over-extend themselves. But I can't see that the Russians have had a good time of it recently.1 -
That's why 7s is over in ten/fifteen/twenty minutes. Good fun for that length of time but you wouldn't sit down to 90 minutes of it. Let's get another lot on.Leon said:
A matter of taste, surely. I adore the blood and thunder of proper rugby union. The crunching tackles, the horrible injuries, the rucks and mauls. The contrast with the free flowing back movements is what makes it, at its best, the finest team sport in the world for the spectator (tho it can also be very turgid and boring)kjh said:
Rubbish re women's rugby. Lots of open play with less reliance on forwards, for obvious reasons.Leon said:
I can't watch it. I find it feeble. Women's rugby is even worsetheelephant said:
they are desperately promoting womens football but i have serious doubts it will ever have more than 10% of the popularity of the mans gamekjh said:
Women are often superior at ultra endurance sports, also some sports in which they are clearly inferior they can produce a greater spectacle. Women's rugby is more like men's 7s.Leon said:
HahahaChelyabinsk said:
Yes.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
Venus and Serena Williams had claimed that they could beat any male player ranked outside the world's top 200, so Braasch, then ranked 203rd, challenged them both. Braasch was described by one journalist as "a man whose training regime centered around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple of bottles of ice cold lager".[59][58] The matches took place on court number 12 in Melbourne Park,[60] after Braasch had finished a round of golf and two shandies. He first took on Serena and after leading 5–0, beat her 6–1. Venus then walked on court and again Braasch was victorious, this time winning 6–2.[58] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance". He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun"[61] and that the big difference was that men can chase down shots much more easily and put spin on the ball that female players could not handle. The Williams sisters adjusted their claim to beating men outside the top 350.[58]
Women are rubbish at most sports. Why do we even watch them? Pathetic weaklings playing patball
The answer to this entire debate is to have no gender divides at all. Let the best human win. Endex
Women's tennis I can tolerate, just about. Partly because it is more about the gladiatorial confrontation than the sport; the clash of styles and personalities
I do like to watch women dance, however. Much much more than any man. I'm quite the balletomane
I find sevens rugby boring quite quickly, and women's rugby is even more boring than THAT. To me. Clearly we differ
Also because it's one of the most exhausting sports ever created. A game for watching. No-one should play it.
(Actually, I rather liked sevens. It seemed to suit me better than 15s. And it always seemed to be warm and dry. And I never got hurt, apart from that time I got hit by a car crossing the road to get to the school at which the tournament was being held.)0 -
I've got a similar impression up to a point - maybe because Russians have upped their propaganda. However, the equipment losses by Russians have been high over last 24 hours and still running at 3.5 x Ukrainian according to site that tries to verify and only counts losses with visual evidence and which tries to eliminate double accounting :TimS said:
I hope they are and that things really are bleak for Russia. I've discerned a subtle change of atmosphere in the last couple of days' commentary on Ukraine. A few pessimistic straws in the wind:FrankBooth said:
Apparently they are using their revenues to prop up the currency. Is that ever a wise strategy?rottenborough said:Today's No Shit Sherlock award goes to...
"The ruble’s stronger showing is most likely driven by artificial factors and might not be a good marker that the Russian economy is improving, said Yevgeny Nadorshin, the chief economist at the PF Capital consulting company in Moscow."
NY Times blog
- Seemingly a marked slowdown in reports of Ukrainian capture or destruction of Russian equipment
- Very little news about demoralised Russian soldiers or large scale surrenders
- Mariupol looking like it's within days or even hours of full capture
- Reports of heavy shelling (by Russian forces) North West of the capital despite their announced retreat
- Strains showing in NATO and EU unity and that vague sense that some countries are rather too keen to offer that off-ramp
- More visible Pro-Russian sentiment on social media. Have the bots managed to find their way back?
- Better quality propaganda and psyops on the Russian side. The stories of soldiers rescuing cats being today's novelty
- A more cocky and confident note overall from Russian officials
Is it just my imagination or is Russia having quite a good week? I really hope not. They need to lose, and badly, or things will only get worse over the next few years.
edit: gave wrong but still useful link
https://mobile.twitter.com/UAWeapons
This is the site https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equipment.html0 -
Around the time of WWI Women's Football was a major spectator sport. Then in the late (!) '20s' the Football Association had some sort of fit and banned members from letting their pitches be played on by women.
It was 50+ years before the women's game recovered.5 -
lol. You said it was basically impossible, and would take decades to happen, if everJosiasJessop said:
We are talking about two different things. You are proclaiming a geofenced area as some amazing achievement (it is impressive, but it's been done before.) I talk about the real game-changer - generalised autonomous driving. Say, the ability to drive me from my house to my sister's house.Leon said:
YOU said it wouldn't happen. It is happeningJosiasJessop said:
Who said it wouldn't happen? We're talking about a strictly geofenced area, not general autonomous driving.Leon said:
Another thing that we were reassured on here would never happen (it's 30 years away! 50!)FrancisUrquhart said:Some San Franciscans may have already noticed @Waymo cars with empty driver’s seats. Now it’s official: we’ve started fully autonomous operations in SF
https://twitter.com/dmitri_dolgov/status/1509169630689955842?s=20&t=2aF2LDmP7Z7WHm9Gs3MLyQ
The two are radically different, for a whole host of reasons.
It is happening. Absurd to deny this, now
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/30/waymo-self-driving-experience-mostly-peaceful-and-productive.html
The UK government is legislating for them
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=430028fb-38a7-42ca-81ca-411b5e5d2487
"New regulations to govern driverless cars in the UK"
China as well:
"Back to the future: driverless cars become reality"
https://www.ft.com/content/464c32a1-e0b7-4b55-b7fc-3f5e2873a6b9
It's one of those occasions when you can feel the early rumble of an immense technological shift around you. It is embryonic, and erratic, slightly eerie, but it is now happening. Reminds me of when I first saw the World Wide Web, and it took ten minutes to download an image
Pathetic, in retrospect, yet I knew as soon as I saw it that this was enormous; within 5-10 years the world was transformed0 -
Fair point. Surprising that the bookmakers have Scotland at 750/1 and England at 7/1 when they are pretty even though.malcolmg said:
Scotland is no worse than England some good some bad and advantage that you don't need a mortgage up here to watch your team. We have won as many tournaments as England in the last 50 years as well so pretty even.noneoftheabove said:
Shame about Scotland eh?malcolmg said:
It is dire, though a fair bit of men's is as welltheelephant said:
they are desperately promoting womens football but i have serious doubts it will ever have more than 10% of the popularity of the mans gamekjh said:
Women are often superior at ultra endurance sports, also some sports in which they are clearly inferior they can produce a greater spectacle. Women's rugby is more like men's 7s.Leon said:
HahahaChelyabinsk said:
Yes.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
Venus and Serena Williams had claimed that they could beat any male player ranked outside the world's top 200, so Braasch, then ranked 203rd, challenged them both. Braasch was described by one journalist as "a man whose training regime centered around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple of bottles of ice cold lager".[59][58] The matches took place on court number 12 in Melbourne Park,[60] after Braasch had finished a round of golf and two shandies. He first took on Serena and after leading 5–0, beat her 6–1. Venus then walked on court and again Braasch was victorious, this time winning 6–2.[58] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance". He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun"[61] and that the big difference was that men can chase down shots much more easily and put spin on the ball that female players could not handle. The Williams sisters adjusted their claim to beating men outside the top 350.[58]
Women are rubbish at most sports. Why do we even watch them? Pathetic weaklings playing patball
The answer to this entire debate is to have no gender divides at all. Let the best human win. Endex0 -
Sarah Taylor played men's grade cricket.Andy_JS said:Cricket is a sport where men and women could play together, with the exception of fast bowling. Some of the greatest batsmen of all time have been very small, such as Tendulkar, Lara and Gavaskar. Spin bowlers as well.
But the T20 / ODI game is rapidly evolving away from a game of smaller players nudging it around. The stats people have been on it, and the batting is becoming a power game. All the upcoming and batsmen when you hear them talk they are working on the principle if they can launch miles over the boundary, a slight mishit will get them there.
Also, every run in the field is absolutely crucial. Men are getting overlooked if they don't have a strong arm / fast in the field.
The days of hiding the shit fielder or picking a player who can only bowl 50 mph spin is dying rapidly in short form of the game. Rashid Khan is the identikit "slow" bowler these days....can bowl really variation in pace (including very fast) and excellent striker of the ball.1 -
Catching up with PMQs, have I got this right? Johnson "fat shamed" Blackford hinting at Blackford's excessive bon viveur lifestyle.
Does Johnson not own a mirror?6 -
Maybe Mrs J has put her foot down* and insisted he go on a diet, and he's lashing out (so to speak).Mexicanpete said:Catching up with PMQs, have I got this right? Johnson "fat shamed" Blackford hinting at Blackford's excessive bon viveur lifestyle.
Does Johnson not own a mirror?
*as the voice of sanity1 -
My dear Leon, you really need to stop regurgitating press releases and media hype and look at the reality.Leon said:
lol. You said it was basically impossible, and would take decades to happen, if everJosiasJessop said:
We are talking about two different things. You are proclaiming a geofenced area as some amazing achievement (it is impressive, but it's been done before.) I talk about the real game-changer - generalised autonomous driving. Say, the ability to drive me from my house to my sister's house.Leon said:
YOU said it wouldn't happen. It is happeningJosiasJessop said:
Who said it wouldn't happen? We're talking about a strictly geofenced area, not general autonomous driving.Leon said:
Another thing that we were reassured on here would never happen (it's 30 years away! 50!)FrancisUrquhart said:Some San Franciscans may have already noticed @Waymo cars with empty driver’s seats. Now it’s official: we’ve started fully autonomous operations in SF
https://twitter.com/dmitri_dolgov/status/1509169630689955842?s=20&t=2aF2LDmP7Z7WHm9Gs3MLyQ
The two are radically different, for a whole host of reasons.
It is happening. Absurd to deny this, now
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/30/waymo-self-driving-experience-mostly-peaceful-and-productive.html
The UK government is legislating for them
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=430028fb-38a7-42ca-81ca-411b5e5d2487
"New regulations to govern driverless cars in the UK"
China as well:
"Back to the future: driverless cars become reality"
https://www.ft.com/content/464c32a1-e0b7-4b55-b7fc-3f5e2873a6b9
It's one of those occasions when you can feel the early rumble of an immense technological shift around you. It is embryonic, and erratic, slightly eerie, but it is now happening. Reminds me of when I first saw the World Wide Web, and it took ten minutes to download an image
Pathetic, in retrospect, yet I knew as soon as I saw it that this was enormous; within 5-10 years the world was transformed
I mean, next you'll be saying that the Vegas Loop is a brilliant thing.
I think this article is fair:
https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Swedish-researcher-cuts-through-the-hype-around-autonomous-vehicles1 -
Dick Kerrs Ladies v St Helens Ladies, 1920, Goodison Park, attendance 53,000.OldKingCole said:Around the time of WWI Women's Football was a major spectator sport. Then in the late (!) '20s' the Football Association had some sort of fit and banned members from letting their pitches be played on by women.
It was 50+ years before the women's game recovered.
Liverpool mens at Anfield, same day, attendance 50,000.0 -
Johnson has one of those fairground ones that converts his blubbery self into pure muscle.Mexicanpete said:Catching up with PMQs, have I got this right? Johnson "fat shamed" Blackford hinting at Blackford's excessive bon viveur lifestyle.
Does Johnson not own a mirror?1 -
Talking of Sri Lanka and Driverless Cars, AS I WAS, I am reminded of a dinner I had in Colombo where one of the guests was a super-smart tech-bro from Silicon Valley. Very well connected, sort of a 20-something Elon Musk
I asked him about driverless cars and he was insistent they were coming very soon, and driverless flying taxis possibly even quicker. No doubts at all
The change is going to be momentous - from petrol driven cars to driverless electric vehicles - and we are about to witness it. All that pollution gone. All the noise. The hassle of driving and parking (for many). It will be like the move from horses to the combustion engine at the end of the 19th century0 -
I don't think they are having a good week on the battlefield. Ukrainian counterattacks appears to be the main story.TimS said:
I hope they are and that things really are bleak for Russia. I've discerned a subtle change of atmosphere in the last couple of days' commentary on Ukraine. A few pessimistic straws in the wind:FrankBooth said:
Apparently they are using their revenues to prop up the currency. Is that ever a wise strategy?rottenborough said:Today's No Shit Sherlock award goes to...
"The ruble’s stronger showing is most likely driven by artificial factors and might not be a good marker that the Russian economy is improving, said Yevgeny Nadorshin, the chief economist at the PF Capital consulting company in Moscow."
NY Times blog
- Seemingly a marked slowdown in reports of Ukrainian capture or destruction of Russian equipment
- Very little news about demoralised Russian soldiers or large scale surrenders
- Mariupol looking like it's within days or even hours of full capture
- Reports of heavy shelling (by Russian forces) North West of the capital despite their announced retreat
- Strains showing in NATO and EU unity and that vague sense that some countries are rather too keen to offer that off-ramp
- More visible Pro-Russian sentiment on social media. Have the bots managed to find their way back?
- Better quality propaganda and psyops on the Russian side. The stories of soldiers rescuing cats being today's novelty
- A more cocky and confident note overall from Russian officials
Is it just my imagination or is Russia having quite a good week? I really hope not. They need to lose, and badly, or things will only get worse over the next few years.
The problem is that the better the Ukrainians do on the battlefield the more room there is for countries to go soft on sanctions. And it's unclear whether Ukraine can really push the Russians out of most of their positions even if they are stalled. A possible stalemate with not much likelihood of a negotiated settlement.0 -
We even had a cameo from @SeanT yesterday?Beibheirli_C said:
Definitely not. I though Heathener was meant to be Leon? Or is it the other way round?IshmaelZ said:
You seem to be Heathener in disguise.Beibheirli_C said:
Yes - people kick back when the ideas used to repress others are applied to their own group. It is the ultimate NIMBYism.Endillion said:
Second sentence contradicts the first. If one or two is enough to justify repressive measures, we should lock up all girls as well.Beibheirli_C said:Since most sex crimes, assaults, murders, etc are committed by men, surely we should lock boys up as soon as puberty starts?
And do not go saying that it is not all men that behave like that, one or two is enough for these repressive measures to be justified...
I just expressed the "trans loo problem" or "gay sex pests problem" in its broadest possible sense. Perhaps some of the more reactionary types on here would benefit from standing in the shoes of those they like to "other"?0 -
I imagine Leon doesn't like women's rugby because he doesn't understand the game anyway.kjh said:
Rubbish re women's rugby. Lots of open play with less reliance on forwards, for obvious reasons.Leon said:
I can't watch it. I find it feeble. Women's rugby is even worsetheelephant said:
they are desperately promoting womens football but i have serious doubts it will ever have more than 10% of the popularity of the mans gamekjh said:
Women are often superior at ultra endurance sports, also some sports in which they are clearly inferior they can produce a greater spectacle. Women's rugby is more like men's 7s.Leon said:
HahahaChelyabinsk said:
Yes.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
Venus and Serena Williams had claimed that they could beat any male player ranked outside the world's top 200, so Braasch, then ranked 203rd, challenged them both. Braasch was described by one journalist as "a man whose training regime centered around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple of bottles of ice cold lager".[59][58] The matches took place on court number 12 in Melbourne Park,[60] after Braasch had finished a round of golf and two shandies. He first took on Serena and after leading 5–0, beat her 6–1. Venus then walked on court and again Braasch was victorious, this time winning 6–2.[58] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance". He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun"[61] and that the big difference was that men can chase down shots much more easily and put spin on the ball that female players could not handle. The Williams sisters adjusted their claim to beating men outside the top 350.[58]
Women are rubbish at most sports. Why do we even watch them? Pathetic weaklings playing patball
The answer to this entire debate is to have no gender divides at all. Let the best human win. Endex
Women's tennis I can tolerate, just about. Partly because it is more about the gladiatorial confrontation than the sport; the clash of styles and personalities
I do like to watch women dance, however. Much much more than any man. I'm quite the balletomane0 -
Your mate Alex will be desperately trying to suck up to Putin on RT as soon as possible no doubt.malcolmg said:
Greed will get the upper hand pretty soon and they will be fighting over who can offer them the best trade dealsTimS said:
I hope they are and that things really are bleak for Russia. I've discerned a subtle change of atmosphere in the last couple of days' commentary on Ukraine. A few pessimistic straws in the wind:FrankBooth said:
Apparently they are using their revenues to prop up the currency. Is that ever a wise strategy?rottenborough said:Today's No Shit Sherlock award goes to...
"The ruble’s stronger showing is most likely driven by artificial factors and might not be a good marker that the Russian economy is improving, said Yevgeny Nadorshin, the chief economist at the PF Capital consulting company in Moscow."
NY Times blog
- Seemingly a marked slowdown in reports of Ukrainian capture or destruction of Russian equipment
- Very little news about demoralised Russian soldiers or large scale surrenders
- Mariupol looking like it's within days or even hours of full capture
- Reports of heavy shelling (by Russian forces) North West of the capital despite their announced retreat
- Strains showing in NATO and EU unity and that vague sense that some countries are rather too keen to offer that off-ramp
- More visible Pro-Russian sentiment on social media. Have the bots managed to find their way back?
- Better quality propaganda and psyops on the Russian side. The stories of soldiers rescuing cats being today's novelty
- A more cocky and confident note overall from Russian officials
Is it just my imagination or is Russia having quite a good week? I really hope not. They need to lose, and badly, or things will only get worse over the next few years.-1 -
Flying taxis won't happen soon. Do you want a ton of taxi over your head?Leon said:Talking of Sri Lanka and Driverless Cars, AS I WAS, I am reminded of a dinner I had in Colombo where one of the guests was a super-smart tech-bro from Silicon Valley. Very well connected, sort of a 20-something Elon Musk
I asked him about driverless cars and he was insistent they were coming very soon, and driverless flying taxis possibly even quicker. No doubts at all
The change is going to be momentous - from petrol driven cars to driverless electric vehicles - and we are about to witness it. All that pollution gone. All the noise. The hassle of driving and parking (for many). It will be like the move from horses to the combustion engine at the end of the 19th century
Driverless cars are far easier to work out if there actually no (human) drivers driving cars. Hard work too.0 -
Actually he light heartedly referred to their similar bon viveur lifestyleturbotubbs said:
Johnson has one of those fairground ones that converts his blubbery self into pure muscle.Mexicanpete said:Catching up with PMQs, have I got this right? Johnson "fat shamed" Blackford hinting at Blackford's excessive bon viveur lifestyle.
Does Johnson not own a mirror?0 -
Even he says in 15 years they will be here, and he's just some ridiculous twat from "Linkoping University", which - and I have actually just googled this - is a Swedish institute for "neurodiverse academics with learning difficulties" - I kid you not. The Swedes are so egalitarian they have special universities for dumb people.JosiasJessop said:
My dear Leon, you really need to stop regurgitating press releases and media hype and look at the reality.Leon said:
lol. You said it was basically impossible, and would take decades to happen, if everJosiasJessop said:
We are talking about two different things. You are proclaiming a geofenced area as some amazing achievement (it is impressive, but it's been done before.) I talk about the real game-changer - generalised autonomous driving. Say, the ability to drive me from my house to my sister's house.Leon said:
YOU said it wouldn't happen. It is happeningJosiasJessop said:
Who said it wouldn't happen? We're talking about a strictly geofenced area, not general autonomous driving.Leon said:
Another thing that we were reassured on here would never happen (it's 30 years away! 50!)FrancisUrquhart said:Some San Franciscans may have already noticed @Waymo cars with empty driver’s seats. Now it’s official: we’ve started fully autonomous operations in SF
https://twitter.com/dmitri_dolgov/status/1509169630689955842?s=20&t=2aF2LDmP7Z7WHm9Gs3MLyQ
The two are radically different, for a whole host of reasons.
It is happening. Absurd to deny this, now
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/30/waymo-self-driving-experience-mostly-peaceful-and-productive.html
The UK government is legislating for them
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=430028fb-38a7-42ca-81ca-411b5e5d2487
"New regulations to govern driverless cars in the UK"
China as well:
"Back to the future: driverless cars become reality"
https://www.ft.com/content/464c32a1-e0b7-4b55-b7fc-3f5e2873a6b9
It's one of those occasions when you can feel the early rumble of an immense technological shift around you. It is embryonic, and erratic, slightly eerie, but it is now happening. Reminds me of when I first saw the World Wide Web, and it took ten minutes to download an image
Pathetic, in retrospect, yet I knew as soon as I saw it that this was enormous; within 5-10 years the world was transformed
I mean, next you'll be saying that the Vegas Loop is a brilliant thing.
I think this article is fair:
https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Swedish-researcher-cuts-through-the-hype-around-autonomous-vehicles
Anyway I can listen to the mutterings of Linkoping Man or I can actually watch the video of that driverless car quietly pootling around Phoenix, and see the future with my own eyes0 -
Sean was responding to himself, it was wildMexicanpete said:
We even had a cameo from @SeanT yesterday?Beibheirli_C said:
Definitely not. I though Heathener was meant to be Leon? Or is it the other way round?IshmaelZ said:
You seem to be Heathener in disguise.Beibheirli_C said:
Yes - people kick back when the ideas used to repress others are applied to their own group. It is the ultimate NIMBYism.Endillion said:
Second sentence contradicts the first. If one or two is enough to justify repressive measures, we should lock up all girls as well.Beibheirli_C said:Since most sex crimes, assaults, murders, etc are committed by men, surely we should lock boys up as soon as puberty starts?
And do not go saying that it is not all men that behave like that, one or two is enough for these repressive measures to be justified...
I just expressed the "trans loo problem" or "gay sex pests problem" in its broadest possible sense. Perhaps some of the more reactionary types on here would benefit from standing in the shoes of those they like to "other"?2 -
do you know when that took place?OldKingCole said:Around the time of WWI Women's Football was a major spectator sport. Then in the late (!) '20s' the Football Association had some sort of fit and banned members from letting their pitches be played on by women.
It was 50+ years before the women's game recovered.
It could have been late 1920s but to me the 1920 where a short but non the less progressive decade, it wasn't till after the wall street crash/great depression, that the winds of reactionary foreses got going, I would have thought its more likely an early 1930s change than late 1920s, but would be interested to know.0 -
Not going to happen.Leon said:Talking of Sri Lanka and Driverless Cars, AS I WAS, I am reminded of a dinner I had in Colombo where one of the guests was a super-smart tech-bro from Silicon Valley. Very well connected, sort of a 20-something Elon Musk
I asked him about driverless cars and he was insistent they were coming very soon, and driverless flying taxis possibly even quicker. No doubts at all
The change is going to be momentous - from petrol driven cars to driverless electric vehicles - and we are about to witness it. All that pollution gone. All the noise. The hassle of driving and parking (for many). It will be like the move from horses to the combustion engine at the end of the 19th century
Driverless cars is not an 80-20% problem that the tech-bros thought it was. It's a 99.999-0.001% problem and with European liability attached to the manufacturer not the owner / "driver" it's even harder and risker than everyone thought it was.3 -
A feeble appeal to semi-authority.Leon said:Talking of Sri Lanka and Driverless Cars, AS I WAS, I am reminded of a dinner I had in Colombo where one of the guests was a super-smart tech-bro from Silicon Valley. Very well connected, sort of a 20-something Elon Musk
I asked him about driverless cars and he was insistent they were coming very soon, and driverless flying taxis possibly even quicker. No doubts at all
The change is going to be momentous - from petrol driven cars to driverless electric vehicles - and we are about to witness it. All that pollution gone. All the noise. The hassle of driving and parking (for many). It will be like the move from horses to the combustion engine at the end of the 19th century
I occasionally talk to an AI expert or two who have a (ahem) rather different view about the situation. Remember, the companies you are talking about like hype. They will over-inflate their capabilities, as that means they will get more funding. You read hype, and it excites you, and you believe the hype is real.
Whereas I am much more bearish.
Where I do agree with you is how transformative general autonomous driving will be for society. Although the effects of the change may be quite hard to predict.1 -
5 December 1921BigRich said:
do you know when that took place?OldKingCole said:Around the time of WWI Women's Football was a major spectator sport. Then in the late (!) '20s' the Football Association had some sort of fit and banned members from letting their pitches be played on by women.
It was 50+ years before the women's game recovered.
It could have been late 1920s but to me the 1920 where a short but non the less progressive decade, it wasn't till after the wall street crash/great depression, that the winds of reactionary foreses got going, I would have thought its more likely an early 1930s change than late 1920s, but would be interested to know.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-554298761 -
France, Elabe poll:
Presidential run-off election
Macron (EC-RE): 52.5% (-3.5)
Le Pen (RN-ID): 47.5% (+3.5)
+/- vs. 19-21 March 2022
https://twitter.com/EuropeElects/status/1509194089400606724?s=20&t=9dhBYX_tTFFTWcFyVfJVlQ1 -
I think that probably right. sadlymalcolmg said:
Greed will get the upper hand pretty soon and they will be fighting over who can offer them the best trade dealsTimS said:
I hope they are and that things really are bleak for Russia. I've discerned a subtle change of atmosphere in the last couple of days' commentary on Ukraine. A few pessimistic straws in the wind:FrankBooth said:
Apparently they are using their revenues to prop up the currency. Is that ever a wise strategy?rottenborough said:Today's No Shit Sherlock award goes to...
"The ruble’s stronger showing is most likely driven by artificial factors and might not be a good marker that the Russian economy is improving, said Yevgeny Nadorshin, the chief economist at the PF Capital consulting company in Moscow."
NY Times blog
- Seemingly a marked slowdown in reports of Ukrainian capture or destruction of Russian equipment
- Very little news about demoralised Russian soldiers or large scale surrenders
- Mariupol looking like it's within days or even hours of full capture
- Reports of heavy shelling (by Russian forces) North West of the capital despite their announced retreat
- Strains showing in NATO and EU unity and that vague sense that some countries are rather too keen to offer that off-ramp
- More visible Pro-Russian sentiment on social media. Have the bots managed to find their way back?
- Better quality propaganda and psyops on the Russian side. The stories of soldiers rescuing cats being today's novelty
- A more cocky and confident note overall from Russian officials
Is it just my imagination or is Russia having quite a good week? I really hope not. They need to lose, and badly, or things will only get worse over the next few years.0 -
I am with @Leon on this one. It will be with us in significant numbers in 20 years. In 30/40 years people will be finding it funny that people used to drive and there will be less people driving cars than people now ride horseseek said:
Not going to happen.Leon said:Talking of Sri Lanka and Driverless Cars, AS I WAS, I am reminded of a dinner I had in Colombo where one of the guests was a super-smart tech-bro from Silicon Valley. Very well connected, sort of a 20-something Elon Musk
I asked him about driverless cars and he was insistent they were coming very soon, and driverless flying taxis possibly even quicker. No doubts at all
The change is going to be momentous - from petrol driven cars to driverless electric vehicles - and we are about to witness it. All that pollution gone. All the noise. The hassle of driving and parking (for many). It will be like the move from horses to the combustion engine at the end of the 19th century
Driverless cars is not an 80-20% problem that the tech-bros thought it was. It's a 99.999-0.001% problem and with European liability attached to the manufacturer not the owner / "driver" it's even harder and risker than everyone thought it was.1 -
Seems possible. Even if, on average, men would outperform, there seems a better chance for more female outliers being able to be competitive than with more physical sports. So even if it was not 50/50 it'd be more open than many other sport.Andy_JS said:Cricket is a sport where men and women could play together, with the exception of fast bowling. Some of the greatest batsmen of all time have been very small, such as Tendulkar, Lara and Gavaskar. Spin bowlers as well.
0 -
No way Heathener is @Leon. Flint knappers don't rise that early in the day.Mexicanpete said:
We even had a cameo from @SeanT yesterday?Beibheirli_C said:
Definitely not. I though Heathener was meant to be Leon? Or is it the other way round?IshmaelZ said:
You seem to be Heathener in disguise.Beibheirli_C said:
Yes - people kick back when the ideas used to repress others are applied to their own group. It is the ultimate NIMBYism.Endillion said:
Second sentence contradicts the first. If one or two is enough to justify repressive measures, we should lock up all girls as well.Beibheirli_C said:Since most sex crimes, assaults, murders, etc are committed by men, surely we should lock boys up as soon as puberty starts?
And do not go saying that it is not all men that behave like that, one or two is enough for these repressive measures to be justified...
I just expressed the "trans loo problem" or "gay sex pests problem" in its broadest possible sense. Perhaps some of the more reactionary types on here would benefit from standing in the shoes of those they like to "other"?0 -
According to Wikipedia the Football Association banned women's football at its members grounds on 5 December 1921. The allegation is that it was getting more popular than the mens game. There was, in the 20's 'negative reaction' to women continuing to do the 'mens work' they'd been doing during the war.BigRich said:
do you know when that took place?OldKingCole said:Around the time of WWI Women's Football was a major spectator sport. Then in the late (!) '20s' the Football Association had some sort of fit and banned members from letting their pitches be played on by women.
It was 50+ years before the women's game recovered.
It could have been late 1920s but to me the 1920 where a short but non the less progressive decade, it wasn't till after the wall street crash/great depression, that the winds of reactionary foreses got going, I would have thought its more likely an early 1930s change than late 1920s, but would be interested to know.
1 -
UK cases by specimen date
0 -
UK R
0 -
If I had to get an autonomous car, I would get a Volvo. Why?eek said:
Not going to happen.Leon said:Talking of Sri Lanka and Driverless Cars, AS I WAS, I am reminded of a dinner I had in Colombo where one of the guests was a super-smart tech-bro from Silicon Valley. Very well connected, sort of a 20-something Elon Musk
I asked him about driverless cars and he was insistent they were coming very soon, and driverless flying taxis possibly even quicker. No doubts at all
The change is going to be momentous - from petrol driven cars to driverless electric vehicles - and we are about to witness it. All that pollution gone. All the noise. The hassle of driving and parking (for many). It will be like the move from horses to the combustion engine at the end of the 19th century
Driverless cars is not an 80-20% problem that the tech-bros thought it was. It's a 99.999-0.001% problem and with European liability attached to the manufacturer not the owner / "driver" it's even harder and risker than everyone thought it was.
Because they were the first to say they'd take liability for accidents in autonomous modes:
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volvo/93595/volvo-to-accept-liability-if-autonomous-car-tech-fails
Mercedes are also partially following suit:
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/manufacturer-news/2022/03/28/mercedes-will-accept-responsibility-for-autonomous-technology-crashes
Do not trust any company that will not accept such liability. Or disconnect from autonomous mode when it detects a crash might happen...0 -
I think he is just delighted that there is someone in parliament who is even fatter than he is.Mexicanpete said:Catching up with PMQs, have I got this right? Johnson "fat shamed" Blackford hinting at Blackford's excessive bon viveur lifestyle.
Does Johnson not own a mirror?0 -
What do you do for a living?Nigel_Foremain said:
I am with @Leon on this one. It will be with us in significant numbers in 20 years. In 30/40 years people will be finding it funny that people used to drive and there will be less people driving cars than people now ride horseseek said:
Not going to happen.Leon said:Talking of Sri Lanka and Driverless Cars, AS I WAS, I am reminded of a dinner I had in Colombo where one of the guests was a super-smart tech-bro from Silicon Valley. Very well connected, sort of a 20-something Elon Musk
I asked him about driverless cars and he was insistent they were coming very soon, and driverless flying taxis possibly even quicker. No doubts at all
The change is going to be momentous - from petrol driven cars to driverless electric vehicles - and we are about to witness it. All that pollution gone. All the noise. The hassle of driving and parking (for many). It will be like the move from horses to the combustion engine at the end of the 19th century
Driverless cars is not an 80-20% problem that the tech-bros thought it was. It's a 99.999-0.001% problem and with European liability attached to the manufacturer not the owner / "driver" it's even harder and risker than everyone thought it was.
I'm guessing it's not software development or AI work....0 -
Case summary
0 -
I assume there are some team sports where that is the case but I am hard pressed to think of any track and field or strength sports where the Women's world record exceeds the Men's.Phil said:
One of the complicating factors is that sport governing bodies were / are incredibly sexist: Pretty much every sport where woman could in fact compete on an equal level with men usually banned women from competing with men at the highest levels. The olympics is riddled with ridiculous “women’s versions” of sports that were created to prevent women & men competing, not because women were the “weaker sex” but because male egos couldn’t cope with women beating them.kinabalu said:
It's exaggeration to talk about an existential threat but women's sport does need controls to protect the integrity of competition. I think this issue will be resolved before too long.turbotubbs said:
Wasn't there the whole battle of the sexes thing in tennis? Bobby Riggs vs Billy Jean King. Although he was apparently 55 at the time.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:
There's a comment in the Times op-ed by Owen Slot about Bridges:Dura_Ace said:
The smorgasbord of hormonal treatments she is on will also make it very difficult, if not pointless, to baseline her bio-passport. All competitive cycling is a chemical weapons arms race...Taz said:
Emily Bridges in the cycling world will be the really interesting one. Before she transitioned she was far from mediocre, unless the tall US Swimmer.
"Bridges was dropped from the elite men's squad because of poor performances.
Started identifying as a woman two weeks later. Was immediately rehired by British Cycling as part of the women's team."
If this is true - I have no idea - it is grounds for suspicion that people have started to game the trans debate, for personal gain in sports.
And why would they not? The potential benefits are enormous
I always thought it would first happen in tennis, which relies so heavily on strength and speed, and where women make so much money, despite being seriously weaker and slower than men. A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
This whole debate is on dangerous ground though. You either accept that women are intrinsically weaker, slower etc so must have their own sport, or you have no women in most sports. There are clear exceptions such as horse racing/jumping, shooting, archery etc, and possibly extreme endurance running, but for most sports, most of the time, no women would ever reach the top of the sport. i don't think we want that. The growing appeal and success of womens cricket, football and rugby is testament to this, and is providing inspiration and role models for young girls to aspire to.
Indeed I just went looking and someone has done a lot of calculations on this and found that in track events women's world records reach about 90% of men's and in jumping events women's records are 84% of men's. I would suspect that at Olympic standards that 10-15% difference is enough to ensure no woman would win a medal in any unisex track and field events.
https://zigapskraba.com/2016/09/15/womens-world-records-compared-against-mens-world-records-in-track-field/0 -
Those phonecalls with Putin don't seem to be helping him.HYUFD said:France, Elabe poll:
Presidential run-off election
Macron (EC-RE): 52.5% (-3.5)
Le Pen (RN-ID): 47.5% (+3.5)
+/- vs. 19-21 March 2022
https://twitter.com/EuropeElects/status/1509194089400606724?s=20&t=9dhBYX_tTFFTWcFyVfJVlQ2 -
Linkoping University!? You might want to recheck that.Leon said:
Even he says in 15 years they will be here, and he's just some ridiculous twat from "Linkoping University", which - and I have actually just googled this - is a Swedish institute for "neurodiverse academics with learning difficulties" - I kid you not. The Swedes are so egalitarian they have special universities for dumb people.JosiasJessop said:
My dear Leon, you really need to stop regurgitating press releases and media hype and look at the reality.Leon said:
lol. You said it was basically impossible, and would take decades to happen, if everJosiasJessop said:
We are talking about two different things. You are proclaiming a geofenced area as some amazing achievement (it is impressive, but it's been done before.) I talk about the real game-changer - generalised autonomous driving. Say, the ability to drive me from my house to my sister's house.Leon said:
YOU said it wouldn't happen. It is happeningJosiasJessop said:
Who said it wouldn't happen? We're talking about a strictly geofenced area, not general autonomous driving.Leon said:
Another thing that we were reassured on here would never happen (it's 30 years away! 50!)FrancisUrquhart said:Some San Franciscans may have already noticed @Waymo cars with empty driver’s seats. Now it’s official: we’ve started fully autonomous operations in SF
https://twitter.com/dmitri_dolgov/status/1509169630689955842?s=20&t=2aF2LDmP7Z7WHm9Gs3MLyQ
The two are radically different, for a whole host of reasons.
It is happening. Absurd to deny this, now
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/30/waymo-self-driving-experience-mostly-peaceful-and-productive.html
The UK government is legislating for them
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=430028fb-38a7-42ca-81ca-411b5e5d2487
"New regulations to govern driverless cars in the UK"
China as well:
"Back to the future: driverless cars become reality"
https://www.ft.com/content/464c32a1-e0b7-4b55-b7fc-3f5e2873a6b9
It's one of those occasions when you can feel the early rumble of an immense technological shift around you. It is embryonic, and erratic, slightly eerie, but it is now happening. Reminds me of when I first saw the World Wide Web, and it took ten minutes to download an image
Pathetic, in retrospect, yet I knew as soon as I saw it that this was enormous; within 5-10 years the world was transformed
I mean, next you'll be saying that the Vegas Loop is a brilliant thing.
I think this article is fair:
https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Swedish-researcher-cuts-through-the-hype-around-autonomous-vehicles
Anyway I can listen to the mutterings of Linkoping Man or I can actually watch the video of that driverless car quietly pootling around Phoenix, and see the future with my own eyes0 -
Hospitals
0 -
Deaths
0 -
If they only have one university for dumb people they're far less egalitarian than we are.Leon said:
Even he says in 15 years they will be here, and he's just some ridiculous twat from "Linkoping University", which - and I have actually just googled this - is a Swedish institute for "neurodiverse academics with learning difficulties" - I kid you not. The Swedes are so egalitarian they have special universities for dumb people.JosiasJessop said:
My dear Leon, you really need to stop regurgitating press releases and media hype and look at the reality.Leon said:
lol. You said it was basically impossible, and would take decades to happen, if everJosiasJessop said:
We are talking about two different things. You are proclaiming a geofenced area as some amazing achievement (it is impressive, but it's been done before.) I talk about the real game-changer - generalised autonomous driving. Say, the ability to drive me from my house to my sister's house.Leon said:
YOU said it wouldn't happen. It is happeningJosiasJessop said:
Who said it wouldn't happen? We're talking about a strictly geofenced area, not general autonomous driving.Leon said:
Another thing that we were reassured on here would never happen (it's 30 years away! 50!)FrancisUrquhart said:Some San Franciscans may have already noticed @Waymo cars with empty driver’s seats. Now it’s official: we’ve started fully autonomous operations in SF
https://twitter.com/dmitri_dolgov/status/1509169630689955842?s=20&t=2aF2LDmP7Z7WHm9Gs3MLyQ
The two are radically different, for a whole host of reasons.
It is happening. Absurd to deny this, now
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/30/waymo-self-driving-experience-mostly-peaceful-and-productive.html
The UK government is legislating for them
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=430028fb-38a7-42ca-81ca-411b5e5d2487
"New regulations to govern driverless cars in the UK"
China as well:
"Back to the future: driverless cars become reality"
https://www.ft.com/content/464c32a1-e0b7-4b55-b7fc-3f5e2873a6b9
It's one of those occasions when you can feel the early rumble of an immense technological shift around you. It is embryonic, and erratic, slightly eerie, but it is now happening. Reminds me of when I first saw the World Wide Web, and it took ten minutes to download an image
Pathetic, in retrospect, yet I knew as soon as I saw it that this was enormous; within 5-10 years the world was transformed
I mean, next you'll be saying that the Vegas Loop is a brilliant thing.
I think this article is fair:
https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Swedish-researcher-cuts-through-the-hype-around-autonomous-vehicles
Anyway I can listen to the mutterings of Linkoping Man or I can actually watch the video of that driverless car quietly pootling around Phoenix, and see the future with my own eyes0 -
I am an engineer by training, and know a reasonable amount about both. I am also an entrepreneur. Oh, and an optimist, not a snotty pompous know-all pessimist.eek said:
What do you do for a living?Nigel_Foremain said:
I am with @Leon on this one. It will be with us in significant numbers in 20 years. In 30/40 years people will be finding it funny that people used to drive and there will be less people driving cars than people now ride horseseek said:
Not going to happen.Leon said:Talking of Sri Lanka and Driverless Cars, AS I WAS, I am reminded of a dinner I had in Colombo where one of the guests was a super-smart tech-bro from Silicon Valley. Very well connected, sort of a 20-something Elon Musk
I asked him about driverless cars and he was insistent they were coming very soon, and driverless flying taxis possibly even quicker. No doubts at all
The change is going to be momentous - from petrol driven cars to driverless electric vehicles - and we are about to witness it. All that pollution gone. All the noise. The hassle of driving and parking (for many). It will be like the move from horses to the combustion engine at the end of the 19th century
Driverless cars is not an 80-20% problem that the tech-bros thought it was. It's a 99.999-0.001% problem and with European liability attached to the manufacturer not the owner / "driver" it's even harder and risker than everyone thought it was.
I'm guessing it's not software development or AI work....0 -
“There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.”
Albert Einstein 1934
“heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible”
Lord Kelvin 18952 -
I'm not even sure we disagree that much, Your literally certifiable idiot in Sweden from the University for Porridge Smeared Fuckwits says they will be here in 15 years, I think they will be here in 10 years- as in, a common sight on our streets, not worthy of noticeJosiasJessop said:
A feeble appeal to semi-authority.Leon said:Talking of Sri Lanka and Driverless Cars, AS I WAS, I am reminded of a dinner I had in Colombo where one of the guests was a super-smart tech-bro from Silicon Valley. Very well connected, sort of a 20-something Elon Musk
I asked him about driverless cars and he was insistent they were coming very soon, and driverless flying taxis possibly even quicker. No doubts at all
The change is going to be momentous - from petrol driven cars to driverless electric vehicles - and we are about to witness it. All that pollution gone. All the noise. The hassle of driving and parking (for many). It will be like the move from horses to the combustion engine at the end of the 19th century
I occasionally talk to an AI expert or two who have a (ahem) rather different view about the situation. Remember, the companies you are talking about like hype. They will over-inflate their capabilities, as that means they will get more funding. You read hype, and it excites you, and you believe the hype is real.
Whereas I am much more bearish.
Where I do agree with you is how transformative general autonomous driving will be for society. Although the effects of the change may be quite hard to predict.
So maybe it will be 12 years. Hopefully almost everyone on this site will see our streets transformed, greatly, for the better: quieter, safer, cleaner.
I also agree it is hard to predict how this huge transformation will change society
eg A big question is will we own our own autonomous EVs, or will there be zillions parked underground and you just order one up for the ride? People are greatly attached to their cars, that emotion might be hard to shift. Yet the urban benefits of getting rid of nearly all garages and parking spaces will be huge
Difficult to call0 -
COVID summery
Cases - UP. R is just above 1 overall.
In hospital - UP
Admissions - UP. R is steady at 1.1 or so.
MV Beds - UP
Deaths - UP
0 -
In both track and field and swimming, the best US schoolboys tend to outcompete the best worldwide Olympian women.Richard_Tyndall said:
I assume there are some team sports where that is the case but I am hard pressed to think of any track and field or strength sports where the Women's world record exceeds the Men's.Phil said:
One of the complicating factors is that sport governing bodies were / are incredibly sexist: Pretty much every sport where woman could in fact compete on an equal level with men usually banned women from competing with men at the highest levels. The olympics is riddled with ridiculous “women’s versions” of sports that were created to prevent women & men competing, not because women were the “weaker sex” but because male egos couldn’t cope with women beating them.kinabalu said:
It's exaggeration to talk about an existential threat but women's sport does need controls to protect the integrity of competition. I think this issue will be resolved before too long.turbotubbs said:
Wasn't there the whole battle of the sexes thing in tennis? Bobby Riggs vs Billy Jean King. Although he was apparently 55 at the time.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:
There's a comment in the Times op-ed by Owen Slot about Bridges:Dura_Ace said:
The smorgasbord of hormonal treatments she is on will also make it very difficult, if not pointless, to baseline her bio-passport. All competitive cycling is a chemical weapons arms race...Taz said:
Emily Bridges in the cycling world will be the really interesting one. Before she transitioned she was far from mediocre, unless the tall US Swimmer.
"Bridges was dropped from the elite men's squad because of poor performances.
Started identifying as a woman two weeks later. Was immediately rehired by British Cycling as part of the women's team."
If this is true - I have no idea - it is grounds for suspicion that people have started to game the trans debate, for personal gain in sports.
And why would they not? The potential benefits are enormous
I always thought it would first happen in tennis, which relies so heavily on strength and speed, and where women make so much money, despite being seriously weaker and slower than men. A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
This whole debate is on dangerous ground though. You either accept that women are intrinsically weaker, slower etc so must have their own sport, or you have no women in most sports. There are clear exceptions such as horse racing/jumping, shooting, archery etc, and possibly extreme endurance running, but for most sports, most of the time, no women would ever reach the top of the sport. i don't think we want that. The growing appeal and success of womens cricket, football and rugby is testament to this, and is providing inspiration and role models for young girls to aspire to.
Indeed I just went looking and someone has done a lot of calculations on this and found that in track events women's world records reach about 90% of men's and in jumping events women's records are 84% of men's. I would suspect that at Olympic standards that 10-15% difference is enough to ensure no woman would win a medal in any unisex track and field events.
https://zigapskraba.com/2016/09/15/womens-world-records-compared-against-mens-world-records-in-track-field/1 -
To borrow a phrase I saw once on something referred to as the paradox of violence, once the rivers of blood run dry, in the long term most people can be better off.theelephant said:
genghis khan was pretty heartless and did pretty well....the colonisers of north america were pretty ruthless about wiping out native americans and did pretty well.....the ruthless and smart win in history not the "good"MoonRabbit said:
☹️ If heartless aggressors on wrong headed missions win, it’s hard to understand God’s purpose.TimS said:
I hope they are and that things really are bleak for Russia. I've discerned a subtle change of atmosphere in the last couple of days' commentary on Ukraine. A few pessimistic straws in the wind:FrankBooth said:
Apparently they are using their revenues to prop up the currency. Is that ever a wise strategy?rottenborough said:Today's No Shit Sherlock award goes to...
"The ruble’s stronger showing is most likely driven by artificial factors and might not be a good marker that the Russian economy is improving, said Yevgeny Nadorshin, the chief economist at the PF Capital consulting company in Moscow."
NY Times blog
- Seemingly a marked slowdown in reports of Ukrainian capture or destruction of Russian equipment
- Very little news about demoralised Russian soldiers or large scale surrenders
- Mariupol looking like it's within days or even hours of full capture
- Reports of heavy shelling (by Russian forces) North West of the capital despite their announced retreat
- Strains showing in NATO and EU unity and that vague sense that some countries are rather too keen to offer that off-ramp
- More visible Pro-Russian sentiment on social media. Have the bots managed to find their way back?
- Better quality propaganda and psyops on the Russian side. The stories of soldiers rescuing cats being today's novelty
- A more cocky and confident note overall from Russian officials
Is it just my imagination or is Russia having quite a good week? I really hope not. They need to lose, and badly, or things will only get worse over the next few years.
Living with this horror especially Putin beginning to win it, is like something from the Book of Job.
Unfortunately would be autocrats tend to ignore the nuances and just take away that 'violence works'.0 -
No. The physical advantage for males over females in sports like football is huge. Height is a very minor element of it. The idea that you could have a fair system, with good female representation, without separating by sex is completely ludicrous.LostPassword said:
Well it raises an interesting alternative. At the moment we have men's football and women's football. What if we had tall football and short football?BigRich said:On the subject of women in mixed sports:
I understand that there is some accounts from the Romans of Female gladiators, with the normal set up being a Female gladiator fighting a male dwarf, with most of the time the female wining and the Mail Dwarf dyeing.
Not sure how relevant it is to todays debate, but seemed like one of the rare occasions that I can drop that bit of knowledge in to the conversation.
Average height of a man is about 5'11", and of a woman 5'7", so the average height overall is 5'9". If you had football for over 5'9" and for those shorter than 5'9", would the short teams still be mostly women, but with a few short men too, and might a couple of tall women make it into tall football?
Next.0 -
I did like the mixed sex relay events at the Olympics. Especially where they could go in any order, so it might look like team was out of it, but that was because they still had the men to come up against the women of another team, so the gap was not as far as it appeared. Made it more exciting.2
-
Ukrainian rep in negotiations said the referendum in🇺🇦 can start only after🇷🇺troops withdraw at least to positions of Feb 23
He reminded that acc to Vienna Convention any signed agreement will not be considered valid if occupying forces are in the country https://pravda.com.ua/news/2022/03/30/7335812/
https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/15091841955617587330 -
I'm waiting for more data to come in before I weigh in on whether either was right or wrong.IshmaelZ said:“There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.”
Albert Einstein 1934
“heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible”
Lord Kelvin 18951 -
Shooting is one that could be mixed (archery requires strength and long arms so not the same). Not sure there is much else, don't know about sailing perhaps.Richard_Tyndall said:
I assume there are some team sports where that is the case but I am hard pressed to think of any track and field or strength sports where the Women's world record exceeds the Men's.Phil said:
One of the complicating factors is that sport governing bodies were / are incredibly sexist: Pretty much every sport where woman could in fact compete on an equal level with men usually banned women from competing with men at the highest levels. The olympics is riddled with ridiculous “women’s versions” of sports that were created to prevent women & men competing, not because women were the “weaker sex” but because male egos couldn’t cope with women beating them.kinabalu said:
It's exaggeration to talk about an existential threat but women's sport does need controls to protect the integrity of competition. I think this issue will be resolved before too long.turbotubbs said:
Wasn't there the whole battle of the sexes thing in tennis? Bobby Riggs vs Billy Jean King. Although he was apparently 55 at the time.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:
There's a comment in the Times op-ed by Owen Slot about Bridges:Dura_Ace said:
The smorgasbord of hormonal treatments she is on will also make it very difficult, if not pointless, to baseline her bio-passport. All competitive cycling is a chemical weapons arms race...Taz said:
Emily Bridges in the cycling world will be the really interesting one. Before she transitioned she was far from mediocre, unless the tall US Swimmer.
"Bridges was dropped from the elite men's squad because of poor performances.
Started identifying as a woman two weeks later. Was immediately rehired by British Cycling as part of the women's team."
If this is true - I have no idea - it is grounds for suspicion that people have started to game the trans debate, for personal gain in sports.
And why would they not? The potential benefits are enormous
I always thought it would first happen in tennis, which relies so heavily on strength and speed, and where women make so much money, despite being seriously weaker and slower than men. A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
This whole debate is on dangerous ground though. You either accept that women are intrinsically weaker, slower etc so must have their own sport, or you have no women in most sports. There are clear exceptions such as horse racing/jumping, shooting, archery etc, and possibly extreme endurance running, but for most sports, most of the time, no women would ever reach the top of the sport. i don't think we want that. The growing appeal and success of womens cricket, football and rugby is testament to this, and is providing inspiration and role models for young girls to aspire to.
Indeed I just went looking and someone has done a lot of calculations on this and found that in track events women's world records reach about 90% of men's and in jumping events women's records are 84% of men's. I would suspect that at Olympic standards that 10-15% difference is enough to ensure no woman would win a medal in any unisex track and field events.
https://zigapskraba.com/2016/09/15/womens-world-records-compared-against-mens-world-records-in-track-field/0 -
I don't think the nuances are really there, and most people end up better off only because the winners breed like fucking rabbits. I mean, of the three main races in North America - native, African, European, I would imagine only one would go along with your all turns out for the best narrativekle4 said:
To borrow a phrase I saw once on something referred to as the paradox of violence, once the rivers of blood run dry, in the long term most people can be better off.theelephant said:
genghis khan was pretty heartless and did pretty well....the colonisers of north america were pretty ruthless about wiping out native americans and did pretty well.....the ruthless and smart win in history not the "good"MoonRabbit said:
☹️ If heartless aggressors on wrong headed missions win, it’s hard to understand God’s purpose.TimS said:
I hope they are and that things really are bleak for Russia. I've discerned a subtle change of atmosphere in the last couple of days' commentary on Ukraine. A few pessimistic straws in the wind:FrankBooth said:
Apparently they are using their revenues to prop up the currency. Is that ever a wise strategy?rottenborough said:Today's No Shit Sherlock award goes to...
"The ruble’s stronger showing is most likely driven by artificial factors and might not be a good marker that the Russian economy is improving, said Yevgeny Nadorshin, the chief economist at the PF Capital consulting company in Moscow."
NY Times blog
- Seemingly a marked slowdown in reports of Ukrainian capture or destruction of Russian equipment
- Very little news about demoralised Russian soldiers or large scale surrenders
- Mariupol looking like it's within days or even hours of full capture
- Reports of heavy shelling (by Russian forces) North West of the capital despite their announced retreat
- Strains showing in NATO and EU unity and that vague sense that some countries are rather too keen to offer that off-ramp
- More visible Pro-Russian sentiment on social media. Have the bots managed to find their way back?
- Better quality propaganda and psyops on the Russian side. The stories of soldiers rescuing cats being today's novelty
- A more cocky and confident note overall from Russian officials
Is it just my imagination or is Russia having quite a good week? I really hope not. They need to lose, and badly, or things will only get worse over the next few years.
Living with this horror especially Putin beginning to win it, is like something from the Book of Job.
Unfortunately would be autocrats tend to ignore the nuances and just take away that 'violence works'.0 -
No problem, do the Crimea thing and have no occupying troops, just a lot of army blokes on holiday in their uniforms.Nigelb said:Ukrainian rep in negotiations said the referendum in🇺🇦 can start only after🇷🇺troops withdraw at least to positions of Feb 23
He reminded that acc to Vienna Convention any signed agreement will not be considered valid if occupying forces are in the country https://pravda.com.ua/news/2022/03/30/7335812/
https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/15091841955617587330 -
Exactly. Far too early to tell.kle4 said:
I'm waiting for more data to come in before I weigh in on whether either was right or wrong.IshmaelZ said:“There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.”
Albert Einstein 1934
“heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible”
Lord Kelvin 18950 -
i think the muscle mass advantage means more short men can enter the game if they're competing against equal height men and women.LostPassword said:
Well it raises an interesting alternative. At the moment we have men's football and women's football. What if we had tall football and short football?BigRich said:On the subject of women in mixed sports:
I understand that there is some accounts from the Romans of Female gladiators, with the normal set up being a Female gladiator fighting a male dwarf, with most of the time the female wining and the Mail Dwarf dyeing.
Not sure how relevant it is to todays debate, but seemed like one of the rare occasions that I can drop that bit of knowledge in to the conversation.
Average height of a man is about 5'11", and of a woman 5'7", so the average height overall is 5'9". If you had football for over 5'9" and for those shorter than 5'9", would the short teams still be mostly women, but with a few short men too, and might a couple of tall women make it into tall football?
You could have similar for rugby - lightweight rugby where all the players have to be below a weight limit, and heavyweight rugby for the brickhouse giants.
Then you'd have a physically relevant division, but I'm not sure whether the muscle mass advantage for men would still make it uneven.0 -
19 year old kid, born after Putin came to power, just died fighting in his army in Ukraine.
https://twitter.com/k_sonin/status/1508908191337222148
There will be many such.0 -
That isn't my narrative. It was just a tongue in cheek comment that if you're inclined to violence you focus on the calling a desert peace side of the equation, or the calm that might follow a severe bloodletting, without asking about the cost side.IshmaelZ said:
I don't think the nuances are really there, and most people end up better off only because the winners breed like fucking rabbits. I mean, of the three main races in North America - native, African, European, I would imagine only one would go along with your all turns out for the best narrativekle4 said:
To borrow a phrase I saw once on something referred to as the paradox of violence, once the rivers of blood run dry, in the long term most people can be better off.theelephant said:
genghis khan was pretty heartless and did pretty well....the colonisers of north america were pretty ruthless about wiping out native americans and did pretty well.....the ruthless and smart win in history not the "good"MoonRabbit said:
☹️ If heartless aggressors on wrong headed missions win, it’s hard to understand God’s purpose.TimS said:
I hope they are and that things really are bleak for Russia. I've discerned a subtle change of atmosphere in the last couple of days' commentary on Ukraine. A few pessimistic straws in the wind:FrankBooth said:
Apparently they are using their revenues to prop up the currency. Is that ever a wise strategy?rottenborough said:Today's No Shit Sherlock award goes to...
"The ruble’s stronger showing is most likely driven by artificial factors and might not be a good marker that the Russian economy is improving, said Yevgeny Nadorshin, the chief economist at the PF Capital consulting company in Moscow."
NY Times blog
- Seemingly a marked slowdown in reports of Ukrainian capture or destruction of Russian equipment
- Very little news about demoralised Russian soldiers or large scale surrenders
- Mariupol looking like it's within days or even hours of full capture
- Reports of heavy shelling (by Russian forces) North West of the capital despite their announced retreat
- Strains showing in NATO and EU unity and that vague sense that some countries are rather too keen to offer that off-ramp
- More visible Pro-Russian sentiment on social media. Have the bots managed to find their way back?
- Better quality propaganda and psyops on the Russian side. The stories of soldiers rescuing cats being today's novelty
- A more cocky and confident note overall from Russian officials
Is it just my imagination or is Russia having quite a good week? I really hope not. They need to lose, and badly, or things will only get worse over the next few years.
Living with this horror especially Putin beginning to win it, is like something from the Book of Job.
Unfortunately would be autocrats tend to ignore the nuances and just take away that 'violence works'.0 -
It is 329th in the world no less.Carnyx said:
Linkoping University!? You might want to recheck that.Leon said:
Even he says in 15 years they will be here, and he's just some ridiculous twat from "Linkoping University", which - and I have actually just googled this - is a Swedish institute for "neurodiverse academics with learning difficulties" - I kid you not. The Swedes are so egalitarian they have special universities for dumb people.JosiasJessop said:
My dear Leon, you really need to stop regurgitating press releases and media hype and look at the reality.Leon said:
lol. You said it was basically impossible, and would take decades to happen, if everJosiasJessop said:
We are talking about two different things. You are proclaiming a geofenced area as some amazing achievement (it is impressive, but it's been done before.) I talk about the real game-changer - generalised autonomous driving. Say, the ability to drive me from my house to my sister's house.Leon said:
YOU said it wouldn't happen. It is happeningJosiasJessop said:
Who said it wouldn't happen? We're talking about a strictly geofenced area, not general autonomous driving.Leon said:
Another thing that we were reassured on here would never happen (it's 30 years away! 50!)FrancisUrquhart said:Some San Franciscans may have already noticed @Waymo cars with empty driver’s seats. Now it’s official: we’ve started fully autonomous operations in SF
https://twitter.com/dmitri_dolgov/status/1509169630689955842?s=20&t=2aF2LDmP7Z7WHm9Gs3MLyQ
The two are radically different, for a whole host of reasons.
It is happening. Absurd to deny this, now
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/30/waymo-self-driving-experience-mostly-peaceful-and-productive.html
The UK government is legislating for them
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=430028fb-38a7-42ca-81ca-411b5e5d2487
"New regulations to govern driverless cars in the UK"
China as well:
"Back to the future: driverless cars become reality"
https://www.ft.com/content/464c32a1-e0b7-4b55-b7fc-3f5e2873a6b9
It's one of those occasions when you can feel the early rumble of an immense technological shift around you. It is embryonic, and erratic, slightly eerie, but it is now happening. Reminds me of when I first saw the World Wide Web, and it took ten minutes to download an image
Pathetic, in retrospect, yet I knew as soon as I saw it that this was enormous; within 5-10 years the world was transformed
I mean, next you'll be saying that the Vegas Loop is a brilliant thing.
I think this article is fair:
https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Swedish-researcher-cuts-through-the-hype-around-autonomous-vehicles
Anyway I can listen to the mutterings of Linkoping Man or I can actually watch the video of that driverless car quietly pootling around Phoenix, and see the future with my own eyes0 -
Imagine, just 30-40 years ago, someone trying to convince you of the looming existence of the smartphoneIshmaelZ said:“There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.”
Albert Einstein 1934
“heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible”
Lord Kelvin 1895
"So, this small hand held device, it will enable me to talk to anyone else in the world, immediately, and see their face as we talk?"
"Yes."
"And it will give me instant access to all the acquired news and knowledge of humanity?"
"Yep."
"And it will be a camera and a notebook and an orrery and a calculator and a recording device and a clock and a music player and a photo album and it will play TV and videos and it will tell me what wines are good just by pointing it at bottles and I will finally be able to make my own porn?"
"Yup."0 -
Horse racing, show jumping, dressagenoneoftheabove said:
Shooting is one that could be mixed (archery requires strength and long arms so not the same). Not sure there is much else, don't know about sailing perhaps.Richard_Tyndall said:
I assume there are some team sports where that is the case but I am hard pressed to think of any track and field or strength sports where the Women's world record exceeds the Men's.Phil said:
One of the complicating factors is that sport governing bodies were / are incredibly sexist: Pretty much every sport where woman could in fact compete on an equal level with men usually banned women from competing with men at the highest levels. The olympics is riddled with ridiculous “women’s versions” of sports that were created to prevent women & men competing, not because women were the “weaker sex” but because male egos couldn’t cope with women beating them.kinabalu said:
It's exaggeration to talk about an existential threat but women's sport does need controls to protect the integrity of competition. I think this issue will be resolved before too long.turbotubbs said:
Wasn't there the whole battle of the sexes thing in tennis? Bobby Riggs vs Billy Jean King. Although he was apparently 55 at the time.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:
There's a comment in the Times op-ed by Owen Slot about Bridges:Dura_Ace said:
The smorgasbord of hormonal treatments she is on will also make it very difficult, if not pointless, to baseline her bio-passport. All competitive cycling is a chemical weapons arms race...Taz said:
Emily Bridges in the cycling world will be the really interesting one. Before she transitioned she was far from mediocre, unless the tall US Swimmer.
"Bridges was dropped from the elite men's squad because of poor performances.
Started identifying as a woman two weeks later. Was immediately rehired by British Cycling as part of the women's team."
If this is true - I have no idea - it is grounds for suspicion that people have started to game the trans debate, for personal gain in sports.
And why would they not? The potential benefits are enormous
I always thought it would first happen in tennis, which relies so heavily on strength and speed, and where women make so much money, despite being seriously weaker and slower than men. A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
This whole debate is on dangerous ground though. You either accept that women are intrinsically weaker, slower etc so must have their own sport, or you have no women in most sports. There are clear exceptions such as horse racing/jumping, shooting, archery etc, and possibly extreme endurance running, but for most sports, most of the time, no women would ever reach the top of the sport. i don't think we want that. The growing appeal and success of womens cricket, football and rugby is testament to this, and is providing inspiration and role models for young girls to aspire to.
Indeed I just went looking and someone has done a lot of calculations on this and found that in track events women's world records reach about 90% of men's and in jumping events women's records are 84% of men's. I would suspect that at Olympic standards that 10-15% difference is enough to ensure no woman would win a medal in any unisex track and field events.
https://zigapskraba.com/2016/09/15/womens-world-records-compared-against-mens-world-records-in-track-field/0 -
Isn't there an actual theory that this was connected to where the women were on their menstrual cycle (the salmon being able to to pick this up by some method mysterious). It actually sounds a more half baked than the shagging ghillie one to be fair.IshmaelZ said:
Specifically, women tend to catch record sized salmon. There's a theory which says they spend the day being pleasured senseless by the ghillie, who then picks up the rod and says Aye, we'll just cast a fly or two for the look of the thing...Leon said:
One rationale is that women are equipped for extreme pain better than men, because, pregnancy. So they can "endure" moreBigRich said:
'Extreme endurance running' is that where people try to run 3 marathons in 24 hours and that sort of thing?dixiedean said:
Extreme endurance running arguably needs a male category. Women are gradually taking it over as more compete.turbotubbs said:
Wasn't there the whole battle of the sexes thing in tennis? Bobby Riggs vs Billy Jean King. Although he was apparently 55 at the time.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:
There's a comment in the Times op-ed by Owen Slot about Bridges:Dura_Ace said:
The smorgasbord of hormonal treatments she is on will also make it very difficult, if not pointless, to baseline her bio-passport. All competitive cycling is a chemical weapons arms race...Taz said:
Emily Bridges in the cycling world will be the really interesting one. Before she transitioned she was far from mediocre, unless the tall US Swimmer.
"Bridges was dropped from the elite men's squad because of poor performances.
Started identifying as a woman two weeks later. Was immediately rehired by British Cycling as part of the women's team."
If this is true - I have no idea - it is grounds for suspicion that people have started to game the trans debate, for personal gain in sports.
And why would they not? The potential benefits are enormous
I always thought it would first happen in tennis, which relies so heavily on strength and speed, and where women make so much money, despite being seriously weaker and slower than men. A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
This whole debate is on dangerous ground though. You either accept that women are intrinsically weaker, slower etc so must have their own sport, or you have no women in most sports. There are clear exceptions such as horse racing/jumping, shooting, archery etc, and possibly extreme endurance running, but for most sports, most of the time, no women would ever reach the top of the sport. i don't think we want that. The growing appeal and success of womens cricket, football and rugby is testament to this, and is providing inspiration and role models for young girls to aspire to.
Women are also better at angling, I believe, and possibly some forms of climbing?0 -
2022.....it does all the later, but the original idea of calls...oh yeah we forget about making those work properly.Leon said:
Imagine, just 30-40 years ago, someone trying to convince you of the looming existence of the smartphoneIshmaelZ said:“There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.”
Albert Einstein 1934
“heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible”
Lord Kelvin 1895
"So, this small hand held device, it will enable me to talk to anyone else in the world, immediately, and see their face as we talk?"
"Yes."
"And it will give me instant access to all the acquired news and knowledge of humanity?"
"Yep."
"And it will be a camera and a notebook and an orrery and a calculator and a recording device and a clock and a music player and a photo album and it will play TV and videos and it will tell me what wines are good just by pointing it at bottles and I will finally be able to make my own porn?"
"Yup."1 -
and are almost a thousand times faster than the mid-'80s Cray-2 SupercomputerLeon said:
Imagine, just 30-40 years ago, someone trying to convince you of the looming existence of the smartphoneIshmaelZ said:“There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.”
Albert Einstein 1934
“heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible”
Lord Kelvin 1895
"So, this small hand held device, it will enable me to talk to anyone else in the world, immediately, and see their face as we talk?"
"Yes."
"And it will give me instant access to all the acquired news and knowledge of humanity?"
"Yep."
"And it will be a camera and a notebook and an orrery and a calculator and a recording device and a clock and a music player and a photo album and it will play TV and videos and it will tell me what wines are good just by pointing it at bottles and I will finally be able to make my own porn?"
"Yup."1 -
There probably is an occasional sport where men and women can compete on even terms, but testosterone doesn't just increase muscle mass. It reduces reaction times too. Very useful in most sports. Remember there's no overlap between reference ranges for testosterone in normal men and women.
0 -
Such a wasteNigelb said:19 year old kid, born after Putin came to power, just died fighting in his army in Ukraine.
https://twitter.com/k_sonin/status/1508908191337222148
There will be many such.1 -
"And with all these amazing abilities I will use it almost exclusively for trolling @HYUFD and sharing cat videos."Leon said:
Imagine, just 30-40 years ago, someone trying to convince you of the looming existence of the smartphoneIshmaelZ said:“There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.”
Albert Einstein 1934
“heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible”
Lord Kelvin 1895
"So, this small hand held device, it will enable me to talk to anyone else in the world, immediately, and see their face as we talk?"
"Yes."
"And it will give me instant access to all the acquired news and knowledge of humanity?"
"Yep."
"And it will be a camera and a notebook and an orrery and a calculator and a recording device and a clock and a music player and a photo album and it will play TV and videos and it will tell me what wines are good just by pointing it at bottles and I will finally be able to make my own porn?"
"Yup."1 -
The stuff the tech bros get most excited about - things like driverless cars, crypto - often seem to be about avoiding other people or avoiding responsibility for other people. It's a very particular vision of the future that seems firmly rooted in American individualism and libertarianism.Leon said:Talking of Sri Lanka and Driverless Cars, AS I WAS, I am reminded of a dinner I had in Colombo where one of the guests was a super-smart tech-bro from Silicon Valley. Very well connected, sort of a 20-something Elon Musk
I asked him about driverless cars and he was insistent they were coming very soon, and driverless flying taxis possibly even quicker. No doubts at all
The change is going to be momentous - from petrol driven cars to driverless electric vehicles - and we are about to witness it. All that pollution gone. All the noise. The hassle of driving and parking (for many). It will be like the move from horses to the combustion engine at the end of the 19th century0 -
In the former Soviet Republic of Nudistan, they play Unisex Football. Each team has to have either 6 men and 5 women OR 6 women and 5 men on the pitch at any one time. Back in the old days, it used 7 + 4 (or 4 + 7), but the Buffragette Movement of the early 20th century "persuaded" the Unisex League to change their ways! Nowadays, it is normal, but not universal, to have a goalie of either sex, and then equal numbers of male and female outfield players.Anabobazina said:
No. The physical advantage for males over females in sports like football is huge. Height is a very minor element of it. The idea that you could have a fair system, with good female representation, without separating by sex is completely ludicrous.LostPassword said:
Well it raises an interesting alternative. At the moment we have men's football and women's football. What if we had tall football and short football?BigRich said:On the subject of women in mixed sports:
I understand that there is some accounts from the Romans of Female gladiators, with the normal set up being a Female gladiator fighting a male dwarf, with most of the time the female wining and the Mail Dwarf dyeing.
Not sure how relevant it is to todays debate, but seemed like one of the rare occasions that I can drop that bit of knowledge in to the conversation.
Average height of a man is about 5'11", and of a woman 5'7", so the average height overall is 5'9". If you had football for over 5'9" and for those shorter than 5'9", would the short teams still be mostly women, but with a few short men too, and might a couple of tall women make it into tall football?
Next.0 -
Lavrov says Ukraine and Russia have made “significant progress” and “positive movement” in peace talks.
He says Ukraine has “recognized the need” to give up on NATO – but also that Kyiv understands “the issues of Crimea and Donbas are settled for good.”
That last point will be news to Ukraine – their negotiators said yesterday they would never make any territorial concessions.
https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/15092012675912007730 -
I saw a documentary on this. It was amazingly popular and I had no idea. Note from Wikipedia one match got 53,000 crowd.OldKingCole said:
According to Wikipedia the Football Association banned women's football at its members grounds on 5 December 1921. The allegation is that it was getting more popular than the mens game. There was, in the 20's 'negative reaction' to women continuing to do the 'mens work' they'd been doing during the war.BigRich said:
do you know when that took place?OldKingCole said:Around the time of WWI Women's Football was a major spectator sport. Then in the late (!) '20s' the Football Association had some sort of fit and banned members from letting their pitches be played on by women.
It was 50+ years before the women's game recovered.
It could have been late 1920s but to me the 1920 where a short but non the less progressive decade, it wasn't till after the wall street crash/great depression, that the winds of reactionary foreses got going, I would have thought its more likely an early 1930s change than late 1920s, but would be interested to know.0 -
Show jumping and dressage already mixed. There is no Olympic horse racing.Nigel_Foremain said:
Horse racing, show jumping, dressagenoneoftheabove said:
Shooting is one that could be mixed (archery requires strength and long arms so not the same). Not sure there is much else, don't know about sailing perhaps.Richard_Tyndall said:
I assume there are some team sports where that is the case but I am hard pressed to think of any track and field or strength sports where the Women's world record exceeds the Men's.Phil said:
One of the complicating factors is that sport governing bodies were / are incredibly sexist: Pretty much every sport where woman could in fact compete on an equal level with men usually banned women from competing with men at the highest levels. The olympics is riddled with ridiculous “women’s versions” of sports that were created to prevent women & men competing, not because women were the “weaker sex” but because male egos couldn’t cope with women beating them.kinabalu said:
It's exaggeration to talk about an existential threat but women's sport does need controls to protect the integrity of competition. I think this issue will be resolved before too long.turbotubbs said:
Wasn't there the whole battle of the sexes thing in tennis? Bobby Riggs vs Billy Jean King. Although he was apparently 55 at the time.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:
There's a comment in the Times op-ed by Owen Slot about Bridges:Dura_Ace said:
The smorgasbord of hormonal treatments she is on will also make it very difficult, if not pointless, to baseline her bio-passport. All competitive cycling is a chemical weapons arms race...Taz said:
Emily Bridges in the cycling world will be the really interesting one. Before she transitioned she was far from mediocre, unless the tall US Swimmer.
"Bridges was dropped from the elite men's squad because of poor performances.
Started identifying as a woman two weeks later. Was immediately rehired by British Cycling as part of the women's team."
If this is true - I have no idea - it is grounds for suspicion that people have started to game the trans debate, for personal gain in sports.
And why would they not? The potential benefits are enormous
I always thought it would first happen in tennis, which relies so heavily on strength and speed, and where women make so much money, despite being seriously weaker and slower than men. A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
This whole debate is on dangerous ground though. You either accept that women are intrinsically weaker, slower etc so must have their own sport, or you have no women in most sports. There are clear exceptions such as horse racing/jumping, shooting, archery etc, and possibly extreme endurance running, but for most sports, most of the time, no women would ever reach the top of the sport. i don't think we want that. The growing appeal and success of womens cricket, football and rugby is testament to this, and is providing inspiration and role models for young girls to aspire to.
Indeed I just went looking and someone has done a lot of calculations on this and found that in track events women's world records reach about 90% of men's and in jumping events women's records are 84% of men's. I would suspect that at Olympic standards that 10-15% difference is enough to ensure no woman would win a medal in any unisex track and field events.
https://zigapskraba.com/2016/09/15/womens-world-records-compared-against-mens-world-records-in-track-field/0 -
The power of computers is simply amazing. We fall so very far short of using it. All the chat about AI and machine learning fails to see that we're using a sword as a plough.Nigel_Foremain said:
and are almost a thousand times faster than the mid-'80s Cray-2 SupercomputerLeon said:
Imagine, just 30-40 years ago, someone trying to convince you of the looming existence of the smartphoneIshmaelZ said:“There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.”
Albert Einstein 1934
“heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible”
Lord Kelvin 1895
"So, this small hand held device, it will enable me to talk to anyone else in the world, immediately, and see their face as we talk?"
"Yes."
"And it will give me instant access to all the acquired news and knowledge of humanity?"
"Yep."
"And it will be a camera and a notebook and an orrery and a calculator and a recording device and a clock and a music player and a photo album and it will play TV and videos and it will tell me what wines are good just by pointing it at bottles and I will finally be able to make my own porn?"
"Yup."0 -
This thread has just been given an FPN!
0 -
Men and women DO play cricket together at club level. I have played on several occasions against Kate Cross, who is a more than useful part of a semi-professional club team, and there are female cricketers dotted across the country playing cricket right up to ECB Premier League level.Andy_JS said:Cricket is a sport where men and women could play together, with the exception of fast bowling. Some of the greatest batsmen of all time have been very small, such as Tendulkar, Lara and Gavaskar. Spin bowlers as well.
I'm not sure height is by a long stretch the primary reason that any mixed team would be dominated by men - bear in mind that possibly the greatest fast bowler of all time, Malcolm Marshall, was well below 6 feet tall, but still managed to bowl 90mph plus. Cross, who bowls first change for the England team, bowled at club cricket level with the keeper up, perhaps around 70mph or just below.
As a very crude estimation, I think that the England Women's team would beat a lot of club sides, but not the best ones.1 -
To travel at speed of light you have to weigh no more than speed of light - Jade 2022IshmaelZ said:“There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.”
Albert Einstein 1934
“heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible”
Lord Kelvin 18950 -
Or the longer, slower, attrition-oriented phase of the war. In which the Ukrainians make no big newsworthy advances, but behind the scenes keep on attacking supplies and keep on doing hit and run harassment and so generally sapping at both the morale and capability of the Russian forces.FrankBooth said:
I don't think they are having a good week on the battlefield. Ukrainian counterattacks appears to be the main story.TimS said:
I hope they are and that things really are bleak for Russia. I've discerned a subtle change of atmosphere in the last couple of days' commentary on Ukraine. A few pessimistic straws in the wind:FrankBooth said:
Apparently they are using their revenues to prop up the currency. Is that ever a wise strategy?rottenborough said:Today's No Shit Sherlock award goes to...
"The ruble’s stronger showing is most likely driven by artificial factors and might not be a good marker that the Russian economy is improving, said Yevgeny Nadorshin, the chief economist at the PF Capital consulting company in Moscow."
NY Times blog
- Seemingly a marked slowdown in reports of Ukrainian capture or destruction of Russian equipment
- Very little news about demoralised Russian soldiers or large scale surrenders
- Mariupol looking like it's within days or even hours of full capture
- Reports of heavy shelling (by Russian forces) North West of the capital despite their announced retreat
- Strains showing in NATO and EU unity and that vague sense that some countries are rather too keen to offer that off-ramp
- More visible Pro-Russian sentiment on social media. Have the bots managed to find their way back?
- Better quality propaganda and psyops on the Russian side. The stories of soldiers rescuing cats being today's novelty
- A more cocky and confident note overall from Russian officials
Is it just my imagination or is Russia having quite a good week? I really hope not. They need to lose, and badly, or things will only get worse over the next few years.
The problem is that the better the Ukrainians do on the battlefield the more room there is for countries to go soft on sanctions. And it's unclear whether Ukraine can really push the Russians out of most of their positions even if they are stalled. A possible stalemate with not much likelihood of a negotiated settlement.
There does not appear to have been any real slowing of Russian equipment losses. Still running at about 10 tanks and 50 other items a day. In the last week it has gone for 260 tanks/1600 total, to 342 tanks and just shy of 2100 total. Backlog has only gone down from 170 to 160, so that's not it.
1 -
Macron is a goner. Do you believe me now?HYUFD said:France, Elabe poll:
Presidential run-off election
Macron (EC-RE): 52.5% (-3.5)
Le Pen (RN-ID): 47.5% (+3.5)
+/- vs. 19-21 March 2022
https://twitter.com/EuropeElects/status/1509194089400606724?s=20&t=9dhBYX_tTFFTWcFyVfJVlQ
Macron, Boris, sacked in same year - Putin survives the year.0 -
I have a vague memory of some people who'd been 'lost' for years/decades after some sort of accident at sea being found and introduced to the many wonders of modern technology. Mobile phones? Like a walkie-talkie, right? On and on with 'meh'. Until they came across cling-film. Which utterly blew their minds.Leon said:
Imagine, just 30-40 years ago, someone trying to convince you of the looming existence of the smartphoneIshmaelZ said:“There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.”
Albert Einstein 1934
“heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible”
Lord Kelvin 1895
"So, this small hand held device, it will enable me to talk to anyone else in the world, immediately, and see their face as we talk?"
"Yes."
"And it will give me instant access to all the acquired news and knowledge of humanity?"
"Yep."
"And it will be a camera and a notebook and an orrery and a calculator and a recording device and a clock and a music player and a photo album and it will play TV and videos and it will tell me what wines are good just by pointing it at bottles and I will finally be able to make my own porn?"
"Yup."
0 -
As for the trans debate, the people who have done the most damage to trans rights are people like the trans person who proceeded to rape a female patient in a single sex ward, and people the swimmer who became a female swimmer while full of testosterone. Knowing a couple of trans people myself, I'm sure the majority would just like to get on with their lives and be accepted by society just like everyone else - idiots such as the two examples above have sadly made such a reasonable aim a lot more difficult.3
-
I'm still waiting for the daily Russian tanks destroyed graph.Malmesbury said:Hospitals
0 -
Sailing depends on the event. 470 used to be open and is now split between men and women in the Olympics. Strength and height can be a big advantage but weight can be a disadvantage depending on conditions. If you are out on a trapeze you need strong arm, leg and stomach muscles. If you are on a racing yacht like the Americas cup you need a team of beefcakes. Literally the strongest and fastest you can get.noneoftheabove said:
Shooting is one that could be mixed (archery requires strength and long arms so not the same). Not sure there is much else, don't know about sailing perhaps.Richard_Tyndall said:
I assume there are some team sports where that is the case but I am hard pressed to think of any track and field or strength sports where the Women's world record exceeds the Men's.Phil said:
One of the complicating factors is that sport governing bodies were / are incredibly sexist: Pretty much every sport where woman could in fact compete on an equal level with men usually banned women from competing with men at the highest levels. The olympics is riddled with ridiculous “women’s versions” of sports that were created to prevent women & men competing, not because women were the “weaker sex” but because male egos couldn’t cope with women beating them.kinabalu said:
It's exaggeration to talk about an existential threat but women's sport does need controls to protect the integrity of competition. I think this issue will be resolved before too long.turbotubbs said:
Wasn't there the whole battle of the sexes thing in tennis? Bobby Riggs vs Billy Jean King. Although he was apparently 55 at the time.Luckyguy1983 said:
Has this ever been tested? I remember in their pomp, Richard Williams boasted that he'd have to start entering Serena and Venus in male competitions to get a good game, and John Mackinroe replied that he was coaching male players on the youth circuit who could easily beat either sister. Not sure if they have ever done it though.Leon said:
There's a comment in the Times op-ed by Owen Slot about Bridges:Dura_Ace said:
The smorgasbord of hormonal treatments she is on will also make it very difficult, if not pointless, to baseline her bio-passport. All competitive cycling is a chemical weapons arms race...Taz said:
Emily Bridges in the cycling world will be the really interesting one. Before she transitioned she was far from mediocre, unless the tall US Swimmer.
"Bridges was dropped from the elite men's squad because of poor performances.
Started identifying as a woman two weeks later. Was immediately rehired by British Cycling as part of the women's team."
If this is true - I have no idea - it is grounds for suspicion that people have started to game the trans debate, for personal gain in sports.
And why would they not? The potential benefits are enormous
I always thought it would first happen in tennis, which relies so heavily on strength and speed, and where women make so much money, despite being seriously weaker and slower than men. A good male tennis player - someone in the top 1000 but not top 100 - would beat Serena Williams at her peak
This whole debate is on dangerous ground though. You either accept that women are intrinsically weaker, slower etc so must have their own sport, or you have no women in most sports. There are clear exceptions such as horse racing/jumping, shooting, archery etc, and possibly extreme endurance running, but for most sports, most of the time, no women would ever reach the top of the sport. i don't think we want that. The growing appeal and success of womens cricket, football and rugby is testament to this, and is providing inspiration and role models for young girls to aspire to.
Indeed I just went looking and someone has done a lot of calculations on this and found that in track events women's world records reach about 90% of men's and in jumping events women's records are 84% of men's. I would suspect that at Olympic standards that 10-15% difference is enough to ensure no woman would win a medal in any unisex track and field events.
https://zigapskraba.com/2016/09/15/womens-world-records-compared-against-mens-world-records-in-track-field/1 -
You mean it is for sad lonersOnlyLivingBoy said:
The stuff the tech bros get most excited about - things like driverless cars, crypto - often seem to be about avoiding other people or avoiding responsibility for other people. It's a very particular vision of the future that seems firmly rooted in American individualism and libertarianism.Leon said:Talking of Sri Lanka and Driverless Cars, AS I WAS, I am reminded of a dinner I had in Colombo where one of the guests was a super-smart tech-bro from Silicon Valley. Very well connected, sort of a 20-something Elon Musk
I asked him about driverless cars and he was insistent they were coming very soon, and driverless flying taxis possibly even quicker. No doubts at all
The change is going to be momentous - from petrol driven cars to driverless electric vehicles - and we are about to witness it. All that pollution gone. All the noise. The hassle of driving and parking (for many). It will be like the move from horses to the combustion engine at the end of the 19th century0 -
Did Dennis Nilsen do the most damage to gay rights? Or Stephen Port?GreenHeron said:As for the trans debate, the people who have done the most damage to trans rights are people like the trans person who proceeded to rape a female patient in a single sex ward, and people the swimmer who became a female swimmer while full of testosterone. Knowing a couple of trans people myself, I'm sure the majority would just like to get on with their lives and be accepted by society just like everyone else - idiots such as the two examples above have sadly made such a reasonable aim a lot more difficult.
Or does society say: "these people are not representative of all gay people?"
So why should trans people be tarred with the brush of a few evil-doers?
(And BTW, although I am not in favour of trans people taking part in professional sports for their new gender, I think adding them to the list with rapists is a little off.)2
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