Rishi Sunak’s chopper is going to get him into a lot of trouble – politicalbetting.com

Nigelb said:

Great pic of the back of Trump’s head with this.
Anyone know what the @*&! is going on with it ?

https://twitter.com/politicoalex/status/1690775779523567616
DeSantis super PAC officials were involved in an altercation with Trump supporters at a Des Moines bar late Friday night, per 3 eyewitness accounts

Other stories out of Iowa, telling of how MAGA-maniacs are committing organized harassment of Ron DeSantis and his campaign.

Punters and most PBers have concluded that RDS is a busted flush - but perhaps Trump and his henchpeople do NOT see it that way?

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

JosiasJessop said:

Leon said:

Another telling paragraph from that awful Russian mine story. This is a Ukrainian source speaking:


“Yuri Sak, an adviser to the ministry of defence, is less convinced. “They have been preparing for a war in which they mine from Poland to Lisbon,” he said. “I fear they have enough.””

The war is possibly over. In terms of Ukraine “winning”. I hope I am wrong and I am happy to be persuaded otherwise. But it seems to me that Putin has successfully defended his gains

As the Ukrainians say in the article, even if they had the right kit it wouldn’t do the job. They are running out of men

The war is not 'possibly' over, and will not be as long as Ukraine and Ukrainians wants to fight. Having seen what Russia does to 'conquered' territories post-2014 and post-2022, my guess is that the fighting spirit will remain strong.

But it also requires the west to back them for as long as they want to fight. Beware of doing Putin's job for him.

This is so fucking tiresome. Merely pointing out that the Ukraine attack is now bogged down in Russian minefields - and losing terrible numbers of men - does not make me a Putinist. It is the case. Read the articles. Ukrainians themselves are saying it

You're fine, but I think the issue is more that you keep stating the obvious (that Russia will take a lot of shifting from Ukraine, might never be, and it will be long and bloody either way) in a tone more suited to delivering an outlier view or a scoop.

But it IS received as an outlying position. Look at the people on this thread accusing me of purveying “doom porn”. It’s irritating

I think you misunderstand slightly. It's an empathy thing. This war is unusual in that one side is clearly and wholly in the wrong. We almost all desperately want them to lose. So your repeated postings of the obvious fact that this might not happen anytime soon if at all comes across as taunting. No, too strong, needling. Because that's its only effect. To needle. See what I'm driving at?

No I don’t

I think there are too many people on this site living in an echo chamber of yay Ukraine, win win win

And having now actually been to Ukraine this month, and talked to Ukrainians in Ukraine, I think I can speak with a smidgen more authority than more. Just a smidgen mind. Nothing dramatic. I’m not suddenly claiming to be Basil Liddell Hart of Bakhmut

Anti-personnel mines are very nasty but they've been around for decades and don't form an impenetrable barrier, and we don't send men over the top anymore, en mass, to defuse them.

Artillery and air power are far more likely to inhibit Ukrainian offensives, and cause casualties.

I dunno. Experts are saying Russia has laid mines like no one before in history - literally. 5 per square metre. Millions and millions across Ukraine

Every big war brings innovations and revelations around warfare. This one has already showed us tanks are highly vulnerable to hand held rockets and bombs dropped from drones

It may now be showing that anti personnel mines can be laid in such density and profusion they make attack overland impossible. We don’t know yet

ydoethur said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

ydoethur said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

No_Offence_Alan said:

ydoethur said:

dixiedean said:

Off topic, but just discovered the putative Berwick and Morpeth constituency has been renamed by the less pleasing, but more accurate, Northumberland North.
Making me wonder how Hexham has avoided Northumberland West?
Have there been any other last minute name changes I've missed?

I wondered whether it might be a hangover from the old days of the districts, but since the district was called Tynedale (which would surely also be a logical name for the seat?) that seems unlikely.

Maybe Hexham is just less of a mouthful and they couldn't be bothered to change it?

(By the way, I think it will be 'North Northumberland' rather than 'Northumberland North,' as it's a county seat, which i have to say is a bit clumsy.)

I am waiting for the Scottish Parliament seat of Clydebank and Milngavie to be re-named East Dunbartonshire West and West Dunbartonshire East.

Sadly this kind of thing, is why in USA congressional and (almost all) state legislative districts are numbered instead of named.

Sad because personally love "West Bromwich East" and the like!

If YOU get to have (another example) "South Holland and the Deepings" then why can't WE have "East Carolina and the Drippings"?

Or "East Arkansas and the Chitterlings"!

Or 'North Florida and the Orange Haired Twats?'

Believe you'll find the Twat-in-Chief's lair at Mar-a-Lardo, is located in SOUTH Florida?

Though future Orange-Hair, Matt Gaetz IS from North Florida, indeed he grew up (chronologically anyway) in house on Redneck Riviera featured in "The Truman Show".

I never could get a handle on Florida.

Universally Panned.

Scott_xP said:

El_Capitano said:

Scott_xP said:

El_Capitano said:

Just observing that - it may not be the exploits of Leon or the extremes of our Gulf contingent or even the froideur of our Scandinavian expats - but I’m sitting in the well deck of our little canal boat in a remote Warwickshire mooring, three pints of Old Rosie into the evening, and this country is fucking glorious sometimes.

As you were.

Not the "Comfortably Numb" by any chance?

No but we passed that yesterday - think it was moored in Heyford and heading south!

It was in a remote Warwickshire mooring this morning...

Oh, interesting. Maybe it turned round at Heyford and is going the same way as us. I’ll keep an eye out.

Andy_JS said:

CJtheOptimist said:

Today's discussions even more depressing than Friday's

What is there to be depressed about at the moment? (Excluding Ukraine).

Climate change
NHS waiting lists
Mortgage rates
Rent
The weather
The state of English/Welsh* rugby (*delete as appropriate)

I just binge ate a whole packet of McVities ginger biscuits and don’t regret a thing.

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

Nigelb said:

Great pic of the back of Trump’s head with this.
Anyone know what the @*&! is going on with it ?

https://twitter.com/politicoalex/status/1690775779523567616
DeSantis super PAC officials were involved in an altercation with Trump supporters at a Des Moines bar late Friday night, per 3 eyewitness accounts

Other stories out of Iowa, telling of how MAGA-maniacs are committing organized harassment of Ron DeSantis and his campaign.

Punters and most PBers have concluded that RDS is a busted flush - but perhaps Trump and his henchpeople do NOT see it that way?

I think they just hate each other.

Foxy said:

HYUFD said:

Germany's governing SPD considers a ban on the far right AfD as it reaches 21% in the polls

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/13/afd-party-ban-germany-far-right-extremists/

The pro-Russia faction is what is driving the AfD vote. How do you feel about that?

And the anti immigration faction but either way banning them doesn't solve the problem

Georgia prosecutors have messages showing Trump’s team is behind voting system breach
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/13/politics/coffee-county-georgia-voting-system-breach-trump/index.html
Atlanta-area prosecutors investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia are in possession of text messages and emails directly connecting members of Donald Trump’s legal team to the early January 2021 voting system breach in Coffee County, sources tell CNN.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to seek charges against more than a dozen individuals when her team presents its case before a grand jury next week. Several individuals involved in the voting systems breach in Coffee County are among those who may face charges in the sprawling criminal probe.

Investigators in the Georgia criminal probe have long suspected the breach was not an organic effort sprung from sympathetic Trump supporters in rural and heavily Republican Coffee County – a county Trump won by nearly 70% of the vote. They have gathered evidence indicating it was a top-down push by Trump’s team to access sensitive voting software, according to people familiar with the situation…

Luckyguy1983 said:

viewcode said:

Nigelb said:

Great pic of the back of Trump’s head with this.
Anyone know what the @*&! is going on with it ?

https://twitter.com/politicoalex/status/1690775779523567616
DeSantis super PAC officials were involved in an altercation with Trump supporters at a Des Moines bar late Friday night, per 3 eyewitness accounts

Before hair transplant tech settled on the two current techniques (FUE and FUT), other techniques were used. One of them was xxx-flap surgery, where xxx stands for a name I've forgotten. This flap surgery involves inserting a balloon under the skin, inflating it, then removing it and repositioning the stretched skin. It is now thought as too drastic with complications and scarring. IIRC Trump is thought to have had one of these surgeries and it went wrong, leaving him with a distorted hairline and an odd balding pattern. This explains his odd combover hair pattern.

There are all sorts of Trumpite combover techniques amongst older men in the US. It's a different country; they do things differently there.

Perry Johnson, who's also running for the Republican nomination, is the scariest.

viewcode said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

..

CJtheOptimist said:

CJtheOptimist said:

StillWaters said:

CJtheOptimist said:

Today's discussions even more depressing than Friday's

Be positive

It could be worse

How can things be worse? Ukraine is losing the war, covered in mines and nearly flat. Millions of migrants are trying to escape the horrible places in the world to get to slightly less horrible places. The planet is on fire. The world has insufficient resources: fuel, water, food, space. We have a disastrous government that is sitting back while the country's infrastructure falls apart (the NHS, social care, housing, public transport, roads)

Or am I reading the wrong news?

OMG I'm sounding like a doom monger, not my usual optimistic self. Probably too much wine with dinner. Sorry.

The world having insufficient water is a particularly ludicrous piece of chicken-littledom. It has exactly the same amount of water it's always had. Get a grip and stop being so suggestible.

Isn't some of it locked up in rocks? The word "subduction" floats - hah! - to the top of my swiss-cheese brain.

Not especially large amounts. Subduction is the process of rock being pushed down at junctions of tech tonic plates, to get remelted and recycled.

ydoethur said:

El_Capitano said:

ydoethur said:

DougSeal said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

. . . yet another attack upon Truth, Justice and the British Way, by incorrigibly Anglo-phobic New York Times . . .

NYT ($) - Do These Shoes Make Me Look Like a Tourist?
A reader asks: to sneaker or not to sneaker?

Q: I’ll be visiting Europe for the first time this summer and need advice for stylish walking shoes. I mainly wear dresses, but if I wear ballet flats while walking all day, my feet tend to swell up (not an issue with sneakers, but no way). Do you have any suggestions for a more closed shoe that wouldn’t out me as l’américaine? — Jennifer, Seattle


A: By your shoes, they shall know you. I’m not entirely kidding. Shoes may not be the windows to the soul, but for a long time they were the source of national stereotype.

Germans, it was said, were the travelers in sandals and white athletic socks. You could tell an Italian banker because he was the one in brown shoes, no matter what color his suit. The British, on the other hand, went around intoning “no brown in town.” American tourists wore sneakers.

But that was then! Between the explosion of sneaker culture, the “fashionization” of Birkenstocks and the general rise of comfort clothing, those old lines have started to blur. If Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, can wear sneakers to a meeting in the Oval Office, and Serena Williams can wear them to the Met Gala, Americans can wear them in Europe. So, for that matter, can Europeans. (So, for that matter, do Europeans.)

Indeed, sneakers and Birks are by no means the giveaways they once were. They are pretty much an integral part of every wardrobe, not to mention every designer collection on Avenue Montaigne. So don’t be so quick to dismiss them.

According to Dana Thomas, an author (and New York Times contributor) who has lived in Paris for more than two decades, the only footwear that really screams “tourist” these days is Crocs. . . .

SSI - notice the not-so-subtle dig at "no brown in town" implying the British - or at least the English - are all racists!

Your stout defence of the NYT is admirable. My mother in law was very put out when I kept hiding her copy while visiting her in Connecticut.

Don't knock the New York Times.

They gave us Wordle.

They bought it. It was developed by a British software developer who sold out for $$$. Insert your own national decay metaphor here.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wordle

In that case - screw 'em.

I thought sneakers ere a kind of degererate mars bar. Do Americans really wear them? It does seem a bit strange. No wonder the lady is confused.

dixiedean said:

ydoethur said:

dixiedean said:

Off topic, but just discovered the putative Berwick and Morpeth constituency has been renamed by the less pleasing, but more accurate, Northumberland North.
Making me wonder how Hexham has avoided Northumberland West?
Have there been any other last minute name changes I've missed?

I wondered whether it might be a hangover from the old days of the districts, but since the district was called Tynedale (which would surely also be a logical name for the seat?) that seems unlikely.

Maybe Hexham is just less of a mouthful and they couldn't be bothered to change it?

(By the way, I think it will be 'North Northumberland' rather than 'Northumberland North,' as it's a county seat, which i have to say is a bit clumsy.)

It's a lot bigger than the old Tynedale now. Taking in bits of western Newcastle, a major new housing development in Morpeth and some rural land out towards Ashington and Bedlington too.
Which is why Hexham is a curious name. It isn't really centred on there any more.
And Prudhoe and Ponteland are just as big settlements within its boundaries.

Prudhoe and Ponteland would be a good name for the constituency. Then we could laugh at southerners twice over for their mispronunciation.

mwadams said:

Leon said:

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

JosiasJessop said:

Leon said:

Another telling paragraph from that awful Russian mine story. This is a Ukrainian source speaking:


“Yuri Sak, an adviser to the ministry of defence, is less convinced. “They have been preparing for a war in which they mine from Poland to Lisbon,” he said. “I fear they have enough.””

The war is possibly over. In terms of Ukraine “winning”. I hope I am wrong and I am happy to be persuaded otherwise. But it seems to me that Putin has successfully defended his gains

As the Ukrainians say in the article, even if they had the right kit it wouldn’t do the job. They are running out of men

The war is not 'possibly' over, and will not be as long as Ukraine and Ukrainians wants to fight. Having seen what Russia does to 'conquered' territories post-2014 and post-2022, my guess is that the fighting spirit will remain strong.

But it also requires the west to back them for as long as they want to fight. Beware of doing Putin's job for him.

This is so fucking tiresome. Merely pointing out that the Ukraine attack is now bogged down in Russian minefields - and losing terrible numbers of men - does not make me a Putinist. It is the case. Read the articles. Ukrainians themselves are saying it

You're fine, but I think the issue is more that you keep stating the obvious (that Russia will take a lot of shifting from Ukraine, might never be, and it will be long and bloody either way) in a tone more suited to delivering an outlier view or a scoop.

But it IS received as an outlying position. Look at the people on this thread accusing me of purveying “doom porn”. It’s irritating

I think you misunderstand slightly. It's an empathy thing. This war is unusual in that one side is clearly and wholly in the wrong. We almost all desperately want them to lose. So your repeated postings of the obvious fact that this might not happen anytime soon if at all comes across as taunting. No, too strong, needling. Because that's its only effect. To needle. See what I'm driving at?

No I don’t

I think there are too many people on this site living in an echo chamber of yay Ukraine, win win win

And having now actually been to Ukraine this month, and talked to Ukrainians in Ukraine, I think I can speak with a smidgen more authority than more. Just a smidgen mind. Nothing dramatic. I’m not suddenly claiming to be Basil Liddell Hart of Bakhmut

Anti-personnel mines are very nasty but they've been around for decades and don't form an impenetrable barrier, and we don't send men over the top anymore, en mass, to defuse them.

Artillery and air power are far more likely to inhibit Ukrainian offensives, and cause casualties.

I dunno. Experts are saying Russia has laid mines like no one before in history - literally. 5 per square metre. Millions and millions across Ukraine

Every big war brings innovations and revelations around warfare. This one has already showed us tanks are highly vulnerable to hand held rockets and bombs dropped from drones

It may now be showing that anti personnel mines can be laid in such density and profusion they make attack overland impossible. We don’t know yet

It does seem like the "charge the cavalry at them so they form squares, then pound them with canister" of this war is "pound the position with artillery then make a threatening move forward and allow them to withdraw showing the safe paths through the minefields behind them".

It's slow work, but seems to preserve attackers disproportionately well.

The addition of cluster munitions to the arsenal has added "and then plaster the rearguard as they start to move out".

Yes, the Ukranians do seem to be making slow but steady progress towards Tokmak in the south.

Incidentally Matthew, have you watched The Bear? It seems right up your street if not.

HYUFD said:

Foxy said:

HYUFD said:

Germany's governing SPD considers a ban on the far right AfD as it reaches 21% in the polls

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/13/afd-party-ban-germany-far-right-extremists/

The pro-Russia faction is what is driving the AfD vote. How do you feel about that?

And the anti immigration faction but either way banning them doesn't solve the problem

It's the Russia situation that has changed in the last year.

Andy_JS said:

CJtheOptimist said:

Today's discussions even more depressing than Friday's

What is there to be depressed about at the moment? (Excluding Ukraine).

The Government of the United Kingdom has decided to adopt an economic strategy that involves importing hundreds of thousands if not millions of people per year to specifically repress the wages, housing and life opportunities of me and my class, and is supported in that stance by a Loyal Opposition that has forgotten who it is supposed to be loyal to.

I've got a nice yoghurt in the cupboard tho.

So there is that.

Luckyguy1983 said:

..

CJtheOptimist said:

CJtheOptimist said:

StillWaters said:

CJtheOptimist said:

Today's discussions even more depressing than Friday's

Be positive

It could be worse

How can things be worse? Ukraine is losing the war, covered in mines and nearly flat. Millions of migrants are trying to escape the horrible places in the world to get to slightly less horrible places. The planet is on fire. The world has insufficient resources: fuel, water, food, space. We have a disastrous government that is sitting back while the country's infrastructure falls apart (the NHS, social care, housing, public transport, roads)

Or am I reading the wrong news?

OMG I'm sounding like a doom monger, not my usual optimistic self. Probably too much wine with dinner. Sorry.

The world having insufficient water is a particularly ludicrous piece of chicken-littledom. It has exactly the same amount of water it's always had. Get a grip and stop being so suggestible.

Demands on water are greater

Water rights are a great source of conflict (eg Egypt/Sudan, Israel/Palestine, California/Colorado etc)

Trump blames left for legal costs
Trump’s Save America PAC shrank from over $100 million at the beginning of last year to $3.6 million after bankrolling legal fees for the former president and his allies.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/12/trump-legal-costs-pac-00110960

Nearly $100m in legal fees is… impressive ?

Malmesbury said:

StillWaters said:

FF43 said:

After the success of their "Stop the Boats Week" during which record numbers of asylum seekers made it across the Channel, and sadly some didn't, inmates had to be taken off the controversial and extremely expensive Stockholm Bibby barge because they didn't bother to check for legionella, and when the Tory Party descended into infighting ... the government is now moving straight onto ... "NHS Week". I wonder what remarkable achievements they have in store for us, for NHS Week?

If they didn’t bother to check for legionella how did they know to take everyone off before they got sick?

The various statements are open to interpretation. But what seems to have happened is

1) Routine testing for Legionaires
2) Moved migrants in
3) Got results from cultures in the lab.

Yes, that seems to be the order of events.

Malmesbury said:

StillWaters said:

FF43 said:

After the success of their "Stop the Boats Week" during which record numbers of asylum seekers made it across the Channel, and sadly some didn't, inmates had to be taken off the controversial and extremely expensive Stockholm Bibby barge because they didn't bother to check for legionella, and when the Tory Party descended into infighting ... the government is now moving straight onto ... "NHS Week". I wonder what remarkable achievements they have in store for us, for NHS Week?

If they didn’t bother to check for legionella how did they know to take everyone off before they got sick?

The various statements are open to interpretation. But what seems to have happened is

1) Routine testing for Legionaires
2) Moved migrants in
3) Got results from cultures in the lab.

Enough migrants arrived yesterday to fill the entire Bibby Stockholm. The government strategy doesn't seem to be working.

1600 in the last 3 days. 3 barges worth.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats-last-7-days

Cookie said:

El_Capitano said:

Scott_xP said:

El_Capitano said:

Just observing that - it may not be the exploits of Leon or the extremes of our Gulf contingent or even the froideur of our Scandinavian expats - but I’m sitting in the well deck of our little canal boat in a remote Warwickshire mooring, three pints of Old Rosie into the evening, and this country is fucking glorious sometimes.

As you were.

Not the "Comfortably Numb" by any chance?

No but we passed that yesterday - think it was moored in Heyford and heading south!

I've seen that boat (around Beeston, I'd say) - is it remarkable?

Not as a boat, but it’s a neat paint job.

We went through Cropredy today - the day after the festival. Incredibly busy. The Venn diagram of narrowboaters and Fairport fans is pretty tight. That said, apparently tomorrow is when the shit hits the fan as everyone tries to use the same winding hole at once…

williamglenn said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

viewcode said:

Nigelb said:

Great pic of the back of Trump’s head with this.
Anyone know what the @*&! is going on with it ?

https://twitter.com/politicoalex/status/1690775779523567616
DeSantis super PAC officials were involved in an altercation with Trump supporters at a Des Moines bar late Friday night, per 3 eyewitness accounts

Before hair transplant tech settled on the two current techniques (FUE and FUT), other techniques were used. One of them was xxx-flap surgery, where xxx stands for a name I've forgotten. This flap surgery involves inserting a balloon under the skin, inflating it, then removing it and repositioning the stretched skin. It is now thought as too drastic with complications and scarring. IIRC Trump is thought to have had one of these surgeries and it went wrong, leaving him with a distorted hairline and an odd balding pattern. This explains his odd combover hair pattern.

There are all sorts of Trumpite combover techniques amongst older men in the US. It's a different country; they do things differently there.

Perry Johnson, who's also running for the Republican nomination, is the scariest.

Apparently he lectures on ISO accreditation standards… oh man…

El_Capitano said:

Cookie said:

El_Capitano said:

Scott_xP said:

El_Capitano said:

Just observing that - it may not be the exploits of Leon or the extremes of our Gulf contingent or even the froideur of our Scandinavian expats - but I’m sitting in the well deck of our little canal boat in a remote Warwickshire mooring, three pints of Old Rosie into the evening, and this country is fucking glorious sometimes.

As you were.

Not the "Comfortably Numb" by any chance?

No but we passed that yesterday - think it was moored in Heyford and heading south!

I've seen that boat (around Beeston, I'd say) - is it remarkable?

Not as a boat, but it’s a neat paint job.

We went through Cropredy today - the day after the festival. Incredibly busy. The Venn diagram of narrowboaters and Fairport fans is pretty tight. That said, apparently tomorrow is when the shit hits the fan as everyone tries to use the same winding hole at once…

My grandparents lived for a couple of decades in Cropredy. I used to visit them regularly as a child and walk down to the canal. Grandmother hated the festival, used to whinge about the noise and all the unkempt hoipolloi hanging around (I only later learned it was a very sedate affair involving members of CAMRA and Lib Dems).

Luckyguy1983 said:

...

StillWaters said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

..

CJtheOptimist said:

CJtheOptimist said:

StillWaters said:

CJtheOptimist said:

Today's discussions even more depressing than Friday's

Be positive

It could be worse

How can things be worse? Ukraine is losing the war, covered in mines and nearly flat. Millions of migrants are trying to escape the horrible places in the world to get to slightly less horrible places. The planet is on fire. The world has insufficient resources: fuel, water, food, space. We have a disastrous government that is sitting back while the country's infrastructure falls apart (the NHS, social care, housing, public transport, roads)

Or am I reading the wrong news?

OMG I'm sounding like a doom monger, not my usual optimistic self. Probably too much wine with dinner. Sorry.

The world having insufficient water is a particularly ludicrous piece of chicken-littledom. It has exactly the same amount of water it's always had. Get a grip and stop being so suggestible.

Demands on water are greater

Water rights are a great source of conflict (eg Egypt/Sudan, Israel/Palestine, California/Colorado etc)

Demands on water are temporary, and miniscule compared with supply.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_law_in_the_United_States

Foxy said:

ClippP said:

ydoethur said:

El_Capitano said:

ydoethur said:

DougSeal said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

. . . yet another attack upon Truth, Justice and the British Way, by incorrigibly Anglo-phobic New York Times . . .

NYT ($) - Do These Shoes Make Me Look Like a Tourist?
A reader asks: to sneaker or not to sneaker?

Q: I’ll be visiting Europe for the first time this summer and need advice for stylish walking shoes. I mainly wear dresses, but if I wear ballet flats while walking all day, my feet tend to swell up (not an issue with sneakers, but no way). Do you have any suggestions for a more closed shoe that wouldn’t out me as l’américaine? — Jennifer, Seattle


A: By your shoes, they shall know you. I’m not entirely kidding. Shoes may not be the windows to the soul, but for a long time they were the source of national stereotype.

Germans, it was said, were the travelers in sandals and white athletic socks. You could tell an Italian banker because he was the one in brown shoes, no matter what color his suit. The British, on the other hand, went around intoning “no brown in town.” American tourists wore sneakers.

But that was then! Between the explosion of sneaker culture, the “fashionization” of Birkenstocks and the general rise of comfort clothing, those old lines have started to blur. If Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, can wear sneakers to a meeting in the Oval Office, and Serena Williams can wear them to the Met Gala, Americans can wear them in Europe. So, for that matter, can Europeans. (So, for that matter, do Europeans.)

Indeed, sneakers and Birks are by no means the giveaways they once were. They are pretty much an integral part of every wardrobe, not to mention every designer collection on Avenue Montaigne. So don’t be so quick to dismiss them.

According to Dana Thomas, an author (and New York Times contributor) who has lived in Paris for more than two decades, the only footwear that really screams “tourist” these days is Crocs. . . .

SSI - notice the not-so-subtle dig at "no brown in town" implying the British - or at least the English - are all racists!

Your stout defence of the NYT is admirable. My mother in law was very put out when I kept hiding her copy while visiting her in Connecticut.

Don't knock the New York Times.

They gave us Wordle.

They bought it. It was developed by a British software developer who sold out for $$$. Insert your own national decay metaphor here.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wordle

In that case - screw 'em.

I thought sneakers ere a kind of degererate mars bar. Do Americans really wear them?
It does seem a bit strange. No wonder the lady is confused.

You can still spot Americans by their shoes. It seems to be inescapable.

A game I play on the tube sometimes is guess the nationality of the tourist by looking at their clothes.

Why do so many Germans wear those khaki jackets with the little flag on one arm?

StillWaters said:

Foxy said:

ClippP said:

ydoethur said:

El_Capitano said:

ydoethur said:

DougSeal said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

. . . yet another attack upon Truth, Justice and the British Way, by incorrigibly Anglo-phobic New York Times . . .

NYT ($) - Do These Shoes Make Me Look Like a Tourist?
A reader asks: to sneaker or not to sneaker?

Q: I’ll be visiting Europe for the first time this summer and need advice for stylish walking shoes. I mainly wear dresses, but if I wear ballet flats while walking all day, my feet tend to swell up (not an issue with sneakers, but no way). Do you have any suggestions for a more closed shoe that wouldn’t out me as l’américaine? — Jennifer, Seattle


A: By your shoes, they shall know you. I’m not entirely kidding. Shoes may not be the windows to the soul, but for a long time they were the source of national stereotype.

Germans, it was said, were the travelers in sandals and white athletic socks. You could tell an Italian banker because he was the one in brown shoes, no matter what color his suit. The British, on the other hand, went around intoning “no brown in town.” American tourists wore sneakers.

But that was then! Between the explosion of sneaker culture, the “fashionization” of Birkenstocks and the general rise of comfort clothing, those old lines have started to blur. If Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, can wear sneakers to a meeting in the Oval Office, and Serena Williams can wear them to the Met Gala, Americans can wear them in Europe. So, for that matter, can Europeans. (So, for that matter, do Europeans.)

Indeed, sneakers and Birks are by no means the giveaways they once were. They are pretty much an integral part of every wardrobe, not to mention every designer collection on Avenue Montaigne. So don’t be so quick to dismiss them.

According to Dana Thomas, an author (and New York Times contributor) who has lived in Paris for more than two decades, the only footwear that really screams “tourist” these days is Crocs. . . .

SSI - notice the not-so-subtle dig at "no brown in town" implying the British - or at least the English - are all racists!

Your stout defence of the NYT is admirable. My mother in law was very put out when I kept hiding her copy while visiting her in Connecticut.

Don't knock the New York Times.

They gave us Wordle.

They bought it. It was developed by a British software developer who sold out for $$$. Insert your own national decay metaphor here.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wordle

In that case - screw 'em.

I thought sneakers ere a kind of degererate mars bar. Do Americans really wear them?
It does seem a bit strange. No wonder the lady is confused.

You can still spot Americans by their shoes. It seems to be inescapable.

A game I play on the tube sometimes is guess the nationality of the tourist by looking at their clothes.

Why do so many Germans wear those khaki jackets with the little flag on one arm?

The other thing on the tube that gives away the American tourists is the way they scan the carriage in fear or murder. It ain't America dudes!

Luckyguy1983 said:

...

StillWaters said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

..

CJtheOptimist said:

CJtheOptimist said:

StillWaters said:

CJtheOptimist said:

Today's discussions even more depressing than Friday's

Be positive

It could be worse

How can things be worse? Ukraine is losing the war, covered in mines and nearly flat. Millions of migrants are trying to escape the horrible places in the world to get to slightly less horrible places. The planet is on fire. The world has insufficient resources: fuel, water, food, space. We have a disastrous government that is sitting back while the country's infrastructure falls apart (the NHS, social care, housing, public transport, roads)

Or am I reading the wrong news?

OMG I'm sounding like a doom monger, not my usual optimistic self. Probably too much wine with dinner. Sorry.

The world having insufficient water is a particularly ludicrous piece of chicken-littledom. It has exactly the same amount of water it's always had. Get a grip and stop being so suggestible.

Demands on water are greater

Water rights are a great source of conflict (eg Egypt/Sudan, Israel/Palestine, California/Colorado etc)

Demands on water are temporary, and miniscule compared with supply.

People need water every day for hydration, washing, etc. Agriculture and industry are massive users and need a reliable supply. Demand is not temporary.

And it’s not the total water we need to consider but the potable water that is in the right location

Benpointer said:

ydoethur said:

Benpointer said:

ydoethur said:

DougSeal said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

No_Offence_Alan said:

ydoethur said:

dixiedean said:

Off topic, but just discovered the putative Berwick and Morpeth constituency has been renamed by the less pleasing, but more accurate, Northumberland North.
Making me wonder how Hexham has avoided Northumberland West?
Have there been any other last minute name changes I've missed?

I wondered whether it might be a hangover from the old days of the districts, but since the district was called Tynedale (which would surely also be a logical name for the seat?) that seems unlikely.

Maybe Hexham is just less of a mouthful and they couldn't be bothered to change it?

(By the way, I think it will be 'North Northumberland' rather than 'Northumberland North,' as it's a county seat, which i have to say is a bit clumsy.)

I am waiting for the Scottish Parliament seat of Clydebank and Milngavie to be re-named East Dunbartonshire West and West Dunbartonshire East.

Sadly this kind of thing, is why in USA congressional and (almost all) state legislative districts are numbered instead of named.

Sad because personally love "West Bromwich East" and the like!

If YOU get to have (another example) "South Holland and the Deepings" then why can't WE have "East Carolina and the Drippings"?

Or "East Arkansas and the Chitterlings"!

Can you imagine the arguments come redistricting? You’d get lawsuits over which town/locality got priority in such amalgamated names. I’m surprised it doesn’t happen here. People in these parts hit the roof over a proposal to rename “Canterbury” to “Canterbury and Whitstable”. Proud people in Durovernum Cantiacorum.

Once you accept these names though, the world's your oyster.

Some will object, but they're just being shellfish.

Was that an attempt to mussel in?

If you have a go at me, I'll just clam up.

Some razor like wit around tonight

Foxy said:

StillWaters said:

Foxy said:

ClippP said:

ydoethur said:

El_Capitano said:

ydoethur said:

DougSeal said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

. . . yet another attack upon Truth, Justice and the British Way, by incorrigibly Anglo-phobic New York Times . . .

NYT ($) - Do These Shoes Make Me Look Like a Tourist?
A reader asks: to sneaker or not to sneaker?

Q: I’ll be visiting Europe for the first time this summer and need advice for stylish walking shoes. I mainly wear dresses, but if I wear ballet flats while walking all day, my feet tend to swell up (not an issue with sneakers, but no way). Do you have any suggestions for a more closed shoe that wouldn’t out me as l’américaine? — Jennifer, Seattle


A: By your shoes, they shall know you. I’m not entirely kidding. Shoes may not be the windows to the soul, but for a long time they were the source of national stereotype.

Germans, it was said, were the travelers in sandals and white athletic socks. You could tell an Italian banker because he was the one in brown shoes, no matter what color his suit. The British, on the other hand, went around intoning “no brown in town.” American tourists wore sneakers.

But that was then! Between the explosion of sneaker culture, the “fashionization” of Birkenstocks and the general rise of comfort clothing, those old lines have started to blur. If Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, can wear sneakers to a meeting in the Oval Office, and Serena Williams can wear them to the Met Gala, Americans can wear them in Europe. So, for that matter, can Europeans. (So, for that matter, do Europeans.)

Indeed, sneakers and Birks are by no means the giveaways they once were. They are pretty much an integral part of every wardrobe, not to mention every designer collection on Avenue Montaigne. So don’t be so quick to dismiss them.

According to Dana Thomas, an author (and New York Times contributor) who has lived in Paris for more than two decades, the only footwear that really screams “tourist” these days is Crocs. . . .

SSI - notice the not-so-subtle dig at "no brown in town" implying the British - or at least the English - are all racists!

Your stout defence of the NYT is admirable. My mother in law was very put out when I kept hiding her copy while visiting her in Connecticut.

Don't knock the New York Times.

They gave us Wordle.

They bought it. It was developed by a British software developer who sold out for $$$. Insert your own national decay metaphor here.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wordle

In that case - screw 'em.

I thought sneakers ere a kind of degererate mars bar. Do Americans really wear them?
It does seem a bit strange. No wonder the lady is confused.

You can still spot Americans by their shoes. It seems to be inescapable.

A game I play on the tube sometimes is guess the nationality of the tourist by looking at their clothes.

Why do so many Germans wear those khaki jackets with the little flag on one arm?

The other thing on the tube that gives away the American tourists is the way they scan the carriage in fear or murder. It ain't America dudes!

Americans are easy. Even when they are slim they waddle rather than walk

I love seeing how far Blanche's boots have gone, and worked out today that I've walked 2,885 miles in the last year

That's Gibraltar to Saint Petersburg

I've got six weeks to go until I've had a year as a a postie, so my year might get over 3k miles then

I've also got two weeks holiday booked following that. I've not planned anything, but thinking of getting a ferry from Harwich to the Hook Of Holland

I don't want another marathon walk every day, but I think a mix of trains and walks around Holland and Belgium could be fun

I'm just back from a weekend in London. I went to see my Siberian friend; we had a lovely evening at a few pubs, then eating salads that I made and drinking wine

Today we went and met my family (Mum & Dad, sister & new Italian brother-in-law, nephew & his gorgeous girlfriend) at The Ivy for lunch. I had double Tartare (tuna for starter, steak for main course), then we went to see Ain't Too Proud, the musical about The Temptations

The singing and dancing were great; I think they were prioritised at the expense of acting and storytelling, but who cares when they're doing The Temptations' songs really well?

I'd like to know about comparisons between Sunak's use of helicopters and previous PMs. All we have here is some adolescent politics channel having a go.

Nice to see TSE try to compare Sunak's poshness to Cameron and Bozo? Seriously? He's the child of refugees FFS! His parents worked hard and sent him to a top school but his background is hardly otherworldly like Cameron and Johnson. Admittedly he's married into money. Yet again I fear we seeing evidence of TSE's inferiority complex.

DougSeal said:

I just binge ate a whole packet of McVities ginger biscuits and don’t regret a thing.

Slay king

TimS said:

Ukraine does seem to be in desperate need of air power - fighters, bombers, helicopters, all the stuff NATO has but isn’t sharing. Then they could bypass the mines.

Would be interesting to know if they’re cooking up any unorthodox plans like amphibious landing in the South or aerial attack by parachute.

They appear to have a bridgehead(?) on the other side of the Dnipro river. The Russian defence in that area is much less fortified.

The lack of airpower provided feels inexcusable.

Miklosvar said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

...

StillWaters said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

..

CJtheOptimist said:

CJtheOptimist said:

StillWaters said:

CJtheOptimist said:

Today's discussions even more depressing than Friday's

Be positive

It could be worse

How can things be worse? Ukraine is losing the war, covered in mines and nearly flat. Millions of migrants are trying to escape the horrible places in the world to get to slightly less horrible places. The planet is on fire. The world has insufficient resources: fuel, water, food, space. We have a disastrous government that is sitting back while the country's infrastructure falls apart (the NHS, social care, housing, public transport, roads)

Or am I reading the wrong news?

OMG I'm sounding like a doom monger, not my usual optimistic self. Probably too much wine with dinner. Sorry.

The world having insufficient water is a particularly ludicrous piece of chicken-littledom. It has exactly the same amount of water it's always had. Get a grip and stop being so suggestible.

Demands on water are greater

Water rights are a great source of conflict (eg Egypt/Sudan, Israel/Palestine, California/Colorado etc)

Demands on water are temporary, and miniscule compared with supply.

Jesus

My demands on water are temporary, about 5 gallons a day for 80 years, but I am still pretty tetchy if I don't get it. Also, there's about 20 million tons of gold in the oceans, so obviously poverty is not a thing anywhere.

Apart from concern for your kidneys, what insight does that provide on anything? As humans, we merely borrow a little of a vast, inexhaustible, free resource that helps us thrive. Those trying to persuade us there's a water shortage on, in a place where a day without rain is remarkable, must be astonished constantly that people really are stupid enough to go for it.

O/T

Is there any such thing as an external RAM drive for a laptop computer?

Luckyguy1983 said:

StillWaters said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

...

StillWaters said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

..

CJtheOptimist said:

CJtheOptimist said:

StillWaters said:

CJtheOptimist said:

Today's discussions even more depressing than Friday's

Be positive

It could be worse

How can things be worse? Ukraine is losing the war, covered in mines and nearly flat. Millions of migrants are trying to escape the horrible places in the world to get to slightly less horrible places. The planet is on fire. The world has insufficient resources: fuel, water, food, space. We have a disastrous government that is sitting back while the country's infrastructure falls apart (the NHS, social care, housing, public transport, roads)

Or am I reading the wrong news?

OMG I'm sounding like a doom monger, not my usual optimistic self. Probably too much wine with dinner. Sorry.

The world having insufficient water is a particularly ludicrous piece of chicken-littledom. It has exactly the same amount of water it's always had. Get a grip and stop being so suggestible.

Demands on water are greater

Water rights are a great source of conflict (eg Egypt/Sudan, Israel/Palestine, California/Colorado etc)

Demands on water are temporary, and miniscule compared with supply.

People need water every day for hydration, washing, etc. Agriculture and industry are massive users and need a reliable supply. Demand is not temporary.

And it’s not the total water we need to consider but the potable water that is in the right location

Yes it is temporary. The water used goes through people, and evaporates from soil, and the whole process starts again. We just borrow it.

Though there's more than three times as many people on the planet than there were 70 years ago doing such borrowing.

And a lot of water needs to be processed before it can be consumed. Your water that evaporates and rains into the ocean is not safe for human consumption afterwards, it needs to be desalinated first.

Like almost every problem on the planet, this is one that can be solved with enough investment, but actually getting that investment is another matter entirely and its not a reason not to take the issue seriously.

viewcode said:

StillWaters said:

Foxy said:

ClippP said:

ydoethur said:

El_Capitano said:

ydoethur said:

DougSeal said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

. . . yet another attack upon Truth, Justice and the British Way, by incorrigibly Anglo-phobic New York Times . . .

NYT ($) - Do These Shoes Make Me Look Like a Tourist?
A reader asks: to sneaker or not to sneaker?

Q: I’ll be visiting Europe for the first time this summer and need advice for stylish walking shoes. I mainly wear dresses, but if I wear ballet flats while walking all day, my feet tend to swell up (not an issue with sneakers, but no way). Do you have any suggestions for a more closed shoe that wouldn’t out me as l’américaine? — Jennifer, Seattle


A: By your shoes, they shall know you. I’m not entirely kidding. Shoes may not be the windows to the soul, but for a long time they were the source of national stereotype.

Germans, it was said, were the travelers in sandals and white athletic socks. You could tell an Italian banker because he was the one in brown shoes, no matter what color his suit. The British, on the other hand, went around intoning “no brown in town.” American tourists wore sneakers.

But that was then! Between the explosion of sneaker culture, the “fashionization” of Birkenstocks and the general rise of comfort clothing, those old lines have started to blur. If Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, can wear sneakers to a meeting in the Oval Office, and Serena Williams can wear them to the Met Gala, Americans can wear them in Europe. So, for that matter, can Europeans. (So, for that matter, do Europeans.)

Indeed, sneakers and Birks are by no means the giveaways they once were. They are pretty much an integral part of every wardrobe, not to mention every designer collection on Avenue Montaigne. So don’t be so quick to dismiss them.

According to Dana Thomas, an author (and New York Times contributor) who has lived in Paris for more than two decades, the only footwear that really screams “tourist” these days is Crocs. . . .

SSI - notice the not-so-subtle dig at "no brown in town" implying the British - or at least the English - are all racists!

Your stout defence of the NYT is admirable. My mother in law was very put out when I kept hiding her copy while visiting her in Connecticut.

Don't knock the New York Times.

They gave us Wordle.

They bought it. It was developed by a British software developer who sold out for $$$. Insert your own national decay metaphor here.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wordle

In that case - screw 'em.

I thought sneakers ere a kind of degererate mars bar. Do Americans really wear them?
It does seem a bit strange. No wonder the lady is confused.

You can still spot Americans by their shoes. It seems to be inescapable.

A game I play on the tube sometimes is
guess the nationality of the tourist by looking at their clothes.

Why do so many Germans wear those khaki jackets with the little flag on one arm?

Army surplus

That doesn’t explain the “why”!

Luckyguy1983 said:

StillWaters said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

...

StillWaters said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

..

CJtheOptimist said:

CJtheOptimist said:

StillWaters said:

CJtheOptimist said:

Today's discussions even more depressing than Friday's

Be positive

It could be worse

How can things be worse? Ukraine is losing the war, covered in mines and nearly flat. Millions of migrants are trying to escape the horrible places in the world to get to slightly less horrible places. The planet is on fire. The world has insufficient resources: fuel, water, food, space. We have a disastrous government that is sitting back while the country's infrastructure falls apart (the NHS, social care, housing, public transport, roads)

Or am I reading the wrong news?

OMG I'm sounding like a doom monger, not my usual optimistic self. Probably too much wine with dinner. Sorry.

The world having insufficient water is a particularly ludicrous piece of chicken-littledom. It has exactly the same amount of water it's always had. Get a grip and stop being so suggestible.

Demands on water are greater

Water rights are a great source of conflict (eg Egypt/Sudan, Israel/Palestine, California/Colorado etc)

Demands on water are temporary, and miniscule compared with supply.

People need water every day for hydration, washing, etc. Agriculture and industry are massive users and need a reliable supply. Demand is not temporary.

And it’s not the total water we need to consider but the potable water that is in the right location

Yes it is temporary. The water used goes through people, and evaporates from soil, and the whole process starts again. We just borrow it.

You are muddling up stock and flow

Our demand on the stock is temporary

But we have a permanent demand on the flow

Population growth and industrial expansion increases the demands on the flow even if they don’t make a meaningful impact on the stock

Leon said:

viewcode said:

TimS said:

Ukraine does seem to be in desperate need of air power - fighters, bombers, helicopters, all the stuff NATO has but isn’t sharing. Then they could bypass the mines.

Would be interesting to know if they’re cooking up any unorthodox plans like amphibious landing in the South or aerial attack by parachute.

Surface to air missiles have made it difficult to travel at height, so planes and helicopters hug the ground, which in turn makes them vulnerable to manpads. So choppers are of limited utility. If Ukraine have enough transport aircraft to mount an Operation Market Garden sized assault I don't know about it. So no paratroop assaults. The gulf past Crimea is defended to a fair-thee-well and they haven't got landing craft, so they can't do an amphibious assault. Bombers are useless because they are trying to liberate their own people, so bombing them is counterproductive. They can't bypass the minefield because South Zaporizhizhia is a minefield. Everybody thinks my idea to retake the North East is stupid, so that's out for reasons.

What they need is the ability to spot mobile artillery and fire back at it before it moves away. That requires reaction times measured in tens of seconds and is bloody difficult. Give them that and they have a chance. Otherwise they will be slowly and cruelly eaten alive.

It’s gonna end in a muddy and angry armistice roughly where it is now. Like Korea

Updated for the South Kurils:

StillWaters said:

viewcode said:

StillWaters said:

Foxy said:

ClippP said:

ydoethur said:

El_Capitano said:

ydoethur said:

DougSeal said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

. . . yet another attack upon Truth, Justice and the British Way, by incorrigibly Anglo-phobic New York Times . . .

NYT ($) - Do These Shoes Make Me Look Like a Tourist?
A reader asks: to sneaker or not to sneaker?

Q: I’ll be visiting Europe for the first time this summer and need advice for stylish walking shoes. I mainly wear dresses, but if I wear ballet flats while walking all day, my feet tend to swell up (not an issue with sneakers, but no way). Do you have any suggestions for a more closed shoe that wouldn’t out me as l’américaine? — Jennifer, Seattle


A: By your shoes, they shall know you. I’m not entirely kidding. Shoes may not be the windows to the soul, but for a long time they were the source of national stereotype.

Germans, it was said, were the travelers in sandals and white athletic socks. You could tell an Italian banker because he was the one in brown shoes, no matter what color his suit. The British, on the other hand, went around intoning “no brown in town.” American tourists wore sneakers.

But that was then! Between the explosion of sneaker culture, the “fashionization” of Birkenstocks and the general rise of comfort clothing, those old lines have started to blur. If Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, can wear sneakers to a meeting in the Oval Office, and Serena Williams can wear them to the Met Gala, Americans can wear them in Europe. So, for that matter, can Europeans. (So, for that matter, do Europeans.)

Indeed, sneakers and Birks are by no means the giveaways they once were. They are pretty much an integral part of every wardrobe, not to mention every designer collection on Avenue Montaigne. So don’t be so quick to dismiss them.

According to Dana Thomas, an author (and New York Times contributor) who has lived in Paris for more than two decades, the only footwear that really screams “tourist” these days is Crocs. . . .

SSI - notice the not-so-subtle dig at "no brown in town" implying the British - or at least the English - are all racists!

Your stout defence of the NYT is admirable. My mother in law was very put out when I kept hiding her copy while visiting her in Connecticut.

Don't knock the New York Times.

They gave us Wordle.

They bought it. It was developed by a British software developer who sold out for $$$. Insert your own national decay metaphor here.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wordle

In that case - screw 'em.

I thought sneakers ere a kind of degererate mars bar. Do Americans really wear them?
It does seem a bit strange. No wonder the lady is confused.

You can still spot Americans by their shoes. It seems to be inescapable.

A game I play on the tube sometimes is
guess the nationality of the tourist by looking at their clothes.

Why do so many Germans wear those khaki jackets with the little flag on one arm?

Army surplus

That doesn’t explain the “why”!

Cheap, warm, looks kewl?

Leon said:

viewcode said:

TimS said:

Ukraine does seem to be in desperate need of air power - fighters, bombers, helicopters, all the stuff NATO has but isn’t sharing. Then they could bypass the mines.

Would be interesting to know if they’re cooking up any unorthodox plans like amphibious landing in the South or aerial attack by parachute.

Surface to air missiles have made it difficult to travel at height, so planes and helicopters hug the ground, which in turn makes them vulnerable to manpads. So choppers are of limited utility. If Ukraine have enough transport aircraft to mount an Operation Market Garden sized assault I don't know about it. So no paratroop assaults. The gulf past Crimea is defended to a fair-thee-well and they haven't got landing craft, so they can't do an amphibious assault. Bombers are useless because they are trying to liberate their own people, so bombing them is counterproductive. They can't bypass the minefield because South Zaporizhizhia is a minefield. Everybody thinks my idea to retake the North East is stupid, so that's out for reasons.

What they need is the ability to spot mobile artillery and fire back at it before it moves away. That requires reaction times measured in tens of seconds and is bloody difficult. Give them that and they have a chance. Otherwise they will be slowly and cruelly eaten alive.

It’s gonna end in a muddy and angry armistice roughly where it is now. Like Korea

I’d rather be South Korea than North Korea n years on.

BlancheLivermore said:

...My name might not actually be Blanche....

Really??? Damn, the scales have fallen from my eyes! Is Gallowgate not really called "Gallow" either? I feel sadly disillusioned... ☹️

El_Capitano said:

Leon said:

viewcode said:

TimS said:

Ukraine does seem to be in desperate need of air power - fighters, bombers, helicopters, all the stuff NATO has but isn’t sharing. Then they could bypass the mines.

Would be interesting to know if they’re cooking up any unorthodox plans like amphibious landing in the South or aerial attack by parachute.

Surface to air missiles have made it difficult to travel at height, so planes and helicopters hug the ground, which in turn makes them vulnerable to manpads. So choppers are of limited utility. If Ukraine have enough transport aircraft to mount an Operation Market Garden sized assault I don't know about it. So no paratroop assaults. The gulf past Crimea is defended to a fair-thee-well and they haven't got landing craft, so they can't do an amphibious assault. Bombers are useless because they are trying to liberate their own people, so bombing them is counterproductive. They can't bypass the minefield because South Zaporizhizhia is a minefield. Everybody thinks my idea to retake the North East is stupid, so that's out for reasons.

What they need is the ability to spot mobile artillery and fire back at it before it moves away. That requires reaction times measured in tens of seconds and is bloody difficult. Give them that and they have a chance. Otherwise they will be slowly and cruelly eaten alive.

It’s gonna end in a muddy and angry armistice roughly where it is now. Like Korea

I’d rather be South Korea than North Korea n years on.

Indeed so. But the armistice that ended the Korean War was almost certainly the right choice for all Koreans - even the poor bastards in the north. Because neither side could win ‘outright’




A key feature of the Korean armistice is that no nation is a signatory to the agreement; it is purely a military document.[33] The signed Armistice established a "complete cessation of all hostilities in Korea by all armed forces,"[2] which was to be enforced by the commanders of both sides. The armistice is, however, only a ceasefire between military forces, rather than an agreement between governments to normalize relations.[34] No formal peace treaty was signed, and normalized relations were not restored. The armistice established the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and the DMZ. The DMZ was agreed as a 2.5-mile -wide (4.0 km) fortified buffer zone between the two Korean nations.[14] The DMZ follows the Kansas Line, where the two sides actually confronted each other at the time of the signing of the Armistice. The DMZ is currently the most heavily-defended national border in the world as of 2018.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Armistice_Agreement

rcs1000 said:

Leon said:

viewcode said:

TimS said:

Ukraine does seem to be in desperate need of air power - fighters, bombers, helicopters, all the stuff NATO has but isn’t sharing. Then they could bypass the mines.

Would be interesting to know if they’re cooking up any unorthodox plans like amphibious landing in the South or aerial attack by parachute.

Surface to air missiles have made it difficult to travel at height, so planes and helicopters hug the ground, which in turn makes them vulnerable to manpads. So choppers are of limited utility. If Ukraine have enough transport aircraft to mount an Operation Market Garden sized assault I don't know about it. So no paratroop assaults. The gulf past Crimea is defended to a fair-thee-well and they haven't got landing craft, so they can't do an amphibious assault. Bombers are useless because they are trying to liberate their own people, so bombing them is counterproductive. They can't bypass the minefield because South Zaporizhizhia is a minefield. Everybody thinks my idea to retake the North East is stupid, so that's out for reasons.

What they need is the ability to spot mobile artillery and fire back at it before it moves away. That requires reaction times measured in tens of seconds and is bloody difficult. Give them that and they have a chance. Otherwise they will be slowly and cruelly eaten alive.

It’s gonna end in a muddy and angry armistice roughly where it is now. Like Korea

There is a fundamental difference though: no one is occupying North Korea except North Koreans.

Russia has to keep pumping young men and money into Ukraine.

Russia is briskly Russifying the occupied zones, however. And most patriotic Ukrainians have fled, been killed, been jailed, etc

My preferred outcome is for Russians to be rolled back to the Volga and Putin dead in a ditch, with a Ukrainian knife up his arse. Unfortunately I can’t see that in the short-medium term

I agree that long term Ukraine will be a nightmare for Russia. A sworn and mortal enemy on Moscow’s doorstep. That’s a disaster for Russia

williamglenn said:

Nigelb said:

Caring for people with fentanyl addiction often means treating terrible wounds
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/13/1191389152/xylazine-fentanyl-wounds-treatment

It's like the worst reports of drug abuse and deaths of despair in post-Soviet Russia.

I saw Tranq addicts in Lexington KY on my last US road-trip. Appalling. Complete zombies

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

Nigelb said:

Great pic of the back of Trump’s head with this.
Anyone know what the @*&! is going on with it ?

https://twitter.com/politicoalex/status/1690775779523567616
DeSantis super PAC officials were involved in an altercation with Trump supporters at a Des Moines bar late Friday night, per 3 eyewitness accounts

Other stories out of Iowa, telling of how MAGA-maniacs are committing organized harassment of Ron DeSantis and his campaign.

Punters and most PBers have concluded that RDS is a busted flush - but perhaps Trump and his henchpeople do NOT see it that way?

I think he's the sort to stamp down even any minor threat. DeSantis could have been a larger one, but no reason to go easy. Then there's Trump's absurd criticisms of anyone not backing him as being disloyal, and so deserving of attack.

To conclude harassment indicates worry is the same idea as 'party x is attacking leader y, they must fear them'. They might, but they also might just not like leader y.

DougSeal said:

Nigelb said:

Trump blames left for legal costs
Trump’s Save America PAC shrank from over $100 million at the beginning of last year to $3.6 million after bankrolling legal fees for the former president and his allies.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/12/trump-legal-costs-pac-00110960

Nearly $100m in legal fees is… impressive ?

Supply and demand. No one wants to represent him and the few that are willing can name their price.

I bet he's the type to assume money always equals quality, so even where a better lawyer is available he would go for someone who asked for more.

I assume at least some of them are good at their jobs, but a few of them, wow.

williamglenn said:

Leon said:

williamglenn said:

Nigelb said:

Caring for people with fentanyl addiction often means treating terrible wounds
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/13/1191389152/xylazine-fentanyl-wounds-treatment

It's like the worst reports of drug abuse and deaths of despair in post-Soviet Russia.

I saw Tranq addicts in Lexington KY on my last US road-trip. Appalling. Complete zombies

It’s really heartbreaking to see what it does to people. The scale of the drug problem in the US should be a bigger political issue than it is.

Warning - graphic content:
https://twitter.com/detectclips/status/1683869451085574144

It’s this stuff that makes me wonder if a future US president will try the El Salvador approach

Americans are dying, the cities are hollowing out. How long will voters shrug at this?

Foxy said:

HYUFD said:

Foxy said:

HYUFD said:

Germany's governing SPD considers a ban on the far right AfD as it reaches 21% in the polls

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/13/afd-party-ban-germany-far-right-extremists/

The pro-Russia faction is what is driving the AfD vote. How do you feel about that?

And the anti immigration faction but either way banning them doesn't solve the problem

It's the Russia situation that has changed in the last year.

Of course it's more complicated than that.

People are unhappy with the government (government approval ratings are currently at an all-time low). The CDU haven't been out of power long enough, we've just had years of Union - SPD coalition - the current Chancellor was the finance minister in the last CDU government, so they aren't benefiting much from this dissatisfaction. The FDP and Greens are now in government. The Left are hopelessly divided. Which leaves the AfD.

It's true that lots of Germans are unhappy with Germany supplying so many weapons to Ukraine, and the AfD are the only party representing that point of view. But I don't think it's accurate to say "The pro-Russia faction is what is driving the AfD vote".

kamski said:

Foxy said:

HYUFD said:

Foxy said:

HYUFD said:

Germany's governing SPD considers a ban on the far right AfD as it reaches 21% in the polls

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/13/afd-party-ban-germany-far-right-extremists/

The pro-Russia faction is what is driving the AfD vote. How do you feel about that?

And the anti immigration faction but either way banning them doesn't solve the problem

It's the Russia situation that has changed in the last year.

Of course it's more complicated than that.

People are unhappy with the government (government approval ratings are currently at an all-time low). The CDU haven't been out of power long enough, we've just had years of Union - SPD coalition - the current Chancellor was the finance minister in the last CDU government, so they aren't benefiting much from this dissatisfaction. The FDP and Greens are now in government. The Left are hopelessly divided. Which leaves the AfD.

It's true that lots of Germans are unhappy with Germany supplying so many weapons to Ukraine, and the AfD are the only party representing that point of view.

Out of curiosity, what are they unhappy about?