Recent posts

#21

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by Josquius - Today at 09:39:38 AM

Star Trek beat you, data can't contract words

True. Completely failed to think of him whilst my mind was on super old school vs. super modern stuff.
I don't see contractions being much issue for the robots though whilst other stuff will be more of an issue for them. Resurgence in rhyming slang to fool the bots.

Mrs. CC and I are travelling at the moment.  The local population (Sardinians) are generally fit.  A grandmother passed us walking up a steep hill...

But an interesting thing we are noticing about the Northern Europeans we see - the men in my generation have good muscle tone, but a lot of the younger guys are skinning fat.  Scrawny arms and pot bellies.  Or just plain fat fat.

I wonder if this will be the first generation when the younger men are weaker/less fit than the older generation.

Under current trends absolutely.
Though I do think trends are changing so things should reverse before too long with a decline in cars, rise in active mobility and so forth,

#22

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Josquius - Today at 09:37:09 AM

In big news at the moment, the Tory defection is pretty dodgy.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/08/keir-starmer-sparks-labour-anger-with-decision-to-admit-natalie-elphicke

Keir Starmer sparks Labour anger with decision to admit Natalie Elphicke
MP says many in party think rightwing Tory defector is 'vile', while shadow minister asks: 'Are we welcoming Farage next week?'

Keir Starmer is facing shadow cabinet anger for welcoming into his party a rightwing Conservative MP who has repeatedly attacked Labour over migration.

Natalie Elphicke became on Wednesday the second Tory MP in two weeks to cross the floor of the Commons, dealing another major blow to Rishi Sunak.

Starmer welcomed Elphicke to the Labour party at prime minister's questions and said the Conservatives were "failing to keep our borders safe and secure".

Elphicke quit the Conservatives with a broadside against Sunak, saying that under his leadership the Tories had become "a byword for incompetence and division" and had abandoned the centre ground.

But Starmer's decision to admit her to Labour has been met with bafflement and consternation from his MPs, including some in the shadow cabinet and on the frontbench. MPs and shadow cabinet sources expressed reservations about her past comments and conduct.

Labour sources said Starmer had met a hostile response over the defection at a gathering of the party's parliamentary committee. They said he was challenged about Elphicke's values and whether a rightwinger with her record should be welcome in the Labour party.

One shadow cabinet minister said: "People are upset and angry right across the party about the decision."

Another shadow minister said: "Logically or politically, we didn't need this ... I worry that they'll not have done sufficient due diligence on her." They added: "Her hard-right views are a big red line too. Are we welcoming Nigel Farage next week?"

Welcoming Elphicke to the Labour party at PMQs, the Labour leader asked Sunak: "What is the point of this failed government staggering on ... [when] the Tory MP for Dover, on the frontline of the small boats crisis, says the prime minister cannot be trusted with our borders?"

Conservative MPs were flabbergasted by Elphicke's defection. She had been a member of the rightwing European Research Group of Tory MPs and a vocal proponent for tougher rightwing politics. One minister said her move marked the "new ERG wing of the Labour party".

Critics pointed to Elphicke's comments on migration and strident criticism of Labour's policies. A year ago she wrote an article for the Daily Express calling Starmer "Sir Softie" and accusing Labour of wanting "open borders". She wrote: "Not only have Labour got no plan of their own to tackle illegal immigration, they simply do not want to."

In 2021 she clashed with the England footballer Marcus Rashford, who she said should have spent more time "perfecting his game and less time playing politics" – a reference to his campaign for free school meals – after he missed a penalty at the Euro 2020 final. She later apologised.

One Labour MP said there was significant anger among some women in the party about the decision to admit Elphicke. "Most of us on the backbenches struggle to get any contact at all from the Labour leader or his team – perhaps if we were to stand in front of a few more flags or join the [European Research Group]?"

An MP on the left of the party added: "I think many in the party think it's disgusting, that we don't need people like that in the Labour party, and that she is absolutely vile ... Who in their right mind thought this was helpful?"

A former shadow minister said: "Many of us didn't fight Momentum only to see our leader welcome Reform in the front door."

Another source of controversy is Elphicke's record of defending her former husband, Charlie Elphicke, whom she succeeded as MP for Dover after he was suspended from the Conservative party over sexual assault allegations. He was found guilty two years later.

Shortly after his conviction, his ex-wife defended him in an interview with the Sun, saying he was "attractive, and attracted to, women" and that had made him "an easy target for dirty politics and false allegations".

In the summer of 2021, she became one of several Tory MPs who were given suspensions from the Commons and told to apologise for being found to have tried to influence a judge presiding over his trial.

The Guardian view on MPs crossing the floor: a triumph of political theatre over substance
Read more
Starmer's spokesperson defended the decision to admit her to the party. "It's a sign of the progress that we've made that people recognise that on some of the key challenges facing the country, the Tories have failed," he said.

"Here is someone who is willing to make the significant step of switching across to Keir Starmer's changed Labour party and that's something we're very happy to see."

A Labour source said Elphicke would not be fighting her seat at the next election, and had not been offered a job or a peerage, but could informally advise the party on housing policy. She is understood to have met Starmer once before crossing the floor.

Elphicke is the third former Conservative MP to defect to Labour during this parliament. On 27 April, the former health minister Dan Poulter joined Labour with a swipe at the government's record on the NHS. In January 2022, during Boris Johnson's leadership, the MP for Bury South, Christian Wakeford, defected citing the then prime minister's "disgraceful" conduct.

It is indeed very strange that Labour is allowing admission of someone from the right of the Tories (and she would join them). Surely a 'reform uk' defection would have made more sense for her?
The left of labour are throwing a fit and...their concerns are not without merit.

In a sense it doesn't really matter since we are talking about economics rather than education per se. The point is that foreigners are willing to pay large sums for a British education, it is a profitable export industry that provides many good jobs and we can use the foreign exchange to buy the stuff that we are relatively bad at making.

However the point of education isn't meant to be to make money in itself but to create the conditions (educated workforce, innovation, etc...) by which other segments of the economy can enjoy success.

Fair enough that Britain is doing well selling this 'product' to foreigners. But are we sacrificing our broader economic success and the wellbeing of our people as a result?

Is there so much extra value from all those Chinese students paying big money to get a bit of paper from Teeside University (completely random example name, no comment on its actual quality) to make it worth so many local students paying £9k a year for worthless degrees in finger painting  rather than getting polytechnic qualifications that directly set them up for skilled work?

I can easily see Michael Gove and other Tory ministers making the same point you have made, especially the last paragraph.

Some Tories have been known for bouts of sanity. :p

The overall broken system was the Tories doing originally though and another wing of the party would find this kind of questioning of the system to be heresy.
I'd say my view is rather more old school socialist.
Education one of the 4 (?) primary factors in ensuring economic success, any 'selling' of it should be a nice bonus rather than the sole goal.

#23

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by Valmy - Today at 09:28:17 AM

I wonder if this will be the first generation when the younger men are weaker/less fit than the older generation.

Possibly, but one thing I can tell is that your (our) generation will not be the first which will NOT think the next generation is inferior. 

Really, in what generation do you think a man about 60 could look at a group of 30 something men and realize he is clearly stronger and in better shape?

I don't know if us Xers are the ferocious fitness fanatics as you seem to think 

What happened to us anyway? We used to slackers who were too cool to care, now I see Xers whining about kids today like they are lame Boomers.

We should be like:

"Kids today? Oh they're cool."

"Are you being sarcastic, dude?"

"I don't even know anymore."

#24

Off the Record / Re: Israel-Hamas War 2023

Last post by Valmy - Today at 09:23:51 AM

An article on the chants being used.

Look I am sure their slogans suck. There were lots of weird slogans being thrown around in the BLM protests as well. Crowd dynamics are weird, it is one of the reasons why I am very suspicious of protests even ones I agree with. I am sure this whole thing is great if you do hate Jews. You get to pretend you care about Palestinians while chanting about how evil the Jews are. So yeah I bet a ton of that is going on.

But it kind of borders on conspiracy theory level nuttery to think that the colleges of the United States are full of antisemitic Nazis who are just looking for an opportunity to gather all American Jews into camps and start murdering them or whatever. It seems more likely they are seeing images of civilians being killed and are upset about it.

Many of the things I have seen about the protests are about divesting from Israel which I completely agree with. Israel does all this shit and we have to cover for them at enormous political cost, and we give them tons of money at a fiscal cost and for what? What does Israel do for us? Undermine our policies and goals. They are not a good friend. We shouldn't be spending political capital and money on them unless they play ball and do stuff we want them to do. Our effort and money seems to buy nothing. Well maybe it is helping to undermine and destroy our system at home which seems under considerable threat. I hope it is worth whatever we are getting from this.

Now obviously if this was 1967 and Israel is surrounded by states determined to invade it and it seems like a real possibility Israel might be destroyed then sure, help them out. But the Palestinians pose no serious threat to Israel. They are just a mob. Shit like October 7 was about the realistic extent of the kind of thing they can do.

#25

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by Duque de Bragança - Today at 09:12:15 AM

These stickers are used by service in Germany when they are changing to winter tires to indicate that the tires have more limited performance than summer tires. So you should go no faster than 160kph / 100 mph or 240 kph / 150 mph in winter. 

Gut zu wissen!

#26

Off the Record / Re: 2024 Portuguese snap Legis...

Last post by Duque de Bragança - Today at 09:11:21 AM

A few years ago I got really detached of our national league and Sporting as well, the Bruno Carvalho years didn't help.

Oh, yes the ultra president. I can see why. 

In the meantime my football pains go with Wolves in the Premier League and less with Estrela da Amadora as my local club. Don't care about the 3 big ones anymore.

From Charybdes to Scylla, I see.  The Wolves are basically a Portuguese Jorge Mendes vehicle football club.
Estrela de Amadora makes more sense than the —formerly– bourgeois/aristocratic/snob Sporting. 

Saying that, can't say I'm that sad with PC being retired, and its attack dogs waiting trial in jail.  

Retired by the sócios, not the PJ as in some other lisboete club(s) I could mention.  But yes, it was time to go, and probably a bit too late, as the club was not managed that well in later years (ahem). Still, for my generation, I only knew him as president of Porto and I for one won't deny his legacy.

So, speaking of dogs indeed merda não é, mas cagou-a o cão. 

No thoughts about André Ventura, an infamous pro-Benfica troll on a trashy TV "news" channel? 

#27

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 08:51:31 AM

I should add that when I first started coming to Europe it was rare to see a fat person.  That has definitely changed over the years.

#28

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 08:49:42 AM

I wonder if this will be the first generation when the younger men are weaker/less fit than the older generation.

Possibly, but one thing I can tell is that your (our) generation will not be the first which will NOT think the next generation is inferior. 

Really, in what generation do you think a man about 60 could look at a group of 30 something men and realize he is clearly stronger and in better shape?

#29

Off the Record / Re: Dead Pool 2024

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 08:47:43 AM

It's possible.

Looking at the trial evidence as reported by the medias, it seems both had a tendency toward abuse to the other.  In the end, it was judged defamation that Depp physically mistreated Miss Heard in this trial.  In another, he lost. 

Different rules, different evidence too, I suppose?  I don't really know.

Depp strike me as human wreck, but none of his exes testified he ever was abusive toward them.  Usually, such people tend to not limit themselves to one victim.  But maybe it did happen as she said.

It wasn't Depp v Heard here, but against News Group who I think relied on truth as a defence. Heard gave a witness statement. Also libel cases are now largely heard by a civil judge (like all other civil cases) not juries on a balance of probabilities.

All of which probably had some impact. I think the gap between a successful truth defence here and, I believe, "actual malice" in the US trial is striking though.

A few corrections.  All civil trials are decided on the same evidentiary basis whether heard by jury or judge alone.  In the US and Canada Newspapers (and news outlets) don't have to establish the truth of what they are reporting.  But malice will defeat their defence.

So it's not so much as there being a gap so much as the defences are different.

#30

Off the Record / Re: 2024 Portuguese snap Legis...

Last post by clandestino - Today at 08:47:13 AM

Hello stranger

One always returns, like a moth to the light

Obrigado!
Agora que o Sporting é campeão, regressas! 
Enfim, parabéns!
Espero que não tenhas muitas saudades do Pinto da Costa. 

A few years ago I got really detached of our national league and Sporting as well, the Bruno Carvalho years didn't help. In the meantime my football pains go with Wolves in the Premier League and less with Estrela da Amadora as my local club. Don't care about the 3 big ones anymore.

Saying that, can't say I'm that sad with PC being retired, and its attack dogs waiting trial in jail.