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#41

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

Last post by Sheilbh - October 06, 2025, 11:27:06 AM

I remember years ago reading an entry from an old Encyclpedia Brittanica (pre-WWII for sure, maybe Victorian?) stating "England is blessed with the best climate in the world".

The best that can be said for it is that it is broadly benign and very rarely lethal - which admittedly when we'd only just discovered germs is not something to sniff at

The best climate for civilization and the best climate for sitting on the beach are not necessarily the same thing

The Mediterranean strongly suggests otherwise. In fact I'd go so far as to argue that sitting on the beach is civilisation, but I'd also accept a terrace or a square

#42

Off the Record / Re: Refractory Gauls, or the F...

Last post by mongers - October 06, 2025, 11:16:43 AM

Looks like we have a French Liz Truss.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewn9k0w9rxo

So...finally give people the socialist they voted for?

Did this guy even get his hand on the tiller?

Even if so, the nearest rocks were a good 2-3 nautical miles away, so no chance of an trusseque change of course. 

#43

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...

Last post by Josquius - October 06, 2025, 10:53:15 AM

Ukraine is fighting an actual war and they have developed their own ability to hit targets in Russia.

What does the inter war period have to do with present day Ukraine, fighting to survive?

The way I said.
The war in Ukraine is looking less like a 2020s war or even WW2 and rather more what someone in the 1930s would have imagined a future war to be like.

#44

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...

Last post by Valmy - October 06, 2025, 10:51:44 AM

Political parties or politicians need to do the analysis and have a diagnosis in order to have policy offers and narratives that tie together and are coherent/make sense to voters. It's not just that the radicals on both sides have got better comms - they've got an analysis and theory. The mainstream don't yet - as I say I think they're still in the denial/bargaining stage.

Mainstream parties still mostly have a commitment to objective factual truth in describing the world and to policy solutions that actually could work.  That puts them at a big disadvantage as against the "analysis and theory" of the extremes, which have no such pesky constraints.

I don't know man. I keep seeing the mainstream parties just sticking to policies that have consistently failed for decades and refusing to try any policy solutions beyond moving deck chairs around as the ship goes down. That is why the extremes are winning. They need to be willing to do serious reforms or the nutters will end up running the asylum.

#45

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...

Last post by The Minsky Moment - October 06, 2025, 10:37:21 AM

Political parties or politicians need to do the analysis and have a diagnosis in order to have policy offers and narratives that tie together and are coherent/make sense to voters. It's not just that the radicals on both sides have got better comms - they've got an analysis and theory. The mainstream don't yet - as I say I think they're still in the denial/bargaining stage.

Mainstream parties still mostly have a commitment to objective factual truth in describing the world and to policy solutions that actually could work.  That puts them at a big disadvantage as against the "analysis and theory" of the extremes, which have no such pesky constraints.

#46

Off the Record / Re: Baseball

Last post by crazy canuck - October 06, 2025, 10:34:39 AM

I look forward to Schlittler returning the favor. 

If he can do the same thing, that would be epic.  I kind of hope he does.

#47

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

Last post by Jacob - October 06, 2025, 10:24:06 AM

Saying our climate a great positive for Britain is the most depraved thing I've ever seen on Languish.

I remember years ago reading an entry from an old Encyclpedia Brittanica (pre-WWII for sure, maybe Victorian?) stating "England is blessed with the best climate in the world".

#48

Off the Record / Re: Israel-Hamas War 2023

Last post by Jacob - October 06, 2025, 10:19:59 AM

This is the Israe-Hamas thread: https://languish.org/forums/index.php/topic,16754.0.html

Please continue the Israel discussion in that thread. Thank you.

#49

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

Last post by Josquius - October 06, 2025, 10:11:39 AM

Saying our climate a great positive for Britain is the most depraved thing I've ever seen on Languish.

The best climate for civilization and the best climate for sitting on the beach are not necessarily the same thing

Jos, Australia has significant resources.

So does the Congo.
Australia is also generally being recorded as doing pretty OK with its natural resources boom. Not squandering natural opportunities.

#50

Off the Record / Re: Israel-Hamas War 2023

Last post by Gups - October 06, 2025, 10:09:34 AM

So, Raz, one allegation of a land being taken in the WB (undated), one allegation of a beating (three years ago), no allegations of rape.