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Reply | Yer favourite Mr Man
at 11:38 5 Jun 2024
Maybe your parents wanted to avoid giving you both a bump of snow? |
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Reply | Man City - "Tryanny of the majority"
at 11:35 5 Jun 2024
One thing I find interesting about this is their use of the concept of the "tyranny of the majority," which IIRC, comes from De Tocqueville's seminal analysis of how the United States compared to older regimes at the time, including France, of course. His 'Democracy in America' was written in the early 19th century, but is still very pertinent today.
In some obscure way, I can't help feeling that a quasi-state-owned football club using such language symbolises something that is afoot in the world at large: the end of democracy as we know it. Interesting times. |
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Reply | General Election Thread
at 08:39 5 Jun 2024
A Blair apologist. How wonderful to see one, I thought they were as rare as hen's teeth.
It certainly says a lot about someone when you are prepared to turn a blind eye to a man who knowingly went to war on completely false pretences - and therefore an illegal war - a war that saw the death of hundreds of thousands (if not more) of innocent people and led to the interminable foment of the Middle East ever since; a turmoil which has also led to the dislocation of millions and the huge wave of immigration from that part of the world into Europe and the rise of wonderful people like Islamic State. Way to go, TB.
And let's not forget that Blair basked in the adulation that cosying up to Bush granted him. Two allies in an act that contravened international law and morality. But hey, that's ok, he was of the so-called 'liberal left', so let's give him a free pass. No court of law for him and his role in the massacre of innocents, no, that's reserved for those who have committed far more heinous crimes, such as paying hush money to a porn star.
Edit: Oh, I forgot to add: the "boring war criminal narrative" - yes, how awful, people going on about such trivial things! [Post edited 5 Jun 9:05]
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Reply | great song writers......
at 12:08 4 Jun 2024
Kate Bush is an extraordinary song writer, both lyrically and musically, equal to anyone else mentioned here, IMHO. |
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Reply | Eze for England!
at 10:33 4 Jun 2024
Southgate on Eze last night:
"Eze played with that freedom and swagger that he plays for his club with. It's great to see a young player come into our environment and be able to do that.
"You saw that ability to glide past people in the middle of the pitch and the power he has as well."
For his sake, for our sake, for England's sake, I hope he makes the cut! |
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Reply | Bikes in London
at 14:03 30 May 2024
Hyperbole-tastic post of the day! |
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Reply | Bikes in London
at 12:07 30 May 2024
I see this classic fallacy regarding road tax is still being perpetuated:
Road tax is not "charged based (sic) on road maintenance and environmental impact."
Vehicle excise duty (road tax) is not ring-fenced for the upkeep of roads or road building, it just goes into the general tax fund. Local and general tax pays for the upkeep of roads. However the amount of road tax you pay is determined by several factors, including the level of CO2 emissions from your vehicle.
Regarding cyclists, no one seems to have mentioned cycling on the pavement, which happens all the time where I live in central NW London, often when there is a cycle lane right next to the pavement and it's downright dangerous, especially when it's at speed.
And on the subject of cycle lanes, the ones that were installed on Carlton Vale (for example) are barely used at all, yet their impact on traffic is huge, because they have made it impossible to pass buses stopped at bus stops and reduced two lanes to one lane on either side. |
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Reply | General Election Thread
at 10:56 30 May 2024
Not unless you're Bulgarian.... (and you can multiply this many times over for multiple other countries if you want to guess the actual scale of benefit fraud)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/28/bulgarian-town-boomed-from-uks-bigge
"The Bulgarian town that boomed from UK’s biggest benefits fraud"
"Their scheme unravelled when Inspector Vassil Panayotov, a detective based in Sliven, in the foothills of the Balkan mountains, launched an investigation into the sudden influx of cash in his city after noticing properties were being built and residents were wearing designer clothing.
He found that thousands of people, of whom many had never visited Britain, were receiving up to £2,500 a month in benefits from the UK.
He alerted the UK authorities via the British embassy in Sofia and in May 2021 a series of raids were conducted across north London.
The true scale of the fraud is likely to be hundreds of millions of pounds higher than estimated, according to Mr Panayotov." |
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Reply | General Election Thread
at 09:27 29 May 2024
"All those people who want to appear in the know or who want to believe they are 'independent thinkers' - for that read conspiracy theorists - lap up all this stuff."
I'm sure people who have alternative opinions to those of the mainstream orthodoxy feel exactly the same way about your opinions, Nix. |
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Reply | great song writers......
at 17:18 28 May 2024
Surely Leon Russell has to feature on this list.
For those that haven't heard of him, a couple of quotes from a Guardian feature on him:
"...between 1969 and 1973 Russell was music’s North Star, pioneering a distinctly American sound that changed the career paths of stars, including Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Elton John. In that timeframe, he created a band that became one of music’s most legendary live acts; made Mad Dogs & Englishmen for Joe Cocker; stole the show from a white hot lineup of artists at the Concert for Bangladesh; became a star in his own right with solo albums that featured songs that became standards, including Song for You and This Masquerade; and inspired the icon Willie Nelson to create his enduring outlaw country persona. Even before he became widely known, Russell had an esteemed career as a first call session pianist, performing with the Wrecking Crew on recordings by everyone from Frank Sinatra to The Beach Boys to the rococo productions of Phil Spector.
"By 1969, Russell had become a musical octopus with tentacles spreading to his own record company (Shelter Records), a duo he formed called the Asylum Choir, and, most importantly, key contributions to albums by Delaney & Bonnie, the only white act signed to Stax. Their rollicking second album, Accept No Substitute, didn’t sell well yet it became, in Janovitz’s words, “a secret handshake. It was the album where all the major musicians said to each other, ‘You have to hear this.’
The buzz on Delaney & Bonnie’s record was so intense, it inspired Eric Clapton, Dave Mason and George Harrison to join the group – which also included Rita Coolidge – for a UK tour. A then unknown Elton John found himself equally besotted. “Elton once said to me, ‘I would not be where I am today without Leon Russell and Delaney & Bonnie, and the music you all made,’” Coolidge said."
Full article: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/mar/05/he-was-central-to-music-history-th |
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Reply | General Election Thread
at 09:03 28 May 2024
"It wasn't that long ago that the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility said the impact of Brexit on the UK economy will be worse in the long run compared to the coronavirus pandemic."
With respect, that is utterly ludicrous. Do you really think that locking down an entire country for months at a time, and on top of that paying people not to work (let alone the billions spent on PPI, vaccines and so on) would not cripple any economy?
It is only through the dark arts of quantitative easing and how fiat currencies operate that the whole shebang has been kept afloat. Similarly, the entire European project is a multi-trillion debt bubble that teeters on the brink of bursting. It's no surprise that Western governments favour wars - whether directly or by proxy - as the best means of servicing the seemingly endless debt capacity.
Of course Brexit created all sorts of short to medium term issues that have affected the economy, but similar issues affect Europe, and there are also benefits from no longer being tied to the European behemoth, not least not being tethered to its (almost) inevitable collapse.
Anyway, this seems to be one of those issues that once people have decided which side they're on, there's no changing their minds on.
Regarding the forthcoming election, I think you're right in fearing a large majority for Labour. My specific concerns are that they are in hock to an unholy collection of extremist causes, similar to the Greens and Lib Dems, and that these threaten the fabric of our society. |
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Reply | General Election Thread
at 18:18 27 May 2024
This, IMHO, is utter nonsense. Yet this supposed truism is repeated ad infinitum by remainers (plenty are agreeing with you on here). In terms of GDP only Germany currently outperforms the UK of all the countries in the EU.
The lockdowns have had a far more detrimental effect on the UK economy than Brexit. Sterling is stronger than the Euro. In the longer term Brexit could prove a blessing if/when the Euro project goes tits up. |
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Reply | Don Goodman
at 10:12 27 May 2024
Our 4-0 tonking of mighty Leeds, which pretty much prevented them getting automatic promotion, obviously still rankles with Goodman. |
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Reply | Oooooh Oxford.
at 08:03 20 May 2024
Last time I drove through Headington the shark was still there. The artist who installed it died recently, I think.
I used to visit Oxford very regularly as my best friends lived there, but now they've moved. It's become an absolute nightmare for drivers with LTNs blocking any cross route, forcing you to drive almost to the centre to come back round, or having to take a circuitous route to get anywhere. Plus you can't park anywhere. This is what you get with 'green' councils. Sorry, had to get that off my chest! |
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Reply | Half decent tv
at 10:47 19 May 2024
Friends have been going on about Ripley (based on book/film The Talented Mr Ripley) so I watched the first episode.. thought it was absolute shite. Zero chemistry between the characters, Andrew Scott plays Ripley as kind of creepy with Aspergers (why the fck Dicky Greenlief would befriend him I don't know) and then they really jump the shark with Eliot Sumner (Sting's daughter, but identifies as non-binary) playing Freddie Miles, with a deeeep voice..
Can't watch any more of it. If you've seen the brilliant original film, this is a travesty. IMHO, of course. |
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Reply | Musical Top Ten
at 06:46 18 May 2024
Seeweed who was in the Ozrics and Gav who was in Eat Static are both old friends of mine. In fact when they were in the Thunderdogs, I was briefly their manager as well.
A musical top ten that excludes everyone else is a terrifying idea!
Nevertheless, here goes:
Debussy
Bowie
Miles Davis
Ravel
Chopin
Chet Baker
JJ Cale
Schubert
Mozart
Rachmaninoff
But as this is a football forum, I think we should really have at least 11 choices, with five subs!
Edit: I missed out Bowie. Revised my list and dropped Liszt... but I hated doing that. Ugh. Top 11 and 5 subs next time please!! [Post edited 18 May 7:01]
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Reply | Up the Budgies in the Farke-Derby
at 22:15 16 May 2024
The team we beat (in some style) 4-0 a couple of weeks ago has just beaten Norwich 4-0 in the play-off semi.
I'm looking forward to next season. |
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