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Reply | Rwanda
at 12:39 25 Apr 2024
With delicious irony an EU country is complaining about undocumented migrants pouring in from the UK. It seems that up to 80% of undocumented migrants requesting international humanitarian protection in the Irish Republic, many of them Nigerian, have crossed from N. Ireland.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/asylum-seekers-are-pouring-into-ireland-fr
The Taoiseach recently stated that the RoI has reached its limit in terms of how many migrants it can accommodate and this movement across the border is seen as a major problem, Ireland has a returns agreement to enable it to ship persons who have refugee status in the UK back to us. However - and this is the punch line - the Irish High Court recently ruled that returns to the UK are unlawful because the UK is an unsafe country due to the Rwanda policy. Perhaps one EU country can talk to another EU country about the need for an effective policy to prevent small boat launches? [Post edited 25 Apr 13:34]
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Reply | The James boys & Curtis
at 17:48 23 Apr 2024
That was a great season, although I had moved away for work reasons and only saw a couple of games (Leeds being the highlight). I always thought our demise the following season was mainly due to a run of injuries, but looking at some of these games I wonder if there were signs of defensive frailty even at the end of that first great top-flight season. These matches from over 20 years ago bring home how much the game has changed between then and now. Then we had some nice passing movements but used the long ball a lot more and relied quite a lot on the aerial route to goal. Apart from rule changes, there have been changes in the way the rules are applied, such as the indirect free kick thing that Keith mentioned in another thread. Some things seem partly about fashion. Nowadays keepers rarely throw out the ball with the hand starting above the elbow and brought downwards as both Grobbelaar and Dai Davies did. They were more likely to spread themselves in one-on-ones rather than the "standing up well" which we hear about now, and the ball was generally kicked up field from the hands. Are these changes things goalkeeping coaches have decreed I wonder? |
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Reply | Sturgeon arrested
at 13:53 22 Apr 2024
I'm not sure that CJ is right about all public sector budgets. Transfer between budget headings (virement) is not unknown as long as overseeing and spending departments agree. When we still had NHS contracts between purchasing Welsh health boards and hospital providers, virement or trading off underperformance in one specialty against over-performance in another was very common. It doesn't seem impossible that a deal could have been done at Westminster/WG level. |
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Reply | Indirect free kicks in the area
at 20:33 21 Apr 2024
I think Keith is right to say that obstruction doesn't seem to be given as often now, even outside the box. One saw it regularly years ago at both professional and amateur level - have an image in my mind of ref standing with one arm raised vertically. |
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Reply | Just another normal school day in the UK
at 14:20 20 Apr 2024
This hints at the main point of contention between the two sides of the argument. Scotia says: "There are LGBT children in primary school right now". Despite what he goes on to say about the complex factors that affect gender identity, he uses the word "innate", giving a pretty clear indication of what he thinks the dominant factor is. I suggested that there may be a social and cultural dimension, and that socialisation may play a role. The implication there is that what happens in the early years of primary school may be crucial in shaping identities; it may make a real difference to how young people construct their identities. Ideas about what is possible in the world, and what choices people may be able to make, shape subsequent actions and perceptions of self. So the way I see things, following Stonewall's plan for LGBTQ+ champions in primary schools is not a neutral move. It is an attempt to achieve cultural change and promote certain ideas about the fluidity of gender identities; ideas that didn't exist here in earlier times. [Post edited 20 Apr 14:31]
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Reply | Rushworth
at 13:30 20 Apr 2024
Left field option:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_D%C4%85browski
Seems a bit unlikely given his history, but outstanding shot stopper from distance and also good at spreading himself in one-on-ones. Has been excellent every time I've seen him on TV, and MoM last night. Question would be whether his all-round game, especially re crosses is good enough for the Championship. But worth scouting and probably cheap. i write as former member of goalkeepers' union at uni (UAU) level (you all laugh).  |
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Reply | Leighton James passes away
at 21:51 19 Apr 2024
One of the real stars of that fairy-tale period when we rose to the very top. I think the goal at Preston on the way up is the one that sticks in my mind. RIP. |
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Reply | Rushworth
at 13:40 19 Apr 2024
Pity Fabs doesn't fancy coming back to a nice home on the Gower and regular first team football for a couple of years at a realistic wage. Working with Margetson could prepare him for a follow-on career as a goalkeeping coach if he wants to stay in the game. Know he won't need the money, but some will prefer a role like that to retirement. |
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Reply | Just another normal school day in the UK
at 13:30 19 Apr 2024
Many people will agree with your point of view. But others will think that this is just as much about ideology as scientific evidence. You say that there are already LGBT children in these classrooms, but Is falling within one of the categories of LGBTQ+ a matter of biology and essential character, or is it more about an identity constructed in other ways? Are such identities associated with particular social discourses, as Foucault argues in his History of Sexuality? Are gender identities shaped by social and cultural influences that vary according to time and place? Is the socialisation process part of this? On the other side of the argument are those who argue that gender identity/sexual orientation is determined by genetics. They point to evidence from twin studies or molecular genetic marker studies. But studies of identical twins found only around a quarter of cases where when one twin felt same sex attraction this also applied to the second twin. Some genetic marker studies report finding an association between given chromosome patterns and trait of interest, but mostly these findings haven't been replicated when follow-on studies were undertaken. So there doesn't seem to be conclusive evidence of a definite genetic basis for differences in gender identity/sexual orientation, and what we really have are contending ideological camps, as indeed the Cass report found when it came to NHS gender identity services. Personally I don't think it is a good thing to implement programmes based on unproven ideas from bodies like Stonewall in primary schools. |
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Reply | Just another normal school day in the UK
at 17:27 18 Apr 2024
I thought your suggestion was that the idea of LGBTQ+ school champions in primary schools was something made up as click bait. Not so then? [Post edited 18 Apr 17:29]
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Reply | Rwanda
at 12:56 18 Apr 2024
The stories keep coming. Ironically, the St James building is very close to the home of a friend from a local church group that assists asylum seekers.
Another story today concerns a rapist who turned up at a recent protest displaying the sign "Migrants are not criminals". Most are not of course, but unfortunately some are. This seems more likely when they enter illegally..
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1889652/failed-asylum-seeker-rape-trial
Edit. As I think Res guessed, the two names in the post above about the St James house are Albanian. [Post edited 18 Apr 16:07]
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Reply | More Westminster F-wittery
at 07:22 18 Apr 2024
Menzies is that latest MP facing very serious questions, with his middle of the night phone call and bizarre story of needing £5K to pay off "bad people". He may also have used party funds for private healthcare. I see he has a track record from years ago:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10732427/Tory-MP-Mark-Menzies-quits-as
Angela R is in the spotlight for different and I'd say more mundane reasons, but even with her the area of concern seems to be widening.
The independent group in Parliament is now bigger than the Lib Dems. Our own Swansea West MP is one of these, seemingly for another form of sleaze. There are 7 Tories and 7 Labour independent MPs, so it is not just a matter of party politics. To say that this is depressing is an understatement. |
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Reply | A Victory For Common Sense
at 17:14 17 Apr 2024
Actually they seem to be home-grown "progressives". The barristers were Sarah Hannett and Katy Sheridan from Matrix Chambers, and they were instructed by solicitor Dan Rosenberg from Simpson Millar LLP. They are public law lawyers with specialisms that include education law. You can google the names to see their backgrounds. Matrix Chambers has long involvement in this kind of action. The native SJWs often seem to do as much damage as any incomers. [Post edited 17 Apr 17:15]
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Reply | A Victory For Common Sense
at 08:57 17 Apr 2024
There are several disturbing issues in this case. It was brought with legal aid, which reports say could be around £150,000, and the complainants seem to wish to take the case further if they can. Then there are suggestions that the prayer group did not merely seek to assert their own right to pray in the playground, but pressured other pupils to join in, thus seeking to undermine the secular ethos of the school. Beyond this. there was evidence that the girl bringing the case threatened class mates. Rather disturbingly the judge seems to have taken the girl's side in saying that the school acted improperly in excluding her for two short periods following alleged disruptive behavior.
The judgement is here.
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Judgement-R-v-Michaela-Commu [Post edited 17 Apr 9:00]
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Reply | Bulgarian Gang Convicted Of £50M Universal Credit Fraud ...
at 15:57 16 Apr 2024
Yes, some good points there. The only thing I'd add is that I'd like to see some tightening of the legalisation process so that asylum seekers who are clearly economic migrants are not waved through with light touch checks, as I fear is happening all too often at the moment. This allows the NGOs who facilitate irregular migration to say that most who get here have legitimate claims because their asylum applications will be approved, so they should be brought in by safe routes instead. |
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Reply | Opposition to new smoking ban
at 15:50 16 Apr 2024
Well, as I said I have mixed feelings, and would probably go along with the no-smoking policy if pushed, but my worry is where do we draw the line? Do we legislate on things like sugar content, meal deals, meat eating, alcohol, dangerous adventures or sports, restrictions on car use to counter climate change, rationing of air travel for same reason, etc.? I am not keen on moving too far towards the nanny state. |
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Reply | Opposition to new smoking ban
at 12:23 16 Apr 2024
Very difficult issue. I detest smoking and feel physically sick in a room full of smokers. Yet I wonder if this would be the thin end of the wedge, and other prohibitions would follow. As we've seen already our own Senedd likes to tell us what is best for us. Smoking does stand out as something that leads to more morbidity than anything else I can think of, but I would probably favour increased disincentives, raised age limits for ability to buy, and tougher restrictions on where it can be done, rather than an outright ban. |
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