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Go back to your country... oops, this is your country. Err.. but you like the EU, so go back to Spain! I mean not "back" because you were born here, but still, go there!

One can argue that Germany has been the opinion leader in the EU, but the formal power of Germany as well as of other big countries in the EU, is actually disproportionally low. The EU has a population of around 505 million, contributions of around €17 billion and there are 751 seats in the European Parliament. Germany has a population of 81 million (~16%), pays contributions of €26 billion (~22%), but has only 96 seats (~13%). So Germany's means of influencing EU politics are actually smaller than any "share" Germany would expect to have in the EU. One thing Germany does however, and this is the crux of it, is actively engaging in EU politics and as usual, people who do things make an impact . The notion of Germany being disproportionally or especially powerful mostly comes from the lack of activity shown by other countries in EU politics. It's up to them to change that. Now now... depending on your personal views this can be regarded as leadership or domination - as it's usually advertised by far right politicians and particularly imperialism lovers. So again, the problem is not that Germany has a lot of power, it is that other large EU countries failed to take action or to show leadership. This is very true for the deadbeat UK who just chose to leave, and to lesser extent France.

The Spacewalk is live now; watching it makes me kinda anxious

Christmas pet adoption ban at German shelters 43 minutes ago A dog is for life, not just for Christmas - so the famous slogan goes. It's certainly the case in Germany, where a temporary ban on new adoptions aims to cut short any plans to give an animal as a Christmas gift. Dozens of shelters have told potential pet owners that no animals will be handed over in the run-up to Christmas. Berlin's shelter, the largest in Europe, is among them. It says the ban reduces unwanted animals being dumped back after the holiday period. "Animals are living beings with needs and feelings," it said. "They are not suitable as surprise gifts." In Bremen, none of 500 animals will be re-homed after 18 December. Regional news outlets are reporting similar decisions in other towns and cities, including dozens of shelters in a united decision in Lower Saxony. The problem, according to the ban's supporters, is that pets are often bought impulsively at the last minute. "The decision to keep an animal must not be taken lightly - the whole family must be involved in the decision-making process," said Claudia Hämmerling from Berlin's animal protection association. Most shelters will still be open for viewings - but families will have to come back in January after they've had time to consider. Puppy sales at pet shops set to be banned More dogs abandoned in Christmas 2017 run-up RSPCA warns against costumes for dogs Not everyone agrees with an outright ban. In the UK, animal protection group RSPCA says the person receiving the pet should be known to be willing and ready - and highlights the extra noise, hustle, and bustle at Christmas that "can make it difficult for any pet to settle into their new homes". "However, for some people, the festive period is a calm, quiet time and may well be a good opportunity to introduce an animal into the home as families tend to be around the house with more time to spend with them," it says. Their US counterpart, the ASPCA, largely agrees. But the Dog's Trust - author of the famous slogan about dogs being "not just for Christmas" - is still running adverts to that effect nearly 40 years after it first coined the phrase. "Christmas presents aren't dogs, and dogs aren't Christmas presents. It's that simple!" the charity said when launching this year's advert. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46522116

Well thanks for that, I suddenly don't feel like sleeping anymore

They are like bees buzzing around a honeypot.

You've been framed Zomato India driver sacked after eating customer's takeaway 5 hours ago Takeaway delivery firm Zomato has apologized after one of its drivers was filmed eating a client's food and resealing the containers in India. The video, which was filmed in Madurai in southern India, shows a man wearing a Zomato shirt sitting on a moped eating food out of boxed orders then resealing them and putting them back into a delivery bag. The video has been viewed thousands of times on social media. Zomato said it has a "zero tolerance policy" towards food tampering and has sacked the delivery man in question. In a statement, Zomato acknowledged that the video suggests the man was eating food meant for customers. The company said: "We have spoken to him at length and while we understand that this was a human error in judgment, we have taken him off our platform." Zomato also says they will soon introduce "tamper-proof tapes" and "educate their delivery fleet" as a further precaution against food tampering. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-46522548

Phil right now.

Wasn't for Juventus and isn't for France. Be a loss for Manchester United if they bin him before Mourinho, as I can see another manager making him central to a successful team.

Astronomy Picture of the Day 2018 December 11 Arp 188 and the Tadpole's Tail Image Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, ESA, NASA; Processing: Faus Márquez (AAE) Explanation: Why does this galaxy have such a long tail? In this stunning vista, based on image data from the Hubble Legacy Archive, distant galaxies form a dramatic backdrop for disrupted spiral galaxy Arp 188, the Tadpole Galaxy. The cosmic tadpole is a mere 420 million light-years distant toward the northern constellation of the Dragon (Draco). Its eye-catching tail is about 280 thousand light-years long and features massive, bright blue star clusters. One story goes that a more compact intruder galaxy crossed in front of Arp 188 - from right to left in this view - and was slung around behind the Tadpole by their gravitational attraction. During the close encounter, tidal forces drew out the spiral galaxy's stars, gas, and dust forming the spectacular tail. The intruder galaxy itself, estimated to lie about 300 thousand light-years behind the, can be seen through foreground spiral arms at the upper right. Following its terrestrial namesake, the Tadpole Galaxy will likely lose its tail as it grows older, the tail's star clusters forming smaller satellites of the large spiral galaxy. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Dammit, swallowed my whole post :(. Anyways the short of it is this, China is not doing this just for furthering science but also to get a better stronghold on that part of the sea which has been worrysome. What will be fascinating is all the engineers will learn about building structures and maintaining them in hard to build places. Couple that with a learning AI that can adapt itself to those conditions and this just adds one more good thing to take into space when and if colonization ever becomes a reality.

Jorginho was once again crucial for us, said no one ever.

China is planning to build a deep sea base for unmanned submarine science and defence operations in the South China Sea, a centre that might become the first artificial intelligence colony on Earth. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/2174738/beijing-plans-ai-atlantis-south-china-sea-without-human-sight

Yeah saw your comment on FB ya sauerkraut

The 'new era' is vastly unpopular with the public. All the retarded bogans see the situation as 'act like cunts and win' or 'behave respectably and lose' They aren't aware that behaviour is independent of the results. Here are the top facebook comments on an article titled "Paine heralds new Aussie era" This is why I hate Australians " The “new era” is absolutely rubbish. Can’t believe the PC brigades have gotten to our national game. Embarrassing." "Just be soft and keep losing. Not a good team, only about half of them should be there" "New era looks crap" "Hard to talk rubbish when your always loosing"

Failure is putting it nicely. Diversity is fine, however to literally force it down our throats the way Disney have done, ruins anything good about the film. But more importantly, the fact that they made a Star Wars film, where Luke fucking Skywalker is actually subjacent to a character that is a Disney princess in every sense of the imagination, is bar none unforgivable. They should be shut down.

Christmas classic. After watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ECwhB21Pnk., I've decided to change my rating of The Last Jedi to -/10.

Behind the Scenes of 'UFO' SID ( Space Intruder Detector ) Moonbase ( Shado ) Interceptor Specs... Skydiver... Sky 1 Mobile And of course that car... Anyone like to hazard a guess who's Mother this is???

I'm going to buy fresh Zwiebelmettwurst tomorrow, so excited just wanted to say it was good knowing you all in case I die of food poisoning afterwards.

She takes after her mother I see.

Criticised Sarri's appointment at Chelsea because he never won anything. Thinks Poch's appointment at United will win the Champions League. Yup. Definitely a Teso thing to say.

Since we're on the topic of bacteria and all things icky. https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/12/whats-eating-this-400-year-old-painting-a-whole-ecosystem-of-microbes/ "A new study describes the complex ecosystems of bacteria and fungi that live and feast on a 17th-century painting—and how other species of bacteria may one day help art conservators fight back."

ISS: Spacewalk cosmonauts investigate mystery hole 5 minutes ago Russian cosmonauts on the International Space Station (ISS) are embarking on a spacewalk to investigate a mysterious hole that caused a loss of air pressure in August. The cause of the hole on the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft, docked to the station, has not yet been established. However, Russian officials have said they believe it was caused by a drill and may have been deliberate. Oleg Kononeko and Sergei Prokopyev will spend about six hours on the spacewalk. All systems go as Russia's Soyuz aims to erase failures What's life like on the ISS? Spacecraft hole could be 'deliberate' The hole was discovered after crew members traced an air leak that was causing the minor loss of pressure on the ISS. The Soyuz capsule had been used to deliver a new crew to the laboratory 400km (250 miles) above the Earth in June. Crew members used tape to cover the hole and experts speculated that it could have been caused by the impact of a high-speed rocky fragment flying through space. However, that theory was later ruled out. Photos of the hole from inside the spacecraft circulated online. A space industry source told Russia's Tass state news agency that the spacecraft could have been damaged during testing at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The mistake might have then been covered up. "Someone messed up and then got scared and sealed up the hole," a source speculated, but then the sealant "dried up and fell off" when the Soyuz reached the ISS. Sources quoted in Izvestia newspaper said that if the sealant is found on the hull during the spacewalk then the hole was probably caused when the spacecraft was on the ground. In September, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia's civilian space agency Roscosmos, said that a production defect was possible but "deliberate interference" had not been ruled out. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46529422