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Puddin been fed and now tucked in for a snoozzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Bloody hell sea levels have risen a lot more than I expected

I could be wrong but the gangs in Yorkshire being referred to specifically and deliberately targeted non-muslims didn't they? In that sense I'm not surprised if someone was to label it Islamic. Whereas the issue of incest in Yorkshire, particularly in places like Bradford, I've only ever heard it referred to as Pakistani or Asian and not Islamic.

Bruce needs Newcastle more than Rafa ever did. I'm not debating Rafa's commitment to Newcastle but Rafa would have always had a relatively decent job eventually. If Bruce gets sacked, he's not going to get near another Prem job. He might not even get near another Championship job. Chris Wilder and Eddie Howe are much better managers than Bruce and are struggling. Bruce is therefore not going to rock the boat like Rafa would. Bruce has a lot of mates in the media, who talk him up. I don't rate Solskjaer at all but before he came in at United, a lot of Bruce's mates in the media were talking him up for that. His biggest connection throughout his career in football is with United - inventing a connection to Newcastle is like suggesting Carragher is a true Evertonian because he supported them as a bid or Bergkamp is a Spur because he liked us a kid. Irrelevant. The likes of Keys, Redknapp, Merson etc talk him up into being a manager he isn't. Most of them don't even pretend to analyse him properly. They just blindly support no matter how bad it gets and then try and convince Newcastle fans who don't rate him that up is down, squares are triangles, the sky is the ocean and they're just a bunch of "way ay man, howay the lads" buffoons who want to both win the Champions League every season (and demand it) and also would take losing 6-5 every game over ever winning 1-0. They also loathe Benitez, likely because he never bothered with the media charm offensive when he was at Liverpool so they make these ridiculous comparisons with him and Bruce. Bruce, rather than actually prove their misguided support right by trying to be a better manager and achieve all the things they say he can, actually does the same and acts like a total mark for himself by making embarrassing, bitchy and ridiculous jibes at Benitez, thinking that getting a guffaw out of Richard Keys is more important than building a relationship with his club. He's a mediocre man and a mediocre manager in a job he is blatantly out of his depth in.

Decent teaser, was that Matt Smith? It looks good. I don't know what their plans are but there's a LOT of content from GRRM's own spin-off books and stuff so if the series is popular it could have legs for a few series if they want it to.

Embarrassing that these people can become elected officials in this country, let alone ministers, and then when they get caught lying live on television have the gall to criticise the person who pointed it out, accuse them of making a political point and try to squirm out of it by trying to tell the British people watching it that they aren't interested in it. Absolutely no shame. But this is the play book that's been getting them by. It's just embarrassing that other countries can look at us and see that those are our elected officials.

Good news is GRRM is heavily involved and D&D are now where near this. Hope the current directors don't try to fit 20 episodes worth of material into 6....

Yes I have heard about that issue in India yet have not heard about that community being involved in such crimes here. So most in the UK would not be aware of it. In India itself not just rape yet other crimes against women where even the police either turn a blind eye so to speak, or even take part in it which is rather shocking. Re America cannot comment in too much detail except to say they had the Green Card system and have the impression that this allowed only the better candidates to emigrate there.

You gave the reason yourself for why it gives off as being anti-Islam. Islamic rape gang? As you said they originate from Pakistan, call them Pakistani rape gangs. Pakistan is a state very young one it's not the official representive of half a globe of people. India has a serious problem with rapes in its country. Should we call it a 'Hindu' rape problem? Baffles me how people in Europe confuse their immigration problems under a single umbrella of millions of people with different cultures and whatnot. Europeans like to make fun of America, rightly so for some reasons. But America has been on a whole excellent on attracting or even hunting the excellent of minds from 'Islamic' countries. Believe it or not from 50s to 80s they purposely initiated immigration of from Pakistan, Egypt, Iran etc. Pakistani Americans have a much better reputation than their British counterparts, and they are very well off. Many of them highly reputed Pakistani doctors or 'Islamic' doctors.

That's a shame.

Ted Cruz is such a detestable human being.

Many times. Luckily the last time was 2-3 years ago. Started sweating, shaking profoundly and feeling dizzy to the point were I felt that I could pass out, in the queue of a super market or in a crowded tram or bus up the point that I had to get out at the next station. What helped? Well, short-term solution was telling myself that the current situation is going to be over soon, and that I'll be home safe and sound soon enough. Imagined what I'll be doing as soon as I'm back in my comfort-zone. Long-term solution was getting healthier and more confident. I think everyone experiences panick attacks for different reasons. So a professional who can treat each case individually should be the best thing in the long run.

MySpace tonight!!!

Listened to the new album on a trip this weekend. Nice to see they haven't lost the sound that made them popular back in the day.

De Oost (2020) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8639136/ A movie about the controversial history of the Dutch East Indies Army and Depot Special Forces against Indonesian guerrillas in the Indonesian War of Independence right after the WWII. Tells the story through the eyes of a young Dutch soldier who joins the special troops led by Captain Raymond Westerling and then gets extremely disillusioned after wittnesing the brutality and war crimes committed in South Sulawesi under his command. A refreshingly different movie, with a setting and the story that hasn't been told on the screen many times before. 7.5/10

Thank fuck Facebook is down, the wife can't get into her bloody Farmville and I can't hear all of them fucking animals noises, neighing, blaaaing, moooing & pigs snorting...bliss.

I think the climate change activism in this country has a serious problem with well-off hippies alienating a large swathe of the population. But while it is valid to call them arseholes, it also seems like quite a pointless argument when many people are just already looking for an excuse to be dismissive about climate change. Look at Greta Thunberg for example, more than anyone she has probably put herself through an incredible amount of inconvenience in order to live according to her ideals - but if someone within 10ft of her is spotted with a plastic bottle, a lot of people will just instantly dismiss her as a hypocrite. Such people never really cared about what she does or doesn't do personally. They're just not interested in the issue, and they're mad at her for making them think about it.

They wouldn't get the coverage. They wouldn't be on morning tv. People protest in numbers that small and smaller at government buildings all the time. Many occasion have I taken a leaflet from someone dressed as a badger or walked past a bloke who stuck a load of plastic bottles to himself. Many have been arrested. When an ambulance is trying to get through its time to stand up, get off the road.

There are reports of a long history of low-level sexual offending, including indecent exposure. He had been planning to abduct and rape a woman for at least a month. People like him can be attracted to jobs with authority as it gives them the chance to abuse it and a chance to lord that authority over people, knowing they can't fight back.

Meet Tzatziki & Gyros, my new unexpected fosters

Tbf, I think US policy has indicated they're currently rethinking relations with China - with the trade war starting 4 years ago and continuing even with a president from a different party. I know from some of the clients my company has at work, companies that have relied on trade with China are having to make serious adjustments with their international business to shift with US policy. More and more businesses are looking to India and Indonesia as alternatives to China as well. And it's clear China's also rethinking their relations with the US... and much of the west tbh. And I think moves like banning cryptocurrencies entirely are in part a reflection of that (as well as keeping in line with their current policy of keeping as much of China's RMB in China as possible).

With technology improving, self checkouts and similar technology will make cashiers - and many other jobs in general - obsolete in the future; the same thing that happened to phone operators, elevator operators, or gas station attendants, as well as many other professions that don't exist anymore. That's normal, and you can say that's the price of technological progress... It's also true that labour markets tend to adjust to changes and automation usually creates new jobs, and it's good if people can be retrained and take on new professions, but let's be honest, the transition is quite challenging for some, especially older workers. If many of lower skilled jobs get automated and become obsolete in the future, and if a significant part of global workforce has to shift occupational categories, learn new skills and be re-employed as a result, unemployment rates can potentially go through the roof, especially combined with the aging population.