Harry

It seems like America has no serious economic-left, but a fairly vocal and visible social left which do dumb and polarising things like taking Abraham Lincoln's name off schools due to seeing him as racist. Bernie Sanders is proof there's public appetite for something more but the way he's ostracised suggests there's very little room for him in the democratic party.

I loved Andrew Gaze as a player and a role model. Always seemed like a genuinely humble and kind hearted person too.

I'm starting to think the deterioration in physical health which happened to so many through covid due to lockdowns, shut gyms and golf courses, etc may really leave a mark. Also covid itself can leave huge marks and lead to long term heart and lung conditions so this is no anti covid comment. It's just absolutely critical that we all get out and start exercising again and putting our well-being first and try restore our baseline to our pandemic levels.

Me too mate. I spent most of my childhood trying to be Andrew Gaze on the basketball court, and Shane Warne on the cricket pitch (or Gilchrist when I had the bat). I bloody loved this man. Super, super sad.

Shocking! That’s probably the first time I’ve feared for an umpires safety. Surely a serious reprimand coming his way.

I found this an interesting watch

This is a hell of a game. No idea which way it's gonna go. Medvedev's seeming to be coming back into form at the moment, so it could swing back his way again

The Great. Anti-historical comedy about Catherine the Great. Enjoyable watch

I'd like to try a two week sample of a European or US midwestern winter. That's about how much I reckon I could handle.

Australian twitter is a left vs centre cesspool at the best of times, but if there's one unanimous point of common ground it's that Morrison is arguably the worst prime Minister we've had. Barely a human. No principles. No beliefs. 100% reactive. Prioritises nothing except opportunities to jump into frame with two thumbs up hucking "how good?". I hated Tony Abbott, but at least he was, at his core, a person with some convictions, horrible though they were.

I honestly think mandates are fucked, especially now the vaccine seems to do so little to prevent infection for Omicron (but still plenty to prevent severe covid). This means a vaccinated person can get it almost as easily as an unvaccinated. So not so much the "community protection net" that we thought it was when we made the original mandates But what to make of those at my work who haven't got the jab? They're professional engineers. If they look at the kookery and see a legitimate cause to refuse vaccination I can hardly trust their critical thinking skills or decision making on any more important matter.

We seem to have got the response wrong in many countries, urging measures that couldn't be afforded which have run a risk of having more impact than the virus itself would have. E.g. Schools shutdown in Uganda for 77 weeks since April 2020, with reports more than a third may never return to school once they do reopen.

Mate c'mon, nobody would hope that. At all. Badly maimed by Wolves...? Maybe, sure. But definitely no harm to befall you from covid.

We are too eager to believe the dumbest stuff said about that group though.

Burns-Murdoch is definitely a good egg.

That does suck but this is someone with a huge commercial stake in things, so not exactly an unbiased source

The Simpsons nailed us so well in this clip https://youtu.be/4JQK4bH0J-o

Some Australian states gave infected persons the option to quarantine in a hospital, to reduce the chance of infecting their family. Is that what you mean? I can tell you for a fact the two biggest cities are basically reopen and sending everyone back to the office. But Australia and New Zealand previously required all international Arrivals to quarantine in a hotel for 2 weeks before letting them out into the country at large.

This will be a short term measure. Just a bit of a "breaks on whilst we learn more" which is a symptom of the current time. It won't last. No government could sell "Delta endemicity but covid zero lockdown for Omicron".

I hope the data behind this variant amounts to a bit of a false alarm. I don't fancy the idea of borders being closed again

We can at least make Futurama jokes, about Lurrrr, the ruler of Omicron Perseii 8

That confusion is why they picked Omicron

He's clearly been commenting off record to the BBC and others saying that he is interested in stories like this https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/59372826 . But I genuinely find it hard to believe this isn't just games. United will bin him off only slightly less quickly than PSG. Possibly he doesn't enjoy the big ego management, but what logic is there walking away on a squad with Messi, and Neymar to one with Pogba and Ronaldo? The only angle I can see is if PSG actively prefer Zidane, and have told him this would be the perfect time to jump ship in a "works for everyone".

I can't believe Poch would bin off PSG. That makes no sense to me at all. He gets no closer to his family, and he gives up coaching, and actually walks out on the best player of his generation and the most stacked squad in world football. Why? Will United really give him more control under the next Ed Woodward than he's getting now at PSG under Leonardo? Not trying to hang it on United here but can't see why you leave a probable Champions league finalist to take the reigns at United.

I think the way out is expand the hospital system in every country to cater to a new baseline of winter respiratory hospitalisations. But it's odd that I don't hear of that happening, and I'm surprised Europe seems to have been caught with its pants down over boosters going into flu season, which was always going to be the annual peak.