Inverted

Plus, even if they can read Pashto or Persian, those are written in different scripts to Latin-alphabet languages like German. I'd guess there's a lot of well educated Afghans probably can't read anything in Latin script, even if they are literate in several other languages. There are a lot of people in the West who can speak a few languages, but who would be completely lost if you held up some writing in Cyrillic or Arabic script.

That sounds like a brutal signing. It's not even like it's an opportunity to develop under a new manager - it's still Nuno. Being generous, I think he could be a useful wingback for games against minnows. Unsure if that is worth £40m.

I think the thing is that the Communists wanted to uproot and replace existing culture of Afghanistan, and develop it into a post-tribal, secular socialist state. Which everyone thought was a utopian fantasy. But the Americans thought you could just put a bunch of Northern Alliance guys in power and hold some elections, and the country would magically start acting like a liberal democracy. Without really addressing the underlying social structures. In a paradoxical way, the Communists were the realistic ones, because they were more ambitious. They understood that you cannot build a modern state on the existing foundations of Afghanistan. Changing everything from the ground up is difficult, but it at least gives a small chance of success, whereas Western half-measures are doomed to fail.

Lmao. The socialist government lasted about ten times as long as his regime did without foreign support - and against much more expensively equipped Mujahideen, as opposed to the rag-tag remnants of the Taliban that his state has capitulated to. Which one was the real puppet state?

I think the brutal reality of Taliban rule in Afghanistan is that for the vast majority of Afghans who live in rural areas, Taliban rule makes little difference to them. In fact, once the Taliban take over they maybe even find that crime and corruption become a bit better. As we can see, the real fear is in metropolitan areas, where people make more use of their secular freedoms. Those people have a lot to lose, but ultimately they are a fraction of the population. If life under the Taliban really was a waking nightmare for most people, then they wouldn’t be able to take over so easily.

When you sell yourself to Qatar, you make a commitment a lot deeper than at other clubs. He’s well advised not to renew his contract.

Looks like incel terrorism to me. Time they got cracked down on as hard as Islamic terrorists are.

Scotland is ditching close to all restrictions by the end of the month. Im still waiting on second dose but I’m not personally very bothered about the health aspect anymore. I’m pretty sure I’ve had mild COVID, and I don’t have any very elderly relatives I’m concerned about passing it to. Still, I wear my mask in public out of respect for others and I try to avoid unnecessary close exposure where possible. My attitude has basically boiled down to “I’ll follow guidance fairly closely, but I no longer care enough to worry about other people breaking it”.

I think a weekend or two ago in Scotland we had 6 deaths in a single weekend, which is horrendous. Partly I think it's young people having a drink in parks, and underestimating the danger of "small" bodies of water - ponds, streams etc. But more generally in Scotland you have a lot of people who live in urban areas, who don't swim much and who certainly don't swim much in natural waters. But when the weather is this good, they want to go swimming in the lochs and go climbing around rock pools. They don't realise how deep the water can get, how much there is under the water to get stuck/caught in, and how much danger cold shock can put you in.

Interesting time frame, enjoying it so far.

With still about 20 pages to go I’d agree, I enjoyed Narziss und Goldmund more. They’re good companion pieces though. Similar ideas except where Narziss und Goldmund explores two opposing worldviews with two friends, Siddartha has the one character transitioning from one to the other.

Good lesson for any inexperienced young lads on what not to do with your hands when you're winching a girl. In my day you needed to learn the hard way.

First. As you say my arm was pretty sore late in the evening and in the early morning after. Otherwise, in the evening of the first day I was also a little bit coughy and I felt quite tired, but I dont even know if that was the jab or if I was just sleepy. Overall, by midday of the day after I felt completely over it. People all seem to say the soreness is worse with the second dose, so I’m curious if it works out that way for me.

I just got moderna-fied this morning. So far no symptoms at all apart from a bit pain in my arm where the needle went in.

With WFH I realised I was getting quite fat again. I've not been weighing myself but I've gotten in much better shape in just a month or so of trying. Still drink a beer now and then, and snack if I want to, but I've just been more attentive to my portion control and running/cycling 3-4 times a week. I've also been trying to go a lunchtime walk every day. I can't abide any kind of diet or strict exercise, so I try and avoid any absolute changes or definite schedules. I think I almost need to kinda "fool" myself into being healthy. Not weighing myself is part of that, I think, though I can see from my face and ribs and the stretch marks on my thighs that I've shifted weight. I tend to drift up and down in weight every couple of years, but I'm always surprised at how easy it is to lose weight when I make a slight effort. I forget that I don't actually need to go hungry or do any backbreakingly intense exercise to stay in shape. That is, assuming the goal is purely just to go from slightly chubby back to slightly skinny.

The Ishiguro book was good. Now onto this

Disgraceful, but sadly typical of this country. We'll brag about wars we fought a 100 years ago, but crimes that occurred within living memory will get thrown down the memory hole.

Saving to buy. I moved back in with my parents after graduating, thinking I'd soon be moving to Edinburgh for work when I began my 2 year training contract in September 2020. Then, lockdown and WFH happened, so Im still here. I pay "rent" to my parents but it's half what I'd be paying in actual rent. They kinda need the help to keep up with bills etc but they also are obsessed with me owning my own place so they refuse to take more. Otherwise I am also spending a fraction of what I would in normal life, so I have managed to build up a pretty good lump of savings. I have more than enough to probably put down a 10% deposit on a decent one bedroom flat. My salary however is terrible and I have no job security past September 2022, so I will not be able to buy until after then. I am desperate to get my own place again, but it would feel like a waste to rent now when I just need to put up with living here for one more year.

Trying some fiction again.

In effect it is Israel which uses the population of Gaza as a human shield. By blockading Gaza, they essentially force any resistance into a position where if they want to resist, they must do so within the confines of one of the most densely-populated places on earth. Even if they wanted to, there is no possibility to move and fight from somewhere which is a safe distance from civilians. This is a win-win for Israel since the outcome is either 1 - Nobody in Gaza wants to fight, out of fear of drawing Israeli attacks on a civilian area; or 2 - Strikes come from Gaza, and Israel can automatically absolve itself morally because the enemy are using "human shields" by the mere fact of existing in Gaza.

Entirely believable. The main achievement of the last 5 years for Labour was managing to excite and motivate a large proportion of normally de-politicised people - young job market entrants, precarious workers, renters and the like - and get them voting and even campaigning. The party has thrown all of that work out the window in a vain attempt to undo a battle that was already lost, with a dying electorate.