 | Forum
Reply | January Transfer Thread
at 19:53 2 Jan 2025
I see my left-field tip for a modestly-priced, in-form striker, Sam Dalby, scored again today to stay top goalscorer in the SPL on 10. |
| Forum
Reply | The I voted labour and want to apologise thread.
at 13:32 2 Jan 2025
I suppose what is being hinted at here is that bus operators receive their income from a combination of fares and tax-funded government subsidies. So although Gwyn is right at one level, there is that link lurking in the background. |
| Forum
Reply | Driver rams New Year’s revelers in New Orleans ...
at 08:28 2 Jan 2025
It looks like we are again in info-wars territory with this attack. The BBC version is that the suspect, Shamsud-Din-Jabbar, is a 42 year old US citizen, born in Texas, who served in the US military for more than a decade, including in Afghanistan. There are reports that he had recently become radicalised.
The US media have dug a bit deeper but still seem shy to report on the cultural heritage of the attacker’s family. Reports of a recent visit to Egypt suggest the family originated in that country. The younger brother reportedly said the suspect had converted to Islam at a young age, but that “what he did does not represent Islam. This is more some type of radicalisation, not religion.”
https://nypost.com/2025/01/01/us-news/new-orleans-terrorist-shamsud-din-jabbars-
So it would appear that Din-Jabber is a second generation immigrant from an Egyptian family, at least some of whom have maintained their Muslim faith. The New York Post reports that because of financial problems linked to divorce and a failing real estate business, Din-Jabbab lived in a run-down trailer park inhabited mainly by Muslim immigrants and near the local mosque.
https://nypost.com/2025/01/01/us-news/inside-shamsud-din-jabbar-jabbars-squalid-
No doubt some will see personal issues as part of the narrative. Then there is the question of whether others are involved and if there are links to the vehicle fire near the Trump Tower. Probably the true picture somehow weaves together all these elements.
The American academic literature describes an “immigrant paradox” whereby the second and third generations are more likely to be involved in crime than the first generation, and one wonders if the same applies to radicalisation. With crime the more liberally-inclined writers say this is merely because they become more like the US population as a whole, but the picture could be different when it comes to radicalisation. [Post edited 2 Jan 8:42]
|
| Forum
Reply | Rooney Gone
at 12:04 31 Dec 2024
Not a great manager, but to be fair to Rooney he does seem to prefer work to affluent retirement. Perhaps he should do a Savage and invest in a team at lower level where he can build up his managerial skills. |
| Forum
Reply | Second BREXIT Referendum
at 11:07 31 Dec 2024
As has been said before, there are at least two definitions of nation; (a) as a cultural entity and (b) as a sovereign nation state. I've always maintained that the first usage is confusing because it leads people to mix up cultural entities with sovereign nations. It is the latter that the Jocks have in mind when they sing Flower of Scotland (and "be the nation again") in the "Six Nations" Championship, a paradox that illustrates the confusion. The SNP are well aware that a nation state has a set of core institutions that they do not yet possess and are trying to build. When, with Gething as First Minister, it was claimed that Wales was the first European nation with a black leader, this was again mixing apples and oranges, since all the other European "nations" that would come into people's minds were nation states. One may anyway wonder whether Hwntws and Gogs really form a single cultural entity or even a common genetic group.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/north-south-wales-walians-as-88733 |
| Forum
Reply | Welsh Ambulance Service declares critical incident ...
at 09:38 31 Dec 2024
The story one tends to hear from the hospitals is that the problem in major A&E units is not so much an increase in numbers coming through their doors, but a lack of capacity in the wider hospital with the result that patients can't be moved from A&E to the wards. I don't know whether this applies in Morriston. Personally I'd be surprised if it isn't both things in many hospitals. |
| Forum
Thread | Blair, immigration and what official documents show
at 06:40 31 Dec 2024
One of the issues that has bubbled away in forum discussions is the question of whether policies introduced by Tony Blair in the early 2000s opened the way for the recent explosion in immigration numbers. A crucial juncture came when the so-called A-8 eastern European countries joined the EU in 2004. Existing members were given the option of suspending freedom of movement for A-8 nationals for a transitional period, but the UK government decided not to impose any restrictions. As it turned out, the predicted number of incomers was a huge under-estimate. Now, as documents are released under the 20 year rule, we know that Mr Blair pushed through this decision against advice from senior cabinet members such as Straw and Prescott. Interestingly, Blunkett who has tried to distance himself from this in recent years, was also one of the prime movers.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/tony-blair-s-spectacular-mistake-on-migrat
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/blair-s-government-opened-uk-borders-to-ea
As many have observed already, the UK migration research community did not exactly come out of the A-8 episode with flying colours. Labour relied on figures from a study by Christian Dustmann and his team at UCL, which proved to be well wide of the mark. Dustmann’s excuse has been that “sensitivity analysis” in the study mentioning other possible scenarios did include a scenario where higher numbers might arrive, but at the time this was not the line that UCL pushed.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21682810
https://www.migrationwatchuk.org/news/2015/04/22/full-fact-on-east-european-migr
[Post edited 31 Dec 2024 6:41]
|
| Forum
Reply | New York subway fire murder
at 19:12 30 Dec 2024
Ever had a wander around in Saint-Denis or the so-call "Stalincrack" area in the 10th and 19th arrondissements? Most big cities have quite a few dodgy areas. |
| Forum
Reply | The Folly of Rushing to Today's Green Solutions
at 19:01 30 Dec 2024
Depressing. The long-term economic outlook is looking worse by the day. with several policy initiatives taking us in the wrong direction. it looks pretty much inevitable that Reeves (or a successor) will have to increase the tax take yet again before long. |
| Forum
Reply | Goncalo Franco rushed to hospital after gruesome collision
at 18:53 30 Dec 2024
It seems that the best case scenario is splinting for 2 to 4 weeks after repositioning the affected teeth, followed by root canal treatment (as the nerves will have been damaged). Not great for poor old Goncalo. I'm not sure how long recovery takes before a return to the pitch is advisable. |
| Forum
Reply | Swansea City v Luton Town : Match day thread GAME DAY !
at 17:02 29 Dec 2024
Solid result in a difficult game against a team of cloggers. We did well to come back after our keeper's mistake, but there was a long frustrating period when for all our possession we failed to get quality balls into Luton's box, with several players preferring the easy pass back to trying a cross. I was just thinking that peart-Harris would have been better staying on the bench, when he came up trumps and got us the three points. What was that that one or two have been saying about give Vipotnik a chance and he'll take it? |
| Forum
Reply | Tsunami
at 15:10 28 Dec 2024
I was in Bang Saen working in a building about 200m from the sea, but luckily on the Gulf of Thailand coast rather than the Andaman Sea side. My wife and infant son were on the beach a few miles away. I didn't hear about the tsunami until that evening and it took a day or two for the full horror to emerge. |
| Forum
Reply | Second BREXIT Referendum
at 11:34 28 Dec 2024
Coming from somebody who doesn't know his Acquis from his arse that is genuinely amusing. All the serious politicians, including in Labour. know re-joining isn't feasible in the immediate future. If the EU changes in the longer term then it may come back onto the agenda. But is is a big "if". |
| Forum
Reply | January Transfer Thread
at 21:49 27 Dec 2024
One striker who has hit the headlines from nowhere and must be interesting some is Sam Dalby. He is on loan from Wrexham at Dundee United and is currently the leading goalscorer in the SPL on 9. |
| Forum
Reply | Ospreys
at 11:12 27 Dec 2024
I've always liked the St Helen's ground, and felt the atmosphere and history outweighed the shortcomings some posters mentioned. It is a pity the Cricketers' pub is now student accommodation, but there are now several other bars and restaurants a short walk away. A couple of surprising facts: 1. St Helen's has the biggest record attendance of any Swansea sports stadium (over 50K for a cricket fixture against Australia in 1948 and 45K for a rugby match against South Africa in 1931). 2. Tallest freestanding floodlight pylon in Europe in the Cricketers' corner of the ground.
Edit. On checking the Wales vs New Zealand rugby match at St Helens in 1924 had a recorded attendance of 50,000. [Post edited 27 Dec 2024 11:48]
|
| | AnotherJohn
|
Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 1098 | | Comment Votes: | 1 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 1099 |
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.