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Recent political stuff:
- The vote to see if Britain should adopt Alternative Voting has failed.
- Lib Dems lose lots of councils and councillors, whilst Labour make the majority of the gains in England.
- The Scottish National Party do really well in the elections.
A link to the BBC politics page containing relevant information.
Edited by Mrph1 on Jun 7th 2024 at 4:50:10 PM
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From what I've read this Khan person is a rare beast indeed — he's a British leftist that doesn't have a seething hatred of Israel.
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Most of the British left actually don't, the British press like to amp up cases of anti-Semitism/hatred of Israel on the left and they're helped by there being some very vocal far-left idiots like Ken Livingston, but generally you're just as likely to find anti-Semitism/hatred of Israel on the left as you are any other kind of racism.
Hell hatred it probably to strong a descriptive for what they feel, mostly we seem to be seeing ignorance, outrage and a lack of thought from the left.
A part of that is the stuff coming from the social media front, where people haven't actually given any thought and simply decided to click "like" or a facebook post without considering what such an idea really meant.
It's actually probably more common on the far-right, where the remnants of the British Nazis/National Front hang out.
edited 6th May '16 11:56:06 AM by Silasw
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranHere's an interesting interpretation of the government's apparent u-turn over the academisation of all schools:
When is a u-turn not a u-turn?
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Most of the British left don't hate Israel. Even those from the British left who have criticism of certain Israeli policies, don't hate Israel. Silasw's post is a decent summary of the areas of issue.
edited 6th May '16 12:00:46 PM by Wyldchyld
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.![]()
I did say hate Israel and not anti-Semitic. As you very well know, those are two different things (though the former is often cover for the latter since it's more socially acceptable).
Local authority schools outperform academies, research suggests
'Boaty McBoatface' ship to be called RRS Sir David Attenborough
edited 6th May '16 12:06:00 PM by Wyldchyld
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.boo! they should have stuck with Boaty Mc Boatface! we should rename the website Tropey Mc Topeface in protest!
advancing the front into TV Tropes
Frankly, that's a silly name and I'm glad for that ship's sailors that something else was chosen over it.
Agreed with des here. As amusing as it was, when we're dealing with a serious piece of scientific kit like this its name should reflect that (and once the novelty/social media sensation wore off I think the crew would feel like a bunch of prats).
If nothing else, I'm not sure why people are getting so up in arms about it considering it was explicitly stated from the very beginning that the choice was subject to final approval and hence could be rejected if need be.
Locking you up on radar since '09The sub-sea vehicle will carry the Boaty name, so they're not discarding it entirely.
I'd have preferred RSS Attenborough. It flows better.
edited 6th May '16 1:04:40 PM by Wyldchyld
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.Because someone might have come up with something better. Key words "might have".
On empty crossroads, seek the eclipse -- for when Sol and Lua align, the lost shall find their way home.In fact it looks like the person who was behind the competition is in trouble
:
The chief executive of the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc), which was behind the vote, has been called before the Commons committee to give evidence on 10 May.
Nicola Blackwood, committee chair, questioned whether the process had been a "triumph of public engagement or a PR disaster".
And even the person that suggested the name as a joke isn't too unhappy with the decision:
In a tweet, he also said that RRS Sir David Attenborough, which came fourth in the public vote, was a "fitting and excellent choice".
RRS Boaty Mc Boatface - 124,109
RRS Poppy-Mai - 34,371
RRS Henry Worsley
- 15,231
RRS It's Bloody Cold Here - 10,679
RRS David Attenborough - 10,284
edited 6th May '16 1:32:19 PM by Deadbeatloser22
"Yup. That tasted purple."![]()
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I think the Commons committee needs to wise up. It's hard enough as it is to engage the British public in scientific issues, and people had a lot of fun with this boat naming. It got people talking about scientific research, and I found myself fielding questions on the subject in my place of work from people who usually don't give a damn about science (they know I have a science background) - and they're still interested in following the 'adventures' this research vessel goes on and the future it has. It's a start at least.
edited 6th May '16 3:13:04 PM by Wyldchyld
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.Watching the BBC's coverage, it struck me that:
a - They were reusing the same studio sets, graphics and music from 2015 (likewise they reused the 2010 resources for everything in 2011-14).
b - John Curtice was plonked on the "bird's eye view" spot designed for Andrew Neil last year. He looked a bit awkward there and they never had anybody else sitting with him.
c - Plaid Cymru, normally represented as dark green, are now being shown in the same highlighter-yellow used for the Scottish National Party.
d - The Liberal Democrats, who tend to chop and change between various yellowy combinations, are this time being pushed firmly into orange territory.
edited 6th May '16 3:28:49 PM by TommyR01D
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Actually, I've read the parliamentary remit on the government website, and it looks like the committee's job is to investigate and report on communicating science to the public, of which the Name the Ship competition is a part. They will also be exploring how NERC can build on the public interest generated by the competition, so I'm not sure that NERC is in trouble so much as providing examples/evidence to help the committee perform its job.
In fairness to the BBC, Plaid Cymru's symbol is the daffodil. They're represented by a styalised yellow flower and green writing on a white background or a styalised yellow flower and white writing on a green background colour (they'll use either/or or even both options at the same time if the banner is big enough). If you're going to choose just one colour to represent Plaid, green or yellow are both equally valid. The campaign ribbon
◊ is green and yellow with some orange tossed in.
edited 6th May '16 3:39:52 PM by Wyldchyld
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.I damn well hope whoever made the final decision is in trouble... Boaty Mc Boatface was actually raising awareness and getting people interested in science, if the price is a silly name then it is a price worth paying!
advancing the front into TV Tropes

from what I understand about Rugby in Wales (it is in the blood after all) they're some of the most inclusive and supportive fans out there, they ain't exactly football fans after all...
advancing the front into TV Tropes