Gorth

But Bruce, aren't you asking some very leading and loaded questions??? The simplistic answer is yes. But you can't really debate it out of context. Ask, how did it get to this in the first place? Plus, any conversation about the subject is going to be full of whatif's (what if Russia had joined Nato, what if Ukraine hadn't invaded Crimea, what if the EU had agree to open trade etc.) or whataboutisms (but the US does it big time, the Chinese does and the Israelis are probably the most active in cyber espionage and sabotage these days). I prefer the whatif "What if Putin hadn't picked up the pieces of the collapse of the Soviet Union?". Try to imagine a failed state like Libya or Somalia with the worlds largest nuclear arsenal and ICBM's... people may not like Putin and distrust his nationalist motives, but for all his faults, he is "rational", unlike say the Iranian leadership (or the late US leadership). Did the world get the lesser of multiple evils and should adapt and learn to live with it?

@BruceVCDid you know that Gorbachev wanted to join Nato when they were negotiating German unification, but Baker, the US secretary of state just laughed at him. Putin was keen to join in 2000, but Bill Clinton's response was very similar. It's not like they didn't try to work closer with western security interests in the past, but were flat out rejected. Hence the "if they don't like us and don't want us in their club, they might as well fear us" thing when realizing that Nato always was and always still was a thing aimed at Russia specifically.

You guys are going to need a new flag too, aren't you? Like one with the 53 states of America. Where the heck will you fit in the new star?

After all the sable rattling, time to let some of the air out of the balloon again. Biden's phone call seems to have provided an opening for de-escalation. At least a bit. Putin deciding that the 100.000 Russian troops at Ukraine's borders are better off in their barracks somewhere else in Russia. Ukraine seems to be less in a hurry to change status quo on the battlefield too. Maybe time for something as mundane as talking? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56842763 "After weeks of tension over a build-up of Russian troops close to Ukraine's border, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered a number of units in the area back to their bases."

I think the bigger the economic inequality and the more poverty you have, the more you're likely to have a population that is growing increasingly frustrated (and violent). Add to that living in permanent fear. Fear of your neighbour, fear of cops, fear of losing your job, fear of health issues (and unpayable medical bills) etc. See the state of mind thread for the links, 40% of the US population is estimated to live with anxiety issues. It takes very little pretext to make the lid blow off. One charismatic, well spoken individual can quickly gather a following if directing that fear against something or someone. Edit: from Gorth's "The Demagogue 101"

Considering how polarized US society appears to be (seen from the outside), I wouldn't be surprised if one half of the population believes the police is always at fault and the other half believes they are never at fault. Dissenting voices offering middle ground like, they are sometimes at fault, being drowned out by the agitated masses.

Australia's situation strategically (warning, somewhat long read) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-21/us-china-preparing-war-drumbeats-conflict-australia-crosshairs/13260084 When Mao Zedong's People's Volunteer Army turned back the US Eighth Army in December 1950, it inflicted what is still known today as the longest retreat in American military history. The battle of Ch'ongch'on has taken on even more significance as the drum beat sounds louder of another conflict between China and the US. Last year, at the 70th anniversary of China's triumph, Xi Jinping warned the Chinese people "the road ahead will not be smooth". He called on people to revive the spirit of the Korean War, to "speak to invaders in the language they know … to use war to prevent war".

I can't really speak for other Australians, only myself (and I don't consider myself a "real" Australian). I mentioned last year, that the one thing Trump did that deserved a pat on the back was finally pulling the plug in the flow of money from the US to China in a completely uneven trade relationship. I wish Australia had done that already years ago to be honest, but my broken record regarding the Liberal Party hear still spins endless around and around. The party's major donors all benefited a lot from selling ore and agricultural products to feed the Chinese industry, not anything the common Australian ever noticed of course, as the revenue ended up in the hands of a few families (non taxable of course. I commented already on it when I first arrived here almost two decades ago, describing the country to my family back in Denmark in the early 200's... "the Australians are like stupid!!!" They just dig the stuff up from the ground and ship wholesale to China, who in turn does all the value adding, processing and build up technological know how, infrastructure and a skilled workforce, leaving Australia with the little profit and in places some hefty clean up bills, still trying to dig something useful up from the ground long after the rest of the world has moved on. As for education, yeah, a sad chapter. Rich Asian parents mostly, sending their kids to Australia. It made up the fourth largest export industry, selling university education (which most Australians can't afford to get by the way). But recent changes in trade relations has forced the Morrison government to rethink their relationship with China. Universities, because of the pandemic, has to get used to sell education to Australians and trade with China is down 40% the last year. Not Covid related, but because somebody sort of mentioned that the KZ camps where Uighur slaves are working the cotton fields for the textile export is not really nice, a thing the government in Beijing was very offended by and promptly slapped billions of dollars of tariffs on Australian export goods. Since most people can see this is heading for nothing good, the exporters have made up the slack in large part now, mostly by selling it to Europe and other Asian countries. A bit less profitable, but a much more stable relationship than trying to placate the big bully in the schoolyard. As for what I would wish for? Cut any and all ties to China and dust off old alliances, because I China's ambitions are both political, territorial and global. Check the second half of the speech I slightly edited and posted above. The speech that was given just before the annexation of the Sudetenland, occupation of Czechoslovakia and invasion of Poland. Edit: The customer base for the universities were mostly Chinese, but also a large Indian contingent. When **** hit the fan with the crackdown in Hong Kong, students siding with Hong Kong against Beijing got to feel exactly how long Xi's arm and influence is and police could do very little to stop it (as some students were in my opinion obvious "plants" by Beijing, there to keep an eye on and beat the living daylight out of fellow students who didn't toe the party line)

It may have something to do with debts out of control for the major clubs. Players being valued and sold to other clubs for $200 million and upwards and star players having salaries in excess of $300k weekly. Desperate people digging for water in the desert?

So many people around here don't know what they missed out on (I still have one I kept from the 80's, but all my old floppies have lost their magnetization, effectively "wiped", emulator ftw)

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56822571 This is work avoidance taken to extremes! ... A hospital employee in Italy has been accused of skipping work on full pay for 15 years, local media report. The man is alleged to have stopped turning up to work at the Ciaccio hospital in the southern city of Catanzaro in 2005. He is now being investigated for fraud, extortion and abuse of office, Italian news agency Ansa reports. He was reportedly paid €538,000 (£464,000) in total over the years he is thought not to have been working.

Why even pretend there is a working relationship?... right? So, the message from Australia to China is: You know what? **** you! https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-56840299 Australia has scrapped agreements tied to China's Belt and Road initiative, prompting anger from Beijing and adding further strain to tense relations between the countries. The federal government used new powers to rip up two deals made between the state of Victoria and China. Canberra said it was backing away from the agreements to protect Australia's national interest. The Chinese embassy in Australia branded the move "provocative". It said it the action by Canberra was "bound to bring further damage to bilateral relations, and will only end up hurting itself." Hard not to guffaw loudly at that last bit. Those "relations" have been below the freezing point for a long time now.

Same thing in Denmark. As for BP medication, here I pay a staggering $24 Aussie dollars (~$15-$17 USD) a month ) in total for two different drugs, so half the amount for each. Doctor visits are free (I got a prescription that lasts for 6 months at a time, after which I go see the doctor again and get my blood pressure checked). The downside of a long and stressful life, neglecting all good advice and best practices when it comes to healthy living I suppose Edit: I never got my mental health checked. Not sure I really want to. I might not like the result. A doctor once suspected bipolar disorder, but he was a medical doctor so he couldn't diagnose it.

That's putting it mildly He probably wish they had recorded it first before airing it. Can't have common sense or worse, symptoms of brain activity on Fox.

Just speaking for Australia, but the situation is similar here. Almost impossible for young people who don't have millionaire parents to buy their own home. Simply too many investors buying up properties and putting the squeeze on people rent wise, making sure nobody else can afford save up to buy a property (while the property owners are able to use the profits to buy up even more homes). Would be nice if they put a limit on how many actual homes any one person can own besides whatever they actually live in (not thinking about commercial property, office buildings etc. but actual homes). I know, some buildings are made with rental in mind, like townhouses, high rises, council owned housing etc., but the latter are not really attractive for investors, because the tenants often defaults on rent. Just thinking about old, existing houses that gets snatched up and added to a portfolio besides the 9 existing houses in said portfolio.

Just a quick search and replace of 3 words and... "Xi began to speak at 8.20 p.m. "Chinese men and women," he said, "on February 22, for the first time, I voiced an unalterable claim in the Chinese Reichstag. The nation listened and understood. One statesman (Dr. Schuschnigg) did not understand. He was removed. My promise was fulfilled at Beijing. I formulated a claim again, and again the nation understood. "Today I speak for the first time to an entire people, as in the time of our struggles. You know what it means. There cannot be any more doubt. There is not speaking one Fuhrer or one man but the whole Chinese people. I make my words an oath. Let other nations examine the position and see if that is also the case with them. "Our foreign policy is not determined by weltanschaaung (a way of life). Our aim is the preservation of the Chinese people. We are not interested in the suppression of other people, nor to hav- ing other people among us. Let them be happy in their way and let us be happy in ours. This limits our foreign policy; but the aims of foreign policy are neither unlimited nor erratic. "They are not dependent on chance. We have decided to preserve the Chinese people. We shall protect it and save it. Once we were told that we were going to live under the motto the right of self-determination. This filled all Chinese with immense hopes: but we have been deceived. The result was Versailles. Our arms were stolen. De- fenceless China was ill-treated. We were suppressed for fifteen years. We are not moved by hatred for others nor rancor." (a speech just before the annexation of the Sudetenland)

Sounds like an episode of Game of Thrones... bye bye dad, thanks for keeping my seat warm or me

Correct. It's barely noticeable for the human eye, but that tiny overlap is the missing square when all added up

Not public places, but international travel https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56522408 Edit: Maybe they should put it between people and their beers as a requirement

For one of those wtf moments...

Some very good points. Even if several of the clubs aren't truly the "top dogs" these days, past glories still means they have a significant international fan base (which includes middle class clubs like Tottenham and Arsenal)

Good news for Sumo fans. 2021 season has started

When the players in the participating clubs realize that they can't get a job in any club under UEFA, FIFA, the African and South American football associations (I'll shamefully admit I don't remember their names from top of my head) nor play international sides, they may consider switching to other clubs. Just as the participating clubs will get expelled from the national leagues. let's see who blinks first.