Gorth

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.

I don’t know how it is in the US, but in Australia, Denmark, Germany and the UK a GP (General practitioner doctor) is not qualified nor authorised to diagnose much less treat mental health issues. They can refer you to specialist like psychologists or psychiatrists, usually at your own request (or you can be sentenced to do so in a court of law) edit: I think it’s the same in the land of the kiwis, but not sure

It probably is... As for what the numbers tells us? It tells us that conservatives are more likely to not seek professional help (and treatment) for their mental health issues. That would explain why Trump got so many votes As a group, they seem to be the most fearful and afraid, seeking refuge in places like flat earthers, qanon, the semi religious cult of trump etc. Anxiety is the no. 1 mental health issue in the US, affecting 40 million Americans (https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/facts-statistics) They are probably more likely to seek help and advice from their (completely unqualified) pet priest than their GP. "Ooh, that sounds bad. Do five ave Marias and make a hefty donation upon leaving and you'll be fine" Generally education tends to make you more "left leaning" in the US, whereas less educated people tend to be more conservative (Republican). Like Eeek science! /make sign to ward off evil "go away!" https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2016/04/26/a-wider-ideological-gap-between-more-and-less-educated-adults/

I split the mental healthcare discussion into a thread of its own. Apologies to the people @Darkpriest & @teknoman2 who tried to post on topic stuff in their posts. I hope you'll repost the funny pics here Also apologies to @ShadySandsand one more person, as i think I lost two posts for good while moving posts

And elsewhere in Europe...

Introducing a Dutch sport... canal jumping

The richest man that ever lived was the emperor of Mali https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p09dcbl0/the-richest-person-who-ever-lived edit: not unsurprisingly old African empires were mostly situated around the coasts of inner seas (Mediterranean and the Red Sea) and the major rivers

For some people, being vegan is like a religion. They'll try to adapt reality to fit the picture in their heads. Sometimes their (idealists, religious nutcases, fanatics, whatever) arguments are so far fetched you have to facepalm. That being said, there is also such a thing as too much cheese (unless you're Scandinavian like me and very much lactose tolerant). If the kids get a healthy and balanced daily meal, screw peoples ideological sensitivities. Just wait until she tries to ban Chocolate in the UK, that stuff being both non-white (mostly) and dairy filled it should be the next to go! Edit: When I was a kid, the health worker/nurse at the school had as a task to ensure that all the kids drank at least 0.75 liter of milk at home per day. A typical household with 2-3 kids would easily consume 5+ liter of milk every day. Telling Scandinavians that they have to lay off milk, cheese and chocolate would be like tell south east Asians that they had to lay off the rice.

Rresistance is futile... You will be assimilated

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56744474 "Denmark has ceased giving the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine amid concerns about rare cases of blood clots, the first European country to do so fully. The move is expected to delay the country's vaccination programme by several weeks. Drug watchdog the European Medicines Agency last week announced a possible link with clots but said the risk of dying of Covid-19 was much greater. Several European countries had previously briefly suspended the jab. Most have now resumed vaccinations with AstraZeneca, but often with limits to older age groups. On Tuesday, the US, Canada and the European Union paused the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for similar reasons over clotting. South Africa has also paused its use, despite the Johnson & Johnson being its preferred vaccine because of its effectiveness against the South African variant." ... "Almost one million people in Denmark have been vaccinated, with approximately 150,000 of them receiving the AstraZeneca jab. The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are also in use." Denmark generally seems to have the infection under control (i.e. not like Australia and New Zealand, but people aren't dying en masse), so the need to vaccinate is less urgent. As the article says, vulnerable people have been given the shots and next in line are the young people who are less likely to get or suffer badly from Covid so The current stock will be kept for a later date and Pfizer/Moderna used until someone works out why the AZ (and J&J) vaccine kills the recipient every now and then.

Any motorcycle enthusiasts around? If so, you should be familiar with "Isle of Man TT" (Tourist Trophy) Fast, furious and deadly. 243 people killed so far (which I think makes it even deadlier than the Paris - Darkar Rally. 2018 was a particularly deadly year with 7 dead (mix of drivers and spectators) Racing a number of laps around the Isle, through a small town, it's a very fast road race with speeds at times well beyond 320kmh / 200mph

Like the military coup in Myanmar that just coincided with demonstrators making life difficult for Chinese companies in Myanmar?

Tibet and Vietnam might disagree with you on that one. Although they did later withdraw their troops from Vietnam Edit: Thanks to stealing an arm and a leg when it comes to technology, the Chinese army of 2021 is not comparable to the miserable state it was in in during the 1950's, 60's and 70's

Quoted for truth. Grew up on the "front" so to speak, only a thin stretch of water separating my childhood home from the big, nasty enemies like Poland and DDR (East Germany). Edit: All new public buildings in Denmark at the time were required to have bomb shelters and many older buildings got retrofitted with it. It was part of my school experience always knowing where the entrance to the schools underground shelter was located. The schools (and other public buildings) had regular drills to ensure everyone could get there at a moments notice in case it started raining nukes. You sort of got it the opposite way around... the deployment of nukes to Turkey, right on the Soviet Unions border was what caused the deployment of missiles in Cuba in the first place. No more nukes in Turkey, no more need for missiles in Cuba (and ICBM's made it irrelevant anyway when they got introduced). As for China and Taiwan. I'm fairly convinced it's not an if, it's a when China invades and takes over Taiwan. It will be a disaster for western PC (and IT in general) manufacturers considering how many essential chips are manufactured and exported from Taiwan to the west.

One of the most influential characters on naval development in the US Navy. Also a darn interesting (and at times unintentionally funny) character. It's a long biography (a bit more than an hour), but worth watching if you're into military history

Nothing like a bit of DIY work

I am... in my own way. Once you cover it in sauce, they both taste the same. Not that different from the political spectrum. Stray far enough away from the middle and it doesn't matter what their stated end goal is, the means of getting there are the same. Some flavour of authoritarianism and a single leader. If it all tastes the same to the common man, why try so hard to label things with meaningless labels? Now if those cult/political/religious whatever leaders offered us blue cheese sauce... it might be easier to swallow