Highgate

No surprise. 
But why would these gun men head for Russian military lines?
Even if they were involved with Ukraine (unlikely) they’d be heading to to an area where the bulk of the Russian military is. Why wouldn’t they escape Russian borders in one of now many unpoliced areas that Russia doesn’t have the manpower to patrol given the war?
It’s illogical, so obviously it’s the case the Russians will make to involve Ukraine.
 
 

That's sad news. A very brave, honest and defiant man. He stands in stark contrast to Putin who will of course deny all knowledge of  his responsibility for Navalny's death. 
I guess the consequences for Putin will be next to nothing.  People didn't do anything when the Russian state tried to murder Navalny before, or put him in jail for no reason whatsoever...or transfer him a maximum security prison in the Artic circle and mistreat him there. So I assume nobody will or can do anything about it now.  What can Russian people do about it realistically? They don't have the option of not electing Putin in the upcoming election. 
 

Yeah like @Tamworthram says I think the ones that were actually allowed to stand in the election had Putin's permission so they'll be fine. He wants them there, so he can claim it was an actual election, even though we all know it's obviously a nonsense. Any brave soul who actually wanted to be a genuine opposition candidate was simply denied the right to stand in the election (for various spurious reasons), or murdered in a Siberian prison. 
The sad part is, what does all this mean for Ukraine, is there any real hope of removing the invading Russian army from their land, while Putin remains in power in Russia?  And what will happen to them if the orange entity gets re-elected in November? Are they going to have to come to terms with losing part of their country to Russia? 

And yet it was still important for Putin to go through with this pretend election, with carefully selected opposition candidates trying their best not to do well or annoy Putin in any way.  It's interesting to consider why he even bothers with it, clearly he feels that it serves some purpose.  

Yeah like @Tamworthram says I think the ones that were actually allowed to stand in the election had Putin's permission so they'll be fine. He wants them there, so he can claim it was an actual election, even though we all know it's obviously a nonsense. Any brave soul who actually wanted to be a genuine opposition candidate was simply denied the right to stand in the election (for various spurious reasons), or murdered in a Siberian prison. 
The sad part is, what does all this mean for Ukraine, is there any real hope of removing the invading Russian army from their land, while Putin remains in power in Russia?  And what will happen to them if the orange entity gets re-elected in November? Are they going to have to come to terms with losing part of their country to Russia? 

And yet it was still important for Putin to go through with this pretend election, with carefully selected opposition candidates trying their best not to do well or annoy Putin in any way.  It's interesting to consider why he even bothers with it, clearly he feels that it serves some purpose.  

See my response to Tamworth 👌

They’ll be OK. They did exactly what they were told to do - not put any sort of a fight, don’t do any serious campaigning and don’t criticise or challenge Putin in any way. They’ll just be rolled out again next time and in the meantime confirm what a great guy Putin is and how the best man won.

When you see how effective the tech companies are at hacking your attention, I'd argue you need more than just "better education". As a bit of a leftie, I have no problem with measured, balanced government intervention to tackle problems like this.

https://webfoundation.org/2024/03/marking-the-webs-35th-birthday-an-open-letter/
Tim Berners Lee's open letter is a thought-provoking read

Great game of rugby. A win against Bolton and England, if Carlsberg…

The Scots were excellent today and defended like absolute madmen. I think the tackle count has to be close to the 250 mark which is insane and yet it was them that finished strongest. But for some careless moments, we could have seen a different result. That said, Ireland were good value for the win on balance, but boy will they know they've been in a game today. They almost looked too gassed to celebrate a well-earned Championship , or maybe it was just relief? 
These last two rounds of the tourny have been sport of the highest order. Just a shame that Ireland were the only team switched on at the start of the 6N as it feels like they've been given an easy ride tbh.
And so to the closer which is a dead rubber now as these lads won't care about finishing 2nd. Hopefully some more decent rugby, but it does rather feel a bit after the Lord Mayor.
Congrats to the Irish team and coaches though. They were the best side, even without looking quite as invincible as we once thought. They've earned this and are worthy 5N winners.

I set much more store by Brian O'Driscolls analysis and comments. A true giant of the game.
England surprised me today. Ireland still very much the team to beat tho. Nobody comes near their clinical finishing.

Thoroughly deserved victory for England today no doubt. Disappointing to see a win at Twickenham snatched away in the final minute, but that's sport, the better team on the day won and I thought England played superbly throughout.
Heaslip's arrogance is legendary, both from his Leinster and Ireland days and now as a pundit.  Best thing to do is to ignore everything he says. 

My bets this weekend have all bombed completely, but the lads' performance today more than compensates. To be fair, even if we'd not have nicked that game today, I'd have been delighted just to see us playing running rugby and getting the ball wide. It's been a fair old while for us English fans and to match the best side I've ever seen emerge from the Emerald Isle is really pleasing, even if realists like myself will know that there's still much work to do. 
No pep talk needed this week, I'd imagine, after Heaslip's demeaning assessments. You could tell from the kick off that the lads were 'playing angry' and they maintained that right to the end, without letting it override what they were trying to do. Heaslip now just looks a complete mug and even my Irish pals are pissed at him. One described him as being the 'kind of eejit who'd poke a sleeping dog just to see whether it would bite him' which made me laugh. He has his answer now anyway. Important now that both players and fans keep level heads and not assume we're back. There were a still a large number of errors made, even simple kicks from out in front of the posts, so the boys must keep working hard to improve if they are to compete with the likes of Ireland regularly. As for Ireland, well I'd not like to be playing them next week! I suspect we'll see them remind us all again why they are generally considered the best team out there right now.

Thoroughly deserved victory for England today no doubt. Disappointing to see a win at Twickenham snatched away in the final minute, but that's sport, the better team on the day won and I thought England played superbly throughout.
Heaslip's arrogance is legendary, both from his Leinster and Ireland days and now as a pundit.  Best thing to do is to ignore everything he says. 

Ceasefire. It's been the logical and correct stance for a while. Forever actually. 
Why can't they say Ceasefire? "Because we want a ceasefire that lasts". 
Er... Wtf? It makes zero sense. Because Hamas or at least a version of Hamas will rise again.
So whatever side of the argument you are on or whatever solution you think you have, you are pissing in the wind if you think a brutal military campaign leads to peace. (From either side)
A temporary ceasefire stands more chance of leading to a long term ceasefire. It just does. Knowing Hamas will repeat their actions so instead supporting Israel's ethnic cleansing is putting Israeli lives a priority over Arabs. It's a lie the government has told us about why we need to continue this war. So either they're stupid or they think people are. 
Obviously the steps taken to keep extending the ceasefire do become complex and contentious. But supporting a ceasefire is a no brainer. I have a hard time accepting the view that with just a bit more killing we'll see the benefits in the long run. 

The Palestinian flags are waved by many to show support for the Palestinian people and a Palestinian State. As the Ukrainian flag is waved to show support for Ukrainian people. Not for Azov or the right wing nutcases. 
I don't know, I can't speak for every protester but I can speak for myself. 
And I still maintain that we are continuing to be critical of the messengers rather than the message. As is always the case when somebody is critical of Israel. Which is what Sunak and Co want. 
It's like calling for Ukraine and Russia to just stop shooting each other. One side can turn around and go home. One has no choice. It's not exactly the same. But you get my point. You're asking for people to stop picking sides but the sides aren't equal. 
I'm not even supporting the idea that they should be equal because if Palestine had the firepower to use on Israel then they would. Yet look at the box I'm placed in for being critical of Israel and demanding Palestinian rights. I'm antagonistic, partisan etc. Again, not offended. Just showing how those who claim to be balanced and neutral struggle with criticism of Israel. 

I think it's pretty safe for either of us to voice our honest opinions on the whole issue here. Neither of us make the slightest bit of difference. I'd be lying by omission if I didn't say that I think Israel had been treating Palestinians unjustly for decades, systematically and deliberately and that this recent bombing campaign is nothing but industrial slaughter.  I also be lying if I didn't say that the actions of Hamas have been utterly deplorable and that the organization itself is exactly what the Palestinians don't need. But as usual in that part of the world the US underwritten Israeli government's violence dwarfs all the atrocities committed by Hamas.  
I don't see any reason to keep these views secret, that won't solve anything.
My point was just that your worry about Palestinian flag waving seems inconsequential compared to the bigger picture.  Incidentally I agree the phrase 'the river to the sea' is unhelpful as this might suggest that there would be no place for Jews in any peace settlement (which of course there must be, obviously). I don't really see how you can be surprised or have a problem with any of the rest of it, given what we have all been witnessing in Gaza for the past few months. 

The vibe that is really scary is that the governments of the world watch on (with the exception of South Africa) and simply let Netanyahu's government bomb civilians for as long as he pleases with absolutely impunity.  Barely a voice raised in opposition from the leaders of our countries. That's what really scary...not some people taking to the streets and waving Palestinian flags in solidarity with those who are suffering.
I agree that the loss of life on both sides is tragic, and that hostages should be returned as part of any peace settlement.  But this is not an equal or balanced conflict. It never has been. 

I guess the 'Global South' as it's called is about as interested in Europe as we are interested in wars in Africa for example. 
The Palestine/Israel war is somewhat different from the Ukraine/Russia conflict in that with the West's support Ukraine's army is able to defend itself against Russia and bring their invasion to a near halt. Whereas with Gaza we have a very well equipped Israeli army with the tacit approval of the world's most powerful country, mercilessly pounding a largely civilian population who have literally nowhere to run. Two very different conflicts.  Not that any of that makes Putin's invasion any less abhorrent than it was. 
I seem to remember votes in the UN where the General assembly overwhelmingly voted in favour of Russia withdrawing it's troops from Ukraine and ending the war, so I suspect there must be a lot of general support for Ukraine, even in non western countries.  Even so, it's probably correct to say that countries act in their own self interest.  South Africa recently bringing the case against Israel before the ICJ was a welcome outlier.  

Yeah, it's not surprising that those that are heavily influenced by Russia or indeed depend on them have been silent in their criticism of Putin's invasion I suppose.  That's not the case with China of course, and it is interesting to speculate how much of a difference it might have made if they had joined Western countries in supporting Ukraine in their defence of their country.  Good point about the US election, it's almost even a more crucial election for Ukraine than it is for the US, no doubt many in Ukraine are very worried about the potential result there. 
And for Israel/Palestine, what would things be like there now, if the US had been an independent impartial influence throughout the decades rather than always being in Israel's corner? It's hard to know, but surely things couldn't be any worse than they are now? 

Take a gander at Dajaune's 96th minute equaliser for Gateshead at Boreham Wood. Pace and power. Our #9 next season?
https://www.google.com/search?q=dajaune+brown+gateshead+goal&rlz=1C1CHBD_enNL973NL973&oq=dajaune+brown+gateshead+goal&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigAdIBCDY3OTJqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:4b46d78a,vid:TFxua0JH1E4,st:0

Whatever your political positions are, there is no way you could call it a war. Palestine has no army, no navy and no air force. Israel has all these and military support from the UK, the EU and the US. We are flying regular sorties from our base in Cyprus to assist Israel in killing civilians in Palestine.
I have mates in the forces and they are not proud of what they are being asked to do.