Stive Pesley

Who is going to break it to him about Princess Diana? ?

Well fair play to the mods, as they must have dealt with stuff quickly and efficiently, as I've not witnessed any posts out of order on those grounds. Everyone currently contributing has been respectful and sensitive to the situation as far as I can see - so the rules seem to be working?
 
 
 

Oh gawd - she's gone and married Chazza then...... ?

Yes, I'd say the same thing. This kind of thread could easily get out of hand as these disagreements are the ones that really hit a nerve and cut close to the bone. Views about wars as well as the 'right' way to live and govern are oftentimes the ones that stir up heated emotions. But so far everyone has been pretty respectful and voiced disagreement in a civil manner from what I've seen. 

Well fair play to the mods, as they must have dealt with stuff quickly and efficiently, as I've not witnessed any posts out of order on those grounds. Everyone currently contributing has been respectful and sensitive to the situation as far as I can see - so the rules seem to be working?
 
 
 

Well fair play to the mods, as they must have dealt with stuff quickly and efficiently, as I've not witnessed any posts out of order on those grounds. Everyone currently contributing has been respectful and sensitive to the situation as far as I can see - so the rules seem to be working?
 
 
 

Well fair play to the mods, as they must have dealt with stuff quickly and efficiently, as I've not witnessed any posts out of order on those grounds. Everyone currently contributing has been respectful and sensitive to the situation as far as I can see - so the rules seem to be working?
 
 
 

Well fair play to the mods, as they must have dealt with stuff quickly and efficiently, as I've not witnessed any posts out of order on those grounds. Everyone currently contributing has been respectful and sensitive to the situation as far as I can see - so the rules seem to be working?
 
 
 

Perhaps it’s because. No no. Nearly fell into that old politics trap.

Why what's happened?

Who is going to break it to him about Princess Diana? ?

Don't waste your life worrying about offending people for stating an opinion that you're either sharing or concluding from your own research/beliefs/thoughts. 
I don't agree with everything you are saying, but please, don't become one of these people who feel like they can't share their own opinion. 

The satellite used to distribute sky tv is owned and operated by a Luxembourgish company hence to comply with EU law it was pulled from the satellite by the operator (and therefore sky).

I'll watch it, but I'm not especially looking forward to it. You're right - the first series was fantastic, witty, fresh and intriguing. It's got steadily worse since then - which is often the way when a TV show starts to become aware of it's own appeal and tries to write to order

Actually I'm not sure. I know that Sky pulled their channel out of choice without waiting for the verdict of an Ofcom investigation. With regards to free to air, I don't know who made the call.

Another thing that I'm struggling to make sense of, is Putin's fear of Ukraine joining NATO
On the one level I get it - as it brings NATO to the Russian border
But then on the other hand - Russia already borders Latvia and Estonia (NATO members for nearly 20 years now)
And if he annexes Ukraine back into Mother Russia - then he gains Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania as NATO members on his border
 
 

But that's exactly how I feel about World leaders. We would be hypocrites not to realise this. Tony Blair and Iraq, for example. 
That, however, does not excuse or become an answer for what is going on right now.
I get why Russian people may want life to carry on under Putin. But in my opinion, any incompetent leader could do a similar job. 
The Saudi regime are doing a fantastic job if we're going down this route. 

As an aside, I've spent quite a lot of time in the former Yugoslavian countries - and their "Yugonostalgia" is very real. They know they were freed from a dictatorship but there are *some* parts of that way of life they now realise were much better than what they have now. For example the comment I always remember was "everyone had a house, and a job, and food to eat. No one was allowed two houses, because why would one person need two houses? Apart from Tito (laughter)"
Same with friends I have who grew up in East Germany - for every horrendous tale of the authoritarianism if you stepped out of line, they also miss the feeling of not being in some squid game type rat race
Probably humanities greatest failing that we've never been able to get this right one way or the other

Indeed - if you look at the wealth inequality figures for 2022 - Russia is in the same ballpark as the US and the UK. Yes it's only one measure, but a pretty telling one. Given the number of oligarchs we hear about, I was expecting their rating to be far worse than ours
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/wealth-inequality-by-country
Worth pointing out that I didn't read the stuff about price caps etc as a defence of Putin in any way. It was in response to a questions about what sort of life the average Russian citizen experienced, and whether that would make them favour "western democracy" over what they have now. 
 
 
 

Yup, I can't reply directly to Norman's quotes as I have them on block. Some people are just not worth engaging with and, for me, he/she falls in that category. The reply you quoted reassured me I have made the right decision.

I will watch it (but that's more of a Jodie Comer thing ?)

To tie this together with @sage's comments on why they are not clamouring for democracy, here are a few examples of things in place in Russia at the moment. Compare this with the support we (and others less fortunate than ourselves) get from our government and maybe the trade they are prepared to sign with their leaders isn't so far off after all.
Last New Year every child got the equivalent of £50 as a New Year's gift. You didn't have to apply for it, it was paid automatically on the digital card that they all have. Imagine how the Daily Mail would react to that one! In Moscow there is a programme called Active Citizen, where the public are allowed to vote and suggest on infrastructure improvements Puhskin's card, that allows students £30 of pre-payment to be spent on theatre, museums and concerts Last year, sunflower oil prices suffered inflation. The government capped prices, paying suppliers any losses to ensure it wasn't passed on to consumers During the pandemic, all hospital workers and medics working on C-19 had their salaries doubled All pensioners are automatically enrolled into a programmed called Long Life. Nothing to do with milk, it offers free classes of all sorts, inc. exercise, education etc Alongside this, many, many Russians have prospered in the past 20 years. For many, why would they want to throw this away for 'democracy'?
Slightly off topic of the thread but thought it would help. I guess my point is that it is so predictable that within a few days this is no longer just about Ukraine but the narrative now turns to somehow freeing Russia and offering them the democracy that actually many of them are not even asking for. It's just so arrogant for us to believe we have the best model and everyone else has to do it our way.

As an aside, I've spent quite a lot of time in the former Yugoslavian countries - and their "Yugonostalgia" is very real. They know they were freed from a dictatorship but there are *some* parts of that way of life they now realise were much better than what they have now. For example the comment I always remember was "everyone had a house, and a job, and food to eat. No one was allowed two houses, because why would one person need two houses? Apart from Tito (laughter)"
Same with friends I have who grew up in East Germany - for every horrendous tale of the authoritarianism if you stepped out of line, they also miss the feeling of not being in some squid game type rat race
Probably humanities greatest failing that we've never been able to get this right one way or the other

That's not quite what it says is it? - They ask if that is the guideline and the response says
In these circumstances, the League in which a club is to be placed is at the absolute discretion of the Leagues Committee of The FA
I think that's good news in a way - I've been berated for suggesting that the FA would not place a phoenix club the size of Derby in non-league. It would be disastrous for the other clubs - their facilities simply wouldn't cope with the number of fans
The other part of interest is the timings
The issue is addressed at Regulation 6.3 (i) (page 177/178). An initial application would need to be made to The FA (Leagues Committee) by 1 March or within 21 days of the liquidation of the Former Club if later. A full application would be required by 31 March or within 21 days of the liquidation of the Former Club if later
Which means, if we're going to liquidate - it has to be soon if we want to play any football next season
 

Interesting that it says the guidelines for  a pheonix club involve dropping no more than three divisions. 
Starting again in the Conference doesn't seem too disastrous as worse case scenarios go.