Alph

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. It does not, however, erase the US and UK complicity in Israel's war crimes and at the appropriate time, questions must be asked of those responsible for allowing the atrocities to continue. What happens next is perhaps less clear, but will the Israelis want to risk their 'gains' by defying the UN ceasefire? I suspect there'll be some IDF sabre-rattling, before a climbdown paraded as a victory by Netanyahu and his supporters, the only question being, how much of the land-grab will remain in Israeli hands? I hope that is considered and I also hope that aid and food can now be delivered insufficient levels that the recipients can avoid famine and disease.
FROM THE BBC
The UN Security Council has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, after the US did not veto the measure in a shift from its previous position.
It also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
It is the first time the council has called for a ceasefire since the war began in October after several failed attempts.
The move by the US signals growing divergence between it and its ally Israel over Israel's offensive in Gaza.
In an unusually strong rebuke, a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the US had "abandoned" its previous position which had directly linked a ceasefire to a hostage release.
"Regrettably, the United States did not veto the new resolution," it said.
The statement said this harmed efforts to release hostages by giving Hamas hope it could use international pressure on Israel to achieve a ceasefire without freeing the captives.
It also said Mr Netanyahu had decided to cancel meetings between an Israeli delegation and US officials in Washington that were scheduled for this week.
Israel's defence minister said Israel would not stop the war in Gaza while hostages were still being held there.
Full story here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68658415

Ever since the days of "Papa Doc" Duvalier from the mid 50s to today Haiti has been a Country that's been pretty Draconian to live in, You'd have thought after all this time...time would/could have helped but No!...it's gotten worse with successive corrupt Governments.
https://news.sky.com/video/haiti-where-people-have-become-used-to-violence-and-stepping-around-the-dead-13101448

If only they had oil. The U.S. would have 'sorted' this years ago.
 

Much as we all love Fernando, he's never been above the occasional ruthless move or the odd dirty trick. The result might steer it towards the penalty was harsher because of the crash rather than the level of dastardly the act was, but stewarding has ever been thus, if Russell hadn't crashed it'd have been 5 seconds. But Russell did crash and I don't see much argument TBH.

Really good F1 race too. I actually stayed up as we were late home anyway and I thought Sainz drove beautifully for the win. Of course he was aided by Verstappen's mechanical woes, but he actually looked to be able to match the MV's pace even before the failed brake became evident. It'll doubtless be normal service resumed after this but with no RBR vanishing off up the road, we saw some decent dicing right through the field today.
Mercedes' woes continue it seems. I think the insane power output and straight-line speed the hybrid engine tech they developed during the era of their dominance, probably masked their cars' mediocre aero performance and handling. I did sometimes watch Hamilton putting in insane laps during quali while thinking, 'faaarkk, that car is rapid but it's also trying to kill you', but Lewis was a hard racer and the best of his generation too. Is he still that guy though? That W15 does not look safe at times though and they clearly do not know why the performance is so up and down, but do we really see him prospering at Ferrari? I'm not sure anymore.

Dear Lewis
Due to an admin error I'm afraid to tell you that the contract you signed with Ferrari has not been approved. There will be a full investigation and we will be in touch soon. We'll call you 
Fred Vasseur

Sandy Ryan, one of our own last night destroyed Terri Harper that Harper gave up, brilliant showing and a ram on her shorts too 👊

Dear Lewis
Due to an admin error I'm afraid to tell you that the contract you signed with Ferrari has not been approved. There will be a full investigation and we will be in touch soon. We'll call you 
Fred Vasseur

Alpine. Nothing to play for, first car Max will encounter this season most frequently and nobody would be surprised at an overly aggressive Ocon. 
The perfect crime

Sergio Perez demoted to P6 after receiving a three-place grid penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg - Lando now 3rd on the grid

I think it's time for the "draw straws on who is punting max off this week" initiative.
OK, in any meaningful sense, that'd be a ridiculus suggestion but the FIA president would probably be up for it....

I can't believe people still talk about Ricciardo like there's still a potential world championship challenger there. I hate keep moaning about him for obvious reasons but they really need to stop pretending now. Him having that seat is perhaps the limit of his charisma and smile. 
It's like going on about Leeds United being a huge club. Let it go. No matter how many times deny it, time passes on potential. You're winning nothing. IF he got a seat alongside Verstappen next year it would be awful. 
Hamilton and Merc in general are really grating on me too. Stop saying it's fine margins. Put something together ffs. You're going backwards. Why are we so pleasantly chilled about it? 
Thank you Ferrari/ Sainz, Alonso and McLaren for making it watchable. Perez is actually turning up too which is nice. 
But 2024 is the year of BS'ing. Suddenly three tenths per lap slower is now "closer than ever" racing

Whilst that's true, it is and always will be a tiny minority that succeed in gaming the system. Certainly when it comes to claiming long term benefits. I have close friends with disabilities that limit their mobility and ability to work and the hoops they have had to jump through to get PIP payments are unbelievable to the point of being dehumanising. It has actually had an adverse effect on their mental health to even go through it!
In terms of those who get signed off work short-term by a GP for mental health issues - regardless of whether they joke about it or not, if they really hate their job so much that they are willing to go to those lengths then you might argue that they have bigger mental health issues than they realise!
 

I think it's dangerous. The link between men (particularly in my age range) committing suicide and their feelings of not wanting to burden/bother anyone is quite large. When I was in my bad place, the feeling of solitude and nobody understanding was quite overwhelming. This forum helped me get away from those feelings and took away my shame and embarrassment for the feelings I had. This, in a long line of out of touch politicians, has been quite stupid here but I hope we have come too far and will continue to.

Humiliation for Sargeant 

In other F1 news, Williams are taking Logan's not wrecked car and giving it to Alex Albon to replace Alex's car that he very much wrecked.
I think that's all but confirmation that keeping sergeant is pretty much a waste of petrol.

Weird innit? RBR have always been vile, but they did seem to be so in a pretty linear fashion, all pulling in the same direction. These days, they're a complete basket-case, but barring an act of god, they'll still win every race.
Likewise, I think we're seeing a glimpse of a future Saudi-owned sporting world; ethics trampled, zero oversight, shady AF and utterly sterile, much like the Joshua fight, which might as well have been fought in a library for all the atmosphere at the Jeddah venue.
Add to that the fact that having looked to have made some real progress, Merc's W15 now looks completely homicidal, as per earlier iterations and Hammy is already on the beach. There must be more to this than meets the eye, so I'm wondering now what it was that pissed Hamilton off so badly that he'd effectively down tools the way he has. Lovely to see Leclerc running fast though, but I think the broken floor probably exaggerated the gap back to Max and as we all know, Ferrari prefer to 'Ferrari' during the race itself. 
On a more positive note, at least the Ozzy GP is a proper one, with a proper crowd. They love their motorsport down under and it makes for a far more interesting weekend than those in empty stadia in reclaimed desert lands. Not sure I'll be watching live though, unless I'm still up!
 

According to my wife,  dust.🙄

Chippy chips with beans on top, with loads of vinegar and salt is ace.
On toast, I prefer beans n sausages. 
On a breakfast then I happy to let them loose, but posh enough to appreciate a pot.
 

On the plate. Anything else is tory.

Maybe. You make a fair point and it's not like those artists are without merit. On the other hand I don't think popularity is always the best metric when valuing a piece of art or media. Why would anyone bother even discussing them otherwise? We would just all agree that Avatar is the pinnacle of cinema and Mrs Brown's Boys is the greatest British comedy ever produced and have done with it. You don't have to agree with my examples, but surely you have certain works of art or pieces of media whose popularity baffles you?
The second point is far easier to respond to. I scoff because I'm a miserable Bamford.

If How they Broke Britain made you angry don't read "Silent Coup - How Corporations Overthrew Democracy" by Matt Kennard and Claire Provost, it'll push you over the edge!
Enjoyed The Satsuma Complex, if you like Mortimer then you should like the book.

@sage James O’Brien will be at Derby Book Festival (late May/early June date tbc) at Quad. I think tickets go on sale in mid-April 

Read 2 books on holiday.
How they Broke Britain by James O'Brien, with chapters on various politicians and advisors who he sees as getting us to where we are now. Thought and anger provoking. If you interested in politics and centre or leftist especially.
The Satsuma Complex, Bob Mortimer's debut novel. Very Bob, very funny with a quirky cast of characters and a tense-ish plot.
 

*googles “jejune”*