LondonLax

I suppose you could say they are exploiting this phenomenon of the social media age where every individuals voice and each person's opinion seemingly carries equal weight, rather than there being one acknowledged set of facts or source of 'truth'.

I don't really understand Russia's play on this. First they say there was no attack and now they say it was the UK working with the White Helmets. Surely it would have been much more credible to push Petems angle that it was a 3rd party terrorist group looking to trick the west into joining the war, and then stick to that one story?

Russia already vetoed investigating the site, I suspect they will also veto military action.

That was my first thought as well. I thought we knew what was used, just not 100% sure it was the Russian government who used it?

This discussion on the chemical weapons attack seems to have gone around in circles for about 3 or 4 pages here without anyone remotely shifting their opinion

Exactly. His use of Chemical weapons has worked out great for him each time he's done it.

Assad has been killing and maiming civillians in various ways including chemical and conventional weapons all the way through this war. Every time he uses a chemical weapon that line is trotted out "Why would he do it? What tactical advantage would it bring him?". Well he seems to have gotten away with it, getting a tactical advantage every other time he's done it and as a result the war has gone pretty well for him so far. Frankly I don't see why he wouldn't keep using them. It's not like it results in any negative repercussions, only positive ones for his forces.

3rd or 4th are much the same (home game second leg) and we will finish in one of those two places then roll the dice on promotion via the playoffs.

12 month suspensions for Smith and Warner was the rumour but it is supposed to be announced later today. I'd say Smith will never captain again.

Yep, it is the conspiracy within the leadership positions that has caused so much grief. It is often said that the Australian cricket captain is the second post important position in the country after the Prime Minister and Smith and Warner have brought shame on their positions.

Yes they bought off Duterte fairly cheaply. When you look at the waters the Philippines have lost you realise their people will be ruing it for generations.

You can disagree with (or even hate) the USA / ‘the west’ and still call out China when it is being dodgy.

Crisis actors innit

Morons. Throw the book at them.

There are plenty of hi end cars you can buy now that will run driverless. The steer to stay in lanes, they stop automatically if the car in front stops etc. The bigger debate will be when countries start banning humans from driving for the safety of other road users. There will be plenty of Jeremy Clarkson types who will properly kick off when that happens.

No change there then...

You still seem to be under the impression their response would be based on the facts of the case? The response Russia provides would not relate to any sort of analysis, just like their response to the evidence of their doping program uncovered during the Sochi winter Olympics.

It has never been possible for any UK government to come out of the EU in a better position then it is in now. Leaving the worlds largest trading block will result in accepting pain for ideological reasons. The question left is how much pain is the UK (and its voters) willing to bare for this ideology? If the result of all this is the UK ends up with this transition phase becoming permanent (i.e. the Norway option) it will have gotten out as lightly as possible.

Their readers below the line are not buying it though. If you are pissing off Daily Mail readers you must be doing something right

It looks like the can has been booted down the road. See everyone in 2 years to go through it all again.

I think the Iraq war poisoned the well of good faith in the government so much that if they told us the sky was blue a lot of people would still look out side and check.

I recon they could all be described as the grey one from ABBA by now.

A fair correction

Putin’s election win is not in doubt but it’s not about whether he wins or not. Apparently the Russian government work on a 70-70 model for elections. The theory goes that Putin needs a 70%+ turnout and of those voters he needs 70%+ to vote for him. Any less and it encourages his opponents out of the woodwork. From what I have been reading there is a real danger of voter apathy in these elections meaning you might not see the 70% threshold reached. This assassination has come at a great time for Putin. Nothing like a bit of nationalism to drum up a vote before an election, a bit like Thatcher invading the Falklands, and if it causes further chaos in the West, all the better. He would have to be a pretty major suspect at this point. He certainly has motive and opportunity, and that is without seeing any of the evidence the UK government is privy to.

I kind of feel an odd privilege to have shared the planet with him. People will still be discussing him in a hundred years in the way we discuss Einstein.