Mandy Lifeboats

6 hours ago, Jareth said:

Israeli politics threatens to drag us into a world war - we have already defended Israel militarily - when do we call in this favour? An Israeli provocateur tried to get the Met police chief fired by provoking a situation during a palestinian supporting march, whether folks see it or not but Israel has via political lobbyists or via stunts, is setting the narrative.

When do we call in this favour?   

Some would say that we owe it to them.  We did "give" them a heavily contested and occupied land to build their country.  We turned away thousands of Jews trying to flee Hitler's Germany.  We tolerated Hitler's persecution of the Jews for many years. 

Let me make this very clear.  Israel's current government is a disgrace.  But its no worse than some of the other countries in that area.  

 Blaming Israel alone is ridiculous.  There's blame on all sides. 

The Jews were subjected to a holocaust.  Nothing that is happening today registers anywhere near that level of bloodshed.  

1 hour ago, mjmooney said:

 

Black Books - never seen it 
Lenin of the Rovers - never seen it 
Operation Good Guys - never heard of it 
Welcome To Our Village Please Invade Carefully - never heard of it 

 

Black Books - an alcoholic who hates people but loves books opens his own bookshop. This was Bill Bailey's breakthrough. 

Lenin -  Radio sitcom by Alexi Sayle.  A football club run on communist principles.  A great listen for football fans. It contains all the 1980s football stereotypes.  

Good Guys - Probably the first mockumentary.  An inept undercover Police squad. 

Welcome - Radio sitcom. Aliens invade a small English village to test the feasibility of a full scale invasion.  The locals involve them in stereotypical middle class problems.  

Black Books is an acquired taste. The other 3 are obscure but vastly under-rated that should have been mainstream hits but weren't.  

The Grimleys

Hancock's Half Hour

Lenin of the Rovers

Operation Good Guys

Welcome To Our Village Please Invade Carefully

Father Ted

Fawlty Towers

Blackadder 2, 3 & 4

IT Crowd

Black Books

23 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

 

 

Field research, when I worked in a posh restaurant, the smallest thing we killed in a microwave was a wasp.

White Anglo Saxon Protestant? 

Racist! 

On a similar topic.....

You can't kill ants in a microwave oven if you remove the rotating plate.  

They are small enough to walk between the microwaves.  

Gerbils aren't............

1 hour ago, T-Dog said:

 

What's the science behind it? At what point does it become too low to cook, regardless of time? I've never understood cooking. 

I guess it depends on the type of food, density, size etc.

An egg will fry on a hot pavement in a few minutes.  Its thin and not dense.  A jacket potato is bigger and denser so the heat does not travel to the centre as easily. 

8 minutes ago, T-Dog said:

If something needs to be cooked at 200c for 20 minutes, does it cook through the same at a lower temp over a longer time? Likewise, a higher temp, at a shorter time? 

And if you cooked it for ten minutes, at correct temp, let it cool to room temp, and then cooked at 200c again for another ten minutes, would it be cooked right?

Meat cooked at a lower temperature for a longer time is exactly what a "slow cooker" does.  Light bulb heat but for 8 hours. 

But there will be a lower limit where the temperature is insufficient to cook.  

The Central Russian Bank sets the interest rate tomorrow.  Its widely expected to hold the present 16% rate. 

Record low unemployment and widespread labour shortages are fueling inflation.  Imported goods continue to spiral in price.  Record manufacturing outputs (ammunition) are bolstering the economy in the short term but killing it in the long term.  

The ruble is untouchable for most of the world and is only being kept alive by false exchange rates and draconian currency control.  

Good job Putin.  Keep it up.  

Oh dear.  How sad. Never mind. 

Quote

Huge fire....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-68888835

So much better than the original. 

Once you listen you will never hear the original without thinking of this.

I was lucky enough to retire recently at 53.  I decided that was too young to stop work completely.  I wanted to do some good whilst also doing something I enjoyed. I decided to volunteer for National Trust.  They accepted my application but also converted me into a paid role where they were desperately short. 

I now work 2 or 3 days a week in Croome Court (just off the M5 between Worcester and Gloucester.

Croome was the ancestral home of the Earl of Coventry and had all the decadence and splendour you would expect.  It was also the site of RAF Defford in WW2. This was where we developed airborne Radar.  Only tiny amounts of the base remain but the small RAF museum occupies the base's hospital. 

After WW2 the Earl of Coventry was in severe financial difficulties and sold the entire estate including the house and all its contents.  Around 80% of the contents of the house went to private collectors and museums around the world. 

The house became a Catholic boys school, then a Hari Krishna temple,  then passed to several property developers before finally being taken by the National Trust.  By this time it was in very poor repair and virtually empty. 

It's still very much "work in progress".  It's impossible to restore it back to its former splendour.  For instance, one of the rooms is on display at the New York Metropolitan Museum.  We have just borrowed the library bookcases from the V&A and hope to raise the £5 million to keep them.  The nuns simply destroyed numerous "immoral" pieces of artwork containing nudity.  One of the property developers installed a huge bath in the main bedroom which ruined the floor and the ceiling below.  He also installed built in wardrobes from IKEA into 1800s plasterwork and oak floors.  Removing them would take seconds.  Repairing the damage they have caused will cost thousands. 

It's a lovely feeling to be playing a small part in restoring history.

2 hours ago, magnkarl said:

France and Poland maybe. The US just briefed our MOD that our armed forces will take 10 years to get to where they're in good working order again. We've cut our tank, ship and airframe fleet since like forever. Spain and Portugal?

Who do you think is an actual threat to the UK (or Spain and Portugal)?

Russia had Ukraine surrounded on 3 sides and had a bigger and better equipped army.  Do you really think they could defeat Poland, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and France and then stage an invasion of the UK?  

The UK is exceptionally well defended based upon our geographical position and the allies we have. 

4 hours ago, chrisp65 said:

But why would a dozen of the richest most industrialised nations on the planet, faced with an enemy that is walking distance away, have got themselves so reliant on the U.S. for their defence?

We haven't become reliant on the US for defence.  

France, UK, Poland, Italy, Spain and Portugal are all able to defend themselves.  

What we can't do is defend ourselves AND support Ukraine AND keep our economies going at the same level.   

Would the UK public vote for a party proposing a 1p increase in tax to arm Ukraine?  

Unfortunately the USA has shown that it cannot be relied upon.  Unless support returns soon its possible that Ukraine will lose more than if they had negotiated peace 1 year ago.  

The US politicians have disgraced themselves and the country.     

Reports suggest that a mobile phone was not put onto flight mode and a tray table was not put into the upright position during takeoff   

The people responsible were shot in the head by Police marksmen. 

Another 911 has been prevented. 

1 hour ago, sidcow said:

I prefer to ride horses bareback. 

Bravo sir.  Bravo! 

Surely his coffin should be taken to the cemetery in a white Ford Bronco followed by 40 Police cars? 

22 minutes ago, Xela said:

Woof justice. 

It would have been prosecuted but the police had no leads. 

45 minutes ago, phily85 said:

I think it's already common knowledge that it was the dog

Correct.  

It didn't even run to the nearest human to summon help.    It also went "missing" shortly afterwards.  Nor has it denied the killing.  

I saw it a few weeks afterwards wagging it's tail.  

Guilty as hell. 

14 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Did Nicola Bulleys husband have a hand in killing her. 

No.  

You can never have to many bargaining tools. 

Today we will see French soldiers take part in the Changing of The Guard. 

So we will have French guarding the king. 

Hasn't he suffered enough recently? 

1 minute ago, OutByEaster? said:

Confusingly today there are reports on progress toward a ceasefire and also reports that Netanyahu is ready to launch an offensive on Rafah which would be a humanitarian disaster.

 

What better bargaining tool that the threat of an offensive or a ceasefire on Israeli terms.