leicsmac

The sum asked for and likely needed is around four times that. It's a vast sum and people are naturally going to ask where it might come from, but the cost if it isn't done will be so much higher. I think there are solutions that exist on paper and could be implemented, but sadly the politicking and petty nationalism seems to do all it can to get in the way.

$300 billion deal reached at COP29. Sadly not enough though, in terms of money or proposed action.

It does show that Oz are mortal at home, and England should be taking notes.

It would be nicer if it were someone like NZ doing the pumping, but yes.

There have been standalone works, but yes, it's rather amazing that they haven't been further adapted tbh. On topic, the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson.

And now apparently it's a batters paradise. Odd game.

Cult of personality.

Then it may well be outstanding bowling which both sides are capable of.

Also Marnus on 2 off 42 balls, Boycott would be proud.

Groundsman should absolutely be getting a tap on the shoulder about this. Or is just that both India and Oz bowling attacks are awesome.

Thanks for the additional information - that does all sound like pretty poor form tbh.

The Trump team must have worked out not enough Repubs would support him. Perhaps there is some hope yet.

"...you see a dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every hopeful child, every mother and father, every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam. The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of the dot on scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner of the dot. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity -- in all this vastness -- there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us. It's been said that astronomy is a humbling, and I might add, a character building experience. To my mind, there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known." - Carl Sagan -

"...sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself." - Terry Pratchett. There are so many more that man wrote that could be included here, but that one resonates most.

In line with Donald Trump, Matt Gaetz had likewise looked to produce a line of personalised guitars for sale. Unfortunately, the only chord you can play on them is A Minor.

The high level art world is at least mostly, if not all, a front for criminal money laundering. That's pretty much it imo.

A man of conviction and that left hook/right cross combo was a thing of beauty. RIP Two Jags.

...and when that right to free speech is abused, as it so often appears to be?

Can you elaborate at all?

NB. It's been said before, but sadly nuclear weapons do, in this Might Makes Right world, give the upper echelons of the UN Security Council the right to screw with "lower ranked" nations as they see fit. The Cold War was sadly a lexicon of it, from all parties involved.

I disagree, I think there is a middle ground where somewhere like Ukraine can be supported enough to at least avoid strategic defeat while at the same time not being provocative enough to force a catastrophic escalation. I think that's being met (reasonably) well at the present time. Of course, MAD doesn't get Putin what he wants either, but I'm not sure there's a reason to push things further than they need to be pushed when the stakes are absolute. Edit: of course, my post was referring to the more jingoistic armchair generals, rather than much more nuanced and knowledgeable takes as this one is.

On the topic of gross, (uncharged due to legal eagling) sex trafficker Matt Gaetz on the charm offensive in the Senate today. I wonder how many Senate Repubs might actually have a hint of principle left and not confirm him?

I would agree that the response from NATO aligned powers has been pretty much on the money. I do however take issue when the word "appease" or "appeasement" gets bandied around when concerning a party that, at any time of their choosing, can decide to end human civilisation. Those words imply Chamberlain-esque weakness and it's not weak to be careful in diplomacy towards a power that has nuclear capacity. Belligerence and "acting strong" only goes so far (and appears only so macho) when the other guy can wipe you and himself out at the push of a button with nothing you can do about it. Perhaps it's because the UK hasn't been involved in a large scale shooting match since WW2, but some folks in the UK appear to think the strategic and diplomatic game hasn't changed at all since. It has, decisively, mostly due to that power of mutually assured destruction.

And all the time there's a hundred regional conflicts costing lives and the climate is getting more and more unstable. World's in great shape, isn't it?