badgerx16

Seconded

We have never been the best at unpicking a massed defence. When we get wide there aren't players in the middle, and trying to go through the middle there are just too many Charlton shirts. A bit more pace and guile, coupled with a slice of fortune.

What odds on a Saints player getting the first card ?

Tucker Carlson interviews Mike Huckabee, US Ambassador to Israel:- Carlson asked Huckabee about a biblical verse in which God promises Abraham that his descendants will receive land “from the wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates – the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites”. Carlson pointed out that this area in modern geography would include “like, basically the entire Middle East”. “The Levant … Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon – it’d also be big parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq,” Carlson said. Huckabee said: “I’m not sure it would go that far, but it would be a big piece of land.” He continued: “Israel is a land that God gave, through Abraham, to a people that he chose. It was a people, a place and a purpose.” Pressed by Carlson on whether Israel has the right to that land, Huckabee responded: “It would be fine if they took it all.”

Of course, the US does not implement wny form of protectionism in support of it's domestic industries.

IT'S NOT FAIR !!!

"US goods imports continued to outpace its exports last year, sending the country's trade deficit to a new high despite sweeping tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump. The gap between the value of goods imported into the US and American products sold to other countries widened by 2.1% compared to 2024, hitting roughly $1.2 trillion (£890bn), official figures show." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4ge4yxwnlno

How much do you think the President of the Irish Republic costs ? People thinking that having a President automatically means having a despot like Trump running roughshod over democracy and the Consitution forget there are other, more ceremonial, models of presidency, that do not bring the baggage, fawning sycophancy, and undue deference that attend the Monarchy.

The Trump appointed US Commission of Fine Arts has, perhaps unsurprisingly, apprved the building of his ballroom, despite almost unanimous opposition to the project from public comments submitted to the Commission. They were hardly going to tell him to restore the demolished East Wing.

Given there are apparently "millions" of people decended from Richard the Third, how did Chuck get the gig ? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59041055

Terry Pratchett had it right; "Royalty is the tradition where Kings practice waving whilet normal people do the real work". "Royalty is like dandelions, no matter how many heads you chopped off, the roots were still there underground, waiting to spring up again". "Kings. What a good idea. Whoever had created humanity had left in a major design flaw. It was its tendency to bend at the knees.” ".....she lived in hope, and prepared her granddaughter for a royal life by seeing to it, whenever possible, that Ermintrude was not taught anything that could possibly be of any practical use whatsoever." "Every trade, every craft had its hat. That’s why kings had hats. Take the crown off a king and all you had was someone good at having a weak chin and waving to people. Hats had power. Hats were important." "Royalty pollutes people’s minds, boy. honest men start bowing and bobbing just because someone’s granddad was a bigger murdering bastard than theirs was.”

The BCCI also instructed Kolkota Knight Riders to release their Bangladeshi player.

Do you think there would be more tourists in Paris, Vienna, Rome, and Berlin, if there were still Royal families there ?

I do not believe that a significant proportion of tourists come because of the Royals. Other than the Changing of the Guard there is very little pageantry to see, and that could happen without the Royals as it does in other capitals. What you have posted is the value of "Royalty" and history, it's not as if there is much chance of spotting any of the Family.

That is not my point, tourists would come regardless of whether we had a Royal family.

Don't expect Southern Brave to select any Pakistani players for the Hundred, teams owned, fully or partially by IPL franchises won't pick them. Happens in all franchise tournaments around the World.

3 of the Queen's 4 children are divorced, I would say they are a typical family.

Of course nobody goes to Paris or Vienna to see the palaces, and as for castles, it is not as if there are any in France or Germany.

No they don't, the Crown Estate effectively a commercial branch of Parliament, own Buck House. Windsor Castle and Holyrood House belonging to the Crown, not the Royal family. The King owns Balmoral and Sandringham. The revenues from the Crown Estate go to the Treasury, and in part are then used to fund the King's official expenses.

We like Vienna.

I wonder if there will be a file in his cake.

Back on track; 3:55 GMT 18th Feb 2026 : The US State Department says it "supports the decision of the United Kingdom to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos archipelago". 18:13 GMT 18th Feb 2026 : Donald Trump posts on social media - "Do not give away Diego Garcia,""

How does reducing the welfare budget reduce abuse of the system ? Is the logic as follows ; If the welfare budget was £100M and fraud was 3%, then the amount of fraud is £3M, however if you cut the budget to £90m the amount of fraud would be £2.7M, so reduced by £300K. The main issue with the system is the administration needs to do 2 things better; firstly better validation of claims to screen out potentially fraudulent claims, and secondly, better fraud investigation and reporting procedures.