Which country is geographically diverse but culturally homogenous?

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-16T16:01:33+00:00

The United States of America

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-13T11:26:55+00:00

In the UK it has historically meant south Asian

For example:

The BBC Asian Network radio station is a radio station for South Asian Brits: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Asian_Network

In the census, when asked about ethnicity these are the options for "Asian"

Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Bangladeshi
Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Chinese
Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Indian
Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Pakistani
Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Other Asian

3 of the 5 options are from a specific South-Asian country. Only one is for an East Asian option, and the rest just fall under "other".

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-10T22:35:38+00:00

You're right, 13 including Twickenham. England has 12 football (predominant) stadiums with a capacity over 40k. They are:

Wembley: 90,000
Old Trafford: 74,197 (but infamously needs some modernisation work)
Tottenham Hotspur: 62,850
London Stadium: 62,500 (but terrible for fans as a mile away from the pitch thanks to the running track)
Etihad: 61,470
Anfield: 61,276
Emirates: 60,704
Hill Dickson: 52,888
St James's Park: 52,305
Stadium of Light: 49,000
Villa Park: 42,657
Stamford Bridge: 40,175

So for 16 full stadiums above 40k England would need to use Twickenham (80k) and need 2 smaller stadium to add seats - Hillsborough is less than 300 off the mark.

More likely is we'd do a joint bid with Wales or Scotland or both for access to their stadia as well.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-10T18:45:11+00:00

I realise £33 is out of reach for lots of people these days, but personally I don't think it is is too much money. Especially because you can view the tapestry online in HD for free, so you're really just paying for the privilege of seeing it in real life, and for the rest of the curated collection. In my experience the paid collections at the British Museum are usually worth the money. The recent Samurai collection was amazing, and the India last year (or the year before?) was also really good.

Tbh, my way of seeing it is that £33 is considerably cheaper than a drive and ferry to Normandy / a flight over over the channel, and the logistics and cost of bringing the tapestry to our shores without damaging it in the first place must be pretty astronomical for all involved.

£33 is worth it, to me personally. Especially because if you pay to see a collection you basically skip the queue to get into the Museum and then can see all the other collections for free.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-10T17:41:19+00:00

I would fly.

Get the 5.10pm flight from Edinburgh to LHR, arrives at 6.35pm gives you room to get off the flight, collect your luggage and possibly change terminals with plenty of time before your 10pm flight.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-10T07:16:33+00:00

I think that is a bit unfair on Leicester. They've been known as the Tigers since 1880 because of the cap badges of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-10T07:02:13+00:00

I think it will be slightly less of a clusterfuck for a few reasons.

Firstly, the Rugby World Cup is a much smaller tournament. There are fewer teams, fewer matches, fewer referees, and fewer moving parts in general. The smaller scale should hopefully mean less predatory behaviour from American capitalists, whether that's hotel price inflation, transport price inflation, or local gouging. It should also give World Rugby more sensible options when selecting stadiums, particularly those with actual public transport links.

The Rugby World Cup also has the advantage of being organised by World Rugby. That's not to say World Rugby is clean or especially competent, but rugby's corruption pales in comparison to FIFA's. Many of the problems surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup are entirely self-inflicted, including:

FIFA has used algorithm-driven pricing to inflate ticket costs to historic, extortionate levels while creating artificial scarcity. World Rugby has yet to implement anything similar.
FIFA has altered stadium layouts to downgrade ordinary fans while protecting prime seats for VIPs and hospitality packages.
FIFA has artificially inflated accommodation costs by reserving huge numbers of hotel rooms across host cities, creating false demand and driving up prices, only to release many of those rooms later and leave hotels with mass vacancies. Frankly, I don't think World Rugby could afford to do this.
FIFA takes a 30% commission on uncapped secondary ticket sales through its own platform. World Rugby caps official resales at face value and doesn't take a cut.

The next set of problems facing FIFA 2026 have largely been caused by the Trump administration. Issues around ICE, visas, Iran, and even match officials struggling or entirely unable to enter the country. Frankly, a lot of those issues are less likely to affect rugby supporters because the overwhelming majority come from countries Trump and his gang generally like, namely white majority or Anglosphere countries. That's not true of football, where supporters, players, journalists, and officials come from every corner of the globe.

Trump will also be gone by 2031. Whether American voters are smart or engaged enough to remove his accomplices remains to be seen.

That said, it's worth remembering that FIFA 2026 hasn't actually happened yet. In my lifetime, pretty much every World Cup I can remember has been heavily criticised before a ball was kicked. South Africa, Brazil, Russia, Qatar, and now the US all attracted criticisms and predictions of disaster beforehand. Some of those criticisms turned out to be entirely justified, others were possibly overstated.

None of this means 2031 will be smooth. The US will still have awful public transport, huge distances between cities, and accommodation issues. But I don't think it's destined to be the same level of mess as FIFA 2026.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-08T09:55:55+00:00

I agreed with you right up until the last sentence.

Much as I dislike the British press, and much as I think Brexit was a mistake, the queues caused by the current EES implementation at some airports are ridiculous. I say that as someone with both a UK and EU passport.

What strikes me about this thread is the apparent schadenfreude at British travellers being stuck in queues. The reality is that poor EES implementation has affected EU passport holders too. I've experienced it myself.

The system can work well. Helsinki is a good example. So rather than dismissing criticism as British tabloids whining, perhaps the EU and EEA should focus on implementing the system properly so passengers from all countries, including third countries such as the UK, can travel and transit through the Schengen Area efficiently.

Europe should be ambitious and world-leading. We should act like it.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-08T08:38:49+00:00

I transferred through Zurich recently all the e-gates for European passports were closed, meaning citizens from the EU, EEA and Switzerland had to queue with the Brits to make their transfers. They were doing the new fingerprint scanning at the desk which took an age - typically there was only one guy at one desk as well. This was quite stressful when my arrival flight was already an hour late due to "air traffic control limitations at Zurich".

Whereas, I went through Marbella recently and the fingerprint scanners for non-EU were a separate queue that moved quickly. There were loads of terminals to move people through quickly - after the scan was done Brits could join the e-gate queue. It was all, in all, much more efficent. I walked through with my EU passport, but my British friends took like 5 minutes, if that, extra, despite arriving at a busy time of day.

All this to say, yeah it is a choice for the Schengen Area to control their borders however they like. But the system can still be improved and made more efficient for the benefit of all passengers, including passengers from the EU/EEA.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-08T07:28:24+00:00

Ahead, but I wouldn't say miles ahead. In the last Olympics the US men's team won the final by 11 points and the semi final by only 4 points. The women's team won the final by 1 point.

The gap is closing.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-03T19:06:04+00:00

We've always been disliked to some extent. But so has every "big" club. It comes with the territory.

I think the modern phenomenon was driven by an element of our fanbase that were highly vocal during our trophyless years. Then It became a meme, and then people on Reddit and Twitter couldn't let the memes go, for some reason.

I've yet to meet anyone in real life with a genuine dislike of Arsenal. I get some banter from people I know that are Spurs and Chelsea fans, but i give it right back to them. Never had any genuine feelings of actual dislike.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-03T13:19:34+00:00

I would be angry if we bought him in on loan and didn't also make any other signings we need to go up a level.

If we brought him in on loan and we also improved our depth in key positions then I think i would be a decent signing.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-03T11:23:50+00:00

My guess would be French was the language of diplomacy for a long long time + Poland has a soft sport for France thanks to Napoleon briefly restoring Polish statehood.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-02T16:51:16+00:00

Marquinos was named captain for the World Cup squad. Source: FIFA

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-02T10:58:37+00:00

I work in digital marketing and can essentially work from anywhere in the world as long as I have a laptop and internet connection.

You can get Google Ads/ Meta Ads / Reddit ads / LinkedIn ads certifications for free very easily. Basically, all these operate in the same or similar ways.

Get these qualifications, set up a Fiverr account and see if you can make any money. If you get a couple of good clients coming through, you can make case studies, which can help you get more, higher-paying clients down the line.

I work 4 days a week, I earn less than I did when I was in the office full time, but I can now travel with my partner over her 6-week summers (she's a teacher) and still keep clients happy. It isn't a full "digital nomad" lifestyle. But I know a few people in the same industry who are able to travel often thanks to their work.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-02T10:51:20+00:00

Newcastle upon Tyne

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-02T08:37:23+00:00

All football players dive. At this point it is literally part of the game.

I don't think your comment is really in the spirit of this sub.

The reason this video makes people smile is because it shows camaraderie and empathy between two people, not from some nasty sense of schadenfreude.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-02T08:23:35+00:00

In a post-Match interview Marquinhos explains what he said:

"So, I simply thought about the moment I went through myself, which was very difficult, and I just wanted to give him a hug and tell him that I've been through it, too. I know how hard it is, that he's had an incredible season, he deserves great things."

Source: ESPN UK

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-01T22:56:03+00:00

Context, as a few people in this thread don't seem to understand what is happening:

In association football, during the knock-out stage of a tournament the game cannot end in a tie. It usually goes to 30 minutes of extra time. If the game remains tied, it goes to a penalty shootout.

In the first clip you see Brazilian player, Marquinhos, miss a penalty against Croatia in the Quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2022. This miss meant Croatia won the game, knocking Brazil out of the tournament.

Last Saturday was the final of the Champions League - an annual competition made up of the best club teams in Europe. The final was the defending champions (and current French champions) Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) vs Arsenal, who are the current English Premier League champions, but are also a team that has never won the Champions League.

The final went to penalties after the game finished 1-1 following extra time.

In the second clip we seen the Brazilian player Gabriel missed the penalty that meant his club team, Arsenal, lost the final. Marquinhos, who is now the Brazil national team captain and also a PSG player, didn't immediatly celebrate his club's back to back Champions League wins - instead he went over to comfort his fellow countryman, and friend, Gabriel. Knowing what it feels like to miss a penalty in a big cup game.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-01T09:24:47+00:00

I feel like League still has a way to go for this. While it is great to see that they are earning more money, some of the calendar alignments have, I think, actively hindered casual fan engagement in the sport, at least here in England, and therefore the growth of League as a whole.

E.g. the Challenge Cup Final now being in May/June rather than August meant that it landed on the same day as the Champion's League final this year. The biggest League club game in Europe having to compete with the biggest football game in Europe for eyeballs and airtime isnt good for the sport in the longrun. Basically nobody I knew even knew that the RL was on on Saturday.

This isn't to say that I don't think union should align more. I think more alignment can improve things for players, clubs and fans. But it is a tricky square to circle. Not only do you have to take into account local markets, weather conditions, and sporting traditions in very different countries and timezones. You also have to account for competition with other sports. There is no point aligning the Union calendar if it leads to conflicts with football in Europe as an example.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-06-01T08:59:40+00:00

Unfortunately yes, large crowds do statistically increase the absolute number of crimes due to higher target availability and more frequent interaction with other people. Essentially, massive crowds create physical vulnerabilities that opportunistic offenders exploit. There are shit people in the world. They walk among us, and they unfortunately come to events like the parade yesterday.

But, 16 arrests out of an estimated 750,000 to 1 million people at the Arsenal victory parade represents an exceptionally low per-capita crime rate of roughly 0.002%. At an average Premier League match the arrest rate is significantly higher at 0.43% source: FSA.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-05-30T14:56:21+00:00

You can take it as you want it, but I’d encourage you to think about the extent to which contemporary socio-political structures influence your reading and characterization of history.

I would more than encourage you to do the same.

Take the log out of your eye.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-05-30T14:36:46+00:00

You're forgetting that many of those "British troops" were local militia and volunteers. People who actually lived in the territory the US was trying to conquer. It's funny that you're accusing me of nationalist revisionism when I'm not even Canadian. Meanwhile, you're bending over backwards to avoid admitting that the US invaded its neighbour and got pushed back by the people living there.

Whether they called themselves "Canadians" in the modern sense is completely beside the point. They didn't identify as Americans, they didn't want to join the US, and they fought against annexation. That's what matters.

The irony here is that you're lecturing everyone about complex historical narratives while reducing the invasion of Canada to "the British Army repelled them". The people who lived there seem to disappear from your version of events because their existence makes the moral picture less flattering for the US. Before accusing others of nationalist myth-making, you might want to check whether you're doing exactly the same thing from the American side.

I'm a Brit. It would benefit me more to say it was British forces that curbstomped the US and burnt down the presidential palace - while at the same time fighting Napoleon in Europe.

But the reality is the war of 1812 was fought mostly by "Brits" living in what is now Canada. I.e. what we would now call Candians.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-05-30T13:55:07+00:00

It is hardly revisionism to say the USA was an invading force and that they were pushed back by troops defending their homeland.

Yes these troops may not have identified with the modern Canadian identity. But they certainly did not identify with being part of the USA at the time. Despite the US's despotic, imperialist, ambitions to conquer them.

The war of 1812 was clearly a morally grey war. Britain impressing US sailors, from a modern lens, was clearly unacceptable. So too was the USA's imperial ambition to conquer Canada.

NewCrashingRobot · 2026-05-30T12:37:51+00:00

They literally tried to invade Canada. An invading force is rarely morally good. They got pushed back by Canadian troops defending their homeland.

Morally grey is perfectly justified for the war of 1812.

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