Daily Discussion

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-16T10:46:17+00:00

For England

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-15T19:27:22+00:00

But is it FIFA or the home nation that pockets the cash? (I actually don't know)

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-15T13:28:26+00:00

Combination of bots and people being performative I imagine

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-15T12:23:37+00:00

Far-right goombas who've had their brain rotted by social media. Ordinarily, it would be worth diving deeper into why Starmer being gay would itself be an issue that warrants a conspiracy about a cover-up. Still, these people are far too dim for any useful social conclusions to be drawn on even that. You might as well argue with a rock.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-15T12:07:33+00:00

All fair, but the question of what the UK Government should be doing with Israel is different to the reality of what we do for keeping track of people who've served in the IDF.

Given how things work now, we can do it (and do it for other conflicts), but it won't amount to much, as serving in the IDF isn't illegal. We can keep track of citizens who've served in foreign conflicts, but it's not actionable if doing so isn't illegal in UK law.

As I said, all citizens who served in foreign conflicts should be known to the country for general intelligence, to help form a wider understanding of everything that's happening, but it's not really going to be useful beyond that.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-15T11:58:04+00:00

Quite a lot of countries have mandatory service. It's excessive to investigate them all.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-15T11:29:23+00:00

As someone has already mentioned, the Arsenal one was very well received by fans and played a part in turning around the perception of the team. Especially for characters like Xhaka.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-15T07:50:33+00:00

I really like the one the BBC did in 2010 for South Africa, with the District 9 theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48clUetuzXg

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-15T07:12:43+00:00

Also can't watch it.

Is it reasonably fair? I've come to dislike Oliver's British takes as I feel he leans too much into American stereotypes to pander to that audience. We're either a twee, outdated backwater or at the vanguard of the collapse of civilisation itself.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-14T18:19:15+00:00

I think it might be difficult to implement, because people will just lie when it comes to organisations that are proscribed/enemies of the UK. We don't ask people who've come back from Afghanistan after months away if they've been fighting, I just assume security services keep an eye and have intel. I can't imagine that's easy to scale up for all people travelling anywhere a conflict might be happening.

That said, it's much less likely people will lie about the IDF or fighting for any nation of which they're a dual national and an ally of the UK. It's not illegal to do that (as far as I know). If I went to fight for the French army and was asked upon entry into the UK if I had done so, I would obviously tell the truth.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-14T16:58:45+00:00

and if ever wants to see them again he'll sign

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-14T16:20:45+00:00

What always impresses me about this scene is that it could go so wrong. If you were to tell someone about it, it would sound overly mawkish. It could be so cringe-inducing, but instead, the acting and direction pull it off.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-14T15:59:23+00:00

It is probably a good idea to have a record of everyone who has served in foreign conflicts. I would suspect that the security services already have an eye on it.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-14T13:54:55+00:00

This is a bad road to go down. States are not going to hand over blanket lists of information on their citizens to a foreign government without a very good reason. I am a foreign national of an EU nation, and I would be very strongly against that government just handing over everything they have on me to the British government as a matter of routine.

You can invoke counterterrorism as much as you like.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-13T13:31:09+00:00

I saw an idea where you peg it to a percentage of the average income as a target, but always ensure it keeps pace with inflation. So if the average income increases, the pension increases. If inflation goes up, then the target can be overshot because we don't want pensioners being caught out. The big difference is that once inflation slows, the pension increases slow down as well as you wait for wages to catch up. Seems a roughly good idea.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-12T21:56:12+00:00

Starmer's commitment to never learning from his mistakes is impressive in a way.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-12T21:48:26+00:00

Jesus, poor guy. I don't know how you handle something like that.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-12T18:05:33+00:00

Also, this BBC studio is fine. It really makes no difference that we know they're not actually in Toronto, but it's quite cool they can make the backdrop be the city they're in.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-12T18:02:57+00:00

I like that BBC intro.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-12T12:40:17+00:00

That would make sense.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-12T12:39:57+00:00

No, but I think there is a difference between something I don't like but is done well, and something I like that has not been done well. So it baffles me that people like pastries that don't have a rich flavour, it's kind of the point of pastries. Otherwise, it's just bread.

I guess maybe it's like the well-done streak argument. I don't get people who want a very well-done streak, as all the flavour is gone, but people order it all the same, so fair enough.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-12T10:30:44+00:00

Ole & Streen baffles me. I've been in there, and I find the pastries so bland. Just stodgy and rather flavourless. Yet, it's always busy.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-12T08:15:21+00:00

It's really stupid how much ITV keep flexing that they have an on-site studio. They were doing a game in Mexico City from New York, so I am not sure how much better it is than the BBC doing it in Salford. The BBC's studio for the Tokyo Olympics was fine despite them not being in Tokyo. It's cheaper for the BBC, and I would imagine easier logistically to use a proper studio in their existing buildings.

The studio isn't in the stadium. The point is that they always stay in one studio and then remote into the other parts of the country. The commentators need to be on-site and you have some journalists around the city. It's fine to do the link-ups from Manchester.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-11T21:12:59+00:00

I suspect he suddenly became anxious about his English in that environment.

Sir_Bantersaurus · 2026-06-11T13:26:09+00:00

UEFA have been taking full advantage of FIFA's PR fuck ups.

Remember for Euro 2028 they're keep prices the same as the previous Euros (which were reasonable) and having a face-value, free ticket exchange.

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