Very sad news

[J-G]

As far as I can see COUSINS are COUSINS and are related.

Then you are unaware of the concepts of consanguinity. If you were able to search back far enough you would find that we are related through Charlemagne.

By the time you get to 2nd cousin the 'kinship' is tenuous to say the least.

 

[J-G]

i feel for the queen, a big loss for her, probably. As a person, I didn't like him and I hope he is the last of his ilk. The monarchy is hopefully moving closer to the people they serve.

HRH Prince Philip probably did more for that cause than any one in history !! It seems that you might benefit from even a little reading of his life story.

 

[Jacob]

...... Or would you have them owned by the state, in which case how is that any more fair. .....

It would make it fair of course; just nationalise the whole lot, but I suppose the blow could be softened by gradual taxation - increase in inheritance tax, more controls on landlord/tenant/rent deals etc.

 

[D_W]

I have to admit a sneaking admiration for Cuba. Despite everything the most powerful nation on this planet has done over the last 60 years to crush them they keep hanging in there. One of the many things I learned about Americans during my many visits to the USA is their massively skewed right-wing view of that little island to their south that continues to defy them. They just HATE that.

I can give you an actual view on it here - if you're in miami with defectors or estranged relatives, you'll get a pretty negative view of cuba.

The rest of us, indifference except we wish we could get the cigars and go there on a vacation. The generation who feared cuba as a place that the soviet union would use to stage an invasion is mostly gone (but just as is always the case, I'm sure the government message was and still is curated, and you can find hangers on here. If you go to an old enough cohort, you can still find people who don't like japanese stuff because they were alive during WWII).

what cuba does seem to be good for is if you'd like to live in a 1br apartment, have food security and maybe a half working TV to watch soccer games and the national teams, then you're good to go. If you want to do anything else, good luck.

 

[dizjasta]

Then you are unaware of the concepts of consanguinity. If you were able to search back far enough you would find that we are related through Charlemagne.
View attachment 108040
By the time you get to 2nd cousin the 'kinship' is tenuous to say the least.

May be so but the most important revelation is that we are all related to Jacob of this parish. Brilliant detective work.

 

[Chris152]

just watched bbc news. 20 mins (?) about Philip all dressed in black, quick romp through covid deaths (approaching 130k) and touched on other bits of news, then back to Philip. it does grate a little, i wonder what the balance of public perception is.

 

[paulrbarnard]

I quit

Smoking?

 

[selectortone]

I can give you an actual view on it here - if you're in miami with defectors or estranged relatives, you'll get a pretty negative view of cuba.

The rest of us, indifference except we wish we could get the cigars and go there on a vacation. The generation who feared cuba as a place that the soviet union would use to stage an invasion is mostly gone (but just as is always the case, I'm sure the government message was and still is curated, and you can find hangers on here. If you go to an old enough cohort, you can still find people who don't like japanese stuff because they were alive during WWII).

what cuba does seem to be good for is if you'd like to live in a 1br apartment, have food security and maybe a half working TV to watch soccer games and the national teams, then you're good to go. If you want to do anything else, good luck.

I can give you an actual view too. One of my best friends spent two weeks there with his wife on holiday (vacation) a couple of years ago. They went on a package where they stayed with local families, which is a common way to enjoy a holiday there (unless you're American...)

Nowhere was off limits, they got to see the whole island and really enjoyed their stay. Food was basic but very tasty, accomodation basic but clean. They never felt uneasy or threatened. (Try saying that if you go off the tourist track in LA or Chicago or anywhere else in the USA)

The poverty there is real, heartbreaking and pretty much entirely down to US embargos. Yeah, I know, nowhere's perfect. But he says it was the most memorable holiday he's ever had.

 

[Jacob]

....

what cuba does seem to be good for is if you'd like to live in a 1br apartment, have food security and maybe a half working TV to watch soccer games and the national teams, then you're good to go. If you want to do anything else, good luck.

What USA is bad for is that millions of people have to live in a 1br apartment or trailer park, have no food security and very poor health care, plus the risk of getting shot by gun freaks, or killed by cops if you happen to be black.
Odd thing about USA is that something like 8 million people are in poverty, which is approaching the size of the 11million population of Cuba, non of whom are in poverty.

 

[doctor Bob]

Thread becoming another political thread, for f**ck sake moderators do your jobs.

 

[D_W]

Fantasy, Jacob. If you're that poor in the states, you get free food, subsidized housing and free health care and likely declaration of disability income later in life that converts to permanent lifetime income.

Unskilled workers who only just have the means to care for themselves have it tougher. Being a felon here is pretty limiting, too.

 

[Fergie 307]

It would make it fair of course; just nationalise the whole lot, but I suppose the blow could be softened by gradual taxation - increase in inheritance tax, more controls on landlord/tenant/rent deals etc.

Ah yes, Nationalise everything. Tried that before. Seem to remember it was a bit of a balls up. Loads of companies subsidised by the taxpayer to make junk that no one wanted to buy, or to produce stuff they may have wanted, but at a price they couldn't afford.

 

[dizjasta]

May be so but the most important revelation is that we are all related to Jacob of this parish. Brilliant detective work.

This is not a political thread it amounts to accolade for a staunch forum supporter.

 

[Jacob]

Ah yes, Nationalise everything. Tried that before. Seem to remember it was a bit of a balls up. Loads of companies subsidised by the taxpayer to make junk that no one wanted to buy, or to produce stuff they may have wanted, but at a price they couldn't afford.

Not everything - just as necessary. When was it a balls up by the way? What exactly did you have in mind?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Putin is doing alright for himself, not a lot of wealth distribution though!!!

Russia is about as socialist as China.

 

[francovendee]

Ah yes, Nationalise everything. Tried that before. Seem to remember it was a bit of a balls up. Loads of companies subsidised by the taxpayer to make junk that no one wanted to buy, or to produce stuff they may have wanted, but at a price they couldn't afford.

When was this?

 

[Jameshow]

I want his lathe

I would like his no5 1/2 please!!

Cheers James

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I want his lathe

Probably an inherited Holtzapffel.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

I took @Phil Pascoe 's political compass test, and I am as centrist as they come -which was a suprise. Not so surprising were my very libertarian tendencies.

I think the royal family is a fabulous idea, but for a less obvious reason than you might expect. Without Her Maj, Tony Blair would have lived at Buckingham Palace, and genuinely thought he was entitled to it. Teresa May, Gordon Brown, even (or especially) Boris the same. Therefore, heads of state should never be politicians, because they really don't need any more encouragement than we already give them.

I also think that there is a lot of enthusiasm from above to split the population into small groups, all of whom are at each other's throats. Left/right, brexit/remain, unionist/republican, royalist/independent or whatever they want to label themselves as this week, and so on. Jacob does enjoy a good fight, but he is somewhat a product of this thinking: thesis, antithesis and synthesis, or problem, reaction, solution if you prefer the more modern version. United we stand, divided we are sheep to be shorn and then slaughtered. Is the wall - to - wall coverage of the dead duke just because there isn't any other news? Or is it a means to engender even more division and hatred? Are the media en mass incompetent or complicit? BBC sees ratings PLUMMET after ‘over the top’ Prince Philip death coverage

 

[Fergie 307]

Not everything - just as necessary. When was it a balls up by the way? What exactly did you have in mind?

British Leyland, NCB, British Rail etc etc.