Cornish Steve

You made a very sensible point. For the flag of St. George, I really don't see a problem. It's a flag, the English have rightly become proud of it in recent years, many aspects of the country's traditions and heritage are admirable, and there's no harm in waving it or associating with it. There is a similar but different situation in the US with the confederate flag. Decades ago, here in the American South, you'd see it flying all the time. People here associated with the South, there being a healthy rivalry with the North, and the confederate flag made that point. For most people, I would say, it was similar to the English or the Welsh or the Scottish flying their flag. But, in recent years, there's much greater sensitivity to the extreme cruelty of slavery, and the confederate flag came about as a symbol of the South (and of slavery) as it fought a civil war. Over the last three decades, say, flying the confederate flag has became associated more and more with white supremacy, and there's some justification for this. To every African American, especially to the descendants of slaves, the confederate flag is now a graphic reminder of that awful age when their ancestors were treated as less than human. Since the confederate flag is not a national flag, and not a state flag, but more an idea and association from the past, what is the harm in removing it from society? It was removed from the Georgia state flag, for example, and I see very few confederate flags flying today. Some people do fly it as an act of rebellion: As you wrote, "when people feel that their cultures and traditions are being challenged then they will show their colours so to speak." In this case, though, the flag carries too much baggage, and personally I would prefer that it be consigned to the history books. Why choose to deliberately upset millions of friends and neighbours in society just to make a point? (Yes, the extreme right claim that my opinion is "woke", but we should be aware of the feelings of others and not deliberately ride roughshod over them.) Just to reiterate: I'm not at all implying the same is true of the flag of St. George. What matters is our attitude and the reasons we have for supporting a flag.

So where exactly does the flag of St. George come from? The crusaders who rampaged Europe, killing rather indiscriminately. Have you ever read a history of the crusades, the divisions they caused in society, the heartless acts, and how they bankrupted the country? Hmm - maybe that's the link to today's extreme right!

I'm upset that the English took the flag of St. Piran, changed the colours, and flew it all around Wembley stadium!

Did I write that it's not acceptable for the English to be proud of their own flag? No, I didn't. In fact, I compared it to the Scottish and the Welsh doing the came, just as you wrote. We're saying the same thing.

Honestly, I don't ever remember seeing a flag of St. George when I lived in Britain - never. Seeing it flying now is a modern thing, although I have no problem with it. As others have said, the Welsh and Scottish proudly fly their flags - and more and more flags of St. Piran fly in Cornwall. What's the big whoop about designing a motif using different colours? I interpreted it as a statement that Britain is proudly multicultural, which is a positive thing.

The commentator at the BBC website is being way too polite: England were dreadful. He writes that England are slated to play France in the Euros semifinals. Play like that, and making it that far might be wishful thinking. Why is Maguire still playing? Why was an 18-year-old nobody from United playing ahead of better players? Southgate sticks to the wrong favorites and is bowing to pressure to use players from the big six teams. If I was an England supporter, I'd be rather depressed right now.

Two judges find themselves in traffic court for speeding. The first judge takes to the bench and the second judge is brought in to face the music. "You were traveling at 55mph in a 35mph zone. That's a £200 fine and 3 penalty points." Next, the second judge takes to the bench and the first judge appears before him. "You were traveling at 50mph in a 40mph zone. That's a £500 fine and 6 penalty points." The first judge objects: "But I gave you a smaller fine and applied fewer penalty points despite yours being a worse case of speeding." The second judge explains his reasoning: "But this is the second case of speeding brought before this court today. It's time to stamp it out!" We are not going to face a smaller points penalty. If I had to guess, it will be another 6 points, at which point all hell breaks loose.

I don't understand why there's such a vocal body of people who seem desperate for renewable energy schemes to fail. You see it in some people's comments to that article, but it's become something of an obsession among conservatives in the US. Why would we not want to pursue such options? Why would we not want to reduce smog, limit the rise of sea level, prevent extreme weather patterns, and generally be good stewards of the earth?

Yes, because you raised it.

Such a reputable news source, so fact-based and focused on the important things in life.

That's hilarious!

With Dyche and Patterson at odds, with Russia continuing its aggression in Ukraine, etc., what we need right now is some whirled peas.

They all count, and he's scored ten goals in his last eight appearances.

The Daily Fail.

Can I suggest that to Donald Trump?

And do you twist clockwise or anti-clockwise when eating spaghetti? https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64G4YN/

I'll bet ya it's mushy peas, so no need to squish them onto the fork.

The other give-away to the British abroad is squashing peas on the back of the fork instead of just scooping them up on the front of the fork. Where do such national habits originate? Another is holding a knife in the right hand for an entire meal that just requires a fork. Why not do what the rest of the world does and hold the fork in the right hand? Or am I being unfair to sinistrals?

Are you denying we haven’t won in 53 games and 18 months? Palfy: raise you 10 games and 2 months.

That's such a stereotypical picture of the English abroad: black socks with shorts. You can tell the English holidaying in America by that dressing habit alone - along with eating pizza with a knife and fork. All that's missing is the knotted hankie on his head.

The bottom line right now: We're not being outplayed; we're being outscored.

Onana, even though he's young, I agree. In general, though, we should be focused on the future as we strike deals. I'd sell Pickford (and replace with Trafford) before I sold Branthwaite. You'd think that 777 would want to build on their asset, not tear it down. Having said that, I'm really hoping the rumours about a stealth takeover bid are true.

They can take a running jump. Onana, we can sell. Some others, we can sell. But not Branthwaite. https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/man-utd-transfer-jarrad-branthwaite-32324747

Trump is already undermining the US administration. The Hungarian premier met with him and not with the US' actual president. The result was the imply they will force Ukraine to surrender and succumb to Russia's invasion with 24 hours of Trump assuming power. Let's all hope that never happens. If Russia is allowed to win this war, Moldova will be invaded within 6 months. If Trump pulls the US out of NATO, the Baltic states should then become very worried. Finland would also be at risk.

United 1-1 Everton DC-L