I don't think anything is really a test for Djokovic at the moment. It's too easy, with Federer and Nadal fading out of the picture; there's no-one really at his level anymore.

I'd say the only person who can really beat him is himself, as when he blew up at the Olympics. His biggest challenge I think is not the other players, but retaining motivation and concentration in match after match when regardless of who stands across the net from him, he knows he's considerably better than his opponent. It's certainly a great position to be in, but when the whole world knows you're the best, this can bring its own, psychological, challenges.

He's certainly talented, and he won't be such a compliant second-in-command for Hamilton as Bottas was. But even if Mercedes have a top car next season, I think the title might be a stretch for Russell. Yes he has looked strong, but he is still unproven. We have seen so many times in F1 where talent doesn't translate into titles. I think he still has a lot to learn before he gets to the top.

But who knows, I could easily be wrong. Either way, it will make for a more exciting dynamic at Mercedes, and will take Hamilton out of his comfort zone.

Just an observation that this Kraken has now been lifting off the bottom for a little over four months, and is yet to breach the surface.
That's the problem with this mythical beast; it sounds terrifying and world-ending if you believe in that stuff, but it turns out it's all superstition and wishful thinking, and has no bearing on the real world because, fundamentally, it doesn't exist.

Nope. As the previous poster said, read that seatbelt analogy. That basically covers it.


In a quite straightforward and logical manner. You could actually look at the data. As I said recently in another thread...

TBH, given some of the posts we see in P&S, I'm surprised that no-one is shrieking that insurance is communism, and anyone who pays for insurance should be hunted down by a baying mob.
It's a means of socialising risk, isn't it? Everyone pays in, in order that those who are unfortunate enough to need the payouts can get them.

Raducanu has just been phenomenal. Lost the first two games against Rogers, nearly lost the third... but then won 11 straight games before winning the match 6-2 6-1.
And this comes after her match in the previous round where she won 6-0 6-1.

And she got through three rounds of qualifying just to make the main draw... 7 matches played so far at this tournament, and hasn't yet dropped a set.

However, the opponents get tougher as the rounds go on. Beating Bencic in the quarters is a huge ask, and the pressure gets more intense with each round.
She was I think 366 in the world before Wimbledon, now she's 1 win away from becoming the British number 1 ranked player. 

Yet another thread where someone doesn't grasp how vaccination works, how viruses mutate, and how exponential progression works in the context of a pandemic. I'm not sure whether or not the misunderstandings are deliberate.


This sums it up, really. No need to look any further, or to engage with the content. With such a 'witty' nom de guerre, how could we fail to take the article seriously? 

If we are talking about work that is primarily mental in nature, such as all office work, then women are certainly not weaker. Study after study has shown no physical difference in structure between male and female brains. Any assumption that women are weaker at office-based work is just that, an assumption, and without foundation. If it appears that women are weaker because for example men have all the top jobs, then that is simply a consequence of generations of sexism rather than a reflection of innate aptitude.

Yes, not a hugely exciting race, but it is really good to see a home race for a championship contender. It would be a shame if Max won the title without having a home GP to win in... he did really well to cope with the immense pressure, and is a deserved winner. Great atmosphere, yes.

Bottas trying to get fastest lap is a bit unprofessional. Of course Mercedes need Hamilton to get it if possible to continue his challenge for the drivers championship. It makes no difference to constructors whether Bottas or Hamilton gets it, but every bit helps in the drivers battle. A rare instance of unprofessional behaviour from him, but understandable really that Bottas is desperate to prove himself given the contract situation.

He's always brought goals, and yes this should continue at United. But yes he's certainly nearing the end of his career, and plays differently now. Whilst United will certainly gain something from having him in the team, I do wonder whether they will also lose something. I don't think Juventus with Ronaldo were a better team than without him, and Man United it's likely to be the same. I doubt he will be as great a signing as for example Lukaku will be for Chelsea.

From a UK perspective, where Andy Murray is our only top player in recent years, I have to say Emma Radacanu is looking strong in the women's tournament. She has got a bit lucky with the draw, but she's only 18 and this is only her second slam, after reaching the last 16 in her first slam at Wimbledon a couple of months ago, she's now in the last 16 at the US Open. It's difficult not to get carried away, particularly after watching her win her last 32 match 6-0 6-1. I certainly don't expect her to win the tournament, but she looks like one to watch for the future.

There are two ways to achieve effective herd immunity. The 'pro-active' way is to implement a vaccination programme to ensure that immunity can be conferred without contracting the virus. The 'passive' way is to achieve immunity by letting people catch it. Your recommendation is the passive method, which involves plenty of suffering and death.


The timespan between one generation of a virus and the next is somewhat shorter than the timespan between one generation of humans and the next. 
I was going to continue to go through your post and argue it out point by point, but perhaps it would be a waste of time to continue past here...

I'd forgotten about former president Trump. Are people still listening to him? You don't have to anymore; he's gone.


Okay, great. He's an imbecile, so why would anyone take him as a source of wisdom on any topic? He's 75 years old, and he still hasn't grasped how numbers work.


So, in summary, Trump doesn't know what cryptocurrencies are. This is not a huge surprise.

Britain will remain silent because their hands are equally bloody.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_arms_export


Or if you want both the US and the UK together in one place, how about:


Nations and companies that export weapons (or sell them domestically) have zero interest in moral concerns. If you make things that kill people, and then sell them, you have a good idea of how they will be used. The only thing they are bothered about is making some $$$.

As an example, how about the infamous Block-19, a lethal handgun covered to Lego to make killing fun for the whole family...

On the face of it, this sounds appallingly sexist, however...

... However, the problem here might simply be small sample size. If you are saying the women in your team of 2 to 4 are a problem, then it seems likely the problem is the person/people, not the gender. If someone is performing below expected standards, but it's only one or two people, then gender doesn't really come into it. The more specific an example is, the less we should generalise, the less we should take this as representative of the wider population.

Sounds like it's just your office. Where I work, the gender balance is pretty good, and I do believe gender doesn't even come into decisions about promotion, pay, etc. Plenty of directors and other high pay grades are female. Women are just as talented, intelligent, capable as men. And in other instances, just as lazy or thoughtless. There isn't a divide. And you know what? We have actually reached the stage where it doesn't matter and no-one even considers it. But this is certainly not the case everywhere... I've worked places in the past where women worked just as hard as the men, but were often paid at a lower rate, or unfairly overlooked for promotion. Thankfully as a society we are slowly reducing the imbalance.

I don't think this relates to Madagascar, at least not yet. Variant c1.2 apparently possesses some similarities to Delta, but has been circulating since at least May, and Delta is still by far the leading variant. c1.2 hasn't yet been named as a variant of concern or even of interest, so I suppose we wait and see. It has been noted, and will certainly be tracked if it starts to flourish, that's all that matters at the moment.

Meanwhile overall Covid cases in Madagascar remain — currently — very low.


https://github.com/CSSEGISandData/COVID-19

This is in general a good idea. Many news sources are biased to an extent, at least on certain topics or in certain geographical areas. With something like the Afghan crisis it can be difficult to obtain a truly impartial assessment of the situation and the history. The best thing you can do is to read histories from different sources. If for example you are in the US, then don't rely on US sources for all of your news.

No, he's not. You're not allowed to use your phone to receive coaching at a Grand Slam. Amusingly the most recent article I've found is Tsitsipas saying it should be allowed...

https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/tennis/stefanos-tsitsipas-calls-for-coaching-to-be-allowed-during-matches-7445148/



Yes, Djokovic is notorious for that. It drives me crazy to see him bend the rules like that in big matches, again and again. Whenever he is in trouble, there is a sudden dramatic "injury"... which then miraculously recovers instantly as soon as he wants to resume play. It is understandable when bad players do this, but immensely frustrating when you see players of the calibre of Djokovic (and to a lesser extent Tsitsipas) do it.

If it was just Murray complaining, I'd write it off as him just being frustrated... but some other players have come out to back up Murray on this. Notably Zverev, but also Raonic.
I don't know. Nothing can be proven, and I think a US player has come out in support of him, but it does seem a little suspicious.

https://www.tennis365.com/atp-tour/alexander-zverev-reopens-stefanos-tsitsipas-spat-following-us-open-controversy/

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2021/08/31/us-open-stefanos-tsitsipas-bathroom-breaks-questioned-players/5669946001/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/31/sports/tennis/us-open-stefanos-tsitsipas-bathroom-andy-murray.html

What makes you think that? I may be a bit behind on the news, but I've not seen anything that suggests the track favours Red Bull. I think it has limited overtaking opportunities, so qualifying will likely be very important, but I'm not aware of anything favouring one team. I hope for a close battle between Verstappen and Hamilton, we've not seen one for a long time now with the crashes and the rain, and I miss it. Pressure on the drivers will be interesting at this one, Verstappen with the weight of a nation sitting on him, and Hamilton in the position where everyone is cheering for the other guy.