swedishskoda

Bah, you Britons don't know how to make the most of this kind of events. Here in Sweden we spend six Saturdays of prime time only to decide who to put forward: 4 evenings for picking two songs for a 2nd chance qualifying evening and two for the grande finale. The cost for all this means that we have to watch cheap programs showing life in the Norwegian countryside for the rest of the year. SuRie might do quite well in Lisbon.

IMHO the capo improved his performance: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2013/mar/27/boris-johnson-busks-underground-misha-b-video (before/after)

Sorry to hear about your plight. As I understand it, allergic reactions to epidural anesthetics are rare, but you must have been among the few unlucky ones. I've had spinal anesthesia twice (removing bladder tumours) without any issues beside a mild but persistent headache for two days. So in most cases it can be preferable to general anesthesia, which isn't without risks. And feeling your lower half disappear is a fascinating experience. Glad to hear you're on the mend

Tromsø is a cute little town, and while waiting for the northern light you may try a decent lager from the world's northernmost large-scale brewery, Mack. Marvellous fish dishes (cod, haddock, turbot...) in terribly expensive restaurants.

Visited Iceland back in 2007. The Blue Lagoon is definitely worth a visit. The landscape is in itself so impressive that some kind of bus excursion outside Reykjavik (in daylight) will stay in your memory. The "Golden Circle" is one of many alternatives. Don't forget to buy a bottle of Iceland Moss Schnapps at the airport on your way back. And maybe you'll enjoy one or two of the ancient Icelandic sagas, see http://sagadb.org/index_az I recommend the Story of Burnt Njál (Brennu-Njáls Saga) or the Laxdaela Saga. What's truly amazing about Iceland is that one can still visit farmsteads where people in the sagas lived 1,000 years ago,

Jusr finished watching episode 9. It's an effing masterpiece! Can't remember when I last saw a TV series of such quality (although River with Nicola Walker and Stellan Skarsgård, comes close). Thanks to, not least, David Thewlis. What a tribute to UK his Mr. Varga brings. Five stars and then some.

1970's (British Leyland)? Or, if you include nationalising of services, the 1940's (British Railways). Neither Wilson nor Attlee can be characterised as die-hard revolutionaries. It's odd how much of what was centrist policy just a generation ago now is described as being extreme leftwing while what was once considered as absurd - e.g. privatisation of the Royal Mail, the British Railways, or public water authorities - is now seen as perfectly normal.

No one can deny that the White Album contains some marvellous tunes. Still, IMHO the Beatles peaked in 1967: Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane (February), Sgt. Pepper's (June), and (last but not least) Magical Mystery Tour (December). But Revolver (1966) wasn't bad either, nor was Abbey Road.

...release date 01/06/1967. So blow the dust off your old vinyl disc, or tune in on last.fm or spotify or wherever.

^^ It cheers me up to find that I'm not the only Briskodian old enough to remember 10cc

And rape victims have only themselves to blame.......when cross-examined in the courtroom at least.

The rape allegedly occured night between 16 and 17 August 2011, complaint made 20 August. The other case (sexual assault, where the statute of limitations expired in 2015) allegedly occured night between 13 and 14 August, complaint made 20 August. The fact that both complainants went to the police the same day (albeit in different cities) would of course be seen by some as proof that the whole story is made up by FBI, CIA, the Global Feminist Conspiracy or whatever.

Or maybe he waved the "extradition to US" flag because he worried about a rape trial that could be a massive blow to his (self-)image. From his earlier comments it seems as if he thinks that sex with Julian Assange can never be non-consensual.

Brilliant comment in today's NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/20/opinion/sunday/4-year-olds-children-trump-gopnik.html

Hmmm... I wonder if a Linux install (LiveUSB) could do the trick, allowing you to access the drive and wipe it. Or why not replace the OSX with a Linux distro? One must admit that MacBooks look smart, and with a decent OS they might even be useful...

What authorities? The Swedish CPS cannot give any guarantees, since extradition is a matter not for them but for the Swedish Government/Department of Justice. Correspondingly, Government won't give any guarantees concerning CPS investigations, that would be unconstitutional meddling (Sweden, as other Scandinavian states, are a bit odd in that respect - state authorities such as the CPS have a high degree of autonomy and do not take orders from ministers or departments. "Ministerial ruling" is about the worst offence a Swedish cabinet minister could commit). Maybe we all should put our tin foil hats away till we really need them?

My OP praising Pale Moon was written with desktops/laptops in mind. Haven't tried it on my android phone, the GUI lacks what I want, e.g. opportunity to organise speed dial buttons as in opera or dolphin.

I agree that the optimal browser for android is still missing. Tried a bunch: Puffin, Boat, Lightning, FF... right now I stand as Buridan's donkey between Dolphin and Opera. What I want is speed dial, opportunity to sort bookmarks after my own liking, bugfree and fast. Still waiting for it.

Comments on Saturday's ESC, that is. That the Swedish commercial for some low-end menswear chain didn't make top 3 was a huge relief. As was Spain's result. Romania's contribution was great and should have won.

...from the Pale Moon. Being one of those tiresome old gits that always complain when updates result in new GUIs and unwanted and pointless extras, I've ditched Firefox (after 15 years) and switched to Pale Moon, which basically is FF as it used to be (from the user's view, that is. Under the hood it's different). And it still supports npapi plugins, e.g. the plugin for .djvu files which I often use. The 32 bit version also supports Java (for those few websites that still requires it).

Yup, if Macron can't deliver, Mme Le Pen (or her niece, Marion Maréchal Le Pen) will be back in 2022. Always readable Timothy Garton Ash discusses this in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/07/french-presidency-macron-reprieve-france-eu

A looong text (but worth reading IMHO) where one frog-eater (Macron) and two krauts (Sigmar Gabriel, Jürgen Habermas) give their opinion on the challenges Europe (not "Europe", but all European contries and all of us who live in Europe) faces right now: http://www.eurozine.com/rethinking-europe/

But it mustn't be forgotten that there are those who for various reasons fall right through the meshes of the safety net. And the income gap has widened considerately the last 20 years, as has segregation. The gig economy hasn't spread much - yet - but one never knows what the future might bring.

Govt. puts tranquilizers in our drinkwater reservoirs (Warning: Alternative fact!) Income tax on average salaries: 25 %, more or less VAT 25 % (less on food) Taxes on booze, baccy, petrol/diesel (but it's pretty much the same levels in the UK) Flip side: no fees in higher education, pre-school fees £150/month Our NHS system has more or less the same advantages and drawbacks as yours. No paradise, but we manage.