Top Diaries

I was listening on the radio and QPR were really hanging on, especially after thier dickhead captain got sent off (although the original foul was less cut and dried than the ref assumed, his sibsequent behaviour was very bad).

So I wasn't overly surprised when they equalised, but I think QPR could have avoided the winning goal.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 12:50:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I had it on the radio, as I spent the afternoon taking tortoises from their winter quaters. With the weather they've woken two to three weeks later than usual.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 05:13:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Man United have the same look as Arsenal 2005 or liverpool 91, a side fading fast managing to come second in a last hurrah to a period of dominance heralding a long desert of inconsequence

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 01:55:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Or as we call it at Florida State...11 years ago.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 03:11:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Well, the ground has dried out (a bit) and the cold NW wind has died, so I couldn't find an excuse to avoid going up the garden and getting the bed ready for the beans currently bursting forth in the greenhouse.

Although I'd done a bit of a clearance a week ago, the weeds had grown back quite vigorously, so I started trying to rake them out. No go, so I had to dig the whole plot all over again. Then rake and move weeds to the bonfire.

Then plant a few manky seed potatoes we had lying round and do general ripping out of nettles which were beginning to take over a couple of nooks. Damn things have numerous strategies for avoiding being cleared. The roots break, they run everywhere and there are also vertical roots down which lead to a completely different support system where lie the root of the mandrake. They are evil.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 12:59:04 PM EST

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

A knuckle on my finger touched a nettle the other day and it felt like an ant bite. I'm guessing you know how to avoid that.

And now I'm dreaming about a big pot of green beans with little red potatoes.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 02:08:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Gloves. I won't go near nettles without 'em

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 02:17:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (none / 1)

oh you people are making me nostqlgic for nettles! Twenty years of unrelenting battles, barrels of malodorous liquids (nettle juice is a great fertiliser), yes I miss them!

Need to buy a house. Not just yet.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 04:40:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Damn things have numerous strategies for avoiding being cleared.

My problem is with Bermuda grass. My solution has been to dig up the top 6" of topsoil, separate out the root clusters and then run the remainder of the dirt through an 1/8" screen. This also gets rid of rocks and roots. But this is only done the first time I put an area into garden cultivation. With the top 6" removed I can break up the next 6" and dig out large rocks. Then I add lime, as it is usually clay at that depth, a little 13-13-13 fertilizer and some organic ammendment, add back some of the screened dirt, repeat with lime and fertilizer, repeat the entire process until level with rest of garden.

This is a lot of work and why I likely will not get the entire garden into cultivation this summer. Possibly by fall or next spring...

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 03:48:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Man, that's hard work. I'd consider raised beds

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 04:56:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

I have some 1 1/4" x 6" x 10' deck planks that I have coated with water seal, but they require 6 weeks before they are painted. I have some heavy duty latex white outdoor paint I will use and then put them around the tomato beds, but I wanted a good deep bed and had roots and rocks as well as the Bermuda roots. I tried hauling in some $20/ton topsoil for another area and was stunned at how quickly it disappeared. I have a 5x10' tilt trailer that is only rated for 1,500 lbs, though it has had close to 3,000 lbs of crushed rock on it and it now has a bent tongue that i straightened back out with a come-along attached to some buried posts, but it really needs to be welded and I haven't gotten around to taking it to a welder.

I needed the depth for he root crops and want it for the peppers. It is a lot of work, but it will be much easier in the future. Then, as I add top soil, sides to raised beds, etc., it will only improve. But I enjoy the work. Lets my mind wander and clear. A few more days for the pepper beds and then i can start setting the posts for the cover. Little by little.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 07:16:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

You win the ET Heroic Gardener Award™ hands down!

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon May 14th, 2012 at 03:03:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Well, I tried just digging little holes and planting plants and was overrun with grass and weeds. This method makes weeding far easier. Just pluck out sprouts from the root free soil.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon May 14th, 2012 at 01:38:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

15M update (none / 1)

It appears the Spanish Government is going to interpret the law as forbidding public assemblies of more than 20 people.

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 02:43:20 PM EST

Re: 15M update (4.00 / 4)

ElPais.com in English: Spirit of 15-M returns to Spain's city squares

In the midst of an economic crisis that is several orders of magnitude worse than a year ago, the 15-M demonstrators returned to Puerta del Sol in Madrid and other public spaces across Spain to prove that their grassroots protest movement is not dead. Amid heavy security measures, thousands of people filled Madrid's central square chanting slogans against the political class, the banks and the world markets, which they blame for causing -- and deepening -- a crisis that has left nearly 730,000 more Spaniards out of a job than one year ago.
...
Despite concerns that this year's protest in Spain would turn violent, the police only took action at 5am to clear out the square after around 300 protesters decided to defy the government's sit-in prohibition.
...
Other protestors confirmed that the police used force to evict them from a spot that has become the national symbol of citizen discontent. In the days prior to the protest, government representatives had warned that sit-ins would not be tolerated, and that protestors must stick to the approved schedules. But the ruling Popular Party (PP), which was in the opposition during last year's 15-M protests, also knew that it could not use undue force against a movement that enjoys broad citizen support.

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 03:02:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

See last night's salon.

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 03:33:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Ramifications from that decision will be interesting.

:rolleyes:

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 03:48:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

unauthorised public assemblies, I should have said.

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 04:31:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Oh that is so much better:

15M: We want to have a protest.
TPTB: Authorization refused.

& tra-la-la-la

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 04:35:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Happens on occasion.

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 04:41:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The Spanish law says that the right to gather is not subject to previous authorisation. What the law does say is that gatherings of more than 20 people in the public space must be notified 10 days in advance, and the authorities may then forbid it (subject to appeal) on grounds of public safety, etc.

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon May 14th, 2012 at 03:57:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

"gatherings of more than 20 people in the public space must be notified 10 days in advance, and the authorities may then forbid it (subject to appeal) on grounds of public safety," is just legalese for previous authorisation

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon May 14th, 2012 at 05:42:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

No. It says the default option is the right to assembly and authorities need very good reasons for a ban. An obligation to get prior authorisation would put demonstrators in a much weaker position (which is what the Spanish government obviously wants to achieve).

by Katrin on Mon May 14th, 2012 at 06:14:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]

An obligation to get prior authorisation would put demonstrators in a much weaker position (which is what the Spanish government obviously wants to achieve).

That was the situation with the laws before the Constitution of 1978, which included:

Article 21
1.The right to peaceful unarmed assembly is recognised. The exercise of this right shall not require prior authorisation.
2.In the event of meetings in public places and of demonstrations, prior notification shall be given to the authorities, who may ban them only when there are well founded grounds to expect a breach of public order, involving danger to persons or property.

What the government wants to do is use strict enforcement as a deterrent. The administrative fines for failing to notify are stiff.

I wonder whether, philosophically, anarchists would prefer to knowingly risk the hefty fine than to flood the government with notifications (a sort of DDS attack).

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon May 14th, 2012 at 06:23:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I suspect that anarchists are far more in love with being contrarian than they are with being effective.

Not dissimilar to terrorists who are far more in love with blowing shit up than they are with planning and implementing strategies that may actually succeed.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon May 14th, 2012 at 06:48:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

another way to do it (4.00 / 2)

would be to organize a bunch of 19 person assemblies, all over the place. play with the inanities of the law.

by wu ming on Mon May 14th, 2012 at 05:02:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: another way to do it (none / 0)

The one counting is the police though.

Von überall könnte das Volk, Urbrut alles Undemokratischen, Zelle des Terrors, über die gewählten Hüter von Wachstum und Wohlstand® kommen. - flatter

by generic on Tue May 15th, 2012 at 08:49:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: another way to do it (none / 0)

"... and with me, that makes 20! You 19 are under arrest."

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Tue May 15th, 2012 at 10:16:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]

but surely the point is that the protests the govt doesn't want or like are the only ones that really matter

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 05:01:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: 15M update (4.00 / 2)

There is a right to appeal and generally the courts don't allow the government to ban a protest without good cause.

The point is that unannounced gatherings of over 20 people in the public space are liable to be broken up by police.

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 06:25:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

i heard in italy you have to notify the cops if you have 20 people over for a party. another law another dollar.

19 just can't be problematic, it's that last one that takes it OTT.

"It's very hard to see what is kept invisible" Roseanne Barr

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun May 13th, 2012 at 08:59:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

In Spain there's no restriction for gatherings in private spaces.

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon May 14th, 2012 at 01:12:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]