DramatistDreamer

I was just going to say that in his condition, Feliciano looks like he's about to go home with somebody who is not his wife, lol. Just looks totally out of it. I don't really blame Murray, the British press is truly tiresome from every conceivable direction--they both hype up as well as harass people for the most ridiculous reasons.

I'm just going to curb my tongue from making the joke about Feliciano that I originally wanted to make. With Stan losing to Andy (whew, boy, Stan's serving was just...!), the British media will now be in a frenzy. We can only hope that Scotland decides to break from the U.K. after Brexit because that will be the only way we get some peace from the Murray Media Frenzy that's surely coming now.

My thoughts exactly. Monica Puig recently posted a message about how tough her season was and the implication was that personnel issues (we know it was her deteriorated coaching relationship with Kamau Murray) that was a big part of that difficulty. This made me wonder whether coaches dumping players is a recent thing, or is it something that was basically done in the shadows without it being public knowledge?

Kiki and Sascha are splitsville.

No, I didn't take the comparison to be coming from you, I was kind of riffing off the idea. It's going to be interesting to see where all of these countries land after in a post-Brexit landscape. Will there be a United Kingdom after all? It's not like England hasn't lost territory before.

In England, but the U.K. is made up of more than just the England-based tabloids. The coverage has been far from positive in Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Also, tabloids in the U.K. no longer have the gravitas that they once had twenty years ago, at least not since the phone-hacking scandals. The U.K. isn't comparable to the U.S. where people digest everything the papers spew out and think about it only a year after the fact. This tells you all you need to know about the U.S., which is why most of my family would never live here.

This is how weird Brexit is becoming. I haven't read the article yet, but that image-

All of it is truly concerning. The possibility of food and medicine shortages. And from someone who lived in London for nearly five months, I can tell you that Great Britain imports a great deal of its food and as Bob Marley once sang "A hungry man is an angry man". I don't know if it would ever reach "The Troubles" level since Ireland seems more prosperous now than it was then and back then it was political, not financial. When it's financial, many of the Irish simply move/migrate, when it's political, it's more about taking a stand. Although, I imagine it wouldn't be too pleasant to for citizens of the Republic of Ireland to look across the border and see that their E.U. member affiliated neighbor, Northern Ireland living far more prosperously than they are, which is a real possibility in a post Brexit crash. Scotland has oil and gas, has a lower unemployment rate than the rest of Great Britain, so it seems as though the U.K. might need Scotland more than Scotland would need the U.K. Where a United Kingdom is concerned, the possibility of any of these things coming to pass just seems like a bad outcome for Great Britain and England especially. Then again, systems like the NHS are already coming apart since so many foreign doctors, nurses and medical professionals have already left the U.K. and many of those vacancies are still unfilled.

These are truly uncharted waters, so the situation or any ending resulting from the decision seems completely unpredictable at the moment. One thing seems certain--lawmakers will be seeking to lay blame at someone's feet for this, if chaos should ensue. The E.U. did something very clever, perhaps more for self-preservation but they have been fairly patient and accommodating throughout this entire process, because they don't want any measure of blame if/when sh*t hits the fan for the U.K. So, even as the E.U. has been firm on the rules, they also have taken every meeting, held tireless hours of negotiations and approved extensions requests from the U.K. over the past few years. As I posted up-thread though, the E.U. wants the U.K. to "sh*t, or get off the pot" at this point. I think the E.U. is girding for the pain of a "No Deal Brexit" and just wants to be done with Great Britain. If Boris Johnson flops this (which there is a higher than average probability that this will happen), there is likely to be a general election for a new occupant for his current position. Remember Johnson was selected by his party but not by the British voting public, many of whom are jonesing for an opportunity to chuck Johnson out. Another possibility, if things go badly, is Scottish independence won't seem like such a far-fetched possibility anymore. People will no longer scoff at another referendum to vote on independence. Also, even though there was a negotiated agreement for the 'Irish backstop', if there's no agreement in place for that...well, let's just not get into that because...Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland truly do have a history of violent conflict, that I seriously doubt anyone wants to revisit.

The twist-- Johnson didn't sign the letter! Also he sent an additional letter stating that he believes a delay would be a big mistake. As far as Johnson is concerned, he wants the U.K. to leave the E.U. by the end of the month, regardless of whether this means Great Britain crashes out with nothing to show for it.

And I OOP!

I have to agree with you there. Unless Murray is playing someone who brings a completely opposite style of play (which is in short supply these days, since 90% of the both Tours play a hopelessly defensive style of tennis), I find watching him to be somewhat dull and mostly exhausting. I didn't expect him to return but when I learned that he'd be returning, I had hoped he'd bring a different, more aggressive style of play. That's not happening. Now I feel like we're in a real-life version of "Groundhog Day" with the cycle repeating all over again. And no, the 'tennis gods' have not decided to make Murray's matches last over 2.5 hours...Murray decides to make these matches stretch into 2.5 hours! He's had some measure of control over all of his less experienced, less heralded opponents this week. He chooses to play extra-lengthy points where he could finish shots like, 7-10 strokes earlier!

I'll wait for the inevitable wedding pictures after they are put out by Hola or some such publication.

Murray's matches are too arduous for me to watch. It's so much grinding tennis! It makes me feels as though we're going to be forced to watch Andy grind his body down all over again.

Okay, this headline is kind of funny but the sentiment is apt. It's clear the E.U. got what they wanted on the Irish backstop, and is willing to allow Johnson to save face but they want to be done with the Brits.

A veteran filmed an Op-Ed video for NYT to talk about what he thinks of Trump's "strategy" (I used that term very loosely) to pull U.S. troops out of Syria. https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000006769520/trump-turkey-kurds-syria.html

Gabbard has a very large far-right following. Even those Hindu nationalists, they are far-right, not left. Someone made a list of her supporters for comparison. Gabbard might capture the 'Jill Stein voter', if there is such a thing.

So I'm guessing that those Hindu nationalists groups no longer want anything to do with her?

With all her ranting and raving about Hillary Clinton right now, it is clear that Tulsi Gabbard has officially decided to take a giant leap off the deep end. Speaking of deciding to make a poor decision.

Florida, why do you continually play such a big part in elections that produce such people?!

I don't want another CEO or businessman ever running for POTUS. Ever. Perhaps, it is alright to have a cabinet position but not POTUS. Ever. Anytime the U.S. has chosen a businessman for the position, it's been an unmitigated disaster. I think Yang has some points on automation and jobs but I still think his answer is too simplistic. I do think, Universal Basic Income could be a temporary solution to help people who inevitably fall through the cracks whenever the country transitions into another industrial shift but it most countries who try it, only have it temporarily. I'm not sure how it can be made sustainable on a permanent basis but as a temporary "patch" for people of working age, especially people who are chronically un and under-employed, I think it could actually be a viable idea. That would definitely need to be factored into any Universal Basic Income plan. Color, gender and age discrimination all work negatively against job applicants, it's not just about automation. I do agree that he tends to over-simplify aspects, he could benefit from talking to grassroots and community organizations who have studied these issues on a granular level to gain more nuance. I don't even pay attention to his following, really, although I've noticed a few that I've seen seem to have gone quiet lately. Maybe those are just a few of his POC women followers.

It's coming around again.

Seriously, I wasn't. I do think that some people hope that the Americans will view this as some type of 'new normal' (like the neverending quest to make Trump appear 'presidential'). Signs show that Trump has already changed the presidency, of course, in all the worst ways. Will his successor be able to change and redirect that? One never knows...