1. Log in now to remove adverts - no adverts at all to registered members!

Off Topic The "Discuss Anything Else" Thread

Discussion in 'Horse Racing' started by OddDog, Jun 23, 2013.

  1. Bustino74

    Bustino74 Thouroughbred Breed Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2011
    Messages:
    5,202
    Likes Received:
    1,953
    Must admit I do struggle to keep up these days but last night logged into the RP to see who was running at the July meeting. No entries because it's now moved to Thursday, Friday, Saturday where it can crash into a whole lot of other race cards like the recently new Ascot fixture etc. etc..
    Why do they do it? Even last week I was mourning the Newbury Summer meeting, where you'd have the worthy Newbury Summer Cup, some good 3yo maidens for late developing horses (a certain John Cherry plus a St Leger winner won that one) run plus a whole host of good 2yo races (where classic winners and great horses made their debuts). Gone and replaced by a 2nd rate evening fixture where Hannon because of the paucity of opportunities is forced to run 5 in a fillies maiden. Have they gone mad or I am just old fashioned.
    Then I look at next Wednesday's cards. At both Lingfield and Kempton they have a 2 mile handicap. The BHA, the race planners they've lost it ......they've gone mad.

    Egypt is interesting and frightening. I remember Ian Smith once saying to a student's debate in the UK that just because the UK has a great Parliamentary system we must not think that the same model will work elsewhere. I think he was right. In a way we are lucky, even though we moan about it. Because no party ever gets more than 45% of the popular vote an elected government cannot disenfranchise the people who did not vote for that government. In Egypt and Turkey that has not been the case. Getting 50% + there means you start changing the fundamental rules of how they are governed. They claim that they can do that, I would hope in this country under those conditions the British would similarly demonstrate against it. I wish the Egyptians well and hope that a one-nation leader can rise up.
    Our danger is that we have weakened our Parliamentary system, with government outside Parliament having assumed more power. It started to happen under Thatcher but went faster under Blair, and we should be demanding that Parliament, our elected body, stands stronger against the government of the day. We should not have been in a war in Afghanistan and we should not have been in Iraq. We were pushed there by the 'presidential' style of Blair.
     
    #81
  2. Deleted 1

    Deleted 1 Well-Known Member
    Forum Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2011
    Messages:
    19,645
    Likes Received:
    3,736
    Not in my opinion. Safe pair of hands and does the job well enough (and will get bums on seats if you're making a film) but she is a bit one dimensional.
     
    #82
  3. Reebok

    Reebok YTS Mod
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2011
    Messages:
    8,186
    Likes Received:
    2,859
    She was a fox as a youngster :emoticon-0109-kiss:

    But then again, so was I <laugh>
     
    #83
  4. Bustino74

    Bustino74 Thouroughbred Breed Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2011
    Messages:
    5,202
    Likes Received:
    1,953
    You are right Reebok. When she was in her 20s she was superb as a leading young Shakespearean actress. She was also extremely attractive with a mod look (remember her interviewed on a programme called 'A Whole Scene Going' : very 60s) . Just because at her age she coasts through a few Saga parts hardly makes her a bad actress. Give her a dramatic part and she'll still act most people off the stage.
     
    #84
  5. Deleted 1

    Deleted 1 Well-Known Member
    Forum Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2011
    Messages:
    19,645
    Likes Received:
    3,736
    I don't disagree - she is a good actress and as you say was brilliant years ago but now i just think she's cast in very similar roles and coasts through. Nothing wrong with that though.
     
    #85
  6. CaptainPops

    CaptainPops Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2013
    Messages:
    2,333
    Likes Received:
    1,437
    Yeah good point...they'll probably find whoever replaces Morsi will be similar. A bit like here in the U.K where they are all as bad as one another. ... The egyptian people are not behaving like a democratic country! A load of dumb bunnies i m sorry to say and if you arent happy vote him out at next ro
    und of elections ..?
     
    #86
  7. Bluesky9

    Bluesky9 Philosopher

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2011
    Messages:
    2,968
    Likes Received:
    290
    I think the constitution that Morsi unveiled in November revealed that he's agenda was very different to the platform taken when courting election. It was clear or at least feared that he was taking the country down the road of a religious state, even though the name of his party should have been a give away. The people of Egypt as in Turkey to a lesser degree were very worried about finding themselves in a country shaped and ruled by religion. This is of course a fear of certain Muslim countries at present as there is a extremist element, which of course finds it's most extreme expression in the Taliban.

    I think however that in Egypt as in Turkey that most people imagine that religion should be a personal expression of faith that someone should be free to follow and derive internal sustenance from, but that it should not be imposed or used as a basis for a society or nation. I think most reflective people would see that something that requires interpretation and expresses in such abstraction is not the most obvious tool for building a healthy and balanced society.

    The price however paid for this coup is in the credibility of democracy, as whoever is next elected knows he remains in power by the permission of the military whilst the people know they can spur on the military by protesting at the drop of a hat. It's possible Egypt could become a country in permanent protest. When lamenting the wound that this inflicts on democracy however we should by now know that democracy is far from what it states on the tin. In theory each citizen has an equal vote and elects a leader. The problem is that the masses decide on where to place their vote on the information given and so the providers of information actually become the puppet masters, it's no coincidence that the most valuable person in GB over the last few elections has always been Rupert Murdoch as he provides for many the view on which they vote. This power is not only limited to election time as I recall the actual resistance to the war in Iraq and our apathy towards the armed forces at the time it began. In the proceeding weeks however it was like the most aggressive marketing campaign had been launched and suddenly everything changed because a section of society had adopted a view that had actually been absent until the campaign. It's due to this that I would suggest democracy is actually a myth, however we have nothing better to replace even this imperfect mechanism unfortunately as it's either a dictatorship which can only hoped to be benevolent but more often ends up self serving.

    To return to Religion once again it was once more dominant even here as it's almost a natural development of society. When there is little education, and little or no law or enforcement of it, religion is a natural controller of the masses, this can be seen in the concept of heaven and hell which is a perfect creation to control people. It becomes less needed once rule of law is established and more importantly a police force, which is why it has become less relevant in the west at this time. I would predict that although spirituality will flourish as people seek meaning, actual religion as we currently know it will I feel not hold the place it does in one hundred year time. The uprising in Egypt is very significant as it's a rejecting of religion as a means to shape a nation and many other middle eastern nations will have not missed that point.

    I quite like this thread........ right back to tomorrows cards.
     
    #87
  8. DreverSpur

    DreverSpur Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2011
    Messages:
    1,581
    Likes Received:
    420
    Now Helen Mirren was a fox in her youth!! Having said that I still would now :)
     
    #88
  9. OddDog

    OddDog Mild mannered janitor
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2011
    Messages:
    28,577
    Likes Received:
    10,380
    Very interesting and insightful Bluesky <applause> and I think you hit upon a very interesting point about religion used as a tool to control a people.

    The polarisation of the masses via the media is one of the most odious aspects of life in the "civilised" world today. Spending any amount of time in the USA and getting a first hand taste of their media really does make you realise how "dumbed down" they are. If you haven't seen it, I thoroughly recommend watching the film "Idiocracy". A film which (I believe) was made as a goofy comedy has actually turned out a frightening vision of where (American) society could end up. A free media is absolutely vital and for me the basis of any democratic constitution.
     
    #89
  10. Bostonbob

    Bostonbob Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2012
    Messages:
    7,147
    Likes Received:
    1,080
    Lions lions lions
     
    #90

  11. stick

    stick Bumper King

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2012
    Messages:
    18,671
    Likes Received:
    10,890
    OMG what a hit, George Smith will be coming round some time next week
     
    #91
  12. Bostonbob

    Bostonbob Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2012
    Messages:
    7,147
    Likes Received:
    1,080
    He's back on!
     
    #92
  13. stick

    stick Bumper King

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2012
    Messages:
    18,671
    Likes Received:
    10,890
    Unbelieveable huh
     
    #93
  14. Bostonbob

    Bostonbob Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2012
    Messages:
    7,147
    Likes Received:
    1,080
    This is over after 15 minutes.
     
    #94
  15. Bostonbob

    Bostonbob Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2012
    Messages:
    7,147
    Likes Received:
    1,080
    These Aussie's are idiots. They've turned down 6 easy points. Big and wrong decisions.
     
    #95
  16. Bluesky9

    Bluesky9 Philosopher

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2011
    Messages:
    2,968
    Likes Received:
    290
    I totally agree Oddie, the dumbing down of our society is a cause of great sadness. I feel it's reversal is hard to imagine as the powers that be completely understand the mechanism of how people hear information, how to create an opinion, how to play on fear and how to divide. Those having their views shaped however know little of how this game works and how the mind works. A great example of this is of course Nazi Germany, the ideas that large parts of the general population accepted as reality were a cause of huge regret once the spell of propaganda was broken. Not all people come into this category of course but as in the example given enough to form a mass movement.

    It's interesting you mention the US as that is a very interesting country to look at as to imagine it one country is ludicrous, something that comes out each election time. The average view of the world and perspective from which the individual understands themselves and the society they form contrasts drastically from your average New Yorker to a Southern insular state. This is of course understandable when we look at the education levels and more importantly what each has been exposed to and had held up as normal to them. The film Missisippi burning reveals this very clearly, although things have moved on since then the differences are still vast.

    On the point of religion as a controller of the masses I feel it is a natural progression and a step up from superstition which still plays a big part in peoples lives in certain countries. Just as we look back now and find the ideas of witches and how we used the idea to persecute, in a couple of hundred years time people will look back at this time in which you and I actually live and be amazed at what some accepted as reality. Belief systems are the issue and I feel we develop belief systems and abstractions to deal with our fears and insecurities. One very simple example is death. Death is a very natural biological thing, it's neither an error or wrong, even though it can be incredibly sad, sometimes in a devastating way and sometimes in a beautiful way. Once we started seeing that our buddies died and knew for sure this fate awaited us rather than accept this and allow it to be part of life, to be beautiful and sad and tragic all at the same time, we decided to look away from the real opportunity (as we do today). What did we do? we said it doesn't matter it's all going to be ok coz you go to heaven and meet everyone else up there. I use this only as a demonstration to point to belief systems to avoid reality, something I hope we will move beyond eventually. The real key in my view is exploration of one self, to understand what is biological, what is psychological and the stand on which both of these are supported. Egocentricity is the objectification of subjective awareness and I feel this is where the real curiosity need be focused, this will not arise however whilst we use belief systems and abstractions such as religion to avoid such questions.

    The other question I am currently pondering is how on earth did Atheroos go off at odds against last night???
     
    #96
  17. Bostonbob

    Bostonbob Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2012
    Messages:
    7,147
    Likes Received:
    1,080
    This is so comfortable.

    Never been happier to lose a bet.
     
    #97
  18. hawkeye

    hawkeye Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2011
    Messages:
    2,019
    Likes Received:
    309
    from bbc sport, :emoticon-0102-bigsm
     
    #98
  19. Bostonbob

    Bostonbob Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2012
    Messages:
    7,147
    Likes Received:
    1,080
    Just can't believe their decisions not to take easy points? Madness when you're behind by a try after one minute.
     
    #99
  20. Bostonbob

    Bostonbob Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2012
    Messages:
    7,147
    Likes Received:
    1,080
    What a tap. Get in there Geoff
     
    #100

Share This Page