Vermouth

This verdict is about as bad as it gets tbh.

If it's as bad as reported, I think it'll have to be a lot worse than just a fine. Once the integrity of a competition goes west, you've got nothing to sell ( look at how the World Cup descended into controversy both during and after the event), and that's way worse than the fate of one club for a few years, no matter how big.

Yeah, I'm not doubting all that at all, just it's so huge I'd rather waiting till it's 100% official.

There's no official confirmation yet on this. However, if found guilty on many multiple charges and confirmed through any appeals process, it's fair to say the ramifications would be huge, and quite possibly retrospectively applied as well as affecting the present. But, nothing official yet.

Releasing this year now is a brain dead strategy. 1) It's already October next week, and as I've pointed out ( to some derision but hey ho can take it) she's committed (as a curator no less) to the London literary festival for about the last ten days of October, so that pretty much torpedos any world wide promo in person for a couple of weeks. 2) I stumbled across my first Xmas station in the car the other day (!!!!!). So Mariah, bells, and rancid reindeers will be sliding into view as soon as November hits with all the other tinsel tinged hell ( except the Pogues and Kirsty McColl of course 😉), before you know it, sweeping anything standing before them till Dec 26th. 3) It failed last time ( see 2 above and other reasons).

Look nothing at all against either of them, both great etc, but, this has zero significance ( and might even be true - which isn't the point here) because it has all the meaning of Presidential hopefuls going to Iowa on some god awful freezing day in February and pledging they've always had a deep interest in the economics of corn, and have believed from birth in the wonderfulness of farm subsidies, even if they've lived in NYC or LA all their lives, because to do otherwise is just way too likely to kick up an unwanted controversy just as your setting out. Want to get go March primaries - love corn oil. Want a second album - don't diss previous MPG's. That's why record companies nearly always send media minders out with fledglings, so they say this stuff, and don't say other stuff. Sorry to inject a bit of cynical reality.

Heard of Madonna?

Er. …. Read the readers' context box.

Not Balkan, but here's my attempt. Kosovo was a small autonomous province of Serbia which was itself part of Yugoslavia from just after the First World War to the 1990's. The capital of Serbia, Belgrade, was also the capital of Yugoslavia. Going way further back to 1389 ( I know but…) it was the site of a battle between Serbian Principalities and a nascent Ottoman ( ie Turkish centred) Empire, which resulted in the extinguishing of Serbian independence for several hundred years. Therefore Kosovo has always been a central pillar of Serbian identity going way back, and wrapped up within that as part of a struggle between Orthodox Christendom and Islam. Now I'm not certain of the ethnic mix at this point, but over the Ottoman period of 1389 to 1912 the ethnic Albanians increased either naturally or by migration from neighbouring Albania proper (also part of the Ottoman Empire till 1912) and gradually ( and especially later in this period) became the dominant ethnic group outnumbering the Serbs. To add to all this many Albanians over the centuries of Ottoman rule converted to Islam which did not enamour them to their Serbian neighbours who loathed Ottoman rule. (side note the Islam practiced in Albania and Kosovo is generally notably tolerant and relaxed and pretty laid back about certain things like alcohol). 1912 comes along and various Balkan states got together and booted out the Ottomans and an independent Albania also emerged but with Kosovo itself under Serbian rule. Essentially this situation with various twists and turns through two world wars and the formation of Yugoslavia lasted till the 1990's, when after the fall of communism the constituent republics of Yugoslavia such as Slovenia and Croatia as well as others, broke away in a serious of brutal civil wars leaving Serbia ( the old centre of Yugoslavia) increasingly on its own. Kosovo, legally still a part of Serbia but ethnically by now 90% Albanian wanted independence too but Serbia for a whole host of reasons ( see above for history among them) didn't want to remotely contemplate this. So, depending on what side you take Serbia starting oppressing any signs of Kosovan separation ( or put down terrorism - pick your view). Open warfare ensued, with the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) fighting the Serbian forces. Atrocities all round followed, with hundreds of thousands of Kosovans fleeing into the mountains and neighbouring Albania itself, until NATO decided enough was enough and this looked like ethnic cleansing by Serbia and so bombed Serbia into submission and sent thousands of NATO troops into Kosovo ( where they were welcomed with open arms by the Albanians) and Kosovo separated from Serbia by force, and is today recognised by about three quarters of the world as an independent country. The Serbs largely bitterly resent this still. The guy in The Hague was a big wig in the KLA, but I have no knowledge of his history or case, but was apparently convicted of crimes during this war by The Hague court. Several people on various sides in these Yugoslav wars have been convicted over the years. The Dua connection is that her family are ethnic Albanian Kosovans, her grandfather was the head of the Kosovan history institute and was allegedly persecuted by the Serbs for not rewriting history as they wanted, her father and mother felt threatened by all of this going on and fled to London in the early 1990's as refugees, where Dua was born and hence Dua is British/Kosovan. She lived there for a few years as child when her parents went back for a while in the 2000's before she returned to London to try and pursue a music career ( well that paid off!), and is bilingual in Albanian and English. Hence she's always had a very keen interest in Kosovan affairs. Well that's my take. And you did ask😉😀

Fair enough. Car dependency in the US is pretty extreme from what I've seen. Personally I think it's really not great as a lifestyle at all (and I am a car owner and driver), but I don't have to put up with it, because I don't live there.

Well 70million of us care in the UK. I was just making the point fuel in the US is still cheap by many international comparisons. Not that that excuses the utter dribbling brainless idiocy of the attack on Iran which is the immediate cause of soaring fuel prices across the world; US included.

Totally self inflicted. Even worse suggesting Zelensky stops attacking Russian refineries because it's driving up US diesel prices. What else is Zelensky supposed to do ffs? Anyway he was told he had no cards. Turns out he did. FAFO I think covers it.

U.K. median petrol (gas) price in US gallons and dollars- $8.23. 🤪 just saying. Still this is a first, an administration appointee that has actually made a correct decision out of the gate. Administration going to react (badly) any moment now…..

Yes this is a great unspoken truth. Just about every politician in the Republic wants reunification- sincerely- but many also recognise the massive upheaval it would be, and it would probably totally dominate the careers of all politicians involved for a generation, at least. Financially the U.K. spends about £20bn subsidising 2 million people in N Ireland, which is a pain for a country of 70million but an absolute mega burden for one of six million or so in the case of ROI, even if it is a rich country these days. And that's before you get to the politics of dealing with about a million new citizens from the northern Unionist community, who are likely to be somewhere on a spectrum of accepting, through neutral through downright dislike to possible violence as a reaction to their new situation. At the very least both the U.K. and ROI would have to do a lot of preparation economically and constitutionally in advance of any vote ( like is the new state a unitary one, or federated, would U.K. citizenship continue to be given to those from the North, and for how long, and who is paying for what? Etc etc) in order to make sure it all stuck ok without unforeseen and uncontrollable consequences. At the least the politics of the new unified state would look pretty different to the current ROI just by dint of lots of new voters. I think it will happen, in due course, but it's not simple at all if you really want the best for all involved.

It's not happening this is just a bout of wind.