Search found 2373 matches

by Freddie
23 Sep 2020, 4:41pm
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Starter Bike for (Very) Overweight Woman
Replies: 16
Views: 1568

Re: Starter Bike for (Very) Overweight Woman

Does that mean she'll never read the replies....who knows?

Anyway, I hope the OP gets a bicycle, exercise and some much needed help with her diet.
by Freddie
23 Sep 2020, 4:38pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Gear indexing and possible misalignment
Replies: 26
Views: 912

Re: Gear indexing and possible misalignment

mart7379 wrote:Yes it probably is a bargain basement bike. The wife bought it as a present (birthday and father day joint present) I don't know where she got it from, all I know is it came via Amazon, I also believe the delivery was delayed due to the delivery vehicle being involved in an accident. (the box it came in had more holes than a sieve) so, yes, probably doesn't work as it should as a result of the despatch and delivery. But I would rather get it sorted than go out an buy another. Surely cheaper to fix?!?!?
You need to return it and no, it probably won't be cheaper to fix if it is damaged in anything more than a superficial way.
by Freddie
21 Jun 2020, 5:53pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Did slavery really make Britain rich?
Replies: 68
Views: 2784

Re: Did slavery really make Britain rich?

Vorpal wrote:A white or native Uruguyan may have exactly the same predisposition to sickle cell that a black person from Congo has; ethnically associated, but not race associated.
I'm trying to understand what you're saying here. That a very unusual white person or native Uruguayan (why introduce two different groups where one would suffice?) may have a predisposition to something far more commonly associated with another racial group? I suppose so, lots of things are possible, but it is highly unlikely, on average.
Vorpal wrote: At the same time, the black Congolese is more likely to have sickle cell trait than a black Tunisian.
...and both are rather more likely to have sickle cell than a white person of any nationality.

Vorpal wrote:The idea that people of certain races are more susceptible comes from medical research done in the early 20th century. Scientists have since demonstrated that it is not associated with race; that from a genetic perspective, there is, in fact, no such thing as race.
That is not what the excerpt says though.

Excerpt:

In the biological and social sciences, the consensus is clear: race is a social construct, not a biological attribute. Today, scientists prefer to use the term “ancestry” to describe human diversity (Figure 3).]
So the consensus, whatever that is when it comes to science (I note it did not say "the facts") is that race is a social construct, yet ancestry, however that differs from race one can but guess, does exist. I don't see how ancestry is anything more than an updated, politically correct (consensus correct?) word for race.
“Ancestry” reflects the fact that human variations do have a connection to the geographical origins of our ancestors—with enough information about a person’s DNA, scientists can make a reasonable guess about their ancestry.
So race, excuse me, ancestry is real then and not just a social construct.
However, unlike the term “race,” it focuses on understanding how a person’s history unfolded, not how they fit into one category and not another.
How a person's history unfolded....what on earth does that mean? Hardly sounds scientific, does it.
In a clinical setting, for instance, scientists would say that diseases such as sickle-cell anemia and cystic fibrosis are common in those of “sub-Saharan African” or “Northern European” descent, respectively, rather than in those who are “black” or “white”.
In a clinical setting, that is a setting where denying race, excuse me, ancestry can get people killed, then they relent and say that yes “sub-Saharan African” people (black people) have a predisposition to certain diseases and people of “Northern European” descent (white people) have a predisposition to other diseases.

Of course, groups within races, excuse me, ancestries will have more or less of a predisposition to a certain disease, but the paper you've cited reinforces my point that groups sharing ancestry based on geographic location (races) have more or less of a likelihood of contracting x or y disease, because of genetic factors.

So race (or ancestry) is genetic reality and the point I made seems to be backed up by your link (even if they'd prefer different language).
by Freddie
21 Jun 2020, 4:01pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Did slavery really make Britain rich?
Replies: 68
Views: 2784

Re: Did slavery really make Britain rich?

Vorpal wrote:Sickle cell anemia is more prevalent in certain *ethnic* groups. The prevalence is genetic, but not associated with skin colour.
What is an ethnic group but the groups within whichever race. The French, for example, are an ethnic group, but are part of the broader European/white race.

That sickle cell anaemia is more prevalent in certain ethnic groups would make it, de facto, more prevalent among certain races than others.
by Freddie
20 Jun 2020, 2:09pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Incomplete weld to fork
Replies: 2
Views: 363

Incomplete weld to fork

What does the forum think of this? A seemingly incomplete weld of an aluminium fork on a relatively cheap frame. Something to be concerned about or not?
by Freddie
19 Jun 2020, 9:26pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: How to lie about history.
Replies: 74
Views: 1933

Re: How to lie about history.

Ben@Forest wrote:Best quote in the report is actually from a book about the 2017 election - it says it all really:

“The Conservative Party did not lose Britain’s 2017 general election, but it has spent the last two and a half years trying to understand why it did. The Labour Party, in contrast, did lose the 2017 election but has acted as if it did not”.
I get the feeling the Labour party, rather like a few members here, have an unshakable belief that they are right, not only in a factual sense, but more so in a moral one, so much so that to even consider ideas or positions that may lead them from the straight and narrow path (ideologically speaking), is akin to making a pact with the devil himself.

Notice how so many arguments are not about whether their opposition is correct, but are often based around dubious claims about their moral character. This is why Labour will not, indeed cannot, reconsider the course they have chosen, because to court those outside their ever diminishing ideological bubble is to, in their eyes, court the wicked and immoral.
by Freddie
19 Jun 2020, 4:04pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: A funny kind of tea shop?
Replies: 33
Views: 1389

Re: A funny kind of tea shop?

Seems to be 13 to 12 in favour now. I know the poll doesn't carry much weight, but no word from mods on this? I note things have only got more heated in the time since this thread was started.
by Freddie
19 Jun 2020, 3:40pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: New non-aero levers
Replies: 1
Views: 282

New non-aero levers

Are any of the newly produced non-aero road brake levers any good? I know Dia-Compe produce some, possibly a few other manufacturers too. How do they compare quality wise to old Shimano levers, for which it is now very hard to source hoods.
by Freddie
13 Jun 2020, 3:25pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: CUK supports BLM
Replies: 291
Views: 10735

Re: CUK supports BLM

Given the understandable confusion, maybe they should make a statement saying that they don't support Black Lives Matter the pressure group and that any previous statements weren't to be taken as such.
by Freddie
13 Jun 2020, 2:15pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: CUK supports BLM
Replies: 291
Views: 10735

Re: CUK supports BLM

Black Lives Matter support defunding the police though. How do CUK square the circle that they don't (tacitly) support illegal action, when BLM want the people who the enforce law and order, the police, to be no more.
by Freddie
13 Jun 2020, 1:56pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: CUK supports BLM
Replies: 291
Views: 10735

Re: CUK supports BLM

al_yrpal wrote:Never mind, we know who we are and BAME folk are welcome to join us out on the road as individuals and always have been.
Quite. BAME people and Black Lives Matter are not one and the same. Presumably there are BAME people who do not align themselves with BLM's viewpoints or activities, so where do they fit into all this.
by Freddie
13 Jun 2020, 1:33pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: A funny kind of tea shop?
Replies: 33
Views: 1389

Re: A funny kind of tea shop?

I'd presumed everyone thinking 'don't know' would be in favour of no in some sense, purely because it is the current arrangement.
by Freddie
13 Jun 2020, 1:30pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: CUK supports BLM
Replies: 291
Views: 10735

Re: CUK supports BLM

Without wanting to get into a long running back and forth (as per other threads), I just want to bring attention to the fact the Black Lives Matter is not just a slogan, but also a pressure/activist group that has some rather radical points of view.

Here is there website:

https://blacklivesmatter.com

Here is one of their views:

https://blacklivesmatter.com/defundthepolice/

It is rather vague, but do they really want to defund the police. Do they really want a country (or world, seeing as this is spreading beyond the USA) where there are no police? Isn't this something of a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Anyway, I think people should investigate the kind of things they believe and are calling for as a pressure group, before they assume that Black Lives Matter is nothing more than a sensible enough sounding slogan.

It is a shame Cycling UK have, completely unnecessarily, thrown their hat into the arena (I assumed they were not partisan in these matters, being a cycling advocacy group and nothing else), and have written a post that sounds somewhat (through so called positive discrimination) that they want to sideline the interests and opinions most of their membership (white men).

Will voting at the AGM be done away with, as most of the votes come from white men, and their vote may count for less than those of other groups.
by Freddie
12 Jun 2020, 6:15pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Step-through for men
Replies: 29
Views: 1905

Re: Step-through for men

Brucey wrote:One of my neighbours is struggling with a similar problem and is probably keenest on getting a Biria bike.
Seems a shame that a bike with such a low step through wouldn't come with a skirt guard over the back wheel by default. Women in long dresses seems an ideal market.
by Freddie
12 Jun 2020, 6:09pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Does 3cm make a difference for frame size?
Replies: 31
Views: 2066

Re: Does 3cm make a difference for frame size?

Samuel D wrote:Notable bicycle designer Gérard Vroomen believes that even the pros would be better served by increasing their handlebar height (i.e. riding a larger frame). I agree with that.
That's interesting, given that wind resistance at speeds above, what is it, 12mph or so is the main form of resistance faced by a cyclist. Are his opinions on the subject available online?