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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/live/2017/jan/06/how-can-we-tackle-loneliness-this-year-our-live-look-at-the-week
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| Ivan Rogers' resignation and the Obama legacy – our live look at the week | Ivan Rogers' resignation and the Obama legacy – our live look at the week |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 3.38pm GMT | |
| 15:38 | |
| Some enjoyable comments from Oliver’s piece on running here ... | |
| After about 20 minutes reading and enjoying all the comments I realised I hadn't even read the article. | |
| Have never felt the urge to congregate with other runners. | |
| I go running to get away from other humans. | |
| I love running but I detest the 'cor, we must be mad!!!' mentality, since it's basically an exercise in mutual back slapping. Bollocks to it. Run or don't, wear tights or don't. Nobody gives a shit. | |
| (Even by my standards, that's a very grumpy comment. Soz.) | |
| I'm a cyclist rather than a runner but ... cross training. My riding group this morning was discussing what to call ourselves. We're past being MAMILs (middle-aged men in Lycra) and the alternatives suggested were OFILs (old farts in Lycra) or (here's the relevance) VOMITs (very old men in TIGHTS). | |
| 3.28pm GMT | |
| 15:28 | |
| Lycra leggings – the final step in the evolution of a running fanatic | |
| Oliver Balch | |
| I’ve learned a lot about running tights over the last 48 hours. I now know, for example, that Lycra is a specific brand and not a generic material. That’s if anyone actually used Lycra. Apparently, nowadays it’s all about “technical” materials, the watchword of which is “weave”. Weave helps absorb sweat better, I’m told. Or it would, if “absorb” weren’t out of vogue. “Wicking” sweat is now where it’s at. | |
| This wealth of tights-related knowledge came in response to my piece about becoming a runner. Or at least beginning to think of myself as such. Readers raised other issues too. A lot had to do with kit: how much you need, how much you don’t need, how it was simpler in the old days, how silly/important/dazzling head-torches are. | |
| What no one really talked about was the joy of running. For me, being a “runner” (whatever that means) is ultimately about the simple pleasure of putting one step in front of the other. It’s about relishing the open road. It’s about the thrill of clearing your mind. | |
| If you’ve resolved to run more in the year ahead, then great. Focus on finding that joy. Seek it out. Track it down. It’s there, waiting for you. And tights: really, they’re not worth sweating about. | |
| 3.12pm GMT | |
| 15:12 | |
| A comment on Barack Obama’s legacy from below the line in response to Ewen MacAskill’s thoughts (see 14:46) here | |
| "While I agree with those who were critical of his failure to curb the surveillance state and drones, I still believe that in time he will be regarded as one of America’s better presidents." | |
| Surveillance state and use of drones in warfare isn't limited to Obama and any other US president (Democrat or Republican) would have done exactly the same thing as you can't stop government using new technology, especially when terrorist threats use it too. | |
| The UK public is one of the most spied on and nobody is blaming David Cameron and the conservatives for it. Same with the rest of the 5 eyes of mass surveillance (Australia, New Zealand, US, UK, Canada). | |
| 3.01pm GMT | 3.01pm GMT |
| 15:01 | 15:01 |
| And here’s a short film our colleagues in the US have produced as Michelle Obama says goodbye to the role of first lady. | And here’s a short film our colleagues in the US have produced as Michelle Obama says goodbye to the role of first lady. |
| 2.46pm GMT | 2.46pm GMT |
| 14:46 | 14:46 |
| The Obama legacy | The Obama legacy |
| Ewen MacAskill | Ewen MacAskill |
| Ewen MacAskill, the Guardian’s Washington bureau chief from 2007 to 2013, looks at President Barack Obama and his legacy. | Ewen MacAskill, the Guardian’s Washington bureau chief from 2007 to 2013, looks at President Barack Obama and his legacy. |
| As a news reporter, I am conflicted about writing these retrospective pieces. But I was keen to look back at the early years of Obama’s presidency, particularly the excitement of those early days on the presidential campaign trail in 2007 and 2008, following Obama around states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. | As a news reporter, I am conflicted about writing these retrospective pieces. But I was keen to look back at the early years of Obama’s presidency, particularly the excitement of those early days on the presidential campaign trail in 2007 and 2008, following Obama around states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. |
| But instead of indulging in nostalgia, it might have been better to have focused on one particular issue rather than a broad sweep of his presidency. And the particular issue I have in mind – which I am pleased to see several readers picked up on – is whether Obama and the Democrats wasted his first two years in office. | But instead of indulging in nostalgia, it might have been better to have focused on one particular issue rather than a broad sweep of his presidency. And the particular issue I have in mind – which I am pleased to see several readers picked up on – is whether Obama and the Democrats wasted his first two years in office. |
| At the time, the Democrats had control of Congress. To me, it was a lost opportunity. They could have rammed through all the legislation they wanted. But some of the Democratic members, particularly the conservative or fiscal Democrats, were still operating under the old system in which Democrats and Republicans often worked together, seeking compromises. When the Republicans gained a majority in 2010, the Democrats quickly realised the old rules no longer applied and the name of the game was to obstruct Obama at almost every turn. | At the time, the Democrats had control of Congress. To me, it was a lost opportunity. They could have rammed through all the legislation they wanted. But some of the Democratic members, particularly the conservative or fiscal Democrats, were still operating under the old system in which Democrats and Republicans often worked together, seeking compromises. When the Republicans gained a majority in 2010, the Democrats quickly realised the old rules no longer applied and the name of the game was to obstruct Obama at almost every turn. |
| One reader, commenting on my article, made a fair point that Obama is as much to blame (or even more to blame) for the lost opportunity by standing back and waiting for Congress to come up with the details of what was to become Obamacare. | One reader, commenting on my article, made a fair point that Obama is as much to blame (or even more to blame) for the lost opportunity by standing back and waiting for Congress to come up with the details of what was to become Obamacare. |
| The tone of the readers’ comments was heartening, engaged in a serious debate. I was a little surprised by how negative many of the comments were about the Obama presidency. While I agree with those who were critical of his failure to curb the surveillance state and drones, I still believe that in time he will be regarded as one of America’s better presidents. | The tone of the readers’ comments was heartening, engaged in a serious debate. I was a little surprised by how negative many of the comments were about the Obama presidency. While I agree with those who were critical of his failure to curb the surveillance state and drones, I still believe that in time he will be regarded as one of America’s better presidents. |
| 2.28pm GMT | 2.28pm GMT |
| 14:28 | 14:28 |
| More of your thoughts on loneliness | More of your thoughts on loneliness |
| Here’s an interesting response to a comment we highlighted at 13:21 that forms part of a broader conversation around loneliness that is still going on in the comments. | Here’s an interesting response to a comment we highlighted at 13:21 that forms part of a broader conversation around loneliness that is still going on in the comments. |
| I have no understanding of how people can be lonely. If you are lonely go and do something to make yourself not lonely. | I have no understanding of how people can be lonely. If you are lonely go and do something to make yourself not lonely. |
| Confidence plays a very large part in how older people interact. If you've ever been in hospital for a long time, you'll likely have found crossing the road and going to the supermarket to be initially quite mentally testing experiences. | Confidence plays a very large part in how older people interact. If you've ever been in hospital for a long time, you'll likely have found crossing the road and going to the supermarket to be initially quite mentally testing experiences. |
| I work with older people and there are many who for one reason or another are unable to just toodle along to a coffee morning. Sometimes, in sheltered housing, the coffee morning is in the same building, but they are still nervous of being among people after time spent away. | I work with older people and there are many who for one reason or another are unable to just toodle along to a coffee morning. Sometimes, in sheltered housing, the coffee morning is in the same building, but they are still nervous of being among people after time spent away. |
| Lack of hearing must also not be underestimated. For many they find it hard to pick out voices in a crowded room, leading to embarrassing situations, and the feeling of being in a glass box. | Lack of hearing must also not be underestimated. For many they find it hard to pick out voices in a crowded room, leading to embarrassing situations, and the feeling of being in a glass box. |
| One of my ladies had a fall while trying to get on a bus. She was quite badly hurt, in hospital for 8 weeks, and after that terrified of trying to get up that step again, so stopped using buses, and became isolated. | One of my ladies had a fall while trying to get on a bus. She was quite badly hurt, in hospital for 8 weeks, and after that terrified of trying to get up that step again, so stopped using buses, and became isolated. |
| Some people with dementia who know their memories are going are terrified to enter social situations where they may not be able to remember names, tick of the bingo numbers quick enough, etc. That again, removes their confidence. | Some people with dementia who know their memories are going are terrified to enter social situations where they may not be able to remember names, tick of the bingo numbers quick enough, etc. That again, removes their confidence. |
| go and do something to make yourself not lonely | go and do something to make yourself not lonely |
| One of the most important lessons in health and social care is not to judge others by what you can do, by one standard. It may be easy for you to rock up to a club, just as some of my older people will get on planes and visit distant relatives whereas others break into a sweat using a cash machine. People are individuals with a myriad of physical and mental health combinations as well as experience and behaviour limitations. You may not understand how anyone can be lonely, but look closer at who that anyone is made up of. | One of the most important lessons in health and social care is not to judge others by what you can do, by one standard. It may be easy for you to rock up to a club, just as some of my older people will get on planes and visit distant relatives whereas others break into a sweat using a cash machine. People are individuals with a myriad of physical and mental health combinations as well as experience and behaviour limitations. You may not understand how anyone can be lonely, but look closer at who that anyone is made up of. |
| You can click the time stamp link to jump straight to the comment and get involved. | You can click the time stamp link to jump straight to the comment and get involved. |
| 2.14pm GMT | 2.14pm GMT |
| 14:14 | 14:14 |
| Science story of the week: bursting into the new year | Science story of the week: bursting into the new year |
| Tash Reith-Banks | Tash Reith-Banks |
| There’s nothing like a little Contact-style drama to kick off the New Year, so Wednesday’s report that the source of fast radio bursts first detected a decade ago has been traced is pretty exciting. They’re likely to have emanated from a dwarf galaxy around 3bn light years from Earth, according to the a paper published in Nature. Since 2007 there have been 18 fast radio bursts registered, and there’s been a lot of debate about what causes these high-energy surges of long waves at the far end of the electromagnetic spectrum. | There’s nothing like a little Contact-style drama to kick off the New Year, so Wednesday’s report that the source of fast radio bursts first detected a decade ago has been traced is pretty exciting. They’re likely to have emanated from a dwarf galaxy around 3bn light years from Earth, according to the a paper published in Nature. Since 2007 there have been 18 fast radio bursts registered, and there’s been a lot of debate about what causes these high-energy surges of long waves at the far end of the electromagnetic spectrum. |
| There’s still lots of speculation as to what precisely has caused the pulses, but the finding is “a real game-changer” according to Heino Falcke, an astronomer at Radboud University Nijmegen. I personally feel that it bodes well for stargazing and beyond in 2017! | There’s still lots of speculation as to what precisely has caused the pulses, but the finding is “a real game-changer” according to Heino Falcke, an astronomer at Radboud University Nijmegen. I personally feel that it bodes well for stargazing and beyond in 2017! |
| 1.57pm GMT | 1.57pm GMT |
| 13:57 | 13:57 |
| Why yes, Clarissa – comment away! | Why yes, Clarissa – comment away! |
| Is this a place to comment on Rafael Behr's piece? I have to say I'm getting tired of comment pieces that remark on how pathetic the government is in its response to the referendum result and its approach to grasping what leaving the EU means. We cannot keep waiting on this government to show the way. The Guardian needs to take a stronger line in pointing out that the constitution of the UK has changed through our being a member of the EU and that leaving the EU means drawing up a new constitutional settlement. This is not a task for one political party to take forward, especially one that draws its support from a minority of voters and from England primarily. | Is this a place to comment on Rafael Behr's piece? I have to say I'm getting tired of comment pieces that remark on how pathetic the government is in its response to the referendum result and its approach to grasping what leaving the EU means. We cannot keep waiting on this government to show the way. The Guardian needs to take a stronger line in pointing out that the constitution of the UK has changed through our being a member of the EU and that leaving the EU means drawing up a new constitutional settlement. This is not a task for one political party to take forward, especially one that draws its support from a minority of voters and from England primarily. |
| 1.31pm GMT | 1.31pm GMT |
| 13:31 | 13:31 |
| Brexit and the suspicions leaking out from Whitehall | Brexit and the suspicions leaking out from Whitehall |
| Rafael Behr | Rafael Behr |
| Diplomacy is meant to be discreet, so when senior diplomats make headlines, something has gone wrong. The resignation of Ivan Rogers from the UK’s mission to Brussels is significant not because the individual at the centre of the story was pivotal to the success or failure of Brexit but because it indicates a collective unreadiness for the task. Pro-Europeans lament the episode as part of a long martyrdom of The Experts. Eurosceptics are glad to see the back of someone whose commitment to the Great Continental Disentanglement they always doubted. In truth, diplomats come and go. Sir Ivan was due to go in the autumn, anyway. What matters in this case is the fact that second-order questions of second-tier personnel in the Brexit chain-of-command are elevated to first-order news. This is politics abhorring a strategic vacuum. | Diplomacy is meant to be discreet, so when senior diplomats make headlines, something has gone wrong. The resignation of Ivan Rogers from the UK’s mission to Brussels is significant not because the individual at the centre of the story was pivotal to the success or failure of Brexit but because it indicates a collective unreadiness for the task. Pro-Europeans lament the episode as part of a long martyrdom of The Experts. Eurosceptics are glad to see the back of someone whose commitment to the Great Continental Disentanglement they always doubted. In truth, diplomats come and go. Sir Ivan was due to go in the autumn, anyway. What matters in this case is the fact that second-order questions of second-tier personnel in the Brexit chain-of-command are elevated to first-order news. This is politics abhorring a strategic vacuum. |
| It has become fashionable to say that Theresa May’s ambitions for Brexit are opaque, which isn’t quite true. We know she prioritises immigration control over economic integration. We also know that she abhors protectionism and wants to preserve favourable terms of trade with the single market (but cannot keep full membership). We don’t know whether she has the capability to achieve that combination. The mystery is not in the “what” but the “how” and that is a question of organisation and negotiating skill. Sir Ivan’s resignation letter confirms suspicions leaking out from Whitehall that there is no organising principle ahead of the Brexit talks. | It has become fashionable to say that Theresa May’s ambitions for Brexit are opaque, which isn’t quite true. We know she prioritises immigration control over economic integration. We also know that she abhors protectionism and wants to preserve favourable terms of trade with the single market (but cannot keep full membership). We don’t know whether she has the capability to achieve that combination. The mystery is not in the “what” but the “how” and that is a question of organisation and negotiating skill. Sir Ivan’s resignation letter confirms suspicions leaking out from Whitehall that there is no organising principle ahead of the Brexit talks. |
| The pieces of the jigsaw have been tipped out of the box but not yet arranged in any useful fashion. The edges have barely been fished out to construct a frame. The prime minister behaves as if this is not a problem because everything will fall into place in good time. That is a proposition of faith – an invitation to believe that she knows what she is doing. But until we have counted the pieces, checked they are all really there, and seen her interlock them deftly into some coherent pattern, there is no particular reason – no supporting evidence – to believe her. | The pieces of the jigsaw have been tipped out of the box but not yet arranged in any useful fashion. The edges have barely been fished out to construct a frame. The prime minister behaves as if this is not a problem because everything will fall into place in good time. That is a proposition of faith – an invitation to believe that she knows what she is doing. But until we have counted the pieces, checked they are all really there, and seen her interlock them deftly into some coherent pattern, there is no particular reason – no supporting evidence – to believe her. |
| 1.21pm GMT | 1.21pm GMT |
| 13:21 | 13:21 |
| A final couple of thoughts about loneliness – can online communities help? | A final couple of thoughts about loneliness – can online communities help? |
| Get online. Solved.A million ways to interact with others. Or use the internet to form new groups in your local community to get active in some way. Or you know post up things in the community or basically do anything other than nothing. | Get online. Solved.A million ways to interact with others. Or use the internet to form new groups in your local community to get active in some way. Or you know post up things in the community or basically do anything other than nothing. |
| I have no understanding of how people can be lonely. If you are lonely go and do something to make yourself not lonely. My Grandparents who are all sadly not with us now were part of multiple groups in the communities they lived in, and then when they were less able to get around people from those communities would visit them, as well as us as the family ofc. | I have no understanding of how people can be lonely. If you are lonely go and do something to make yourself not lonely. My Grandparents who are all sadly not with us now were part of multiple groups in the communities they lived in, and then when they were less able to get around people from those communities would visit them, as well as us as the family ofc. |
| I think the only situation would be of course if someone had a physical disability which stopped them going out. Although saying that my aunt had polio as a child and was in a wheelchair all her life and she still would go out down to coffee mornings and general events in the village. right into her 80's. | I think the only situation would be of course if someone had a physical disability which stopped them going out. Although saying that my aunt had polio as a child and was in a wheelchair all her life and she still would go out down to coffee mornings and general events in the village. right into her 80's. |
| Loneliness is something more complex today than previously. We are all more and less alone than previously. It's that super-position that creates problems. Through the web we are in touch with so many more people and, if we want to, are never truly alone. But equally, we are physically with people less often and fewer people know us as the physical person. | Loneliness is something more complex today than previously. We are all more and less alone than previously. It's that super-position that creates problems. Through the web we are in touch with so many more people and, if we want to, are never truly alone. But equally, we are physically with people less often and fewer people know us as the physical person. |
| Truth is that it's the perspective that we take that matters. I was a teen when the web was still young and I lived out in the countryside. And that was intensely lonely for me. But the friends I had online, especially friends who were older than me and treated me like an adult made that period feel bearable. And looked at like that the web is something great for bringing people together; somewhere that absolutely everyone can find friends. | Truth is that it's the perspective that we take that matters. I was a teen when the web was still young and I lived out in the countryside. And that was intensely lonely for me. But the friends I had online, especially friends who were older than me and treated me like an adult made that period feel bearable. And looked at like that the web is something great for bringing people together; somewhere that absolutely everyone can find friends. |
| But we all still crave personal, face to face relationships. And especially at Christmas we have a tendency to look at words on a screen and feel that this is just a shallow facsimile. In truth what we need are real friends, whether online or in meatspace. That's what matters. We shouldn't devalue friends because we've never seen them in person. Equally we shouldn't believe that just the net is enough, or use it as an excuse not to bother going outside. | But we all still crave personal, face to face relationships. And especially at Christmas we have a tendency to look at words on a screen and feel that this is just a shallow facsimile. In truth what we need are real friends, whether online or in meatspace. That's what matters. We shouldn't devalue friends because we've never seen them in person. Equally we shouldn't believe that just the net is enough, or use it as an excuse not to bother going outside. |
| Continue the discussion below. | Continue the discussion below. |
| 1.00pm GMT | 1.00pm GMT |
| 13:00 | 13:00 |
| More views on loneliness from below the line: | More views on loneliness from below the line: |
| Everyone should make it their business to visit elderly parents or relatives if they don't already do so. If you don't have any then try adopting some. A cup of tea and a chat means the world to lonely, elderly people. | Everyone should make it their business to visit elderly parents or relatives if they don't already do so. If you don't have any then try adopting some. A cup of tea and a chat means the world to lonely, elderly people. |
| 12.42pm GMT | 12.42pm GMT |
| 12:42 | 12:42 |
| Documenting your year in photographs | Documenting your year in photographs |
| Matthew Holmes | Matthew Holmes |
| Over the last couple of years we’ve hosted a year-long photography project where readers contribute an image a day over their 365 days (or 366 in the case of 2016 – thanks to the eagle eyed readers who got in touch to mention the leap year after we missed it last January!) | Over the last couple of years we’ve hosted a year-long photography project where readers contribute an image a day over their 365 days (or 366 in the case of 2016 – thanks to the eagle eyed readers who got in touch to mention the leap year after we missed it last January!) |
| The result is a collection of fascinating images from daily life, extraordinary events and even personal moments – as well as an interactive featuring some of our favourites published on 31 December. | The result is a collection of fascinating images from daily life, extraordinary events and even personal moments – as well as an interactive featuring some of our favourites published on 31 December. |
| You can get involved in 2017 by clicking here or on the blue GuardianWitness buttons above. | You can get involved in 2017 by clicking here or on the blue GuardianWitness buttons above. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.47pm GMT | at 12.47pm GMT |
| 12.25pm GMT | 12.25pm GMT |
| 12:25 | 12:25 |
| Join the conversation about loneliness and what can help, below. | Join the conversation about loneliness and what can help, below. |
| How can you tackle loneliness for old people? Have places for them to go during the day, oh wait it turns out they've been closed down because of cuts. | How can you tackle loneliness for old people? Have places for them to go during the day, oh wait it turns out they've been closed down because of cuts. |
| My dad spoke highly of the local salvation army and their lunches after my mum died - even though he saw my extensive family regularly. Stuff like that helps. | My dad spoke highly of the local salvation army and their lunches after my mum died - even though he saw my extensive family regularly. Stuff like that helps. |
| 12.07pm GMT | 12.07pm GMT |
| 12:07 | 12:07 |
| We could all do a little more to tackle loneliness | We could all do a little more to tackle loneliness |
| Anushka Asthana | Anushka Asthana |
| I met Jo Cox before she became a Labour politician through a mutual friend, and then got to know her better once she’d arrived in parliament. She was lovely – empathetic, friendly, vivacious and incredibly passionate. And she told me she wanted to direct that seemingly endless energy to two key priorities: helping civilians in war-torn Syria, and tackling the scourge of loneliness. | I met Jo Cox before she became a Labour politician through a mutual friend, and then got to know her better once she’d arrived in parliament. She was lovely – empathetic, friendly, vivacious and incredibly passionate. And she told me she wanted to direct that seemingly endless energy to two key priorities: helping civilians in war-torn Syria, and tackling the scourge of loneliness. |
| Typically for Jo, she made both cross-party efforts, teaming up on loneliness with Conservative Seema Kennedy, who will now take forward the work with Jo’s friend and colleague, Rachel Reeves. As they say in this interview I did in December, their focus won’t just be the elderly but new mums, children, refugees, the disabled and men who often don’t turn to anyone for help. | Typically for Jo, she made both cross-party efforts, teaming up on loneliness with Conservative Seema Kennedy, who will now take forward the work with Jo’s friend and colleague, Rachel Reeves. As they say in this interview I did in December, their focus won’t just be the elderly but new mums, children, refugees, the disabled and men who often don’t turn to anyone for help. |
| We could all heed their simple call to action – call a grandparent, visit a neighbour, meet the friend you keep putting off. | We could all heed their simple call to action – call a grandparent, visit a neighbour, meet the friend you keep putting off. |
| You can share your experiences of loneliness and ideas for tackling it, including any initiatives you know of, through our dedicated callout or in the comments, below. | You can share your experiences of loneliness and ideas for tackling it, including any initiatives you know of, through our dedicated callout or in the comments, below. |
| 11.13am GMT | 11.13am GMT |
| 11:13 | 11:13 |
| Welcome | Welcome |
| Matthew Holmes | Matthew Holmes |
| Does the Christmas and New Year period seem a distant memory as you’re back in the swing of things at work, or are you keeping things festive and having an extended break? Whichever it is, hello – and welcome to today’s Guardian Social, your space to discuss the news and views you’ve found interesting this week, with input from Guardian journalists both above the line and in the comments, below. | Does the Christmas and New Year period seem a distant memory as you’re back in the swing of things at work, or are you keeping things festive and having an extended break? Whichever it is, hello – and welcome to today’s Guardian Social, your space to discuss the news and views you’ve found interesting this week, with input from Guardian journalists both above the line and in the comments, below. |
| Get involved and tell us what you want us to talk about by either posting in the comments or by emailing matthew.holmes@theguardian.com or sarah.marsh@theguardian.com – we’ll be here from noon to 4pm (GMT). | Get involved and tell us what you want us to talk about by either posting in the comments or by emailing matthew.holmes@theguardian.com or sarah.marsh@theguardian.com – we’ll be here from noon to 4pm (GMT). |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 1.22pm GMT | at 1.22pm GMT |