Best Of

I think we should not be too parochial about this. Pretty much the whole western world is suffering from low growth right now, it is not just our inept politicians that are struggling for the answers.

The reasons for this are complicated but clearly the overwhelming debt arising from long periods of overspending is catching up with us. We are struggling to keep demand up. We can't afford to invest for our own future, we are dependent upon the generosity of others. In addition we face a lot of challenges like a need to do something radical about our defence systems and a public sector, as we were discussing last night, that absorbs ever more funds with no additional results.

This is not just happening here. The particular problems may vary from country to country but the overall gloom is the same. I fear that our economic model, based on ever greater boosts of public spending funded by debt to get short term demand in the hope that that sparks wider growth may have run out of road.

Indeed. And we’ve also run out of road in terms of mass immigration- which has been our “go-to” for two decades

Public won’t take any more. Britain is mutinous

Mass immigration is another, largely futile attempt to keep the Ponzi scheme going. When old age pensions were introduced most recipients would live a relatively brief time, certainly in comparison with their working history. That is no longer true.

My recently departed mother in law worked at a modest level until her late 50s when she retired because her husband had already retired at 55. She lived to 89. Given the breaks when raising her children she received pension for nearly as long as she worked. Her husband left school at 14 and started work. He retired 41 years later as an electrical and mechanical engineer and then lived another 26 years before dying of Alzheimer's.

Neither of these is even remotely sustainable unless you import a lot more young worker (or marks I believe they are called) to buy into the scheme. Many in the UK may not like the other consequences of mass immigration but they may not like the alternatives either.

Or you raise the birthrate via increased child benefit, childcare and married couples tax allowance

There’s nothing more romantic, and in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, than getting jiggly with it because of changes in marginal tax rates.

“Put on the Barry White Trevor, child benefit has gone up 30p this week. “

Obviously, Hamas and the Palestinians should drop all their weapons immediately and get taken over by Israel.

For 'peace'.

You beat me to it.

It seems bizarre that you would dispute Ukraine's right to defend herself, but support that of the Palestinians. Certainly, I'm struggling to understand how Ukraine provoked Russia, and forced her to start the war.

Well Trump said yesterday he thought Ukraines desire to join NATO was the main cause of the invasion.

Personally I think it's because Putin has a very small Penis but provakation was a factor.

Ah, the old "Ukrainians shouldn't be allowed to decide their own future" line. Nice,

BJO and the revolutionary left/right/whatever tie themselves up in knots.

They want to undermine the status quo to achieve their revolutionary goals. Any defeat for the status quo is good news for them. So they end up with strange bedfellows like Putin. Against aggression today, but for it tomorrow, just so long as it weakens the status quo.

This not about peace, quite the opposite. I wish they were honest about it.

My own view is that pacifism, even when meant sincerely, is ethically bankrupt. It’s a cover for just looking the other way, when innocents suffer.

It’s a mixed bag. There are definitely halo polishers out there, but at the same time there are people who sincerely believe in “Thou shall not kill” who deserve respect. It’s hypocritical to ask others to plunge the knife when you wouldn’t.

The ones I have the problem with are those that talk peace to further their unpeaceful political aims.

Labour

Warwick All Saints and Woodloes (Warwick) council by-election result:

GRN: 34.9% (+22.1)
REF: 21.8% (+21.8)
LAB: 19.4% (-24.7)
CON: 18.6% (-15.7)
LDEM: 5.3% (-3.5)

+/- 2023

Great result for my party

Who are the Putinists?

You

Care to explain your 'thinking' on that? Because your apparent hatred for Zelensky, and the joy you showed yesterday at Trump's betrayal of Ukraine, rather makes you appear like a Putinist shill.

And therefore a shill for imperialism and fascism,.

I think the logic is as follows:

1) Starmer is bad for dissing Jezza.
2) Starmer supports Zelensky and opposes Putin
3) therefore Zelensky is bad and Putin is good.

And the last step in BJO's decent into madness.

4) Trump sides with Putin therefore Trump is good.

Complete lunacy from a claimed socialist.

Labour

Warwick All Saints and Woodloes (Warwick) council by-election result:

GRN: 34.9% (+22.1)
REF: 21.8% (+21.8)
LAB: 19.4% (-24.7)
CON: 18.6% (-15.7)
LDEM: 5.3% (-3.5)

+/- 2023

Great result for my party

Who are the Putinists?

You

Care to explain your 'thinking' on that? Because your apparent hatred for Zelensky, and the joy you showed yesterday at Trump's betrayal of Ukraine, rather makes you appear like a Putinist shill.

And therefore a shill for imperialism and fascism,.

Wanting peace and an end to the million plus death on both sides is not consistent with supporting Putin it's about stopping the pointless killing.

If you think Putin wants to stop at just Ukraine, they you are a fool. Hos own words and rhetoric says exactly the opposite.

You are asking for more war, not less. You are an appeaser. And whilst most appeasers in the late 1930s did so for good, moral - even if mistaken - reasons; others had more malign motives.

You are in that latter category.

You are a bloodthirsty apologist for a genocide and generally in favour of killing of innocents who believes every bit of Zionist/ Western made up shit so I will take no notice of your opinions on me.

Are Ukrainians not innocents? Or are people only innocent when they're being killed by Jews.

Be consistent: I totally get it if you want to support the Palestinians. But to do so while denying the Ukrainian right to resist invasion is just sickening.

Of course they are hence why stopping the war is excellent

I am consistent I want the killing to stop in Ukraine and the middle East.

How can you think that is inconsistent?

You want to stop the killing in the Middle East by Israel ceasing to attack the Palestinians, and you wish to stop the killing in Ukraine by the Ukrainians ceasing to resist Russia.

Labour

Warwick All Saints and Woodloes (Warwick) council by-election result:

GRN: 34.9% (+22.1)
REF: 21.8% (+21.8)
LAB: 19.4% (-24.7)
CON: 18.6% (-15.7)
LDEM: 5.3% (-3.5)

+/- 2023

Great result for my party

Who are the Putinists?

You

Care to explain your 'thinking' on that? Because your apparent hatred for Zelensky, and the joy you showed yesterday at Trump's betrayal of Ukraine, rather makes you appear like a Putinist shill.

And therefore a shill for imperialism and fascism,.

Wanting peace and an end to the million plus death on both sides is not consistent with supporting Putin it's about stopping the pointless killing.

If you think Putin wants to stop at just Ukraine, they you are a fool. Hos own words and rhetoric says exactly the opposite.

You are asking for more war, not less. You are an appeaser. And whilst most appeasers in the late 1930s did so for good, moral - even if mistaken - reasons; others had more malign motives.

You are in that latter category.

You are a bloodthirsty apologist for a genocide and generally in favour of killing of innocents who believes every bit of Zionist/ Western made up shit so I will take no notice of your opinions on me.

Are Ukrainians not innocents? Or are people only innocent when they're being killed by Jews.

Be consistent: I totally get it if you want to support the Palestinians. But to do so while denying the Ukrainian right to resist invasion is just sickening.