As concerns grew in Europe over an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister suggested for the first time on Friday that military action by Moscow could mean the end of Nord Stream 2, a natural-gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany.
NY Times live blog
It's a finely balanced judgment. The Americans fear Nordstream 2 because they believe it would give the Russians the whip hand over Europe whereas Europeans are in favour because they calculate that Russian dependency on eurocash would make them more malleable. The clever thing about it is that the rate of flow can be carefully adjusted at each end, leading to more or less pressure as the situation demands. But obviously it has to be finished, first.
The real problem with NordStream2 that Russia can then cut off countries in the "Near Abroad" without interfering with supplies to Germany etc.
So they can divide an conquer - threaten countries near them and even cut them off, separately to German gas supplies.
The main reason for the project in the first place, was to cut off Ukraine. Gas pipelines are one of their largest sources of hard currency.
UK, EU and friendly countries need to start buying Ukranian goods, mostly foodstuffs. Let them see that trade with the West is always the better option for them.
That of corse is why Maggie and then Major were so supportive of the satellite countries joining the EU and NATO. The expansion of the EU to the East is the best thing to happen to these countries to secure their future peace and prosperity. Britain's role in the EU was as liberator, and well worth the short term cost.
Brexit was playing into Putins hands by weakening it. If we had remained we could be pushing for Ukranian entry.
The EU knew our price to stay in, they refused to pay it so we left. There's not a lot more to it than that. If our membership was as valuable as you say then more fool them for not doing whatever it took to keep us in the tent.
Yep and weakened both ourselves and the EU. Putin must have pissed himself laughing, then Trump too...
Merkel was always Putin's useful idiot when she refused to properly engage with the real issues Dave raised in the sham negotiation. The price wasn't even very high, it was an ideological refusal to admit that the EU could get anything wrong which drove them to refuse Dave's meagre requests and water down his "victories". Had she actually listened the UK wouldn't have left (because people like me could have been won over to vote remain) and the EU would have come out stronger on the other side with a democratic vote of confidence from one of its most sceptical members.
C'est la vie.
Merkel is not to blame for the pathetic nature of Cameron's negotiation. His requests from the start were inadequate, driven by what I believe to be his desire to see the UK at the heart of the EU, with no exemptions, and his overconfidence that he could deliver this by browbeating the public. Therefore instead of opting the UK out of ever closer union, he made a silly demand that the whole EU needed to step away from ever closer union. A convincing semi-detachment of the UK from the EU could have been managed and could have been accepted by all but the most hardcore.
It is tricky for leavers to come to terms they were Putin's useful idiots, particularly as they like to kid themselves they are "patriots". Much easier to blame the furriners
Rather bizarrely, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer has decided to double-down on the already bizarre decision of the SNP to sow confusion about Scots pensions.
Apparently, the fact that, after the American Civil War, the victorious Union Govt went on to pay the pensions of the losing Confederates is a useful debating point when considering what might happen after Indy...
To be fair, it was news to me that the the last widowers' pension for a Confederate service personnel was paid out in 2012.
Believe Scottish Green AND Spectator are in error re: Civil War pensions to Confederate veterans & their dependents. (Texas v White having zero to do with this issue, as any semi-learned lawyer could have told the latter.)
Because IIRC the United States NEVER paid one cent in pensions based on service in CSA, which of course attempted to overthrow the US government in rather overt fashion (not even wrapping themselves in the Stars and Stripes like #45 & co-conspirators).
Instead, pensions to Confederate vets & dependents were paid out by STATE governments.
Not the first time that Brits are baffled by US federalism!
That's the opposite point to the one he thinks he's made then.
Goodness, those poor ethnic Russians being attacked by bad bad Ukraine. I sure hope someone can step in and bring peace and stability to the region. If only someone happened to have 200,000 troops lingering near the Ukraine border.
This is where I think the US/UK tactics have worked rather well. By putting their intelligence into the public domain they are undoubtedly making it harder for the Russians to get even the slightest plausibility about false flag operations etc. The intelligence flights referred to by @Yokes last night show that they are not letting up on this. Its putting Putin in a bit of a spot. Tomorrow is going to be tricky with missiles etc floating about in quite large numbers. If there is going to be an attack it might be the day.
Hmmm possibly. Must be said that Zelensky hasn't liked the possibility of war being talked up too much. It clearly damages the Ukrainian economy. So the threat of invasion from Putin weakens Ukraine and seems a much wiser strategy than the (surely mad) idea of an actual full scale assault.
Allegations that the Ukrainian government intends to launch an offensive operation in Donbas are divorced from reality. Ukraine is also NOT conducting or planning any sabotage acts in Donbas. We categorically reject attempts by Russia to aggravate already tense security situation
We remain firmly committed to politico-diplomatic settlement. We call on foreign states & international organisations to condemn immediately provocations conducted by Russia undermining peace efforts. Absence of proper reaction or neutral stance will only serve further escalation
Rather bizarrely, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer has decided to double-down on the already bizarre decision of the SNP to sow confusion about Scots pensions.
Apparently, the fact that, after the American Civil War, the victorious Union Govt went on to pay the pensions of the losing Confederates is a useful debating point when considering what might happen after Indy...
To be fair, it was news to me that the the last widowers' pension for a Confederate service personnel was paid out in 2012.
Believe Scottish Green AND Spectator are in error re: Civil War pensions to Confederate veterans & their dependents. (Texas v White having zero to do with this issue, as any semi-learned lawyer could have told the latter.)
Because IIRC the United States NEVER paid one cent in pensions based on service in CSA, which of course attempted to overthrow the US government in rather overt fashion (not even wrapping themselves in the Stars and Stripes like #45 & co-conspirators).
Instead, pensions to Confederate vets & dependents were paid out by STATE governments.
Not the first time that Brits are baffled by US federalism!
You can solve that for us by becoming a unitary state monarchy - you know it makes sense!
As concerns grew in Europe over an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister suggested for the first time on Friday that military action by Moscow could mean the end of Nord Stream 2, a natural-gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany.
NY Times live blog
It's a finely balanced judgment. The Americans fear Nordstream 2 because they believe it would give the Russians the whip hand over Europe whereas Europeans are in favour because they calculate that Russian dependency on eurocash would make them more malleable. The clever thing about it is that the rate of flow can be carefully adjusted at each end, leading to more or less pressure as the situation demands. But obviously it has to be finished, first.
The real problem with NordStream2 that Russia can then cut off countries in the "Near Abroad" without interfering with supplies to Germany etc.
So they can divide an conquer - threaten countries near them and even cut them off, separately to German gas supplies.
The main reason for the project in the first place, was to cut off Ukraine. Gas pipelines are one of their largest sources of hard currency.
UK, EU and friendly countries need to start buying Ukranian goods, mostly foodstuffs. Let them see that trade with the West is always the better option for them.
That of corse is why Maggie and then Major were so supportive of the satellite countries joining the EU and NATO. The expansion of the EU to the East is the best thing to happen to these countries to secure their future peace and prosperity. Britain's role in the EU was as liberator, and well worth the short term cost.
Brexit was playing into Putins hands by weakening it. If we had remained we could be pushing for Ukranian entry.
The EU knew our price to stay in, they refused to pay it so we left. There's not a lot more to it than that. If our membership was as valuable as you say then more fool them for not doing whatever it took to keep us in the tent.
Yep and weakened both ourselves and the EU. Putin must have pissed himself laughing, then Trump too...
Merkel was always Putin's useful idiot when she refused to properly engage with the real issues Dave raised in the sham negotiation. The price wasn't even very high, it was an ideological refusal to admit that the EU could get anything wrong which drove them to refuse Dave's meagre requests and water down his "victories". Had she actually listened the UK wouldn't have left (because people like me could have been won over to vote remain) and the EU would have come out stronger on the other side with a democratic vote of confidence from one of its most sceptical members.
C'est la vie.
Merkel is not to blame for the pathetic nature of Cameron's negotiation. His requests from the start were inadequate, driven by what I believe to be his desire to see the UK at the heart of the EU, with no exemptions, and his overconfidence that he could deliver this by browbeating the public. Therefore instead of opting the UK out of ever closer union, he made a silly demand that the whole EU needed to step away from ever closer union. A convincing semi-detachment of the UK from the EU could have been managed and could have been accepted by all but the most hardcore.
It is tricky for leavers to come to terms they were Putin's useful idiots, particularly as they like to kid themselves they are "patriots". Much easier to blame the furriners
Needless to say, I disagree - I don't mind full Brexit, as I think it delivers long term opportunities, though its temporary outworking has been tough going.
But I would have been very happy to accept a good associate-member status. The real culprits are not leavers at all, but the Cameronite political class, who were ideologically and politically subscribed to a vision of international politics that saw Britain permanently and irrevocably embedded within the EU, and weren't prepared to accept any dilution of that vision.
As concerns grew in Europe over an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister suggested for the first time on Friday that military action by Moscow could mean the end of Nord Stream 2, a natural-gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany.
NY Times live blog
It's a finely balanced judgment. The Americans fear Nordstream 2 because they believe it would give the Russians the whip hand over Europe whereas Europeans are in favour because they calculate that Russian dependency on eurocash would make them more malleable. The clever thing about it is that the rate of flow can be carefully adjusted at each end, leading to more or less pressure as the situation demands. But obviously it has to be finished, first.
The real problem with NordStream2 that Russia can then cut off countries in the "Near Abroad" without interfering with supplies to Germany etc.
So they can divide an conquer - threaten countries near them and even cut them off, separately to German gas supplies.
The main reason for the project in the first place, was to cut off Ukraine. Gas pipelines are one of their largest sources of hard currency.
UK, EU and friendly countries need to start buying Ukranian goods, mostly foodstuffs. Let them see that trade with the West is always the better option for them.
That of corse is why Maggie and then Major were so supportive of the satellite countries joining the EU and NATO. The expansion of the EU to the East is the best thing to happen to these countries to secure their future peace and prosperity. Britain's role in the EU was as liberator, and well worth the short term cost.
Brexit was playing into Putins hands by weakening it. If we had remained we could be pushing for Ukranian entry.
The EU knew our price to stay in, they refused to pay it so we left. There's not a lot more to it than that. If our membership was as valuable as you say then more fool them for not doing whatever it took to keep us in the tent.
Yep and weakened both ourselves and the EU. Putin must have pissed himself laughing, then Trump too...
Merkel was always Putin's useful idiot when she refused to properly engage with the real issues Dave raised in the sham negotiation. The price wasn't even very high, it was an ideological refusal to admit that the EU could get anything wrong which drove them to refuse Dave's meagre requests and water down his "victories". Had she actually listened the UK wouldn't have left (because people like me could have been won over to vote remain) and the EU would have come out stronger on the other side with a democratic vote of confidence from one of its most sceptical members.
C'est la vie.
Merkel is not to blame for the pathetic nature of Cameron's negotiation. His requests from the start were inadequate, driven by what I believe to be his desire to see the UK at the heart of the EU, with no exemptions, and his overconfidence that he could deliver this by browbeating the public. Therefore instead of opting the UK out of ever closer union, he made a silly demand that the whole EU needed to step away from ever closer union. A convincing semi-detachment of the UK from the EU could have been managed and could have been accepted by all but the most hardcore.
It is tricky for leavers to come to terms they were Putin's useful idiots, particularly as they like to kid themselves they are "patriots". Much easier to blame the furriners
Needless to say, I disagree - I don't mind full Brexit, as I think it delivers long term opportunities, though its temporary outworking has been tough going.
But I would have been very happy to accept a good associate-member status. The real culprits are not leavers at all, but the Cameronite political class, who were ideologically and politically subscribed to a vision of international politics that saw Britain permanently and irrevocably embedded within the EU, and weren't prepared to accept any dilution of that vision.
It's not even so much that they had that vision, but that they weren't prepared to argue for it in public and get democratic consent for it.
As concerns grew in Europe over an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister suggested for the first time on Friday that military action by Moscow could mean the end of Nord Stream 2, a natural-gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany.
NY Times live blog
It's a finely balanced judgment. The Americans fear Nordstream 2 because they believe it would give the Russians the whip hand over Europe whereas Europeans are in favour because they calculate that Russian dependency on eurocash would make them more malleable. The clever thing about it is that the rate of flow can be carefully adjusted at each end, leading to more or less pressure as the situation demands. But obviously it has to be finished, first.
The real problem with NordStream2 that Russia can then cut off countries in the "Near Abroad" without interfering with supplies to Germany etc.
So they can divide an conquer - threaten countries near them and even cut them off, separately to German gas supplies.
The main reason for the project in the first place, was to cut off Ukraine. Gas pipelines are one of their largest sources of hard currency.
UK, EU and friendly countries need to start buying Ukranian goods, mostly foodstuffs. Let them see that trade with the West is always the better option for them.
That of corse is why Maggie and then Major were so supportive of the satellite countries joining the EU and NATO. The expansion of the EU to the East is the best thing to happen to these countries to secure their future peace and prosperity. Britain's role in the EU was as liberator, and well worth the short term cost.
Brexit was playing into Putins hands by weakening it. If we had remained we could be pushing for Ukranian entry.
The EU knew our price to stay in, they refused to pay it so we left. There's not a lot more to it than that. If our membership was as valuable as you say then more fool them for not doing whatever it took to keep us in the tent.
Yep and weakened both ourselves and the EU. Putin must have pissed himself laughing, then Trump too...
Merkel was always Putin's useful idiot when she refused to properly engage with the real issues Dave raised in the sham negotiation. The price wasn't even very high, it was an ideological refusal to admit that the EU could get anything wrong which drove them to refuse Dave's meagre requests and water down his "victories". Had she actually listened the UK wouldn't have left (because people like me could have been won over to vote remain) and the EU would have come out stronger on the other side with a democratic vote of confidence from one of its most sceptical members.
C'est la vie.
Merkel is not to blame for the pathetic nature of Cameron's negotiation. His requests from the start were inadequate, driven by what I believe to be his desire to see the UK at the heart of the EU, with no exemptions, and his overconfidence that he could deliver this by browbeating the public. Therefore instead of opting the UK out of ever closer union, he made a silly demand that the whole EU needed to step away from ever closer union. A convincing semi-detachment of the UK from the EU could have been managed and could have been accepted by all but the most hardcore.
It is tricky for leavers to come to terms they were Putin's useful idiots, particularly as they like to kid themselves they are "patriots". Much easier to blame the furriners
Needless to say, I disagree - I don't mind full Brexit, as I think it delivers long term opportunities, though its temporary outworking has been tough going.
But I would have been very happy to accept a good associate-member status. The real culprits are not leavers at all, but the Cameronite political class, who were ideologically and politically subscribed to a vision of international politics that saw Britain permanently and irrevocably embedded within the EU, and weren't prepared to accept any dilution of that vision.
It's not even so much that they had that vision, but that they weren't prepared to argue for it in public and get democratic consent for it.
It wasn't and isn't a vision that was created by, for, or to benefit Britain, so that's hardly surprising.
As concerns grew in Europe over an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister suggested for the first time on Friday that military action by Moscow could mean the end of Nord Stream 2, a natural-gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany.
NY Times live blog
It's a finely balanced judgment. The Americans fear Nordstream 2 because they believe it would give the Russians the whip hand over Europe whereas Europeans are in favour because they calculate that Russian dependency on eurocash would make them more malleable. The clever thing about it is that the rate of flow can be carefully adjusted at each end, leading to more or less pressure as the situation demands. But obviously it has to be finished, first.
The real problem with NordStream2 that Russia can then cut off countries in the "Near Abroad" without interfering with supplies to Germany etc.
So they can divide an conquer - threaten countries near them and even cut them off, separately to German gas supplies.
The main reason for the project in the first place, was to cut off Ukraine. Gas pipelines are one of their largest sources of hard currency.
UK, EU and friendly countries need to start buying Ukranian goods, mostly foodstuffs. Let them see that trade with the West is always the better option for them.
That of corse is why Maggie and then Major were so supportive of the satellite countries joining the EU and NATO. The expansion of the EU to the East is the best thing to happen to these countries to secure their future peace and prosperity. Britain's role in the EU was as liberator, and well worth the short term cost.
Brexit was playing into Putins hands by weakening it. If we had remained we could be pushing for Ukranian entry.
The EU knew our price to stay in, they refused to pay it so we left. There's not a lot more to it than that. If our membership was as valuable as you say then more fool them for not doing whatever it took to keep us in the tent.
Yep and weakened both ourselves and the EU. Putin must have pissed himself laughing, then Trump too...
Merkel was always Putin's useful idiot when she refused to properly engage with the real issues Dave raised in the sham negotiation. The price wasn't even very high, it was an ideological refusal to admit that the EU could get anything wrong which drove them to refuse Dave's meagre requests and water down his "victories". Had she actually listened the UK wouldn't have left (because people like me could have been won over to vote remain) and the EU would have come out stronger on the other side with a democratic vote of confidence from one of its most sceptical members.
C'est la vie.
Merkel is not to blame for the pathetic nature of Cameron's negotiation. His requests from the start were inadequate, driven by what I believe to be his desire to see the UK at the heart of the EU, with no exemptions, and his overconfidence that he could deliver this by browbeating the public. Therefore instead of opting the UK out of ever closer union, he made a silly demand that the whole EU needed to step away from ever closer union. A convincing semi-detachment of the UK from the EU could have been managed and could have been accepted by all but the most hardcore.
It is tricky for leavers to come to terms they were Putin's useful idiots, particularly as they like to kid themselves they are "patriots". Much easier to blame the furriners
Needless to say, I disagree - I don't mind full Brexit, as I think it delivers long term opportunities, though its temporary outworking has been tough going.
But I would have been very happy to accept a good associate-member status. The real culprits are not leavers at all, but the Cameronite political class, who were ideologically and politically subscribed to a vision of international politics that saw Britain permanently and irrevocably embedded within the EU, and weren't prepared to accept any dilution of that vision.
If you think of any opportunities you might want to write to Jacob. Apparently he is casting around for ideas.
I'll let you into a secret. There were no longer term, medium term or short term opportunities. It was all a big con to satisfy the egos of a few anti-EU obsessives.
Those of us that knew this all along have come to terms with the fact that we lost. It might help if those that were in favour of it also came to terms with the fact that it was pointless. Either way, we are where we are.
As concerns grew in Europe over an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister suggested for the first time on Friday that military action by Moscow could mean the end of Nord Stream 2, a natural-gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany.
NY Times live blog
It's a finely balanced judgment. The Americans fear Nordstream 2 because they believe it would give the Russians the whip hand over Europe whereas Europeans are in favour because they calculate that Russian dependency on eurocash would make them more malleable. The clever thing about it is that the rate of flow can be carefully adjusted at each end, leading to more or less pressure as the situation demands. But obviously it has to be finished, first.
The real problem with NordStream2 that Russia can then cut off countries in the "Near Abroad" without interfering with supplies to Germany etc.
So they can divide an conquer - threaten countries near them and even cut them off, separately to German gas supplies.
The main reason for the project in the first place, was to cut off Ukraine. Gas pipelines are one of their largest sources of hard currency.
UK, EU and friendly countries need to start buying Ukranian goods, mostly foodstuffs. Let them see that trade with the West is always the better option for them.
That of corse is why Maggie and then Major were so supportive of the satellite countries joining the EU and NATO. The expansion of the EU to the East is the best thing to happen to these countries to secure their future peace and prosperity. Britain's role in the EU was as liberator, and well worth the short term cost.
Brexit was playing into Putins hands by weakening it. If we had remained we could be pushing for Ukranian entry.
The EU knew our price to stay in, they refused to pay it so we left. There's not a lot more to it than that. If our membership was as valuable as you say then more fool them for not doing whatever it took to keep us in the tent.
Yep and weakened both ourselves and the EU. Putin must have pissed himself laughing, then Trump too...
Merkel was always Putin's useful idiot when she refused to properly engage with the real issues Dave raised in the sham negotiation. The price wasn't even very high, it was an ideological refusal to admit that the EU could get anything wrong which drove them to refuse Dave's meagre requests and water down his "victories". Had she actually listened the UK wouldn't have left (because people like me could have been won over to vote remain) and the EU would have come out stronger on the other side with a democratic vote of confidence from one of its most sceptical members.
C'est la vie.
Merkel is not to blame for the pathetic nature of Cameron's negotiation. His requests from the start were inadequate, driven by what I believe to be his desire to see the UK at the heart of the EU, with no exemptions, and his overconfidence that he could deliver this by browbeating the public. Therefore instead of opting the UK out of ever closer union, he made a silly demand that the whole EU needed to step away from ever closer union. A convincing semi-detachment of the UK from the EU could have been managed and could have been accepted by all but the most hardcore.
It is tricky for leavers to come to terms they were Putin's useful idiots, particularly as they like to kid themselves they are "patriots". Much easier to blame the furriners
Needless to say, I disagree - I don't mind full Brexit, as I think it delivers long term opportunities, though its temporary outworking has been tough going.
But I would have been very happy to accept a good associate-member status. The real culprits are not leavers at all, but the Cameronite political class, who were ideologically and politically subscribed to a vision of international politics that saw Britain permanently and irrevocably embedded within the EU, and weren't prepared to accept any dilution of that vision.
If you think of any opportunities you might want to write to Jacob. Apparently he is casting around for ideas.
I'll let you into a secret. There were no longer term, medium term or short term opportunities. It was all a big con to satisfy the egos of a few anti-EU obsessives.
Those of us that knew this all along have come to terms with the fact that we lost. It might help if those that were in favour of it also came to terms with the fact that it was pointless. Either way, we are where we are.
Forgive me, but you don't really seem to have come to terms with it.
JRM can VM me if he wants any ideas - I believe he posts here as @RochdalePioneers.
Classic 'it was an accident' excuses. Hope it is not widespread doping, but the risk is clearly worth it for people. Heck, you might as well when your nation faces no consequences if you get caught, there's no pressure on you to stop. Great Britain have been stripped of the silver medal won in the 4x100m relay at last summer's Tokyo Olympics after team member CJ Ujah was found to have committed a doping violation...
The 27-year-old says he "unknowingly consumed a contaminated substance" and the situation is one he "will regret for the rest of my life".
There was a spare 200m space in 2012, he had run the qualifying time and wasn't selected. There were reasons, but given there was the possibility to add a third runner to the squad, why not?
Then his funding got cut.
Proves all that wrong and between 2014-2017 wins a number of golds in European, Worlds and Commonwealth events, both indoor and outdoor, but 2020 seemed too far away, especially with the delay.
Rather bizarrely, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer has decided to double-down on the already bizarre decision of the SNP to sow confusion about Scots pensions.
Apparently, the fact that, after the American Civil War, the victorious Union Govt went on to pay the pensions of the losing Confederates is a useful debating point when considering what might happen after Indy...
To be fair, it was news to me that the the last widowers' pension for a Confederate service personnel was paid out in 2012.
Genuine helpful advise to SNP, from 3,000 miles away. Stop talking about pensions, there’s precicsely nothing that will help your cause by keeping the subject alive.
If only the SNP would listen to some bloke on the internet. Tbf there are tens & tens of thousands of them blokes so it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Oh well, keep talking about pensions then. Doesn’t bother me!
Sorry, your Scotch credentials as someone who thought betting against the SNP as the largest party at the last Holyrood election was a good punt should certainly be given more respect. That puts you in the special SE Pantheon with Leon.
Oh dear, back to the hugely witty "Scotch" thing again. Apparently all us English folk (you know, that uniform group of privileged white people) refer to people from Scotland as "Scotch". Well, this is how the minds of twisted English hating nationalists like to think English people refer to them, just to create a little more hatred in their sick nationalist minds.
Unless of course "Scotch credentials" refers to an expertise in whiskey from north of the border perhaps?
The Scottish Government has lost a court battle over legislation which expanded the legal definition of a woman....
The three judges who presided over the appeal said the government did not have the power to have "expanded the definition of women" to include trans women.
Their ruling said that by “incorporating those transsexuals living as women into the definition of woman, the 2018 Act conflates and confuses two separate and distinct protected characteristics”. They said the definition of woman adopted in the Act "impinges on the nature of protected characteristics which is a reserved matter."
It's an interesting decision. The key bits, for me, are "By incorporating those transsexuals living as women into the definition of woman the 2018 Act conflates and confuses two separate and distinct protected characteristics, and in one case qualifies the nature of the characteristic which is to be given protection...The point is illustrated by the reclaimers’ submission – admittedly farfetched and unlikely to happen – that under this definition the representation objective could as a matter of law be met by the appointment of no individuals possessing the protected sex characteristic of women...The Lord Ordinary stated that the 2018 Act did not redefine “woman” for any other purpose than “to include transgender women as another category” of people who would benefit from the positive measure. Therein lies the rub: “transgender women” is not a category for these purposes; it is not a protected characteristic and for the reasons given, the definition of “woman” adopted in the Act impinges on the nature of protected characteristics which is a reserved matter."
This seems all very technical but this is one of the sharpest dividing lines in Scottish politics at the moment. Whilst the leadership of the SNP and indeed the Greens are very insistent that a transexual woman is a woman for all purposes many disagree, including a significant number of SNP members. This decision will enormously frustrate the Scottish government and raise, once again, the issue of the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. An application to appeal to the Supreme Court may well follow.
As concerns grew in Europe over an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister suggested for the first time on Friday that military action by Moscow could mean the end of Nord Stream 2, a natural-gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany.
NY Times live blog
It's a finely balanced judgment. The Americans fear Nordstream 2 because they believe it would give the Russians the whip hand over Europe whereas Europeans are in favour because they calculate that Russian dependency on eurocash would make them more malleable. The clever thing about it is that the rate of flow can be carefully adjusted at each end, leading to more or less pressure as the situation demands. But obviously it has to be finished, first.
The real problem with NordStream2 that Russia can then cut off countries in the "Near Abroad" without interfering with supplies to Germany etc.
So they can divide an conquer - threaten countries near them and even cut them off, separately to German gas supplies.
The main reason for the project in the first place, was to cut off Ukraine. Gas pipelines are one of their largest sources of hard currency.
UK, EU and friendly countries need to start buying Ukranian goods, mostly foodstuffs. Let them see that trade with the West is always the better option for them.
That of corse is why Maggie and then Major were so supportive of the satellite countries joining the EU and NATO. The expansion of the EU to the East is the best thing to happen to these countries to secure their future peace and prosperity. Britain's role in the EU was as liberator, and well worth the short term cost.
Brexit was playing into Putins hands by weakening it. If we had remained we could be pushing for Ukranian entry.
The EU knew our price to stay in, they refused to pay it so we left. There's not a lot more to it than that. If our membership was as valuable as you say then more fool them for not doing whatever it took to keep us in the tent.
Yep and weakened both ourselves and the EU. Putin must have pissed himself laughing, then Trump too...
Merkel was always Putin's useful idiot when she refused to properly engage with the real issues Dave raised in the sham negotiation. The price wasn't even very high, it was an ideological refusal to admit that the EU could get anything wrong which drove them to refuse Dave's meagre requests and water down his "victories". Had she actually listened the UK wouldn't have left (because people like me could have been won over to vote remain) and the EU would have come out stronger on the other side with a democratic vote of confidence from one of its most sceptical members.
C'est la vie.
Merkel is not to blame for the pathetic nature of Cameron's negotiation. His requests from the start were inadequate, driven by what I believe to be his desire to see the UK at the heart of the EU, with no exemptions, and his overconfidence that he could deliver this by browbeating the public. Therefore instead of opting the UK out of ever closer union, he made a silly demand that the whole EU needed to step away from ever closer union. A convincing semi-detachment of the UK from the EU could have been managed and could have been accepted by all but the most hardcore.
It is tricky for leavers to come to terms they were Putin's useful idiots, particularly as they like to kid themselves they are "patriots". Much easier to blame the furriners
Needless to say, I disagree - I don't mind full Brexit, as I think it delivers long term opportunities, though its temporary outworking has been tough going.
But I would have been very happy to accept a good associate-member status. The real culprits are not leavers at all, but the Cameronite political class, who were ideologically and politically subscribed to a vision of international politics that saw Britain permanently and irrevocably embedded within the EU, and weren't prepared to accept any dilution of that vision.
If you think of any opportunities you might want to write to Jacob. Apparently he is casting around for ideas.
I'll let you into a secret. There were no longer term, medium term or short term opportunities. It was all a big con to satisfy the egos of a few anti-EU obsessives.
Those of us that knew this all along have come to terms with the fact that we lost. It might help if those that were in favour of it also came to terms with the fact that it was pointless. Either way, we are where we are.
Forgive me, but you don't really seem to have come to terms with it.
JRM can VM me if he wants any ideas - I believe he posts here as @RochdalePioneers.
No I genuinely have come to terms with it. I am not in favour of re-joining the EU even if they wanted us. It doesn't stop me pointing out its stupidity and laughing at those who in spite of all of the overwhelming evidence that it was pointless still try and make out it was a worthwhile endeavour. I have to find a bit of humour in the whole thing after all.
Classic 'it was an accident' excuses. Hope it is not widespread doping, but the risk is clearly worth it for people. Heck, you might as well when your nation faces no consequences if you get caught, there's no pressure on you to stop. Great Britain have been stripped of the silver medal won in the 4x100m relay at last summer's Tokyo Olympics after team member CJ Ujah was found to have committed a doping violation...
The 27-year-old says he "unknowingly consumed a contaminated substance" and the situation is one he "will regret for the rest of my life".
There was a spare 200m space in 2012, he had run the qualifying time and wasn't selected. There were reasons, but given there was the possibility to add a third runner to the squad, why not?
Then his funding got cut.
Proves all that wrong and between 2014-2017 wins a number of golds in European, Worlds and Commonwealth events, both indoor and outdoor, but 2020 seemed too far away, especially with the delay.
And now this.
Can't disagree. But the consequences for relay athletes in particular should greatly increase the pressure on athletes to not only self regulate but to be alert to potential breaches that could, ultimately, cost them a medal.
As concerns grew in Europe over an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister suggested for the first time on Friday that military action by Moscow could mean the end of Nord Stream 2, a natural-gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany.
NY Times live blog
It's a finely balanced judgment. The Americans fear Nordstream 2 because they believe it would give the Russians the whip hand over Europe whereas Europeans are in favour because they calculate that Russian dependency on eurocash would make them more malleable. The clever thing about it is that the rate of flow can be carefully adjusted at each end, leading to more or less pressure as the situation demands. But obviously it has to be finished, first.
The real problem with NordStream2 that Russia can then cut off countries in the "Near Abroad" without interfering with supplies to Germany etc.
So they can divide an conquer - threaten countries near them and even cut them off, separately to German gas supplies.
The main reason for the project in the first place, was to cut off Ukraine. Gas pipelines are one of their largest sources of hard currency.
UK, EU and friendly countries need to start buying Ukranian goods, mostly foodstuffs. Let them see that trade with the West is always the better option for them.
That of corse is why Maggie and then Major were so supportive of the satellite countries joining the EU and NATO. The expansion of the EU to the East is the best thing to happen to these countries to secure their future peace and prosperity. Britain's role in the EU was as liberator, and well worth the short term cost.
Brexit was playing into Putins hands by weakening it. If we had remained we could be pushing for Ukranian entry.
The EU knew our price to stay in, they refused to pay it so we left. There's not a lot more to it than that. If our membership was as valuable as you say then more fool them for not doing whatever it took to keep us in the tent.
Yep and weakened both ourselves and the EU. Putin must have pissed himself laughing, then Trump too...
Merkel was always Putin's useful idiot when she refused to properly engage with the real issues Dave raised in the sham negotiation. The price wasn't even very high, it was an ideological refusal to admit that the EU could get anything wrong which drove them to refuse Dave's meagre requests and water down his "victories". Had she actually listened the UK wouldn't have left (because people like me could have been won over to vote remain) and the EU would have come out stronger on the other side with a democratic vote of confidence from one of its most sceptical members.
C'est la vie.
Merkel is not to blame for the pathetic nature of Cameron's negotiation. His requests from the start were inadequate, driven by what I believe to be his desire to see the UK at the heart of the EU, with no exemptions, and his overconfidence that he could deliver this by browbeating the public. Therefore instead of opting the UK out of ever closer union, he made a silly demand that the whole EU needed to step away from ever closer union. A convincing semi-detachment of the UK from the EU could have been managed and could have been accepted by all but the most hardcore.
It is tricky for leavers to come to terms they were Putin's useful idiots, particularly as they like to kid themselves they are "patriots". Much easier to blame the furriners
Needless to say, I disagree - I don't mind full Brexit, as I think it delivers long term opportunities, though its temporary outworking has been tough going.
But I would have been very happy to accept a good associate-member status. The real culprits are not leavers at all, but the Cameronite political class, who were ideologically and politically subscribed to a vision of international politics that saw Britain permanently and irrevocably embedded within the EU, and weren't prepared to accept any dilution of that vision.
If you think of any opportunities you might want to write to Jacob. Apparently he is casting around for ideas.
I'll let you into a secret. There were no longer term, medium term or short term opportunities. It was all a big con to satisfy the egos of a few anti-EU obsessives.
Those of us that knew this all along have come to terms with the fact that we lost. It might help if those that were in favour of it also came to terms with the fact that it was pointless. Either way, we are where we are.
Forgive me, but you don't really seem to have come to terms with it.
JRM can VM me if he wants any ideas - I believe he posts here as @RochdalePioneers.
No I genuinely have come to terms with it. I am not in favour of re-joining the EU even if they wanted us. It doesn't stop me pointing out its stupidity and laughing at those who in spite of all of the overwhelming evidence that it was pointless still try and make out it was a worthwhile endeavour. I have to find a bit of humour in the whole thing after all.
If we had never been members, do you think the case for joining would be unambiguous?
Good evening. Sad news about the Dome, I've always liked the building.
I'm sure it'll be repaired soon enough.
It's disappointing to hear the rhetoric about the Millennium Dome 20 years plus later. It was, after all, the brainchild of Major and Heseltine yet it seems associated with Blair who had the temerity to defeat the Conservatives not once but three times and consign them to more than a decade in the futility of opposition.
Never mind - I quite liked the pre-Millennium exhibition and once it was realised what a fantastic concert venue it could be, the transformation of the whole North Greenwich site and peninsula in the past 20 years has been spectacular. I'm a frequent visitor as I'm half an hour away and it's got good restaurants and the Thames Pathway to Greenwich is improving all the time,
As for Stodge Towers, once fence slat and a non-ridge roof tile the extent of our damage from Storm Eunice to date. Hope everyone else on PB is safe and damage not too great for anyone.
As concerns grew in Europe over an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister suggested for the first time on Friday that military action by Moscow could mean the end of Nord Stream 2, a natural-gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany.
NY Times live blog
It's a finely balanced judgment. The Americans fear Nordstream 2 because they believe it would give the Russians the whip hand over Europe whereas Europeans are in favour because they calculate that Russian dependency on eurocash would make them more malleable. The clever thing about it is that the rate of flow can be carefully adjusted at each end, leading to more or less pressure as the situation demands. But obviously it has to be finished, first.
The real problem with NordStream2 that Russia can then cut off countries in the "Near Abroad" without interfering with supplies to Germany etc.
So they can divide an conquer - threaten countries near them and even cut them off, separately to German gas supplies.
The main reason for the project in the first place, was to cut off Ukraine. Gas pipelines are one of their largest sources of hard currency.
UK, EU and friendly countries need to start buying Ukranian goods, mostly foodstuffs. Let them see that trade with the West is always the better option for them.
That of corse is why Maggie and then Major were so supportive of the satellite countries joining the EU and NATO. The expansion of the EU to the East is the best thing to happen to these countries to secure their future peace and prosperity. Britain's role in the EU was as liberator, and well worth the short term cost.
Brexit was playing into Putins hands by weakening it. If we had remained we could be pushing for Ukranian entry.
The EU knew our price to stay in, they refused to pay it so we left. There's not a lot more to it than that. If our membership was as valuable as you say then more fool them for not doing whatever it took to keep us in the tent.
Yep and weakened both ourselves and the EU. Putin must have pissed himself laughing, then Trump too...
Merkel was always Putin's useful idiot when she refused to properly engage with the real issues Dave raised in the sham negotiation. The price wasn't even very high, it was an ideological refusal to admit that the EU could get anything wrong which drove them to refuse Dave's meagre requests and water down his "victories". Had she actually listened the UK wouldn't have left (because people like me could have been won over to vote remain) and the EU would have come out stronger on the other side with a democratic vote of confidence from one of its most sceptical members.
C'est la vie.
Merkel is not to blame for the pathetic nature of Cameron's negotiation. His requests from the start were inadequate, driven by what I believe to be his desire to see the UK at the heart of the EU, with no exemptions, and his overconfidence that he could deliver this by browbeating the public. Therefore instead of opting the UK out of ever closer union, he made a silly demand that the whole EU needed to step away from ever closer union. A convincing semi-detachment of the UK from the EU could have been managed and could have been accepted by all but the most hardcore.
It is tricky for leavers to come to terms they were Putin's useful idiots, particularly as they like to kid themselves they are "patriots". Much easier to blame the furriners
Needless to say, I disagree - I don't mind full Brexit, as I think it delivers long term opportunities, though its temporary outworking has been tough going.
But I would have been very happy to accept a good associate-member status. The real culprits are not leavers at all, but the Cameronite political class, who were ideologically and politically subscribed to a vision of international politics that saw Britain permanently and irrevocably embedded within the EU, and weren't prepared to accept any dilution of that vision.
If you think of any opportunities you might want to write to Jacob. Apparently he is casting around for ideas.
I'll let you into a secret. There were no longer term, medium term or short term opportunities. It was all a big con to satisfy the egos of a few anti-EU obsessives.
Those of us that knew this all along have come to terms with the fact that we lost. It might help if those that were in favour of it also came to terms with the fact that it was pointless. Either way, we are where we are.
Forgive me, but you don't really seem to have come to terms with it.
JRM can VM me if he wants any ideas - I believe he posts here as @RochdalePioneers.
No I genuinely have come to terms with it. I am not in favour of re-joining the EU even if they wanted us. It doesn't stop me pointing out its stupidity and laughing at those who in spite of all of the overwhelming evidence that it was pointless still try and make out it was a worthwhile endeavour. I have to find a bit of humour in the whole thing after all.
If we had never been members, do you think the case for joining would be unambiguous?
Good question. My case against Brexit was always that it was an unnecessary upheaval for no gain. That has been proven to be the case. Without the benefit of a parallel universe it is difficult to know the answer to your question because we don't know the condition of the UK had it been outside the EEC/EU all that time, so it would depend on the benefits on offer. I am tempted to think I would probably not been in favour if everything else were even.
The Scottish Government has lost a court battle over legislation which expanded the legal definition of a woman....
The three judges who presided over the appeal said the government did not have the power to have "expanded the definition of women" to include trans women.
Their ruling said that by “incorporating those transsexuals living as women into the definition of woman, the 2018 Act conflates and confuses two separate and distinct protected characteristics”. They said the definition of woman adopted in the Act "impinges on the nature of protected characteristics which is a reserved matter."
It's an interesting decision. The key bits, for me, are "By incorporating those transsexuals living as women into the definition of woman the 2018 Act conflates and confuses two separate and distinct protected characteristics, and in one case qualifies the nature of the characteristic which is to be given protection...The point is illustrated by the reclaimers’ submission – admittedly farfetched and unlikely to happen – that under this definition the representation objective could as a matter of law be met by the appointment of no individuals possessing the protected sex characteristic of women...The Lord Ordinary stated that the 2018 Act did not redefine “woman” for any other purpose than “to include transgender women as another category” of people who would benefit from the positive measure. Therein lies the rub: “transgender women” is not a category for these purposes; it is not a protected characteristic and for the reasons given, the definition of “woman” adopted in the Act impinges on the nature of protected characteristics which is a reserved matter."
This seems all very technical but this is one of the sharpest dividing lines in Scottish politics at the moment. Whilst the leadership of the SNP and indeed the Greens are very insistent that a transexual woman is a woman for all purposes many disagree, including a significant number of SNP members. This decision will enormously frustrate the Scottish government and raise, once again, the issue of the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. An application to appeal to the Supreme Court may well follow.
OTOH it's another opportunity, at a bare minimum, to remind everyone that the Scottish Parliament could do whatever it wanted if there were independence, if not to pick another fight with Westminster over the entire issue. So they're not going to be that upset, surely? Silver linings and all that.
Rather bizarrely, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer has decided to double-down on the already bizarre decision of the SNP to sow confusion about Scots pensions.
Apparently, the fact that, after the American Civil War, the victorious Union Govt went on to pay the pensions of the losing Confederates is a useful debating point when considering what might happen after Indy...
To be fair, it was news to me that the the last widowers' pension for a Confederate service personnel was paid out in 2012.
Genuine helpful advise to SNP, from 3,000 miles away. Stop talking about pensions, there’s precicsely nothing that will help your cause by keeping the subject alive.
If only the SNP would listen to some bloke on the internet. Tbf there are tens & tens of thousands of them blokes so it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Oh well, keep talking about pensions then. Doesn’t bother me!
Sorry, your Scotch credentials as someone who thought betting against the SNP as the largest party at the last Holyrood election was a good punt should certainly be given more respect. That puts you in the special SE Pantheon with Leon.
Oh dear, back to the hugely witty "Scotch" thing again. Apparently all us English folk (you know, that uniform group of privileged white people) refer to people from Scotland as "Scotch". Well, this is how the minds of twisted English hating nationalists like to think English people refer to them, just to create a little more hatred in their sick nationalist minds.
Unless of course "Scotch credentials" refers to an expertise in whiskey from north of the border perhaps?
This is where I think the US/UK tactics have worked rather well. By putting their intelligence into the public domain they are undoubtedly making it harder for the Russians to get even the slightest plausibility about false flag operations etc. The intelligence flights referred to by @Yokes last night show that they are not letting up on this. Its putting Putin in a bit of a spot. Tomorrow is going to be tricky with missiles etc floating about in quite large numbers. If there is going to be an attack it might be the day.
We'll see - I've always been sceptical about an outright "all the way to Kiev" invasion though an incursion to extend the separatist control beyond Donetsk and Lubansk has always been an option.
In terms of risk and reward, Putin must know where he's standing or what he's standing in but the art of diplomacy isn't just about winning or losing but the saving of face on all sides. Giving Putin a way out seems reasonable as must be the extension of a reasonable carrot to draw him away from the embrace of Beijing.
One of the problems of the post-Communist period has been the ease by which Cold War mentalities have been allowed to re-assert - I realise a lot of people derived a lot of comfort from the simplistic portrayal of Russia as "the enemy" but a more imaginative approach to the relationship with Moscow is long overdue.
Rather bizarrely, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer has decided to double-down on the already bizarre decision of the SNP to sow confusion about Scots pensions.
Apparently, the fact that, after the American Civil War, the victorious Union Govt went on to pay the pensions of the losing Confederates is a useful debating point when considering what might happen after Indy...
To be fair, it was news to me that the the last widowers' pension for a Confederate service personnel was paid out in 2012.
Genuine helpful advise to SNP, from 3,000 miles away. Stop talking about pensions, there’s precicsely nothing that will help your cause by keeping the subject alive.
If only the SNP would listen to some bloke on the internet. Tbf there are tens & tens of thousands of them blokes so it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Oh well, keep talking about pensions then. Doesn’t bother me!
Sorry, your Scotch credentials as someone who thought betting against the SNP as the largest party at the last Holyrood election was a good punt should certainly be given more respect. That puts you in the special SE Pantheon with Leon.
Oh dear, back to the hugely witty "Scotch" thing again. Apparently all us English folk (you know, that uniform group of privileged white people) refer to people from Scotland as "Scotch". Well, this is how the minds of twisted English hating nationalists like to think English people refer to them, just to create a little more hatred in their sick nationalist minds.
Unless of course "Scotch credentials" refers to an expertise in whiskey from north of the border perhaps?
It's 'Whisky'. Otherwise I agree!
Interesting point of pedantry! I used the word in a generic sense including all makers of dairy products.
Good evening. Sad news about the Dome, I've always liked the building.
The photos of it today take me back to 1999!
FWIW the dome was essentially a success whatever people thought of the exhibition (my view as a visitor was that it was a reasonable day out ) . Used in the London 2012 olympics and has hosted many sport and cultural events since. Iconic design of course, a London landmark recognised the world over .
Certainly a better use of money than test and bloody trace was
Rather bizarrely, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer has decided to double-down on the already bizarre decision of the SNP to sow confusion about Scots pensions.
Apparently, the fact that, after the American Civil War, the victorious Union Govt went on to pay the pensions of the losing Confederates is a useful debating point when considering what might happen after Indy...
To be fair, it was news to me that the the last widowers' pension for a Confederate service personnel was paid out in 2012.
Genuine helpful advise to SNP, from 3,000 miles away. Stop talking about pensions, there’s precicsely nothing that will help your cause by keeping the subject alive.
If only the SNP would listen to some bloke on the internet. Tbf there are tens & tens of thousands of them blokes so it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Oh well, keep talking about pensions then. Doesn’t bother me!
Sorry, your Scotch credentials as someone who thought betting against the SNP as the largest party at the last Holyrood election was a good punt should certainly be given more respect. That puts you in the special SE Pantheon with Leon.
Oh dear, back to the hugely witty "Scotch" thing again. Apparently all us English folk (you know, that uniform group of privileged white people) refer to people from Scotland as "Scotch". Well, this is how the minds of twisted English hating nationalists like to think English people refer to them, just to create a little more hatred in their sick nationalist minds.
Unless of course "Scotch credentials" refers to an expertise in whiskey from north of the border perhaps?
It's 'Whisky'. Otherwise I agree!
Interesting point of pedantry! I used the word in a generic sense including all makers of dairy products.
That's rather whisky behaviour!
WhiskEy refers to American rye or Bourbon whiskey, or Irish whiskey. The good stuff is whisky.
Rather bizarrely, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer has decided to double-down on the already bizarre decision of the SNP to sow confusion about Scots pensions.
Apparently, the fact that, after the American Civil War, the victorious Union Govt went on to pay the pensions of the losing Confederates is a useful debating point when considering what might happen after Indy...
To be fair, it was news to me that the the last widowers' pension for a Confederate service personnel was paid out in 2012.
Genuine helpful advise to SNP, from 3,000 miles away. Stop talking about pensions, there’s precicsely nothing that will help your cause by keeping the subject alive.
If only the SNP would listen to some bloke on the internet. Tbf there are tens & tens of thousands of them blokes so it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Oh well, keep talking about pensions then. Doesn’t bother me!
Sorry, your Scotch credentials as someone who thought betting against the SNP as the largest party at the last Holyrood election was a good punt should certainly be given more respect. That puts you in the special SE Pantheon with Leon.
Oh dear, back to the hugely witty "Scotch" thing again. Apparently all us English folk (you know, that uniform group of privileged white people) refer to people from Scotland as "Scotch". Well, this is how the minds of twisted English hating nationalists like to think English people refer to them, just to create a little more hatred in their sick nationalist minds.
Unless of course "Scotch credentials" refers to an expertise in whiskey from north of the border perhaps?
Rather bizarrely, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer has decided to double-down on the already bizarre decision of the SNP to sow confusion about Scots pensions.
Apparently, the fact that, after the American Civil War, the victorious Union Govt went on to pay the pensions of the losing Confederates is a useful debating point when considering what might happen after Indy...
To be fair, it was news to me that the the last widowers' pension for a Confederate service personnel was paid out in 2012.
Genuine helpful advise to SNP, from 3,000 miles away. Stop talking about pensions, there’s precicsely nothing that will help your cause by keeping the subject alive.
If only the SNP would listen to some bloke on the internet. Tbf there are tens & tens of thousands of them blokes so it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Oh well, keep talking about pensions then. Doesn’t bother me!
Sorry, your Scotch credentials as someone who thought betting against the SNP as the largest party at the last Holyrood election was a good punt should certainly be given more respect. That puts you in the special SE Pantheon with Leon.
Oh dear, back to the hugely witty "Scotch" thing again. Apparently all us English folk (you know, that uniform group of privileged white people) refer to people from Scotland as "Scotch". Well, this is how the minds of twisted English hating nationalists like to think English people refer to them, just to create a little more hatred in their sick nationalist minds.
Unless of course "Scotch credentials" refers to an expertise in whiskey from north of the border perhaps?
It's 'Whisky'. Otherwise I agree!
Interesting point of pedantry! I used the word in a generic sense including all makers of dairy products.
That's rather whisky behaviour!
WhiskEy refers to American rye or Bourbon whiskey, or Irish whiskey. The good stuff is whisky.
I am a great lover of the Scotch variety (tho not the blended crap), though being of partial Irish lineage I would have to say that the Irish stuff can be pretty good. Anything that needs ice in it to drink is better used to light the bonfire
As concerns grew in Europe over an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister suggested for the first time on Friday that military action by Moscow could mean the end of Nord Stream 2, a natural-gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany.
NY Times live blog
It's a finely balanced judgment. The Americans fear Nordstream 2 because they believe it would give the Russians the whip hand over Europe whereas Europeans are in favour because they calculate that Russian dependency on eurocash would make them more malleable. The clever thing about it is that the rate of flow can be carefully adjusted at each end, leading to more or less pressure as the situation demands. But obviously it has to be finished, first.
The real problem with NordStream2 that Russia can then cut off countries in the "Near Abroad" without interfering with supplies to Germany etc.
So they can divide an conquer - threaten countries near them and even cut them off, separately to German gas supplies.
The main reason for the project in the first place, was to cut off Ukraine. Gas pipelines are one of their largest sources of hard currency.
UK, EU and friendly countries need to start buying Ukranian goods, mostly foodstuffs. Let them see that trade with the West is always the better option for them.
That of corse is why Maggie and then Major were so supportive of the satellite countries joining the EU and NATO. The expansion of the EU to the East is the best thing to happen to these countries to secure their future peace and prosperity. Britain's role in the EU was as liberator, and well worth the short term cost.
Brexit was playing into Putins hands by weakening it. If we had remained we could be pushing for Ukranian entry.
The EU knew our price to stay in, they refused to pay it so we left. There's not a lot more to it than that. If our membership was as valuable as you say then more fool them for not doing whatever it took to keep us in the tent.
Yep and weakened both ourselves and the EU. Putin must have pissed himself laughing, then Trump too...
Merkel was always Putin's useful idiot when she refused to properly engage with the real issues Dave raised in the sham negotiation. The price wasn't even very high, it was an ideological refusal to admit that the EU could get anything wrong which drove them to refuse Dave's meagre requests and water down his "victories". Had she actually listened the UK wouldn't have left (because people like me could have been won over to vote remain) and the EU would have come out stronger on the other side with a democratic vote of confidence from one of its most sceptical members.
C'est la vie.
Merkel is not to blame for the pathetic nature of Cameron's negotiation. His requests from the start were inadequate, driven by what I believe to be his desire to see the UK at the heart of the EU, with no exemptions, and his overconfidence that he could deliver this by browbeating the public. Therefore instead of opting the UK out of ever closer union, he made a silly demand that the whole EU needed to step away from ever closer union. A convincing semi-detachment of the UK from the EU could have been managed and could have been accepted by all but the most hardcore.
It is tricky for leavers to come to terms they were Putin's useful idiots, particularly as they like to kid themselves they are "patriots". Much easier to blame the furriners
Needless to say, I disagree - I don't mind full Brexit, as I think it delivers long term opportunities, though its temporary outworking has been tough going.
But I would have been very happy to accept a good associate-member status. The real culprits are not leavers at all, but the Cameronite political class, who were ideologically and politically subscribed to a vision of international politics that saw Britain permanently and irrevocably embedded within the EU, and weren't prepared to accept any dilution of that vision.
If you think of any opportunities you might want to write to Jacob. Apparently he is casting around for ideas.
I'll let you into a secret. There were no longer term, medium term or short term opportunities. It was all a big con to satisfy the egos of a few anti-EU obsessives.
Those of us that knew this all along have come to terms with the fact that we lost. It might help if those that were in favour of it also came to terms with the fact that it was pointless. Either way, we are where we are.
Forgive me, but you don't really seem to have come to terms with it.
JRM can VM me if he wants any ideas - I believe he posts here as @RochdalePioneers.
No I genuinely have come to terms with it. I am not in favour of re-joining the EU even if they wanted us. It doesn't stop me pointing out its stupidity and laughing at those who in spite of all of the overwhelming evidence that it was pointless still try and make out it was a worthwhile endeavour. I have to find a bit of humour in the whole thing after all.
If we had never been members, do you think the case for joining would be unambiguous?
I think if we had never been members we would be chomping at the bit to join and would be welcomed. That's sadly not the case so we have to do everything to minimise the negative impacts of leaving, maximise any gains we can make by being out and mend fences between remainers and leavers, despite the efforts of Leon to keep the debate about leaving going on and on.
Rather bizarrely, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer has decided to double-down on the already bizarre decision of the SNP to sow confusion about Scots pensions.
Apparently, the fact that, after the American Civil War, the victorious Union Govt went on to pay the pensions of the losing Confederates is a useful debating point when considering what might happen after Indy...
To be fair, it was news to me that the the last widowers' pension for a Confederate service personnel was paid out in 2012.
Genuine helpful advise to SNP, from 3,000 miles away. Stop talking about pensions, there’s precicsely nothing that will help your cause by keeping the subject alive.
If only the SNP would listen to some bloke on the internet. Tbf there are tens & tens of thousands of them blokes so it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Oh well, keep talking about pensions then. Doesn’t bother me!
Sorry, your Scotch credentials as someone who thought betting against the SNP as the largest party at the last Holyrood election was a good punt should certainly be given more respect. That puts you in the special SE Pantheon with Leon.
Oh dear, back to the hugely witty "Scotch" thing again. Apparently all us English folk (you know, that uniform group of privileged white people) refer to people from Scotland as "Scotch". Well, this is how the minds of twisted English hating nationalists like to think English people refer to them, just to create a little more hatred in their sick nationalist minds.
Unless of course "Scotch credentials" refers to an expertise in whiskey from north of the border perhaps?
Whiskey!
Lol, definitely not a scotch expert.
Possibly not, though having seen many of your posts I would rather that than being expert in jack shit like yourself.
Rather bizarrely, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer has decided to double-down on the already bizarre decision of the SNP to sow confusion about Scots pensions.
Apparently, the fact that, after the American Civil War, the victorious Union Govt went on to pay the pensions of the losing Confederates is a useful debating point when considering what might happen after Indy...
To be fair, it was news to me that the the last widowers' pension for a Confederate service personnel was paid out in 2012.
But that does at least make sense, Mr Burgessian. Once they had finished their civil war, the Americans could start to settle down again as one united country.
In contrast, the intention of some people is to make Scotland a separate country, with pensions paid for by what would then be a foreign country. ie the rest of us. I have the impression that Mr Greer just likes the sound of his own voice, and has nothing useful to contribute..
Comments
Allegations that the Ukrainian government intends to launch an offensive operation in Donbas are divorced from reality. Ukraine is also NOT conducting or planning any sabotage acts in Donbas. We categorically reject attempts by Russia to aggravate already tense security situation
We remain firmly committed to politico-diplomatic settlement. We call on foreign states & international organisations to condemn immediately provocations conducted by Russia undermining peace efforts. Absence of proper reaction or neutral stance will only serve further escalation
https://twitter.com/OlegNikolenko_/status/1494726081517178890
But I would have been very happy to accept a good associate-member status. The real culprits are not leavers at all, but the Cameronite political class, who were ideologically and politically subscribed to a vision of international politics that saw Britain permanently and irrevocably embedded within the EU, and weren't prepared to accept any dilution of that vision.
https://twitter.com/leonidragozin/status/1494729394824355843
I'll let you into a secret. There were no longer term, medium term or short term opportunities. It was all a big con to satisfy the egos of a few anti-EU obsessives.
Those of us that knew this all along have come to terms with the fact that we lost. It might help if those that were in favour of it also came to terms with the fact that it was pointless. Either way, we are where we are.
Ukraine - and Ukrainians - have suffered so much over the centuries.
https://order-order.com/2022/02/18/new-good-law-project-discontinues-case-against-dcms/
JRM can VM me if he wants any ideas - I believe he posts here as @RochdalePioneers.
https://twitter.com/murphy_simon/status/1494716804308029450?s=21
1. Denial
2. Denial
3. False flag event
4. Invasion
5. Denial
https://twitter.com/DarthPutinKGB/status/1494592130391683085
There was a spare 200m space in 2012, he had run the qualifying time and wasn't selected. There were reasons, but given there was the possibility to add a third runner to the squad, why not?
Then his funding got cut.
Proves all that wrong and between 2014-2017 wins a number of golds in European, Worlds and Commonwealth events, both indoor and outdoor, but 2020 seemed too far away, especially with the delay.
And now this.
Lab 39.8%
Con 33.1%
LD 10.0%
Grn 5.8%
Lab lead 6.7%
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_United_Kingdom_general_election
Unless of course "Scotch credentials" refers to an expertise in whiskey from north of the border perhaps?
"By incorporating those transsexuals living as women into the definition of woman
the 2018 Act conflates and confuses two separate and distinct protected characteristics, and
in one case qualifies the nature of the characteristic which is to be given protection...The point is illustrated by the reclaimers’ submission – admittedly farfetched and unlikely to happen – that under this definition the representation objective could as a matter of law be met by the appointment of no individuals possessing the
protected sex characteristic of women...The Lord Ordinary stated that
the 2018 Act did not redefine “woman” for any other purpose than “to include transgender
women as another category” of people who would benefit from the positive measure.
Therein lies the rub: “transgender women” is not a category for these purposes; it is not a
protected characteristic and for the reasons given, the definition of “woman” adopted in the
Act impinges on the nature of protected characteristics which is a reserved matter."
This seems all very technical but this is one of the sharpest dividing lines in Scottish politics at the moment. Whilst the leadership of the SNP and indeed the Greens are very insistent that a transexual woman is a woman for all purposes many disagree, including a significant number of SNP members. This decision will enormously frustrate the Scottish government and raise, once again, the issue of the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. An application to appeal to the Supreme Court may well follow.
It's disappointing to hear the rhetoric about the Millennium Dome 20 years plus later. It was, after all, the brainchild of Major and Heseltine yet it seems associated with Blair who had the temerity to defeat the Conservatives not once but three times and consign them to more than a decade in the futility of opposition.
Never mind - I quite liked the pre-Millennium exhibition and once it was realised what a fantastic concert venue it could be, the transformation of the whole North Greenwich site and peninsula in the past 20 years has been spectacular. I'm a frequent visitor as I'm half an hour away and it's got good restaurants and the Thames Pathway to Greenwich is improving all the time,
As for Stodge Towers, once fence slat and a non-ridge roof tile the extent of our damage from Storm Eunice to date. Hope everyone else on PB is safe and damage not too great for anyone.
In terms of risk and reward, Putin must know where he's standing or what he's standing in but the art of diplomacy isn't just about winning or losing but the saving of face on all sides. Giving Putin a way out seems reasonable as must be the extension of a reasonable carrot to draw him away from the embrace of Beijing.
One of the problems of the post-Communist period has been the ease by which Cold War mentalities have been allowed to re-assert - I realise a lot of people derived a lot of comfort from the simplistic portrayal of Russia as "the enemy" but a more imaginative approach to the relationship with Moscow is long overdue.
FWIW the dome was essentially a success whatever people thought of the exhibition (my view as a visitor was that it was a reasonable day out ) . Used in the London 2012 olympics and has hosted many sport and cultural events since. Iconic design of course, a London landmark recognised the world over .
Certainly a better use of money than test and bloody trace was
WhiskEy refers to American rye or Bourbon whiskey, or Irish whiskey. The good stuff is whisky.
Lol, definitely not a scotch expert.
In contrast, the intention of some people is to make Scotland a separate country, with pensions paid for by what would then be a foreign country. ie the rest of us. I have the impression that Mr Greer just likes the sound of his own voice, and has nothing useful to contribute..