Yes, the letter in the Downey case was sent on 20 July 2007, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the bombing. The key question now (as I see it) is whether the NIO continued to send such letters to other "on the runs" after the devolution of policing and justice in 2010. Robinson and Long claim it did, without the knowledge of the Northern Ireland Executive. According to the Attorney General, 38 such letters have been sent since the current government came to office.
And it also appears to conflict with what Theresa Villiers was saying yesterday.
Oh dear.
Let's suppose that the NIO did continue to send such letters after the devolution of policing and justice, as claimed. As we know, it says it was merely communicating a decision of the independent prosecution authorities. The question must arise, did it claim to be communicating a decision of the Attorney General for England and Wales or the Attorney General for Northern Ireland? If the former, then the assurances would have been seen quite rightly as worthless. If the latter, then one would assume Mr Larkin has questions to answer if he knew about the practice and didn't tell fellow members of the NI Executive.
I'm sure PBers (even the ones WoS categorised de facto as 'slack-jawed halfwits') would like to contribute to the funding of their favourite Somerset-based Cybernat, Wings Over Scotland. You'll have to hurry though, they've already made over £33k of their £53k target in under 4 hours.
Russian tanks moving into the Ukraine would be a sign of weakness rather than strength. A bit of Sabre rattling is one thing, but sparking up Ukranian nationalism is another, even Russophile Ukranians are unlikely to welcome tanks. The Better Together (Ukraine section) campaign should not work via project fear.
I'm sure PBers (even the ones WoS categorised de facto as 'slack-jawed halfwits') would like to contribute to the funding of their favourite Somerset-based Cybernat, Wings Over Scotland. You'll have to hurry though, they've already made over £33k of their £53k target in under 4 hours.
Yes, the letter in the Downey case was sent on 20 July 2007, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the bombing. The key question now (as I see it) is whether the NIO continued to send such letters to other "on the runs" after the devolution of policing and justice in 2010. Robinson and Long claim it did, without the knowledge of the Northern Ireland Executive. According to the Attorney General, 38 such letters have been sent since the current government came to office.
If that's correct, that is a considerable scandal, and I think Theresa Villiers' position will be untenable.
I have to say that I find the whole business of sending out these letters, in secret, without the agreement of the other parties to the negotations, to be disgraceful.
I'm sure PBers (even the ones WoS categorised de facto as 'slack-jawed halfwits') would like to contribute to the funding of their favourite Somerset-based Cybernat, Wings Over Scotland. You'll have to hurry though, they've already made over £33k of their £53k target in under 4 hours.
'In the last 12 months Wings Over Scotland has been visited by 959,086 unique readers - almost a quarter of the entire Scottish electorate.'
And?
And....they're still behind in the polls? And....they still have no real solution to the currency issue? And....if Salmond spins any faster they can use him to drill for oil?
I'm sure PBers (even the ones WoS categorised de facto as 'slack-jawed halfwits') would like to contribute to the funding of their favourite Somerset-based Cybernat, Wings Over Scotland. You'll have to hurry though, they've already made over £33k of their £53k target in under 4 hours.
'In the last 12 months Wings Over Scotland has been visited by 959,086 unique readers - almost a quarter of the entire Scottish electorate.'
And?
And....they're still behind in the polls? And....they still have no real solution to the currency issue? And....if Salmond spins any faster they can use him to drill for oil?
I'm sure PBers (even the ones WoS categorised de facto as 'slack-jawed halfwits') would like to contribute to the funding of their favourite Somerset-based Cybernat, Wings Over Scotland. You'll have to hurry though, they've already made over £33k of their £53k target in under 4 hours.
Thats as maybe, but you do not have to eat the sixty pieces at one sitting!
You say that, but it's 'oh, just one more then' and before you know it there are crumbs on an empty plate and you're full of heartburn and self-loathing.
Thanks LIMAT and Antifrank for your answers re. NI.
Do we know if such letters were sent to loyalist criminals, or just republican ones?
On instinct I am really nervous about such letters. But are there similar examples in the non-paramilitary world? Could I, if I had been suspected of a crime, receive such a letter of assurance?
Russian tanks moving into the Ukraine would be a sign of weakness rather than strength. A bit of Sabre rattling is one thing, but sparking up Ukranian nationalism is another, even Russophile Ukranians are unlikely to welcome tanks. The Better Together (Ukraine section) campaign should not work via project fear.
Thanks LIMAT and Antifrank for your answers re. NI.
Do we know if such letters were sent to loyalist criminals, or just republican ones?
On instinct I am really nervous about such letters. But are there similar examples in the non-paramilitary world? Could I, if I had been suspected of a crime, receive such a letter of assurance?
If that's correct, that is a considerable scandal, and I think Theresa Villiers' position will be untenable.
I have to say that I find the whole business of sending out these letters, in secret, without the agreement of the other parties to the negotations, to be disgraceful.
Betting wise, Villiers (10/1 with PP) and Paterson (12/1 with PP) could be affected. On the other hand, the blame may lie with the Northern Ireland AG, John Larkin, who is somewhat of a loose cannon to put it mildly.
I'm sure PBers (even the ones WoS categorised de facto as 'slack-jawed halfwits') would like to contribute to the funding of their favourite Somerset-based Cybernat, Wings Over Scotland. You'll have to hurry though, they've already made over £33k of their £53k target in under 4 hours.
'In the last 12 months Wings Over Scotland has been visited by 959,086 unique readers - almost a quarter of the entire Scottish electorate.'
And?
And....they're still behind in the polls? And....they still have no real solution to the currency issue? And....if Salmond spins any faster they can use him to drill for oil?
I wonder how many of those 959,086 have a vote?
' Anonymous 8 minutes ago £504 – Saviours'
Well played, TheWatcher, particularly after your ire at the '**** off Dishface' outrage.
Perhaps they have grown accustomed to, and develop a fondness for, the smack of firm government. Other countries have moved on, and even Putin has had to temper his wilder rhetoric.
Russian tanks moving into the Ukraine would be a sign of weakness rather than strength. A bit of Sabre rattling is one thing, but sparking up Ukranian nationalism is another, even Russophile Ukranians are unlikely to welcome tanks. The Better Together (Ukraine section) campaign should not work via project fear.
I'm sure PBers (even the ones WoS categorised de facto as 'slack-jawed halfwits') would like to contribute to the funding of their favourite Somerset-based Cybernat, Wings Over Scotland. You'll have to hurry though, they've already made over £33k of their £53k target in under 4 hours.
'In the last 12 months Wings Over Scotland has been visited by 959,086 unique readers - almost a quarter of the entire Scottish electorate.'
And?
And....they're still behind in the polls? And....they still have no real solution to the currency issue? And....if Salmond spins any faster they can use him to drill for oil?
I wonder how many of those 959,086 have a vote?
' Anonymous 8 minutes ago £504 – Saviours'
Well played, TheWatcher, particularly after your ire at the '**** off Dishface' outrage.
That is some pretty impressive and rapid fundraising, I admit.
I'm sure PBers (even the ones WoS categorised de facto as 'slack-jawed halfwits') would like to contribute to the funding of their favourite Somerset-based Cybernat, Wings Over Scotland. You'll have to hurry though, they've already made over £33k of their £53k target in under 4 hours.
'In the last 12 months Wings Over Scotland has been visited by 959,086 unique readers - almost a quarter of the entire Scottish electorate.'
And?
And....they're still behind in the polls? And....they still have no real solution to the currency issue? And....if Salmond spins any faster they can use him to drill for oil?
I wonder how many of those 959,086 have a vote?
' Anonymous 8 minutes ago £504 – Saviours'
Well played, TheWatcher, particularly after your ire at the '**** off Dishface' outrage.
That was mine Divvie - I'm all for Independence. Seriously, I am. And the full, stand on your own feet kind, rather than the wishy washy DevoMax that Alex really wants.
I see Toadface Salmond's naughty aide has made it into the Daily Harman now.
On Topic (I know, but someone has to) the Labour percentage in Yougov looks quite static which is also repeated in the poll of polls since April last year. In reality, so has the Tory percentage since last August.
Serious question Does anyone know what EdM and the entire Labour Party intend doing to stop AGW..what actual steps they will take..and have they told the rest of the nations in the world..
Austerity and food banks don't seem to have had a slimming influence, curiously.
The fact that we are forcing obese poor people to go hungry is a permanent stain on our country.
As stated upthread, it's based on 2008/9 data. It's Labour obesity. Under IDS's magnificent reforms, foodbanks are now attended only by svelte, bright-eyed paupers.
Longevity is not the object of existence. A life of the simple pleasures of fried chicken, irn-bru and ciggies while watching Britains got talent and surfing "wings over scotland" is not a life without its own enjoyments.
Thats as maybe, but you do not have to eat the sixty pieces at one sitting!
You say that, but it's 'oh, just one more then' and before you know it there are crumbs on an empty plate and you're full of heartburn and self-loathing.
I've spoken to Putin's supporters (and supporters of the strong hand) in Russia and they mostly said the same thing: they characterise the choice as between power in the Kremlin, or power in the hands of the oligarchs in London or Paris. They are more confident of Putin using that power to the public good than any of the hated oligarchs.
Thanks LIMAT and Antifrank for your answers re. NI.
Do we know if such letters were sent to loyalist criminals, or just republican ones?
On instinct I am really nervous about such letters. But are there similar examples in the non-paramilitary world? Could I, if I had been suspected of a crime, receive such a letter of assurance?
*Suspected* criminals.
Good point. On that note, did Cameron make a similar mistake during his reply at PMQs?
I'm sure PBers (even the ones WoS categorised de facto as 'slack-jawed halfwits') would like to contribute to the funding of their favourite Somerset-based Cybernat, Wings Over Scotland. You'll have to hurry though, they've already made over £33k of their £53k target in under 4 hours.
'In the last 12 months Wings Over Scotland has been visited by 959,086 unique readers - almost a quarter of the entire Scottish electorate.'
And?
And....they're still behind in the polls? And....they still have no real solution to the currency issue? And....if Salmond spins any faster they can use him to drill for oil?
I wonder how many of those 959,086 have a vote?
' Anonymous 8 minutes ago £504 – Saviours'
Well played, TheWatcher, particularly after your ire at the '**** off Dishface' outrage.
That is some pretty impressive and rapid fundraising, I admit.
Not least also because they've used previous funders to commission their own crowdsourced opinion polling from approved polling companies, and they asked/published questions and answers which other media outlets do not.
As I recall, it drove the No campaign parties, mainstream commercial media and BBC into a dilemma of whether to ignore them or to condemn them as a bunch of cybernats. Not just for political reasons either, judging from the tone of some of the media coverage which evidently saw it as an outrageous attack on their owners' commercial prerogatives.
I don't know if it was discussed here on PB at the time (last summer/autumn), but I see it as a very interesting development. It is, of course, relevant to any line of opinion which sees itself as not properly represented in the mainstream media.
I'm sure PBers (even the ones WoS categorised de facto as 'slack-jawed halfwits') would like to contribute to the funding of their favourite Somerset-based Cybernat, Wings Over Scotland. You'll have to hurry though, they've already made over £33k of their £53k target in under 4 hours.
'In the last 12 months Wings Over Scotland has been visited by 959,086 unique readers - almost a quarter of the entire Scottish electorate.'
And?
And....they're still behind in the polls? And....they still have no real solution to the currency issue? And....if Salmond spins any faster they can use him to drill for oil?
I wonder how many of those 959,086 have a vote?
' Anonymous 8 minutes ago £504 – Saviours'
Well played, TheWatcher, particularly after your ire at the '**** off Dishface' outrage.
That was mine Divvie - I'm all for Independence.
I see Toadface Salmond's naughty aide has made it into the Daily Harman now.
Poor old SLABs' heads will be spinning - awful Daily Mail slander upon poor Ed's dead dad, wonderful Daily Mail exposing evil Cybernats, awful Daily Mail PIE-ing Harriet, wonderful Daily Mail poking into private life of Nat pol.
Longevity is not the object of existence. A life of the simple pleasures of fried chicken, irn-bru and ciggies while watching Britains got talent and surfing "wings over scotland" is not a life without its own enjoyments.
Thats as maybe, but you do not have to eat the sixty pieces at one sitting!
You say that, but it's 'oh, just one more then' and before you know it there are crumbs on an empty plate and you're full of heartburn and self-loathing.
Also good news for the countries pension liabilities. It should be seen as a civic duty to live fast (or veeeeeery slow in this case) and die young.
Err! I think that Putin is quite friendly with the oligarchs, it is that whole culture of power and patronage that the Ukranians want away from. The EU may not be the best avenue away from such things to a more experienced public.
I've spoken toin's supporters (and supporters of the strong hand) in Russia and they mostly said the same thing: they characterise the choice as between power in the Kremlin, or power in the hands of the oligarchs in London or Paris. They are more confident of Putin using that power to the public good than any of the hated oligarchs.
Don't worry about the rhetoric (although I notice Sergei Lavrov's tone is dangerously silky and smooth).
The laws in Russia are very harsh.
But the compensating factor is that you do not always need to obey them.
Although I realise that such conflicts can quickly escalate into inter ethnic strife this is not the cause of the current crisis.
Corrupt government and a failing economy are the real problems. I really don't think there is any appetite for Russian on Ukrainian violence. OK, the lunatic fringes of society will posture and punch but the real players know that partition or civil war will never be a solution.
Maybe that is why having a Heavyweight World Boxing Champion as President might be the pacificist and non adversarial solution everyone is hoping for.
Perhaps they have grown accustomed to, and develop a fondness for, the smack of firm government. Other countries have moved on, and even Putin has had to temper his wilder rhetoric.
Russian tanks moving into the Ukraine would be a sign of weakness rather than strength. A bit of Sabre rattling is one thing, but sparking up Ukranian nationalism is another, even Russophile Ukranians are unlikely to welcome tanks. The Better Together (Ukraine section) campaign should not work via project fear.
Err! I think that Putin is quite friendly with the oligarcs, it is that whole culture of power and patronage that the Ukranians want away from these things though!. The EU may not be the best avenue away fr
I've spoken to Putin's supporters (and supporters of the strong hand) in Russia and they mostly said the same thing: they characterise the choice as between power in the Kremlin, or power in the hands of the oligarchs in London or Paris. They are more confident of Putin using that power to the public good than any of the hated oligarchs.
There are bad (booooo!) oligarchs and good (yay!) oligarchs. The sole criteria is whether you support a certain Mr Putin or not.
Julian Druker @Julian5News 42 secs Michael Adebolajo's defence lawyer says a full life sentence can 'never be justified' #woolwich
Mr Gottlieb clearly thinks that the decision of a special constitution of the Court of Appeal, including the Lord Chief, the President of the QBD, and the Vice President of the Court of Appeal, in McLoughlin & Newell is obiter.
I'm sure PBers (even the ones WoS categorised de facto as 'slack-jawed halfwits') would like to contribute to the funding of their favourite Somerset-based Cybernat, Wings Over Scotland. You'll have to hurry though, they've already made over £33k of their £53k target in under 4 hours.
'In the last 12 months Wings Over Scotland has been visited by 959,086 unique readers - almost a quarter of the entire Scottish electorate.'
And?
And....they're still behind in the polls? And....they still have no real solution to the currency issue? And....if Salmond spins any faster they can use him to drill for oil?
I wonder how many of those 959,086 have a vote?
' Anonymous 8 minutes ago £504 – Saviours'
Well played, TheWatcher, particularly after your ire at the '**** off Dishface' outrage.
That was mine Divvie - I'm all for Independence.
I see Toadface Salmond's naughty aide has made it into the Daily Harman now.
Poor old SLABs' heads will be spinning - awful Daily Mail slander upon poor Ed's dead dad, wonderful Daily Mail exposing evil Cybernats, awful Daily Mail PIE-ing Harriet, wonderful Daily Mail poking into private life of Nat pol.
One hopes the Scottish Daily Mail continues to do so. Unless, of course, you'd be happier if the fruitier activities of your politicians and aides went unchallenged.
Err! I think that Putin is quite friendly with the oligarcs, it is that whole culture of power and patronage that the Ukranians want away from these things though!. The EU may not be the best avenue away fr
I've spoken to Putin's supporters (and supporters of the strong hand) in Russia and they mostly said the same thing: they characterise the choice as between power in the Kremlin, or power in the hands of the oligarchs in London or Paris. They are more confident of Putin using that power to the public good than any of the hated oligarchs.
There are bad (booooo!) oligarchs and good (yay!) oligarchs. The sole criteria is whether you support a certain Mr Putin or not.
Like Putin or not, his record with the oligarchs is unimpeachable.
It was Yeltsin who allowed the oligarchs to develop their powerbases. OK, it may have been an excusable consequence of rapid transition to a free market economy, but it was the oligarchs who ended up returning Yeltsin to power.
When Putin gradually took over he had to bring the Yeltsin oligarchs into line which he did slowly and effectively by returning the core raw material extraction industry assets to state ownership. The oligarchs who complied with Putin ended up rich exiles (Abramovich). Those who challenged his power ended up in jail (Khodorkovsky).
And Putin is not a typically corrupt Soviet style carpet bagger (at least by comparison with his predecessors and peers throughout the FSU). You won't find a string of Presidential yachts and many palaces built in his name (there is one on the Black Sea) and he doesn't flaunt his personal wealth, although to be fair a Russia President will always have access to any comfort desired.
In addition his family do not run half the industry in the country. By Russian standards (I stress again this is relative), Putin is an austere and self-denying leader. His stand against Yuri Luzhkov, Moscow's all powerful Mayor with a wife who ran the private property development industry in Moscow, was a model of the 'principled' power accretion.
Putin is by no means a saint and his exercise of power can be childish and boorish. He is also not an 'enlightened' leader in the mould of the Catherine the Great who spent her waking hours corresponding with Voltaire. He cultivates the well established image of a Russian "muzhik": a sort of man of the people. This is part a projection of KGB calculation but also undoubtedly part genuine.
For all the faults of Putin's administration, he is undoubtedly popular and respected in Russia. He may want to appear fearless but there is too much of the rational analyst in him to be foolhardy.
If he moves into the Ukraine it will not be to conquer or divide but to obtain the best hand at the poker table.
Julian Druker @Julian5News 42 secs Michael Adebolajo's defence lawyer says a full life sentence can 'never be justified' #woolwich
Mr Gottlieb clearly thinks that the decision of a special constitution of the Court of Appeal, including the Lord Chief, the President of the QBD, and the Vice President of the Court of Appeal, in McLoughlin & Newell is obiter.
Err! I think that Putin is quite friendly with the oligarcs, it is that whole culture of power and patronage that the Ukranians want away from these things though!. The EU may not be the best avenue away fr
There are bad (booooo!) oligarchs and good (yay!) oligarchs. The sole criteria is whether you support a certain Mr Putin or not.
Like Putin or not, his record with the oligarchs is unimpeachable.
It was Yeltsin who allowed the oligarchs to develop their powerbases. OK, it may have been an excusable consequence of rapid transition to a free market economy, but it was the oligarchs who ended up returning Yeltsin to power.
When Putin gradually took over he had to bring the Yeltsin oligarchs into line which he did slowly and effectively by returning the core raw material extraction industry assets to state ownership. The oligarchs who complied with Putin ended up rich exiles (Abramovich). Those who challenged his power ended up in jail (Khodorkovsky).
And Putin is not a typically corrupt Soviet style carpet bagger (at least by comparison with his predecessors and peers throughout the FSU). You won't find a string of Presidential yachts and many palaces built in his name (there is one on the Black Sea) and he doesn't flaunt his personal wealth, although to be fair a Russia President will always have access to any comfort desired.
In addition his family do not run half the industry in the country. By Russian standards (I stress again this is relative), Putin is an austere and self-denying leader. His stand against Yuri Luzhkov, Moscow's all powerful Mayor with a wife who ran the private property development industry in Moscow, was a model of the 'principled' power accretion.
Putin is by no means a saint and his exercise of power can be childish and boorish. He is also not an 'enlightened' leader in the mould of the Catherine the Great who spent her waking hours corresponding with Voltaire. He cultivates the well established image of a Russian "muzhik": a sort of man of the people. This is part a projection of KGB calculation but also undoubtedly part genuine.
For all the faults of Putin's administration, he is undoubtedly popular and respected in Russia. He may want to appear fearless but there is too much of the rational analyst in him to be foolhardy.
If he moves into the Ukraine it will not be to conquer or divide but to obtain the best hand at the poker table.
Julian Druker @Julian5News 42 secs Michael Adebolajo's defence lawyer says a full life sentence can 'never be justified' #woolwich
Mr Gottlieb clearly thinks that the decision of a special constitution of the Court of Appeal, including the Lord Chief, the President of the QBD, and the Vice President of the Court of Appeal, in McLoughlin & Newell is obiter.
The defence barristers haven't exactly covered themselves in glory in this trial, have they?
Err! I think that Putin is quite friendly with the oligarcs, it is that whole culture of power and patronage that the Ukranians want away from these things though!. The EU may not be the best avenue away fr
There are bad (booooo!) oligarchs and good (yay!) oligarchs. The sole criteria is whether you support a certain Mr Putin or not.
Like Putin or not, his record with the oligarchs is unimpeachable.
It was Yeltsin who allowed the oligarchs to develop their powerbases. OK, it may have been an excusable consequence of rapid transition to a free market economy, but it was the oligarchs who ended up returning Yeltsin to power.
When Putin gradually took over he had to bring the Yeltsin oligarchs into line which he did slowly and effectively by returning the core raw material extraction industry assets to state ownership. The oligarchs who complied with Putin ended up rich exiles (Abramovich). Those who challenged his power ended up in jail (Khodorkovsky).
And Putin is not a typically corrupt Soviet style carpet bagger (at least by comparison with his predecessors and peers throughout the FSU). You won't find a string of Presidential yachts and many palaces built in his name (there is one on the Black Sea) and he doesn't flaunt his personal wealth, although to be fair a Russia President will always have access to any comfort desired.
In addition his family do not run half the industry in the country. By Russian standards (I stress again this is relative), Putin is an austere and self-denying leader. His stand against Yuri Luzhkov, Moscow's all powerful Mayor with a wife who ran the private property development industry in Moscow, was a model of the 'principled' power accretion.
Putin is by no means a saint and his exercise of power can be childish and boorish. He is also not an 'enlightened' leader in the mould of the Catherine the Great who spent her waking hours corresponding with Voltaire. He cultivates the well established image of a Russian "muzhik": a sort of man of the people. This is part a projection of KGB calculation but also undoubtedly part genuine.
For all the faults of Putin's administration, he is undoubtedly popular and respected in Russia. He may want to appear fearless but there is too much of the rational analyst in him to be foolhardy.
If he moves into the Ukraine it will not be to conquer or divide but to obtain the best hand at the poker table.
I liked the top rated comment after the article Please can we get this right. It wouldn't be 4,000 lives saved, it would be 4,000 deaths slightly postponed.
Comments
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15901351
And that's based on English data. Including data from North o' the Border would doubtless make the situation even worse.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMnjF1O4eH0
Charles appears to have been getting a little too keen lately.
http://tinyurl.com/ojgxzwv
http://groceries.iceland.co.uk/iceland-60-piece-crispy-chicken-platter-840g/p/54158
The fact that we are forcing obese poor people to go hungry is a permanent stain on our country.
http://www.newstatesman.com/2014/02/alex-salmond-why-should-scotland-let-itself-be-ruled-tories
'In the last 12 months Wings Over Scotland has been visited by 959,086 unique readers - almost a quarter of the entire Scottish electorate.'
Where does one even begin with that statement.
I have to say that I find the whole business of sending out these letters, in secret, without the agreement of the other parties to the negotations, to be disgraceful.
And....they still have no real solution to the currency issue?
And....if Salmond spins any faster they can use him to drill for oil?
Because I don't know how to respond to it. What is your problem?
Do we know if such letters were sent to loyalist criminals, or just republican ones?
On instinct I am really nervous about such letters. But are there similar examples in the non-paramilitary world? Could I, if I had been suspected of a crime, receive such a letter of assurance?
Why are you even on here? I thought you were leaving?
In Russia and the former Slavic Soviet states tanks come and go. It is the politicians which change.
If we take your metrics here (which no one else does btw) looks like George is cumulatively 9bn under. The difference column is already cumulative.
Fail.
8 minutes ago
£504 – Saviours'
Well played, TheWatcher, particularly after your ire at the '**** off Dishface' outrage.
I put the word borrowing into single inverted commas as they are published by the ONS under the supervision of Sir Andrew Dilnot.
I may not believe them but it seems plenty do.
I see Toadface Salmond's naughty aide has made it into the Daily Harman now.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2568325/Alex-Salmond-aide-six-month-affair-axed-party-worker-used-public-money-pay-cheated-wife.html
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/UK_opinion_polling_2010-2015.png
Looks like the positive news on the economy is not doing what many had hoped.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26343700
The 'First!' posts should be the clincher.
As I recall, it drove the No campaign parties, mainstream commercial media and BBC into a dilemma of whether to ignore them or to condemn them as a bunch of cybernats. Not just for political reasons either, judging from the tone of some of the media coverage which evidently saw it as an outrageous attack on their owners' commercial prerogatives.
I don't know if it was discussed here on PB at the time (last summer/autumn), but I see it as a very interesting development. It is, of course, relevant to any line of opinion which sees itself as not properly represented in the mainstream media.
Logan's Run with Sky Sports.
Don't worry about the rhetoric (although I notice Sergei Lavrov's tone is dangerously silky and smooth).
The laws in Russia are very harsh.
But the compensating factor is that you do not always need to obey them.
Although I realise that such conflicts can quickly escalate into inter ethnic strife this is not the cause of the current crisis.
Corrupt government and a failing economy are the real problems. I really don't think there is any appetite for Russian on Ukrainian violence. OK, the lunatic fringes of society will posture and punch but the real players know that partition or civil war will never be a solution.
Maybe that is why having a Heavyweight World Boxing Champion as President might be the pacificist and non adversarial solution everyone is hoping for.
Slavs love their little ironies.
http://www.thelocal.ch/20140226/no-to-worlds-highest-minimum-wage-swiss-economy-chief
http://www.channel4.com/news/rees-mogg-jacob-south-shields-tory-conservative
It was Yeltsin who allowed the oligarchs to develop their powerbases. OK, it may have been an excusable consequence of rapid transition to a free market economy, but it was the oligarchs who ended up returning Yeltsin to power.
When Putin gradually took over he had to bring the Yeltsin oligarchs into line which he did slowly and effectively by returning the core raw material extraction industry assets to state ownership. The oligarchs who complied with Putin ended up rich exiles (Abramovich). Those who challenged his power ended up in jail (Khodorkovsky).
And Putin is not a typically corrupt Soviet style carpet bagger (at least by comparison with his predecessors and peers throughout the FSU). You won't find a string of Presidential yachts and many palaces built in his name (there is one on the Black Sea) and he doesn't flaunt his personal wealth, although to be fair a Russia President will always have access to any comfort desired.
In addition his family do not run half the industry in the country. By Russian standards (I stress again this is relative), Putin is an austere and self-denying leader. His stand against Yuri Luzhkov, Moscow's all powerful Mayor with a wife who ran the private property development industry in Moscow, was a model of the 'principled' power accretion.
Putin is by no means a saint and his exercise of power can be childish and boorish. He is also not an 'enlightened' leader in the mould of the Catherine the Great who spent her waking hours corresponding with Voltaire. He cultivates the well established image of a Russian "muzhik": a sort of man of the people. This is part a projection of KGB calculation but also undoubtedly part genuine.
For all the faults of Putin's administration, he is undoubtedly popular and respected in Russia. He may want to appear fearless but there is too much of the rational analyst in him to be foolhardy.
If he moves into the Ukraine it will not be to conquer or divide but to obtain the best hand at the poker table.
Is he a raving left wing looney or a barrister ?
The defence barristers haven't exactly covered themselves in glory in this trial, have they?
Please can we get this right. It wouldn't be 4,000 lives saved, it would be 4,000 deaths slightly postponed.