What an absolute load of boll##ks article this is...It goes from basically dismissing the "Trojan Horse" plot as a few friends trying to influence schools agenda, to its being all Gove fault. And the over-simplistic solution, well we need to put back in place all local oversight of a "normal" school i.e back to the status-quo.
The only problem is as we know not all the schools were academies, and the local oversight would be something to do with Birmingham City Council / LEA, who has tried to at best ignore it at worst whitewash all of this from start to finish.
If Gove hadn't stuck to his guns and got a real hard hitting person to lead the investigation (remember the outcry from some about how he would upset people), all we would have got was this nonsense review from Birmingham City Council.
"Chris Cook Policy editor, BBC Newsnight"
David Willet's ex advisor.
Yeah this guy...known for this impartial reporting on Gove.
"Chris from his fair and balanced reporting of a certain Pearson-owned exam board, as well his long, long, long vendetta against Michael Gove, after working for his predecessor in the Tory education brief David Willetts."
One thing that I think should be bothering government's around the world right now is the idea that there might be various terror groups sat there wondering why they didn't think of anti-aircraft missiles against civilian targets before now. It strikes me that in places like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan it must be pretty easy for groups to get hold of some fairly sophisticated systems and it is surely easier as a terror weapon than trying to sneak something onto a plane.
The risk of a man-portable Stinger type missile attack against a plane landing or taking off has been a risk that Govt. have been aware of for some time.
I douby Afghanistan has any high altitude anti-aircraft missiles and while Syria does no planes are flying over it at the moment.
Mr. D. as long ago as the 1970s there were full scale, including deploying troops on the ground, exercises at Gatwick and Heathrow for just such a threat. On each occasion the "terrorists" won and won easily. Getting into position to knock down a nominated airliner with a shoulder launched weapon, even given the capability of such weapons in those days, was just too easy and that was with the plod and the military on full alert and knowing which aeroplane was the target.
After a few years such exercises were cancelled. Nobody ever really explained why. Cost was sort of mentioned, but my own view was that it was embarrassment and fear that the bad boys would find out just how easy such an attack was, if they could get hold of a missile. Thanks to our very clever intervention into Libya the number of hand-held surface to air missiles available to the lunatic fringe has never been higher.
"With Director General Tony Hall appearing in front of the DCMS select committee this week, the Beeb’s Director of Policy James Heath blogged that a flat rate licence fee is fair on the poor because they watch so much TV:
“The argument for a uniform fee is that there is a direct link between the level of the service received by everyone, and the level of the charge made on everyone. While the licence fee does constitute a higher proportion of lower households’ expenditure, these households also consume more BBC TV than richer households. "
My thermometer tells me that in my desirable London flat, with its elegant, south facing, floor to ceiling Georgian sash windows, looking onto the treetops of Regents Park.... it is 34 Celsius.
34 Celsius. 95 Fahrenheit.
Eeesh. The estate agent didn't tell me this.
Try opening those sash windows, top & bottom and maybe also stripping down to your nine pack. It would also help to tape aluminium foil on the widows, shiny side out, but I don't suppose that would be allowed there in poshville. There are a few advantages in being common.
One thing that I think should be bothering government's around the world right now is the idea that there might be various terror groups sat there wondering why they didn't think of anti-aircraft missiles against civilian targets before now. It strikes me that in places like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan it must be pretty easy for groups to get hold of some fairly sophisticated systems and it is surely easier as a terror weapon than trying to sneak something onto a plane.
I'm sure they will be considering it, but equally I am sure that government have pretty good means of tracking that sort of kit & it can be avoided quite easily by flying around the area in question.
It seems that the Air Malaysia was only flying over the war zone to save fuel...
Patrick: glad your colleague & his wife & kid were safe, and very sorry to hear about the others.
"With Director General Tony Hall appearing in front of the DCMS select committee this week, the Beeb’s Director of Policy James Heath blogged that a flat rate licence fee is fair on the poor because they watch so much TV:
“The argument for a uniform fee is that there is a direct link between the level of the service received by everyone, and the level of the charge made on everyone. While the licence fee does constitute a higher proportion of lower households’ expenditure, these households also consume more BBC TV than richer households. "
Imagine if a government made that argument for things like council tax or income tax....I'm sure the BBC would roll in behind that idea and support morning, noon and night. No?
The Guardian is reporting that the Peter Clerke inquiry into the Trojan horse schools in Birmingham will be very hard hitting.
Quotes like
"co-ordinated, deliberate and sustained action to introduce an intolerant and agressive Ialamist ethos into some schools in the City"
"Left unchecked it would confine school children within an intolerant inward-looking monoculture that would several limit their participation in the life of modern Britain"
"In theory academies are accountable to the Sec of State, but in practice the accountability can almost amount to benign neglect ..."
A very hot potato and strong test for Nick Morgan in her new lob at the Dept of Education.
Were the Trojan horse schools academies / free schools? I thought the point was that they were LEA schools?
Far too hot a day to have a hangover. Burnham is popular among the Labour membership, in part because of his appeasement of the Hillsborough mob. He would be slaughtered at a general election, however, being devoid of any of the necessary qualities of leadership.
"“Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism.”"
Hunter S Thompson who would have been 77 today. Happy Birthday old man.
Similarly apropos of nothing; today is the 45th anniversary of Mary Jo Kopechne's death. Nobody on the right could ever have got away with that and carried on for decades in politics. But the Kennedys were/are above the law.
What an absolute load of boll##ks article this is...It goes from basically dismissing the "Trojan Horse" plot as a few friends trying to influence schools agenda, to its being all Gove fault. And the over-simplistic solution, well we need to put back in place all local oversight of a "normal" school i.e back to the status-quo.
The only problem is as we know not all the schools were academies, and the local oversight would be something to do with Birmingham City Council / LEA, who has tried to at best ignore it at worst whitewash all of this from start to finish.
If Gove hadn't stuck to his guns and got a real hard hitting person to lead the investigation (remember the outcry from some about how he would upset people), all we would have got was this nonsense review from Birmingham City Council.
"Chris Cook Policy editor, BBC Newsnight"
David Willet's ex advisor.
Yeah this guy...known for this impartial reporting on Gove.
"Chris from his fair and balanced reporting of a certain Pearson-owned exam board, as well his long, long, long vendetta against Michael Gove, after working for his predecessor in the Tory education brief David Willetts."
V sorry to hear Henry's views.... my large shed is on Yvette as the next Labour leader, presumably not with Shadsy as I can't remember who it's with so long has it been out there!
The Guardian is reporting that the Peter Clerke inquiry into the Trojan horse schools in Birmingham will be very hard hitting.
Quotes like
"co-ordinated, deliberate and sustained action to introduce an intolerant and agressive Ialamist ethos into some schools in the City"
"Left unchecked it would confine school children within an intolerant inward-looking monoculture that would several limit their participation in the life of modern Britain"
"In theory academies are accountable to the Sec of State, but in practice the accountability can almost amount to benign neglect ..."
A very hot potato and strong test for Nick Morgan in her new lob at the Dept of Education.
Were the Trojan horse schools academies / free schools? I thought the point was that they were LEA schools?
A mixture of both. So Birminham Council and Dept of Education are both accountable for not taking action against Trojan.
Evening all and I hope Henry is right. Just think of all the health service disasters on Andy Burnham's watch Jeremy Hunt or his successor in the next Tory government next year can throw in Burnham's face.
This plane situation just gets worse and worse. Putin may as well have had his finger on the trigger if it does indeed transpire Russian backed Ukrainian rebels are to blame, particularly since 80 children are among the 300 dead.
Imagine if a government made that argument for things like council tax or income tax....I'm sure the BBC would roll in behind that idea and support morning, noon and night. No?
Would this be the same BBC that went big for several days on Shapps' supposedly patronising "Beer and bingo" ad?
The Guardian is reporting that the Peter Clerke inquiry into the Trojan horse schools in Birmingham will be very hard hitting.
Quotes like
"co-ordinated, deliberate and sustained action to introduce an intolerant and agressive Ialamist ethos into some schools in the City"
"Left unchecked it would confine school children within an intolerant inward-looking monoculture that would several limit their participation in the life of modern Britain"
"In theory academies are accountable to the Sec of State, but in practice the accountability can almost amount to benign neglect ..."
A very hot potato and strong test for Nick Morgan in her new lob at the Dept of Education.
Were the Trojan horse schools academies / free schools? I thought the point was that they were LEA schools?
A mixture of both. So Birminham Council and Dept of Education are both accountable for not taking action against Trojan.
Well quite - Birmingham City Council published a list of 18 schools which were under investigation by Ofsted over the alleged 'Trojan Horse' plot. As can be seen, there is a good mix of primary, secondary, State and Academy schools.
The institutions are:
Adderley Primary School, Saltley
Alston Primary School, Saltley
Golden Hillock School, Sparkhill
Gracelands Nursery School, Sparkbrook
Highfield Junior and Infant School, Saltley
Ladypool Primary School, Sparkbrook
Marlborough Junior School, Small Heath
Montgomery Primary Academy, Sparkbrook
Nansen Primary, Saltley
Ninestiles School, Acocks Green
Oldknow Academy, Small Heath
Park View School, Alum Rock
Regents Park Community Primary School, Small Heath
Saltley School and Specialist Science College, Saltley
Evening all and I hope Henry is right. Just think of all the health service disasters on Andy Burnham's watch Jeremy Hunt or his successor in the next Tory government next year can throw in Burnham's face.
This plane situation just gets worse and worse. Putin may as well have had his finger on the trigger if it does indeed transpire Russian backed Ukrainian rebels are to blame, particularly since 80 children are among the 300 dead.
Farage says this plane crash means more AiDS related deaths...
My thermometer tells me that in my desirable London flat, with its elegant, south facing, floor to ceiling Georgian sash windows, looking onto the treetops of Regents Park.... it is 34 Celsius.
34 Celsius. 95 Fahrenheit.
Eeesh. The estate agent didn't tell me this.
Spend some of your extensive fortune on huge amounts of air-con. Then your smugometer can rise as the thermometer falls.
Just for balance in the various future leadership contests,Tim Farron is practising his leadership pitch too.It sounds to me a break with the Orange Book and the cabal behind it.
The Guardian is reporting that the Peter Clerke inquiry into the Trojan horse schools in Birmingham will be very hard hitting.
Quotes like
"co-ordinated, deliberate and sustained action to introduce an intolerant and agressive Ialamist ethos into some schools in the City"
"Left unchecked it would confine school children within an intolerant inward-looking monoculture that would several limit their participation in the life of modern Britain"
"In theory academies are accountable to the Sec of State, but in practice the accountability can almost amount to benign neglect ..."
A very hot potato and strong test for Nick Morgan in her new lob at the Dept of Education.
Were the Trojan horse schools academies / free schools? I thought the point was that they were LEA schools?
A mixture of both. So Birminham Council and Dept of Education are both accountable for not taking action against Trojan.
That was Theresa May's point in retaliation of Gove bad mouthing her to the Times.
The only leading politician that came out of late Blair / Brown era with his reputation enhanced is Darling, and he isn't leader material, even if he wanted to be.
This would be the same Darling that lost half a TRILLION pounds down the back of the sofa between six month statements to the House. And he was the best?
Ed Miliband was part of the "others" that were worse. And as for Andy Burnham - the only way that his term in charge of the NHS could have been worse was if instead of patients drinking their flower-water, it had been their own urine....
The only leading politician that came out of late Blair / Brown era with his reputation enhanced is Darling, and he isn't leader material, even if he wanted to be.
This would be the same Darling that lost half a TRILLION pounds down the back of the sofa between six month statements to the House. And he was the best?
Ed Miliband was part of the "others" that were worse. And as for Andy Burnham - the only way that his term in charge of the NHS could have been worse was if instead of patients drinking their flower-water, it had been their own urine....
That's odd - the quote is attributed to me - only problem is I didn't make it. Having said that I don't disagree. Maybe someone is impersonating me. How quaint.
Good to see Gary Ballance demonstrating the virtues of the old-fashioned style of pre-match preparation. Just hope he isn't taking an ice bath at the moment.
The only leading politician that came out of late Blair / Brown era with his reputation enhanced is Darling, and he isn't leader material, even if he wanted to be.
This would be the same Darling that lost half a TRILLION pounds down the back of the sofa between six month statements to the House. And he was the best?
Ed Miliband was part of the "others" that were worse. And as for Andy Burnham - the only way that his term in charge of the NHS could have been worse was if instead of patients drinking their flower-water, it had been their own urine....
That's odd - the quote is attributed to me - only problem is I didn't make it. Having said that I don't disagree. Maybe someone is impersonating me. How quaint.
I think maybe Mark cut part of the reply chain out and kept the wrong header.
Evening all and I hope Henry is right. Just think of all the health service disasters on Andy Burnham's watch Jeremy Hunt or his successor in the next Tory government next year can throw in Burnham's face.
This plane situation just gets worse and worse. Putin may as well have had his finger on the trigger if it does indeed transpire Russian backed Ukrainian rebels are to blame, particularly since 80 children are among the 300 dead.
Farage says this plane crash means more AiDS related deaths...
Evening all and I hope Henry is right. Just think of all the health service disasters on Andy Burnham's watch Jeremy Hunt or his successor in the next Tory government next year can throw in Burnham's face.
This plane situation just gets worse and worse. Putin may as well have had his finger on the trigger if it does indeed transpire Russian backed Ukrainian rebels are to blame, particularly since 80 children are among the 300 dead.
Farage says this plane crash means more AiDS related deaths...
Evening all and I hope Henry is right. Just think of all the health service disasters on Andy Burnham's watch Jeremy Hunt or his successor in the next Tory government next year can throw in Burnham's face.
This plane situation just gets worse and worse. Putin may as well have had his finger on the trigger if it does indeed transpire Russian backed Ukrainian rebels are to blame, particularly since 80 children are among the 300 dead.
Farage says this plane crash means more AiDS related deaths...
Evening all and I hope Henry is right. Just think of all the health service disasters on Andy Burnham's watch Jeremy Hunt or his successor in the next Tory government next year can throw in Burnham's face.
This plane situation just gets worse and worse. Putin may as well have had his finger on the trigger if it does indeed transpire Russian backed Ukrainian rebels are to blame, particularly since 80 children are among the 300 dead.
Farage says this plane crash means more AiDS related deaths...
Blairite: JP Morgan Brownite: standard left in theory but trapped by mass immigration PC: self-explanatory semi-sensible: standard left but not trapped by mass immigration (as much)
Brownite has the natural majority of membership while Blairite has majority of friendly media and the other two are also rans so hypothetically if
Blairite: Chukka Blairite apparently successfully pretending to be Brownite: Burnham Brownite: none really PC: Eagle, Harman etc semi-sensible: Cruddas neither fish nor foul: most of the rest
that would make Burnham fave unless a more credible Brownite alternative shows up.
dark horses: Hunt (only cos he's the biggest bleep) Creasey
This isn't a bad bet. Burnham's pretty inoffensive overall and probably not ineffective either. Ipso facto he's got possibilities if he ever went for it. The only worry, and I'm sure Henry G won't mind me saying so, is when someone who is close to the party in question passes the tip, there is a danger of being too close to a particular party or philosophical view. Therefore, you have to apply our own somewhat distant filter. Filter applied, it still looks worth considering.
On another leader note. More rumours abound Peter Robinson will go as DUP leader, this time in the autumn. Story is he'll get himself a peerage. Money, if you can find a market is on the loveable country bumpkin and sharp individual that is Arlene Foster.
I'll have some stuff on Ukraine later and why Western intelligence has a blind spot there, as it does elsewhere.
My thermometer tells me that in my desirable London flat, with its elegant, south facing, floor to ceiling Georgian sash windows, looking onto the treetops of Regents Park.... it is 34 Celsius.
34 Celsius. 95 Fahrenheit.
Eeesh. The estate agent didn't tell me this.
Try opening those sash windows, top & bottom and maybe also stripping down to your nine pack. It would also help to tape aluminium foil on the widows, shiny side out, but I don't suppose that would be allowed there in poshville. There are a few advantages in being common.
I would suggest closing the blinds on the sunward side, and (apart from a small amount to allow ventilation) to not open windows until the temperature outside is cooler than that inside.
Oh, and take a good book, a bottle of fine wine and a folding chair to Regent's Park. if you live near it, you should use it as your back garden.
But I have to admit, London in the summer is one of the reasons I don't miss working there.
Andy Burnham is physically indistinguishable from the Virgil Tracy puppet out of Thunderbirds - that ought to rule him out. But in the world of Labour who knows?
...
The only slight caveat I myself credit to the 'every single one' comment would be Mr & Mrs Balls. They're both hideous choices in their own ways but are not quite so manifestly lightweight as the rest. Wrong, but impressively so. That doesn't bode well either.
Gordon Brown ruined his country and his party. The vindictive useless gobshite.
Well quite. I wouldn't want Mr or Mrs Balls near anything either = but they are dangerous in their own way. I wouldn't want either of them standing behind me.
Hey Plato! 'ello darlin' All well? Welcome back.
Surviving and looking forward to the GE campaign - this fixed term parly malarkey is very dull! Once every five years...
BTW I said yesterday I thought it very likely that there will have been colleagues from my company on MH17. Our CEO has put out a message today confirming there were indeed 'several' staff and their families. :-( Sucks
On the upside one of our IT team (who I know) has dodged the bullet in the most amazing way - having had him and his wife/kid moved to a later flight as they were overbooked! I can't imagine how he feels.
Oh my word! I read a story about a few people who were bumped off the flight = talk about dodging a bullet.
Plto..life is good..got two more novels out this year and start a film shoot on Monday..bit busy to post but keep skimming the regulars..
Do DM me and tell me your pen name - I'd love to read them. I've just been immersed in Wilbur Smith and loved them. I can't believe I never tried him before.
Have to admit I hadn't given the Labour leadership question much thought. Attlee, Wilson, Gaitskell and Kinnock all lost elections and kept the leadership. Brown and Foot didn't but they had presided over the two worst Labour results since 1945.
I know many on here, indeed the majority, don't want to see Labour win next year but it's fair to say if Ed Miliband does successfully negotiate the sea of electoral hazard he'll be secure as Labour leader until 2020 at the earliest.
So the question is how bad does it have to be before he goes ? As with Cameron before 2010, there's probably a figure in terms of MPs and vote share he has to attain to keep the dissenters at bay and I would guess that's Labour as the largest party.
Evening all and I hope Henry is right. Just think of all the health service disasters on Andy Burnham's watch Jeremy Hunt or his successor in the next Tory government next year can throw in Burnham's face.
This plane situation just gets worse and worse. Putin may as well have had his finger on the trigger if it does indeed transpire Russian backed Ukrainian rebels are to blame, particularly since 80 children are among the 300 dead.
Farage says this plane crash means more AiDS related deaths...
Backed Burnham at 33/1 to win the 2010 Labour Party Leadership election.Anybody really know why he did so badly in that election when he seemed to have more going for him than Ed Milliband or Balls
My mother in law, who is about old Labour as old Labour gets, voted for Andy Burnham the last time around and still carries a torch for him. I have to say that I was impressed with his performances over Hillsborough. He comes across as far more human than almost any other politician on the scene today. Not brilliant, not necessarily right but human. I think Labour could do an awful lot worse and is doing so right now. Humanity and compassion are seriously underrated traits.
In other news my younger daughter attended the opening of the Better Together office in Dundee today and ended up doing selfies etc with some MP called Darling and a video for Better Together which is apparently going to be on their website. I may indulge myself with a link if I find this. Weirdly enough pretty (if I say so with a father's eye), intelligent and articulate 17 year olds with clear views on Independence seem to have been quite attractive to Better Together. Who'd have thought?
Mr. Metatron, I would guess that D. Miliband had been positioning for a long time, likewise Balls, and Red Ed had the unions onside, leaving little for Burnham.
It would seem that the company that owns the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo has finally gone tits up. So far the story continues to be that the bank is not over-exposed to its parent company and has sufficient capital to ride out the shock. Is that actually true? Who knows, but Monday could be interesting. If BES is in trouble Portugal will be in the soft-smelly stuff for real and the effect is unlikely to be contained within its boundaries.
Nearly the end of the day on Wall Street. Both the Dow and S&P up. Don't they listen to Tom Watson?
Not sure what Tom has been saying exactly but lets give the man some credit on here for once. 64 years old and making the cut at Hoylake, that's impressive. Well done, Sir!
Mr. Dancer, I doubt if BES goes down we would see that order of effect. However, its is I think the second biggest bank in Portugal with, if memory serves from when we discussing it on here the other day, about 2 million clients (the total population of Portugal is about 10m). A run on the bank would not be fun.
The other thing to bear in mind is that its second biggest shareholder, behind the group that has just gone splat, is Credit Agricole - the French Bank which has not been without a few problems of its own just recently.
So maybe, if people aren't being entirely honest about BES exposure to its parent group and/or its capital buffer, or sufficient people don't believe the statements, (which amounts to the same thing), the ECB will have to put up a rescue package. Won't need to be that big a few billion Euros should do the trick, if they get in quick. I guess the lights will be burning late in Frankfurt tonight.
My mother in law, who is about old Labour as old Labour gets, voted for Andy Burnham the last time around and still carries a torch for him. I have to say that I was impressed with his performances over Hillsborough. He comes across as far more human than almost any other politician on the scene today. Not brilliant, not necessarily right but human. I think Labour could do an awful lot worse and is doing so right now. Humanity and compassion are seriously underrated traits.
In other news my younger daughter attended the opening of the Better Together office in Dundee today and ended up doing selfies etc with some MP called Darling and a video for Better Together which is apparently going to be on their website. I may indulge myself with a link if I find this. Weirdly enough pretty (if I say so with a father's eye), intelligent and articulate 17 year olds with clear views on Independence seem to have been quite attractive to Better Together. Who'd have thought?
Not much humanity or compassion when covering his backside over Stafford, don't be fooled Burnham is a character who can't be trusted. As for Hillsborough we will see what pans out but I was very unimpressed by the analysis of the very partisan panel.
I can't abide the man but above all he isn't very good, Miliband and Balls are both superior by a long way. If Labour lose they will need a leader of strength and vision, they would be better keeping Miliband than giving the job to Burnham.
It would seem that the company that owns the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo has finally gone tits up. So far the story continues to be that the bank is not over-exposed to its parent company and has sufficient capital to ride out the shock. Is that actually true? Who knows, but Monday could be interesting. If BES is in trouble Portugal will be in the soft-smelly stuff for real and the effect is unlikely to be contained within its boundaries.
We fly to Portugal for a week tomorrow braving thunder storms and anti aircraft flack. It would be a bit much to survive that and find that the economy had ceased to function. A week of cataplana, grilled fish, wine, sun and women who have forgotten to dress seems not too much to ask.
It would seem that the company that owns the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo has finally gone tits up. So far the story continues to be that the bank is not over-exposed to its parent company and has sufficient capital to ride out the shock. Is that actually true? Who knows, but Monday could be interesting. If BES is in trouble Portugal will be in the soft-smelly stuff for real and the effect is unlikely to be contained within its boundaries.
We fly to Portugal for a week tomorrow braving thunder storms and anti aircraft flack. It would be a bit much to survive that and find that the economy had ceased to function. A week of cataplana, grilled fish, wine, sun and women who have forgotten to dress seems not too much to ask.
I wrote a long piece on ESFG and BES about a week ago. It contains everything that is known.
My mother in law, who is about old Labour as old Labour gets, voted for Andy Burnham the last time around and still carries a torch for him. I have to say that I was impressed with his performances over Hillsborough. He comes across as far more human than almost any other politician on the scene today. Not brilliant, not necessarily right but human. I think Labour could do an awful lot worse and is doing so right now. Humanity and compassion are seriously underrated traits.
In other news my younger daughter attended the opening of the Better Together office in Dundee today and ended up doing selfies etc with some MP called Darling and a video for Better Together which is apparently going to be on their website. I may indulge myself with a link if I find this. Weirdly enough pretty (if I say so with a father's eye), intelligent and articulate 17 year olds with clear views on Independence seem to have been quite attractive to Better Together. Who'd have thought?
Not much humanity or compassion when covering his backside over Stafford, don't be fooled Burnham is a character who can't be trusted. As for Hillsborough we will see what pans out but I was very unimpressed by the analysis of the very partisan panel.
I can't abide the man but above all he isn't very good, Miliband and Balls are both superior by a long way. If Labour lose they will need a leader of strength and vision, they would be better keeping Miliband than giving the job to Burnham.
The Stafford story is complicated and old. It will not be much of a hindrance to Burnham. I agree he is not an intellectual star but I do think he gets the public concerns better than most politicians. I think you are underestimating him and his chances.
Evening all and I hope Henry is right. Just think of all the health service disasters on Andy Burnham's watch Jeremy Hunt or his successor in the next Tory government next year can throw in Burnham's face.
This plane situation just gets worse and worse. Putin may as well have had his finger on the trigger if it does indeed transpire Russian backed Ukrainian rebels are to blame, particularly since 80 children are among the 300 dead.
Farage says this plane crash means more AiDS related deaths...
Farage was previously praising Putin as a great strategist. Has he changed his view about Putin now?
Farage is good at the straightforward stuff but not so good at the complicated stuff.
Not sure why he would be changing his view of anyone before the cause of the crash is established?
Why would it affect anything. Watch Mark Franchetti's interview on Ukrainian TV. These Donbass patriots are very much alone and will suffer only one fate, Russia will not come to their aid and the West seems to place no value on their lives.
It would seem that the company that owns the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo has finally gone tits up. So far the story continues to be that the bank is not over-exposed to its parent company and has sufficient capital to ride out the shock. Is that actually true? Who knows, but Monday could be interesting. If BES is in trouble Portugal will be in the soft-smelly stuff for real and the effect is unlikely to be contained within its boundaries.
We fly to Portugal for a week tomorrow braving thunder storms and anti aircraft flack. It would be a bit much to survive that and find that the economy had ceased to function. A week of cataplana, grilled fish, wine, sun and women who have forgotten to dress seems not too much to ask.
I wrote a long piece on ESFG and BES about a week ago. It contains everything that is known.
On here? I think I saw that. IIRC the Bank had 4% more capital than is required by Basle II and looked quite secure?
The impression I have had is that after being discarded by a ECB entirely focussed on Germany and its needs Portugal was recovering rather better than some of those nearer the centre (a bit like Ireland and Spain) and things were genuinely looking up. Was it not just a few weeks ago that Portuguese bond rates went below UK rates?
It would seem that the company that owns the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo has finally gone tits up. So far the story continues to be that the bank is not over-exposed to its parent company and has sufficient capital to ride out the shock. Is that actually true? Who knows, but Monday could be interesting. If BES is in trouble Portugal will be in the soft-smelly stuff for real and the effect is unlikely to be contained within its boundaries.
We fly to Portugal for a week tomorrow braving thunder storms and anti aircraft flack. It would be a bit much to survive that and find that the economy had ceased to function. A week of cataplana, grilled fish, wine, sun and women who have forgotten to dress seems not too much to ask.
Which bit are you going to? I love Portugal and the Portuguese and have done since I was a child and was packed off there for the school holidays. I guess if you are talking about cataplana you are going to the Algarve, which is nice but not the best of Portugal in my opinion.
Anyway, don't worry about the Portuguese economy imploding during your stay. As long as you have plenty of cash you'll be fine. The Portuguese are a very sensible people and tend not to let things like bank runs, coup attempts and revolutions get in the way of every day life.
It would seem that the company that owns the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo has finally gone tits up. So far the story continues to be that the bank is not over-exposed to its parent company and has sufficient capital to ride out the shock. Is that actually true? Who knows, but Monday could be interesting. If BES is in trouble Portugal will be in the soft-smelly stuff for real and the effect is unlikely to be contained within its boundaries.
We fly to Portugal for a week tomorrow braving thunder storms and anti aircraft flack. It would be a bit much to survive that and find that the economy had ceased to function. A week of cataplana, grilled fish, wine, sun and women who have forgotten to dress seems not too much to ask.
I wrote a long piece on ESFG and BES about a week ago. It contains everything that is known.
On here? I think I saw that. IIRC the Bank had 4% more capital than is required by Basle II and looked quite secure?
The impression I have had is that after being discarded by a ECB entirely focussed on Germany and its needs Portugal was recovering rather better than some of those nearer the centre (a bit like Ireland and Spain) and things were genuinely looking up. Was it not just a few weeks ago that Portuguese bond rates went below UK rates?
The Irish banks were given the thumbs up weeks before they collapsed.
It would seem that the company that owns the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo has finally gone tits up. So far the story continues to be that the bank is not over-exposed to its parent company and has sufficient capital to ride out the shock. Is that actually true? Who knows, but Monday could be interesting. If BES is in trouble Portugal will be in the soft-smelly stuff for real and the effect is unlikely to be contained within its boundaries.
We fly to Portugal for a week tomorrow braving thunder storms and anti aircraft flack. It would be a bit much to survive that and find that the economy had ceased to function. A week of cataplana, grilled fish, wine, sun and women who have forgotten to dress seems not too much to ask.
Which bit are you going to? I love Portugal and the Portuguese and have done since I was a child and was packed off there for the school holidays. I guess if you are talking about cataplana you are going to the Algarve, which is nice but not the best of Portugal in my opinion.
Anyway, don't worry about the Portuguese economy imploding during your stay. As long as you have plenty of cash you'll be fine. The Portuguese are a very sensible people and tend not to let things like bank runs, coup attempts and revolutions get in the way of every day life.
I had an enjoyable time in Lisbon recently, got out to Cascais, Sintra and Torres Vedras but found Lisbon a relaxing place to stay, eat and drink. In fact I'm tempted to go back, despite there being so many other places to visit. Took me a while to work out the idiosyncratic public transport system though.
It would seem that the company that owns the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo has finally gone tits up. So far the story continues to be that the bank is not over-exposed to its parent company and has sufficient capital to ride out the shock. Is that actually true? Who knows, but Monday could be interesting. If BES is in trouble Portugal will be in the soft-smelly stuff for real and the effect is unlikely to be contained within its boundaries.
We fly to Portugal for a week tomorrow braving thunder storms and anti aircraft flack. It would be a bit much to survive that and find that the economy had ceased to function. A week of cataplana, grilled fish, wine, sun and women who have forgotten to dress seems not too much to ask.
Which bit are you going to? I love Portugal and the Portuguese and have done since I was a child and was packed off there for the school holidays. I guess if you are talking about cataplana you are going to the Algarve, which is nice but not the best of Portugal in my opinion.
Anyway, don't worry about the Portuguese economy imploding during your stay. As long as you have plenty of cash you'll be fine. The Portuguese are a very sensible people and tend not to let things like bank runs, coup attempts and revolutions get in the way of every day life.
We have hired a villa near Albuferia. We have been to Portugal several times before but not for some years. I agree that some extra cash might be a useful precaution but otherwise I am pretty relaxed and looking forward to it.
My eldest, who is coming with us, is meeting Portuguese friends and going up to Lisbon for a second week. My experience of Portugal is limited to the Algarve and I would love to see some of the rest of it.
It would seem that the company that owns the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo has finally gone tits up. So far the story continues to be that the bank is not over-exposed to its parent company and has sufficient capital to ride out the shock. Is that actually true? Who knows, but Monday could be interesting. If BES is in trouble Portugal will be in the soft-smelly stuff for real and the effect is unlikely to be contained within its boundaries.
We fly to Portugal for a week tomorrow braving thunder storms and anti aircraft flack. It would be a bit much to survive that and find that the economy had ceased to function. A week of cataplana, grilled fish, wine, sun and women who have forgotten to dress seems not too much to ask.
I wrote a long piece on ESFG and BES about a week ago. It contains everything that is known.
On here? I think I saw that. IIRC the Bank had 4% more capital than is required by Basle II and looked quite secure?
The impression I have had is that after being discarded by a ECB entirely focussed on Germany and its needs Portugal was recovering rather better than some of those nearer the centre (a bit like Ireland and Spain) and things were genuinely looking up. Was it not just a few weeks ago that Portuguese bond rates went below UK rates?
The Irish banks were given the thumbs up weeks before they collapsed.
TSE: "Yeah, Professor Fisher's forecast is out of date, it hasn't taken into account Lab's lead being wiped out with Populus"
But equally it is out of date by virtue of YouGov's latest poll dated 17.07.14 not being included, which shows a startling Labour lead of 7%, i.e. Lab 39% vs Con 32%.
It's unfortunate that having decided to maintain average polling records from the various firms, UKPR seem unwilling to keep this up to date - one wouldn't have thought this was too demanding a task.
It would seem that the company that owns the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo has finally gone tits up. So far the story continues to be that the bank is not over-exposed to its parent company and has sufficient capital to ride out the shock. Is that actually true? Who knows, but Monday could be interesting. If BES is in trouble Portugal will be in the soft-smelly stuff for real and the effect is unlikely to be contained within its boundaries.
We fly to Portugal for a week tomorrow braving thunder storms and anti aircraft flack. It would be a bit much to survive that and find that the economy had ceased to function. A week of cataplana, grilled fish, wine, sun and women who have forgotten to dress seems not too much to ask.
I wrote a long piece on ESFG and BES about a week ago. It contains everything that is known.
On here? I think I saw that. IIRC the Bank had 4% more capital than is required by Basle II and looked quite secure?
The impression I have had is that after being discarded by a ECB entirely focussed on Germany and its needs Portugal was recovering rather better than some of those nearer the centre (a bit like Ireland and Spain) and things were genuinely looking up. Was it not just a few weeks ago that Portuguese bond rates went below UK rates?
The Irish banks were given the thumbs up weeks before they collapsed.
Is it being so cheerful that keeps you going?
Empathy, you either have it or you don't, rain in central London, thank God!
Didn't HenryG write a thread himself very recently, suggesting this self same proposition or am I imagining things
I'm sure Andy Burnham as next Labour leader is a very likely proposition and good value at 14/1. The trouble is that were Labour to win next year's GE, it is likely to be at least 6 years hence before there is even a contest. Not for me therefore.
Not much humanity or compassion when covering his backside over Stafford, don't be fooled Burnham is a character who can't be trusted. As for Hillsborough we will see what pans out but I was very unimpressed by the analysis of the very partisan panel.
I can't abide the man but above all he isn't very good, Miliband and Balls are both superior by a long way. If Labour lose they will need a leader of strength and vision, they would be better keeping Miliband than giving the job to Burnham.
The Stafford story is complicated and old. It will not be much of a hindrance to Burnham. I agree he is not an intellectual star but I do think he gets the public concerns better than most politicians. I think you are underestimating him and his chances.
I normally hang on every word on your posts they are quality but as an Ex Labour voter I can't have Burnham. An opportunist career politician in the Miliband mould, only even more dangerous, I am sure he has a chance because like Miliband he is very ambitious and he would do all in his power to get to the top.
On ability though he is very lucky to have got as far as he has, just watch Hunt deal with him, so easy he laughs while he destroys him.
Didn't HenryG write a thread himself very recently, suggesting this self same proposition or am I imagining things
I'm sure Andy Burnham as next Labour leader is a very likely proposition and good value at 14/1. The trouble is that were Labour to win next year's GE, it is likely to be at least 6 years hence before there is even a contest. Not for me therefore.
Backed Burnham at 33/1 to win the 2010 Labour Party Leadership election.Anybody really know why he did so badly in that election when he seemed to have more going for him than Ed Milliband or Balls
I have to ask - does your screen-name refer to Metatron the Scribe of God? I've never seen it mentioned outside Supernatural.
It would seem that the company that owns the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo has finally gone tits up. So far the story continues to be that the bank is not over-exposed to its parent company and has sufficient capital to ride out the shock. Is that actually true? Who knows, but Monday could be interesting. If BES is in trouble Portugal will be in the soft-smelly stuff for real and the effect is unlikely to be contained within its boundaries.
We fly to Portugal for a week tomorrow braving thunder storms and anti aircraft flack. It would be a bit much to survive that and find that the economy had ceased to function. A week of cataplana, grilled fish, wine, sun and women who have forgotten to dress seems not too much to ask.
Cataplana is one of the great unheralded triumphs of European cuisine. Far, far more delicious than stodgy Spanish paella, which always somehow disappoints. Cataplana is, by contrast, dripping with juicy, seafoody goodness.
I had a brilliant cataplana by the harbour at Faro a few months ago.
Completely agree. I don't know if it is the copper pots or the freshness of the clams but it always tastes so much better in Portugal than anywhere else.
But I also love Portuguese barbecued fish. especially sardines. Wonderfully simple. None of these pretentious sauces that other cuisines seek to use to cover up ordinary basic ingredients. Just the pure taste of the sea.
Backed Burnham at 33/1 to win the 2010 Labour Party Leadership election.Anybody really know why he did so badly in that election when he seemed to have more going for him than Ed Milliband or Balls
I have to ask - does your screen-name refer to Metatron the Scribe of God? I've never seen it mentioned outside Supernatural.
Not much humanity or compassion when covering his backside over Stafford, don't be fooled Burnham is a character who can't be trusted. As for Hillsborough we will see what pans out but I was very unimpressed by the analysis of the very partisan panel.
I can't abide the man but above all he isn't very good, Miliband and Balls are both superior by a long way. If Labour lose they will need a leader of strength and vision, they would be better keeping Miliband than giving the job to Burnham.
The Stafford story is complicated and old. It will not be much of a hindrance to Burnham. I agree he is not an intellectual star but I do think he gets the public concerns better than most politicians. I think you are underestimating him and his chances.
I normally hang on every word on your posts they are quality but as an Ex Labour voter I can't have Burnham. An opportunist career politician in the Miliband mould, only even more dangerous, I am sure he has a chance because like Miliband he is very ambitious and he would do all in his power to get to the top.
On ability though he is very lucky to have got as far as he has, just watch Hunt deal with him, so easy he laughs while he destroys him.
The great argument in favour of hereditary monarchy, power is given not sought. That and a country is seen as long term property to be husbandrid not exploited.
Backed Burnham at 33/1 to win the 2010 Labour Party Leadership election.Anybody really know why he did so badly in that election when he seemed to have more going for him than Ed Milliband or Balls
I have to ask - does your screen-name refer to Metatron the Scribe of God? I've never seen it mentioned outside Supernatural.
Or Alan Rickman in Dogma. Great movie.
Ooh, dpn't know Dogma - how long ago did it come out - I do love Alan Rickman. It's really funny trying to get my head back into politics mode after many months discussing TV instead... and reading oodles of thrillers rather than heavyweight analysis.
Not much humanity or compassion when covering his backside over Stafford, don't be fooled Burnham is a character who can't be trusted. As for Hillsborough we will see what pans out but I was very unimpressed by the analysis of the very partisan panel.
I can't abide the man but above all he isn't very good, Miliband and Balls are both superior by a long way. If Labour lose they will need a leader of strength and vision, they would be better keeping Miliband than giving the job to Burnham.
The Stafford story is complicated and old. It will not be much of a hindrance to Burnham. I agree he is not an intellectual star but I do think he gets the public concerns better than most politicians. I think you are underestimating him and his chances.
I normally hang on every word on your posts they are quality but as an Ex Labour voter I can't have Burnham. An opportunist career politician in the Miliband mould, only even more dangerous, I am sure he has a chance because like Miliband he is very ambitious and he would do all in his power to get to the top.
On ability though he is very lucky to have got as far as he has, just watch Hunt deal with him, so easy he laughs while he destroys him.
Thanks for the compliment. The respect is mutual. I just look at that Labour front bench and wince. Brown destroyed a generation to prevent a possible rival arising and Labour is now paying the price. Of the older generation I think that Burnham is one of the better ones but I accept that is damning with faint praise.
It is also not for nothing that some serious posters on here have floated the idea of Hunt being a candidate for tory leader. He is not to be underestimated either.
Backed Burnham at 33/1 to win the 2010 Labour Party Leadership election.Anybody really know why he did so badly in that election when he seemed to have more going for him than Ed Milliband or Balls
I have to ask - does your screen-name refer to Metatron the Scribe of God? I've never seen it mentioned outside Supernatural.
Or Alan Rickman in Dogma. Great movie.
Ooh, dpn't know Dogma - how long ago did it come out - I do love Alan Rickman. It's really funny trying to get my head back into politics mode after many months discussing TV instead... and reading oodles of thrillers rather than heavyweight analysis.
1997 I think it was.
I sympathize trying to shift modes from talking TV to politics though. TV is both much more awesome, and with more passionate and intense fanbases to handle.
Israelis gathering to cheer and eat popcorn as they watch Gaza being obliterated, from a nice safe hilltop. They then physically threaten the CNN reporter for daring to report what she saw.
Israelis gathering to cheer and eat popcorn as they watch Gaza being obliterated, from a nice safe hilltop. They then physically threaten the CNN reporter for daring to report what she saw.
Israelis gathering to cheer and eat popcorn as they watch Gaza being obliterated, from a nice safe hilltop. They then physically threaten the CNN reporter for daring to report what she saw.
It would seem that the company that owns the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo has finally gone tits up. So far the story continues to be that the bank is not over-exposed to its parent company and has sufficient capital to ride out the shock. Is that actually true? Who knows, but Monday could be interesting. If BES is in trouble Portugal will be in the soft-smelly stuff for real and the effect is unlikely to be contained within its boundaries.
We fly to Portugal for a week tomorrow braving thunder storms and anti aircraft flack. It would be a bit much to survive that and find that the economy had ceased to function. A week of cataplana, grilled fish, wine, sun and women who have forgotten to dress seems not too much to ask.
Cataplana is one of the great unheralded triumphs of European cuisine. Far, far more delicious than stodgy Spanish paella, which always somehow disappoints. Cataplana is, by contrast, dripping with juicy, seafoody goodness.
I had a brilliant cataplana by the harbour at Faro a few months ago.
Completely agree. I don't know if it is the copper pots or the freshness of the clams but it always tastes so much better in Portugal than anywhere else.
But I also love Portuguese barbecued fish. especially sardines. Wonderfully simple. None of these pretentious sauces that other cuisines seek to use to cover up ordinary basic ingredients. Just the pure taste of the sea.
I can't wait.
Stand-by, lamp-swinging anecdote coming up!
As a 16 year-old after a good night out in Lisbon one of the great pleasures was to take the train an extra couple of stops to Cascais where, as dawn was breaking, the fisherman would be grilling freshly caught sardines over charcoal for their breakfast. For a few Escudos they would let you join in and provide fresh bread and chilled vinho-verde to wash it down. Food fit for a king!
The alternative, especially in the winter months was to get off, properly, at Carcavelos but stop at the place just down from the station where the workmen were fortifying themselves for the day ahead. A steak sandwich, a cup of coffee so strong you could unblock a sewer with it, and a glass (or two, or even three) of the local Aqua Vitae. A colourless liquid that the locals consumed at breakfast but which I found made a fantastic nightcap.
BTW I said yesterday I thought it very likely that there will have been colleagues from my company on MH17. Our CEO has put out a message today confirming there were indeed 'several' staff and their families. :-( Sucks
On the upside one of our IT team (who I know) has dodged the bullet in the most amazing way - having had him and his wife/kid moved to a later flight as they were overbooked! I can't imagine how he feels.
Now, that is an arresting price, by any standards anywhere in the world. But maybe you could say, OK, this is the heart of Primrose Hill, one of the chic-est urban villages on the planet.
But this flat isn't in Primrose Hill, it is on ARLINGTON ROAD, which was hitherto known mainly for its homeless shelter and its bingo hall. And that flat is at the dodgy end of Arlington, where the homeless junkies cluster.
It occurred to me today that about 1m Londoners - those lucky enough to have bought property in inner London, 5+ years ago - are essentially the same as Qataris, or Kuwaitis, the lottery winners of oil wealth. These Brits just got lucky, and it turned out their backgarden contained a goldmine called "London Real Estate"
You can see why the rest of the country resents the capital.
Indeed. Never really got on with Camden personally. Don't hate the place just think there's better bits of London. The brother in law loves it, and lives up the northern line from it so it's sort of his local.
£1.5m shows the knock on effect of super prime being flogged off to rich foreigners. It is in effect us creating an invisible export out of our political stability, and the perception amongst foreigners from less " clement " parts of the globe that London is a safe place to park all that spare cash you appear to have acquired in a fit of absent mindedness.
"though some of them do smell a bit, from all the salt cod"
Bacalhau - dried salted cod, another of the, mostly, unknown delicacies of Portugal. When I first started going there it was still in the days when the Portuguese fishing boats went far out into the Atlantic and returned with Bacalhau. You knew when the fleet was back because the queues for Bacalhau at the shops in Lisbon went around the block. But like seasonal veg it is nowadays available all the time, progress.
The Portuguese are also of course great tea drinkers (Catherine of Braganza, Charles II missus, is credited from bringing the habit to the UK). The left-hand hill in Lisbon is home to wonderful tea shops where at about 16:00 each weekday afternoon you will find the cream of Lisbon society tucking into tea and cakes.
Now, that is an arresting price, by any standards anywhere in the world. But maybe you could say, OK, this is the heart of Primrose Hill, one of the chic-est urban villages on the planet.
But this flat isn't in Primrose Hill, it is on ARLINGTON ROAD, which was hitherto known mainly for its homeless shelter and its bingo hall. And that flat is at the dodgy end of Arlington, where the homeless junkies cluster.
It occurred to me today that about 1m Londoners - those lucky enough to have bought property in inner London, 5+ years ago - are essentially the same as Qataris, or Kuwaitis, the lottery winners of oil wealth. These Brits just got lucky, and it turned out their backgarden contained a goldmine called "London Real Estate"
You can see why the rest of the country resents the capital.
Indeed. Never really got on with Camden personally. Don't hate the place just think there's better bits of London. The brother in law loves it, and lives up the northern line from it so it's sort of his local.
£1.5m shows the knock on effect of super prime being flogged off to rich foreigners. It is in effect us creating an invisible export out of our political stability, and the perception amongst foreigners from less " clement " parts of the globe that London is a safe place to park all that spare cash you appear to have acquired in a fit of absent mindedness.
'The Glass Building' Camden is not to my style but it obviously contains no ordinary set of 2 bed flats.
Israelis gathering to cheer and eat popcorn as they watch Gaza being obliterated, from a nice safe hilltop. They then physically threaten the CNN reporter for daring to report what she saw.
This is Israel's moral decline, its descent into decadent racism, captured in a moment.
Would you rather they sat in their gardens watching as the rockets rained down on them before scurrying into their bunkers and out of your condescending sight?
Israelis gathering to cheer and eat popcorn as they watch Gaza being obliterated, from a nice safe hilltop. They then physically threaten the CNN reporter for daring to report what she saw.
This is Israel's moral decline, its descent into decadent racism, captured in a moment.
Would you rather they sat in their gardens watching as the rockets rained down on them before scurrying into their bunkers and out of your condescending sight?
That's a Blair-type false dividing line, as if those are the only two possible options.
Israel has the right to exist and that some of its neighbours don't accept that right is a deep problem. It also has the right to protect itself, within the bounds of international law and norms. But *only* within those bounds, even against those who would wish it annihilation.
It would seem that the company that owns the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo has finally gone tits up. So far the story continues to be that the bank is not over-exposed to its parent company and has sufficient capital to ride out the shock. Is that actually true? Who knows, but Monday could be interesting. If BES is in trouble Portugal will be in the soft-smelly stuff for real and the effect is unlikely to be contained within its boundaries.
We fly to Portugal for a week tomorrow braving thunder storms and anti aircraft flack. It would be a bit much to survive that and find that the economy had ceased to function. A week of cataplana, grilled fish, wine, sun and women who have forgotten to dress seems not too much to ask.
Cataplana is one of the great unheralded triumphs of European cuisine. Far, far more delicious than stodgy Spanish paella, which always somehow disappoints. Cataplana is, by contrast, dripping with juicy, seafoody goodness.
I had a brilliant cataplana by the harbour at Faro a few months ago.
Completely agree. I don't know if it is the copper pots or the freshness of the clams but it always tastes so much better in Portugal than anywhere else.
But I also love Portuguese barbecued fish. especially sardines. Wonderfully simple. None of these pretentious sauces that other cuisines seek to use to cover up ordinary basic ingredients. Just the pure taste of the sea.
I can't wait.
Stand-by, lamp-swinging anecdote coming up!
As a 16 year-old after a good night out in Lisbon one of the great pleasures was to take the train an extra couple of stops to Cascais where, as dawn was breaking, the fisherman would be grilling freshly caught sardines over charcoal for their breakfast. For a few Escudos they would let you join in and provide fresh bread and chilled vinho-verde to wash it down. Food fit for a king!
The alternative, especially in the winter months was to get off, properly, at Carcavelos but stop at the place just down from the station where the workmen were fortifying themselves for the day ahead. A steak sandwich, a cup of coffee so strong you could unblock a sewer with it, and a glass (or two, or even three) of the local Aqua Vitae. A colourless liquid that the locals consumed at breakfast but which I found made a fantastic nightcap.
Sounds the sort of adventures you remember for a life time.
Backed Burnham at 33/1 to win the 2010 Labour Party Leadership election.Anybody really know why he did so badly in that election when he seemed to have more going for him than Ed Milliband or Balls
He played the game badly. His chief campaign argument seemed to be 'vote for me, I'm from Scouseland (or nearby)', which garnered him lots of support in SW Lancashire and little elsewhere. Ed Miliband knew how to win support and crucially, was ruthless in putting that knowledge into practice. Burnham was also less well-known then than now.
The difference is that Burnham seems now to want to lead a defeated Labour more than anyone else (and there'll only be a vacancy if Labour lose). That matters. Unions, MPs and activists take note of who is paying them court and attention.
Also, if the field was weak in 2010, it'll even more so in 2015 if Ed loses. Who are Burnham's main rivals?
The overwhelming military might of the Israelis becomes counterproductive after a time. Brave, outnumbered and outgunned Israel has become the school yard bully imposing disproportionate grief on the weak and generating never ending hatred. It is never easy to sympathise with a bully and Israel has grown vicious.
Israelis gathering to cheer and eat popcorn as they watch Gaza being obliterated, from a nice safe hilltop. They then physically threaten the CNN reporter for daring to report what she saw.
This is Israel's moral decline, its descent into decadent racism, captured in a moment.
Would you rather they sat in their gardens watching as the rockets rained down on them before scurrying into their bunkers and out of your condescending sight?
That's a Blair-type false dividing line, as if those are the only two possible options.
Israel has the right to exist and that some of its neighbours don't accept that right is a deep problem. It also has the right to protect itself, within the bounds of international law and norms. But *only* within those bounds, even against those who would wish it annihilation.
Sensible words. One of the most difficult things about outside views of the conflict - while minimal compared to the difficulties of the actual conflict - is that even more than most things people try to make it something on which there can be only two opinions, and any level of qualification one way or the other is shouted down as being in essence wholly the same as the very worst views that could be held on either side.
The overwhelming military might of the Israelis becomes counterproductive after a time. Brave, outnumbered and outgunned Israel has become the school yard bully imposing disproportionate grief on the weak and generating never ending hatred. It is never easy to sympathise with a bully and Israel has grown vicious.
Six Arab nations joined forces to wipe Israel from the face of the earth - were they 'bullies' ?
I think the heat is sending some people bonkers...
Sunderland have bought Fabio Borini for £14 million
Another player Chelsea let go, Lukaku will be next though he won't be free.
I have no idea how they work transfer policy at Chelsea, but allowing Matic to leave for a few million then buying him back for £26m does not strike me as good business.
Israelis gathering to cheer and eat popcorn as they watch Gaza being obliterated, from a nice safe hilltop. They then physically threaten the CNN reporter for daring to report what she saw.
This is Israel's moral decline, its descent into decadent racism, captured in a moment.
Would you rather they sat in their gardens watching as the rockets rained down on them before scurrying into their bunkers and out of your condescending sight?
I can understand their quiet if sad satisfaction in seeing their opponents humbled (even if the Gazans were already quintessentially humiliated). But this is a bunch of sad, fat, popcorn-scoffing f*cks sitting on a hill, cheering on bombers killing children, and then violently threatening a CNN journo for reporting their behaviour.
Israel is sick. Sick to the heart. It is a diseased country.
This is to be expected. Occupations always corrode the occupier, morally speaking. Israel is now in the tertiary stage. Madness beckons.
It's an occupation within a siege. God knows what sort of psychology that results in.
The overwhelming military might of the Israelis becomes counterproductive after a time. Brave, outnumbered and outgunned Israel has become the school yard bully imposing disproportionate grief on the weak and generating never ending hatred. It is never easy to sympathise with a bully and Israel has grown vicious.
Six Arab nations joined forces to wipe Israel from the face of the earth - were they 'bullies' ?
No they were heroic and had supporters all around the world as a result (including me). But that was then and this is now. Hundreds slaughtered with overpowering force, hitting someone incapable of hitting back. It is sickening. And completely counterproductive.
Sounds the sort of adventures you remember for a life time.
They were great times to be a teenager. My parents were back in London and I was running mostly with the embassy children, whose parents were used to them being away at public school and didn't worry too much about what they got up to. Nowadays there would be allegations of neglect and all sorts of other stuff (particularly in relation to the lady who took me swimming in the embassy pool during the weekly kinematic society screening, when I was but 14 years old). Then we were just teenagers having lots and lots of fun but remarkably well-behaved with it no rowdyism, no vomiting in public, no unpleasantness at all (mind you that was in the days before the Revolution when any sort of yobbery would have got one a bloody good kicking, a night in the cells and, if you were very lucky, a plane back to the UK in the morning)
Sounds the sort of adventures you remember for a life time.
They were great times to be a teenager. My parents were back in London and I was running mostly with the embassy children, whose parents were used to them being away at public school and didn't worry too much about what they got up to. Nowadays there would be allegations of neglect and all sorts of other stuff (particularly in relation to the lady who took me swimming in the embassy pool during the weekly kinematic society screening, when I was but 14 years old). Then we were just teenagers having lots and lots of fun but remarkably well-behaved with it no rowdyism, no vomiting in public, no unpleasantness at all (mind you that was in the days before the Revolution when any sort of yobbery would have got one a bloody good kicking, a night in the cells and, if you were very lucky, a plane back to the UK in the morning)
Bit younger but in the late 60s I was a child in Singapore for 2.5 years whilst my dad was serving there. I still bore my family with stories of all the things we saw and got up to in those days. Seeing a different culture from the inside as a youngster is a boon for the rest of your life.
Not sure I even knew what heroin was at the time though.
It would seem that the company that owns the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo has finally gone tits up. So far the story continues to be that the bank is not over-exposed to its parent company and has sufficient capital to ride out the shock. Is that actually true? Who knows, but Monday could be interesting. If BES is in trouble Portugal will be in the soft-smelly stuff for real and the effect is unlikely to be contained within its boundaries.
We fly to Portugal for a week tomorrow braving thunder storms and anti aircraft flack. It would be a bit much to survive that and find that the economy had ceased to function. A week of cataplana, grilled fish, wine, sun and women who have forgotten to dress seems not too much to ask.
Cataplana is one of the great unheralded triumphs of European cuisine. Far, far more delicious than stodgy Spanish paella, which always somehow disappoints. Cataplana is, by contrast, dripping with juicy, seafoody goodness.
I had a brilliant cataplana by the harbour at Faro a few months ago.
Completely
Stand-by, lamp-swinging anecdote coming up!
.
I love those kind of stories. You lived!
One of my great travel moments - not an amazing story in itself - but still a poignantly brilliant memory, was a night in Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City) about 15-20 years ago.
A friend and I arrived there, and did all the usual bars and pseudo-bordellos, and then at about midnight, some rickshaw driver caught us returning to our hotel and he said "you want girl?" and we said NO (a lie) but then, for some unknown reason, I said "we want opium" and the guy nodded and laughed and they took us by rickshaw to a cafe on the riverfront where we all smoked opium, outdoors, all night, laughing and dreaming and eating eerie snacks, quite blatantly. Indeed the cafe owner joined us at about 4am and torched up some heroin. Outdoors. In full view of the world.
Then as dawn broke over the Mekong Delta, and the sleepy city, the rickshaw drivers and my friend and me made a wager as to who could make it back to our hotel first and we raced through the deserted boulevards, cantering and giggling - just as the officer workers came out to play badminton before work, on the roads, in the riverine mist.
The comedic, exhilarating, piercing spleandour of the moment will stay with me til I die.
Translation: "I got wrecked once on holiday and someone robbed me"
The overwhelming military might of the Israelis becomes counterproductive after a time. Brave, outnumbered and outgunned Israel has become the school yard bully imposing disproportionate grief on the weak and generating never ending hatred. It is never easy to sympathise with a bully and Israel has grown vicious.
Six Arab nations joined forces to wipe Israel from the face of the earth - were they 'bullies' ?
No they were heroic and had supporters all around the world as a result (including me). But that was then and this is now. Hundreds slaughtered with overpowering force, hitting someone incapable of hitting back. It is sickening. And completely counterproductive.
After 40+ years I must admit to ‘Palestinian victim fatigue’ – This latest conflict started with the cold blooded kidnap and murder of three innocent Israeli teenagers , after a while one begins to think, if you don’t want the dog to bite you, perhaps you should stop kicking it.
One of my great travel moments - not an amazing story in itself - but still a poignantly brilliant memory, was a night in Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City) about 15-20 years ago.
A friend and I arrived there, and did all the usual bars and pseudo-bordellos, and then at about midnight, some rickshaw driver caught us returning to our hotel and he said "you want girl?" and we said NO (a lie) but then, for some unknown reason, I said "we want opium" and the guy nodded and laughed and they took us by rickshaw to a cafe on the riverfront where we all smoked opium, outdoors, all night, laughing and dreaming and eating eerie snacks, quite blatantly. Indeed the cafe owner joined us at about 4am and torched up some heroin. Outdoors. In full view of the world.
Then as dawn broke over the Mekong Delta, and the sleepy city, the rickshaw drivers and my friend and me made a wager as to who could make it back to our hotel first and we raced through the deserted boulevards, cantering and giggling - just as the officer workers came out to play badminton before work, on the roads, in the riverine mist.
The comedic, exhilarating, piercing spleandour of the moment will stay with me til I die.
Love the story, Mr. T.. As I keep telling my son, if you don't live and grab the adventure while you are young you have a long wait until you retire before you might get another opportunity (and then some of the physical stuff is not as as easy, or as much fun, as it was).
Comments
See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10897999/Youre-playing-for-England-Moeen-Ali-not-your-religion.html
"Chris from his fair and balanced reporting of a certain Pearson-owned exam board, as well his long, long, long vendetta against Michael Gove, after working for his predecessor in the Tory education brief David Willetts."
http://order-order.com/2013/11/11/katz-steals-another-inky-for-newsnight/
After a few years such exercises were cancelled. Nobody ever really explained why. Cost was sort of mentioned, but my own view was that it was embarrassment and fear that the bad boys would find out just how easy such an attack was, if they could get hold of a missile. Thanks to our very clever intervention into Libya the number of hand-held surface to air missiles available to the lunatic fringe has never been higher.
http://order-order.com/2014/07/18/bbc-justifies-telly-poll-tax-by-claiming-poor-watch-more-tv/
"With Director General Tony Hall appearing in front of the DCMS select committee this week, the Beeb’s Director of Policy James Heath blogged that a flat rate licence fee is fair on the poor because they watch so much TV:
“The argument for a uniform fee is that there is a direct link between the level of the service received by everyone, and the level of the charge made on everyone. While the licence fee does constitute a higher proportion of lower households’ expenditure, these households also consume more BBC TV than richer households. "
It seems that the Air Malaysia was only flying over the war zone to save fuel...
Patrick: glad your colleague & his wife & kid were safe, and very sorry to hear about the others.
"“Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism.”"
Hunter S Thompson who would have been 77 today. Happy Birthday old man.
Huh ?
http://dominiccummings.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/wargame-predictions-from-2010-how-well-did-the-cameroons-do/
Of the 17 items listed, the success rate looks quite good, especially for some of the most important ones (economy, cuts, education, welfare).
Main things which didn't go the way they hoped:
- Immigration
- LibDem demanding concessions after AV referendum
- EU/ECHR (probably not as bad as feared, but still a problem)
- Anti-politics
NHS neither a success nor failure.
A mixture of both. So Birminham Council and Dept of Education are both accountable for not taking action against Trojan.
This plane situation just gets worse and worse. Putin may as well have had his finger on the trigger if it does indeed transpire Russian backed Ukrainian rebels are to blame, particularly since 80 children are among the 300 dead.
The institutions are:
Adderley Primary School, Saltley
Alston Primary School, Saltley
Golden Hillock School, Sparkhill
Gracelands Nursery School, Sparkbrook
Highfield Junior and Infant School, Saltley
Ladypool Primary School, Sparkbrook
Marlborough Junior School, Small Heath
Montgomery Primary Academy, Sparkbrook
Nansen Primary, Saltley
Ninestiles School, Acocks Green
Oldknow Academy, Small Heath
Park View School, Alum Rock
Regents Park Community Primary School, Small Heath
Saltley School and Specialist Science College, Saltley
Small Heath School, Small Heath
Washwood Heath Academy, Stechford
Waverley School, Bordesley Green
Welford Primary School, Handsworth
http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/486303/Farage-of-Friday-Nigel-Farage-on-flight-MH17-disaster
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/07/18/tim-farron-liberal-democrats-coalition_n_5599551.html?1405699625&ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067
Ed Miliband was part of the "others" that were worse. And as for Andy Burnham - the only way that his term in charge of the NHS could have been worse was if instead of patients drinking their flower-water, it had been their own urine....
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2014/07/exclusive-senior-tory-backbenchers-to-push-cameron-further-on-europe/
Note to self - Worked hard for this position, don't throw away like last test !
Farage was previously praising Putin as a great strategist. Has he changed his view about Putin now?
Farage is good at the straightforward stuff but not so good at the complicated stuff.
Blairite: JP Morgan
Brownite: standard left in theory but trapped by mass immigration
PC: self-explanatory
semi-sensible: standard left but not trapped by mass immigration (as much)
Brownite has the natural majority of membership while Blairite has majority of friendly media and the other two are also rans so hypothetically if
Blairite: Chukka
Blairite apparently successfully pretending to be Brownite: Burnham
Brownite: none really
PC: Eagle, Harman etc
semi-sensible: Cruddas
neither fish nor foul: most of the rest
that would make Burnham fave unless a more credible Brownite alternative shows up.
dark horses:
Hunt (only cos he's the biggest bleep)
Creasey
imo
On another leader note. More rumours abound Peter Robinson will go as DUP leader, this time in the autumn. Story is he'll get himself a peerage. Money, if you can find a market is on the loveable country bumpkin and sharp individual that is Arlene Foster.
I'll have some stuff on Ukraine later and why Western intelligence has a blind spot there, as it does elsewhere.
Oh, and take a good book, a bottle of fine wine and a folding chair to Regent's Park. if you live near it, you should use it as your back garden.
But I have to admit, London in the summer is one of the reasons I don't miss working there.
Have to admit I hadn't given the Labour leadership question much thought. Attlee, Wilson, Gaitskell and Kinnock all lost elections and kept the leadership. Brown and Foot didn't but they had presided over the two worst Labour results since 1945.
I know many on here, indeed the majority, don't want to see Labour win next year but it's fair to say if Ed Miliband does successfully negotiate the sea of electoral hazard he'll be secure as Labour leader until 2020 at the earliest.
So the question is how bad does it have to be before he goes ? As with Cameron before 2010, there's probably a figure in terms of MPs and vote share he has to attain to keep the dissenters at bay and I would guess that's Labour as the largest party.
In other news my younger daughter attended the opening of the Better Together office in Dundee today and ended up doing selfies etc with some MP called Darling and a video for Better Together which is apparently going to be on their website. I may indulge myself with a link if I find this. Weirdly enough pretty (if I say so with a father's eye), intelligent and articulate 17 year olds with clear views on Independence seem to have been quite attractive to Better Together. Who'd have thought?
Mr. Metatron, I would guess that D. Miliband had been positioning for a long time, likewise Balls, and Red Ed had the unions onside, leaving little for Burnham.
http://www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk/2014/07/gcse-overperformance-the-top-20-schools/
The other thing to bear in mind is that its second biggest shareholder, behind the group that has just gone splat, is Credit Agricole - the French Bank which has not been without a few problems of its own just recently.
So maybe, if people aren't being entirely honest about BES exposure to its parent group and/or its capital buffer, or sufficient people don't believe the statements, (which amounts to the same thing), the ECB will have to put up a rescue package. Won't need to be that big a few billion Euros should do the trick, if they get in quick. I guess the lights will be burning late in Frankfurt tonight.
I can't abide the man but above all he isn't very good, Miliband and Balls are both superior by a long way. If Labour lose they will need a leader of strength and vision, they would be better keeping Miliband than giving the job to Burnham.
Davies is from the 1999 original intake representing South Wales East region. She was born in 1959
The impression I have had is that after being discarded by a ECB entirely focussed on Germany and its needs Portugal was recovering rather better than some of those nearer the centre (a bit like Ireland and Spain) and things were genuinely looking up. Was it not just a few weeks ago that Portuguese bond rates went below UK rates?
Anyway, don't worry about the Portuguese economy imploding during your stay. As long as you have plenty of cash you'll be fine. The Portuguese are a very sensible people and tend not to let things like bank runs, coup attempts and revolutions get in the way of every day life.
My eldest, who is coming with us, is meeting Portuguese friends and going up to Lisbon for a second week. My experience of Portugal is limited to the Algarve and I would love to see some of the rest of it.
TSE: "Yeah, Professor Fisher's forecast is out of date, it hasn't taken into account Lab's lead being wiped out with Populus"
But equally it is out of date by virtue of YouGov's latest poll dated 17.07.14 not being included, which shows a startling Labour lead of 7%, i.e. Lab 39% vs Con 32%.
It's unfortunate that having decided to maintain average polling records from the various firms, UKPR seem unwilling to keep this up to date - one wouldn't have thought this was too demanding a task.
I'm sure Andy Burnham as next Labour leader is a very likely proposition and good value at 14/1. The trouble is that were Labour to win next year's GE, it is likely to be at least 6 years hence before there is even a contest.
Not for me therefore.
Not much humanity or compassion when covering his backside over Stafford, don't be fooled Burnham is a character who can't be trusted. As for Hillsborough we will see what pans out but I was very unimpressed by the analysis of the very partisan panel.
I can't abide the man but above all he isn't very good, Miliband and Balls are both superior by a long way. If Labour lose they will need a leader of strength and vision, they would be better keeping Miliband than giving the job to Burnham.
The Stafford story is complicated and old. It will not be much of a hindrance to Burnham. I agree he is not an intellectual star but I do think he gets the public concerns better than most politicians. I think you are underestimating him and his chances.
I normally hang on every word on your posts they are quality but as an Ex Labour voter I can't have Burnham. An opportunist career politician in the Miliband mould, only even more dangerous, I am sure he has a chance because like Miliband he is very ambitious and he would do all in his power to get to the top.
On ability though he is very lucky to have got as far as he has, just watch Hunt deal with him, so easy he laughs while he destroys him.
But I also love Portuguese barbecued fish. especially sardines. Wonderfully simple. None of these pretentious sauces that other cuisines seek to use to cover up ordinary basic ingredients. Just the pure taste of the sea.
I can't wait.
I normally hang on every word on your posts they are quality but as an Ex Labour voter I can't have Burnham. An opportunist career politician in the Miliband mould, only even more dangerous, I am sure he has a chance because like Miliband he is very ambitious and he would do all in his power to get to the top.
On ability though he is very lucky to have got as far as he has, just watch Hunt deal with him, so easy he laughs while he destroys him.
The great argument in favour of hereditary monarchy, power is given not sought. That and a country is seen as long term property to be husbandrid not exploited.
I normally hang on every word on your posts they are quality but as an Ex Labour voter I can't have Burnham. An opportunist career politician in the Miliband mould, only even more dangerous, I am sure he has a chance because like Miliband he is very ambitious and he would do all in his power to get to the top.
On ability though he is very lucky to have got as far as he has, just watch Hunt deal with him, so easy he laughs while he destroys him.
Thanks for the compliment. The respect is mutual. I just look at that Labour front bench and wince. Brown destroyed a generation to prevent a possible rival arising and Labour is now paying the price. Of the older generation I think that Burnham is one of the better ones but I accept that is damning with faint praise.
It is also not for nothing that some serious posters on here have floated the idea of Hunt being a candidate for tory leader. He is not to be underestimated either.
I sympathize trying to shift modes from talking TV to politics though. TV is both much more awesome, and with more passionate and intense fanbases to handle.
As a 16 year-old after a good night out in Lisbon one of the great pleasures was to take the train an extra couple of stops to Cascais where, as dawn was breaking, the fisherman would be grilling freshly caught sardines over charcoal for their breakfast. For a few Escudos they would let you join in and provide fresh bread and chilled vinho-verde to wash it down. Food fit for a king!
The alternative, especially in the winter months was to get off, properly, at Carcavelos but stop at the place just down from the station where the workmen were fortifying themselves for the day ahead. A steak sandwich, a cup of coffee so strong you could unblock a sewer with it, and a glass (or two, or even three) of the local Aqua Vitae. A colourless liquid that the locals consumed at breakfast but which I found made a fantastic nightcap.
£1.5m shows the knock on effect of super prime being flogged off to rich foreigners. It is in effect us creating an invisible export out of our political stability, and the perception amongst foreigners from less " clement " parts of the globe that London is a safe place to park all that spare cash you appear to have acquired in a fit of absent mindedness.
Sunderland have bought Fabio Borini for £14 million
Bacalhau - dried salted cod, another of the, mostly, unknown delicacies of Portugal. When I first started going there it was still in the days when the Portuguese fishing boats went far out into the Atlantic and returned with Bacalhau. You knew when the fleet was back because the queues for Bacalhau at the shops in Lisbon went around the block. But like seasonal veg it is nowadays available all the time, progress.
The Portuguese are also of course great tea drinkers (Catherine of Braganza, Charles II missus, is credited from bringing the habit to the UK). The left-hand hill in Lisbon is home to wonderful tea shops where at about 16:00 each weekday afternoon you will find the cream of Lisbon society tucking into tea and cakes.
Israel has the right to exist and that some of its neighbours don't accept that right is a deep problem. It also has the right to protect itself, within the bounds of international law and norms. But *only* within those bounds, even against those who would wish it annihilation.
Sounds the sort of adventures you remember for a life time.
The difference is that Burnham seems now to want to lead a defeated Labour more than anyone else (and there'll only be a vacancy if Labour lose). That matters. Unions, MPs and activists take note of who is paying them court and attention.
Also, if the field was weak in 2010, it'll even more so in 2015 if Ed loses. Who are Burnham's main rivals?
I have no idea how they work transfer policy at Chelsea, but allowing Matic to leave for a few million then buying him back for £26m does not strike me as good business.
Not sure I even knew what heroin was at the time though.
Spot on posts about Israel tho posh boy.
yeah slaughtered people just become numbers after a while eh