I have drifted too far right now compared to 37 years ago. I sometimes shop at Tesco when I was a young socialist if the co-op didn't sell it I didn't buy it.
Thank God Miliband stopping the strengthening of ISIS last year.
Unfortunately he did the exact opposite. His schoolboy attempt at playing politics did serious damage.
It's one of those alternative history things where we'll have to agree to differ - personally, trying to learn from Iraq, I think he did both Syria and Britain a considerable service by preventing intervention, and he should have done it for Libya too. We have no business killing people to favour one dubious group over another. It's possible that you're right and it would have led to a better outcome - if we're honest we'll never know for sure.
Reluctantly, I agree that ISIS is a nastiness class apart and intervention against them does make sense.
Utterly disagree. And if you have learnt any lesson from Iraq, then it appears to be the wrong lesson.
"We have no business killing people to favour one dubious group over another."
So if Miliband backs bombing, then you will say he's wrong? And do you think the use of chemical weapons should be punished, especially after the west's craven capitulation over Halabja?
Still pushing the lie that Assad used chemical weapons I see.
Still wearing that tinfoil hat? It must be wearing a little thin now, so here's some instructions on how to make a new one. I suggest you use blunt scissors, as I wouldn't want you hurting yourself:
Says the person so paranoid they are two steps away from blaming Assad and Russia for Fukushima, the Ebola outbreak and decline in the Bee population. Or wait, can you only be tinfoil if you theorise about Uncle Sam, but you're still a rational thinker if you theorise about everyone else?
I don't think military action will solve anything in Syria and Iraq, Ken Clarke tells @adamboultonSKY
Meanwhile, Farage moaning apparently that airstrikes vote during UKIP conference
I am with Ken Clarke on this. We have sold plenty of weapons to Turkey, Saudi, UAE, Bahrain etc. Let them bomb the hell out of IS, then purchase a bit more Ammo from us.
They have the money, they have nearby airbases, they have the planes. They are all countries that have tried to ride the tiger that is Islamic Facism, they need to deal with it both internally and externally.
I am happy for UK to help identify targets, but that is as far as it should go.
@iankatz1000: I won't rule out possibility of another Scottish indep referendum inside five years, @NicolaSturgeon tells #newsnight tonight. 22.30
Here we go. So much for those who claimed the issue was dead for a generation,,,,,,,,,
If she's serious, she's deluded, in my opinion, if she thinks the UK Parliment will allow that to happen.. Utterly naive at best.
Sturgeon and Swinney especially have been pushing the idea of a Home a Rule and to push the fight to more and more powers. Part of me feels that this chat of 'not ruling out another Referndum' in the next however many years is designed to appease their new, largely bandwagon orientated support. These '45%' goofs especially.
Swerving sideways, my best mate, who is a Nationalist, is concerned with the surge in support from the '45' as he firmly believes it will repel the ordinary, middle of the road voter with their hard left, victim playing, anti-establishment and anti-everything routine. I believe to him a large degree.
What's Westminster going to do if the Scottish parliament votes for another referendum (polls indicating the Scottish people want one) because Westminster has not lived up to its commitments? And then if the SNP got a whopping great majority for independence off the back of it? What Westminster going to do about it then?
I can't see Westminster not delivering, not even Ed's that dumb. Added to that, SNP 'leaders' seemingly favouring the home rule battle for now.
Null and void issue for me currently.
I won't be really rude though and answer the question. If they do 'welch' on the commitments however; then within the next 5-10 years is way more likely.
Yes they will deliver but its what they do deliver thats the big questions because politically they've manouevred themselves into a difficult situation where delivering everything Scotland expects will cause major problems south of the border and meeting English concerns will leave Scotland wanting. I suspect that there is inevitably going to be a mismatch in expectations. The question is whether that mismatch is big enough to reignite the Independence question.
I have drifted too far right now compared to 37 years ago. I sometimes shop at Tesco when I was a young socialist if the co-op didn't sell it I didn't buy it.
A tough commitment to maintain for any length of time. Not for the faint hearted or those lacking in energy, socialism.
Sarkozy and his wife have never had much in common, politically.
If Sarkozy runs in 2017, he'll beat Marine Le Pen 2:1. Hollande won't reach the run-off.
If Miliband does win in 2015, I wonder if fast forwarding 5 years we may be in a similar political situation to the one the French are in now:
The left deeply unpopular due to being forced into difficult policy decisions, and two parties to the right/right-of-centre benefitting significantly.
Only difference being it wouldn't be Cameron making a comeback IMHO. Boris and Farage?
If Labour win in 2015, then by the middle of the next Parliament, I think we'd see each of Con/Lab/UKIP polling 25-30%.
"Farage ... has a clear strategy for building a longer insurgency, a core plank of which is to establish Ukip as Labour’s main opposition in the north. Nor is this political fantasy: at the European elections in May, across 51 authorities in the north-west and north-east, Ukip finished ahead of Labour in 18 and as its main rival in 30. "
Fox They should certainly help with the ground forces, though I think ISIS is so evil western airpower and technology should be used to weaken them from the air
I do not believe in an English Parliament. I do not believe in devolution to cities (or even city states.) And I certainly do not believe that the current system can continue without reform.
That reform has to mean that English MPs have the final say over measures that only affect English matters.
I think the mistake that people are making is to assume that we are bound by the current structure of the Crown-in-Parliament, which is - IMV - at the root of many of the problems that we have in the UK government system.
If you take the executive out of the legislature, and make the PM directly elected (and getting to appoint his executive team) then there would be absolutely no problem in electing English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland parliaments.
The Executive would take executive decisions. And if they wanted to propose legislation then they would need to convince a majority of members of the relevant national parliament.
Why on earth do national assemblies need to be predicated on a presidential style executive? I do not think that has any direct relationship to the issue at all. A basic use of subsidiarity is all that is required to justify the assemblies.
They're not predicated on it.
But it solve the issue of having a UK health minster, without a majority in England, using executive authority to make decision affecting England.
Fundamentally, though, I don't think parliament is doing a good job and needs fixing. Executive dominance is the problem; elective dictatorship TM has come to be the norm.
Ah so your point was to suggest possibly the greatest centralisation of power and diminution of democracy in recent British political history. Given the purpose of this is providing equal decentralisation across the four home nations that would rather be counterproductive?
Anyway, I'm glad you actually realised that and recognised that the actual problem is the executive because I was just about to point that out!.
A directly elected executive, accountable both to the electorate and to the legislature is hardly undemocratic!
As for devolution: that doesn't really bother me. I think that the national parliaments should decide what leeway they allow the executive. And be held accountable for that.
In any event , the problem is not the executive, it's the executive's control of the legislature. Dismantling that was what the Glorious Revolution was about.
Well, socialism is cooler when you're at Uni, isn't it?
I've never found socialism cool.
Neither have I, but combine some stylish dark reds, Che Guevara's face and some totalitarian regimes that never worked, and millions of angry students disagree.
Apologies to the nice/proper socialists out there.
PS and appropos of nothing, I see from Wikipedia that Engels at one point at least had an even more stupendous beard than Marx and his much more famous one. I don't know why I find that interesting, but I do. I may not be cut out for political philosophy in a serious manner.
The one thing that got me was the number of students who wore Lenin/Soviet symbols.
I never really got why people thought Trotsky was a really positive model. Sure, he wasn't Stalin, but that's not saying a great deal. With Lenin, I could never shake the impression that he was the type of guy who would wash his hands after shaking it with a member of the lower orders, though that was just a gut reaction on my part which may have no basis in fact in how he felt about such people in reality, not merely theory, so if I am being unfair to his memory I apologies on that limited score. Not a pleasant bunch of folks though, my limited investigations into the subject determined.
2/3) I agree the situation has changed -thankfully Syria is on its way to being fully re-controlled by an authoritarian but comparatively enlightened pseudo-democratic Baathist dictatorship.
I think that says all that needs to be said about your world view.
"I feel enlightened. Let's use chemical weapons on my citizens!"
Edit: and weren't you the guy dissing Human Rights Watch when they reported earlier in the year that Assad's regime was using chlorine as a chemical weapon?
I'll feel really enlightened if you provide me with any evidence that such weapons were used by Assad, not the Saudi-backed beheaders who we're now being asked to bomb.
But for the moment, it's worth remembering how you see Assad:
"thankfully Syria is on its way to being fully re-controlled by an authoritarian but comparatively enlightened pseudo-democratic Baathist dictatorship"
I'm puzzled as to what is it that seems to have upset you about that statement? (Snip for size)
It's not upset me. It's highly bemused me. The idea that an "authoritarian but comparatively enlightened pseudo-democratic Baathist dictatorship" that uses chemical weapons on its own citizens is in any way good is, well, laughable.
As for the OPCW and culpability: Assad only let them work in Syria on the understanding that their mandate would include not attributing blame for the attacks. That's an odd thing for Assad to stipulate, isn't it? If he was blameless you'd think he would be urging them to get to the truth.
On a serious note, I think Snow's right to slam his complacent approach towards the deficit, though I'm not a fan of interrupting politicians (with certain exceptions, such as telling blatant lies or regurgitating lines).
Says the person so paranoid they are two steps away from blaming Assad and Russia for Fukushima, the Ebola outbreak and decline in the Bee population. Or wait, can you only be tinfoil if you theorise about Uncle Sam, but you're still a rational thinker if you theorise about everyone else?
Nope, not going to blame Assad or Russia for any of those things.
2/3) I agree the situation has changed -thankfully Syria is on its way to being fully re-controlled by an authoritarian but comparatively enlightened pseudo-democratic Baathist dictatorship.
I think that says all that needs to be said about your world view.
"I feel enlightened. Let's use chemical weapons on my citizens!"
Edit: and weren't you the guy dissing Human Rights Watch when they reported earlier in the year that Assad's regime was using chlorine as a chemical weapon?
I'll feel really enlightened if you provide me with any evidence that such weapons were used by Assad, not the Saudi-backed beheaders who we're now being asked to bomb.
But for the moment, it's worth remembering how you see Assad:
"thankfully Syria is on its way to being fully re-controlled by an authoritarian but comparatively enlightened pseudo-democratic Baathist dictatorship"
I'm puzzled as to what is it that seems to have upset you about that statement? (Snip for size)
It's not upset me. It's highly bemused me. The idea that an "authoritarian but comparatively enlightened pseudo-democratic Baathist dictatorship" that uses chemical weapons on its own citizens is in any way good is, well, laughable.
As for the OPCW and culpability: Assad only let them work in Syria on the understanding that their mandate would include not attributing blame for the attacks. That's an odd thing for Assad to stipulate, isn't it? If he was blameless you'd think he would be urging them to get to the truth.
Snip it or engage with it, what you've signally failed to do is come up with any argument against any part of it. By all means continue quoting it though -I can't be here to present the facts all the time.
Neil has a good grasp of numbers, but Labour are truly all over the shop, totally unbriefed and seemingly innumerate. I wish more interviewers had a grasp of economics. Would help given the state of the public finances.
You talk about principles when just months before the next GE, Carsewell's former constituents are now left totally without a voice in Westminster now Parliament has been recalled. And, its not as if there wasn't some fairly obvious and serious indicators that a recall of Parliament might be highly likely with all the major events looming both at home and abroad in recent weeks and months, and yet he and UKIP decided to opt for an expensive political stunt instead!
It is Douglas Carsewell who has currently left his former constituents without any form of Westminster representation in a vote on this issue now Parliament has been recalled. And its also Douglas Carsewell who has chosen to self indulgently put his constituents through a costly by-election as a UKIP political stunt just months before a GE.
Douglas Carswel's little toe makes more of an MP than Louise "revolving door" Mensch ever did...
It's so painfully clear that you would be saluting someone from the hill-tops if someone crossed the floor to the Tories and did this. You aren't governed by any clear philosophy of principle: you are just one of those sycophantic Tories that will spin an anti-UKIP line with whatever argument you find lying around. No doubt if Carswell had not resigned his seat, you would be condemning him for cowardice and misrepresenting his constituents. So transparent.
@SunNewsdesk: Andy Burnham is accused of forgetting the deaths of nearly 1,200 people in a hospital scandal: http://bit.ly/1yr3Iq0 twitter.com/SunNewsdesk/status/514832943865274368/photo/1
Labour have quite a lot they hope the voting public have forgotten about.
The rank hypocrisy of Labour demonising the tories over the NHS is nausiating.
Fox They should certainly help with the ground forces, though I think ISIS is so evil western airpower and technology should be used to weaken them from the air
Turkey has quite a big airforce including 196 F16, and 54 F4
They are perfectly capable of their own defence, but the critical thing in this part of the world is that they have to decide which side they are on. They can slay the beast of Islamic Fascism in a way that we cannot.
Fox They should certainly help with the ground forces, though I think ISIS is so evil western airpower and technology should be used to weaken them from the air
Turkey has quite a big airforce including 196 F16, and 54 F4
They are perfectly capable of their own defence, but the critical thing in this part of the world is that they have to decide which side they are on. They can slay the beast of Islamic Fascism in a way that we cannot.
Thank God for some common sense on this issue. Not a PENNY of British money should be spent on this farce.
Of course were the SNP to go into the 2016 Holyrood election promising another referendum, the Quebec experience suggests they will get a clear 'no thanks' and lose their majority
@SunNewsdesk: Andy Burnham is accused of forgetting the deaths of nearly 1,200 people in a hospital scandal: http://bit.ly/1yr3Iq0 twitter.com/SunNewsdesk/status/514832943865274368/photo/1
Labour have quite a lot they hope the voting public have forgotten about.
The rank hypocrisy of Labour demonising the tories over the NHS is nausiating.
They are disgusting, and if even the likes of Snow are giving them a hard time then the campaign will be excruciating for Labour as all their chickens come home to roost.
Great, another one spouting about Carsewell's 'principles'! Meantime, the constituents he promised to serve are sitting without any representation in Westminster during an extraordinary few weeks in UK political history! This whole by-election stunt was timed to fit in with Carsewell's and UKIP's own political timetable. Nothing like getting your priorities right, the politician and his new party first, the constituents and voters second!
It is Douglas Carsewell who has currently left his former constituents without any form of Westminster representation in a vote on this issue now Parliament has been recalled. And its also Douglas Carsewell who has chosen to self indulgently put his constituents through a costly by-election as a UKIP political stunt just months before a GE.
You talk about principles when just months before the next GE, Carsewell's former constituents are now left totally without a voice in Westminster now Parliament has been recalled. And, its not as if there wasn't some fairly obvious and serious indicators that a recall of Parliament might be highly likely with all the major events looming both at home and abroad in recent weeks and months, and yet he and UKIP decided to opt for an expensive political stunt instead!
It is Douglas Carsewell who has currently left his former constituents without any form of Westminster representation in a vote on this issue now Parliament has been recalled. And its also Douglas Carsewell who has chosen to self indulgently put his constituents through a costly by-election as a UKIP political stunt just months before a GE.
Douglas Carswel's little toe makes more of an MP than Louise "revolving door" Mensch ever did...
It's so painfully clear that you would be saluting someone from the hill-tops if someone crossed the floor to the Tories and did this. You aren't governed by any clear philosophy of principle: you are just one of those sycophantic Tories that will spin an anti-UKIP line with whatever argument you find lying around. No doubt if Carswell had not resigned his seat, you would be condemning him for cowardice and misrepresenting his constituents. So transparent.
Terrible attempt at trolling, why bother?
The constituents you are feeling so awful for, from 700 miles away, are about to re elect him, in all likelyhood with one of the biggest vote percentages in the country
So, as the vast majority of them don't feel let down by him in the slightest, and thousands of ex conservatives are voting for him as a ukip candidate rather than the Tory, what are you basing this nonsense on?
Fox They should certainly help with the ground forces, though I think ISIS is so evil western airpower and technology should be used to weaken them from the air
Turkey has quite a big airforce including 196 F16, and 54 F4
They are perfectly capable of their own defence, but the critical thing in this part of the world is that they have to decide which side they are on. They can slay the beast of Islamic Fascism in a way that we cannot.
Thank God for some common sense on this issue. Not a PENNY of British money should be spent on this farce.
If these countries are not willing to use their expensive toys on bombing IS to hell, then what on earth did they buy them for? IS is much more of a threat to them than us, A Caliphate makes all existing royal houses redundant.
I am happy for GCHQ to help with target information, but that is as far as it should go for us.
I (reluctantly) support bombing in this case, as you'll see if you re-read my last paragraph. On chemical weapons, I think we have to look at each case separately - it's a nasty form of killing, but not the only nasty form. "Punishment" (i.e. killing people who support the side we don't like) needs to have a reasonable chance of leading to a better outcome. IMO you are too sure you're right on this, as you are on everything else: for the construction of a train line, that doesn't matter too much, for killing people, rather more.
No, I've looked at evidence and come up with my own conclusions. I have changed my mind on plenty of things when the evidence has changed. In this case, I find it very difficult to believe that the situation would be worse if the vote had carried last year. In fact, it's easy to imagine the situation would be better.
The fact is we are probably going to bomb anyway, and are or will be providing arms to the Kurds, whose PKK fighters have killed thousands (with tens of thousands killed in the wider conflict). And in the meantime, hundreds of thousands more people have become refugees, the conflict has spread to Iraq, and any intervention that occurs is going to be much bigger, and much harder, than it would have been last year.
You accuse me of being too sure that I'm right. Well, I'll throw back that your position just appears to be one of supporting the party line. As ever. Tell me, how many times did you vote against the party whip in the thirteen years you were an MP?
You talk about principles when just months before the next GE, Carsewell's former constituents are now left totally without a voice in Westminster now Parliament has been recalled. And, its not as if there wasn't some fairly obvious and serious indicators that a recall of Parliament might be highly likely with all the major events looming both at home and abroad in recent weeks and months, and yet he and UKIP decided to opt for an expensive political stunt instead!
It is Douglas Carsewell who has currently left his former constituents without any form of Westminster representation in a vote on this issue now Parliament has been recalled. And its also Douglas Carsewell who has chosen to self indulgently put his constituents through a costly by-election as a UKIP political stunt just months before a GE.
Douglas Carswel's little toe makes more of an MP than Louise "revolving door" Mensch ever did...
It's so painfully clear that you would be saluting someone from the hill-tops if someone crossed the floor to the Tories and did this. You aren't governed by any clear philosophy of principle: you are just one of those sycophantic Tories that will spin an anti-UKIP line with whatever argument you find lying around. No doubt if Carswell had not resigned his seat, you would be condemning him for cowardice and misrepresenting his constituents. So transparent.
Yes, risking losing his seat so that his constituents had a chance to give their views on whether they still wanted him when he'd changed parties - what a stunt! It's laughable this line you're pushing.
You talk about principles when just months before the next GE, Carsewell's former constituents are now left totally without a voice in Westminster now Parliament has been recalled. And, its not as if there wasn't some fairly obvious and serious indicators that a recall of Parliament might be highly likely with all the major events looming both at home and abroad in recent weeks and months, and yet he and UKIP decided to opt for an expensive political stunt instead!
It is Douglas Carsewell who has currently left his former constituents without any form of Westminster representation in a vote on this issue now Parliament has been recalled. And its also Douglas Carsewell who has chosen to self indulgently put his constituents through a costly by-election as a UKIP political stunt just months before a GE.
Douglas Carswel's little toe makes more of an MP than Louise "revolving door" Mensch ever did...
It's so painfully clear that you would be saluting someone from the hill-tops if someone crossed the floor to the Tories and did this. You aren't governed by any clear philosophy of principle: you are just one of those sycophantic Tories that will spin an anti-UKIP line with whatever argument you find lying around. No doubt if Carswell had not resigned his seat, you would be condemning him for cowardice and misrepresenting his constituents. So transparent.
According to your rationale, the police commissioner for South Yorkshire did his electors a great disservice in resigning and not hanging on to the bitter end of his term.
David Cameron (and the rest of the country, I may add) did not agree with your rationale.
In any case, MPs used to be forced to resign and re-stand on accepting a ministerial position, the thinking being that taking an additional job undermines the first.
Great, another one spouting about Carsewell's 'principles'! Meantime, the constituents he promised to serve are sitting without any representation in Westminster during an extraordinary few weeks in UK political history! This whole by-election stunt was timed to fit in with Carsewell's and UKIP's own political timetable. Nothing like getting your priorities right, the politician and his new party first, the constituents and voters second!
It is Douglas Carsewell who has currently left his former constituents without any form of Westminster representation in a vote on this issue now Parliament has been recalled. And its also Douglas Carsewell who has chosen to self indulgently put his constituents through a costly by-election as a UKIP political stunt just months before a GE.
Neil has a good grasp of numbers, but Labour are truly all over the shop, totally unbriefed and seemingly innumerate. I wish more interviewers had a grasp of economics. Would help given the state of the public finances.
Wow. What a car crash. This is why Labour will lose.
Of course were the SNP to go into the 2016 Holyrood election promising another referendum, the Quebec experience suggests they will get a clear 'no thanks' and lose their majority
Particularly if they use (or advocate) using their new tax raising powers to soak the rich.
SNP are still in the denial phase of the grief response, they need to move on.
Great, another one spouting about Carsewell's 'principles'! Meantime, the constituents he promised to serve are sitting without any representation in Westminster during an extraordinary few weeks in UK political history! This whole by-election stunt was timed to fit in with Carsewell's and UKIP's own political timetable. Nothing like getting your priorities right, the politician and his new party first, the constituents and voters second!
It is Douglas Carsewell who has currently left his former constituents without any form of Westminster representation in a vote on this issue now Parliament has been recalled. And its also Douglas Carsewell who has chosen to self indulgently put his constituents through a costly by-election as a UKIP political stunt just months before a GE.
Toenails interview was in the same hospital room too with Ed. A clever PR Way clearly as labour wraps itself in the NHS. Looks weird tho
I cashed out, so it was a profitable evening all round.
How did I know you would say that.
Because the cash out strategy is my modus operandi.
You may have noticed it during the world cup.
Except during the Germany v Brazil semi.
In that case if you don't want to be seen as an after timer you should mention it when you post things like you did earlier, hope you all followed me in etc.
Not sour grapes as the last thing I would do,is get involved in the early rounds of the League Cup
I do not believe in an English Parliament. I do not believe in devolution to cities (or even city states.) And I certainly do not believe that the current system can continue without reform.
That reform has to mean that English MPs have the final say over measures that only affect English matters.
I think the mistake that people are making is to assume that we are bound by the current structure of the Crown-in-Parliament, which is - IMV - at the root of many of the problems that we have in the UK government system.
If you take the executive out of the legislature, and make the PM directly elected (and getting to appoint his executive team) then there would be absolutely no problem in electing English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland parliaments.
The Executive would take executive decisions. And if they wanted to propose legislation then they would need to convince a majority of members of the relevant national parliament.
I do not think that has any direct relationship to the issue at all. A basic use of subsidiarity is all that is required to justify the assemblies.
A directly elected executive, accountable both to the electorate and to the legislature is hardly undemocratic!
As for devolution: that doesn't really bother me. I think that the national parliaments should decide what leeway they allow the executive. And be held accountable for that.
In any event , the problem is not the executive, it's the executive's control of the legislature. Dismantling that was what the Glorious Revolution was about.
I didn't say it was undemocratic. I said it was a diminution of democracy. The two are different. It is a diminution of democracy because the presidential style executive are not bound by the same constraints of party that a Parliamentary executive is and they represent a massive centralisation of power. Any centralisation of power is a diminution of democracy by its very nature.
Whilst I would agree that executive influence on Parliament is a problem the attitudes of the executive in recent years has been as much of a problem and just because it was addressed over 300 years ago doesn't mean to say it doesn't need to be revisited from time to time.
All that said your lack of concern about the appropriate distribution of power throughout the political system despite it have been greatly centralised over recent decades demonstrates why you seem to be providing the wrong solutions to the issue in my view. Its not how Westminster/Whitehall wield power that is the problem, although that in itself is a problem, it is that they have too much power in the first place and as such devolution is a very important issue.
Mr. Isam, not sure Miss Fitalass being not next door to Clacton is relevant. Most of the people here who discussed the Scottish vote were not actually in Scotland.
Mr. Tyndall, unsurprised that the party Carswell has joined thinks he's full of virtue, and the party he's left thinks he's full of vice.
It seems like an act of self-preservation, with a side order of hypocrisy.
Mr. Royale, not long to the election, but still too early to assert that. The Scottish and English situations, as well as the rise of UKIP and Miliband being as popular as ebola north of the border means there's a very wide array of realistic results.
Neil has a good grasp of numbers, but Labour are truly all over the shop, totally unbriefed and seemingly innumerate. I wish more interviewers had a grasp of economics. Would help given the state of the public finances.
Wow. What a car crash. This is why Labour will lose.
In 1997 the Labour Front bench would have been all briefed, and rehearsed for media appearances and entirely on message. In 2014 they did not even know more about the policy than anyone else in the room. They need Mandelson back.
the previous day I had forgotten to put on £100 at 66/1 Ibisevic to score a hat trick for Stuttgart because I had such a bad hangover... Of course it copped... A bad birthday weekend
2/3) I agree the situation has changed -thankfully Syria is on its way to being fully re-controlled by an authoritarian but comparatively enlightened pseudo-democratic Baathist dictatorship.
I think that says all that needs to be said about your world view.
"I feel enlightened. Let's use chemical weapons on my citizens!"
Edit: and weren't you the guy dissing Human Rights Watch when they reported earlier in the year that Assad's regime was using chlorine as a chemical weapon?
I'll feel really enlightened if you provide me with any evidence that such weapons were used by Assad, not the Saudi-backed beheaders who we're now being asked to bomb.
But for the moment, it's worth remembering how you see Assad:
"thankfully Syria is on its way to being fully re-controlled by an authoritarian but comparatively enlightened pseudo-democratic Baathist dictatorship"
I'm puzzled as to what is it that seems to have upset you about that statement? (Snip for size)
It's not upset me. It's highly bemused me. The idea that an "authoritarian but comparatively enlightened pseudo-democratic Baathist dictatorship" that uses chemical weapons on its own citizens is in any way good is, well, laughable.
As for the OPCW and culpability: Assad only let them work in Syria on the understanding that their mandate would include not attributing blame for the attacks. That's an odd thing for Assad to stipulate, isn't it? If he was blameless you'd think he would be urging them to get to the truth.
Snip it or engage with it, what you've signally failed to do is come up with any argument against any part of it. By all means continue quoting it though -I can't be here to present the facts all the time.
The fact that you are thankful that the mass-murdering, chemical-weapon using, terrorist supporting, hereditary madman is winning the war is enough.
You accuse me of being too sure that I'm right. Well, I'll throw back that your position just appears to be one of supporting the party line. As ever. Tell me, how many times did you vote against the party whip in the thirteen years you were an MP?
35 times. And not enough. But as usual you ignore inconvenient parts of posts that you are responding to. I say I'm reluctantly in favour of bombing, you respond to ask if I'm in favour of bombing. I say I disagreed with my party over Libya, you respond that I always support the party line.
Went all the way to Montreux from Geneva by mainline train yesterday, but didn't do any research into (and certainly didn't leave enough time to "do") the local metre-gauge mountain railways, concentrating for a change on non-railway items like the Freddie Mercury statue and walking the lake-front. I fly back to London tomorrow afternoon
Anyway, added Geneva Airport station, Geneva-Cornavin (city centre), Lausanne and Montreux stations to my "visited" list. (Zurich, Zurich Airport and Chur were done 5 years back). Also did the CERN (as in hardon, I mean Hadron collider) tram-stop, and also Carouge, Nations (as in United Nations), Palettes, Place de Neuve and Bel-Air tram-stops.
You talk about principles when just months before the next GE, Carsewell's former constituents are now left totally without a voice in Westminster now Parliament has been recalled. And, its not as if there wasn't some fairly obvious and serious indicators that a recall of Parliament might be highly likely with all the major events looming both at home and abroad in recent weeks and months, and yet he and UKIP decided to opt for an expensive political stunt instead!
It is Douglas Carsewell who has currently left his former constituents without any form of Westminster representation in a vote on this issue now Parliament has been recalled. And its also Douglas Carsewell who has chosen to self indulgently put his constituents through a costly by-election as a UKIP political stunt just months before a GE.
Douglas Carswel's little toe makes more of an MP than Louise "revolving door" Mensch ever did...
It's so painfully clear that you would be saluting someone from the hill-tops if someone crossed the floor to the Tories and did this. You aren't governed by any clear philosophy of principle: you are just one of those sycophantic Tories that will spin an anti-UKIP line with whatever argument you find lying around. No doubt if Carswell had not resigned his seat, you would be condemning him for cowardice and misrepresenting his constituents. So transparent.
No problem. On 9th October, Mr. Carswell will resume his seat in Parliament.
@iankatz1000: I won't rule out possibility of another Scottish indep referendum inside five years, @NicolaSturgeon tells #newsnight tonight. 22.30
,,
If she's serious, she's deluded, in my opinion, if she thinks the UK Parliment will allow that to happen.. Utterly naive at best.
Sturgeon and Swinney especially have been pushing the idea of a Home a Rule and to push the fight to more and more powers. Part of me feels that this chat of 'not ruling out another Referndum' in the next however many years is designed to appease their new, largely bandwagon orientated support. These '45%' goofs especially.
Swerving sideways, my best mate, who is a Nationalist, is concerned with the surge in support from the '45' as he firmly believes it will repel the ordinary, middle of the road voter with their hard left, victim playing, anti-establishment and anti-everything routine. I believe to him a large degree.
What's Westminster going to do if the Scottish parliament votes for another referendum (polls indicating the Scottish people want one) because Westminster has not lived up to its commitments? And then if the SNP got a whopping great majority for independence off the back of it? What Westminster going to do about it then?
Yes they will deliver but its what they do deliver thats the big questions because politically they've manouevred themselves into a difficult situation where delivering everything Scotland expects will cause major problems south of the border and meeting English concerns will leave Scotland wanting. I suspect that there is inevitably going to be a mismatch in expectations. The question is whether that mismatch is big enough to reignite the Independence question.
Swinney was giving off pretty thick smoke signals that the SNP will push for Home Rule that exceeds the 'pending' powers forthcoming. I'd wager they will push his Home Rule idea for a Parliament or two.
They need time to embrace more voters. The hard left approach from the '45' won't work. Having time to build a case, this case being 'Westminster have blocked Home Rule' could be the trunk of a more palatable push for another that could embrace more of the Middle-class voter.
It's if they don't get those deep running powers that boils down to Home Rule in the next couple Parliaments that I can then see them cry foul and push for Referendum MK 2.
How England will fit in and what that means for us here in Scotland, I don't know yet. I agree though we've not heard the last of this. Especially if it derails the likely SNP Home Rule agenda post the next delivery of these further powers.
the previous day I had forgotten to put on £100 at 66/1 Ibisevic to score a hat trick for Stuttgart because I had such a bad hangover... Of course it copped... A bad birthday weekend
Toenails interview was in the same hospital room too with Ed. A clever PR Way clearly as labour wraps itself in the NHS. Looks weird tho
I cashed out, so it was a profitable evening all round.
How did I know you would say that.
Because the cash out strategy is my modus operandi.
You may have noticed it during the world cup.
Except during the Germany v Brazil semi.
In that case if you don't want to be seen as an after timer you should mention it when you post things like you did earlier, hope you all followed me in etc.
Not sour grapes as the last thing I would do,is get involved in the early rounds of the League Cup
I always post my tips on PB. This year I'm going through a purple patch, where nearly all my bets come off in the football.
I'm sure normal service will be resumed, when I couldn't tip more rubbish even if you gave me a forklift truck.
the previous day I had forgotten to put on £100 at 66/1 Ibisevic to score a hat trick for Stuttgart because I had such a bad hangover... Of course it copped... A bad birthday weekend
I always lose money in matches involving Wigan.
Wigan were top of my list of teams never to get involved with, City were the same until the money turned up.
Neil has a good grasp of numbers, but Labour are truly all over the shop, totally unbriefed and seemingly innumerate. I wish more interviewers had a grasp of economics. Would help given the state of the public finances.
Wow. What a car crash. This is why Labour will lose.
In 1997 the Labour Front bench would have been all briefed, and rehearsed for media appearances and entirely on message. In 2014 they did not even know more about the policy than anyone else in the room. They need Mandelson back.
Yep, it really is woeful. Although Ed's kitchen cabinet of academic seminar attendees will tell you this is because politics has changed and voters don't want the control-freak, on-message, Blackberry hugging politicians of late 1990s.
I try to avoid watching politicians on TV for fear of being provoked into kicking the screen in.
But by accident I saw a minute of EdM with Jon Snow.
Dear me he was crap.
I was amused by the part where he claimed he wanted to get away from the Westminster bubble.
Does that mean EdM is planning on spending more than two hours a year in his own constituency ? Or does he just mean he'll be exploring the borders of Primrose Hill ? If so might SeanT get to meet him ?
Your accusing me of trolling because I pointed out the fact that Carsewell and UKIP's political stunt had left his constituents without a voice in Westminster while Parliament has been recalled? Utterly pathetic! I few years ago, I cared enough to write and complain to my MP because he sat on his behookie while MPs rejected proposals to hold a UK-wide referendum on whether to ratify the EU's Lisbon Treaty! I would have been absolutely livid if he had pulled a stunt like Carsewell did just months before GE and missed the voted altogether, never mind while we were holding an Independence Referendum in another part of the UK while we were facing a serious terrorist threat from abroad.
You talk about principles when just months before the next GE, Carsewell's former constituents are now left totally without a voice in Westminster now Parliament has been recalled. And, its not as if there wasn't some fairly obvious and serious indicators that a recall of Parliament might be highly likely with all the major events looming both at home and abroad in recent weeks and months, and yet he and UKIP decided to opt for an expensive political stunt instead!
It is Douglas Carsewell who has currently left his former constituents without any form of Westminster representation in a vote on this issue now Parliament has been recalled. And its also Douglas Carsewell who has chosen to self indulgently put his constituents through a costly by-election as a UKIP political stunt just months before a GE.
It's so painfully clear that you would be saluting someone from the hill-tops if someone crossed the floor to the Tories and did this. You aren't governed by any clear philosophy of principle: you are just one of those sycophantic Tories that will spin an anti-UKIP line with whatever argument you find lying around. No doubt if Carswell had not resigned his seat, you would be condemning him for cowardice and misrepresenting his constituents. So transparent.
Terrible attempt at trolling, why bother?
The constituents you are feeling so awful for, from 700 miles away, are about to re elect him, in all likelyhood with one of the biggest vote percentages in the country
So, as the vast majority of them don't feel let down by him in the slightest, and thousands of ex conservatives are voting for him as a ukip candidate rather than the Tory, what are you basing this nonsense on?
Toenails interview was in the same hospital room too with Ed. A clever PR Way clearly as labour wraps itself in the NHS. Looks weird tho
I cashed out, so it was a profitable evening all round.
How did I know you would say that.
Because the cash out strategy is my modus operandi.
You may have noticed it during the world cup.
Except during the Germany v Brazil semi.
In that case if you don't want to be seen as an after timer you should mention it when you post things like you did earlier, hope you all followed me in etc.
Not sour grapes as the last thing I would do,is get involved in the early rounds of the League Cup
I always post my tips on PB. This year I'm going through a purple patch, where nearly all my bets come off in the football.
I'm sure normal service will be resumed, when I couldn't tip more rubbish even if you gave me a forklift truck.
All I'm saying is that if you post tips and expect people to follow them, as by your earlier post you did, then you have to take the responsibility of posting your exit strategy as well.
Otherwise when they have lost money and you post that you cashed out you have some very unhappy people.
the previous day I had forgotten to put on £100 at 66/1 Ibisevic to score a hat trick for Stuttgart because I had such a bad hangover... Of course it copped... A bad birthday weekend
I always lose money in matches involving Wigan.
Wigan were top of my list of teams never to get involved with, City were the same until the money turned up.
I try to avoid watching politicians on TV for fear of being provoked into kicking the screen in.
But by accident I saw a minute of EdM with Jon Snow.
Dear me he was crap.
I was amused by the part where he claimed he wanted to get away from the Westminster bubble.
Does that mean EdM is planning on spending more than two hours a year in his own constituency ? Or does he just mean he'll be exploring the borders of Primrose Hill ? If so might SeanT get to meet him ?
Well, he went to the park last week and met Colin or was it Gareth, I forget.
Fraser Nelson (@FraserNelson) 24/09/2014 21:54 A man has been charged in connection with roadside bombs recovered from Al Anbar province in Iraq. He's from Wembley: bbc.in/1pdigjA
Your accusing me of trolling because I pointed out the fact that Carsewell and UKIP's political stunt had left his constituents without a voice in Westminster while Parliament has been recalled? Utterly pathetic! I few years ago, I cared enough to write and complain to my MP because he sat on his behookie while MPs rejected proposals to hold a UK-wide referendum on whether to ratify the EU's Lisbon Treaty! I would have been absolutely livid if he had pulled a stunt like Carsewell did just months before GE and missed the voted altogether, never mind while we were holding an Independence Referendum in another part of the UK while we were facing a serious terrorist threat from abroad.
So what was your view about Rory Stewart MP missing the Bomb Syria vote to go to a wedding ?
I think Labour are unchanged. But, it's not much of a bounce. IMHO, Labour could be c. 34% after the Tory conference.
It's perfectly possible for the Tories to have a good conference, and not get much out of it. UKIP's success on 9th October might quickly scupper any momentum anyway. At this stage it's about fighting the Labour poll lead to a standstill, and destroying credibility, so they can hopefully pull ahead in the new year.
However, nothing's certain. The Tories have perfected a habit of taking long careful aim at Labour, before dropping the barrel at the last minute and shooting themselves in the foot. Sometimes they just do that anyway - like with their own membership and activist base.
Your accusing me of trolling because I pointed out the fact that Carsewell and UKIP's political stunt had left his constituents without a voice in Westminster while Parliament has been recalled? Utterly pathetic! I few years ago, I cared enough to write and complain to my MP because he sat on his behookie while MPs rejected proposals to hold a UK-wide referendum on whether to ratify the EU's Lisbon Treaty! I would have been absolutely livid if he had pulled a stunt like Carsewell did just months before GE and missed the voted altogether, never mind while we were holding an Independence Referendum in another part of the UK while we were facing a serious terrorist threat from abroad.
You talk about principles when just months before the next GE, Carsewell's former constituents are now left totally without a voice in Westminster now Parliament has been recalled. And, its not as if there wasn't some fairly obvious and serious indicators that a recall of Parliament might be highly likely with all the major events looming both at home and abroad in recent weeks and months, and yet he and UKIP decided to opt for an expensive political stunt instead!
It is Douglas Carsewell who has currently left his former constituents without any form of Westminster representation in a vote on this issue now Parliament has been recalled. And its also Douglas Carsewell who has chosen to self indulgently put his constituents through a costly by-election as a UKIP political stunt just months before a GE.
The constituents you are feeling so awful for, from 700 miles away, are about to re elect him, in all likelyhood with one of the biggest vote percentages in the country
So, as the vast majority of them don't feel let down by him in the slightest, and thousands of ex conservatives are voting for him as a ukip candidate rather than the Tory, what are you basing this nonsense on?
In the last 8 days the RSPB has released details of the mysterious disappearance of 1 Satellite Tagged Montagu's Harrier and 2 Satellite Tagged Hen Harriers. Killing these birds is a criminal act. As usual, the silence is deafening from Defra Ministers.
As a result of Government inaction, a campaign is growing to ban driven grouse shooting, given that it's success seems to rely on criminal activity. The petition can be seen at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/65627
I'm not anti-shooting, in fact I beat on a pheasant shoot, but uplands managers and their keepers need a wake up. It's not acceptable to wipe out protected species.
US is now beginning to target IS oil trade from Syrian facilities. Disruption there is a useful weapon. The biggest single income for IS is its own 'business' activities not external funders.
Full expectation that a number of oil related facilities will be hit this evening in E. Syria.
Abu Qatada by the way, he of long running extradition case. Acquitted in Jordan apparently...
Edit: There is rumour of IS doing a prisoner release shortly. No info who/what prisoners exactly.
Great, another one spouting about Carsewell's 'principles'! Meantime, the constituents he promised to serve are sitting without any representation in Westminster during an extraordinary few weeks in UK political history! This whole by-election stunt was timed to fit in with Carsewell's and UKIP's own political timetable. Nothing like getting your priorities right, the politician and his new party first, the constituents and voters second!
It is Douglas Carsewell who has currently left his former constituents without any form of Westminster representation in a vote on this issue now Parliament has been recalled. And its also Douglas Carsewell who has chosen to self indulgently put his constituents through a costly by-election as a UKIP political stunt just months before a GE.
Comments
He was just a dirty old man using power to get his end away.
They have the money, they have nearby airbases, they have the planes. They are all countries that have tried to ride the tiger that is Islamic Facism, they need to deal with it both internally and externally.
I am happy for UK to help identify targets, but that is as far as it should go.
Although I did fancy one of their activists once.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ygfbpHJGM
LibDem, Tory and UKIP said English votes for English laws! Green Party said no quick fix...
"Labour candidate, Liz McInnes did not respond."
http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/91519/heywood-and-middleton-candidates-express-views-on-banning-scottish-mps-from-voting-on-english-laws
As for devolution: that doesn't really bother me. I think that the national parliaments should decide what leeway they allow the executive. And be held accountable for that.
In any event , the problem is not the executive, it's the executive's control of the legislature. Dismantling that was what the Glorious Revolution was about.
http://www.cpgb-ml.org/images/leaflets/trotskyism_20120705.jpg
http://www.cpgb-ml.org/download/leaflets/trotskyism_20120705.pdf
As for the OPCW and culpability: Assad only let them work in Syria on the understanding that their mandate would include not attributing blame for the attacks. That's an odd thing for Assad to stipulate, isn't it? If he was blameless you'd think he would be urging them to get to the truth.
We all put our car keys in a bowl, then swapped speeding points.
On a serious note, I think Snow's right to slam his complacent approach towards the deficit, though I'm not a fan of interrupting politicians (with certain exceptions, such as telling blatant lies or regurgitating lines).
The things the Tories or UKIP are best at are 29% minimum
The level of belief in Labour's strong points is much lower than the level of belief in the Tory/UKIP strong points.
Labour "best at" NHS = 29% - and that's as good as it gets.
Kippers 43% on immigration, Tories 39% on the govt finances.
Next!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4Dx8HkCt1c&app=desktop
Neil has a good grasp of numbers, but Labour are truly all over the shop, totally unbriefed and seemingly innumerate. I wish more interviewers had a grasp of economics. Would help given the state of the public finances.
Wouldn't leave early Spurs fans, one Liverpool fan did that last night and missed 29 goals.
The rank hypocrisy of Labour demonising the tories over the NHS is nausiating.
http://www.hvkk.tsk.tr/en/EnvanterdekiUcaklar.aspx?ID=7
Saudi has 261 modern combat aircraft, mostly F15:
http://www.arabaviation.com/en-us/airpower/royalsaudiairforce.aspx
Kuwait has 58 Combat aircraft, mostly modern F18
http://www.arabaviation.com/en-us/airpower/kuwaitiairforce.aspx
Etc,., Etc...
They are perfectly capable of their own defence, but the critical thing in this part of the world is that they have to decide which side they are on. They can slay the beast of Islamic Fascism in a way that we cannot.
Toenails interview was in the same hospital room too with Ed. A clever PR Way clearly as labour wraps itself in the NHS. Looks weird tho
Where else could Ed have been interviewed?
Bank of England? No.
Dover port? No.
Northern Town? No.
Scotland? No.
His brother's place...?
The constituents you are feeling so awful for, from 700 miles away, are about to re elect him, in all likelyhood with one of the biggest vote percentages in the country
So, as the vast majority of them don't feel let down by him in the slightest, and thousands of ex conservatives are voting for him as a ukip candidate rather than the Tory, what are you basing this nonsense on?
I am happy for GCHQ to help with target information, but that is as far as it should go for us.
You may have noticed it during the world cup.
Except during the Germany v Brazil semi.
The fact is we are probably going to bomb anyway, and are or will be providing arms to the Kurds, whose PKK fighters have killed thousands (with tens of thousands killed in the wider conflict). And in the meantime, hundreds of thousands more people have become refugees, the conflict has spread to Iraq, and any intervention that occurs is going to be much bigger, and much harder, than it would have been last year.
You accuse me of being too sure that I'm right. Well, I'll throw back that your position just appears to be one of supporting the party line. As ever. Tell me, how many times did you vote against the party whip in the thirteen years you were an MP?
Edit: Gah, it was 1 nil to Spurs at half time, and finished 9-1 to Spurs
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8365091.stm
David Cameron (and the rest of the country, I may add) did not agree with your rationale.
In any case, MPs used to be forced to resign and re-stand on accepting a ministerial position, the thinking being that taking an additional job undermines the first.
Your line of 'my party right or wrong' is nothing to be proud of. In fact it is something you should be ashamed of.
SNP are still in the denial phase of the grief response, they need to move on.
Not sour grapes as the last thing I would do,is get involved in the early rounds of the League Cup
Whilst I would agree that executive influence on Parliament is a problem the attitudes of the executive in recent years has been as much of a problem and just because it was addressed over 300 years ago doesn't mean to say it doesn't need to be revisited from time to time.
All that said your lack of concern about the appropriate distribution of power throughout the political system despite it have been greatly centralised over recent decades demonstrates why you seem to be providing the wrong solutions to the issue in my view. Its not how Westminster/Whitehall wield power that is the problem, although that in itself is a problem, it is that they have too much power in the first place and as such devolution is a very important issue.
Mr. Tyndall, unsurprised that the party Carswell has joined thinks he's full of virtue, and the party he's left thinks he's full of vice.
It seems like an act of self-preservation, with a side order of hypocrisy.
Staked £20 at 5/1 - Cashout value was £54.46
I backed Falcao first goalscorer this day
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/match/atlético-madrid-vs-deportivo-la-coruña/1323089/report
the previous day I had forgotten to put on £100 at 66/1 Ibisevic to score a hat trick for Stuttgart because I had such a bad hangover... Of course it copped... A bad birthday weekend
And I see you dodge the OPCW issue.
But I'm beginning to think,ed's ,shit hitting the fan proof ;-) can someone tell me when if ever we will see regular tory leads in the polls ;-)
Just asking,abit worried about me country ;-)
I'll leave you to it.
Britain Elects @britainelects 9s
National Opinion Poll (YouGov):
LAB - 37% (-1)
CON - 33% (+2)
UKIP - 13% (-2)
LDEM - 7% (=)
Went all the way to Montreux from Geneva by mainline train yesterday, but didn't do any research into (and certainly didn't leave enough time to "do") the local metre-gauge mountain railways, concentrating for a change on non-railway items like the Freddie Mercury statue and walking the lake-front. I fly back to London tomorrow afternoon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreux–Glion–Rochers-de-Naye_railway
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreux–Oberland_Bernois_railway
Anyway, added Geneva Airport station, Geneva-Cornavin (city centre), Lausanne and Montreux stations to my "visited" list. (Zurich, Zurich Airport and Chur were done 5 years back). Also did the CERN (as in hardon, I mean Hadron collider) tram-stop, and also Carouge, Nations (as in United Nations), Palettes, Place de Neuve and Bel-Air tram-stops.
Anyway, I am off for the night.
They need time to embrace more voters. The hard left approach from the '45' won't work. Having time to build a case, this case being 'Westminster have blocked Home Rule' could be the trunk of a more palatable push for another that could embrace more of the Middle-class voter.
It's if they don't get those deep running powers that boils down to Home Rule in the next couple Parliaments that I can then see them cry foul and push for Referendum MK 2.
How England will fit in and what that means for us here in Scotland, I don't know yet. I agree though we've not heard the last of this. Especially if it derails the likely SNP Home Rule agenda post the next delivery of these further powers.
Sun Politics said 31/38 - Lab lead 7
YouGov said 31/37 - Lab lead 6
Britain Elects has picked up the Sun Politics tweet but surely we have to go with YouGov?
Can you confirm?
I'm sure normal service will be resumed, when I couldn't tip more rubbish even if you gave me a forklift truck.
Currently Southampton are not to be trusted.
Just watched the Snow interview with Ed, and the Labour Front Bench haven't a clue on economics. Christ, they are bad!
But I'm beginning to think, Ed's shit-hitting-the-fan-proof ;-)
Can someone tell me when, if ever, we will see regular Tory leads in the polls? ;-)
Just asking; a bit worried about my country ;-)
But by accident I saw a minute of EdM with Jon Snow.
Dear me he was crap.
I was amused by the part where he claimed he wanted to get away from the Westminster bubble.
Does that mean EdM is planning on spending more than two hours a year in his own constituency ? Or does he just mean he'll be exploring the borders of Primrose Hill ? If so might SeanT get to meet him ?
It was 31/37 - Lab lead 6.
Otherwise when they have lost money and you post that you cashed out you have some very unhappy people.
Is it that obvious I was brought up in a labour city ;-)
24/09/2014 21:54
A man has been charged in connection with roadside bombs recovered from Al Anbar province in Iraq. He's from Wembley: bbc.in/1pdigjA
However, nothing's certain. The Tories have perfected a habit of taking long careful aim at Labour, before dropping the barrel at the last minute and shooting themselves in the foot. Sometimes they just do that anyway - like with their own membership and activist base.
You're angrier than his constituents, they're just about to elect him by a landslide.
You're spelling Carswell incorrectly, I know you wouldn't be childish enough to do it deliberately
In the last 8 days the RSPB has released details of the mysterious disappearance of 1 Satellite Tagged Montagu's Harrier and 2 Satellite Tagged Hen Harriers. Killing these birds is a criminal act. As usual, the silence is deafening from Defra Ministers.
As a result of Government inaction, a campaign is growing to ban driven grouse shooting, given that it's success seems to rely on criminal activity. The petition can be seen at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/65627
I'm not anti-shooting, in fact I beat on a pheasant shoot, but uplands managers and their keepers need a wake up. It's not acceptable to wipe out protected species.
US is now beginning to target IS oil trade from Syrian facilities. Disruption there is a useful weapon. The biggest single income for IS is its own 'business' activities not external funders.
Full expectation that a number of oil related facilities will be hit this evening in E. Syria.
Abu Qatada by the way, he of long running extradition case. Acquitted in Jordan apparently...
Edit: There is rumour of IS doing a prisoner release shortly. No info who/what prisoners exactly.