A good day for Leicester ( I did tip another 1 nil this morning!) and the West Indies. I hope that the T20 cup and the IPL inspire a revival of cricket there. It would be good for the sport.
Well played today, I thought Leicester saw out the last 15 minutes very professionally.
On topic. What really concerns me is that the grown ups aren't exactly covering themselves in glory. I appreciate that Mr Meeks thinks those of us who have the temerity to think we should leave the EU think that it is the be all and end all of politics.
Well I think we should leave the EU and I'm pleased to be getting a chance to vote on it, but the most important thing in my mind is the state of the public finances. I appreciate that the Tories inherited a shocking state of affairs in 2010, but having won a majority in 2015 George Osborne should have taken the tough decisions to finally eliminate the deficit. Unfortunately this has not happened.
Mr Meeks may think that the likes of Corbyn and Farage are a threat to the establishment (and not just the political one), but I'd suggest what should worry them more is what happens when the next crash happens.
The question then becomes whether 2020 will be analogous to 1979 inasmuch as the prevailing Governmental model will be considered to have failed and the governing party itself in a state of political collapse (1979 and 1997 but not 2010) facing an insurgency whose remedies will appear to many to be radical and untested and unproven.
In 1979, the prevailing mood was "we can't go on like this". We're a long way from that now but we're also a long way from 2020.
On topic. What really concerns me is that the grown ups aren't exactly covering themselves in glory. I appreciate that Mr Meeks thinks those of us who have the temerity to think we should leave the EU think that it is the be all and end all of politics.
Well I think we should leave the EU and I'm pleased to be getting a chance to vote on it, but the most important thing in my mind is the state of the public finances. I appreciate that the Tories inherited a shocking state of affairs in 2010, but having won a majority in 2015 George Osborne should have taken the tough decisions to finally eliminate the deficit. Unfortunately this has not happened.
Mr Meeks may think that the likes of Corbyn and Farage are a threat to the establishment (and not just the political one), but I'd suggest what should worry them more is what happens when the next crash happens.
I agree on the finances. I think the steel and oil gluts herald real problems in the world economy. A lot of China works on very thin margins and I am not convinced at all that it will be a soft landing. I don't want to come over all Hunchman but there is likely to be a lot of market volatility next couple of months, and probably significant Sterling depreciation.
There are limits to austerity, and some modest tax rises would have been a good idea over the last few years. Ken Clarke said as much on the East Midlands Sunday Politics last week. Perhaps a penny or two on income tax to pay for the rise in personal allowances.
This is something that needs doing whatever the Brexit vote.
A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy.
Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage.
The documents suggest Putin’s family has benefited from this money – his friends’ fortunes appear his to spend.
The files are part of an unprecedented leak of millions of papers from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm. They show how the rich and powerful are able to exploit secret offshore tax regimes in myriad ways.
A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy.
Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage.
The documents suggest Putin’s family has benefited from this money – his friends’ fortunes appear his to spend.
The files are part of an unprecedented leak of millions of papers from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm. They show how the rich and powerful are able to exploit secret offshore tax regimes in myriad ways.
Panorama alleged this a few months ago that putin himself us now one of the richest men in the world. I seemed to remember that Panorama had the name he goes by for the money & obviously it isn't Mr a putin
A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy.
Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage.
The documents suggest Putin’s family has benefited from this money – his friends’ fortunes appear his to spend.
The files are part of an unprecedented leak of millions of papers from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm. They show how the rich and powerful are able to exploit secret offshore tax regimes in myriad ways.
His view of Merkel is about as flattering as mine.
What I found most interesting was that Sandau thought that the problems with the Eurozone could have been managed if Britain had been a part of it from the start. That sounds like wishful thinking to me and the huge financial sector in the UK would have caused big problems post-2008 for the whole Eurozone. However it's nice to know there are still some people out there (if not exactly everyone) who look back nostalgically at the times when Britain ruled the waves.
I have long thought that this is one of the underlying driving factors behind Tory Wet Europhilia. They have never quite got over losing the Empire and had the arrogance to think that if only Britain was completely engaged in the EEC/U project we would bound to be leading it eventually.
It is a most unpleasant view but one I think people like Heath and Clark instinctively held.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Connie talks to Smiley (in 1979) about the people who were trained to rule the world, and then found it taken away from them.
Interesting that the law firm is Panama based. They always bang on about cayman & British Virginia islands for being tax dodger central, Panama is up there to. Every big bank has an office there & it is an open secret how it works there. Seems like putin is doing what a lot of other interesting folk have been doing through Panama for many years.
A good day for Leicester ( I did tip another 1 nil this morning!) and the West Indies. I hope that the T20 cup and the IPL inspire a revival of cricket there. It would be good for the sport.
Well played today, I thought Leicester saw out the last 15 minutes very professionally.
From talking to friends and colleagues at work I can't remember the last time there was such a desire amongst neutral observers for a team to win the Premier League. I suspect that just about everyone outside of the 2nd-4th places is willing Leicester to win.
On topic. What really concerns me is that the grown ups aren't exactly covering themselves in glory. I appreciate that Mr Meeks thinks those of us who have the temerity to think we should leave the EU think that it is the be all and end all of politics.
Well I think we should leave the EU and I'm pleased to be getting a chance to vote on it, but the most important thing in my mind is the state of the public finances. I appreciate that the Tories inherited a shocking state of affairs in 2010, but having won a majority in 2015 George Osborne should have taken the tough decisions to finally eliminate the deficit. Unfortunately this has not happened.
Mr Meeks may think that the likes of Corbyn and Farage are a threat to the establishment (and not just the political one), but I'd suggest what should worry them more is what happens when the next crash happens.
I agree on the finances. I think the steel and oil gluts herald real problems in the world economy. A lot of China works on very thin margins and I am not convinced at all that it will be a soft landing. I don't want to come over all Hunchman but there is likely to be a lot of market volatility next couple of months, and probably significant Sterling depreciation.
There are limits to austerity, and some modest tax rises would have been a good idea over the last few years. Ken Clarke said as much on the East Midlands Sunday Politics last week. Perhaps a penny or two on income tax to pay for the rise in personal allowances.
This is something that needs doing whatever the Brexit vote.
I would not have complained had the basic rate gone back to 22p.
A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy.
Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage.
The documents suggest Putin’s family has benefited from this money – his friends’ fortunes appear his to spend.
The files are part of an unprecedented leak of millions of papers from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm. They show how the rich and powerful are able to exploit secret offshore tax regimes in myriad ways.
I guessed the thread header was written by Mr Meeks in his Mr Hyde incarnation when I read ...
"Without even a pretence of coherence, they campaign on running away from the complexities of multilateral engagement, variously on immigration, regulation, security concerns or whatever else flits across their minds."
But off topic, I've come to the conclusion that if Trump becomes POTUS (unlikely as that seems), he may be less problematical that many suspect. Unlike Roosevelt who advised "Speak softly and carry a big stick", I believe Trump will be more circumspect. I think he'll "Speak loudly and carry a small stick", and nothing to do with a phallic reference.
The cricket demonstrates not only the perils of in-running wagering but the presumption it can sometimes be the least likely thing that ends up happening.
I'm not sure what to make of Antifrank's (he'll always be Antifrank to me) latest offering. Insurgencies do sometimes win - you could argue Margaret Thatcher was the insurgent in 1975 defeating the Conservative Party Establishment (Whitelaw etc) and in 1979 prevailed not because she was the alternative to dull incompetence but because she wasn't.
Conversely, Blair won in 1997 because he wasn't radical and had been able to convince millions of former Conservative voters the Labour Party he led was a non-socialist party of the centre or centre-left.
During the long period of Butskellism power interchanged simply because the Conservatives and Labour were or appeared to be similar (Wilson's Labour vs Heath's Conservatives).
Britain has so far avoided the destruction of the old parties as has happened in places like Denmark and Italy and while the vote share of the Con-Lab Parties isn't what it was, FPTP means the 70% is more then enough to hold the line.
I don't see that changing anytime soon but as the saying goes "nothing lasts forever".
I'm not sure the old parties in Denmark have been destroyed, exactly - Venstre and the Social Democrats are still very much around. But there has been some splintering there.
We have seen the almost complete eclipse of one of the traditional main parties in Greece though, and I wonder how long it will be before the second one (New Democracy) goes the same way.
A good day for Leicester ( I did tip another 1 nil this morning!) and the West Indies. I hope that the T20 cup and the IPL inspire a revival of cricket there. It would be good for the sport.
Well played today, I thought Leicester saw out the last 15 minutes very professionally.
From talking to friends and colleagues at work I can't remember the last time there was such a desire amongst neutral observers for a team to win the Premier League. I suspect that just about everyone outside of the 2nd-4th places is willing Leicester to win.
I wouldn't say that I'd rather Leicester won than Arsenal, but there is one significant upside to it. For years supporters of teams outside of the Big 4/5/6 have complained that it's too difficult to win the league. Well, if Leicester do it then it might make supporters of other clubs demand a little bit more than mid table safety. Obviously the big clubs will win most of the time, but Leicester have shown what is possible.
Interesting guardian says 370 journos have been analysing thus data for over a year, BUT they also say the data is basically near live with the most recent being end of 2015...so the leaker has continued to update over the past year.
A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy.
Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage.
The documents suggest Putin’s family has benefited from this money – his friends’ fortunes appear his to spend.
The files are part of an unprecedented leak of millions of papers from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm. They show how the rich and powerful are able to exploit secret offshore tax regimes in myriad ways.
And you may wish to investigate the registered address of Blairmore Holdings - it all goes back to 788 790 Finchley Road, along with over 200,000 other companies. The waters are steadily rising, and coming uncomfortably close to lapping at the door of 10 Downing Street now. And not a moment too soon.
Good to see another exciting race - although watching paint dry would be more exciting than the mess that was qualifying. Apparently the result of the meeting today was to have another meeting on Thursday to discuss some more, Mr Todt seems determined that going back to 2015-style qualy is not an option.
Interesting guardian says 370 journos have been analysing thus data for over a year, BUT they also say the data is basically near live with the most recent being end of 2015...so the leaker has continued to update over the past year.
Yes well Gordon Bowden handed a massive list of papers to the BBC implicating many senior politicians connected to the address I mentioned in my previous post back in March 2015.....and what have the BBC done? They've sat on it, surprise surprise, because it implicates senior people at the BBC in the scandal too.
I'm glad we're discussing this under the disintegrating establishment - it is very apt given the drip drip of revelations that are slowly now starting to rear their head in a most uncomfortable way for this government, and the wider wretched establishment that sits behind it.
A good day for Leicester ( I did tip another 1 nil this morning!) and the West Indies. I hope that the T20 cup and the IPL inspire a revival of cricket there. It would be good for the sport.
Well played today, I thought Leicester saw out the last 15 minutes very professionally.
From talking to friends and colleagues at work I can't remember the last time there was such a desire amongst neutral observers for a team to win the Premier League. I suspect that just about everyone outside of the 2nd-4th places is willing Leicester to win.
As an Arsenal fan, and devout, but I will still prefer Leicester to win. Great for the game and they deserve it. Also, any but Spurs.
Interesting guardian says 370 journos have been analysing thus data for over a year, BUT they also say the data is basically near live with the most recent being end of 2015...so the leaker has continued to update over the past year.
Yes well Gordon Bowden handed a massive list of papers to the BBC implicating many senior politicians connected to the address I mentioned in my previous post back in March 2015.....and what have the BBC done? They've sat on it, surprise surprise, because it implicates senior people at the BBC in the scandal too.
I'm glad we're discussing this under the disintegrating establishment - it is very apt given the drip drip of revelations that are slowly now starting to rear their head in a most uncomfortable way for this government, and the wider wretched establishment that sits behind it.
He should have leaked the docs on Wikileaks rather than trusting the BBC which is very much part of the establishment,
Interesting guardian says 370 journos have been analysing thus data for over a year, BUT they also say the data is basically near live with the most recent being end of 2015...so the leaker has continued to update over the past year.
Yes well Gordon Bowden handed a massive list of papers to the BBC implicating many senior politicians connected to the address I mentioned in my previous post back in March 2015.....and what have the BBC done? They've sat on it, surprise surprise, because it implicates senior people at the BBC in the scandal too.
I'm glad we're discussing this under the disintegrating establishment - it is very apt given the drip drip of revelations that are slowly now starting to rear their head in a most uncomfortable way for this government, and the wider wretched establishment that sits behind it.
He should have leaked the docs on Wikileaks rather than trusting the BBC which is very much part of the establishment,
A good day for Leicester ( I did tip another 1 nil this morning!) and the West Indies. I hope that the T20 cup and the IPL inspire a revival of cricket there. It would be good for the sport.
Well played today, I thought Leicester saw out the last 15 minutes very professionally.
From talking to friends and colleagues at work I can't remember the last time there was such a desire amongst neutral observers for a team to win the Premier League. I suspect that just about everyone outside of the 2nd-4th places is willing Leicester to win.
As an Arsenal fan, and devout, but I will still prefer Leicester to win. Great for the game and they deserve it. Also, any but Spurs.
I've forced myself to want Leicester to drop points precisely because I think it is the mentality of a small club to want anyone but your nearest rivals when you yourself could still win it. But yes, if it's not Arsenal, then Leicester would be great.
A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy.
Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage.
The documents suggest Putin’s family has benefited from this money – his friends’ fortunes appear his to spend.
The files are part of an unprecedented leak of millions of papers from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm. They show how the rich and powerful are able to exploit secret offshore tax regimes in myriad ways.
And you may wish to investigate the registered address of Blairmore Holdings - it all goes back to 788 790 Finchley Road, along with over 200,000 other companies. The waters are steadily rising, and coming uncomfortably close to lapping at the door of 10 Downing Street now. And not a moment too soon.
The fantasist returns, I see. I understand the recent correlation between house prices in downtown Manila and Brazilian coffee exports portends the end of the world. Again.
More seriously, if you know, then let's see the detail in your own name. The site, and you personally, will survive litigation if it's true.
A good day for Leicester ( I did tip another 1 nil this morning!) and the West Indies. I hope that the T20 cup and the IPL inspire a revival of cricket there. It would be good for the sport.
Well played today, I thought Leicester saw out the last 15 minutes very professionally.
From talking to friends and colleagues at work I can't remember the last time there was such a desire amongst neutral observers for a team to win the Premier League. I suspect that just about everyone outside of the 2nd-4th places is willing Leicester to win.
As an Arsenal fan, and devout, but I will still prefer Leicester to win. Great for the game and they deserve it. Also, any but Spurs.
I've forced myself to want Leicester to drop points precisely because I think it is the mentality of a small club to want anyone but your nearest rivals when you yourself could still win it. But yes, if it's not Arsenal, then Leicester would be great.
All true and faithful PBers must believe that Burnley FC are the Premiership Champions next season ....
On the subject of the establishment losing its hold, for decades, voters have expected steady growth in living standards, and have come to view it as the norm. In return, they've voted for moderate centre right or social democratic politicians. Now, they see that living standards have stagnated. Worse, they see the benefits of globalisation going to a narrow section of the population, while the costs fall on the majority of the population.
So, is it any wonder that they're losing faith in the establishment, if the establishment can't deliver the goods?
Great post.
The populists of right or left don't come up with realistic alternatives either. But, when you get Tony Blair telling the unemployed to retrain (not all of us can be PR men for President Karimov) or establishment figures extolling the virtues of mass migration holding down wages (Lord Rose) you can understand why many voters want to take revenge at the ballot box.
Interesting guardian says 370 journos have been analysing thus data for over a year, BUT they also say the data is basically near live with the most recent being end of 2015...so the leaker has continued to update over the past year.
Yes well Gordon Bowden handed a massive list of papers to the BBC implicating many senior politicians connected to the address I mentioned in my previous post back in March 2015.....and what have the BBC done? They've sat on it, surprise surprise, because it implicates senior people at the BBC in the scandal too.
I'm glad we're discussing this under the disintegrating establishment - it is very apt given the drip drip of revelations that are slowly now starting to rear their head in a most uncomfortable way for this government, and the wider wretched establishment that sits behind it.
He should have leaked the docs on Wikileaks rather than trusting the BBC which is very much part of the establishment,
Yes, that would be the ultimate nuclear option. Like a lot of these things, it can seem that progress in exposing all of this along with many other misdemeanours is frustratingly slow, and then you get a sudden phase transition and the plates then move very very quickly indeed.
Whether we are on the cusp of the phase transition remains to be seen, but I do get the sense that gradually we're getting to a critical mass of people that are aware of the scale of moral and financial corruption that is plaguing the UK today, and when it finally goes off like the ticking time bomb it is, it'll explode in the faces of the establishment.
A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy.
Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage.
The documents suggest Putin’s family has benefited from this money – his friends’ fortunes appear his to spend.
The files are part of an unprecedented leak of millions of papers from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm. They show how the rich and powerful are able to exploit secret offshore tax regimes in myriad ways.
And you may wish to investigate the registered address of Blairmore Holdings - it all goes back to 788 790 Finchley Road, along with over 200,000 other companies. The waters are steadily rising, and coming uncomfortably close to lapping at the door of 10 Downing Street now. And not a moment too soon.
The fantasist returns, I see. I understand the recent correlation between house prices in downtown Manila and Brazilian coffee exports portends the end of the world. Again.
More seriously, if you know, then let's see the detail in your own name. The site, and you personally, will survive litigation if it's true.
I've never ever predicted the end of the world, so your point falls totally flat.
A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy.
Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage.
The documents suggest Putin’s family has benefited from this money – his friends’ fortunes appear his to spend.
The files are part of an unprecedented leak of millions of papers from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm. They show how the rich and powerful are able to exploit secret offshore tax regimes in myriad ways.
And you may wish to investigate the registered address of Blairmore Holdings - it all goes back to 788 790 Finchley Road, along with over 200,000 other companies. The waters are steadily rising, and coming uncomfortably close to lapping at the door of 10 Downing Street now. And not a moment too soon.
The fantasist returns, I see. I understand the recent correlation between house prices in downtown Manila and Brazilian coffee exports portends the end of the world. Again.
More seriously, if you know, then let's see the detail in your own name. The site, and you personally, will survive litigation if it's true.
I've never ever predicted the end of the world, so your point falls totally flat.
Interesting guardian says 370 journos have been analysing thus data for over a year, BUT they also say the data is basically near live with the most recent being end of 2015...so the leaker has continued to update over the past year.
Yes well Gordon Bowden handed a massive list of papers to the BBC implicating many senior politicians connected to the address I mentioned in my previous post back in March 2015.....and what have the BBC done? They've sat on it, surprise surprise, because it implicates senior people at the BBC in the scandal too.
I'm glad we're discussing this under the disintegrating establishment - it is very apt given the drip drip of revelations that are slowly now starting to rear their head in a most uncomfortable way for this government, and the wider wretched establishment that sits behind it.
He should have leaked the docs on Wikileaks rather than trusting the BBC which is very much part of the establishment,
On the more substantive point, nobody in the establishment has dared to take Gordon Bowden to court over his revelations, since Andrea Davison lost a defamation case against him around 3 years ago, and then she scuttled out of the country in a hurry, rumoured to be in South America now. That speaks volumes for if there was any hole in the many points that Mr Bowden has made, then you can be sure that proceedings against him would have been enacted very quickly.
On the more substantive point, nobody in the establishment has dared to take Gordon Bowden to court over his revelations, since Andrea Davison lost a defamation case against him around 3 years ago, and then she scuttled out of the country in a hurry, rumoured to be in South America now. That speaks volumes for if there was any hole in the many points that Mr Bowden has made, then you can be sure that proceedings against him would have been enacted very quickly.
I find some of the Eurosceptics can be at times a little odd, but you really are special.
There is an article by Lyndsay Hilsum in today's Sunday Times from Palmyra (what a brave journalist she is) about the state of the place: not just destruction of ancient ruins but mass graves and the rest.
I expect that when Raqqa and Mosul get liberated that we will see some real horrors.
Will it make young Islamists think again? I hope so, but fear not.
A good day for Leicester ( I did tip another 1 nil this morning!) and the West Indies. I hope that the T20 cup and the IPL inspire a revival of cricket there. It would be good for the sport.
The end of ISIS won't mean the end of Islamist terror, but if and when ISIS are extinguished in the Mid East, it will deprive jihadists of much inspiration, leadership - and military training and materiel. It will also make violent Islamism look like a game for losers.
Much of the Caliphate's appeal to teenager nutters in the West was the way it could present itself on social media as a mighty and unstoppable force, rapidly taking over Arabia. The newer image of ISIS soldiers in defeat, running away, trapped in foxholes, and being turned into so much dust, is bad for the branding of jihad as a whole.
Seems plausible. The things that lead idiots to join such organizations will always be there, but you can stamp them down for a time at least.
On the more substantive point, nobody in the establishment has dared to take Gordon Bowden to court over his revelations, since Andrea Davison lost a defamation case against him around 3 years ago, and then she scuttled out of the country in a hurry, rumoured to be in South America now. That speaks volumes for if there was any hole in the many points that Mr Bowden has made, then you can be sure that proceedings against him would have been enacted very quickly.
I find some of the Eurosceptics can be at times a little odd, but you really are special.
This has nothing to do with the upcoming EU referendum! And once again, instead of engaging with the issue at hand, you engage with the man and not the ball. Enough said.
He's just showing why everyone's glad that India didn't make the final.
Murali isn't of Indian heritage - he's a Sri Lankan Tamil.
Indeed - why are people calling me Indian. Just because I said India is the new home of cricket? That is a reality - everyone dances to the tune of the BCCI - FACT whether you like it or not...
There is an article by Lyndsay Hilsum in today's Sunday Times from Palmyra (what a brave journalist she is) about the state of the place: not just destruction of ancient ruins but mass graves and the rest.
I expect that when Raqqa and Mosul get liberated that we will see some real horrors.
Will it make young Islamists think again? I hope so, but fear not.
A good day for Leicester ( I did tip another 1 nil this morning!) and the West Indies. I hope that the T20 cup and the IPL inspire a revival of cricket there. It would be good for the sport.
The end of ISIS won't mean the end of Islamist terror, but if and when ISIS are extinguished in the Mid East, it will deprive jihadists of much inspiration, leadership - and military training and materiel. It will also make violent Islamism look like a game for losers.
Much of the Caliphate's appeal to teenager nutters in the West was the way it could present itself on social media as a mighty and unstoppable force, rapidly taking over Arabia. The newer image of ISIS soldiers in defeat, running away, trapped in foxholes, and being turned into so much dust, is bad for the branding of jihad as a whole.
Seems plausible. The things that lead idiots to join such organizations will always be there, but you can stamp them down for a time at least.
International terrorism bad, international terrorism with its own state, materiel, training and de facto diplomatic recognition worse.
Alastair seems to have incensed some of the Leavers here, but my main thought was that it's unusual to think of the current Cabinet as the "repository of the flame of good administration". I'm not sure they'd say it of themselves just at the moment.
He's just showing why everyone's glad that India didn't make the final.
Murali isn't of Indian heritage - he's a Sri Lankan Tamil.
Indeed - why are people calling me Indian. Just because I said India is the new home of cricket? That is a reality - everyone dances to the tune of the BCCI - FACT whether you like it or not...
I'm not sure that's right re the BCCI. There's a pretty unholy trifecta of India, Aus and England which essentially controls cricket and scheduling (as you'll have seen with the pretty unpleasant approach to SA and the WI). A huge advantage for India should be convenientish from a television scheduling perspective for both England and Aus viewers. Not sure that subscription channels are the best way of maximising that though.
I sent Mike an article on advertising and told him if he was interested let me know and I'd polish it up. He replied within half an hour and used it the following morning.
I think if you aren't a regular header writer it's more likely to be accepted if it's not too partisan but that's just a guess but I know for sure he'll use your article if he finds it interesting enough
Alastair seems to have incensed some of the Leavers here, but my main thought was that it's unusual to think of the current Cabinet as the "repository of the flame of good administration". I'm not sure they'd say it of themselves just at the moment.
Mr Meeks focused on the LEAVE group as being responsible for poor administration. Whereas the truth is that it is the REMAIN people in the cabinet that control the Govt and are responsible for the worst examples of poor administration.
I sent Mike an article on advertising and told him if he was interested let me know and I'd polish it up. He replied within half an hour and used it the following morning.
I think if you aren't a regular header writer it's more likely to be accepted if it's not too partisan but that's just a guess but I know for sure he'll use your article if he finds it interesting enough
Mine was published quickly too... another suggestion was rubbished, but hey, it's his site. It recommended backing Khan at 1.9...
Alastair seems to have incensed some of the Leavers here, but my main thought was that it's unusual to think of the current Cabinet as the "repository of the flame of good administration". I'm not sure they'd say it of themselves just at the moment.
All they have to do to claim that mantle in practice is be better than Labour.
Very fortunately for the Conservatives, this is approximately as difficult as persuading a fish to spend its time in water.
On the more substantive point, nobody in the establishment has dared to take Gordon Bowden to court over his revelations, since Andrea Davison lost a defamation case against him around 3 years ago, and then she scuttled out of the country in a hurry, rumoured to be in South America now. That speaks volumes for if there was any hole in the many points that Mr Bowden has made, then you can be sure that proceedings against him would have been enacted very quickly.
I find some of the Eurosceptics can be at times a little odd, but you really are special.
If you haven't lost your shirt on one of hunchman's financial tips you've obviously not been on here long. He's Eddie the Eagle of the financial world
Alastair seems to have incensed some of the Leavers here, but my main thought was that it's unusual to think of the current Cabinet as the "repository of the flame of good administration". I'm not sure they'd say it of themselves just at the moment.
That is one point that in retrospect I wish I'd made clearer. My intention was to note that the current Cabinet is the only influential political grouping professing to focus on good administration. I appreciate that it reads as if I think they achieve that. I would not go so far myself.
Alastair seems to have incensed some of the Leavers here, but my main thought was that it's unusual to think of the current Cabinet as the "repository of the flame of good administration". I'm not sure they'd say it of themselves just at the moment.
That is one point that in retrospect I wish I'd made clearer. My intention was to note that the current Cabinet is the only influential political grouping professing to focus on good administration. I appreciate that it reads as if I think they achieve that. I would not go so far myself.
Indeed.
The more I look at the politics of Britain, the more I believe we really do live in a post-truth paradigm.
Identity and perception are now far more important than reality.
A little bit of Googling on, say, "ISIS" and "videos" now reveals plenty of gruesome images of ISIS members being vapourised, missiled, droned, decapitated, gassed, burned alive, shamefully chased into the desert and, in one case, literally castrated
Are those 'official' ISIS videos produced to discourage defections, or videos produced by their opponents?
There is an article by Lyndsay Hilsum in today's Sunday Times from Palmyra (what a brave journalist she is) about the state of the place: not just destruction of ancient ruins but mass graves and the rest.
I expect that when Raqqa and Mosul get liberated that we will see some real horrors.
Will it make young Islamists think again? I hope so, but fear not.
A good day for Leicester ( I did tip another 1 nil this morning!) and the West Indies. I hope that the T20 cup and the IPL inspire a revival of cricket there. It would be good for the sport.
The end of ISIS won't mean the end of Islamist terror, but if and when ISIS are extinguished in the Mid East, it will deprive jihadists of much inspiration, leadership - and military training and materiel. It will also make violent Islamism look like a game for losers.
Much of the Caliphate's appeal to teenager nutters in the West was the way it could present itself on social media as a mighty and unstoppable force, rapidly taking over Arabia. The newer image of ISIS soldiers in defeat, running away, trapped in foxholes, and being turned into so much dust, is bad for the branding of jihad as a whole.
Seems plausible. The things that lead idiots to join such organizations will always be there, but you can stamp them down for a time at least.
International terrorism bad, international terrorism with its own state, materiel, training and de facto diplomatic recognition worse.
A little bit of Googling on, say, "ISIS" and "videos" now reveals plenty of gruesome images of ISIS members being vapourised, missiled, droned, decapitated, gassed, burned alive, shamefully chased into the desert and, in one case, literally castrated.
I suggest most pb-ers desist from such Googling. This is gruesome stuff.
But the point is, these vids are now out there, and going viral. Once in a while the only ISIS vids available featured triumphalist ISIS-made movie epics of mass executions by their black clad warriors of Allah slaughtering the heathen kufr blah blah blah
Now a very different impression is percolating through social media. And social media is how ISIS ascended.
Our spooks are doing a good job then!
I do hope that the spies that IS executed are none of the real ones. Penetrating the security of terrorist cells and paralysing them with suspicion of each other is a great tactic.
Those who are critical of thread leaders always have the option of penning their own disinterested narrative.
Do pb moderators (all for REMAIN) invite the articles?
Well that's bollocks.
1) The Mods don't invite guest threads
2) One of the mods is a 100% leaver
But apart from that spot on.
Which one? You, Meeks and Smithson are all Remainians, are you not?
You are confusing moderators with thread writers.
Not exactly the most helpful / informative reply TSE. I'm interested to know who PB's resident non traitorous pigdog ( (c) S.Prasaman ）is。
You misspelt PrasaNNan!!!
Sunil, from long experience I counsel not getting upset by having your name misspelt. Life is too short.
Imagine being Welsh and having a name that is pronounced exactly (or almost exactly) the same way as its English counterpart, and spelled totally differently.
Further imagine that you speak English flawlessly, without accent, and that you live in England.
I think I got one school report that spelled my name correctly. When I moved to my current school it took a long while and several distinctly unsubtle hints before my colleagues got my name right in emails.
There is an article by Lyndsay Hilsum in today's Sunday Times from Palmyra (what a brave journalist she is) about the state of the place: not just destruction of ancient ruins but mass graves and the rest.
I expect that when Raqqa and Mosul get liberated that we will see some real horrors.
Will it make young Islamists think again? I hope so, but fear not.
A good day for Leicester ( I did tip another 1 nil this morning!) and the West Indies. I hope that the T20 cup and the IPL inspire a revival of cricket there. It would be good for the sport.
.
Seems plausible. The things that lead idiots to join such organizations will always be there, but you can stamp them down for a time at least.
International terrorism bad, international terrorism with its own state, materiel, training and de facto diplomatic recognition worse.
A little bit of Googling on, say, "ISIS" and "videos" now reveals plenty of gruesome images of ISIS members being vapourised, missiled, droned, decapitated, gassed, burned alive, shamefully chased into the desert and, in one case, literally castrated.
I suggest most pb-ers desist from such Googling. This is gruesome stuff.
But the point is, these vids are now out there, and going viral. Once in a while the only ISIS vids available featured triumphalist ISIS-made movie epics of mass executions by their black clad warriors of Allah slaughtering the heathen kufr blah blah blah
Now a very different impression is percolating through social media. And social media is how ISIS ascended.
Our spooks are doing a good job then!
I do hope that the spies that IS executed are none of the real ones. Penetrating the security of terrorist cells and paralysing them with suspicion of each other is a great tactic.
I did read somewhere that British jihadis had a hard time being trusted as our spooks are apparently quite good at infiltrating them. Although that may be the official mis-information designed to discourage them from joining in the first place.
How many days remain until the Euro disintegrates Mr. Hunchman?
It looks like being at some point in 2018. Europe is a real basket case. For the moment we're in a holding pattern on the markets, although the failure to carve a fresh low in the Dow in January or February below the low last year is highly significant. 2016 is preparation year for the chaos that will ensue in 2017, 2018 and 2019 into early 2020 once the sovereign debt crisis gets under way. It'll take a while, but capital will eventually work out that government is the one in real trouble this time, so as I've said before it won't be like 2008. Those looking for a repeat of 2008 with a crash in the stockmarket will be very wrong. You can crash the stockmarket and cause a bad recession, but crash the bond market, like we had in the Great Depression in May 1931 and you will get a depression. But it won't be like the Great Depression - I expect capital will hoard in the stockmarket and gold from the start of 2017.
And the US Dollar, although its had a necessary correction as I warned it needed a few months ago, should be ready to advance higher. The price action in sterling looks ominous - prime Central London property topped out at the end of 2015Q3,the core always tops out first, but now mobile international capital is starting to worry about UK plc, not least with the 7% current account deficit in the final quarter of last year. Its one thing for a developing country to have a current account deficit of that magnitude, quite another for a developed economy. Now that international capital isn't flooding into London, sterling looks very vulnerable indeed, and as I've stated for a long time, it'll be heading well under parity against the US dollar.
I sent Mike an article on advertising and told him if he was interested let me know and I'd polish it up. He replied within half an hour and used it the following morning.
I think if you aren't a regular header writer it's more likely to be accepted if it's not too partisan but that's just a guess but I know for sure he'll use your article if he finds it interesting enough
I've always submitted articles on spec - 3 accepted, 1 rejected, I think. The rejected one wasn't felt to be sufficiently betting-related. They don't need to be mainly about betting, but there needs to be an angle.
They're not as easy as they look to write. Apart from being reasonably literate (I don't think any regular contributor would have a problem with that), they need to pass the test "Would I find this interesting even if I disagreed with it?" I get the impression that some who've not succeeded started from wanting to persuade others of a particular view, and Mike doesn't go for those - he wants to encourage discussion and speculation rather than anyone winning the argument outright.
On the more substantive point, nobody in the establishment has dared to take Gordon Bowden to court over his revelations, since Andrea Davison lost a defamation case against him around 3 years ago, and then she scuttled out of the country in a hurry, rumoured to be in South America now. That speaks volumes for if there was any hole in the many points that Mr Bowden has made, then you can be sure that proceedings against him would have been enacted very quickly.
I find some of the Eurosceptics can be at times a little odd, but you really are special.
If you haven't lost your shirt on one of hunchman's financial tips you've obviously not been on here long. He's Eddie the Eagle of the financial world
I'm doing perfectly well thank you Roger. Stronger US Dollar, interest rates remaining on the floor - 2 massive ticks. People laughed at me back in 2010 when I said interest rates wouldn't be rising for years to come.
Yes, I initially expected a crash on the stockmarket, but I reversed from that one, and the US market (excluding banking stocks) will be a good buy at some point over the next 9 to 10 months or so.
Alastair seems to have incensed some of the Leavers here, but my main thought was that it's unusual to think of the current Cabinet as the "repository of the flame of good administration". I'm not sure they'd say it of themselves just at the moment.
That is one point that in retrospect I wish I'd made clearer. My intention was to note that the current Cabinet is the only influential political grouping professing to focus on good administration. I appreciate that it reads as if I think they achieve that. I would not go so far myself.
Indeed.
The more I look at the politics of Britain, the more I believe we really do live in a post-truth paradigm.
Identity and perception are now far more important than reality.
A large part of the threat to the "establishment" is the internet. It prizes identity and perception more than reality. Both kippers and corbynites thrive in the far reaches of t'internet.
Though the "establishment" is a nebulous concept. The number of times that I have been called part of "the metropolitan elite" on here, despite being an obscure doctor in a provincial part of middle England!
Those who are critical of thread leaders always have the option of penning their own disinterested narrative.
Do pb moderators (all for REMAIN) invite the articles?
Well that's bollocks.
1) The Mods don't invite guest threads
2) One of the mods is a 100% leaver
But apart from that spot on.
Which one? You, Meeks and Smithson are all Remainians, are you not?
You are confusing moderators with thread writers.
Not exactly the most helpful / informative reply TSE. I'm interested to know who PB's resident non traitorous pigdog ( (c) S.Prasaman ）is。
You misspelt PrasaNNan!!!
Sunil, from long experience I counsel not getting upset by having your name misspelt. Life is too short.
We've been slightly mischievous with our son. We've given him a middle name that starts with a non-standard character - a capital I with a dot above it (Unicode 0130).
Some systems allow it; in others we need to just use a capital I sans dot.
Surprisingly, the lady at the registry office was all too pleased to allow it. I wonder if we could have got away with: ϑ ?
Alastair seems to have incensed some of the Leavers here, but my main thought was that it's unusual to think of the current Cabinet as the "repository of the flame of good administration". I'm not sure they'd say it of themselves just at the moment.
That is one point that in retrospect I wish I'd made clearer. My intention was to note that the current Cabinet is the only influential political grouping professing to focus on good administration. I appreciate that it reads as if I think they achieve that. I would not go so far myself.
Indeed.
The more I look at the politics of Britain, the more I believe we really do live in a post-truth paradigm.
Identity and perception are now far more important than reality.
A large part of the threat to the "establishment" is the internet. It prizes identity and perception more than reality. Both kippers and corbynites thrive in the far reaches of t'internet.
Though the "establishment" is a nebulous concept. The number of times that I have been called part of "the metropolitan elite" on here, despite being an obscure doctor in a provincial part of middle England!
I long for the days of a proper media, even if they had bias/owner influence.
Incidentally, I think most of us on here would be considered part of the metropolitan elite. The irony being that many of us probably earn relatively less than our grandparents, who may have not have been members of the same metropolitan elite.
Being part of the elite simply isn't all it is cracked up to be.
Those who are critical of thread leaders always have the option of penning their own disinterested narrative.
Do pb moderators (all for REMAIN) invite the articles?
Well that's bollocks.
1) The Mods don't invite guest threads
2) One of the mods is a 100% leaver
But apart from that spot on.
Which one? You, Meeks and Smithson are all Remainians, are you not?
You are confusing moderators with thread writers.
Not exactly the most helpful / informative reply TSE. I'm interested to know who PB's resident non traitorous pigdog ( (c) S.Prasaman ）is。
You misspelt PrasaNNan!!!
Sunil, from long experience I counsel not getting upset by having your name misspelt. Life is too short.
Imagine being Welsh and having a name that is pronounced exactly (or almost exactly) the same way as its English counterpart, and spelled totally differently.
Further imagine that you speak English flawlessly, without accent, and that you live in England.
I think I got one school report that spelled my name correctly. When I moved to my current school it took a long while and several distinctly unsubtle hints before my colleagues got my name right in emails.
Those who are critical of thread leaders always have the option of penning their own disinterested narrative.
Do pb moderators (all for REMAIN) invite the articles?
Well that's bollocks.
1) The Mods don't invite guest threads
2) One of the mods is a 100% leaver
But apart from that spot on.
Which one? You, Meeks and Smithson are all Remainians, are you not?
You are confusing moderators with thread writers.
Not exactly the most helpful / informative reply TSE. I'm interested to know who PB's resident non traitorous pigdog ( (c) S.Prasaman ）is。
You misspelt PrasaNNan!!!
Sunil, from long experience I counsel not getting upset by having your name misspelt. Life is too short.
Imagine being Welsh and having a name that is pronounced exactly (or almost exactly) the same way as its English counterpart, and spelled totally differently.
Further imagine that you speak English flawlessly, without accent, and that you live in England.
I think I got one school report that spelled my name correctly. When I moved to my current school it took a long while and several distinctly unsubtle hints before my colleagues got my name right in emails.
Those who are critical of thread leaders always have the option of penning their own disinterested narrative.
Do pb moderators (all for REMAIN) invite the articles?
Well that's bollocks.
1) The Mods don't invite guest threads
2) One of the mods is a 100% leaver
But apart from that spot on.
Which one? You, Meeks and Smithson are all Remainians, are you not?
You are confusing moderators with thread writers.
Not exactly the most helpful / informative reply TSE. I'm interested to know who PB's resident non traitorous pigdog ( (c) S.Prasaman ）is。
You misspelt PrasaNNan!!!
Sunil, from long experience I counsel not getting upset by having your name misspelt. Life is too short.
Imagine being Welsh and having a name that is pronounced exactly (or almost exactly) the same way as its English counterpart, and spelled totally differently.
Further imagine that you speak English flawlessly, without accent, and that you live in England.
I think I got one school report that spelled my name correctly. When I moved to my current school it took a long while and several distinctly unsubtle hints before my colleagues got my name right in emails.
When I was at school I really wanted to learn Welsh. It is such a lovely language to listen to when spoken, but especially sung.
Those who are critical of thread leaders always have the option of penning their own disinterested narrative.
Do pb moderators (all for REMAIN) invite the articles?
Well that's bollocks.
1) The Mods don't invite guest threads
2) One of the mods is a 100% leaver
But apart from that spot on.
Which one? You, Meeks and Smithson are all Remainians, are you not?
You are confusing moderators with thread writers.
Not exactly the most helpful / informative reply TSE. I'm interested to know who PB's resident non traitorous pigdog ( (c) S.Prasaman ）is。
You misspelt PrasaNNan!!!
Sunil, from long experience I counsel not getting upset by having your name misspelt. Life is too short.
We've been slightly mischievous with our son. We've given him a middle name that starts with a non-standard character - a capital I with a dot above it (Unicode 0130).
Some systems allow it; in others we need to just use a capital I sans dot.
Surprisingly, the lady at the registry office was all too pleased to allow it. I wonder if we could have got away with: ϑ ?
I used a special character on PB the other day but it wasn't well received.
Alastair seems to have incensed some of the Leavers here, but my main thought was that it's unusual to think of the current Cabinet as the "repository of the flame of good administration". I'm not sure they'd say it of themselves just at the moment.
That is one point that in retrospect I wish I'd made clearer. My intention was to note that the current Cabinet is the only influential political grouping professing to focus on good administration. I appreciate that it reads as if I think they achieve that. I would not go so far myself.
Indeed.
The more I look at the politics of Britain, the more I believe we really do live in a post-truth paradigm.
Identity and perception are now far more important than reality.
A large part of the threat to the "establishment" is the internet. It prizes identity and perception more than reality. Both kippers and corbynites thrive in the far reaches of t'internet.
Though the "establishment" is a nebulous concept. The number of times that I have been called part of "the metropolitan elite" on here, despite being an obscure doctor in a provincial part of middle England!
I long for the days of a proper media, even if they had bias/owner influence.
Incidentally, I think most of us on here would be considered part of the metropolitan elite. The irony being that many of us probably earn relatively less than our grandparents, who may have not have been members of the same metropolitan elite.
Being part of the elite simply isn't all it is cracked up to be.
The distinguishing feature of "the metropolitan elite" being an interest in politics?
The internet has fundamentally altered the world, in that the assymetry of information that allowed an elite to consolidate its power is gone, and gone for good. The cyber-kippers and cyber-corbynites can produce evidence as easily to support their views as press barons and spin doctors once did. It would be hard now to produce a convincing "dodgy dossier" like Alastair Campbell once did. That level of control of the media is no longer possible.
Alastair seems to have incensed some of the Leavers here, but my main thought was that it's unusual to think of the current Cabinet as the "repository of the flame of good administration". I'm not sure they'd say it of themselves just at the moment.
That is one point that in retrospect I wish I'd made clearer. My intention was to note that the current Cabinet is the only influential political grouping professing to focus on good administration. I appreciate that it reads as if I think they achieve that. I would not go so far myself.
Indeed.
The more I look at the politics of Britain, the more I believe we really do live in a post-truth paradigm.
Identity and perception are now far more important than reality.
A large part of the threat to the "establishment" is the internet. It prizes identity and perception more than reality. Both kippers and corbynites thrive in the far reaches of t'internet.
Though the "establishment" is a nebulous concept. The number of times that I have been called part of "the metropolitan elite" on here, despite being an obscure doctor in a provincial part of middle England!
When I was at school I really wanted to learn Welsh. It is such a lovely language to listen to when spoken, but especially sung.
Unfortunately I was forced to do French instead.
Dead easy to sing/read aloud in Welsh whether you speak it or not, because it is fully phonetic. In theory, learn a few simple rules and you're in business.
Unfortunately its phonetic systems are so unlike English - even the alphabet is different - that to the uninitiated it is often the equivalent of learning Greek, or maybe Turkish.
Well count me out of any membership of the elite! And that wretched charity called Common Purpose which has got its claws into every nook and cranny of government is one of the principal reasons why.
I keep on getting told I'm a member of the liberal metropolitan elite, my membership is because
1) I attended a private school 2) Attended a top top university (but any decent Redbrick Uni counts) 3) Pro same sex marriage 4) Don't consider immigration nor the EU to be a top issue for the country 5) Have his and her sinks in your en suite bath room 6) Have private medical insurance cover 7) You have a second property/travel regularly abroad for holidays 8) Afford someone who makes sure you pay the least amount of tax possible
You only have to meet a majority of the above criteria and you get membership of the metropolitan elite
Those who are critical of thread leaders always have the option of penning their own disinterested narrative.
Do pb moderators (all for REMAIN) invite the articles?
Well that's bollocks.
1) The Mods don't invite guest threads
2) One of the mods is a 100% leaver
But apart from that spot on.
Which one? You, Meeks and Smithson are all Remainians, are you not?
You are confusing moderators with thread writers.
Not exactly the most helpful / informative reply TSE. I'm interested to know who PB's resident non traitorous pigdog ( (c) S.Prasaman ）is。
You misspelt PrasaNNan!!!
Sunil, from long experience I counsel not getting upset by having your name misspelt. Life is too short.
Imagine being Welsh and having a name that is pronounced exactly (or almost exactly) the same way as its English counterpart, and spelled totally differently.
Further imagine that you speak English flawlessly, without accent, and that you live in England.
I think I got one school report that spelled my name correctly. When I moved to my current school it took a long while and several distinctly unsubtle hints before my colleagues got my name right in emails.
Siarad Cymraeg?
Ydw, wrth gwrs.
(Amusingly autocorrect made 'ydw' into 'yes'!)
Da iawn!
I don't know much beyond Mae hen wlad fy nhadau...
I keep on getting told I'm a member of the liberal metropolitan elite, my membership is because
1) I attended a private school 2) Attended a top top university (but any decent Redbrick Uni counts) 3) Pro same sex marriage 4) Don't consider immigration nor the EU to be a top issue for the country 5) Have his and her sinks in your en suite bath room 6) Have private medical insurance cover 7) You have a second property/travel regularly abroad for holidays 8) Afford someone who makes sure you pay the least amount of tax possible
You only have to meet a majority of the above criteria and you get membership of the metropolitan elite
6 out of 8, so I guess I've got further work to do, or maybe I'm already there.
I keep on getting told I'm a member of the liberal metropolitan elite, my membership is because
1) I attended a private school 2) Attended a top top university (but any decent Redbrick Uni counts) 3) Pro same sex marriage 4) Don't consider immigration nor the EU to be a top issue for the country 5) Have his and her sinks in your en suite bath room 6) Have private medical insurance cover 7) You have a second property/travel regularly abroad for holidays 8) Afford someone who makes sure you pay the least amount of tax possible
You only have to meet a majority of the above criteria and you get membership of the metropolitan elite
6 out of 8, so I guess I've got further work to do.
Comments
In 1979, the prevailing mood was "we can't go on like this". We're a long way from that now but we're also a long way from 2020.
REMAIN = Oxford
There are limits to austerity, and some modest tax rises would have been a good idea over the last few years. Ken Clarke said as much on the East Midlands Sunday Politics last week. Perhaps a penny or two on income tax to pay for the rise in personal allowances.
This is something that needs doing whatever the Brexit vote.
A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy.
Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage.
The documents suggest Putin’s family has benefited from this money – his friends’ fortunes appear his to spend.
The files are part of an unprecedented leak of millions of papers from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm. They show how the rich and powerful are able to exploit secret offshore tax regimes in myriad ways.
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/03/panama-papers-money-hidden-offshore
Remain = Leicester
:-)
REMAIN = England
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-35918844
72 current or former heads of state!
https://twitter.com/GrayInGlasgow/status/716686675070619649
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houghton_House
"Without even a pretence of coherence, they campaign on running away from the complexities of multilateral engagement, variously on immigration, regulation, security concerns or whatever else flits across their minds."
But off topic, I've come to the conclusion that if Trump becomes POTUS (unlikely as that seems), he may be less problematical that many suspect. Unlike Roosevelt who advised "Speak softly and carry a big stick", I believe Trump will be more circumspect. I think he'll "Speak loudly and carry a small stick", and nothing to do with a phallic reference.
We have seen the almost complete eclipse of one of the traditional main parties in Greece though, and I wonder how long it will be before the second one (New Democracy) goes the same way.
I'm glad we're discussing this under the disintegrating establishment - it is very apt given the drip drip of revelations that are slowly now starting to rear their head in a most uncomfortable way for this government, and the wider wretched establishment that sits behind it.
More seriously, if you know, then let's see the detail in your own name. The site, and you personally, will survive litigation if it's true.
Whether we are on the cusp of the phase transition remains to be seen, but I do get the sense that gradually we're getting to a critical mass of people that are aware of the scale of moral and financial corruption that is plaguing the UK today, and when it finally goes off like the ticking time bomb it is, it'll explode in the faces of the establishment.
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/03/iceland-pm-calls-snap-election-offshore-revelations
I think if you aren't a regular header writer it's more likely to be accepted if it's not too partisan but that's just a guess but I know for sure he'll use your article if he finds it interesting enough
Very fortunately for the Conservatives, this is approximately as difficult as persuading a fish to spend its time in water.
The more I look at the politics of Britain, the more I believe we really do live in a post-truth paradigm.
Identity and perception are now far more important than reality.
I do hope that the spies that IS executed are none of the real ones. Penetrating the security of terrorist cells and paralysing them with suspicion of each other is a great tactic.
Further imagine that you speak English flawlessly, without accent, and that you live in England.
I think I got one school report that spelled my name correctly. When I moved to my current school it took a long while and several distinctly unsubtle hints before my colleagues got my name right in emails.
Although that may be the official mis-information designed to discourage them from joining in the first place.
And the US Dollar, although its had a necessary correction as I warned it needed a few months ago, should be ready to advance higher. The price action in sterling looks ominous - prime Central London property topped out at the end of 2015Q3,the core always tops out first, but now mobile international capital is starting to worry about UK plc, not least with the 7% current account deficit in the final quarter of last year. Its one thing for a developing country to have a current account deficit of that magnitude, quite another for a developed economy. Now that international capital isn't flooding into London, sterling looks very vulnerable indeed, and as I've stated for a long time, it'll be heading well under parity against the US dollar.
They're not as easy as they look to write. Apart from being reasonably literate (I don't think any regular contributor would have a problem with that), they need to pass the test "Would I find this interesting even if I disagreed with it?" I get the impression that some who've not succeeded started from wanting to persuade others of a particular view, and Mike doesn't go for those - he wants to encourage discussion and speculation rather than anyone winning the argument outright.
Yes, I initially expected a crash on the stockmarket, but I reversed from that one, and the US market (excluding banking stocks) will be a good buy at some point over the next 9 to 10 months or so.
Though the "establishment" is a nebulous concept. The number of times that I have been called part of "the metropolitan elite" on here, despite being an obscure doctor in a provincial part of middle England!
Some systems allow it; in others we need to just use a capital I sans dot.
Surprisingly, the lady at the registry office was all too pleased to allow it. I wonder if we could have got away with: ϑ ?
Incidentally, I think most of us on here would be considered part of the metropolitan elite. The irony being that many of us probably earn relatively less than our grandparents, who may have not have been members of the same metropolitan elite.
Being part of the elite simply isn't all it is cracked up to be.
(Amusingly autocorrect made 'ydw' into 'yes'!)
Unfortunately I was forced to do French instead.
The internet has fundamentally altered the world, in that the assymetry of information that allowed an elite to consolidate its power is gone, and gone for good. The cyber-kippers and cyber-corbynites can produce evidence as easily to support their views as press barons and spin doctors once did. It would be hard now to produce a convincing "dodgy dossier" like Alastair Campbell once did. That level of control of the media is no longer possible.
Where do I apply?
Unfortunately its phonetic systems are so unlike English - even the alphabet is different - that to the uninitiated it is often the equivalent of learning Greek, or maybe Turkish.
However, any excuse:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YxPulya1bSE
http://commonpurpose.org/united-kingdom/about-us/
1) I attended a private school
2) Attended a top top university (but any decent Redbrick Uni counts)
3) Pro same sex marriage
4) Don't consider immigration nor the EU to be a top issue for the country
5) Have his and her sinks in your en suite bath room
6) Have private medical insurance cover
7) You have a second property/travel regularly abroad for holidays
8) Afford someone who makes sure you pay the least amount of tax possible
You only have to meet a majority of the above criteria and you get membership of the metropolitan elite
I don't know much beyond Mae hen wlad fy nhadau...
https://www.facebook.com/voteleave/photos/a.512228762287386.1073741828.505084413001821/576359895874272/?type=3&fref=nf
9) Use the Oxford comma
I pass on all 9 counts