'President Trump's US is among external threats to the European Union along with China, Russia and Radical Islam'
Verhofstad said something very similar yesterday - so clearly a coordinated position, not random musings....
It's a gamble that Merkel and ABLP (anyone but le Pen) win the elections this year. If they do, the EU will be well placed (politically) to press ahead with EU army and other big integration steps. Laying the groundwork to treat the USA as an enemy not an ally gives them more justification for integration.
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
'President Trump's US is among external threats to the European Union along with China, Russia and Radical Islam'
Verhofstad said something very similar yesterday - so clearly a coordinated position, not random musings....
Given that Trump has called on other countries to follow the Brexit example and is now the most powerful man on earth, it's not a huge stretch to see him as a major threat to the EU.
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
Mr. NorthWales, Tusk is the same chap who thought the UK leaving the EU would mean the end of Western Civilisation (which does raise the question of why they didn't offer us more incentive to stay).
As you say, it seems a bizarrely line to take given the Baltic states (and probably Poland too) would be really rather keen for the US to stay very pro-NATO. Otherwise, who's going to stand up to Russia if it comes to that?
The UK and France, primarily. Except the UK's leaving the EU and a deal must be done.
It's possible Trump and dislike of Trump could make the EU slightly friendlier (in practice if not tone) towards the UK.
I have no doubt that they will have no choice. The EU seems much weaker than only a few weeks ago
Much later start and less publicity to date for the pro Trump petition.
36 hours later and the publicity for the no state visit petition only kicked in once the numbers had got large.
I suspect that the pro-Trump petition is primarily identifying the size of the "Let's wind-up a lefty" demographic in the UK.
What I don't understand is why the 'wind up a lefty' types continuously mock e-petitions as a waste of time for virtue signalling snowflakes - and then they go and start a petition themselves!
'President Trump's US is among external threats to the European Union along with China, Russia and Radical Islam'
Verhofstad said something very similar yesterday - so clearly a coordinated position, not random musings....
It's a gamble that Merkel and ABLP (anyone but le Pen) win the elections this year. If they do, the EU will be well placed (politically) to press ahead with EU army and other big integration steps. Laying the groundwork to treat the USA as an enemy not an ally gives them more justification for integration.
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
These EU guys lost Brexit and now their friendly regime in the White House.
I want to do things to Nusrat Ghani that'd make SeanT blush.
Have a cold shower, you're a married man.
And, more to the point, she's a married woman!
Indeed, speaking not from experience, sleeping with other married women gets you into trouble.
So instead of a pissed off wife at home to deal with, you've got a pissed off cuckolded husband to deal with as well.
If you're ever going to have an affair, have it with a woman who is single.
In some parts of the world (here) it can end you up in jail.
There's a distinct problem when you meet a woman and start dating, only to find out later that she's married.
I'm not speaking from experience, twice, obviously ...
But that's all well in the past. I sometimes feel that I'm the only man on PB perfectly happy with just one woman. Especially as that woman also happens to be my wife...
For clarity: I'm very happy with my wife. And very lucky.
But, do I not salivate/fantasise over other beautiful women, occasionally?
Of course I do. I'm a red-blooded male. And so does my wife over some 'celebrity' men. And we tell each other. And it's ok.
It's normal; it's human.
Indeed. And as you say, the same's true for many married women.
I'm quite lucky in the fact I was a bit of a tart in my younger life. I slept around a bit, had fun, and had some relationships with women who are still my (and in a couple of cases 'our') friend. I got the sleeping-around bug more or less out of my system.
I meet lots of yummy mummies, and am friends with a fair few as well (in fact, I had one around for a play date with her son this morning). Some are very attractive, and all are younger than me. But if I was to cheat with one, I would potentially lose so much, and for what? A few shags.
Taking it logically, I'd lose far more than I could ever gain. Being crude, I'd much rather have a w*nk than an affair.
I want to do things to Nusrat Ghani that'd make SeanT blush.
Have a cold shower, you're a married man.
And, more to the point, she's a married woman!
Indeed, speaking not from experience, sleeping with other married women gets you into trouble.
So instead of a pissed off wife at home to deal with, you've got a pissed off cuckolded husband to deal with as well.
If you're ever going to have an affair, have it with a woman who is single.
In some parts of the world (here) it can end you up in jail.
There's a distinct problem when you meet a woman and start dating, only to find out later that she's married.
I'm not speaking from experience, twice, obviously ...
But that's all well in the past. I sometimes feel that I'm the only man on PB perfectly happy with just one woman. Especially as that woman also happens to be my wife...
For clarity: I'm very happy with my wife. And very lucky.
But, do I not salivate/fantasise over other beautiful women, occasionally?
Of course I do. I'm a red-blooded male. And so does my wife over some 'celebrity' men. And we tell each other. And it's ok.
'President Trump's US is among external threats to the European Union along with China, Russia and Radical Islam'
Verhofstad said something very similar yesterday - so clearly a coordinated position, not random musings....
It's a gamble that Merkel and ABLP (anyone but le Pen) win the elections this year. If they do, the EU will be well placed (politically) to press ahead with EU army and other big integration steps. Laying the groundwork to treat the USA as an enemy not an ally gives them more justification for integration.
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
Trump has made clear on a number of occasions that he dislikes the European Union. In fact, he did it during the press conference with Theresa May last week.
Yes, one could have a few shags (which would probably be thrilling at the time) but I'd feel instant shame, self-hatred and guilt after, and probably feel I had to tell my wife, which would permanently damage a relationship with the women that means everything to me.
So it's not worth it. I am resisting my biological programming for my own social and emotional well-being.
Much later start and less publicity to date for the pro Trump petition.
36 hours later and the publicity for the no state visit petition only kicked in once the numbers had got large.
I suspect that the pro-Trump petition is primarily identifying the size of the "Let's wind-up a lefty" demographic in the UK.
What I don't understand is why the 'wind up a lefty' types continuously mock e-petitions as a waste of time for virtue signalling snowflakes - and then they go and start a petition themselves!
Do you genuinely not see that, after too many wasted years, we've finally woken up to the fun of trolling back at the left?
Much later start and less publicity to date for the pro Trump petition.
36 hours later and the publicity for the no state visit petition only kicked in once the numbers had got large.
I suspect that the pro-Trump petition is primarily identifying the size of the "Let's wind-up a lefty" demographic in the UK.
What I don't understand is why the 'wind up a lefty' types continuously mock e-petitions as a waste of time for virtue signalling snowflakes - and then they go and start a petition themselves!
And then monitor the number of signatures so closely!
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
Given that President Trump seems, to the surprise of many, to be set on doing what he said he would do, I think that we have to assume that changes to corporate taxation to encourage US companies to re-shore manufacturing are very much on the cards. In practice, that might well mean the "border-adjusted" corporate tax proposal put forward by some Republican congressmen. The effect would be similar to imposing a 20%+ tariff on imports, without actually being a tariff as such.
The international ramifications of such a change to the US tax system would be immense. For a start, it would probably mean a US-UK trade deal would be of little help to us. It could also trigger a worldwide trade war, with the EU and other countries similarly putting up protectionist barriers.
That's going to take a while, and may run into WTO issues; interesting, though. Far more interesting are the proposals to force US companies to on-shore manufacturing by removing tax allowability of production costs of items sold in the US but produced overseas. That could be done quickly, and without recourse to any international bodies.
I don't think Mr Trump is very keen on the WTO. I think it's more likely than not that the US leaves it at some point in the next four years.
It's a race between leaving the WTO and leaving the UN.
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
Is it worse than treating the EU as an enemy?
No one should be treating anybody as an enemy.
The EU is riven with division. The Baltic states which include Poland will resist any attempt to demonise the US, probably with the Scandinavians, Hungary and the Balkans support the US, so the EU is heading for very serious internal chaos whether you like it or not
'President Trump's US is among external threats to the European Union along with China, Russia and Radical Islam'
Verhofstad said something very similar yesterday - so clearly a coordinated position, not random musings....
It's a gamble that Merkel and ABLP (anyone but le Pen) win the elections this year. If they do, the EU will be well placed (politically) to press ahead with EU army and other big integration steps. Laying the groundwork to treat the USA as an enemy not an ally gives them more justification for integration.
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
And one which is way, way too far for most West Europeans.
To think nomarks like Gordon Brown and Theresa May became PM but Ken Clarke never did.
There ain't no justice in the world.
Brown kept us out of the Euro (admittedly, just to spite Blair, but nonetheless, he did); May is taking us out of the EU. What, for all his gifts, did Clarke ever achieve?
The finest Chancellor of my lifetime.
Superb Justice Secretary.
President of the Cambridge Union.
Eminent QC
For starters.
Yet your party chose IDS over him. Why?
Because it didn't want either but IDS would be easier to get rid of. (Declaration of interest: I voted for Clarke).
That was a pretty weird moment: faced by the choice between IDS and Ken, I remember my reaction, essentially, being "oh, shit". Would you have voted for Portillo, if he'd got through?
Probably not. At least Clarke was authentic. Portillo had reinvented himself into something he didn't seem comfortable in. Besides, I wasn't as spooked by the prospect of Euro entry as many Tory members.
Fair enough. I think most of us were in the same camp as Casino; the Euro felt like an existential threat that trumped all other considerations. It still felt wrong voting for someone who, with the best will in the world, was never going to look like a PM in waiting, though.
Some Europhiles may laugh (fair enough) but there were several times I was in tears - and very stressed - in 2001-2003 when I thought we might permanently and irrevocably lose economic control of this country. I had a few screaming arguments with those who were in favour.
That far outweighed my preference for a cosmetic victory, or slightly less clear defeat, of the Conservative Party next to Blair's Labour Party following much the same policies at the time.
Yes, one could have a few shags (which would probably be thrilling at the time) but I'd feel instant shame, self-hatred and guilt after, and probably feel I had to tell my wife, which would permanently damage a relationship with the women that means everything to me.
So it's not worth it. I am resisting my biological programming for my own social and emotional well-being.
The less said about the wanking, the better.
In the words of The Great Prophet Kevin Bloody Wilson
"So if you say you don't wank you're a liar And a fool if you say that you do So next time you see Prince Charles on TV Remember he wanked himself too"
'President Trump's US is among external threats to the European Union along with China, Russia and Radical Islam'
Verhofstad said something very similar yesterday - so clearly a coordinated position, not random musings....
It's a gamble that Merkel and ABLP (anyone but le Pen) win the elections this year. If they do, the EU will be well placed (politically) to press ahead with EU army and other big integration steps. Laying the groundwork to treat the USA as an enemy not an ally gives them more justification for integration.
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
If it does come down to it, it will be the Anglosphere versus the EU. My money is on the Anglosphere prevailing.
But it won't come down to that. More likely is the entire west uniting - in 10 or 30 years time - to face the Asian challenge. NAFTA and the U.K. and EFTA and the EU will form a customs union.
Trump wants to rewrite NAFTA, or leave it.
When it comes to trade, Australia would choose Asia every single time over the Anglo-sphere, as would New Zealand.
Much later start and less publicity to date for the pro Trump petition.
36 hours later and the publicity for the no state visit petition only kicked in once the numbers had got large.
I suspect that the pro-Trump petition is primarily identifying the size of the "Let's wind-up a lefty" demographic in the UK.
What I don't understand is why the 'wind up a lefty' types continuously mock e-petitions as a waste of time for virtue signalling snowflakes - and then they go and start a petition themselves!
Because they probably find this to be a joke and not serious unlike the snowflakes.
'President Trump's US is among external threats to the European Union along with China, Russia and Radical Islam'
Verhofstad said something very similar yesterday - so clearly a coordinated position, not random musings....
It's a gamble that Merkel and ABLP (anyone but le Pen) win the elections this year. If they do, the EU will be well placed (politically) to press ahead with EU army and other big integration steps. Laying the groundwork to treat the USA as an enemy not an ally gives them more justification for integration.
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don't stand in the doorway Don't block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled There's the battle outside raging It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls For the times they are a-changing
Much later start and less publicity to date for the pro Trump petition.
36 hours later and the publicity for the no state visit petition only kicked in once the numbers had got large.
I suspect that the pro-Trump petition is primarily identifying the size of the "Let's wind-up a lefty" demographic in the UK.
What I don't understand is why the 'wind up a lefty' types continuously mock e-petitions as a waste of time for virtue signalling snowflakes - and then they go and start a petition themselves!
Do you genuinely not see that, after too many wasted years, we've finally woken up to the fun of trolling back at the left?
Trump himself is undoubtedly trolling the left with his latest announcements, but the counter petition just looks like a bunch of people taking offense on behalf of Trump.
If we must indulge these moronic petitions, is there a way in which we can at least find out how many individual signatures there have been, as opposed to a few thousand nutters using multiple email addresses? All it would take is 10,000 with 10 email addresses, and hey presto, our elected representatives have to use their precious time 'debating' the subject. These petitions are the continued infantilisation of discourse in this country, and indeed right across the democratic West.
'President Trump's US is among external threats to the European Union along with China, Russia and Radical Islam'
Verhofstad said something very similar yesterday - so clearly a coordinated position, not random musings....
It's a gamble that Merkel and ABLP (anyone but le Pen) win the elections this year. If they do, the EU will be well placed (politically) to press ahead with EU army and other big integration steps. Laying the groundwork to treat the USA as an enemy not an ally gives them more justification for integration.
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
If it does come down to it, it will be the Anglosphere versus the EU. My money is on the Anglosphere prevailing.
But it won't come down to that. More likely is the entire west uniting - in 10 or 30 years time - to face the Asian challenge. NAFTA and the U.K. and EFTA and the EU will form a customs union.
The rest of the world, in Asia and the Middle East, they all speak English. The Anglosphere has already prevailed, the whole world speaks our business language.
Compare to Europe, where they all speak different languages, guess where the business is being done..
MPs will debate whether US President Trump should be granted a UK state visit, as a petition against the idea nears 1.7 million signatures. The debate, on 20 February, will also take in a second petition calling for the visit to go ahead, signed by more than 100,000 people. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38814346
'President Trump's US is among external threats to the European Union along with China, Russia and Radical Islam'
Verhofstad said something very similar yesterday - so clearly a coordinated position, not random musings....
It's a gamble that Merkel and ABLP (anyone but le Pen) win the elections this year. If they do, the EU will be well placed (politically) to press ahead with EU army and other big integration steps. Laying the groundwork to treat the USA as an enemy not an ally gives them more justification for integration.
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
If it does come down to it, it will be the Anglosphere versus the EU. My money is on the Anglosphere prevailing.
But it won't come down to that. More likely is the entire west uniting - in 10 or 30 years time - to face the Asian challenge. NAFTA and the U.K. and EFTA and the EU will form a customs union.
I see no reason why we should have to treat either the US or the EU as enemies.
Much later start and less publicity to date for the pro Trump petition.
36 hours later and the publicity for the no state visit petition only kicked in once the numbers had got large.
I suspect that the pro-Trump petition is primarily identifying the size of the "Let's wind-up a lefty" demographic in the UK.
What I don't understand is why the 'wind up a lefty' types continuously mock e-petitions as a waste of time for virtue signalling snowflakes - and then they go and start a petition themselves!
Do you genuinely not see that, after too many wasted years, we've finally woken up to the fun of trolling back at the left?
Trump himself is undoubtedly trolling the left with his latest announcements, but the counter petition just looks like a bunch of people taking offense on behalf of Trump.
I disagree. If I even vaguely irritated a single lefty by helping that petition past 100k then it was electrons well spent.
To think nomarks like Gordon Brown and Theresa May became PM but Ken Clarke never did.
There ain't no justice in the world.
Brown kept us out of the Euro (admittedly, just to spite Blair, but nonetheless, he did); May is taking us out of the EU. What, for all his gifts, did Clarke ever achieve?
The finest Chancellor of my lifetime.
Superb Justice Secretary.
President of the Cambridge Union.
Eminent QC
For starters.
Yet your party chose IDS over him. Why?
Because it didn't want either but IDS would be easier to get rid of. (Declaration of interest: I voted for Clarke).
That was a pretty weird moment: faced by the choice between IDS and Ken, I remember my reaction, essentially, being "oh, shit". Would you have voted for Portillo, if he'd got through?
Probably not. At least Clarke was authentic. Portillo had reinvented himself into something he didn't seem comfortable in. Besides, I wasn't as spooked by the prospect of Euro entry as many Tory members.
Fair enough. I think most of us were in the same camp as Casino; the Euro felt like an existential threat that trumped all other considerations. It still felt wrong voting for someone who, with the best will in the world, was never going to look like a PM in waiting, though.
Some Europhiles may laugh (fair enough) but there were several times I was in tears - and very stressed - in 2001-2003 when I thought we might permanently and irrevocably lose economic control of this country. I had a few screaming arguments with those who were in favour.
That far outweighed my preference for a cosmetic victory, or slightly less clear defeat, of the Conservative Party next to Blair's Labour Party following much the same policies at the time.
Joining the Euro would have done real harm to this country (and possibly destroyed the Eurozone, as our economy would be too large to bail out).
'President Trump's US is among external threats to the European Union along with China, Russia and Radical Islam'
Verhofstad said something very similar yesterday - so clearly a coordinated position, not random musings....
It's a gamble that Merkel and ABLP (anyone but le Pen) win the elections this year. If they do, the EU will be well placed (politically) to press ahead with EU army and other big integration steps. Laying the groundwork to treat the USA as an enemy not an ally gives them more justification for integration.
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
If it does come down to it, it will be the Anglosphere versus the EU. My money is on the Anglosphere prevailing.
But it won't come down to that. More likely is the entire west uniting - in 10 or 30 years time - to face the Asian challenge. NAFTA and the U.K. and EFTA and the EU will form a customs union.
The rest of the world, in Asia and the Middle East, they all speak English. The Anglosphere has already prevailed, the whole world speaks our business language.
Compare to Europe, where they all speak different languages, guess where the business is being done..
In my experience, English is spoken in Europe, too.
You don't understand (not for the first time). Brexit isn't a clash of opinions (like Iraq). It's a clash of political belief systems. Expecting someone like me to turn around in ten years time and say Yes, Brexit was an error, is like expecting Catholics to say Yep, the Reformation was a good thing. I will always believe it was and is better for us to govern ourselves.
The same goes for you. It's obvious you - and people like williamglenn - have a religiose faith in the virtues of EU membership. You will always think Brexit was a bad idea the way Muslims will always revere the Prophet.
There will never be a meeting of minds. The only thing we can agree on is that my side won. Heh.
And you are wrong (not for the first time).
You have already swung from Brexit is great, dreadful, brilliant, terrible and back.
There will be many, many occasions when you will shriek and wail and rend your clothes for the catastrophe you bequeathed your children.
Brexit will not be a catastrophe. Neither will it be a paradise.
It's just choosing a different geopolitical path for the UK to follow. I think a better on. But life will go on either way.
So stop being so silly.
Leave him alone. I'm sure he lightens others' lives much as he lightens mine.
@Richard_Tyndall Wrong again. I've read plenty of Hannan. It's why I think he should be utterly ashamed of having associated with that particular Leave campaign and why it's now reasonable to call him a hypocrite who's getting his cumupance.
Okay, then I mistakenly gave you the benefit of the doubt. Clearly you are too dumb to understand what he was saying.
'President Trump's US is among external threats to the European Union along with China, Russia and Radical Islam'
Verhofstad said something very similar yesterday - so clearly a coordinated position, not random musings....
It's a gamble that Merkel and ABLP (anyone but le Pen) win the elections this year. If they do, the EU will be well placed (politically) to press ahead with EU army and other big integration steps. Laying the groundwork to treat the USA as an enemy not an ally gives them more justification for integration.
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call
So now as I'm leaving I'm weary as Hell The confusion I'm feeling Ain't no tongue can tell The words fill my head And fall to the floor That if God is on our side He'll stop the next war
Someone said 2017 could be another summer of love. Perhaps the protest song will make a comeback too and popular culture will regain some vitality.
Much later start and less publicity to date for the pro Trump petition.
36 hours later and the publicity for the no state visit petition only kicked in once the numbers had got large.
I suspect that the pro-Trump petition is primarily identifying the size of the "Let's wind-up a lefty" demographic in the UK.
What I don't understand is why the 'wind up a lefty' types continuously mock e-petitions as a waste of time for virtue signalling snowflakes - and then they go and start a petition themselves!
Do you genuinely not see that, after too many wasted years, we've finally woken up to the fun of trolling back at the left?
Trump himself is undoubtedly trolling the left with his latest announcements, but the counter petition just looks like a bunch of people taking offense on behalf of Trump.
I disagree. If I even vaguely irritated a single lefty by helping that petition past 100k then it was electrons well spent.
Me too - I signed just to annoy the MSM who've been wanking over the other one for two days like it was a plane crash on Islington.
'President Trump's US is among external threats to the European Union along with China, Russia and Radical Islam'
Verhofstad said something very similar yesterday - so clearly a coordinated position, not random musings....
It's a gamble that Merkel and ABLP (anyone but le Pen) win the elections this year. If they do, the EU will be well placed (politically) to press ahead with EU army and other big integration steps. Laying the groundwork to treat the USA as an enemy not an ally gives them more justification for integration.
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
If it does come down to it, it will be the Anglosphere versus the EU. My money is on the Anglosphere prevailing.
But it won't come down to that. More likely is the entire west uniting - in 10 or 30 years time - to face the Asian challenge. NAFTA and the U.K. and EFTA and the EU will form a customs union.
I see no reason why we should have to treat either the US or the EU as enemies.
Neither do I but Tusk has made it so with his irrational remarks today.
To think nomarks like Gordon Brown and Theresa May became PM but Ken Clarke never did.
There ain't no justice in the world.
Brown kept us out of the Euro (admittedly, just to spite Blair, but nonetheless, he did); May is taking us out of the EU. What, for all his gifts, did Clarke ever achieve?
The finest Chancellor of my lifetime.
Superb Justice Secretary.
President of the Cambridge Union.
Eminent QC
For starters.
Yet your party chose IDS over him. Why?
Because it didn't want either but IDS would be easier to get rid of. (Declaration of interest: I voted for Clarke).
That was a pretty weird moment: faced by the choice between IDS and Ken, I remember my reaction, essentially, being "oh, shit". Would you have voted for Portillo, if he'd got through?
Probably not. At least Clarke was authentic. Portillo had reinvented himself into something he didn't seem comfortable in. Besides, I wasn't as spooked by the prospect of Euro entry as many Tory members.
Fair enough. I think most of us were in the same camp as Casino; the Euro felt like an existential threat that trumped all other considerations. It still felt wrong voting for someone who, with the best will in the world, was never going to look like a PM in waiting, though.
Some Europhiles may laugh (fair enough) but there were several times I was in tears - and very stressed - in 2001-2003 when I thought we might permanently and irrevocably lose economic control of this country. I had a few screaming arguments with those who were in favour.
That far outweighed my preference for a cosmetic victory, or slightly less clear defeat, of the Conservative Party next to Blair's Labour Party following much the same policies at the time.
Joining the Euro would have done real harm to this country (and possibly destroyed the Eurozone, as our economy would be too large to bail out).
Indeed. - The EU couldn’t even bail out Greece without the help of the IMF.
'President Trump's US is among external threats to the European Union along with China, Russia and Radical Islam'
Verhofstad said something very similar yesterday - so clearly a coordinated position, not random musings....
It's a gamble that Merkel and ABLP (anyone but le Pen) win the elections this year. If they do, the EU will be well placed (politically) to press ahead with EU army and other big integration steps. Laying the groundwork to treat the USA as an enemy not an ally gives them more justification for integration.
Without us the EU Army will be the French army with a few camp followers, the Bundeswehr goes home at the weekend for heavens sakes!
'President Trump's US is among external threats to the European Union along with China, Russia and Radical Islam'
Verhofstad said something very similar yesterday - so clearly a coordinated position, not random musings....
It's a gamble that Merkel and ABLP (anyone but le Pen) win the elections this year. If they do, the EU will be well placed (politically) to press ahead with EU army and other big integration steps. Laying the groundwork to treat the USA as an enemy not an ally gives them more justification for integration.
Can we just step back and think what is happening here. Treating the US as an enemy is beyond belief and very scary. The military, trade and financial implications are horrific.
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
If it does come down to it, it will be the Anglosphere versus the EU. My money is on the Anglosphere prevailing.
But it won't come down to that. More likely is the entire west uniting - in 10 or 30 years time - to face the Asian challenge. NAFTA and the U.K. and EFTA and the EU will form a customs union.
Trump wants to rewrite NAFTA, or leave it.
When it comes to trade, Australia would choose Asia every single time over the Anglo-sphere, as would New Zealand.
Asia is a huge opportunity - especially now that Trump seems intent on making it harder for US companies to operate there.
Australia and New Zealand are part of the Anglosphere, ethnically, culturally and linguistically, the fact they will continue to trade with Asia and the UK Europe does not change that
"If you see a pundit crying “chaos” about Trump’s early moves, you’re probably seeing someone with no entrepreneurial management experience. In the startup world, speed has replaced intelligence whenever you can rapidly test*. Doing things quickly, and adjusting as needed, often gets you to a faster/better result than planning a moonshot that has exactly one path to success.
Obviously you want to match the management style to the situation. The messy entrepreneurial style might work great for fixing “systems” in the government, such as healthcare and immigration. It should work against ISIS too. And I expect it will be great for negotiating with other countries because they don’t know what to expect. But sometimes you need to get it right the first time because the stakes are high. Those situations will be obvious to any president. I wouldn’t worry about President Trump launching some nukes just to see how it turns out.
A good way to tell whether a pundit or citizen understands the field of risk management well enough to critique Trump’s performance is to ask how they view his history of bankruptcies. If a person thinks those bankruptcies are a sign of poor management, they probably don’t know much about business. But if they understand the few bankruptcies – out of hundreds of projects – as part of a diversification strategy with good risk management that siloed off the losers, you might be seeing someone who understands business.
To think nomarks like Gordon Brown and Theresa May became PM but Ken Clarke never did.
There ain't no justice in the world.
Brown kept us out of the Euro (admittedly, just to spite Blair, but nonetheless, he did); May is taking us out of the EU. What, for all his gifts, did Clarke ever achieve?
The finest Chancellor of my lifetime.
Superb Justice Secretary.
President of the Cambridge Union.
Eminent QC
For starters.
Yet your party chose IDS over him. Why?
Because it didn't want either but IDS would be easier to get rid of. (Declaration of interest: I voted for Clarke).
That was a pretty weird moment: faced by the choice between IDS and Ken, I remember my reaction, essentially, being "oh, shit". Would you have voted for Portillo, if he'd got through?
Probably not. At least Clarke was authentic. Portillo had reinvented himself into something he didn't seem comfortable in. Besides, I wasn't as spooked by the prospect of Euro entry as many Tory members.
Fair enough. I think most of us were in the same camp as Casino; the Euro felt like an existential threat that trumped all other considerations. It still felt wrong voting for someone who, with the best will in the world, was never going to look like a PM in waiting, though.
Some Europhiles may laugh (fair enough) but there were several times I was in tears - and very stressed - in 2001-2003 when I thought we might permanently and irrevocably lose economic control of this country. I had a few screaming arguments with those who were in favour.
That far outweighed my preference for a cosmetic victory, or slightly less clear defeat, of the Conservative Party next to Blair's Labour Party following much the same policies at the time.
Joining the Euro would have done real harm to this country (and possibly destroyed the Eurozone, as our economy would be too large to bail out).
That was certainly my view, 15 years ago; I haven't seen anything since to change my mind.
To think nomarks like Gordon Brown and Theresa May became PM but Ken Clarke never did.
There ain't no justice in the world.
Brown kept us out of the Euro (admittedly, just to spite Blair, but nonetheless, he did); May is taking us out of the EU. What, for all his gifts, did Clarke ever achieve?
The finest Chancellor of my lifetime.
Superb Justice Secretary.
President of the Cambridge Union.
Eminent QC
For starters.
Yet your party chose IDS over him. Why?
Because it didn't want either but IDS would be easier to get rid of. (Declaration of interest: I voted for Clarke).
That was a pretty weird moment: faced by the choice between IDS and Ken, I remember my reaction, essentially, being "oh, shit". Would you have voted for Portillo, if he'd got through?
Probably not. At least Clarke was authentic. Portillo had reinvented himself into something he didn't seem comfortable in. Besides, I wasn't as spooked by the prospect of Euro entry as many Tory members.
Fair enough. I think most of us were in the same camp as Casino; the Euro felt like an existential threat that trumped all other considerations. It still felt wrong voting for someone who, with the best will in the world, was never going to look like a PM in waiting, though.
Some Europhiles may laugh (fair enough) but there were several times I was in tears - and very stressed - in 2001-2003 when I thought we might permanently and irrevocably lose economic control of this country. I had a few screaming arguments with those who were in favour.
That far outweighed my preference for a cosmetic victory, or slightly less clear defeat, of the Conservative Party next to Blair's Labour Party following much the same policies at the time.
In the long run, I don't see any future for government controlled currencies.
This economic age will end when governments think they can solve every problem via the printing press (sorry, quantitive easing). The hyper-inflation that comes with that will destroy trust in government controlled currencies, and we will either return to the gold standard, or to something like Bitcoin.
Yes, one could have a few shags (which would probably be thrilling at the time) but I'd feel instant shame, self-hatred and guilt after, and probably feel I had to tell my wife, which would permanently damage a relationship with the women that means everything to me.
So it's not worth it. I am resisting my biological programming for my own social and emotional well-being.
The less said about the wanking, the better.
In the words of The Great Prophet Kevin Bloody Wilson
"So if you say you don't wank you're a liar And a fool if you say that you do So next time you see Prince Charles on TV Remember he wanked himself too"
If we must indulge these moronic petitions, is there a way in which we can at least find out how many individual signatures there have been, as opposed to a few thousand nutters using multiple email addresses? All it would take is 10,000 with 10 email addresses, and hey presto, our elected representatives have to use their precious time 'debating' the subject. These petitions are the continued infantilisation of discourse in this country, and indeed right across the democratic West.
Its probably worse than you think, on the EU second referendum petition there was evidence shown that several tens of thousands of entries (at the least) were entered as part of a wheeze by some bunch of muppets from 4chan. As a measure of the support of one side of the other its almost worthless, a few IT literate people on either side will completely throw the result.
On websites the government actually cares about, authentication is much stronger, mostly requiring you to enter an identifying number (such as NI No, Driving License No, Passport No etc) that the government knows, but which is generally speaking not public knowledge, and can be tied to one individual and mostly, one address.
The petition website is conspicuously there to give people the impression that they were being listened to without any real risk of having to change policy as a result, almost the opposite of a referendum
Much later start and less publicity to date for the pro Trump petition.
Pro Trump petition now getting a higher rate of new signatures than anti Trump petition for first time.
About evens, actually. And the aggregate is 1,687k to 120k or 14:1. Even if it were to end up at 5:1 that would be humiliating for Trump and May.
The British people overwhelmingly abhor Trump, but we didn't need a petition to tell us that. Dragging the Monarch into all this in the form of a state visit was a crass move by May.
Much later start and less publicity to date for the pro Trump petition.
36 hours later and the publicity for the no state visit petition only kicked in once the numbers had got large.
I suspect that the pro-Trump petition is primarily identifying the size of the "Let's wind-up a lefty" demographic in the UK.
What I don't understand is why the 'wind up a lefty' types continuously mock e-petitions as a waste of time for virtue signalling snowflakes - and then they go and start a petition themselves!
Do you genuinely not see that, after too many wasted years, we've finally woken up to the fun of trolling back at the left?
Trump himself is undoubtedly trolling the left with his latest announcements, but the counter petition just looks like a bunch of people taking offense on behalf of Trump.
I disagree. If I even vaguely irritated a single lefty by helping that petition past 100k then it was electrons well spent.
Me too - I signed just to annoy the MSM who've been wanking over the other one for two days like it was a plane crash on Islington.
It seems that the motivations for signing the opposing petitions were polar opposites. It is fun to wind the lefties up and watch them go.
Much later start and less publicity to date for the pro Trump petition.
Pro Trump petition now getting a higher rate of new signatures than anti Trump petition for first time.
About evens, actually. And the aggregate is 1,687k to 120k or 14:1. Even if it were to end up at 5:1 that would be humiliating for Trump and May.
The British people overwhelmingly abhor Trump, but we didn't need a petition to tell us that. Dragging the Monarch into all this in the form of a state visit was a crass move by May.
I don't think you can say that from the relative rates of the petitions!
On topic: my other half is a voter in the Copeland by-election. More than Brexit he is exercised by the National Grid's proposals to build gigantic pylons across the Duddon Estuary on the edge of the Lake District National Park.
Unless the Tories - specifically the Energy Minister - are prepared to explain to the National Grid that the relevant guidance - which required the Grid to take account of the effect of any building on areas within the National Park, which this proposal would since it is on the edge and highly visible within the Park and would thus ruin its setting, then it doesn't matter if Theresa May personally comes round and hands over gold bars to him. He will be voting for the Greens in this by-election.
Not desecrating a beautiful area (and the alternative is putting the pylons underground as they are proposing to do along the rest of the route) is far more important to him than Brexit.
Pylons are only an issue in a relatively small southern part of the constituency which is affected by it. But the majority is not large.
The pylons are intended to take the electricity from the proposed new power station in Copeland constituency. No pylons, no power station, no nuclear industry in Copeland, no point Jamie Reed resigning in the first place.
And no, it isn't feasable to underground the entire length of the new electricty lines. It isn't wise to underground the entire Lake District section but they are going to do that.
I sometimes think that urban dwellers imagine electricity just appears at the side of the house. As someone who lives on one side of a thirty mile ring main I know for a fact that the electricity industry in this country has more knowledge on what can be undergrounded and what can't than I do or, I hesitate to suggest, the vast majorty of those who object to the proposed Duddon pylons.
Apologies, I messed up the quoting not having done it before.
The pylons are intended to take the electricity from the proposed new power station in Copeland constituency. No pylons, no power station, no nuclear industry in Copeland, no point Jamie Reed resigning in the first place.
And no, it isn't feasable to underground the entire length of the new electricty lines. It isn't wise to underground the entire Lake District section but they are going to do that.
I sometimes think that urban dwellers imagine electricity just appears at the side of the house. As someone who lives on one side of a thirty mile ring main I know for a fact that the electricity industry in this country has more knowledge on what can be undergrounded and what can't than I do or, I hesitate to suggest, the vast majorty of those who object to the proposed Duddon pylons.
Much later start and less publicity to date for the pro Trump petition.
Pro Trump petition now getting a higher rate of new signatures than anti Trump petition for first time.
About evens, actually. And the aggregate is 1,687k to 120k or 14:1. Even if it were to end up at 5:1 that would be humiliating for Trump and May.
The British people overwhelmingly abhor Trump, but we didn't need a petition to tell us that. Dragging the Monarch into all this in the form of a state visit was a crass move by May.
Nope despite an avalanche of leftie Trump hate in the media a pro Trump petition is now the top trending
Comments
We are going to a place that is utterly unbelievable
https://petition.parliament.uk
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/31/rival-donald-trump-petition-asking-state-visit-passes-100000/amp/?client=ms-android-orange-gb
These EU guys lost Brexit and now their friendly regime in the White House.
They're angry and desperate.
Yes, one could have a few shags (which would probably be thrilling at the time) but I'd feel instant shame, self-hatred and guilt after, and probably feel I had to tell my wife, which would permanently damage a relationship with the women that means everything to me.
So it's not worth it. I am resisting my biological programming for my own social and emotional well-being.
The less said about the wanking, the better.
The EU is riven with division. The Baltic states which include Poland will resist any attempt to demonise the US, probably with the Scandinavians, Hungary and the Balkans support the US, so the EU is heading for very serious internal chaos whether you like it or not
That far outweighed my preference for a cosmetic victory, or slightly less clear defeat, of the Conservative Party next to Blair's Labour Party following much the same policies at the time.
"So if you say you don't wank you're a liar
And a fool if you say that you do
So next time you see
Prince Charles on TV
Remember he wanked himself too"
https://genius.com/Kevin-bloody-wilson-i-gave-up-wanking-lyrics
RCI have just announced 1.1% on its instant access savings account up from 1.02%.
Good news for savers. Potentially bad news for those with mortgages.
Spot on Methinks
When it comes to trade, Australia would choose Asia every single time over the Anglo-sphere, as would New Zealand.
http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/trade-investment/australias-trade-in-goods-and-services/Pages/australias-trade-in-goods-and-services-2014.aspx
https://www.nzte.govt.nz/en/invest/statistics/
Asia is a huge opportunity - especially now that Trump seems intent on making it harder for US companies to operate there.
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's the battle outside raging
It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changing
Compare to Europe, where they all speak different languages, guess where the business is being done..
The debate, on 20 February, will also take in a second petition calling for the visit to go ahead, signed by more than 100,000 people.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38814346
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feeling
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
That if God is on our side
He'll stop the next war
Someone said 2017 could be another summer of love. Perhaps the protest song will make a comeback too and popular culture will regain some vitality.
Me too - I signed just to annoy the MSM who've been wanking over the other one for two days like it was a plane crash on Islington.
NEW THREAD
http://blog.dilbert.com/post/156628357041/is-president-trump-doing-management-wrong
"If you see a pundit crying “chaos” about Trump’s early moves, you’re probably seeing someone with no entrepreneurial management experience. In the startup world, speed has replaced intelligence whenever you can rapidly test*. Doing things quickly, and adjusting as needed, often gets you to a faster/better result than planning a moonshot that has exactly one path to success.
Obviously you want to match the management style to the situation. The messy entrepreneurial style might work great for fixing “systems” in the government, such as healthcare and immigration. It should work against ISIS too. And I expect it will be great for negotiating with other countries because they don’t know what to expect. But sometimes you need to get it right the first time because the stakes are high. Those situations will be obvious to any president. I wouldn’t worry about President Trump launching some nukes just to see how it turns out.
A good way to tell whether a pundit or citizen understands the field of risk management well enough to critique Trump’s performance is to ask how they view his history of bankruptcies. If a person thinks those bankruptcies are a sign of poor management, they probably don’t know much about business. But if they understand the few bankruptcies – out of hundreds of projects – as part of a diversification strategy with good risk management that siloed off the losers, you might be seeing someone who understands business.
This economic age will end when governments think they can solve every problem via the printing press (sorry, quantitive easing). The hyper-inflation that comes with that will destroy trust in government controlled currencies, and we will either return to the gold standard, or to something like Bitcoin.
This morning Khan told No10 to rescind Trump invite over travel ban. Tonight Khan hosts 11 nations with travel bans. https://t.co/Dnen5pTbzI https://t.co/xQuq2AHaOq
On websites the government actually cares about, authentication is much stronger, mostly requiring you to enter an identifying number (such as NI No, Driving License No, Passport No etc) that the government knows, but which is generally speaking not public knowledge, and can be tied to one individual and mostly, one address.
The petition website is conspicuously there to give people the impression that they were being listened to without any real risk of having to change policy as a result, almost the opposite of a referendum
The British people overwhelmingly abhor Trump, but we didn't need a petition to tell us that. Dragging the Monarch into all this in the form of a state visit was a crass move by May.
The pylons are intended to take the electricity from the proposed new power station in Copeland constituency. No pylons, no power station, no nuclear industry in Copeland, no point Jamie Reed resigning in the first place.
And no, it isn't feasable to underground the entire length of the new electricty lines. It isn't wise to underground the entire Lake District section but they are going to do that.
I sometimes think that urban dwellers imagine electricity just appears at the side of the house. As someone who lives on one side of a thirty mile ring main I know for a fact that the electricity industry in this country has more knowledge on what can be undergrounded and what can't than I do or, I hesitate to suggest, the vast majorty of those who object to the proposed Duddon pylons.
He would have tried harder. Good for him - luckily the people of this country decided:
1) His party was not fit for govt in 2015
2) To leave the EU.
But he is going to whinge and moan because he would have tried harder to stay in the single market. The vanity is painful