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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Get ready for one of the biggest local by-election nights in y
politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Get ready for one of the biggest local by-election nights in years
Big night of local elections in prospect. 14 seats with nearly 90k eligible to vote. Excellent here from @andrewteale https://t.co/AyLxTgrRGX
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Will be surprised if its even 25%
Could be bad news for Lab Candidate
It would go some way to dispelling their rather boring image for a start.
It’s a really bad idea I mean the French are trying to bring it back.
French president Emmanuel Macron to bring back compulsory military service for young people
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/france-national-service-emmanuel-macron-french-president-military-a8209681.html?amp
“Those born in the late 50s or early 60s are likely to have made a lot of money on their house, have a final salary pension, and a completely free higher education (for the lucky few who went to university). That's largesse compared with younger generations.”
Agree on the first point, in some parts of the country.
Not so on the second - many of this generation have pensions which are based on contributions rather than defined benefits, unless they are in the public sector. So very dependant on the performance of the economy. Private employers started moving out of final salary pensions some time ago.
On your third point, the key words are “the lucky few”.
Certainly better off than many. But not quite the largesse that was being described. It is not this generation which has benefited from the triple lock, fuel allowances and free TV licences etc etc.
And if you have family you are having to help them with university costs, housing etc.
https://twitter.com/Nigel_Farage/status/964233515163357184
HHemmelig said:
>Arguably the main reason it was abolished was that the military resented having to babysit the entire population of male 18 year olds, most of whom didn't want to be there, it was a big distraction for them and not very useful outside wartime.<
That was certainly the view of my cousin, who was Deputy Chief of General Staff, responsible for personnel issues. He told me a while ago (no reason to think he's changed his views) that he thought that military service ran out just as he conscripts started to become useful, and if the purpose was some sort of social engineering, he didn't see why the Army should be asked to take that role instead of concentrating on defending the country.
That so many old folk want to bring it back is just another example of the nostalgia that currently guides our political discourse. From bucaneering Britain to nationalisation, we are looking backwards, not to the future. Coming next, a return to 240 pennies, 20 shillings, in a pound.
I suspect the reality is it takes a month to teach them how to surrender correctly.
The Soviets went for the cream of the crop, the Czechs went for the dregs.
Incidentally this is also why a Secretary of State having a private email server run by a guy who goes to reddit for technical support is a very bad idea, even if there was no classified information in the emails.
Base-24 arithmetic is so much more versatile than base-10.
https://twitter.com/spajw/status/964250640976367616
Unless you know exactly what information the other side has even what you may think is innocuous gossip may be the critical missing piece of insight that reveals everything
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43079090
https://twitter.com/britainelects/status/964195272095092747
Edit. I have always wondered about the East German sleeper agent who became Willi Brandt's secretary. How would they be able to plan that?
Supposing he ended up as a functionary in the Ministry for postage stamps?
Also interesting to see Diane James’ views on this given that she was once a Ukipper. https://twitter.com/dianejamesmep/status/964081643781701634
And secondly by rejecting the notion that we have to make the distinction at all. Our membership of the European Union has very little to do with whether we are more European or American, and much more about how best we co-operate with friendly countries, and assert our sense of collective self.
This is not something, I think, to which there is a right answer, as you might think there would be to the question of whether we are more American or European (which appeals to metrological ideas of their existing scales of Europeaness or Americaness against which we might measure ourselves), but different answers that need to be understood.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/some-380-journalists-including-bbc-guardian-and-private-eye-work-with-icij-on-paradise-papers-tax-havens-data-leak/
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/15/hmrc-wins-tax-case-against-bbc-presenter
“Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea.” Samuel Johnson
On the other hand my father was one of the last to do National Service and he hated it. Mind you, he was in the RAF and posted to Khormaksar where his responsibilities in that fly blown hole was to supervise the positioning of drip trays under Shackletons from whence they would occasionally be stolen by the locals or hamadryas baboons.
Liberal bucaneering Britain for the few, not the many.
Name an economically succesful developed country where only 10% are educated to degree level.
Even China, India and SouthSAfrica have more than 101 educatedeto tertiary level:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/09/countries-with-best-education-systems/
https://twitter.com/britainelects/status/964283840968712193
Wales?
We currently have 42% of 25-64 year olds with tertiary qualifications. France has 32%. Germany has 27%. Italy has 17%. What benefits are we as a country or the graduates themselves gaining from such high levels of tertiary qualification? It is idiotic and costs a fortune for no national benefit.
The problem is the pisspoor nature of many courses and institutions not the innate stupidity of Britons.