Given Trump won the 2016 GOP nomination with virtually all the GOP establishment against him he will almost certainly win the nomination again in 2020 especially now he is POTUS.
No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2
Errr. That's not true. Lyndon Johnson pulled out early in the primaries for the 1970 Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to get beat.
Of course it’s unfair to point out that Leavers “voted” alongside
Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Corbyn (probably) Milo Youknowwhopolous. Julian Assange. Donald Trump. That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
Given Trump won the 2016 GOP nomination with virtually all the GOP establishment against him he will almost certainly win the nomination again in 2020 especially now he is POTUS.
No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2
Errr. That's not true. Lyndon Johnson pulled out early in the primaries for the 1970 Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to get beat.
And in that circumstance (die-hards the only Republicans left) Pence would surely be well-positioned. cf. McGovern.
Of course it’s unfair to point out that Leavers “voted” alongside
Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Corbyn (probably) Milo Youknowwhopolous. Julian Assange. Donald Trump. That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
Of course it’s unfair to point out that Leavers “voted” alongside
Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Corbyn (probably) Milo Youknowwhopolous. Julian Assange. Donald Trump. That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
Of course it’s unfair to point out that Leavers “voted” alongside
Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Corbyn (probably) Milo Youknowwhopolous. Julian Assange. Donald Trump. That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
Comey is probably doing Trump more good than harm.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of his treatment, it is not a good look for a former FBI director - and potential witness in the Mueller investigation - to be doing a trash talking book tour. He was politically naive to the point of idiocy in his treatment of the Clinton emails days before the election, and doesn't appear to have acquired much wisdom since then.
Shadsy just quoted Haley at 20/1 for the GOP nominee. I think that's way too short. For her to get it, she'd need:
1. To resign her post, challenge Trump, and win. Or 2. For Pence to go as VP, and then for her to do a Gerald Ford. Or 3. For Trump to opt to not stand, and for her to win the open vacancy. Or 4. For Trump to go midterm and for Pence either to not stand or for her to challenge him for the nomination and win.
None of those seem at all likely - but then I rate Trump's survival chances much higher than the market does.
I did think she'd have been a good VP pick and still think he missed a trick there - but I don't think he likes powerful women around him.
Pence looks like the very clear fav non-Trump option (obviously all the more so if Trump goes), assuming he doesn't get personally implicated in any Mueller stuff.
Pence inherits if Trump is ousted but if, as seems likely, he simply agrees not to stand for a second term then any number of hats will be thrown into the ring. It is not as if Pence has done anything of note before or since. He is ex officio favourite but there is no obvious enthusiasm for the man.
"As seems likely"?!
Do you want to elaborate on that one? Any president who doesn't seek re-election lame-ducks himself for 18 months, which is more than half his remaining term.
Lame duck considerations don't come into it since Trump is already not working with GOP congress on anything of note. Because the GOP mainstream wants Trump out but will not want to hand his scalp to a Democrat-led impeachment, the most likely outcome is for the men in grey suits to make him an offer he can't refuse: just don't run again.
Of course it’s unfair to point out that Leavers “voted” alongside
Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Corbyn (probably) Milo Youknowwhopolous. Julian Assange. Donald Trump. That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
Were Assange, Putin, Trump and Milo eligible ?
Milo is British, I'm embarrassed to say.
Actually Julian could probably vote, too, as a resident Commonwealth citizen.
I may be teaching you to suck eggs here, @rcs1000, but I just found this from Royal London (Steve Webb) very interesting about the pension effects on the headline savings rate. It seems that companies repairing their pension deficits more slowly accounts for a large proportion of the recent decline.
Of course it’s unfair to point out that Leavers “voted” alongside
Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Corbyn (probably) Milo Youknowwhopolous. Julian Assange. Donald Trump. That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
Were Assange, Putin, Trump and Milo eligible ?
Milo is British, I'm embarrassed to say.
Having either failed in their native land or found it not big enough to contain their massive egos, these “chancers” (as they are known in British slang) invariably come to America where they find a ready audience among the sort of people who think an English accent automatically confers sophistication.
I see that despite eight years of 'austerity', the retail apocalypse and the beast from the east retail sales last month were more than double what they were during the Loadsamoney and yuppie Lawson boom of thirty years ago:
Part of this, of course, is because the household savings rate has dropped from 15% to 5%. If your disposable income is 40% of your gross pay*, and you drop the savings rate 10%, then you increase retail sales by 25%.
* That's probably far too high.
Do the NEST contributions count as household savings? Or are they considered as pre-disposable income?
The 2.4% that is the employee's contribution is counted.
Do you know how many people are a members of (or contributors to) NEST? My guess is that it would still be a relatively small number, and that also typical NEST members are on low to average incomes, so it probably doesn't change the numbers much.
(Back in my old fund management days, I pitched to NEST to become one of their fund managers. They had a set of requirements and demands that would mean that anyone who managed money for them would have to be a closet index tracker. Which raised the question - to me at least - of why pay active manager fees for an essentially passive fund.)
Given Trump won the 2016 GOP nomination with virtually all the GOP establishment against him he will almost certainly win the nomination again in 2020 especially now he is POTUS.
No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2
Errr. That's not true. Lyndon Johnson pulled out early in the primaries for the 1970 Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to get beat.
And in that circumstance (die-hards the only Republicans left) Pence would surely be well-positioned. cf. McGovern.
I don't think Trump is psychologically capable of accepting failure and his shock win in 2016 will make it even harder for him to accept it before he actually loses.
That actually makes me worry a lot about the three months of lame duck presidency after he gets smashed in 2020.
Of course it’s unfair to point out that Leavers “voted” alongside
Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Corbyn (probably) Milo Youknowwhopolous. Julian Assange. Donald Trump. That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
Were Assange, Putin, Trump and Milo eligible ?
Milo is British, I'm embarrassed to say.
Actually Julian could probably vote, too, as a resident Commonwealth citizen.
Others like yourself and David Allen Green have been looking back and wanting to endlessly rehash old battles. You especially seem to be of the naive opinion that until old battles are refought nobody is going to move on when others already are.
If David's waking up to what happens next perhaps you can start looking forwards rather than backwards too. I can live in hope.
He is commenting on the epiphany some Brexiteers are now experiencing.
Any, you know, direct quotes from epiphaneous Brexiteers?
I see that despite eight years of 'austerity', the retail apocalypse and the beast from the east retail sales last month were more than double what they were during the Loadsamoney and yuppie Lawson boom of thirty years ago:
Part of this, of course, is because the household savings rate has dropped from 15% to 5%. If your disposable income is 40% of your gross pay*, and you drop the savings rate 10%, then you increase retail sales by 25%.
* That's probably far too high.
It is actually shocking how poor my generation and subsequent ones are at living frugally. Deliveroo, Uber and Amazon just make it worse. I really think they need to bring back cheap cooking/personal budgeting lessons in school.
I see that despite eight years of 'austerity', the retail apocalypse and the beast from the east retail sales last month were more than double what they were during the Loadsamoney and yuppie Lawson boom of thirty years ago:
Part of this, of course, is because the household savings rate has dropped from 15% to 5%. If your disposable income is 40% of your gross pay*, and you drop the savings rate 10%, then you increase retail sales by 25%.
* That's probably far too high.
Do the NEST contributions count as household savings? Or are they considered as pre-disposable income?
The 2.4% that is the employee's contribution is counted.
Do you know how many people are a members of (or contributors to) NEST? My guess is that it would still be a relatively small number, and that also typical NEST members are on low to average incomes, so it probably doesn't change the numbers much.
(Back in my old fund management days, I pitched to NEST to become one of their fund managers. They had a set of requirements and demands that would mean that anyone who managed money for them would have to be a closet index tracker. Which raised the question - to me at least - of why pay active manager fees for an essentially passive fund.)
4.5 million as of April 2017 (2.7m active). You're right, the aggregate numbers can't be huge.
I may be teaching you to suck eggs here, @rcs1000, but I just found this from Royal London (Steve Webb) very interesting about the pension effects on the headline savings rate. It seems that companies repairing their pension deficits more slowly accounts for a large proportion of the recent decline.
I'm normally a big fan of Steve Webb, but he's rather cherry picked his data here. That is, he's taken all the one-offs that dragged the savings rate down, while ignoring the one-offs that have pushed it the other way.
Given Trump won the 2016 GOP nomination with virtually all the GOP establishment against him he will almost certainly win the nomination again in 2020 especially now he is POTUS.
No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2
Errr. That's not true. Lyndon Johnson pulled out early in the primaries for the 1970 Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to get beat.
I may be teaching you to suck eggs here, @rcs1000, but I just found this from Royal London (Steve Webb) very interesting about the pension effects on the headline savings rate. It seems that companies repairing their pension deficits more slowly accounts for a large proportion of the recent decline.
Given Trump won the 2016 GOP nomination with virtually all the GOP establishment against him he will almost certainly win the nomination again in 2020 especially now he is POTUS.
No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2
Errr. That's not true. Lyndon Johnson pulled out early in the primaries for the 1970 Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to get beat.
Given Trump won the 2016 GOP nomination with virtually all the GOP establishment against him he will almost certainly win the nomination again in 2020 especially now he is POTUS.
No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2
Errr. That's not true. Lyndon Johnson pulled out early in the primaries for the 1970 Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to get beat.
1968.
Ah yeah, so the McGovern thing doesn't work - but the candidate was the VP, Humphrey. Even better for my thesis!
Any, you know, direct quotes from epiphaneous Brexiteers?
An entire editorial from Fraser Nelson bemoaning the Brexit we have, not the Brexit he wished for...
All on immigration and nothing on the customs union. And he gets his facts wrong on the Clennell case. It’s precisely because she hasn’t lived for 30 years in Britain that she encountered problems.
Given Trump won the 2016 GOP nomination with virtually all the GOP establishment against him he will almost certainly win the nomination again in 2020 especially now he is POTUS.
No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2
Errr. That's not true. Lyndon Johnson pulled out early in the primaries for the 1970 Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to get beat.
LBJ actually won the New Hampshire primary, the only primary he contested, albeit by less than he expected.
As I have already said that primary campaign was also completely different from one Trump will contest as LBJ lost the support of anti war Democratic activists and the liberal base to McCarthy, Trump already has the conservative GOP base and activists locked up which is how he beat the GOP establishment for the nomination in the first place
Of course it’s unfair to point out that Leavers “voted” alongside
Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Corbyn (probably) Milo Youknowwhopolous. Julian Assange. Donald Trump. That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
Were Assange, Putin, Trump and Milo eligible ?
Milo is British, I'm embarrassed to say.
Actually Julian could probably vote, too, as a resident Commonwealth citizen.
He's living in Ecuador, isn't he?
That's an urban legend, he's living in the UK.
Him making a trip to the ballot box would be amusing though.
Given Trump won the 2016 GOP nomination with virtually all the GOP establishment against him he will almost certainly win the nomination again in 2020 especially now he is POTUS.
No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2
Errr. That's not true. Lyndon Johnson pulled out early in the primaries for the 1970 Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to get beat.
LBJ actually won the New Hampshire primary, the only primary he contested, albeit by less than he expected.
As I have already said that primary campaign was also completely different from one Trump will contest as LBJ lost the support of anti war Democratic activists and the liberal base to McCarthy, Trump already has the conservative GOP base and activists locked up which is how he beat the GOP establishment for the nomination in the first place
Of course there are differences.
I was just pointing out that your initial contention "No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2" was incorrect. LBJ pulled out of the Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to lose.
As an aside, the Primary system was very different in 1968 to now. Hubert Humphrey, who won the nomination, didn't stand in any of the states that held public votes. (Just 13 of the 50 states held Primaries as we now know them.)
Given Trump won the 2016 GOP nomination with virtually all the GOP establishment against him he will almost certainly win the nomination again in 2020 especially now he is POTUS.
No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2
Errr. That's not true. Lyndon Johnson pulled out early in the primaries for the 1970 Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to get beat.
1968.
Ah yeah, so the McGovern thing doesn't work - but the candidate was the VP, Humphrey. Even better for my thesis!
Humphrey, despite getting trashed in the Presidential election, was a politician of substance, being the leader in the Senate for LBJ's Civil Rights Bill, and largely responsible for the invention of Medicare.
Given Trump won the 2016 GOP nomination with virtually all the GOP establishment against him he will almost certainly win the nomination again in 2020 especially now he is POTUS.
No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2
Errr. That's not true. Lyndon Johnson pulled out early in the primaries for the 1970 Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to get beat.
LBJ actually won the New Hampshire primary, the only primary he contested, albeit by less than he expected.
As I have already said that primary campaign was also completely different from one Trump will contest as LBJ lost the support of anti war Democratic activists and the liberal base to McCarthy, Trump already has the conservative GOP base and activists locked up which is how he beat the GOP establishment for the nomination in the first place
Of course there are differences.
I was just pointing out that your initial contention "No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2" was incorrect. LBJ pulled out of the Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to lose.
As an aside, the Primary system was very different in 1968 to now. Hubert Humphrey, who won the nomination, didn't stand in any of the states that held public votes. (Just 13 of the 50 states held Primaries as we now know them.)
Given Humphrey actually won the nomination who knows if LBJ would have scraped through to win the nomination in the end, he pulled out after only 1 primary which he narrowly won.
Though you are right at that time the nomination was still decided at the convention.
Comey is probably doing Trump more good than harm.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of his treatment, it is not a good look for a former FBI director - and potential witness in the Mueller investigation - to be doing a trash talking book tour. He was politically naive to the point of idiocy in his treatment of the Clinton emails days before the election, and doesn't appear to have acquired much wisdom since then.
4. For Trump to go midterm and for Pence either to not stand or for her to challenge him for the nomination and win.
None of those seem at all likely - but then I rate Trump's survival chances much higher than the market does....
re: item 1. Given Trump's record, she'll be sacked within 12 months, so will be free to start a PAC etc etc.
That's a fair point and (1) should really be subdivided into 'gets sacked' and 'resigns'. However, 12 months is close to the limit. The campaigns will need to be in place in something like 16 months' time, at the latest.
Actually, I don't think her chances of being sacked are all that high: Trump sacks those closest to him. Haley - in New York - is both out of sight and, given Trump's interest in the UN, out of mind.
A former governor of South Carolina, Ms. Haley has assumed a more prominent role than most of her predecessors, at times eclipsing the secretary of state. And along the way, Mr. Trump has grown suspicious of her ambition, convinced that she had been angling for Mr. Tillerson’s position and increasingly wondering whether she wants his own job.
Republicans close to the White House whisper about the prospect of an alliance between Ms. Haley and Vice President Mike Pence, possibly to run as a ticket in 2020.
Aides to both scoff at such suggestions, but the slightest hint of such a pairing would be likely to enrage Mr. Trump, who has made it clear that he plans to run for re-election. The talk was exacerbated in recent days when Mr. Pence named Jon Lerner, Ms. Haley’s deputy, as his new national security adviser, while allowing him to keep his job at the United Nations.
That plan collapsed within 48 hours when Mr. Trump grew angry at reports that Mr. Lerner had made anti-Trump ads for the Club for Growth…
Of course it’s unfair to point out that Leavers “voted” alongside
Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Corbyn (probably) Milo Youknowwhopolous. Julian Assange. Donald Trump. That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
Were Assange, Putin, Trump and Milo eligible ?
Milo is British, I'm embarrassed to say.
Actually Julian could probably vote, too, as a resident Commonwealth citizen.
He's living in Ecuador, isn't he?
That's an urban legend, he's living in the UK.
Him making a trip to the ballot box would be amusing though.
Given Trump won the 2016 GOP nomination with virtually all the GOP establishment against him he will almost certainly win the nomination again in 2020 especially now he is POTUS.
No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2
Errr. That's not true. Lyndon Johnson pulled out early in the primaries for the 1970 Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to get beat.
1968.
Ah yeah, so the McGovern thing doesn't work - but the candidate was the VP, Humphrey. Even better for my thesis!
Humphrey, despite getting trashed in the Presidential election, was a politician of substance, being the leader in the Senate for LBJ's Civil Rights Bill, and largely responsible for the invention of Medicare.
Whereas Pence...
Nixon only beat Humphrey by less than 1% in 1968, until 2000 it would be 32 years before a presidential election would be as close as that in the popular vote
Of course it’s unfair to point out that Leavers “voted” alongside
Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Corbyn (probably) Milo Youknowwhopolous. Julian Assange. Donald Trump. That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
Were Assange, Putin, Trump and Milo eligible ?
Milo is British, I'm embarrassed to say.
Actually Julian could probably vote, too, as a resident Commonwealth citizen.
He's living in Ecuador, isn't he?
That's an urban legend, he's living in the UK.
Him making a trip to the ballot box would be amusing though.
postal vote?
In theory though he is living in Ecuador, if that's how the "territory" (a couple of rooms and a corridor?) of the embassy is defined. So old Julian wouldn't be entitled to a vote as he's not living in the UK. Just next to it, above it and under it I guess.
Given Trump won the 2016 GOP nomination with virtually all the GOP establishment against him he will almost certainly win the nomination again in 2020 especially now he is POTUS.
No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2
Errr. That's not true. Lyndon Johnson pulled out early in the primaries for the 1970 Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to get beat.
1968.
Ah yeah, so the McGovern thing doesn't work - but the candidate was the VP, Humphrey. Even better for my thesis!
Humphrey, despite getting trashed in the Presidential election, was a politician of substance, being the leader in the Senate for LBJ's Civil Rights Bill, and largely responsible for the invention of Medicare.
Whereas Pence...
Sure, I'm not opining on Pence's record. Just his appeal to the GOP in a circumstance where Trump steps down because he's obviously not going to win.
Setting aside the politics, Pence deserves some credit for taking the risk of being Trump's VP candidate. It was a fairly uncoveted position.
Given Trump won the 2016 GOP nomination with virtually all the GOP establishment against him he will almost certainly win the nomination again in 2020 especially now he is POTUS.
No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2
Errr. That's not true. Lyndon Johnson pulled out early in the primaries for the 1970 Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to get beat.
1968.
Ah yeah, so the McGovern thing doesn't work - but the candidate was the VP, Humphrey. Even better for my thesis!
Humphrey, despite getting trashed in the Presidential election, was a politician of substance, being the leader in the Senate for LBJ's Civil Rights Bill, and largely responsible for the invention of Medicare.
Whereas Pence...
Nixon only beat Humphrey by less than 1% in 1968, until 2000 it would be 32 years before a presidential election would be as close as that in the popular vote
And 32-13 in states.
In any event, the candidate who would likely have won was assassinated.
Of course it’s unfair to point out that Leavers “voted” alongside
Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Corbyn (probably) Milo Youknowwhopolous. Julian Assange. Donald Trump. That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
Were Assange, Putin, Trump and Milo eligible ?
Milo is British, I'm embarrassed to say.
Actually Julian could probably vote, too, as a resident Commonwealth citizen.
He's living in Ecuador, isn't he?
That's an urban legend, he's living in the UK.
Him making a trip to the ballot box would be amusing though.
postal vote?
In theory though he is living in Ecuador, if that's how the "territory" (a couple of rooms and a corridor?) of the embassy is defined. So old Julian wouldn't be entitled to a vote as he's not living in the UK. Just next to it, above it and under it I guess.
No he's not, as I said that's an urban legend. Embassies remain the sovereign territory of the host nation the idea that the embassy is Ecuador is simply not correct.
The Ecuadorians simply have diplomatic immunity while being in the UK and raiding an embassy is considered a gross breach of diplomatic norms but we have the right to do so and it does remain our territory.
Given Trump won the 2016 GOP nomination with virtually all the GOP establishment against him he will almost certainly win the nomination again in 2020 especially now he is POTUS.
No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2
Errr. That's not true. Lyndon Johnson pulled out early in the primaries for the 1970 Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to get beat.
1968.
Ah yeah, so the McGovern thing doesn't work - but the candidate was the VP, Humphrey. Even better for my thesis!
Humphrey, despite getting trashed in the Presidential election, was a politician of substance, being the leader in the Senate for LBJ's Civil Rights Bill, and largely responsible for the invention of Medicare.
Whereas Pence...
Sure, I'm not opining on Pence's record. Just his appeal to the GOP in a circumstance where Trump steps down because he's obviously not going to win.
Setting aside the politics, Pence deserves some credit for taking the risk of being Trump's VP candidate...
If ever I had a doubt about what exactly Americans mean by the phrase "shit eating grin", Pence cleared it up for me.
Of course it’s unfair to point out that Leavers “voted” alongside
Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Corbyn (probably) Milo Youknowwhopolous. Julian Assange. Donald Trump. That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
Were Assange, Putin, Trump and Milo eligible ?
Milo is British, I'm embarrassed to say.
Actually Julian could probably vote, too, as a resident Commonwealth citizen.
He's living in Ecuador, isn't he?
That's an urban legend, he's living in the UK.
Him making a trip to the ballot box would be amusing though.
postal vote?
In theory though he is living in Ecuador, if that's how the "territory" (a couple of rooms and a corridor?) of the embassy is defined. So old Julian wouldn't be entitled to a vote as he's not living in the UK. Just next to it, above it and under it I guess.
No he's not, as I said that's an urban legend. Embassies remain the sovereign territory of the host nation the idea that the embassy is Ecuador is simply not correct.
The Ecuadorians simply have diplomatic immunity while being in the UK and raiding an embassy is considered a gross breach of diplomatic norms but we have the right to do so and it does remain our territory.
Of course it’s unfair to point out that Leavers “voted” alongside
Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Corbyn (probably) Milo Youknowwhopolous. Julian Assange. Donald Trump. That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
Were Assange, Putin, Trump and Milo eligible ?
Milo is British, I'm embarrassed to say.
Actually Julian could probably vote, too, as a resident Commonwealth citizen.
He's living in Ecuador, isn't he?
That's an urban legend, he's living in the UK.
Him making a trip to the ballot box would be amusing though.
postal vote?
In theory though he is living in Ecuador, if that's how the "territory" (a couple of rooms and a corridor?) of the embassy is defined. So old Julian wouldn't be entitled to a vote as he's not living in the UK. Just next to it, above it and under it I guess.
No he's not, as I said that's an urban legend. Embassies remain the sovereign territory of the host nation the idea that the embassy is Ecuador is simply not correct.
The Ecuadorians simply have diplomatic immunity while being in the UK and raiding an embassy is considered a gross breach of diplomatic norms but we have the right to do so and it does remain our territory.
Actually I made a mistake here, the Vienna Convention does preclude us from raiding the embassy.
Dan is reprising the leave/remain smears. He says Labour votes support anti-semitism; doubtless he (or his opponents, or both) will say Tory votes support slinging out elderly Blacks because some junior apparatchik shredded the Windrush papers. Hard luck if you just want weekly bin collections.
I think you are misreading him.
He’s saying that Corbyn will -take advantage of their vote and claim things that weren’t intended
Of course it’s unfair to point out that Leavers “voted” alongside
Nigel Farage. Vladimir Putin. Jeremy Corbyn (probably) Milo Youknowwhopolous. Julian Assange. Donald Trump. That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
Were Assange, Putin, Trump and Milo eligible ?
Milo is British, I'm embarrassed to say.
Actually Julian could probably vote, too, as a resident Commonwealth citizen.
He's living in Ecuador, isn't he?
That's an urban legend, he's living in the UK.
Him making a trip to the ballot box would be amusing though.
postal vote?
In theory though he is living in Ecuador, if that's how the "territory" (a couple of rooms and a corridor?) of the embassy is defined. So old Julian wouldn't be entitled to a vote as he's not living in the UK. Just next to it, above it and under it I guess.
No he's not, as I said that's an urban legend. Embassies remain the sovereign territory of the host nation the idea that the embassy is Ecuador is simply not correct.
The Ecuadorians simply have diplomatic immunity while being in the UK and raiding an embassy is considered a gross breach of diplomatic norms but we have the right to do so and it does remain our territory.
Actually I made a mistake here, the Vienna Convention does preclude us from raiding the embassy.
I don't think it prevents countries from revoking the status of an embassy, although that would be quite a move...
Shadsy just quoted Haley at 20/1 for the GOP nominee. I think that's way too short. For her to get it, she'd need:
1. To resign her post, challenge Trump, and win. Or 2. For Pence to go as VP, and then for her to do a Gerald Ford. Or 3. For Trump to opt to not stand, and for her to win the open vacancy. Or 4. For Trump to go midterm and for Pence either to not stand or for her to challenge him for the nomination and win.
None of those seem at all likely - but then I rate Trump's survival chances much higher than the market does.
I did think she'd have been a good VP pick and still think he missed a trick there - but I don't think he likes powerful women around him.
Pence looks like the very clear fav non-Trump option (obviously all the more so if Trump goes), assuming he doesn't get personally implicated in any Mueller stuff.
Pence inherits if Trump is ousted but if, as seems likely, he simply agrees not to stand for a second term then any number of hats will be thrown into the ring. It is not as if Pence has done anything of note before or since. He is ex officio favourite but there is no obvious enthusiasm for the man.
"As seems likely"?!
Do you want to elaborate on that one? Any president who doesn't seek re-election lame-ducks himself for 18 months, which is more than half his remaining term.
Lame duck considerations don't come into it since Trump is already not working with GOP congress on anything of note. Because the GOP mainstream wants Trump out but will not want to hand his scalp to a Democrat-led impeachment, the most likely outcome is for the men in grey suits to make him an offer he can't refuse: just don't run again.
There is no such offer they could make. He ran against them last time, without the benefit of incumbency, and won. Why would someone with his ego think that he couldn't do it again, no matter what they say.
He'd be more likely to pocket the offer and then run anyway, citing the deal as evidence of his ability.
4. For Trump to go midterm and for Pence either to not stand or for her to challenge him for the nomination and win.
None of those seem at all likely - but then I rate Trump's survival chances much higher than the market does....
re: item 1. Given Trump's record, she'll be sacked within 12 months, so will be free to start a PAC etc etc.
That's a fair point and (1) should really be subdivided into 'gets sacked' and 'resigns'. However, 12 months is close to the limit. The campaigns will need to be in place in something like 16 months' time, at the latest.
Actually, I don't think her chances of being sacked are all that high: Trump sacks those closest to him. Haley - in New York - is both out of sight and, given Trump's interest in the UN, out of mind.
A former governor of South Carolina, Ms. Haley has assumed a more prominent role than most of her predecessors, at times eclipsing the secretary of state. And along the way, Mr. Trump has grown suspicious of her ambition, convinced that she had been angling for Mr. Tillerson’s position and increasingly wondering whether she wants his own job.
Republicans close to the White House whisper about the prospect of an alliance between Ms. Haley and Vice President Mike Pence, possibly to run as a ticket in 2020.
Aides to both scoff at such suggestions, but the slightest hint of such a pairing would be likely to enrage Mr. Trump, who has made it clear that he plans to run for re-election. The talk was exacerbated in recent days when Mr. Pence named Jon Lerner, Ms. Haley’s deputy, as his new national security adviser, while allowing him to keep his job at the United Nations.
That plan collapsed within 48 hours when Mr. Trump grew angry at reports that Mr. Lerner had made anti-Trump ads for the Club for Growth…
The best way to stop her from running would be to keep her where she is. She's got plenty of years left in her. Rather than have a tilt at a sitting president, it would also be in her own interests to ensure Trump won the nomination in 2020. Whatever the result then, she'd have a decent shot in 2024. You'd think the Great Dealmaker might be able to work something out of that.
There is no such offer they could make. He ran against them last time, without the benefit of incumbency, and won. Why would someone with his ego think that he couldn't do it again, no matter what they say.
He'd be more likely to pocket the offer and then run anyway, citing the deal as evidence of his ability.
In the event of impeachment it would only need about 17 GOP Senators to convict. They could perhaps make a deal with him, though how they make that sufficiently private and stickable I don't know. Improbable, I concede.
There is no such offer they could make. He ran against them last time, without the benefit of incumbency, and won. Why would someone with his ego think that he couldn't do it again, no matter what they say.
He'd be more likely to pocket the offer and then run anyway, citing the deal as evidence of his ability.
In the event of impeachment it would only need about 17 GOP Senators to convict. They could perhaps make a deal with him, though how they make that sufficiently private and stickable I don't know. Improbable, I concede.
Shadsy just quoted Haley at 20/1 for the GOP nominee. I think that's way too short. For her to get it, she'd need:
1. To resign her post, challenge Trump, and win. Or 2. For Pence to go as VP, and then for her to do a Gerald Ford. Or 3. For Trump to opt to not stand, and for her to win the open vacancy. Or 4. For Trump to go midterm and for Pence either to not stand or for her to challenge him for the nomination and win.
None of those seem at all likely - but then I rate Trump's survival chances much higher than the market does.
I did think she'd have been a good VP pick and still think he missed a trick there - but I don't think he likes powerful women around him.
Pence looks like the very clear fav non-Trump option (obviously all the more so if Trump goes), assuming he doesn't get personally implicated in any Mueller stuff.
Pence inherits if Trump is ousted but if, as seems likely, he simply agrees not to stand for a second term then any number of hats will be thrown into the ring. It is not as if Pence has done anything of note before or since. He is ex officio favourite but there is no obvious enthusiasm for the man.
"As seems likely"?!
Do you want to elaborate on that one? Any president who doesn't seek re-election lame-ducks himself for 18 months, which is more than half his remaining term.
Lame duck considerations don't come into it since Trump is already not working with GOP congress on anything of note. Because the GOP mainstream wants Trump out but will not want to hand his scalp to a Democrat-led impeachment, the most likely outcome is for the men in grey suits to make him an offer he can't refuse: just don't run again.
There is no such offer they could make. He ran against them last time, without the benefit of incumbency, and won. Why would someone with his ego think that he couldn't do it again, no matter what they say.
He'd be more likely to pocket the offer and then run anyway, citing the deal as evidence of his ability.
There is no such offer they could make. He ran against them last time, without the benefit of incumbency, and won. Why would someone with his ego think that he couldn't do it again, no matter what they say.
He'd be more likely to pocket the offer and then run anyway, citing the deal as evidence of his ability.
In the event of impeachment it would only need about 17 GOP Senators to convict. They could perhaps make a deal with him, though how they make that sufficiently private and stickable I don't know. Improbable, I concede.
17 is a huge number to break ranks.
It would have to be behind the scenes. And the impeachment articles would need to have serious merit in the first place. And it probably wouldn't do the GOP much good anyway...
BREAKING: UK (=London) temperatures top 28C in hottest April day since 1949
London hotter than Islamabad, Rio, Havana, Miami, Nairobi, Brisbane, Rome and Madrid (those last two raising the Q where the warm air is coming from...)
There is no such offer they could make. He ran against them last time, without the benefit of incumbency, and won. Why would someone with his ego think that he couldn't do it again, no matter what they say.
He'd be more likely to pocket the offer and then run anyway, citing the deal as evidence of his ability.
In the event of impeachment it would only need about 17 GOP Senators to convict. They could perhaps make a deal with him, though how they make that sufficiently private and stickable I don't know. Improbable, I concede.
17 is a huge number to break ranks.
It would have to be behind the scenes. And the impeachment articles would need to have serious merit in the first place. And it probably wouldn't do the GOP much good anyway...
Which begs the question as to whether they could offer the deal in the first place.
It took Nixon to be staring down the barrel for him to resign. Trump - not a natural politician but someone prone to doubling down when under fire - would be more likely to force a vote than pre-emptively resign, in my opinion.
If there were articles of impeachment that would likely carry the Senate, the GOP wouldn't need to make an offer - indeed, it'd be counterproductive to do so: they never wanted him in the first place and could remove themselves of his taint if there was sufficient evidence to wash their hands of him. On the other hand, if there's not the evidence needed, Trump wouldn't take the offer, which'd essentially be based on bluff.
The ECB today announced shock proposals for a new format of the game when it was revealed their new eight-team tournament in 2020 will be played over 100 balls per innings and not Twenty20.
The competition will see teams bowl 15 traditional six-ball overs but with another ten balls to be used tactically in the innings. Further details are still to be decided.
There is no such offer they could make. He ran against them last time, without the benefit of incumbency, and won. Why would someone with his ego think that he couldn't do it again, no matter what they say.
He'd be more likely to pocket the offer and then run anyway, citing the deal as evidence of his ability.
In the event of impeachment it would only need about 17 GOP Senators to convict. They could perhaps make a deal with him, though how they make that sufficiently private and stickable I don't know. Improbable, I concede.
17 is a huge number to break ranks.
It would have to be behind the scenes. And the impeachment articles would need to have serious merit in the first place. And it probably wouldn't do the GOP much good anyway...
Which begs the question as to whether they could offer the deal in the first place.
It took Nixon to be staring down the barrel for him to resign. Trump - not a natural politician but someone prone to doubling down when under fire - would be more likely to force a vote than pre-emptively resign, in my opinion.
If there were articles of impeachment that would likely carry the Senate, the GOP wouldn't need to make an offer - indeed, it'd be counterproductive to do so: they never wanted him in the first place and could remove themselves of his taint if there was sufficient evidence to wash their hands of him. On the other hand, if there's not the evidence needed, Trump wouldn't take the offer, which'd essentially be based on bluff.
My guess is that in this scenario they would prefer him to step down rather than convict. That might prove not to be the case. (Some may also be thinking about their own chances in 2020!)
The ECB today announced shock proposals for a new format of the game when it was revealed their new eight-team tournament in 2020 will be played over 100 balls per innings and not Twenty20.
The competition will see teams bowl 15 traditional six-ball overs but with another ten balls to be used tactically in the innings. Further details are still to be decided.
Well, I have been - and indeed still am - enjoying my garden and the glorious weather today. Everything is sprouting and flowering and growing and the cats are monopolisingthe shady corners.
Snails, alas, are starting to make an appearance so I will need to embark on a ferocious genocide of the little horrors before they eat my canna and hostas.
If only cats could be trained to eat snails and slugs. Bit of an oversight, that, by Mother Nature.
Re Robert Fisk: I woukd be wary of relying on his articles. He makes a lot of factual errors (in his books, for instance) and there have long been concerns amongst other journalists who have lived and worked in the Middle East about the accuracy of his stories.
Mr. P, does the 48% who voted Remain indicate they support Gerry Adams?
The vote was on the matter at hand, to stay or to leave. Remain scarcely campaigned at all, it just veered from overblown fear-mongering, through complacency, to pointing at Farage and saying "Urgh! You're not voting like *him*, are you?".
And they're still doing the last of these with nonsense like "Not all those who voted Leave are racists, but all racists voted Leave." Yet they seem unwilling to pronounce themselves as in favour of Sinn Fein, or stand as proud Blairites.
Lastly, pointing at people and declaiming them as racist to try and shut down a debate is precisely the kind of bullshit that leads to 'culturally sensitive' attitudes from the authorities, as we saw in Rotherham. People should know better.
Well, I have been - and indeed still am - enjoying my garden and the glorious weather today. Everything is sprouting and flowering and growing and the cats are monopolisingthe shady corners.
Snails, alas, are starting to make an appearance so I will need to embark on a ferocious genocide of the little horrors before they eat my canna and hostas.
If only cats could be trained to eat snails and slugs. Bit of an oversight, that, by Mother Nature.
Re Robert Fisk: I woukd be wary of relying on his articles. He makes a lot of factual errors (in his books, for instance) and there have long been concerns amongst other journalists who have lived and worked in the Middle East about the accuracy of his stories.
Thank you for the info on Robert Fisk.I had heard his name from the Independent and middle East reporting .However was not aware about concerns.
Well, I have been - and indeed still am - enjoying my garden and the glorious weather today. Everything is sprouting and flowering and growing and the cats are monopolisingthe shady corners.
Snails, alas, are starting to make an appearance so I will need to embark on a ferocious genocide of the little horrors before they eat my canna and hostas.
If only cats could be trained to eat snails and slugs. Bit of an oversight, that, by Mother Nature.
Re Robert Fisk: I woukd be wary of relying on his articles. He makes a lot of factual errors (in his books, for instance) and there have long been concerns amongst other journalists who have lived and worked in the Middle East about the accuracy of his stories.
You should see if you can entice a hedgehog to take up residence. They love snails and slugs. They aren't very keen on cats, though.
Comey is probably doing Trump more good than harm.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of his treatment, it is not a good look for a former FBI director - and potential witness in the Mueller investigation - to be doing a trash talking book tour. He was politically naive to the point of idiocy in his treatment of the Clinton emails days before the election, and doesn't appear to have acquired much wisdom since then.
Shadsy just quoted Haley at 20/1 for the GOP nominee. I think that's way too short. For her to get it, she'd need:
1. To resign her post, challenge Trump, and win. Or 2. For Pence to go as VP, and then for her to do a Gerald Ford. Or 3. For Trump to opt to not stand, and for her to win the open vacancy. Or 4. For Trump to go midterm and for Pence either to not stand or for her to challenge him for the nomination and win.
None of those seem at all likely - but then I rate Trump's survival chances much higher than the market does.
I did think she'd have been a good VP pick and still think he missed a trick there - but I don't think he likes powerful women around him.
re: item 1. Given Trump's record, she'll be sacked within 12 months, so will be free to start a PAC etc etc.
That's a fair point and (1) should really be subdivided into 'gets sacked' and 'resigns'. However, 12 months is close to the limit. The campaigns will need to be in place in something like 16 months' time, at the latest.
Actually, I don't think her chances of being sacked are all that high: Trump sacks those closest to him. Haley - in New York - is both out of sight and, given Trump's interest in the UN, out of mind.
And if she says something he doesn't like, he blames the person who he thinks wrote it for her.
The ECB today announced shock proposals for a new format of the game when it was revealed their new eight-team tournament in 2020 will be played over 100 balls per innings and not Twenty20.
The competition will see teams bowl 15 traditional six-ball overs but with another ten balls to be used tactically in the innings. Further details are still to be decided.
Well, I have been - and indeed still am - enjoying my garden and the glorious weather today. Everything is sprouting and flowering and growing and the cats are monopolisingthe shady corners.
Snails, alas, are starting to make an appearance so I will need to embark on a ferocious genocide of the little horrors before they eat my canna and hostas.
If only cats could be trained to eat snails and slugs. Bit of an oversight, that, by Mother Nature.
Re Robert Fisk: I woukd be wary of relying on his articles. He makes a lot of factual errors (in his books, for instance) and there have long been concerns amongst other journalists who have lived and worked in the Middle East about the accuracy of his stories.
You should see if you can entice a hedgehog to take up residence. They love snails and slugs. They aren't very keen on cats, though.
I would love a hedgehog. I have dark undisturbed corners for them. Occasionally I get toads. But hedgehogs need to move from garden to garden and my neighbours on one side have a tidy “outdoor room” with an artificial lawn (I know, it’s ghastly, vulgar and not at all “green”) and won’t countenance any sort of wildlife friendly arrangement. Sigh.
When I am Dictatrix, artificial lawns will be on my “Taxed at 5000%” list, even ahead of chocolate sprinkles on cappuccinos.
Well, I have been - and indeed still am - enjoying my garden and the glorious weather today. Everything is sprouting and flowering and growing and the cats are monopolisingthe shady corners.
Snails, alas, are starting to make an appearance so I will need to embark on a ferocious genocide of the little horrors before they eat my canna and hostas.
If only cats could be trained to eat snails and slugs. Bit of an oversight, that, by Mother Nature.
Re Robert Fisk: I woukd be wary of relying on his articles. He makes a lot of factual errors (in his books, for instance) and there have long been concerns amongst other journalists who have lived and worked in the Middle East about the accuracy of his stories.
If you don't have a pond, maybe consider creating one. Frogs and toads love to gobble up slugs.
Well, I have been - and indeed still am - enjoying my garden and the glorious weather today. Everything is sprouting and flowering and growing and the cats are monopolisingthe shady corners.
Snails, alas, are starting to make an appearance so I will need to embark on a ferocious genocide of the little horrors before they eat my canna and hostas.
If only cats could be trained to eat snails and slugs. Bit of an oversight, that, by Mother Nature.
Re Robert Fisk: I woukd be wary of relying on his articles. He makes a lot of factual errors (in his books, for instance) and there have long been concerns amongst other journalists who have lived and worked in the Middle East about the accuracy of his stories.
Thank you for the info on Robert Fisk.I had heard his name from the Independent and middle East reporting .However was not aware about concerns.
He is not neutral and can write with passion but is unreliable as a single source, unless independently verified by others.
He has given his name to the phrase “To fisk” defined as:-
To criticize and refute (a published article or argument), especially in point-by-point or line-by-line fashion on a blog. v.intr. To fisk an article or argument. [After Robert Fisk (born 1946), British journalist, some of whose controversial reports on the Middle East were criticized on blogs.]
Osama Bin Laden is also reported to have praised his “neutral” reporting. Fisk is one of the few journalists who managed to see and interview him in Afghanistan, I believe.
Well, I have been - and indeed still am - enjoying my garden and the glorious weather today. Everything is sprouting and flowering and growing and the cats are monopolisingthe shady corners.
Snails, alas, are starting to make an appearance so I will need to embark on a ferocious genocide of the little horrors before they eat my canna and hostas.
If only cats could be trained to eat snails and slugs. Bit of an oversight, that, by Mother Nature.
Re Robert Fisk: I woukd be wary of relying on his articles. He makes a lot of factual errors (in his books, for instance) and there have long been concerns amongst other journalists who have lived and worked in the Middle East about the accuracy of his stories.
You should see if you can entice a hedgehog to take up residence. They love snails and slugs. They aren't very keen on cats, though.
I would love a hedgehog. I have dark undisturbed corners for them. Occasionally I get toads. But hedgehogs need to move from garden to garden and my neighbours on one side have a tidy “outdoor room” with an artificial lawn (I know, it’s ghastly, vulgar and not at all “green”) and won’t countenance any sort of wildlife friendly arrangement. Sigh.
When I am Dictatrix, artificial lawns will be on my “Taxed at 5000%” list, even ahead of chocolate sprinkles on cappuccinos.
Well, I have been - and indeed still am - enjoying my garden and the glorious weather today. Everything is sprouting and flowering and growing and the cats are monopolisingthe shady corners.
Snails, alas, are starting to make an appearance so I will need to embark on a ferocious genocide of the little horrors before they eat my canna and hostas.
If only cats could be trained to eat snails and slugs. Bit of an oversight, that, by Mother Nature.
Re Robert Fisk: I woukd be wary of relying on his articles. He makes a lot of factual errors (in his books, for instance) and there have long been concerns amongst other journalists who have lived and worked in the Middle East about the accuracy of his stories.
If you don't have a pond, maybe consider creating one. Frogs and toads love to gobble up slugs.
Well, I have been - and indeed still am - enjoying my garden and the glorious weather today. Everything is sprouting and flowering and growing and the cats are monopolisingthe shady corners.
Snails, alas, are starting to make an appearance so I will need to embark on a ferocious genocide of the little horrors before they eat my canna and hostas.
If only cats could be trained to eat snails and slugs. Bit of an oversight, that, by Mother Nature.
Re Robert Fisk: I woukd be wary of relying on his articles. He makes a lot of factual errors (in his books, for instance) and there have long been concerns amongst other journalists who have lived and worked in the Middle East about the accuracy of his stories.
If you don't have a pond, maybe consider creating one. Frogs and toads love to gobble up slugs.
Not enough space. Alas.
We also get dragonflies, which are beautiful. The mosquitos are less so.
Well, I have been - and indeed still am - enjoying my garden and the glorious weather today. Everything is sprouting and flowering and growing and the cats are monopolisingthe shady corners.
Snails, alas, are starting to make an appearance so I will need to embark on a ferocious genocide of the little horrors before they eat my canna and hostas.
If only cats could be trained to eat snails and slugs. Bit of an oversight, that, by Mother Nature.
Re Robert Fisk: I woukd be wary of relying on his articles. He makes a lot of factual errors (in his books, for instance) and there have long been concerns amongst other journalists who have lived and worked in the Middle East about the accuracy of his stories.
You should see if you can entice a hedgehog to take up residence. They love snails and slugs. They aren't very keen on cats, though.
I would love a hedgehog. I have dark undisturbed corners for them. Occasionally I get toads. But hedgehogs need to move from garden to garden and my neighbours on one side have a tidy “outdoor room” with an artificial lawn (I know, it’s ghastly, vulgar and not at all “green”) and won’t countenance any sort of wildlife friendly arrangement. Sigh.
When I am Dictatrix, artificial lawns will be on my “Taxed at 5000%” list, even ahead of chocolate sprinkles on cappuccinos.
... and outdoor patio heaters?
Yes. What’s wrong with cardigans?
Everyone would also be required to have a water butt and to keep proper front gardens, with plants in them. Not the frightful eyesores most people have.
I only have a small front garden and still manage to fit in a betula tree, 4 magnolias, hostas and agapanthus, an alpine garden, window boxes and a front hedge of Christmas box interspersed with spring bulbs. Oh and a coal bunker, 4 bins and room for bicycles. Plus a slate birds nest and bird feeders.
The built environment would be so much nicer if people took a bit of care over their front gardens, which are in public space. There was an RHS campaign last year about “Greening” Britain
The ECB today announced shock proposals for a new format of the game when it was revealed their new eight-team tournament in 2020 will be played over 100 balls per innings and not Twenty20.
The competition will see teams bowl 15 traditional six-ball overs but with another ten balls to be used tactically in the innings. Further details are still to be decided.
When did the European Central Bank take over running the cricket?
Brilliant idea: if we can get the ECB involved in the minutia of future cricket tournaments, we can get them away from messing up the Eurozone economy.
I don’t know whether I should say this on here, but here goes.
When I was on the tube today there was this guy who was basically being antisemitic saying (about May) that a Jewish (insert expletive beginning with a b here) was running the UK. I don’t whether anyone else has seen this kind of open antisemitism but it seriously alarmed me.
Well, I have been - and indeed still am - enjoying my garden and the glorious weather today. Everything is sprouting and flowering and growing and the cats are monopolisingthe shady corners.
Snails, alas, are starting to make an appearance so I will need to embark on a ferocious genocide of the little horrors before they eat my canna and hostas.
If only cats could be trained to eat snails and slugs. Bit of an oversight, that, by Mother Nature.
Re Robert Fisk: I woukd be wary of relying on his articles. He makes a lot of factual errors (in his books, for instance) and there have long been concerns amongst other journalists who have lived and worked in the Middle East about the accuracy of his stories.
Thank you for the info on Robert Fisk.I had heard his name from the Independent and middle East reporting .However was not aware about concerns.
He is not neutral and can write with passion but is unreliable as a single source, unless independently verified by others.
He has given his name to the phrase “To fisk” defined as:-
To criticize and refute (a published article or argument), especially in point-by-point or line-by-line fashion on a blog. v.intr. To fisk an article or argument. [After Robert Fisk (born 1946), British journalist, some of whose controversial reports on the Middle East were criticized on blogs.]
Osama Bin Laden is also reported to have praised his “neutral” reporting. Fisk is one of the few journalists who managed to see and interview him in Afghanistan, I believe.
A friend of my gave me his Pity the Nation (about the Palestinians), but I must confess I haven't actually read it.
I don’t know whether I should say this on here, but here goes.
When I was on the tube today there was this guy who was basically being antisemitic saying (about May) that a Jewish (insert expletive beginning with a b here) was running the UK. I don’t whether anyone else has seen this kind of open antisemitism but it seriously alarmed me.
The ECB today announced shock proposals for a new format of the game when it was revealed their new eight-team tournament in 2020 will be played over 100 balls per innings and not Twenty20.
The competition will see teams bowl 15 traditional six-ball overs but with another ten balls to be used tactically in the innings. Further details are still to be decided.
When did the European Central Bank take over running the cricket?
Brilliant idea: if we can get the ECB involved in the minutia of future cricket tournaments, we can get them away from messing up the Eurozone economy.
They could arrange some quantitative sleazing for the Ashes tour.
I don’t know whether I should say this on here, but here goes.
When I was on the tube today there was this guy who was basically being antisemitic saying (about May) that a Jewish (insert expletive beginning with a b here) was running the UK. I don’t whether anyone else has seen this kind of open antisemitism but it seriously alarmed me.
It’s probably not anti-semitic in the classic sense but alarming nonetheless that someone should feel free to view “Jewish” as a pejorative, use “bitch” about a woman in power and feel it ok to say it in public.
There have also been cases of people racially abusing black people on public transport.
As a matter of interest, how did others react and what type of guy was he? Smelly loon or apparently respectable? Old? Young?
Comments
Nigel Farage.
Vladimir Putin.
Jeremy Corbyn (probably)
Milo Youknowwhopolous.
Julian Assange.
Donald Trump.
That foam-flecked woman from the pro-Assad demo.
If evil misfits are a demographic they swing heavily Leave.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/19/jair-bolsonaro-brazil-presidential-candidate-trump-parallels
Errr...
His first guest ?
Nigel Farage.
https://www.royallondon.com/Documents/PDFs/2017/Has Britain really stopped saving.pdf
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-brit-grifters-and-the-designated-american-suckers
Do you know how many people are a members of (or contributors to) NEST? My guess is that it would still be a relatively small number, and that also typical NEST members are on low to average incomes, so it probably doesn't change the numbers much.
(Back in my old fund management days, I pitched to NEST to become one of their fund managers. They had a set of requirements and demands that would mean that anyone who managed money for them would have to be a closet index tracker. Which raised the question - to me at least - of why pay active manager fees for an essentially passive fund.)
That actually makes me worry a lot about the three months of lame duck presidency after he gets smashed in 2020.
And Nigel Farage.
https://www.nestpensions.org.uk/schemeweb/NestWeb/includes/public/docs/NEST-in-numbers_April_2017,PDF.pdf
Steve Webb and his team do come out with some very good stuff.
As I have already said that primary campaign was also completely different from one Trump will contest as LBJ lost the support of anti war Democratic activists and the liberal base to McCarthy, Trump already has the conservative GOP base and activists locked up which is how he beat the GOP establishment for the nomination in the first place
Him making a trip to the ballot box would be amusing though.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43825624
Report just dropped the BBC bosses in the smelly stuff.
I was just pointing out that your initial contention "No incumbent President who has sought to be renominated by his party in the primaries has failed to get the nomination since WW2" was incorrect. LBJ pulled out of the Democratic nomination when he realised he was going to lose.
As an aside, the Primary system was very different in 1968 to now. Hubert Humphrey, who won the nomination, didn't stand in any of the states that held public votes. (Just 13 of the 50 states held Primaries as we now know them.)
Whereas Pence...
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/18/comey-memos-subpoena-republicans-house-536587
Though you are right at that time the nomination was still decided at the convention.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/world/europe/trump-nikki-haley-russia-sanctions.html
A former governor of South Carolina, Ms. Haley has assumed a more prominent role than most of her predecessors, at times eclipsing the secretary of state. And along the way, Mr. Trump has grown suspicious of her ambition, convinced that she had been angling for Mr. Tillerson’s position and increasingly wondering whether she wants his own job.
Republicans close to the White House whisper about the prospect of an alliance between Ms. Haley and Vice President Mike Pence, possibly to run as a ticket in 2020.
Aides to both scoff at such suggestions, but the slightest hint of such a pairing would be likely to enrage Mr. Trump, who has made it clear that he plans to run for re-election. The talk was exacerbated in recent days when Mr. Pence named Jon Lerner, Ms. Haley’s deputy, as his new national security adviser, while allowing him to keep his job at the United Nations.
That plan collapsed within 48 hours when Mr. Trump grew angry at reports that Mr. Lerner had made anti-Trump ads for the Club for Growth…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGdPcC0zBIQ
Setting aside the politics, Pence deserves some credit for taking the risk of being Trump's VP candidate. It was a fairly uncoveted position.
In any event, the candidate who would likely have won was assassinated.
The Ecuadorians simply have diplomatic immunity while being in the UK and raiding an embassy is considered a gross breach of diplomatic norms but we have the right to do so and it does remain our territory.
He’s saying that Corbyn will -take advantage of their vote and claim things that weren’t intended
He'd be more likely to pocket the offer and then run anyway, citing the deal as evidence of his ability.
I already dislike the heat.
Also, the Cilic bet is likely null and void as Raonic selfishly pulled out with injury rather than getting beaten 6-0, 6-0 like a real man would have.
London hotter than Islamabad, Rio, Havana, Miami, Nairobi, Brisbane, Rome and Madrid (those last two raising the Q where the warm air is coming from...)
Hooray. Brexit is already a success.
A day for my Tilley hat, a 3-litre water bottle and oodles of suntan lotion, methinks.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/43825337
It took Nixon to be staring down the barrel for him to resign. Trump - not a natural politician but someone prone to doubling down when under fire - would be more likely to force a vote than pre-emptively resign, in my opinion.
If there were articles of impeachment that would likely carry the Senate, the GOP wouldn't need to make an offer - indeed, it'd be counterproductive to do so: they never wanted him in the first place and could remove themselves of his taint if there was sufficient evidence to wash their hands of him. On the other hand, if there's not the evidence needed, Trump wouldn't take the offer, which'd essentially be based on bluff.
The competition will see teams bowl 15 traditional six-ball overs but with another ten balls to be used tactically in the innings. Further details are still to be decided.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2018/04/19/ecbs-new-competition-will-100-balls-per-innings-not-t20/
(Hang on, does that mean we have to be inundated by Johnny Foreigner?)
Snails, alas, are starting to make an appearance so I will need to embark on a ferocious genocide of the little horrors before they eat my canna and hostas.
If only cats could be trained to eat snails and slugs. Bit of an oversight, that, by Mother Nature.
Re Robert Fisk: I woukd be wary of relying on his articles. He makes a lot of factual errors (in his books, for instance) and there have long been concerns amongst other journalists who have lived and worked in the Middle East about the accuracy of his stories.
The vote was on the matter at hand, to stay or to leave. Remain scarcely campaigned at all, it just veered from overblown fear-mongering, through complacency, to pointing at Farage and saying "Urgh! You're not voting like *him*, are you?".
And they're still doing the last of these with nonsense like "Not all those who voted Leave are racists, but all racists voted Leave." Yet they seem unwilling to pronounce themselves as in favour of Sinn Fein, or stand as proud Blairites.
Lastly, pointing at people and declaiming them as racist to try and shut down a debate is precisely the kind of bullshit that leads to 'culturally sensitive' attitudes from the authorities, as we saw in Rotherham. People should know better.
World's biggest plane with 2 cockpits, 6 jet engines and a wingspan longer than a football field will take off within MONTHS
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5633239/Stratolaunch-biggest-plane-built-MONTHS.html
When I am Dictatrix, artificial lawns will be on my “Taxed at 5000%” list, even ahead of chocolate sprinkles on cappuccinos.
He has given his name to the phrase “To fisk” defined as:-
To criticize and refute (a published article or argument), especially in point-by-point or line-by-line fashion on a blog. v.intr. To fisk an article or argument. [After Robert Fisk (born 1946), British journalist, some of whose controversial reports on the Middle East were criticized on blogs.]
Osama Bin Laden is also reported to have praised his “neutral” reporting. Fisk is one of the few journalists who managed to see and interview him in Afghanistan, I believe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-NU7yOSElE
Everyone would also be required to have a water butt and to keep proper front gardens, with plants in them. Not the frightful eyesores most people have.
I only have a small front garden and still manage to fit in a betula tree, 4 magnolias, hostas and agapanthus, an alpine garden, window boxes and a front hedge of Christmas box interspersed with spring bulbs. Oh and a coal bunker, 4 bins and room for bicycles. Plus a slate birds nest and bird feeders.
The built environment would be so much nicer if people took a bit of care over their front gardens, which are in public space. There was an RHS campaign last year about “Greening” Britain
When I was on the tube today there was this guy who was basically being antisemitic saying (about May) that a Jewish (insert expletive beginning with a b here) was running the UK. I don’t whether anyone else has seen this kind of open antisemitism but it seriously alarmed me.
There have also been cases of people racially abusing black people on public transport.
As a matter of interest, how did others react and what type of guy was he? Smelly loon or apparently respectable? Old? Young?