Can anyone with a straight face say the Tories aren't completely bonkers?
They're queuing up to eulogize Boris.
Apparently there were 1500 people at the Boris fringe, and the Conference Hall which has a capacity of 3000 was half empty at the time.Tory Activists were queing round the block to get in with some Boris fans arriving at 9am to get a seat for his 1pm speech
Boris is box office and news, and very entertaining. If I was attending the Conference, I'd have wanted to attend his speech. That doesn't alter the fact that of all the people who have been mooted as possible successors to Theresa May, he is second to bottom of the lot in my view. I expect a lot of those in that audience of 1500 feel that way.
OK. Which of John McConnell and Jeremy Corbyn to do you rate more highly than Boris?
IANAE on GPS, but it wouldn't surprise me if Williamson was correct. For instance, Russia recently opened a ground station for Glosnass in Nicaragua, and another in SA.
Does look like a bit of a gap wrt the Falklands though - don't think there are any French rocks down there.
They don't have to be at sea, though. Patagonia would work, for instance.
You’re taking geopolitical risk on the location
They probably assumed the UK was a stable long term partner
And we would be if they didn’t decide that we were a risk for some reason
It would be interesting to know what the base stations are used for: I assume they are needed where they are to allow constant or near-constant contact with all the satellites in the constellation, so that if any commands are required (as an example, perhaps a manoeuvre to avoid orbital debris) it can be done in a timely manner as all satellites will always be able to 'see' at least one station.
In which case, the risk of 'losing' a station isn't automatically disastrous, as they orbit twice a day, and will soon be within sight of another station.
It might be that the stations need codes for the military aspects, and they don't want to share those with us. But that could probably be got around as well.
More information needed ...
I thought they were needed for the A-GPS role - i.e. a ground based time signal to allow greater accuracy.
No doubt Morris Dancer will know, but weren't the Praetorians specifically charged with making sure the emperor wasn't assassinated?
The quote highlights one of JRM's problems well: 90% of the population won't know what the Praetorian Guards were, aside from the fact they were something Roman. That's pretty much all I know of them. (*) I don't even know if it makes sense as a comparison.
It just makes him seem utterly out of touch. For most people he might as well talk in riddles.
I also think it's rather silly to use the word 'assassinate' in this context.
(*) I know that's one heck of an admission on here.
I didn’t realise the DUP had taken to capitalising ‘NO’ in writing as well as speech these days.
The interesting comment is Unionists. That incudes Ruth Davidson and Paul Davies, new conservative leader in Wales
I’m not sure that Arlene necessarily consulted them before making that statement on their behalf though.
I doubt it - and really the DUP need to wake up and smell the coffee or in this case Guiness - Corbyn would hand NI to the republic without a second thought and at this rate a fair few Tories might be having doubts. I suspect that Ms Foster is as thick as a plank.
Nor, as polling shows, is No Deal acceptable to most voters in the UK
I’ve not followed recent polling that closely - is there any single specific form of Brexit (rather than nebulous leaving with no defined destination) that beats remaining in the EU in a forced binary choice?
Yes, a Canada style Deal, a Norway style Deal and even Chequers have higher net approval scores than Remain according to ICM but Remain has a higher net approval than No Deal in the same poll
Lib Dems Broken. Labour Broken. Tories Broken. Britain Broken.
Cheer up.
It’s really not that bad.
It might just be. Have you ever seen all our political parties so screwed up at the same time? That this happens during some of the most critical decisions is a concern. Unprecedented, or at least not seen since the 1920s.
Lib Dems Broken. Labour Broken. Tories Broken. Britain Broken.
Cheer up.
It’s really not that bad.
It might just be. Have you ever seen all our political parties so screwed up at the same time? That this happens during some of the most critical decisions is a concern. Unprecedented, or at least not seen since the 1920s.
Nah, it’s not.
Sometimes I come on here after a busy day at work and realise we all live on a different planet on here..
I'll say this for Brexit. It is an education. I learnt today that the EU now has a ratchet clause in any trade deal to which it agrees. This means that any benefits that are offered to future partners have also to apply to the EU. So if we do leave the Customs Union and get better deals than we currently have with anywhere that has a deal with the EU, well the EU will get them too. So that's nice. In fact it will be rather like being in the Customs Union in a lot of ways.
I can only think of one MP who has publically said he was withdrawing his letter (though I've forgotten who it was) - so Brady is specifically calling him a liar.
An MP is a liar? surprise.surprise...Most MP's have been at least economical with the truth. Would you count yourself amongst such company?
Economical, certainly - at every election virtually every candidate selects the things they think helpful and shuts up about the others. Actual lying (e.g. saying I did X when I didn't), I don't think so. Generally politicians do try to avoid a flat lie - partly it makes them feel uncomfortable (really!) and partly the damage if found out is too severe.
I can only think of one MP who has publically said he was withdrawing his letter (though I've forgotten who it was) - so Brady is specifically calling him a liar.
An MP is a liar? surprise.surprise...Most MP's have been at least economical with the truth. Would you count yourself amongst such company?
Economical, certainly - at every election virtually every candidate selects the things they think helpful and shuts up about the others. Actual lying (e.g. saying I did X when I didn't), I don't think so. Generally politicians do try to avoid a flat lie - partly it makes them feel uncomfortable (really!) and partly the damage if found out is too severe.
Like I stopped appearing on Press TV after the way that they covered the 2009 elections? Lies like that?
12? That would be about 10% of the total? I guess they didn't have to send in 48 letters first.
Are we counting the East Roman Empire as well as the West Roman Empire? If not there were 87 emperors so it was about 14% of the total.
Constantine abolished the Guard so nothing after him counts.
In that case I make it twelve of 62 or a fraction under 20%.
Bringing your political assassinations in-house is more efficient.
And more profitable.
Who could forget that the Praetorians auctioned the Empire off after the murder of Pertinax? Which enabled the rich Didius Julianus to claim to be Emperor right up to the moment the army decided otherwise.
12? That would be about 10% of the total? I guess they didn't have to send in 48 letters first.
Are we counting the East Roman Empire as well as the West Roman Empire? If not there were 87 emperors so it was about 14% of the total.
Constantine abolished the Guard so nothing after him counts.
In that case I make it twelve of 62 or a fraction under 20%.
Bringing your political assassinations in-house is more efficient.
And more profitable.
Who could forget that the Praetorians auctioned the Empire off after the murder of Pertinax? Which enabled the rich Didius Julianus to claim to be Emperor right up to the moment the army decided otherwise.
Wasn't Claudius hiding behind a curtain when the guard decided he was ideal Emperor material?
I can only think of one MP who has publically said he was withdrawing his letter (though I've forgotten who it was) - so Brady is specifically calling him a liar.
An MP is a liar? surprise.surprise...Most MP's have been at least economical with the truth. Would you count yourself amongst such company?
Economical, certainly - at every election virtually every candidate selects the things they think helpful and shuts up about the others. Actual lying (e.g. saying I did X when I didn't), I don't think so. Generally politicians do try to avoid a flat lie - partly it makes them feel uncomfortable (really!) and partly the damage if found out is too severe.
Like I stopped appearing on Press TV after the way that they covered the 2009 elections? Lies like that?
My personal favourite is Tony Blair's 'I'm a pretty straight sort of guy.'
12? That would be about 10% of the total? I guess they didn't have to send in 48 letters first.
Are we counting the East Roman Empire as well as the West Roman Empire? If not there were 87 emperors so it was about 14% of the total.
Constantine abolished the Guard so nothing after him counts.
In that case I make it twelve of 62 or a fraction under 20%.
Bringing your political assassinations in-house is more efficient.
And more profitable.
Who could forget that the Praetorians auctioned the Empire off after the murder of Pertinax? Which enabled the rich Didius Julianus to claim to be Emperor right up to the moment the army decided otherwise.
Wasn't Claudius hiding behind a curtain when the guard decided he was ideal Emperor material?
That's the story, certainly, ably retold by Graves.
12? That would be about 10% of the total? I guess they didn't have to send in 48 letters first.
Are we counting the East Roman Empire as well as the West Roman Empire? If not there were 87 emperors so it was about 14% of the total.
Constantine abolished the Guard so nothing after him counts.
In that case I make it twelve of 62 or a fraction under 20%.
Bringing your political assassinations in-house is more efficient.
And more profitable.
Who could forget that the Praetorians auctioned the Empire off after the murder of Pertinax? Which enabled the rich Didius Julianus to claim to be Emperor right up to the moment the army decided otherwise.
Wasn't Claudius hiding behind a curtain when the guard decided he was ideal Emperor material?
So Suetonius said. If I recall correctly his qualification was pretty much being the last Julio/Claidian standing.
12? That would be about 10% of the total? I guess they didn't have to send in 48 letters first.
Are we counting the East Roman Empire as well as the West Roman Empire? If not there were 87 emperors so it was about 14% of the total.
Constantine abolished the Guard so nothing after him counts.
In that case I make it twelve of 62 or a fraction under 20%.
Bringing your political assassinations in-house is more efficient.
And more profitable.
Who could forget that the Praetorians auctioned the Empire off after the murder of Pertinax? Which enabled the rich Didius Julianus to claim to be Emperor right up to the moment the army decided otherwise.
Wasn't Claudius hiding behind a curtain when the guard decided he was ideal Emperor material?
So Suetonius said. If I recall correctly his qualification was pretty much being the last Julio/Claidian standing.
I have now come to the conclusion that, away from the obviously sane and sensible triumvirate of May, Hammond and Javid, the Tories are stark raving cuckoo batshit bonkers. Of course, the clues were always there, but I have taught myself over the years to ignore the bizarre ramblings of PBers as utterly unrepresentative of the party. I was wrong, our very own PB Tory Leaver friends on here are close to the mean.
@Richard_Nabavi Much as I also think Boris Johnson is totally unsuitable to be PM, gaining a decent audience amongst his potential electorate (The Tory grassroots) is in no way a 'neutral' sign for him, it's definitely a positive. I think he's rightfully favourite to succeed May.
I have now come to the conclusion that, away from the obviously sane and sensible triumvirate of May, Hammond and Javid, the Tories are stark raving cuckoo batshit bonkers. Of course, the clues were always there, but I have taught myself over the years to ignore the bizarre ramblings of PBers as utterly unrepresentative of the party. I was wrong, our very own PB Tory Leaver friends on here are close to the mean.
I am not and despair at the utter crassness of some on both the right and left of the party
Can anyone with a straight face say the Tories aren't completely bonkers?
They're queuing up to eulogize Boris.
Apparently there were 1500 people at the Boris fringe, and the Conference Hall which has a capacity of 3000 was half empty at the time.Tory Activists were queing round the block to get in with some Boris fans arriving at 9am to get a seat for his 1pm speech
I have now come to the conclusion that, away from the obviously sane and sensible triumvirate of May, Hammond and Javid, the Tories are stark raving cuckoo batshit bonkers. Of course, the clues were always there, but I have taught myself over the years to ignore the bizarre ramblings of PBers as utterly unrepresentative of the party. I was wrong, our very own PB Tory Leaver friends on here are close to the mean.
Before his speech you'd have included Hunt in this lot too
I especially love the disclaimer: 'This list may not reflect recent changes!'
There is a science fiction novel series[1] which has as part of its backstory that among the “Latin-speaking professions”, the law, the clergy and medicine, there has been a centuries-long conspiracy to preserve the Roman Empire underground. As soon as humanity develops faster-than-light travel, they take over a suitably Earth-like planet and revive the Empire on it.
So who knows, maybe the author knows something the rest of us don’t!
[1] R. M. Meluch’s “Tour of the Merrimack”. Not recommended.
Can anyone with a straight face say the Tories aren't completely bonkers?
They're queuing up to eulogize Boris.
Apparently there were 1500 people at the Boris fringe, and the Conference Hall which has a capacity of 3000 was half empty at the time.Tory Activists were queing round the block to get in with some Boris fans arriving at 9am to get a seat for his 1pm speech
I have now come to the conclusion that, away from the obviously sane and sensible triumvirate of May, Hammond and Javid, the Tories are stark raving cuckoo batshit bonkers. Of course, the clues were always there, but I have taught myself over the years to ignore the bizarre ramblings of PBers as utterly unrepresentative of the party. I was wrong, our very own PB Tory Leaver friends on here are close to the mean.
Before his speech you'd have included Hunt in this lot too
Indeed. The quartet of sanity has been reduced to a trio.
Can anyone with a straight face say the Tories aren't completely bonkers?
They're queuing up to eulogize Boris.
Apparently there were 1500 people at the Boris fringe, and the Conference Hall which has a capacity of 3000 was half empty at the time.Tory Activists were queing round the block to get in with some Boris fans arriving at 9am to get a seat for his 1pm speech
I have now come to the conclusion that, away from the obviously sane and sensible triumvirate of May, Hammond and Javid, the Tories are stark raving cuckoo batshit bonkers. Of course, the clues were always there, but I have taught myself over the years to ignore the bizarre ramblings of PBers as utterly unrepresentative of the party. I was wrong, our very own PB Tory Leaver friends on here are close to the mean.
I am not and despair at the utter crassness of some on both the right and left of the party
Can anyone with a straight face say the Tories aren't completely bonkers?
They're queuing up to eulogize Boris.
Apparently there were 1500 people at the Boris fringe, and the Conference Hall which has a capacity of 3000 was half empty at the time.Tory Activists were queing round the block to get in with some Boris fans arriving at 9am to get a seat for his 1pm speech
I have now come to the conclusion that, away from the obviously sane and sensible triumvirate of May, Hammond and Javid, the Tories are stark raving cuckoo batshit bonkers. Of course, the clues were always there, but I have taught myself over the years to ignore the bizarre ramblings of PBers as utterly unrepresentative of the party. I was wrong, our very own PB Tory Leaver friends on here are close to the mean.
I am not and despair at the utter crassness of some on both the right and left of the party
Indeed, and I weep with you.
Some day the desire to run the nations best interest will re-emerge from these extreme positions but what the Country has to go through first is of great concern
I have now come to the conclusion that, away from the obviously sane and sensible triumvirate of May, Hammond and Javid, the Tories are stark raving cuckoo batshit bonkers. Of course, the clues were always there, but I have taught myself over the years to ignore the bizarre ramblings of PBers as utterly unrepresentative of the party. I was wrong, our very own PB Tory Leaver friends on here are close to the mean.
I am not and despair at the utter crassness of some on both the right and left of the party
@Richard_Nabavi Much as I also think Boris Johnson is totally unsuitable to be PM, gaining a decent audience amongst his potential electorate (The Tory grassroots) is in no way a 'neutral' sign for him, it's definitely a positive. I think he's rightfully favourite to succeed May.
Yeah, it's plain as a pikestaff that he's the one with the ideas and the "vision thing" which are sorely lacking in the PM and CoE. They are good at the details and being safe pairs of hands, it is said. But are those the qualities to look for in a leader? Boris may be erratic, unconventional and even a tad unreliable but that hardly matters when comparison is made with the grey beings mentioned as possible leaders. Boris is technicolor.
Can anyone with a straight face say the Tories aren't completely bonkers?
They're queuing up to eulogize Boris.
Apparently there were 1500 people at the Boris fringe, and the Conference Hall which has a capacity of 3000 was half empty at the time.Tory Activists were queing round the block to get in with some Boris fans arriving at 9am to get a seat for his 1pm speech
As I have to work for a living, I shall avoid the widespread euphoria that will no doubt greet Theresa May's ability to speak for an hour or so without falling over tomorrow. Doubtless the content would be praised even if it was extracts from the Maidenhead phone book.
After Hunt's appalling effort and I can't even remember what Javid and Hammond said, May doesn't have a huge bar to scale but it's still a challenge. I suspect she'll say little or nothing about Brexit and focus on the more mundane and important.
I expect housing and transport to feature but May will at least talk some sense about housing unlike Boris today who spent the first part of his speech fighting the wrong battle. The problem about home ownership isn't the ownership (as it was) but the number of affordable homes. People rent because it provides them with the only chance to live in an area in which they can't afford to buy but changing that equation wrecks the owners in that area.
Carney may claim a "No Deal" will cause a house price fall of 35% but I suspect May doesn't want to test that. In terms of transport, the first and best thing the Prime Minister could do would be to publicly sack Grayling but the problem with transport is similar to the problem with housing - too many people want to travel and the capacity in the road, rail and air network just isn't there.
There will be solutions - Crossrail soon, some major road schemes before too long but problems such as new river crossings to the east of London take time and cost money and while capital borrowing at current rates probably isn't a bad idea the new bridge, tunnel or whatever is still decades away.
However, such projects do engender a sense of hope and optimism for the future and that is the one thing currently lacking. I actually thought Corbyn had a point when he talked about the Government's lack of humanity but it's more the lack of optimism that is the problem. May needs to answer the question "why should I vote Conservative" not "why shouldn't I vote Labour".
I have now come to the conclusion that, away from the obviously sane and sensible triumvirate of May, Hammond and Javid, the Tories are stark raving cuckoo batshit bonkers. Of course, the clues were always there, but I have taught myself over the years to ignore the bizarre ramblings of PBers as utterly unrepresentative of the party. I was wrong, our very own PB Tory Leaver friends on here are close to the mean.
I am not and despair at the utter crassness of some on both the right and left of the party
Indeed, and I weep with you.
Fecking Aida, could you be any more melodramatic?
Well obviously I was being hyperbolic, don’t take it literally captain.
I have now come to the conclusion that, away from the obviously sane and sensible triumvirate of May, Hammond and Javid, the Tories are stark raving cuckoo batshit bonkers. Of course, the clues were always there, but I have taught myself over the years to ignore the bizarre ramblings of PBers as utterly unrepresentative of the party. I was wrong, our very own PB Tory Leaver friends on here are close to the mean.
It is probably going to get worse before it gets better
I have now come to the conclusion that, away from the obviously sane and sensible triumvirate of May, Hammond and Javid, the Tories are stark raving cuckoo batshit bonkers. Of course, the clues were always there, but I have taught myself over the years to ignore the bizarre ramblings of PBers as utterly unrepresentative of the party. I was wrong, our very own PB Tory Leaver friends on here are close to the mean.
I am not and despair at the utter crassness of some on both the right and left of the party
Indeed, and I weep with you.
Fecking Aida, could you be any more melodramatic?
Well obviously I was being hyperbolic, don’t take it literally captain.
I have now come to the conclusion that, away from the obviously sane and sensible triumvirate of May, Hammond and Javid, the Tories are stark raving cuckoo batshit bonkers. Of course, the clues were always there, but I have taught myself over the years to ignore the bizarre ramblings of PBers as utterly unrepresentative of the party. I was wrong, our very own PB Tory Leaver friends on here are close to the mean.
I am not and despair at the utter crassness of some on both the right and left of the party
Indeed, and I weep with you.
Fecking Aida, could you be any more melodramatic?
Well obviously I was being hyperbolic, don’t take it literally captain.
@Richard_Nabavi Much as I also think Boris Johnson is totally unsuitable to be PM, gaining a decent audience amongst his potential electorate (The Tory grassroots) is in no way a 'neutral' sign for him, it's definitely a positive. I think he's rightfully favourite to succeed May.
Yeah, it's plain as a pikestaff that he's the one with the ideas and the "vision thing" which are sorely lacking in the PM and CoE. They are good at the details and being safe pairs of hands, it is said. But are those the qualities to look for in a leader? Boris may be erratic, unconventional and even a tad unreliable but that hardly matters when comparison is made with the grey beings mentioned as possible leaders. Boris is technicolor.
@Richard_Nabavi Much as I also think Boris Johnson is totally unsuitable to be PM, gaining a decent audience amongst his potential electorate (The Tory grassroots) is in no way a 'neutral' sign for him, it's definitely a positive. I think he's rightfully favourite to succeed May.
Yeah, it's plain as a pikestaff that he's the one with the ideas and the "vision thing" which are sorely lacking in the PM and CoE. They are good at the details and being safe pairs of hands, it is said. But are those the qualities to look for in a leader? Boris may be erratic, unconventional and even a tad unreliable but that hardly matters when comparison is made with the grey beings mentioned as possible leaders. Boris is technicolor.
Can anyone with a straight face say the Tories aren't completely bonkers?
They're queuing up to eulogize Boris.
Apparently there were 1500 people at the Boris fringe, and the Conference Hall which has a capacity of 3000 was half empty at the time.Tory Activists were queing round the block to get in with some Boris fans arriving at 9am to get a seat for his 1pm speech
@Richard_Nabavi Much as I also think Boris Johnson is totally unsuitable to be PM, gaining a decent audience amongst his potential electorate (The Tory grassroots) is in no way a 'neutral' sign for him, it's definitely a positive. I think he's rightfully favourite to succeed May.
Yeah, it's plain as a pikestaff that he's the one with the ideas and the "vision thing" which are sorely lacking in the PM and CoE. They are good at the details and being safe pairs of hands, it is said. But are those the qualities to look for in a leader? Boris may be erratic, unconventional and even a tad unreliable but that hardly matters when comparison is made with the grey beings mentioned as possible leaders. Boris is technicolor.
12? That would be about 10% of the total? I guess they didn't have to send in 48 letters first.
Are we counting the East Roman Empire as well as the West Roman Empire? If not there were 87 emperors so it was about 14% of the total.
Constantine abolished the Guard so nothing after him counts.
In that case I make it twelve of 62 or a fraction under 20%.
Bringing your political assassinations in-house is more efficient.
And more profitable.
Who could forget that the Praetorians auctioned the Empire off after the murder of Pertinax? Which enabled the rich Didius Julianus to claim to be Emperor right up to the moment the army decided otherwise.
Wasn't Claudius hiding behind a curtain when the guard decided he was ideal Emperor material?
So Suetonius said. If I recall correctly his qualification was pretty much being the last Julio/Claidian standing.
Indeed. I once met a brother and sister who'd never married.. Owned properties incl main residence together and wealth over iht threshold, they were going to be hit for tens of thousands on iht when the first of them dies.
12? That would be about 10% of the total? I guess they didn't have to send in 48 letters first.
Are we counting the East Roman Empire as well as the West Roman Empire? If not there were 87 emperors so it was about 14% of the total.
Constantine abolished the Guard so nothing after him counts.
In that case I make it twelve of 62 or a fraction under 20%.
Bringing your political assassinations in-house is more efficient.
And more profitable.
Who could forget that the Praetorians auctioned the Empire off after the murder of Pertinax? Which enabled the rich Didius Julianus to claim to be Emperor right up to the moment the army decided otherwise.
Wasn't Claudius hiding behind a curtain when the guard decided he was ideal Emperor material?
So Suetonius said. If I recall correctly his qualification was pretty much being the last Julio/Claidian standing.
Or crouching, if he was hiding behind a curtain.
That can be a right pain in the arras.
That's an awful pun, but rather than rail against it I shall go to bed.
Indeed. I once met a brother and sister who'd never married.. Owned properties incl main residence together and wealth over iht threshold, they were going to be hit for tens of thousands on iht when the first of them dies.
No doubt Morris Dancer will know, but weren't the Praetorians specifically charged with making sure the emperor wasn't assassinated?
"making sure the emperor wasn't assassinated *by anyone other than the Praetorian guard*" was how they approached it
they make it 12.
12? That would be about 10% of the total? I guess they didn't have to send in 48 letters first.
Are we counting the East Roman Empire as well as the West Roman Empire? If not there were 87 emperors so it was about 14% of the total.
Constantine abolished the Guard so nothing after him counts.
In that case I make it twelve of 62 or a fraction under 20%.
Bringing your political assassinations in-house is more efficient.
And more profitable.
Who could forget that the Praetorians auctioned the Empire off after the murder of Pertinax? Which enabled the rich Didius Julianus to claim to be Emperor right up to the moment the army decided otherwise.
Wasn't Claudius hiding behind a curtain when the guard decided he was ideal Emperor material?
So Suetonius said. If I recall correctly his qualification was pretty much being the last Julio/Claidian standing.
Or crouching, if he was hiding behind a curtain.
That can be a right pain in the arras.
That's an awful pun, but rather than rail against it I shall go to bed.
No doubt Morris Dancer will know, but weren't the Praetorians specifically charged with making sure the emperor wasn't assassinated?
"making sure the emperor wasn't assassinated *by anyone other than the Praetorian guard*" was how they approached it
they make it 12.
12? That would be about 10% of the total? I guess they didn't have to send in 48 letters first.
Are we counting the East Roman Empire as well as the West Roman Empire? If not there were 87 emperors so it was about 14% of the total.
Constantine abolished the Guard so nothing after him counts.
In that case I make it twelve of 62 or a fraction under 20%.
Bringing your political assassinations in-house is more efficient.
And more profitable.
Who could forget that the Praetorians auctioned the Empire off after the murder of Pertinax? Which enabled the rich Didius Julianus to claim to be Emperor right up to the moment the army decided otherwise.
Wasn't Claudius hiding behind a curtain when the guard decided he was ideal Emperor material?
So Suetonius said. If I recall correctly his qualification was pretty much being the last Julio/Claidian standing.
Or crouching, if he was hiding behind a curtain.
That can be a right pain in the arras.
That's an awful pun, but rather than rail against it I shall go to bed.
No doubt Morris Dancer will know, but weren't the Praetorians specifically charged with making sure the emperor wasn't assassinated?
"making sure the emperor wasn't assassinated *by anyone other than the Praetorian guard*" was how they approached it
they make it 12.
12? That would be about 10% of the total? I guess they didn't have to send in 48 letters first.
Are we counting the East Roman Empire as well as the West Roman Empire? If not there were 87 emperors so it was about 14% of the total.
Constantine abolished the Guard so nothing after him counts.
In that case I make it twelve of 62 or a fraction under 20%.
Bringing your political assassinations in-house is more efficient.
And more profitable.
Who could forget that the Praetorians auctioned the Empire off after the murder of Pertinax? Which enabled the rich Didius Julianus to claim to be Emperor right up to the moment the army decided otherwise.
Wasn't Claudius hiding behind a curtain when the guard decided he was ideal Emperor material?
So Suetonius said. If I recall correctly his qualification was pretty much being the last Julio/Claidian standing.
Or crouching, if he was hiding behind a curtain.
That can be a right pain in the arras.
That's an awful pun, but rather than rail against it I shall go to bed.
Good night.
At least it wasn’t long drawn. Bon nuit.
bonne
We’ll have none of your Frenchy airs here, thanks.
@Richard_Nabavi Much as I also think Boris Johnson is totally unsuitable to be PM, gaining a decent audience amongst his potential electorate (The Tory grassroots) is in no way a 'neutral' sign for him, it's definitely a positive. I think he's rightfully favourite to succeed May.
Yeah, it's plain as a pikestaff that he's the one with the ideas and the "vision thing" which are sorely lacking in the PM and CoE. They are good at the details and being safe pairs of hands, it is said. But are those the qualities to look for in a leader? Boris may be erratic, unconventional and even a tad unreliable but that hardly matters when comparison is made with the grey beings mentioned as possible leaders. Boris is technicolor.
All the things he proposes are non starters. His single positive political legacy are "Boris Bikes", which are doing wonders for the canal dredging industry!
I have never understood the allure of Boris, I don't think he is funny, he has poor judgement and he is self-obsessed. Some say he has modelled himself on Churchill, I would dispute that comparison as at least Churchill made judgements on broader criteria than what would temporarily boost his political standing.
No doubt Morris Dancer will know, but weren't the Praetorians specifically charged with making sure the emperor wasn't assassinated?
"making sure the emperor wasn't assassinated *by anyone other than the Praetorian guard*" was how they approached it
they make it 12.
12? That would be about 10% of the total? I guess they didn't have to send in 48 letters first.
Are we counting the East Roman Empire as well as the West Roman Empire? If not there were 87 emperors so it was about 14% of the total.
Constantine abolished the Guard so nothing after him counts.
In that case I make it twelve of 62 or a fraction under 20%.
Bringing your political assassinations in-house is more efficient.
And more profitable.
Who could forget that the Praetorians auctioned the Empire off after the murder of Pertinax? Which enabled the rich Didius Julianus to claim to be Emperor right up to the moment the army decided otherwise.
Wasn't Claudius hiding behind a curtain when the guard decided he was ideal Emperor material?
So Suetonius said. If I recall correctly his qualification was pretty much being the last Julio/Claidian standing.
Or crouching, if he was hiding behind a curtain.
That can be a right pain in the arras.
That's an awful pun, but rather than rail against it I shall go to bed.
Good night.
At least it wasn’t long drawn. Bon nuit.
bonne
We’ll have none of your Frenchy airs here, thanks.
Indeed. I once met a brother and sister who'd never married.. Owned properties incl main residence together and wealth over iht threshold, they were going to be hit for tens of thousands on iht when the first of them dies.
Why restrict to siblings. If it’s about IHT just say you can pass the house tax free to someone who lives there full time. That’s what this is all about
Comments
Edit: gotta love wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Roman_emperors_murdered_by_the_Praetorian_Guard
they make it 12.
It just makes him seem utterly out of touch. For most people he might as well talk in riddles.
I also think it's rather silly to use the word 'assassinate' in this context.
(*) I know that's one heck of an admission on here.
https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/libleave_brexit_spectrum.html
Mixed-sex civil partnerships to be legalised. Why not for siblings too?
Who could forget that the Praetorians auctioned the Empire off after the murder of Pertinax? Which enabled the rich Didius Julianus to claim to be Emperor right up to the moment the army decided otherwise.
I think he's rightfully favourite to succeed May.
There's a mountain of rancid lettuce piling up that a grown up is going to have to sort....
Start of speech - possible contender - middle doubts arise - end not a chance
There is a science fiction novel series[1] which has as part of its backstory that among the “Latin-speaking professions”, the law, the clergy and medicine, there has been a centuries-long conspiracy to preserve the Roman Empire underground. As soon as humanity develops faster-than-light travel, they take over a suitably Earth-like planet and revive the Empire on it.
So who knows, maybe the author knows something the rest of us don’t!
[1] R. M. Meluch’s “Tour of the Merrimack”. Not recommended.
A Norwegian blue, with beautiful plumage, pining for the fjords...https://youtu.be/4vuW6tQ0218
Then I realised the word was 'wreckers'...
Though I don't think it'll be Boris in the end - My money's would be on Raab (if I was a political better)
As I have to work for a living, I shall avoid the widespread euphoria that will no doubt greet Theresa May's ability to speak for an hour or so without falling over tomorrow. Doubtless the content would be praised even if it was extracts from the Maidenhead phone book.
After Hunt's appalling effort and I can't even remember what Javid and Hammond said, May doesn't have a huge bar to scale but it's still a challenge. I suspect she'll say little or nothing about Brexit and focus on the more mundane and important.
I expect housing and transport to feature but May will at least talk some sense about housing unlike Boris today who spent the first part of his speech fighting the wrong battle. The problem about home ownership isn't the ownership (as it was) but the number of affordable homes. People rent because it provides them with the only chance to live in an area in which they can't afford to buy but changing that equation wrecks the owners in that area.
Carney may claim a "No Deal" will cause a house price fall of 35% but I suspect May doesn't want to test that. In terms of transport, the first and best thing the Prime Minister could do would be to publicly sack Grayling but the problem with transport is similar to the problem with housing - too many people want to travel and the capacity in the road, rail and air network just isn't there.
There will be solutions - Crossrail soon, some major road schemes before too long but problems such as new river crossings to the east of London take time and cost money and while capital borrowing at current rates probably isn't a bad idea the new bridge, tunnel or whatever is still decades away.
However, such projects do engender a sense of hope and optimism for the future and that is the one thing currently lacking. I actually thought Corbyn had a point when he talked about the Government's lack of humanity but it's more the lack of optimism that is the problem. May needs to answer the question "why should I vote Conservative" not "why shouldn't I vote Labour".
It is probably going to get worse before it gets better
Find that yooniteeee candidate and there’s you next pm.
Good night.
Bon nuit.
Siblings getting married is incest and is illegal so civil partnerships are out on the same basis.
I have never understood the allure of Boris, I don't think he is funny, he has poor judgement and he is self-obsessed. Some say he has modelled himself on Churchill, I would dispute that comparison as at least Churchill made judgements on broader criteria than what would temporarily boost his political standing.