"Matthew d'Ancona: ‘Socialism’ is no longer a bogey word in New York Bill de Blasio’s victory will be galvanising for Ed Miliband: it suggests a new voter preoccupation with inequality"
What the Tory strategists should have realised a couple of months ago before lauching their hilarious "Marxist" attacks, as recent polling on the utilities etc has since proven
Is the West really lurching Left? If so, it would be a succulent irony, as China gets rich through the most ruthless capitalism.
There are certainly disturbing signs that America is following the European path. Tired of leading the world, it wants to sit back and give everyone Benefits. And adopt socialist healthcare. It will be trampled by Asia.
Remember when a president could credibly claim that the 21st century would ALSO be the American century? It seems ludicrous and laughable now, but it was just a decade ago.
Ruthless yes. But it's an economic model that has the government at it's heart. Hardly capitalism as we've tended to know it in the West - certainly not in the last 30 years in Britain and the US.
What a lot of bollocks. Have you been there? I have. Modern Shanghai is Chicago in the 1920s. Complete with skyscrapers and gerrymandering.
The weak get the most basic social protection. The strong get unimaginably rich. An elite socio political class mops up the gravy: in 20s America it was WASPs and a few Irish, in China it is the 'communist leadership' and their princeling children.
Votes are irrelevant. The blacks/proles pick dat cotton, no matter what.
All true (except there's no social protection at all if you are from a different province), but the government is still at the heart of everything. Nothing happens without its say-so. It controls the banks, it has majority stakes in many of the big industrial conglomerates, it has placemen in the private ones, and so on. It's unfettered free enterprise, until it's not. And 1920s America had a free press, freedom of information and an independent judiciary.
Presumably you haven't been to Mumbai. I was in the lounge used for BA Business Class, and there was nowhere to sit (no food or drink either). I asked if I could go outside (and maybe come back later), as there was at least some seating in the main area. The staff were somewhat taken aback that a business class passenger would want rather sit with the plebs than stand in a cess pit.
It made Nairobi airport look clean, organised and efficient.
I remember being in the BA lounge at Islamabad, when a very large and indolent rat mosied across the floor from one side of the lounge to the other, requiring us to lift up our feet so as not to impede its leisurely progress.
This was the same lounge where a friend had watched the BA flight take off - no-one had bothered to call them.
It was the same airport where Pakistan International Airlines had a large hoarding which read "PIA - 80 takes and landings every day!" But you just knew some days those two numbers didn't tally.....
The Conman has zero credibility on the economy hence the subject is off limits,not helped by an idiot shadow chancellor that didn't know that New Labour was running a structural deficit.
Moreover, all these projections presume China will saddle itself with a wélfare state like ours, with state pensions and all. They won't. They'll make the old work. Or shoot them. Or turn them into cushions.
And after China, India.
Did you know that the current Chinese retirement age for women is 50?
"Matthew d'Ancona: ‘Socialism’ is no longer a bogey word in New York Bill de Blasio’s victory will be galvanising for Ed Miliband: it suggests a new voter preoccupation with inequality"
What the Tory strategists should have realised a couple of months ago before lauching their hilarious "Marxist" attacks, as recent polling on the utilities etc has since proven
Remember when a president could credibly claim that the 21st century would ALSO be the American century? It seems ludicrous and laughable now, but it was just a decade ago.
Ruthless yes. But it's an economic model that has the government at it's heart. Hardly capitalism as we've tended to know it in the West - certainly not in the last 30 years in Britain and the US.
What a lot of bollocks. Have you been there? I have. Modern Shanghai is Chicago in the 1920s. Complete with skyscrapers and gerrymandering.
Votes are irrelevant. The blacks/proles pick dat cotton, no matter what.
China ages before it gets rich, it's a demographic basket case.
"China’s Achilles heel
A comparison with America reveals a deep flaw in China’s model of growth"
It doesn't matter. China will overtake America in economic size before its "demographic problem" truly kicks in.
Moreover, all these projections presume China will saddle itself with a wélfare state like ours, with state pensions and all. They won't. They'll make the old work. Or shoot them. Or turn them into cushions.
Moreover moreover all these projections presume America won't cripple itself with European welfare state socialism. That looks increasingly untenable.
And after China, India.
You think the Chinese will be happy to be indefinite serfs, with no healthcare system, no democratic voice and a huge gap between rich and poor? There will come a point when avoiding starvation is no longer enought o keep people happy. The place is a potential powder keg and the Party needs to realise it.
''And a growing population, thriving demographics after decades of immigration. Sean saw a Chinese skyscraper and it's just like Chicago.''
You are completely in thrall to the concept that increasing populations and booming birthrates equal prosperity, aren;t you. The equation is surely not that simple.
Isn't Iran very 'young' in terms of its demographics? No sign of economic prosperity there...
The countries with the 10 highest fertility rates are all in sub saharan Africa -are you advancing those as the correct economic model??
The road with SIXTY CCTV cameras: Drivers watched by dozens of monitors on Chinese street - because officials failed to tell one another they were installing them
Moreover, all these projections presume China will saddle itself with a wélfare state like ours, with state pensions and all. They won't. They'll make the old work. Or shoot them. Or turn them into cushions.
And after China, India.
Did you know that the current Chinese retirement age for women is 50?
Greetings from Nairobi airport. And what a fucking toilet it is. Gatwick South, all is forgiven.
I was there a few weeks ago - seemed OK. The incoming hall was a large tent because of the fire, but we were seen through it briskly enough. Outgoing it was just a normal airport, with a bit less in the way of vulgar expensive knicknack shops than Heathrow. Outside, the usual semi-rogue taxi drivers that collect around every airport were genuinely helpful when it turned out the bloke who was picking me up had gone to the wrong entrance, making mobile calls at their expense to sort it out.
I thought much of what I saw of Nairobi was seriously poor compared even with South American countries like Peru, but wouldn't have picked on the airport.
Did you know that the current Chinese retirement age for women is 50?
Whats the pension age and how crippling is it ?
Sorry, not sure if I understood the question, or it's subtle irony? I meant pension age when I said retirement age. For men it's 60. The Chinese admit the women's is ridiculously low, but say frankly it's hard to change entitlements when people have assumed them. There's a good overview of the tangle here, and it's a right mess, but Sean's belief that they don't bother is mistaken:
OT The appeal of Andrew Mitchell MP against the costs order of Master McCloud, dated 1 August 2013, in Mitchell MP v News Group Newspapers Limited (A2/2013/2462) will be heard by the Court of Appeal (Lord Dyson MR, Richards & Elias LJJ) tomorrow. Quite apart from the political significance of the appeal, which will affect how speedily the claimant's action for libel will proceed against NGN, it is also a major test case for costs in the post-Jackson era. Hence the strong constitution of the court.
"Matthew d'Ancona: ‘Socialism’ is no longer a bogey word in New York Bill de Blasio’s victory will be galvanising for Ed Miliband: it suggests a etc has since proven
Remember when a president could credibly claim that the 21st century would ALSO be the American century? It seems ludicrous and laughable now, but it was just a decade ago.
Ruthless yes. But it's an economic model that has the government at it's heart. Hardly capitalism as we've tended to know it in the West - certainly not in the last 30 years in Britain and the US.
What a
All true. Except America had democracy
No it didn't. It had Jim Crow laws. And lynchings. And the Klan. America, like China, was democratic until it wasn't. Arguably America was WORSE: it had a virtual slave caste.
The stupidity of pb when it comes to this stuff is peerless.
I was right about China when I first started banging on about it, on here, a decade ago, and I am right now, and the rest of you are pathetic, sad, flailing cretins. This is why I have a Telegraph blog and none of you do. You are idiots. Clueless, spastic idiots. I'm bored of arguing with morons like you, I DEMAND that OGH introduces an IQ version of the colour bar so that only people capable of arguing with me are allowed to post, even if that means I am left here alone, in the meantime.
BAR THE PB IDIOTS
It is possible I have become slightly ill tempered due to the overcrowding of the 'Simba Business Lounge' aka the 'Treblinka Hospitality Suite'
There is nearly a first time for everything but in this I totally agree with SeanT . China will continue to prosper and all it's people even the very poorest will continue to be relatively better off than they were a few years ago . The vast majority have no interest in politics and who rules them under what system and will continue to have no interest as long as they are getting better off financially . With regard to the demographics , a change from a one child rule to a 2 child rule is expected within the next 10 years and possibly within 5 .
On topic, PPP has 2 new 2016 GOP and Democratic national primary polls
Democrat
Given the choices of Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Hillary Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, Kirsten Gillibrand, Martin O’Malley, Brian Schweitzer, Mark Warner, and Elizabeth Warren, who would you most like to see as the Democratic candidate for President in 2016? •Hillary Clinton 67% (52%) {63%} [64%] (58%) {57%} [61%] (57%) •Joe Biden 12% (12%) {13%} [18%] (19%) {16%} [12%] (14%) •Elizabeth Warren 4% (6%) {3%} [5%] (8%) {4%} [4%] (6%) •Andrew Cuomo 2% (2%) {4%} [3%] (3%) {4%} [5%] (5%) •Martin O’Malley 2% (1%) {2%} [1%] (1%) {3%} [2%] (1%) •Cory Booker 1% (3%) •Mark Warner 1% (1%) {3%} [2%] (1%) {2%} [1%] (2%) •Kirsten Gillibrand 0% (5%) {1%} [1%] (1%) {1%} •Brian Schweitzer 0% (2%) {1%} [1%] (0%) {1%} [1%] (1%) •Someone else/Not sure 12% (17%) {10%} [6%] (9%) {10%} [12%] (12%)
Given the choices of Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Andrew Cuomo, Kirsten Gillibrand, Martin O’Malley, Brian Schweitzer, Mark Warner, and Elizabeth Warren, who would you most like to see as the Democratic candidate for President in 2016? •Joe Biden 27% (34%) {38%} [49%] (57%) (32%) •Elizabeth Warren 19% (13%) {13%} [11%] (13%) (8%) •Andrew Cuomo 6% (10%) {10%} [10%] (5%) (18%) •Cory Booker 6% (4%) •Kirsten Gillibrand 4% (3%) {2%} [7%] (4%) •Martin O’Malley 3% (3%) {3%} [1%] (1%) (2%) •Mark Warner 1% (2%) {3%} [3%] (3%) (2%) •Brian Schweitzer 1% (2%) {1%} [2%] (0%) (1%) •Someone else/Not sure 33% (29%) {26%} [15%] (14%) (32%)
If neither Hillary Clinton nor Joe Biden ran for President in 2016, who would you most like to see as the Democratic nominee? •Elizabeth Warren 23% (20%) {17%} [18%] (21%) {16%} [16%] (9%) •Cory Booker 14% (8%) •Andrew Cuomo 13% (11%) {25%} [22%] (25%) {19%} [21%] (27%) •Martin O’Malley 4% (2%) {5%} [8%] (5%) {7%} [5%] (4%) •Kirsten Gillibrand 3% (5%) {5%} [5%] (3%) {5%} •Mark Warner 2% (3%) {4%} [5%] (4%) {4%} [3%] (4%) •Brian Schweitzer 1% (4%) {1%} [1%] (2%) {2%} [2%] (2%) •Someone else/Not sure 39% (47%) {38%} [36%] (36%) {40%} [45%] (46%)
Given the choices of Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, and Rick Santorum, who would you most like to see as the GOP candidate for President in 2016? •Chris Christie 16% [14%] (13%) {15%} [15%] (13%) {14%} [14%] (21%) •Rand Paul 16% [17%] (16%) {14%} [17%] (10%) {5%} [7%] (4%) •Ted Cruz 15% [20%] (12%) {7%} •Jeb Bush 14% [11%] (13%) {15%} [12%] (13%) {14%} [12%] (17%) •Paul Ryan 11% [10%] (13%) {9%} [12%] (15%) {16%} [12%] (7%) •Marco Rubio 10% [10%] (10%) {16%} [21%] (22%) {21%} [18%] (10%) •Bobby Jindal 6% [4%] (4%) {3%} [4%] (4%) {3%} (3%) •Rick Santorum 5% [3%] (4%) {5%} [5%] [4%] (12%) •Someone else/Not sure 8% [9%] (13%) {15%} [10%] (8%) {7%} [7%] (10%)
Given the choices of Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, and Rick Santorum, who would you most like to see as the GOP candidate for President in 2016? •Chris Christie 15% •Ted Cruz 14% •Rand Paul 13% •Jeb Bush 12% •Paul Ryan 9% •Marco Rubio 9% •Sarah Palin 7% •Bobby Jindal 5% •Rick Santorum 4% •Someone else/Not sure 12%
Has my "ret*rds" really been moderated to "idiots"?
Why is it OK to badmouth idiots but not ret*rds?
If I was an idiot, like Tim, I'd be deeply insulted. And also confused.
You made up the bit about me saying America had democracy. I specifically did not say that. But it was a magnificent rant. And if you want a crap lounge go to the airport in Rio. A fair few high rollers are going to have a shock if they do not sort that out by the World Cup.
Remember when a president could credibly claim that the 21st century would ALSO be the American century? It seems ludicrous and laughable now, but it was just a decade ago.
Ruthless yes. But it's an economic model that has the government at it's heart. Hardly capitalism as we've tended to know it in the West - certainly not in the last 30 years in Britain and the US.
What a lot of bollocks. Have you been there? I have. Modern Shanghai is Chicago in the 1920s. Complete with skyscrapers and gerrymandering.
Votes are irrelevant. The blacks/proles pick dat cotton, no matter what.
China ages before it gets rich, it's a demographic basket case.
"China’s Achilles heel
A comparison with America reveals a deep flaw in China’s model of growth"
It doesn't matter. China will overtake America in economic size before its "demographic problem" truly kicks in.
Moreover, all these projections presume China will saddle itself with a wélfare state like ours, with state pensions and all. They won't. They'll make the old work. Or shoot them. Or turn them into cushions.
Moreover moreover all these projections presume America won't cripple itself with European welfare state socialism. That looks increasingly untenable.
And after China, India.
You think the Chinese will be happy to be indefinite serfs, with no healthcare system, no democratic voice and a huge gap between rich and poor? There will come a point when avoiding starvation is no longer enought o keep people happy. The place is a potential powder keg and the Party needs to realise it.
That's true-ish but as long as the economy keeps growing and the majority of the poor either feel some benefit of it or believe they might do, they can be bought off by their political masters.
Some of the PB moderating team work with and help people with disabilities, and the use of the word as an insult annoys us, given the stigma that people with disabilities have to deal with.
PeterthePunter - Christie's best chance is that Jeb Bush does not run, so he has moderates to himself while Cruz and Paul split the conservative vote allowing him to win on a minority vote, as Santorum and Newt did for Mitt
USA: Last time round I felt that the GOP would go for a wildcard candidate rather than Romney as a wildcard would perhaps have had a bigger chance of winning, albeit with a much bigger chance of a really disastrous showing. Romney was always nailed on to 'just lose'. I suspect the Republicans may find themselves in a similar situation if Hillary is the Democratic candidate, although perhaps Christie has enough about him to make it a real contest (not sure anyone else does). Anyway if they were perhaps faced with a choice of certain but narrow loss again versus throwing the dice I wonder if they'd make the same choice.
If the Democratic candidate isn't Hillary then I think we could see virtually anyone from the GOP.
An article by Frank Bruni in the NYT recently mentioned that there is voter appetite for a third party in the US. Perhaps it'll be George Galloway as president!
There is nearly a first time for everything but in this I totally agree with SeanT . China will continue to prosper and all it's people even the very poorest will continue to be relatively better off than they were a few years ago . The vast majority have no interest in politics and who rules them under what system and will continue to have no interest as long as they are getting better off financially . With regard to the demographics , a change from a one child rule to a 2 child rule is expected within the next 10 years and possibly within 5 .
So the next question to be answered is would this be any really bad thing? I know that the last century or so have been atrocious as far as individual rights and democratic accountability go in China but is there any reason to think that in the long run they won't catch up with (and overtake?) the rest of the first world on these matters?.
Would a Chinese hegemony necessarily be any worse in the long run than a British or American one (accepting that if you are British or American you have benefited disproportionately from your own country's dominance).
Personally I think the Anglo-Saxon model is a very good one but there is no guarantee it will last. So would a Chinese replacement be as bad as some people seem to think?
(OT) A militant member of the Black Panther party hijacked a plane and flew to Cuba. As a revolutionary, he expected to be welcomed as a hero and given guerilla training. Instead, he was jailed for 13 years for piracy. Ha! Now, he's homesick and wants to come back to the USA. He might be jailed for hijacking again! Ha ha ha!
In other exciting news today, I am now being followed on Twitter by the 2nd most gorgeous man in the world. Just saying. For the uninitiated, he is Iván García, the Mexican diver. For those who thrive on coincidences, he is 5'5" tall - just like Daniel Radcliffe, who is the 1st most gorgeous man in the world.
There is nearly a first time for everything but in this I totally agree with SeanT . China will continue to prosper and all it's people even the very poorest will continue to be relatively better off than they were a few years ago . The vast majority have no interest in politics and who rules them under what system and will continue to have no interest as long as they are getting better off financially . With regard to the demographics , a change from a one child rule to a 2 child rule is expected within the next 10 years and possibly within 5 .
So the next question to be answered is would this be any really bad thing? I know that the last century or so have been atrocious as far as individual rights and democratic accountability go in China but is there any reason to think that in the long run they won't catch up with (and overtake?) the rest of the first world on these matters?.
Would a Chinese hegemony necessarily be any worse in the long run than a British or American one (accepting that if you are British or American you have benefited disproportionately from your own country's dominance).
Personally I think the Anglo-Saxon model is a very good one but there is no guarantee it will last. So would a Chinese replacement be as bad as some people seem to think?
The Chinese model exists solely to maintain the power of the Communist party. It will adapt as necessary to do that, so it is extraordinarily pragmatic - until there is any perceived threat to its hegemony. Then it gets very nasty. You have to go there and do meetings with business people and officials to see just how all pervasive the party is. And how suffocating. It's true that the vast majority of Chinese do not care, but as the number of university educated people grows, as the size of the aspirational middle class increases, it will become more and more of an issue. It is not a good model to import in my view.
@richard_tyndall, marksenior "The vast majority have no interest in politics"
I wonder if that might change though. It seems to me that there might be quite a lot of evidence that improving peoples standard of living generally leads to them thinking about politics a little more. (Someone should donate 100k to Tim to see if he explodes!).
PeterthePunter - Christie's best chance is that Jeb Bush does not run, so he has moderates to himself while Cruz and Paul split the conservative vote allowing him to win on a minority vote, as Santorum and Newt did for Mitt
Haven't seen much indication that Jeb is thinking of going for it.
He always been a bit reticent about running. For some reason, I have the impression that he kind his current office and just doesn't have the fire in the belly to run for President.
Anyway, I am sure you are right. If Jeb passes, it looks like Christie's to lose.
PeterthePunter - Indeed, I think deep down Jeb knows he lost the presidency when he lost the Florida governors' race in 1994 and Dubya won in Texas. Only one brother was going to run in 2000 and even Dubya's parents expected him to lost to Ann Richards and Jeb to be the heir apparent with a win in Florida. Hence Bush Snr's statement on election night 'the joy is in Texas, my heart is in Florida.' I think Jeb has now transferred the mantle to his half-Hispanic son George P, who is running for Texas Land Commissioner next year ahead of a probable run for Texas Governor in 2018
Steve Clark @steveclarkuk India gets £280m in aid from the UK and launches a space mission to Mars. Shipyard workers in Portsmouth and the Clyde get sacked. Go figure
And we must remember thats £280m per year. Henry VIII started shipbuilding at Portsmouth: Cammo and the Coalition stands by and lets a 500 year tradition die. Great Britain? Don't make me laugh.
One day all Britain will wake up to the Lab/Lib/Con doom mongers and vote UKIP.
There is nearly a first time for everything but in this I totally agree with SeanT . China will continue to prosper and all it's people even the very poorest will continue to be relatively better off than they were a few years ago . The vast majority have no interest in politics and who rules them under what system and will continue to have no interest as long as they are getting better off financially . With regard to the demographics , a change from a one child rule to a 2 child rule is expected within the next 10 years and possibly within 5 .
So the next question to be answered is would this be any really bad thing? I know that the last century or so have been atrocious as far as individual rights and democratic accountability go in China but is there any reason to think that in the long run they won't catch up with (and overtake?) the rest of the first world on these matters?.
Would a Chinese hegemony necessarily be any worse in the long run than a British or American one (accepting that if you are British or American you have benefited disproportionately from your own country's dominance).
Personally I think the Anglo-Saxon model is a very good one but there is no guarantee it will last. So would a Chinese replacement be as bad as some people seem to think?
The Chinese economic miracle has already lifted 600 million Chinese out of poverty in 30 years, making it - already - perhaps the greatest forward leap in human history.
Never forget the daunting population stats which separate Asia from the rest.
If India, population 1.2bn, can but repeat China's success in the next two decades then we can count the period 1980-2030 as the greatest golden age for humanity, even as a few westerners whinge about their dwindling pensions.
Yes.
Still, China will not overtake the US in terms of economic size in the next 10 years.
Zambia was a reasonably prosperous place in the sixties, but a number of events transpired to balls it up. It had bloated socialist parastatal corporations misruling various sectors, but the big problems came in the early seventies, with the oil price rise and near similtaneous collapse of the Copper price. Copper was the main forex earner. This meant a export crisis was coupled with increasing import costs. Not easy for any country, but to add to this the Rhodesians blocked and sabotaged the railway lines to put pressure on the Zambians over their guerilla war.
The Rhodesian war also meant that the European community were suspected of aiding the Rhodies (probably correctly in many cases) and left the country as part of a skilled brain drain. Add in a totalitarian govt and AIDS and by the mid eighties it was a basket case.
It is on the up now, and has a reasonable govt, but will take a lot of fixing.
Next door is wonderful Botswana where the govt has managed amazing GDP growth since independence, arguably the worlds most successful economy over the period. With good governance much of africa could be rich. A lovely but exasperating continent!
Greetings from Nairobi airport. And what a fucking toilet it is. Gatwick South, all is forgiven.
I was there a few weeks ago - seemed OK. The incoming hall was a large tent because of the fire, but we were seen through it briskly enough. Outgoing it was just a normal airport, with a bit less in the way of vulgar expensive knicknack shops than Heathrow. Outside, the usual semi-rogue taxi drivers that collect around every airport were genuinely helpful when it turned out the bloke who was picking me up had gone to the wrong entrance, making mobile calls at their expense to sort it out.
I thought much of what I saw of Nairobi was seriously poor compared even with South American countries like Peru, but wouldn't have picked on the airport.
The poverty of Africa (let's talk about this rather than China, where you seriously know zip) truly mystifies me.
I've just been to zambia. It's a vast country, with a small population, law abiding, relatively stable, blessed with a benign climate, and serious natural resources, and the English language. It should be an African Australia, but it has a life expectancy of 49. It's genuinely weird.
The GOP establishment don't seem to have decided on their next Romney yet but Christie is obviously a strong possibility as is another Bush.
The problem for them is as long as there is strong tea party influence in the GOP then they will just end up where they were the last time with yet another GOP circus. One that promises to be even more hilarious than last time and would still result in the GOP establishment 'moderate' candidate lurching to the right to appease the base while trying to see off the other challengers.
Santorum, Bachmann and the other comedy candidates made it a very entertaining race to watch and bet on the last time. So unless there is a breakaway third party bid/candidacy, or the GOP somehow manages to expunge all traces of tea party influence, then there is bound to be some pretty unlikely candidates popping up again to make things interesting.
Steve Clark @steveclarkuk India gets £280m in aid from the UK and launches a space mission to Mars. Shipyard workers in Portsmouth and the Clyde get sacked. Go figure
And we must remember thats £280m per year. Henry VIII started shipbuilding at Portsmouth: Cammo and the Coalition stands by and lets a 500 year tradition die. Great Britain? Don't make me laugh.
One day all Britain will wake up to the Lab/Lib/Con doom mongers and vote UKIP.
Do you know when the last large ship was built at Portsmouth? Answer: it was not this government. It was not the previous government. It was not even Thatcher's government.
That's the prime reason why the Clyde won out. Although Portsmouth has built smaller vessels and large segments of the carriers, there's a lot more to building and commissioning a ship than that. And those skills are now mostly on the Clyde.
I love that part of the coast; we got married within the dockyard. But given the cost of these platforms, BAEs standard cost overruns, and a rather staggering lack of exports of military ships, there really is little alternative.
Oh, and on a point of fact, Henry VIII did not start shipbuilding at Portsmouth. Henry VII ordered what was probably the world's first dry dock in the town in 1495, and founded the Royal Dockyard. Which will continue in existence.
I'd expect UKIP to demand historical accuracy ... ;-)
Some of the PB moderating team work with and help people with disabilities, and the use of the word as an insult annoys us, given the stigma that people with disabilities have to deal with.
Fair enough. But what about the idiots? Will no one think of them? It seems unfair that ******** get this special protection but drooling, palsied idiots, like Tim, are deemed fair game,
Also absurd.
I'd not be using getting a blog just like Toby got as a sign of intellect if I were you
I'd say my getting paid to do what you do FOR FREE, ALL DAY is as clear a sign of Darwinian intellectual superiority as you are likely to encounter. But each to his own.
I think China is adapting faster than most people think (in my day job I've just seen them accept a change in animal welfare that we've been working to persuade them of over the last couple of years). The people seem to me broadly similar to junior staff in a large, fast-growing company with autocratic management - they're a bit distant from what goes on the top but as long as wages keep going up they're not too bothered. As Sean implies, this isn't especially irrational behaviour.
For those Chinese who are interested in politics, it seems to have got to the latter-day Franco stage - you're allowed to think what you like and grumble to friends and accquaintances, so long as you don't try to spread the word or organise opposition. I've met quite a few who casually say to me in front of others that one or another Government policy is stupid or that inequality and corruption are serious issues - nobody tries to shut them up.
I have Zambian family, who left in 1976. In 73 they were living well on local salaries, by 1976 you could not buy a loaf of bread as there were none in the shops. The. economic and social collapse was very quick, and makes our three day week look a little lame.
There is some real progress in africa, with the spread of democracy, and real hope of major progress. Even Angola and Mozambique are on the up. A long way to go though.
@foxinsoxuk, SeanT It is quite weird that the sort of thing that would induce growth and prosperity in most countries seems just to lead to corruption and misrule in Africa. Botswana is undoubtedly a rather shining exception and it's also a really wonderful place to visit. Zambia I hope is on a similar upswing, although there have been a few less than appraisals recently.
With regards Africa as a whole it'd be really nice if the birthplace of the human race got it's act together and looked to it's responsibilities.. do they really think their western, and eastern children are ready to look after themselves?
PeterthePunter - Indeed, I think deep down Jeb knows he lost the presidency when he lost the Florida governors' race in 1994 and Dubya won in Texas. Only one brother was going to run in 2000 and even Dubya's parents expected him to lost to Ann Richards and Jeb to be the heir apparent with a win in Florida. Hence Bush Snr's statement on election night 'the joy is in Texas, my heart is in Florida.' I think Jeb has now transferred the mantle to his half-Hispanic son George P, who is running for Texas Land Commissioner next year ahead of a probable run for Texas Governor in 2018
I have Zambian family, who left in 1976. In 73 they were living well on local salaries, by 1976 you could not buy a loaf of bread as there were none in the shops. The. economic and social collapse was very quick, and makes our three day week look a little lame.
There is some real progress in africa, with the spread of democracy, and real hope of major progress. Even Angola and Mozambique are on the up. A long way to go though.
I've cousins from Sierra Leone - my uncle Bart was a diplomat who originally trained as a dentist and came over here in the 70s. He has the most remarkable gold edged smile. My fellow Geordie classmates thought it was really strange to have relatives from Africa way back then. What happened to SL was appalling. Tony or rather the boots on the ground did a really good deed in adding their 2p.
I don't suppose it will amuse you one bit to know that I did very well at Chepstow.
Promise to keep quiet tomorrow.
No, please feel encouraged to tip tomorrow too because I saw your post and *cough* have some money to win back *cough* One day does not a bad tipper make. Really annoying for me because I started my day winning a pile on Flaming Charmer at Chepstow and thought that was the start of a good day. It wasn't
Moreover, all these projections presume China will saddle itself with a wélfare state like ours, with state pensions and all. They won't. They'll make the old work. Or shoot them. Or turn them into cushions.
And after China, India.
Did you know that the current Chinese retirement age for women is 50?
Without wishing to be morbid: the other half of the equation is what is life expectancy in China? What's destroying Western pensions is the total length of retirement as a ratio of working years, not the retirement age per se. Our issue is having set 65 as a default age decades ago when 65/6 was average life expectancy, we have been unwilling to face up since to the growing costs and reality that having to finance 20/25 years of retirement on about 45/8 years of work at best doesn't remotely add up for the big majority, nor will it ever.
I don't suppose it will amuse you one bit to know that I did very well at Chepstow.
Promise to keep quiet tomorrow.
No, please feel encouraged to tip tomorrow too because I saw your post and *cough* have some money to win back *cough* One day does not a bad tipper make. Really annoying for me because I started my day winning a pile on Flaming Charmer at Chepstow and thought that was the start of a good day. It wasn't
Perhaps he will claim nothing to see and close investigation - and then refuse to reopen when lots of new damning evidence comes to light..... Just like Ed
Steve Clark @steveclarkuk India gets £280m in aid from the UK and launches a space mission to Mars. Shipyard workers in Portsmouth and the Clyde get sacked. Go figure
And we must remember thats £280m per year. Henry VIII started shipbuilding at Portsmouth: Cammo and the Coalition stands by and lets a 500 year tradition die. Great Britain? Don't make me laugh.
One day all Britain will wake up to the Lab/Lib/Con doom mongers and vote UKIP.
At the last Strategic Defence Review it was agreed that Mary Rose type ships were not fit for current purposes.
Comments
Lab should go for that too.
This was the same lounge where a friend had watched the BA flight take off - no-one had bothered to call them.
It was the same airport where Pakistan International Airlines had a large hoarding which read "PIA - 80 takes and landings every day!" But you just knew some days those two numbers didn't tally.....
'Ed's decision to abandon all pretence of economic realism for desperate populism is another sign of Osborne's continuing success.'
Double dip - wrong, triple dip - wrong,4 million unemployed wrong.
The Conman has zero credibility on the economy hence the subject is off limits,not helped by an idiot shadow chancellor that didn't know that New Labour was running a structural deficit.
Sean saw a Chinese skyscraper and it's just like Chicago.''
You are completely in thrall to the concept that increasing populations and booming birthrates equal prosperity, aren;t you. The equation is surely not that simple.
Isn't Iran very 'young' in terms of its demographics? No sign of economic prosperity there...
The countries with the 10 highest fertility rates are all in sub saharan Africa -are you advancing those as the correct economic model??
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2488468/Stretch-road-SIXTY-CCTV-cameras-placed-side-government-departments-didnt-tell-there.html
Whats the pension age and how crippling is it ?
The enquires desk is a bit of a scrum, but all part of the travel experience.
Think of it as local colour and down another Tusker, or better still Malawi Gin, which is surprisingly good.
I thought much of what I saw of Nairobi was seriously poor compared even with South American countries like Peru, but wouldn't have picked on the airport.
Apart from Francois Hollande's France is there any other foreign country that they have any hope for ??
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/10/17/uk-china-pensions-idUKBRE99G1BF20131017
http://www.theguardian.com/law/2013/nov/06/defying-strasbourg-ruling-prisoner-voting-anarchy?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
With regard to the demographics , a change from a one child rule to a 2 child rule is expected within the next 10 years and possibly within 5 .
Democrat
Given the choices of Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Hillary Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, Kirsten Gillibrand, Martin O’Malley, Brian Schweitzer, Mark Warner, and Elizabeth Warren, who would you most like to see as the Democratic candidate for President in 2016?
•Hillary Clinton 67% (52%) {63%} [64%] (58%) {57%} [61%] (57%)
•Joe Biden 12% (12%) {13%} [18%] (19%) {16%} [12%] (14%)
•Elizabeth Warren 4% (6%) {3%} [5%] (8%) {4%} [4%] (6%)
•Andrew Cuomo 2% (2%) {4%} [3%] (3%) {4%} [5%] (5%)
•Martin O’Malley 2% (1%) {2%} [1%] (1%) {3%} [2%] (1%)
•Cory Booker 1% (3%)
•Mark Warner 1% (1%) {3%} [2%] (1%) {2%} [1%] (2%)
•Kirsten Gillibrand 0% (5%) {1%} [1%] (1%) {1%}
•Brian Schweitzer 0% (2%) {1%} [1%] (0%) {1%} [1%] (1%)
•Someone else/Not sure 12% (17%) {10%} [6%] (9%) {10%} [12%] (12%)
Given the choices of Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Andrew Cuomo, Kirsten Gillibrand, Martin O’Malley, Brian Schweitzer, Mark Warner, and Elizabeth Warren, who would you most like to see as the Democratic candidate for President in 2016?
•Joe Biden 27% (34%) {38%} [49%] (57%) (32%)
•Elizabeth Warren 19% (13%) {13%} [11%] (13%) (8%)
•Andrew Cuomo 6% (10%) {10%} [10%] (5%) (18%)
•Cory Booker 6% (4%)
•Kirsten Gillibrand 4% (3%) {2%} [7%] (4%)
•Martin O’Malley 3% (3%) {3%} [1%] (1%) (2%)
•Mark Warner 1% (2%) {3%} [3%] (3%) (2%)
•Brian Schweitzer 1% (2%) {1%} [2%] (0%) (1%)
•Someone else/Not sure 33% (29%) {26%} [15%] (14%) (32%)
If neither Hillary Clinton nor Joe Biden ran for President in 2016, who would you most like to see as the Democratic nominee?
•Elizabeth Warren 23% (20%) {17%} [18%] (21%) {16%} [16%] (9%)
•Cory Booker 14% (8%)
•Andrew Cuomo 13% (11%) {25%} [22%] (25%) {19%} [21%] (27%)
•Martin O’Malley 4% (2%) {5%} [8%] (5%) {7%} [5%] (4%)
•Kirsten Gillibrand 3% (5%) {5%} [5%] (3%) {5%}
•Mark Warner 2% (3%) {4%} [5%] (4%) {4%} [3%] (4%)
•Brian Schweitzer 1% (4%) {1%} [1%] (2%) {2%} [2%] (2%)
•Someone else/Not sure 39% (47%) {38%} [36%] (36%) {40%} [45%] (46%)
•Chris Christie 16% [14%] (13%) {15%} [15%] (13%) {14%} [14%] (21%)
•Rand Paul 16% [17%] (16%) {14%} [17%] (10%) {5%} [7%] (4%)
•Ted Cruz 15% [20%] (12%) {7%}
•Jeb Bush 14% [11%] (13%) {15%} [12%] (13%) {14%} [12%] (17%)
•Paul Ryan 11% [10%] (13%) {9%} [12%] (15%) {16%} [12%] (7%)
•Marco Rubio 10% [10%] (10%) {16%} [21%] (22%) {21%} [18%] (10%)
•Bobby Jindal 6% [4%] (4%) {3%} [4%] (4%) {3%} (3%)
•Rick Santorum 5% [3%] (4%) {5%} [5%] [4%] (12%)
•Someone else/Not sure 8% [9%] (13%) {15%} [10%] (8%) {7%} [7%] (10%)
Given the choices of Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, and Rick Santorum, who would you most like to see as the GOP candidate for President in 2016?
•Chris Christie 15%
•Ted Cruz 14%
•Rand Paul 13%
•Jeb Bush 12%
•Paul Ryan 9%
•Marco Rubio 9%
•Sarah Palin 7%
•Bobby Jindal 5%
•Rick Santorum 4%
•Someone else/Not sure 12%
•Rand Paul 17% [18%] (15%) {15%}
•Chris Christie 16% [11%] (13%) {15%}
•Jeb Bush 15% [13%] (16%) {15%}
•Ted Cruz 15% [24%] (14%) {9%}
•Paul Ryan 12% [9%] (14%) {8%}
•Marco Rubio 10% [9%] (8%) {16%}
•Bobby Jindal 7% [4%] (4%) {4%}
•Rick Santorum 3% [2%] (3%) {5%}
•Someone else/Not sure 6% [7%] (13%) {11%}
Among Women
•Chris Christie 16% [16%] (13%) {14%}
•Ted Cruz 15% [16%] (11%) {4%}
•Jeb Bush 14% [10%] (10%) {15%}
•Rand Paul 14% [16%] (17%) {12%}
•Paul Ryan 10% [10%] (13%) {10%}
•Marco Rubio 9% [10%] (12%) {15%}
•Rick Santorum 6% [4%] (5%) {4%}
•Bobby Jindal 5% [5%] (3%) {3%}
•Someone else/Not sure 10% [11%] (14%) {19%}
•Ted Cruz 26% [34%] (20%) {8%}
•Rand Paul 18% [17%] (18%) {18%}
•Jeb Bush 15% [7%] (12%) {14%}
•Paul Ryan 13% [12%] (17%) {9%}
•Rick Santorum 8% [4%] (4%) {9%}
•Bobby Jindal 7% [5%] (4%) {3%}
•Marco Rubio 6% [9%] (8%) {17%}
•Chris Christie 3% [4%] (7%) {7%}
•Someone else/Not sure 3% [7%] (9%) {13%}
Somewhat Conservative
•Rand Paul 17% [20%] (16%) {13%}
•Chris Christie 16% [12%] (13%) {14%}
•Marco Rubio 13% [11%] (14%) {18%}
•Paul Ryan 12% [11%] (13%) {11%}
•Ted Cruz 12% [13%] (7%) {6%}
•Jeb Bush 11% [14%] (13%) {16%}
•Bobby Jindal 5% [3%] (3%) {3%}
•Rick Santorum 4% [3%] (4%) {4%}
•Someone else/Not sure 9% [11%] (15%) {15%}
Moderate
•Chris Christie 36% [34%] (24%) {25%}
•Jeb Bush 18% [12%] (12%) {17%}
•Rand Paul 10% [9%] (12%) {9%}
•Paul Ryan 8% [6%] (11%) {7%}
•Marco Rubio 8% [10%] (6%) {14%}
•Ted Cruz 5% [4%] (8%) {5%}
•Bobby Jindal 3% [7%] (4%) {2%}
•Rick Santorum 2% [2%] (4%) {1%}
•Someone else/Not sure 10% [9%] (16%) {17%}
Not impressed with Ed at PMQ`s...Not a single question about 1800 jobs lost!
That rather bears out my mole's opinion that Christie will struggle witht the conservative wing of the Party.
Nevertheless I still think he is the most likely Nominee.
Some of the PB moderating team work with and help people with disabilities, and the use of the word as an insult annoys us, given the stigma that people with disabilities have to deal with.
If the Democratic candidate isn't Hillary then I think we could see virtually anyone from the GOP.
An article by Frank Bruni in the NYT recently mentioned that there is voter appetite for a third party in the US. Perhaps it'll be George Galloway as president!
Would a Chinese hegemony necessarily be any worse in the long run than a British or American one (accepting that if you are British or American you have benefited disproportionately from your own country's dominance).
Personally I think the Anglo-Saxon model is a very good one but there is no guarantee it will last. So would a Chinese replacement be as bad as some people seem to think?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/10429954/Ban-the-burka-No-Muslim-women-need-our-protection.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2488235/Black-Panther-William-Potts-hijacked-plane-set-return-Cuba-face-justice-US.html
In other exciting news today, I am now being followed on Twitter by the 2nd most gorgeous man in the world. Just saying. For the uninitiated, he is Iván García, the Mexican diver. For those who thrive on coincidences, he is 5'5" tall - just like Daniel Radcliffe, who is the 1st most gorgeous man in the world.
PLEASE have more tory twits like Hammond intervene in the referendum.
Priceless.
"The vast majority have no interest in politics"
I wonder if that might change though. It seems to me that there might be quite a lot of evidence that improving peoples standard of living generally leads to them thinking about politics a little more. (Someone should donate 100k to Tim to see if he explodes!).
He always been a bit reticent about running. For some reason, I have the impression that he kind his current office and just doesn't have the fire in the belly to run for President.
Anyway, I am sure you are right. If Jeb passes, it looks like Christie's to lose.
http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Party.html?id=juEYiC9bRlYC&redir_esc=y
Idiot
I bet you one bitcoin that it will not happen by then.
By the way, you still owe me a beer.
India gets £280m in aid from the UK and launches a space mission to Mars. Shipyard workers in Portsmouth and the Clyde get sacked. Go figure
And we must remember thats £280m per year. Henry VIII started shipbuilding at Portsmouth: Cammo and the Coalition stands by and lets a 500 year tradition die. Great Britain? Don't make me laugh.
One day all Britain will wake up to the Lab/Lib/Con doom mongers and vote UKIP.
Do you think an Independent Scotland will get the Type 26 destroyer order?
It will be announced late 2014.....
Still, China will not overtake the US in terms of economic size in the next 10 years.
Come on, bet me. You know you want to.
(And you still owe me a beer, by the way.)
The Rhodesian war also meant that the European community were suspected of aiding the Rhodies (probably correctly in many cases) and left the country as part of a skilled brain drain. Add in a totalitarian govt and AIDS and by the mid eighties it was a basket case.
It is on the up now, and has a reasonable govt, but will take a lot of fixing.
Next door is wonderful Botswana where the govt has managed amazing GDP growth since independence, arguably the worlds most successful economy over the period. With good governance much of africa could be rich. A lovely but exasperating continent!
The problem for them is as long as there is strong tea party influence in the GOP then they will just end up where they were the last time with yet another GOP circus. One that promises to be even more hilarious than last time and would still result in the GOP establishment 'moderate' candidate lurching to the right to appease the base while trying to see off the other challengers.
Santorum, Bachmann and the other comedy candidates made it a very entertaining race to watch and bet on the last time. So unless there is a breakaway third party bid/candidacy, or the GOP somehow manages to expunge all traces of tea party influence, then there is bound to be some pretty unlikely candidates popping up again to make things interesting.
Emulating his out of touch stupidity might not be the wisest idea.
That's the prime reason why the Clyde won out. Although Portsmouth has built smaller vessels and large segments of the carriers, there's a lot more to building and commissioning a ship than that. And those skills are now mostly on the Clyde.
I love that part of the coast; we got married within the dockyard. But given the cost of these platforms, BAEs standard cost overruns, and a rather staggering lack of exports of military ships, there really is little alternative.
Oh, and on a point of fact, Henry VIII did not start shipbuilding at Portsmouth. Henry VII ordered what was probably the world's first dry dock in the town in 1495, and founded the Royal Dockyard. Which will continue in existence.
I'd expect UKIP to demand historical accuracy ... ;-)
For those Chinese who are interested in politics, it seems to have got to the latter-day Franco stage - you're allowed to think what you like and grumble to friends and accquaintances, so long as you don't try to spread the word or organise opposition. I've met quite a few who casually say to me in front of others that one or another Government policy is stupid or that inequality and corruption are serious issues - nobody tries to shut them up.
Unfortunately it cant change 40-60 into 60-40.
There is some real progress in africa, with the spread of democracy, and real hope of major progress. Even Angola and Mozambique are on the up. A long way to go though.
Hammond - "No, er, that's not er, that's not a logical sequence, ermm eh, sequence there, ermm."
Superb!
LOL
It is quite weird that the sort of thing that would induce growth and prosperity in most countries seems just to lead to corruption and misrule in Africa. Botswana is undoubtedly a rather shining exception and it's also a really wonderful place to visit. Zambia I hope is on a similar upswing, although there have been a few less than appraisals recently.
With regards Africa as a whole it'd be really nice if the birthplace of the human race got it's act together and looked to it's responsibilities.. do they really think their western, and eastern children are ready to look after themselves?
Makes complete sense.
I don't suppose it will amuse you one bit to know that I did very well at Chepstow.
Promise to keep quiet tomorrow.
Co op party Mp Ed Balls wanted Co op bank to grow...
Toxic.
Really annoying for me because I started my day winning a pile on Flaming Charmer at Chepstow and thought that was the start of a good day. It wasn't
Just like 20s Chicago, huh!
Without being the (cheap) manufacturing industry for western civilisation, it would not have happened.
Where it goes from here, is where we live in interesting times.