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More than 80 days into the job and Biden’s approval ratings stay very strong – politicalbetting.com

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Comments

  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355

    Italian nurses are protesting against mandatory vaccinations:

    https://tg24.sky.it/roma/2021/04/11/roma-manifestazione-contro-obbligo-vaccino-video

    There should be some kind of recognition for what the politicians have wrought in Italy. to get anti-vax to this level among the people who saw the effects of COVID is a work of considerable... something.

    What kind of recognition? Something like stoning in a public square.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,725
    eek said:

    tlg86 said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    You cannot be serious. KS can't do optimism. He is just plain dull. He knows his limits.
    Agreed. Starmer is counting on competence being the key battle ground (not necessarily a bad tactic). I do think part of Corbyn's "success" in 2017 was that they were quite positive and set the running in terms of what they'd do. Sure, the Tory manifesto helped them, but the Labour campaign was very positive.
    And May's was the worst ever, promising to screw every Tory the Country.. and anyone who had a bit of dosh saved up.
    Her mistake was failing to appreciate the lack of knowledge of the current system unless you directly encounter it. By drawing up a new system and making people aware that under the new system their glorious inheritance was not going to the children, people were appalled. Whether it was better or worse than the existing system wasnt important because by the time you find out about the new system granny is half way to the home and there's little else you can do about it.
    May's issue was (as you say) that she announced it without spending a year before hand emphasising how unfair the current system is.

    Care does need to be sorted out but there are zero votes to be gained from doing so (and a lot to be lost) so until someone finds a means of removing the politics from it nothing is going to be done.
    Euthanasia?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355

    eek said:

    tlg86 said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    You cannot be serious. KS can't do optimism. He is just plain dull. He knows his limits.
    Agreed. Starmer is counting on competence being the key battle ground (not necessarily a bad tactic). I do think part of Corbyn's "success" in 2017 was that they were quite positive and set the running in terms of what they'd do. Sure, the Tory manifesto helped them, but the Labour campaign was very positive.
    And May's was the worst ever, promising to screw every Tory the Country.. and anyone who had a bit of dosh saved up.
    Her mistake was failing to appreciate the lack of knowledge of the current system unless you directly encounter it. By drawing up a new system and making people aware that under the new system their glorious inheritance was not going to the children, people were appalled. Whether it was better or worse than the existing system wasnt important because by the time you find out about the new system granny is half way to the home and there's little else you can do about it.
    May's issue was (as you say) that she announced it without spending a year before hand emphasising how unfair the current system is.

    Care does need to be sorted out but there are zero votes to be gained from doing so (and a lot to be lost) so until someone finds a means of removing the politics from it nothing is going to be done.
    Euthanasia?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBHHFnUqo5o
  • eekeek Posts: 28,397

    eek said:

    tlg86 said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    You cannot be serious. KS can't do optimism. He is just plain dull. He knows his limits.
    Agreed. Starmer is counting on competence being the key battle ground (not necessarily a bad tactic). I do think part of Corbyn's "success" in 2017 was that they were quite positive and set the running in terms of what they'd do. Sure, the Tory manifesto helped them, but the Labour campaign was very positive.
    And May's was the worst ever, promising to screw every Tory the Country.. and anyone who had a bit of dosh saved up.
    Her mistake was failing to appreciate the lack of knowledge of the current system unless you directly encounter it. By drawing up a new system and making people aware that under the new system their glorious inheritance was not going to the children, people were appalled. Whether it was better or worse than the existing system wasnt important because by the time you find out about the new system granny is half way to the home and there's little else you can do about it.
    May's issue was (as you say) that she announced it without spending a year before hand emphasising how unfair the current system is.

    Care does need to be sorted out but there are zero votes to be gained from doing so (and a lot to be lost) so until someone finds a means of removing the politics from it nothing is going to be done.
    Euthanasia?
    Can't see your typical Daily Mail reader being that happy with Euthanasia being triggered when someone can no longer pay for the home help.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,725

    eek said:

    tlg86 said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    You cannot be serious. KS can't do optimism. He is just plain dull. He knows his limits.
    Agreed. Starmer is counting on competence being the key battle ground (not necessarily a bad tactic). I do think part of Corbyn's "success" in 2017 was that they were quite positive and set the running in terms of what they'd do. Sure, the Tory manifesto helped them, but the Labour campaign was very positive.
    And May's was the worst ever, promising to screw every Tory the Country.. and anyone who had a bit of dosh saved up.
    Her mistake was failing to appreciate the lack of knowledge of the current system unless you directly encounter it. By drawing up a new system and making people aware that under the new system their glorious inheritance was not going to the children, people were appalled. Whether it was better or worse than the existing system wasnt important because by the time you find out about the new system granny is half way to the home and there's little else you can do about it.
    May's issue was (as you say) that she announced it without spending a year before hand emphasising how unfair the current system is.

    Care does need to be sorted out but there are zero votes to be gained from doing so (and a lot to be lost) so until someone finds a means of removing the politics from it nothing is going to be done.
    Euthanasia?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBHHFnUqo5o
    V good.. not seen it b4
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,725
    eek said:

    eek said:

    tlg86 said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    You cannot be serious. KS can't do optimism. He is just plain dull. He knows his limits.
    Agreed. Starmer is counting on competence being the key battle ground (not necessarily a bad tactic). I do think part of Corbyn's "success" in 2017 was that they were quite positive and set the running in terms of what they'd do. Sure, the Tory manifesto helped them, but the Labour campaign was very positive.
    And May's was the worst ever, promising to screw every Tory the Country.. and anyone who had a bit of dosh saved up.
    Her mistake was failing to appreciate the lack of knowledge of the current system unless you directly encounter it. By drawing up a new system and making people aware that under the new system their glorious inheritance was not going to the children, people were appalled. Whether it was better or worse than the existing system wasnt important because by the time you find out about the new system granny is half way to the home and there's little else you can do about it.
    May's issue was (as you say) that she announced it without spending a year before hand emphasising how unfair the current system is.

    Care does need to be sorted out but there are zero votes to be gained from doing so (and a lot to be lost) so until someone finds a means of removing the politics from it nothing is going to be done.
    Euthanasia?
    Can't see your typical Daily Mail reader being that happy with Euthanasia being triggered when someone can no longer pay for the home help.
    Solves another problem.no.more Daily Mail readers.. end of vile newspaper.
  • FloaterFloater Posts: 14,207
    Sandpit said:

    Cookie said:

    ClippP said:

    Foxy said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Good afternoon. There's a must-read article by Dominic Lawson in today's Sunday Times, about how the decision not to close the borders was based on advice from the WHO that was almost entirely political and not based on medical evidence.

    So why did it take us nearly 12 months?
    Are our borders closed now? Perhaps in theory in the case of people from certain countries. But I read the other day that there are 150,000 people who have recently arrived in this country and are supposed to be in quarentine, but whose whereabouts are entirely unknown to the government.

    When are they going to sack that dreadful Patel woman?
    The reason for not closing the border is immigration. The belief is hardwired into the system that immigration is vital to the operation of the economy and society and it must not be stopped.
    Yes, and it's actually slightly jarring seeing the nominally left-wing criticising Priti Patel for not being tough enough on immigration.
    Immigration and quarantine are not mutually exclusive though.

    The important thing is that we don't allow potentially infectious people to enter the country, it really shouldn't be rocket science!
    i was watching Big Plane TV live from Heathrow earlier

    people might be surprised at how many of these birds are currently flying

  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,599

    Italian nurses are protesting against mandatory vaccinations:

    https://tg24.sky.it/roma/2021/04/11/roma-manifestazione-contro-obbligo-vaccino-video

    How screwed up is your country, when you can’t get nurses to take vaccines?

    (Assuming this is a genuine problem, rather than a few militant trade unionists).

    In my part of the world, they’ve come up with a more elegant solution. Vaccines for public-facing staff are not compulsory, but anyone not vaccinated needs to take a PCR test every week at their own expense.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,083
    They never learn....

    James Maddison among Leicester players dropped for Covid-19 breach - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56710648
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,710

    They never learn....

    James Maddison among Leicester players dropped for Covid-19 breach - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56710648

    Party at a players house last Sunday apparently, several other players there
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    Sandpit said:

    Italian nurses are protesting against mandatory vaccinations:

    https://tg24.sky.it/roma/2021/04/11/roma-manifestazione-contro-obbligo-vaccino-video

    How screwed up is your country, when you can’t get nurses to take vaccines?

    (Assuming this is a genuine problem, rather than a few militant trade unionists).

    In my part of the world, they’ve come up with a more elegant solution. Vaccines for public-facing staff are not compulsory, but anyone not vaccinated needs to take a PCR test every week at their own expense.
    Is that Dubai? It sound exactly like their style....
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    UK cases by specimen date

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  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    UK cases by specimen date and scaled to 100k population

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  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    UK case summary

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  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    UK hospitals

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  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,710
    Sandpit said:

    Italian nurses are protesting against mandatory vaccinations:

    https://tg24.sky.it/roma/2021/04/11/roma-manifestazione-contro-obbligo-vaccino-video

    How screwed up is your country, when you can’t get nurses to take vaccines?

    (Assuming this is a genuine problem, rather than a few militant trade unionists).

    In my part of the world, they’ve come up with a more elegant solution. Vaccines for public-facing staff are not compulsory, but anyone not vaccinated needs to take a PCR test every week at their own expense.
    Well, it is true here...

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56291564
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    UK deaths

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  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    UK R

    from cases

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    from hospitalisations

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  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    Age related data

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  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    Age related data scaled to 100k population per age group

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  • 1,730 new cases and 7 deaths.

    image

    This is an incredible result. France has 43,000 new cases and 210 deaths and on a depressing trajectory, with some frightening numbers in south america.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    UK vaccinations

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  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    England CFR

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  • state_go_awaystate_go_away Posts: 5,815

    1,730 new cases and 7 deaths.

    image

    This is an incredible result. France has 43,000 new cases and 210 deaths and on a depressing trajectory, with some frightening numbers in south america.
    So need to open up faster otherwise its wasted
  • NorthofStokeNorthofStoke Posts: 1,758
    eek said:

    tlg86 said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    You cannot be serious. KS can't do optimism. He is just plain dull. He knows his limits.
    Agreed. Starmer is counting on competence being the key battle ground (not necessarily a bad tactic). I do think part of Corbyn's "success" in 2017 was that they were quite positive and set the running in terms of what they'd do. Sure, the Tory manifesto helped them, but the Labour campaign was very positive.
    And May's was the worst ever, promising to screw every Tory the Country.. and anyone who had a bit of dosh saved up.
    Her mistake was failing to appreciate the lack of knowledge of the current system unless you directly encounter it. By drawing up a new system and making people aware that under the new system their glorious inheritance was not going to the children, people were appalled. Whether it was better or worse than the existing system wasnt important because by the time you find out about the new system granny is half way to the home and there's little else you can do about it.
    May's issue was (as you say) that she announced it without spending a year before hand emphasising how unfair the current system is.

    Care does need to be sorted out but there are zero votes to be gained from doing so (and a lot to be lost) so until someone finds a means of removing the politics from it nothing is going to be done.
    I think this is a genuine case for a Royal Commission with clout. It would be amusing if both trading arrangements with EU and social care ended up along the lines pushed by Theresa May, the world's worst sales person...
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,476
    MaxPB said:

    Foxy said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    Surely it is mostly a vaccine bounce?
    I think lots of Americans are still very happy about the idea of not having a complete arse in charge as well. Not waking up to some new Twitter meltdown or insult to one of their institutions or allies.
    You think that's the case? Wisely, Biden has someone else doing his social media - regarding gaffes in person, I don't think there's any less danger than there was before.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,476

    Italian nurses are protesting against mandatory vaccinations:

    https://tg24.sky.it/roma/2021/04/11/roma-manifestazione-contro-obbligo-vaccino-video

    There should be some kind of recognition for what the politicians have wrought in Italy. to get anti-vax to this level among the people who saw the effects of COVID is a work of considerable... something.

    What kind of recognition? Something like stoning in a public square.
    Too late, most of those in charge seem to be stoned already.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    Foxy said:

    Sandpit said:

    Italian nurses are protesting against mandatory vaccinations:

    https://tg24.sky.it/roma/2021/04/11/roma-manifestazione-contro-obbligo-vaccino-video

    How screwed up is your country, when you can’t get nurses to take vaccines?

    (Assuming this is a genuine problem, rather than a few militant trade unionists).

    In my part of the world, they’ve come up with a more elegant solution. Vaccines for public-facing staff are not compulsory, but anyone not vaccinated needs to take a PCR test every week at their own expense.
    Well, it is true here...

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56291564
    Apparently there has been some progress since that BBC report - the London number for staff is now 84%, up from 79%

    That occurred over a period off about a month.

  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355

    MaxPB said:

    Foxy said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    Surely it is mostly a vaccine bounce?
    I think lots of Americans are still very happy about the idea of not having a complete arse in charge as well. Not waking up to some new Twitter meltdown or insult to one of their institutions or allies.
    You think that's the case? Wisely, Biden has someone else doing his social media - regarding gaffes in person, I don't think there's any less danger than there was before.
    What was the quote from Biden to the Republicans in Congress? - "I won't embarrass you" ?

    I think that really covers a lot of it.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355

    Italian nurses are protesting against mandatory vaccinations:

    https://tg24.sky.it/roma/2021/04/11/roma-manifestazione-contro-obbligo-vaccino-video

    There should be some kind of recognition for what the politicians have wrought in Italy. to get anti-vax to this level among the people who saw the effects of COVID is a work of considerable... something.

    What kind of recognition? Something like stoning in a public square.
    Too late, most of those in charge seem to be stoned already.
    Try larger stones....
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,710

    Foxy said:

    Sandpit said:

    Italian nurses are protesting against mandatory vaccinations:

    https://tg24.sky.it/roma/2021/04/11/roma-manifestazione-contro-obbligo-vaccino-video

    How screwed up is your country, when you can’t get nurses to take vaccines?

    (Assuming this is a genuine problem, rather than a few militant trade unionists).

    In my part of the world, they’ve come up with a more elegant solution. Vaccines for public-facing staff are not compulsory, but anyone not vaccinated needs to take a PCR test every week at their own expense.
    Well, it is true here...

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56291564
    Apparently there has been some progress since that BBC report - the London number for staff is now 84%, up from 79%

    That occurred over a period off about a month.

    Sure, but still not unique to Italian nurses.

    Of course, some may be pregnant or have other valid reasons. I have two male 40 something Asian colleagues who have turned down vaccination. Crazy, but legal to be crazy still.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,476

    eek said:

    tlg86 said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    You cannot be serious. KS can't do optimism. He is just plain dull. He knows his limits.
    Agreed. Starmer is counting on competence being the key battle ground (not necessarily a bad tactic). I do think part of Corbyn's "success" in 2017 was that they were quite positive and set the running in terms of what they'd do. Sure, the Tory manifesto helped them, but the Labour campaign was very positive.
    And May's was the worst ever, promising to screw every Tory the Country.. and anyone who had a bit of dosh saved up.
    Her mistake was failing to appreciate the lack of knowledge of the current system unless you directly encounter it. By drawing up a new system and making people aware that under the new system their glorious inheritance was not going to the children, people were appalled. Whether it was better or worse than the existing system wasnt important because by the time you find out about the new system granny is half way to the home and there's little else you can do about it.
    May's issue was (as you say) that she announced it without spending a year before hand emphasising how unfair the current system is.

    Care does need to be sorted out but there are zero votes to be gained from doing so (and a lot to be lost) so until someone finds a means of removing the politics from it nothing is going to be done.
    I think this is a genuine case for a Royal Commission with clout. It would be amusing if both trading arrangements with EU and social care ended up along the lines pushed by Theresa May, the world's worst sales person...
    I think there's a case for incentivising care by families.
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670
    I see in a shadow docket decision SCOTUS has made America a theocracy.

    Impressive.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Sandpit said:

    Italian nurses are protesting against mandatory vaccinations:

    https://tg24.sky.it/roma/2021/04/11/roma-manifestazione-contro-obbligo-vaccino-video

    How screwed up is your country, when you can’t get nurses to take vaccines?

    (Assuming this is a genuine problem, rather than a few militant trade unionists).

    In my part of the world, they’ve come up with a more elegant solution. Vaccines for public-facing staff are not compulsory, but anyone not vaccinated needs to take a PCR test every week at their own expense.
    Well, it is true here...

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56291564
    Apparently there has been some progress since that BBC report - the London number for staff is now 84%, up from 79%

    That occurred over a period off about a month.

    Sure, but still not unique to Italian nurses.

    Of course, some may be pregnant or have other valid reasons. I have two male 40 something Asian colleagues who have turned down vaccination. Crazy, but legal to be crazy still.
    The scale of th issue in Italy and France seems to be quite different. I'm quite sure that there will be some refuseniks in every single country on Earth - but the difference between 84% take-up and strike action......
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,764

    eek said:

    tlg86 said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    You cannot be serious. KS can't do optimism. He is just plain dull. He knows his limits.
    Agreed. Starmer is counting on competence being the key battle ground (not necessarily a bad tactic). I do think part of Corbyn's "success" in 2017 was that they were quite positive and set the running in terms of what they'd do. Sure, the Tory manifesto helped them, but the Labour campaign was very positive.
    And May's was the worst ever, promising to screw every Tory the Country.. and anyone who had a bit of dosh saved up.
    Her mistake was failing to appreciate the lack of knowledge of the current system unless you directly encounter it. By drawing up a new system and making people aware that under the new system their glorious inheritance was not going to the children, people were appalled. Whether it was better or worse than the existing system wasnt important because by the time you find out about the new system granny is half way to the home and there's little else you can do about it.
    May's issue was (as you say) that she announced it without spending a year before hand emphasising how unfair the current system is.

    Care does need to be sorted out but there are zero votes to be gained from doing so (and a lot to be lost) so until someone finds a means of removing the politics from it nothing is going to be done.
    I think this is a genuine case for a Royal Commission with clout. It would be amusing if both trading arrangements with EU and social care ended up along the lines pushed by Theresa May, the world's worst sales person...
    Just bloody implement the Dilnot report and stop dicking around FFS.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,710
    edited April 2021

    eek said:

    tlg86 said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    You cannot be serious. KS can't do optimism. He is just plain dull. He knows his limits.
    Agreed. Starmer is counting on competence being the key battle ground (not necessarily a bad tactic). I do think part of Corbyn's "success" in 2017 was that they were quite positive and set the running in terms of what they'd do. Sure, the Tory manifesto helped them, but the Labour campaign was very positive.
    And May's was the worst ever, promising to screw every Tory the Country.. and anyone who had a bit of dosh saved up.
    Her mistake was failing to appreciate the lack of knowledge of the current system unless you directly encounter it. By drawing up a new system and making people aware that under the new system their glorious inheritance was not going to the children, people were appalled. Whether it was better or worse than the existing system wasnt important because by the time you find out about the new system granny is half way to the home and there's little else you can do about it.
    May's issue was (as you say) that she announced it without spending a year before hand emphasising how unfair the current system is.

    Care does need to be sorted out but there are zero votes to be gained from doing so (and a lot to be lost) so until someone finds a means of removing the politics from it nothing is going to be done.
    I think this is a genuine case for a Royal Commission with clout. It would be amusing if both trading arrangements with EU and social care ended up along the lines pushed by Theresa May, the world's worst sales person...
    I think there's a case for incentivising care by families.
    At the moment there is. The potential inheritance pays for the nursing home until £26 000 is left.

    My MiL is in a nice nursing home on the Isle of Wight, paid for by the sale of her bungalow. Her money runs out in about 9 months. She is well looked after, and personally, I do not have a problem with how it works. In effect it is paid for via her lifetime of savings.
  • eekeek Posts: 28,397

    eek said:

    tlg86 said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    You cannot be serious. KS can't do optimism. He is just plain dull. He knows his limits.
    Agreed. Starmer is counting on competence being the key battle ground (not necessarily a bad tactic). I do think part of Corbyn's "success" in 2017 was that they were quite positive and set the running in terms of what they'd do. Sure, the Tory manifesto helped them, but the Labour campaign was very positive.
    And May's was the worst ever, promising to screw every Tory the Country.. and anyone who had a bit of dosh saved up.
    Her mistake was failing to appreciate the lack of knowledge of the current system unless you directly encounter it. By drawing up a new system and making people aware that under the new system their glorious inheritance was not going to the children, people were appalled. Whether it was better or worse than the existing system wasnt important because by the time you find out about the new system granny is half way to the home and there's little else you can do about it.
    May's issue was (as you say) that she announced it without spending a year before hand emphasising how unfair the current system is.

    Care does need to be sorted out but there are zero votes to be gained from doing so (and a lot to be lost) so until someone finds a means of removing the politics from it nothing is going to be done.
    I think this is a genuine case for a Royal Commission with clout. It would be amusing if both trading arrangements with EU and social care ended up along the lines pushed by Theresa May, the world's worst sales person...
    I think there's a case for incentivising care by families.
    Not actually possible for a lot (possibly, even most) families nowadays. It's 40 years since Norman Tebbit told people to get on their bike to find work and it's incredibly rare for a family not to have at least one (if not all children) hundreds of miles away from where the parents live.
  • eekeek Posts: 28,397

    eek said:

    tlg86 said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    You cannot be serious. KS can't do optimism. He is just plain dull. He knows his limits.
    Agreed. Starmer is counting on competence being the key battle ground (not necessarily a bad tactic). I do think part of Corbyn's "success" in 2017 was that they were quite positive and set the running in terms of what they'd do. Sure, the Tory manifesto helped them, but the Labour campaign was very positive.
    And May's was the worst ever, promising to screw every Tory the Country.. and anyone who had a bit of dosh saved up.
    Her mistake was failing to appreciate the lack of knowledge of the current system unless you directly encounter it. By drawing up a new system and making people aware that under the new system their glorious inheritance was not going to the children, people were appalled. Whether it was better or worse than the existing system wasnt important because by the time you find out about the new system granny is half way to the home and there's little else you can do about it.
    May's issue was (as you say) that she announced it without spending a year before hand emphasising how unfair the current system is.

    Care does need to be sorted out but there are zero votes to be gained from doing so (and a lot to be lost) so until someone finds a means of removing the politics from it nothing is going to be done.
    I think this is a genuine case for a Royal Commission with clout. It would be amusing if both trading arrangements with EU and social care ended up along the lines pushed by Theresa May, the world's worst sales person...
    Just bloody implement the Dilnot report and stop dicking around FFS.
    https://www.carehomeprofessional.com/sir-andrew-dilnot-on-social-care-reform-where-did-it-all-go-wrong/ gives you a very good reason why it wasn't implemented.

    By the time everything was finalised an election blow the issue open again.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421
    @Lennon

    I would say my condolences...but truthfully, I’m far too happy to do that right now.

    What a match...and what a result.
  • NorthofStokeNorthofStoke Posts: 1,758

    eek said:

    tlg86 said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    You cannot be serious. KS can't do optimism. He is just plain dull. He knows his limits.
    Agreed. Starmer is counting on competence being the key battle ground (not necessarily a bad tactic). I do think part of Corbyn's "success" in 2017 was that they were quite positive and set the running in terms of what they'd do. Sure, the Tory manifesto helped them, but the Labour campaign was very positive.
    And May's was the worst ever, promising to screw every Tory the Country.. and anyone who had a bit of dosh saved up.
    Her mistake was failing to appreciate the lack of knowledge of the current system unless you directly encounter it. By drawing up a new system and making people aware that under the new system their glorious inheritance was not going to the children, people were appalled. Whether it was better or worse than the existing system wasnt important because by the time you find out about the new system granny is half way to the home and there's little else you can do about it.
    May's issue was (as you say) that she announced it without spending a year before hand emphasising how unfair the current system is.

    Care does need to be sorted out but there are zero votes to be gained from doing so (and a lot to be lost) so until someone finds a means of removing the politics from it nothing is going to be done.
    I think this is a genuine case for a Royal Commission with clout. It would be amusing if both trading arrangements with EU and social care ended up along the lines pushed by Theresa May, the world's worst sales person...
    Just bloody implement the Dilnot report and stop dicking around FFS.
    Yes, we could do worse. Would be a definite improvement.
  • not_on_firenot_on_fire Posts: 4,449
    edited April 2021
    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,176

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    Going by the age of US Presidents, William may well be dead by the time Archie runs for POTUS.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
  • not_on_firenot_on_fire Posts: 4,449
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    Doesn’t matter if Markle is a US citizen.
  • FishingFishing Posts: 5,052

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    A relative was an American tax lawyer. He always advised his clients against becoming American citizens unless they were usre they wanted to live there forever, because the US taxes your worldwide income if you're a citizen unles you renounce your citizenship. And if you do that, it's pretty painful to visit or do business in the US again.

    So I suppose we'll soon see how motivated Harry is.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,710
    Fishing said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    A relative was an American tax lawyer. He always advised his clients against becoming American citizens unless they were usre they wanted to live there forever, because the US taxes your worldwide income if you're a citizen unles you renounce your citizenship. And if you do that, it's pretty painful to visit or do business in the US again.

    So I suppose we'll soon see how motivated Harry is.
    Surely there is no reason for Harry to become a US citizen.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,176
    Foxy said:

    Fishing said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    A relative was an American tax lawyer. He always advised his clients against becoming American citizens unless they were usre they wanted to live there forever, because the US taxes your worldwide income if you're a citizen unles you renounce your citizenship. And if you do that, it's pretty painful to visit or do business in the US again.

    So I suppose we'll soon see how motivated Harry is.
    Surely there is no reason for Harry to become a US citizen.
    Yeah, not sure what advantage there is for him. It's not like they're going to kick him out or anything.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,031
    Today's Covid anecdote:

    Vaccination centre in Greater Manchester will be closed for a week as not enough supply to give out first doses, and as it only opened in February it is not time to start on second doses yet.

    Told to me by someone who works there.

  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,599
    Fishing said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    A relative was an American tax lawyer. He always advised his clients against becoming American citizens unless they were usre they wanted to live there forever, because the US taxes your worldwide income if you're a citizen unles you renounce your citizenship. And if you do that, it's pretty painful to visit or do business in the US again.

    So I suppose we'll soon see how motivated Harry is.
    Yep, I know of two Brits living out in the sandpit who have renounced US dual-citizenship. Uncle Sam keeps coming for you, no matter where in the world you end up, and handing back your American passport is quite the bureaucratic process.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,421

    1,730 new cases and 7 deaths.

    image

    Lowest number of cases reported since 2nd September. Nice to have the day before the next stage of reopening.

    Interesting to compare with Ireland, who have been in a similar lockdown to the UK since Christmas.

    They reported 303 cases today, equivalent to about 4,000 UK cases, and their 7-day rate (per 100k) was 63.4 when last given on Friday. The 7-day rate in the UK was 29.9 on the 6th.

    That difference must be the vaccination effect. I think there's a good chance this reopening will not lead to an increase in transmission.
  • not_on_firenot_on_fire Posts: 4,449
    Fishing said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    A relative was an American tax lawyer. He always advised his clients against becoming American citizens unless they were usre they wanted to live there forever, because the US taxes your worldwide income if you're a citizen unles you renounce your citizenship. And if you do that, it's pretty painful to visit or do business in the US again.

    So I suppose we'll soon see how motivated Harry is.
    Yes, Harry’s wealth is good another reason why he may not want to naturalise given the rules on worldwide income. Presumably he has a green card.
  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556
    IanB2 said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Good afternoon. There's a must-read article by Dominic Lawson in today's Sunday Times, about how the decision not to close the borders was based on advice from the WHO that was almost entirely political and not based on medical evidence.

    World Health Organisation is rapidly becoming one of those triplets - like the Holy Roman Empire - that is the opposite of what it purports to be.
    Like Conservative and Unionist?
    Like Liberal and Democrat?
  • rpjsrpjs Posts: 3,787
    edited April 2021
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    Doesn’t matter if Markle is a US citizen.
    Nope, @not_on_fire is correct. To naturalize as an American citizen by any qualification you have to a) renounce your "allegiance" to any foreign "prince or state" and b) renounce any title of nobility you may have. There are specific questions on the N-400 application form as to whether you possess a title of nobility and whether you are willing to renounce it.

    Renouncing the foreign allegiance is covered by the naturalization oath, and the US government does not care whether or not the foreign country regards the American naturalization oath as constituting a renunciation of citizenship under its laws (the UK does not, but some countries would), and so does not require naturalized citizens to go through any further steps to renounce their original citizenship under that country's laws. Note that the US oath talks about "allegiance" which is not necessarily the same as citizenship, although many countries would consider it to be the same.

    I can attest to the above from experience, having naturalized as an American citizen. I understand that if you do have a title of nobility, the US does require you to do whatever is necessary to formally renounce your title and that you must provide evidence of having done so before you can swear the American naturalization oath.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421
    rpjs said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    Doesn’t matter if Markle is a US citizen.
    Nope, @not_on_fire is correct. To naturalize as an American citizen by any qualification you have to a) renounce your "allegiance" to any foreign "prince or state" and b) renounce any title of nobility you may have. There are specific questions on the N-400 application form as to whether you possess a title of nobility and whether you are willing to renounce it.

    Renouncing the foreign allegiance is covered by the naturalization oath, and the US government does not care whether or not the foreign country regards the American naturalization oath as constituting a renunciation of citizenship under its laws (the UK does not, but some countries would), and so does not require naturalized citizens to go through any further steps to renounce their original citizenship under that country's laws. Note that the US oath talks about "allegiance" which is not necessarily the same as citizenship, although many countries would consider it to be the same.

    I can attest to the above from experience, having naturalized as an American citizen. I understand that if you do have a title of nobility, the US does require you to do whatever is necessary to formally renounce your title and that you must provide evidence of having done so before you can be swear the American naturalization oath.
    I’m not talking about Harry! My point is, it doesn’t affect their children’s citizenship status!
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,101
    Good approval ratings for Biden so far certainly and slightly up on the 51% he got last year
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,176

    IanB2 said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Good afternoon. There's a must-read article by Dominic Lawson in today's Sunday Times, about how the decision not to close the borders was based on advice from the WHO that was almost entirely political and not based on medical evidence.

    World Health Organisation is rapidly becoming one of those triplets - like the Holy Roman Empire - that is the opposite of what it purports to be.
    Like Conservative and Unionist?
    Like Liberal and Democrat?
    Whereas Labour are very much hard work.
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 10,770
    I just got a flyer from the 'Women's Equality Party'. They sound very reasonable. I don't think I'll vote for them mind you as I rather like all of my parts.

    Pretty retrograde stuff.

  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,101
    New French presidential polling

    Round 1

    Le Pen 26%
    Macron 25%
    Bertrand 19%
    Melenchon 14%

    https://twitter.com/EuropeElects/status/1380994517524971523?s=20

    Run-off

    Macron 54%
    Le Pen 46%
    https://twitter.com/EuropeElects/status/1381007870150508550?s=20

    Le Pen 60%
    Melenchon 40%
    https://twitter.com/EuropeElects/status/1380998902170726404?s=20
  • rpjsrpjs Posts: 3,787

    Fishing said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    A relative was an American tax lawyer. He always advised his clients against becoming American citizens unless they were usre they wanted to live there forever, because the US taxes your worldwide income if you're a citizen unles you renounce your citizenship. And if you do that, it's pretty painful to visit or do business in the US again.

    So I suppose we'll soon see how motivated Harry is.
    Yes, Harry’s wealth is good another reason why he may not want to naturalise given the rules on worldwide income. Presumably he has a green card.
    He certainly is eligible to be sponsored for a Green Card by his wife as the spouse of an American citizen. Whether or not he entered on an actual immigrant visa (which means GC on arrival) or some other visa from which he has or is in the process of adjusting status to permanent resident we don't know. Hopefully he was never a member of the Nazi party between 1933 and 1945 or has ever oppressed the Haitian people as I recall those were questions I had to check "No" to in order to get my spousal immigrant visa.

    However, not naturalizing does not absolve him of similar tax obligations as a US citizen, at least while he is a lawful permanent resident, and for several years after, should he ever decide to surrender that status and leave the US.
  • dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,300
    Statement from David Cameron: "As a former Prime Minister, I accept that communications with government need to be done through only the most formal of channels, so there can be no room for misinterpretation."

    Tweet from Chris MasonBBC
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868
    Fishing said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    A relative was an American tax lawyer. He always advised his clients against becoming American citizens unless they were usre they wanted to live there forever, because the US taxes your worldwide income if you're a citizen unles you renounce your citizenship. And if you do that, it's pretty painful to visit or do business in the US again.

    So I suppose we'll soon see how motivated Harry is.
    When I hear that, I always wonder why we don’t do the same? Free money.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,126
    dr_spyn said:

    Statement from David Cameron: "As a former Prime Minister, I accept that communications with government need to be done through only the most formal of channels, so there can be no room for misinterpretation."

    Tweet from Chris MasonBBC

    He was a former Prime Minister when he made the informal communications, so why didn't he realise it at the time?

    I was a fan of his government, but that's a classic 'I'm stupid, not malicious' defence, always a desperate gamble.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,203

    1,730 new cases and 7 deaths.

    image

    First sub 2,000 day since September 5th of last year
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,176
    I think the title race is probably done, but I've seen enough from Man Utd to think that they could win it next season.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,599
    dr_spyn said:

    Statement from David Cameron: "As a former Prime Minister, I accept that communications with government need to be done through only the most formal of channels, so there can be no room for misinterpretation."

    Tweet from Chris MasonBBC

    No sh!t, Sherlock. So why did he have informal communications with serving ministers, on behalf of a company who was paying him to make representations to government?

    Sounds like he’s trying to head off the formal investigation.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868

    IanB2 said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Good afternoon. There's a must-read article by Dominic Lawson in today's Sunday Times, about how the decision not to close the borders was based on advice from the WHO that was almost entirely political and not based on medical evidence.

    World Health Organisation is rapidly becoming one of those triplets - like the Holy Roman Empire - that is the opposite of what it purports to be.
    Like Conservative and Unionist?
    Like Liberal and Democrat?
    Or like Labour and co-operative, come to that.

    What a state our politics has got itself into!
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    edited April 2021

    1,730 new cases and 7 deaths.

    image

    Lowest number of cases reported since 2nd September. Nice to have the day before the next stage of reopening.

    Interesting to compare with Ireland, who have been in a similar lockdown to the UK since Christmas.

    They reported 303 cases today, equivalent to about 4,000 UK cases, and their 7-day rate (per 100k) was 63.4 when last given on Friday. The 7-day rate in the UK was 29.9 on the 6th.

    That difference must be the vaccination effect. I think there's a good chance this reopening will not lead to an increase in transmission.
    The vaccination effect is clear - COVID is becoming a young(er) persons disease in this country

    image

    EDIT and CFR is still falling

    image
  • rpjsrpjs Posts: 3,787
    ydoethur said:

    rpjs said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    Doesn’t matter if Markle is a US citizen.
    Nope, @not_on_fire is correct. To naturalize as an American citizen by any qualification you have to a) renounce your "allegiance" to any foreign "prince or state" and b) renounce any title of nobility you may have. There are specific questions on the N-400 application form as to whether you possess a title of nobility and whether you are willing to renounce it.

    Renouncing the foreign allegiance is covered by the naturalization oath, and the US government does not care whether or not the foreign country regards the American naturalization oath as constituting a renunciation of citizenship under its laws (the UK does not, but some countries would), and so does not require naturalized citizens to go through any further steps to renounce their original citizenship under that country's laws. Note that the US oath talks about "allegiance" which is not necessarily the same as citizenship, although many countries would consider it to be the same.

    I can attest to the above from experience, having naturalized as an American citizen. I understand that if you do have a title of nobility, the US does require you to do whatever is necessary to formally renounce your title and that you must provide evidence of having done so before you can be swear the American naturalization oath.
    I’m not talking about Harry! My point is, it doesn’t affect their children’s citizenship status!
    Apologies! Yes, you are correct that a natural-born American citizen (which Harry and Meghan's children are) could legally inherit a foreign title. There was a constitutional amendment proposed as part of the Bill of Rights which would have prevented American citizens from holding a foreign title of nobility without the consent of Congress on pain of losing their American citizenship. This was never ratified by the states but was never subject to a time limit for ratification so could theoreticaly be revived (the other "missing" amendment from original Bill of Rights limiting the power of Congress to give itself payrises was successfully revived and ratified after two centuries a few years back). Sometimes there are calls to ratify the "Titles of Nobility amendment" due to a weird conspiracy theory that it would somehow make being a lawyer illegal, because in the US lawyers traditionally use the description of "esquire" which is supposedly a title of nobility.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,227

    Sandpit said:

    Italian nurses are protesting against mandatory vaccinations:

    https://tg24.sky.it/roma/2021/04/11/roma-manifestazione-contro-obbligo-vaccino-video

    How screwed up is your country, when you can’t get nurses to take vaccines?

    (Assuming this is a genuine problem, rather than a few militant trade unionists).

    In my part of the world, they’ve come up with a more elegant solution. Vaccines for public-facing staff are not compulsory, but anyone not vaccinated needs to take a PCR test every week at their own expense.
    Is that Dubai? It sound exactly like their style....
    So costs around 5% of salary for a registered nurse.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,380
    dr_spyn said:

    Statement from David Cameron: "As a former Prime Minister, I accept that communications with government need to be done through only the most formal of channels, so there can be no room for misinterpretation."

    Tweet from Chris MasonBBC

    Fair play to Dave, but I don't think there was any misinterpretation.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421
    edited April 2021
    rpjs said:

    ydoethur said:

    rpjs said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    Doesn’t matter if Markle is a US citizen.
    Nope, @not_on_fire is correct. To naturalize as an American citizen by any qualification you have to a) renounce your "allegiance" to any foreign "prince or state" and b) renounce any title of nobility you may have. There are specific questions on the N-400 application form as to whether you possess a title of nobility and whether you are willing to renounce it.

    Renouncing the foreign allegiance is covered by the naturalization oath, and the US government does not care whether or not the foreign country regards the American naturalization oath as constituting a renunciation of citizenship under its laws (the UK does not, but some countries would), and so does not require naturalized citizens to go through any further steps to renounce their original citizenship under that country's laws. Note that the US oath talks about "allegiance" which is not necessarily the same as citizenship, although many countries would consider it to be the same.

    I can attest to the above from experience, having naturalized as an American citizen. I understand that if you do have a title of nobility, the US does require you to do whatever is necessary to formally renounce your title and that you must provide evidence of having done so before you can be swear the American naturalization oath.
    I’m not talking about Harry! My point is, it doesn’t affect their children’s citizenship status!
    Apologies! Yes, you are correct that a natural-born American citizen (which Harry and Meghan's children are) could legally inherit a foreign title. There was a constitutional amendment proposed as part of the Bill of Rights which would have prevented American citizens from holding a foreign title of nobility without the consent of Congress on pain of losing their American citizenship. This was never ratified by the states but was never subject to a time limit for ratification so could theoreticaly be revived (the other "missing" amendment from original Bill of Rights limiting the power of Congress to give itself payrises was successfully revived and ratified after two centuries a few years back). Sometimes there are calls to ratify the "Titles of Nobility amendment" due to a weird conspiracy theory that it would somehow make being a lawyer illegal, because in the US lawyers traditionally use the description of "esquire" which is supposedly a title of nobility.
    Well, I can hardly talk about misreading posts given I muddled up Victoria’s accession and death the other day! :smile:

    Thanks for the further info, which is very interesting, but again, my point was that as natural born US citizens they would technically be eligible for the Presidency, if that is what her ex-Highness is thinking of.
  • Time_to_LeaveTime_to_Leave Posts: 2,547
    kle4 said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Statement from David Cameron: "As a former Prime Minister, I accept that communications with government need to be done through only the most formal of channels, so there can be no room for misinterpretation."

    Tweet from Chris MasonBBC

    He was a former Prime Minister when he made the informal communications, so why didn't he realise it at the time?

    I was a fan of his government, but that's a classic 'I'm stupid, not malicious' defence, always a desperate gamble.
    I presume all the “please provide all your communications with David Cameron from 2016-2021” have gone in to all Government Departments this week. In about 28 days we should see the next phase of the story.
  • eek said:

    tlg86 said:

    Good news for Keir.
    Biden shows what is possible with a bit of optimism.

    You cannot be serious. KS can't do optimism. He is just plain dull. He knows his limits.
    Agreed. Starmer is counting on competence being the key battle ground (not necessarily a bad tactic). I do think part of Corbyn's "success" in 2017 was that they were quite positive and set the running in terms of what they'd do. Sure, the Tory manifesto helped them, but the Labour campaign was very positive.
    And May's was the worst ever, promising to screw every Tory the Country.. and anyone who had a bit of dosh saved up.
    Her mistake was failing to appreciate the lack of knowledge of the current system unless you directly encounter it. By drawing up a new system and making people aware that under the new system their glorious inheritance was not going to the children, people were appalled. Whether it was better or worse than the existing system wasnt important because by the time you find out about the new system granny is half way to the home and there's little else you can do about it.
    May's issue was (as you say) that she announced it without spending a year before hand emphasising how unfair the current system is.

    Care does need to be sorted out but there are zero votes to be gained from doing so (and a lot to be lost) so until someone finds a means of removing the politics from it nothing is going to be done.
    The trouble is for every person who thinks the current system is unfair in favour of families with valuable houses to inherit,
    there is some-one else who thinks the current system is too loaded against families with valuable houses to inherit.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,083
    edited April 2021
    BBC News - Iran nuclear: 'Terrorist act' at underground Natanz facility
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-56708778

    I believe this might be one occasion when one can point the finger of being the work of shadowy Jews without being part of a massive anti-Semitic conspiracy theory
  • rpjsrpjs Posts: 3,787
    edited April 2021
    ydoethur said:

    rpjs said:

    ydoethur said:

    rpjs said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    Doesn’t matter if Markle is a US citizen.
    Nope, @not_on_fire is correct. To naturalize as an American citizen by any qualification you have to a) renounce your "allegiance" to any foreign "prince or state" and b) renounce any title of nobility you may have. There are specific questions on the N-400 application form as to whether you possess a title of nobility and whether you are willing to renounce it.

    Renouncing the foreign allegiance is covered by the naturalization oath, and the US government does not care whether or not the foreign country regards the American naturalization oath as constituting a renunciation of citizenship under its laws (the UK does not, but some countries would), and so does not require naturalized citizens to go through any further steps to renounce their original citizenship under that country's laws. Note that the US oath talks about "allegiance" which is not necessarily the same as citizenship, although many countries would consider it to be the same.

    I can attest to the above from experience, having naturalized as an American citizen. I understand that if you do have a title of nobility, the US does require you to do whatever is necessary to formally renounce your title and that you must provide evidence of having done so before you can be swear the American naturalization oath.
    I’m not talking about Harry! My point is, it doesn’t affect their children’s citizenship status!
    Apologies! Yes, you are correct that a natural-born American citizen (which Harry and Meghan's children are) could legally inherit a foreign title. There was a constitutional amendment proposed as part of the Bill of Rights which would have prevented American citizens from holding a foreign title of nobility without the consent of Congress on pain of losing their American citizenship. This was never ratified by the states but was never subject to a time limit for ratification so could theoreticaly be revived (the other "missing" amendment from original Bill of Rights limiting the power of Congress to give itself payrises was successfully revived and ratified after two centuries a few years back). Sometimes there are calls to ratify the "Titles of Nobility amendment" due to a weird conspiracy theory that it would somehow make being a lawyer illegal, because in the US lawyers traditionally use the description of "esquire" which is supposedly a title of nobility.
    Well, I can hardly talk about misreading posts given I muddled up Victoria’s accession and death the other day! :smile:

    Thanks for the further info, which is very interesting, but again, my point was that as natural born US citizens they would technically be eligible for the Presidency, if that is what her ex-Highness is thinking of.
    I do think that the only chance that the Titles of Nobility Amendment has of being revived and ratified would be if one of Harry's descendents eventually decides to run for POTUS, but only if some calamity had put them into direct succession for the British Crown as well.
  • stodgestodge Posts: 13,892
    Afternoon all :)

    I strongly suspect Putin's "sabre rattling" in the Ukraine is primarily about testing the new Biden administration. There's also the events of the conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh which saw Russia's client, Armenia, come unstuck.

    What we are seeing is Putin reminding Azerbaijan, Turkey and the West that for all the advances in drone technology there's still a place for more traditional modes of warfare and any attempt to force Russia our of Crimea, for example, is going to be resisted.
  • FishingFishing Posts: 5,052
    IanB2 said:

    Fishing said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    A relative was an American tax lawyer. He always advised his clients against becoming American citizens unless they were usre they wanted to live there forever, because the US taxes your worldwide income if you're a citizen unles you renounce your citizenship. And if you do that, it's pretty painful to visit or do business in the US again.

    So I suppose we'll soon see how motivated Harry is.
    When I hear that, I always wonder why we don’t do the same? Free money.
    a) it's extremely cumbersome and bureaucratic
    b) because they allow citizens to deduct foreign taxes from their US tax bill it doesn't raise that much money
    c) it gives expats a big incentive to renounce their citizenship.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    Sandpit said:

    Fishing said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    A relative was an American tax lawyer. He always advised his clients against becoming American citizens unless they were usre they wanted to live there forever, because the US taxes your worldwide income if you're a citizen unles you renounce your citizenship. And if you do that, it's pretty painful to visit or do business in the US again.

    So I suppose we'll soon see how motivated Harry is.
    Yep, I know of two Brits living out in the sandpit who have renounced US dual-citizenship. Uncle Sam keeps coming for you, no matter where in the world you end up, and handing back your American passport is quite the bureaucratic process.
    Sounds like they did it wrong. The main thing is to prove that you don't owe the IRS any taxes first. Then renounce - which is a ten minute thing at the Embassy.
  • Time_to_LeaveTime_to_Leave Posts: 2,547
    rpjs said:

    ydoethur said:

    rpjs said:

    ydoethur said:

    rpjs said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    Doesn’t matter if Markle is a US citizen.
    Nope, @not_on_fire is correct. To naturalize as an American citizen by any qualification you have to a) renounce your "allegiance" to any foreign "prince or state" and b) renounce any title of nobility you may have. There are specific questions on the N-400 application form as to whether you possess a title of nobility and whether you are willing to renounce it.

    Renouncing the foreign allegiance is covered by the naturalization oath, and the US government does not care whether or not the foreign country regards the American naturalization oath as constituting a renunciation of citizenship under its laws (the UK does not, but some countries would), and so does not require naturalized citizens to go through any further steps to renounce their original citizenship under that country's laws. Note that the US oath talks about "allegiance" which is not necessarily the same as citizenship, although many countries would consider it to be the same.

    I can attest to the above from experience, having naturalized as an American citizen. I understand that if you do have a title of nobility, the US does require you to do whatever is necessary to formally renounce your title and that you must provide evidence of having done so before you can be swear the American naturalization oath.
    I’m not talking about Harry! My point is, it doesn’t affect their children’s citizenship status!
    Apologies! Yes, you are correct that a natural-born American citizen (which Harry and Meghan's children are) could legally inherit a foreign title. There was a constitutional amendment proposed as part of the Bill of Rights which would have prevented American citizens from holding a foreign title of nobility without the consent of Congress on pain of losing their American citizenship. This was never ratified by the states but was never subject to a time limit for ratification so could theoreticaly be revived (the other "missing" amendment from original Bill of Rights limiting the power of Congress to give itself payrises was successfully revived and ratified after two centuries a few years back). Sometimes there are calls to ratify the "Titles of Nobility amendment" due to a weird conspiracy theory that it would somehow make being a lawyer illegal, because in the US lawyers traditionally use the description of "esquire" which is supposedly a title of nobility.
    Well, I can hardly talk about misreading posts given I muddled up Victoria’s accession and death the other day! :smile:

    Thanks for the further info, which is very interesting, but again, my point was that as natural born US citizens they would technically be eligible for the Presidency, if that is what her ex-Highness is thinking of.
    I do think that the only chance that the Titles of Nobility Amendment has of being revived and ratified would be if one of Harry's descendents eventually decides to run for POTUS, but only if some calamity had put them into direct succession for the British Crown as well.
    Surely the real reason no child of Harry and Meghan could be POTUS is that the post is becoming hereditary and a whole load of people called Bush, Kennedy, Clinton, and Obama have sharp elbows and first dibs.
  • It is snowing now in Renfrewshire!
  • Time_to_LeaveTime_to_Leave Posts: 2,547
    edited April 2021

    It is snowing now in Renfrewshire!

    And yet in Moscow, the sun still shines.

    Is that the right code still?
  • tlg86 said:

    I think the title race is probably done, but I've seen enough from Man Utd to think that they could win it next season.

    28 points won from losing positions this season
  • rpjsrpjs Posts: 3,787
    Fishing said:

    IanB2 said:

    Fishing said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    A relative was an American tax lawyer. He always advised his clients against becoming American citizens unless they were usre they wanted to live there forever, because the US taxes your worldwide income if you're a citizen unles you renounce your citizenship. And if you do that, it's pretty painful to visit or do business in the US again.

    So I suppose we'll soon see how motivated Harry is.
    When I hear that, I always wonder why we don’t do the same? Free money.
    a) it's extremely cumbersome and bureaucratic
    b) because they allow citizens to deduct foreign taxes from their US tax bill it doesn't raise that much money
    c) it gives expats a big incentive to renounce their citizenship.
    The French did talk about doing something similar, and IIRC they weren't going to allow a foreign tax deduction!
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421

    BBC News - Iran nuclear: 'Terrorist act' at underground Natanz facility
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-56708778

    I believe this might be one occasion when one can point the finger of being the work of shadowy Jews without being part of a massive anti-Semitic conspiracy theory

    Even the Israelis are pointing fingers at the Israelis...
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421

    It is snowing now in Renfrewshire!

    And yet in Moscow, the sun still shines.

    Is that the right code still?
    You idiot, as of 13 minutes ago it’s ‘over Kiev a new dawn is breaking.’

    Honestly, can’t you read plain Russian?
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 10,770
    ydoethur said:

    It is snowing now in Renfrewshire!

    And yet in Moscow, the sun still shines.

    Is that the right code still?
    You idiot, as of 13 minutes ago it’s ‘over Kiev a new dawn is breaking.’

    Honestly, can’t you read plain Russian?
    It seems that your Russian tank fandom might not pan out.
  • AnneJGPAnneJGP Posts: 3,080
    stodge said:

    Afternoon all :)

    I strongly suspect Putin's "sabre rattling" in the Ukraine is primarily about testing the new Biden administration. There's also the events of the conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh which saw Russia's client, Armenia, come unstuck.

    What we are seeing is Putin reminding Azerbaijan, Turkey and the West that for all the advances in drone technology there's still a place for more traditional modes of warfare and any attempt to force Russia our of Crimea, for example, is going to be resisted.

    They must be very confident about the efficacy of the vaccines they've administered to their troops. Wouldn't traditional models of warfare be quite good at spreading Covid?
  • Time_to_LeaveTime_to_Leave Posts: 2,547
    ydoethur said:

    It is snowing now in Renfrewshire!

    And yet in Moscow, the sun still shines.

    Is that the right code still?
    You idiot, as of 13 minutes ago it’s ‘over Kiev a new dawn is breaking.’

    Honestly, can’t you read plain Russian?
    Balls. Sorry tovarish.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,586
    Evening PB
  • Time_to_LeaveTime_to_Leave Posts: 2,547
    AnneJGP said:

    stodge said:

    Afternoon all :)

    I strongly suspect Putin's "sabre rattling" in the Ukraine is primarily about testing the new Biden administration. There's also the events of the conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh which saw Russia's client, Armenia, come unstuck.

    What we are seeing is Putin reminding Azerbaijan, Turkey and the West that for all the advances in drone technology there's still a place for more traditional modes of warfare and any attempt to force Russia our of Crimea, for example, is going to be resisted.

    They must be very confident about the efficacy of the vaccines they've administered to their troops. Wouldn't traditional models of warfare be quite good at spreading Covid?
    It’s the red army. Casualties on their own side have never been a worry.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421

    ydoethur said:

    It is snowing now in Renfrewshire!

    And yet in Moscow, the sun still shines.

    Is that the right code still?
    You idiot, as of 13 minutes ago it’s ‘over Kiev a new dawn is breaking.’

    Honestly, can’t you read plain Russian?
    Balls. Sorry tovarish.
    You have given it all away. Activate escape plan.

    We shall reconvene in 24 hours at the coal mine we discussed in Keighley. If anyone asks, you are there as part of a Ukrainian delegation to get ideas from the expert deep Yorkshire miners on how to restart mining in the Donbass.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868
    Fishing said:

    IanB2 said:

    Fishing said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Taz said:

    It’s early days. There will come a time when not being Trump and having his limitations isn’t enough.

    In politics, one has to look ahead. For example, if one's child is ever to become President of the USA, it needs to be born there, AIUI. In these uncertain days of pandemic, a pregnant woman would need to think carefully about leaving the US in case she couldn't get back in time for the birth.

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    It doesn’t necessarily have to be born there, it just has to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ McCain wasn’t born in America, for example.

    What might have complicated matters in this case is of course if born in Britain the child would automatically be entitled to British citizenship through Harry.
    It’s pretty hard to imagine Americans voting in the *nephew* of the King of England (as he will be once William is King) as their President.
    True, and bluntly if s/he turns out like their parents I’m not sure they would make a good Head of State, but I was only considering the exact constitutional point as a theoretical exercise.
    I believe a requirement of naturalising as a US citizen is to renounce any foreign titles and peerages. For this is reason I think it unlikely Harry will ever become a US citizen.
    A relative was an American tax lawyer. He always advised his clients against becoming American citizens unless they were usre they wanted to live there forever, because the US taxes your worldwide income if you're a citizen unles you renounce your citizenship. And if you do that, it's pretty painful to visit or do business in the US again.

    So I suppose we'll soon see how motivated Harry is.
    When I hear that, I always wonder why we don’t do the same? Free money.
    a) it's extremely cumbersome and bureaucratic
    b) because they allow citizens to deduct foreign taxes from their US tax bill it doesn't raise that much money
    c) it gives expats a big incentive to renounce their citizenship.
    They seem to think it's worth it.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    It is snowing now in Renfrewshire!

    And yet in Moscow, the sun still shines.

    Is that the right code still?
    You idiot, as of 13 minutes ago it’s ‘over Kiev a new dawn is breaking.’

    Honestly, can’t you read plain Russian?
    Balls. Sorry tovarish.
    You have given it all away. Activate escape plan.

    We shall reconvene in 24 hours at the coal mine we discussed in Keighley. If anyone asks, you are there as part of a Ukrainian delegation to get ideas from the expert deep Yorkshire miners on how to restart mining in the Donbass.
    My heart is drowned / In the slow sound / Languorous and long.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,355

    AnneJGP said:

    stodge said:

    Afternoon all :)

    I strongly suspect Putin's "sabre rattling" in the Ukraine is primarily about testing the new Biden administration. There's also the events of the conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh which saw Russia's client, Armenia, come unstuck.

    What we are seeing is Putin reminding Azerbaijan, Turkey and the West that for all the advances in drone technology there's still a place for more traditional modes of warfare and any attempt to force Russia our of Crimea, for example, is going to be resisted.

    They must be very confident about the efficacy of the vaccines they've administered to their troops. Wouldn't traditional models of warfare be quite good at spreading Covid?
    It’s the red army. Casualties on their own side have never been a worry.
    Do they have enough dissidents to form a mine clearing punishment brigade?
  • Time_to_LeaveTime_to_Leave Posts: 2,547
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    It is snowing now in Renfrewshire!

    And yet in Moscow, the sun still shines.

    Is that the right code still?
    You idiot, as of 13 minutes ago it’s ‘over Kiev a new dawn is breaking.’

    Honestly, can’t you read plain Russian?
    Balls. Sorry tovarish.
    You have given it all away. Activate escape plan.

    We shall reconvene in 24 hours at the coal mine we discussed in Keighley. If anyone asks, you are there as part of a Ukrainian delegation to get ideas from the expert deep Yorkshire miners on how to restart mining in the Donbass.
    I thought we were viewing the cathedrals?
This discussion has been closed.