Another day, another US concession to the Russians.
I had to laugh last night, though, when Trump described aid to Lesotho as going to a country nobody’s ever even heard of before.
My current trial was moved from Dundee to Glasgow and then to a different court within the building. I described it as peripatetic. One of those I am writing to admitted having to google that.
Sigh. Scottish education is not what it was.
English education being what it is, I had a peripatetic music teacher, who acquainted me with the term.
So 60% read at least one last year? I'd be amazed if it's that high.
It does sound high and I wonder if this shows Yougov's electronic sampling issues which we have discussed often when elections are looming, but the odd thing is that physical books made a comeback after they were said to be doomed by Kindle.
The breakdown in talks and aid between the US and Ukraine only helps Putin. I hope that @Keir_Starmer can use his new role to bring the two together and soon."
I'd say he's not fooling anyone but he probably is.
Personally i just cannot look past that he blames the EU and NATO for Putin's invasion. His attempt to walk that back was to act as though he could call it a pretext but still criticise the West for creating a pretext, which doesn't work.
It was a mask off moment, when the chips are down he parrots Russian talking points, and he's fortunate no one seems to care.
A Farage-led government would be as much of a threat to UK national security as a Corbyn one would have been.
If Starmer remains on his current course, there won't be any national security for anyone to be a threat to.
Don't be fooled by lefties calling Starmer's Labour Red Tories, it is yer actual card-carrying Blue Tories who have been hollowing out our armed forces for decades.
Trump may just have saved the monarchy in Canada (and Australia).
We need to reciprocate. A Starmer/Macron/Merz/Zelensky visit to Ottawa? Set up a separate minerals/economic deal + security guarantee. Ignore the White House - Trump is loving all the ratings.
On language and ethnic origin, New Zealand is interesting. The proportion of the population claiming white European descent is around two thirds now but it's fair to say the main demographic changes have been in Auckland and Wellington.
Hawke's Bay for instance remains as solidly white English middle class as always. However, the bakeries, I'm told, "are now run by Cambodians" - well, that might be true of the Angkor Wat chain, not surprisingly.
As for language, not as straightforward as the statistics might suggest. Indeed, one of the tensions has been the promotion of Maori - roughly 20% of the population has Maori roots. You go into a supermarket for example and the signs will be both in English and Maori - fair enough, you might say, but what angers many of the older European Kiwis is the Maori is first with English second.
Most public buildings have Maori first, English second and it's the explicit demotion of linguistic identity which creates racial and cultural tension.
As for Singapore, many will consider it a paradise. As an example of an ordered society, it takes some beating. Mrs Stodge "always feels safe" in Singapore. Yet you have a real racial intermixing between the Malay, the Chinese and the Japanese with notices in all sorts of languages. Yet no one seems to mind or care - they are a younger society than Britain for example but whatever they do, they do well. On that basis, we can dismiss the anti-multiculturalism nonsense as it's perfectly possible for people of different ethnic origin to live and work together.
Is it as simple as education or parenting?
Twin-language in the public space is intensely irritating.
It makes signs far longer and more cluttered than they need to be, and harder to read.
It's a tiny minority who need it, and can't speak the main language, so it's almost always politics that drives it, and thus political opposition to it.
Might I suggest a tour of Western Ireland or the Western Isles. You'll be very welcome.
On the ferry across Lough Foyle, the signs are in 3 languages - Irish, English and Ullans
NI in 2021, main language:
English 95.4% Polish 1.1% Lithuanian 0.5% Irish 0.3% Romanian 0.3% Portuguese 0.3% all others 2.2% (inc. Ulster Scots)
Trump may just have saved the monarchy in Canada (and Australia).
We need to reciprocate. A Starmer/Macron/Merz/Zelensky visit to Ottawa? Set up a separate minerals/economic deal + security guarantee. Ignore the White House - Trump is loving all the ratings.
The king should invite the PMs of UK/Canada/Australia and NZ to the formal reception of Trump and have a press conference where he welcomes the leaders currently running our former colonies, like having one’s children back for the holidays.
Why are we whining about Trump when this is happening in our own country?
“Here are 3 maps and a thread which show you what is now unfolding in some parts of England 🧵
1. Let me introduce you to St Matthews and Highfields in Leicester.
In this part of Leicester more than 80% of people who are living in social housing were born outside of the UK, of whom only half are currently in work.
More people in this area were born in the Middle East or Asia than in the UK. Three-quarters of residents are Muslim. Not even two-thirds identify as British or English while close to one in three identify with a 'non-UK identity only'. More than four in ten people here live in households that contain NO adults who speak English as their main language.”
My wife was born outside the UK, and (gasps) is from a Muslim country.
What has that got to do with Leon post, if his data is correct then it shows why we are skint for sure. Your wife is not living free in social housing or on benefits etc. Unlimited immigration of unskilled economic immigrants is wrecking the UK.
We don't have unlimited immigration of unskilled immigrants, or of any immigrants.
Data from one small bit of Leicester doesn't tell us much about the overall situation in the UK. When you look at all the data, it shows immigration is generally good for the economy.
Leon is a racist and an Islamophobe, who is shit stirring about this because he can't shit stir claiming Trump is great any more given how obviously ludicrous such statements are.
Trump may just have saved the monarchy in Canada (and Australia).
We need to reciprocate. A Starmer/Macron/Merz/Zelensky visit to Ottawa? Set up a separate minerals/economic deal + security guarantee. Ignore the White House - Trump is loving all the ratings.
The king should invite the PMs of UK/Canada/Australia and NZ to the formal reception of Trump and have a press conference where he welcomes the leaders currently running our former colonies, like having one’s children back for the holidays.
No.
The King needs to take the advice of the Canadian government.
Edit: Starmer should make a visit to Ottawa after this coming White House visit.
My last four books read: *) Live and Let Die, Ian Fleming *) First Time Ironman, Rhys Chong *) The Incredulity of Father Brown , G. K Chesterton *) Beyond the call of duty, Ben Ando and Nick Kinsella (a second re-read, because it is *very* good).
"Conflicting reports on US intelligence sharing with Ukraine
I earlier brought you the FT’s report claiming that the US has cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military’s ability to target Russian forces.
But Bloomberg (£) and Ukraine’s national broadcaster Suspilne are reporting that the flow of intelligence information continues.
I will keep an eye on that to see if there are any official confirmations either way."
If it's fake news, I apologise to our staunch ally, President Trump...
Apparently it's true. (On Fox News) CIA director John Ratcliffe indirectly confirmed the decision to restrict the provision of US intelligence to Ukraine, but suggested it was limited in scope and temporary to force sides back into negotiations:
Here is what he said:
What President Trump said is, he asked for a pause. As I mentioned, President Trump is the peace president, [there has] never been a war under his leadership, [and] he wants to end the wars that exist. And so in this case, as everyone saw play out, president Trump had a real question about whether president Zelenskyy was committed to the peace process, and he said: let’s pause, I want to give you a chance to think about that. And you saw the response that President Zelensky put out a statement saying, I’m ready for peace, and I want Donald Trump’s leadership to bring about that peace. And so I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, I think will go away, and I think we’ll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that’s there, but [it was needed] to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward...
"Shoulder to shoulder", with a shiv in their back.
Why are we whining about Trump when this is happening in our own country?
“Here are 3 maps and a thread which show you what is now unfolding in some parts of England 🧵
1. Let me introduce you to St Matthews and Highfields in Leicester.
In this part of Leicester more than 80% of people who are living in social housing were born outside of the UK, of whom only half are currently in work.
More people in this area were born in the Middle East or Asia than in the UK. Three-quarters of residents are Muslim. Not even two-thirds identify as British or English while close to one in three identify with a 'non-UK identity only'. More than four in ten people here live in households that contain NO adults who speak English as their main language.”
My wife was born outside the UK, and (gasps) is from a Muslim country.
What has that got to do with Leon post, if his data is correct then it shows why we are skint for sure. Your wife is not living free in social housing or on benefits etc. Unlimited immigration of unskilled economic immigrants is wrecking the UK.
Are you making an assumption that someone born outside the United Kingdom , whose background is Muslim, and whose first language is not English, is the reason we are skint?
Because that all applies to Mrs J as well. And I would hazard a guess that her English is at a higher standard than yours, even as a second language.
It's a reasonable assumption that someone born outside the UK who is living in social housing is probably a net fiscal drain.
Another day, another US concession to the Russians.
I had to laugh last night, though, when Trump described aid to Lesotho as going to a country nobody’s ever even heard of before.
My current trial was moved from Dundee to Glasgow and then to a different court within the building. I described it as peripatetic. One of those I am writing to admitted having to google that.
Sigh. Scottish education is not what it was.
That's patetic.
I only know it from a single context: school instrument lessons - the roving teachers were known as peripatetics. But for that I would never have heard it.
(My peripatetic sold my parents a second-hand musical instrument worth £150 for £600. Back then, without the internet, it was rather harder to research comparable prices on such objects. I wonder how common that scam was.)
Another day, another US concession to the Russians.
I had to laugh last night, though, when Trump described aid to Lesotho as going to a country nobody’s ever even heard of before.
My current trial was moved from Dundee to Glasgow and then to a different court within the building. I described it as peripatetic. One of those I am writing to admitted having to google that.
Sigh. Scottish education is not what it was.
That's patetic.
I only know it from a single context: school instrument lessons - the roving teachers were known as peripatetics. But for that I would never have heard it.
(My peripatetic sold my parents a second-hand musical instrument worth £150 for £600. Back then, without the internet, it was rather harder to research comparable prices on such objects. I wonder how common that scam was.)
My daughter's cello teacher won Classic FM peripatetic music teacher of the year a few years back, she is amazing and it was well-deserved. I think this was probably the first time I came across the word, so even later than you, but then I am a product of the Scottish education system that DavidL was lamenting so what can we expect eh?
"Conflicting reports on US intelligence sharing with Ukraine
I earlier brought you the FT’s report claiming that the US has cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military’s ability to target Russian forces.
But Bloomberg (£) and Ukraine’s national broadcaster Suspilne are reporting that the flow of intelligence information continues.
I will keep an eye on that to see if there are any official confirmations either way."
If it's fake news, I apologise to our staunch ally, President Trump...
Apparently it's true. (On Fox News) CIA director John Ratcliffe indirectly confirmed the decision to restrict the provision of US intelligence to Ukraine, but suggested it was limited in scope and temporary to force sides back into negotiations:
Here is what he said:
What President Trump said is, he asked for a pause. As I mentioned, President Trump is the peace president, [there has] never been a war under his leadership, [and] he wants to end the wars that exist. And so in this case, as everyone saw play out, president Trump had a real question about whether president Zelenskyy was committed to the peace process, and he said: let’s pause, I want to give you a chance to think about that. And you saw the response that President Zelensky put out a statement saying, I’m ready for peace, and I want Donald Trump’s leadership to bring about that peace. And so I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, I think will go away, and I think we’ll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that’s there, but [it was needed] to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward...
"Shoulder to shoulder", with a shiv in their back.
He wants that Nobel Peace Prize.
Changing the subject, Melania trying to get a bill to force companies like X to take down revenge porn. Wonder which items she is concerned about. Trump said to be very supportive.
The Government spent the Royal Mail pension pot – costing taxpayers £4m a day
Taxpayers have been handed a £45bn bill for Royal Mail’s pensions after government mismanagement left the scheme with no money to pay retirees, The Telegraph can reveal.
Why are we whining about Trump when this is happening in our own country?
“Here are 3 maps and a thread which show you what is now unfolding in some parts of England 🧵
1. Let me introduce you to St Matthews and Highfields in Leicester.
In this part of Leicester more than 80% of people who are living in social housing were born outside of the UK, of whom only half are currently in work.
More people in this area were born in the Middle East or Asia than in the UK. Three-quarters of residents are Muslim. Not even two-thirds identify as British or English while close to one in three identify with a 'non-UK identity only'. More than four in ten people here live in households that contain NO adults who speak English as their main language.”
My wife was born outside the UK, and (gasps) is from a Muslim country.
What has that got to do with Leon post, if his data is correct then it shows why we are skint for sure. Your wife is not living free in social housing or on benefits etc. Unlimited immigration of unskilled economic immigrants is wrecking the UK.
Are you making an assumption that someone born outside the United Kingdom , whose background is Muslim, and whose first language is not English, is the reason we are skint?
Because that all applies to Mrs J as well. And I would hazard a guess that her English is at a higher standard than yours, even as a second language.
It's a reasonable assumption that someone born outside the UK who is living in social housing is probably a net fiscal drain.
The majority of people, British-born or otherwise, are a net fiscal drain. That's how it works when you have a progressive tax system and an unequal income distribution.
If the international situation continues to deteriorate, could there come a moment when Starmer invites Badenoch to join a National government?
A point I was pondering yesterday.
I suspect not. We did not have a national government during Covid (maybe we should have?) and the situation is not yet delicate enough for a government with a large majority to cede some authority to the opposition.
It is plausible to see an eventual situation where it might happen, particularly if the government needs to rapidly increase defence spending to rearm and needs the political cover for that, but I don’t think we’re anywhere near that yet.
Why are we whining about Trump when this is happening in our own country?
“Here are 3 maps and a thread which show you what is now unfolding in some parts of England 🧵
1. Let me introduce you to St Matthews and Highfields in Leicester.
In this part of Leicester more than 80% of people who are living in social housing were born outside of the UK, of whom only half are currently in work.
More people in this area were born in the Middle East or Asia than in the UK. Three-quarters of residents are Muslim. Not even two-thirds identify as British or English while close to one in three identify with a 'non-UK identity only'. More than four in ten people here live in households that contain NO adults who speak English as their main language.”
My wife was born outside the UK, and (gasps) is from a Muslim country.
What has that got to do with Leon post, if his data is correct then it shows why we are skint for sure. Your wife is not living free in social housing or on benefits etc. Unlimited immigration of unskilled economic immigrants is wrecking the UK.
We don't have unlimited immigration of unskilled immigrants, or of any immigrants.
Data from one small bit of Leicester doesn't tell us much about the overall situation in the UK. When you look at all the data, it shows immigration is generally good for the economy.
Leon is a racist and an Islamophobe, who is shit stirring about this because he can't shit stir claiming Trump is great any more given how obviously ludicrous such statements are.
lol
OK, I will add in data from one small bit of South Manchester: my daughter's primary school has, in the last 8 years, gone from <5% English-as-a-second-language to >40%. This isn't some ghetto that is all the newest arrivals can afford, this is a comfortable middle class suburb (and as such, most of these immigrants are the sort of immigrants who are fairly easy to integrate). But it is does present a problem for the school. I suspect much greater problems are faced by schools in St. Matthews and Highfields in Leicester.
I don't believe that the data showing that 'immigration is generally good for the country' is based on a study with an open mind on the matter.
My last four books read: *) Live and Let Die, Ian Fleming *) First Time Ironman, Rhys Chong *) The Incredulity of Father Brown , G. K Chesterton *) Beyond the call of duty, Ben Ando and Nick Kinsella (a second re-read, because it is *very* good).
I took fourteen books out of the library in 2024. I'm not listing them. I have taken at least two out of the library in 2025. This does not include the books I purchased in 2024/5.
If the international situation continues to deteriorate, could there come a moment when Starmer invites Badenoch to join a National government?
A point I was pondering yesterday.
I suspect not. We did not have a national government during Covid (maybe we should have?) and the situation is not yet delicate enough for a government with a large majority to cede some authority to the opposition.
It is plausible to see an eventual situation where it might happen, particularly if the government needs to rapidly increase defence spending to rearm and needs the political cover for that, but I don’t think we’re anywhere near that yet.
I also don't think it would be Badenoch getting the call to join a Government of National Unity.
PMQs – Kemi was on her best form this week, looking serious with five short, precise questions on and around Ukraine. She then spoiled it by falling back on her usual rambling style for a question on the economy that was easily batted away by Starmer.
"Conflicting reports on US intelligence sharing with Ukraine
I earlier brought you the FT’s report claiming that the US has cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military’s ability to target Russian forces.
But Bloomberg (£) and Ukraine’s national broadcaster Suspilne are reporting that the flow of intelligence information continues.
I will keep an eye on that to see if there are any official confirmations either way."
If it's fake news, I apologise to our staunch ally, President Trump...
Apparently it's true. (On Fox News) CIA director John Ratcliffe indirectly confirmed the decision to restrict the provision of US intelligence to Ukraine, but suggested it was limited in scope and temporary to force sides back into negotiations:
Here is what he said:
What President Trump said is, he asked for a pause. As I mentioned, President Trump is the peace president, [there has] never been a war under his leadership, [and] he wants to end the wars that exist. And so in this case, as everyone saw play out, president Trump had a real question about whether president Zelenskyy was committed to the peace process, and he said: let’s pause, I want to give you a chance to think about that. And you saw the response that President Zelensky put out a statement saying, I’m ready for peace, and I want Donald Trump’s leadership to bring about that peace. And so I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, I think will go away, and I think we’ll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that’s there, but [it was needed] to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward...
"Shoulder to shoulder", with a shiv in their back.
He wants that Nobel Peace Prize.
Changing the subject, Melania trying to get a bill to force companies like X to take down revenge porn. Wonder which items she is concerned about. Trump said to be very supportive.
The breakdown in talks and aid between the US and Ukraine only helps Putin. I hope that @Keir_Starmer can use his new role to bring the two together and soon."
I'd say he's not fooling anyone but he probably is.
Personally i just cannot look past that he blames the EU and NATO for Putin's invasion. His attempt to walk that back was to act as though he could call it a pretext but still criticise the West for creating a pretext, which doesn't work.
It was a mask off moment, when the chips are down he parrots Russian talking points, and he's fortunate no one seems to care.
A Farage-led government would be as much of a threat to UK national security as a Corbyn one would have been.
If Starmer remains on his current course, there won't be any national security for anyone to be a threat to.
Don't be fooled by lefties calling Starmer's Labour Red Tories, it is yer actual card-carrying Blue Tories who have been hollowing out our armed forces for decades.
Well actually it was both. The idiocy of the do called Peace Dividend started under Major and was embraced by Blsir and Brown. They set the tone and it has just got worse since then.
Why are we whining about Trump when this is happening in our own country?
“Here are 3 maps and a thread which show you what is now unfolding in some parts of England 🧵
1. Let me introduce you to St Matthews and Highfields in Leicester.
In this part of Leicester more than 80% of people who are living in social housing were born outside of the UK, of whom only half are currently in work.
More people in this area were born in the Middle East or Asia than in the UK. Three-quarters of residents are Muslim. Not even two-thirds identify as British or English while close to one in three identify with a 'non-UK identity only'. More than four in ten people here live in households that contain NO adults who speak English as their main language.”
My wife was born outside the UK, and (gasps) is from a Muslim country.
What has that got to do with Leon post, if his data is correct then it shows why we are skint for sure. Your wife is not living free in social housing or on benefits etc. Unlimited immigration of unskilled economic immigrants is wrecking the UK.
Are you making an assumption that someone born outside the United Kingdom , whose background is Muslim, and whose first language is not English, is the reason we are skint?
Because that all applies to Mrs J as well. And I would hazard a guess that her English is at a higher standard than yours, even as a second language.
It's a reasonable assumption that someone born outside the UK who is living in social housing is probably a net fiscal drain.
The majority of people, British-born or otherwise, are a net fiscal drain. That's how it works when you have a progressive tax system and an unequal income distribution.
That may be true, but some people are more of a drain than others and it's no reason to add to their number.
My last four books read: *) Live and Let Die, Ian Fleming *) First Time Ironman, Rhys Chong *) The Incredulity of Father Brown , G. K Chesterton *) Beyond the call of duty, Ben Ando and Nick Kinsella (a second re-read, because it is *very* good).
I took fourteen books out of the library in 2024. I'm not listing them. I have taken at least two out of the library in 2025. This does not include the books I purchased in 2024/5.
I aim to read 100 books a year and have beat that total the last 2 years.
So 60% have read at least 1 book then and you don't need to be a fan of the Booker Prize shortlist to vote, indeed you can be nearly illiterate and innumerate and cast a ballot so I don't see why it dooms democracy especially
I haven't read a single book to the end I don't think.
I have read a couple of Cicero's missives from Estonia though, does that count?
I can recommend the Mr Men.
Especially good with grandchildren, easy to finish, and it's like PB on Parade.
Not read a book in a year? I have read Gordon the Big Engine six times in the last month. Yes, Mr Men are good. I read Mr Clever and Mr Rude on Monday. It's a bit like following PB.
In odd spare moments, as a change from Gordon the Big Engine, also working through Peter Lake's book On Laudianism, which, it has to be said, is a minority taste, not for the faint hearted. At least, the grandson, aged 4, finds it dull, derivative and too inclined to overlook the Marxist perspective.
The Government spent the Royal Mail pension pot – costing taxpayers £4m a day
Taxpayers have been handed a £45bn bill for Royal Mail’s pensions after government mismanagement left the scheme with no money to pay retirees, The Telegraph can reveal.
Yes, I was both recently departed a relevant senior role in the company and did flag this to PB at the time. Osborne cynically pocketed the Royal Mail scheme’s assets - which would now be in healthy surplus - to reduce the government’s reported debt - whilst passing the liability of paying for mine and many hundreds of thousands of posties’ pensions across to future taxpayers.
The breakdown in talks and aid between the US and Ukraine only helps Putin. I hope that @Keir_Starmer can use his new role to bring the two together and soon."
I'd say he's not fooling anyone but he probably is.
Personally i just cannot look past that he blames the EU and NATO for Putin's invasion. His attempt to walk that back was to act as though he could call it a pretext but still criticise the West for creating a pretext, which doesn't work.
It was a mask off moment, when the chips are down he parrots Russian talking points, and he's fortunate no one seems to care.
A Farage-led government would be as much of a threat to UK national security as a Corbyn one would have been.
If Starmer remains on his current course, there won't be any national security for anyone to be a threat to.
Don't be fooled by lefties calling Starmer's Labour Red Tories, it is yer actual card-carrying Blue Tories who have been hollowing out our armed forces for decades.
Well actually it was both. The idiocy of the do called Peace Dividend started under Major and was embraced by Blsir and Brown. They set the tone and it has just got worse since then.
It started under Mrs Thatcher. The famous clip of John Nott walking out on Sir Robin Day was under questioning on more cuts to the Royal Navy. The phrase ‘here today and gone tomorrow’ was coined by Nott himself who had already announced he would be standing down (after which he made a fortune in the City). (20 seconds video clip) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx1gWQacnEM
ETA Blair and Brown bought the navy two shiny new aircraft carriers. This may have been the wrong choice but is hardly a cut.
What happens if the U.K. asks the U.S. to decouple from GCHQ and its many UK bases , and it refuses ? There's a scenario where there's not much Starmer could do. No wonder he's taking Mandelson's advice instead.
My last four books read: *) Live and Let Die, Ian Fleming *) First Time Ironman, Rhys Chong *) The Incredulity of Father Brown , G. K Chesterton *) Beyond the call of duty, Ben Ando and Nick Kinsella (a second re-read, because it is *very* good).
I took fourteen books out of the library in 2024. I'm not listing them. I have taken at least two out of the library in 2025. This does not include the books I purchased in 2024/5.
I aim to read 100 books a year and have beat that total the last 2 years.
If you count multiple readngs of Mrs Large, Mr Men and Gordon the Big Engine I am way ahead.
Why are we whining about Trump when this is happening in our own country?
“Here are 3 maps and a thread which show you what is now unfolding in some parts of England 🧵
1. Let me introduce you to St Matthews and Highfields in Leicester.
In this part of Leicester more than 80% of people who are living in social housing were born outside of the UK, of whom only half are currently in work.
More people in this area were born in the Middle East or Asia than in the UK. Three-quarters of residents are Muslim. Not even two-thirds identify as British or English while close to one in three identify with a 'non-UK identity only'. More than four in ten people here live in households that contain NO adults who speak English as their main language.”
My wife was born outside the UK, and (gasps) is from a Muslim country.
What has that got to do with Leon post, if his data is correct then it shows why we are skint for sure. Your wife is not living free in social housing or on benefits etc. Unlimited immigration of unskilled economic immigrants is wrecking the UK.
Are you making an assumption that someone born outside the United Kingdom , whose background is Muslim, and whose first language is not English, is the reason we are skint?
Because that all applies to Mrs J as well. And I would hazard a guess that her English is at a higher standard than yours, even as a second language.
It's a reasonable assumption that someone born outside the UK who is living in social housing is probably a net fiscal drain.
The majority of people, British-born or otherwise, are a net fiscal drain. That's how it works when you have a progressive tax system and an unequal income distribution.
That may be true, but some people are more of a drain than others and it's no reason to add to their number.
Lol "may be true" - it is true. Plenty of people are a net fiscal drain but still do useful stuff.
BREAKING: Supreme Court DENIES President Trump‘s emergency bid to cancel nearly $2 billion in USAID spending. The vote is 5-4.
This is in respect of work already performed, as I understand it
Yep -
𝕵𝖆𝖐𝖊_𝕵0𝖍𝖓𝖘𝖔𝖓 · 10m "In an order, the justices left in place a lower court order that so far has only required the Trump administration to pay contractors for foreign aid work that has already been completed — roughly $2 billion."
What happens if the U.K. asks the U.S. to decouple from GCHQ and its many UK bases , and it refuses ? There's a scenario where there's not much Starmer could do. No wonder he's taking Mandelson's advice instead.
It’s horrendous that we have got ourselves in this position. De Gaulle must be laughing from beyond the grave.
So 60% have read at least 1 book then and you don't need to be a fan of the Booker Prize shortlist to vote, indeed you can be nearly illiterate and innumerate and cast a ballot so I don't see why it dooms democracy especially
Mmm, hasn't the book industry always been this way? Most people read no or few books, and publishers survive because of the small oddball slice of the population who read a lot of books. The breakout hits like Harry Potter are unusual because they get bought by the "few books" crowd and not just the prolific readers.
(Probably "prolific readers" are overrepresented here, because the forum naturally selects for people happy to read a lot of text and respond by putting their thoughts down in text.)
Why are we whining about Trump when this is happening in our own country?
“Here are 3 maps and a thread which show you what is now unfolding in some parts of England 🧵
1. Let me introduce you to St Matthews and Highfields in Leicester.
In this part of Leicester more than 80% of people who are living in social housing were born outside of the UK, of whom only half are currently in work.
More people in this area were born in the Middle East or Asia than in the UK. Three-quarters of residents are Muslim. Not even two-thirds identify as British or English while close to one in three identify with a 'non-UK identity only'. More than four in ten people here live in households that contain NO adults who speak English as their main language.”
My wife was born outside the UK, and (gasps) is from a Muslim country.
What has that got to do with Leon post, if his data is correct then it shows why we are skint for sure. Your wife is not living free in social housing or on benefits etc. Unlimited immigration of unskilled economic immigrants is wrecking the UK.
Are you making an assumption that someone born outside the United Kingdom , whose background is Muslim, and whose first language is not English, is the reason we are skint?
Because that all applies to Mrs J as well. And I would hazard a guess that her English is at a higher standard than yours, even as a second language.
It's a reasonable assumption that someone born outside the UK who is living in social housing is probably a net fiscal drain.
The majority of people, British-born or otherwise, are a net fiscal drain. That's how it works when you have a progressive tax system and an unequal income distribution.
That may be true, but some people are more of a drain than others and it's no reason to add to their number.
Lol "may be true" - it is true. Plenty of people are a net fiscal drain but still do useful stuff.
And plenty of people don't. It's not an argument for allocating a scarce resource like social housing to people from abroad.
Another day, another US concession to the Russians.
I had to laugh last night, though, when Trump described aid to Lesotho as going to a country nobody’s ever even heard of before.
My current trial was moved from Dundee to Glasgow and then to a different court within the building. I described it as peripatetic. One of those I am writing to admitted having to google that.
Sigh. Scottish education is not what it was.
That's patetic.
I only know it from a single context: school instrument lessons - the roving teachers were known as peripatetics. But for that I would never have heard it.
(My peripatetic sold my parents a second-hand musical instrument worth £150 for £600. Back then, without the internet, it was rather harder to research comparable prices on such objects. I wonder how common that scam was.)
My daughter's cello teacher won Classic FM peripatetic music teacher of the year a few years back, she is amazing and it was well-deserved. I think this was probably the first time I came across the word, so even later than you, but then I am a product of the Scottish education system that DavidL was lamenting so what can we expect eh?
It is a semantically peripheral term, on the outer perimeter of our vocabulary...
Euro has really strengthened against the dollar recently. Sterling somewhere in the middle (As it was when the opposite trend was happening)
I’m £4,000 up on shorting the Dow over the past week. The question is whether the trend will continue downwards, or whether this is a blip from which the Trump administration can recover.
‘Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…’
If the international situation continues to deteriorate, could there come a moment when Starmer invites Badenoch to join a National government?
A point I was pondering yesterday.
I suspect not. We did not have a national government during Covid (maybe we should have?) and the situation is not yet delicate enough for a government with a large majority to cede some authority to the opposition.
It is plausible to see an eventual situation where it might happen, particularly if the government needs to rapidly increase defence spending to rearm and needs the political cover for that, but I don’t think we’re anywhere near that yet.
A national government during covid would have been better all round. It might have stopped the politics a bit (Starmer's 'Johnson' variant etc). Whether it would have stopped partygate or Cummings is harder to say.
The breakdown in talks and aid between the US and Ukraine only helps Putin. I hope that @Keir_Starmer can use his new role to bring the two together and soon."
I'd say he's not fooling anyone but he probably is.
Personally i just cannot look past that he blames the EU and NATO for Putin's invasion. His attempt to walk that back was to act as though he could call it a pretext but still criticise the West for creating a pretext, which doesn't work.
It was a mask off moment, when the chips are down he parrots Russian talking points, and he's fortunate no one seems to care.
A Farage-led government would be as much of a threat to UK national security as a Corbyn one would have been.
If Starmer remains on his current course, there won't be any national security for anyone to be a threat to.
Don't be fooled by lefties calling Starmer's Labour Red Tories, it is yer actual card-carrying Blue Tories who have been hollowing out our armed forces for decades.
Well actually it was both. The idiocy of the do called Peace Dividend started under Major and was embraced by Blsir and Brown. They set the tone and it has just got worse since then.
It started under Mrs Thatcher. The famous clip of John Nott walking out on Sir Robin Day was under questioning on more cuts to the Royal Navy. The phrase ‘here today and gone tomorrow’ was coined by Nott himself who had already announced he would be standing down (after which he made a fortune in the City). (20 seconds video clip) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx1gWQacnEM
ETA Blair and Brown bought the navy two shiny new aircraft carriers. This may have been the wrong choice but is hardly a cut.
The size of the armed forces dropped from 256,000 in 1970 to 222,000 in 1980. Under Wilson an Callaghan. It then rose again slightly to 226,000 in 1990 under Thatcher
Time to drop the pretence that Trump is acting as any kind of ally in ending the war on Ukraine. The US is effectively a third party, sympathetic to the Russian invader.
This is all true. Not enough attention has yet been given to the difficulties western leaders including ours have expressing this in very direct terms.
The USA has a very significant military presence in Europe, including in the UK, where it has the capacity to store nuclear weapons. In other words, if Starmer were to speak as bluntly as PBers can he might say:
The USA is no longer a friend and is taking the Russian side; we would quite like it if they therefore, as well as providing a backstop for the Ukraine DMZ, also removed their tanks and aircraft and nuclear facilities from our nice Suffolk lawns.
Not unimportant is the fact that Starmer would then have to respond if the USA said 'No. We don't feel like it. How are you going to make us?'
We have not begun to think through the global implications of this axis shift. I feel real sympathy for Starmer.
This, I think, is the most important aspect of the whole situation at the moment and a very astute comment
We need to stop making the assumptions that are associated with the USA being a reliable ally e.g. that their military presence on our land is by our consent.
It's not that the USA would say 'how are you going to make us remove our military ' but rather that Trump might do so capriciously and that that would make the current hellish situation spiral several levels deeper into hell (and far harder to find any route out of). There is no space for pride in the current situation, we need to expend all our energies on finding the very narrow path that allows us, in five years time, to be less critically dependent on USA.
Trump generally sees US troops overseas as a burden rather than an asset so would probably only be too pleased to bring them home. Charging them rent for their bases might work too - though he may simply not pay.
But if it gets difficult, deny them visas and arrest any that go off base, cut off electricity and water. These bases are not made to be self-sustaining.
So 60% have read at least 1 book then and you don't need to be a fan of the Booker Prize shortlist to vote, indeed you can be nearly illiterate and innumerate and cast a ballot so I don't see why it dooms democracy especially
Mmm, hasn't the book industry always been this way? Most people read no or few books, and publishers survive because of the small oddball slice of the population who read a lot of books. The breakout hits like Harry Potter are unusual because they get bought by the "few books" crowd and not just the prolific readers.
(Probably "prolific readers" are overrepresented here, because the forum naturally selects for people happy to read a lot of text and respond by putting their thoughts down in text.)
Publishers survive because of the millions of people who buy books in supermarkets and airports, and who give books as presents.
What happens if the U.K. asks the U.S. to decouple from GCHQ and its many UK bases , and it refuses ? There's a scenario where there's not much Starmer could do. No wonder he's taking Mandelson's advice instead.
It’s horrendous that we have got ourselves in this position. De Gaulle must be laughing from beyond the grave.
Indeed. Absolutely any discussion like this was dismissed as basically Bolshevik anti-Anericanism by the same Tharcherites who disliked the French. The last laugh, c'est sur.
So 60% have read at least 1 book then and you don't need to be a fan of the Booker Prize shortlist to vote, indeed you can be nearly illiterate and innumerate and cast a ballot so I don't see why it dooms democracy especially
Mmm, hasn't the book industry always been this way? Most people read no or few books, and publishers survive because of the small oddball slice of the population who read a lot of books. The breakout hits like Harry Potter are unusual because they get bought by the "few books" crowd and not just the prolific readers.
(Probably "prolific readers" are overrepresented here, because the forum naturally selects for people happy to read a lot of text and respond by putting their thoughts down in text.)
It remains just amazing how many books are published; and more or less impossible to think that they make money. And behind the huge boring book publishers like University of Chicago and others, are literally hundreds of smaller even duller ones producing Mongolian translations of medieval feminist Estonian folk poems. It's sort of miraculous, but you do wonder whether there are landfill sites large enough when you look at the book ads in TLS, NYRB, LRB and a thousand even obscurer journals.
Time to drop the pretence that Trump is acting as any kind of ally in ending the war on Ukraine. The US is effectively a third party, sympathetic to the Russian invader.
The lack of meaningful domestic opposition to all of this is disheartening. You’d think the CIA might tell him and Tulsi where to go, but evidently not.
The CIA is a state organisation. It's not for civil servants to reject the instructions of their properly elected / appointed political masters, no matter how stupid they are.
The US does still have an opposition party and civil society; let them lead opposition to the Trump agenda.
It's a little more complicated than that, as many of those state servants swear oaths to the constitution. Rejecting instructions might mean resignation, but in quite a few circumstances, it is absolutely for them to refuse instructions, if they are illegal.
If something is clearly illegal, then yes. But sharing (or not) intelligence with Ukraine is obviously a policy decision well within the bounds of executive discretion. Indeed, sharing it against orders would be obviously illegal.
My last four books read: *) Live and Let Die, Ian Fleming *) First Time Ironman, Rhys Chong *) The Incredulity of Father Brown , G. K Chesterton *) Beyond the call of duty, Ben Ando and Nick Kinsella (a second re-read, because it is *very* good).
Am I the only reader of politics books? That seems unlikely on PB. My last six, excluding Cheltenham guides:-
Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip – Simon Hart
Cracking the Luftwaffe Codes: The Secrets of Bletchley Park – Gwen Watkins
Vassal State: How America Runs Britain – Angus Hanton
Syndicate – Felix Francis
Kingmaker: Secrets, Lies, and the Truth about Five Prime Ministers – Graham Brady (old lady)
Before & Laughter: The funniest man in the UK’s genuinely useful guide to life – Jimmy Carr
The National Security Adviser has confirmed the Yanks have stopped intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
Yep. Anyone who doubts the alignment of the US and Russia by a Kremlin foreign asset isn't complete needs to be sold a bridge.
Starmer and Macron are wasting everyone's time. We either need a European defence treaty in weeks or we might as well call another election so Farage can align us with Trump and Putin.
I learned today that whereas we own the subs and the warheads our nuclear missiles are owned by Trump. He can withdraw maintenance support of the missiles so our nuclear deterrent is quite literally and figuratively under water.
"Conflicting reports on US intelligence sharing with Ukraine
I earlier brought you the FT’s report claiming that the US has cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military’s ability to target Russian forces.
But Bloomberg (£) and Ukraine’s national broadcaster Suspilne are reporting that the flow of intelligence information continues.
I will keep an eye on that to see if there are any official confirmations either way."
If it's fake news, I apologise to our staunch ally, President Trump...
Apparently it's true. (On Fox News) CIA director John Ratcliffe indirectly confirmed the decision to restrict the provision of US intelligence to Ukraine, but suggested it was limited in scope and temporary to force sides back into negotiations:
Here is what he said:
What President Trump said is, he asked for a pause. As I mentioned, President Trump is the peace president, [there has] never been a war under his leadership, [and] he wants to end the wars that exist. And so in this case, as everyone saw play out, president Trump had a real question about whether president Zelenskyy was committed to the peace process, and he said: let’s pause, I want to give you a chance to think about that. And you saw the response that President Zelensky put out a statement saying, I’m ready for peace, and I want Donald Trump’s leadership to bring about that peace. And so I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, I think will go away, and I think we’ll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that’s there, but [it was needed] to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward...
"Shoulder to shoulder", with a shiv in their back.
The breakdown in talks and aid between the US and Ukraine only helps Putin. I hope that @Keir_Starmer can use his new role to bring the two together and soon."
I'd say he's not fooling anyone but he probably is.
Personally i just cannot look past that he blames the EU and NATO for Putin's invasion. His attempt to walk that back was to act as though he could call it a pretext but still criticise the West for creating a pretext, which doesn't work.
It was a mask off moment, when the chips are down he parrots Russian talking points, and he's fortunate no one seems to care.
A Farage-led government would be as much of a threat to UK national security as a Corbyn one would have been.
If Starmer remains on his current course, there won't be any national security for anyone to be a threat to.
Don't be fooled by lefties calling Starmer's Labour Red Tories, it is yer actual card-carrying Blue Tories who have been hollowing out our armed forces for decades.
Well actually it was both. The idiocy of the do called Peace Dividend started under Major and was embraced by Blsir and Brown. They set the tone and it has just got worse since then.
It started under Mrs Thatcher. The famous clip of John Nott walking out on Sir Robin Day was under questioning on more cuts to the Royal Navy. The phrase ‘here today and gone tomorrow’ was coined by Nott himself who had already announced he would be standing down (after which he made a fortune in the City). (20 seconds video clip) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx1gWQacnEM
ETA Blair and Brown bought the navy two shiny new aircraft carriers. This may have been the wrong choice but is hardly a cut.
The size of the armed forces dropped from 256,000 in 1970 to 222,000 in 1980. Under Wilson an Callaghan. It then rose again slightly to 226,000 in 1990 under Thatcher
Thatcher was PM from May 1979. The 222,000 in 1980 was under Thatcher.
I haven't read a single book to the end I don't think.
I have read a couple of Cicero's missives from Estonia though, does that count?
You've never read one single entire book? Or is this some laboured joke?
No, in the last year. That was the measure of not being fit to hold the right to vote wasn't it? I started a book on Gothic architecture over Christmas, on about chapter 3.
What happens if the U.K. asks the U.S. to decouple from GCHQ and its many UK bases , and it refuses ? There's a scenario where there's not much Starmer could do. No wonder he's taking Mandelson's advice instead.
It’s horrendous that we have got ourselves in this position. De Gaulle must be laughing from beyond the grave.
Always thought Britain learned the wrong lesson from Suez
The breakdown in talks and aid between the US and Ukraine only helps Putin. I hope that @Keir_Starmer can use his new role to bring the two together and soon."
I'd say he's not fooling anyone but he probably is.
Personally i just cannot look past that he blames the EU and NATO for Putin's invasion. His attempt to walk that back was to act as though he could call it a pretext but still criticise the West for creating a pretext, which doesn't work.
It was a mask off moment, when the chips are down he parrots Russian talking points, and he's fortunate no one seems to care.
A Farage-led government would be as much of a threat to UK national security as a Corbyn one would have been.
If Starmer remains on his current course, there won't be any national security for anyone to be a threat to.
Don't be fooled by lefties calling Starmer's Labour Red Tories, it is yer actual card-carrying Blue Tories who have been hollowing out our armed forces for decades.
Well actually it was both. The idiocy of the do called Peace Dividend started under Major and was embraced by Blsir and Brown. They set the tone and it has just got worse since then.
It started under Mrs Thatcher. The famous clip of John Nott walking out on Sir Robin Day was under questioning on more cuts to the Royal Navy. The phrase ‘here today and gone tomorrow’ was coined by Nott himself who had already announced he would be standing down (after which he made a fortune in the City). (20 seconds video clip) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx1gWQacnEM
ETA Blair and Brown bought the navy two shiny new aircraft carriers. This may have been the wrong choice but is hardly a cut.
The size of the armed forces dropped from 256,000 in 1970 to 222,000 in 1980. Under Wilson an Callaghan. It then rose again slightly to 226,000 in 1990 under Thatcher
Thatcher was PM from May 1979. The 222,000 in 1980 was under Thatcher.
Yep. And the cuts were prior to her assuming power. Under Callaghan and Wilson. Numbers when up slightly under Thatcher.
The breakdown in talks and aid between the US and Ukraine only helps Putin. I hope that @Keir_Starmer can use his new role to bring the two together and soon."
I'd say he's not fooling anyone but he probably is.
Personally i just cannot look past that he blames the EU and NATO for Putin's invasion. His attempt to walk that back was to act as though he could call it a pretext but still criticise the West for creating a pretext, which doesn't work.
It was a mask off moment, when the chips are down he parrots Russian talking points, and he's fortunate no one seems to care.
A Farage-led government would be as much of a threat to UK national security as a Corbyn one would have been.
If Starmer remains on his current course, there won't be any national security for anyone to be a threat to.
Don't be fooled by lefties calling Starmer's Labour Red Tories, it is yer actual card-carrying Blue Tories who have been hollowing out our armed forces for decades.
Well actually it was both. The idiocy of the do called Peace Dividend started under Major and was embraced by Blsir and Brown. They set the tone and it has just got worse since then.
It started under Mrs Thatcher. The famous clip of John Nott walking out on Sir Robin Day was under questioning on more cuts to the Royal Navy. The phrase ‘here today and gone tomorrow’ was coined by Nott himself who had already announced he would be standing down (after which he made a fortune in the City). (20 seconds video clip) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx1gWQacnEM
ETA Blair and Brown bought the navy two shiny new aircraft carriers. This may have been the wrong choice but is hardly a cut.
The size of the armed forces dropped from 256,000 in 1970 to 222,000 in 1980. Under Wilson an Callaghan. It then rose again slightly to 226,000 in 1990 under Thatcher
Thatcher was PM from May 1979. The 222,000 in 1980 was under Thatcher.
Yep. And the cuts were prior to her assuming power. Under Callaghan and Wilson. Numbers when up slightly under Thatcher.
Further - the Nott cuts were actually about strategy. The submarine service and the RAF projected a future in which surface ship were obsolete. The Soviet ASMs would wipe them out. IIRC doubt was cast on the possibly of Aegis to deal with swarm attacks.
I’ve got a copy of Keegan’s book, pre-Falklands, that laid this out.
So the surface Navy would go away, largely. With more spending on subs.
Then the Falklands showed that carriers could survive, and were vital. Also ASMs had their issues, and could be shot down. There was also a demo, by the US, of an Aegis system downing 20+ attackers on three different axis.
Comments
The Dungeon On Blood Island (actual gamebook)
You Is The Hero
Magic Realms
Dice Men
Railway related:
St Pancras To Barking
Birmingham & West Midlands Rail Atlas
https://x.com/sadgirlyboss/status/1896927611969822994
Good afternoon, everybody.
World Cup final to have Super Bowl-style half-time show – with acts decided by Coldplay.
Fifa reveals plans to bring taste of American football to sport’s biggest match;
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2025/03/05/world-cup-final-2026-coldplay-fifa-half-time-show/
English 95.4%
Polish 1.1%
Lithuanian 0.5%
Irish 0.3%
Romanian 0.3%
Portuguese 0.3%
all others 2.2% (inc. Ulster Scots)
And it's transgenic mice.
Republicans laugh at mentions of an African nation and trans mice
https://x.com/atrupar/status/1897116743840977173
The two sycophants giggling in the background belong in kindergarten.
The King needs to take the advice of the Canadian government.
Edit: Starmer should make a visit to Ottawa after this coming White House visit.
*) Live and Let Die, Ian Fleming
*) First Time Ironman, Rhys Chong
*) The Incredulity of Father Brown , G. K Chesterton
*) Beyond the call of duty, Ben Ando and Nick Kinsella (a second re-read, because it is *very* good).
(On Fox News) CIA director John Ratcliffe indirectly confirmed the decision to restrict the provision of US intelligence to Ukraine, but suggested it was limited in scope and temporary to force sides back into negotiations:
Here is what he said:
What President Trump said is, he asked for a pause.
As I mentioned, President Trump is the peace president, [there has] never been a war under his leadership, [and] he wants to end the wars that exist.
And so in this case, as everyone saw play out, president Trump had a real question about whether president Zelenskyy was committed to the peace process, and he said: let’s pause, I want to give you a chance to think about that.
And you saw the response that President Zelensky put out a statement saying, I’m ready for peace, and I want Donald Trump’s leadership to bring about that peace.
And so I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, I think will go away, and I think we’ll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that’s there, but [it was needed] to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward...
"Shoulder to shoulder", with a shiv in their back.
(My peripatetic sold my parents a second-hand musical instrument worth £150 for £600. Back then, without the internet, it was rather harder to research comparable prices on such objects. I wonder how common that scam was.)
Under new guidance prison sentences will be less likely for ‘ethnic minorities’ and ‘faith minority communities’.
This would create a two tier justice system.
We belive in equality under the law.
Why doesn’t Labour?
Changing the subject, Melania trying to get a bill to force companies like X to take down revenge porn. Wonder which items she is concerned about. Trump said to be very supportive.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8d41zv4ng2o
Taxpayers have been handed a £45bn bill for Royal Mail’s pensions after government mismanagement left the scheme with no money to pay retirees, The Telegraph can reveal.
The coalition government took over most of the company’s pensions in 2012 ahead of privatisation, but then spent the scheme’s assets and left taxpayers on the hook for decades of payments, an expert warned.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/pensions/royal-mail-pension-scheme-cost-taxpayers-45bn/ (£££)
A pre sentence report doesn’t preclude prison sentences
https://x.com/robertjenrick/status/1897289386972369144?s=61&t=c6bcp0cjChLfQN5Tc8A_6g
I suspect not. We did not have a national government during Covid (maybe we should have?) and the situation is not yet delicate enough for a government with a large majority to cede some authority to the opposition.
It is plausible to see an eventual situation where it might happen, particularly if the government needs to rapidly increase defence spending to rearm and needs the political cover for that, but I don’t think we’re anywhere near that yet.
I don't believe that the data showing that 'immigration is generally good for the country' is based on a study with an open mind on the matter.
BREAKING: Supreme Court DENIES President Trump‘s emergency bid to cancel nearly $2 billion in USAID spending. The vote is 5-4.
Even if you hated her she shouldn’t have to have any private photos of her shared around like anyone else.
In odd spare moments, as a change from Gordon the Big Engine, also working through Peter Lake's book On Laudianism, which, it has to be said, is a minority taste, not for the faint hearted. At least, the grandson, aged 4, finds it dull, derivative and too inclined to overlook the Marxist perspective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx1gWQacnEM
ETA Blair and Brown bought the navy two shiny new aircraft carriers. This may have been the wrong choice but is hardly a cut.
What happens if the U.K. asks the U.S. to decouple from GCHQ and its many UK bases , and it refuses ? There's a scenario where there's not much Starmer could do. No wonder he's taking Mandelson's advice instead.
You are a prime example of someone who would do well to read more, and talk less.
𝕵𝖆𝖐𝖊_𝕵0𝖍𝖓𝖘𝖔𝖓
·
10m
"In an order, the justices left in place a lower court order that so far has only required the Trump administration to pay contractors for foreign aid work that has already been completed — roughly $2 billion."
(Probably "prolific readers" are overrepresented here, because the forum naturally selects for people happy to read a lot of text and respond by putting their thoughts down in text.)
- Winston S Churchill, 11 November 1947.
But if it gets difficult, deny them visas and arrest any that go off base, cut off electricity and water. These bases are not made to be self-sustaining.
I despise them.
(Although A Rush of Blood to the Head was a good album.)
NEW THREAD
Absolutely any discussion like this was dismissed as basically Bolshevik anti-Anericanism by the same Tharcherites who disliked the French. The last laugh, c'est sur.
Starmer and Macron are wasting everyone's time. We either need a European defence treaty in weeks or we might as well call another election so Farage can align us with Trump and Putin.
I learned today that whereas we own the subs and the warheads our nuclear missiles are owned by Trump. He can withdraw maintenance support of the missiles so our nuclear deterrent is quite literally and figuratively under water.
It would appear that it does?
I’ve got a copy of Keegan’s book, pre-Falklands, that laid this out.
So the surface Navy would go away, largely. With more spending on subs.
Then the Falklands showed that carriers could survive, and were vital. Also ASMs had their issues, and could be shot down. There was also a demo, by the US, of an Aegis system downing 20+ attackers on three different axis.