President Trump has said his most barbed thing yet about Sir Keir Starmer.
“This is not Winston Churchill we're dealing with” the president said, in a news conference alongside the chancellor of Germany.
Sounds like Keir is off the Christmas card list. Might give him a bump in the polls though.
No easier way to improve his polling than pick a fight with Trump.
The biggest strategic error of his premiership has been trying to moderate Trump. Led to Mandelson, big reason why he lost his core vote, makes him look indecisive/weak.
I agree. In a sense his attempts to 'manage' Trump show him in a good light because it would have been personally unpleasant to have his tongue up there and it was putting (in his genuine perception) the national interest over domestic popularity and party, but it was a mistake. It misread Trump as 'transactional'. He isn't. He's wild and nasty. So it's led to the worst of all worlds. Looks weak for the obfuscation and punch pulling, gets the negative reward of being insulted.
There's another reading where Starmer has the measure of Trump and sees him as a problem to be dealt with. So he engages where he can and resists where he must. But otherwise as you say. People see this inconsistency and think he's vacillating as per normal.
John Bolton @AmbJohnBolton · 2h Trump has made it clear. This is a regime change mission. But you don't achieve regime change by replacing Khamenei with another ayatollah. In order for regime change to happen, the entire structure of the ayatollahs and the Revolutionary Guard must be swept away.
I'm looking forward to Bolton getting in uniform and leading the US assault on Tehran himself, if he's that set on it.
From wiki: "Bolton was a supporter of the Vietnam War,[36] but avoided combat through a student deferment followed by enlistment in the Maryland National Guard."
The fact anyone supports Trump over anyone let alone a sovereign European State renders them as traitors, imbeciles and deranged
The presser I've just watched would have seen a Peter sellers sketch with sellers as Trump kicked out for being utterly implausible. .
Watching a US president who is beyond deranged.
Are Mertz and Carney traitors ?
Thats up to Germans and Canadians to decide.
They're very stupid. if it ends like Iraq it'll hag around their necks like a bad smell for as long as they live
We're already on a totally different trajectory. However it ends up, it won't be "like Iraq".
I'm not convinced Trump won't launch a land invasion. The temptation to succeed in the takeover of a foreign state where the hated Bushes failed might prove to be overwhelming.
Germany's Merz supports U.S. embargoing Spain, claims it's to "convince" them to increase NATO spending.
Is there a longer clip that matches that description? Because the clip you posted doesn't actually show that at all.
Merz and the rest of the EU is irritated with Spain and its NATO contributions but I would be astonished if Merz actually said that . Supporting a trade embargo against a fellow EU member !
An excellent report for today on the situation in the Hormuz Strait.
From my favourite shipping channel, What's Going on with Shipping.
Episode is entitled: Dire Strait.
He's particularly cross with the insurance companies, who have ordered everyone not to move - -perhaps whist waiting for their trebled rates to kick-in.
There's a good centre left grouping coming together. Now that Starmer is following his MPs and not slavishly following Trump a 'NEW LABOUR' could be at its centre. If he can't resist the pull towards Farage he can and will be replaced. He's got roughly 10 weeks to show he's the person to lead this grouping otherwise he'll be out. This I believe to be a fact.
I think that ship has sailed sadly. Starmer has lost the left permanently.
He has tewn weeks to get them back. Yesterday was a very good start. Everyone likes a repentant sinner and failing that Burnham is waiting in the wings. Burnham should get on well with Zack. Two Mancunions
Starmer will not get the left back and replacing him may not be the cure you think it is
Labour are in an existential crisis being attacked from right and left
A Labour government has to deal with geopolitical reality, rather than just deliver what its left wing wants.
We've always known what Farage is, a grubby little Fascist with the attitude he's a rent boy for any Right Wing paymaster.
Now we've discovered what Badenoch is, a glove puppet for Pritti Patel, Mossad and uber Right Wing trumpism. Whilst Farages treachery is deep seated Fascism, Badenoch is something far simpler.
A mental illness that renders her incapable of agreeing with anyone she deems an opponent, she has no stop button. no understanding of diplomacy a complete loose cannon.Argue Argue Argue is her only reason to exist.
Germany's Merz supports U.S. embargoing Spain, claims it's to "convince" them to increase NATO spending.
Is there a longer clip that matches that description? Because the clip you posted doesn't actually show that at all.
Merz and the rest of the EU is irritated with Spain and its NATO contributions but I would be astonished if Merz actually said that . Supporting a trade embargo against a fellow EU member !
Yeah in the clip he says Spain should spend more on defence. At no point does he say that he supports a trade embargo on Spain in pursuit of that goal. I would be beyond astonished if he said that, which would amount to the destruction of the EU's single market, apart from anything else. I think our friend William is being a little bit naughty here...
Trump: "Spain has been terrible. I told Scott to cut off all dealings with Spain. They said we can't use their bases. We could use their bases if we want. We could just fly in and use it. Nobody is gonna tell us not to use it."
More threats against allies. And some people don't accept NATO is dead. It's a new world and we have to get used to it - Trump is a symptom, so him going solves nothing.
An excellent report for today on the situation in the Hormuz Strait.
From my favourite shipping channel, What's Going on with Shipping.
Episode is entitled: Dire Strait.
He's particularly cross with the insurance companies, who have ordered everyone not to move - -perhaps whist waiting for their trebled rates to kick-in.
Germany's Merz supports U.S. embargoing Spain, claims it's to "convince" them to increase NATO spending.
Is there a longer clip that matches that description? Because the clip you posted doesn't actually show that at all.
Merz and the rest of the EU is irritated with Spain and its NATO contributions but I would be astonished if Merz actually said that . Supporting a trade embargo against a fellow EU member !
Yeah in the clip he says Spain should spend more on defence. At no point does he say that he supports a trade embargo on Spain in pursuit of that goal. I would be beyond astonished if he said that, which would amount to the destruction of the EU's single market, apart from anything else. I think our friend William is being a little bit naughty here...
There's a good centre left grouping coming together. Now that Starmer is following his MPs and not slavishly following Trump a 'NEW LABOUR' could be at its centre. If he can't resist the pull towards Farage he can and will be replaced. He's got roughly 10 weeks to show he's the person to lead this grouping otherwise he'll be out. This I believe to be a fact.
I think that ship has sailed sadly. Starmer has lost the left permanently.
He has tewn weeks to get them back. Yesterday was a very good start. Everyone likes a repentant sinner and failing that Burnham is waiting in the wings. Burnham should get on well with Zack. Two Mancunions
Starmer will not get the left back and replacing him may not be the cure you think it is
Labour are in an existential crisis being attacked from right and left
A Labour government has to deal with geopolitical reality, rather than just deliver what its left wing wants.
We've always known what Farage is, a grubby little Fascist with the attitude he's a rent boy for any Right Wing paymaster.
Now we've discovered what Badenoch is, a glove puppet for Pritti Patel, Mossad and uber Right Wing trumpism. Whilst Farages treachery is deep seated Fascism, Badenoch is something far simpler.
A mental illness that renders her incapable of agreeing with anyone she deems an opponent, she has no stop button. no understanding of diplomacy a complete loose cannon.Argue Argue Argue is her only reason to exist.
I am not fan of this Trumpian adventure and pleased the UK has not jumped in with both feet. I disagree with Farage and Badenoch on this. But your wild comments really do make me think that you are the one with the mental illness.
Trump can't even recall which country his own father was born in.
Get the codes off him now.
I thought I caught that when I heard him. Did he say that?
Genuinely the man is a moron; his rambling, incoherent, dishonest, nonsense in almost any other walk of life would see him being shown the exit. It's ridiculous that someone so unfit for office has so much power.
An excellent report for today on the situation in the Hormuz Strait.
From my favourite shipping channel, What's Going on with Shipping.
Episode is entitled: Dire Strait.
He's particularly cross with the insurance companies, who have ordered everyone not to move - -perhaps whist waiting for their trebled rates to kick-in.
The fact anyone supports Trump over anyone let alone a sovereign European State renders them as traitors, imbeciles and deranged
The presser I've just watched would have seen a Peter sellers sketch with sellers as Trump kicked out for being utterly implausible. .
Watching a US president who is beyond deranged.
Supporting US action, even now, can make sense. But when some support Trump over their own country it beggars belief - plenty of right wingers dislike Trump, but some seem to fawn over him which is just odd (like people fawning over Obama) and ensures a split right.
There's a good centre left grouping coming together. Now that Starmer is following his MPs and not slavishly following Trump a 'NEW LABOUR' could be at its centre. If he can't resist the pull towards Farage he can and will be replaced. He's got roughly 10 weeks to show he's the person to lead this grouping otherwise he'll be out. This I believe to be a fact.
I think that ship has sailed sadly. Starmer has lost the left permanently.
He has tewn weeks to get them back. Yesterday was a very good start. Everyone likes a repentant sinner and failing that Burnham is waiting in the wings. Burnham should get on well with Zack. Two Mancunions
Starmer will not get the left back and replacing him may not be the cure you think it is
Labour are in an existential crisis being attacked from right and left
A Labour government has to deal with geopolitical reality, rather than just deliver what its left wing wants.
We've always known what Farage is, a grubby little Fascist with the attitude he's a rent boy for any Right Wing paymaster.
Now we've discovered what Badenoch is, a glove puppet for Pritti Patel, Mossad and uber Right Wing trumpism. Whilst Farages treachery is deep seated Fascism, Badenoch is something far simpler.
A mental illness that renders her incapable of agreeing with anyone she deems an opponent, she has no stop button. no understanding of diplomacy a complete loose cannon.Argue Argue Argue is her only reason to exist.
You can disagree with Kemi as you do in most posts but accusing her of a mental illness is just nasty
I posted today about irrational hate [9.15am] of a person and you need to look it up and look in the mirror
There's a good centre left grouping coming together. Now that Starmer is following his MPs and not slavishly following Trump a 'NEW LABOUR' could be at its centre. If he can't resist the pull towards Farage he can and will be replaced. He's got roughly 10 weeks to show he's the person to lead this grouping otherwise he'll be out. This I believe to be a fact.
I think that ship has sailed sadly. Starmer has lost the left permanently.
He has tewn weeks to get them back. Yesterday was a very good start. Everyone likes a repentant sinner and failing that Burnham is waiting in the wings. Burnham should get on well with Zack. Two Mancunions
Starmer will not get the left back and replacing him may not be the cure you think it is
Labour are in an existential crisis being attacked from right and left
A Labour government has to deal with geopolitical reality, rather than just deliver what its left wing wants.
We've always known what Farage is, a grubby little Fascist with the attitude he's a rent boy for any Right Wing paymaster.
Now we've discovered what Badenoch is, a glove puppet for Pritti Patel, Mossad and uber Right Wing trumpism. Whilst Farages treachery is deep seated Fascism, Badenoch is something far simpler.
A mental illness that renders her incapable of agreeing with anyone she deems an opponent, she has no stop button. no understanding of diplomacy a complete loose cannon.Argue Argue Argue is her only reason to exist.
I am not fan of this Trumpian adventure and pleased the UK has not jumped in with both feet. I dusagree with with Farage and Badenoch on this. But your wild comments really do make me think that you are the one with the mental illness.
Me too. Team Starmer for me.
I do wonder from the news above, if Trump is ever going to get slightly annoyed that Israel is gaily flattening his hopes of a political handover.
An excellent report for today on the situation in the Hormuz Strait.
From my favourite shipping channel, What's Going on with Shipping.
Episode is entitled: Dire Strait.
He's particularly cross with the insurance companies, who have ordered everyone not to move - -perhaps whist waiting for their trebled rates to kick-in.
An excellent report for today on the situation in the Hormuz Strait.
From my favourite shipping channel, What's Going on with Shipping.
Episode is entitled: Dire Strait.
He's particularly cross with the insurance companies, who have ordered everyone not to move - -perhaps whist waiting for their trebled rates to kick-in.
There's a good centre left grouping coming together. Now that Starmer is following his MPs and not slavishly following Trump a 'NEW LABOUR' could be at its centre. If he can't resist the pull towards Farage he can and will be replaced. He's got roughly 10 weeks to show he's the person to lead this grouping otherwise he'll be out. This I believe to be a fact.
I think that ship has sailed sadly. Starmer has lost the left permanently.
He has tewn weeks to get them back. Yesterday was a very good start. Everyone likes a repentant sinner and failing that Burnham is waiting in the wings. Burnham should get on well with Zack. Two Mancunions
Starmer will not get the left back and replacing him may not be the cure you think it is
Labour are in an existential crisis being attacked from right and left
A Labour government has to deal with geopolitical reality, rather than just deliver what its left wing wants.
We've always known what Farage is, a grubby little Fascist with the attitude he's a rent boy for any Right Wing paymaster.
Now we've discovered what Badenoch is, a glove puppet for Pritti Patel, Mossad and uber Right Wing trumpism. Whilst Farages treachery is deep seated Fascism, Badenoch is something far simpler.
A mental illness that renders her incapable of agreeing with anyone she deems an opponent, she has no stop button. no understanding of diplomacy a complete loose cannon.Argue Argue Argue is her only reason to exist.
You can disagree with Kemi as you do in most posts but accusing her of a mental illness is just nasty
I posted today about irrational hate [9.15am] of a person and you need to look it up and look in the mirror
When you take the last sentence of Brixian's post, one doesn't have to be Freud to detect a whiff of projection does one?
There's a good centre left grouping coming together. Now that Starmer is following his MPs and not slavishly following Trump a 'NEW LABOUR' could be at its centre. If he can't resist the pull towards Farage he can and will be replaced. He's got roughly 10 weeks to show he's the person to lead this grouping otherwise he'll be out. This I believe to be a fact.
I think that ship has sailed sadly. Starmer has lost the left permanently.
He has tewn weeks to get them back. Yesterday was a very good start. Everyone likes a repentant sinner and failing that Burnham is waiting in the wings. Burnham should get on well with Zack. Two Mancunions
Starmer will not get the left back and replacing him may not be the cure you think it is
Labour are in an existential crisis being attacked from right and left
A Labour government has to deal with geopolitical reality, rather than just deliver what its left wing wants.
We've always known what Farage is, a grubby little Fascist with the attitude he's a rent boy for any Right Wing paymaster.
Now we've discovered what Badenoch is, a glove puppet for Pritti Patel, Mossad and uber Right Wing trumpism. Whilst Farages treachery is deep seated Fascism, Badenoch is something far simpler.
A mental illness that renders her incapable of agreeing with anyone she deems an opponent, she has no stop button. no understanding of diplomacy a complete loose cannon.Argue Argue Argue is her only reason to exist.
You can disagree with Kemi as you do in most posts but accusing her of a mental illness is just nasty
I posted today about irrational hate [9.15am] of a person and you need to look it up and look in the mirror
Her own supporters claim that she will have an argument with herself in the mirror as some sort of a badge of honour.
It's not the behaviour of a serious politician.
The fact that Tories are now supporting Trump over a British PM seeking to keep our Armed Forces from an unnecessary war is beyond disgusting.
I'm loving the frothing (or frotting) on GB News about how wonderful Trump is and SKS is not at all Churchillian.
In WW2 when Churchill was managing the Americans, on the side they were designing the system of international law and the UN together, to identify how to keep tyrants like Trump in check.
An excellent report for today on the situation in the Hormuz Strait.
From my favourite shipping channel, What's Going on with Shipping.
Episode is entitled: Dire Strait.
He's particularly cross with the insurance companies, who have ordered everyone not to move - -perhaps whist waiting for their trebled rates to kick-in.
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
More on that Trump plan we ought to be behind. On who will take over in Iran. “most of the people we had in mind are dead”. He also noted that those the administration had in mind from “another group” may be dead, based on reports.
There's a good centre left grouping coming together. Now that Starmer is following his MPs and not slavishly following Trump a 'NEW LABOUR' could be at its centre. If he can't resist the pull towards Farage he can and will be replaced. He's got roughly 10 weeks to show he's the person to lead this grouping otherwise he'll be out. This I believe to be a fact.
I think that ship has sailed sadly. Starmer has lost the left permanently.
He has tewn weeks to get them back. Yesterday was a very good start. Everyone likes a repentant sinner and failing that Burnham is waiting in the wings. Burnham should get on well with Zack. Two Mancunions
Starmer will not get the left back and replacing him may not be the cure you think it is
Labour are in an existential crisis being attacked from right and left
A Labour government has to deal with geopolitical reality, rather than just deliver what its left wing wants.
We've always known what Farage is, a grubby little Fascist with the attitude he's a rent boy for any Right Wing paymaster.
Now we've discovered what Badenoch is, a glove puppet for Pritti Patel, Mossad and uber Right Wing trumpism. Whilst Farages treachery is deep seated Fascism, Badenoch is something far simpler.
A mental illness that renders her incapable of agreeing with anyone she deems an opponent, she has no stop button. no understanding of diplomacy a complete loose cannon.Argue Argue Argue is her only reason to exist.
You can disagree with Kemi as you do in most posts but accusing her of a mental illness is just nasty
I posted today about irrational hate [9.15am] of a person and you need to look it up and look in the mirror
When you take the last sentence of Brixian's post, one doesn't have to be Freud to detect a whiff of projection does one?
There comes a time when enough is enough
Why would anyone want to be in public life to receive uncalled for and even threatening observations
Kemi is there to be criticised and argued with, but no politician deserves the abuse handed out in most every post by @Brixian59
Indeed it applies to two ethic conservative female politicians, and ends with a wish for Tel Aviv to be destroyed with all the innocents that would involve
More on that Trump plan we ought to be behind. On who will take over in Iran. “most of the people we had in mind are dead”. He also noted that those the administration had in mind from “another group” may be dead, based on reports.
An excellent report for today on the situation in the Hormuz Strait.
From my favourite shipping channel, What's Going on with Shipping.
Episode is entitled: Dire Strait.
He's particularly cross with the insurance companies, who have ordered everyone not to move - -perhaps whist waiting for their trebled rates to kick-in.
Trump: "Spain has been terrible. I told Scott to cut off all dealings with Spain. They said we can't use their bases. We could use their bases if we want. We could just fly in and use it. Nobody is gonna tell us not to use it."
More threats against allies. And some people don't accept NATO is dead. It's a new world and we have to get used to it - Trump is a symptom, so him going solves nothing.
The US doing this makes NATO more important, not less. It also makes an EU/CPTPP trade deal the most sensible priority we should all have to bring together Carney’s coalition of the “middle powers”.
More on that Trump plan we ought to be behind. On who will take over in Iran. “most of the people we had in mind are dead”. He also noted that those the administration had in mind from “another group” may be dead, based on reports.
Keep well clear.
I am happy to serve as Viceroy of Iran.
Is that on a WFH basis? Asking for a friend interested in not being bombed by Israel.
More on that Trump plan we ought to be behind. On who will take over in Iran. “most of the people we had in mind are dead”. He also noted that those the administration had in mind from “another group” may be dead, based on reports.
Trump: "Spain has been terrible. I told Scott to cut off all dealings with Spain. They said we can't use their bases. We could use their bases if we want. We could just fly in and use it. Nobody is gonna tell us not to use it."
More threats against allies. And some people don't accept NATO is dead. It's a new world and we have to get used to it - Trump is a symptom, so him going solves nothing.
He does remind me, very much, of a twentieth century leader. One who was long past it, invaded his allies and said he had a right to because reasons, rambled endlessly because he had dementia, invaded a random Muslim country that had annoyed him, and whose court was full of sycophantic idiots most of whom were superannuated themselves.
There's a good centre left grouping coming together. Now that Starmer is following his MPs and not slavishly following Trump a 'NEW LABOUR' could be at its centre. If he can't resist the pull towards Farage he can and will be replaced. He's got roughly 10 weeks to show he's the person to lead this grouping otherwise he'll be out. This I believe to be a fact.
I think that ship has sailed sadly. Starmer has lost the left permanently.
He has tewn weeks to get them back. Yesterday was a very good start. Everyone likes a repentant sinner and failing that Burnham is waiting in the wings. Burnham should get on well with Zack. Two Mancunions
Starmer will not get the left back and replacing him may not be the cure you think it is
Labour are in an existential crisis being attacked from right and left
A Labour government has to deal with geopolitical reality, rather than just deliver what its left wing wants.
We've always known what Farage is, a grubby little Fascist with the attitude he's a rent boy for any Right Wing paymaster.
Now we've discovered what Badenoch is, a glove puppet for Pritti Patel, Mossad and uber Right Wing trumpism. Whilst Farages treachery is deep seated Fascism, Badenoch is something far simpler.
A mental illness that renders her incapable of agreeing with anyone she deems an opponent, she has no stop button. no understanding of diplomacy a complete loose cannon.Argue Argue Argue is her only reason to exist.
You can disagree with Kemi as you do in most posts but accusing her of a mental illness is just nasty
I posted today about irrational hate [9.15am] of a person and you need to look it up and look in the mirror
Her own supporters claim that she will have an argument with herself in the mirror as some sort of a badge of honour.
It's not the behaviour of a serious politician.
The fact that Tories are now supporting Trump over a British PM seeking to keep our Armed Fstaorces from an unnecessary war is beyond disgusting.
Seems Metz, Carney, the gulf states and others are supporting the US and Israel and Starmer has not kept us from this war as we are active in the field of combat as we speak
My objection is your constant demeaning and accusations of mental health issues with Kemi which is clearly irrational hatred and I am not alone in this view
More on that Trump plan we ought to be behind. On who will take over in Iran. “most of the people we had in mind are dead”. He also noted that those the administration had in mind from “another group” may be dead, based on reports.
Keep well clear.
I am happy to serve as Viceroy of Iran.
Is that on a WFH basis? Asking for a friend interested in not being bombed by Israel.
I'd be based in the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, it's a decent hotel, stayed there a few times, not bad.
. As an environmentalist and left-leaning social democrat, my views are now far closer to Labour than the increasingly radicalised Greens and are much better reflected in the work of people like Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan than by Zack Polanski or Mothin Ali.
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
"Headline" polling should include the option of voting against as well as voting for. I suspect around a third of the electorate think that way, and we are crucial to mapping the percentages into actual seats.
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
It looks a bit uncosted:
In its initial analysis, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) questioned the manifesto's credibility.
David Phillips, the think tank's head of devolved and local government finance, said: "The Welsh Conservatives' flagship proposals are reductions to three of Wales's devolved taxes: the Welsh rates of income tax, land transaction tax and business rates.
"But at a time when spending pressures in many areas are rising, a government that wants to cut taxes must also commit to spending less – and the manifesto lacks a credible plan for where these savings will come from."
It was "much easier to promise efficiency savings than to deliver them – and history is replete with governments failing to achieve productivity targets and having to top up budgets", he warned.
It was therefore "hard to see how the proposed combination of tax cuts and spending increases could be paid for without significant cut-backs in at least some Welsh government services", Phillips added. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1d6k4p5472o
. As an environmentalist and left-leaning social democrat, my views are now far closer to Labour than the increasingly radicalised Greens and are much better reflected in the work of people like Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan than by Zack Polanski or Mothin Ali.
. As an environmentalist and left-leaning social democrat, my views are now far closer to Labour than the increasingly radicalised Greens and are much better reflected in the work of people like Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan than by Zack Polanski or Mothin Ali.
Who gives a fuck if Trump's miffed with us? We went so far up his arse it wasn't funny and it worked precisely until the man-baby changed his mind and he wasn't happy with us for whatever whim it was that day even well before any of this Iran nonsense.
If he wants to be a great statesman (or even a barely mediocre one, which would be a vast improvement from where he currently is) he can learn the lesson that dicking about with your allies almost at random just causes them to be less allied to you. Shock horror.
. As an environmentalist and left-leaning social democrat, my views are now far closer to Labour than the increasingly radicalised Greens and are much better reflected in the work of people like Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan than by Zack Polanski or Mothin Ali.
Who gives a fuck if Trump's miffed with us? We went so far up his arse it wasn't funny and it worked precisely until the man-baby changed his mind and he wasn't happy with us for whatever whim it was that day even well before any of this Iran nonsense.
If he wants to be a great statesman (or even a barely mediocre one, which would be a vast improvement from where he currently is) he can learn the lesson that dicking about with your allies almost at random just causes them to be less allied to you. Shock horror.
Personally I'm delighted he is if it takes Chagos off the table.
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
It is all costed according to their gammony leader, who's name escapes me for the moment. BBC Wales editorial found the notion that the programme is "fully coated" rather amusing.
Also massive uptick, as a percentage, of those whim wouldn’t vote for the Greens.
Is there something counter-intuitive in that, as Reform and the Greens become more popular/their lead bedded in, people become more likely to want to vote against them?
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
It is all costed according to their gammony leader, who's name escapes me for the moment. BBC Wales editorial found the notion that the programme is "fully coated" rather amusing.
Sort of committments that will lead to 'oh shit' if a miracle occured. Its really about getting 10 to 12 seats of course
Who gives a fuck if Trump's miffed with us? We went so far up his arse it wasn't funny and it worked precisely until the man-baby changed his mind and he wasn't happy with us for whatever whim it was that day even well before any of this Iran nonsense.
If he wants to be a great statesman (or even a barely mediocre one, which would be a vast improvement from where he currently is) he can learn the lesson that dicking about with your allies almost at random just causes them to be less allied to you. Shock horror.
There are downsides, but he is so capricious and vindictive, so wrapped up in making everything personal, that it really makes no sense to debase oneself to be on his good side, since he doesn't add that to a credit list for tomorrow, you are just as likely to face his ire and there's no guessing what he might get mad at (eg how dare people argue against my threatening to invade Greenland?)
Long term goal is to totally separate ourselves from the USA. That will be very painful given we seem unable to do much of anything, and cannot afford anything either.
Also massive uptick, as a percentage, of those whim wouldn’t vote for the Greens.
Is there something counter-intuitive in that, as Reform and the Greens become more popular/their lead bedded in, people become more likely to want to vote against them?
Sign of the times, people like to go all in on those they like or hate. As they become more known people get off the fence and like/dislike them further, whilst leaving 'don't know' for the older parties.
Trump: "Spain has been terrible. I told Scott to cut off all dealings with Spain. They said we can't use their bases. We could use their bases if we want. We could just fly in and use it. Nobody is gonna tell us not to use it."
More threats against allies. And some people don't accept NATO is dead. It's a new world and we have to get used to it - Trump is a symptom, so him going solves nothing.
The US doing this makes NATO more important, not less. It also makes an EU/CPTPP trade deal the most sensible priority we should all have to bring together Carney’s coalition of the “middle powers”.
Trump: "Spain has been terrible. I told Scott to cut off all dealings with Spain. They said we can't use their bases. We could use their bases if we want. We could just fly in and use it. Nobody is gonna tell us not to use it."
More threats against allies. And some people don't accept NATO is dead. It's a new world and we have to get used to it - Trump is a symptom, so him going solves nothing.
He does remind me, very much, of a twentieth century leader. One who was long past it, invaded his allies and said he had a right to because reasons, rambled endlessly because he had dementia, invaded a random Muslim country that had annoyed him, and whose court was full of sycophantic idiots most of whom were superannuated themselves.
Yep - Trump is Leonid Brezhnev.
You forgot the collect of semi-useless thieves that Brezhnev called a family.
Also massive uptick, as a percentage, of those whim wouldn’t vote for the Greens.
Is there something counter-intuitive in that, as Reform and the Greens become more popular/their lead bedded in, people become more likely to want to vote against them?
Nothing counter intuitive. Currently I'm all in for Count Binface. Those of you who don't want the hand dryer in the Fox and Crown to work, or 99 Flakes to cost 99p have absolutely nothing to worry about. Once he starts his inevitable climb up the polls however.......
. As an environmentalist and left-leaning social democrat, my views are now far closer to Labour than the increasingly radicalised Greens and are much better reflected in the work of people like Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan than by Zack Polanski or Mothin Ali.
Trump: "Spain has been terrible. I told Scott to cut off all dealings with Spain. They said we can't use their bases. We could use their bases if we want. We could just fly in and use it. Nobody is gonna tell us not to use it."
More threats against allies. And some people don't accept NATO is dead. It's a new world and we have to get used to it - Trump is a symptom, so him going solves nothing.
He does remind me, very much, of a twentieth century leader. One who was long past it, invaded his allies and said he had a right to because reasons, rambled endlessly because he had dementia, invaded a random Muslim country that had annoyed him, and whose court was full of sycophantic idiots most of whom were superannuated themselves.
Yep - Trump is Leonid Brezhnev.
You forgot the collect of semi-useless thieves that Brezhnev called a family.
Trump threatened a trade embargo sitting next to the German Chancellor who barely got a word out in support to fellow EU country. Sources close to Spanish indicate Madrid not caving, coming back with severe words too. Big diplomatic spat ahead.
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
It is all costed according to their gammony leader, who's name escapes me for the moment. BBC Wales editorial found the notion that the programme is "fully coated" rather amusing.
Sort of committments that will lead to 'oh shit' if a miracle occured. Its really about getting 10 to 12 seats of course
Saw a Welsh Tory leaflet extolling the virtues of the list voting system in ensuring they could win seats. FPTP no longer good enough I suppose.
. As an environmentalist and left-leaning social democrat, my views are now far closer to Labour than the increasingly radicalised Greens and are much better reflected in the work of people like Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan than by Zack Polanski or Mothin Ali.
I can't see the Greens retaining North Herefordshire on a Corbynista agenda. A Con gain if ever I saw one.
Waveney Valley will likely go to Reform or Tory too. Its a bit 'arts n craftsy' for Reform. A split RefCon vote might allow a Green hold though
Only way either of these is a hold is if there is a personal vote because they turn out to be very hard working and totally locally focused.
First time incumbants can sometimes buck the system like that.
Not being leader will certainly give Ramsey more time to be on his patch.
I dont think he will stand again. He is about as far from Polanskiism as you can get. He also gave up both the deputy leadership of the Greens and leadership of the Green opposition group on Norwich city council in the early 2010s to go into Green Industry, so he has 'form' as it were on giving up on elected politics
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
It is all costed according to their gammony leader, who's name escapes me for the moment. BBC Wales editorial found the notion that the programme is "fully coated" rather amusing.
I know Darren (Millar) and he is a hard working constituency MS with lots of local media coverage and a family man
That doesn't mean the conservative are not looking at a terrible result in May though
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
It is all costed according to their gammony leader, who's name escapes me for the moment. BBC Wales editorial found the notion that the programme is "fully coated" rather amusing.
Sort of committments that will lead to 'oh shit' if a miracle occured. Its really about getting 10 to 12 seats of course
Saw a Welsh Tory leaflet extolling the virtues of the list voting system in ensuring they could win seats. FPTP no longer good enough I suppose.
FPTP would be ideal if Monmouthshire were all of Wales
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
It looks a bit uncosted:
In its initial analysis, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) questioned the manifesto's credibility.
David Phillips, the think tank's head of devolved and local government finance, said: "The Welsh Conservatives' flagship proposals are reductions to three of Wales's devolved taxes: the Welsh rates of income tax, land transaction tax and business rates.
"But at a time when spending pressures in many areas are rising, a government that wants to cut taxes must also commit to spending less – and the manifesto lacks a credible plan for where these savings will come from."
It was "much easier to promise efficiency savings than to deliver them – and history is replete with governments failing to achieve productivity targets and having to top up budgets", he warned.
It was therefore "hard to see how the proposed combination of tax cuts and spending increases could be paid for without significant cut-backs in at least some Welsh government services", Phillips added. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1d6k4p5472o
Which is a shame because actually the ideas are good (although I'm not sure quite what they mean by dualling the A55 to Bangor - it already is dualled to Bangor. Maybe they mean replacing the Britannia Bridge section with a proper road bridge that makes it dual carriageway throughout).
But dualling the A40 to Fishguard and building a proper M4 to bypass Newport is long overdue.
Next question - how will they pay for it? - is of course that they can't without raising taxes.
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
It is all costed according to their gammony leader, who's name escapes me for the moment. BBC Wales editorial found the notion that the programme is "fully coated" rather amusing.
Sort of committments that will lead to 'oh shit' if a miracle occured. Its really about getting 10 to 12 seats of course
Saw a Welsh Tory leaflet extolling the virtues of the list voting system in ensuring they could win seats. FPTP no longer good enough I suppose.
FPTP would be ideal if Monmouthshire were all of Wales
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
It is all costed according to their gammony leader, who's name escapes me for the moment. BBC Wales editorial found the notion that the programme is "fully coated" rather amusing.
Sort of committments that will lead to 'oh shit' if a miracle occured. Its really about getting 10 to 12 seats of course
Saw a Welsh Tory leaflet extolling the virtues of the list voting system in ensuring they could win seats. FPTP no longer good enough I suppose.
FPTP would be ideal if Monmouthshire were all of Wales
Trump threatened a trade embargo sitting next to the German Chancellor who barely got a word out in support to fellow EU country. Sources close to Spanish indicate Madrid not caving, coming back with severe words too. Big diplomatic spat ahead.
I remain convinced that the Green policy on drugs is a huge own goal and will cost them a lot of votes .
They might get away with it for a while but under more scrutiny and in the run up to the next GE I expect the wheels to fall off .
I don't think the drugs stuff will be that damaging. I think that what will cost the Greens a lot more votes at the next election are their current policies on a) immigration/asylum, and b) transgender rights, including self ID. In both instances, I think the zeitgeist has changed to make the current Green stance pretty unpopular with around 80% of voters, for good or bad.
I remain convinced that the Green policy on drugs is a huge own goal and will cost them a lot of votes .
They might get away with it for a while but under more scrutiny and in the run up to the next GE I expect the wheels to fall off .
I don't think the drugs stuff will be that damaging. I think that what will cost the Greens a lot more votes at the next election are their current policies on a) immigration/asylum, and b) transgender rights, including self ID. In both instances, I think the zeitgeist has changed to make the current Green stance pretty unpopular with around 80% of voters, for good or bad.
I think with any party suddenly being considered a party of govt for the first time there will be some rough edges/crazy members who can blow up all kinds of stuff.
Think UKIP back in the day. They had a right collection of people who when put in media spotlight came up with some devastatingly self-destructive things to say.
Apart from Putin and a few other unsavoury characters who hasn't been attacked by Trump? 75% of UK voters loathe Trump, Being attacked by him is not the big negative you appear to think it is.
Trump: "Spain has been terrible. I told Scott to cut off all dealings with Spain. They said we can't use their bases. We could use their bases if we want. We could just fly in and use it. Nobody is gonna tell us not to use it."
More threats against allies. And some people don't accept NATO is dead. It's a new world and we have to get used to it - Trump is a symptom, so him going solves nothing.
He does remind me, very much, of a twentieth century leader. One who was long past it, invaded his allies and said he had a right to because reasons, rambled endlessly because he had dementia, invaded a random Muslim country that had annoyed him, and whose court was full of sycophantic idiots most of whom were superannuated themselves.
Yep - Trump is Leonid Brezhnev.
You forgot the collect of semi-useless thieves that Brezhnev called a family.
. As an environmentalist and left-leaning social democrat, my views are now far closer to Labour than the increasingly radicalised Greens and are much better reflected in the work of people like Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan than by Zack Polanski or Mothin Ali.
Yet we still come back to the central question - IF regime change is to be achieved, how is it to be done? Will we see some form of ground intervention by American forces or will there continue to be the "hope" of a successful civil insurrection against a weakened IGRC?
The second key question is what replaces the theocracy? The first principle, I think, is it should be up to the Iranians to choose their own form of Government and certainly not for Washington to impose something on them. Whether it's a republic or a constitutional monarchy shouldn't bother us too much, I'd argue, and whether Pahlavi plays any more than a transitional role is again something for the Iranian people to decide.
I note Eastern European Communism collapsed quickly and completely after 44 years and we know have 47 since the "Revolution" which toppled the Shah. There were concerns Communist practice was too deeply embedded in some Eastern European societies to be shaken off but I think that wasn't the case and it may well be theocracy's roots in Iran will prove shallow.
For now, though, it seems the Iranian regime still has some fight and they know the economic price to the West of maintaining a climate of fear in the Gulf far outweighs any military advantage obtained. The hyper sensitivity of much of the world to oil and gas price movements is arguably Iran's greatest asset and it is to be hoped stability can be restored to oil and gas supplies sooner rather than later.
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
It is all costed according to their gammony leader, who's name escapes me for the moment. BBC Wales editorial found the notion that the programme is "fully coated" rather amusing.
Sort of committments that will lead to 'oh shit' if a miracle occured. Its really about getting 10 to 12 seats of course
Saw a Welsh Tory leaflet extolling the virtues of the list voting system in ensuring they could win seats. FPTP no longer good enough I suppose.
FPTP would be ideal if Monmouthshire were all of Wales
. As an environmentalist and left-leaning social democrat, my views are now far closer to Labour than the increasingly radicalised Greens and are much better reflected in the work of people like Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan than by Zack Polanski or Mothin Ali.
I can't see the Greens retaining North Herefordshire on a Corbynista agenda. A Con gain if ever I saw one.
Waveney Valley will likely go to Reform or Tory too. Its a bit 'arts n craftsy' for Reform. A split RefCon vote might allow a Green hold though
Only way either of these is a hold is if there is a personal vote because they turn out to be very hard working and totally locally focused.
First time incumbants can sometimes buck the system like that.
Not being leader will certainly give Ramsey more time to be on his patch.
I dont think he will stand again. He is about as far from Polanskiism as you can get. He also gave up both the deputy leadership of the Greens and leadership of the Green opposition group on Norwich city council in the early 2010s to go into Green Industry, so he has 'form' as it were on giving up on elected politics
Polanski wouldn't be anywhere if not the decades of hard work by people like Ramsey getting the Greens to that first MP seat and onto local councils bit by bit.
Comments
RAF Typhoon jet took out a drone in Qatar
UK ground troops taken out drones in Iraq airspace
Whether we like it or not we are involved in this war
From my favourite shipping channel, What's Going on with Shipping.
Episode is entitled: Dire Strait.
He's particularly cross with the insurance companies, who have ordered everyone not to move - -perhaps whist waiting for their trebled rates to kick-in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xUALzztelM
Now we've discovered what Badenoch is, a glove puppet for Pritti Patel, Mossad and uber Right Wing trumpism. Whilst Farages treachery is deep seated Fascism, Badenoch is something far simpler.
A mental illness that renders her incapable of agreeing with anyone she deems an opponent, she has no stop button. no understanding of diplomacy a complete loose cannon.Argue Argue Argue is her only reason to exist.
Iran conducts a nuclear test
Does support for the war start to swiftly increase?
Butter first, then jam, then cream. There is nothing that cannot be improved by adding butter, as any chef will tell you. And cream is the topping.
Iran only started enriching uranium again when the imbecile tore up Obama’s deal .
So 60 of those is about equivalent to two He-111 bombers (see movie Battle of Britain).
Genuinely the man is a moron; his rambling, incoherent, dishonest, nonsense in almost any other walk of life would see him being shown the exit. It's ridiculous that someone so unfit for office has so much power.
I posted today about irrational hate [9.15am] of a person and you need to look it up and look in the mirror
I do wonder from the news above, if Trump is ever going to get slightly annoyed that Israel is gaily flattening his hopes of a political handover.
It's not the behaviour of a serious politician.
The fact that Tories are now supporting Trump over a British PM seeking to keep our Armed Forces from an unnecessary war is beyond disgusting.
In WW2 when Churchill was managing the Americans, on the side they were designing the system of international law and the UN together, to identify how to keep tyrants like Trump in check.
Aided and abetted by a friendly media.
https://x.com/harriet_symonds/status/2028888272005456157?s=61
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
On who will take over in Iran.
“most of the people we had in mind are dead”.
He also noted that those the administration had in mind from “another group” may be dead, based on reports.
Keep well clear.
Why would anyone want to be in public life to receive uncalled for and even threatening observations
Kemi is there to be criticised and argued with, but no politician deserves the abuse handed out in most every post by @Brixian59
Indeed it applies to two ethic conservative female politicians, and ends with a wish for Tel Aviv to be destroyed with all the innocents that would involve
"Tracking our *negative* voting intention (who would Britons vote AGAINST):
➡️ Ref 38% (+9)
🌹Lab 34% (-4)
🌳 Con 7% (-1)
🌏 Green 7% (+4)
🐦 LD 3% (-)
changes w/ Nov 2025
As Reform has plateaued in the polls, the number of people saying they would also vote *against* Reform has grown"
https://bsky.app/profile/edhodgsoned.bsky.social/post/3mg63bddkd22b
Same goes for Trump.
Asking for a friend interested in not being bombed by Israel.
Yep - Trump is Leonid Brezhnev.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzpgGXW4p-E
My objection is your constant demeaning and accusations of mental health issues with Kemi which is clearly irrational hatred and I am not alone in this view
Darren Johnson
@DarrenJohnson66
I've joined @UKLabour
. As an environmentalist and left-leaning social democrat, my views are now far closer to Labour than the increasingly radicalised Greens and are much better reflected in the work of people like Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan than by Zack Polanski or Mothin Ali.
https://x.com/DarrenJohnson66/status/2028733087996072335
In its initial analysis, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) questioned the manifesto's credibility.
David Phillips, the think tank's head of devolved and local government finance, said: "The Welsh Conservatives' flagship proposals are reductions to three of Wales's devolved taxes: the Welsh rates of income tax, land transaction tax and business rates.
"But at a time when spending pressures in many areas are rising, a government that wants to cut taxes must also commit to spending less – and the manifesto lacks a credible plan for where these savings will come from."
It was "much easier to promise efficiency savings than to deliver them – and history is replete with governments failing to achieve productivity targets and having to top up budgets", he warned.
It was therefore "hard to see how the proposed combination of tax cuts and spending increases could be paid for without significant cut-backs in at least some Welsh government services", Phillips added.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1d6k4p5472o
If he wants to be a great statesman (or even a barely mediocre one, which would be a vast improvement from where he currently is) he can learn the lesson that dicking about with your allies almost at random just causes them to be less allied to you. Shock horror.
They might get away with it for a while but under more scrutiny and in the run up to the next GE I expect the wheels to fall off .
Love elections in France 🇫🇷
🟫 Far right candidate:
Mourad Amellal
North African
Member of the Kabyle separatist "Gov't in exile"
🟥 Far left one:
Sophie De La Rochefoucauld
Actress, Member of the nobility
("Dukes of La Roche-Guyon" branch of the "House of La Rochefoucauld"
https://nitter.poast.org/Arnold_Platon/status/2028548163485737003#m
Its really about getting 10 to 12 seats of course
Long term goal is to totally separate ourselves from the USA. That will be very painful given we seem unable to do much of anything, and cannot afford anything either.
iirc it has been the same for decades: basically treating addiction as a health issue and not a criminal system thing.
First time incumbants can sometimes buck the system like that.
Not being leader will certainly give Ramsey more time to be on his patch.
It will take 6 days to get there, by which time Iran won’t have anything bar the kitchen sink to chuck, and Hezbollah won’t even exist.
Why is Tickle even going there, just a pointless performative sop to the UK media, or to actually add something which is missing?
Trump threatened a trade embargo sitting next to the German Chancellor who barely got a word out in support to fellow EU country. Sources close to Spanish indicate Madrid not caving, coming back with severe words too. Big diplomatic spat ahead.
@OldKingCole will know.
That doesn't mean the conservative are not looking at a terrible result in May though
But dualling the A40 to Fishguard and building a proper M4 to bypass Newport is long overdue.
Next question - how will they pay for it? - is of course that they can't without raising taxes.
I think that what will cost the Greens a lot more votes at the next election are their current policies on a) immigration/asylum, and b) transgender rights, including self ID. In both instances, I think the zeitgeist has changed to make the current Green stance pretty unpopular with around 80% of voters, for good or bad.
Think UKIP back in the day. They had a right collection of people who when put in media spotlight came up with some devastatingly self-destructive things to say.
Yet we still come back to the central question - IF regime change is to be achieved, how is it to be done? Will we see some form of ground intervention by American forces or will there continue to be the "hope" of a successful civil insurrection against a weakened IGRC?
The second key question is what replaces the theocracy? The first principle, I think, is it should be up to the Iranians to choose their own form of Government and certainly not for Washington to impose something on them. Whether it's a republic or a constitutional monarchy shouldn't bother us too much, I'd argue, and whether Pahlavi plays any more than a transitional role is again something for the Iranian people to decide.
I note Eastern European Communism collapsed quickly and completely after 44 years and we know have 47 since the "Revolution" which toppled the Shah. There were concerns Communist practice was too deeply embedded in some Eastern European societies to be shaken off but I think that wasn't the case and it may well be theocracy's roots in Iran will prove shallow.
For now, though, it seems the Iranian regime still has some fight and they know the economic price to the West of maintaining a climate of fear in the Gulf far outweighs any military advantage obtained. The hyper sensitivity of much of the world to oil and gas price movements is arguably Iran's greatest asset and it is to be hoped stability can be restored to oil and gas supplies sooner rather than later.
Operation name trajectory:
1944 — Neptune
1991 — Desert Storm
2001 — Enduring Freedom
2026 — Epic Fury
2030 — Kickass Eagle with Laser Eyes Pew Pew Pew
https://nitter.poast.org/ArthurCDent/status/2028254008406913465#m
Is there any truth that Starmer is prevaricating over the use of Diego Garcia?