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  • He needs to look at his own troops if he doesn't think he can secure what he believes is the right thing to do.

    who's likely to vote against/abstain from the govt side?
  • MarqueeMark
    MarqueeMark Posts: 55,459
    Pong said:

    I presume we're all in unanimous agreement that those £3 PB tories who helped elect Corbyn should be taken outside & shot?

    I wasn't one of them - and was agnostic on whether it was worth doing. But in the end the £3 PB Tories (or any Tories come to that) had no impact on the outcome. That was already settled by the crazy decision to take pity on the old Lefties so they at least had an invite to the party. Except everyone seemed to have forgotten why they weren't invited before. Because they drink all the booze, grind fag ends into the carpet, piss in the front garden, whilst waving their todgers to the neighbours, shag your girlfriend on the sofa - and then set up a squat. The people who had forgotten that lesson from history are the ones who should be shot.
  • MarqueeMark
    MarqueeMark Posts: 55,459

    Corbyn's song:

    We come in peace. Shoot to kill.

    We come in peace. Shoot to kill.

    We come in peace. Shoot to kill.

    It's worse than that, he's dead Jim....
  • Scott_P
    Scott_P Posts: 51,453
    Chris Leslie standing behind Jeremy Corbyn to ask PM to confirm police need 'shoot to kill' authority
  • Scott_P
    Scott_P Posts: 51,453
    @BBCNormanS: The police need to be able to use lethal force to stop terrorists says @ChrisLeslieMP
  • Plato_Says
    Plato_Says Posts: 11,822
    The police shoot dead those who threaten lives already - what a load of nonsense this is.
    Scott_P said:

    @BBCNormanS: The police need to be able to use lethal force to stop terrorists says @ChrisLeslieMP

  • Luckyguy1983
    Luckyguy1983 Posts: 32,093
    edited November 2015
    I'm puzzled as to how someone so evidently clever and successful can accept such glib throwaway answers.
    Charles said:



    1. Funded by $400m from the Bank of Mosul, slavery, the sale of oil on the black market and the sale of cultural artifacts

    I) No mention of private (and semi private) donations from countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia? Both allies who should be under some Western influence? In fact there's a list of over 40 countries financing ISIS apparently: https://www.rt.com/news/322305-isis-financed-40-countries/
    II) Yes, oil sales - apart from donations the only 'renewable' source of funding for an organisation that has to continually pay its fighters.

    2. Sale of oil to the black market. Unfortunately there are very evil people in the world and they don't all wave black flags

    Quite. “Turkey has turned a blind eye to this and may continue to do so until they come under pressure from the West to close down oil black markets in the country's south.” Where there is buying and selling, somewhere that oil acquires legal status before it reaches the consumer. We need a crackdown so not a drop is bought from ISIS. What's the point of bombing them and buying oil from them at the same time?
    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-10-01/who-buying-islamic-states-illegal-oil


    3. Injured being treated in the field / in their camps

    Think again. http://www.ibtimes.co.in/turkish-president-erdogans-daughter-heads-covert-medical-facility-treating-injured-isis-640117

    4. In their camps
    Yes, in their camps - it's just that those camps happen to be in Istanbul: http://uk.businessinsider.com/isis-training-camp-for-children-in-istanbul-2015-10?r=US&IR=T

    5. Press gangs, Arab militants, naive idiots from the West
    Quite, but they are getting to and from by being waved over the Turkish border with a nudge and a wink - and back the other way.

    As for the naive idiots aspect, why are ISIS allowed to recruit with impunity on (US based) social networks? Whereas hours before the Paris attacks, an Anonymous-linked group called 'Report ISIS accounts' aimed at exposing accounts used by ISIS was removed by facebook and its administrators banned.

    6. A lot of it is captured

    And most of it is from complete interchangeability between ISIS, Nusra, and so-called 'moderate groups', hence ISIS now having US anti-tank missiles as well as endless fleets of US provided Toyota trucks. I hardly think they were captured. The moral being if you want to defeat an organisation, stop dolloping weapons all over the place.

    But I guess, if you want, you can answer "the CIA" to all of the questions instead


    And I didn't mention CIA once!

  • Pong
    Pong Posts: 4,693
    Are the tories putting any resources into OW&R?

    They can't win the seat, but they can influence the outcome.
  • Fenster
    Fenster Posts: 2,115

    Married couple who planned terror attack in London were arrested after asking for advice on Twitter about where to target, court hears.

    LOL.

    I actually have some affection for this type of terrorist.

    So fecking stupid they couldn't possibly do any harm, except to them themselves. Like that suicide bomber in Yemen a few weeks back who blew his own bottom half off and stayed alive for a few minutes so everybody could point and laugh at him.
  • Pong said:

    Are the tories putting any resources into OW&R?

    They can't win the seat, but they can influence the outcome.

    Tories should urge their voters in Oldham to vote tactically, for Labour.

    #SaveJez.
  • Toms
    Toms Posts: 2,478
    Pong said:

    I presume we're all in unanimous agreement that those £3 PB tories who helped elect Corbyn should be taken outside & shot?

    No, no. You wouldn't want to deny them their three pound's worth of Schadenfreude.
  • Fenster said:

    Married couple who planned terror attack in London were arrested after asking for advice on Twitter about where to target, court hears.

    LOL.

    I actually have some affection for this type of terrorist.

    So fecking stupid they couldn't possibly do any harm, except to them themselves. Like that suicide bomber in Yemen a few weeks back who blew his own bottom half off and stayed alive for a few minutes so everybody could point and laugh at him.
    Have you ever seen the film Four Lions?
  • MarqueeMark
    MarqueeMark Posts: 55,459
    edited November 2015

    Married couple who planned terror attack in London were arrested after asking for advice on Twitter about where to target, court hears.

    That is beyond even the level of stupidity the screenwriters would have put in Four Lions.......

    EDIT Great minds....
  • Kipper humour ... not bad.

    Patrick O'Flynn ‏@oflynnmep 3m3 minutes ago
    Monday's Corbyn doesn't back shoot-to-kill terrorists, Tuesday's does. Best hope that under a Lab govt any attacks come on a Tuesday then...
  • Scott_P
    Scott_P Posts: 51,453
    Emma Reynolds stands behind Corbyn to invite the PM to condemn Stop the War
  • Pong said:

    Are the tories putting any resources into OW&R?

    They can't win the seat, but they can influence the outcome.

    Would expect them rightly to soft pedal it.
  • Fenster
    Fenster Posts: 2,115

    Fenster said:

    Married couple who planned terror attack in London were arrested after asking for advice on Twitter about where to target, court hears.

    LOL.

    I actually have some affection for this type of terrorist.

    So fecking stupid they couldn't possibly do any harm, except to them themselves. Like that suicide bomber in Yemen a few weeks back who blew his own bottom half off and stayed alive for a few minutes so everybody could point and laugh at him.
    Have you ever seen the film Four Lions?
    No, what's it about?
  • viewcode
    viewcode Posts: 25,202

    To comprehend how bad Corbyn has been as leader is to picture the Hindenburg meets Chernobyl meets England's rugby team at the World Cup meets the Battle of Zama meets Tron 2.

    Tron 2 made a large profit, is one of the best-looking films going, had a comprehensible plot, a lovely in-joke as Bridges riffed off the "Dude", and a good climax (bridges vs bridges on a bridge!). If it had sorted out the CGI recreation of 1980's Jeff Bridges instead of the uncanny valley version and made the boring bits less boring, it would have been much better... but even taking those bits into account it was never less than OK.

    I've just realised I don't know how to end this jeremiad. So I'll

  • Pong said:

    Are the tories putting any resources into OW&R?

    They can't win the seat, but they can influence the outcome.

    Tories should urge their voters in Oldham to vote tactically, for Labour.

    #SaveJez.
    #DUJCA
  • Scott_P
    Scott_P Posts: 51,453
    @DPJHodges: Think Oldham chatter is just expectation management. Would be incomprehensible for Labour to lose that seat.
  • Scott_P
    Scott_P Posts: 51,453
    @JeremyCliffe: Wish all in Labour were as unequivocal as @EmmaReynoldsMP about where guilt for Paris attacks lies.
  • Corbyn's song:

    We come in peace. Shoot to kill.

    We come in peace. Shoot to kill.

    We come in peace. Shoot to kill.

    It's worse than that, he's dead Jim....
    There's Tories on the starboard bow, starboard bow, starboard bow.
  • TheScreamingEagles
    TheScreamingEagles Posts: 122,806
    edited November 2015
    Fenster said:

    Fenster said:

    Married couple who planned terror attack in London were arrested after asking for advice on Twitter about where to target, court hears.

    LOL.

    I actually have some affection for this type of terrorist.

    So fecking stupid they couldn't possibly do any harm, except to them themselves. Like that suicide bomber in Yemen a few weeks back who blew his own bottom half off and stayed alive for a few minutes so everybody could point and laugh at him.
    Have you ever seen the film Four Lions?
    No, what's it about?
    Four incompetent Islamist Terrorists from Sheffield.

    One of my favourite films. (One character in the film is like someone I know in real life)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESOhN-SaH-s
  • Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.
  • Scott_P
    Scott_P Posts: 51,453
    Another former Labour minister standing behind Corbyn condemning Stop the War
  • logical_song
    logical_song Posts: 10,082

    Pong said:

    I presume we're all in unanimous agreement that those £3 PB tories who helped elect Corbyn should be taken outside & shot?

    I wasn't one of them - and was agnostic on whether it was worth doing. But in the end the £3 PB Tories (or any Tories come to that) had no impact on the outcome. That was already settled by the crazy decision to take pity on the old Lefties so they at least had an invite to the party. Except everyone seemed to have forgotten why they weren't invited before. Because they drink all the booze, grind fag ends into the carpet, piss in the front garden, whilst waving their todgers to the neighbours, shag your girlfriend on the sofa - and then set up a squat. The people who had forgotten that lesson from history are the ones who should be shot.
    All the £3 Tories did was give Corbyn Labour party a £3 donation.
  • Danny565
    Danny565 Posts: 8,091
    Scott_P said:

    @JeremyCliffe: Wish all in Labour were as unequivocal as @EmmaReynoldsMP about where guilt for Paris attacks lies.

    LOL, it says it all that Emma Reynolds is now apparently the Blairites' Great White Hope. She makes Liz Kendall look substantial.
  • Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    So we no longer have to pretend not to know you are?
  • They should drop Lancashire's Jos Buttler and replace him with Yorkshire's Jonny Bairstow, what a horlicks of a missed stumping.
  • Fenster
    Fenster Posts: 2,115

    Fenster said:

    Fenster said:

    Married couple who planned terror attack in London were arrested after asking for advice on Twitter about where to target, court hears.

    LOL.

    I actually have some affection for this type of terrorist.

    So fecking stupid they couldn't possibly do any harm, except to them themselves. Like that suicide bomber in Yemen a few weeks back who blew his own bottom half off and stayed alive for a few minutes so everybody could point and laugh at him.
    Have you ever seen the film Four Lions?
    No, what's it about?
    Four incompetent Islamist Terrorists from Sheffield.

    One of my favourite films. (One character in the film is like someone I know in real life)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1jcdRlfo6w
    Ah ta - I'll have to watch it.. I don't get to see many films these days* but if you say it's fun it should be fun.

    *I saw Birdman last week. Was good. A bit too clever but still good.

  • Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    At least we no longer have to fear you meeting frank.
  • Oliver Kamm ‏@OliverKamm 4m4 minutes ago
    "He is not fit to be our leader or in any serious position in this country," says shadow minister about Corbyn. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34844762

    Giles Dilnot ‏@reporterboy 36s37 seconds ago
    Never in watching Commons proceedure have I seen the Lab front bench so isolated physically by numbers on it, or those sitting near it

    If only NPxMP was NPMP2 then he'd be sitting on the front bench most likely.
  • MarkHopkins
    MarkHopkins Posts: 5,584

    Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    Welcome (as) Mr Meeks.

  • Pulpstar
    Pulpstar Posts: 79,813

    Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    Hello Mr Meeks !

    What happened to antifrank :O !?
  • AndyJS
    AndyJS Posts: 29,395
    Scott_P said:

    @DPJHodges: Think Oldham chatter is just expectation management. Would be incomprehensible for Labour to lose that seat.

    Famous last words.
  • Giles Dilnot ‏@reporterboy 3 mins3 minutes ago

    Never in watching Commons proceedure have I seen the Lab front bench so isolated physically by numbers on it, or those sitting near it
  • Luckyguy1983
    Luckyguy1983 Posts: 32,093
    I provided a story below about facebook banning 'Report ISIS accounts' and its administrators from facebook hours before the Paris attacks but I didn't give the link.
    http://countercurrentnews.com/2015/11/hours-before-paris-exposing-isis-recruiters/#
  • Pulpstar said:

    Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    Hello Mr Meeks !

    What happened to antifrank :O !?
    Under the patio. Don't tell the authorities.
  • MaxPB said:

    If UKIP win in Oldham West it will get them back on the agenda, something they have singularly failed to do since the election and Nigel's "resignation" farce.

    Good luck to them I say, and if I lived up there as a Tory voter, I would definitely be looking to vote UKIP to keep Labour out. Even if that meant Labour dumping Corbyn sooner rather than later. He is an extravagance that the nation cannot afford. A pacifist leader at a time of war. Any other Labour leader would be asking about defence tomorrow and why the government have cut defence spending so much in the last 6 years when the threat of terrorism and radical Islam has only increased in that time. Corbyn can't and the government get away with slashing our defence budget at the worst possible time.

    Defence is the one area where we do need to say "fuck the deficit".

    The sort of defence we need against terror is not numbers or cost based. More money might help if put in the right places. We need more intelligence and more special forces. By their nature, special forces are a rare breed and difficult to increase. We can however intensify the training and abilities of our regular light infantry forces.

    If I were a Tory in Oldham I would stick to voting Tory. Politically we should be aiming to keep labour in their civil war, not encouraging them to see the light.
    I imagine a lot of Labour voters will staynat home, but they have been mode than happy to vote for a left wing MP in the past and a Corbyn sympathiser.
  • Toms
    Toms Posts: 2,478
    edited November 2015

    Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    Some years ago Nick Palmer, I think it was, asked who frank was and what you had against him. Or something to do with postage? I don't think we got an answer. Thinking about it maybe it's best to retain a degree of mystery.
  • watford30
    watford30 Posts: 3,474

    Pulpstar said:

    Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    Hello Mr Meeks !

    What happened to antifrank :O !?
    Under the patio. Don't tell the authorities.
    Why that name out of interest? Who was 'frank'?
  • Toms said:

    Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    Some years ago Nick Palmer, I think it was, asked who frank was and what you had against him. Or something to do with postage? I don't think we got an answer. Thinking about it maybe it's best to retain a degree of mystery.
    Aunty Frank :lol:
  • Pulpstar
    Pulpstar Posts: 79,813
    The front bench looks like a 70s East German motorcycle holiday.
  • Scott_P
    Scott_P Posts: 51,453

    A picture speaks a thousand words

    If the PLP wanted rid of Corbyn, they would repeat that at PMQs

    But they don't, and won't
  • Pong said:

    I presume we're all in unanimous agreement that those £3 PB tories who helped elect Corbyn should be taken outside & shot?

    I wasn't one of them - and was agnostic on whether it was worth doing. But in the end the £3 PB Tories (or any Tories come to that) had no impact on the outcome. That was already settled by the crazy decision to take pity on the old Lefties so they at least had an invite to the party. Except everyone seemed to have forgotten why they weren't invited before. Because they drink all the booze, grind fag ends into the carpet, piss in the front garden, whilst waving their todgers to the neighbours, shag your girlfriend on the sofa - and then set up a squat. The people who had forgotten that lesson from history are the ones who should be shot.
    All the £3 Tories did was give Corbyn Labour party a £3 donation.
    [Sunil whistles innocently]
  • MarkHopkins
    MarkHopkins Posts: 5,584
    watford30 said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    Hello Mr Meeks !

    What happened to antifrank :O !?
    Under the patio. Don't tell the authorities.
    Why that name out of interest? Who was 'frank'?
    Perhaps he was trying to be subtle before.

    And now he's going to be frank.
  • Plato_Says
    Plato_Says Posts: 11,822
    :smiley:
    Pulpstar said:

    The front bench looks like a 70s East German motorcycle holiday.

  • watford30 said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    Hello Mr Meeks !

    What happened to antifrank :O !?
    Under the patio. Don't tell the authorities.
    Why that name out of interest? Who was 'frank'?
    The origin of my name was guessed once, by TSE - and, I think, by others privately. It has nothing to do with anyone or anything called Frank. It's derived from a term ("anti-franking") used in a technical and extremely dull aspect of my work - a joke against myself if you like.
  • Scott_P said:

    A picture speaks a thousand words

    If the PLP wanted rid of Corbyn, they would repeat that at PMQs

    But they don't, and won't
    The SNP would take the space.
  • How did you change your username? I have tried to update mine but it is greyed out.
  • Plato_Says
    Plato_Says Posts: 11,822
    The latest @YouGov poll shows the EU referendum could be a very tight race
    #Brexit https://t.co/uFeuDFswJc
  • MarqueeMark
    MarqueeMark Posts: 55,459
    Greatly relieved. I always worried Frank would meet Antifrank, and there would be a cataclysmic explosion...
  • Pong
    Pong Posts: 4,693
    edited November 2015

    Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    At least we no longer have to fear you meeting frank.
    I suspect the tension that originally led to someone choosing such a handle for a political blog is unavoidably unresolvable and has a political dimension to it.

    I'd go 1/2 that Frank is Alastair's Father.

    Sorry Alastair :)

    Quirky usernames bring out the amateur, armchair psychologist in me.
  • You’re not as attractive now that the air of mystique has been stripped bare… :lol:

  • viewcode
    viewcode Posts: 25,202
    There is a picture of what David Cameron wrote in the book of condolences at the French Ambassador's residence. I found it oddly touching. You can find it here: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/17/11/2E8697FA00000578-3320764-image-m-5_1447758910732.jpg

    "...The people of the United Kingdom stand with the French people in shock, sadness and grief. We fly the Tricolor as a symbol of solidarity, because we know our shared values - liberte, egalite, fraternite - will triumph over the evil found in Paris last week. Nous sommes solidaires avec vous. Nous sommes tous ensemble. David Cameron, November 2015..."
  • How did you change your username? I have tried to update mine but it is greyed out.
    You have to apply to the site authorities, who can do it for you. I hesitate to start an avalanche of requests, so they aren't overwhelmed. I would guess that they would want to avoid having to do lots of frivolous name changes.
  • Pong said:

    Quirky usernames bring out the amateur, armchair psychologist in me.

    Let's see.. Pong?
  • FrancisUrquhart
    FrancisUrquhart Posts: 85,729
    edited November 2015
    Looks like Dianne managed to finish her Christmas cards. Maybe thats where everybody else is?
  • MikeK
    MikeK Posts: 9,053

    Scott_P said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Ladbrokes Politics ‏@LadPolitics 2m2 minutes ago
    Big move for UKIP to win Oldham West byelection. Odds halved from 8/1 to 4/1 in last 24 hrs

    @IsabelHardman: Labour in a spot of bother in Oldham West by-election, I hear https://t.co/8suNI8AnTw
    For so many reasons I would love Ukip to win this seat, above all else it will cause politicians in every party to rethink their agenda.

    If UKIP win, Corbyn is dead man walking (even more so than currently)
    If UKIP win, Corbyn is dead period! He will have to resign after forceful pressure. If he still refuses to resign, the Labour Party may well split.
  • MarqueeMark
    MarqueeMark Posts: 55,459

    Corbyn's song:

    We come in peace. Shoot to kill.

    We come in peace. Shoot to kill.

    We come in peace. Shoot to kill.

    It's worse than that, he's dead Jim....
    There's Tories on the starboard bow, starboard bow, starboard bow.
    It's politics Jim, but not as we know it....
  • Pong said:

    Quirky usernames bring out the amateur, armchair psychologist in me.

    Let's see.. Pong?
    Olfactory reference
  • Floater
    Floater Posts: 14,207
    Ouch

    But they deserve it.
  • Plato_Says
    Plato_Says Posts: 11,822
    In the unlikely event Labour did lose - when was the last time HMLO lost a by-election?
    MikeK said:

    Scott_P said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Ladbrokes Politics ‏@LadPolitics 2m2 minutes ago
    Big move for UKIP to win Oldham West byelection. Odds halved from 8/1 to 4/1 in last 24 hrs

    @IsabelHardman: Labour in a spot of bother in Oldham West by-election, I hear https://t.co/8suNI8AnTw
    For so many reasons I would love Ukip to win this seat, above all else it will cause politicians in every party to rethink their agenda.

    If UKIP win, Corbyn is dead man walking (even more so than currently)
    If UKIP win, Corbyn is dead period! He will have to resign after forceful pressure. If he still refuses to resign, the Labour Party may well split.
  • Pulpstar
    Pulpstar Posts: 79,813

    Scott_P said:

    A picture speaks a thousand words

    If the PLP wanted rid of Corbyn, they would repeat that at PMQs

    But they don't, and won't
    The SNP would take the space.
    A humiliation worse than Corbyn.
  • MarqueeMark
    MarqueeMark Posts: 55,459

    Looks like Dianne managed to finish her Christmas cards. Maybe thats where everybody else is?
    Or else Diane single-handedly re-enacts the campfire scene from Blazing Saddles....
  • FrancisUrquhart
    FrancisUrquhart Posts: 85,729
    edited November 2015
    viewcode said:

    There is a picture of what David Cameron wrote in the book of condolences at the French Ambassador's residence. I found it oddly touching. You can find it here: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/17/11/2E8697FA00000578-3320764-image-m-5_1447758910732.jpg

    "...The people of the United Kingdom stand with the French people in shock, sadness and grief. We fly the Tricolor as a symbol of solidarity, because we know our shared values - liberte, egalite, fraternite - will triumph over the evil found in Paris last week. Nous sommes solidaires avec vous. Nous sommes tous ensemble. David Cameron, November 2015..."

    Cameron has many faults, but when it comes to things like this, doing the formal occasions etc, he is exemplary. I never see him, like for instance Brown, and think he is embarrassment to Britain.
  • Scott_P
    Scott_P Posts: 51,453
    Another Labour backbencher stands behind Corbyn to criticise Stop the War
  • Pong
    Pong Posts: 4,693

    Pong said:

    Quirky usernames bring out the amateur, armchair psychologist in me.

    Let's see.. Pong?
    lol.

    I put about 10 seconds thought into it, tbh. I'm not very creative under pressure.

    IIRC, I was sitting in a Kathmandu cafe reading "the ascent of Rum Doodle" at the time.
  • Sunil_Prasannan
    Sunil_Prasannan Posts: 55,077
    edited November 2015

    watford30 said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    Hello Mr Meeks !

    What happened to antifrank :O !?
    Under the patio. Don't tell the authorities.
    Why that name out of interest? Who was 'frank'?
    The origin of my name was guessed once, by TSE - and, I think, by others privately. It has nothing to do with anyone or anything called Frank. It's derived from a term ("anti-franking") used in a technical and extremely dull aspect of my work - a joke against myself if you like.
    This one?:

    https://www.pensions-pmi.org.uk/news-and-publications/pensions-terminology/?p=6
  • pbr2013
    pbr2013 Posts: 649
    "Anti-franking" is a notoriously difficult technical/legal provision in pensions law. One looks up the definition of the verb "to frank" in a regular English dictionary in vain.
  • malcolmg
    malcolmg Posts: 44,523

    Pulpstar said:

    Interesting to compare our defense with the much lampooned French:

    We spend $10 Bn more, and have

    50,000 less frontline personnel
    Slightly less land systems of all types
    300 less aircraft
    3 less aircraft carriers
    8 less frigates.

    6 more destroyers
    Around 50 more trainer aircraft

    We spend a lot more on R&D and cutting-edge, world-beating kit.

    Trouble is when then can't afford to employ people to do very much with it.
    Bet we have lots more Generals and Admirals
  • Scott_P said:

    @DPJHodges: Think Oldham chatter is just expectation management. Would be incomprehensible for Labour to lose that seat.

    It would be entirely comprehensible. Which is not the same as probable. But if it does happen, we can write the reasons why now.
  • Scott_P
    Scott_P Posts: 51,453
    @jonwalker121: Ian Austin condemns people who say UK foreign policy has "increased, not diminished" threat to UK - he's quoting Corbyn's planned Sat speech
  • Luckyguy1983
    Luckyguy1983 Posts: 32,093
    viewcode said:

    There is a picture of what David Cameron wrote in the book of condolences at the French Ambassador's residence. I found it oddly touching. You can find it here: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/17/11/2E8697FA00000578-3320764-image-m-5_1447758910732.jpg

    "...The people of the United Kingdom stand with the French people in shock, sadness and grief. We fly the Tricolor as a symbol of solidarity, because we know our shared values - liberte, egalite, fraternite - will triumph over the evil found in Paris last week. Nous sommes solidaires avec vous. Nous sommes tous ensemble. David Cameron, November 2015..."

    I find it appropriate and well said. I find most of Cameron's public utterances appropriate and well said. Pity there's more to being a PM.
  • In the unlikely event Labour did lose - when was the last time HMLO lost a by-election?

    MikeK said:

    Scott_P said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Ladbrokes Politics ‏@LadPolitics 2m2 minutes ago
    Big move for UKIP to win Oldham West byelection. Odds halved from 8/1 to 4/1 in last 24 hrs

    @IsabelHardman: Labour in a spot of bother in Oldham West by-election, I hear https://t.co/8suNI8AnTw
    For so many reasons I would love Ukip to win this seat, above all else it will cause politicians in every party to rethink their agenda.

    If UKIP win, Corbyn is dead man walking (even more so than currently)
    If UKIP win, Corbyn is dead period! He will have to resign after forceful pressure. If he still refuses to resign, the Labour Party may well split.
    Bradford West?
  • Plato_Says
    Plato_Says Posts: 11,822
    Spiegel magazine has named the man arrested in Germany in connection with the Paris attacks as Kamal A, 29, and his two female companions as Lava M, 28, and Didem A, 32.

    They were arrested after an employee at a local supermarket saw the group and believed she recognised the man as Salah Abdeslam, the suspected Paris attacker who is on the run, the magazine reported on its website. It is not currently clear whether the arrested man is Abdeslam using an alias or the arrests are a case of mistaken identity.
  • How did you change your username? I have tried to update mine but it is greyed out.
    You have to apply to the site authorities, who can do it for you. I hesitate to start an avalanche of requests, so they aren't overwhelmed. I would guess that they would want to avoid having to do lots of frivolous name changes.
    Nevermind then. It's merely the fact that I have moved house so am no longer "of the Vale"
  • viewcode
    viewcode Posts: 25,202

    viewcode said:

    There is a picture of what David Cameron wrote in the book of condolences at the French Ambassador's residence. I found it oddly touching. You can find it here: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/17/11/2E8697FA00000578-3320764-image-m-5_1447758910732.jpg

    "...The people of the United Kingdom stand with the French people in shock, sadness and grief. We fly the Tricolor as a symbol of solidarity, because we know our shared values - liberte, egalite, fraternite - will triumph over the evil found in Paris last week. Nous sommes solidaires avec vous. Nous sommes tous ensemble. David Cameron, November 2015..."

    Cameron has many faults, but when it comes to things like this, doing the formal occasions etc, he is exemplary. I never see him, like for instance Brown, and think he is embarrassment to Britain.
    I never thought of Brown as being an embarrassment to Britain: I don't think he was competent as Chancellor and I don't think he should have been Prime Minister, but I never doubted that he was an oddly sincere man trying his best at a profession he was ill-suited for (contrast to Corbyn, who *will* be an embarrassment if he gets elected)

    But Cameron is very good at the ceremonial part of the job: on his good days as good as Blair, and more sincere.

  • Luckyguy1983
    Luckyguy1983 Posts: 32,093
    Scott_P said:

    @jonwalker121: Ian Austin condemns people who say UK foreign policy has "increased, not diminished" threat to UK - he's quoting Corbyn's planned Sat speech

    He does? Iraq, Libya, Syria? Does anyone actually think that it hasn't increased it? I'm genuinely baffled.
  • FrancisUrquhart
    FrancisUrquhart Posts: 85,729
    edited November 2015
    viewcode said:

    viewcode said:

    There is a picture of what David Cameron wrote in the book of condolences at the French Ambassador's residence. I found it oddly touching. You can find it here: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/17/11/2E8697FA00000578-3320764-image-m-5_1447758910732.jpg

    "...The people of the United Kingdom stand with the French people in shock, sadness and grief. We fly the Tricolor as a symbol of solidarity, because we know our shared values - liberte, egalite, fraternite - will triumph over the evil found in Paris last week. Nous sommes solidaires avec vous. Nous sommes tous ensemble. David Cameron, November 2015..."

    Cameron has many faults, but when it comes to things like this, doing the formal occasions etc, he is exemplary. I never see him, like for instance Brown, and think he is embarrassment to Britain.
    I never thought of Brown as being an embarrassment to Britain: I don't think he was competent as Chancellor and I don't think he should have been Prime Minister, but I never doubted that he was an oddly sincere man trying his best at a profession he was ill-suited for (contrast to Corbyn, who *will* be an embarrassment if he gets elected)

    But Cameron is very good at the ceremonial part of the job: on his good days as good as Blair, and more sincere.

    I don't doubt Brown was trying /sincere, but he just ballsed up so many occasions. Corbyn on the other hand is worst of both worlds, he will balls stuff up and also has serious issues with fitting in with any "establishment" type stuff e.g Privy council.
  • DavidL
    DavidL Posts: 55,867

    Pong said:

    Are the tories putting any resources into OW&R?

    They can't win the seat, but they can influence the outcome.

    Tories should urge their voters in Oldham to vote tactically, for Labour.

    #SaveJez.
    No, Southam and Hodges are both right: the man is a security threat and needs to be removed in the national interest.
  • Plato_Says
    Plato_Says Posts: 11,822
    #OpParis: Anonymous takes down 5,500 ISIS Twitter accounts
    https://t.co/kU2SfScrkS https://t.co/Aefw20pE8n
  • MarqueeMark
    MarqueeMark Posts: 55,459
    viewcode said:

    viewcode said:

    There is a picture of what David Cameron wrote in the book of condolences at the French Ambassador's residence. I found it oddly touching. You can find it here: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/17/11/2E8697FA00000578-3320764-image-m-5_1447758910732.jpg

    "...The people of the United Kingdom stand with the French people in shock, sadness and grief. We fly the Tricolor as a symbol of solidarity, because we know our shared values - liberte, egalite, fraternite - will triumph over the evil found in Paris last week. Nous sommes solidaires avec vous. Nous sommes tous ensemble. David Cameron, November 2015..."

    Cameron has many faults, but when it comes to things like this, doing the formal occasions etc, he is exemplary. I never see him, like for instance Brown, and think he is embarrassment to Britain.
    I never thought of Brown as being an embarrassment to Britain
    Not even when he was chasing Obama through the UN Building kitchens for a meeting?

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/6228290/How-did-Barack-Obama-and-Gordon-Brown-spend-15-minutes-in-a-kitchen.html
  • AndyJS
    AndyJS Posts: 29,395
    pbr2013 said:

    "Anti-franking" is a notoriously difficult technical/legal provision in pensions law. One looks up the definition of the verb "to frank" in a regular English dictionary in vain.

    I was wondering what it meant all these years.
  • Pro_Rata
    Pro_Rata Posts: 5,690

    How did you change your username? I have tried to update mine but it is greyed out.
    You have to apply to the site authorities, who can do it for you. I hesitate to start an avalanche of requests, so they aren't overwhelmed. I would guess that they would want to avoid having to do lots of frivolous name changes.
    Nevermind then. It's merely the fact that I have moved house so am no longer "of the Vale"
    Presumably, if you don't live on the very watershed, you are still in some sense of a second Vale
  • Bob__Sykes
    Bob__Sykes Posts: 1,179
    viewcode said:

    There is a picture of what David Cameron wrote in the book of condolences at the French Ambassador's residence. I found it oddly touching. You can find it here: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/17/11/2E8697FA00000578-3320764-image-m-5_1447758910732.jpg

    "...The people of the United Kingdom stand with the French people in shock, sadness and grief. We fly the Tricolor as a symbol of solidarity, because we know our shared values - liberte, egalite, fraternite - will triumph over the evil found in Paris last week. Nous sommes solidaires avec vous. Nous sommes tous ensemble. David Cameron, November 2015..."

    Nice message, terrible handwriting! Does that really say "solidaires"?

    Makes me feel better about mine (the missus says I should have been a GP not a lawyer!)
  • Anecdotal I know, but I wouldn't be too sure about an Oldham defeat being fatal for Corbyn. I was speaking to a Corbynite friend the other day (yes, I do have one), and his comment on the possibility of defeat there was "funny things happen in by-elections".

    That analysis might well be a delusion upon many other delusions but if typical then Oldham could easily be wafted away as an aberration. MPs might take a different view but they still won't move until the party can be relied on not to make the same mistake again.
  • viewcode said:

    viewcode said:

    There is a picture of what David Cameron wrote in the book of condolences at the French Ambassador's residence. I found it oddly touching. You can find it here: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/17/11/2E8697FA00000578-3320764-image-m-5_1447758910732.jpg

    "...The people of the United Kingdom stand with the French people in shock, sadness and grief. We fly the Tricolor as a symbol of solidarity, because we know our shared values - liberte, egalite, fraternite - will triumph over the evil found in Paris last week. Nous sommes solidaires avec vous. Nous sommes tous ensemble. David Cameron, November 2015..."

    Cameron has many faults, but when it comes to things like this, doing the formal occasions etc, he is exemplary. I never see him, like for instance Brown, and think he is embarrassment to Britain.
    I never thought of Brown as being an embarrassment to Britain
    Not even when he was chasing Obama through the UN Building kitchens for a meeting?

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/6228290/How-did-Barack-Obama-and-Gordon-Brown-spend-15-minutes-in-a-kitchen.html
    Obama Beach!
  • watford30
    watford30 Posts: 3,474

    viewcode said:

    There is a picture of what David Cameron wrote in the book of condolences at the French Ambassador's residence. I found it oddly touching. You can find it here: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/17/11/2E8697FA00000578-3320764-image-m-5_1447758910732.jpg

    "...The people of the United Kingdom stand with the French people in shock, sadness and grief. We fly the Tricolor as a symbol of solidarity, because we know our shared values - liberte, egalite, fraternite - will triumph over the evil found in Paris last week. Nous sommes solidaires avec vous. Nous sommes tous ensemble. David Cameron, November 2015..."

    Nice message, terrible handwriting! Does that really say "solidaires"?

    Makes me feel better about mine (the missus says I should have been a GP not a lawyer!)
    Gordon Brown would have filled the entire book with marker pen scribble.
  • felix
    felix Posts: 15,180
    Looks like Diane got the Xmas cards finished though :)
  • DavidL
    DavidL Posts: 55,867

    Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    I'm shocked. Really shocked. Antifrank is a part of the bedrock of the site.
  • Floater
    Floater Posts: 14,207

    viewcode said:

    viewcode said:

    There is a picture of what David Cameron wrote in the book of condolences at the French Ambassador's residence. I found it oddly touching. You can find it here: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/17/11/2E8697FA00000578-3320764-image-m-5_1447758910732.jpg

    "...The people of the United Kingdom stand with the French people in shock, sadness and grief. We fly the Tricolor as a symbol of solidarity, because we know our shared values - liberte, egalite, fraternite - will triumph over the evil found in Paris last week. Nous sommes solidaires avec vous. Nous sommes tous ensemble. David Cameron, November 2015..."

    Cameron has many faults, but when it comes to things like this, doing the formal occasions etc, he is exemplary. I never see him, like for instance Brown, and think he is embarrassment to Britain.
    I never thought of Brown as being an embarrassment to Britain
    Not even when he was chasing Obama through the UN Building kitchens for a meeting?

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/6228290/How-did-Barack-Obama-and-Gordon-Brown-spend-15-minutes-in-a-kitchen.html
    how about signing that Euro treaty on his own because he was too busy / embarrassed.
  • Anecdotal I know, but I wouldn't be too sure about an Oldham defeat being fatal for Corbyn. I was speaking to a Corbynite friend the other day (yes, I do have one), and his comment on the possibility of defeat there was "funny things happen in by-elections".

    That analysis might well be a delusion upon many other delusions but if typical then Oldham could easily be wafted away as an aberration. MPs might take a different view but they still won't move until the party can be relied on not to make the same mistake again.

    Isn't it obvious? They'll blame the candidate for being too Blairite.
  • Anecdotal I know, but I wouldn't be too sure about an Oldham defeat being fatal for Corbyn. I was speaking to a Corbynite friend the other day (yes, I do have one), and his comment on the possibility of defeat there was "funny things happen in by-elections".

    That analysis might well be a delusion upon many other delusions but if typical then Oldham could easily be wafted away as an aberration. MPs might take a different view but they still won't move until the party can be relied on not to make the same mistake again.

    Meacher left a 15,000 vote majority (or 34% if you prefer)
  • dr_spyn
    dr_spyn Posts: 11,312
    DavidL said:

    Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    I'm shocked. Really shocked. Antifrank is a part of the bedrock of the site.
    I'm shocked, and so is my wife.
  • AndyJS
    AndyJS Posts: 29,395

    Pong said:

    Are the tories putting any resources into OW&R?

    They can't win the seat, but they can influence the outcome.

    Tories should urge their voters in Oldham to vote tactically, for Labour.

    #SaveJez.
    Glad to say Cameron will never do that.
  • Dair
    Dair Posts: 6,108
    Pro_Rata said:

    Dair said:

    One of the great myths about Britain today is that our island nation status somehow prevents the country being successfully infiltrated on a large scale.

    Dair, are you talking in the abstract here? To me, the lack of English Channel refugee boat sinkings and the concentration on Calais indicated that our weak point, such as it was, were the various trains and especially lorries using that point of entry. Also, although illegal migration through Calais does come with a fatality rate, I'm not sure how that compares with the fatality rate one would expect from clandestine boat crossings, which I would imagine to be higher. I guess the lack of boat crossings may be reflective of a somewhat lower risk / reward balance for get out of France compared with, for instance, getting out of Libya.

    The only figures I have been able to gauge are that Libya -> Italy boat journeys during 2015 have carried in the ball park of a 1.5-2% fatality risk to the individual per successful crossing.
    My point was that the UK does not have effective control of its maritime borders. It's not even close and it's not even funny, given the claims made by the UK Government. The situation is so bad that the Scottish Government now has a superior patrol capability to the Royal Navy.

    We are spending fortunes on pointless Aircraft Carriers with no aircraft, hugely expensive and pointless Type 45s and a unproven concept in Global Combat Ships.

    Meanwhile the entire coast of the UK has armed protection from a grand total of THREE offshore patrol vessels.
  • watford30
    watford30 Posts: 3,474
    DavidL said:

    Well, folks, I decided to grow up. I will miss the antifrank name though - it's a part of my history.

    I'm shocked. Really shocked. Antifrank is a part of the bedrock of the site.
    Nous sommes tous Antifrank.
  • Size of French army 115,000 including 8500 from paris fire brigade (wiki)
    UK army 83,000. So there only seems a small discrepancy
    In terms of front line fast jets the French will have about 100 more than us in 2019. The f35 and the aircraft carriers have a lot to answer for.
This discussion has been closed.