Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Suarez carrying his lunch

Posting 24197

He is almost as good looking a George.

When are the next economics figures out?

They should go down well before the local elections.

Here is another winner from the left wing Fabians/Labour

Pensioners should 'share the pain and pay more tax'

The high level of pensioner home ownership makes for an unfair housing market, says think-tank

Pensioners should share the pain of austerity cuts and pay more tax to make the housing market fairer, a think-tank has said.

As middle-income workers' wages stagnate and they can’t afford to buy a home, the Fabian Society claims high levels of home ownership among older people threaten fairness across generations.

The society argued that pensioners' taxes should increase, their benefits be cut, and a tax on property wealth should be introduced.

The key policy should be to raise taxes on pensioners so the 27% they pay as a portion of their gross income would rise to 33%, in line with working age households with the same income.

Ritchie Havens snuffs it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22259627

Happy St George' day!

St George's Day.com

Absolutely Skinny, Rule Britannia.. and all that -):

In New Mexico desert, U.S. drone pilots learn the new art of war

(Reuters) - The tide of war may be receding, as President Barack Obama is fond of saying, but U.S. military demand for unmanned drones and their remote pilots is growing.

UNITED champions again.

What a night.

A stonker.

First time in YEARS i got up later than 9am.

Thursday should be interesting. I bet Giddeon already knows were in the poo. Mind he'l do his best to fiddle the figures with the OBR. Like hes done with Scotland.

The OBR is not subject to political influence. They report and independently, that's the whole point of them. The OBR was set up in 2010 to stop government fudging the figures.

YEAH hays and if you believe that youl believe anything.

Fact is last time results were due Osborne knew 48 hours in front. Are you saying he didnt.

Pull the other one.

I see no reason for Osborne not to know the results, if that happened. The OBR uses mainly the standard Treasury model, so their conclusions can be pretty much guessed by the Treasury. The OBR is essentially civil servants with a governing committee controlling it. It is not part of the Treasury and buys resources from it.

It is an improvement on the previous system where governments could massage figures before they were published.

Agreed agreed Hays.

What economic background do you come from or is it like a hoby etc etc.

Seem to be well clued up.

It is just that I have had contact with the OBR and Treasury over the last year plus in connection with some research. There are very good briefing papers on the OBR and Treasury websites explaining the modelling process.

Fantastic, Im all for someone who goes for it and likes it.

Think at least 2 hours per week should be dedicated to personal finance/shares and macro economics/ideas for all school kids over 11.

Politics should be left out of it say until what........16/18.

But think youl find other top EEC countries are heavy on this already ie, personal finance etc.

I hope this doesn't upset too many people.

JLS announce split after farewell tour and new album

sticky - glad you seem to have recovered your equilibrium and sense of humour :-)

Britain signs deal with Jordan to try to deport cleric Abu Qatada

LONDON | Wed Apr 24, 2013 2:42pm BST
(Reuters) - Britain has signed a new legal treaty with Jordan in the hope of being able to deport a radical cleric accused of being Osama bin Laden's "right-hand man in Europe" later this year, the Home Secretary said on Wednesday.

The British government has for years been unable to deport Abu Qatada back to his native Jordan, where he is wanted on terrorism charges, because judges have said evidence obtained through torture could be used against him.

The saga has been embarrassing for the Conservative-led government, which wants to appear tough on security and immigration, and in particular for Home Secretary Theresa May, who has been tipped as a future party leader.

There is speculation that if all else fails in a few months the government may table a motion to suspend the human rights treaty temporarily.

Luis Suarez 10-game ban: FA punishes Liverpool striker for bite

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been banned for 10 games by the Football Association for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic.

The incident happened during Sunday's 2-2 draw between the sides.
Following the bite, the 26-year-old apologised for biting the Chelsea defender and spoke to Ivanovic personally to say sorry.