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.

The Clangers are back... Some say they never went away and have been residing on this thread all the time -): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24523203

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UKIP giving votes back to the Tories.......

electionista ‏@electionista 15h
UK - ICM/Guardian poll: CON 34%, LAB 38%, LDEM 12%, UKIP 8%


Waken up NIGEL.

Cynic,

I have often been chosen.

The word does not belong to you or "your friends" alone.

Try to imagine what it feels like to be picked for Wales to play at the Arms Park now called the Millennium Stadium.

Or even to get a ticket for Wales beating England at the same park.


8-)


Ps

I am supposing that you do have friends.

i'm afraid my saturday name is norma :-)

========

sticky - you know how i hate these thrice daily poll updates, but the above comes as no great surprise, and i would not be at all surprised if, come the real thing, to see ukip's slice being sliced much lower ..... the public will always squeak and squawk until it's time to put money with mouth ...... the french, very stupidly and very much to their cost, voted in the heron to rule their pond, and of course now bitterly rue the day

Manuel,

Your analogy of the heron and the pond could be well applied to Cameron and the London pool.

Although Osborne and Boris seem to be casting their lines in China where the Cormorants usually do the fishing.

I am not sure which is Boris or George, but would suggest Boris has tied something around Georgie Boy's neck.

Funny, I seem to remember that recent post as well. Haystack must have been forgiven then.:-)

Haystack- 11 Oct 2013 15:44 - 30919 of 31053

gf
I seem to remember a recent post saying you had squelched me for life.

Senators say debt, shutdown deal is near

Susan Davis and David Jackson, USA TODAY 9:48 p.m. EDT October 14, 2013



Senate leaders are hoping to secure a deal that can pass the House of Representatives. The Treasury Department has said the national debt ceiling must be raised by Thursday.


Story Highlights

Senators are discussing deal to raise debt ceiling, end government shutdown
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said a deal was possible Tuesday


WASHINGTON — Senate leaders said Monday they are close to an agreement to reopen government and avoid an unprecedented U.S. debt default before the Thursday deadline.

"We hope with good fortune and the support of all you (senators) —recognizing how hard this is for everybody — that perhaps tomorrow will be a bright day," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday evening on the Senate floor.

A flurry of negotiations occurred throughout the day as Reid and his Republican counterpart, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, engaged with each other, their own members, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and White House staff on the terms of a deal to end the budget impasse, which has kept the government partially shutdown since Oct. 1.

McConnell said Monday morning, "I share his optimism that we will get a result that is acceptable to both sides."

The draft proposal still under negotiation would approve a stopgap funding bill to reopen government through Jan. 15; suspend the debt ceiling until Feb. 7; and create the framework for formal budget negotiations to conclude by Dec. 15 with long-term recommendations for funding levels and deficit reduction.

The proposal does not include any significant reforms to the Affordable Care Act, which is what House Republicans were originally seeking in the budget stand-off. House Republicans initially refused to approve a stopgap spending bill unless it delayed or defunded President Obama's signature health care law.

Democrats have said they are willing to discuss ways to reform the law — including the repeal of a 2.3% tax on medical devices enacted to help pay for Obamacare — in the budget negotiations but not in the short-term spending/debt deal.

It is unclear whether Boehner can support the proposal, or if he will allow a vote on it if a majority of House Republicans oppose it. However, House Republicans ceded negotiations to Senate leaders after Obama rejected Boehner's most recent terms for a short-term debt ceiling increase.

Boehner met with McConnell on Monday and House Republican leaders met privately afterward, but they have not weighed in publicly on the talks. House Republican leaders are scheduled to meet Tuesday morning with their members.

There appears to be more support among Republicans in the Senate to end the shutdown and raise the debt ceiling. Senators in both parties have raised concerns of possible economic upheaval if the U.S. breaches the deadline Thursday to raise the nation's $16.7 trillion debt limit so the nation can continue to borrow money to pay for spending Congress has already approved.

"I've talked to several billionaires who used to be Republican supporters that have said they believe the markets will act in a very negative fashion unless we act," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., "I'm urging all of our Republicans to recognize reality as to where we are in this situation."


Congressional leaders had planned a mid-afternoon meeting with Obama at the White House on Monday, but it was postponed so that the Senate could continue negotiations. Instead, White House deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors came to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers.

"I think we are (close). I really do. I'm very encouraged and we'll see. We're just waiting for this evening and we'll see what comes about and see if there's a process to get this thing done," said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who has been part of a bipartisan group of senators trying to find compromise.

Obama on Monday visited Martha's Table, which serves low-income families in Washington, where he spoke with furloughed federal workers affected by the shutdown who have volunteered at the food bank.

Obama denounced what he called Republican "brinkmanship."

"There are going to be differences between the parties," Obama said. "There are going to be differences in terms of budget priorities, but we don't need to inflict pain on the American people, or risk the possibility of America's full faith and credit being damaged just because one side is not getting its way."

Cynic your forgetting the Euro elections which come dangerously very close to the general Election.

They could put UKIP right back in the picture and you havent to forget some of these polls can be rougue polls aswel.

We shall have to see.

In the meantime its just a bit of sport between me Fred Hays and others who like their politics.

Update - Labour lead at 1
by YouGov in Politics
Tue October 15, 6 a.m. BST

Latest YouGov/ The Sun results 14th October - Con 37%, Lab 38%, LD 10%, UKIP 10%;

Private Eye front page mocks Hugh Grant and MPs with 'press regulation special'


Felicity Morse Author Biography

Tuesday 15 October 2013





Satirical current affairs magazine Private Eye has reiterated its acerbic opposition to the Government’s plan for press regulation, printing a a satirical front page mocking MPs and Hacked Off's Hugh Grant.


This week is a ‘press regulation special’ according to the front cover and imaginines what the magazine would look like should the government’s proposed royal charter be made law.

It shows a cluster of kittens praising MPs and Hugh Grant’s new film, suggesting the new plans would choke the freedom of the press, reducing them to a state mouthpiece.

Private Eye’s editor Ian Hislop has long been against statutory regulation, telling Channel 4 News earlier this week that state regulation of the press would be “dangerous” and “that internationally [press regulation] has a bad record.”



more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/private-eye-front-page-mocks-hugh-grant-and-mps-with-press-regulation-special-8880763.html

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No N.

Puddles.

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Printing error Hays, should be a 2 not a 7 for Tories.

I see Osborne wants to make London the money laundering centre for the World.


I thought it was.

But fully agree with him wanting the Chinese banks unregulated.

Think the same should happen to the UK Banks.

Forgot they are already.

-------------------

Does he think that China will not make Beijing the "Business and Financial Centre" of the world over the next 10 years and leave London as a play ground with an interest past history.

Their newly acquired colony.

8-) or ;-(

Yep Fred I have some negatives on this.

Great to see new jobs etc etc, but they can pull the plug when they want and hold us to ransom.

So it has its good and bad points.

i confess i too do not like dealing with the chinese for they have, shall we say, a different set of rules from the west
however, it would be stupid indeed to pretend that china is not already a significant economic force and becoming ever more so, so to shut them out on a matter of principle (see fred and RMG!) would just be damn silly

by the way, who let in abramovitch and the other russian "snow whites"?

http://richardwillisuk.wordpress.com/2013/10/15/new-yougov-poll-tories-cut-labours-lead-to-1/

The Conservatives got 36.1% of the vote at the 2010 election and now have 37% support.

apprenticeships
i wish i knew more about the dutch education system, but it would seem that the schools and colleges have much closer links to business .... true work experience and apprenticeships are therefore much easier to come by, and indeed is mandatory for many courses