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.

eh? i don't follow you gf.


Are you saying young Euan isn't running for a seat in the 2015 election?


Are you saying the labour party isn't becoming a family run affair?


Sounds more like Dallas, full of Nu Lab grandees kids and to hell with the working man....lookit the names...Prescott, Straw, Kinnock, Blair...they're making the tories look respectable.

Strange the Guardian doesent have anything to say.

Brides-Ed Revisited: Labour’s Gene Pool ProblemBrides-Ed Revisited: Labour’s Gene Pool Problem

“The last Labour leadership challenge was a battle between brothers,” writes Tim Stanley. “The shadow chancellor is married to the shadow home secretary – a former leadership candidate wedded to a future one. The deputy leader is married to the shadow minister for communities and local government. Theshadow secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs is sister of the shadow leader of the House of Commons.”

And when they’re not related or sleeping with one another, they all come from the same narrow educational gene pool:

Ed Miliband: PPE, Corpus Christi College, Oxford
David Miliband: PPE, Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Angela Eagle: PPE, St John’s College, Oxford
Maria Eagle: PPE, Pembroke College, Oxford
Ed Balls: PPE, Keble College, Oxford
Yvette Cooper: PPE, Balliol College, Oxford“

In tomorrow's Times

Nigel Farage faces an expenses investigation into almost £60,000 of ‘missing’ European Union funds paid into his personal bank account.

NO Max this article............

MaxK - 14 Apr 2014 19:26 - 39575 of 39583

I don't know who wrote that article gf, but they have a very serious eyesight problem, and their memories are none to good either.

GF,

Post 39573

Agree with 90+% of it.

Not sure of last but one paragraph.

Max.

Euan Blair has a much right to stand as a candidate for Election as the next as anyone else.

Personally. I disliked Tony Blair before and after his election as Labour party leader.

Disliked many of his policies and their use of PFIs etc. and especially the Iraq war.

But have to admit he was an able politician and to my mind not less honest than Cameron.

If you are brought up in a political family it isn't unlikely that one will follow in their steps and make use of contacts.

I think the that the Con party is considerably more incestuous than the Labour, or Liberal party.

Also, if you are politically minded at university you tend to pick your "mates" from those you congregate with.

===========

See that Fauxpage is having to defend himself about use of the "gravy train" he condemns.

The Kipper party have their "chosen" leader.

When and how was he elected?

fred - it was inevitable that NF would come under attack from smear or even (half) truth as soon as he became perceived as a potential politician ..... personally, as with all other such campaigns, i'll just waft past it until or unless anything genuinely serious is uncovered

The times attempting a hachet job on farage.

He's been on the radio this am, and rubbished the whole thing. ie, his Cayman island account doesent exist, never has etc.

They must be getting very worried.


http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article4063573.ece

An interesting take on things in a brilliant letter from a Telegraph reader in yesterday's paper (14 April 2014) in response to an article on why voters are turning to UKIP.

SIR,

Your leading article does not mention the fundamental reason why many people like me, a former activist and Conservative voter in every election since 1979, will be voting UKIP for the first time in May’s European elections, and then in the general election.

The Conservative Party, under the leadership of David Cameron, is no longer conservative.

It is now a party of uncontrolled, mass immigration into Britain.

It is anti-family, believing as it does, in penalising those who wish, by choice, to stay at home and bring up their children.

It believes in borrowing money at excessive levels in order to fund a deliberately ballooning overseas aid budget.

It no longer advocates the effective security and defence of the realm as it continues to undermine the effectiveness of our Armed Forces.

And it seems perfectly happy to build over our beautiful countryside, where once it represented a philosophical position that “conserved what is good”.

The party also refuses to tackle the disgraceful level of tax imposed upon those who save or invest as well as those who wish to pass on their assets to their children and grandchildren.

And, on top of all these things, it no longer stands up for British interests in what has become an increasingly corrupt, undemocratic and self-serving European gravy train.

Link these things with Mr Cameron’s inexplicable defence of Maria Miller and his failure to expect higher standards from his ministers, and is it any wonder that people like me are deserting what was once their natural political home?

William Rogers
Kingston upon Thames, Surrey4

740 or so more of them at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/10763812/Voters-turn-to-Ukip-because-the-Tories-are-no-longer-conservative.html

in many ways, i do not and cannot disagree with what that chap writes

however, as far as i can determine, ukip remains pretty much a one-trick (two if you insist) pony - i.e. get out of eu pronto regardless; stop immigration in its tracks

all good soapbox populist rhetoric and knockabout, and certainly NF presents very well, but that scarcely makes him PM material or ukip worthy of seats in westminster

Cock ups by the two main parties continue to abound. Total mistrust of both. The British love the underdog and are screaming out for change. Step forward Ukip, Nige, this is your life. If only it were that simple! :0)

Manuel,

You are interested in the Ukraine and "wondering" what the "outcome" will be.

Have a look at this interesting article from the Observer, which is not very long so you should be able to cope:

America stands accused of retreat from its global duties. Nonsense


http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/12/us-foreign-policy-retreatism-obama-accused-weakness


Also, have a quick look at the :

"What now for the US comments."

and the comments "Observer Washington is likely to remain interventionist"

Very balanced and one may understand the present confusion in the markets.

it is an interesting article, but inevitably quite simplistic (a bit unkind) as of course there never are simple solutions to these international problems

gunboat diplomacy died a death in victorian times, and frankly i have no idea at all how many (not how many but just how!) of these issues that regularly raise their heads are actually resolved
certainly it can take many decades - qv ireland - even where there is a general and popular will for a resolution
ultimately, it takes pragmatism by the protagonists, and of course a large element of political self-interest - eg unimaginable loads of trade incentives and aid or similar

how does one effectively nip in the bud aggression and similar (ukraine, syria etc)?
damned if i have any idea at all, and of course, 99.9% of all these "incidents" are propagated and stoked by external parties

finally, it is assuredly true that diplomacy is like an iceberg; you only see and read the tip of what is actually happening behind the scenes

Simplistic, No. Simplified yes and realistic.

The only possible route to reduce the problems and effects of "armed chaos" and its effects is probably and truly international "police" force under the control of the of a structure similar to UN.

Also, the riddance of the ability for Nations to apply the veto etc..

Not in my lifetime, but someday!

Russian Fiction the Sequel: 10 More False Claims About Ukraine

Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
April 13, 2014

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/04/224759.htm

fred - are you suggesting just a 75/85% approval (by the security council i suppose) for a un vote/motion to be carried? ..... i think i'ld vote for that

so far so good
so now you send in your un force, but how are they meant to enforce at least a stand-off?

=============

if you go to something that isn't quite armed conflict - eg israeli ever-growing encroachment on west bank

how do you force a halt let alone some sort of withdrawal?

real sanctions would work, always provided all obeyed (hahaha!), but of course and in this instance, it would probably open wide the doors to an arab (a broad term) armed invasion of israel

Happy days are here again. Lets play the war games.

--------

From memory, there was a peace keeper in olden days, who had the flags of two countries sewn together, so that when he rode on horseback down through no-man's land the flag which he appeared to be carrying was that of the country who saw it.

His attempt to get a cease fire was successful, until the wind changed.


Both sides then shot at him!



---------


(I think he was an actor in a film. Perhaps we need more or better actors.)

Perhaps, politicians or "leaders" should play war games with toy soldiers and take share bets on the results of the games.

The UK inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell to 1.6% in March from 1.7% in February, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It is the third consecutive month inflation has been below the Bank of England's 2% target rate, and the lowest rate since October 2009.

The largest contribution to the fall in the rate came from petrol prices.

The rate of Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation also fell to 2.5% from 2.7%.

It is the sixth consecutive month that the rate of inflation has fallen, marking the longest consecutive fall since modern records began.

The drop in the rate of inflation means that the gap between average wage growth and the rise in prices has continued to narrow.

more interesting i thought was that for the first time in several years (i think) wages were reported to have increased by more than inflation

i accept that the inflation calc is a bit skewed (sticky will tell us again no doubt!), but if the methodology has been consistent, it is at least a good move in the right direction

=========

sorry, i jumped the gun .... the relevant numbers are out tomorrow but .....

Many economists believe they will show pay packets rising at a faster level than inflation.
Earnings have not increased at a higher rate than inflation since a brief spike in March and April 2010 and have not consistently been improving since 2008.