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.

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.

For the 4 year period?

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/04/15/nigel-farage-ukip-expenses-sky-news-video_n_5151723.html

Is that Dermont Mono interviewer thick or what , or just being obtuse ? Farage kept on explaining the differance between Westminster and the EU on allowance/expenses and £3,000 is not a lot to spend on a office if you have computers and other machines working 24 hours a day plus a heating/lighting bill. And he told him why he was doing it. More votes for UKIP , the voters know what the main partys and their backers are up to, there is going to be a massive protest vote.

True Cyners CPI isnt worth the paper its written on.

RPI is more accurate but we do need a new way of calculating inflation, AND its all very well comparing wage inflation to to these dodgy inflation calculations we use now, but as you say in your post above we have still to get wage inflation to 2008 levels to see any living standards improvements.

ps, got a stinker of a cold so not posting too much

double ps, I havent commented on MPs sons and family joining the gravy train, i was pointing out my post was refering to an earlier post on the Tory myths of the present government.

treble ps, cyners have you checked out SPG on the chart thread, looks like a buy again, please see chart.

fred - not mine ..... c+p stuff

sticky - spg are the heavy mob that used to beat up peeps at notting hill carnival ..... try sgp :-) though it's not one of my faves

Why capitalism isn't now working and a few clues as to what might happen if and when Labour get elected:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/12/capitalism-isnt-working-thomas-piketty

eg. Piketty says:

.....And then I started to look at other countries and I saw a pattern beginning to emerge, which is that capital, and the money that it produces, accumulates faster than growth in capital societies. And this pattern, which we last saw in the 19th century, has become even more predominant since the 1980s when controls on capital were lifted in many rich countries."

So, Piketty's thesis, supported by his extensive research, is that financial inequality in the 21st century is on the rise, and accelerating at a very dangerous pace........

.....................As poverty increases across the globe, everyone is being forced to listen to Piketty with great attention. But although his diagnosis is accurate and compelling, it is hard, almost impossible, to imagine that the cure he proposes – tax and more tax – will ever be implemented in a world where, from Beijing to Moscow to Washington, money, and those who have more of it than anyone else, still calls the shots.

Ratpocalypse is coming..............

BEWARE!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/monster-rat-scooped-spade-after-3417094

There are loads of these thins being caught around the country. Be very wary about loud scratching noises in your loft!

Quote:

“They had to cut a hole in the ceiling to reach it and when they grabbed it, none of us could believe it was the size of a cat.”

Ms Walters said it was terrifying to think such a huge rodent could be living there.

She added: “It’s quite scary a rat can grow this big and strong, especially when you have kids in the house.”

Extermination experts said it is one of the “bigger” rats they had snared.

Pest controller Marcus Giusti, who captured it, warned an invasion of monster-sized rats was possible after changes to EU law limits the use of poisons to kill them.