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.

time for the powers to go in and wipe them out for good and take NO PRISONERS

Here is the site, to save you having to look:

http://www.notemyvote.co.uk/

HAYS ASIAN SHOPS ARE NOT CLEAN SELL OUT OF DATE PRODUCTS ALTER DATES
AND WOULD NEVER BUY FROM THEM THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT CLEAN MEANS
NEVER WASH THEIR HANDS HAVE WATCHED THEM MANY TIMES IN MY LAST JOB
UNBELIEVABLE TO SEE IT WITH YOUR OWN EYES WHICH I DOUBT YOU HAVE

IF YOU WANT A GOOD HEALTHY LIFE DONT EAT CRAP FOOD COK IT YOUR SELF
AND THEN YOU KNOW ITS CLEAN AND NOT GOING TO MAKE YOU ILL

NOW GOOD BYE OFF ON A LITTLE HOL TO MALTA

Isn't Malta lucky!

I reckon that if the Scots (and I hope not) decide to be done with the Albion (not sure if that is the right word but sounds good) : it might mean the demise of the pound and the UK (as a whole) being forced into joining the Euro before total independence by Scotland....I presume that the No vote will just clinch it.....avoiding a major embarrassment for the British government !...

Why would the quid suffer?

It's a win-win scenario if we can offload a large bunch of hangers on, and their attendant costs.


As for being forced to join the €uro, where do you get that notion from?

Quite the reverse imo!

RF

They are called Scot's , not Scottish

An independent Scotland would be less safe

Terrorists would strike the new nation, or the rest of Great Britain, more easily after a Yes



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9:52PM BST 14 Sep 2014

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When I, as a Scot, was being interviewed, 10 years ago, as a possible Conservative candidate for Kensington and Chelsea, in the heart of London, I was asked where my first loyalty lay. It was not a hard question. My loyalty was to the United Kingdom.


The genius of the Union has been that it has enabled us all to combine that loyalty to Britain with the strong patriotism that we feel as English, Scots, Welsh or Northern Irish. On Thursday over 4 million Britons will be asked to choose between these identities, and to sunder a Union that goes back not merely to 1707 but to 1603.


It is often forgotten that while the parliaments were united in 1707 the king, after 1603, did not just reign but ruled over the whole of the British Isles. Whether king or Cromwell, the Armed Forces and the foreign policy of the whole of Britain were determined by one government.


The SNP has made it clear that an independent Scotland would have its own armed forces, intelligence agencies and foreign policy. It has boasted that we could have one part of our island at war while the other part, Scotland, remained neutral. This should not be taken lightly. It is what happened during the Second World War, when Ireland declared neutrality and closed its ports to the Royal Navy, even during the Battle of the Atlantic. It is that serious.


As a former defence and foreign secretary, I have to say that the argument that a Scottish army would provide the same security as we have now would be laughable if it was not so worrying. On Mr Salmond’s own numbers, the proposed army would be 4,700 strong, which would mean combat forces of around 1,700. This would hardly make an aggressor tremble. In addition, by removing Trident from Faslane, the UK could lose the ability to protect itself against a nuclear-armed state.


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There is also disturbing immaturity in the nationalists’ assertion that the work of MI5 and GCHQ in preventing terrorist outrages in Scotland, as elsewhere in Britain, would be provided by a new Scottish intelligence agency. Do they not realise that counter-terrorism cannot be provided simply by building, a budget and newly recruited staff? It has taken MI5 and GCHQ more than 70 years to achieve their expertise. Scotland would become a much easier option for terrorists to commit outrages there or as a back route to England and Wales.

This is, in any event, not merely a debate about national defence or the economic consequences of separation, hugely important though they are. There are values, ideals and principles at stake as well as emotion. The choice in the referendum is not, as is often suggested, between head and heart. Both head and heart, for every Scot, should lead to “No Thanks” to the separation of Scotland from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The United Kingdom and our British national identity is not artificial. Nor was the Union a historic mistake as the nationalists claim; it would not have lasted more than 300 peaceful years if it had been. The Scots, English and Welsh have been British longer than Americans have been American. To force people to choose between their Scottish and British identity is as unprincipled as it is foolish.

Separation would tear apart families as well as countries. Many Scots will have an English or Welsh parent, spouse or other relative, as I do. The risk of independence is a source of anguish in such families.

All the inhabitants of this small island fought side by side in two world wars to defend our common island. Independence would destroy the Armed Forces that have protected us for 400 years.

The legitimate aspirations to extend social justice and end poverty are a powerful case for the Union, not for separation as the nationalists declare. What case is there for thinking the elimination of poverty is a less of a priority in Liverpool or Swansea than in Glasgow?

Scotland, like the rest of the UK, is among the most prosperous countries in the world, not least because of the Union. Yes there are foodbanks in Scotland. There are foodbanks in Kensington as well.

Further, the nationalists make themselves ridiculous when they argue that the Scots, English and Welsh have now so little in common that we should no longer sit together in the House of Commons to deal with matters affecting the whole of the British Isles. At the same time, they are desperate to get into the EU. They appear to believe it is acceptable to limit Scottish sovereignty by being subject to decisions by 27 countries in the European Parliament and Council of Ministers on trade, industry, agriculture, fisheries and a host of other matters. If we can share sovereignty with the EU, it is surely legitimate to share it with our fellow citizens in the Commons.

Finally, if the UK was to fall apart it would send a depressing message to the world, where, as in Ukraine and the Middle East, countries are trying to avoid nationalist conflicts and forge international agreements to advance peace, democracy and the rule of law. We are seen, historically, as one of the most successful countries. Our forefathers built a new British nation out of old adversaries. No wonder world leaders from the US, Canada, Australia and others have expressed concern and incomprehension at what might happen this week. Mr Salmond has received support from only North Korea, which says it all.

In preserving the UK we not only have an obligation to ourselves and our children. We must not distress our friends around the world. Only the enemies of Western values would take comfort from Britain’s break-up.

At a meeting in the Borders last week I was given, by an elderly lady, a copy of a message that Roosevelt sent to Churchill in 1941 when the United Kingdom faced its greatest ever threat. The message from Roosevelt was a quote from a poem, O Ship of State by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

Sail on O Union strong and great
Humanity with all its fears
With all the hopes of future years
Is hanging breathless on thy fate.

Phones 4U collapses into administration as EE is final operator to hang up

Retailer's 720 outlets will not open on Monday, with 5,596 staff to be briefed by management, as private equity owner BC Partners launches an attack on mobile operators

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/telecoms/11095462/Phones-4U-collapses-into-administration-as-EE-is-final-operator-to-hang-up.html

By Christopher Williams, Technology, Media and Telecoms Editor
8:30PM BST 14 Sep 2014

Phones 4U collapsed into administration on Sunday night after its last remaining mobile operator partner, EE, cut ties with the retailer, The Telegraph can reveal.

Phones 4U has 720 outlets, including 550 standalone stores, and employs 5,596 people. Staff will be briefed by management in stores and at head office on Monday morning. BC Partners, Phones 4U's private equity owner, said it is "intended that employees will continue to be paid until further notice".

Mobile industry sources said EE informed Phones 4U of its decision last week. After being contacted by The Telegraph on Sunday BC Partners said it would seek to appoint PwC as adminstrators on Monday.

Phones 4U stores will be closed pending a decision by the administrators on whether they can be reopened for trading. Mobile contracts signed through the retailer will be unaffected.

BC Partners is also expected to inform bondholders on Monday. The value of the retailer’s debt has plunged to 13p in the pound since the private equity firm raised £205m on the Irish Stock Exchange last year.

BC Partners has made a profit of more than 30pc since it bought Phones 4U three-and-a-half years ago for around £600m.

EE, which is understood to account for around half of Phones 4U’s £1bn sales, made its decision after a strategic review. Vodafone, which said it would not renew its contract with the retailer earlier this month made up more than a quarter of sales. O2, which only accounted for around 10pc of sales, pulled out in February.

EE reached the decision amid concerns that Phones 4U was selling for only one of Britain’s main mobile operators. It was felt this reduced its appeal for customers who wanted to compare the prices of different operators.

BC Partners attacked the mobile operators.
Stefano Quadrio Curzio of the private equity firm said: “Our overriding concern is for all the dedicated hard-working employees of Phones 4U at a time of uncertainty for the company."

"Vodafone has acted in exactly the opposite way to what they had consistently indicated to the management of Phones 4U over more than six months. Their behaviour appears to have been designed to inflict the maximum damage to their partner of 15 years, giving Phones 4U no time to develop commercial alternatives.
"EE's decision on Friday is surprising in the context of a contract that has more than a year to run and leaves the board with no alternative but to seek the Administrator's protection in the interests of all its stakeholders.”

David Kassler, chief executive of Phones 4U, said: “Today is a very sad day for our customers and our staff. If the mobile network operators decline to supply us, we do not have a business. A good company making profits of over £100 million, employing thousands of decent people has been forced into administration.

"The great service we have provided should have guaranteed a strong future, but unfortunately our network partners have decided otherwise. The ultimate result will be less competition, less choice and higher prices for mobile customers in UK.”
The operators are seeking to reduce the number of handsets and contracts they sell through third-party retailers, preferring to deal directly with customers and retain more of the profit margin.

EE, Britain’s biggest mobile operator, did about a 10th of its business through Phones 4U on a deal that would have run until September next year. It is likely to ramp up sales through other channels, particularly its own 570 stores, in an effort to replace those revenues.

EE was in talks with Phones 4U about a potential contract renewal as recently as July, but the commercial terms put forward by the retailer were rejected by the operator as out of line with industry norms, sources said. Phones 4U walked away from the negotiating table and did not return.

The collapse of Phones 4U will be a boost to its main rival Dixons Carphone, which has deals with all three mobile operators.

It is understood that the retailer was considering a complaint to competition watchdogs at the weekend, alleging co-operation between mobile operators aimed at reducing competition on the high street to drive up prices.

The claim was supported by John Caudwell, the billionaire who founded Phones 4U in 1987 and sold it in 2006. He said: “It feels to me as though these networks are acting in unison. It’ll be good for the networks ultimately but it can’t be good for the customers, taking all that freedom of choice away.”

However, he also said he “did not agree with a healthy business being stripped and debt laden”.

Operator sources dismissed talk of a competition investigation as “an attempted distraction”.

An O2 spokesman said the operator was unaware of a competition complaint being prepared: “We make all our decisions independently of others.”

EE and Vodafone declined to comment.

it will be a no vote cert 55% yes 41%

off to the airport keep the peace gf

i actually agree, though 96% doesn't = 100% and i suspect the vote will be rather closer than you indicate

Wheres TANKER flying out to .......Iraq.

Corrected Aldwickk......was thinking of the bottle perhaps ?...(:))..

Malta ..... used to be known as the Hole with the Mintoff, but before all your times except probably fred who remembers the bombing in WW2

MaxK....Scotland would probably have to join the Euro (if they will have them).....and I reckon that perhaps the rest of the UK might follow.....that's why it is best to vote NO...

There is no chance of us joining the Euro. There is no appetite for it in any party.

Populus – CON 33%, LAB 37%, LDEM 9%, UKIP 13% (tabs)
Ipsos MORI – CON 34%, LAB 33%, LDEM 7%, UKIP 15% (tabs)*
YouGov – CON 31%, LAB 35%, LDEM 7%, UKIP 16% (tabs)

* rougue poll........fiddled.