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.

Up to 400 Jewish gravestones desecrated and daubed with Nazi graffiti in 'heinous anti-Semitic attack' in French cemetery
Attack at Jewish cemetery in Sarre-Union in Alsace on German border
Gravestones kicked over or had Nazi swastikas daubed on them in red
France's interior minister condemns the 'odious act against tolerance'
Gun attack on Denmark synagogue left Jewish man dead at weekend


this is all down to the west having no real leaders just cowards
we need leaders with balls and guts and stamp these scum out
Cameron Obama gutless no balls no honour

they do not have the right to honour our dead soldiers

looking backwards ,

sadam
gadafi
were great leaders we now have no control
they new and dealt with the problems todays
leaders gutless no balls cowards

islam is the enemy of the world unless muslims take up the fight to honour their faith
and wipe out these terrorist in the name of their faith

it looks like no one wants to talk about the issues of the world

fred - just walked back in so perhaps i have missed something
if not, then categorically, and i repeat, you have always but always needed a receipt if you wanted to claim an expense against tax

Fred,

Did I read Britain's Conservatives are in a four-point lead over Labour, new poll shows.




:-))

:-)

Actually, I'm up for a UKIP/Tory get together sorta kinda, me, myself, personally.

And Tanker: Yes. The regular Muslims' voices, when and if speaking out against the extremists are not at all loud enough.

In fact, they are so quiet, it stinks! And you can bet as much as you like, that Prince Charles is actively speaking up and actively influencing behind the scenes to get the sort of actions done and changes taken place that we all want to see.

Tories open four point lead over Labour

Boost for David Cameron as Conservative party puts in strongest showing in polls for nearly two years with increased voter focus on the importance of jobs, prices and wages



By Steven Swinford, Deputy Political Editor

1:39PM GMT 16 Feb 2015

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The Conservatives have opened up a four-point lead over Labour after the biggest surge in their support for two years, a poll has suggested.


A Guardian/ ICM poll showed that the Tories are six points up to 36 per cent, only one point short of their result in the 2010 General Election.


Labour support fell one point to 32 per cent, while the Liberal Democrats were also down a point to 10 per cent.


The Tories recovery came amid falling support for the smaller parties, with Ukip down two points to 9 per cent and the greens two points to 7 per cent.


The Tory lead contrasts with three surveys published over the weekend which suggested that Labour has a two or three point lead.



However, ICM's phone poll is seen as the "gold standard" as it came closest to forecasting the result of the last General Election.

By contrast in December an ICM poll put the Conservative Party on just 28 per cent of the vote.

The poll suggests that voters are putting an increasing emphasis on the importance of the economic recovery.

The proportion of those polled who said jobs, prices and wages were the most important issue rose by three points to 17 per cent.

Not surprising really. :-))

TV-stars-Ant-Dec-say-Ed-Miliband is not up to being PM.

DC - that'll carry a lot of weight :-)

Nicola Sturgeon calls for North Sea oil tax change



by SCOTT MACNAB







Updated on the
16 February
2015
12:11


Published 16/02/2015 12:08








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THE UK Government can no longer ignore calls for urgent tax changes that could spark a “resurgence” in the North Sea oil industry, Nicola Sturgeon has said.


Scotland’s First Minister claimed it was clear that “urgent fiscal stimulus” was needed to increase exploration work.

Senior UK Government ministers have already hinted that measures to help the North Sea could be included in George Osborne’s Budget next month.

But politicians at Holyrood are continuing to press the case for action to help the crucial industry.

As part of that, Ms Sturgeon has taken her Scottish Cabinet team to Aberdeen, where the oil industry is based, visiting a pipeline support service provider in the city with Deputy First Minister John Swinney.

The First Minister argued that “simple steps” taken by ministers in Norway a decade ago had reversed a decline in oil and gas exploration work in the country.


READ MORE: Comment: North Sea oil at point of no return


With the equivalent of 24 billion barrels of oil said to remain in the North Sea, she said action was needed to encourage companies to continue to invest in the area.

The Scottish Government is calling for the headline rate of tax on the industry to be reduced as well as the introduction of an investment allowance and a new tax credit for exploration.

Ms Sturgeon said: “I believe that North Sea oil is a fantastic asset for Scotland and will continue to be so for decades to come.

“There are up to 24 billion barrels of oil and gas equivalent remaining, and it is essential that we have a stable and proportionate fiscal regime which encourages the investment, innovation and exploration required.

“But we need action now from the UK Government to help ensure we maximise future production and economic recovery.

“Quite frankly, the UK Government has failed to address the exploration problem in the North Sea.”

The First Minister, speaking as she visited Pipelines 2 Data in Aberdeen, added: “It cannot be clearer that urgent fiscal stimulus is required to improve the exploration outlook.

“Around 40% of production is expected to come from new field developments by 2018: that’s only three years away.

“Fiscal measures to incentivise exploration, coupled with the appropriate regulatory expertise, have the potential to drive forward a resurgence in exploration in the North Sea.

“We only have to look at the situation in Norway in 2005 to see that simple steps can be taken to restore a decline in exploration. In the course of three years, the introduction of the exploration tax credit saw the number of exploration wells increase an incredible fourfold.

“We have also called for the reduction in the headline rate of tax in the North Sea and the introduction of an investment allowance, all of which have the potential to provide an important signal to investors, increase the attractiveness of North Sea exploration projects and enhance the competitiveness of the sector.”

She insisted that politicians at Westminster “cannot continue to ignore calls from the Scottish Government and the industry themselves” for changes.

Ms Sturgeon said industry expert Sir Ian Wood had recently warned that as many as six billion barrels of oil reserves could be lost “unless radical measures are taken by the UK Government”.

The First Minister pledged: “We will continue to call on the UK Government to maintain the momentum for fiscal and regulatory change in the oil and gas sector, both of which are critical to prolonging the life of the industry beyond 2050 and maximising the total value generated in the economy.

Comments:-


Nicola should man up

Tell us what you would have done in an Indy Scotland regarding the oil crisis and how it would work and produce some facts and figures

Don't just scream and shout about it

National embarrassment

I often wonder why politicians ever announce changes/additions/new laws and when they hope these will be implemented as it is clear from many comments below, they are wasting their time. Clearly many are still ignorant of the situation, never mind the fact that the Yes vote Lost the referendum or indeed appreciate the distinction of powers retained by Westminster and those devolved to the Scottish Parliament. Even had the Yes vote won and they LOST it would take years before laws and authorities changed administratively and legally, therefore being surprised that the First Minister requests that some tax changes are made to the North Sea industry should not be a great surprise to those who listen/watch and read the news. Also why would the SNP or any Scopttish Government have a long term blueprint for the North Sea as presumably Westminster has one as they have controlled the industry from the beginning. As for tax and spend, I suspect that the argument of tax and spend is a sick joke as all Scottish Govt work within the budget as they have no choice... how sad. Once again, I would suggest educational missionaries are sent to Scotland to help the intellectually needy. The North Sea has additionally been requested to pay extra taxes when Westminster is short of tax revenue (bust) but the request is for sensible allowances which is important to all of UK and not just Scotland. The influence of oi; on Sterling has been considerable over the years.


Interesting article elsewhere today about the domestic drop in alcohol consumption. Next thing you know there'll be 'demands' for a reduction in tax to help a struggling Scotch whisky industry whose overseas sales have also plummeted.

And this was another banker in propping up an iScotland?


This is hilarious.

When wee eck was guaranteeing that oil would be $130 per barrel and Scotland would therefore be a land of milk and honey, us unionists pointed out the flaws in his "economic" argument. We were insulted and abused by the cybernasty posters on this site for being wrong..

Now that us unionists have been proved right because Nippy is demanding a tax change, those self-same delusional cybernasties are still posting insults against us...

They are funny - if they did not exist, we would have to invent them....


News from Denmark:

"The offshore sector took another hit today as Maersk Supply Service and Maersk Drilling both announced major layoffs at their corporate headquarter in Denmark. Maersk Supply says they will be laying off 20 of their employees and Maersk Drilling will be reducing head count by 90.

"We are facing challenging market conditions in the coming years. Oil prices have dropped dramatically and exceedingly fast in recent months and our customers, suppliers and competitors are all being forced to adjust to a new reality," says Carsten Plougmann Andersen, CEO in Maersk Supply Service. "To safeguard Maersk Supply Service's future profitability and ability to compete in a challenged market, we have launched an end-to-end review of all earning potentials and cost drivers in Maersk Supply Service, including optimizing organizational effectiveness which regrettably has necessitated these staff reductions."

Maersk Supply Service is just one of the many offshore supply boat companies that is feeling the effects of low oil prices."

First Sturgeon and co should apologise for misleading their voters about Scotland's oil revenue bonanza. The English voters still want the Scots to get out of the union and have their own currency. Let them have their tax and spend free as long as England has nothing to do with it.
The NorthSea oil flow is going to be a trickle and that is the reality. Aberdeen companies will soon be relocating to other parts of the country and the world. It is typical of this industry not diversified earlier , but assuming that there will be a gush of oil flow for ever. The spectre of a mining town after the mines are closed comes to mind. The prospective Aberdeenshire MP Salmond will be demanding Red Ed to pour £50 billions to this ghost town to support Red Ed and Labour. The English voters are already saying nyet to Red Ed win, as Tories have a good lead now in England.

oil
it very much looks that Saudi is cutting back on oil production, regardless of what they may be broadcasting
in the last 2 months Aramco, for which read Saudi Oil, has pretty much stopped developing new or even existing wells
while there will not be a sudden surge in crude prices, the effects will slowly filter through
i'ld still bet on it settling at perhaps $60/70, though longer term Saudi will want it back above $85 as that is the sort of level around which their budget is structured

I think their will be a lot of Ant and Decs. In other words set labour voters who are switching to the Conservatives, due to the daft Ideas of the leader and the daft individual he is.

you hope - not that i wouldn't share that, but i still cannot believe there is any chance at all of a conservative majority ..... largest seat-holder would be a good start though

ukip mockumentary
shame this clashes with broadchurch, which is what i shall be watching, for this ukip spoof (satire?) will raise all sorts of hackles and better for sure

There may also be a vast amount of Fred's this year. (Non voters, disinterested and undecided ) So come on don't be a Fred. :-))

F.R.E.D.S = Answers on a postcard please.

Bicycling-are-you-a-fred ?

Fred's dying words

mark as unread


A man named Fred was in a terrible car accident. He survived, but barely. Several bones were broken, and he was forced to go to the Emergency Room in the local hospital.

His wife and kids were worried sick. They came to visit him every day that they could for weeks. However, his condition did not seem to improve, and they feared the worst.

Being a religious family, they called in the local priest to stand by his hospital bed and pray for his survival.

As soon as the priest showed up, Fred's condition seemed to suddenly deteriorate. He frantically motioned for something to write on. The priest pulled a notepad and a pen out of his jacket and handed them to Fred.

Fred wrote his final note, and gave it back to the priest. Thinking it best not to read it right then, he put it back inside his jacket and continued praying. After a short while, Fred died, to the intense sorrow of his family and friends.

Three days later, at Fred's funeral service, the priest was saying a few words for Fred, when he realized he was wearing the same jacket that he wore next to Fred's deathbed--with the note still inside!

"Brothers and Sisters," he said, "Fred gave me this note on his deathbed. I thought it best not to read it then. However, i think the time has come for people to know what his final words were."

The priest took the notepad out of his jacket pocket, and read to the crowd "You're standing on my oxygen tube!!"