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.

ahem .... the bekaa valley is in east lebanon and is renowned for its fertility and for the wine it produces there, in particular chateau musar

It is also renowned for it's terrorist training centers.

A fair appraisal!

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/15/jeremy-corbyn-labour-mps

"Red and Buried" Daily Mail. LOL! Indeed a fair appraisal.

today's guardian
European governments are aiming to deny the right of asylum to innumerable refugees by funding and building camps for them in Africa and elsewhere outside the European Union.

Under plans endorsed in Brussels on Monday evening, EU interior ministers agreed that once the proposed system of refugee camps outside the union was up and running, asylum claims from people in the camps would be inadmissible in Europe.

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don't ever mention a uk pm making a u-turn ...... this is a complete corkscrew!

Well...another migrant ship has sunk claiming another 22 lives... poor souls......need to prevent these ships from leaving port if at all possible......these migrants sink more often than the pirates in asterix and obelix !....I reckon the local shark numbers must have increased around Sicily and Malta....

62851 - yes fred, it is an interesting view and read, though i confess i haven't bothered to read all the other articles and comments in this morning's guardian

imo, the tory hierarchy and lemmings would do well to stop guffawing and pay some attention as to how jc has, or at least seems to have, appealed to the disillusioned younger voters

frankly, i'm appalled by jc's stance inter alia that "the way forward" is to tax the so-called rich almost out of existence, which actually means anyone earning over say £40k ....... talk about not learning from history!

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on a totally different though linked subject, it seems there are 600,000 vacant/derelict houses across the uk
i have no idea whether they are privately owned or council, but it is not relevant
yesterday, the tv crew was in a street in m'chester (most of these houses are north of watford gap) where the local council was going to renovate or at least make them habitable .... hallelujah!
however, a side issue was that the builders being used (it looked to be keir) were short of a 100 people with the requisite skills to do the job
tells you lots on many levels

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3234276/Republican-Jeremy-Corbyn-pledge-loyalty-Queen-Right-Honourable-member-Privy-Council.html

Jeremy Corbyn will kneel down before the Queen, kiss her hand and swear he is her 'true and faithful servant' despite previously demanding 'a republic rather than a monarchy'.

The new Labour leader will pledge his loyalty despite previously campaigning to replace Her Majesty with an elected president and have her evicted from Buckingham Palace.

Mr Corbyn has decided to take his place on the Queen's Privy Council, in spite of its status in far-Left circles as the ultimate mark of the Establishment he has railed against for decades.

It also means he will be given access to top-level security briefings, despite concerns about his sympathy for terror groups and Vladimir Putin.

Joining the Privy Council will also guarantee the Labour Party £6.2million in state funding but some supporters have branded him a 'sell out'.

at the moment, the rest of the west is delighted with putin who is looking to support assad and blow isis out of the water - well desert if you insist
an excellent example of my enemy's enemy is my friend, even if assad is also a very nasty piece of work

At the moment, which country's government's word would you trust?

And if you can't think of one, is that due to the leadership of the countries, or the people of those countries?

And what does it say for the political leadership?


uuumuumuh

Corbyn to kiss the Queens hand. Yeuk! Hope she doesn't get beard rash. I guess she will be wearing gloves which will be straight in the bin. I do hope one of the corgis bites his arse at the same time :0)

fred - the following guardian article is worth reading too ..... it's actually a bit of a chuckle
If first impressions matter, it's not been the best start for Jeremy Corbyn

Hungary has locked down their border with Serbia. Crossing illegally will be criminal offence with up to 10 years in prison (raised from 5) and confiscation of property.

If first impressions matter, it's not been the best start for Jeremy Corbyn
------------------

cynic that's an understatement is ever ,he got elected and most of the Labour Party walked away ! you got to feel sorry for him.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/14/if-first-impressions-matter-its-not-been-the-best-start-for-jeremy-corbyn?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2

the above is hopefully the link

Saudi Arabia Accused of Not Taking in Refugees Despite Having 100,000 Empty, Air Conditioned Tents

As Saudi Arabia continued to face criticism from world leaders for not taking in enough refugees fleeing war in Syria, the news station TeleSUR discovered that the nation has more than 100,000 empty, air-conditioned tents that could be used to house refugees. The tents, used only a few days a year in the town of Mina for hajj pilgrims, remained unused, as the nation's leaders insisted they are doing all they can for refugees.

More than half of the 380,000 refugees who have arrived on Europe's shores since January are Syrian refugees, the United Nations reported. Saudi Arabia and other neighboring Arab nations have been criticized for not being as willing as some European nations to take refugees.

The campsite is approximately 2,150 miles from Syria and could house up to three million people. Syria has taken some 500,000 refugees already, according to TeleSUR, though Saudi officials claimed that the number is closer to 2.5 million. Syrians do not enjoy refugee status in Saudi Arabia, however, so it is difficult to know the exact numbers.

hahaha! ..... since when did one of the arab countries actually help another in such a situation?
because saudi and others are ruled by shi'ite minority tribes, and they are shit scared of upsetting the sunni majority, let alone the large cliques of fundamentalist wahhabi and al quaeda adherents