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.

Gees cynic, you really are a glutton for punishment. :0)

Manuel,

A good idea.

-=-=-=-=

Do you think the Con Party ideas and policies during the Heath, Thatcher, Cameron and May's period have been successful or beneficial to all in the UK or even in the "Common Wealth"?

Are you a fascist in disguise or a self-interested neo-con?

Professing to be one thing, while being another?

-=-=-=-

I think the reasons for policies have to be considered and judged against their period of their development.

That doesn't excuse the policies and consequences but allows them to be examined and not repeated.

But the problem with recent tory policies is that too many are protective of the elite and those advantaged by being born with silver spoons in their mouths at the expense of all in society.

-=-===

I belong to no political party and I doubt that I would affiliate myself to any.

But at the present moment would be more insulted by being called a tory than a communist.

But I can see your attachment to T. May and her failing government.

I wonder how history will judge her.

merely chucked a small pebble in the pond :-)

i see fred has responded - obliquely of course, and as always, evading (different from avoiding as we all know) the question actually posed

do you think fred is really referring to himself ....... "Professing to be one thing, while being another?"

Manuel,

If you look back I think you will find that I have challenged "beliefs" purporting to be "concepts" avowed by posters on this thread.

I understand some of the difficulties with producing "gainful" policies and then implementing them without or limiting "harmful" consequences.

I would not like to have that responsibility, but I believe I have the "right" to challenge problematic policies and those who collect behind them.

=-=--=-=

PS.

What irritates me about the present period in UK politics is the blatant lying, deceit
falsification of data relating to Brexit and the economy and "social" services in general.


==

that is nothing to do with the question(s) i asked ...... indeed, though i spend little time on this thread, i do not recollect you EVER giving a straight answer to a straight question

So why do you keep feeding him, what is that definition of insanity again? :0)

Manuel,

What is your definition of communism?

What is your definition of the neo-fascism which you seem to support?

What are the Con/tory party's ideals or goals?

Do you wish to align yourself or your party to the communist party of China?

T Maybe fawning herself around in the name of the UK seems to be doing so.

I wonder what she proposes selling off the "silver" to the Chinese "Communist" party hierarchy?

-=-=-=-=

Do answer.

Worse than Watergate.. was it Vic that mentioned that sometime back?

White House officials say President Donald Trump will clear the way on Friday for the publication of a classified memo on the Russia investigation.
The three-and-a-half page note written by Republicans on the House of Representatives’ intelligence committee is based on confidential information from the intelligence services.
The memo is said to be critical of the FBI’s handling of part of the investigation into Russian election meddling – the issue that continues to hang over the presidency.
The question of whether it should be made public has triggered a fierce battle between Democrats and the FBI on one side and Republicans and Donald Trump on the other.

Possibly why McCabe quit early. Or not.

Worse than Watergate?
NICK HUBBLE
Dear Reader

Today’s Capital & Conflict is longer than usual. And it’s about the US political system. That might seem irrelevant to you. But I think it’s important.

A scandal is being kept from you. It exposes the true nature of government. And who really runs it. Given it’s the global superpower we’re talking about, a breakdown of trust in the US political system would have implications for everyone around the world.

So far, mentions of the scandal in the British and international media are few and far between. That’s despite social media running hot with the issue. The question is whether there’s anything to the story.

If it’s true, the depth of manipulation behind democracy in the US is so extraordinary, it makes you question everything. Who is elected, how they’re elected, who controls them, and what motivates those truly in power. If Americans realise what’s going on in their government, they will lose all faith in it.

The context of the scandal, which makes it plausible, is equally scandalous.

Joe diGenova is a former special prosecutor who investigated New York’s Eliot Spitzer and the Teamsters Union. In a 30-minute interview he explained why so many arms of the US government are trying to prove President Donald Trump colluded with Russia during the election campaign.

The idea is that the US intelligence community and Department of Justice deliberately fudged an investigation of Hillary Clinton, their favoured candidate, during the 2016 election campaign. She had kept secret data on her private computer servers during her time as secretary of state, which can be a crime. This wasn’t investigated properly by the assigned FBI agents, to put it mildly.

The investigators banked on Clinton winning the election and covering for them. “The problem was, she didn't win,” diGenova explained to The Daily Caller. That means their fudged investigation came under scrutiny when they weren’t expecting it to.

For example, the FBI agent who investigated Clinton has since been fired for his bias against Trump, revealed in text messages. It’s also emerged he downgraded the FBI’s assessment of Clinton’s potential crimes in such a way that she could avoid prosecution, contrary to the initial assessment by which she could’ve been prosecuted. The investigation’s result was a hot topic during the election campaign, so his actions influenced the result significantly, even if not decisively.

If this narrative is correct, it means the panic over Trump’s Russian collusion is really a distraction from a failed attempt by the US intelligence agencies to manipulate the election. Because it failed, it has been uncovered. The perpetrators are on the counterattack against Trump to hide their tracks. But their attempts are only making the scandal worse.

The story has been slowly boiling away since 2016. Neither side has come up with proof. Consistently, attempts to prove Trump’s collusion with Russia have come up short. Steadily, more and more details about Clinton’s servers and the botched investigation of her have emerged. Other questionable practices of Clinton were also exposed. Ironically, some involve collusion with Russians. The FBI reinvestigated, but didn’t change its conclusion.

But recently, the drama took a potentially decisive turn. If the Republicans and Trump supporters have it right, the real powers behind the US’ political institutions are about to be exposed.

That was the situation i was referring to Iturama , i'm just wondering who are the individuals trying to scupper our exit from Euroland , hope some Press are on it . There must be a story to tell .

fred - you would say DYOR, but i shan't .....

the evil definition of communism was embodied in the likes of lenin and stalin, and subsequnetly mao (i guess) ...... that was partly why i suggested you read Red Famine

the israeli (laudable?) version was embodied in the kibbutzim,and still is to some extent ..... this works while there is a common cause as embraced by the people themselves and not forced upon them "from above" ...... however, the israeli version is also now crumbling for all sorts of reasons which are not of concern or interest in this discussion

please note, that unlike you, i at least try to answer the question asked and not the one you wish had been asked .... for sure you were told the importance of that at school

Fred just likes playing Devils Advocate, and does it well, and Trump is doing a great job tearing down the towers of the historic ownership of power.

When Trump first came to power and sacked that FBI dude I thought what a crazy thing to do, but seems he could have had good reason after all.

No offence meant, but I hope you don't win this month's competition Clocktower.

LOL George - But falling at a rate of knots now, that if it keeps up the pace, might yet look optimistic as the fall is long overdue.

Look for solid performers and play the Trump card.

cynic....................

indeed, though i spend little time on this thread
..................................................................
Your on here arguing with Fred more than anyone while preaching that folk on here shouldn't bother with him .

only in recent days to give my brain a break from some tricky contracts and similar

anyway, i felt like throwing a pebble in the pond, as i mentioned earlier

btw, you misrepresent me ..... i have said that you guys should (a) spend more time on threads dealing with shares and (b) should not allow fred to rile you ....... it is others who say peeps should not waste time on fred

It's the same thing cynic you just twisted it like a politician, i very rarely post on here to Fred for the very reason that he is just here to disagree.

Manuel.

I think as you get older you are rapidly becoming more confused.

I do not think what Stalin, Lenin or Mao practised was communism.

The problem with communism is that it has to compete with the natural instincts, traits and culture of those it may be applied to.

To me the above were dictators who were prepared to put any scruples they may have had at one time or other behind them and acted for their own benefit, security and acclamation and "deluded" belief that the end justifies the means.

Looking at the tory elite and to some degree, the leaders of the other main parties and I am sure that the same or similar traits are apparent.

But many of the said followers of said "Communism" in the 20s, 30s. 40s and 50s were as deluded as many of the Brexiters, neo-cons and Ukippers are now.

keep up the bullshit and denial and distortion fred ... perhaps you'll even believe in it yourself one day, though i don't think you'll ever learn to give a straight answer