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.

"Thankyou! Thankyou! Thankyou!" says the saved Humpback Whale:

Excellent clip.

There has been an interesting poll conducted today on SKY News about Ed Milliband. Bad result even after his performance on the phone hacking scandal. Firstly, I doubt that the public is that interested in the phone hacking story and secondly they probably don't like Ed no matter what he says.

Is Ed Milliband a good leader. 33% YES - 67% NO.

Another one bites the dust - Yates quits Met amid hacking row

.

I agree

Obama's Doom Prediction Over Debt Ceiling

tweet0Print..Topics:Director DealingsUpgrades & DowngradesUS.
(c) Sky News 2011, 16:53, Monday 18 July 2011

The US is edging closer to the first-ever debt default in its history, with President Barack Obama warning the country faces "Armageddon".

Weeks of wrangling in Congress has so far failed to produce an agreement to raise the country's debt ceiling, which is the amount it can legally borrow, when it reaches the $14.3 trillion (8.89 trillion) limit on August 2.

Economists have warned that default risks plunging the US back into deep recession, raising interest rates and sparking panic in global financial markets.

Two of the three big credit ratings agencies have warned the country's AAA rating could be at risk if no deal is struck.

In recent years, authority for the increase has been something of a formality, but this time it is caught up in the row over how best to cut the crippling US debt and deficit.

Mr Obama, who hosted five straight days of talks at the White House last week, said the deal must be done by this Friday so the legislation has time to be put into effect.

Republicans are refusing Democrat demands to end tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans as part of plans to slash $4 trillion (2.48 trillion) from the debt.

Cuts to social welfare programmes, or entitlements, are also on the table.

Mr Obama said: "We have a chance to stabilise America's finances for the next 20 years if we're willing to seize the moment.

"It will take a shared sacrifice and a balanced approach.

"If we can't do the biggest deal possible, let's still be ambitious.

"Let's at least get a down-payment on deficit reduction and that we can accomplish without huge changes of revenue or significant changes in entitlements, but we can still send a signal that we are serious about this problem."

Leading senators are working on an emergency 'plan B' which would allow the president to raise the debt ceiling without Congressional approval.

But the uncertainty is worrying the markets.

Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services, said: "People are starting to get nervous about what they are seeing out there.

"The news flow dealing with the deficit issues and the political posturing that is taking place is going to be intensive and is really going to drive the markets."

Mnamreh

" oh, the indignation - phones have been hacked. Big deal. "

So you don't mind living in a Big Brother state ? what if it was your's and your family's medical record that were hacked into . Also there is a national security risk . And when members of the police are passing info to the gutter press for money.

..Cameron cuts short visit to Africa

Press Association 1 hour 4 minutes ago

Prime Minister David Cameron has cut short his visit to Africa by around seven hours to allow himself time to prepare to address MPs about the fast-developing phone-hacking scandal.

Instead of flying back overnight and arriving in London in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Mr Cameron will get home late on Tuesday, said aides.

Mr Cameron's spokesman said the change had been made to allow the Prime Minister to prepare the statement he will deliver to the House of Commons on Wednesday.

"We were able to rearrange the Prime Minister's engagements so he can still carry out most of his planned events in Nigeria," said the spokesman.

Mr Cameron will deliver a speech in capital Lagos and hold talks and a press conference with President Goodluck Jonathan, but has called off a planned visit to a power station.

Mr Cameron's first prime ministerial visit to sub-Saharan Africa, billed as a trade mission, has taken place in the shadow of dramatic developments in the phone-hacking scandal.

The Prime Minister had initially intended to spend five days travelling to four countries, including Rwanda and South Sudan.

But he trimmed the trip down to just two days in South Africa and Nigeria before it had even started, to be able to return to London to deal with the aftermath of Rupert Murdoch's appearance before a Commons committee on Tuesday.

Following the shock resignation of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson, Mr Cameron announced he was extending the parliamentary session for a single day so he can make a statement to MPs.

The announcement came after the Prime Minister was the butt of jibes from Labour leader Ed Miliband, who said he had left the country with the aim of not returning until after MPs had left Westminster for their summer recess.
...

Sky News 56 minutes ago

..
Lord Grabiner 'To Lead News Corp Clean-Up'
....News Corporation has brought in one of Britain's best-known barristers to spearhead an internal probe into the phone-hacking scandal.

The scandal has so far claimed the scalps of several senior executives, the News Of The World and the firm's bid for control of BSkyB.

Tony Grabiner QC will chair a management and standards committee (MSC) set up by News Corp to investigate impropriety at News International, its UK newspaper arm.

Lord Grabiner acted for Liverpool FC's directors over the disputed sale to the owners of the Boston Red Sox last year.

The committee will be given a wide-ranging remit to access documents and employees connected to the hacking allegations that have engulfed the company during the past fortnight.


The developments come ahead of Tuesday's parliamentary committee hearing, at which Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corp, James Murdoch, deputy chief operating officer of News Corp and chairman of NI, and Rebekah Brooks, who quit on Friday as NI's chief executive, will appear.

They follow a comment by the elder Mr Murdoch that a "distinguished non-employee" would take charge of examining charges of impropriety against NI.

By giving Lord Grabiner a free rein to supervise NI's probe and report directly to News Corp directors Joel Klein and Viet Dinh, the New York-based media group hopes to demonstrate that it is regaining control of events at the newspaper arm.


Mr Klein said: "The extension of the MSC is the next step in dealing with the issues surrounding News International.

"It will co-operate fully with all authorities and also lay the foundation for future standards. It is therefore vitally important that it is independent and properly governed.

"We are very pleased that such an eminent person as Lord Grabiner has agreed to be the independent chairman.

He will bring his undoubted experience and intellect to this very important role.

"His appointment clearly demonstrates that we are serious about putting things right that have gone wrong in the past."

The weekend's full-page apologies in national newspapers will be followed by further efforts to tackle the crisis in the coming days, although people close to News Corp suggested no other senior personnel changes were imminent.

On Friday, Les Hinton, chief executive of Dow Jones, former chairman of NI and a colleague of the News Corp founder for more than half a century, resigned over the hacking affair, shortly after Ms Brooks' departure had been announced.

.

NM.

Ask members of your family when you were last right!


8-)





It is good to hear Cameron is in a hurry coming home!









Hope somebody has hidden the key to the toilet/lavatory,

NM.

We have always had data, and once collected and collated has been used for reasons other than the initial reason for its collection.

I do agree the hullabaloo at the present time is an exagerrated reaction, but it does bring attention to the hypocrisy of present political leaders as the duck and dive behind one another.

Have you not wake up to the fact that it is vastly more easy to hack into a mobile phone then a land line and the internet is now used by the general public and not by a few geek's using a Amstrad , and medical record's were not on data bases but filed in card board folders ..... and all this was less then 30years ago. double zero for effort.

An Andrex lorry was parked outside no10 today. lol
It was huge;

Anyone going to invest in Dyno - Rod , sp going to go through the roof, not down the toilet.

Dreamcatcher

Don't give up the day job

I cannot afford to can you?

Aids,

If one is a clean and honest chap, one doesn't have to fear anybody knowing all about you.

Tell us about your problems or what you are anxious about being known.


PS. I didn't think you would be able to do anything of interest to the general public.

Was Coulson giving information to Cameron and the tory party about labour party leaders policies or activities before the last election?

There were a large amount of "government" leaks in the lead up to the last election.

Were the leaks due to phone hacking?

Can No 10 under Cameron's supervision or leadership be seen as a house of "ill-repute"?

Just asking.