Brexit, for once some facts.

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,208
30,608
Is that taken as meaning it's Ok for a legal Government to use lethal force against it's own people even when the so called "legal" Government rigs the elections?
I cant see how that answer relates to what I posted about the Syrian conflict. Like many other countries, Syria isn't a western style democracy.

It's a semi-presidential republic with multiparty representation. President Bashar al-Assad, and his Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party have remained dominant forces in the country's politics since the 1970 coup d'état.

Those who don't like that are free to leave, but half the population do like it so democracy wouldn't change anything.
.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,208
30,608
The snag is that while we wait Fascism sneaks in under the radar and takes over
Even in Britain that tends to be true. Fortunately in Britain our far right Tories are so bad at it that we even mess that up.

Predominantly socialist leaning Europe does somewhat better, but Scandinavia is best at avoiding any far right drift and consistently maintaining popular socialism.
.
 
  • Like
Reactions: oldgroaner

jonathan.agnew

Esteemed Pedelecer
Dec 27, 2018
2,400
3,381
GBP still dropping - now 1.0848
"Tory mp's will push nuclear button & vote against tax cuts if pound less valuable than dollar"
why not wait until the pound reach parity with the metical (currently £0.014)? I'm no spad, but it's obvious to me that one could stone the average red wall voter's favourite dog to death in front of them with ripe figs before s/he realize there's anything untoward going on..
 
Last edited:
  • Agree
Reactions: flecc and oyster

oldgroaner

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 15, 2015
23,461
32,613
80
I cant see how that answer relates to what I posted about the Syrian conflict. Like many other countries, Syria isn't a western style democracy.

It's a semi-presidential republic with multiparty representation. President Bashar al-Assad, and his Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party have remained dominant forces in the country's politics since the 1970 coup d'état.

Those who don't like that are free to leave, but half the population do like it so democracy wouldn't change anything.
.
You mean Dictatorship
 

oyster

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2017
10,422
14,609
West West Wales
Tweet of the day so far
Eerik N Kross
@EerikNKross


A joke from Moscow: Patriarch Kirill announces that all Russian soldiers dying in war in Ukraine will immediately go to heaven. Hearing this Heaven immediately applies for NATO membership.
:cool:
A joke from Moscow. - As a reservist you have been mobilized! - Who are we fighting with? - The Nazis - Yes, but against whom?
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,208
30,608
You mean Dictatorship
Of course, since all Arab countries have dictatorship, but it's rude to say that so the polite form is used:

"A semi-presidential republic with multiparty representation."

Meaning the boss and his relatives.
.
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,381
16,878
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
Any bets on where GBP will be against USD at, say, 10:00 BST on Monday morning?
it depends if KK and his Number Two at the Treasury (Chris Philp) can keep their mouths shut and show a bit of humility to those who are still prepared to buy our sovereign bonds.
KK's cockiness on Friday costs the Pound 3% against the Dollar and 2% against the Euro.
As we import so much of what we consume, he singlehandedly added 2% inflation on the day with his stupid bragging about being the most tax competitive in the G7.
The tories bet the house on the performance of UK fintech or the great casino in London. On the long run, the FTSE has to rise for them to make good money and it doesn't at the moment. It's risky enough without stupid bragging.
I have no choice than putting up my prices in the week, a few days before shedule (1/10).
 

oyster

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2017
10,422
14,609
West West Wales
Parity with the dollar if we are lucky.

Parity with the euro if we aren't. :(
.
That's around what I currently expect - but there is still the possibility of something happening that none of us has anticipated which might affect the number it reaches. Either way.
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,381
16,878
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
Sunak was right to prioritise inflation. Kier Starmer is always obsessed to appear business friendly to the point of aping everything the tories do, so he embarks on making plan for growth to compete with KK.
The whole world is going through a low growth, high inflation phase because of the war in Ukraine.
He should have sided with Sunak instead and work with the BoE to reduce inflation.
 

jonathan.agnew

Esteemed Pedelecer
Dec 27, 2018
2,400
3,381
Sunak was right to prioritise inflation. Kier Starmer is always obsessed to appear business friendly to the point of aping everything the tories do, so he embarks on making plan for growth to compete with KK.
The whole world is going through a low growth, high inflation phase because of the war in Ukraine.
He should have sided with Sunak instead and work with the BoE to reduce inflation.
that may be true, but starmer has the unsavory task of throwing offal at the red wall (who do not want to pay tax, emphatically do not want immigrants to take jobs they emphatically do not want to do and want benefits on par with those in Denmark paid for through "growth").
 
Last edited:

jonathan.agnew

Esteemed Pedelecer
Dec 27, 2018
2,400
3,381
I cant see how that answer relates to what I posted about the Syrian conflict. Like many other countries, Syria isn't a western style democracy.

It's a semi-presidential republic with multiparty representation. President Bashar al-Assad, and his Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party have remained dominant forces in the country's politics since the 1970 coup d'état.

Those who don't like that are free to leave, but half the population do like it so democracy wouldn't change anything.
.
That's lovely. I quite understand. All that remains is for you to give me your property (oh yes, I'll take the keys to the leaf too). You are, of course, as always free to leave.
 

oyster

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2017
10,422
14,609
West West Wales
Any bets on where GBP will be against USD at, say, 10:00 BST on Monday morning?
The answer is 1.0753.

Which comes after 1.0349 on some Asian markets. (Adding, some reports as low as 1.0327.)

And interesting how at least one paper refers to it being the lowest since decimalisation. Which suggests some deep-seated need to revert to £sd.
 
Last edited:

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,208
30,608
That's lovely. I quite understand. All that remains is for you to give me your property (oh yes, I'll take the keys to the leaf too). You are, of course, as always free to leave.
A little lesson in reality. I haven't noticed rubber boat loads of pensioners crossing the channel.

It's mostly the young who leave, those who due to their age don't own property and capital possession like cars to get taken. It's the young who rise up against their society, like the students in Hong Kong who have caused all the trouble there and the rioters who smashed up our high streets in 2011. Have nots, they have nothing to be taken

The older and wiser don't leave and don't feel the need to, being fully acclimatised to their society and often approving and supportive of it. That being so, their system you are so critical of supports their loyalty and doesn't take their possessions.

There's a job waiting for your natural aptitude in the western propaganda departments.
.
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,381
16,878
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
A little lesson in reality. I haven't noticed rubber boat loads of pensioners crossing the channel.

It's mostly the young who leave, those who due to their age don't own property and capital possession like cars to get taken. It's the young who rise up against their society, like the students in Hong Kong who have caused all the trouble there and the rioters who smashed up our high streets in 2011. Have nots, they have nothing to be taken

The older and wiser don't leave and don't feel the need to, being fully acclimatised to their society and often approving and supportive of it. That being so, their system you are so critical of supports their loyalty and doesn't take their possessions.

There's a job waiting for your natural aptitude in the western propaganda departments.
.
completely beside the point. Dictators rely on corruption to build their regimes and the regimes rely on wars to keep their people under their thumb.
Under the circumtance, only the young adults have the physical strength to leave.
We are lucky to live in a relatively liberal society, we can jump on a plane to go on holiday abroad. Many don't/
 

oyster

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2017
10,422
14,609
West West Wales
A little lesson in reality. I haven't noticed rubber boat loads of pensioners crossing the channel.

It's mostly the young who leave, those who due to their age don't own property and capital possession like cars to get taken. It's the young who rise up against their society, like the students in Hong Kong who have caused all the trouble there and the rioters who smashed up our high streets in 2011. Have nots, they have nothing to be taken

The older and wiser don't leave and don't feel the need to, being fully acclimatised to their society and often approving and supportive of it. That being so, their system you are so critical of supports their loyalty and doesn't take their possessions.

There's a job waiting for your natural aptitude in the western propaganda departments.
.
I haven't noticed the government asking those on rubber boats whether they are skilled in medicine, care, even agricultural work. It would appear to make more sense to ,make use of their presence than to positively recruit and "import" others from round the globe at enormous cost.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: jonathan.agnew

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,208
30,608
the regimes rely on wars to keep their people under their thumb.
Or just rely on wars to keep other people under their thumb, like the USA does.

We are lucky to live in a relatively liberal society, we can jump on a plane to go on holiday abroad. Many don't/
Almost all the societies the west have disapproved of have freely allowed that, particularly before we in the west started interfering. Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, China etc have all had huge number of students studying abroad and tourists visiting, free to learn western ways, many of which have been transferred to their own countries. Just look at the scale of change in Saudi Arabia, women wearing western cloths and driving cars. And China where much of city life is indistinguishable from that in the west.

Societal change takes time though, something the impatient west needs to learn.
.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,208
30,608
I haven't noticed the government asking those on rubber boats whether they are skilled in medicine, care, even agricultural work. It would appear to make more sense to ,make use of their presence than to positively recruit and "import" others from round the globe at enormous cost.
We sometimes have done, but it takes time. Those who fled from Kenya some years ago found their way into their former skilled jobs.

But now we can't, since the priority is to stop uncontrolled immigration, not just for our own sake but for the sake of the countries who are being drained of their potential by the lure of economic gain. If we start employing all the illegals, their numbers will hugely multiply to nobody's benefit, least of all those migrating.
.
 

Advertisers