Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Varche]

Had to laugh at this from zerohedge.com@


For your definitive documented "X is not Y" atlasing needs.

1. “Spain is not Greece.”
Elena Salgado, Spanish Finance minister, Feb. 2010

2. “Portugal is not Greece.”
The Economist, 22nd April 2010.

3. “Ireland is not in ‘Greek Territory.’”
Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan.

4. “Greece is not Ireland.”
George Papaconstantinou, Greek Finance minister, 8th November, 2010.

5. “Spain is neither Ireland nor Portugal.”
Elena Salgado, Spanish Finance minister, 16 November 2010.

6. “Neither Spain nor Portugal is Ireland.”
Angel Gurria, Secretary-general OECD, 18th November, 2010.

7. "Spain is not Uganda"
Rajoy to Guindos... Last weekend!

8. "Italy is not Spain"
Ed Parker, Fitch MD, 12 June 201


Well I'm glad that's settled. I was having trouble with my maps. 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/definitive-lesson-new-normal-european-geography

Spain is not Uganda. Borrowing rate hit 7% today!!!!  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18408448

[Rods2]

Had to laugh at this from zerohedge.com@


For your definitive documented "X is not Y" atlasing needs.

1. “Spain is not Greece.”
Elena Salgado, Spanish Finance minister, Feb. 2010

2. “Portugal is not Greece.”
The Economist, 22nd April 2010.

3. “Ireland is not in ‘Greek Territory.’”
Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan.

4. “Greece is not Ireland.”
George Papaconstantinou, Greek Finance minister, 8th November, 2010.

5. “Spain is neither Ireland nor Portugal.”
Elena Salgado, Spanish Finance minister, 16 November 2010.

6. “Neither Spain nor Portugal is Ireland.”
Angel Gurria, Secretary-general OECD, 18th November, 2010.

7. "Spain is not Uganda"
Rajoy to Guindos... Last weekend!

8. "Italy is not Spain"
Ed Parker, Fitch MD, 12 June 201


Well I'm glad that's settled. I was having trouble with my maps. 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/definitive-lesson-new-normal-european-geography

He's right. Oops.... Uganda has a higher credit rating than Spain. 

[Dishevelled Den]

Well Nige may have many attributes Nick - even some of those you mention (to a degree or other) but why does he not hold a seat at Westminster?  He should be telling it like it is there, he should be railing against the very people you mention – those who are disinclined to provide straight answers when required to do so.

It's curious that he chooses to dispute the failings of the incumbents of that gravy laden train by also being what seems to be a very comfortable co-passenger on it.  You see, I don't understand how someone could so apply much effort to establish his position in an environment where such observations and criticisms mean little as, I think it's safe to say, the course of the European Parliament has been firmly set and will not be diverted by such interference.

Aside from all that to the more prosaic - under the stewardship of Nigel Farage why has the UKIP not secured any seats in the Parliament of this country - or indeed seats in local government in a sufficient spread of the country which would suggest that the party does indeed have an exposure that may well, one day, allow them to be a reckonable force within British politics?

I'm a bit surprised by that, Den.

Farage did stand at the last election, but Europe was not high on the electorate's agenda. Also, UKIP do not have the finances of the Big Three parties and they suffer from a lack of air time afforded them by the media. Now that they are overtaking the LimpDems in many opinion polls, one cannot discount a snowball effect as more coverage buys them more support.

He was able, with others in UKIP, to secure MEP seats as the Euro elections concentrated people's minds on the issue of the EU and the sceptics, even at that time, were in the ascendancy. As for being a passenger on the gravy train, he earns about £85k p.a., less than many headteachers, doctors and CEOs. Do you think he should work so bloody hard (and he does!) and forfeit his salary?

He's doing a great job, IMHO. 

 

I'm a bit surprised by that, Den.

I know Nick - but now that you're getting into the 'old man' stage of this life I'm simply trying to keep you on your toes.


I don't underestimate the near impossible task faced by any group intending to establish themselves as a viable alternative at Westminster.

I’ve been looking at Referism (helped by David over on WfW) as a means to initially restore some form of bottom-up control over how our government allocates and spends our tax revenues (and how it ultimately behaves) - but this is not going to be an easy process to establish.

The more I look at the very real problem of this political insularity, as practiced by many of those presently in the three main parties at Westminster, the more necessary it seems to have a fundamental root and branch change of the present arrangements.

Irrespective of whether any mechanism such as Referism is in place to monitor and call our elected politicians to task over any matter within its purview, we will still need a parliament of elected politicians in place to run this country as a nation where the national interest is placed first and foremost.

As there seems little likelihood that UKIP (with or without Farage) will gain the numbers necessary to make them a potent force within the party political system at Westminster any time soon, maybe we need a new party consisting of like minded members culled from the present incumbents – who have actually been elected - to try to get things rolling in a direction that will ultimately restore our faith in the ‘democratic’ process and address this awful apathy and tendency towards self-interest hanging over many of those in Westminster at the moment.

Whatever the arrangements the problem lies firmly at Westminster, not in the EU parliament, so that’s where the arse kicking should be done.

I'm just saying however - I'm not out to cause trouble.

[Rods2]

Swiss system of population being able to call referendums seems to keep their Government on their toes.

Personally, I would make the majority of what MPs and ministers earn, especially pensions, deferred bonuses, much like banks have to do now.

Whether they get them or not would depend upon, how much of their manifesto they implements, to stop them being their current sheets of lies with no repercussions. Next I would use GDP growth, balance of payments, levels of taxation which leads ultimately to PPP (Purchasing Power Parity). So if you run the country badly, like McRuin, PPP falls (like it is now), then you lose a proportion or all of your bonuses and pension, depending upon how much the country is suffering.

Make politicians financially accountable for their failings. 

This would concentrate their minds on doing the best for UK PLC to the benefit of UK PLC's shareholders, which is us the populace and voters.

[Shackeng]

Swiss system of population being able to call referendums seems to keep their Government on their toes.

Personally, I would make the majority of what MPs and ministers earn, especially pensions, deferred bonuses, much like banks have to do now.

Whether they get them or not would depend upon, how much of their manifesto they implements, to stop them being their current sheets of lies with no repercussions. Next I would use GDP growth, balance of payments, levels of taxation which leads ultimately to PPP (Purchasing Power Parity). So if you run the country badly, like McRuin, PPP falls (like it is now), then you lose a proportion or all of your bonuses and pension, depending upon how much the country is suffering.

Make politicians financially accountable for their failings. 

This would concentrate their minds on doing the best for UK PLC to the benefit of UK PLC's shareholders, which is us the populace and voters.

Nice idea Rods, but sadly the incumbents are unlikely to enact such a desirable measure any time soon. On a subject many of us have alluded to in the past, a start would be made if politicians were only eligible from age 40, and with some experience of 'real life'.

[Nickbat]

One specially for Rods2 here:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/just-what-mario-draghi-hiding-ecb-declines-respond-bloomberg-foia-request-greek-goldman-swaps

 

[Nickbat]

For Den:

Nigel Farage has posted the following on a social media site:

"Many requests from major American media outlets following my speech yesterday. But none from their British counterparts..."

There you have it. The establishment only likes what it wants to like. 

[Dishevelled Den]

For Den:

Nigel Farage has posted the following on a social media site:

"Many requests from major American media outlets following my speech yesterday. But none from their British counterparts..."

There you have it. The establishment only likes what it wants to like. 

I wouldn't have expected much more from our own Media as Farage's speeches (I deliberately did not say antics to show willing) are of little consequence to them as his themes invariably do not embrace sports people sporting strange hairdo’s or trying to cover-up errant behaviour, the latest woes of angst ridden celebrities, the latest facial expressions of ‘Royalty’ and what a change of their clothing could possibly mean for the ‘fashionistas’ of the nation, the weather, the soaps, the verbal diarrhoea falling from the mouths of many of our elected representatives and on and predictably on.

It may well be of course that he is not taken too seriously – put down an a ‘shouty’ individual incapable of contributing much other than sticking it up the arses of those trolls in the EU parliament by giving it to them by way of verbal fireworks – considered to be anonymous because he’s spending too much time there and not enough here – or a man who is simply missing the opportunity to build a cohesive group of people focussed on rectifying the shambles of our own political system by actually trying to get some of them elected onto political office in this country because he appears to prefer talking rather than doing.

I would rather have seen him beating at the doors of the broadcast media here rather than disseminate his message via the social media which is, as far as I’m concerned, more oriented to bubble dwellers and individuals best suited to burbling their thoughts on a variety of important subjects the majority of which are far removed from those which really should be concerned about the very real trouble this country is now facing.

In my view if he wants voters he needs to get onto the streets of this country, along with his people, and get a coordinated message out that they’re available to do business. To that end, he should ensure that his activities are reported by both the MS and broadcast media by way of employing effective media management here, where it matters and, if he’s dissatisfied by the response, he needs to tell them - not a social networking site.

So no, in all, I’m happy to concede that he wouldn’t have gotten a fair break but I think he needs to ‘up’ his game if he really wants the UKIP to gain traction with the voting public.