Very limited clips and I will admit being a complete wimp in not watching but wow, is Saunders really that bad? Is his job simply to make Hilary look younger and coherent? Does he not own a comb?
It seems to me that any bet against Hilary is a bet that her health will fail (very unlikely) or she gets indicted (even more unlikely). Laying at 1/3 for the democratic nomination looks very brave.
Can the republicans find a credible candidate (ie not Trump) to oppose her? They seem to be struggling so far.
Very limited clips and I will admit being a complete wimp in not watching but wow, is Saunders really that bad? Is his job simply to make Hilary look younger and coherent? Does he not own a comb?
It seems to me that any bet against Hilary is a bet that her health will fail (very unlikely) or she gets indicted (even more unlikely). Laying at 1/3 for the democratic nomination looks very brave.
Can the republicans find a credible candidate (ie not Trump) to oppose her? They seem to be struggling so far.
I think the answer is Rubio, but I'm not sure the Republicans agree.
The answer is Trump, possibly the first PotUS to be elected entirely by voters who neither own nor feel the lack of passports.
There aren't enough of them. Each time in recent elections the GOP have hit the same problem. Jeb and the establishment know they need to reach out to other sections of american society, but the party membership won't let them. Hang on a minute...this is beginning to sound similar to somewhere else I know.
The GOP has always gone establishment since as far back as 1964, though it frequently flirts with doing otherwise before running home to the electorate's comfort zone.
Very limited clips and I will admit being a complete wimp in not watching but wow, is Saunders really that bad? Is his job simply to make Hilary look younger and coherent? Does he not own a comb?
It seems to me that any bet against Hilary is a bet that her health will fail (very unlikely) or she gets indicted (even more unlikely). Laying at 1/3 for the democratic nomination looks very brave.
Can the republicans find a credible candidate (ie not Trump) to oppose her? They seem to be struggling so far.
Very limited clips and I will admit being a complete wimp in not watching but wow, is Saunders really that bad? Is his job simply to make Hilary look younger and coherent? Does he not own a comb?
It seems to me that any bet against Hilary is a bet that her health will fail (very unlikely) or she gets indicted (even more unlikely). Laying at 1/3 for the democratic nomination looks very brave.
Can the republicans find a credible candidate (ie not Trump) to oppose her? They seem to be struggling so far.
I think the answer is Rubio, but I'm not sure the Republicans agree.
Being pro immigration is Rubio and Jeb's problem. Trump and Cruz are anti. Interestingly Speedy seemed to be watching a different debate from OGH and most punters in his comments on the last thread saying Hillary bombed
But Rubio has completely u-turned on immigration. It's reminiscent of Romney's u-turn on healthcare. Their original support means the party base is not at all happy with them, and it would sink them against a good consistently conservative candidate, but as they've given way on the issue the base will grudgingly accept them over a loon that will lose.
No Trump polls well ahead of Rubio with the base
In a multi-candidate race, sure. And the various loons against Romney outpolled him at various times. But whenever it was one-on-one, the Republicans looked at the establishment candidate and looked at the insurgent loon, and reluctantly chose the establishment one.
Ultimately it hardly matters who brought down the plane, sadly. The Russians cannot be punished with more than sanctions presumably, if it was them, and it's not as though either side and it's supporters will accept any conclusion that apportions blame to their side, so would the political situation even change at all?
Much more could be done with sanctions.
You will note that Russia is making strenuous diplomatic efforts to get existing sanctions lifted (without actually in substance altering the behaviour complained of). We should do the reverse and ratchet them up a couple of notches. Wars don't have to be fought with soldiers. We have little green men of our own and they sit in the City and Canary Wharf.
Much can be done with sanctions but it doesn't feel like there's that much of an appetite to take them further, it seemed hard enough to get them as far as they were. Short of a photo of Putin firing a missle personally, it feels like only token action would ever be taken.
I agree that the appetite for action is sickeningly low. Our failure to confront an aggressive militarist imperialist regime will be a stain on our age.
I completely agree. It's just that the regime isn't Russia.
Your support for Russia perhaps explains your rather 'interesting' comments about the concept of innocent until proven guilty re. Brittan the other day.
There is actually little evidence that Scottish voters are more sympathetic to welfare claimants than English voters. Nor are they over keen on paying taxes.
The Scottish Parliament has had the power to increase the basic rate of income tax by 3p since 1999. No government has contemplated using the Scottish rate. It will be a brave government that ever does.
Quite.
Everybody in Scotland knows it is a unionist con , not a trap. We do not need clowns like Mcwhirter , thinking he is smart. Any change in tax means a reduction in Scottish budget to match and so it is not powers devolved , just powers retained. Hopefully the SNP will have the cojones to vote down their NON Powers bill when it comes up for approval.
This is the real problem the Loyalist nuts face with their "cunning trap".
A political trap only works effectively when it is subtle and opaque to voters. The way the Tories are using this as a handcuffed way of slashing Scotland's budget while continuing to drain £12bn a year from Scottish taxpayers to pay for English profligacy is not subtle or opaque in any way. It is stark, obvious and transparent.
As such it won't impact the SNP. When they say that budgets are right it is because they are and they are tight because the Scottish budget continues to be hamstrung by the theft of huge sums of money by Westminster.
"Burnham made the usual tit of himself at the Immigration debate yesterday..Someone has told him that if he shouts very loud and s l o w s his speech d o w n then no none will spot the inane blather he comes out with".
Does your blithe partisanship under every circumstance and on all occasions ever embarrass you?
Mr. 63, some have called for wolves to be reintroduced to southern England, also to decrease deer numbers,
Like you, I think it improbable. The first person attacked will see the blame laid squarely at the politician who gave the green light.
Exactly my point, we are far too squeamish to accept that some animals kill others. Farmers and country folk will think it sensible but they're a minority.
I think it is a possibility for the sparse lands of the Scottish Highlands, but sheep farm density in the southwest (South East is a non starter for pop density reasons) is too high - even if there are too many deer about.
Do you really think SNP will pass legislation that introduces wolves into the country with the sole intention of killing deer?
"Burnham made the usual tit of himself at the Immigration debate yesterday..Someone has told him that if he shouts very loud and s l o w s his speech d o w n then no none will spot the inane blather he comes out with".
Does your blithe partisanship under every circumstance and on all occasions ever embarrass you?
As The Herald reported yesterday, the think tank IPPR calculates that the average family in Scotland will be £200 worse off
That's a sizeable difference from the £1000+ a year being bandied around by all and sundry in the UK wide press.
I'm afraid I'm reduced to the point that when I read this sort of thing from Nats:
>This must be the most transparent fiscal trap since the Malt Tax in 1713.
I want to have it read in his Carry On voice by an exhumed Kenneth Williams.
You absolute turnip , it was not a Nationalist that wrote it.
Turnip yourself, Malc.
I didn't say it was written by a Nationalist. There's that little phrase "this sort of thing".
Merely an accurate caricature.
It's an important issue.
The Scottish media is filled with Useful Idiots who tacked themselves on to the Independence cause but whose support was always half hearted and in many cases has now become actively hostile. MacWhirter is one but the worst is Kevin McKenna, a man of limited intellect at the best of times.
The problem is that these people are invited onto politcal shows as "balance" to Loyalists when their own position is now pretty much identical to the Loyalists they are supposed to be arguing against.
How can anyone who wants to release ferocious, wild, possibly man eating animals into the wild..be taken seriously. Just hire a specialist for the day..
"Burnham made the usual tit of himself at the Immigration debate yesterday..Someone has told him that if he shouts very loud and s l o w s his speech d o w n then no none will spot the inane blather he comes out with".
Does your blithe partisanship under every circumstance and on all occasions ever embarrass you?
Mr. 63, some have called for wolves to be reintroduced to southern England, also to decrease deer numbers,
Like you, I think it improbable. The first person attacked will see the blame laid squarely at the politician who gave the green light.
Exactly my point, we are far too squeamish to accept that some animals kill others. Farmers and country folk will think it sensible but they're a minority.
I think it is a possibility for the sparse lands of the Scottish Highlands, but sheep farm density in the southwest (South East is a non starter for pop density reasons) is too high - even if there are too many deer about.
Do you really think SNP will pass legislation that introduces wolves into the country with the sole intention of killing deer?
Not in a million years
UKIP looks to be the only "not in a million years" policy, the rest of the parties are in the long grass
How can anyone who wants to release ferocious, wild, possibly man eating animals into the wild..be taken seriously. Just hire a specialist for the day..
Quite. More deer = more venison burgers. I don't see the downside.
Mr. 63, some have called for wolves to be reintroduced to southern England, also to decrease deer numbers,
Like you, I think it improbable. The first person attacked will see the blame laid squarely at the politician who gave the green light.
Exactly my point, we are far too squeamish to accept that some animals kill others. Farmers and country folk will think it sensible but they're a minority.
I think it is a possibility for the sparse lands of the Scottish Highlands, but sheep farm density in the southwest (South East is a non starter for pop density reasons) is too high - even if there are too many deer about.
Do you really think SNP will pass legislation that introduces wolves into the country with the sole intention of killing deer?
Not in a million years
UKIP looks to be the only "not in a million years" policy, the rest of the parties are in the long grass
Thanks, the SNP make it clear no wolves. I'm not saying its a good or bad idea, I believe in letting country folk run the country but no political party would ever carry it out.
Ultimately it hardly matters who brought down the plane, sadly. The Russians cannot be punished with more than sanctions presumably, if it was them, and it's not as though either side and it's supporters will accept any conclusion that apportions blame to their side, so would the political situation even change at all?
Much more could be done with sanctions.
You will note that Russia is making strenuous diplomatic efforts to get existing sanctions lifted (without actually in substance altering the behaviour complained of). We should do the reverse and ratchet them up a couple of notches. Wars don't have to be fought with soldiers. We have little green men of our own and they sit in the City and Canary Wharf.
Much can be done with sanctions but it doesn't feel like there's that much of an appetite to take them further, it seemed hard enough to get them as far as they were. Short of a photo of Putin firing a missle personally, it feels like only token action would ever be taken.
I agree that the appetite for action is sickeningly low. Our failure to confront an aggressive militarist imperialist regime will be a stain on our age.
I completely agree. It's just that the regime isn't Russia.
Your support for Russia perhaps explains your rather 'interesting' comments about the concept of innocent until proven guilty re. Brittan the other day.
I cannot see how my comments were anything other than objective fact.
Have people here been applying the 'innocent until proven guilty' concept to Russia?
I have camped in some of those remote areas of Scotland...I would hate to be woken up by a very hungry wolf looking for breakfast...with me as the main course.
Oh dear dear dear. It seems some people here are more than a little upset that the report does not state (as would have been quite within its remit without apportioning blame) that the missile was fired from rebel held territory. Keep flapping guys, I'm sure no-one will notice...
Why was it in their remit to say where the missile was fired from? That issue was irrelevant to the investigation as set out, at least as far as I see it. Where it was fired from, and who fired it, is irrelevant to what caused the plane to break up, or recommendations as to how such an incident could be avoided in the future.
The type of missile and warhead was within the remit, as they were trying to explain what caused the plane to break up, not who fired it.
This is common with all sorts of accident reports: the main requirement is to find out what happened, and leave any prosecutions for who did it (whether by incompetence or malice) to the relevant authorities.
We'll see what happens when the Dutch criminal investigation report is released.
They did say where it was fired from, that's the point. A 320 square km area in Eastern Ukraine. Had there been a smaller and more specific potential launch area they could and would have said so.
No, because that would have been irrelevant and just tied them up further with arguments.
Still, at least the air-to-air missile 'theory' has been thoroughly debunked.
You are suggesting that the report is withholding information to give themselves an easy ride?
Isn't the idea to have the wolves patrolling the border to keep the English out?
I am definitely in the rewilding camp. It would be more effective if humans decolonised parts of the country to create proper wildlife parks. Wolves, lynx, bears, beavers. Just a pity there aren't any mammoths or wooly rhinos to add to the mix.
Incidentally, wolves have a relatively low kill success rate. African hunting dogs are much deadlier (over 90% success rate).
And if we're talking apex predators, there was talk of someone wanting me to create a feral type of enormo-haddock. The project was shelved on the basis it would lead to the extinction of mankind.
Sandy Rentool..We could make the area into a reality TV show... shove a lot of economic migrants in there and if they survive more than two years they can have some benefits..
I have camped in some of those remote areas of Scotland...I would hate to be woken up by a very hungry wolf looking for breakfast...with me as the main course.
It doesn't stop people going camping in the US or Canada.
I have camped in some of those remote areas of Scotland...I would hate to be woken up by a very hungry wolf looking for breakfast...with me as the main course.
I think you've just given Lucky Guy his thought for the day :-)
Isn't the idea to have the wolves patrolling the border to keep the English out?
I am definitely in the rewilding camp. It would be more effective if humans decolonised parts of the country to create proper wildlife parks. Wolves, lynx, bears, beavers. Just a pity there aren't any mammoths or wooly rhinos to add to the mix.
Sandy Rentool..We could make the area into a reality TV show... shove a lot of economic migrants in there and if they survive more than two years they can have some benefits..
Isn't that the current policy of the Hungarian government?
UK nationals employment increases by 84k in the last year non-UK by 257k.
There are now 3.18 million non-UK nationals in the workforce.
So if the EU has 3 million jobs dependent on it, it looks like we've imported the people to do them.
No. Are you proposing that were we to leave the EU we would have zero non-UK nationals in the country? Are you suggesting that every American, Canadian or other national here is only here due to the EU?
Isn't the idea to have the wolves patrolling the border to keep the English out?
I am definitely in the rewilding camp. It would be more effective if humans decolonised parts of the country to create proper wildlife parks. Wolves, lynx, bears, beavers. Just a pity there aren't any mammoths or wooly rhinos to add to the mix.
Chernobyl is a teeming with amazing wildlife .
But it has done nothing for Chernobyl's tourist trade, and therein lies the risk for the Scots.
Sandy Rentool Those camping in the USA or Canada .. which have always been home to lots of wild animals and cover areas that are bigger than the entire British lsles ..tend to carry licensed weapons to defend themselves.. such as a gun..
UK nationals employment increases by 84k in the last year non-UK by 257k.
There are now 3.18 million non-UK nationals in the workforce.
So if the EU has 3 million jobs dependent on it, it looks like we've imported the people to do them.
No. Are you proposing that were we to leave the EU we would have zero non-UK nationals in the country? Are you suggesting that every American, Canadian or other national here is only here due to the EU?
Correlation does not equal causation.
The statistics say there are 2 million EU citizens in the workforce and growing.
As for which claims Remain are making well that's anybody's guess. The 3 million number is sort of plucked from the ether.
I have camped in some of those remote areas of Scotland...I would hate to be woken up by a very hungry wolf looking for breakfast...with me as the main course.
It doesn't stop people going camping in the US or Canada.
Bears are pretty timid and attacks on humans are rare. I saw a bunch this summer in the wilds of the US - they bolted as soon as they saw us every time.
I have camped in some of those remote areas of Scotland...I would hate to be woken up by a very hungry wolf looking for breakfast...with me as the main course.
It doesn't stop people going camping in the US or Canada.
Never knew you were in favour of relaxing gun control laws, Mr Rentool
Ultimately it hardly matters who brought down the plane, sadly. The Russians cannot be punished with more than sanctions presumably, if it was them, and it's not as though either side and it's supporters will accept any conclusion that apportions blame to their side, so would the political situation even change at all?
Much more could be done with sanctions.
You will note that Russia is making strenuous diplomatic efforts to get existing sanctions lifted (without actually in substance altering the behaviour complained of). We should do the reverse and ratchet them up a couple of notches. Wars don't have to be fought with soldiers. We have little green men of our own and they sit in the City and Canary Wharf.
Much can be done with sanctions but it doesn't feel like there's that much of an appetite to take them further, it seemed hard enough to get them as far as they were. Short of a photo of Putin firing a missle personally, it feels like only token action would ever be taken.
I agree that the appetite for action is sickeningly low. Our failure to confront an aggressive militarist imperialist regime will be a stain on our age.
I completely agree. It's just that the regime isn't Russia.
Your support for Russia perhaps explains your rather 'interesting' comments about the concept of innocent until proven guilty re. Brittan the other day.
I cannot see how my comments were anything other than objective fact.
Have people here been applying the 'innocent until proven guilty' concept to Russia?
Your comments were stupid and wrong, and you rightly got called out for them.
UK nationals employment increases by 84k in the last year non-UK by 257k.
There are now 3.18 million non-UK nationals in the workforce.
So if the EU has 3 million jobs dependent on it, it looks like we've imported the people to do them.
No. Are you proposing that were we to leave the EU we would have zero non-UK nationals in the country? Are you suggesting that every American, Canadian or other national here is only here due to the EU?
Correlation does not equal causation.
The statistics say there are 2 million EU citizens in the workforce and growing.
As for which claims Remain are making well that's anybody's guess. The 3 million number is sort of plucked from the ether.
In fairness, they're now saying that the 3 million jobs are merely dependent on trade with the EU. They're still implying that those jobs would evaporate (presumably due to the mile high wall that would shroud the continent as soon as the referendum count showed a majority for the leavers).
I have camped in some of those remote areas of Scotland...I would hate to be woken up by a very hungry wolf looking for breakfast...with me as the main course.
As The Herald reported yesterday, the think tank IPPR calculates that the average family in Scotland will be £200 worse off
That's a sizeable difference from the £1000+ a year being bandied around by all and sundry in the UK wide press.
I'm afraid I'm reduced to the point that when I read this sort of thing from Nats:
>This must be the most transparent fiscal trap since the Malt Tax in 1713.
I want to have it read in his Carry On voice by an exhumed Kenneth Williams.
You absolute turnip , it was not a Nationalist that wrote it.
Turnip yourself, Malc.
I didn't say it was written by a Nationalist. There's that little phrase "this sort of thing".
Merely an accurate caricature.
It's an important issue.
The Scottish media is filled with Useful Idiots who tacked themselves on to the Independence cause but whose support was always half hearted and in many cases has now become actively hostile. MacWhirter is one but the worst is Kevin McKenna, a man of limited intellect at the best of times.
The problem is that these people are invited onto politcal shows as "balance" to Loyalists when their own position is now pretty much identical to the Loyalists they are supposed to be arguing against.
Quislings, splitters, collaborators and the unpure ? Burn them all.
UK nationals employment increases by 84k in the last year non-UK by 257k.
There are now 3.18 million non-UK nationals in the workforce.
So if the EU has 3 million jobs dependent on it, it looks like we've imported the people to do them.
No. Are you proposing that were we to leave the EU we would have zero non-UK nationals in the country? Are you suggesting that every American, Canadian or other national here is only here due to the EU?
Correlation does not equal causation.
The statistics say there are 2 million EU citizens in the workforce and growing.
As for which claims Remain are making well that's anybody's guess. The 3 million number is sort of plucked from the ether.
So 2 million is less than 3 million. Are you also proposing that were we to Leave then there would be zero French, German or other nationals from across our continent living in the UK? You can not just artificially add all Europeans up and say it's due to the EU unless you're proposing that if we leave we deport all non nationals and let no new ones in. Are you?
UK nationals employment increases by 84k in the last year non-UK by 257k.
There are now 3.18 million non-UK nationals in the workforce.
So if the EU has 3 million jobs dependent on it, it looks like we've imported the people to do them.
No. Are you proposing that were we to leave the EU we would have zero non-UK nationals in the country? Are you suggesting that every American, Canadian or other national here is only here due to the EU?
Correlation does not equal causation.
The statistics say there are 2 million EU citizens in the workforce and growing.
As for which claims Remain are making well that's anybody's guess. The 3 million number is sort of plucked from the ether.
In fairness, they're now saying that 3 millions jobs are merely dependent on trade with the EU. They're still implying that those jobs would evaporate (presumably due to the mile high wall that would shroud the continent as soon as the referendum count showed a majority for the leavers).
In fairness their figures will sort of float about for the next two years dependent on which way the wind is blowing.
I have camped in some of those remote areas of Scotland...I would hate to be woken up by a very hungry wolf looking for breakfast...with me as the main course.
It doesn't stop people going camping in the US or Canada.
If you're in an area with dangerous animals in North America, outside the designated area of a park ranger, they generally recommend you are armed.
Chancellor George Osborne is urging "moderate" Labour MPs to rebel against their leadership and support his plan to balance the economy in a vote later.
And they call Osborne a master tactician? The big tit should keep his mouth shut to get better results.
F1: from 2016 customer engines must have the same spec a works teams.
Hmm. I wonder if that makes Red Bull likelier or less likely to remain.
Good news for Williams, Force India, and Manor (Mercedes customers next year). May also be handy for Sauber (Ferrari).
I wonder how this works when the manufacturer comes up with an updated engine, and especially when the manufacturer 'splits' the two cars it runs, with one having a new-spec engine and another an older-spec. As we saw with Mercedes a few races ago, this can bring unreliability. Do the customers have to take the latest and greatest, or will the customers get to choose?
If the former, then the manufacturers could use customers to 'test' engines that they are not willing to risk themselves. If the latter, manufacturer costs may well increase as they have to support multiple engine types.
Ultimately it hardly matters who brought down the plane, sadly. The Russians cannot be punished with more than sanctions presumably, if it was them, and it's not as though either side and it's supporters will accept any conclusion that apportions blame to their side, so would the political situation even change at all?
Much more could be done with sanctions.
You will note that Russia is making strenuous diplomatic efforts to get existing sanctions lifted (without actually in substance altering the behaviour complained of). We should do the reverse and ratchet them up a couple of notches. Wars don't have to be fought with soldiers. We have little green men of our own and they sit in the City and Canary Wharf.
Much can be done with sanctions but it doesn't feel like there's that much of an appetite to take them further, it seemed hard enough to get them as far as they were. Short of a photo of Putin firing a missle personally, it feels like only token action would ever be taken.
I agree that the appetite for action is sickeningly low. Our failure to confront an aggressive militarist imperialist regime will be a stain on our age.
I completely agree. It's just that the regime isn't Russia.
Your support for Russia perhaps explains your rather 'interesting' comments about the concept of innocent until proven guilty re. Brittan the other day.
I cannot see how my comments were anything other than objective fact.
Have people here been applying the 'innocent until proven guilty' concept to Russia?
Your comments were stupid and wrong, and you rightly got called out for them.
I thought his comments were reasonable, and the other side of the debate was largely talking past him.
Chancellor George Osborne is urging "moderate" Labour MPs to rebel against their leadership and support his plan to balance the economy in a vote later.
And they call Osborne a master tactician? The big tit should keep his mouth shut to get better results.
George Osborne doesn't care which way they vote. If they follow his call, it maximises the Labour split. If they unite behind Jeremy Corbyn, he can tar the whole Labour party as anti-austerity deficit deniers. From his viewpoint it's now win-win.
Chancellor George Osborne is urging "moderate" Labour MPs to rebel against their leadership and support his plan to balance the economy in a vote later.
And they call Osborne a master tactician? The big tit should keep his mouth shut to get better results.
The man has overseen a Conservative majority, and caused the other three large parties to be in complete disarray.
UK nationals employment increases by 84k in the last year non-UK by 257k.
There are now 3.18 million non-UK nationals in the workforce.
So if the EU has 3 million jobs dependent on it, it looks like we've imported the people to do them.
No. Are you proposing that were we to leave the EU we would have zero non-UK nationals in the country? Are you suggesting that every American, Canadian or other national here is only here due to the EU?
Correlation does not equal causation.
The statistics say there are 2 million EU citizens in the workforce and growing.
As for which claims Remain are making well that's anybody's guess. The 3 million number is sort of plucked from the ether.
So 2 million is less than 3 million. Are you also proposing that were we to Leave then there would be zero French, German or other nationals from across our continent living in the UK? You can not just artificially add all Europeans up and say it's due to the UK unless you're proposing that if we leave we deport all non nationals and let no new ones in. Are you?
Not at all, there would be controlled migration same for the yanks and the ozzies. But the bulk of people are coming from E. Europe and if the rate of increase stays the same it will be 2.5 million by the time we have a vote.
So if the EU plays silly buggers and we lose the 3 millon jobs obviously we would have to send people back home and put our own nationals first.
Chancellor George Osborne is urging "moderate" Labour MPs to rebel against their leadership and support his plan to balance the economy in a vote later.
And they call Osborne a master tactician? The big tit should keep his mouth shut to get better results.
It's masterly. Now they're f*cked whatever they do.
If they abstain, it's because they're doing GO's bidding or heeding his words (Red Tory Scum! Red Tory Scum!). If they toe the party line, they're financially irresponsible hypocrites.
Learn to think like George - you musn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.
Chancellor George Osborne is urging "moderate" Labour MPs to rebel against their leadership and support his plan to balance the economy in a vote later.
And they call Osborne a master tactician? The big tit should keep his mouth shut to get better results.
As a former Conservative, it must be a bitter pill for you to swallow to see the economy doing so well.
Chancellor George Osborne is urging "moderate" Labour MPs to rebel against their leadership and support his plan to balance the economy in a vote later.
And they call Osborne a master tactician? The big tit should keep his mouth shut to get better results.
The man has overseen a Conservative majority, and caused the other three large parties to be in complete disarray.
Oh dear dear dear. It seems some people here are more than a little upset that the report does not state (as would have been quite within its remit without apportioning blame) that the missile was fired from rebel held territory. Keep flapping guys, I'm sure no-one will notice...
Why was it in their remit to say where the missile was fired from? That issue was irrelevant to the investigation as set out, at least as far as I see it. Where it was fired from, and who fired it, is irrelevant to what caused the plane to break up, or recommendations as to how such an incident could be avoided in the future.
The type of missile and warhead was within the remit, as they were trying to explain what caused the plane to break up, not who fired it.
This is common with all sorts of accident reports: the main requirement is to find out what happened, and leave any prosecutions for who did it (whether by incompetence or malice) to the relevant authorities.
We'll see what happens when the Dutch criminal investigation report is released.
They did say where it was fired from, that's the point. A 320 square km area in Eastern Ukraine. Had there been a smaller and more specific potential launch area they could and would have said so.
No, because that would have been irrelevant and just tied them up further with arguments.
Still, at least the air-to-air missile 'theory' has been thoroughly debunked.
You are suggesting that the report is withholding information to give themselves an easy ride?
No. Giving the precise location is of no relevance to their particular investigation, and would just have tied them up in loads of argument, wasted time, and have trod on the toes of the criminal investigation. In fact, trying to might even have caused the report to be devalued as it was irrelevant to their objectives.
I have camped in some of those remote areas of Scotland...I would hate to be woken up by a very hungry wolf looking for breakfast...with me as the main course.
Those midges feast on tourists already. I would swap them for wolves anyday.
Chancellor George Osborne is urging "moderate" Labour MPs to rebel against their leadership and support his plan to balance the economy in a vote later.
And they call Osborne a master tactician? The big tit should keep his mouth shut to get better results.
Strategy and tactics - MikeK v Ozzy - Is that a trick question?
UK nationals employment increases by 84k in the last year non-UK by 257k.
There are now 3.18 million non-UK nationals in the workforce.
So if the EU has 3 million jobs dependent on it, it looks like we've imported the people to do them.
You can see why big business is so keen to remain in the EU.
Yes, the lazy fkrs can just import people, not bother to train their own, keep wages low and not bother about productivity.
And then pay themselves a big tax avoiding bonus for their hard efforts.
And accuse our youngsters of not wanting to work.
...and this will happen in even greater numbers if we don't leave the EU embrace. GB will eventually be subsumed into the EUSR and England will be just a legend from the mythical past.
Chancellor George Osborne is urging "moderate" Labour MPs to rebel against their leadership and support his plan to balance the economy in a vote later.
And they call Osborne a master tactician? The big tit should keep his mouth shut to get better results.
George Osborne doesn't care which way they vote. If they follow his call, it maximises the Labour split. If they unite behind Jeremy Corbyn, he can tar the whole Labour party as anti-austerity deficit deniers. From his viewpoint it's now win-win.
Meh if I was an independent I'd vote against it. I'd have certainly voted in favour of the most recent Conservative budget though.
I have camped in some of those remote areas of Scotland...I would hate to be woken up by a very hungry wolf looking for breakfast...with me as the main course.
It doesn't stop people going camping in the US or Canada.
If you're in an area with dangerous animals in North America, outside the designated area of a park ranger, they generally recommend you are armed.
Chancellor George Osborne is urging "moderate" Labour MPs to rebel against their leadership and support his plan to balance the economy in a vote later.
And they call Osborne a master tactician? The big tit should keep his mouth shut to get better results.
As a former Conservative, it must be a bitter pill for you to swallow to see the economy doing so well.
Keep on babbling @Square, and you may say something useful.
What is it with fiscal pacts? Brown's stability pact was vague and ultimately meaningless, in terms of you were never going to know in advance when a cycle started and ended, whilst Osborne's is massively over simplistic and yet still carries the fudge factor of 'normal times'.
I think it was Cooper policy to put a top limit on any deficit or indeed to be forced to run a surplus based on a number of economic inputs (the level of debt, growth rate and current deficit being foremost) and a proper formula. Though this was a rather dry bit of policy, and obviously the actual formula you came up with was key to it all, it was far better road to go down than the Noddy proposal GO is making. Leaving aside the mess in getting to this point, Corbyn and McDonnell could do worse than to appropriate something of this ilk.
As an aside, I accepted some of Kendall's tough messages, but her wholesale swallowing of this one was one of the main things that ultimately swung me away from voting for her as first choice in the leadership election.
I don't know how big the rebellion will be, but were I an MP, I would not be a part of starting the civil war today.
I have camped in some of those remote areas of Scotland...I would hate to be woken up by a very hungry wolf looking for breakfast...with me as the main course.
Those midges feast on tourists already. I would swap them for wolves anyday.
Highland Cows probably pose more risk to campers and walkers than wolves.
Having said that, I'm not in favour of the reintroduction of wolves into the Highlands.
Chancellor George Osborne is urging "moderate" Labour MPs to rebel against their leadership and support his plan to balance the economy in a vote later.
And they call Osborne a master tactician? The big tit should keep his mouth shut to get better results.
The man has overseen a Conservative majority, and caused the other three large parties to be in complete disarray.
Semi O/T - has anyone else been watching Homeland? I've seen it on DVDs for series 1-4 and caught up with More4's launch of series 5 on Sunday. I like it a lot - the characterisation is quite deep, the heroes flawed, the picture of Germany and Pakistan convincing. But the underlying assumptions are interesting: the CIA are basically good guys, if they go a bit far at times; Muslims are by definition rather suspicious; the Germans are wet for being squeamish about encouraging the CIA to help their spooks circumvent German law; assassination of extremist enemies (with a bit of gloating on top) is fine. All of these are positions that many here would endorse, but in the British context they are quite hardline and somewhere in the Tory-UKIP range. In the US they are evidently mainstream, assuming that the series isn't setting out to provoke.
Oh dear dear dear. It seems some people here are more than a little upset that the report does not state (as would have been quite within its remit without apportioning blame) that the missile was fired from rebel held territory. Keep flapping guys, I'm sure no-one will notice...
Why was it in their remit to say where the missile was fired from? That issue was irrelevant to the investigation as set out, at least as far as I see it. Where it was fired from, and who fired it, is irrelevant to what caused the plane to break up, or recommendations as to how such an incident could be avoided in the future.
The type of missile and warhead was within the remit, as they were trying to explain what caused the plane to break up, not who fired it.
This is common with all sorts of accident reports: the main requirement is to find out what happened, and leave any prosecutions for who did it (whether by incompetence or malice) to the relevant authorities.
We'll see what happens when the Dutch criminal investigation report is released.
They did say where it was fired from, that's the point. A 320 square km area in Eastern Ukraine. Had there been a smaller and more specific potential launch area they could and would have said so.
It would sound bigger if you converted it into square yards.
Alternatively you could say a 12 x 12 mile area and most people would realise that it is small and specific in the context of the size of Eastern Ukraine.
Most likely this act was perpetrated by Russian backed and Russian supplied rebels (whether they were actually Russians we will probably never know).
All your shilling for Putin won't change the fact that he is an avaricious, power-hungry thug
Chancellor George Osborne is urging "moderate" Labour MPs to rebel against their leadership and support his plan to balance the economy in a vote later.
And they call Osborne a master tactician? The big tit should keep his mouth shut to get better results.
The man has overseen a Conservative majority, and caused the other three large parties to be in complete disarray.
UK nationals employment increases by 84k in the last year non-UK by 257k.
There are now 3.18 million non-UK nationals in the workforce.
So if the EU has 3 million jobs dependent on it, it looks like we've imported the people to do them.
No. Are you proposing that were we to leave the EU we would have zero non-UK nationals in the country? Are you suggesting that every American, Canadian or other national here is only here due to the EU?
Correlation does not equal causation.
The statistics say there are 2 million EU citizens in the workforce and growing.
As for which claims Remain are making well that's anybody's guess. The 3 million number is sort of plucked from the ether.
So 2 million is less than 3 million. Are you also proposing that were we to Leave then there would be zero French, German or other nationals from across our continent living in the UK? You can not just artificially add all Europeans up and say it's due to the UK unless you're proposing that if we leave we deport all non nationals and let no new ones in. Are you?
Not at all, there would be controlled migration same for the yanks and the ozzies. But the bulk of people are coming from E. Europe and if the rate of increase stays the same it will be 2.5 million by the time we have a vote.
So if the EU plays silly buggers and we lose the 3 millon jobs obviously we would have to send people back home and put our own nationals first.
No, no, a thousand times no. Repatriation is a daft concept. Phillip is (as he says) utterly pro immigration, and this argument plays right into the remainer's hands. We can't treat immigrants as some lumpen, monolithic mass.
We need people to do the work that natives don't (whether that's won't or can't). However, we should also be asking ourselves why that situation arises, and doing some decent root cause analysis. We should also be looking at the employment rates of our immigrant population and fixing some of the obvious issues (e.g. Somali unemployment rates).
While I'm waving my magic wand, I'd also like a pony and more puppies.
And of course the crash was eighteen years almost to the day since we crashed out of the ERM. Possibly the most prosperous eighteen years, with sustained economic growth sustained low inflation. All sides seemed to believe the hype that boom and bust had been abolished.
To reach a point that took over 70 quarters of positive economic growth, in only a few years, and through a much more bumpy economic environment is mightily impressive.
UK nationals employment increases by 84k in the last year non-UK by 257k.
There are now 3.18 million non-UK nationals in the workforce.
So if the EU has 3 million jobs dependent on it, it looks like we've imported the people to do them.
No. Are you proposing that were we to leave the EU we would have zero non-UK nationals in the country? Are you suggesting that every American, Canadian or other national here is only here due to the EU?
Correlation does not equal causation.
The statistics say there are 2 million EU citizens in the workforce and growing.
As for which claims Remain are making well that's anybody's guess. The 3 million number is sort of plucked from the ether.
In fairness, they're now saying that 3 millions jobs are merely dependent on trade with the EU. They're still implying that those jobs would evaporate (presumably due to the mile high wall that would shroud the continent as soon as the referendum count showed a majority for the leavers).
In fairness their figures will sort of float about for the next two years dependent on which way the wind is blowing.
As will Leave's.
This is going to be 'SindyRef Revisited'......
With(in/out) the EU 3 million will (lose/gain) jobs!
Liar!
Fibber!
My tax exile slebs are better than your tax exile slebs....
Then there's going to be Nicola trying to double guess the Scottish electorate to 'Vote for something different from the English (what ever that might be) so we can get SindyRef2'.....
"It's getting harder to sustain the argument that the Scottish economy has at least kept pace with the rest of the UK."
I feel like the PB tutor today. The cause of this issue is the dead hand of Westminster holding back Scotland. It can only be remedied by more Scotland. Indyref 2, coming to a cinema near you soon.
UK nationals employment increases by 84k in the last year non-UK by 257k.
There are now 3.18 million non-UK nationals in the workforce.
So if the EU has 3 million jobs dependent on it, it looks like we've imported the people to do them.
No. Are you proposing that were we to leave the EU we would have zero non-UK nationals in the country? Are you suggesting that every American, Canadian or other national here is only here due to the EU?
Correlation does not equal causation.
The statistics say there are 2 million EU citizens in the workforce and growing.
As for which claims Remain are making well that's anybody's guess. The 3 million number is sort of plucked from the ether.
So 2 in. Are you?
Not atsame it will be 2.5 million by the time we have a vote.
So if the EU plays silly buggers and we lose the 3 millon jobs obviously we would have to send people back home and put our own nationals first.
No, no, a thousand times no. Repatriation is a daft concept. Phillip is (as he says) utterly pro immigration, and this argument plays right into the remainer's hands. We can't treat immigrants as some lumpen, monolithic mass.
We need people to do the work that natives don't (whether that's won't or can't). However, we should also be asking ourselves why that situation arises, and doing some decent root cause analysis. We should also be looking at the employment rates of our immigrant population and fixing some of the obvious issues (e.g. Somali unemployment rates).
While I'm waving my magic wand, I'd also like a pony and more puppies.
The reason is quite simple there is too much easily available labour for employers and too many easy ways to opt out of the work force for those who want to.
As for repatriation I seriosuly doubt it would come to that, but it's a nice negotiating card to stop the EU bureacracy getting daft. With Germany it's do you want to sell cars, France do you want to sell wine and with Poland where are you going to put 1 million people.
So 2 million is less than 3 million. Are you also proposing that were we to Leave then there would be zero French, German or other nationals from across our continent living in the UK? You can not just artificially add all Europeans up and say it's due to the UK unless you're proposing that if we leave we deport all non nationals and let no new ones in. Are you?
Not at all, there would be controlled migration same for the yanks and the ozzies. But the bulk of people are coming from E. Europe and if the rate of increase stays the same it will be 2.5 million by the time we have a vote.
So if the EU plays silly buggers and we lose the 3 millon jobs obviously we would have to send people back home and put our own nationals first.
That is disgusting. Firstly the jobs lost would not be fulfilled by the people who have migrated and have filled other jobs that are not related. So you would do what, kick a foreign national who is legally here out of the country against their will and then compel by force a British national with no skills or experience in the job the foreign national was doing into that role? Seriously?
There will always be migration into any country and emigration too. We have hundreds of thousands of people emigrating this year, I am assuming you are not proposing we put up an Iron Curtain to prevent people from emigrating? Which means that unless we have an Iron Curtain put up to prevent emigration we must have hundreds of thousands of immigrants per annum to keep net migration at zero let alone the tens of thousands we aspire to.
So your counterfactual outside of the EU meaning zero non-UK nationals is either complete twaddle, or you are proposing an Iron Curtain to prevent emigration too, or you want to preside over a catastrophic population decline with net emigration in the hundreds of thousands.
I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're just talking twaddle.
I have camped in some of those remote areas of Scotland...I would hate to be woken up by a very hungry wolf looking for breakfast...with me as the main course.
Those midges feast on tourists already. I would swap them for wolves anyday.
Highland Cows probably pose more risk to campers and walkers than wolves.
Having said that, I'm not in favour of the reintroduction of wolves into the Highlands.
IIRC, reintroduction of wolves was actively considered for Rum [edit:both an island and a National Nature Reserve] in the 1970s-1980s but it was decided that the island was too small to support a reasonably sized population without the normal stochastic variation of population leading to local extinction too soon.
Lynx is much more doable in any case [edit] for Scotland as a whole. Smaller, higher population density, eat smaller prey.
But overpopulation of Red Deer continues to be a worry.
As The Herald reported yesterday, the think tank IPPR calculates that the average family in Scotland will be £200 worse off
That's a sizeable difference from the £1000+ a year being bandied around by all and sundry in the UK wide press.
I'm afraid I'm reduced to the point that when I read this sort of thing from Nats:
>This must be the most transparent fiscal trap since the Malt Tax in 1713.
I want to have it read in his Carry On voice by an exhumed Kenneth Williams.
You absolute turnip , it was not a Nationalist that wrote it.
Turnip yourself, Malc.
I didn't say it was written by a Nationalist. There's that little phrase "this sort of thing".
Merely an accurate caricature.
It's an important issue.
The Scottish media is filled with Useful Idiots who tacked themselves on to the Independence cause but whose support was always half hearted and in many cases has now become actively hostile. MacWhirter is one but the worst is Kevin McKenna, a man of limited intellect at the best of times.
The problem is that these people are invited onto politcal shows as "balance" to Loyalists when their own position is now pretty much identical to the Loyalists they are supposed to be arguing against.
Matt was unable to work that out from my post stating McWhirter was not a "nationalist", like most frothers on here he has ZERO clue about Scotland and the politics. As you say it was merely trolling by a loyalist supporter.
Chancellor George Osborne is urging "moderate" Labour MPs to rebel against their leadership and support his plan to balance the economy in a vote later.
And they call Osborne a master tactician? The big tit should keep his mouth shut to get better results.
George Osborne doesn't care which way they vote. If they follow his call, it maximises the Labour split. If they unite behind Jeremy Corbyn, he can tar the whole Labour party as anti-austerity deficit deniers. From his viewpoint it's now win-win.
Meh if I was an independent I'd vote against it. I'd have certainly voted in favour of the most recent Conservative budget though.
I'd vote against it too as a stupid stunt. Unfortunately for Labour, it's now rather awkward for them to take that line, having teed themselves up to vote in favour of it two weeks ago.
Mr. Palmer, I saw episode 1 of season 5 on Sunday [shan't be spoiling it, of course].
I think it's a natural stance to take. It'd be brave indeed to have the protagonists within the CIA, and make the CIA an instrument of evil.
As for 'Muslims being evil', the premise is about fighting terrorism. It could down the weak-kneed route of referring to unofficial splinter groups denounced by XYZ, or it can tackle something more realistic. Unfortunately, Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Al-Nusra and the Taliban are unified by something more significant than a predilection for beards.
Also worth noting that a number of significant characters on the 'good' side were Muslim.
On the CIA front: at least one recurring character is dodgy as hell.
I have camped in some of those remote areas of Scotland...I would hate to be woken up by a very hungry wolf looking for breakfast...with me as the main course.
Those midges feast on tourists already. I would swap them for wolves anyday.
Highland Cows probably pose more risk to campers and walkers than wolves.
Having said that, I'm not in favour of the reintroduction of wolves into the Highlands.
IIRC, reintroduction of wolves was actively considered for Rum in the 1970s-1980s but it was decided that the island was too small to support a reasonably sized population without the normal stochastic variation of population leading to local extinction too soon.
Lynx is much more doable in any case. Smaller, higher population density, eat smaller prey.
But overpopulation of Red Deer continues to be a worry.
As an aside, I recently read a book about Archie Cameron, who lived on Rum as a child in the early 1900s. 'Bare feet and tackety boots'
I have camped in some of those remote areas of Scotland...I would hate to be woken up by a very hungry wolf looking for breakfast...with me as the main course.
It doesn't stop people going camping in the US or Canada.
Bears are pretty timid and attacks on humans are rare. I saw a bunch this summer in the wilds of the US - they bolted as soon as they saw us every time.
Comments
A political trap only works effectively when it is subtle and opaque to voters. The way the Tories are using this as a handcuffed way of slashing Scotland's budget while continuing to drain £12bn a year from Scottish taxpayers to pay for English profligacy is not subtle or opaque in any way. It is stark, obvious and transparent.
As such it won't impact the SNP. When they say that budgets are right it is because they are and they are tight because the Scottish budget continues to be hamstrung by the theft of huge sums of money by Westminster.
"Burnham made the usual tit of himself at the Immigration debate yesterday..Someone has told him that if he shouts very loud and s l o w s his speech d o w n then no none will spot the inane blather he comes out with".
Does your blithe partisanship under every circumstance and on all occasions ever embarrass you?
Not in a million years
3.0% rise in wages in the yr to Jun-Aug 2015 including bonuses & 2.8% rise excluding bonuses http://ow.ly/Tnq1A
I didn't say it was written by a Nationalist. There's that little phrase "this sort of thing".
Merely an accurate caricature.
It's an important issue.
The Scottish media is filled with Useful Idiots who tacked themselves on to the Independence cause but whose support was always half hearted and in many cases has now become actively hostile. MacWhirter is one but the worst is Kevin McKenna, a man of limited intellect at the best of times.
The problem is that these people are invited onto politcal shows as "balance" to Loyalists when their own position is now pretty much identical to the Loyalists they are supposed to be arguing against.
http://www.discoverwildlife.com/british-wildlife/election-2015-should-uk-introduce-extinct-native-species-such-wolves-or-lynx
Have people here been applying the 'innocent until proven guilty' concept to Russia?
I am definitely in the rewilding camp. It would be more effective if humans decolonised parts of the country to create proper wildlife parks. Wolves, lynx, bears, beavers. Just a pity there aren't any mammoths or wooly rhinos to add to the mix.
UK nationals employment increases by 84k in the last year non-UK by 257k.
There are now 3.18 million non-UK nationals in the workforce.
So if the EU has 3 million jobs dependent on it, it looks like we've imported the people to do them.
And if we're talking apex predators, there was talk of someone wanting me to create a feral type of enormo-haddock. The project was shelved on the basis it would lead to the extinction of mankind.
Correlation does not equal causation.
I believe Germany's looking lots of people.
Hmm. I wonder if that makes Red Bull likelier or less likely to remain.
Good news for Williams, Force India, and Manor (Mercedes customers next year). May also be handy for Sauber (Ferrari).
Palestinians try to hide that fact of course.
As for which claims Remain are making well that's anybody's guess. The 3 million number is sort of plucked from the ether.
And then pay themselves a big tax avoiding bonus for their hard efforts.
The Scottish media is filled with Useful Idiots who tacked themselves on to the Independence cause but whose support was always half hearted and in many cases has now become actively hostile. MacWhirter is one but the worst is Kevin McKenna, a man of limited intellect at the best of times.
The problem is that these people are invited onto politcal shows as "balance" to Loyalists when their own position is now pretty much identical to the Loyalists they are supposed to be arguing against.
Quislings, splitters, collaborators and the unpure ? Burn them all.
As will Leave's.
Chancellor George Osborne is urging "moderate" Labour MPs to rebel against their leadership and support his plan to balance the economy in a vote later.
And they call Osborne a master tactician? The big tit should keep his mouth shut to get better results.
If the former, then the manufacturers could use customers to 'test' engines that they are not willing to risk themselves. If the latter, manufacturer costs may well increase as they have to support multiple engine types.
So if the EU plays silly buggers and we lose the 3 millon jobs obviously we would have to send people back home and put our own nationals first.
If they abstain, it's because they're doing GO's bidding or heeding his words (Red Tory Scum! Red Tory Scum!). If they toe the party line, they're financially irresponsible hypocrites.
Learn to think like George - you musn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.
I thought that was Cameron.
The criminal investigation is another matter.
To defend yourself against redneck hunters?
Why are the SNP failing the country so badly ?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-34469567
"It's getting harder to sustain the argument that the Scottish economy has at least kept pace with the rest of the UK."
I think it was Cooper policy to put a top limit on any deficit or indeed to be forced to run a surplus based on a number of economic inputs (the level of debt, growth rate and current deficit being foremost) and a proper formula. Though this was a rather dry bit of policy, and obviously the actual formula you came up with was key to it all, it was far better road to go down than the Noddy proposal GO is making. Leaving aside the mess in getting to this point, Corbyn and McDonnell could do worse than to appropriate something of this ilk.
As an aside, I accepted some of Kendall's tough messages, but her wholesale swallowing of this one was one of the main things that ultimately swung me away from voting for her as first choice in the leadership election.
I don't know how big the rebellion will be, but were I an MP, I would not be a part of starting the civil war today.
Having said that, I'm not in favour of the reintroduction of wolves into the Highlands.
Alternatively you could say a 12 x 12 mile area and most people would realise that it is small and specific in the context of the size of Eastern Ukraine.
Most likely this act was perpetrated by Russian backed and Russian supplied rebels (whether they were actually Russians we will probably never know).
All your shilling for Putin won't change the fact that he is an avaricious, power-hungry thug
We need people to do the work that natives don't (whether that's won't or can't). However, we should also be asking ourselves why that situation arises, and doing some decent root cause analysis. We should also be looking at the employment rates of our immigrant population and fixing some of the obvious issues (e.g. Somali unemployment rates).
While I'm waving my magic wand, I'd also like a pony and more puppies.
To reach a point that took over 70 quarters of positive economic growth, in only a few years, and through a much more bumpy economic environment is mightily impressive.
With(in/out) the EU 3 million will (lose/gain) jobs!
Liar!
Fibber!
My tax exile slebs are better than your tax exile slebs....
Then there's going to be Nicola trying to double guess the Scottish electorate to 'Vote for something different from the English (what ever that might be) so we can get SindyRef2'.....
Can we have an AV thread please?
As for repatriation I seriosuly doubt it would come to that, but it's a nice negotiating card to stop the EU bureacracy getting daft. With Germany it's do you want to sell cars, France do you want to sell wine and with Poland where are you going to put 1 million people.
There will always be migration into any country and emigration too. We have hundreds of thousands of people emigrating this year, I am assuming you are not proposing we put up an Iron Curtain to prevent people from emigrating? Which means that unless we have an Iron Curtain put up to prevent emigration we must have hundreds of thousands of immigrants per annum to keep net migration at zero let alone the tens of thousands we aspire to.
So your counterfactual outside of the EU meaning zero non-UK nationals is either complete twaddle, or you are proposing an Iron Curtain to prevent emigration too, or you want to preside over a catastrophic population decline with net emigration in the hundreds of thousands.
I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're just talking twaddle.
Lynx is much more doable in any case [edit] for Scotland as a whole. Smaller, higher population density, eat smaller prey.
But overpopulation of Red Deer continues to be a worry.
Scottish employment rises - enlightened policy of Holyrood
Scottish employment falls - benighted policy of Westminster.
Do keep up!
The Scottish media is filled with Useful Idiots who tacked themselves on to the Independence cause but whose support was always half hearted and in many cases has now become actively hostile. MacWhirter is one but the worst is Kevin McKenna, a man of limited intellect at the best of times.
The problem is that these people are invited onto politcal shows as "balance" to Loyalists when their own position is now pretty much identical to the Loyalists they are supposed to be arguing against.
Matt was unable to work that out from my post stating McWhirter was not a "nationalist", like most frothers on here he has ZERO clue about Scotland and the politics. As you say it was merely trolling by a loyalist supporter.
I think it's a natural stance to take. It'd be brave indeed to have the protagonists within the CIA, and make the CIA an instrument of evil.
As for 'Muslims being evil', the premise is about fighting terrorism. It could down the weak-kneed route of referring to unofficial splinter groups denounced by XYZ, or it can tackle something more realistic. Unfortunately, Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Al-Nusra and the Taliban are unified by something more significant than a predilection for beards.
Also worth noting that a number of significant characters on the 'good' side were Muslim.
On the CIA front: at least one recurring character is dodgy as hell.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bare-Feet-Tackety-Boots-Boyhood/dp/0946487170
A quite fascinating portrayal of poverty amongst riches.