大象传媒

5 Live might as well be called Vuvuzela radio. its unlistenable and the tv needs the sound off.

how to screw up a world cup with antisocial noise making. South Africa should never have had it if they were going to do this. its just selfish to spoil everyone else's enjoyment with noise warfare.

it cost a lot of money but there are three millionaires who are part of the legal team...that needs investigating...justimagine if it was an overun in a firm of plumbers, there would be an enquiry after that...

Building on Domestic brownfield sites, i.e. gardens, is to be reconsidered.

Local communities are to be given more 鈥榮ay鈥� on property development.

The number of dwellings per hectare is to be reconsidered.

The legislation pertaining to domestic property rental is to be reviewed.


All this seems to bode well for 鈥榖uy to let鈥� Landlords and Investors?

Thinks ....

Now, which party would they be most likely to vote for?


Capitol Gains Tax rises to be reviewed. Who will benefit?

Thinks .... Hmm!

Health and safety to be re-evaluated.

Thinks .... Hmm!

Some things, despite the rhetoric -

Oops! Sorry!

Electioneering!

- never change!



A thought ....

If the last Government had said then many of the things they are saying now ....

Would they have lost the election?

And ....

If this Government were saying before the election what they are saying now ....

Would they have won?




A proposal for a question for all Nn Presenters interviewing anybody coming on to Nn to argue against any of the inevitable cuts that their own institution, organisation, charity, think-tank or other state supported body may be fearing ....

鈥淗ow much do you receive in annual remuneration from your post?鈥�

And 鈥渋n the best interests of the nation鈥� ( aka the 鈥檒ittle people鈥� ) ....


It should be the first question asked!

On the Office for Budget Responsibility I suppose the issue is are they right and what are the implications if they are wrong?

But I like the idea of the OBR and I think in the long run it is a good idea.

I suppose that Margaret Hodge, though welcomed as the anticipated victor against the odious Griffin of the BNP, will be temped to trot out the party line for Labour. But then again she is an independent woman and as Chair of the Treasury Select Committee will have to consider the objective merits.

Meanwhile the Croquet Prescott's of the world have reverted to type and claim Labour saved the global economy.

The Labour leadership contenders brought in Abbott to give the party choice and a full debate whilst they will stick to first past the post so that the electorates choice is as limited as possible.

The Unions must be wondering though if recent polls suggesting the majority of the public would like PR whether "their" party blocking that may lead to increased negative perceptions of what they are about.

On the Bloody Sunday Inquiries result its not really a jaw dropper in the end as most people thought that what has been leaked was the case anyway.

If there are private prosecutions against the soldiers I am not sure that I am against it.

There is the greater good and peace in Northern Ireland that must be the priority but do we want to protect soldiers who apparently took it into their heads to "get some kills"?

Generally the public have a good perception of the army and personally I really do think they are heroes out there in Afghanistan. Its a terribly difficult job and mistakes can be made. But if there is willful wrong doing then I don't feel the need to protect the perpetrators.

I vote Lib Dem and support the coalition though I still retain doubts about the higher education situation and tuition fees. People always compare us with the States but they have company tax write off that lead to grants and bursaries being handed out like smarties and I believe as the State underwrites the student loans and it does not all get paid back that they are implicitly paying for student education. Starting people off in huge debt does not seem healthy to me.

That therefore probably makes them communists on the Beck/Palin/Tea Party spectrum of profound analysis.

But returning to the UK the Strategic Defence Review is something the coalition has to get right.

It would seem to me to be surprising if the Army can shed numbers - unless they are the bureaucrats who seem to mess up the procurement processes all the time.

We seem to be buying far too many planes and maybe don't need two aircraft carriers.

Personally I would swap Trident for a more limited and appropriate nuclear deterrent that would be effective, cheaper and would enhance the non-proliferation impetus from Obama.

I suppose nobody knows what happened with Arctic Sea (?) and I don't know whether our existing forces are appropriate but after Mumbai I would also have beefed up fast patrol boats as an option for seizing potential terrorist controlled ships and so on.

#46

Mistress76uk

Some of them seem to be having a break from beer and football as jaunty is now complaining about 'noise', stevie about millionaires as against 'poor plumbers' and JA about Jeremy earning too much money and my domestic arrangements, all to be reviewed by 'his majesty don juan' 'scientifically' testing his masculine 'prowess'.

It's all to do with the same thing. They must be feeling hard done by today although JA still thinks he is 'it'.

mim

I hoped that we had lost Blair to the US speaking circuit and though no doubt his saintly presence and whatever argument he feels compelled to deploy could bring peace to the Middle East I feel he is perhaps bordering on the comically irrelevant.

Therefore I don't really see why he is getting so much air time for what seem to be his views rather than the synthesized views of the larger and quite capable constituents that he allegedly represents.

The blockade of Gaza was always unsustainable and it was never really achieving any military objective as they smuggle the rockets in. It was always a counter productive stressor of the civilians.

Is there some common motivation between the US military releasing information about their fight against corruption in Afghanistan, recent Lithium discoveries that may change the whole economic landscape and the LSE report that tries to suggest that the Pakistani ISI is actually running the Taliban campaigns?

Probably they are totally separate events.

There is a part of me that thinks that after eight years of war we still do not know our enemy as well as we should so if new information about corruption, drugs and the ISI does improve the allied picture then that can only be a good thing and a cause for optimism.

I would hope though that if some of the revelations are true that we will spend time on why we did not know before - assuming we did not know before.

#9

Very well put, gango. Understanding is the key with sorting things out and looking forward to the future as priorities and retrospectively looking at the past as lessons to be learned preventatively to stop the enormous number of innocient war victims, as well as removal of the obstacles one way or another, whatever or whoever it might be.

mim

I've just listened to Pauline Malefane sing Gershwin's 'Summertime'. She does have a wonderfully clear and pure voice.

mim

Female God & Jesus

I have also read an interview with Pauline Malefane about a South African production of an English medieval mystery story where she plays the role of God and his son and is performed in both English and African languages.

She strikes me as a modest and down to earth person with a subtle sense of humour.



mim

as people turn off radios and tvs you know the world cup has become a fiasco when people are talking about a trumpet rather than the football. the banvuvuzela. com site has been closed because of excessive traffic of people wanting to ban it.

FIFA refuse to ban it even though it makes people deaf? if they and south africa football get sued into non existence then they might really know what its like to have a swarm of bees after them.

#13

The right kind of trumpet, jaunty, or the trumpet, and I'm flying, jaunty, while Mandy's electrode operation cobra is only a nuisance, a very unwelcome nuisance, but only a nuisance and I'm working on new techniques of all sorts at all kinds of levels to melt them down. And with the right soulful support, I'm unstoppable. I was born like this, with a golden sensory wiring of my own, thank you very much.

mim

#14 addendum

Would you believe it, jaunty, if I told you that I know a man who punishes his 'beloved' for using the wrong indicator? He sticks pins of different sizes in her and in different places. Yes, because she is very 'naughty' /or 'nottie' as per NN, if I remember their spelling correctly/ when she does not use his desired indicator.

What do you think of a woman like that, jaunty? Simply disgraceful, isn't she?

mim

THE GREAT AFGHANISTAN GOLD RUSH

Report: US finds mineral riches in Afghanistan

#15

Appologies - it wasn't 'notties' but 'noughties'

has the OBR also taken into account the dramatic slump in the economy that MUST follow these public spending cuts in the UK? Let alone the effects of the current global drive for fiscal tightening?

on top of which, *please* can we have a break-down of WHERE in the economy this growth is coming from? Because if it is mainly in the financial and housing sectors, well the former is *completely* riding upon tax-payer monies whilst the banksters party hard, and the latter... lemming, see cliff do we?


#14:
"I'm working on new techniques of all sorts at all kinds of levels to melt them down. And with the right soulful support, I'm unstoppable. I was born like this, with a golden sensory wiring of my own, thank you very much."

:wub:

#19

climate or climactic?

#19: there is however little doubt about the consequences of continued pollution of our biosphere? AGW or not, only a suicidal species continues to foul its own nest beyond the point of life-sustainability.

was there a noticeable lack of willing 'talking heads' on NN tonight?? lol :D

Funniest of the night, for me, had to be Jeremy with Bell & Russell. As pointed out by Bell, in ANY organisation, if you are going to claim expenses, you need to show receipts. Why should MPs not have to adhere to the same rules? I can't believe Russell actually came on Newsnight moaning about it, and then have the gall to say that MPs should just have a credit card given to them to spend what they want. Hardship fund for impoverished MPs anyone? :p

I had to turn Newsnight off on your endpiece with that dreadful trumpet noise. Yes, I am also one who finds that continuous noise, like an angry, disturbed wasps nest deeply distracting during the World Cup matches. I have however, found a solution. Turn down the sound. It also eliminates the next deeply annoying sound of the commentators rabbiting anecdotally on about the players...their countless injuries...their first excursion on a roundabout...when they first noticed they had hair growing on their tummies... I just want to watch the World Cup matches for Christ's sake. Give me a break!

#21

are you talking about yourself, 'byron'?

As per one of the new Defence Ministers, apologies for having missed his name, there are'ot going to be sacred cows spared/protected, unlike under Labour, spared. Did he mean female cows or talking figuratively, I wonder?

mim

Mistressed76uk

It wasn't Jeremy showing his rear tonight but rather footballerso, so he may not, as I sai before, not bothered about this.

BACKGROUND NOISE R THE BEEB

The Beeb lay pointless noise over trails and news items. so this might save some money normally paid out to the backroom 'musack merchant'.

On the Deepwater Horizon the HuffPost reports:

'The letter by Waxman and Stupak focuses on details such as the design of the well, saying that the company apparently chose a riskier option among two possibilities to provide a barrier to the flow of gas in space surrounding steel tubes in the well.

Despite warnings from its own engineers, "BP chose the more risky casing option, apparently because the liner option would have cost $7 to $10 million more and taken longer," Waxman and Stupak said.

In the brief e-mail, Morel said the company is likely to make last-minute changes in the well.

"We could be running it in 2-3 days, so need a relative quick response. Sorry for the late notice, this has been nightmare well which has everyone all over the place," Morel wrote.'

---------------------------------------------------

Hmm $7-10 million versus circa $14 billion - do we need to call in an accountant to weigh those options up!?

No.

They were cutting costs to save their company money and that justifies the rage of Obama - but the US certainly did not have very good regulation if a safety feature like that COULD be cut.

I do like the sound of the Obama surge to cleaner energy and who knows maybe that will give the coalition the courage to go large on renewables and so on.

'A Senate proposal to force banks to shed their lucrative yet risk-laden derivatives units -- which is vehemently opposed by Wall Street -- is gaining steam, picking up the support of some regional Federal Reserve chiefs with more on the way.

Yet President Barack Obama's Treasury Department, led by Timothy Geithner, continues to oppose the measure, Senate aides say, who add that Treasury is supporting Wall Street over Main Street by opposing the measure considered of "utmost importance" to financial stability.'

How secure is Geithner as Obama seems to be taking up halfway houses on reform where he antagonises the banks who then sponsor Brown to get the Kennedy seat whilst also hacking off Main St?

It wouldn't be so bad if you felt the world was now far safer but surely it was the derivatives that magnified the sub-prime crisis and started to make the world look like an exceptionally dangerous domino game that nobody won.

I am for the reform of the House of Lords into a fully elected chamber on grounds of meritocracy and democracy and also the sheer joy of evicting the likes of Lord Croquet Prescott and the chap who was most 'umbly sorry and surprised to find he had been breaking the rules for years and years.

In my world we would be a Republic but that is not on the radar but I think Cameron does want it nearly fully elected.

So how will the HoL relate to the House of Commons if the balance of party power is different in both and the, assumed, independence of the old tights and ermine crowd does not exist and leads to party political paralysis?

I am driving at the need for a bigger picture of Parliamentary reform that is coherent and takes account of the need for a functioning executive and is not knocked up on a fag packet the weekend before a vote and after a world cup booze up.

With all due respects to the Queen, who is a good monarch, it is very difficult to have a classless society with a monarchy.

#25: mim, i had bet myself you would reply with something similar. :) xxx


..."byron"?? LOL!!! :hugs:

have you watched any 'mork and mindy' yet, i *know* you would love it!!

It would be great if Newsnight could place the end vuvuzela segment online. I'm sure vuvuzela haters around the world love to hear it being used in a musical way.

in the long term it might be interesting to know who/which group had control over the media, newspapers and the like, for at least 10 years beforehand till now. Was there a strong Western, Russian, or local nationalist control? Where did this conflict spring from, who has/can benefit from it?

Wherever Great Powers tread, ethnic conflicts seem to spread.

it would be better, although perhaps unrealistic, if the UN could send well-funded forces with a good history of excellent local cooperation and support - the Cubans would be happy to send a force there to calm the situation down and control security for the UN aid, with extra funding from wealthier countries in the UN who are concerned about the crisis? This is a terrible tragedy, and this would also prevent any Old War rivalry between the two superpowers with bases in the Country.

--no-one would believe Cuba has geo-political ambitions in Central Asia!!! :lol:

--and those refugees, and this ethnic cleansing, need dealing with. Cubans are always ready to go when help is needed.

"The EU recently announced the creation of a ratings watchdog and said it would study the role of rating agencies during the sovereign debt crisis 鈥� as their moves might have exacerbated the financial turmoil."

"In March, the Pentagon was accused of spying on WikiLeaks - which has been deemed a security threat to military operations by the U.S. army.

The site, run by a nine-person board, aims to expose corruption and wrongdoing in the public and private sector by providing the opportunity for people to leak documents without giving themselves away."



Freedom of the Press?

--was anyone particularly surprised that this "independent" body (members all chosen by Osbourne), the so-called 'OBR', came out with the verdict that "cuts are needed", as opposed to investment in new growth, or more focus on tax-avoidance by the multi-nations? I must admit, that slightly breathless and confusing interjection that "the panel thinks the Tories had got it wrong before the election" seemed quite irrelevant when placed against that point of basic agreement between Chancellor Osbourne and this "independent" body.

and in fact, shock of horrors whilst telling us its not as bad as it seems [go back to sleep], they're actually going to shave another 拢26Bn as well as the 拢60-80Bn they've already slated for next year!


must be nice to be able to give your mates a few hundred grand in order for them to come up with what you already knew they were going to say when you hired them. "Strong and Stable Govt"s don't need alternative opinions, they just muddy the waters?

#32

Your response in turn simply confirms my continuous posts regarding your identity although it doesn't look like you are any near as talented as the great poet and will go down in history as a failed 'don juan' causing unbelievable trouble round the world trying to prove your masculine prowess. But I've seen the light, you see. Your bloated ego and ideation of grandiosity cane a cropper against the little Pole with a heart, strong and flexible muscles, firing synapses in the head and sound ethical background, I'm afraid.

Didn't Byron die of fever, db?

#38

I meant to add a link about the real Lord Byrom. Here it is:



The only thimg I'm not sure about is whether you're currently in Paris or Brussels, or stuck in a black hole somewhere in London. You quoted a prisoner with a number the other day. Is his name 'Hitler'?

M

#38

Referring to the second paragraph:

[go back to sleep] - may I wish you 'sweet' dreams, doggie?

#39: heh, just read his "she walks in beauty". Wow. I had realised neither the potential compliment involved, but it also had to be said i didn't exactly take it as literal, there was tongue firmly embedded within the smiley cheek. :)

#40: yes please!! :o


lol :D x

#41

You're very good with your languages, much, much better than no 3. Your Russian wasn't quite perfect, particularly with stresses on the right syllables, a hellish thing for any foreigner to learn, and your accent not too bad at all for an English person but this is a mechanical kind of skill, useful but not sufficient for all kinds of other forms of communication. I told no 3 to leave me well alone when I last set my foot at SSEES, and in no uncertain terms, but he wouldn't. 23 years later, a lot of dirty business, and what have you gained you 2?? Nothing but causing enormous suffering, probably on an unprecedented scale as far as winning a lady's heart and mind is concerned.

Your and his future are very bleak, I'm afraid, whatever happens to myself, and you've dragged a lot of other people with you as well. Was it worth it?

Whatever mood I'm in, wonderfully happy or feeling miserable, abused and mistreated, or for whatever other reason, photos and stories like in the link below always put things in perspective for me.



mim

mim Give NN a miss tonight! ; ) On Imagine tonight at 10.35 Nigel Kennedy is investigating Polish folk songs and music generally, I'm sure you'd love it. : )

I think I understand why Barack Obama mentioned 9/11 yesterday. It could be something to do with the same origin of both disasters.

If it is so, it's very sad for this country but then who would have suspected. I did right from the beginning but would anyone have listened. I may be wrong, though, I do keep in mind. It's just there seem to have been too many coincidences.

M

#44

Ecolizzy

How can I possibly miss Newsnight when Jeremy is on? And anyway, I'm much more interested in the music itself rather than analysis though thank you for the suggestion, I'll try and watch NK's programme on the iPlayer.

mim

PEARL HARBOUR - NEW PEARL HARBOUR - NEW-NEW PEARL HARBOUR?

We all know how unimaginative the USA can be.

When the oil settles, like the dust in New York, it will be time to ask "who gained" from the oil spill?

By now, Obama knows the truth of 9/11 (unless he is an empty-headed orator - Doh!). To my mind he is doing a bit to much beach-combing for the media. FOOL or KNAVE TIME AGAIN?

Although it is admirable that Newsnight showed the Vuvuzela being played properly (and it didn't sound bad at all), the 大象传媒 is still considering banning it.

Source:

Frankly, I find that the vuvuzela adds to the atmosphere of the match, and it's also a traditional Zulu instrument. How on earth do the South Africans feel if they are told by visitors to their country that their traditional instrument should be banned?

Keep the vuvuzulu! If it really bothers you that much either wear earplugs or turn the volume down!!!!!

Frustrating timeouts from the Beeb, they must all be out in the sun.

I admire Obama greatly but think the 9/11 comparison is weak.

Is it not more like the credit crunch and Trafigura and the drak side of globalisation?

"The Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico was built in South Korea. It was operated by a Swiss company under contract to a British oil firm. Primary responsibility for safety and other inspections rested not with the U.S. government but with the Republic of the Marshall Islands 鈥� a tiny, impoverished nation in the Pacific Ocean."

The credit crunch was due to lax regulation and so was the Deepwater Horizon. That regulation may have been weak as the banks could bypass the rules - as Trafigura allegedly did with the dump of chemicals in Nigeria.

Is the issue one that Unions are fully aware of - that some companies will use globalisation devices to bypass their responsibilities?

Griffin last year on the Palace Garden Parties pulled out after an outcry over his possible appearance, saying he did not want to "embarrass" the Queen but this year it seems he does not care and "it is understood the BNP leader asked for three additional tickets for guests which he has been granted".

Yet as I understand it the BNP are still not complying with the EHRC on laws regarding non-racial membership rules.

Is it appropriate to embarrass the Queen and other guests whom I hope will number many of ethnic origin to show that the UK will have none of the "voluntary resettlement" the BNP seeks?

Perhaps they could invite Tutu as a guest of honour.

#47 barriesingleton

"By now, Obama knows the truth of 9/11 "

So does the world and there was no demolition of the third tower nor as some far right have suggested was it a "Jewish conspiracy".

OBR

Page 48 Table 4.8

大象传媒 domestic services
2008-09=拢3.4产
2014-15=拢4.2产
My maths work that out to be a 23% increase over 7 years.

Net expenditure transfers to EU institutions
2008-09=拢3.1产
2014-2015=拢10.3产
My maths work that out to be a 232% increase over 7 years.

Have I got this wrong ?

Do our politicians appreciate , us underlings have to work hard to earn our money and they should tax us gently and spend the proceeds with due care ?

Ok poke and fun over with , back to the report , it should settle the markets more , but I still believe central and local government need to reduce their spending commitments and future liabilities, after all , someone, at some point in time, has to pay for it all.

Also, the saving ratio projections seem not that good. It is my understanding we need at lest a 10% saving ratio in this country to be able to fund our own investment requirements, but I suppose 8% is pretty good considering we're only just coming out of the age where savings were seen as destruction of growth.
Still, new budget on the 22nd, maybe things can change.

Bloody Sunday
I don't know much about this other than from the film, it seems strange to me that troops with live rounds were policing a protest , but I guess it's a tough ask for a outsider to fully comprehend what was going on in NI in 1973.

Oil Spill

President Obama referred to the spill in a context of 9.11 , maybe he was trying to change the political narrative from what some of his political opponent supporters are calling 鈥淥bamas Katrina鈥� ?
Politics !

So are we to help fight the slick ?

IPSA
I really feel for the MPs , na just kidding ;)
Well if they can not work out an effective expenses system between themselves , then we really are in a lot of trouble.
Maybe I am being a tad unfair , or am I ?
I'll have to ponder that one for awhile.

MOD
The first duty of a government is the defence of the realm, and of course the people contained within it.

So I am just wondering what obligations the Lisbon Treaty has placed upon us , with regard to common defence and backing up the EU foreign policy objectives ?
There must have been a reason why Labour seemed so reluctant to hold a SDR up until the treaty was activated , then, all of a sudden, they were all in favour of holding one.
Am I seeing what my expectations of them would have me to believe ?
I guess only time will tell.

#48 I didn't watch NN that far last night Mistress, but I'm very very pleased they no longer kill this animal to use their horns as the instrument. There survival is considered endangered now.

I don't watch football, and if the buzz gets to much when others do, I walk out of the room. I did read one comment that said it was so monotonous that it wasn't possible to explain what was happening on the field, e.g. a foul, or a goal, it was all the same noise! ; )

#42: mim, i'm not sure on Polish rules regarding this, but 23 years ago in the UK you would have been arrested for making a pass at me due to age. :P


also, my russian sucks, i learned a bit of the alphabet and a couple of words. Perhaps you still have me mixed up with someone else?? :'( x

#43: yes.

#47: New New Gulf of Tonkin? Maybe. Or it is possible it is just the result of the reduction of all that "unnecessary red tape" the Tories and their paymasters the multi-nationals are always going on about. Doesn't mean it can't be used by certain power groups now that it has happened. I noted the "handing the US Govt 拢20BN as a pot they can use" notion, on top of the compensation and fines BP already have to pay.

as to the "9/11" comment by President Obama, it is possible that the consequences from this, IF his words about switching to post-oil is true and not just more spin, could indeed match the events after 9/11. Remember 9/11 was used as an excuse to switch to an open War-Economy, Bush trebling and more the military budget - if post oil-leak the same effort is put into energy independence by the US, a seismic shift in the opposite direction could occur within the USA. It probably wasn't the best comparison for him to make though. Even Saint Obama can make mistakes! :o

#51: sure, Tower 7 collapsed due to long-term structural flaws that just 'happened' to cause the collapse at the same time as the 2 main towers. Would you like to buy London Bridge??

btw, the BNP want British troops pulled out of Afghanistan, so we can all presume anyone who also thinks that is a BNP agent right? No one else thinks the BNP/EDL are anything scary, can't help but wonder why you constantly talk them up.

50

given the duke gave a fund raiser for the JNF the role gamers are comfortable with race based viewpoints? The monarchy itself is hardly a democratic open system that believes in human rights for all is it?

those who support human rights and democracy for all should boycott the role gamers and the discriminatory system mind set they represent?