GRIMLY FIENDISH

Indeed.... And smacks ever-so-slightly of corruption....

On slightly closer inspection, the taxpayer would only actually make pennies in the pound from any sale, the lion's share goes back to the Treasury, so I fail to see how this would actually help anyone... So, any boost to the economy is likely going to be pretty insignificant....

Hunt set to give go-ahead to BSkyB deal next week By Ian Burrell, Media Correspondent Independent, Thursday, 23 June 2011 Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has agreed with Ofcom, the media regulator, the terms that will allow News Corp to proceed with its bid to take complete control of BSkyB, with the Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt expected to approve the deal next week. Ofcom yesterday submitted its report to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and all parties now expect Mr Hunt to announce that the takeover can proceed. Mr Hunt, who is this week in Brazil on an official visit with the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, has previously indicated he is minded to accept News Corp's purchase of the 60.9 per cent of BSkyB shares it does not already own, provided it spins off Sky News into separate ownership. That remedy is expected to be sufficient to ensure that Mr Hunt does not feel the need to refer the bid to the Competition Commission. The deal has been the subject of concerted opposition and a previous consultation exercise received 40,000 objections. Rival media groups have campaigned against the takeover, claiming it would give one company too much control over the British media. News Corp still has to negotiate a price with BSkyB shareholders, who have previously rejected a 700p-a-share offer as being 100p too low. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nice to see everyone letting bygones be bygones, eh..? I mean, what's a pesky little "Phone Hacking" scandal and alleged Police bribery and corruption between good friends...? Wouldn't be surprised if the deal was sealed at that nice little garden party with Champers and Canapes that Rupert threw for all his Tory, Lib Dem and New Labour chums last week....

Nick Clegg calls for public to get shares in bailed-out banks Deputy prime minister proposes plan to create 46 million shareholders and allow collective ownership of banks A giveaway of government-owned shares in RBS and Lloyds, worth hundreds of pounds to British taxpayers, is being proposed by the deputy prime minister. Nick Clegg has set out his plan in a letter to the chancellor, George Osborne, in which he says such a move would create 46 million shareholders and allow a form of collective ownership of the banks. Previous sell-offs of shares in state utilities attempted by the Thatcher administration were derided as gimmicks or short-term tax giveaways since the mass of shares were either immediately sold on or resold to the big pension funds within two years. Conservatives are likely to argue that denationalisation of the banks, brought into semi-public ownership in the years following the banking crash in 2007, should either be used to reduce the deficit, provide tax breaks or even restore public spending. In practice, the shares are not likely to be sold in the short term since the banks' share prices have not yet recovered and they are not ready for sale. Speaking during a trade mission to Brazil accompanied by an array of cabinet ministers, Clegg said: "Psychologically it is immensely important that the British public feel they have not been overlooked or ignored. Their money has been used to the tune of billions and billions and billions to keep the British banking system on life support and they have absolutely no say at all in what happens when normality is restored." Critics will contend that people will have no more say if they own a tiny individual shareholding than if the government collectively owns a larger share. But Clegg claimed his plan would reduce public mistrust in the financial sector. The mass distribution of shares could mean that everyone on the electoral roll or on the national insurance register would receive an estimated 1,450 shares in RBS and 450 shares in Lloyds. Such parcels would be worth £770 on the basis of current share prices. The Treasury under George Osborne has not yet opposed such a plan, but might be critical if such a move meant its overriding plans to eradicate the deficit in this parliament were undermined. RBS shares closed yesterday at 36.65p. The break-even price – in terms of the original purchase price for the government – is 50.4p. Lloyds shares were at 47p; the break-even price is 73p. No government would countenance selling the shares until they had reached the break-even price unless under huge pressure from banking management. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The part in bold says it all... It's another gimmick if you ask me, all the privatisations of public utilities did was to sell off national assets to foreign investors, and now we're left with a legacy of being screwed by massive increases to energy bills every year that go way above the rate of inflation, while pretending that "competition" was being injected into the system... Really? Well, when was the last time you tried to switch water suppliers and I think we all know that when one energy company puts up prices the others follow suit... Not exactly "under-cutting" the competition is it..? I mean, yeah, this sounds all nice and shiny and everything, BUT, personally, I think I would rather they ploughed the proceeds directly into plugging the Deficit... I mean, seeing as how the Deficit is allegedly this "big problem" and everything and is continually used as the caveat for public sector cuts... I think most people would feel less "ignored", Mr Clegg, if you took affirmative action in this instance to prevent cutting public services to the bone instead of just trying to buy everyone off with a few hundred quid.... Oh, but I forget most people in this country are Tabloid-reading Sheep who will likely fall for this hook, line and sinker just as they did when the Building Societies bought off their investors for a few grand... And look how well that turned out.....

I agree with that sentiment totally... The PIIGS nations are only in trouble because of the Global, international Bank-ster occupation.... The "debt" isn't Public debt, it's Private debt, created by the Investment banks screw-ups....

Indeed, another great soundtrack, this time by Chemical Brothers... And with Daft Punk doing Tron Legacy recently too.... Would be cool if we could maybe get Leftfield or FSOL out of semi-retirement to do one....

But it was in 2009 that this rather nebulous affair with the alleged sale of 1.3 billion Euros of Credit Default Swaps is supposed to have happened though.... That's what I meant, the PIGS should leave the Eurozone and concentrate on sorting themselves out, go back to their original currencies and devalue them...... And then they can just tell the French and German banks to "f**k off" like Iceland did....

That could be down to Botox though mate, which clearly they had in the 6th Century... :lol: :lol:

Sounds like it would make a good film, but stretched out to a 13-episode series...?? I dunno.... Still, I will check the pilot when it becomes available....

Ringer..?? Do I even wanna know...?? Sarah Michelle Gellar might pique my interest, I still carry a small torch (well, more a zippo lighter really) for her because of Buffy.....

TBH, I cant decide whether the casting of Katie Holmes as Jackie Kennedy is just a complete p***-take or not..... :lol: I was far more impressed by the film "13 Days" (which was specifically about the Cuban Missile crisis) than I am by this absolute rubbish....

Merlin's a Sorceror dude, not a Wizard like Harry Potter or something, the "magic" in the Arthurian legend is not about waving wands or casting magic missiles, it's based more on manipulation and bending of elemental and natural forces.. As the series progresses, you'll see a bit more of what I mean.... Merlin always emphasises that using these abilities "cost"... Claire Forlani/Igraine becomes more pivotal in later episodes, just be patient.... ;)

Disagree, Joe Fiennes is definitely better as an actor than JCB... The only thing I think he wasn't really suited for was "Flashforward", but again, that's bad casting more than the actor himself, I just couldn't buy him as a Federal Agent... Fiennes is suited for Merlin, JCB just seems like a "little boy lost" in the central role of Arthur.... Especially if you compare him to Bradley James or even Nigel Terry who played the role in "Excalibur".......

He should lose the confidence vote though. I would say that he's done a lot of damage to Greece just himself... I really do think that Greece should just drop out of the Euro and sort themselves out, because another loan/bailout will just create more problems for them, they will default sooner or later, there is no "if" about it... I agree that Germany and France have a lot to answer for though, essentially the Greek Debt is actually not Greek at all... I also think that Ireland, Spain and Portugal should do what Iceland did...

Yep, I have to say that I really hated the "pop" direction that REM went in with Out of Time.... "Murmur", "Life's Rich Pageant" and "Document" were absolutely superb albums, then Out of Time comes along and I just thought... "What utter and total PISH is this???".. "Automatic for the People" was better, I loved "Monster" because it was kind of removed from the poppy direction... But since then, I feel they've just been treading water.....

Agreed....

Precisely... Download is for the Faux Rockers, Sonisphere is the more real Rock/Metal event.... Rock stars turning up late for gigs never used to be a problem back in the days when you didn't have strict gig curfews.... Most of the gigs in London I go to these days, the venues seem to want to have everything wrapped-up by 11pm at the latest.... Yeah, Rock 'n' Roll Maaaaaan.... :lol: :lol:

Watch this guys.. Keiser Report... (Max Keiser is an economics/finance correspondent for Russia Today with a rather, ahem, unique take on the international financial crisis and role of the banks...) This starts off by being about debt in general (with particular reference to personal debts), then moves on specifically to talk about Greece and the massive fraud that was committed by Greek PM Papandreu... g7VvIE75J08

David Cameron criticises comments over Libya mission Source - BBC News * RAF chief in warning over Libya * Libya may cost 'more than £100m' * Time is on our side in Libya - PM The prime minister has expressed irritation at comments from military chiefs about the UK's role in Libya. It comes after the RAF's second-in-command said "huge" demands were being placed on equipment and personnel. David Cameron said: "There are moments when I wake up and read the newspapers and think: 'I tell you what, you do the fighting and I'll do the talking'." He said military leaders were "absolutely clear" the mission could be kept going for as long as necessary. "Time is on our side, not on Gaddafi's side," he said in a news conference. Last week, the First Sea Lord, Sir Mark Stanhope, warned that continuing operations in Libya beyond September would mean taking ships away from other tasks. And in briefing notes obtained by The Daily Telegraph and published on Tuesday, Air Chief Marshal Sir Simon Bryant, said morale among personnel was "fragile" and their fighting spirit was being threatened by being over-worked. He said the service was being stretched by intense air operations in Afghanistan and the Middle East. 'Morale fragile' According to the briefing paper, ACM Bryant warned MPs in May that many areas of the RAF were "running hot", while service personnel's sense that the nation valued their efforts was being undermined by the government's defence cuts. ACM Bryant said: "The true strength is in our people in continuing to deliver, despite all that's asked of them. It is time to listen to military advice, review the review and provide our forces with capabilities which match our foreign policy ambitions” Jim Murphy Shadow defence secretary "Morale remains fragile. Although fighting spirit remains positive, this assessment will be challenged by individual harmony targets as Operation Ellamy [in Libya] endures [after September]." He continued: "The impact of SDSR [strategic defence and security review] continues to undermine the sense of being valued. There is concern over the perceived lack of strategic direction which is restricting confidence in the senior leadership." The RAF faces cuts of 5,000 personnel over the next three years - a reduction of almost 15%. Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said the assumptions on which the government's defence review had been based were "fundamentally flawed". "It is time to listen to military advice, review the review and provide our forces with capabilities which match our foreign policy ambitions," he said. Armed forces minister Nick Harvey said tough but necessary measures had to be taken in the strategic defence and security review but the MoD continued to have the resources it needed. The RAF is involved in a Nato mission to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians using "all necessary measures" short of a ground invasion. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There really is no end to the arrogance of David Sca-Moron... I think it's blatantly obvious even to a complete idiot (unless his name happens to be Liam Fox or David Cameron) that we cannot sustain our military commitments in Afghanistan, Libya and Iraq while at the same time making sweeping cuts to the armed forces... 5000 RAF personnel alone are to be made redundant.... We dont even have an in-service air-craft carrier anymore thanks to the Coalition moth-balling Ark Royal... Frankly, I think we have to be realistic and pull out of Libya, we clearly dont have the resources, or even a clear mandate... We have no business conducting these raids upon Tripoli anyway, and frankly NATO operations in the country are becoming more and more a case of stepping way beyond the bounds of the original UN resolution of a NO FLY ZONE and protecting the citizens of Benghazi and Misratah.... What does bombing the crap out Tripoli and killing hundreds of civilians have to do with "protection of civilians"...? Seems like a contradiction in terms to me, save one city while bombing another..? Sounds a bit like the old saying in Vietnam - "To save the village, we had to burn the village...". The original UN resolution most certainly did NOT give a "blank cheque" to NATO, the US, France and UK to do what they're doing now, and neither did it give them a blank cheque to impose regime change or attempt an "extra-legal" assassination of Ghadafi...... I say - we pull out of this horrendous "vanity project" and concentrate our dwindling resources in shore-ing up Afghanistan.... I think our presence in Libya is actually getting in the way of a possible negotiated settlement....

Suedehead is just calling it as he sees it... And he's right to... Some "stereotypes" are there for a reason.. And with the Tories, it's actually true.... They hate Public service and think the market should rule all, they dont like people being socially mobile, they want to keep the working classes down so they dont become a threat... What's your problem with me or Suede criticising the Tories anyway Jark...? You a bit out of sorts because you were stupid enough to vote for these scum because you thought you were being "pure, dead rebellious".....?

Agreed 100%... Absolutely disgusting... The minimum wage is bad enough, but allowing people to work for below it would really be like some kind of "Sweat-Shop" exploitation.... Still, this isn't actually surprising and is really the wet-dream of the Neo-Libs/Neo-Cons/Tories/Republicans anyway... The ultimate goal of people like this is to have a global working "Slave-Class" earning the absolute minimum at the bottom, while the elites control 99% of the world's resources, give themselves ridiculous levels of pay and bonuses and then when they f**k-up again, they call upon the tax-paying "Slave Class" to bail out their mistakes.....

TBH, I often wonder the same thing.... One is an utter muppet, the other is..... Oh, hang on, they're BOTH utter muppets..... :rolleyes:

IMO, the best thing Greece can do is to leave the Euro, bring back the Drachma, devalue it and then try to sort itself out from there... Greece is simply not suited to be in the Euro right now, and risks dragging the whole thing down with it... Perhaps if Papandreu hadn't been such a corrupt b'astard, selling off Credit Default Swaps to his cronies at a "bargain basement" price, then Greece may not actually be in such dire straits it is now... The problem with Greece is systemic, and it's particular to them, which is why it really gets on my goat whenever I hear Gideon Osborne banging on about "ooooh, if we're not careful then we're going to end up like Greece"... NO GIDEON, we are NOT and NEVER WERE in danger of being like Greece... You lying, alarmist sack of Tory $h!te..... -_-

That's pretty good reasoning too....

Dude, that's a bit lame.. And rather shallow.... :P