brian91

Maxwell's Silver Hammer

Yellow Submarine (movie)

Why not, she is tainted by expenses scandal

Greece is "on the brink of the abyss", President Karolos Papoulias has warned, after three people died during protests over planned austerity measures.

Which household name MP's do you think might get chucked out this election. I remember Michael Portillo & David Mellor losing. So which ones might lose this year, possibly because of the expenses saga. Maybe Jacqui Smith, Ruth Kelly or Hazel Blears, Glenda Jackson, possibly Alistair Darling or Jack Straw.

Not retro, but crap. To be honest you will be hard pushed to find many followers in here, but good luck. Any closet Bolton fans out there....... anywhere.........nope, I didn't think so.

Well done to Spurs for finishing at least 4th.

Jet

Wine :drink:

Its one of those great questions I have always wondered about. On the one hand they might have gone on to write more great songs, but on the other as they were moving in different directions they might have been a let down. In a way, I look it in the following way, If you are the best, how can you improve on it. Using the Take That comparison is not really the same, Take That used to be crap, now they are quite good :lol:

Yassasin Red Money v African Night Flight

Linda Lovelace Which Beatle didn't play on their early hits, and why?

Voormann, Klaus

Goodnight Tonight

Not a paranoid attitude at all, this Government has a big brother vision, we are the most watched Country on the planet. Anyway it was meant as humour when someone is caught by the very things they introduce.

Debt crisis: UK banks sitting on £100bn exposure to Greece, Spain and Portugal Fears of a fresh banking crisis stalked the markets today as the risk of Greece defaulting on its debt repayments raised concerns about the exposure of major banks to indebted countries in Europe. As analysts estimated that Britain's banks have a combined exposure of £100bn to Greece, Portugal and Spain – the three countries causing most concern on the financial markets – the Financial Services Authority was closely watching the markets and assessing exposures to the vulnerable countries. After the ratings agency Standard & Poor's had downgraded Greek debt to "junk" yesterday, bank shares were knocked today but spared further falls as the downgrade of Spain's crucial credit rating came just as the stock market was closing. With UK banks standing to lose more in Spain than in Greece and Portugal, analysts said there might have been a more severe reaction if London had remained open longer today. Analysts at Credit Suisse calculated that UK banks had £25bn of exposure to Greece and Portugal but £75bn to Spain, where the collapse in the property market has already forced banks such as Barclays to admit to bad debt problems and left Royal Bank of Scotland facing questions about its exposure. "Lloyds' exposure to the three regions is likely to be negligible, we estimate that Barclays has £40bn exposure (predominantly loans in Spain and Portugal, excluding daily positions in Barclays Capital), and RBS has around £30bn–£35bn (again predominantly Spain, although we estimate £3bn to £4bn in Portugal and Greece as well)," the Credit Suisse analysts said. Money markets, in which major banks lend to each other, also reflected the tension caused by the Greek downgrade with eurozone interbank lending rates enduring their biggest rise in nearly a year. Much of the anxiety was targeted at French, German and Swiss banks. Howard Wheeldon, of BGC Partners, said: "If Greece defaults that means the pressure will then be felt and exerted on national banks that hold the Greek debt. That includes very many German, French and Swiss banks and it just may be that with so many banks involved one of these might just go down." At today's annual meeting, RBS's chairman, Sir Philip Hampton, played down any exposure to Greece, while Lloyds' finance director, Tim Tookey, said on Tuesday that the bank had no "material [significant] exposure". Barclays publishes a trading update on Friday and will face questions about its exposure to the countries being downgraded. In early trading today banks were the biggest fallers, with RBS tumbling 7%, Lloyds down by 6.5% and Barclays off 4%, though they recovered much of their losses by the time market closed. Among continental European banks, analysts at Evolution calculated that Fortis, Dexia, CASA and Société Générale were most affected because of the value of their Greek debt holdings relative to their size. According to Barclays Capital, UK banks account for only 3% of the exposure to Greek bonds, while data from the Bank for International Settlements shows that, at the end of 2009, Greece owed about $240bn (£160bn) overseas. Of this, France and Germany have the biggest exposures of $75bn and $45bn respectively. Analysts expressed concern about the problems spreading. Daragh Quinn, banks analyst at Nomura, said: "Given the scale of the debt problem facing Greece, the prospect of some kind of debt rescheduling or even default are being considered as possibilities by the market. Sovereign risk concerns are also spreading to Portugal and Spain." Only last week the International Monetary Fund, which has been called in to help fund the Greece deficit, warned about the impact of a sovereign risk crisis. "Concerns about sovereign risks could undermine stability gains and take the credit crisis into a new phase, as nations begin to reach the limits of public-sector support for the financial system and the real economy," the IMF said. Credit Suisse analysts pointed out that not all the problems facing the markets were negative for the banking sector. "The increase in volatility should assist revenues at the investment banks, particularly for primary dealers like Barclays," the Credit Suisse analysts said. "But there are clearly a number of important potential negatives. These include the potential for increased capital and liquidity trapping in affected sovereigns, or increased micro prudential requirements for local subsidiaries. Our bigger concern, however, is increased nervousness towards the UK," they added. Source: The Guardian So, if Greece defaults some of the UK banks will take a huge hit, as if they are not in enough debt already.

All this big brother CCTV cameras everywhere, and snooping in on our emails and what we browse on the web has Gordon been caught by the very things he is bringing in.

The first time they let Gordon out without his Mrs, and he puts his foot in it. Now we know why his wife has been with him in all previous walkabouts.

Global shares have tumbled after the credit rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded Greek debt to "junk" on Tuesday. This is usually what happens to banana republics. With Greece now being charged over 11% for its loans, what hope has it in repaying its debts let alone the interest without making absolutely massive cuts in public spending. Even Portugal and possibly Spain are on the slippery slope and could follow Greece. The implications for Europe are huge, especially those in the Eurozone. Could this happen to the UK if we don't seriously address the massive debts we have built up. There is no doubt the politicians are in denial to the scope of the problem, thay are afraid to tell us the truth because they perceive we don't want to hear how bad things are, so they won't tell us. I think there will have to massive cuts in expenditure and tax rises to arrest the problem, but no one seems to be worried in this Country,and it won't really mater which party wins the election, they will all face the same problem. Yes a growing economy will help, but growth will have to 5% a year minimum to make any significant difference, and at the moment that seems highly unlikely. So every single item the Government spends money on will have to cut back, this is not a case of ordering less paperclips. So we better wake up, as very soon we will all get a reality check.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/ele...010/8649012.stm From BBC News: Gordon Brown has apologised after being caught on microphone describing a voter he had just spoken to in Rochdale as a "bigoted woman". Sixty-five-year-old Gillian Duffy had challenged Mr Brown on a number of issues including immigration and crime. As he got into his car, he was still wearing a broadcast microphone and was heard to say "that was a disaster". Mr Brown later phoned Mrs Duffy to apologise after the tape was played to him during a BBC Radio 2 interview. After listening to the recording, with his forehead resting on his hand, he said: "I do apologise if I've said anything that has been hurtful." The comments were made after the conversation with Mrs Duffy which ended with him complimenting her and her family. As he went to get into his car, Mr Brown told her: "Very nice to meet you, very nice to meet you." But off camera, and not realising he still had a Sky News microphone pinned to his shirt, he was heard to tell an aide: "That was a disaster - they should never have put me with that woman. Whose idea was that? It's just ridiculous..." Asked what she had said, he is heard to reply: "Ugh everything! She's just a sort of bigoted woman that said she used to be Labour. I mean it's just ridiculous. I don't know why Sue brought her up towards me." Mrs Duffy said after hearing of Mr Brown's comments: "I'm very upset. He's an educated person. Why has he come out with words like that? "He's supposed to be leading the country and he's calling an ordinary woman who's come up and asked questions that most people would ask him... It's going to be tax, tax, tax for another 20 years to get out of this national debt, and he's calling me a bigot." Mrs Duffy, a widow who has a daughter and two grandchildren, said she used to work with disabled children for Rochdale council before she retired. She had earlier told reporters she was a lifelong Labour voter and described Mr Brown as being "very nice". BBC political editor Nick Robinson said it was a disaster for the prime minister because it showed the gap between his public face and private face. "For those of us who have known Gordon Brown for many years, what we have seen is no huge surprise. He has got better and better at handling himself in public, but quite often he flares up in private, expresses frustration," he said. Nick Robinson added that the irony was that if his comments had not been picked up, it would have been a lively election exchange which would have been seen to do him credit. Speaking on Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show, Mr Brown said: "Of course I apologise if I've said anything that's been offensive and I would never put myself in a position where I would want to say anything like that about a woman I'd met. "I blame myself for what is done, but you've got to remember that this was me being helpful to the broadcasters, with my microphone on, rushing into the car because I had to get to another appointment and they have chosen to play my private conversation. These things can happen, I apologise profusely to the lady concerned." Mr Brown later telephoned Mrs Duffy to personally apologise for the comments, telling her he was very sorry and said she "is a good woman". When asked did this in any way make up for the comments she said "no - absolutely not". 'Resilience' A spokesman for the prime minister said: "Mr Brown has apologised to Mrs Duffy personally by phone. He does not think that she is bigoted. He was letting off steam in the car after a difficult conversation. "But this is exactly the sort of conversation that is important in an election campaign and which he will continue to have with voters." The Conservatives said Mr Brown's comments spoke for themselves. Shadow chancellor George Osborne said: "That's the thing about general elections, they do reveal the truth about people." Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said: "You should always try to answer the questions as best you can. He has been recorded saying what he has said and will have to answer for that." Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said Mr Brown was "mortified" over the hurt he had caused Mrs Duffy. He told the BBC: "It is very unfortunate that this remark that he didn't believe got picked up. But he should be judged on how he responded. And that's why he apologised immediately." Chancellor Alistair Darling said Mr Brown's apology was profuse and he was well aware he should not have made the comments. "The election campaign will be decided not just on individuals but what the party stands for. There are big issues at stake. Gordon is a man of considerable strength, considerable resilience and considerable substance," he said. "I hope people will judge him in the round. The fact we are coming out of this recession is down to him in no small part." This could be an enormous mistake by Gordon Brown, the woman was a lifetime Labour supporter, she wasn't representing any other party. All her questions were perfectly normal and tame if you ask me, there is no excuse for calling her a bigot.

Writing

D.J. Repetition v Look back in anger

Heather...the bitch! What was the name of the young actress Paul dated in the 60's?

Thomas the tank engine

Eight days a week