gdp's Comments

Conservative Home : Interview: Andrew Gimson meets James Delingpole, a conservative who thinks the British Establishment

Fri, 28 Mar 2014 10:41:29 +0000

Nail. head. I knew Delingpole at one of his episodic periods at the telegraph. He absolutely craved attention and was always convinced he deserved to be a famous writer. He was extremely jealous of Boris (who also worked there). Unfortunately for Delingpole (or Pod as he was known for some reason) he is nothing like as good a writer as Boris, nor as clever. I seem to remember he three times worked at the Telegraph, only in his latest incarnation - the angry blogger - did he succeed. This whole angry man of the right anti-eco-warrior act was his way of becoming a name. it has certainly worked for him among a certain easy to impress constituency. Unfortunately for Delingpole, he is a big figure among the green-ink brigade, not exactly a difficult crowd to work. He is still desperate to respectable. This whole Breitbart thing is a way for him to get to America where my guess is he sees his future. When you look at the comments on Breitbart he has tapped into America's swivel-eyed crowd and in that rather deferential way Americans fawn over what they think are "intellectual" brits, they have embraced him. I think he will do very well there.

Conservative Home : Garvan Walshe: Boris is right: Grammar schools, not immigration, are the key to winning in 2015

Sat, 7 Dec 2013 09:28:14 +0000

The trouble for the Tory party is that they keep making education policy on ideological, and not pedagogical, grounds. While the idea that grammar schools improve social mobility is appealing, mainly because there are plenty of anecdotes of cases where it did, they only look at half of the picture. It is a classic case of observer bias. In fact there is plenty of evidence to show that grammar schools decrease social mobility. If you look at pupils claiming free school meals, grammar schools admit 1/6th of the national average. If you look at performance of the entire cohort of children in regions with grammar schools, all children claiming FSM performed worse in areas where grammar schools existed than in areas with no selective schools. The evidence suggests that while selective schools may improve the social mobility for the very small number of children from deprived schools who are admitted to grammar schools, the chances of admission into grammar schools for deprived children is very low. And in areas where grammar schools exist social mobility goes down, not up.

A Tangled Web : INFILTRATION?

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:30:49 +0000

I don't normally comment on NI posts as there are people who know far more than I do - but the old RUC was absolutely riddled with UDA infiltrators - so infiltrated that we did not release certain int to the RUC because you knew damn well it would be passed on straight away. Of course it was always denied and the line was that the Army was "fully cooperating" with their colleagues in the RUC. Both sides knew it wasn't true. I have no experience of the PSNI.

A Tangled Web : ..and you are the father!

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 22:15:32 +0000

GMG set up a holding company for its purchase of Emap http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/insideguardian/200...

• Guardian Media Group plc, parent company of the Guardian, in partnership with Apax Partners, has incorporated a new company registered in the Cayman Islands as part of its proposed acquisition of Emap plc. The sale of Emap plc is due to complete later this month. A spokesman for GMG said: "The tax arrangements of Apax Partners and GMG for the acquisition of Emap plc are completely legitimate, and are based on accepted practice and the recommendations of our advisers. This is not about GMG avoiding tax - indeed we have paid an average of 34% tax over the last five years. "The purchase of Emap plc is structured as a UK Scheme of Arrangement which, as has long been accepted by HM Revenue and Customs, does not attract stamp duty on acquisitions. The new company will pay its full UK corporation tax."

A Tangled Web : BEN'S GOT A(NOTHER) MONEY BOMB

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 21:35:20 +0000

Take The Daily Telegraph as an example. It's supposedly 'right-wing' yet it is the biggest peddler of the biggest corporate-scientific fraud ever perpetrated (global warming), and absolutely will not consider withdrawal from the EU. Have you actually read The Daily Telegraph?

A Tangled Web : ..and you are the father!

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 21:13:32 +0000

I don't suppose the loss of my two posts is a tragedy on a par with the sacking of the Library of Alexandria... I dare say the world won't miss their passing.

A Tangled Web : ..and you are the father!

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 20:00:04 +0000

I don't want to appear paranoid - but, er, have a couple of my posts disappeared?

A Tangled Web : ..and you are the father!

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:52:45 +0000

I don't think that can be accurate. Not unless the population of North London has swelled of late. But if the Graun, with 14m uniques a month, is a "small circulation" paper, then what does that make a title with a reach 1/7th the size? Irrelevant per chance?

A Tangled Web : ..and you are the father!

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:30:39 +0000

Two points: 1. If you measure the Guardian's online and print readership combined they dwarf the Express. The Guardian website gets 13,733,357 unique monthly users, the Express gets 1,937,030. By your metric (not one with which I agree) that makes the Graun 7.08 times as relevant. 2. I come back to my main question. What was the last story of any significance that the Express broke? but where or when have I ever stated that I read, admire, respect or accept the Daily express? Never as far as I know. Could it possibly be that if I mention something, you are irretrievably opposed to it, on sheer principle? I don't want to appear unkind, but don't flatter yourself.

A Tangled Web : ..and you are the father!

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:30:46 +0000

I can't speak to the Belfast Telegraph, but the Guardian is certainly not irrelevant. It has a string of exclusives, it has a massive readership outside of the UK. It may not be politically to your taste, but it is by no means irrelevant. The Express, on the other hand, has no influence whatsoever. Name a single scoop in the last 10 years. It also has shockingly bad journalistic standards. It long ago gave up any pretence at balance and I don't think its writers even know the difference between news and editorial. I realise that it is politically more your cup of tea, but if it closed tomorrow, it would not be missed. Much as I utterly despise the Daily Mail and its loathsome agenda, it is a highly relevant newspaper and cannot be ignored. It too blends editorial and news in ways that are not good journalism, but it is nothing like as bad as the Express. The Daily Telegraph - which has gone a long way downhill when the new owners took over - does at least make more of an effort to separate the two.

A Tangled Web : B-B-B-BUILD...

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:25:45 +0000

Oh for heaven's sake, I am not quite sure how many times I have to say this. I don't support Islam. I don't support ANY religion. People like me don't tend to do too well with organised religion. I think the bible describes me as an abomination. Your example is a good one. And were that to happen it would be appalling. But the reality is that the vast majority of immigrants are not like that all. Most of them are no different from you or me. I met a Ghanaian the other day. Had to take a car somewhere, this chap was driving it. I had some work to do - it was a long drive. I finished my work and we started talking. I thought he was a typical 1st gen immigrant doing a low-wage job. I could not have been more wrong. He was a PhD student - having completed a BSc and an MSc in computer science. Before picking me up he had been teaching a class, then he finished the teaching, got in his minicab and was working as a driver. He had his laptop and a portable hard drive in the front so when he was waiting to pick people up, he could work on his programming (very sophisticated security stuff). Yes there are some immigrants who abuse our hospitality - but the absolute overwhelming majority of them do not.

A Tangled Web : B-B-B-BUILD...

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:15:17 +0000

That is exactly what i look like.... in my dreams. You will note that my avatar has a striking resemblance to a certain Iberian footballer in whom I have an unhealthy obsession. If I put my real picture up, it would turn the milk sour and close the site in minutes.

A Tangled Web : CLINTON THREATENS BRITAIN...

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:09:17 +0000

The cornerstone of British foreign policy since 1948 has been retention of our membership of the P5 on the UN security council. Without that we have the same geo-political impact on the world as Belgium. Part of the reason we are able to lay claim to it is the contribution that we make through our armed forces. Nato has effectively become the organisation of choice for Chapter 7 UN ops - and has proved to be pretty successful at that. Without Nato the UN has no military command structure. This was a major problem for UNPROFOR - and lead directly to catastrophes like Srebrenica when the field commander, the rather excellent Canadian Brig Gen MacKenzie, had no one he could speak to at the UN outside of NY office hours. What Nato gives is an off-the-shelf military and political structure which means that field commanders are not left out in the cold making decisions of huge political significance with no one to back them up. Slashing UK defence expenditure too far (and I agree we must re-balance our commitments and our capabilities, and we need to do a major force reorientation - we have far too many air superiority fighters for example) and we run the very serious risk of calling into doubt our UN Security Council membership. If that goes, then hello Belgium.

A Tangled Web : ..and you are the father!

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:02:49 +0000

to the effect that the Daily Express is now financially viable And journalistically a laughing stock. It is an irrelevant newspaper. When did the Express last break a story of any significance?

A Tangled Web : HAPPY 85TH BIRTHDAY

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 11:48:45 +0000

The best thing about Mrs T's birthday (yesterday) was that the whole world was cheering the miners on her birthday.

A Tangled Web : B-B-B-BUILD...

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:34:29 +0000

Agit8ed - how sweet you should think of me. I am touched. Bless you. Of course what wasn't quoted in this extract was the following further down the story:

"Tim Finch, head of migration at the Institute for Public Policy Research, said the research was based on "guesstimates" which made a number of assumptions, including that migrant children would spend the maximum amount of time in the education system. Half of the children referred to in the figures are also those whose mother was born abroad, but whose father was UK-born." "The thrust of this report is "these people are coming here and taking our school places," but they are contributing to a growing economy, so we should educate their children."

Left PC Brigade and it's practioners hate Britain Speaking as a member of the Left Brigade I don't hate Britain. I took an oath to defend it. What I am constantly struck by is the string of comments on here of people who really do seem to hate this country. We have people who describe themselves as patriots but then were planning to emigrate. Not really the sign of someone who loves their country, is it? .This position is supported by main stream media After all The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Daily Telegraph, The Sun, The News of The World, The Sunday Telegraph, The Mail on Sunday are all known for their strong pro-immigration stance.

A Tangled Web : PAYBACK DAY

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 20:58:23 +0000

The law of unintended consequences. I predict there might be a rise in the number of middle class "separations". Here is why. One parent - for argument's sake we'll say the mother, but it doesn't have to be - no longer works. She is now a single parent with no income. As such she is entitled to the full gamut of benefits (housing benefit, maximum family tax credits, reduced council tax, the lot) - worth about £10k pa. She becomes the children's sole carer. Husband "moves out" and registers a new address. They close joint accounts, tell the tax man - the lot. Officially they are now separated. Private funding arrangements between separating parents are not declarable as income for tax or means testing of benefits - they are exactly that - private. After all the money has already been taxed. So hubby pays his "ex" the money she would have got anyway. Wife carries on living in the house - husband nominally lives elsewhere - but as long as he actually has an address somewhere else can still stay at the family home (we are working on a reconciliation) for most of the time. Probably not a bad idea that he stays in his bachelor pad from time to time - just in case. As the wife is now the carer, and she has no income, then the children won't have to pay university fees. Furthermore if they have 6th formers as well, then they will get full EMA - worth £30 a week to the 6th former. Oh and she will get her child benefit restored as well. If you have two children, two years apart then that is a total of six student-years at university - let's say that costs £10k pa - that is a saving of about £60,000. In addition there will be the benefits gleaned - say another £40,000. So by "separating" the couple will save the family some £100k over four years. Once the last child is out of university - the couple realise it was all a terrible mistake and move back together to spend their happy dotage together, with their children wonderfully free of debt.

A Tangled Web : ALWAYS REMEMBER PARIS

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 18:31:18 +0000

Mindless violence is to be roundly condemned whether it be in or around a football ground or in a city square by whoever carries it out. I could not agree more. Sickening youth violence is not something unique to one culture or one race. As for Ernest Young's dismissal of soccer violence as "largely symbolic"; well I suggest he doesn't know anyone killed in football-related violence. It is not largely symbolic at all and to dismiss at such is, well frankly, ridiculous. I am perfectly aware of the separation of reality and fantasy. Indeed rather better at it than a great many who see hidden plots, nefarious agendas and conspiracies everywhere they look. Perhaps they are the ones who need reminding of the difference. As for what Troll means - who amongst us can ever be sure?

A Tangled Web : ALWAYS REMEMBER PARIS

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 17:26:33 +0000

Seems youth violence is no respecter of colour or nationality. Here, for example, are some examples much closer to home. France is now and always has been a blight on the western world Yes, I mean after all France's cultural and artistic contribution to the world is nothing compared to, say, the US.

A Tangled Web : THE DEATH PENALTY

Sat, 9 Oct 2010 23:26:05 +0000

I think it is a lot simpler than this. It is about the values of society. And when you look at the countries that do kill their own citizens - China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, US, Yemen, Sudan, Vietnam, Syria. Well there is one that rather sticks out. Otherwise not exactly the kind of company you would want to keep.