Jenny1

...and of course I'm not for a minute suggesting that all American women will be having the same thoughts. Clearly many voted for Trump. But won't there be a fair few who see this as a potentially dangerous time - particularly for women's rights?

How do you think you'd feel if you were an American woman right now, ?????

But shouldn't the two things go hand in hand?

I don't think simply being a member of a lot of international institutions constitutes effective and economically beneficial global engagement TheCat. The point about the UK's EU membership (as far as global investors are concerned)is that it gives the UK unfettered access to a market which they want to reach as well. Investing in the UK has - until now - given them a gateway to that market. As Karan Bilimoria (founder of Cobra Beer) pointed out when he accompanied TM on that recent gig to India. He'd been part of similar delegations in the past when Indian investors had been all over them...not any more. Germany and Japan are now the favoured investment options.

But no-one's stopping you doing both.....

Great initiative Catherine W. Really good piece this morning on Woman's Hour re the global nature of this....and one woman's journey from 'slacktivist' to 'activist'. I'm that out of touch that I hadn't heard the term slacktivist before...

I agree rendelharris. And there's been quite a lot written in recent years about how inequality is bad for absolutely everyone. It doesn't even make people who have the most money any happier. That's not a new idea of course - most religions got wind of it many centuries ago. The problem is that putting this right is an ongoing, complex and difficult juggling act. Constant, vigilant regulation and tweaking of the economic system to ensure both healthy levels of innovation and activity and also adequate state-funded welfare provision for those who need it (which in the case of medical emergencies is all of us, all of the time). I don't think any of this is helped by thinking that either 'left' or 'right' has all the answers/has got it all wrong. As ever in life it's only the middle path that gets you anywhere. The problem with the middle path is that it doesn't have the catchy slogans. It's hard work, it's subtle and it acknowledges that there's no such thing as arrival at perfection, or indeed easy answers - only a constant open-minded effort to make things better.

Goodness! What a bracingly mischievous sense of humour.

Seabag Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Alan Medic Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > What are the odds on assassination? > > Shortening by the day probably. Yes, but who's? I do hope we're not back in umbrella and sushi territory.

We can't know the detail of the truth of this of course, but it's all too credible. Clearly Trump and his 'people' have spent time building relationships in Russia. Given the way the Kremlin works it would be odd if they hadn't taken the opportunity of this connection to gather as much intelligence on Trump as they could. And given who Trump is one can imagine that a lot of that intelligence would be potentially compromising. The interesting thing will be to see how the US government machine now handles this. I wonder what kind of a person FBI Director James Comey is, and what sort of pressures he's being put under.

???? Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This Forum is like the > fooking Guardian Sometimes it is. I agree. But is it not also sometimes like the fooking Financial Times? (and I mean that in a good way.) But to be serious. I don't think this is about 'left' and 'right'. I'm sure we all hope for the continued (and indeed increased) prosperity of this country, and that this prosperity translates into the improved welfare of all of it's citizens. But I do think it's important to do all we can (principally via lobbying MPs) to ensure that this government doesn't, in it's determination to hang on to voters, prioritise ideology over economic prudence. When senior businessmen and industrialists (including major Tory donors) are warning about the dangers of this - then it's hardly a mark of a Marxist world view to agree with them, surely? I hope and pray that we come out of this in fine economic health. Who wouldn't? But that's virtually all I can do - hope. Do we not have a right to expect that those who can do more, those in power, use their brains and their influence to work for our long term prosperity and security, rather than focusing all their efforts on winning the next election?

Just seconding what Rosetta said re Celia Hammond. They're always looking for that kind of thing.

I really appreciated Simon Jenkins' books on churches and cathedrals. But I don't find his political journalism very thoughtful or convincing.

rahrahrah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > @Red Devil - From the article I linked to: > > "It is not good enough to say most forecasts were > based on an assumption of an immediate UK > notification of Article 50... Brexit uncertainty > exists regardless of when the UK informs the EU of > its intention to leave " Logically that should be the case. But have you noticed how financial markets, and the economy as a whole, often don't seem to react to the prospect of events on the horizon, but only respond when things actually happen? I'm not sure why this happens - but I have noticed it before.

Peter Lilley seems to be very happy with the idea of walking away from the EU without reaching a trade deal at all. I wonder how many other Conservatives take that view.

That sounds like a great walk BrandNewGuy. I haven't seen a song thrush in a long time, or a dunnock for that matter.

I've noticed a couple of locations in the area where there seem to be a pair a jays. This quite surprises me as I always had them down as 'shy woodland dwellers'.

Thanks for the information on the birds amac. Sounds like a great example of interesting wildlife in an unexpected spot.

I saw five bees feeding on the winter-flowering cherry blossom today. I had no idea that bees would be active at this time of year - let alone on a morning after the kind of frost we had last night.

I don't think this has anything to do with 'left' and 'right' though ????. I think it's about the crossing of the public/private boundary. I don't agree with the politics represented by McDonnell or Paisley - and to comment in such a way about Margaret Thatcher or the Pope was clearly mad and very wrong. But Thatcher and Pope John Paul The Second were about the most public figures you could imagine - and both in their own ways highly controversial. So critical comments (even crazy ones from political extremists) were to be expected. But Farage was talking about a private individual and an associated charity. I don't think his outbursts fall into the McDonnell/Paisley category. We can agree on the nasty, divisive idiot definition though.

Yes - I think Farage is 'new'. 'New' in that he says things which no mainstream politician in this country would have thought acceptable before. As Otta says if this becomes the new 'normal' we're in very deep trouble.

Non modo sed etiam

It's the first year that I've really appreciated the beautiful, delicate winter-flowering cherries in several front gardens in the area. It seems almost miraculous that such fragile blossoms flourish at the darkest time of the year.

Hi Suffer-not. I'm no expert on birds, but I believe both chaffinches and goldfinches do form flocks at certain times of the year. I've never spotted this phenomenon in the East Dulwich area though. What a lovely thing to see!

I have never seen a flock of chaffinches Suffer-not - that's pretty special. I did notice a pair of them on the trees in our road earlier in the year. Very jealous of your sighting!