 | Forum
Thread | Trump accuses former presidents of being "traitors"
at 10:49 24 Jul 2025
The orange man baby is under some serious pressure in the US. Aside from the failure of his tariff plan to bring in "billions of dollars a month; his obvious cognitive decline (he recently praised a visit to the WH by the Pihillipine president Marcos - who has been dead for a few decades; his bombing of Iran and ignoring of Israeli treatment of Gaza, he has a number of personal issues.
The Epstien connection refuses to go away. he has already back tracked and U turned more on this than anything else but now claims that mention of his name in various documents and his existence in various photos with the child rapist, are all part of a conspiracy by Barack Obama. He is calling for the arrest of the former POTUS.
Sadly his cultists in power such a Pam Bondi as so brainwashed that they might do this.
This is a dangerous path.
Trump is well on his way to being a despot. |
| Forum
Reply | Measles and vaccination
at 10:13 24 Jul 2025
Thank you for the non reply (again) Mr Jelly.
You are correct that I am in a loop. It starts with reading a statement - checking its references and sources - deciding if that evidence has any weight and then deciding if I believe all/some/none of the statement. I'm sorry if that offends.
I suggest you are in a loop. Yours is that having arrived at a certain position you need to justify it but in the absence of any proof you think it reasonable to assume or extrapolate based on the conclusion you have already reached. I suggest that this is illogical.
It does not help of course that when asked for proof or evidence, your response is to deflect, distract, disparage and insult. I suggest that this is childish (and boring).
The latter response is straight out of the conspiracy theorists playbook of course. A playbook happily seized upon by (for example) the MAGA supporters who have gone a little further and added "attack" to any rebuttal of their position.
Regardless. If you had a baby - who are susceptible to the worse effects of measles - and you knew that an unvaccinated person would be within infection distance of said baby, would you be justified in refusing that unvaccinated person permission to be within that distance (if you had that power) or be willing to accept a restriction in your life to suit the preferences of that unvaccinated person? |
| Forum
Reply | the lying trump
at 10:32 22 Jul 2025
So we have a billionaire owner of a media firm convicted of using illegal means to spy on celebrities and politicians and whose senior employees and sons were found to have lied under oath being sued by a man with 34 felonies found to be proven against him, including lying under oath, and both may be relying on somebody who comes from a family of liars and whose day job was finding victims for a child molester and rapist.
If there is any justice, all three will be further reduced in the eyes of the great unwashed and will have their integrity forever tarnished. |
| Forum
Reply | Beware of this scammer and criminal - Iain Clifford Stamp, aka Iain Clifford
at 10:26 22 Jul 2025
Like many when I was younger, with a non working wife and young children, money was tight. Add in interest rates that were higher than we've seen more recently. I did have some money issues which with the help of the lenders I was able to work out.
I did however come close to seeking that "help" from the wrong people and in this instance Stamp is very much the "wrong people".
Stamp's last known UK address was in Swanmore not so that far away. I suspect therefore that he may have a few local victims, hence the post.
The whole sovereign citizen thing is a fascinating enigma.
These people say that they cannot be citizens of a country because the basis of a country existing is a legal creation and they have never agreed to that legal foundation. All action of the country based on its legal standing are therefore otiose and cannot apply to them.
But they seek to show this by using the very law that created the country and even today echoes in our legal systems.
It's also usually a fact that such people have an unshakeable belief that they are correct and will not be persuaded otherwise.
You are correct however.
If you have debt issues DO NOT reach out to charlatans like Stamp. |
| Forum
Reply | Measles and vaccination
at 10:15 22 Jul 2025
Good morning Mr Jelly.
You have managed to again divert the course of the thread but you have intrigued me.
Who are the
"depopulating eugenicists that hate us and want us dead."
How have they been identified?
How have their motives been determined?
Why do they want us dead?
Thank you in anticipation |
| Forum
Reply | Measles and vaccination
at 17:39 21 Jul 2025
No, Mr Jelly and I have very different views.
It is however the case that either a very active and vocal minority have concerns over the integrity of the medical profession and especially its connections with pharma or the silent majority has been hoodwinked.
I'm not saying which of those positions is more likely or reasonable, just that they exist. |
| Forum
Reply | Measles and vaccination
at 14:23 21 Jul 2025
There are those who think variously that:
-the medical professionals have been seduced by false data from pharma outfits
- that some have a vested interest in said pharma outfits and that this is why they are prepared to believe a lie
- that the pharma outfits have a huge financial incentive to lie
- that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely
It is a fact that vaccines can be toxic to humans but then so can many foods or chemicals in the air/soil/water. Most toxic of all of course is other humans.
The point here is that if we accept as a general concept that a vaccine over 60 years in the field with no significant side effects outside of very rare instances, is a "good thing" and protects everybody - vaccinated or not - against (in this case) measles is 95% of the population take it, should individuals either be forced to take it or be excluded from some events or activity in society, if they choose not to be dictated to?
Humans acting in a society generally make progress and achieve more than humans choosing or being forced to be on their own. Humans are social animals and being in groups is "natural" for us. But if somebody chooses to break the rules of the group, what sanction is suitable? |
| Forum
Thread | Beware of this scammer and criminal - Iain Clifford Stamp, aka Iain Clifford
at 10:11 21 Jul 2025
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025-07-16-STAMP-Iain-Cliffo
Iain Stamp tuns a "business" which apparently nets him £500k a month largely from those driven to desperation over debt and other liabilities.
The "solution" offered by Stamp and his cronies is that all law, UK law in particular, is invalid and does not apply to those who decide that that the name on their birth certificate actually relates to somebody else because of the way it is presented.
The theory goes much deeper and is not far from the sovereign citizen type arguments.
The FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) has been investigating Stamp. They now have a restraining order as well as asset seizure orders against him. They believe that Stamp is in Bali and having missed two Court appearance may have selected that place to live int he absence of an extradition treaty.
The judgement is clear that the arguments used by Stamp and sold to his victims is entirely spurious and unlawful.
(Unless of course you believe that you are not subject to or protected by the UK legal system).
This man trades on desperation and misery and hopefully he will serve some prison time in due course but for now, please be warned. |
| Forum
Thread | Measles and vaccination
at 09:24 21 Jul 2025
Last year Canada suffered a measles outbreak sufficient to place it into the top ten countries for such outbreaks.
The source of the outbreak was traced to a single individual who attended a Mennonite event. The Mennonite community is one which embraces a philosophy in which some aspects of modern life and science are given up in favour of a more simple regimen.
If we accept that members of such a community are intelligent and aware that a reduced use of vaccines exposes them and their children to otherwise preventable diseases (some of which are very dangerous), then are members of the wider community equally able to refuse to be in shared spaces with the unvaccinated ?
The measles vaccines have been around since the early 1960's. Before the vaccine became a mass exercise, it's estimated that some 2 million people - mainly children - dies each year from measles. There ahs been a slight uptick in recorded cases in recent year as vaccine hesitancy spreads.
Herd immunity from measles requires a vaccine take up of around 95% of the population. Canada and the UK (and the US) fall short of that.
Given the proven safety record of measles (I'm not saying that in some very rare cases the vaccine has not had side effects and I'm not getting into the nonsense around the MMR version) is there a case for legislating here to ensure the majority of the population is protected? |
| Forum
Reply | Accordions.
at 08:57 21 Jul 2025
Squeezed that one out then? |
| Forum
Reply | the lying trump
at 08:57 21 Jul 2025
It's quite sad that Trump is driving the US economy into the sand, the jobless count is rising, women's rights are being eroded and science is being replaced in schools with superstitions and the supernatural - all on the instruction of the Republican party -- yet all people are worried about is whether a man convicted of serious sexual crimes, met and knew a man in jail on suspicion of sexual crimes.
I know that the orange man baby has dug a deep holes for himself with his constant lying about that relationship - and will not think twice about throwing a name under the bus to protect himself - but surely there are more serious issues here? |
| Forum
Reply | England ladies
at 11:46 18 Jul 2025
The England team went back to how they played in the first game and frankly should have been buried by half time.
Aside from passes between the defenders (leading to Sweden's first goal) all the other passes out of the back were of the Hollywood variety and likely to end up with a defender. I don't understand how Bronze stays in this team as I'm guessing more than half her passes don't reach a team mate.
Sweden got a couple and then I think went to sleep thinking the game was over. That was naive and they paid the price.
The England defence was poor. Carter played left back, left CB and then right CB and was exposed in all of them. I think she will not start the next match.
James is a class act.
The penalties were farcical - not jut ours but Sweden as well. Who sends an 18 year old to take the crucial penalty (she missed) when the average age of that team is over 29? Poor management. |
| Forum
Reply | Big Brother - Does this guy have a point?
at 11:39 18 Jul 2025
This looks like a club trying to reduce admin costs and have a register of supporters or ticket buyers who can acquire tickets at little expense (admin wise) vs a reactionary older person being foolishly stubborn.
Hard to believe that after 60+ years of supporting one club, he blows up over something so trivial.
If this is his attitude, then he will not be able to buy tickets for any gig or event. |
| Forum
Reply | Euros
at 11:34 18 Jul 2025
England Women were very lucky yesterday.
Sometimes that bit of luck is what you need to win a tournament. |
| Forum
Thread | Will I go to a game this season?
at 12:50 17 Jul 2025
I have been a ST holder at The Dell and SMS but gave them up for good about four seasons ago.
Aside from being disillusioned about football in general - the PL in particular - and the constant money grabbing tactics of the authorities and the club, I was thoroughly fed up with either walking from the station to the ground (and back) and fighting my way onto a train with a lot of away fans or sitting in a traffic jam on the Avenue for 45 minutes.
I became a member instead when the game times started being messed around for TV and the club was perfectly happy to please the TV people and ignore the fans.
Last season was a bad one. No plan, a stubborn manager, inadequate playing squad, but the above issues continuing.
I attended my first game in 1962. I like to think that I've been a loyal fan. I do however feel somewhat betrayed by the club in recent years as fans and their wishes are relegated to the lowest priority.
My present position is that unless I can see signs of there actually being a plan from the ownership and management that is reflected in the playing squad, then I'm not going to acquire a ticket for a 3pm Saturday match which may be changed to 8pm Monday without much notice.
I feel that I've made a contribution to the club over the years and now I need to see some effort from them before I pay them more money. |
| Forum
Thread | Best album?
at 12:00 17 Jul 2025
1. You own (even if it's in the loft)
2. Of the 1970's, 1980's etc
3. You have in more than one format, i.e. vinyl, tape, CD, downloaded, vinyl on re-release |
| Forum
Reply | Would you support a wealth tax?
at 11:58 17 Jul 2025
If we are to provide a deterrent to Russia and their imperial ambitions, spending around twice what we do now in order to hold our corner (and influence) in NATO is crucial. The Ukraine situation shows that no single nation can hold out forever against a powerhouse of lunatics in Russia.
"Proper jobs"? The curb on immigration will lead to shortages in the supermarkets for veg/fruit etc because picking was largely done by migrants - short or long stay - legal or illegal - and the local Brits prefer to stay on benefits rather than get up at dawn and work. What is a "proper job"?
Welfare cuts will always produce instances at the cliff edge which are difficult and possibly tragic. Yes, I agree that anybody able to work but who chooses not to, should have their benefits cut to the barest minimum. Equally anybody who cannot work because of disability or vulnerability, should be protected and given enough for their needs.
Agreed on MPs. Finding out how much it costs to have so many MP and Lords is actually difficult.
Absent landlords are taxed in the UK. If they engage an agent then the agent is obliged to deduct 30% from every rent and pay it to HMRC. The landlord can than make an application to reclaim that tax if eligible. If there is no agent and rents are being paid directly, then if HMRC find out they will seize the property and sell it to pay the tax.
There is a difference between doing business "in" the UK and "with" the UK. Those trading "in" the UK have a UK source of income and are taxed. Those trading "with" the UK are not in business here and cannot be taxed. This latter group probably includes Amazon (although they have an agreement to pay tax here and last year paid £932m.
One of the problems with this issue is that all of us - tax professionals or otherwise - allow objectivity to be subsumed by emotion and in particular the "feeling" that other people have better or more favourable treatment. In my experience in this space, that is rarely true. |
| Forum
Reply | Would you support a wealth tax?
at 09:18 17 Jul 2025
Some interesting responses here.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/684c5622bd35d2f88bcba359/fig_1_2.
The chart here is measures the "tax gap". The tax gap is the difference between what theoretical maximum HMRC thinks is due and what they actually collect. A word of caution - HMRC actually know very little about tax but aggressively chase those who know less often with tragic consequences.
So this value of tax "lost" is largely seen as meaningless by those of us who work in tax but is converted into a weapon by political parties of all shades when they need one. They can shape that weapon as they please because the number has very little integrity.
What is worth noting however is that in HMRC's eyes, the largest component of the tax gap is lost corporation tax.
Lost income tax is a relatively low percentage and drilling into that shows that the majority is from the "black economy" which is basically people working cash in hand and not declaring income. (That said in some industries this sort of payment is an organised and large scale activity, e.g. construction, rag trade.)
Lost VAT is a major issue and is accelerating and mainly is around smuggling tobacco and alcohol as well as high value hi tech items.
The idea that a wealthy person has a menu of ways in which they can avoid income tax is simply false. HMRC has fought a decades long battle on income tax avoidance and largely won it. Almost every income tax saving device is challenged, even when it complies with the law, and HMRC has several different units who focus on the high net worth community.
It is also a fallacy that a highly paid lawyer can find ways to save you tax. Tax cases in the courts are littered with the wreckage of the careers of "highly paid" lawyers.
NO - I'm afraid that the apparent correlation between "wealthy people" and "tax avoidance" is one that owes more to personal/political persuasion, than fact.
The tax gap has been stable for a while. Despite every new administration claiming to raise funds by "cracking down" on tax avoidance and evasion, it does not move much. (I should say that I think the number is actually a political tool rather than any useful metric).
This is one reason why - if the UK wants to increase its spending, we need to raise more tax and a wealth tax is one way to do that.
There is a lot of nonsense in the press about how many millionaires are leaving. There is less mention that in the past ten years the UK has created something like 20 times the number of millionaires now allegedly leaving. However those advising this group love to create jeopardy and play on the "how much money is enough money" focus that some of these people have.
Politically, imposing a tax on say 0.25% of the population and raising enough (eventually) to buy one new tank or one new helicopter is better than raising 1p on the basic rate from 20+ million. And that is why we may see it.
I've not addressed some of the questions here about the spending side of the equation. I will say (as a long ago ex civil servant) that the numbers in the service today are about the same as they were in 2000. There are about 475k full time equivalents now. In 2015 the number was about 50,000 less. When Labour was elected, about 10,000 fewer than now.
Whilst I think the civil service is inefficient, (esp HMRC who are a disaster), they are doing more with only slightly more people. |
| Forum
Thread | Would you support a wealth tax?
at 12:07 14 Jul 2025
The right wing press is working itself up into a lather about the prospect of a wealth tax being introduced.
For example, one suggestion is an annual 2% tax on all "wealth" over £10m.
I suspect that number is chosen because anybody with a decent house in London may be well on the way to that figure and as such it gets the readers excited and engaged - clickbait.
There are then various estimates of how much a wealth tax would raise with anything from £2bn a year to more than £20bn. The numbers are all over the place and tainted with political bias to make any objective sense.
Most European countries have tried a wealth tax in the past and so far as I can see all but two of them have retreated from such a charge. The exceptions are Switzerland and Norway, with the latter coming under pressure to remove the charge on the grounds of cost vs income.
Switzerland makes it work but also has a range of incentives such as being able to pay a flat rate if you are in certain bands of wealth. It also allows some wealth to be excluded, such as private houses used as homes. Switzerland tax reporting is also done quarterly if your income/wealth is over certain limits, via the internet, processed quickly and appeals are only allowed in limited situations and are expensive.
France, Germany and Italy have all had wealth taxes in the past, now dropped as it "encouraged avoidance" and also led to an exodus of wealth from the country.
Good ides - bad politics or good politics - bad idea? |
| | saint901
|
Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 150 | | Comment Votes: | 51 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 201 |
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.