Sofa?
I thought DUPs came from the 'Magic Money Tree'?
In light of yesterday’s mega-bucks deal between the Tories and the Democratic Unionist Party, El Reg has added another unit of measurement to our Standards Bureau. Much to the disdain of the other devolved nations, the bribe agreement will see one BEEELLION pounds sent to Northern Ireland to be used for things like broadband, …
Whilst the ski jump is ugly and the admiralty hated the aesthetics when it it was first done it does hugely increase the maximum possible takeoff weight of the aircraft (well it did for the Sea Harrier). More takeoff weight equals more range and armaments which is a very good thing to have.
More takeoff weight equals more range and armaments which is a very good thing to have
Mostly.
One of the big problems with the Sea Harriers was that their maximum landing weight was rather lower than their maximum takeoff weight. So an aircraft returning from an unsuccessful sortie might have to drop some of that expensive payload just to be able to land.
Vic.
@Vic - that's a problem for most seaborne fixed-wing aircraft, not just the Harrier. I well recall how insanely difficult I found it trying to practice carrier landings in MMOL WW2 air combat sims, and at first feared I'd never manage them (which would've been a shame, as I played at the serious end of things, organised units and sides in proper scenarios, chain of command, etc..). Then I realised that typically planes would have near empty fuel tanks when trying to land, so I started taking off with only a quarter of a tank of fuel and no external munitions and found it rather easier. Still nerve-wracking, but with a lower stall speed and lighter all-up weight, unladen landings are somewhat easier and MUCH less dangerous than fully-laden ones. Aircraft undercart just isnt typically designed to take the weight of a fully-laden plane coming down, whether conventionally or otherwise.
as soon as the brexit negotiations get far enough
Wow, you're giving her that long? While the DUP deal theoretically gives her enough votes for any confidence votes it might actually make governing impossible as everyone and their dog starts demanding money for votes; Ruth Davidson is likely to be first in line.
Ironically they don't need paid anything, the DUP certainly doesn't want Corbyn.
Remind me why the SF MPs get paid?
Remind me why the peace loving majority of people in NI vote for the two parties that least believe in peace, tolerance, honesty, integrity and democracy. Not much to chose between SF or DUP. Both toxic, though the SF have better PR.
At least SF have enough integrity to not take their seats in the commons because they won't swear an oath of allegiance to the crown.
Both sides in NI have a shady history, but I would cast the DUP as the most regressive of the lot just because of their science-denying, women's-rights denying, gay-rights-denying backwards religious fundamentalism, which is ironic since SF are nominally the party linked to the Catholics, but appear to be more progressive in these regards.
The history of Ireland (both Eire and the North) is long and complicated, but it does essentially come down to the fact that English/Dutch protestants invaded the island in the 1680s, and despite being pretty much clearly in the wrong for doing so, the UK still wants to cling onto the parts of it that it managed to colonise.
This is, of course, a massive oversimplification, and the thing that can be said about Westminster's involvement in the politics of NI is that it should be done at arm's length, and not with one arm around one involved party, whether it be the DUP, SF, UUP, SDLP or any of the other minor parties.
Except it's only an accident of history that many Catholics are Nationalist (Non-violent) or Republican (Any means). The SF is not a Catholic party at all, they exploit Catholics. They are an old style socialist party that regards any means acceptable to achieve their ends. The DUP in contrast hardly has a political agenda other than opposing Republicans, Nationalists, Catholics, Irish Culture, Tolerance and Liberal secular viewpoints. No doubt they think UK has gone downhill since Cromwell's death.
SF non-involvement in Westminster isn't really to do with the Monarchy, it's a bankrupt 19th policy they are too arrogant to rescind.
"it does essentially come down to the fact that English/Dutch protestants invaded the island in the 1680s"
A bit more complex than that. You appear not to have heard of the Elizabethan plantation nor of the Ulster Scots (where do you think that name Paisley comes from?). Then, of course, the Scots did come from Ireland in the first place - there's been toing and froing across the North Channel since it opened up (e.g. Argyll is derived from the name of an Irish tribe). You simply can't put a marker into the chain of events and say everything that side is right and everything the other is wrong. Attempting to over-simplify a situation is a sure-fire way of making things worse.
Ah, the Kingdom of Dalriada.
Long before Rome, Angles, Saxons, Norsemen etc, the Ulster folk fought everyone else, then Ulster was split, like today along the River Bann, with the East in the Kingdom of Dalriada which also ruled western bits of Scotland.
I think Welsh is simply Anglo-Saxon for Foreigner.
Great Britain, because Little Britain is roughly Brittany (a somewhat Celtic part of France with some affinity to Cornwall).
English/Dutch protestants invaded the island in the 1680s,
No, there wasn't an invasion. William was invited to take the English crown, if he agreed to defeat the Catholic James. James was in (Catholic) Ireland recruiting, so William headed there to defeat him before he could raise an army & return to England. After the defeat William sailed back to London and shows no sign of ever giving Ireland a thought afterwards. Not an invasion, just a convenient battle strategy (which happened to turn Irish land ownership on its head as the Jacobites fled ahead of the excecutioner).
Who later became almost Irish, but that's another story.
It was Henry II that cemented British rule, because there was no Celtic Primogenitor, he offered the clan Chiefs membership of the English Feudal system, so not only would a son inherit but a chief could no longer be deposed by a local council. Women also lost historic rights under Celtic laws.
I've never understood why "Unionists" celebrate William of Orange (a Dutchman supported with Catholic armies, congratulated by the Pope for suppressing the Heretic James, the actual English King) rather than Henry II. Or Elizabeth I. There is no doubt that Londoners didn't like James either and welcomed William, whose tenuous claim was that he married James's daughter Mary. William threatened to go home (rather than sack London) if they didn't figure how to make him King, which was an amazing reversal of the usual. They must have really disliked James. I think that he was Catholic was only part of the problem.
I've never understood why "Unionists" celebrate William of Orange
Because after William defeated James at the Boyne, the Catholic landowning classes that had supported James fled to Europe to avoid execution. William, like most victorious Kings, confiscated their lands and gave them as prizes to the people that had supported him. That had the effect of turning the Irish landowning classes Protestant practically overnight. That had a much more direct effect on the fortunes of the planted Scots protestants than almost anything else.
Even so, the Orange Order itself didn't come about until 100 years later, when there was a burst of civil disorder, so there was probably an element of rosy memories involved there as well.
I think you'll find Ireland was invaded by the Normans (Mr Strongbow, take a bow)
Strongbow was invited in by Dermot to help him get his throne back, married Dermot's daughter, and stayed. It was when he & his pals started having so much fun that Henry got worried they might challenge him, so he sailed over and demanded they swear fealty to him. That was what brought Ireland under English rule (with some connivance by the Pope as well).
"the two parties that least believe in peace, tolerance, honesty, integrity and democracy."
The history of the British state in Ireland is so fucking shameful, that I'm amazed the words " peace, tolerance, honesty, integrity and democracy" didn't stick in your craw. The murdering bastards of the Crown brought anything but those.
You misread my post.
I'm pointing out that the majority of the Assembly and ALL the Westminster MPs elected in NI DO NOT believe in peace, tolerance, honesty, integrity and democracy, WHATSOEVER. Yet, bizarrely the majority of voters claim that's what they want. Obviously they don't understand how to fill in a ballot paper, or lie to pollsters.
"Yet, bizarrely the majority of voters claim that's what they want. Obviously they don't understand how to fill in a ballot paper, or lie to pollsters."
Back in the day it was hoped that PR voting would ensure moderates and even cross-community parties such as Alliance would thrive. It didn't work.
@LoyalCommentator "....the UK still wants to cling onto the parts of it that it managed to colonise...."
Not entirely sure about that. There are many in the (mainland) UK would happily cut the cord and hand it back, but the vocal (soon to be minority) of DUP-like types would make too much of a fuss
"There are many in the (mainland) UK would happily cut the cord"
That could have happened a century or so ago had it not been clear that the result would have been an extremely bloody civil war. It might have settled matters but at a much higher cost than anything that's happened since.
There's some very interesting reading on the politics surrounding the Irish Partition back in the 20's by the Liberal government under Lloyd George. The Liberals were trying to reform the House Of Lords and needed the support of the Irish MPs, and home rule was the price they would have to pay for it.
This would have included the 6 counties in the north, but the protestants there were whipped into a fervour by none other than... the Tories, specifically Andrew Bonar Law. Here's an excerpt from one of his speeches in Belfast in which he's basically advocating military uprising.
In our opposition to them we shall not be guided by the considerations or bound by the restraints which would influence us in an ordinary constitutional struggle. We shall take the means, whatever means seem to us most effective, to deprive them of the despotic power which they have usurped and compel them to appeal to the people whom they have deceived. They may, perhaps they will, carry their Home Rule Bill through the House of Commons, but what then? I said the other day in the House of Commons and I repeat here that there are things stronger than Parliamentary majorities…
Before I occupied the position which I now fill in the Party, I said that in my belief if an attempt were made to deprive these men of their birthright as part of a corrupt Parliamentary bargain, they would be justified in resisting such an attempt by all means in their power, including force. I said it then, and I repeat now with a full sense of the responsibility which attaches to my position, that in my opinion, if such an attempt is made, I can imagine no length of resistance to which Ulster can go in which I should not be prepared to support them…
as I recall he also encouraged the marching folk to perhaps consider training and marching with weapons, because, y'know, it may come in handy. The rest, sadly, it history. Lovely man all round,
So the current DUP shenanigans have some precedent.
Incidentally much of this ill-recalled truthiness comes from the excellent book "The Strange Death Of Liberal England", which I picked up presuming it was about the recent death of Liberal England, when in fact it was about the last one. Some 95 years have passed, but it's basically the same story.
OTH, The UK is determined to keep some islands that ought to belong to Mauritius, they have deported the natives and leased part to the USA.
Then there is Bermuda. UK controlled but one of the biggest tax havens / money laundering centres in the world.
Ireland (the Nation) now only wants N.I, if the UK & EU pay the running costs for at least 20 years.
"Then there is Bermuda. UK controlled but one of the biggest tax havens / money laundering centres in the world."
Bermuda is primarily an offshore centre for re-insurance due to low corporation tax. It has a locally elected government and Britain exercises no direct control. It also has strict anti-money laundering laws and you can't even open a bank account there unless you are a resident with local ID,
Are you thinking of Belize or maybe just don't have a clue what you are talking about?
@JamieL - yup, me for one. Notionally, I've always been in favour of a united Ireland, but I've always loathed the RA and loathed the DUP even more, because , as noted, they actually do manage to make Sinn Fein look relatively good by comparison. If it weren't for the fact that it'd almost certainly cause further bloodshed, I'd be very happy for the UK to simply disown Northern Ireland, just to piss off the Paisleyites. I dunno what the so-called 'Loyalists' think they're loyal to, but it certainly isn't life as we know it in mainland UK. Both sides of that particular poisoned chalice should, IMO, be grateful that both the UK proper and Eire have been so patient with the fuckwitted but troublemaking minorities of all persuasions causing all the grief. Pity we can't weed them out and drop them on a nice uninhabited island somewhere so that the peaceful types in NI can get on with building a saner society.
Reg Standards Bureau In light of yesterday’s mega-bucks deal between the Tories and the Democratic Unionist Party, El Reg has added another unit of measurement to our Standards Bureau.Much to the disdain of the other devolved nations, the bribe agreement will see one BEEELLION pounds sent to Northern Ireland to be used for things like broadband, infrastructure and healthcare.
This post has been deleted by its author
"Never pay off a blackmailer."
Do they need to? The Establishment seems to have a track record of protecting the elite - no matter what their crime was. In the 19th century several scandal investigations quietly folded when it seemed that court trial witnesses would name people in high places.
This is out and out bribery , our PM should be impeached for this!
All for 10 fucking seats.
I'm sure if she gave 500 MPs a million pounds to do what she says she could have a much bigger majority for 1/2 the cost , and as a bonus not restart the war in NI
"Definitely one of the most unfeasibly large base units since the Farad came along."
The Farad isn't that unfeasibly large these days - you can buy a 3000F 3V capacitor from Maxell.
You think of an unfeasibly large unit and sooner or later science makes it commonplace. I think Mrs. May is about to find that once she has paid one lot of 17th century bigots the Danegeld, she will pay it again and again. How many Conservative constituencies are now marginal? Before long we'll be getting budget riders just like in the US, and the Something to do With Something Boring Plus a Bung for the MP for Con Marginal Act will be a Parliamentary fixture.
Arline, before being leader, when she was head of Finance for the NI assembly and she signed off the RHI system - basically green/woodchip heating.
Unfortunately, (for N Irish tax payers) she dropped off the caps on the claims, and forced the grants to remain available for months AFTER the issue was reported - twice - to her office.
There are EMPTY barns here which are heated to tropical temps, so the grants can be earned. 70% + of the claimants are also 'connected' with the DUP.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/public-money-could-heat-northern-ireland-ferrari-showroom-for-next-20-years-35286617.html
Liability for this is in excess of .9 DUPs, over 20 years.
The UK govt refused to pay for the DUP blunder.... I guess they are now