Fullerene

If the U.K. government really had a clear plan on how it would all work - then maybe it would happen. At the moment, it all sounds like daydreaming, wishful thinking and right wing utopianism. (Utopianism is not consigned only to the left). We are going to have our cake and eat it! At a practical level - that is not going to work. Please provide some clue that anything has been thought through at a practical level. So far, I have heard nothing that suggests that it has been. Maybe Brexit will a great success but I am not convinced. Convince me. .. and without blaming the rest of the world at the same time.

I don't like the idea that if anyone in the Labour Party is opposed to Brexit then that is seen as an attempt to undermine Jeremy Corbyn as opposed to an attempt to say it is a really bad idea. Not every opinion in the world comes down to being for Jeremy Corbyn or against him. It is a return to good old fashioned paranoia. Probably consulting Kim Jong Un on what to do next.

This is Trump's way of saying "Let's attack the complainers" instead of "Let's attack the complaint". Are these players disrupting the national anthem? No. Are they singing a different tune? No. Are they waving somebody else's flag? No. So in what way is it being disrespectful? Come to think of it. Why is waving the confederate flag not seen as unpatriotic?

By that logic, the United States should fall apart unless everyone has an understanding of what life is like in each of the other states. Do you think people in California are overly concerned about New York State or Texas or Illinois? I think if you asked somebody in California who is the governor of Texas or the Mayor or Chicago - they might not know and more importantly they might not care. Similarly if you asked someone in Illinois what they knew about politics in California. If Germany has a level-headed leader running a level-headed government - then that is all that matters for most people here IMO.

I find this image very disturbing. Where does that table lamp plug in? .. and why exactly does he need it?

Actually, it's the urinals that you really want to avoid.

Yeah, you're right. I stole a "I love Donald Trump" knee pad. That will come in handy.

Actually I understand the whole thing with the national anthem, oath of allegiance and saluting the flag stuff. America is a basically a nation of immigrants and there was a need to establish a common identity to avoid having ghettoes of various nationalities. So, for example, when somebody comes from Italy, they want them to be Italian American, or more precisely Italian AMERICAN as opposed to just an Italian living in America. Of course, this means you see the Stars and Stripes everywhere - including virtually all uniforms (maybe I am exaggerating but it seemed like that to me). It also means the national anthem at virtually any sporting event. Domestic league fixtures - that is only the start. School team fixtures as well! Don't try buying anything in any of the shops at the time - not going to happen. The shop assistants are all standing to attention with their hand on their heart. You could probably run out the shop without paying and half of them wouldn't know what to do. Maybe they would sing the remaining words at double time and then chase after you. Not that I have done this - I am just saying.

The Soviet Union was a totalitarian state but it was definitely better to have Gorbachev in charge and not another Stalin, Khrushchev or Brezhnev. Unfortunately, for him, being more open and less brutal could not overcome the weaknesses of the Soviet Union and it collapsed. I remember several Americans saying, "No, he is still a commie - don't trust him." Fortunately, Reagan and then George H Bush, were prepared to think otherwise. Iran is far from perfect and the elections so rigged that it is not truly democratic by any means. However, I think we should be more encouraging when Iranian leaders do the things we want them to do.

Sometimes Iran has a hardline leader and some times it has a moderate. Personally I prefer when it has a moderate leader - such as Hassan Rouhani (who went to University in Glasgow, as I am sure you know) as opposed to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. However, there are some Americans who can't cope with moderate opponents - "No, no - it's all a trick." If the moderates gain nothing from being moderate - then guess what - the hardliners return. Maybe the Americans prefer that.

Kwasi Kwarteng, Paul Mason and Dia Chakravarty are all keen Brexiteers and I fully expect the angry pointy finger types in the audience too! The usual crap, such as: "We voted to leave - what's the hold up. We shouldn't be paying anything to Johnny Foreigner and they all need to leave. Let's restore the empire and make Great Britain Great again." I think I'll watch Horizon on BBC 4 instead - Goodbye Cassini or something like that.

The inventor of the typewriter made a mistake visiting Kenya. They threw him in prison for a year. Apparently "Qwerty" is a very rude word in Swahili.

Trekkie.

Thanks. BTW: I know your name isn't Bud. I heard some Glaswegian calling you Jimmy.

Actually I did go to school in Inverness. That was me trying to sound like an American. Didn't pull it off I guess. Obviously it doesn't convince anyone unless I use the word "awesome". Oh well, how disawesome? unawesome? aweless?

Obviously there are a whole bunch of would-be terrorists at their training camps, who have now just dropped their bombs, knives, suicide belts and everything and said "That's it. I'm out of here. I don't want anyone calling me a loser."

Hey Bud, you mean there are other words for describing stuff. Wow. That's .. er .. um .. can you tell us one of them? BTW - You should ask them why is "awful" a negative word. "Full of Awe" sounds like a good thing.

"Ever since I was a naughty little girl running through the wheat fields - I have been a massive fan of Florentina Football Club. Great win against Bologna, by the way and that was never a penalty. In any case, I am not convinced this 4-4-2 formation is best suited to the club and I would like to see a more attacking style of play. I also think there is a need to improve the scouting system to compete more effective against the likes of AC Milan and Juventus. And finally, maybe it is time for a new assistant manager. That's all I have to say." Okay - not very likely she will say this but it would certainly catch them off guard if she did.

They are also celebrating the fact that all the other British colonies are either remote or being battered by hurricanes.

When Kim Il Sung was in charge, anybody who mentioned the word "bogey" was shot

.. actually for the sake of world peace - they should ban golf!

I recall a story of Ronald Reagan being deep inside a mountain (Cheyenne, Wyoming or somewhere like that) where the US had their missile command. Reagan said "Well I guess if the Russians start firing their missiles, we'll be pretty safe in here." The answer he got was "No sir. We would still be dead."

Apparently this was true of Gorbachev as well. On one occasion, they did a simulation to test the system and his response was: "No I won't press the button - not even for a test." Of course, we have no way of knowing if that was actually true.

Imagine this: Donald Trump is on the golf course and has just missed an easy putt. He is so annoyed he vents his anger. "You know I just getting totally fed with those North Koreans. They are putting me off my game. Let's just nuke 'em." Under those circumstances - do you think it would actually happen? Do you think he comes off the golf course later to scenes of missiles flying everywhere and say "Hey you guys - I didn't really mean it"? I don't think much of Donald Trump but I suspect there are formal steps and safeguards involved. By contrast, Kim Jong Um is a dictator and there is a possibility of being shot for questioning his orders. Not sure is Kim is a golfer - although according to North Korean propaganda his grandfather was the greatest golfer that ever lived and once played a game where he got 18 hole-in-ones."

I totally agree but you could have worded it differently.