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['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

I hate walking to my PO box or going to a book shop and coming home empty handed, it's a terrible feeling :)

[^]

Tionne wrote: "I am guilty as well. I have entire bookshelves of books I've not read 'yet'. And probably never will. Its like a Hydra. Read one, then buy three more and not read them."

Books do furnish a house. Think of the simple kindness of giving each and every one of your books a loving, kind, companionable and warm home. Should your filled bookshelves/bookcases be placed against external walls, they will also act to insulate your house and reduce your fuel bills!

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

^ wrote: "Books do furnish a house. Think of the simple kindness of giving each and every one of your books a loving, kind, companionable and warm home. Should your filled bookshelves/bookcases be placed against external walls, they will also act to insulate your house and reduce your fuel bills!..."

Wise words indeed :)

[Liam]

"A room without books is like a body without a soul."
- Marcus Tullius Cicero

The room in which I'm typing this is soulful indeed; 301 as yet unread books jammed into or stacked on top of the cheap, raggedy little press-board bookcases in here. I don't remember who I was conversing with, but the other day I made a comment to the effect that I sometimes feel like Ebenezer Scrooge, counting my "to read" stacks and gloating, hahaha...

[Mike, Assisting Moderator US Forces]

Liam wrote: " I sometimes feel like Ebenezer Scrooge, counting my "to read" stacks and gloating, hahaha......"

Exactly! Except sometimes it is...let me start that one, no that one, wait maybe that one over there...I can't decide....

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Well said Mike! :)

[Liam]

Mike wrote: "Liam wrote: " I sometimes feel like Ebenezer Scrooge, counting my "to read" stacks and gloating, hahaha......"

Exactly! Except sometimes it is...let me start that one, no that one, wait maybe that..."

Yes, absolutely!

[Chin Joo]

Mike wrote: "Exactly! Except sometimes it is...let me start that one, no that one, wait maybe that..."

Not too long ago, I had 6 books on my 'currently reading' list. In a span of 2 weeks, I finished 2 of them and proudly told myself that I would complete the other four before the year is out. Then I can start the new year like a new man.

Then yesterday I told myself "Ok, I'll just read the foreword of this one sitting here." Nothing serious, just the foreword and I'll put it back.

And then last night I took "A bright shining lie" and started reading the first few pages. You know, nothing serious or heavy for bedtime, it's not like I'm going to start reading the book "seriously" and of course, I won't put it in my "currently reading" list.

A bright shining lie.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

An excellent book to get serious about Chin Joo :)

by Neil Sheehan

[Liam]

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "An excellent book to get serious about Chin Joo :)

by Neil Sheehan"

Yes, but then if you really want to get the most out of it you must read the following as well: Once Upon a Distant War: Young War Correspondents And The Early Vietnam Battles, The New Face Of War, Muddy Boots and Red Socks: A Reporter's Life, The Making Of A Quagmire, and probably Live From The Battlefield: From Vietnam to Baghdad, 35 Years in the World's War Zones for good measure...

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Without sounding somewhat weird are people also drawn to the smell of new books?

[carl]

If they are in a new car.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

I'm not drawn to them Geevee but then again I don't mind the smell.

I don't grab books on the shelves in shops and start sniffing them, do you? :)

[Chin Joo]

Not books per se, but bookstores.

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I'm not drawn to them Geevee but then again I don't mind the smell.

I don't grab books on the shelves in shops and start sniffing them, do you? :)"

No but when you flick through pages you can smell the pages...

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Chin Joo wrote: "Not books per se, but bookstores."

Yep know what you mean Chin Joo.

[Tionne]

Geevee wrote: "Without sounding somewhat weird are people also drawn to the smell of new books?"

Me! I do give used books a sniff. Low key. They usually smell great. The entire store smells amazing.

[carl]

Maybe someone can look up a Japanese word for this ?


Tionne wrote: "Geevee wrote: "Without sounding somewhat weird are people also drawn to the smell of new books?"

Me! I do give used books a sniff. Low key. They usually smell great. The entire store smells amazing."

[Dj]

Here is something knew to mull over.


http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-...

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Yes, a sad state of affairs eh!

[Jonny]

Dj wrote: "Here is something knew to mull over.


http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-..."

It's an awful airbrush job, to be sure..

[Boudewijn]

Jonny wrote: It's an awful airbrush job, to be sure.."

I don't know, if you control the media like Putin does, you can get away with anything. The Dutch still have a bone to pick with regards to the MH17 plane disaster

[Jonny]

Bou wrote: "Jonny wrote: It's an awful airbrush job, to be sure.."

I don't know, if you control the media like Putin does, you can get away with anything. The Dutch still have a bone to pick with regards to t..."

Bou wrote: "Jonny wrote: It's an awful airbrush job, to be sure.."

I don't know, if you control the media like Putin does, you can get away with anything. The Dutch still have a bone to pick with regards to t..."

There are quite a few of its up here in the North East who would like a word with him about that one too.

[Manray9]

This appeared in The Washington Post today. It's an interesting view, but I am not fully convinced by this cursory presentation of the evidence. I have long been an admirer of Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and The Jew of Malta.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/m...

[Jonny]

Signed up for this last night; I'd be grateful if any of our UK members would put their name to it:
https://www.change.org/p/fifa-let-eng...

[Manray9]

Jonny wrote: "Signed up for this last night; I'd be grateful if any of our UK members would put their name to it:
https://www.change.org/p/fifa-let-eng...?..."

Jonny: As we say here in South Carolina "I don't have a dog in that fight," but we are aware of the high moral standing and reputation for rectitude commonplace among officials of that august body known as FIFA.

Good luck. They should wear their poppies no matter what FIFA dictates.

[Boudewijn]

With the year coming to an end, and the anouncement of the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016, I'm curious what our little group would suggest as their choices for best WOII related book this year?

For me it's this one, which left a lasting impression:

[Manray9]

Bou wrote: "With the year coming to an end, and the anouncement of the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016, I'm curious what our little group would suggest as their choices for best WOII related book this year?

For ..."

Bou: Published this year or read by us this year?

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Hi Bou, I usually run a thread towards the end of the year asking just that question, so thanks for reminding me. Here is the thread for group members who wish to respond. It is any book you have read this year:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Boudewijn]

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Hi Bou, I usually run a thread towards the end of the year asking just that question, so thanks for reminding me. Here is the thread for group members who wish to respond. It as any book you have r..."

Great, thanks! Good idea, let's not only stick to books published this year, but any book you've read this year.

[Tony]

Jonny wrote: "Signed up for this last night; I'd be grateful if any of our UK members would put their name to it:
https://www.change.org/p/fifa-let-eng...?..."

Thanks for posting the link - disgraceful!

[Dj]

Manray9 wrote: "Jonny wrote: "Signed up for this last night; I'd be grateful if any of our UK members would put their name to it:
https://www.change.org/p/fifa-let-eng......"

Seems they did and now they are looking at fines or some such.

[Manray9]

Dj wrote: "Manray9 wrote: "Jonny wrote: "Signed up for this last night; I'd be grateful if any of our UK members would put their name to it:
https://www.change.org/p/fifa-let-eng...-..."

Good on 'em!

[Jonny]

I'm with you Manray. The idiocy of the whole thing being that the match is England vs. Scotland, so exactly who is supposed to be offended is quite beyond me. Beyond that, apparently the Irish FA were allowed to commemorate the Easter Rising earlier this year! You couldn't make it up....

[Manray9]

I am interested in the workings of differing forms of government throughout the world. This year the UK's Brexit vote has been in the news and today the article below appeared in The Washington Post. It addresses some of the questions I considered at the time of the vote: Under the UK system, as I understand it (I'm certainly no expert), how is a referendum binding? Apparently the High Court says it isn't. As the article states, isn't the sovereign's parliament supreme? How then may a referendum force the government to do anything? Isn't it simply a statement of public opinion on the issue? Here in the U.S. we have no vehicle for national referenda. In fact, our presidential election isn't a single national vote, but 51 individual elections (all the states plus the District of Columbia) in which the victor must win the majority of electors apportioned among the states by population. Four times the recipient of fewer votes has won the White House by claiming more electors -- the popular vote total being irrelevant in those elections.

I would like to hear from some of our UK members about this.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

You may find this link of interest MR9, in Australia a referendum is binding however a plebiscite isn't:

http://www.aec.gov.au/elections/refer...

[zed]

Manray9 I am no Englishman, one of Aussie Rick's countryman, but the one thing that was of interest to me was the Royal Prerogative use by the UK government in attempting to circumvent a parliamentary vote. I have read extensively on the what some call the English Civil War, I prefer The War of the Three Kingdoms, and if you have not read in depth and are looking for a new subject I highly recommend it.

The interesting thing to come out of that judgement for me was that the judiciary knocked the Royal Prerogative back to where it should have been assigned to, the garbage bin of history. The civil wars were about many things, religion mainly in my opinion, but one of the huge mistakes that Charles I made during those times was rule by Royal Prerogative, no referral to parliament and, to put it simplistically, this lead to a discontent by the moneyed class. Simplistically the rest of that historical progression is the growth of British parliamentary democracy based on a constitutional monarchy that they have today.

Forgetting the pros and cons of the UK being in the EU I have to admit to amazement that an elected government in the UK was going to use Royal Prerogative to ram road huge economic changes based on a non binding referendum without nary a discussion in parliament. If the judiciary had not found that unconstitutional in my opinion the UK may as well have done away with it's parliament and just had a vote for an executive ruling class every 5 years. Astonishingly dangerous IMO. Maybe I should not have been amazed, what was that about power corrupting and absolute power etc?

[Manray9]

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "You may find this link of interest MR9, in Australia a referendum is binding however a plebiscite isn't:

http://www.aec.gov.au/elections/refer..."

AR: Interesting, we have no vehicle for a national referendum or a plebiscite. We do, however, have procedures for amending the constitution. They are rather convoluted: by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress, amendments can be proposed. Alternatively, a positive vote by the state legislatures of two-thirds of the states convokes a convention to generate proposed amendments. In either case, three-fourths of the states must approve the proposed amendment(s). Congress gets to determine if the approval is by three-fourths of the state legislatures or three-fourths of state conventions.

[Dimitri]

Great for a larf :
Books That Sound So Much More Interesting If One Removes the Last Letter of the Title

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

[Ian]

Manray9 wrote: "I am interested in the workings of differing forms of government throughout the world. This year the UK's Brexit vote has been in the news and today the article below appeared in The Washington Pos..."

I voted Remain but unlike some 'Remainers' I respect the result of the referendum and I expect, with regret, that the UK government will take us out of the EU.

However, the current mess is such that probably only a General Election will resolve the matter. The following link will take those interested to an article which will explain the constitutional, or at least the political, situation very well.

http://capx.co/only-a-snap-election-w...

I'm afraid that the actions of some of those who, like me, voted to Remain confirms a cynical thought that I have from time to time, that some people only believe in democracy if decisions go their way!

[Manray9]

Ian wrote: "Manray9 wrote: "I am interested in the workings of differing forms of government throughout the world. This year the UK's Brexit vote has been in the news and today the article below appeared in Th..."

Thanks, Ian. That was good info and precisely what I hoped to be led to by another GR member.

[zed]

Ian wrote: "I voted Remain but unlike some 'Remainers' I respect the result of the referendum and I expect, with regret, that the UK government will take us out of the EU.
"

Ian if another election was held and the Liberal Democrats ran a Non leave campaign and held the balance of power what, in your opinion would be the consequences?

[Ian]

4ZZZ

Re: the situation you posit; Lib Dems hold in the balance of power after a General Election. It is possible to imagine a GE result where the Lib Dems could join a 'Remain Bloc' in a new Parliament, joining with the SNP, many (most?) Labour MPS & Greens plus 'rebel' Tories. Assuming a Tory government, the power of such a Bloc would obviously depend on the size of the government majority.
However, the likelihood of such an eventuality is dependent on a number of issues, viz;
1. The timing of an election. It is not so easy now for a government in power to call a 'snap' election. (See the link on my previous post). If such an election is not or cannot be called who knows where we will be in 2020!
2. What will be the manifesto positions be on the Remain/Leave question at the time of any election. Let's assume the following; Tory & UKIP - Leave; Lib Dem, SNP & Greens - Remain; Labour - Probably Remain, but there is a Leave strain in the party and Labour support for the EU has not been consistent historically. The current Labour leader was lukewarm at best in his support for the Remain camp in the June referendum.
3. Current voting intentions from a poll taken last week. Conservative (A.k.a. Tories for non British members) 42%; Labour 28%; Lib Dems 8%; UKIP 12%; Greens 4%; SNP & others, but note that the SNP would certainly make a more or less clean sweep of parliamentary seats in Scotland.
4. Thus the Lib Dems would have to make enormous gains to reach a position where they could hold some sort of balance of power.
5. Our first past the post system militates against smaller parties. In the 2015 election the average votes per seat was as follows:- Conservative 34k; Labour 40k; SNP 26K (electorally the SNP has a stranglehold on Scotland); Lib Dem 301k; UKIP 3.8 million - with nearly 4 million votes they have one MP; Greens 1.5 million.
6. The Lib Dems have suffered from their position as a coalition partner in the Tory government of 2010. They were almost obliterated then and although they have recovered somewhat they also suffer from an almost unknown leader!
7. Thus to make real gains in terms of seats they must attract disaffected 'Remainers' from other parties. This is very unlikely or impossible from UKIP or the SNP and unlikely although perhaps possible from Labour. As to attracting Tory voters that really depends a Tory voter deciding that voting to remain in the EU overcomes their objection to other Lib Dems policies and the real Tory bugbear of a Labour/Lib Dem/SNP coalition. Some of these considerations might also persuade previous Labour voters to vote UKIP or, more unlikely, Tory.

If, despite all these caveats, the result you propose did come to pass then I see political turmoil. The break up of the UK as
England says good riddance to Scotland; depending on the resulting majority further elections; splits in political parties and the rise of the sort of angry intolerance and division that we see, regrettably, in the USA.
But what do I know! I didn't think the Russians would invade Czechoslovakia or that we would vote to Keane the EU! My wife called both these events correctly. She thinks The Donald will win; I hope that she doesn't get three in a row!

[Ian]

Dratted predictive text! 'Keane' in the last line of my last post should, of course, be Leave!

[zed]

Thanks for your reply Ian. Much appreciated.

[zed]

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queen...

My car and many others are at war with an invasion of butterfly's. :-)

[Dj]

Dimitri wrote: "Great for a larf :
Books That Sound So Much More Interesting If One Removes the Last Letter of the Title

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2......"

I want to read the Da Vinci Cod. It sounds like it would be along the lines of The Old Man and the Sea. LOL

[Liam]

Dj wrote: "Dimitri wrote: "Great for a larf :
Books That Sound So Much More Interesting If One Removes the Last Letter of the Title

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2......"

Unless that's "Cod" as in "codpiece", which would be another kettle of fish entirely...

[Dimitri]

Shit. Trump won.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

I'll head this off before it starts, the election in the United States appears from the outside to have been quite divisive so let's leave the election out of the group discussion as much as I know everyone will have an opinion on the subject but I want to head off any disagreements amongst group members.

If you can't restrain yourself and need to have a say please, please do it with respect and accept that others may not agree with your views.

Thanks :-)