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offsite link North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

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The Saker
A bird's eye view of the vineyard

offsite link Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz
Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb

offsite link The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog.? We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below).?

offsite link What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are

offsite link Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
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Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Reeves?s Simplistic Thinking Spawned This Budget from Hell Mon Dec 23, 2024 15:44 | David Craig
Simplistic linear thinking by Rachel from Accounts and the Treasury spawned this Budget from hell, says David Craig. A systems thinker would have known it would send the economy into a doom loop of recession and decline.
The post Reeves’s Simplistic Thinking Spawned This Budget from Hell appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link British Drivers Steering Away From New Cars In Their Droves Mon Dec 23, 2024 13:00 | Sallust
British car-buyers are turning away from new vehicles in their droves and keeping their reliable old petrol models going for far longer as Labour's Net Zero war on affordable motors heats up.
The post British Drivers Steering Away From New Cars In Their Droves appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Britain on Brink of Recession After Growth Revised to Zero Following Reeves?s Horror Budget Mon Dec 23, 2024 11:09 | Will Jones
Britain is on the brink of a recession after official figures were revised to show zero growth in the third quarter of the year and living standards fell, with Rachel Reeves's horror Budget blamed.
The post Britain on Brink of Recession After Growth Revised to Zero Following Reeves’s Horror Budget appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link What Fresh Hell is This? The Climate and Nature Bill Mon Dec 23, 2024 09:00 | Paul Homewood
If you thought eco zealot Ed Miliband was bad, wait until you get a load of the Climate Change and Nature Bill, which seeks to turbocharge the Net Zero agenda and already has the support of 192 MPs. Paul Homewood has the skinny.
The post What Fresh Hell is This? The Climate and Nature Bill appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Daily Sceptic Christmas Appeal Mon Dec 23, 2024 07:00 | Toby Young
The Daily Sceptic's Christmas Appeal launches today ? an opportunity for readers to show their appreciation of the work we do. Remember, donating just ?5/month or ?50/year will give you access to a range of premium perks.
The post The Daily Sceptic Christmas Appeal appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

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Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?113 Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:42 | en

offsite link Pentagon could create a second Kurdish state Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:31 | en

offsite link How Washington and Ankara Changed the Regime in Damascus , by Thierry Meyssan Tue Dec 17, 2024 06:58 | en

offsite link Statement by President Bashar al-Assad on the Circumstances Leading to his Depar... Mon Dec 16, 2024 13:26 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?112 Fri Dec 13, 2024 15:34 | en

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Independents in Ireland Dare not Speak their Name

category national | politics / elections | news report author Wednesday April 23, 2014 17:33author by Justin Morahan Report this post to the editors

Government says: We decide what to call you

There can be no Independents listed on Irish ballot papers although they are coming in at over 20% in the polls



On the 16 April 2014, an Independent TD, Catherine Murphy, tried to get the Government to agree that Independent candidates in Irish elections would be allowed to describe themselves as "Independent" on the ballot paper. She failed in her efforts. Minister Alex White (Labour) read out a most unconvincing Civil Servant's set of reasons for this decision. Independents in Ireland will therefore continue to be described in the upcoming local and European elections as "Non-Party".

The term "Non-Party" sounds negative, is negative and can give an impression that a candidate would like to be in a party but can't make it.
It also conjures up images of someone who is against everything and for nothing. The opposite is most often the truth.

In the present Dáil, Independent TDs (along with a few notable party members), are by a long shot the outstanding performers. Independents are scoring highly in the polls. Interestingly, the polls describe them as "Independents", not "Non-Party".

The Government parties of Fine Gael and Labour may well be afraid that a new breed of TDs who put their country before party may infest the next Dáil with integrity and non-corruption.

And how horrible it would be if, after achieving power, they were to insist that in future elections all candidates who belong to parties be henceforth described as "Non-Independents" on future ballot papers.

An equitable quid pro quo?

author by Tpublication date Wed Apr 23, 2014 23:19author address author phone Report this post to the editors

The attached image here illustrates what is meant in the above article and it is a good point too.

And the link below has some good discussion on the nature of independents in an election system in terms of effects and influence

Image of ballot paper with independents indicated as "Non Party"
Image of ballot paper with independents indicated as "Non Party"

Related Link: http://independentforum.wordpress.com/dail/
author by seanorpublication date Sat May 17, 2014 10:54author email author address author phone Report this post to the editors

A list, on the web, of each independent candidate, where/what position (EU or local) they're standing for, and WHAT they stand for on different issues would be useful. There are some I wouldn't want to vote for because they don't represent my views on, for example, abortion law. There are others in my area who may represent things I agree with, or not, but it's difficult to tell.

 
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