pap

The results are in. PS4 takes an early significant lead. 4.2 million PS4s sold to Dec 28. 3 million XBox Ones sold to New Year Japan launches next month. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-01-07-over-4-2-million-ps4s-have-been-sold-worldwide

Yup. Buchanan quotes him a lot, hence the follow-up interest. Looking at War By Timetable and Origins of the Second World War.

I wasn't there, mate. Where do you think I'm getting my info from? Pat Buchanan's book covers the topic. Looking at AJP Taylor's take on it now.

What, like China perhaps? Wasn't suggesting that Liverpool had exclusive rights, mucker - but I do suggest you get a bit more nourishment from your three a day

Britain's engagements since 1864, the year that happened:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Bhutanese_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1868_Expedition_to_Abyssinia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Anglo-Afghan_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zulu_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Boer_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahdist_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Anglo-Burmese_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zanzibar_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirah_Campaign http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Boer_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Rebellion We were pretty busy ourselves. Germany was an emerging new nation and the old nations pulled the ladder up, ultimately putting them onto a belligerent footing. You can't even say Wilhelm was wrong to build a Grand Fleet. Blockades were a big factor in the end of the war and proved crucial in securing the signature of the Germans at Versailles; the West was starving Germany until they signed.

It has been 24 hours, Jonnyboy. He's either not going to respond or is selling the family heirlooms to hire Jack Whitehall's writers. Watch this space.

There are quite a few events up here that we do every year. Chinese New Year is one; coming up soon. The Mathew Street Festival is a three day gigantic p**s up (which as you say, Liverpool does well) that takes place on the August Bank Holiday. The city has become a popular stag and hen destination, which makes the weekends a bit random. Just big enough to cater for all tastes, just small enough to walk about comfortably. Liverpool One is more than a monument to consumerism - it has become the glue between the city and the river. Good place to live and if you're working, money goes a long way.

The German problem wasn't solved before each World War, and it's arguable as to whether it is solved today. Wilhelm wanted to send support to the Boers during their conflict with England. He quickly realised that thanks to British naval supremacy, there was no way he would be able to assist them, in the process learning a valuable lesson about the limitations of his country. One of the most provocative decisions he took was to construct the High Fleet; it's stated purpose was to protect North Sea ports, defend against blockades (Germany imported a quarter of its food at that time) and to perpetuate its fledgling colonial efforts. Letter to Chancellor Hohenlohe:- "Once again, it has become obvious how foolish it was to begin our colonial policy a decade ago without having a fleet. Our trade is locked in a life-and-death struggle with the English, and our press boasts loudly of this every day, but the great merchant marine which plies the oceans of the world under our flag must renounce itself to complete impotence before their 130 cruisers, which we can proudly counter with four." Germany initially copped all the war guilt for the First World War. If that crude assessment still held today, Gove might be on firmer ground - but we know better. The spark may have gone off in Sarajevo, but war was inevitable; if Germany was a tinderbox, Britain and France's continual attempts to undermine her provided much of the fuel. From Wilhelm's perspective, it must have seemed as if the established Powers were trying to strangle his new nation at the exact point it was trying to attain parity. For the Western Powers, it was their first real crack at the German problem. They didn't do too well.

I am going to assume that you mean this non-sarcastically and that right now, a small plaque bearing both my name and the legend "voice of reason" is winging its way to Liverpool.Did the delivery people give a time at all, d'yknow?

Injuries are only a problem if the squad depth isn't there to cover it, which is precisely our problem now and no revelation to any Saints fan. We've got two or three problem positions where we're not covered, and maybe one position where we're just not strong enough full-stop, which is why I was surprised when MP announced that we wouldn't be doing any business in Jan. I hope they've revised that plan; it was mad to start with and predicated on the notion that no-one would get crocked. Although the sight of a Premier League team plummeting to its doom is not uncommon, I don't think we'll get relegated, but I do think MP could be in danger if results continue to elude us, and not a great deal to disagree about in Nick's article. We're floundering a bit, no-one is calling for MP's head, but we'll need to shake things up in order to progress. The "it's the injuries" lather doesn't wash with me. It's not like injuries are a fledgling concept like Hawkeye that clubs have only just found out about. We haven't got sufficient cover and it has cost us.

I've produced another post on this with a bit of qualification. Germany was seeking parity with her neighbours. Plenty of historians have ruminated on how Europe might have looked if such parity had been granted, or even worked toward.

Every country has military plans. Not all of them are implemented. The Schlieffen plan was not the cause of the war. It was simply implemented when war broke out.

Brownfields shouldn't be pushed aside, not even in the South East. According to a 2011 report by the Countryside Alliance, 25% of brownfield in the South East is not being built on, so there is plenty of scope to do more. Another question is whether our architectural leanings need to be reviewed. We're still building a lot of houses with gardens, despite the fact that many of them will lie unused for six months of the year, more maybe. The tower blocks we built in the 1960s give a lot of cause for concern when it comes to building up, but it needn't be like that. I spent a month living in Valladolid, Spain. Pretty much everywhere was tenement living, and it really didn't suck as much as I thought it would. On a similar note, commercial tall buildings don't seem to have been afflicted by the same blight as the residential ones. The major issue with tall buildings lies in their major benefit - the concentration of people. Whatever; they're not the only option. We should perhaps be looking at some of the more innovative ideas out there. Nerd credentials ahoy, but I love this sort of thing:- http://www.thevenusproject.com/technology/city-systems

Yeah, but the chain of events may not have occurred if the European Great powers had given Wilhelm something, anything that befit Germany's status as a world player. Wilhelm II once inquired of Lord Salisbury where Germany might have a colony that wouldn't be in the way of British Empire. Salisbury's reply? "We don't want you anywhere" Germany was patronised and excluded from the big European clubs before the outbreak of war. Wilhelm himself was an Anglophile, largely on account of his mother. He felt that good relations with the British Empire were essential. We repeatedly closed the door in his face, and the rest, as they say, is history.

What aggression was the Germans involved in prior to the outbreak of war? Both Britain and France had been in more recent conflicts, and could reasonably termed as more aggressive. War with Germany was largely a consequence of British foreign policy, particularly on Europe. At the time, our policy was to oppose the strongest power in Europe, supporting its rival states. Consequently, we wanted nothing to do with Germany or her ambitions. If we'd appeased Wilhelm even half as much as we appeased Hitler, it's debatable as to whether this war would even have gotten off the ground.

Sorry, just don't buy it. I accept that England is the most densely populated part of the Union, but if Conservative MPs can make the case for fracking in England by claiming that large parts of the North East are desolate, then we have the space, even more if the sparsely populated Scotland continues to throw their lot in with us post-referendum. Lack of space will eventually be an issue. You can only fit so much in a pint pot, after all. Right now, we're not using that space effectively, largely due to poor infrastructure. I'm keenly aware of how "full" the place feels whenever I'm stuck in a traffic jam, but that's a failing of infrastructure and planning, not a consequence of space.

No it isn't. The vast bulk of the population lives in towns or cities. In 2001, 77% of the population lived on less than 6% of the land. Sorry for repetition, but this old chestnut (the point, not Whitey G) keeps on coming back again and again. The UK is not full.

News flash, peeps. Some people are here for the wind up. Not my permanent state of affairs, and truth be told, not many other posters' either, but it happens. There are two ways to deal with this:- A) get wound up. B) enjoy a hot beverage and enjoy watching others get wound up. The hot beverage is optional. I'm normally a B) man.

I can't find the appropriate option in Google Translate. Does this roughly mean "That's not an own goal in my universe, old bean!"? Yeah, I know. Opinions, innit?

Maybe we should be asking some fundamental questions, like why earnings are now so far out from the cost of property. If people aren't buying because they can't afford it, prices should fall to affordable levels. The huge problems we got into were about people buying houses with money they couldn't afford, which banks were only to eager to finance. The underlying issue is that property is too expensive and out of the reach of many. There's a massive knock-on effect for the rest of the economy too; any foreign company looking to invest here ultimately needs to pick up the rent/mortgages of all of its employees, a big part of why the likes of Cadburys have done the offs to Poland. Prices need to come down. The new build stuff could have helped that in isolation; market forces should have done the rest. Never going to if we keep using taxpayer money to give this cash addict its next fix.

At the very least, they could have chosen another trade than estate agent, which I'm sure has given this story a lot of its wind. Also, why didn't they do what all the bloggers did and check her Twitter account. The lush BMW (I am jealous, btw) was another own goal. As I've said, no problem with the new build stimulus whatsoever. If the economists are right, the supply should lower the barrier of entry for everyone. The scheme seems to be a fillip to the banks, more than anything else. Deposits are a good idea; the less you owe those f**kers the better. If someone was able to find 10% of a deposit on their own, why can't they find the other 5%? Seems like one of those nefarious "get a house slightly faster" schemes that you hear so much about. Long-term, the market should be doing this on its own. If the market flattens a little because it takes people longer to find deposits, and prices drop a little, that helps everyone trying to find deposits. I don't want to see wholesale price crashes, but long-term, the market needs to come down to something reasonable. Pepping it up like this won't help.

A 20K loan to get a deposit for a mortgage? Point entirely missed.

Affordability has got to be considered over the long-term. Someone whacking a 50% deposit down on a house is going to pay less over the long-term than someone putting down 15%.

Also, whatever happened to working your way up? I'm out of the market until I'm more certain of space requirements. Juvenile Unit #1 trots off to Uni this year. #2 is off soon. When I do re-enter the market, won't be aiming for a mansion. Plan is to get something cheap but marketable, pay it off quickly and take it from there. You're either rent-free or have a huge chunk of change to put down on somewhere else. Too many people want it all now, imo. This scheme will be misused for upgrades.

I'm pleased with the nature of your reply. If you'd tried to argue a point instead of just going for a personal attack, I'd feel a lot worse about what I'm about to do. This Christmas, I transferred money into my old dear's bank account to cover everyone in Southampton. That's her, the siblings, the nieces, the nephews and my granddad. Wasn't a huge amount of money for me, but meant a lot to them. Saved Chrimbo, apparently. Two of my immediate family have disabilities; my old dear has to look after them. They're all on benefits, as was I when I grew up in that house. I support one family full time and another whenever I can. Today you've ventured onto a thread openly admitting that you were privately educated, earn "plenty", yet still need to seek financial assistance from your mum to buy a house. I may be a fool, but from my perspective, you're not even a man. You've had advantages over other kids and have ostensibly squandered them. Do you reckon your mum thinks your private school education was "money well spent" when you ask her for help in buying a house? Do us all a favour. Phone your mum and get her to write your next post. You need the help, but FFS, don't show her your earlier stuff (or even this reply). The last thing she'd want to see would be her privately educated pride and joy had off by a nipper from the council estates.