Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Options

politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » This should take the pressure off Mr Corbyn

1235

Comments

  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    It was secure - there were Secret Service agents protecting it :wink:
    MattW said:

    *is* - you're on dodgy ground there :wink:

    Charles said:

    JEO said:

    People seem to be going on to dangerous territory now. Putting your genitals in something disgusting as a dare and having sex with that something are not the same thing. Claiming that endangers libel, I would think.

    A libel case based on that distinction is probably not one which the lawyers would recommend pursuing!
    I thought that Clinton clearly demonstrated that oral sex is not "sexual relations"!
    Surely "is not" is a Clintonian definition of "is".

    As in "this email on my personal less secure server is not classiffied material."


  • Options
    Mr. Jonathan, there's also the question of what level of supporting evidence is needed for an allegation to have legs. Not read the article, but at the moment it appears to be "One anonymous source says that several decades ago...".

    It might be true. It might be LBJ redux.
  • Options
    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,850
    Charles said:

    JEO said:

    People seem to be going on to dangerous territory now. Putting your genitals in something disgusting as a dare and having sex with that something are not the same thing. Claiming that endangers libel, I would think.

    A libel case based on that distinction is probably not one which the lawyers would recommend pursuing!
    I thought that Clinton clearly demonstrated that oral sex is not "sexual relations"!
    "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Empress of Blandings."
  • Options
    Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,820
    edited September 2015
    @Charles - the Mail article makes it clear that the MP source of the story wasn't present at the alleged porky frolics, so those looking for Piers Gaveston members are rooting in the wrong truffle-field.
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Oh do spill!

    This sounds fascinating in a Jeremy Kyle kinda way.

    MaxPB said:

    Oh. Spoil sport.


    The story was recounted to them by a contemporary of Mr Cameron who went on to become an MP – and who claims that another member of the group has photographic evidence to prove it.

    The unnamed individual said to possess the picture failed to respond to the authors’ approaches.

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3242494/Revenge-PM-s-snub-billionaire-funded-Tories-years-sparked-explosive-political-book-decade.html#ixzz3mMfG0iot
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
    "A contemporary of Mr Cameron who went on to become an MP"

    ....and who has had his own Prime Ministerial ambitions thwarted maybe?
    Why does it have to be a Conservative MP?
    He claims to have been in attendance, so he had to have been a Bullingdon oaf as well.

    It wasn't the Bullingdon, it was the Piers Gaveston Society. Wikipedia has a handy selection of its previous, ahem, members:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piers_Gaveston_Society

    There are a couple of MPs named.
    I would not regard that WIKI article as remotely accurate - the Gaveston was already notorious when I went up in '76 (it claims it started in 77) and the choice of name and sexuality of the members were not coincidences - which is why I doubt Cameron, Johnson or Stewart were members.....of course it could have changed in the intervening decade or so......but if so it must have drifted significantly from its initial purpose....
    As I understand it it was for gay boys and the pretty straight boys they lusted after - from the photos I've seen Cameron would never have been pretty enough....

    My understanding is that it was more bi / anything goes, but definitely a gay edge

  • Options
    MattWMattW Posts: 18,548
    edited September 2015

    Off-topic:

    VW shares lost 18% in early trading.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34311819

    Good. They deserve to suffer for this.

    They do. That said, American courts seem very willing to impose swinging fines on foreign companies.
    IIRC usually they aren't imposed by American Courts.

    I think eg most of the BP decisions are agreed settlements between BP and someone threatening to take it to court, not Court Decisions.

    Aren't most US banking "fines" decided by some sort of regional official in New York, or sometimes teh State Department, without actual legal action?

    I always thought that was because US Courts were such a shambles that it was like putting your future on the roll of a dice.

  • Options
    Anyway, the story has provided plenty of fun. Luckily it won't have any political effect because Cameron and Osborne resigned years ago over Andy Coulson, Bullingdon, and a photo with a lady of flexible affections.
  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    In the end - the fact that Dave was focussing on hi jinks and not boring politics at Uni perhaps makes him a more rounded PM.

    Whilst this was going down - Ed Miliband was probably attending a seminar on tractor production in Cuba.
  • Options
    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453

    @Charles - the Mail article makes it clear that the source of the story wasn't present at the alleged porky frolics, so those looking for Piers Gaveston members are rooting in the wrong truffle-field.

    So it's not even single sourced, it's singled sourced hearsay.
  • Options
    DanSmithDanSmith Posts: 1,215
    If there are photos then doesn't that make Cameron a potential target of blackmail and thus is highly irresponsible he didn't declare this incident with the appropriate authorities? Definite argument for a public inquiry.
  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    Jonathan said:

    One of the interesting aspects of this story is "where is the line".

    I reckon there is little doubt that Cameron will survive this. It's embarrassing, but that's about it. In terms of political impact, it will probably stop him bringing up the pasts of others. There will be a witty conference remark and that will be that.

    But where is the line in 2015?

    If it happened last week would that matter?
    If a photo were to emerge, would that make a difference?
    If a second incident were to come to light, could the idea that this was a habit be enough to end a PM career?

    Curious.

    Is the line not that it was a childish initiation prank rather than something he did for fun ?
  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    ''So it's not even single sourced, it's singled sourced hearsay. ''

    It's single sourced hearsay that No 10 has just rubbished as untrue, and as every spinner knows, an incorrect denial is worse than the original action
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    Sean_F said:

    Charles said:

    JEO said:

    People seem to be going on to dangerous territory now. Putting your genitals in something disgusting as a dare and having sex with that something are not the same thing. Claiming that endangers libel, I would think.

    A libel case based on that distinction is probably not one which the lawyers would recommend pursuing!
    I thought that Clinton clearly demonstrated that oral sex is not "sexual relations"!
    I thought his defence was "oral sex is not adultery. The Bible says so."
    I didn't really follow the details - that sort of petty scandal doesn't interest me (the abuse of power relationships between the intern and the president was much more significant).

    All I remember was his claim that 'he did not have sexual relations with that woman'
  • Options
    MTimTMTimT Posts: 7,034

    Off-topic:

    VW shares lost 18% in early trading.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34311819

    Good. They deserve to suffer for this.

    They do. That said, American courts seem very willing to impose swinging fines on foreign companies.
    There have also been some pretty massive fines on US banks, don't forget. And vice-versa, EU fines on US companies re anti-trust.
  • Options
    Its possibly been commented on already - but the BBC omits the Mail from its pictures of front pages:

    http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-the-papers-34310771
  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,205
    Wandered in to say hello.

    Seem to have found myself on Bestiality.com.

    Baker Street last week. Now this.

    Wanders off again........
  • Options
    According to the BBC, Ashcroft was offered a job: junior Foreign Office whip, which Ashcroft seemed to think was beneath him.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34312744

    He also denies that the book is about settling scores. In which case, he might want to sue the Daily Mail's headline writers ...
  • Options
    watford30watford30 Posts: 3,474
    DanSmith said:

    If there are photos then doesn't that make Cameron a potential target of blackmail and thus is highly irresponsible he didn't declare this incident with the appropriate authorities? Definite argument for a public inquiry.

    A public inquiry?! Arf.
  • Options

    Anyway, the story has provided plenty of fun. Luckily it won't have any political effect because Cameron and Osborne resigned years ago over Andy Coulson, Bullingdon, and a photo with a lady of flexible affections.

    No, it was the cardinal crime of buying fish at Morrisons that did them in, and something about a police horse. ;)
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,990
    TGOHF said:

    In the end - the fact that Dave was focussing on hi jinks and not boring politics at Uni perhaps makes him a more rounded PM.

    Whilst this was going down - Ed Miliband was probably attending a seminar on tractor production in Cuba.

    Do they make tractors in Cuba? I thought they used refurbished Septic ones!
  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    I see it's Iain Dale's publishing firm behind this https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/authors/michael-ashcroft

    They've published a couple of his before.

    Its possibly been commented on already - but the BBC omits the Mail from its pictures of front pages:

    http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-the-papers-34310771

  • Options
    GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 20,817
  • Options
    Cyclefree said:

    Wandered in to say hello.

    Seem to have found myself on Bestiality.com.

    Baker Street last week. Now this.

    Wanders off again........

    Look on the bright side: it's stopped TSE's AV thread!

    Hurrah!
  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    If that's true - it sounds like a job deliberately offered to be refused.

    According to the BBC, Ashcroft was offered a job: junior Foreign Office whip, which Ashcroft seemed to think was beneath him.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34312744

    He also denies that the book is about settling scores. In which case, he might want to sue the Daily Mail's headline writers ...

  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    ''A public inquiry?! Arf.''

    Dan Smith is Ed Miliband and I claim my £5.
  • Options
    GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 20,817
    TGOHF said:

    In the end - the fact that Dave was focussing on hi jinks and not boring politics at Uni perhaps makes him a more rounded PM.

    Whilst this was going down - Ed Miliband was probably attending a seminar on tractor production in Cuba.

    LOL!
  • Options
    SimonStClareSimonStClare Posts: 7,976
    edited September 2015
    Re: Volkswagen Could Face $18 Billion Fine Over Emission-Cheating Software.

    Point of interest. How does a company go about raising a multi-billion dollar fine?
  • Options
    dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,288
    LucyJones said:

    I think it is going to turn out that it has all just been a simple misunderstanding.

    image

    "No, Dave - I said put the cox in the dead pig's mouth!"

    No more jokes about stuffing.

    Good day to bury bad news, profit warnings etc. Not a fan of Ashcroft, and his love of financial engineering at ADT.
  • Options
    Mr. Jessop, for Miss Cyclefree's sake, I propose we spend the next six hours discussing the engine malfunctions at the Singapore Grand Prix :D
  • Options

    Its possibly been commented on already - but the BBC omits the Mail from its pictures of front pages:

    http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-the-papers-34310771

    Yet more evidence of its pro-Tory bias. They'd never have done the same if the story had been about Corbyn.

  • Options
    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    DanSmith said:

    If there are photos ...

    If there are photos, is the person who has them not already breaking the law?
  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    The Times' are all against Ashcroft - either they don't care about the story [been there done that/I was stupid too] and/or are scathing of him as a petty man.

    No wonder the Mail headlined it as revenge.
    GIN1138 said:
  • Options
    dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,288
    Is Cameron an animal lover?
  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    LOL
    Nick Clegg's former adviser, Sean Kemp, said: "I'm used to Lib Dem conference being overshadowed by more interesting stories, but this is just taking the piss."
    GIN1138 said:
  • Options
    dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,288
    Coy, and guarded BBC article on Dave and that pig...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34312744
  • Options

    MaxPB said:

    Oh. Spoil sport.


    The story was recounted to them by a contemporary of Mr Cameron who went on to become an MP – and who claims that another member of the group has photographic evidence to prove it.

    The unnamed individual said to possess the picture failed to respond to the authors’ approaches.

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3242494/Revenge-PM-s-snub-billionaire-funded-Tories-years-sparked-explosive-political-book-decade.html#ixzz3mMfG0iot
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
    "A contemporary of Mr Cameron who went on to become an MP"

    ....and who has had his own Prime Ministerial ambitions thwarted maybe?
    Why does it have to be a Conservative MP?
    He claims to have been in attendance, so he had to have been a Bullingdon oaf as well.

    It wasn't the Bullingdon, it was the Piers Gaveston Society. Wikipedia has a handy selection of its previous, ahem, members:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piers_Gaveston_Society

    There are a couple of MPs named.
    I would not regard that WIKI article as remotely accurate - the Gaveston was already notorious when I went up in '76 (it claims it started in 77) and the choice of name and sexuality of the members were not coincidences - which is why I doubt Cameron, Johnson or Stewart were members.....of course it could have changed in the intervening decade or so......but if so it must have drifted significantly from its initial purpose....

    It was almost a joke in my time there. A mixture of beautiful people fucking in the woods and fat rich boys wobbling around in masks.
  • Options
    It looks like those huskies had a lucky escape...
  • Options
    The Times used to be castigated on here for its critical coverage of Lord Ashcroft.
  • Options
    YouGov live poll (so not weighted) asking whether this mattered was 40% Yes 52% No at the last count.

    I do think it will end up mattering a bit, but more in legacy terms (the Catherine the Great argument).

    Maybe this is Ashcroft doing the Tory party a favour just as the heat was getting to Corbyn?
  • Options
    Maybe this means that Yvette can be Prime Minister after all
  • Options

    Its possibly been commented on already - but the BBC omits the Mail from its pictures of front pages:

    http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-the-papers-34310771

    Yet more evidence of its pro-Tory bias. They'd never have done the same if the story had been about Corbyn.

    Or their lawyers wary of a single sourced hearsay story from two decades ago?
  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    The Times did have a hate-hate relationship with him - and it was reciprocated.

    The Times used to be castigated on here for its critical coverage of Lord Ashcroft.

  • Options

    Maybe this means that Yvette can be Prime Minister after all

    Very good.
  • Options
    hey folks. PB works in China. I didn't think it would.

    Didn't this Cameron thing happen in "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail"?
  • Options
    MattWMattW Posts: 18,548
    edited September 2015
    Scott_P said:

    DanSmith said:

    If there are photos ...

    If there are photos, is the person who has them not already breaking the law?
    Gloria De Piero played photos the best.

    Super Soaraway Sun style photos of a borderline 16 year olds are beyond the pale under current laws and some people's mores, so she just asked for them to be sent to her and they did.

    If he knows who it is, Cam can say hand 'em over or it goes to Mr Plod.
  • Options
    dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,288

    YouGov live poll (so not weighted) asking whether this mattered was 40% Yes 52% No at the last count.

    I do think it will end up mattering a bit, but more in legacy terms (the Catherine the Great argument).

    Maybe this is Ashcroft doing the Tory party a favour just as the heat was getting to Corbyn?

    I thought that the Catherine The Great and Ivan The Horse story was fiction.
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,306

    Re: Volkswagen Could Face $18 Billion Fine Over Emission-Cheating Software.

    Point of interest. How does a company go about raising a multi-billion dollar fine?

    Point of far greater interest. Is this going to affect the amount of road tax I pay on my Audi?
  • Options
    dr_spyn said:

    YouGov live poll (so not weighted) asking whether this mattered was 40% Yes 52% No at the last count.

    I do think it will end up mattering a bit, but more in legacy terms (the Catherine the Great argument).

    Maybe this is Ashcroft doing the Tory party a favour just as the heat was getting to Corbyn?

    I thought that the Catherine The Great and Ivan The Horse story was fiction.
    Well quite. Though if I were to make a market on this story I'd probably go Ham 2/5 Sham 7/4
  • Options

    Re: Volkswagen Could Face $18 Billion Fine Over Emission-Cheating Software.

    Point of interest. How does a company go about raising a multi-billion dollar fine?

    Ask BP. But then again, do you believe the story, ie that it could actually be fined that amount?
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,993
    Fun fact for the day.

    The drop in Volkswagen's value today is *more* than the entire value of the Greek stock exchange.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,993
    DavidL said:

    Re: Volkswagen Could Face $18 Billion Fine Over Emission-Cheating Software.

    Point of interest. How does a company go about raising a multi-billion dollar fine?

    Point of far greater interest. Is this going to affect the amount of road tax I pay on my Audi?
    Possibly, yes.
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    According to the BBC, Ashcroft was offered a job: junior Foreign Office whip, which Ashcroft seemed to think was beneath him.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34312744

    He also denies that the book is about settling scores. In which case, he might want to sue the Daily Mail's headline writers ...

    In recent years he has built a reputation as an independent pollster

    I see that the BBC is careful not to state whether it is a good reputation
  • Options
    Charles said:

    Oh do spill!

    This sounds fascinating in a Jeremy Kyle kinda way.

    MaxPB said:

    Oh. Spoil sport.


    The story was recounted to them by a contemporary of Mr Cameron who went on to become an MP – and who claims that another member of the group has photographic evidence to prove it.

    The unnamed individual said to possess the picture failed to respond to the authors’ approaches.

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3242494/Revenge-PM-s-snub-billionaire-funded-Tories-years-sparked-explosive-political-book-decade.html#ixzz3mMfG0iot
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
    "A contemporary of Mr Cameron who went on to become an MP"

    ....and who has had his own Prime Ministerial ambitions thwarted maybe?
    Why does it have to be a Conservative MP?
    He claims to have been in attendance, so he had to have been a Bullingdon oaf as well.

    It wasn't the Bullingdon, it was the Piers Gaveston Society. Wikipedia has a handy selection of its previous, ahem, members:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piers_Gaveston_Society

    There are a couple of MPs named.
    I would not regard that WIKI article as remotely accurate - the Gaveston was already notorious when I went up in '76 (it claims it started in 77) and the choice of name and sexuality of the members were not coincidences - which is why I doubt Cameron, Johnson or Stewart were members.....of course it could have changed in the intervening decade or so......but if so it must have drifted significantly from its initial purpose....
    As I understand it it was for gay boys and the pretty straight boys they lusted after - from the photos I've seen Cameron would never have been pretty enough....
    My understanding is that it was more bi / anything goes, but definitely a gay edge



    It may have evolved over time but there's a pretty heavy hint in the name.....
  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    edited September 2015
    And now we get the friend's view - presume they were a member. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/11879556/David-Cameron-was-not-member-of-debauched-university-society-friends-say.html

    “The pig’s head stuff is total c**p,” one source said. “He was not a member of this society. Ashcroft has made it very clear why he’s written this stuff. It is absurd.”
  • Options
    watford30 said:

    DanSmith said:

    If there are photos then doesn't that make Cameron a potential target of blackmail and thus is highly irresponsible he didn't declare this incident with the appropriate authorities? Definite argument for a public inquiry.

    A public inquiry?! Arf.
    Yes, and of course Cameron had told Ashcroft where to get off and publish and be damned.
  • Options
    Miss Plato, if it's confirmed Cameron wasn't a member of the society in question, that would hole the story beneath the waterline.
  • Options
    DavidL said:

    Re: Volkswagen Could Face $18 Billion Fine Over Emission-Cheating Software.

    Point of interest. How does a company go about raising a multi-billion dollar fine?

    Point of far greater interest. Is this going to affect the amount of road tax I pay on my Audi?
    Good point. and one I had not considered. - Looks as though both shareholders and road users could be clobbered for VWs criminality.
  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,205
    rcs1000 said:

    Fun fact for the day.

    The drop in Volkswagen's value today is *more* than the entire value of the Greek stock exchange.

    rcs1000 said:

    Fun fact for the day.

    The drop in Volkswagen's value today is *more* than the entire value of the Greek stock exchange.

    No no: don't you understand anything? The fun fact of the last week is that the LoTo can't do up his top shirt button and the PM can't do up his flies. Or something. Allegedly.

    Anything - AV, Formula 1, rugby, train timetables - must be better than this. Even - sigh, those were the days - politics.
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Charles said:

    Oh do spill!

    This sounds fascinating in a Jeremy Kyle kinda way.

    MaxPB said:

    Oh. Spoil sport.


    The story was recounted to them by a contemporary of Mr Cameron who went on to become an MP – and who claims that another member of the group has photographic evidence to prove it.

    The unnamed individual said to possess the picture failed to respond to the authors’ approaches.

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3242494/Revenge-PM-s-snub-billionaire-funded-Tories-years-sparked-explosive-political-book-decade.html#ixzz3mMfG0iot
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
    "A contemporary of Mr Cameron who went on to become an MP"

    ....and who has had his own Prime Ministerial ambitions thwarted maybe?
    Why does it have to be a Conservative MP?
    He claims to have been in attendance, so he had to have been a Bullingdon oaf as well.

    It wasn't the Bullingdon, it was the Piers Gaveston Society. Wikipedia has a handy selection of its previous, ahem, members:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piers_Gaveston_Society

    There are a couple of MPs named.
    I would not regard that WIKI article as remotely accurate - the Gaveston was already notorious when I went up in '76 (it claims it started in 77) and the choice of name and sexuality of the members were not coincidences - which is why I doubt Cameron, Johnson or Stewart were members.....of course it could have changed in the intervening decade or so......but if so it must have drifted significantly from its initial purpose....
    As I understand it it was for gay boys and the pretty straight boys they lusted after - from the photos I've seen Cameron would never have been pretty enough....
    My understanding is that it was more bi / anything goes, but definitely a gay edge

    It may have evolved over time but there's a pretty heavy hint in the name.....

    I'm fairly sure the original Piers was bi as well.
  • Options
    rcs1000 said:

    DavidL said:

    Re: Volkswagen Could Face $18 Billion Fine Over Emission-Cheating Software.

    Point of interest. How does a company go about raising a multi-billion dollar fine?

    Point of far greater interest. Is this going to affect the amount of road tax I pay on my Audi?
    Possibly, yes.
    Presumably it could be reprogrammed to cut the emissions. And the performance.
  • Options
    F1: and on Singapore engines, lots suffered shifting to neutral (Sainz recovered, others didn't), which is reckoned due to electronic interference from the nearby metro.

    Hamilton's problem is another kettle of monkeys. That was a massive power loss, to the extent it made sense to retire and save the engine from more mileage. If that recurs multiple times it *might* put his title at risk, but with 6 races to go he's got a 29 point lead, so I doubt it.
  • Options
    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,750
    edited September 2015
    dr_spyn said:

    Coy, and guarded BBC article on Dave and that pig...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34312744

    More entertaining than the more lurid pieces, to be honest. Knowing what else is being said on the internet, and how careful they have to be as a result, makes it very enjoyable. It's knowing the bits not written down that make it for me.

    I'm sure this will amount to nothing, unless a photo emerges, but I appreciate even some on the right have had some fun with it. I think that's a better approach then trying to act as though shaggin a dead pig is harmless student hijinks, which as sheltered a life as I have apparently led, I still don't think is the case. It's weird and twisted sh2t if it happened, not even a case of a less common feitish or something which might be embarrassing but harmless.
  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    For anyone getting a bit pigged out, this is interesting re energy http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/energy/11878566/Hinkley-Point-new-nuclear-plant-edges-closer-with-2-billion-Government-guarantee.html
    Plans for Britain’s first new nuclear plant in a generation have edged closer after ministers signed a £2 billion guarantee to help fund construction of the £24.5 billion plant. Chancellor George Osborne unveiled the loan guarantee for the EDF’s proposed Hinkley Point plant while on a visit to China for talks with state nuclear companies, which are expected to take a major stake in the project.

    Mr Osborne said nuclear power was “a crucial part” of Britain’s energy mix and hailed a “golden relationship between Britain and China – the world's oldest civil nuclear power and the world's fastest growing civil nuclear power”.

    The Government itself is not lending any cash to Hinkley Point’s developers, but is offering a guarantee to commercial lenders that the taxpayer would step in and repay them if the developers went bust.

    Without such a guarantee, it is thought EDF and partners would struggle to secure the necessary financing for the project.
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    DavidL said:

    Re: Volkswagen Could Face $18 Billion Fine Over Emission-Cheating Software.

    Point of interest. How does a company go about raising a multi-billion dollar fine?

    Point of far greater interest. Is this going to affect the amount of road tax I pay on my Audi?
    Good point. and one I had not considered. - Looks as though both shareholders and road users could be clobbered for VWs criminality.
    Road users aren't getting clobbered.

    But it's possible (perhaps one of our lawyer friends can confirm) that someone who bought a VW car on the ground that it had lower emissions tax might have a case for fraudulent misrepresentation?
  • Options
    dr_spyn said:

    Is Cameron an animal lover?

    Smile.
    Osborne needs to think very carefully whether his own past is up to this level of scrutiny.
  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    edited September 2015
    He allegedly put his porkie into the mouth of a dead pig's head. That's not quite shagging a pig.

    /nitpicking.
    kle4 said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Coy, and guarded BBC article on Dave and that pig...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34312744

    More entertaining than the more lurid pieces, to be honest. Knowing what else is being said on the internet, and how careful they have to be as a result, makes it very enjoyable. It's knowing the bits not written down that make it for me.

    I'm sure this will amount to nothing, unless a photo emerges, but I appreciate even some on the right have had some fun with it. I think that's a better approach then trying to act as though shaggin a dead pig is harmless student hijinks, which as sheltered a life as I have apparently led, I still don't think is the case. It's weird and twisted sh2t if it happened, not even a case of a less common feitish or something which might be embarrassing but harmless.
  • Options
    JEO said:

    That pig wandering around Oxford..I thought she was on the opposition front bench now.

    Absolutely uncalled for. There's plenty that she should be criticised for, but appearances are not one.
    Yes, I'm not too comfortable with the Diane Abbot stuff either. It's a bit 'Guido Fawkes' for around here. Not big or clever.
  • Options
    Bob__SykesBob__Sykes Posts: 1,176
    If there's any truth in the Cameron story, I doubt for one minute he'd have ever entertained going into politics, let alone standing for PM.

    Youthful indescretion or not, the thought of it ever getting out would so constantly be in his thoughts he'd never get anything done.
  • Options
    Can we not now regard these contrived pork references as spam?
  • Options
    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,750
    edited September 2015

    He allegedly put his porkie into the mouth of a dead pig's head. That's not quite shagging a pig.

    kle4 said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Coy, and guarded BBC article on Dave and that pig...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34312744

    More entertaining than the more lurid pieces, to be honest. Knowing what else is being said on the internet, and how careful they have to be as a result, makes it very enjoyable. It's knowing the bits not written down that make it for me.

    I'm sure this will amount to nothing, unless a photo emerges, but I appreciate even some on the right have had some fun with it. I think that's a better approach then trying to act as though shaggin a dead pig is harmless student hijinks, which as sheltered a life as I have apparently led, I still don't think is the case. It's weird and twisted sh2t if it happened, not even a case of a less common feitish or something which might be embarrassing but harmless.
    I concede the point about no stated amorous intent or indeed tumescence being involved in the alleged incident. It matters a little, but were it true what is reported (and plenty of people are acting as though it's not a big deal if it was, like it's getting sick in a restaurant and breaking stuff), it wouldn't be that much of a difference in weirdness.
  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    :smiley:

    Can we not now regard these contrived pork references as spam?

  • Options
    AlanbrookeAlanbrooke Posts: 23,754

    He allegedly put his porkie into the mouth of a dead pig's head. That's not quite shagging a pig.

    /nitpicking.

    kle4 said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Coy, and guarded BBC article on Dave and that pig...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34312744

    More entertaining than the more lurid pieces, to be honest. Knowing what else is being said on the internet, and how careful they have to be as a result, makes it very enjoyable. It's knowing the bits not written down that make it for me.

    I'm sure this will amount to nothing, unless a photo emerges, but I appreciate even some on the right have had some fun with it. I think that's a better approach then trying to act as though shaggin a dead pig is harmless student hijinks, which as sheltered a life as I have apparently led, I still don't think is the case. It's weird and twisted sh2t if it happened, not even a case of a less common feitish or something which might be embarrassing but harmless.
    If you had told me last Monday that we would have a thread based on bestiality, necrophilia and porcine fellatio I'd have thought you had lost it.
  • Options
    Charles said:

    DavidL said:

    Good point. and one I had not considered. - Looks as though both shareholders and road users could be clobbered for VWs criminality.
    Road users aren't getting clobbered.

    But it's possible (perhaps one of our lawyer friends can confirm) that someone who bought a VW car on the ground that it had lower emissions tax might have a case for fraudulent misrepresentation?
    Sorry for not being clearer, - I was referring to road users you mention in your second point.
  • Options

    Re: Volkswagen Could Face $18 Billion Fine Over Emission-Cheating Software.

    Point of interest. How does a company go about raising a multi-billion dollar fine?

    Ask BP. But then again, do you believe the story, ie that it could actually be fined that amount?
    Knowing the US, yes.

    But look at what they've done. They've knowingly lied to consumers about the efficiency of their vehicles. This harms the environment and competitors. (*) It was hidden, showing they wanted to keep this secret.

    As environmental impact is seen as a big selling point in vehicles, especially as a differentiator), it is a big thing. They will have got many sales through this lie.

    Not only should they front the costs of removing the errant software, they should pay consumers who have bought affected cars a rebate, and pay a fine per car.

    Then investigate all the other companies, and use the fines to start an organisation that does 'proper' measurements of emissions and MPG and the like, as I've proposed in the past. A bit like the Euro NCAP test labs.

    (*) If their competitors are not doing similar things.
  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    This has been the most entertaining few months since 10pm on 7th May.

    A rollercoaster of WTF, Really?, more WTF and now this!?!

    He allegedly put his porkie into the mouth of a dead pig's head. That's not quite shagging a pig.

    /nitpicking.

    kle4 said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Coy, and guarded BBC article on Dave and that pig...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34312744

    More entertaining than the more lurid pieces, to be honest. Knowing what else is being said on the internet, and how careful they have to be as a result, makes it very enjoyable. It's knowing the bits not written down that make it for me.

    I'm sure this will amount to nothing, unless a photo emerges, but I appreciate even some on the right have had some fun with it. I think that's a better approach then trying to act as though shaggin a dead pig is harmless student hijinks, which as sheltered a life as I have apparently led, I still don't think is the case. It's weird and twisted sh2t if it happened, not even a case of a less common feitish or something which might be embarrassing but harmless.
    If you had told me last Monday that we would have a thread based on bestiality, necrophilia and porcine fellatio I'd have thought you had lost it.
  • Options
    Speak your weight machine Lilian Greenwood on DP BBC2, new Labour shadow secy for transport. Of her working life prior to 2010 she spent 17 years working for Unison in the approx 23 years since leaving uni.
  • Options
    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,750

    He allegedly put his porkie into the mouth of a dead pig's head. That's not quite shagging a pig.

    /nitpicking.

    kle4 said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Coy, and guarded BBC article on Dave and that pig...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34312744

    More entertaining than the more lurid pieces, to be honest. Knowing what else is being said on the internet, and how careful they have to be as a result, makes it very enjoyable. It's knowing the bits not written down that make it for me.

    I'm sure this will amount to nothing, unless a photo emerges, but I appreciate even some on the right have had some fun with it. I think that's a better approach then trying to act as though shaggin a dead pig is harmless student hijinks, which as sheltered a life as I have apparently led, I still don't think is the case. It's weird and twisted sh2t if it happened, not even a case of a less common feitish or something which might be embarrassing but harmless.
    If you had told me last Monday that we would have a thread based on bestiality, necrophilia and porcine fellatio I'd have thought you had lost it.
    Quite right - those threads are usually scheduled for Tuesdays.
  • Options
    Charles said:

    Sean_F said:

    Charles said:

    JEO said:

    People seem to be going on to dangerous territory now. Putting your genitals in something disgusting as a dare and having sex with that something are not the same thing. Claiming that endangers libel, I would think.

    A libel case based on that distinction is probably not one which the lawyers would recommend pursuing!
    I thought that Clinton clearly demonstrated that oral sex is not "sexual relations"!
    I thought his defence was "oral sex is not adultery. The Bible says so."
    I didn't really follow the details - that sort of petty scandal doesn't interest me (the abuse of power relationships between the intern and the president was much more significant).

    All I remember was his claim that 'he did not have sexual relations with that woman'
    The Clinton issue was definitely about abuse of power and all the more serious for that. It was the same with Prescott and his secretary. Prescott should have been sacked... the civil service were happily keeping it all quiet at the time.

    In his time as Arizona governor Clinton (allegedly!) used state troopers to procure him women. Clinton was actualy in power as President and using and abusing that power to satisfy himself. And we should all remember what gave Kennedy heafaches, and it was not just Maralyn Monroe.
  • Options
    JonathanJonathan Posts: 20,901

    This has been the most entertaining few months since 10pm on 7th May.

    A rollercoaster of WTF, Really?, more WTF and now this!?!

    He allegedly put his porkie into the mouth of a dead pig's head. That's not quite shagging a pig.

    /nitpicking.

    kle4 said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Coy, and guarded BBC article on Dave and that pig...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34312744

    More entertaining than the more lurid pieces, to be honest. Knowing what else is being said on the internet, and how careful they have to be as a result, makes it very enjoyable. It's knowing the bits not written down that make it for me.

    I'm sure this will amount to nothing, unless a photo emerges, but I appreciate even some on the right have had some fun with it. I think that's a better approach then trying to act as though shaggin a dead pig is harmless student hijinks, which as sheltered a life as I have apparently led, I still don't think is the case. It's weird and twisted sh2t if it happened, not even a case of a less common feitish or something which might be embarrassing but harmless.
    If you had told me last Monday that we would have a thread based on bestiality, necrophilia and porcine fellatio I'd have thought you had lost it.
    And not to mention the 2015 Lib Dem Conference. Wow! I mean, just WOW!
  • Options
    JWisemannJWisemann Posts: 1,082
    edited September 2015
    Why does it not surprise me that 99% of PB commentators have been in bizarre societies with degrading initiation ceremonies
  • Options
    dr_spyn said:

    YouGov live poll (so not weighted) asking whether this mattered was 40% Yes 52% No at the last count.

    I do think it will end up mattering a bit, but more in legacy terms (the Catherine the Great argument).

    Maybe this is Ashcroft doing the Tory party a favour just as the heat was getting to Corbyn?

    I thought that the Catherine The Great and Ivan The Horse story was fiction.
    She actually died on her toilet.
  • Options
    Mr. Wisemann, one can reassure the site that being a morris dancer involves nothing more depraved than dressing in lace and bells whilst waving one's wiffle stick around in public.
  • Options
    AlanbrookeAlanbrooke Posts: 23,754
    kle4 said:

    He allegedly put his porkie into the mouth of a dead pig's head. That's not quite shagging a pig.

    /nitpicking.

    kle4 said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Coy, and guarded BBC article on Dave and that pig...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34312744

    More entertaining than the more lurid pieces, to be honest. Knowing what else is being said on the internet, and how careful they have to be as a result, makes it very enjoyable. It's knowing the bits not written down that make it for me.

    I'm sure this will amount to nothing, unless a photo emerges, but I appreciate even some on the right have had some fun with it. I think that's a better approach then trying to act as though shaggin a dead pig is harmless student hijinks, which as sheltered a life as I have apparently led, I still don't think is the case. It's weird and twisted sh2t if it happened, not even a case of a less common feitish or something which might be embarrassing but harmless.
    If you had told me last Monday that we would have a thread based on bestiality, necrophilia and porcine fellatio I'd have thought you had lost it.
    Quite right - those threads are usually scheduled for Tuesdays.
    LOL
  • Options
    AlanbrookeAlanbrooke Posts: 23,754
    JWisemann said:

    Why does it not surprise me that 99% of PB commentators have been in bizarre societies with degrading initiation ceremonies

    Probably because you don't have much of a social life.

    You should get out more.
  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    Going off Topic - Norman on Corbyn

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/Jeremy_Corbyn/11879164/We-victims-of-the-IRA-are-furious-about-Jeremy-Corbyn.html

    "We have had more than a full week of Jeremy Corbyn as the leader of the Labour Party. That is more than enough for those of us who have suffered at the hands of the IRA, or have lost friends to those gangster — not to mention those who are Jewish. "

  • Options

    He allegedly put his porkie into the mouth of a dead pig's head. That's not quite shagging a pig.

    /nitpicking.

    kle4 said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Coy, and guarded BBC article on Dave and that pig...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34312744

    More entertaining than the more lurid pieces, to be honest. Knowing what else is being said on the internet, and how careful they have to be as a result, makes it very enjoyable. It's knowing the bits not written down that make it for me.

    I'm sure this will amount to nothing, unless a photo emerges, but I appreciate even some on the right have had some fun with it. I think that's a better approach then trying to act as though shaggin a dead pig is harmless student hijinks, which as sheltered a life as I have apparently led, I still don't think is the case. It's weird and twisted sh2t if it happened, not even a case of a less common feitish or something which might be embarrassing but harmless.
    Being pedantic, I think the correct term is "irrumate".
  • Options
    dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,288

    dr_spyn said:

    YouGov live poll (so not weighted) asking whether this mattered was 40% Yes 52% No at the last count.

    I do think it will end up mattering a bit, but more in legacy terms (the Catherine the Great argument).

    Maybe this is Ashcroft doing the Tory party a favour just as the heat was getting to Corbyn?

    I thought that the Catherine The Great and Ivan The Horse story was fiction.
    She actually died on her toilet.
    Has something in common with Evelyn Waugh.
  • Options
    JWisemann said:

    Why does it not surprise me that 99% of PB commentators have been in bizarre societies with degrading initiation ceremonies

    Look, if you start posting more constructively we'll invite you to Dirty Dicks next time.
  • Options
    JonathanJonathan Posts: 20,901
    I'm now bored of #piggate.

    Unless a stoat comes forward with a kiss and tell, I am done with it.

    Good start to a dull week and makes a change from button inspired outrage.
  • Options

    JWisemann said:

    Why does it not surprise me that 99% of PB commentators have been in bizarre societies with degrading initiation ceremonies

    Probably because you don't have much of a social life.

    You should get out more.
    In fact I am sure I have heard of someone sticking his winkie in a dead pig's mouth.
  • Options
    watford30watford30 Posts: 3,474
    JWisemann said:

    Why does it not surprise me that 99% of PB commentators have been in bizarre societies with degrading initiation ceremonies

    Like the Mornie Onion Society at Cambridge.

    'The sporting society, renowned for its hard-drinking and potent cocktails of cider, Martini and vodka, boasts an initiation ceremony that involves drinking a yard of ale with an onion floating on top while naked or wearing only a towel.'

    Lucky for Labour that Burnham didn't win...

  • Options
    JWisemannJWisemann Posts: 1,082
    Jonathan said:

    This has been the most entertaining few months since 10pm on 7th May.

    A rollercoaster of WTF, Really?, more WTF and now this!?!

    He allegedly put his porkie into the mouth of a dead pig's head. That's not quite shagging a pig.

    /nitpicking.

    kle4 said:

    dr_spyn said:

    Coy, and guarded BBC article on Dave and that pig...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34312744

    More entertaining than the more lurid pieces, to be honest. Knowing what else is being said on the internet, and how careful they have to be as a result, makes it very enjoyable. It's knowing the bits not written down that make it for me.

    I'm sure this will amount to nothing, unless a photo emerges, but I appreciate even some on the right have had some fun with it. I think that's a better approach then trying to act as though shaggin a dead pig is harmless student hijinks, which as sheltered a life as I have apparently led, I still don't think is the case. It's weird and twisted sh2t if it happened, not even a case of a less common feitish or something which might be embarrassing but harmless.
    If you had told me last Monday that we would have a thread based on bestiality, necrophilia and porcine fellatio I'd have thought you had lost it.
    And not to mention the 2015 Lib Dem Conference. Wow! I mean, just WOW!
    Yes, a man who has just lost his seat telling a party with almost no MPs that a man who just won a leadership election with the biggest vote in living memory is unelectable was pretty surreal.
  • Options
    JWisemannJWisemann Posts: 1,082

    JWisemann said:

    Why does it not surprise me that 99% of PB commentators have been in bizarre societies with degrading initiation ceremonies

    Look, if you start posting more constructively we'll invite you to Dirty Dicks next time.
    I'll do anything - the pig doesnt even have to be dead yet.
  • Options
    JonathanJonathan Posts: 20,901
    That said the international angle is quite funny.

    https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedGermany/status/645909026191056896
  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    Just read a suggestion on twitter that team Cam knew somebody was desperate to rake up some muck...and so fed them something entirely bogus, and calculated to make them look foolish.
  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    And Elvis. Isn't it a common symptom of heart failure that pathologists use?

    I may have watched too many celeb autospy tv shows...
    dr_spyn said:

    dr_spyn said:

    YouGov live poll (so not weighted) asking whether this mattered was 40% Yes 52% No at the last count.

    I do think it will end up mattering a bit, but more in legacy terms (the Catherine the Great argument).

    Maybe this is Ashcroft doing the Tory party a favour just as the heat was getting to Corbyn?

    I thought that the Catherine The Great and Ivan The Horse story was fiction.
    She actually died on her toilet.
    Has something in common with Evelyn Waugh.
  • Options
    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    That view is confirmed by Valentine Guinness, one of the founders of the Piers Gaveston Society (it was set up in 1977), whom I spoke to this morning.

    ‘It is a ridiculous story,’ he says. ‘As far as I know David Cameron was never a member of the Piers Gaveston Society, so there would have been no need for an initiation ceremony. He may well have attended one of their parties, but the pig’s head story is purely malicious gossip.’
    http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2015/09/is-that-really-the-best-lord-ashcroft-could-dig-up/
  • Options
    JWisemann said:

    Why does it not surprise me that 99% of PB commentators have been in bizarre societies with degrading initiation ceremonies

    You'll need to put me in the 1%

  • Options
    I think lots of people are missing the point here, whether Cameron snorted coke or put his nob in a pig is irrelevant, the story is that influential people within his party, aided and abetted by the Mail, are keen to damage him.

    The story will disappear, Ashcroft won't.
  • Options
    Jonathan said:

    I'm now bored of #piggate.

    Unless a stoat comes forward with a kiss and tell, I am done with it.

    Good start to a dull week and makes a change from button inspired outrage.

    It's a boar.
    Supertramp was shocking. PPE, Pigs Prog and Etonians.
Sign In or Register to comment.