Howdy, Stranger!

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

Options

politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Fewer don’t knows and a greater certainty to vote give the

SystemSystem Posts: 11,005
edited September 2013 in General

politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Fewer don’t knows and a greater certainty to vote give the LDs a 3 percent post-conference boost

Looking at the detail and comparing it with other recent polls from the firm most of the movement for the LDs is as a result of fewer GE2010 voters who were saying don’t know now saying they are voting for Clegg’s party. There is also a greater certainty to vote.

Read the full story here


«13

Comments

  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    Mr Hodges really is irked. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danhodges/100237380/has-ed-miliband-really-decided-that-labour-isnt-socialist-enough-for-the-british-people/

    "I distinctly remember Tony Blair, in one of his first speeches after being elected leader, telling his party not to be afraid to talk about its socialism. After which he never mentioned it again. And there was a reason he didn’t mention it. People weren’t all that keen on it. It conjured some negative images. Unburied corpses. Large walls stretching across western Europe. That sort of thing...

    After all, it was Ed Miliband who said in his first conference speech, “Red Ed? Come off it.” It was also someone who looked remarkably like Ed Miliband who said “The new generation of Labour is different. Different attitudes, different ideas, different ways of doing politics.” And I’m pretty sure that it was Ed Miliband who told Charles Moore “I believe capitalism is the least worst system we’ve got.”

    Then again, that was back in the days when Ed Miliband was relatively fresh, and Labour were still doing pretty well in the polls, and the Tories looked like they were going to hand him victory on a plate. Now Labour is fighting for its life, and Miliband needs something to dynamite the negative perceptions that have set like concrete around his leadership. Feeding the public’s craving for a return to socialism should do the trick. After all, it worked a treat for Enver Hoxha."
  • Options
    GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 20,793
    I don't know why the pollsters don't take a three week holiday during conference season.

    All the parties get a 2-3% boost then we finish extactly where we started. Happens every year.
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,916
    I'd be surprised if UKIP got much of a post conference boost!
  • Options
    "All this is fairly normal for a post conference poll especially when the event has not gone down too badly."

    True enough - I also believe Nick Clegg, saw a small improvement with his leadership ratings.
  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633

    I'd be surprised if UKIP got much of a post conference boost!

    I would be surprised if they didn't :)

  • Options
    Labour 's bounce to come - 45% in a poll nailed on!
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    FPT

    So Burnham's wife has a corporate jaunt on a yacht berthed in Cannes and tweets about hosting drinks "on our boat in Cannes harbour".

    Rank arriviste snobbery from Labour.

    No Tory would make such a claim. The place to berth one's yacht is Monte Carlo not Cannes.
  • Options
    Agree.

    I used to run threads every September saying take no notice of conference season polls
    GIN1138 said:

    I don't know why the pollsters don't take a three week holiday during conference season.

    All the parties get a 2-3% boost then we finish extactly where we started. Happens every year.

  • Options
    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,445
    http://news.sky.com/story/1145286/kenya-terrorists-were-dressed-up-as-women

    "Men dressed as women were among the attackers who massacred shoppers at a mall in Kenya, it has been claimed.

    A government minister said that the terrorists who attacked the shopping complex in Nairobi were all men, but added that some were dressed as women.

    Earlier, a white woman wearing a veil was reportedly spotted shouting orders to gunmen in Arabic during the attack on the Westgate complex in the Kenyan capital.

    Some reports linked Samantha Lewthwaite, the English widow of 7/7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay, and the attack.

    She is wanted by Kenyan police over links to a suspected terrorist cell."
  • Options
    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,445
    Godfrey Bloom's performance at the UKIP conference looked like a bit of a joke to me, designed to show up people with no sense of humour.
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    Ed M is a very lucky man.

    The Nairobi terror attack is totally eclipsing the Titanic sinking of Labour's credibility in Brighton.

    Were it not for the Kenyan smokescreen, we would undoubtedly be seeing crossover to a Tory lead in the polls this week.
  • Options
    FPT



    That's true for your industry, and you're lucky (albeit at what I suspect is rather large investment costs). It's not the case for many others.

    Do you have fibre optics out to the rigs, or is it all satellite, radio or microwave based?

    Depends where we are. Out here it is all satellite. Closer in to the North Sea around the established fields it is microwave link.

    But you have kind of made my point. What is needed is proper investment in high speed fibre-optic links for the whole country. That is where the investment should go if we really want to help British business on a wide scale. That is where some of the HS2 money would be far better spent.
  • Options
    RedRag1RedRag1 Posts: 527
    OOOH LOOK! First post is a link to Dan Hodges slagging off Ed Miliband. Now there is a surprise for PB. Thought it was quite funny that poor Mr Hodges was told to "Fuck off out of cenference, it's members only". Poor ickle Dan looked all forlorn as he retreated back to the exit with his tail between his legs. Wonder if he will go cry to mummy.
  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    RedRag1 said:

    OOOH LOOK! First post is a link to Dan Hodges slagging off Ed Miliband. Now there is a surprise for PB. Thought it was quite funny that poor Mr Hodges was told to "Fuck off out of cenference, it's members only". Poor ickle Dan looked all forlorn as he retreated back to the exit with his tail between his legs. Wonder if he will go cry to mummy.

    RedRag - did you not get the memo ? Personal attacks and briefings are sooo "new Labour" - it's "one nation Labour" now .

    Now if you disagree with someone you wave your hand and say "I simply don't accept that..."
  • Options
    FinancierFinancier Posts: 3,916
    "New guidance for psychologists will acknowledge that adolescence now effectively runs up until the age of 25 for the purposes of treating young people. So is this the new cut-off point for adulthood?

    "The idea that suddenly at 18 you're an adult just doesn't quite ring true," says child psychologist Laverne Antrobus, who works at London's Tavistock Clinic.

    "My experience of young people is that they still need quite a considerable amount of support and help beyond that age."

    Child psychologists are being given a new directive which is that the age range they work with is increasing from 0-18 to 0-25.

    "We are becoming much more aware and appreciating development beyond [the age of 18] and I think it's a really good initiative," says Antrobus, who believes we often rush through childhood, wanting our youngsters to achieve key milestones very quickly.

    The new guidance is to help ensure that when young people reach the age of 18 they do not fall through the gaps in the health and education system. The change follows developments in our understanding of emotional maturity, hormonal development and particularly brain activity.

    "Neuroscience has made these massive advances where we now don't think that things just stop at a certain age, that actually there's evidence of brain development well into early twenties and that actually the time at which things stop is much later than we first thought," says Antrobus.

    There are three stages of adolescence - early adolescence from 12-14 years, middle adolescence from 15-17 years and late adolescence from 18 years and over."

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24173194

    So, how does this correlate with wee Eck's Votes at 16?
  • Options
    RedRag1RedRag1 Posts: 527
    TGOHF said:

    RedRag1 said:

    OOOH LOOK! First post is a link to Dan Hodges slagging off Ed Miliband. Now there is a surprise for PB. Thought it was quite funny that poor Mr Hodges was told to "Fuck off out of cenference, it's members only". Poor ickle Dan looked all forlorn as he retreated back to the exit with his tail between his legs. Wonder if he will go cry to mummy.

    RedRag - did you not get the memo ? Personal attacks and briefings are sooo "new Labour" - it's "one nation Labour" now .

    Now if you disagree with someone you wave your hand and say "I simply don't accept that..."
    It brought a tear to his one eye.
  • Options
    tim said:

    fpt

    JosiasJessop Posts: 1,716
    2:36PM
    tim said:
    @Smukesh

    Help to Buy2 and HS2 are now both under threat

    Last year you were screaming for investment in new infrastructure projects. Now it's politically advantageous to do so, you're against HS2.

    Marvellous.


    I'm still agnostic on HS2, on Help to Buy2 it's clearly a policy straight from the madhouse.

    Why're you agnostic? Surely the information is available now; why the fence-sitting? Don't you want those northern Labour heartland cities to get the benefits mentioned in the reports I linked to earlier?
  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,152
    AveryLP said:

    Ed M is a very lucky man.

    The Nairobi terror attack is totally eclipsing the Titanic sinking of Labour's credibility in Brighton.

    Were it not for the Kenyan smokescreen, we would undoubtedly be seeing crossover to a Tory lead in the polls this week.

    To my mind, the Nairobi massacre and the massacre of over 60 Christians by suicide bombers in Pakistand are the two most important stories of the moment.

  • Options
    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,445
    "191 drivers aged 100 or older on the road as number of over 70s with licences hits all-time high of four million":

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2429696/191-drivers-aged-100-older-road-number-70s-licences-hits-time-high-million.html#ixzz2fiukNmQu
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,209
    @JosiasJessop

    FPT: HS2

    at what point, if any, does NIMBYism become legitimate in that it preserves (ok let's call it conserves) what we believe makes England special?

    Is every development good in itself or is there an allowable cost/benefit where the costs can't necessarily be quantified?
  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    RedRag1 said:

    TGOHF said:

    RedRag1 said:

    OOOH LOOK! First post is a link to Dan Hodges slagging off Ed Miliband. Now there is a surprise for PB. Thought it was quite funny that poor Mr Hodges was told to "Fuck off out of cenference, it's members only". Poor ickle Dan looked all forlorn as he retreated back to the exit with his tail between his legs. Wonder if he will go cry to mummy.

    RedRag - did you not get the memo ? Personal attacks and briefings are sooo "new Labour" - it's "one nation Labour" now .

    Now if you disagree with someone you wave your hand and say "I simply don't accept that..."
    It brought a tear to his one eye.
    In the land of the politically blind - the one eyed man is king.

    Helps if you have McBride smearing all of your opponents right enough.
  • Options
    felixfelix Posts: 15,124
    Tim complaining about multiple posting - oh the irony.
  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    TGOHF said:

    RedRag1 said:

    OOOH LOOK! First post is a link to Dan Hodges slagging off Ed Miliband. Now there is a surprise for PB. Thought it was quite funny that poor Mr Hodges was told to "Fuck off out of cenference, it's members only". Poor ickle Dan looked all forlorn as he retreated back to the exit with his tail between his legs. Wonder if he will go cry to mummy.

    RedRag - did you not get the memo ? Personal attacks and briefings are sooo "new Labour" - it's "one nation Labour" now .

    Now if you disagree with someone you wave your hand and say "I simply don't accept that..."
    Mr R Rag could do with some time on Mr D Draper's couch.

    http://www.linkedin.com/in/derekdraper1967
  • Options
    RedRag1RedRag1 Posts: 527
    TGOHF said:

    RedRag1 said:

    TGOHF said:

    RedRag1 said:

    OOOH LOOK! First post is a link to Dan Hodges slagging off Ed Miliband. Now there is a surprise for PB. Thought it was quite funny that poor Mr Hodges was told to "Fuck off out of cenference, it's members only". Poor ickle Dan looked all forlorn as he retreated back to the exit with his tail between his legs. Wonder if he will go cry to mummy.

    RedRag - did you not get the memo ? Personal attacks and briefings are sooo "new Labour" - it's "one nation Labour" now .

    Now if you disagree with someone you wave your hand and say "I simply don't accept that..."
    It brought a tear to his one eye.
    In the land of the politically blind - the one eyed man is king.

    Helps if you have McBride smearing all of your opponents right enough.
    I knew you PB Hodges saw him as a leader......now you have made him your king.
  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    edited September 2013
    ''To my mind, the Nairobi massacre and the massacre of over 60 Christians by suicide bombers in Pakistan are the two most important stories of the moment.''

    Of course, the vast majority of moderate muslims are non-violent and totally condemn etc.etc.etc.
  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    Oh well - it lasted a day...

    http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/sebastian-payne/2013/09/jon-cruddas-distances-himself-from-the-one-nation-vaccination/

    "Jon Cruddas has just denied the front page story in today’s Times – that Labour is planning to deny benefits to mothers who refuse to give their child the MMR jab. I have just chaired a fringe meeting on the Big Society and asked him afterwards if the story was true. He told me that the idea was originally floated by ‘Kevin Rudd in Australia’ and was ‘never part of the Labour policy review’.

    The question now stands of how an a vaguely mooted idea, which was never apparently considered part of Labour’s policy review, made it as a front page of a national newspaper. Pretty much everyone in Labour now seem to running away from it as fast as possible."

  • Options
    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,445
    14% for the LDs must be encouraging in comparison to 4.8% for the German Liberals yesterday.
  • Options
    JonathanDJonathanD Posts: 2,400
    Cyclefree said:



    To my mind, the Nairobi massacre and the massacre of over 60 Christians by suicide bombers in Pakistand are the two most important stories of the moment.


    @Cyclefree,

    Did you see this article from the Spectator?

    http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/09/the-silence-of-our-friends-the-extinction-of-christianity-in-the-middle-east/?fb_ref=recommendations-box-widget
  • Options
    Scrapheap_as_wasScrapheap_as_was Posts: 10,059
    edited September 2013
    Confused - there's been a lot of defence on here about linking Child Bens to Jabs, look at Australia etc and riding out to support such a notion and yet...

    Ed Balls went onto ITV Daybreak this morning saying ‘there is no question of a Labour government ever taking child benefit away or punishing parents for choices they make on vaccinations’:

    The question now stands of how an a vaguely mooted idea, which was never apparently considered part of Labour’s policy review, made it as a front page of a national newspaper. Pretty much everyone in Labour now seem to running away from it as fast as possible.


    http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/09/jon-cruddas-distances-himself-from-the-one-nation-vaccination/
  • Options

    FPT



    That's true for your industry, and you're lucky (albeit at what I suspect is rather large investment costs). It's not the case for many others.

    Do you have fibre optics out to the rigs, or is it all satellite, radio or microwave based?

    Depends where we are. Out here it is all satellite. Closer in to the North Sea around the established fields it is microwave link.

    But you have kind of made my point. What is needed is proper investment in high speed fibre-optic links for the whole country. That is where the investment should go if we really want to help British business on a wide scale. That is where some of the HS2 money would be far better spent.
    Many billions are being spent on those links - £530 million to part-fund bringing it to rural areas alone, with £1.2 billion total public funding for that project. Although progress is being delayed by the EU being concerned about state aid.

    http://www.globallegalpost.com/global-view/uk-must-up-its-broadband-ambitions-18401392/#.UkBHL4aURIk

    But it doesn't have to be a one-cap-fits-all situation. We can do both. People will still need to travel. Look at the chart I linked to earlier about the growth in passenger numbers - do you want to bet that increase will continue?
  • Options
    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,445
    edited September 2013
    taffys said:

    ''To my mind, the Nairobi massacre and the massacre of over 60 Christians by suicide bombers in Pakistan are the two most important stories of the moment.''

    Of course, the vast majority of moderate muslims are non-violent and totally condemn etc.etc.etc.

    The problem is Wahhabism which teaches that violence in the furtherance of Islam is sometimes acceptable.
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    edited September 2013
    Cyclefree said:

    AveryLP said:

    Ed M is a very lucky man.

    The Nairobi terror attack is totally eclipsing the Titanic sinking of Labour's credibility in Brighton.

    Were it not for the Kenyan smokescreen, we would undoubtedly be seeing crossover to a Tory lead in the polls this week.

    To my mind, the Nairobi massacre and the massacre of over 60 Christians by suicide bombers in Pakistand are the two most important stories of the moment.

    That is undoubtedly true, Cyclefree.

    But this is PB.

    And such events hold our attention no longer than "a small earthquake in Chile".

  • Options
    Big Al's being a bit harsh, I know he's been out of 'power' a lot longer than Damian, but he's not sunk that low yet has he?

    Alastair Campbell‏@campbellclaret4m
    Newsnight asking me to debate @DPMcBride re his book. Just asked my mate Fergie if he would do debate with Manager of Blackburn reserves
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    AveryLP said:

    FPT

    So Burnham's wife has a corporate jaunt on a yacht berthed in Cannes and tweets about hosting drinks "on our boat in Cannes harbour".

    Rank arriviste snobbery from Labour.

    No Tory would make such a claim. The place to berth one's yacht is Monte Carlo not Cannes.

    Why would you berth your yacht at all?

    Surely you just berth your launch - the actual toy stays out to sea in non-territorial waters?
  • Options
    Tim have you forgotten the rule about you not referring directly or indirectly to any of Plato's posts?

    Please confirm that you haven't.
  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    Well - given the mass reversal on this - it was either a deliberate attempt by an anti-EdMer to discredit him or an idea that was in the mix and escaped into the wild. Or maybe both.

    Either way - its one of those horrible sticky stories that has just enough credibility to superglue itself onto Labour this week and then pop up from time to time as urban legend. UKIP must be delighted.
    TGOHF said:

    Oh well - it lasted a day...

    http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/sebastian-payne/2013/09/jon-cruddas-distances-himself-from-the-one-nation-vaccination/

    "Jon Cruddas has just denied the front page story in today’s Times – that Labour is planning to deny benefits to mothers who refuse to give their child the MMR jab. I have just chaired a fringe meeting on the Big Society and asked him afterwards if the story was true. He told me that the idea was originally floated by ‘Kevin Rudd in Australia’ and was ‘never part of the Labour policy review’.

    The question now stands of how an a vaguely mooted idea, which was never apparently considered part of Labour’s policy review, made it as a front page of a national newspaper. Pretty much everyone in Labour now seem to running away from it as fast as possible."

  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,209
    Charles said:

    AveryLP said:

    FPT

    So Burnham's wife has a corporate jaunt on a yacht berthed in Cannes and tweets about hosting drinks "on our boat in Cannes harbour".

    Rank arriviste snobbery from Labour.

    No Tory would make such a claim. The place to berth one's yacht is Monte Carlo not Cannes.

    Why would you berth your yacht at all?

    Surely you just berth your launch - the actual toy stays out to sea in non-territorial waters?
    You're evidently not au fait with the mindset of a cinquante-cinqer....
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    RedRag1 said:

    OOOH LOOK! First post is a link to Dan Hodges slagging off Ed Miliband. Now there is a surprise for PB. Thought it was quite funny that poor Mr Hodges was told to "Fuck off out of cenference, it's members only". Poor ickle Dan looked all forlorn as he retreated back to the exit with his tail between his legs. Wonder if he will go cry to mummy.

    Also, presumably he was there as an accredited journalist.

    In which case whichever MP it was was just being incredibly rude to a PG.
  • Options
    Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 30,918
    edited September 2013

    FPT



    That's true for your industry, and you're lucky (albeit at what I suspect is rather large investment costs). It's not the case for many others.

    Do you have fibre optics out to the rigs, or is it all satellite, radio or microwave based?

    Depends where we are. Out here it is all satellite. Closer in to the North Sea around the established fields it is microwave link.

    But you have kind of made my point. What is needed is proper investment in high speed fibre-optic links for the whole country. That is where the investment should go if we really want to help British business on a wide scale. That is where some of the HS2 money would be far better spent.
    Many billions are being spent on those links - £530 million to part-fund bringing it to rural areas alone, with £1.2 billion total public funding for that project. Although progress is being delayed by the EU being concerned about state aid.

    http://www.globallegalpost.com/global-view/uk-must-up-its-broadband-ambitions-18401392/#.UkBHL4aURIk

    But it doesn't have to be a one-cap-fits-all situation. We can do both. People will still need to travel. Look at the chart I linked to earlier about the growth in passenger numbers - do you want to bet that increase will continue?
    It will unless we decide to do something serious about improving distance working. Right now for most people it is totally impractical. That needs to change and the 50 billion being wasted on HS2 will go a long way to helping that.

    Edit: Also of course that £530 million is around 1/100th of the amount being spent on HS2.
  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    Charles said:

    RedRag1 said:

    OOOH LOOK! First post is a link to Dan Hodges slagging off Ed Miliband. Now there is a surprise for PB. Thought it was quite funny that poor Mr Hodges was told to "Fuck off out of cenference, it's members only". Poor ickle Dan looked all forlorn as he retreated back to the exit with his tail between his legs. Wonder if he will go cry to mummy.

    Also, presumably he was there as an accredited journalist.

    In which case whichever MP it was was just being incredibly rude to a PG.
    Is this sort of swearing allowed on PB? And associated crimes against spelling? Cenference?
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    edited September 2013
    Charles said:

    AveryLP said:

    FPT

    So Burnham's wife has a corporate jaunt on a yacht berthed in Cannes and tweets about hosting drinks "on our boat in Cannes harbour".

    Rank arriviste snobbery from Labour.

    No Tory would make such a claim. The place to berth one's yacht is Monte Carlo not Cannes.

    Why would you berth your yacht at all?

    Surely you just berth your launch - the actual toy stays out to sea in non-territorial waters?
    We want none of your tax avoidance here on PB, Charles.

    "Non-territorial waters" indeed.

  • Options

    tim said:

    fpt

    JosiasJessop Posts: 1,716
    2:36PM
    tim said:
    @Smukesh

    Help to Buy2 and HS2 are now both under threat

    Last year you were screaming for investment in new infrastructure projects. Now it's politically advantageous to do so, you're against HS2.

    Marvellous.


    I'm still agnostic on HS2, on Help to Buy2 it's clearly a policy straight from the madhouse.

    Why're you agnostic? Surely the information is available now; why the fence-sitting? Don't you want those northern Labour heartland cities to get the benefits mentioned in the reports I linked to earlier?
    In tim world agnostic means he's for it when labour talk about it, but against it when the tories do...
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    TOPPING said:

    Charles said:

    AveryLP said:

    FPT

    So Burnham's wife has a corporate jaunt on a yacht berthed in Cannes and tweets about hosting drinks "on our boat in Cannes harbour".

    Rank arriviste snobbery from Labour.

    No Tory would make such a claim. The place to berth one's yacht is Monte Carlo not Cannes.

    Why would you berth your yacht at all?

    Surely you just berth your launch - the actual toy stays out to sea in non-territorial waters?
    You're evidently not au fait with the mindset of a cinquante-cinqer....
    I hate St. Tropez anyway. Juan-les-Pins is nicer, although Cap d'Antibes is the best of all.
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    edited September 2013
    tim said:

    Tim have you forgotten the rule about you not referring directly or indirectly to any of Plato's posts?

    Please confirm that you haven't.

    I haven't.
    And I'm making a point about the repeated spamming of the same piece by the same small group of simpletons, not just one poster.
    Have a look in how many shapes and forms that Spectator piece about the Burnhams yacht was posted in the last four days

    tim

    Very easy to get revenge without breaking moderation rules.

    Just scrape the barnacles off your clinker built dinghy and tweet about drinks on your yacht in the Merseyside Marina.

  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    tim said:

    Tim have you forgotten the rule about you not referring directly or indirectly to any of Plato's posts?

    Please confirm that you haven't.

    I haven't.
    And I'm making a point about the repeated spamming of the same piece by the same small group of simpletons, not just one poster.
    Have a look at in how many shapes and forms that Spectator piece about the Burnhams yacht was posted in the last four days

    I make it about 1 mention for every 20 posts you made yesterday in defence of a policy which has now been ditched by Ed.


  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    AveryLP said:

    Charles said:

    AveryLP said:

    FPT

    So Burnham's wife has a corporate jaunt on a yacht berthed in Cannes and tweets about hosting drinks "on our boat in Cannes harbour".

    Rank arriviste snobbery from Labour.

    No Tory would make such a claim. The place to berth one's yacht is Monte Carlo not Cannes.

    Why would you berth your yacht at all?

    Surely you just berth your launch - the actual toy stays out to sea in non-territorial waters?
    We want none of your tax avoidance here on PB, Charles.

    "Non-territorial waters" indeed.

    I rather fancy living on a narrow boat but mooring costs and not leaving cats behind by accident seems to be the sticking point. What a bugger eh?

    Here are some ships cats - with hammocks http://oldtimeycats.com/tagged/maritime
  • Options
    MrJonesMrJones Posts: 3,523

    Big Al's being a bit harsh, I know he's been out of 'power' a lot longer than Damian, but he's not sunk that low yet has he?

    Alastair Campbell‏@campbellclaret4m
    Newsnight asking me to debate @DPMcBride re his book. Just asked my mate Fergie if he would do debate with Manager of Blackburn reserves

    Surprised he'd wimp out of that.
  • Options
    Tim you replied to a post that was referencing Plato.

    This is the end of the matter.

    You can either abide by the site rules....
  • Options
    A deceptively important article on commentisfree:

    http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/22/kick-uglism-out-politics-david-schneider

    Further reference points might have included Michael Gove and Boris Johnson.
  • Options
    tim said:

    tim said:

    fpt

    JosiasJessop Posts: 1,716
    2:36PM
    tim said:
    @Smukesh

    Help to Buy2 and HS2 are now both under threat

    Last year you were screaming for investment in new infrastructure projects. Now it's politically advantageous to do so, you're against HS2.

    Marvellous.


    I'm still agnostic on HS2, on Help to Buy2 it's clearly a policy straight from the madhouse.

    Why're you agnostic? Surely the information is available now; why the fence-sitting? Don't you want those northern Labour heartland cities to get the benefits mentioned in the reports I linked to earlier?

    I think building new towns, with transport links should probably be the priority for state infrastructure spending.
    But I'm still open minded on HS2, although if its going to be done it has to link up to Heathrow (with three runways) and building must start from the north and the south simultaneously rather than extra delay by just building from one end.

    Time travelling to London is much less of an issue than it was with reduced times and WiFi, I'm more interested in the capacity arguments.
    Fair enough, but I disagree on HS2 phasing. Building both phases would almost certainly cost much more. The way things are currently timed, many skilled workers from HS1 (ended 2007) moved onto Crossrail (started 2009), and when that's over in 2018 will be able to move onto HS2/1 (projected construction 2017-2026), then HS2/2 (??? - 2033). Doing both at once may cost much more in terms of equipment and manpower.

    Would you be willing to pay that extra cost over the current phased scheme? If so, fair enough.

    AIUI (and I may be wrong) the Heathrow links are planned as part of phase 2:
    Ah yes:
    http://assets.hs2.org.uk/sites/default/files/inserts/130116 heathrow route description for ehs final policy approved text.pdf

    When the Hybrid Bill goes in, it will have alterations to Phase 1 to allow preparatory works for the Heathrow links to be made, preventing Phase 1 from having to close when the link is constructed.
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Tim you replied to a post that was referencing Plato.

    This is the end of the matter.

    You can either abide by the site rules....

    ...or you can follow the advice given to Mr. Daniel Hodges by a polite Labour MP
  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,152
    AveryLP said:

    Cyclefree said:

    AveryLP said:

    Ed M is a very lucky man.

    The Nairobi terror attack is totally eclipsing the Titanic sinking of Labour's credibility in Brighton.

    Were it not for the Kenyan smokescreen, we would undoubtedly be seeing crossover to a Tory lead in the polls this week.

    To my mind, the Nairobi massacre and the massacre of over 60 Christians by suicide bombers in Pakistand are the two most important stories of the moment.

    That is undoubtedly true, Cyclefree.

    But this is PB.

    And such events hold our attention no longer than "a small earthquake in Chile".

    Save that they do have an impact on us in this country: on foreign policy (cf Syria), on our approach to those holding with the ideology behind such atrocities (especially within this country) and, if the latest reports from Nairobi are to be believed re one of the people involved, on our security.


  • Options
    tim said:

    tim said:

    fpt

    JosiasJessop Posts: 1,716
    2:36PM
    tim said:
    @Smukesh

    Help to Buy2 and HS2 are now both under threat

    Last year you were screaming for investment in new infrastructure projects. Now it's politically advantageous to do so, you're against HS2.

    Marvellous.


    I'm still agnostic on HS2, on Help to Buy2 it's clearly a policy straight from the madhouse.

    Why're you agnostic? Surely the information is available now; why the fence-sitting? Don't you want those northern Labour heartland cities to get the benefits mentioned in the reports I linked to earlier?
    In tim world agnostic means he's for it when labour talk about it, but against it when the tories do...
    No it doesn't, I've set out what I think for you


    I think building new towns, with transport links should probably be the priority for state infrastructure spending.
    But I'm still open minded on HS2, although if its going to be done it has to link up to Heathrow (with three runways) and building must start from the north and the south simultaneously rather than extra delay by just building from one end.

    Time travelling to London is much less of an issue than it was with reduced times and WiFi, I'm more interested in the capacity arguments.


    Now what are your opinions, we all hang on your original thoughts, you know that
    I notice for example that you're not saying anything about Miliband being against the third runway at Heathrow...

    http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-leader-ed-miliband-warns-airports-chief-over-extra-heathrow-runways-8834677.html

    Oh sorry he's just 'deeply concerned' whatever that means...
  • Options
    RodCrosbyRodCrosby Posts: 7,737
    Andy_JS said:

    14% for the LDs must be encouraging in comparison to 4.8% for the German Liberals yesterday.

    All 93 FDP MPs... just gone...like that...

    And you thought FPTP was a brutal system?
  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,152
    tim said:

    taffys said:

    ''To my mind, the Nairobi massacre and the massacre of over 60 Christians by suicide bombers in Pakistan are the two most important stories of the moment.''

    Of course, the vast majority of moderate muslims are non-violent and totally condemn etc.etc.etc.

    The vast majority of victims of Al Queda are Muslims

    Al-Qaida Kills Eight Times More Muslims Than Non-Muslims

    http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/surprising-study-on-terrorism-al-qaida-kills-eight-times-more-muslims-than-non-muslims-a-660619.html
    Indeed they are. A tragedy for them. A tragedy also that we are so feeble at standing up for the moderates within Islam who are fighting for an Islam which is not in the grips of this revolting ideology.

    Muslims are the biggest victims of Islamist violence and terror. And it is also true that non-Muslims living in the Middle East and countries such as Pakistan are deliberately targeted for violence and terror. Islamist ideology is a threat to all and sundry wherever it is allowed to get a grip.
  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    I know this is all terribly serious but ... parachuting horse artillery? This is just like Nazis on the Moon film fodder.

    "The Ministry of Defence admitted this week that 18 members of the 400-strong 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery failed mandatory drug tests last month after apparently using what they believed were legal “Fat Stripper” training supplements. The soldiers included two sergeant-majors." http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/defence/article3876155.ece
  • Options
    tim said:

    tim said:

    tim said:

    fpt

    JosiasJessop Posts: 1,716
    2:36PM
    tim said:
    @Smukesh

    Help to Buy2 and HS2 are now both under threat

    Last year you were screaming for investment in new infrastructure projects. Now it's politically advantageous to do so, you're against HS2.

    Marvellous.


    I'm still agnostic on HS2, on Help to Buy2 it's clearly a policy straight from the madhouse.

    Why're you agnostic? Surely the information is available now; why the fence-sitting? Don't you want those northern Labour heartland cities to get the benefits mentioned in the reports I linked to earlier?
    In tim world agnostic means he's for it when labour talk about it, but against it when the tories do...
    No it doesn't, I've set out what I think for you


    I think building new towns, with transport links should probably be the priority for state infrastructure spending.
    But I'm still open minded on HS2, although if its going to be done it has to link up to Heathrow (with three runways) and building must start from the north and the south simultaneously rather than extra delay by just building from one end.

    Time travelling to London is much less of an issue than it was with reduced times and WiFi, I'm more interested in the capacity arguments.


    Now what are your opinions, we all hang on your original thoughts, you know that
    I notice for example that you're not saying anything about Miliband being against the third runway at Heathrow...

    http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-leader-ed-miliband-warns-airports-chief-over-extra-heathrow-runways-8834677.html

    Oh sorry he's just 'deeply concerned' whatever that means...
    I think he's wrong.

    Now would you like to set out your views on HS2 and Heathrow for us.
    If London is to be the business capital of the world, we first and foremost need to protect that status and do anything we can to keep it. So if it's a case of one or the other, then the third runway (or similar airport expansion) it is.

    I've probably changed my mind on that over the last year or two.
  • Options
    RedRag1RedRag1 Posts: 527
    It seems strange but the reporting from Lord Ashcrofts Politicshome on the Labour conference seems completely different to the reports on here. Maybe it is because the PB Hodges king has just been told to sling his hook that there is so much frothing on here?
  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,152
    Linking benefits to vaccinations strikes me as silly.

    But saying that all children must be vaccinated before they can go to school seems eminently sensible. Exemptions should be allowed only for genuine medical reasons.
  • Options
    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,445
    "German eurosceptics cost Merkel her majority

    You wouldn't know it from the lazy headlines, but the German election results are bad news for Angela Merkel, and also for David Cameron":


    http://www.thecommentator.com/article/4171/german_eurosceptics_cost_merkel_her_majority
  • Options



    Many billions are being spent on those links - £530 million to part-fund bringing it to rural areas alone, with £1.2 billion total public funding for that project. Although progress is being delayed by the EU being concerned about state aid.

    http://www.globallegalpost.com/global-view/uk-must-up-its-broadband-ambitions-18401392/#.UkBHL4aURIk

    But it doesn't have to be a one-cap-fits-all situation. We can do both. People will still need to travel. Look at the chart I linked to earlier about the growth in passenger numbers - do you want to bet that increase will continue?

    It will unless we decide to do something serious about improving distance working. Right now for most people it is totally impractical. That needs to change and the 50 billion being wasted on HS2 will go a long way to helping that.

    Edit: Also of course that £530 million is around 1/100th of the amount being spent on HS2.
    As I said, it's much more than that - that's just one programme with BT.

    But I really think you're overestimating the amount of people who can telecommute for those journeys.

    Let's take an example: the BBC moved many of their operations to Manchester. Despite having some world-class telecoms links, and absolutely world-class technical people, they spent more than £1.9 million in travel between London and Manchester:
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9861270/BBC-spends-26000-on-taxis-between-London-and-Salford.html

    Mrs J cannot work from home, even though she works at a computer all day. She needs to interact with other designers, work in the lab, and occasionally make journeys to the other offices scattered around the country. That interactivity would be impossible over Internet links. Believe me, it's been tried.

    (As an aside, a friend of ours recently travelled by taxi from Cambridge to a five-star hotel in London as he couldn't carry all his equipment on a train. The taxi driver said it was the strangest and heaviest load he'd ever carried on a long-distance journey. The hotel paid the bill no questions asked, and he got to wave his magic wand all over their rooms ...)
  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    Cyclefree said:

    Linking benefits to vaccinations strikes me as silly.

    But saying that all children must be vaccinated before they can go to school seems eminently sensible. Exemptions should be allowed only for genuine medical reasons.

    Why not leave it up to individual schools to enforce a no jab , no acceptance policy then. Better than a Ukip style benefits withdrawl stick over the head.
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    Plato said:

    AveryLP said:

    Charles said:

    AveryLP said:

    FPT

    So Burnham's wife has a corporate jaunt on a yacht berthed in Cannes and tweets about hosting drinks "on our boat in Cannes harbour".

    Rank arriviste snobbery from Labour.

    No Tory would make such a claim. The place to berth one's yacht is Monte Carlo not Cannes.

    Why would you berth your yacht at all?

    Surely you just berth your launch - the actual toy stays out to sea in non-territorial waters?
    We want none of your tax avoidance here on PB, Charles.

    "Non-territorial waters" indeed.

    I rather fancy living on a narrow boat but mooring costs and not leaving cats behind by accident seems to be the sticking point. What a bugger eh?

    Here are some ships cats - with hammocks http://oldtimeycats.com/tagged/maritime
    Awww, Plato.

    I do love your cat posts.

  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,152
    tim said:

    Cyclefree said:

    tim said:

    taffys said:

    ''To my mind, the Nairobi massacre and the massacre of over 60 Christians by suicide bombers in Pakistan are the two most important stories of the moment.''

    Of course, the vast majority of moderate muslims are non-violent and totally condemn etc.etc.etc.

    The vast majority of victims of Al Queda are Muslims

    Al-Qaida Kills Eight Times More Muslims Than Non-Muslims

    http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/surprising-study-on-terrorism-al-qaida-kills-eight-times-more-muslims-than-non-muslims-a-660619.html
    Indeed they are. A tragedy for them. A tragedy also that we are so feeble at standing up for the moderates within Islam who are fighting for an Islam which is not in the grips of this revolting ideology.

    Muslims are the biggest victims of Islamist violence and terror. And it is also true that non-Muslims living in the Middle East and countries such as Pakistan are deliberately targeted for violence and terror. Islamist ideology is a threat to all and sundry wherever it is allowed to get a grip.
    I agree, but remember that the troop losses are 3,300 ISAF, 10,000 Afghan Forces, 5,000 Pakistan troops in that regional war against Al Queda.




    Indeed: Pakistan has been pretty two-faced over this. Part of it fights - and is happy to sacrifice its own troops in the war - while another part of it is in league with or turning a blind eye to the very groups who are behind the terror. There is a real civil war going on (arguably it's been going on for centuries) between the extremists/radicals and others within Islam. I'm not at all confident that the extremists/radicals will lose.

  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    TGOHF said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Linking benefits to vaccinations strikes me as silly.

    But saying that all children must be vaccinated before they can go to school seems eminently sensible. Exemptions should be allowed only for genuine medical reasons.

    Why not leave it up to individual schools to enforce a no jab , no acceptance policy then. Better than a Ukip style benefits withdrawl stick over the head.
    Aren't there certain religions like perhaps Christian Scientists who aren't keen on vaccinations? Lots of faiths have some unusual beliefs when health is concerned - such as Jehovah's Witnesses and blood transfusions. I assume a school that was filled with children who weren't vaccinated would be a severe risk of an outbreak.

    The balance between conscientious objection and a cluster of likely victims would need to be considered too.
  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    AveryLP said:

    Plato said:

    AveryLP said:

    Charles said:

    AveryLP said:

    FPT

    So Burnham's wife has a corporate jaunt on a yacht berthed in Cannes and tweets about hosting drinks "on our boat in Cannes harbour".

    Rank arriviste snobbery from Labour.

    No Tory would make such a claim. The place to berth one's yacht is Monte Carlo not Cannes.

    Why would you berth your yacht at all?

    Surely you just berth your launch - the actual toy stays out to sea in non-territorial waters?
    We want none of your tax avoidance here on PB, Charles.

    "Non-territorial waters" indeed.

    I rather fancy living on a narrow boat but mooring costs and not leaving cats behind by accident seems to be the sticking point. What a bugger eh?

    Here are some ships cats - with hammocks http://oldtimeycats.com/tagged/maritime
    Awww, Plato.

    I do love your cat posts.

    YouTube wouldn't be the same without them :^ )
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    Cyclefree said:

    AveryLP said:

    Cyclefree said:

    AveryLP said:

    Ed M is a very lucky man.

    The Nairobi terror attack is totally eclipsing the Titanic sinking of Labour's credibility in Brighton.

    Were it not for the Kenyan smokescreen, we would undoubtedly be seeing crossover to a Tory lead in the polls this week.

    To my mind, the Nairobi massacre and the massacre of over 60 Christians by suicide bombers in Pakistand are the two most important stories of the moment.

    That is undoubtedly true, Cyclefree.

    But this is PB.

    And such events hold our attention no longer than "a small earthquake in Chile".

    Save that they do have an impact on us in this country: on foreign policy (cf Syria), on our approach to those holding with the ideology behind such atrocities (especially within this country) and, if the latest reports from Nairobi are to be believed re one of the people involved, on our security.

    I am not disagreeing, Cyclefree, nor trying to diminish the significance of the Islamic fundamentalist threat.

    It is just that today I am not in a mood to eyeball reality.

    Hence my focus on the Labour Party Conference.

  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,152
    TGOHF said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Linking benefits to vaccinations strikes me as silly.

    But saying that all children must be vaccinated before they can go to school seems eminently sensible. Exemptions should be allowed only for genuine medical reasons.

    Why not leave it up to individual schools to enforce a no jab , no acceptance policy then. Better than a Ukip style benefits withdrawl stick over the head.
    There's a need to create herd immunity amongst all children in any age group. It's no use if 100% of the children in one school are vaccinated and only 25% in the school down the road. The percentage of children in an age group who are vaccinated needs to be over some very high figure - somewhere above 80/90% for all to benefit. If it falls there is the risk of a mass outbreak, as occurred in Wales.

    And if there is an outbreak when children are older, the disease itself is more serious and there is a higher risk of fatalities. This really is a bit of a no-brainer. Other countries in the EU have a policy of making school admission (to any school) conditional on vaccination. The benefits question should be irrelevant.

  • Options
    MrJonesMrJones Posts: 3,523
    Cyclefree said:

    AveryLP said:

    Cyclefree said:

    AveryLP said:

    Ed M is a very lucky man.

    The Nairobi terror attack is totally eclipsing the Titanic sinking of Labour's credibility in Brighton.

    Were it not for the Kenyan smokescreen, we would undoubtedly be seeing crossover to a Tory lead in the polls this week.

    To my mind, the Nairobi massacre and the massacre of over 60 Christians by suicide bombers in Pakistand are the two most important stories of the moment.

    That is undoubtedly true, Cyclefree.

    But this is PB.

    And such events hold our attention no longer than "a small earthquake in Chile".

    Save that they do have an impact on us in this country: on foreign policy (cf Syria), on our approach to those holding with the ideology behind such atrocities (especially within this country) and, if the latest reports from Nairobi are to be believed re one of the people involved, on our security.


    The accent of the spokesman for al-shabab around 2 mins into the al jazeera report seems to have a UK accent as well unless i'm hearing wrong.

    http://www.aljazeera.com/
  • Options



    As I said, it's much more than that - that's just one programme with BT.

    But I really think you're overestimating the amount of people who can telecommute for those journeys.

    Let's take an example: the BBC moved many of their operations to Manchester. Despite having some world-class telecoms links, and absolutely world-class technical people, they spent more than £1.9 million in travel between London and Manchester:
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9861270/BBC-spends-26000-on-taxis-between-London-and-Salford.html

    Mrs J cannot work from home, even though she works at a computer all day. She needs to interact with other designers, work in the lab, and occasionally make journeys to the other offices scattered around the country. That interactivity would be impossible over Internet links. Believe me, it's been tried.

    (As an aside, a friend of ours recently travelled by taxi from Cambridge to a five-star hotel in London as he couldn't carry all his equipment on a train. The taxi driver said it was the strangest and heaviest load he'd ever carried on a long-distance journey. The hotel paid the bill no questions asked, and he got to wave his magic wand all over their rooms ...)

    To be honest using the BBC - who are notorious for wasting money - as an example to prove this point is pretty poor. I wonder how much of that travel was people who had been forced to move up to Salford looking for any opportunity to get back to 'civilisation'?

    I accept there are lots of circumstances where people need to travel. But there are also huge areas where it is not necessary and is only done because of the lack of high speed communications.
  • Options
    RodCrosbyRodCrosby Posts: 7,737
    Paradox of the German electoral system #99

    Like FPTP, MMP (with a 5% threshold) punishes divided left/right blocs.

    But it does it in the opposite way!

    FPTP punishes you if the vote is split too evenly, e.g. Lab/SDP in 1983.

    German MMP punishes you if you split the vote too lopsidedly, e.g. Merkel would have a secure right-wing majority if the FDP had done a little better, even at the CDU's expense. As a result of crushing them, she now finds herself in a minority instead...
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    Plato said:

    I know this is all terribly serious but ... parachuting horse artillery? This is just like Nazis on the Moon film fodder.

    "The Ministry of Defence admitted this week that 18 members of the 400-strong 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery failed mandatory drug tests last month after apparently using what they believed were legal “Fat Stripper” training supplements. The soldiers included two sergeant-majors." http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/defence/article3876155.ece

    most likely spotters.

    Very difficult, very dangerous work.

    The Honorable Artillery Company are the best at it, but I'm sure that the Pegasi (as the HAC call them) are also pretty good
  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,152
    AveryLP said:

    Cyclefree said:

    AveryLP said:

    Cyclefree said:

    AveryLP said:

    Ed M is a very lucky man.

    The Nairobi terror attack is totally eclipsing the Titanic sinking of Labour's credibility in Brighton.

    Were it not for the Kenyan smokescreen, we would undoubtedly be seeing crossover to a Tory lead in the polls this week.

    To my mind, the Nairobi massacre and the massacre of over 60 Christians by suicide bombers in Pakistand are the two most important stories of the moment.

    That is undoubtedly true, Cyclefree.

    But this is PB.

    And such events hold our attention no longer than "a small earthquake in Chile".

    Save that they do have an impact on us in this country: on foreign policy (cf Syria), on our approach to those holding with the ideology behind such atrocities (especially within this country) and, if the latest reports from Nairobi are to be believed re one of the people involved, on our security.

    I am not disagreeing, Cyclefree, nor trying to diminish the significance of the Islamic fundamentalist threat.

    It is just that today I am not in a mood to eyeball reality.

    Hence my focus on the Labour Party Conference.

    Fair enough. I wasn't seeking to criticise you.

    I doubt if this conference will be as bad or as good as painted or even rememberd after a few days. And the same applies to all the other ones as well.
  • Options
    AnorakAnorak Posts: 6,621
    edited September 2013
    Cyclefree said:

    tim said:

    taffys said:

    ''To my mind, the Nairobi massacre and the massacre of over 60 Christians by suicide bombers in Pakistan are the two most important stories of the moment.''

    Of course, the vast majority of moderate muslims are non-violent and totally condemn etc.etc.etc.

    The vast majority of victims of Al Queda are Muslims

    Al-Qaida Kills Eight Times More Muslims Than Non-Muslims

    http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/surprising-study-on-terrorism-al-qaida-kills-eight-times-more-muslims-than-non-muslims-a-660619.html
    Indeed they are. A tragedy for them. A tragedy also that we are so feeble at standing up for the moderates within Islam who are fighting for an Islam which is not in the grips of this revolting ideology.

    Muslims are the biggest victims of Islamist violence and terror. And it is also true that non-Muslims living in the Middle East and countries such as Pakistan are deliberately targeted for violence and terror. Islamist ideology is a threat to all and sundry wherever it is allowed to get a grip.
    I suspect your average Al Qaida whackjob doesn't regard most muslim victims as 'proper muslims'.

    Much easier to rationalise that way, whether they are Shia not Sunni (heresy!), or Sunni but not Wahhabist (Liberal!), or are generally behaving in an 'unislamic manner' (such as being schooled while female, or daring to show a strand of hair (immodest!) or simply wanting to marry someone not on the Approved List (whore!). Then of course there is a large contingent of otherwise devout muslims who have committed the grave - and often fatal - sin of living with non-muslims without pursuing Jihad (traitors/collaborators!).

    Etc, etc, etc...
  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    Charles said:

    Plato said:

    I know this is all terribly serious but ... parachuting horse artillery? This is just like Nazis on the Moon film fodder.

    "The Ministry of Defence admitted this week that 18 members of the 400-strong 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery failed mandatory drug tests last month after apparently using what they believed were legal “Fat Stripper” training supplements. The soldiers included two sergeant-majors." http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/defence/article3876155.ece

    most likely spotters.

    Very difficult, very dangerous work.

    The Honorable Artillery Company are the best at it, but I'm sure that the Pegasi (as the HAC call them) are also pretty good
    :^ D

    It's just brilliant regimental mash-up stuff - I read it twice to make sure I wasn't going bonkers from too many cats...
  • Options



    As I said, it's much more than that - that's just one programme with BT.

    But I really think you're overestimating the amount of people who can telecommute for those journeys.

    Let's take an example: the BBC moved many of their operations to Manchester. Despite having some world-class telecoms links, and absolutely world-class technical people, they spent more than £1.9 million in travel between London and Manchester:
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9861270/BBC-spends-26000-on-taxis-between-London-and-Salford.html

    Mrs J cannot work from home, even though she works at a computer all day. She needs to interact with other designers, work in the lab, and occasionally make journeys to the other offices scattered around the country. That interactivity would be impossible over Internet links. Believe me, it's been tried.

    (As an aside, a friend of ours recently travelled by taxi from Cambridge to a five-star hotel in London as he couldn't carry all his equipment on a train. The taxi driver said it was the strangest and heaviest load he'd ever carried on a long-distance journey. The hotel paid the bill no questions asked, and he got to wave his magic wand all over their rooms ...)

    To be honest using the BBC - who are notorious for wasting money - as an example to prove this point is pretty poor. I wonder how much of that travel was people who had been forced to move up to Salford looking for any opportunity to get back to 'civilisation'?

    I accept there are lots of circumstances where people need to travel. But there are also huge areas where it is not necessary and is only done because of the lack of high speed communications.
    The BBC's a case where information is publicly available - it'd be a lot harder to get it for private companies. And to offset that, they have massive bandwidth and high-tech skills to allow them to work differently.
  • Options
    tim said:

    TGOHF said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Linking benefits to vaccinations strikes me as silly.

    But saying that all children must be vaccinated before they can go to school seems eminently sensible. Exemptions should be allowed only for genuine medical reasons.

    Why not leave it up to individual schools to enforce a no jab , no acceptance policy then. Better than a Ukip style benefits withdrawl stick over the head.

    OFSTED should say whether each school and nursery has a 100% vaccination policy (over the age of one) in their reports and those that don't can put a big anti-kitemark over their doors.

    http://www.aap.org/en-us/PublishingImages/measles-boy-rash.jpg

    And be legally liable for any transmissions, that should do it.



    Unfortunately I am not sure this would work. One of the arguments I remember being made by those opposed to the MMR was the age of the child when the vaccination was given. They seemed to believe it was overloading the child and causing side effects. I am not supporting this just pointing out what their argument was. As such a proportion were not having children vaccinated at 1 (or whatever age it was) but would have them done later when they believed it was safer.

    If this was the case then preventing kids going to school would not kick in as a threat for a number of these parents. But you would still have children mixing with friends outside of the school/playgroup setting and still not have the herd immunity.

    Obviously it would help to some extent but I am not sure it would be the complete answer.
  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    Anorak said:

    Cyclefree said:

    tim said:

    taffys said:

    ''To my mind, the Nairobi massacre and the massacre of over 60 Christians by suicide bombers in Pakistan are the two most important stories of the moment.''

    Of course, the vast majority of moderate muslims are non-violent and totally condemn etc.etc.etc.

    The vast majority of victims of Al Queda are Muslims

    Al-Qaida Kills Eight Times More Muslims Than Non-Muslims

    http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/surprising-study-on-terrorism-al-qaida-kills-eight-times-more-muslims-than-non-muslims-a-660619.html
    Indeed they are. A tragedy for them. A tragedy also that we are so feeble at standing up for the moderates within Islam who are fighting for an Islam which is not in the grips of this revolting ideology.

    Muslims are the biggest victims of Islamist violence and terror. And it is also true that non-Muslims living in the Middle East and countries such as Pakistan are deliberately targeted for violence and terror. Islamist ideology is a threat to all and sundry wherever it is allowed to get a grip.
    I suspect your average Al Qaida whackjob doesn't regard most muslim victims as 'proper muslims'.

    Much easier to rationalise that way, whether they are Shia not Sunni (heresy!), or Sunni but not Wahhabist (Liberal!), or are generally behaving in an 'unislamic manner' (such as being schooled while female, or daring to show a strand of hair (immodest!) or simply wanting to marry someone not on the Approved List (whore!). Then of course there is a large contingent of otherwise devout muslims who have committed the grave - and often fatal - sin of living with non-muslims without pursuing Jihad (traitors/collaborators!).

    Etc, etc, etc...
    One could argue that dying a virgin would be 1/72th of a terrorist's eternal bliss. I can see how that isn't very attractive...
  • Options



    As I said, it's much more than that - that's just one programme with BT.

    But I really think you're overestimating the amount of people who can telecommute for those journeys.

    Let's take an example: the BBC moved many of their operations to Manchester. Despite having some world-class telecoms links, and absolutely world-class technical people, they spent more than £1.9 million in travel between London and Manchester:
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9861270/BBC-spends-26000-on-taxis-between-London-and-Salford.html

    Mrs J cannot work from home, even though she works at a computer all day. She needs to interact with other designers, work in the lab, and occasionally make journeys to the other offices scattered around the country. That interactivity would be impossible over Internet links. Believe me, it's been tried.

    (As an aside, a friend of ours recently travelled by taxi from Cambridge to a five-star hotel in London as he couldn't carry all his equipment on a train. The taxi driver said it was the strangest and heaviest load he'd ever carried on a long-distance journey. The hotel paid the bill no questions asked, and he got to wave his magic wand all over their rooms ...)

    To be honest using the BBC - who are notorious for wasting money - as an example to prove this point is pretty poor. I wonder how much of that travel was people who had been forced to move up to Salford looking for any opportunity to get back to 'civilisation'?

    I accept there are lots of circumstances where people need to travel. But there are also huge areas where it is not necessary and is only done because of the lack of high speed communications.
    The BBC's a case where information is publicly available - it'd be a lot harder to get it for private companies. And to offset that, they have massive bandwidth and high-tech skills to allow them to work differently.
    on the other hand, a large proportion of the bbcs "talent" are oxbridge hires who believe that beyond birmingham lie monsters etc.
  • Options
    john_zimsjohn_zims Posts: 3,399
    @RedRag1

    'Thought it was quite funny that poor Mr Hodges was told to "Fuck off out of cenference, it's members only".

    The PB Bryants remind us daily that Hodges is a joke and yet Labour are too frit to let him into their conference.
  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,152
    tim said:

    @Cyclefree

    Other countries in the EU have a policy of making school admission (to any school) conditional on vaccination. The benefits question should be irrelevant.

    Why should the taxpayer sponsor (through nursery costs) a child who is a risk to others in that nursery?

    I hope I haven't missed your point because I think we are in agreement, no? The child would not be admitted to school until it had the vaccination. I can't imagine that there are that many parents who would prefer to have their child remain both unvaccinated and uneducated. I would hope so anyway!

  • Options
    If a child is banned from a school because it is not vaccinated..what happens then? I presume there is a responsibilty to educate it in some way
  • Options
    Plato said:




    One could argue that dying a virgin would be 1/72th of a terrorist's eternal bliss. I can see how that isn't very attractive...

    why this idea that sleeping with virgins is so great? surely someone who has an idea what to do would be more fun? they're only going to be virgins once, and you're in heaven for eternity, after all?
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,916
    edited September 2013

    Plato said:




    One could argue that dying a virgin would be 1/72th of a terrorist's eternal bliss. I can see how that isn't very attractive...

    why this idea that sleeping with virgins is so great? surely someone who has an idea what to do would be more fun? they're only going to be virgins once, and you're in heaven for eternity, after all?
    They are, apparently, perpetually virgin. Not entirely sure whether everyone thinks it RIGHT through, but .......

    The other thought is the question the young Irishman asked his priest ... "Father is it all right to sleep with a girl?" "Of course" said the priest. "The trouble is you young people don't sleep!"
  • Options
    tim said:

    Cyclefree said:

    Linking benefits to vaccinations strikes me as silly.

    But saying that all children must be vaccinated before they can go to school seems eminently sensible. Exemptions should be allowed only for genuine medical reasons.


    But saying that all children must be vaccinated before they can go to nursery/school/university seems eminently sensible. Exemptions should be allowed only for genuine medical reasons


    Theres a measles and mumps outbreak in colleges coming down the tracks in about five years time if we don't do something.
    I fear you might be right about an outbreak. But that'll be a result of a political and media failure from 15 or so years before in the early-mid 2000's.

    However, saying all children must be vaccinated is ridiculous. Are you really willing to prevent a child having an education because of this? And once that precedent is set, where do you head next?

    The way forward for MMR uptake is increased education of parents and parents-to-be, and a widespread media mea culpa stronger than the one Private Eye had a few years ago. Punitive measures on children - who have no say on whether they are inoculated or not - is not a solution.

    http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=columnists&article=197&
  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724

    Plato said:




    One could argue that dying a virgin would be 1/72th of a terrorist's eternal bliss. I can see how that isn't very attractive...

    why this idea that sleeping with virgins is so great? surely someone who has an idea what to do would be more fun? they're only going to be virgins once, and you're in heaven for eternity, after all?
    I totally concur - having sex for eternity with those who have no clue strikes me as bad planning. Imagine getting your car serviced by a numpty with no idea what a spanner is... [I'll stop there as this is a family blog...]
  • Options

    Plato said:




    One could argue that dying a virgin would be 1/72th of a terrorist's eternal bliss. I can see how that isn't very attractive...

    why this idea that sleeping with virgins is so great? surely someone who has an idea what to do would be more fun? they're only going to be virgins once, and you're in heaven for eternity, after all?
    They are, apparently, perpetually virgin. Not entirely sure whether everyone thinks it RIGHT through, but .......

    The other thought is the question the young Irishman asked his priest ... "Father is it all right to sleep with a girl?" "Of course" said the priest. "The trouble is you young people don't sleep!"
    ah, its a rum place that heaven, right enough!
  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    Not impressed, me thinks

    Tom McTague @MirrorMcTague
    For eg: Ed Balls urges delegates not to be "awed by the scale of what needs to be done". Cites 1945. But offers 10 hours free childcare.
  • Options
    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,899
    Yougov best not get the Lib Dems to 14%...
  • Options
    AnorakAnorak Posts: 6,621
    edited September 2013
    Plato said:

    Plato said:




    One could argue that dying a virgin would be 1/72th of a terrorist's eternal bliss. I can see how that isn't very attractive...

    why this idea that sleeping with virgins is so great? surely someone who has an idea what to do would be more fun? they're only going to be virgins once, and you're in heaven for eternity, after all?
    I totally concur - having sex for eternity with those who have no clue strikes me as bad planning. Imagine getting your car serviced by a numpty with no idea what a spanner is... [I'll stop there as this is a family blog...]
    You could start your own sect, with adherents being promised 73 high-class hookers/gigalos for eternity :)
  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    LOL

    Mark Witt @Mark__Witt
    Ed Balls has kindly summarised his speech in one handy picture @UKLabour @edballsmp #Lab13 pic.twitter.com/MXyNDBYAiz
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    Plato said:

    Plato said:




    One could argue that dying a virgin would be 1/72th of a terrorist's eternal bliss. I can see how that isn't very attractive...

    why this idea that sleeping with virgins is so great? surely someone who has an idea what to do would be more fun? they're only going to be virgins once, and you're in heaven for eternity, after all?
    I totally concur - having sex for eternity with those who have no clue strikes me as bad planning. Imagine getting your car serviced by a numpty with no idea what a spanner is... [I'll stop there as this is a family blog...]
    Quite.

    It would be like being governed by a Cabinet with no Oxbridge PPEs.

  • Options

    Mrs J cannot work from home, even though she works at a computer all day.

    The other thing being that physical security is generally easier to get right than IT security.

    You start allowing hundreds of people to routinely access your sensitive IT systems from home and you create an IT infrastructure that is much more vulnerable to outside attack.
  • Options
    The Crown Court at Warwick (Mr Justice Jeremy Baker) has today passed "whole life orders" in R v Smith & Newell, despite the recent judgment of the Strasbourg Court in Vinter and others v United Kingdom that such sentences are incompatible with article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. An appeal against sentence is likely to follow, with potentially interesting political ramifications.
  • Options
    "Rallings and Thrasher note UKIP had as many BME candidates in the 2013 elections as Lab and more than Con/LibDem"

    http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/events/epop2013/docs/UKIP candidates and policy positions in 2013 council elections.pdf

    twitter.com/GawainTowler/status/382147350824615938
  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    Anorak said:

    Plato said:

    Plato said:




    One could argue that dying a virgin would be 1/72th of a terrorist's eternal bliss. I can see how that isn't very attractive...

    why this idea that sleeping with virgins is so great? surely someone who has an idea what to do would be more fun? they're only going to be virgins once, and you're in heaven for eternity, after all?
    I totally concur - having sex for eternity with those who have no clue strikes me as bad planning. Imagine getting your car serviced by a numpty with no idea what a spanner is... [I'll stop there as this is a family blog...]
    You could start your own sect, with adherents being promised 73 high-class hookers/gigalos for eternity :)
    *rubs chin*

    *blinking ace idea*

    *goes off to David Koresh School but with better hair*

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzSBZdoJhik
  • Options
    MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,606
    edited September 2013
    tim said:

    I think building new towns, with transport links should probably be the priority for state infrastructure spending.
    But I'm still open minded on HS2, although if its going to be done it has to link up to Heathrow (with three runways) and building must start from the north and the south simultaneously rather than extra delay by just building from one end.

    Time travelling to London is much less of an issue than it was with reduced times and WiFi, I'm more interested in the capacity arguments.

    Now what are your opinions, we all hang on your original thoughts, you know that

    Tim, the Heathrow proposal includes a 17 mile non-stop high speed rail link to St Pancrass giving Heathrow an almost direct link to Paris city centre in just over 2h. The Heathrow proposal is very, very well thought out unlike HS2.

    As for capacity, as I said in the previous thread, capacity on the toads/roads and in the air needs to be expanded, rail is an antiquated way to ferry people around the country, at least in a nation this small. Going from 125mph to 200mph for £70-80bn for just 250 miles of track (distance between London and Leeds) makes little sense as it only saves a maximum of 50 minutes from the journey time. We could invest less than a fifth of that money nationwide on electrification of all current lines and in-cab signalling to enable 140mph trains, as well as lengthening platforms at major stations for 10 carriage trains.

    Again, HS2 is a Tory vote buying scheme, nothing more or less. At 140mph the time saved jumping to 200mph is just 35 minutes, hardly worth the extra £60bn. Dave winning a few extra marginal seats in the Midlands most certainly is not.
  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    edited September 2013
    LOL

    Telegraph Photoshop is at it again - Balls as Michael Caine in Zulu

    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danhodges/100237427/labour-party-conference-drill-sgt-ed-balls-is-sounding-the-retreat-over-the-economy/

    Ed Balls is one of Labour’s trusty old soldiers. He knows his chance of being leader has probably gone. So instead he has settled for being Labour’s drill sergeant.

    Cool under fire. Unflinching on the face of the enemy. Ed Balls never willingly takes a step back. Today he was forced to. It was done skillfully. With order and precision. But Labour’s tactical withdrawal on the economy is now under way.

    Twelve months ago Balls was leading the charge. His message then: “If we carry on like this – a divided coalition, muddling through, no vision, waiting for something to turn up – the danger is that two lost years becomes three and four and that we slip into a lost decade of slow growth, high unemployment and stagnation.”

    This morning he finally bowed to the inevitable. “Conference, after three years of stagnation, it’s good news that our economy has finally started to grow again,” he said....
  • Options
    CD13CD13 Posts: 6,351

    I asked a Muslim colleague about the 72 virgins, specifically - what did the virgins get out of this arrangement? What sins had they committed to have to suffer this for eternity? Purely in the interests of sexual equality, of course..

    He said they had the pleasure of having sex with a hunk like him who had also done some good deeds. I think his answer may have been a little tongue-in-cheek.
This discussion has been closed.