So rail nationalisation and a commie internet. Have I missed something and Corbyn is really PM?
One for you to enjoy: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/business/cum-ex.html ...Exactly how that machine operated is a central question in the first cum-ex prosecution, which began in September in Bonn, Germany. In a trial expected to last until February, German prosecutors intend to make an example of Mr. Shields, 41, and a former colleague. (Mr. Mora, 52, was indicted in December and will be tried separately in the coming months.) The men in the Bonn case have been charged with “aggravated tax evasion” that cost the German treasury close to $500 million.
Last month, the presiding judge issued a preliminary ruling that, for the first time, declared cum-ex a felony, calling it a “collective grab in the treasury.” Punishment has yet to be determined, but the give-it-back and the go-to-prison phases of this calamity are about to begin.
German prosecutors say they will now pursue 400 other suspects, unearthed in 56 investigations. Banks large and small will be ordered to hand over cum-ex profits, which could have serious consequences for some. Two have already gone bust...
I did one of the investigations into this. Very murky and smelly.
ITV had a British / American guy who was being evacuated said that he was told that the city officials are talking about it being until April before Wuhan returns to normal.
A plague village with 11 million inhabitants.
Perhaps we should be sending them copies of Camus’ La Peste (The Plague) to read.
Isn't part of the Northern trains issue to do with the DfT not authorising sufficient infrastructure around Manchester (eg extra platforms at Piccadilly?).
Isn't part of the Northern trains issue to do with the DfT not authorising sufficient infrastructure around Manchester (eg extra platforms at Piccadilly?).
Quite
2 new platofrms at Piccadilly are required as well as Oxford Rd to remove the Piccadilly bottleneck that ultimately cripes much of the Northern network.
New management won't fix this without huge investment in fixing those bottlenecks.
So rail nationalisation and a commie internet. Have I missed something and Corbyn is really PM?
One for you to enjoy: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/business/cum-ex.html ...Exactly how that machine operated is a central question in the first cum-ex prosecution, which began in September in Bonn, Germany. In a trial expected to last until February, German prosecutors intend to make an example of Mr. Shields, 41, and a former colleague. (Mr. Mora, 52, was indicted in December and will be tried separately in the coming months.) The men in the Bonn case have been charged with “aggravated tax evasion” that cost the German treasury close to $500 million.
Last month, the presiding judge issued a preliminary ruling that, for the first time, declared cum-ex a felony, calling it a “collective grab in the treasury.” Punishment has yet to be determined, but the give-it-back and the go-to-prison phases of this calamity are about to begin.
German prosecutors say they will now pursue 400 other suspects, unearthed in 56 investigations. Banks large and small will be ordered to hand over cum-ex profits, which could have serious consequences for some. Two have already gone bust...
I did one of the investigations into this. Very murky and smelly...
Encouraging to see some finally facing the consequences.
Re: PMQs and Corbyn's outright rejection of the Trump leading an Israel / Palestine peace deal. It seems he objects more to Trump succeeding.
I don't know about Corbyn, but it doesn't appear to me to be a deal at all. Rather the template for an imposed settlement, which is likely to settle nothing.
Laura Kuenssberg saying HS2 announcment tomorrow and will be a yes.
Grant Shapps on R5 a short while ago, obviously being quite gnomic about the HS2 decision, but reading between the lines suggesting the additional northern powerhouse lines are going to get a green light too.
Isn't part of the Northern trains issue to do with the DfT not authorising sufficient infrastructure around Manchester (eg extra platforms at Piccadilly?).
Quite
2 new platofrms at Piccadilly are required as well as Oxford Rd to remove the Piccadilly bottleneck that ultimately cripes much of the Northern network.
New management won't fix this without huge investment in fixing those bottlenecks.
2 new platforms to add to the two (13 and 14?) that run local through trains down the side of the station? Oxford Rd is elevated, to it’s a lot of literal bridge building to extend those lines through the city centre.
I look forward to the day when we inevitably go back in, even though I will probably be a very old man. The remainder of the Col. Blimps in the country will get in a massive lather when we sign up to full fat membership with single currency and defence force and I shall laugh until I fall off my zimmer frame, and die a happy man in the knowledge that the arguments of hate lost in the end.
Laura Kuenssberg saying HS2 announcment tomorrow and will be a yes.
Following on from the Huawei announcement politics, the way to do it is to say that the government wishes to see HS2 built as soon as possible, but the current management company HS2 Ltd is clearly unfit for purpose and will be replaced.
So rail nationalisation and a commie internet. Have I missed something and Corbyn is really PM?
One for you to enjoy: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/business/cum-ex.html ...Exactly how that machine operated is a central question in the first cum-ex prosecution, which began in September in Bonn, Germany. In a trial expected to last until February, German prosecutors intend to make an example of Mr. Shields, 41, and a former colleague. (Mr. Mora, 52, was indicted in December and will be tried separately in the coming months.) The men in the Bonn case have been charged with “aggravated tax evasion” that cost the German treasury close to $500 million.
Last month, the presiding judge issued a preliminary ruling that, for the first time, declared cum-ex a felony, calling it a “collective grab in the treasury.” Punishment has yet to be determined, but the give-it-back and the go-to-prison phases of this calamity are about to begin.
German prosecutors say they will now pursue 400 other suspects, unearthed in 56 investigations. Banks large and small will be ordered to hand over cum-ex profits, which could have serious consequences for some. Two have already gone bust...
I did one of the investigations into this. Very murky and smelly...
Encouraging to see some finally facing the consequences.
I look forward to the day when we inevitably go back in, even though I will probably be a very old man. The remainder of the Col. Blimps in the country will get in a massive lather when we sign up to full fat membership with single currency and defence force and I shall laugh until I fall off my zimmer frame, and die a happy man in the knowledge that the arguments of hate lost in the end.
Could factionalism be defined as valuing the displeasure of one's opponents more than the success of one's nation?
I find it bizarre that some people seem to think "this must be good, it's annoyed all the right people" constitutes a sound line of thinking. Idiots can be right sometimes. The wise can err. Letting other people determine your opinion, whether that's slavish obedience or mindless opposition, is not sensible.
The most environmentally friendly airport expansion project ever.
Right now, we have a couple of thousand planes a day that spend time going around in low-level circles waiting for their ‘slot’ to land at LHR. Millions of tonnes of CO2 per year because the airport is massively over capacity. Add some adverse weather, and planes get scattered everywhere, with loads more CO2 emissions required to get everyone to where they want to be - not to mention the cost to the economy of the disruption, which is now a regular occurrence rather than an an exceptional event.
Iowa polling remains as clear as mud... https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/29/biden-sanders-iowa-poll-108755 45 percent of likely caucus-goers say they are open to supporting a different candidate next Monday... The survey attempts to mimic the caucus process, first by asking respondents to pick their second choice. On that metric, Warren, the Massachusetts senator who’s slid to fourth in most Iowa polls, leads with 19 percent, followed by Biden (16 percent), Buttigieg (13 percent), Klobuchar (12 percent) and Sanders (11 percent)... An analysis published Sunday by the Times found that Sanders generally leads in polls of all voters who say they are likely to caucus next week, while Biden runs better in surveys that are restricted to voters who have participated in recent elections...
Tyson Fury is narrow favourite over Deontay Wilder for their rematch on Feb 22nd (Feb 23rd when the fight takes place). This is because he is perceived as being the better boxer, being able to get up if floored by Wilder, and being only half fit as of last time round when the result was a draw and plenty thought Fury had won it.
Fury is widely thought to be the better boxer and Wilder is thought to be the better (bigger) puncher.
So what's the thinking now? That his boxing skills will be sufficient to outbox Wilder and he will win over 12 rounds (he is unlikely to knock Wilder out although he is trumpeting that he will do just this in Rd 2).
However, although technically good, Fury has really only dominated second rate (and smaller) opponents (one or two of whom have floored him) and is seen as being so much better a boxer because he beat Wlad a few years ago. But Wlad had gone to sleep during that fight (it was a different story vs AJ later on) and I think we can to a certain extent discount that performance.
Meanwhile, Wilder is Wilder and to think that Fury will win is to think that Wilder won't connect for 12 rds = 36 minutes of boxing. That is the bet. I think this is unlikely, to say nothing of his admittedly inferior but ok boxing skills, and I think that he will connect, and that Fury will go down and hence I would be backing Wilder albeit at 2.18 on bf.
Here endeth one of the more boring posts of the day.
Isn't part of the Northern trains issue to do with the DfT not authorising sufficient infrastructure around Manchester (eg extra platforms at Piccadilly?).
Quite
2 new platofrms at Piccadilly are required as well as Oxford Rd to remove the Piccadilly bottleneck that ultimately cripes much of the Northern network.
New management won't fix this without huge investment in fixing those bottlenecks.
2 new platforms to add to the two (13 and 14?) that run local through trains down the side of the station? Oxford Rd is elevated, to it’s a lot of literal bridge building to extend those lines through the city centre.
Correct
Elevated 2 additional platforms at Piccadilly and Oxford Rd to massively increase capacity.
The tracks between the stations are not the problems, it is trains stopping in the platforms and blocking the tracks.
Will allow many more through trains rather than terminating trains which in turn frees up spaces for HS2 trains and NPR trains to use the existing station without huge additional cost of an underground station getting built below the existing station.
Tyson Fury is narrow favourite over Deontay Wilder for their rematch on Feb 22nd (Feb 23rd when the fight takes place). This is because he is perceived as being the better boxer, being able to get up if floored by Wilder, and being only half fit as of last time round when the result was a draw and plenty thought Fury had won it.
Fury is widely thought to be the better boxer and Wilder is thought to be the better (bigger) puncher.
So what's the thinking now? That his boxing skills will be sufficient to outbox Wilder and he will win over 12 rounds (he is unlikely to knock Wilder out although he is trumpeting that he will do just this in Rd 2).
However, although technically good, Fury has really only dominated second rate (and smaller) opponents (one or two of whom have floored him) and is seen as being so much better a boxer because he beat Wlad a few years ago. But Wlad had gone to sleep during that fight (it was a different story vs AJ later on) and I think we can to a certain extent discount that performance.
Meanwhile, Wilder is Wilder and to think that Fury will win is to think that Wilder won't connect for 12 rds = 36 minutes of boxing. That is the bet. I think this is unlikely, to say nothing of his admittedly inferior but ok boxing skills, and I think that he will connect, and that Fury will go down and hence I would be backing Wilder albeit at 2.18 on bf.
Here endeth one of the more boring posts of the day.
I still can’t work this one out, think it’s a genuine 50:50 so will back whoever is the outsider. You’ve got me £10 on Wilder.
Three Iowa polls out today, with three very different candidate orders.
Mornigside has Biden by one point from Buttigieg, with Sanders and Warren tied in third.
Civiqs has Sanders with a convincing lead over Warren, who's a smidgen above Buttigieg, with Biden trailing in fourth.
Monmouth has Biden two points up on Sanders, with Buttigieg in third.
All three polls have Klobuchar making it into double digits.
Worth noting here that the top four remain extremely close. Morningside has just four percentage points between first and fourth, and just seven between first and fifth.
Iowa polling remains as clear as mud... https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/29/biden-sanders-iowa-poll-108755 45 percent of likely caucus-goers say they are open to supporting a different candidate next Monday... The survey attempts to mimic the caucus process, first by asking respondents to pick their second choice. On that metric, Warren, the Massachusetts senator who’s slid to fourth in most Iowa polls, leads with 19 percent, followed by Biden (16 percent), Buttigieg (13 percent), Klobuchar (12 percent) and Sanders (11 percent)... An analysis published Sunday by the Times found that Sanders generally leads in polls of all voters who say they are likely to caucus next week, while Biden runs better in surveys that are restricted to voters who have participated in recent elections...
The crazy bit is that you then have to layer on the candidates own infrastructure, given the crazy way the caucuses work. Sanders and Buttigieg will have people in pretty much every precinct. Warren is behind them (albeit she'll be in 70+%), while Biden probably has the weakest on the ground organisation.
An election announcement in the pro-Conservative Daily Mail amongst the blizzard of other "promises".
"1 million homes" - does that mean built and occupied, under construction, not started but through planning or simply an application has been submitted? Come up with a measurable quantifiable pledge and we can see if it is achieved instead of some vague nonsense.
Now, these "fixed term deposits" - they used to exist in the mortgage market. My father agreed a fixed 25-year mortgage rate of 2.25% in 1956 - my grandfather thought him mad but of course Dad got it right given what happened to interest rates in the 70s.
So if I want to buy my £200k house (flat in London) and I rock up with my £10k deposit I can go to the Government mortgage broker who will presumably lend me £190k out of public funds at a rate of, well, we don't know and what happens if I default on my borrowing or my property goes into negative equity?
As usual with Boris, long on generality, very short on specifics.
As for the rental sector, again, it's all anti-landlord and pro-tenant. The end of "no fault evictions" - if I want my property back for whatever reason, I can't get it back. The other aspect is most renters now use a bond process - that means they get their money back at the end of one rental period and can use it for another. The bond also provides security for the landlord just in case the tenant does a runner or defaults as it guarantees rental income for the landlord.
For all the rhetoric, the Johnson Government seems to be anti-landlord and anti-rental and pro-ownership which isn't the answer for everyone no matter how many Tory voters they want to create.
I look forward to the day when we inevitably go back in, even though I will probably be a very old man. The remainder of the Col. Blimps in the country will get in a massive lather when we sign up to full fat membership with single currency and defence force and I shall laugh until I fall off my zimmer frame, and die a happy man in the knowledge that the arguments of hate lost in the end.
Britain is in a permanent identity crisis. When was the last time there was a settled consensus as to where we fit into this world? You probably have to go back to the Victorians.
Planning infrastructure to meet the needs of growth is basically my job. Vast amounts of public sector time and effort is spent on it. Google your relevant local authority's infrastructure plan. Infrastructure is hard to deliver, because we aren't a totalitarian state and we are reluctant to inconvenience individuals for the greater good, in comparison to other states. But it does happen. Speaking of which I should probably get back to work. .
Thanks, Cookie, for the insight. The problem is Government has dictated absurd additional housing targets to every planning authority.
As an example, the town of Cranleigh has a population of about 11,500. The Government target is to build another 1,700 homes so that would add another 3,500-5.000 people to the town.
Those extra people will require services such as school places, waste collection, transport and the like and you'd better believe a Section 106 only goes so far.
As I said this morning, the Conservatives have a simple notion that building more houses solves the housing problem - it doesn't, all it does is make property developers, estate agents and construction companies (I wonder how many of each of those sectors are direct contributors to Conservative Party funds?) richer.
I look forward to the day when we inevitably go back in, even though I will probably be a very old man. The remainder of the Col. Blimps in the country will get in a massive lather when we sign up to full fat membership with single currency and defence force and I shall laugh until I fall off my zimmer frame, and die a happy man in the knowledge that the arguments of hate lost in the end.
Now, these "fixed term deposits" - they used to exist in the mortgage market. My father agreed a fixed 25-year mortgage rate of 2.25% in 1956
Interesting - How can that be when the Base rate in 1956 was 5.5% ? Genuinely curious - as I always thought banks aimed for rates higher than the base at least !
Now, these "fixed term deposits" - they used to exist in the mortgage market. My father agreed a fixed 25-year mortgage rate of 2.25% in 1956
Interesting - How can that be when the Base rate in 1956 was 5.5% ? Genuinely curious - as I always thought banks aimed for rates higher than the base at least !
Not that I was in the market for one at that time, as I am soooo young, but I think there were mortages at low fixed rates issued by some local authorities, councils other municipal body at that time.
I may be wrong, and it may have been limited to certain areas, or just my imagination.
Comments
Conservatives: 35% (+4)
Labour: 33% (no change)
Plaid Cymru: 19% (+1)
Liberal Democrats: 5% (-2)
Brexit Party: 4% (-3)
Greens: 3% (no change)
Others: 1% (no change)
2 new platofrms at Piccadilly are required as well as Oxford Rd to remove the Piccadilly bottleneck that ultimately cripes much of the Northern network.
New management won't fix this without huge investment in fixing those bottlenecks.
2 mins 19 secs in. “What has China ever given the world?”
Rather the template for an imposed settlement, which is likely to settle nothing.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/brexit/second-eu-referendum-would-not-be-wholly-unreasonable-after-brexit-says-nigel-farage/ar-BBZruUx?ocid=spartanntp
WRTW You may enjoy this - https://barry-walsh.co.uk/caveat-emptor/
It has had an amazing response.
I find it bizarre that some people seem to think "this must be good, it's annoyed all the right people" constitutes a sound line of thinking. Idiots can be right sometimes. The wise can err. Letting other people determine your opinion, whether that's slavish obedience or mindless opposition, is not sensible.
Was this constituency flipping in 2015 and dumping Ed Balls the Canary in the mine for Labour's problems in the north?
Right now, we have a couple of thousand planes a day that spend time going around in low-level circles waiting for their ‘slot’ to land at LHR. Millions of tonnes of CO2 per year because the airport is massively over capacity. Add some adverse weather, and planes get scattered everywhere, with loads more CO2 emissions required to get everyone to where they want to be - not to mention the cost to the economy of the disruption, which is now a regular occurrence rather than an an exceptional event.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/29/biden-sanders-iowa-poll-108755
45 percent of likely caucus-goers say they are open to supporting a different candidate next Monday...
The survey attempts to mimic the caucus process, first by asking respondents to pick their second choice. On that metric, Warren, the Massachusetts senator who’s slid to fourth in most Iowa polls, leads with 19 percent, followed by Biden (16 percent), Buttigieg (13 percent), Klobuchar (12 percent) and Sanders (11 percent)...
An analysis published Sunday by the Times found that Sanders generally leads in polls of all voters who say they are likely to caucus next week, while Biden runs better in surveys that are restricted to voters who have participated in recent elections...
Tyson Fury is narrow favourite over Deontay Wilder for their rematch on Feb 22nd (Feb 23rd when the fight takes place). This is because he is perceived as being the better boxer, being able to get up if floored by Wilder, and being only half fit as of last time round when the result was a draw and plenty thought Fury had won it.
Fury is widely thought to be the better boxer and Wilder is thought to be the better (bigger) puncher.
So what's the thinking now? That his boxing skills will be sufficient to outbox Wilder and he will win over 12 rounds (he is unlikely to knock Wilder out although he is trumpeting that he will do just this in Rd 2).
However, although technically good, Fury has really only dominated second rate (and smaller) opponents (one or two of whom have floored him) and is seen as being so much better a boxer because he beat Wlad a few years ago. But Wlad had gone to sleep during that fight (it was a different story vs AJ later on) and I think we can to a certain extent discount that performance.
Meanwhile, Wilder is Wilder and to think that Fury will win is to think that Wilder won't connect for 12 rds = 36 minutes of boxing. That is the bet. I think this is unlikely, to say nothing of his admittedly inferior but ok boxing skills, and I think that he will connect, and that Fury will go down and hence I would be backing Wilder albeit at 2.18 on bf.
Here endeth one of the more boring posts of the day.
Mornigside has Biden by one point from Buttigieg, with Sanders and Warren tied in third.
Civiqs has Sanders with a convincing lead over Warren, who's a smidgen above Buttigieg, with Biden trailing in fourth.
Monmouth has Biden two points up on Sanders, with Buttigieg in third.
All three polls have Klobuchar making it into double digits.
Elevated 2 additional platforms at Piccadilly and Oxford Rd to massively increase capacity.
The tracks between the stations are not the problems, it is trains stopping in the platforms and blocking the tracks.
Will allow many more through trains rather than terminating trains which in turn frees up spaces for HS2 trains and NPR trains to use the existing station without huge additional cost of an underground station getting built below the existing station.
How long does it take to sing the US national anthem?
https://www.si.com/nfl/jets/news/super-bowl-national-anthem-odds
(I’m now on the ‘under’ with a friendly bet, can’t get a US bookie account).
An election announcement in the pro-Conservative Daily Mail amongst the blizzard of other "promises".
"1 million homes" - does that mean built and occupied, under construction, not started but through planning or simply an application has been submitted? Come up with a measurable quantifiable pledge and we can see if it is achieved instead of some vague nonsense.
Now, these "fixed term deposits" - they used to exist in the mortgage market. My father agreed a fixed 25-year mortgage rate of 2.25% in 1956 - my grandfather thought him mad but of course Dad got it right given what happened to interest rates in the 70s.
So if I want to buy my £200k house (flat in London) and I rock up with my £10k deposit I can go to the Government mortgage broker who will presumably lend me £190k out of public funds at a rate of, well, we don't know and what happens if I default on my borrowing or my property goes into negative equity?
As usual with Boris, long on generality, very short on specifics.
As for the rental sector, again, it's all anti-landlord and pro-tenant. The end of "no fault evictions" - if I want my property back for whatever reason, I can't get it back. The other aspect is most renters now use a bond process - that means they get their money back at the end of one rental period and can use it for another. The bond also provides security for the landlord just in case the tenant does a runner or defaults as it guarantees rental income for the landlord.
For all the rhetoric, the Johnson Government seems to be anti-landlord and anti-rental and pro-ownership which isn't the answer for everyone no matter how many Tory voters they want to create.
As an example, the town of Cranleigh has a population of about 11,500. The Government target is to build another 1,700 homes so that would add another 3,500-5.000 people to the town.
Those extra people will require services such as school places, waste collection, transport and the like and you'd better believe a Section 106 only goes so far.
As I said this morning, the Conservatives have a simple notion that building more houses solves the housing problem - it doesn't, all it does is make property developers, estate agents and construction companies (I wonder how many of each of those sectors are direct contributors to Conservative Party funds?) richer.
https://twitter.com/rewearmouth/status/1222546339764101127?s=21
NEW THREAD
I may be wrong, and it may have been limited to certain areas, or just my imagination.
I think Labour will win here but suspect it could be closer than expected – say 2000 majority.
Balls strikes me as something of a cold fish and will struggle in an area like this filled with ambitious, independently minded working class voters.
Long term this will be won by the Conservatives the next time they win an overall majority.
https://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/morleyandoutwood/comment-page-1/#comments