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The inevitable result of having an insurrectionist controlling the GOP? – politicalbetting.com

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  • darkagedarkage Posts: 5,398
    kinabalu said:

    Is literally everyone now happy with the government overriding the courts to overturn all the PO convictions btw? It's the sort of "principle" point where I'd expect somebody to rebel. Probably David Davis.

    They should because the government overturning criminal convictions doesn't seem like a very good idea, when it would be easy to do it in the courts and without any opposition. It is within the Trump era phenomenon of disregarding the law and due process for political gain.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 52,123

    Ghedebrav said:

    dixiedean said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Leon said:

    TOPPING said:

    Leon said:

    The Knapper’s Gazette has just commissioned me to go America, as it happens. Also Brittany, Colombia, Italy, the French Caribbean, Bangkok, the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh, and Moldova

    Busy season ahead

    "the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh"

    Truly living the life. And yes, yes I'm sure it's fantastic now with a rooftop pool and any number of cocktails, blah, blah.
    Phnom Penh is fucking brilliant now. One of the most entertaining cities on the planet

    And I’ve been to a few entertaining cities

    It has all the hedonistic languor of Bangkok in about 1990, with the buzz of a young Chinese city in 2003, with the sizzle of Saigon in 2010. And brilliant food. And no one gives a fuck, it is quite lawless. And excellent French wine is possibly cheaper here than in France
    But no Greggs. Forget it.
    Why do people actually like Greggs. I don't get it.
    You are George Osborne AICMFP. Greggs is like McDonalds. Cheap, consistent and reasonably good.
    But it's just a slightly seedy chain of bakeries? I went in a Greggs once - the coffee was rank and the meat slice thing OK but greasy. At least McDonalds is a restaurant. I'm clearly missing something.
    You are missing what I have just told you. If you go to Greggs, any Greggs, you know what you are getting and bar the odd omnishambles budget, you know how much it will cost. Ideal for a breakfast or lunchtime snack at work.
    But you could say the same of Costas, Pret etc and they a squillion times nicer.

    Edit: maybe more expensive though I guess.
    You bet they are more expensive. If you're a tradesman looking to grab something in a town you don't know well, you're barely getting change from a tenner for a latte and a panini at Costa whereas you're getting a couple of sausage rolls and a basic tea or coffee at Greggs for half the price. And, frankly, you're getting convenience to eat easily on the go and a satisfying, greasy hit to keep you going.

    Secondly, are you going to Pret to line your stomach for or during a night on the lash? That's a big market for some Greggs (although depends on site). As suggested, they have round the clock appeal - just in commercial terms, you want a steady trade for breakfast, lunch and, at the right location, after work - that makes good use of your property and staff.

    You originally made the point about McDonalds at least being a restaurant. But, often, people don't want that. Clearly, you can take a McDonalds away too, but eating out of the bag on the street is trickier, as is doing it at your desk or the place where you're installing a new bathroom.


    The sandwich and drink meal deal at Gregg's is a darn sight more tasty, attractive, filling, fresh and healthy than the one you'd get at a supermarket.
    I'm a big fan of the ham, egg, salad and mayo. In a proper bun. With real, juicy slices of tomato and more than one measly slice of ham.
    Pioneers of plant-based budget snackage too.
    Nobody's perfect.
    [cut to Sunil force-feeding Luckyguy a bunch of Greggs vegan steak bakes]
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,839
    Nigelb said:

    Chris said:

    First like Le Royaume-Uni.

    In the US civil war?
    Yes, we will take back control of the United States.

    I would make an excellent Viceroy of America.
    We didn't manage it in the last one, and we had a far better chance then. Arguably if we had offered the confederate states the protection of the British Empire we would have held the United States in permanent check, and been the pre-eminent world power for the 20th century at least.
    I've seen some crazy fantasies from right-wing loonies, but making the Confederate States a British Protectorate in order to stymie the USA has to beat them all.
    How is it a 'crazy fantasy'? I'm not proposing that this should happen, it's a historical counterfactual of the type often discussed here. Just you being an unpleasant little turd as usual I suppose.
    Because the Southern states would have had even less regard for an imperial Britain holding power over them than taking their chances with the North.

    Perhaps not 'crazy', but it is fantasy.
    Both sides lobbied Britain for its help with their cause. It's not unimaginable that the South would have welcomed British protection.
  • StockyStocky Posts: 10,232

    Ghedebrav said:

    dixiedean said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Leon said:

    TOPPING said:

    Leon said:

    The Knapper’s Gazette has just commissioned me to go America, as it happens. Also Brittany, Colombia, Italy, the French Caribbean, Bangkok, the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh, and Moldova

    Busy season ahead

    "the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh"

    Truly living the life. And yes, yes I'm sure it's fantastic now with a rooftop pool and any number of cocktails, blah, blah.
    Phnom Penh is fucking brilliant now. One of the most entertaining cities on the planet

    And I’ve been to a few entertaining cities

    It has all the hedonistic languor of Bangkok in about 1990, with the buzz of a young Chinese city in 2003, with the sizzle of Saigon in 2010. And brilliant food. And no one gives a fuck, it is quite lawless. And excellent French wine is possibly cheaper here than in France
    But no Greggs. Forget it.
    Why do people actually like Greggs. I don't get it.
    You are George Osborne AICMFP. Greggs is like McDonalds. Cheap, consistent and reasonably good.
    But it's just a slightly seedy chain of bakeries? I went in a Greggs once - the coffee was rank and the meat slice thing OK but greasy. At least McDonalds is a restaurant. I'm clearly missing something.
    You are missing what I have just told you. If you go to Greggs, any Greggs, you know what you are getting and bar the odd omnishambles budget, you know how much it will cost. Ideal for a breakfast or lunchtime snack at work.
    But you could say the same of Costas, Pret etc and they a squillion times nicer.

    Edit: maybe more expensive though I guess.
    You bet they are more expensive. If you're a tradesman looking to grab something in a town you don't know well, you're barely getting change from a tenner for a latte and a panini at Costa whereas you're getting a couple of sausage rolls and a basic tea or coffee at Greggs for half the price. And, frankly, you're getting convenience to eat easily on the go and a satisfying, greasy hit to keep you going.

    Secondly, are you going to Pret to line your stomach for or during a night on the lash? That's a big market for some Greggs (although depends on site). As suggested, they have round the clock appeal - just in commercial terms, you want a steady trade for breakfast, lunch and, at the right location, after work - that makes good use of your property and staff.

    You originally made the point about McDonalds at least being a restaurant. But, often, people don't want that. Clearly, you can take a McDonalds away too, but eating out of the bag on the street is trickier, as is doing it at your desk or the place where you're installing a new bathroom.


    The sandwich and drink meal deal at Gregg's is a darn sight more tasty, attractive, filling, fresh and healthy than the one you'd get at a supermarket.
    I'm a big fan of the ham, egg, salad and mayo. In a proper bun. With real, juicy slices of tomato and more than one measly slice of ham.
    Pioneers of plant-based budget snackage too.
    Nobody's perfect.
    Have you see 'You Are What You Eat: The Twin Experiment' on Netflix?

    I'm not sure about it. Has more than a hint of politics masquerading as science if you ask me - but I may be wrong.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,839
    Stocky said:

    Ghedebrav said:

    dixiedean said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Leon said:

    TOPPING said:

    Leon said:

    The Knapper’s Gazette has just commissioned me to go America, as it happens. Also Brittany, Colombia, Italy, the French Caribbean, Bangkok, the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh, and Moldova

    Busy season ahead

    "the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh"

    Truly living the life. And yes, yes I'm sure it's fantastic now with a rooftop pool and any number of cocktails, blah, blah.
    Phnom Penh is fucking brilliant now. One of the most entertaining cities on the planet

    And I’ve been to a few entertaining cities

    It has all the hedonistic languor of Bangkok in about 1990, with the buzz of a young Chinese city in 2003, with the sizzle of Saigon in 2010. And brilliant food. And no one gives a fuck, it is quite lawless. And excellent French wine is possibly cheaper here than in France
    But no Greggs. Forget it.
    Why do people actually like Greggs. I don't get it.
    You are George Osborne AICMFP. Greggs is like McDonalds. Cheap, consistent and reasonably good.
    But it's just a slightly seedy chain of bakeries? I went in a Greggs once - the coffee was rank and the meat slice thing OK but greasy. At least McDonalds is a restaurant. I'm clearly missing something.
    You are missing what I have just told you. If you go to Greggs, any Greggs, you know what you are getting and bar the odd omnishambles budget, you know how much it will cost. Ideal for a breakfast or lunchtime snack at work.
    But you could say the same of Costas, Pret etc and they a squillion times nicer.

    Edit: maybe more expensive though I guess.
    You bet they are more expensive. If you're a tradesman looking to grab something in a town you don't know well, you're barely getting change from a tenner for a latte and a panini at Costa whereas you're getting a couple of sausage rolls and a basic tea or coffee at Greggs for half the price. And, frankly, you're getting convenience to eat easily on the go and a satisfying, greasy hit to keep you going.

    Secondly, are you going to Pret to line your stomach for or during a night on the lash? That's a big market for some Greggs (although depends on site). As suggested, they have round the clock appeal - just in commercial terms, you want a steady trade for breakfast, lunch and, at the right location, after work - that makes good use of your property and staff.

    You originally made the point about McDonalds at least being a restaurant. But, often, people don't want that. Clearly, you can take a McDonalds away too, but eating out of the bag on the street is trickier, as is doing it at your desk or the place where you're installing a new bathroom.


    The sandwich and drink meal deal at Gregg's is a darn sight more tasty, attractive, filling, fresh and healthy than the one you'd get at a supermarket.
    I'm a big fan of the ham, egg, salad and mayo. In a proper bun. With real, juicy slices of tomato and more than one measly slice of ham.
    Pioneers of plant-based budget snackage too.
    Nobody's perfect.
    Have you see 'You Are What You Eat: The Twin Experiment' on Netflix?

    I'm not sure about it. Has more than a hint of politics masquerading as science if you ask me - but I may be wrong.
    I have not heard of it.
  • StockyStocky Posts: 10,232
    edited January 10

    Stocky said:

    Ghedebrav said:

    dixiedean said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Leon said:

    TOPPING said:

    Leon said:

    The Knapper’s Gazette has just commissioned me to go America, as it happens. Also Brittany, Colombia, Italy, the French Caribbean, Bangkok, the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh, and Moldova

    Busy season ahead

    "the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh"

    Truly living the life. And yes, yes I'm sure it's fantastic now with a rooftop pool and any number of cocktails, blah, blah.
    Phnom Penh is fucking brilliant now. One of the most entertaining cities on the planet

    And I’ve been to a few entertaining cities

    It has all the hedonistic languor of Bangkok in about 1990, with the buzz of a young Chinese city in 2003, with the sizzle of Saigon in 2010. And brilliant food. And no one gives a fuck, it is quite lawless. And excellent French wine is possibly cheaper here than in France
    But no Greggs. Forget it.
    Why do people actually like Greggs. I don't get it.
    You are George Osborne AICMFP. Greggs is like McDonalds. Cheap, consistent and reasonably good.
    But it's just a slightly seedy chain of bakeries? I went in a Greggs once - the coffee was rank and the meat slice thing OK but greasy. At least McDonalds is a restaurant. I'm clearly missing something.
    You are missing what I have just told you. If you go to Greggs, any Greggs, you know what you are getting and bar the odd omnishambles budget, you know how much it will cost. Ideal for a breakfast or lunchtime snack at work.
    But you could say the same of Costas, Pret etc and they a squillion times nicer.

    Edit: maybe more expensive though I guess.
    You bet they are more expensive. If you're a tradesman looking to grab something in a town you don't know well, you're barely getting change from a tenner for a latte and a panini at Costa whereas you're getting a couple of sausage rolls and a basic tea or coffee at Greggs for half the price. And, frankly, you're getting convenience to eat easily on the go and a satisfying, greasy hit to keep you going.

    Secondly, are you going to Pret to line your stomach for or during a night on the lash? That's a big market for some Greggs (although depends on site). As suggested, they have round the clock appeal - just in commercial terms, you want a steady trade for breakfast, lunch and, at the right location, after work - that makes good use of your property and staff.

    You originally made the point about McDonalds at least being a restaurant. But, often, people don't want that. Clearly, you can take a McDonalds away too, but eating out of the bag on the street is trickier, as is doing it at your desk or the place where you're installing a new bathroom.


    The sandwich and drink meal deal at Gregg's is a darn sight more tasty, attractive, filling, fresh and healthy than the one you'd get at a supermarket.
    I'm a big fan of the ham, egg, salad and mayo. In a proper bun. With real, juicy slices of tomato and more than one measly slice of ham.
    Pioneers of plant-based budget snackage too.
    Nobody's perfect.
    Have you see 'You Are What You Eat: The Twin Experiment' on Netflix?

    I'm not sure about it. Has more than a hint of politics masquerading as science if you ask me - but I may be wrong.
    I have not heard of it.
    Take a look. I'm guessing it will rile you up.

    There is a Wiki page.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,661
    Leon said:

    dixiedean said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Leon said:

    TOPPING said:

    Leon said:

    The Knapper’s Gazette has just commissioned me to go America, as it happens. Also Brittany, Colombia, Italy, the French Caribbean, Bangkok, the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh, and Moldova

    Busy season ahead

    "the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh"

    Truly living the life. And yes, yes I'm sure it's fantastic now with a rooftop pool and any number of cocktails, blah, blah.
    Phnom Penh is fucking brilliant now. One of the most entertaining cities on the planet

    And I’ve been to a few entertaining cities

    It has all the hedonistic languor of Bangkok in about 1990, with the buzz of a young Chinese city in 2003, with the sizzle of Saigon in 2010. And brilliant food. And no one gives a fuck, it is quite lawless. And excellent French wine is possibly cheaper here than in France
    But no Greggs. Forget it.
    Why do people actually like Greggs. I don't get it.
    You are George Osborne AICMFP. Greggs is like McDonalds. Cheap, consistent and reasonably good.
    But it's just a slightly seedy chain of bakeries? I went in a Greggs once - the coffee was rank and the meat slice thing OK but greasy. At least McDonalds is a restaurant. I'm clearly missing something.
    You are missing what I have just told you. If you go to Greggs, any Greggs, you know what you are getting and bar the odd omnishambles budget, you know how much it will cost. Ideal for a breakfast or lunchtime snack at work.
    But you could say the same of Costas, Pret etc and they a squillion times nicer.

    Edit: maybe more expensive though I guess.
    You bet they are more expensive. If you're a tradesman looking to grab something in a town you don't know well, you're barely getting change from a tenner for a latte and a panini at Costa whereas you're getting a couple of sausage rolls and a basic tea or coffee at Greggs for half the price. And, frankly, you're getting convenience to eat easily on the go and a satisfying, greasy hit to keep you going.

    Secondly, are you going to Pret to line your stomach for or during a night on the lash? That's a big market for some Greggs (although depends on site). As suggested, they have round the clock appeal - just in commercial terms, you want a steady trade for breakfast, lunch and, at the right location, after work - that makes good use of your property and staff.

    You originally made the point about McDonalds at least being a restaurant. But, often, people don't want that. Clearly, you can take a McDonalds away too, but eating out of the bag on the street is trickier, as is doing it at your desk or the place where you're installing a new bathroom.


    The sandwich and drink meal deal at Gregg's is a darn sight more tasty, attractive, filling, fresh and healthy than the one you'd get at a supermarket.
    I'm a big fan of the ham, egg, salad and mayo. In a proper bun. With real, juicy slices of tomato and more than one measly slice of ham.
    The key to a great sandwich is to use the supermarket jobs as a BASE

    So you buy the M&S smoked salmon and cream cheese, but then you buy another packet of salmon to stuff in it, as well as the salmon already in there. £3? £4?

    Shove it in, drizzle over the squeezed lemon and cracked black pepper. Now that is a superb fat sandwich, full of flavour, nutrition and protein, and much better for you than two unadorned sarnies, and about the same price
    So you'd pour more custard into a Greggs doughnut? That really is gilding the lily.
  • ChrisChris Posts: 11,779
    edited January 10
    darkage said:

    kinabalu said:

    Is literally everyone now happy with the government overriding the courts to overturn all the PO convictions btw? It's the sort of "principle" point where I'd expect somebody to rebel. Probably David Davis.

    They should because the government overturning criminal convictions doesn't seem like a very good idea, when it would be easy to do it in the courts and without any opposition. It is within the Trump era phenomenon of disregarding the law and due process for political gain.
    The problem is that a large proportion of the electorate is just too thick to understand there is any problem with doing this. I had this conversation with someone today, saying in quite mild terms that there might need to be some judicial process, just to determine which convictions depended on evidence that was unsafe, but was just met with "it's obvious" and "somebody must have a list of them".

    That being the case, the government (and probably politicians of all parties) will be terrified of appearing inactive - after months and years of inactivity - and will no doubt stampede themselves into the quickest action they can think of.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 49,128

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Leon said:

    TOPPING said:

    Leon said:

    The Knapper’s Gazette has just commissioned me to go America, as it happens. Also Brittany, Colombia, Italy, the French Caribbean, Bangkok, the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh, and Moldova

    Busy season ahead

    "the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh"

    Truly living the life. And yes, yes I'm sure it's fantastic now with a rooftop pool and any number of cocktails, blah, blah.
    Phnom Penh is fucking brilliant now. One of the most entertaining cities on the planet

    And I’ve been to a few entertaining cities

    It has all the hedonistic languor of Bangkok in about 1990, with the buzz of a young Chinese city in 2003, with the sizzle of Saigon in 2010. And brilliant food. And no one gives a fuck, it is quite lawless. And excellent French wine is possibly cheaper here than in France
    But no Greggs. Forget it.
    Why do people actually like Greggs. I don't get it.
    You are George Osborne AICMFP. Greggs is like McDonalds. Cheap, consistent and reasonably good.
    But it's just a slightly seedy chain of bakeries? I went in a Greggs once - the coffee was rank and the meat slice thing OK but greasy. At least McDonalds is a restaurant. I'm clearly missing something.
    You are missing what I have just told you. If you go to Greggs, any Greggs, you know what you are getting and bar the odd omnishambles budget, you know how much it will cost. Ideal for a breakfast or lunchtime snack at work.
    The vegan sausage rolls are really rather tasty, but the coffee is better at McDonald's.
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 22,399
    Stocky said:

    Ghedebrav said:

    dixiedean said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Leon said:

    TOPPING said:

    Leon said:

    The Knapper’s Gazette has just commissioned me to go America, as it happens. Also Brittany, Colombia, Italy, the French Caribbean, Bangkok, the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh, and Moldova

    Busy season ahead

    "the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh"

    Truly living the life. And yes, yes I'm sure it's fantastic now with a rooftop pool and any number of cocktails, blah, blah.
    Phnom Penh is fucking brilliant now. One of the most entertaining cities on the planet

    And I’ve been to a few entertaining cities

    It has all the hedonistic languor of Bangkok in about 1990, with the buzz of a young Chinese city in 2003, with the sizzle of Saigon in 2010. And brilliant food. And no one gives a fuck, it is quite lawless. And excellent French wine is possibly cheaper here than in France
    But no Greggs. Forget it.
    Why do people actually like Greggs. I don't get it.
    You are George Osborne AICMFP. Greggs is like McDonalds. Cheap, consistent and reasonably good.
    But it's just a slightly seedy chain of bakeries? I went in a Greggs once - the coffee was rank and the meat slice thing OK but greasy. At least McDonalds is a restaurant. I'm clearly missing something.
    You are missing what I have just told you. If you go to Greggs, any Greggs, you know what you are getting and bar the odd omnishambles budget, you know how much it will cost. Ideal for a breakfast or lunchtime snack at work.
    But you could say the same of Costas, Pret etc and they a squillion times nicer.

    Edit: maybe more expensive though I guess.
    You bet they are more expensive. If you're a tradesman looking to grab something in a town you don't know well, you're barely getting change from a tenner for a latte and a panini at Costa whereas you're getting a couple of sausage rolls and a basic tea or coffee at Greggs for half the price. And, frankly, you're getting convenience to eat easily on the go and a satisfying, greasy hit to keep you going.

    Secondly, are you going to Pret to line your stomach for or during a night on the lash? That's a big market for some Greggs (although depends on site). As suggested, they have round the clock appeal - just in commercial terms, you want a steady trade for breakfast, lunch and, at the right location, after work - that makes good use of your property and staff.

    You originally made the point about McDonalds at least being a restaurant. But, often, people don't want that. Clearly, you can take a McDonalds away too, but eating out of the bag on the street is trickier, as is doing it at your desk or the place where you're installing a new bathroom.


    The sandwich and drink meal deal at Gregg's is a darn sight more tasty, attractive, filling, fresh and healthy than the one you'd get at a supermarket.
    I'm a big fan of the ham, egg, salad and mayo. In a proper bun. With real, juicy slices of tomato and more than one measly slice of ham.
    Pioneers of plant-based budget snackage too.
    Nobody's perfect.
    Have you see 'You Are What You Eat: The Twin Experiment' on Netflix?

    I'm not sure about it. Has more than a hint of politics masquerading as science if you ask me - but I may be wrong.
    If it does not involve sibling cannibalism I shall be disappointed. :(
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    edited January 10
    I wonder if the three Postmasters Sir Keir prosecuted were any of the characters from the tv show
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,937

    tlg86 said:

    eek said:

    R

    Breaking:

    CPS carried out 11 prosecutions of postmasters where 'notable evidence' was connected to Horizon

    Three of the cases took place when Keir Starmer was Director of Public Prosecutions - Labour says Starmer was unaware

    A further 27 cases prosecuted by CPS have been identified by the Criminal Cases Review Commission


    https://x.com/steven_swinford/status/1745129770327629937?s=46

    What's worse - Starmer was DPP, or was "unaware"?
    DPP deals with 100s of cases a week, you can’t expect management to personally deal with and know every single one of them
    The Horizon scandal was already a national story for anyone paying attention.
    It would be interesting to know when Starmer says he became aware of the issue. BBC broadcast this in 2011:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ2FLuFVGMg

    I believe the Seema Misra case is one that the CPS prosecuted.
    If the DPP resigned after every miscarriage of justice we'd get through a lot of DDPs.
    But justice would be significantly improved if they knew they had to - after every miscarriage of justice. They might become strangely more curious.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,191
    BBC News: An AI vacuum cleaner. An AI fridge. An AI bathroom mirror.

    What a load of wank.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 49,128

    LAB: 45% (+2)
    CON: 26% (-1)
    LDM: 10% (=)
    REF: 8% (-1)
    GRN: 5% (+2)

    via @Savanta_UK, 5-7 Jan

    (Changes with 17 Dec)
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,222
    Nigelb said:

    kinabalu said:

    Is literally everyone now happy with the government overriding the courts to overturn all the PO convictions btw? It's the sort of "principle" point where I'd expect somebody to rebel. Probably David Davis.

    No, I think it sets a very poor precedent.
    It's the work of a government which couldn't be arsed until a week ago, and doesn't now want to do the hard work of sorting it out through the courts rather than parliamentary fiat.

    Some of the PO victims aren't very happy about it, either.
    I wonder if Sir Humphrey asked "and when did you come to this momentous decision?"
  • TimSTimS Posts: 13,214
    kinabalu said:

    Leon said:

    dixiedean said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Leon said:

    TOPPING said:

    Leon said:

    The Knapper’s Gazette has just commissioned me to go America, as it happens. Also Brittany, Colombia, Italy, the French Caribbean, Bangkok, the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh, and Moldova

    Busy season ahead

    "the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh"

    Truly living the life. And yes, yes I'm sure it's fantastic now with a rooftop pool and any number of cocktails, blah, blah.
    Phnom Penh is fucking brilliant now. One of the most entertaining cities on the planet

    And I’ve been to a few entertaining cities

    It has all the hedonistic languor of Bangkok in about 1990, with the buzz of a young Chinese city in 2003, with the sizzle of Saigon in 2010. And brilliant food. And no one gives a fuck, it is quite lawless. And excellent French wine is possibly cheaper here than in France
    But no Greggs. Forget it.
    Why do people actually like Greggs. I don't get it.
    You are George Osborne AICMFP. Greggs is like McDonalds. Cheap, consistent and reasonably good.
    But it's just a slightly seedy chain of bakeries? I went in a Greggs once - the coffee was rank and the meat slice thing OK but greasy. At least McDonalds is a restaurant. I'm clearly missing something.
    You are missing what I have just told you. If you go to Greggs, any Greggs, you know what you are getting and bar the odd omnishambles budget, you know how much it will cost. Ideal for a breakfast or lunchtime snack at work.
    But you could say the same of Costas, Pret etc and they a squillion times nicer.

    Edit: maybe more expensive though I guess.
    You bet they are more expensive. If you're a tradesman looking to grab something in a town you don't know well, you're barely getting change from a tenner for a latte and a panini at Costa whereas you're getting a couple of sausage rolls and a basic tea or coffee at Greggs for half the price. And, frankly, you're getting convenience to eat easily on the go and a satisfying, greasy hit to keep you going.

    Secondly, are you going to Pret to line your stomach for or during a night on the lash? That's a big market for some Greggs (although depends on site). As suggested, they have round the clock appeal - just in commercial terms, you want a steady trade for breakfast, lunch and, at the right location, after work - that makes good use of your property and staff.

    You originally made the point about McDonalds at least being a restaurant. But, often, people don't want that. Clearly, you can take a McDonalds away too, but eating out of the bag on the street is trickier, as is doing it at your desk or the place where you're installing a new bathroom.


    The sandwich and drink meal deal at Gregg's is a darn sight more tasty, attractive, filling, fresh and healthy than the one you'd get at a supermarket.
    I'm a big fan of the ham, egg, salad and mayo. In a proper bun. With real, juicy slices of tomato and more than one measly slice of ham.
    The key to a great sandwich is to use the supermarket jobs as a BASE

    So you buy the M&S smoked salmon and cream cheese, but then you buy another packet of salmon to stuff in it, as well as the salmon already in there. £3? £4?

    Shove it in, drizzle over the squeezed lemon and cracked black pepper. Now that is a superb fat sandwich, full of flavour, nutrition and protein, and much better for you than two unadorned sarnies, and about the same price
    So you'd pour more custard into a Greggs doughnut? That really is gilding the lily.
    I’m not sure I’d bother using a supermarket sandwich as a base. Why not just make the sandwich from scratch? Similar workload.

    Improving on processed food basics is however a fun exercise in which I engage regularly. Here are some examples:

    - Orange juice, plus freshly juiced liquid and bits of one orange. Tastes like freshly squeezed juice
    - Cheap sparkling wine with a soupçon of sherry (I’ve mentioned that before)
    - Supermarket / ambrosia tinned rice pudding baked with raisins and brown sugar
    - Pringles as a coating for homemade chicken nuggets
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 43,471
    Nigelb said:

    kinabalu said:

    Is literally everyone now happy with the government overriding the courts to overturn all the PO convictions btw? It's the sort of "principle" point where I'd expect somebody to rebel. Probably David Davis.

    No, I think it sets a very poor precedent.
    It's the work of a government which couldn't be arsed until a week ago, and doesn't now want to do the hard work of sorting it out through the courts rather than parliamentary fiat.

    Some of the PO victims aren't very happy about it, either.
    It'd be good if the opposition could firmly make this point. Sadly, events probably make that very difficult - like arguing against 'justice'...
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,839
    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Ghedebrav said:

    dixiedean said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Leon said:

    TOPPING said:

    Leon said:

    The Knapper’s Gazette has just commissioned me to go America, as it happens. Also Brittany, Colombia, Italy, the French Caribbean, Bangkok, the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh, and Moldova

    Busy season ahead

    "the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh"

    Truly living the life. And yes, yes I'm sure it's fantastic now with a rooftop pool and any number of cocktails, blah, blah.
    Phnom Penh is fucking brilliant now. One of the most entertaining cities on the planet

    And I’ve been to a few entertaining cities

    It has all the hedonistic languor of Bangkok in about 1990, with the buzz of a young Chinese city in 2003, with the sizzle of Saigon in 2010. And brilliant food. And no one gives a fuck, it is quite lawless. And excellent French wine is possibly cheaper here than in France
    But no Greggs. Forget it.
    Why do people actually like Greggs. I don't get it.
    You are George Osborne AICMFP. Greggs is like McDonalds. Cheap, consistent and reasonably good.
    But it's just a slightly seedy chain of bakeries? I went in a Greggs once - the coffee was rank and the meat slice thing OK but greasy. At least McDonalds is a restaurant. I'm clearly missing something.
    You are missing what I have just told you. If you go to Greggs, any Greggs, you know what you are getting and bar the odd omnishambles budget, you know how much it will cost. Ideal for a breakfast or lunchtime snack at work.
    But you could say the same of Costas, Pret etc and they a squillion times nicer.

    Edit: maybe more expensive though I guess.
    You bet they are more expensive. If you're a tradesman looking to grab something in a town you don't know well, you're barely getting change from a tenner for a latte and a panini at Costa whereas you're getting a couple of sausage rolls and a basic tea or coffee at Greggs for half the price. And, frankly, you're getting convenience to eat easily on the go and a satisfying, greasy hit to keep you going.

    Secondly, are you going to Pret to line your stomach for or during a night on the lash? That's a big market for some Greggs (although depends on site). As suggested, they have round the clock appeal - just in commercial terms, you want a steady trade for breakfast, lunch and, at the right location, after work - that makes good use of your property and staff.

    You originally made the point about McDonalds at least being a restaurant. But, often, people don't want that. Clearly, you can take a McDonalds away too, but eating out of the bag on the street is trickier, as is doing it at your desk or the place where you're installing a new bathroom.


    The sandwich and drink meal deal at Gregg's is a darn sight more tasty, attractive, filling, fresh and healthy than the one you'd get at a supermarket.
    I'm a big fan of the ham, egg, salad and mayo. In a proper bun. With real, juicy slices of tomato and more than one measly slice of ham.
    Pioneers of plant-based budget snackage too.
    Nobody's perfect.
    Have you see 'You Are What You Eat: The Twin Experiment' on Netflix?

    I'm not sure about it. Has more than a hint of politics masquerading as science if you ask me - but I may be wrong.
    I have not heard of it.
    Take a look. I'm guessing it will rile you up.

    There is a Wiki page.
    I Googled it. Standard shitty propaganda for veganism. It would rile me up if I gave it any more than the two minutes consideration I've just given it.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,805
    Nigelb said:

    Chris said:

    First like Le Royaume-Uni.

    In the US civil war?
    Yes, we will take back control of the United States.

    I would make an excellent Viceroy of America.
    We didn't manage it in the last one, and we had a far better chance then. Arguably if we had offered the confederate states the protection of the British Empire we would have held the United States in permanent check, and been the pre-eminent world power for the 20th century at least.
    I've seen some crazy fantasies from right-wing loonies, but making the Confederate States a British Protectorate in order to stymie the USA has to beat them all.
    How is it a 'crazy fantasy'? I'm not proposing that this should happen, it's a historical counterfactual of the type often discussed here. Just you being an unpleasant little turd as usual I suppose.
    Because the Southern states would have had even less regard for an imperial Britain holding power over them than taking their chances with the North.

    Perhaps not 'crazy', but it is fantasy.
    Plus, having passed the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833, Britain, under a Liberal government by 1861, would have struggled to justify to the nation's public why they should support a bunch of slave states.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
  • twistedfirestopper3twistedfirestopper3 Posts: 2,452
    edited January 10
    Harsh but fair. The town isn't happy with her.

  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,805
    edited January 10
    TimS said:

    kinabalu said:

    Leon said:

    dixiedean said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Leon said:

    TOPPING said:

    Leon said:

    The Knapper’s Gazette has just commissioned me to go America, as it happens. Also Brittany, Colombia, Italy, the French Caribbean, Bangkok, the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh, and Moldova

    Busy season ahead

    "the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh"

    Truly living the life. And yes, yes I'm sure it's fantastic now with a rooftop pool and any number of cocktails, blah, blah.
    Phnom Penh is fucking brilliant now. One of the most entertaining cities on the planet

    And I’ve been to a few entertaining cities

    It has all the hedonistic languor of Bangkok in about 1990, with the buzz of a young Chinese city in 2003, with the sizzle of Saigon in 2010. And brilliant food. And no one gives a fuck, it is quite lawless. And excellent French wine is possibly cheaper here than in France
    But no Greggs. Forget it.
    Why do people actually like Greggs. I don't get it.
    You are George Osborne AICMFP. Greggs is like McDonalds. Cheap, consistent and reasonably good.
    But it's just a slightly seedy chain of bakeries? I went in a Greggs once - the coffee was rank and the meat slice thing OK but greasy. At least McDonalds is a restaurant. I'm clearly missing something.
    You are missing what I have just told you. If you go to Greggs, any Greggs, you know what you are getting and bar the odd omnishambles budget, you know how much it will cost. Ideal for a breakfast or lunchtime snack at work.
    But you could say the same of Costas, Pret etc and they a squillion times nicer.

    Edit: maybe more expensive though I guess.
    You bet they are more expensive. If you're a tradesman looking to grab something in a town you don't know well, you're barely getting change from a tenner for a latte and a panini at Costa whereas you're getting a couple of sausage rolls and a basic tea or coffee at Greggs for half the price. And, frankly, you're getting convenience to eat easily on the go and a satisfying, greasy hit to keep you going.

    Secondly, are you going to Pret to line your stomach for or during a night on the lash? That's a big market for some Greggs (although depends on site). As suggested, they have round the clock appeal - just in commercial terms, you want a steady trade for breakfast, lunch and, at the right location, after work - that makes good use of your property and staff.

    You originally made the point about McDonalds at least being a restaurant. But, often, people don't want that. Clearly, you can take a McDonalds away too, but eating out of the bag on the street is trickier, as is doing it at your desk or the place where you're installing a new bathroom.


    The sandwich and drink meal deal at Gregg's is a darn sight more tasty, attractive, filling, fresh and healthy than the one you'd get at a supermarket.
    I'm a big fan of the ham, egg, salad and mayo. In a proper bun. With real, juicy slices of tomato and more than one measly slice of ham.
    The key to a great sandwich is to use the supermarket jobs as a BASE

    So you buy the M&S smoked salmon and cream cheese, but then you buy another packet of salmon to stuff in it, as well as the salmon already in there. £3? £4?

    Shove it in, drizzle over the squeezed lemon and cracked black pepper. Now that is a superb fat sandwich, full of flavour, nutrition and protein, and much better for you than two unadorned sarnies, and about the same price
    So you'd pour more custard into a Greggs doughnut? That really is gilding the lily.
    I’m not sure I’d bother using a supermarket sandwich as a base. Why not just make the sandwich from scratch? Similar workload.

    Improving on processed food basics is however a fun exercise in which I engage regularly. Here are some examples:

    - Orange juice, plus freshly juiced liquid and bits of one orange. Tastes like freshly squeezed juice
    - Cheap sparkling wine with a soupçon of sherry (I’ve mentioned that before)
    - Supermarket / ambrosia tinned rice pudding baked with raisins and brown sugar
    - Pringles as a coating for homemade chicken nuggets
    They still all leave you with ultra-processed food though (well maybe not the wine + sherry).

    I predict ultra-processed food will be the 'tobacco' of the 2030s.
  • darkagedarkage Posts: 5,398
    Chris said:

    darkage said:

    kinabalu said:

    Is literally everyone now happy with the government overriding the courts to overturn all the PO convictions btw? It's the sort of "principle" point where I'd expect somebody to rebel. Probably David Davis.

    They should because the government overturning criminal convictions doesn't seem like a very good idea, when it would be easy to do it in the courts and without any opposition. It is within the Trump era phenomenon of disregarding the law and due process for political gain.
    The problem is that a large proportion of the electorate is just too thick to understand there is any problem with doing this. I had this conversation with someone today, saying in quite mild terms that there might need to be some judicial process, just to determine which convictions depended on evidence that was unsafe, but was just met with "it's obvious" and "somebody must have a list of them".

    That being the case, the government (and probably politicians of all parties) will be terrified of appearing inactive - after months and years of inactivity - and will no doubt stampede themselves into the quickest action they can think of.
    I have reluctantly concluded that, however annoying, overpaid and obstructive I find lawyers and barristers to be, the one bit of social good they add is keeping the rule of law going.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    Here’s all the times Sir Keir has mentioned he was DPP on Twitter @bondegezou

    https://x.com/maw6578/status/1744851828984934743?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
  • TimS said:

    kinabalu said:

    Leon said:

    dixiedean said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Leon said:

    TOPPING said:

    Leon said:

    The Knapper’s Gazette has just commissioned me to go America, as it happens. Also Brittany, Colombia, Italy, the French Caribbean, Bangkok, the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh, and Moldova

    Busy season ahead

    "the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh"

    Truly living the life. And yes, yes I'm sure it's fantastic now with a rooftop pool and any number of cocktails, blah, blah.
    Phnom Penh is fucking brilliant now. One of the most entertaining cities on the planet

    And I’ve been to a few entertaining cities

    It has all the hedonistic languor of Bangkok in about 1990, with the buzz of a young Chinese city in 2003, with the sizzle of Saigon in 2010. And brilliant food. And no one gives a fuck, it is quite lawless. And excellent French wine is possibly cheaper here than in France
    But no Greggs. Forget it.
    Why do people actually like Greggs. I don't get it.
    You are George Osborne AICMFP. Greggs is like McDonalds. Cheap, consistent and reasonably good.
    But it's just a slightly seedy chain of bakeries? I went in a Greggs once - the coffee was rank and the meat slice thing OK but greasy. At least McDonalds is a restaurant. I'm clearly missing something.
    You are missing what I have just told you. If you go to Greggs, any Greggs, you know what you are getting and bar the odd omnishambles budget, you know how much it will cost. Ideal for a breakfast or lunchtime snack at work.
    But you could say the same of Costas, Pret etc and they a squillion times nicer.

    Edit: maybe more expensive though I guess.
    You bet they are more expensive. If you're a tradesman looking to grab something in a town you don't know well, you're barely getting change from a tenner for a latte and a panini at Costa whereas you're getting a couple of sausage rolls and a basic tea or coffee at Greggs for half the price. And, frankly, you're getting convenience to eat easily on the go and a satisfying, greasy hit to keep you going.

    Secondly, are you going to Pret to line your stomach for or during a night on the lash? That's a big market for some Greggs (although depends on site). As suggested, they have round the clock appeal - just in commercial terms, you want a steady trade for breakfast, lunch and, at the right location, after work - that makes good use of your property and staff.

    You originally made the point about McDonalds at least being a restaurant. But, often, people don't want that. Clearly, you can take a McDonalds away too, but eating out of the bag on the street is trickier, as is doing it at your desk or the place where you're installing a new bathroom.


    The sandwich and drink meal deal at Gregg's is a darn sight more tasty, attractive, filling, fresh and healthy than the one you'd get at a supermarket.
    I'm a big fan of the ham, egg, salad and mayo. In a proper bun. With real, juicy slices of tomato and more than one measly slice of ham.
    The key to a great sandwich is to use the supermarket jobs as a BASE

    So you buy the M&S smoked salmon and cream cheese, but then you buy another packet of salmon to stuff in it, as well as the salmon already in there. £3? £4?

    Shove it in, drizzle over the squeezed lemon and cracked black pepper. Now that is a superb fat sandwich, full of flavour, nutrition and protein, and much better for you than two unadorned sarnies, and about the same price
    So you'd pour more custard into a Greggs doughnut? That really is gilding the lily.
    I’m not sure I’d bother using a supermarket sandwich as a base. Why not just make the sandwich from scratch? Similar workload.

    Improving on processed food basics is however a fun exercise in which I engage regularly. Here are some examples:

    - Orange juice, plus freshly juiced liquid and bits of one orange. Tastes like freshly squeezed juice
    - Cheap sparkling wine with a soupçon of sherry (I’ve mentioned that before)
    - Supermarket / ambrosia tinned rice pudding baked with raisins and brown sugar
    - Pringles as a coating for homemade chicken nuggets
    They still all leave you with ultra-processed food though (well maybe not the wine + sherry).

    I predict ultra-processed food will be the tobacco of the the 2030s.
    Ditching all ultra processed food would make the population happier and save the NHS a fortune.
    Nestle and the rest of the gang might be a bit miffed, though.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 23,156
    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    Surely on that basis it is Queen Liz who had ultimate responsibility? Or maybe the big fella in the sky?
  • Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,713
    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    I don't suppose all this is making future recruitments for the post of DPP particularly easy - from now on he or she will be held personally responsible for every incorrect court judgement. Bit of a burden.
  • logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,932
    If it's Trump vs Biden, Trump will lose.
    Why - because of the Independents. But the polls say...
    Do Independents participate in polls?
    This guy thinks not...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MLNFzSfEhk

    Trump "will be leading his party to the 2nd or third greatest electoral defeat in American history"
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,474
    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    YOU are timmyvoe and I claim my £5. :)
  • ChrisChris Posts: 11,779
    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    You need to be careful when trying to siphon material from the sewer that is social media.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,805

    tlg86 said:

    eek said:

    R

    Breaking:

    CPS carried out 11 prosecutions of postmasters where 'notable evidence' was connected to Horizon

    Three of the cases took place when Keir Starmer was Director of Public Prosecutions - Labour says Starmer was unaware

    A further 27 cases prosecuted by CPS have been identified by the Criminal Cases Review Commission


    https://x.com/steven_swinford/status/1745129770327629937?s=46

    What's worse - Starmer was DPP, or was "unaware"?
    DPP deals with 100s of cases a week, you can’t expect management to personally deal with and know every single one of them
    The Horizon scandal was already a national story for anyone paying attention.
    It would be interesting to know when Starmer says he became aware of the issue. BBC broadcast this in 2011:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ2FLuFVGMg

    I believe the Seema Misra case is one that the CPS prosecuted.
    If the DPP resigned after every miscarriage of justice we'd get through a lot of DDPs.
    But justice would be significantly improved if they knew they had to - after every miscarriage of justice. They might become strangely more curious.
    Nobody would ever be prosecuted.
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 22,399
    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    Is somebody on Twitter upset about a thing?
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    edited January 10

    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    I don't suppose all this is making future recruitments for the post of DPP particularly easy - from now on he or she will be held personally responsible for every incorrect court judgement. Bit of a burden.
    He takes credit for everything that went right on his watch, as if he were personally responsible for every arrest, so he’s made his bed

    I posted the quote last night from him saying he bore ultimate responsibility for every action that was taken by the CPS while he was DPP… so be it

  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,347
    OT but following up the recent monkey discussion (whichb rather failed to spot that humans are in any case monkeys whether they like it or not): there is apparently a gen-u-ine tailed monkey in Stroud. Definitely a mystery to go with NYC tunnels and AI.

    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2024/jan/10/the-stroud-monkey-mystery-is-a-primate-on-the-loose-in-the-cotswolds#comment-166038057
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 28,422
    Ghedebrav said:

    Ghedebrav said:

    Leon said:

    biggles said:

    Leon said:

    The Knapper’s Gazette has just commissioned me to go America, as it happens. Also Brittany, Colombia, Italy, the French Caribbean, Bangkok, the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh, and Moldova

    Busy season ahead

    You are in our thoughts. Why don’t you set up a Go Fund Me to pay for a well earned holiday after you have gone through all of that, just so we don’t have to?
    Thanks, it’s dark and lonely work, but someone has to do it. It’s actually quite nice to get some sympathy

    This glut of gigs is making it hard for me to do my one main summer ambition: a trip through the Stans. Uzbek, Kazakh, and onwards. I shall squeeze it in somehow


    Enjoy Turkmenistan, where you will see, er, the world's largest carpet.
    Isn't there also that big hole that's been on fire for decades?
    I think that is in Azerbaijan.

    Or else its the Bin Fires of Middlesbrough.
    Checked - is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darvaza_gas_crater
    People from @stodge's neck of the woods used to tell of seeing underground fires through the cracks between paving stones around Beckton gas works.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 43,471
    As a matter of interest, were these private prosecutions jury trials, judge-only trials, or a mixture?

    (I can imagine PB's Legal Eagles laughing at this question, but I've no idea...)
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,347
    viewcode said:

    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    Is somebody on Twitter upset about a thing?
    I'm more beginning to wonder a tiny bit about someone on PB being discombobulated about something.
  • darkagedarkage Posts: 5,398
    This post office episode reveals that level of understanding about how the legal system works is poor. It is well worth reading the books written by the secret barrister, which explain the adversarial system of criminal justice.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 43,046
    Stocky said:

    kinabalu said:

    darkage said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Stocky said:

    Leon said:

    TOPPING said:

    Leon said:

    The Knapper’s Gazette has just commissioned me to go America, as it happens. Also Brittany, Colombia, Italy, the French Caribbean, Bangkok, the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh, and Moldova

    Busy season ahead

    "the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh"

    Truly living the life. And yes, yes I'm sure it's fantastic now with a rooftop pool and any number of cocktails, blah, blah.
    Phnom Penh is fucking brilliant now. One of the most entertaining cities on the planet

    And I’ve been to a few entertaining cities

    It has all the hedonistic languor of Bangkok in about 1990, with the buzz of a young Chinese city in 2003, with the sizzle of Saigon in 2010. And brilliant food. And no one gives a fuck, it is quite lawless. And excellent French wine is possibly cheaper here than in France
    But no Greggs. Forget it.
    Why do people actually like Greggs. I don't get it.
    You are George Osborne AICMFP. Greggs is like McDonalds. Cheap, consistent and reasonably good.
    But it's just a slightly seedy chain of bakeries? I went in a Greggs once - the coffee was rank and the meat slice thing OK but greasy. At least McDonalds is a restaurant. I'm clearly missing something.
    You are missing what I have just told you. If you go to Greggs, any Greggs, you know what you are getting and bar the odd omnishambles budget, you know how much it will cost. Ideal for a breakfast or lunchtime snack at work.
    But you could say the same of Costas, Pret etc and they a squillion times nicer.

    Edit: maybe more expensive though I guess.
    You bet they are more expensive. If you're a tradesman looking to grab something in a town you don't know well, you're barely getting change from a tenner for a latte and a panini at Costa whereas you're getting a couple of sausage rolls and a basic tea or coffee at Greggs for half the price. And, frankly, you're getting convenience to eat easily on the go and a satisfying, greasy hit to keep you going.

    Secondly, are you going to Pret to line your stomach for or during a night on the lash? That's a big market for some Greggs (although depends on site). As suggested, they have round the clock appeal - just in commercial terms, you want a steady trade for breakfast, lunch and, at the right location, after work - that makes good use of your property and staff.

    You originally made the point about McDonalds at least being a restaurant. But, often, people don't want that. Clearly, you can take a McDonalds away too, but eating out of the bag on the street is trickier, as is doing it at your desk or the place where you're installing a new bathroom.


    I have got the pret coffee subscription, which is unlimited hot drinks for £30 a month, even though I am only in London 1-2 days per week. I am getting good value for money from it. Also it can be used in departures at Stansted/Gatwick/Heathrow which is massively useful. If you go to Pret and get a sandwich/salad, crisps and coffee it works out cheaper than a Tesco Meal deal and the food is fresher and healthier. Lots of tradesmen doing the same thing but perhaps this is a London thing. Pret is ubiquitous in London.

    Regarding Greggs, the problem I have is the food is very processed and low quality, full of fat and sugar, it doesn't make you feel particularly satisfied. Costa has ok if overpriced coffee but the food is totally plastic and unsatisfying. I probably go to McDonalds more than I should. But it can work as an evening meal for less than £7, often a good option if you want to keep costs down.

    Convenience food in the UK is quite difficult. In Finland you can go to the supermarket and get coffee for 1 euro. They also have pretty good salad bars and bakeries. Often better, cheaper and healthier than the options in the UK.
    Have you actually tried the Greggs custard doughnuts though? Apologies if you have but this post has the air of somebody who hasn't.
    I'm ignoring that thug Topping. I adore the Pret sandwiches. Could live on them.

    And that hot wrap thing they do.
    That salt content will get you in the end just you wait.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,805
    Foxy said:


    LAB: 45% (+2)
    CON: 26% (-1)
    LDM: 10% (=)
    REF: 8% (-1)
    GRN: 5% (+2)

    via @Savanta_UK, 5-7 Jan

    (Changes with 17 Dec)

    Sunak is certainly managing to move the dial.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,347

    As a matter of interest, were these private prosecutions jury trials, judge-only trials, or a mixture?

    (I can imagine PB's Legal Eagles laughing at this question, but I've no idea...)

    Scotland was mainly magistrate's court guilty pleas IIRC (which to my mind implies the badly advised ones or perhaps the sensible ones who cut their losses, as they saw it). Not sure about elsewhere.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 43,046
    Also in what world is a pret sandwich, coffee and whatnot less expensive than a Tesco's meal deal. Sheer fantasy.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    Carnyx said:

    viewcode said:

    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    Is somebody on Twitter upset about a thing?
    I'm more beginning to wonder a tiny bit about someone on PB being discombobulated about something.
    I bet that’s what the Post Office bigwigs said about Alan Bates
  • Alphabet_SoupAlphabet_Soup Posts: 3,319

    BBC News: An AI vacuum cleaner. An AI fridge. An AI bathroom mirror.

    What a load of wank.

    Sounds like an AI news editor with an instinct for self-preservation.

    Which is, of course, exactly what @Leon has been warning us about from time to time.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 43,471

    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    I don't suppose all this is making future recruitments for the post of DPP particularly easy - from now on he or she will be held personally responsible for every incorrect court judgement. Bit of a burden.
    This is a little bit more than just an 'incorrect court judgement', isn't it? And if the CPS made mistakes, who is responsible for that mistake?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 51,125
    a
    Carnyx said:

    viewcode said:

    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    Is somebody on Twitter upset about a thing?
    I'm more beginning to wonder a tiny bit about someone on PB being discombobulated about something.
    Scotch?
  • darkagedarkage Posts: 5,398
    TOPPING said:

    Also in what world is a pret sandwich, coffee and whatnot less expensive than a Tesco's meal deal. Sheer fantasy.

    It is if you have the subscription at Pret and DONT have a clubcard at Tesco. The coffee is free at Pret with the subscription and you get a 20% discount on the sandwich, after the discount the sandwich costs as little as £3.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 43,046
    Meanwhile, yet another day when Keir Starmer at PMQs mentions he was DPP.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,347

    Ghedebrav said:

    Ghedebrav said:

    Leon said:

    biggles said:

    Leon said:

    The Knapper’s Gazette has just commissioned me to go America, as it happens. Also Brittany, Colombia, Italy, the French Caribbean, Bangkok, the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh, and Moldova

    Busy season ahead

    You are in our thoughts. Why don’t you set up a Go Fund Me to pay for a well earned holiday after you have gone through all of that, just so we don’t have to?
    Thanks, it’s dark and lonely work, but someone has to do it. It’s actually quite nice to get some sympathy

    This glut of gigs is making it hard for me to do my one main summer ambition: a trip through the Stans. Uzbek, Kazakh, and onwards. I shall squeeze it in somehow


    Enjoy Turkmenistan, where you will see, er, the world's largest carpet.
    Isn't there also that big hole that's been on fire for decades?
    I think that is in Azerbaijan.

    Or else its the Bin Fires of Middlesbrough.
    Checked - is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darvaza_gas_crater
    People from @stodge's neck of the woods used to tell of seeing underground fires through the cracks between paving stones around Beckton gas works.
    Plenty round hereabouts, and across the Central Belt in oil and coal mining waste dumps, called bings locally. Used to be one just down the road from here. But I don't recall Leon being tasked to come and write about it.

    http://guillermo-rein.blogspot.com/2011/09/accidental-combustion-of-coal-waste.html
    https://shaletrail.co.uk/kids-shale-trail/bings-thing/

    And similar fires could occur in oily shale elswehere - Lyme Regis (encouraged with jerricans of paraffin on the qiet to keep the tourists happy). and more genuinely in the east.

    https://wessexcoastgeology.soton.ac.uk/kimfire.htm
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,347

    a

    Carnyx said:

    viewcode said:

    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    Is somebody on Twitter upset about a thing?
    I'm more beginning to wonder a tiny bit about someone on PB being discombobulated about something.
    Scotch?
    No, just my pre-prandial half glass of white wine.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 49,128

    If it's Trump vs Biden, Trump will lose.
    Why - because of the Independents. But the polls say...
    Do Independents participate in polls?
    This guy thinks not...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MLNFzSfEhk

    Trump "will be leading his party to the 2nd or third greatest electoral defeat in American history"

    I was surprised to see so many Independents in America. Perhaps not as polarised as it is made out to be at 41% independent.



  • ChrisChris Posts: 11,779
    isam said:

    Carnyx said:

    viewcode said:

    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    Is somebody on Twitter upset about a thing?
    I'm more beginning to wonder a tiny bit about someone on PB being discombobulated about something.
    I bet that’s what the Post Office bigwigs said about Alan Bates
    If you're hoping to be portrayed in a prime-time TV drama based on your current antics here, I'm afraid you're heading for a disappointment.
  • darkagedarkage Posts: 5,398
    The DPP is a job involving immensely hard decisions, all this criticism of Starmer just reinforces the fact that he was able to do a real job and got to the top of his profession before going in to Politics. This is unlike almost everyone around him in Parliament.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,805
    Lots of rumours of impeding council s114 notices - it's not going to be a good look for the government.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 43,046
    darkage said:

    TOPPING said:

    Also in what world is a pret sandwich, coffee and whatnot less expensive than a Tesco's meal deal. Sheer fantasy.

    It is if you have the subscription at Pret and DONT have a clubcard at Tesco. The coffee is free at Pret with the subscription and you get a 20% discount on the sandwich, after the discount the sandwich costs as little as £3.
    Is that like free champagne in first class?

    Tesco's meal deal is sandwich, "snack" (I go for the mini sausages), and drink. £4.50.

    But yes if you're going to have the egg mayo sandwich £3 post discount. Plus what else was included. Something else IIRC.

    I mean really.


  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    Chris said:

    isam said:

    Carnyx said:

    viewcode said:

    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    Is somebody on Twitter upset about a thing?
    I'm more beginning to wonder a tiny bit about someone on PB being discombobulated about something.
    I bet that’s what the Post Office bigwigs said about Alan Bates
    If you're hoping to be portrayed in a prime-time TV drama based on your current antics here, I'm afraid you're heading for a disappointment.
    Thanks for your concern, but I’m not hoping for that
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 28,422

    Lots of rumours of impeding council s114 notices - it's not going to be a good look for the government.

    It will be worse long term, although unsurprising, if the government forces fire sales of local authority assets.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 43,471
    darkage said:

    This post office episode reveals that level of understanding about how the legal system works is poor. It is well worth reading the books written by the secret barrister, which explain the adversarial system of criminal justice.

    I'd argue that the general level of understanding amongst the public of any technical subject is poor. I know very little about the legal system; I have had zero personal interaction with the legal system in my life (aside from buying a house...), and it is a situation that I'm quite happy to continue for the rest of my natural life. ;)

    In a similar manner, I know just about enough wrt financial matters to keep the family finances and investments in order. Some accountancy terms sound like babble to me.

    And I think this plays into this whole tragic mess. Even though I have not built a system like Horizon, I probably have enough technical knowledge to have asked questions that may have got interesting and useful answers (some on PB could have asked *very* interesting questions). The average minister, or even a Post Office high heidyin, may not. If you can't ask the right questions, you won't get the information you need.
  • darkagedarkage Posts: 5,398

    Lots of rumours of impeding council s114 notices - it's not going to be a good look for the government.

    It was always going to end like this, obvious as far back as 10 years ago. Only so much the government can blame on 'bad management'.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,347

    Lots of rumours of impeding council s114 notices - it's not going to be a good look for the government.

    It will be worse long term, although unsurprising, if the government forces fire sales of local authority assets.
    Mm, some potential collisions with charity law and the law of trust.
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,771
    darkage said:

    The DPP is a job involving immensely hard decisions, all this criticism of Starmer just reinforces the fact that he was able to do a real job and got to the top of his profession before going in to Politics. This is unlike almost everyone around him in Parliament.

    Director of Public Prosecutions is a political appointment. In July 2008, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, Attorney General for England and Wales, named Starmer as the new head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Director of Public Prosecutions. (per Wiki)

  • carnforthcarnforth Posts: 4,855
    Carnyx said:

    Chris said:

    First like Le Royaume-Uni.

    In the US civil war?
    Yes, we will take back control of the United States.

    I would make an excellent Viceroy of America.
    We didn't manage it in the last one, and we had a far better chance then. Arguably if we had offered the confederate states the protection of the British Empire we would have held the United States in permanent check, and been the pre-eminent world power for the 20th century at least.
    I've seen some crazy fantasies from right-wing loonies, but making the Confederate States a British Protectorate in order to stymie the USA has to beat them all.
    Talking about fantasies, why should I get bollocked on PB the other day for accurately predicting that the New York Tunnels would have just this boring and humdrum explanation?

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/09/brooklyn-synagogue-secret-tunnel-dispute-arrests
    Quoting the article:

    "The reason for the tunnel’s creation remains undisclosed."
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,805
    Anyone watch the Conservative Party Political Broadcast just now? (missed it myself)
  • carnforthcarnforth Posts: 4,855
    carnforth said:

    Carnyx said:

    Chris said:

    First like Le Royaume-Uni.

    In the US civil war?
    Yes, we will take back control of the United States.

    I would make an excellent Viceroy of America.
    We didn't manage it in the last one, and we had a far better chance then. Arguably if we had offered the confederate states the protection of the British Empire we would have held the United States in permanent check, and been the pre-eminent world power for the 20th century at least.
    I've seen some crazy fantasies from right-wing loonies, but making the Confederate States a British Protectorate in order to stymie the USA has to beat them all.
    Talking about fantasies, why should I get bollocked on PB the other day for accurately predicting that the New York Tunnels would have just this boring and humdrum explanation?

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/09/brooklyn-synagogue-secret-tunnel-dispute-arrests
    Quoting the article:

    "The reason for the tunnel’s creation remains undisclosed."
    Guess: a certain traditional ceremony or ritual has been banned by the elders. The tunnel-builders disagree, and perform it secretly at night. The humdrum part? This ceremony is dead boring.
  • darkagedarkage Posts: 5,398

    darkage said:

    This post office episode reveals that level of understanding about how the legal system works is poor. It is well worth reading the books written by the secret barrister, which explain the adversarial system of criminal justice.

    I'd argue that the general level of understanding amongst the public of any technical subject is poor. I know very little about the legal system; I have had zero personal interaction with the legal system in my life (aside from buying a house...), and it is a situation that I'm quite happy to continue for the rest of my natural life. ;)

    In a similar manner, I know just about enough wrt financial matters to keep the family finances and investments in order. Some accountancy terms sound like babble to me.

    And I think this plays into this whole tragic mess. Even though I have not built a system like Horizon, I probably have enough technical knowledge to have asked questions that may have got interesting and useful answers (some on PB could have asked *very* interesting questions). The average minister, or even a Post Office high heidyin, may not. If you can't ask the right questions, you won't get the information you need.
    The one think I spend a lot of time trying to understand myself is tax, I have accountants for various business interests but always want to know exactly what they are doing and why and often find that they make significant errors.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,347
    edited January 10
    carnforth said:

    Carnyx said:

    Chris said:

    First like Le Royaume-Uni.

    In the US civil war?
    Yes, we will take back control of the United States.

    I would make an excellent Viceroy of America.
    We didn't manage it in the last one, and we had a far better chance then. Arguably if we had offered the confederate states the protection of the British Empire we would have held the United States in permanent check, and been the pre-eminent world power for the 20th century at least.
    I've seen some crazy fantasies from right-wing loonies, but making the Confederate States a British Protectorate in order to stymie the USA has to beat them all.
    Talking about fantasies, why should I get bollocked on PB the other day for accurately predicting that the New York Tunnels would have just this boring and humdrum explanation?

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/09/brooklyn-synagogue-secret-tunnel-dispute-arrests
    Quoting the article:

    "The reason for the tunnel’s creation remains undisclosed."
    I've read elsewhere that one faction was excluded from building X, so they went to Building Y and tunnelled to Building [edit] X. That's all.

  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 23,156

    Foxy said:


    LAB: 45% (+2)
    CON: 26% (-1)
    LDM: 10% (=)
    REF: 8% (-1)
    GRN: 5% (+2)

    via @Savanta_UK, 5-7 Jan

    (Changes with 17 Dec)

    Sunak is certainly managing to move the dial.
    Sure but that was pre another scandal that shows the establishment Labour and LibDems have failed us badly and need to be replaced by the Tories. The dial is about to boomerang as the public realise how evil Starmer and Davey really are.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 49,128

    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    I don't suppose all this is making future recruitments for the post of DPP particularly easy - from now on he or she will be held personally responsible for every incorrect court judgement. Bit of a burden.
    This is a little bit more than just an 'incorrect court judgement', isn't it? And if the CPS made mistakes, who is responsible for that mistake?
    If the law said that Horizon was always right then the problem is the law and Horizon not the CPS.

  • logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,932
    Foxy said:

    If it's Trump vs Biden, Trump will lose.
    Why - because of the Independents. But the polls say...
    Do Independents participate in polls?
    This guy thinks not...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MLNFzSfEhk

    Trump "will be leading his party to the 2nd or third greatest electoral defeat in American history"

    I was surprised to see so many Independents in America. Perhaps not as polarised as it is made out to be at 41% independent.



    Yes, there are more Independents than Democrats and more Democrats than Republicans.
    Makes sense that Democrats win the popular vote more often than Republicans and why Republicans are always thinking up ways of stopping people voting.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,347
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559

    Nigelb said:

    Chris said:

    First like Le Royaume-Uni.

    In the US civil war?
    Yes, we will take back control of the United States.

    I would make an excellent Viceroy of America.
    We didn't manage it in the last one, and we had a far better chance then. Arguably if we had offered the confederate states the protection of the British Empire we would have held the United States in permanent check, and been the pre-eminent world power for the 20th century at least.
    I've seen some crazy fantasies from right-wing loonies, but making the Confederate States a British Protectorate in order to stymie the USA has to beat them all.
    How is it a 'crazy fantasy'? I'm not proposing that this should happen, it's a historical counterfactual of the type often discussed here. Just you being an unpleasant little turd as usual I suppose.
    Because the Southern states would have had even less regard for an imperial Britain holding power over them than taking their chances with the North.

    Perhaps not 'crazy', but it is fantasy.
    Plus, having passed the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833, Britain, under a Liberal government by 1861, would have struggled to justify to the nation's public why they should support a bunch of slave states.
    Whadaya mean "would have"?

    Seeing as how HMG circa 1861 in fact DID struggle to justify it's pro-Confederate policy to the British Public. In particular the textile workers of Lancashire (most of whom were denied the vote) who did NOT endorse the illiberal Liberal government, despite the "cotton famine" and resultant unemployment.

    Wiki below barely scratches the surface, but still worth checking out.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_and_the_American_Civil_War
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 43,471
    darkage said:

    The DPP is a job involving immensely hard decisions, all this criticism of Starmer just reinforces the fact that he was able to do a real job and got to the top of his profession before going in to Politics. This is unlike almost everyone around him in Parliament.

    Yet according to some on here, it must be a sinecure. After all, they claim he was not responsible for anything that happened in his department whilst he was in the role.... ;)
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,908
    Can anyone point me to a link explaining how voter registration works in the USA.

    I don't get this concept of needing to identify as "Republican" or "Democrat" or "Independent" in advance, and then taking part in that party's Primary, but you can also vote in the other Primary.

    What is the point?
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,900
    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    It is indeed very bad that Britain's first three miscarriages happened on his watch.

    How do you know the three were innocent? Perhaps they are the guilty ones that Alex Chalk suggests will unfortunately be allowed through the net by his blanket acquittal.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,222
    I see Paula Vennells led a review into church property in 2020:

    https://twitter.com/WalkerMarcus/status/1745132027483918555

    Quite an interesting thread.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 43,471

    isam said:

    Get out of this one Sir Keir Starmer

    YOU claim YOU were responsible for all prosecutions in England and Wales

    YOU claim the buck stops at the top level

    YOU were Director of Public prosecutions when innocent people were wrongfully convicted in the post office scandal



    https://x.com/timmyvoe240886/status/1745142278409138524?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    It is indeed very bad that Britain's first three miscarriages happened on his watch.

    How do you know the three were innocent? Perhaps they are the guilty ones that Alex Chalk suggests will unfortunately be allowed through the net by his blanket acquittal.
    I do wonder why these cases went to the CPS, rather than being private prosecutions. What was different about them?

    But neither do we want to go to the other extreme, and suggest that because "I was DPP you know" Starmer was tangentially involved in their cases, they're guilty.
  • logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,932
    MattW said:

    Can anyone point me to a link explaining how voter registration works in the USA.

    I don't get this concept of needing to identify as "Republican" or "Democrat" or "Independent" in advance, and then taking part in that party's Primary, but you can also vote in the other Primary.

    What is the point?

    "Some states require you to declare your party affiliation when registering, while others do not track your party affiliation. If your state tracks party affiliation, there will be a question on your voter registration from for you to declare your political party affiliation. "
    https://www.eac.gov/how-do-i-change-my-political-party-affiliation
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,347
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/jan/10/no-precedent-why-commons-approach-to-post-office-scandal-has-lawyers-nervous

    Intderesting report on HMG's cheapskate approach to the PO scandal - but also the justice system.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,839

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Carnyx said:

    Chris said:

    First like Le Royaume-Uni.

    In the US civil war?
    Yes, we will take back control of the United States.

    I would make an excellent Viceroy of America.
    We didn't manage it in the last one, and we had a far better chance then. Arguably if we had offered the confederate states the protection of the British Empire we would have held the United States in permanent check, and been the pre-eminent world power for the 20th century at least.
    I've seen some crazy fantasies from right-wing loonies, but making the Confederate States a British Protectorate in order to stymie the USA has to beat them all.
    Talking about fantasies, why should I get bollocked on PB the other day for accurately predicting that the New York Tunnels would have just this boring and humdrum explanation?

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/09/brooklyn-synagogue-secret-tunnel-dispute-arrests
    Quoting the article:

    "The reason for the tunnel’s creation remains undisclosed."
    Guess: a certain traditional ceremony or ritual has been banned by the elders. The tunnel-builders disagree, and perform it secretly at night. The humdrum part? This ceremony is dead boring.
    Boring comes into it certainly.
    That's quite a breakthrough - do you have a mole on the inside?
  • RattersRatters Posts: 1,111
    My assessment on the post office scandal back in November:

    "It should be pretty simple for the government to:

    1) Invalidate all prior prosecutions from the Post Office. The scandal is so widespread there is no need for a detailed examination of each case - the assumption should once again be innocence unless proven guilty again with what we know today.

    2) Properly compensate everyone prosecuted.

    3) Set-up an independent investigatory team with the task of prosecuting anyone who committed a crime in conjunction with this miscarriage of justice.

    4) Fire the entire Post office Board and senior leadership and replacing them with independent voices given the task of cleaning out the stables, including actively helping with prosecutions against the former leadership of the Post Office."

    1 down, 3 to go?
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 43,471
    In other news, I fear it's only a matter of time before the Houthis get lucky.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67932725
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,645
    kinabalu said:

    Is literally everyone now happy with the government overriding the courts to overturn all the PO convictions btw? It's the sort of "principle" point where I'd expect somebody to rebel. Probably David Davis.

    When you give them 70K of your own savings, but still get put in jail, named in local paper as a convicted felon so that your grandson gets bullied at school about it, there is absolutely nothing anyone anywhere can ever do to put that right.

    But it’s still surprising how quickly Sunak’s Governments chosen plan is beginning to fall apart already. Where they were named in paper and jailed individually as crooks, they won’t be exonerated individually, could that bit be improved on? Where they are asked to sign saying they are innocent and not a crook, does that not still cast aspirations of not believing your innocence, could that bit not be improved on? Why given to the house by an unconvincing sounding business minister, and not a legal one? Is everyone in government onboard with this?

    What your post is asking for, Kin, is a header, is it not? From a website that so far is ahead of the media game on this. From a PBer who actually knows a bit about law and politics, to set out what the options of Sunak and Starmer’s governments realistically are now, to deliver some speedy exonerations and compensation, with the advantages and issues of each option. Only then would we know if this decision Sunak has made is as bad as it already it seems to be.
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559
    Foxy said:

    If it's Trump vs Biden, Trump will lose.
    Why - because of the Independents. But the polls say...
    Do Independents participate in polls?
    This guy thinks not...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MLNFzSfEhk

    Trump "will be leading his party to the 2nd or third greatest electoral defeat in American history"

    I was surprised to see so many Independents in America. Perhaps not as polarised as it is made out to be at 41% independent.



    Strangely, plenty of American voters do NOT want to be regarded as party hacks OR puppets.

    Meaning that sussing out their partisan affiliation or leanings takes a bit of doing for pollsters.

    For example

    > In Massachusetts as of Oct 2022, voter registration by party:
    Democratic 29.5%
    Republican 9.0%
    other parties 1.2%
    unenrolled (that is, independent) = 6.4%

    Compared with Mass 2022 general election results for Governor
    Democrat Martha Healey 63.8%
    Republican Geoff Diel 34.6%
    Libertarian Kevin Reed 1.6%

    > In Washington State, no party registration (though must pick party for presidential primary); however it is very common, for voters who are 99.46% committed to one party or the other, to try balancing their own ballot, by seeking at least one candidate for some office from the OTHER party that they can vote for without undue angst.

    This was secret of success for our former Republican Secretary of State, Kim Wyman, who in 2020 was the only GOPer elected statewide in WA State. This year, it appears (at least in January) that former Republican congresswoman and current candidate for Public Lands Commissioner might (emphasis on conditional) be able to squeak out a win on same basis.

    > Years ago when living in another state, yours truly adopted the same policy; voted for Democrats in general elections EXCEPT for one partisan office: County Coroner.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,805
    The ground shifts, or at least the rural part of it appears to be:

    Rural voters more likely to back Labour than the Tories
    Poll puts Sir Keir Starmer’s party four points ahead in countryside after promises to support farmers and tackle sewage spills


    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/01/10/rural-voters-more-likely-back-labour-than-tories-poll/
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,645
    stodge said:

    It seems then those convicted as a result of the Post Office scandal are to have their convictions overturned via legislation.

    Yes, that doesn't sit well with me either. It sets a dangerous precedent and a prime example of the road to hell being paved with good intentions. Of course, we see Sunak playing to the populist crowd - he sees the public wanting "something" to be done to put right the scandal and he's decided using Parliament to overturn legal decisions is the right "something".

    We can all accept and understand there was a miscarriage of justice which needs to be corrected but imagine how this could be misused in the future. Guilty people having their convictions overturned by legislation - imagine where that ends, yes, it could be another miscarriage like and innocent person wrongly convicted of murder but it could be a "friend" of a future Government convicted of a crime who uses his or her influence to get the conviction quashed.

    The Courts have mechanisms to overturn convictions - let's use those and speed the process rather than invoke legislation.

    What are the court options? What are the political options? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each?

    We need some sort of Which? magazine table of them, don’t we?
  • FairlieredFairliered Posts: 5,059
    edited January 10

    Lots of rumours of impeding council s114 notices - it's not going to be a good look for the government.

    It will be worse long term, although unsurprising, if the government forces fire sales of local authority assets.
    Tory donors will already be looking to buy up some assets on the cheap. I wonder how many council headquarters buildings will be renamed Michelle Mone House.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,629
    MattW said:

    Can anyone point me to a link explaining how voter registration works in the USA.

    I don't get this concept of needing to identify as "Republican" or "Democrat" or "Independent" in advance, and then taking part in that party's Primary, but you can also vote in the other Primary.

    What is the point?

    I am very uncomfortable with self-ID for voters. There should be a clear and objective set of measures that can be universally applied, to determine affiliation. Voters should not merely be able to declare "I'm a Democrat" or whatever.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,805

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Carnyx said:

    Chris said:

    First like Le Royaume-Uni.

    In the US civil war?
    Yes, we will take back control of the United States.

    I would make an excellent Viceroy of America.
    We didn't manage it in the last one, and we had a far better chance then. Arguably if we had offered the confederate states the protection of the British Empire we would have held the United States in permanent check, and been the pre-eminent world power for the 20th century at least.
    I've seen some crazy fantasies from right-wing loonies, but making the Confederate States a British Protectorate in order to stymie the USA has to beat them all.
    Talking about fantasies, why should I get bollocked on PB the other day for accurately predicting that the New York Tunnels would have just this boring and humdrum explanation?

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/09/brooklyn-synagogue-secret-tunnel-dispute-arrests
    Quoting the article:

    "The reason for the tunnel’s creation remains undisclosed."
    Guess: a certain traditional ceremony or ritual has been banned by the elders. The tunnel-builders disagree, and perform it secretly at night. The humdrum part? This ceremony is dead boring.
    Boring comes into it certainly.
    That's quite a breakthrough - do you have a mole on the inside?
    I am not allowed to tell you the hole truth.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118

    darkage said:

    The DPP is a job involving immensely hard decisions, all this criticism of Starmer just reinforces the fact that he was able to do a real job and got to the top of his profession before going in to Politics. This is unlike almost everyone around him in Parliament.

    Yet according to some on here, it must be a sinecure. After all, they claim he was not responsible for anything that happened in his department whilst he was in the role.... ;)
    How dare you! He was responsible for all the major things that went right, just ask him

    He is also quoted as saying he carried ultimate responsibility for absolutely everything that happened at the CPS on his watch. But we can ignore that now apparently
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 17,454
    stodge said:

    It seems then those convicted as a result of the Post Office scandal are to have their convictions overturned via legislation.

    Yes, that doesn't sit well with me either. It sets a dangerous precedent and a prime example of the road to hell being paved with good intentions. Of course, we see Sunak playing to the populist crowd - he sees the public wanting "something" to be done to put right the scandal and he's decided using Parliament to overturn legal decisions is the right "something".

    We can all accept and understand there was a miscarriage of justice which needs to be corrected but imagine how this could be misused in the future. Guilty people having their convictions overturned by legislation - imagine where that ends, yes, it could be another miscarriage like and innocent person wrongly convicted of murder but it could be a "friend" of a future Government convicted of a crime who uses his or her influence to get the conviction quashed.

    The Courts have mechanisms to overturn convictions - let's use those and speed the process rather than invoke legislation.

    Parliamentary SOV-RIN-TEE, is it not?
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 43,471

    We are forever seeing TV chefs swanning off to some distant shore and eulogising about the 'Street Food' that they purchase from some squalid shack that nobody in their right mind would go anywhere near.

    If you want street food, buy a Greggs steak bake and eat it as you walk down the pavement.

    Last year, I was two miles from the end of a marathon, and running through Croydon. I was really hungry, so I nipped into a Greggs, bought a sausage roll, and ate it as I jogged down the road.

    To be quite clear: this was *not* a good idea...
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 49,128

    The ground shifts, or at least the rural part of it appears to be:

    Rural voters more likely to back Labour than the Tories
    Poll puts Sir Keir Starmer’s party four points ahead in countryside after promises to support farmers and tackle sewage spills


    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/01/10/rural-voters-more-likely-back-labour-than-tories-poll/

    In many rural areas it can be difficult to decide who is the best anti-Tory vote.
  • FairlieredFairliered Posts: 5,059

    In other news, I fear it's only a matter of time before the Houthis get lucky.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67932725

    It’s about time the Iranians got unlucky.
  • TimSTimS Posts: 13,214

    We are forever seeing TV chefs swanning off to some distant shore and eulogising about the 'Street Food' that they purchase from some squalid shack that nobody in their right mind would go anywhere near.

    If you want street food, buy a Greggs steak bake and eat it as you walk down the pavement.

    Somewhere at a farmer’s market in Oregon every Sunday morning there’s an open-sided Citroen van serving “British street food” steak bakes with brown sauce.
  • TimSTimS Posts: 13,214

    In other news, I fear it's only a matter of time before the Houthis get lucky.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67932725

    It’s about time the Iranians got unlucky.
    If A happens then B happens shortly after. Or at least B happens to their proxies.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,805
    rcs1000 said:

    MattW said:

    Can anyone point me to a link explaining how voter registration works in the USA.

    I don't get this concept of needing to identify as "Republican" or "Democrat" or "Independent" in advance, and then taking part in that party's Primary, but you can also vote in the other Primary.

    What is the point?

    I am very uncomfortable with self-ID for voters. There should be a clear and objective set of measures that can be universally applied, to determine affiliation. Voters should not merely be able to declare "I'm a Democrat" or whatever.
    Vaccinated / not-vaccinated?
This discussion has been closed.