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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » PB Nighthawks is now open

SystemSystem Posts: 11,697
edited March 2014 in General

politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » PB Nighthawks is now open

To all your lurkers, why not Find The Time to delurk? I know your contributions will be Five Star good. Your preconceptions about delurking will All Fall Down.

Read the full story here


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  • Options
    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,997
    Good link at number 20, Mr. Eagles.

    Of course, Narses soon had control of Byzantium's Italian possesions, and was such an arse that the Exarchate diminished rapidly once his unpleasant but competent self was removed.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,997
    Mr. T, Veyron off the menu? Or the Koenigsegg[sp] One (over 1,300 bhp)?

    I'm afraid I know sod all about cars, beyond stuff from Top Gear, obviously.
  • Options
    JackWJackW Posts: 14,787
    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.

    Don't overlook the Audi TT especially the RS model - great bang for your buck. However although a four seater it's what used to termed by the motor trade as a 2+2 - meaning two adults and two nippers.

  • Options
    Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,820
    FPT:


    Richard N on the last thread assures us that there will be a referendum in 2017 under a Tory government even without a Treaty. Tell us more! Let's assume that negotiations are statting to get under way, and the Government has asked for X, Y and Z, Do we know what the question will be? "Yes, let's stay in if we get X, Y and Z" vs "No, let's leave"? Or "Yes for the status quo" vs No? Or something else?

    This is astonishing. Has Nick P, whom you might have thought kept abreast of these things, not heard of the European Union (Referendum) Bill?

    (2)The referendum must be held before 31 December 2017.

    (3) The Secretary of State shall by order, and before 31 December 2016, appoint the
    day on which the referendum is to be held.

    (4) The question that is to appear on the ballot papers is: “Do you think that the United Kingdom should be a member of the European Union?”


    http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2013-2014/0063/lbill_2013-20140063_en_2.htm#l1g1

    That is it: that is Conservative policy, voted for by virtually the entire Tory parliamentary party, but killed off by Labour and the LibDems, as you would expect. We need a Conservative majority to be sure.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-vows-to-continue-fight-for-eu-referendum-after-lords-block-bill-9101068.html
  • Options
    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @iankatz1000: Many good things coming down #newsnight slipway tonight inc..@DMiliband on Syria, Ukraine + how the west lost its stomach for intervention
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    JackW said:

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.

    Don't overlook the Audi TT especially the RS model - great bang for your buck. However although a four seater it's what used to termed by the motor trade as a 2+2 - meaning two adults and two nippers.

    How about a Corvette Viper? Guaranteed to attract attention from your environmentally conscious neighbours
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.

    Sean

    Only the Bugatti Veyron will do. It has ten radiators.

    Parking it outside will also smarten up your street: A pic to show why.

    http://bit.ly/1fbNq6G

    Here is a race: A video to clinch your purchase.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NZ9X9A2efA
  • Options
    JackWJackW Posts: 14,787
    Charles said:

    JackW said:

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.

    Don't overlook the Audi TT especially the RS model - great bang for your buck. However although a four seater it's what used to termed by the motor trade as a 2+2 - meaning two adults and two nippers.

    How about a Corvette Viper? Guaranteed to attract attention from your environmentally conscious neighbours
    Yuk .... desperately vulgar.

  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    JackW said:

    Charles said:

    JackW said:

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.

    Don't overlook the Audi TT especially the RS model - great bang for your buck. However although a four seater it's what used to termed by the motor trade as a 2+2 - meaning two adults and two nippers.

    How about a Corvette Viper? Guaranteed to attract attention from your environmentally conscious neighbours
    Yuk .... desperately vulgar.

    Lol! Remember this is our friend Sean we are talking about ;-)
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,052
    AveryLP said:

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.

    Sean

    Only the Bugatti Veyron will do. It has ten radiators.

    Parking it outside will also smarten up your street: A pic to show why.

    http://bit.ly/1fbNq6G

    Here is a race: A video to clinch your purchase.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NZ9X9A2efA
    Tesla Model S
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,997
    Mr. 1000, surely a Peel P50 is better?
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    TomsToms Posts: 2,478
    edited March 2014
    Off topic, concerning cars---and the topic of speed---you can buy for ten grand or so a motorbike that has a true top speed of 186 mph or so and can go from zero to 100 mph and back down to zero in about ten seconds. But don't try this on the home front.
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    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815

    Mr. 1000, surely a Peel P50 is better?

    Perfect, MD.

    http://bit.ly/1fUmtIT
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,997
    Miss Fitalass, probably worth mentioning that the term 'sexist' may not be as sharp as it could/should be, for example Labour have recently attacked Cameron's 'women problem' (not having enough female ministers, apparently). It's like human rights. The term's so hopelessly diluted and broad it can apply to the horrors of North Korea, or a convicted murderer successfully appealing to stay in the UK because he can't speak Italian.

    Also, attacking Farage's character might be more difficult than the character of other politicians because one of his selling points is not being an identikit politiclone.
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    another_richardanother_richard Posts: 25,115
    Charles

    I have provided some service sector productivity data on the previous thread.

    Your analysis is required and I warn you I'm harder to impress than your tutors at Eton and Oxford were.
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    another_richardanother_richard Posts: 25,115
    edited March 2014
    If SeanT is still reading might I suggest he blog on the mystery of the BBC / Guardian coverage of Ian Lavery.

    I wonder how much coverage for example Godfrey Bloom would have had in a similar situation.
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    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    edited March 2014
    Toyota GT86?

    It is a bit tight in the back, but ok for fairly young kids.

    It is in many ways a reinvention of the 240Z, the car that took the US sports car market from us Brits.

    http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/toyota/gt86

    Rather classic with RWD, perhaps a bit tricky in the snow, but with global warming who worries about that? A little firm on the suspension but great to drive.

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.


  • Options
    MrJonesMrJones Posts: 3,523
    FPT

    A comparison of productivity growth per decade as per the ONS stats:

    2003-2013 5%
    1993-2003 27%
    1983-1993 27%
    1973-1983 19%
    1963-1973 41%

    As productivity was still growing between 2003 and 2007 its possible that productivity growth during the previous decade will be even lower during the next few years.

    That productivity growth is running at a quarter of the rate achieved during the recession hit / three day week / IMF crisis / winter of discontent 1973-1983 period is an illustration of how bad our fundamental problems are.

    School milk
  • Options
    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 39,057
    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.

    You're what? 50?

    You're past the 30-45 age range for virility-recapturing sports cars (my brother was an exception: he bought an Elise at 29). You are now into the corporate family's-left-the-roost age range, where you buy safe but sure cars that show your increased status. Nothing showy or salesmany, something of prestige and comfort that highlights your true position in the world. You are a doer (*). You are successful. You are above the minions. You no longer need a Chelsea tractor to tow the eldest daughter's horse to gymkhana.

    Next comes the 60-75 car range, suitable for day trips to the beach and occasionally taking grandkids. And if you are of a certain mindset, a motorbike that soon kills you.

    (*) From what you've written on here, a doer of everything.
  • Options
    So interesting control experiment in tonight's and tomorrow's YouGovs.

    Ed Miliband all over the screens - does Yougov show a Labour surge, a dip or total irrelevance... let's wait and see as a taster for 2015 coverage....
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    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    It is not a dragster, it is a sports car.

    0-60 is for traffic light racing, and top speed is for the autobhan.

    The GT86 is about delivery, it is about classic handling and midrange performance.

    Like ALP the figures on paper tell only part of the story!

    SeanT said:

    foxinsox:

    *****

    "It is a bit tight in the back, but ok for fairly young kids.

    It is in many ways a reinvention of the 240Z, the car that took the US sports car market from us Brits.

    http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/toyota/gt86

    Rather classic with RWD, perhaps a bit tricky in the snow, but with global warming who worries about that? A little firm on the suspension but great to drive."


    *****


    That car has a significantly slower top speed, and a slower 0-60, than the Mini JCW I own now.

    It looks sportier, but it isn't.

    Just goes to show the amazing things that hot hatches and superminis can do, these days.

    [Apols for the petrolheady chit chat, but let's face it the last thread died on its feet]

    SeanT said:

    foxinsox:


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    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    edited March 2014

    Charles

    I have provided some service sector productivity data on the previous thread.

    Your analysis is required and I warn you I'm harder to impress than your tutors at Eton and Oxford were.

    Aggregate productivity stats don't make a lot of sense, ar.

    With manufacturing, output per input labour hour is a reasonable metric.

    With services, especially those where output value varies by a large amount (e.g financing mergers and acquisitions) then hourly productivity figures don't really help our understanding of change.

    This is why the increasing granularity of recent productivity changes by the ONS statisticians is to be welcomed.

    We need to compare like with like.

    The same applies to comparing aggregrate productivity growth on a decade to decade basis. The changes in growth rate will probably tell us more about sectoral changes in output mix than they will about productivity. At present 79 out 100 hours worked in the UK are in the services sector. The output of a burger flipper will will be covered as will that of a City forex trader: the value of the burger flipper's output will vary within a very narrow range and will on the whole reflect his personal productivity but a forex trader's output will vary within a large range mostly determined by market conditions beyond the trader's direct control.

    I am in favour of increased analysis of the UK's productivity 'problem' but we need meaningful comparisons to learn anything valuable.
  • Options
    fitalassfitalass Posts: 4,279
    Isn't it Ed Miliband's personal polling that improves when he is invisible in the media?

    So interesting control experiment in tonight's and tomorrow's YouGovs.

    Ed Miliband all over the screens - does Yougov show a Labour surge, a dip or total irrelevance... let's wait and see as a taster for 2015 coverage....

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    MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    I see that the attacks, personal on Farage, all embracing on UKIP, are now going into overdrive.

    The big-wigs of the MSM have decided to throw in everything to hurt UKIPs chances at the forthcoming elections. Will it work? Thats the question.
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    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 39,057
    MikeK said:

    I see that the attacks, personal on Farage, all embracing on UKIP, are now going into overdrive.

    The big-wigs of the MSM have decided to throw in everything to hurt UKIPs chances at the forthcoming elections. Will it work? Thats the question.

    On the other hand, perhaps UKIP have escaped such scrutiny because they have not been major players on the political scene. Now that they are, the skeletons come out of the woodwork.

    You don't do a front page expose on an ant's antics. You do of a tiger.
  • Options
    Sun Politics ‏@Sun_Politics 29s

    YouGov/Sun poll tonight - Labour lead falls to just two points: CON 35%, LAB 37%, LD 9%, UKIP 13%
  • Options
    fitalassfitalass Posts: 4,279
    Twitter
    Sun Politics ‏@Sun_Politics 24s
    YouGov/Sun poll tonight - Labour lead falls to just two points: CON 35%, LAB 37%, LD 9%, UKIP 13%

    Sun Politics ‏@Sun_Politics 4h
    Ed Miliband suffers backlash from own party over referendum pledge: http://bit.ly/1fuBXSG

    Sun Politics ‏@Sun_Politics 3h
    London to host Crimea talks between America and Russia: http://bit.ly/Pu0rSC
  • Options
    OK - interesting re Ed's profile.... lets wait for tomorrow's too before concluding anything...

    Sun Politics‏@Sun_Politics·1 min
    YouGov/Sun poll tonight - Labour lead falls to just two points: CON 35%, LAB 37%, LD 9%, UKIP 13%
  • Options
    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,997
    Probably just noise for the YouGov. Anyway, I'm off for the night.
  • Options

    OK - interesting re Ed's profile.... lets wait for tomorrow's too before concluding anything...

    Sun Politics‏@Sun_Politics·1 min
    YouGov/Sun poll tonight - Labour lead falls to just two points: CON 35%, LAB 37%, LD 9%, UKIP 13%

    Ed Miliband = Robert Soldado or Jade Dernbach

    Obviously the lead will be back up close to 7 tomorrow.
  • Options

    OK - interesting re Ed's profile.... lets wait for tomorrow's too before concluding anything...

    Sun Politics‏@Sun_Politics·1 min
    YouGov/Sun poll tonight - Labour lead falls to just two points: CON 35%, LAB 37%, LD 9%, UKIP 13%

    Ed Miliband = Robert Soldado or Jade Dernbach

    Obviously the lead will be back up close to 7 tomorrow.
    He'd be better to follow the invisible man approach of Lamela but let's see what happens tomorrow night....
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    edited March 2014
    SeanT said:

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.

    You're what? 50?

    You're past the 30-45 age range for virility-recapturing sports cars (my brother was an exception: he bought an Elise at 29). You are now into the corporate family's-left-the-roost age range, where you buy safe but sure cars that show your increased status. Nothing showy or salesmany, something of prestige and comfort that highlights your true position in the world. You are a doer (*). You are successful. You are above the minions. You no longer need a Chelsea tractor to tow the eldest daughter's horse to gymkhana.

    Next comes the 60-75 car range, suitable for day trips to the beach and occasionally taking grandkids. And if you are of a certain mindset, a motorbike that soon kills you.

    (*) From what you've written on here, a doer of everything.
    Probably true for most, but I am an exception, due to my being a retard in so many ways: that is to say, I didn't quit drugs (and associated partying) til I was 37 - yes, 37 - when most people give them up in their mid-late 20s. I didn't have my kids til I was in my mid 40s. Didn't buy a home til then (for related reasons), didn't start making proper money til I was about 40-45, etc etc

    So in a bizarre way I am about 10-15 years behind everyone else, which probably accounts for the fact I want a fast, sad, male mid-life-crisis car 10 years after most men.

    Also right now I have loads of dosh and nothing to spend it on, meanwhile half my elderly relatives are dying off, so I have a strong sense of Carpe Diem, & Buy That Roadster.
    Pay off your mortgage and, if you have any spare cash left over, buy a country retreat or a continental holiday home.

    If property doesn't float your boat, better still pass the spare cash onto a competent investment/tax manager.

    You bought a new car last year. Annually suffering first year depreciation costs on new motors is no way to stay rich.

    But you know all that. You are just missing your youthful risk fixes.

    Silly boy!
  • Options

    OK - interesting re Ed's profile.... lets wait for tomorrow's too before concluding anything...

    Sun Politics‏@Sun_Politics·1 min
    YouGov/Sun poll tonight - Labour lead falls to just two points: CON 35%, LAB 37%, LD 9%, UKIP 13%

    Ed Miliband = Robert Soldado or Jade Dernbach

    Obviously the lead will be back up close to 7 tomorrow.
    He'd be better to follow the invisible man approach of Lamela but let's see what happens tomorrow night....
    I've backed Adebayor and Soldado as first goalscorers tomorrow and Benfica to win.
  • Options
    Can anyone see any value in this?

    Ladbrokes Politics ‏@LadPolitics 23s

    When will the next UK EU In/Out referendum happen?

    2014 33/1
    2015 20/1
    2016 16/1
    2017 2/1
    Not before 2018 1/2
  • Options

    OK - interesting re Ed's profile.... lets wait for tomorrow's too before concluding anything...

    Sun Politics‏@Sun_Politics·1 min
    YouGov/Sun poll tonight - Labour lead falls to just two points: CON 35%, LAB 37%, LD 9%, UKIP 13%

    Ed Miliband = Robert Soldado or Jade Dernbach

    Obviously the lead will be back up close to 7 tomorrow.
    He'd be better to follow the invisible man approach of Lamela but let's see what happens tomorrow night....
    I've backed Adebayor and Soldado as first goalscorers tomorrow and Benfica to win.
    I think Eriksen is the player to back to score any time - if he's fit.
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815

    OK - interesting re Ed's profile.... lets wait for tomorrow's too before concluding anything...

    Sun Politics‏@Sun_Politics·1 min
    YouGov/Sun poll tonight - Labour lead falls to just two points: CON 35%, LAB 37%, LD 9%, UKIP 13%

    Ed Miliband = Robert Soldado or Jade Dernbach

    Obviously the lead will be back up close to 7 tomorrow.
    Recent volatility was a clear indicator of upcoming seismic change.

    You can feel the cold fear in every word compouter utters.

  • Options
    Incidentally, I take exception to Bobby Sol being put in the same sentence as the Dernbach - he's had a tough year without that sort of slur.
  • Options
    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 39,057
    SeanT said:

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.

    You're what? 50?

    You're past the 30-45 age range for virility-recapturing sports cars (my brother was an exception: he bought an Elise at 29). You are now into the corporate family's-left-the-roost age range, where you buy safe but sure cars that show your increased status. Nothing showy or salesmany, something of prestige and comfort that highlights your true position in the world. You are a doer (*). You are successful. You are above the minions. You no longer need a Chelsea tractor to tow the eldest daughter's horse to gymkhana.

    Next comes the 60-75 car range, suitable for day trips to the beach and occasionally taking grandkids. And if you are of a certain mindset, a motorbike that soon kills you.

    (*) From what you've written on here, a doer of everything.
    Probably true for most, but I am an exception, due to my being a retard in so many ways: that is to say, I didn't quit drugs (and associated partying) til I was 37 - yes, 37 - when most people give them up in their mid-late 20s. I didn't have my kids til I was in my mid 40s. Didn't buy a home til then (for related reasons), didn't start making proper money til I was about 40-45, etc etc

    So in a bizarre way I am about 10-15 years behind everyone else, which probably accounts for the fact I want a fast, sad, male mid-life-crisis car 10 years after most men.

    Also right now I have loads of dosh and nothing to spend it on, meanwhile half my elderly relatives are dying off, so I have a strong sense of Carpe Diem, & Buy That Roadster.
    In which case, you need to go the whole hog, get a pilot's licence and buy a light aircraft. A much sexier and noteworthy way of killing yourself than in a sports car.

    (On a sad note, I am serious about motorbikes. Several of my dad's friends killed themselves in their sixties on motorbikes. They had learnt to ride on small motorbikes when young in the 1950s and 1960s, but gave up when wives and kids came along. Then after they retire they felt like reliving their youth and bought motorbikes. Except they are now so much more powerful. In one case he went for a test ride on a secondhand bike and never made it back to the showroom. My dad's lost more friends to motorbikes than any other unnatural cause).
  • Options
    Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,317

    Sun Politics ‏@Sun_Politics 29s

    YouGov/Sun poll tonight - Labour lead falls to just two points: CON 35%, LAB 37%, LD 9%, UKIP 13%

    SeanT said:

    OK - interesting re Ed's profile.... lets wait for tomorrow's too before concluding anything...

    Sun Politics‏@Sun_Politics·1 min
    YouGov/Sun poll tonight - Labour lead falls to just two points: CON 35%, LAB 37%, LD 9%, UKIP 13%

    Definite hints of a modest Tory recovery (tho I agree the fluctuating lead is statistical static)
    Interestingly poor poll for Labour in the circumstances, given that we were told by much of the media that Ed 'played a blinder' with his EU pledge. I wonder if the recent noises from Labour that Miliband regards the general election as now being in the bag are playing a part. The Great British public don't like that sort of thing.
  • Options

    Incidentally, I take exception to Bobby Sol being put in the same sentence as the Dernbach - he's had a tough year without that sort of slur.

    Sorry!

    Eriksen to score at any time 4/1

    http://www.oddschecker.com/football/europa-league/tottenham-v-benfica/anytime-goalscorer
  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    2pt lead as Ed comes out with his pro Europe mantra ?
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    edited March 2014

    Sun Politics ‏@Sun_Politics 29s

    YouGov/Sun poll tonight - Labour lead falls to just two points: CON 35%, LAB 37%, LD 9%, UKIP 13%

    SeanT said:

    OK - interesting re Ed's profile.... lets wait for tomorrow's too before concluding anything...

    Sun Politics‏@Sun_Politics·1 min
    YouGov/Sun poll tonight - Labour lead falls to just two points: CON 35%, LAB 37%, LD 9%, UKIP 13%

    Definite hints of a modest Tory recovery (tho I agree the fluctuating lead is statistical static)
    Interestingly poor poll for Labour in the circumstances, given that we were told by much of the media that Ed 'played a blinder' with his EU pledge. I wonder if the recent noises from Labour that Miliband regards the general election as now being in the bag are playing a part. The Great British public don't like that sort of thing.
    It is the ugly combination of ignorance and certainty which the Great British public don't like.

    Diffident understatement, modesty and perfect manners are much preferred.

  • Options
    Ouch

    Peter Brookes ‏@BrookesTimes 6m

    My cartoon Thursday @TheTimes: Ed's EU referendum policy is all arse about face

    pic.twitter.com/DDRrrPeYVa
  • Options

    Ouch

    Peter Brookes ‏@BrookesTimes 6m

    My cartoon Thursday @TheTimes: Ed's EU referendum policy is all arse about face

    pic.twitter.com/DDRrrPeYVa

    Damn and blast, you beat me on that too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cracking cartoon gromit.
  • Options
    AlanbrookeAlanbrooke Posts: 23,760
    SeanT said:

    AveryLP said:

    SeanT said:

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.



    (*) From what you've written on here, a doer of everything.
    Probably true for most, but I am an exception, due to my being a retard in so many ways: that is to say, I didn't quit drugs (and associated partying) til I was 37 - yes, 37 - when most people give them up in their mid-late 20s. I didn't have my kids til I was in my mid 40s. Didn't buy a home til then (for related reasons), didn't start making proper money til I was about 40-45, etc etc

    So in a bizarre way I am about 10-15 years behind everyone else, which probably accounts for the fact I want a fast, sad, male mid-life-crisis car 10 years after most men.

    Also right now I have loads of dosh and nothing to spend it on, meanwhile half my elderly relatives are dying off, so I have a strong sense of Carpe Diem, & Buy That Roadster.
    Pay off your mortgage and, if you have any spare cash left over, buy a country retreat or a continental holiday home.

    If property doesn't float your boat, better still pass the spare cash onto a competent investment/tax manager.

    You bought a new car last year. Annually suffering first year depreciation costs on new motors is no way to stay rich.

    But you know all that. You are just missing your youthful risk fixes.

    Silly boy!
    All true, all too true. The annual depreciation is insane. I've basically spent £20k in three years for the pleasure of having "new" cars - with nothing to show at the end of it. Nuts.

    But what else does one spend spare money on? I get free holidays as part of the job (at the moment!) so a holiday home is pointless. A property investment will just turn into a money pit, I fear, or at least a boring, tedious distraction which makes me waste even more time.

    I am gonna pay off a large chunk of the mortgage. That is indeed good sense. After that... maybe just one boy's toy? As a reward?

    *makes praying gesture*
    Why not go the other way and buy a sports classic ? E type jag or something similar.

    It will probably cost you oodles to run but you can pose and ponce round London till your heart's content.
  • Options
    anotherDaveanotherDave Posts: 6,746

    SeanT said:

    AveryLP said:

    SeanT said:

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.



    (*) From what you've written on here, a doer of everything.
    Probably true for most, but I am an exception, due to my being a retard in so many ways: that is to say, I didn't quit drugs (and associated partying) til I was 37 - yes, 37 - when most people give them up in their mid-late 20s. I didn't have my kids til I was in my mid 40s. Didn't buy a home til then (for related reasons), didn't start making proper money til I was about 40-45, etc etc

    So in a bizarre way I am about 10-15 years behind everyone else, which probably accounts for the fact I want a fast, sad, male mid-life-crisis car 10 years after most men.

    Also right now I have loads of dosh and nothing to spend it on, meanwhile half my elderly relatives are dying off, so I have a strong sense of Carpe Diem, & Buy That Roadster.
    Pay off your mortgage and, if you have any spare cash left over, buy a country retreat or a continental holiday home.

    If property doesn't float your boat, better still pass the spare cash onto a competent investment/tax manager.

    You bought a new car last year. Annually suffering first year depreciation costs on new motors is no way to stay rich.

    But you know all that. You are just missing your youthful risk fixes.

    Silly boy!
    All true, all too true. The annual depreciation is insane. I've basically spent £20k in three years for the pleasure of having "new" cars - with nothing to show at the end of it. Nuts.

    But what else does one spend spare money on? I get free holidays as part of the job (at the moment!) so a holiday home is pointless. A property investment will just turn into a money pit, I fear, or at least a boring, tedious distraction which makes me waste even more time.

    I am gonna pay off a large chunk of the mortgage. That is indeed good sense. After that... maybe just one boy's toy? As a reward?

    *makes praying gesture*
    Why not go the other way and buy a sports classic ? E type jag or something similar.

    It will probably cost you oodles to run but you can pose and ponce round London till your heart's content.
    I had an MG once. The steering was awful. Modern cars are much more fun to drive.
  • Options
    AlanbrookeAlanbrooke Posts: 23,760

    SeanT said:

    AveryLP said:

    SeanT said:

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.



    (*) From what you've written on here, a doer of everything.
    Probably true for most, but I am an exception, due to my being a retard in so many ways:

    Also right now I have loads of dosh and nothing to spend it on, meanwhile half my elderly relatives are dying off, so I have a strong sense of Carpe Diem, & Buy That Roadster.
    Pay off your mortgage and, if you have any spare cash left over, buy a country retreat or a continental holiday home.



    You bought a new car last year. Annually suffering first year depreciation costs on new motors is no way to stay rich.

    But you know all that. You are just missing your youthful risk fixes.

    Silly boy!
    All true, all too true. The annual depreciation is insane. I've basically spent £20k in three years for the pleasure of having "new" cars - with nothing to show at the end of it. Nuts.

    But what else does one spend spare money on? I get free holidays as part of the job (at the moment!) so a holiday home is pointless. A property investment will just turn into a money pit, I fear, or at least a boring, tedious distraction which makes me waste even more time.

    I am gonna pay off a large chunk of the mortgage. That is indeed good sense. After that... maybe just one boy's toy? As a reward?

    *makes praying gesture*
    Why not go the other way and buy a sports classic ? E type jag or something similar.

    It will probably cost you oodles to run but you can pose and ponce round London till your heart's content.
    I had an MG once. The steering was awful. Modern cars are much more fun to drive.
    MGs are too common, Mr T needs a people point at him in the street car, Maybe an old Merc sports or an Aston. But yes they are buggers to drive, it simply shows how cars have improved over the years.
  • Options
    another_richardanother_richard Posts: 25,115
    AveryLP said:

    Charles

    I have provided some service sector productivity data on the previous thread.

    Your analysis is required and I warn you I'm harder to impress than your tutors at Eton and Oxford were.

    Aggregate productivity stats don't make a lot of sense, ar.

    With manufacturing, output per input labour hour is a reasonable metric.

    With services, especially those where output value varies by a large amount (e.g financing mergers and acquisitions) then hourly productivity figures don't really help our understanding of change.

    This is why the increasing granularity of recent productivity changes by the ONS statisticians is to be welcomed.

    We need to compare like with like.

    The same applies to comparing aggregrate productivity growth on a decade to decade basis. The changes in growth rate will probably tell us more about sectoral changes in output mix than they will about productivity. At present 79 out 100 hours worked in the UK are in the services sector. The output of a burger flipper will will be covered as will that of a City forex trader: the value of the burger flipper's output will vary within a very narrow range and will on the whole reflect his personal productivity but a forex trader's output will vary within a large range mostly determined by market conditions beyond the trader's direct control.

    I am in favour of increased analysis of the UK's productivity 'problem' but we need meaningful comparisons to learn anything valuable.
    A bit of advice as to your personal productivity problem Avery:

    Less can be more.

    Now here's a few ideas I've had:

    1) The government subsidising consumption by £100bn per year provides no incentive for increasing produtivity in wealth consuming sectors. Note that public sector productivity has started to improve now that the endless increases in government spending of the Labour years have been reduced.

    2) Low interest rates have stopped the malinvestment and low productivity zombie firms from being cleared from the economy - creative destruction is a necessary part of productivity growth.

    3) The availability of endless numbers of willing and cheap but low productivity economic migrants acts as a disincentive for business to invest in new technology and equipment.

    4) Ever increasing numbers of regulations, QA crap etc is causing an increasing proportion of labour overheads without increasing output.
  • Options
    SquareRootSquareRoot Posts: 7,095
    edited March 2014
    ANECDOTE ALERT

    As I travel about talking to people especially in the business community (pubs mainly), I am told that there has been a DEFINITE upturn in the last few weeks. I do hope the overconfidence of Nick Palmer, Compouter et al will suffer a severe setback very soon..

    Just for Compouter... Crossover is coming..
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    SeanT said:

    AveryLP said:

    SeanT said:

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.



    (*) From what you've written on here, a doer of everything.
    Probably true for most, but I am an exception, due to my being a retard in so many ways: that is to say, I didn't quit drugs (and associated partying) til I was 37 - yes, 37 - when most people give them up in their mid-late 20s. I didn't have my kids til I was in my mid 40s. Didn't buy a home til then (for related reasons), didn't start making proper money til I was about 40-45, etc etc

    So in a bizarre way I am about 10-15 years behind everyone else, which probably accounts for the fact I want a fast, sad, male mid-life-crisis car 10 years after most men.

    Also right now I have loads of dosh and nothing to spend it on, meanwhile half my elderly relatives are dying off, so I have a strong sense of Carpe Diem, & Buy That Roadster.
    Pay off your mortgage and, if you have any spare cash left over, buy a country retreat or a continental holiday home.

    If property doesn't float your boat, better still pass the spare cash onto a competent investment/tax manager.

    You bought a new car last year. Annually suffering first year depreciation costs on new motors is no way to stay rich.

    But you know all that. You are just missing your youthful risk fixes.

    Silly boy!
    All true, all too true. The annual depreciation is insane. I've basically spent £20k in three years for the pleasure of having "new" cars - with nothing to show at the end of it. Nuts.

    But what else does one spend spare money on? I get free holidays as part of the job (at the moment!) so a holiday home is pointless. A property investment will just turn into a money pit, I fear, or at least a boring, tedious distraction which makes me waste even more time.

    I am gonna pay off a large chunk of the mortgage. That is indeed good sense. After that... maybe just one boy's toy? As a reward?

    *makes praying gesture*
    Well the rule is: if it f*cks, flies or floats, hire it. Otherwise buy.

    On a strict reading of the letter of the law, rather than its spirit, you are permitted a new car on evidence of mortgage repayment.

  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    edited March 2014
    Just saw the news - union flags and celebrations north of the border - is the referendum over and won ?????
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Charles

    I have provided some service sector productivity data on the previous thread.

    Your analysis is required and I warn you I'm harder to impress than your tutors at Eton and Oxford were.

    There's been a secular decline in the profitability of the financial services sector, for one thing. Arguably it is a reversion to mean (in that financial services was making too much profit by taking too much risk in 2005-7) but it is a drag on the numbers.

    As for your point about excluding the bad stuff before you look at the numbers: if there is a secular trend that will not be affected by government action, then to make a direct comparison of the impact of policy (and remember productivity stats are an output not an input) you need to strip out the background trend to make sure you are comparing like with like.

  • Options
    dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,289
    pic.twitter.com/DDRrrPeYVa

    Makes Ed look like a kn..without Balls.

  • Options
    SquareRootSquareRoot Posts: 7,095

    ANECDOTE ALERT

    As I travel about talking to people especially in the business community (pubs mainly), I am told that there has been a DEFINITE upturn in the last few weeks. I do hope the overconfidence of Nick Palmer, Compouter et al will suffer a severe setback very soon..

    Just for Compouter... Crossover is coming..


    PS a belated nod to Nick Palmer for a comment he made yesterday
  • Options
    TykejohnnoTykejohnno Posts: 7,362
    Sunder Katwala ‏@sundersays · 1 min
    Slightly surprised BBC ten o'clock news ran an item on Nigel Farage affair allegations. On the basis that Qs were asked by ex-UKIP MEP?

    The bias against ukip by the bbc is a disgrace to supposed impartial political coverage,where's the Ian lavery story on the beeb news,if this had being a kipper or tory,god help them.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2577920/Labour-MP-racist-photo-Backbencher-criticised-posing-alongside-son-blacked-fancy-dress-party.html
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    edited March 2014

    SeanT said:

    AveryLP said:

    SeanT said:

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.



    (*) From what you've written on here, a doer of everything.
    Probably true for most, but I am an exception, due to my being a retard in so many ways:

    Also right now I have loads of dosh and nothing to spend it on, meanwhile half my elderly relatives are dying off, so I have a strong sense of Carpe Diem, & Buy That Roadster.
    Pay off your mortgage and, if you have any spare cash left over, buy a country retreat or a continental holiday home.



    You bought a new car last year. Annually suffering first year depreciation costs on new motors is no way to stay rich.

    But you know all that. You are just missing your youthful risk fixes.

    Silly boy!
    All true, all too true. The annual depreciation is insane. I've basically spent £20k in three years for the pleasure of having "new" cars - with nothing to show at the end of it. Nuts.

    But what else does one spend spare money on? I get free holidays as part of the job (at the moment!) so a holiday home is pointless. A property investment will just turn into a money pit, I fear, or at least a boring, tedious distraction which makes me waste even more time.

    I am gonna pay off a large chunk of the mortgage. That is indeed good sense. After that... maybe just one boy's toy? As a reward?

    *makes praying gesture*
    Why not go the other way and buy a sports classic ? E type jag or something similar.

    It will probably cost you oodles to run but you can pose and ponce round London till your heart's content.
    I had an MG once. The steering was awful. Modern cars are much more fun to drive.
    MGs are too common, Mr T needs a people point at him in the street car, Maybe an old Merc sports or an Aston. But yes they are buggers to drive, it simply shows how cars have improved over the years.
    Remember Sean lives in central London, Mr. Brooke.

    You can only have a classic (or any scratchable car) if you have off-street parking.

    A Morgan could have been the solution otherwise.

    You also need a pair of Hunter Wellingtons or at least Trickers brogues, to drive those.
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    The problem with modern motorcycles is that they are too smooth. I used to have a Yamaha RD 200 (the one with the coffin shapped tank!) as a medical student in London. Great around town, could wheelie in second gear and out drag a Porsche. Lovely jubbly! Top end of about 90 and quite rough at that speed.

    I still have my licence and about a decade ago went for a test ride on a friends new Kawasaki four. I took off like I was on my old RD, along an A road. I thought to myself that it was not as fast as I expected. I looked down at the speedo, and was ton up already. It felt as smooth as my old bike at 30. Even an apparently straight road becomes very curved at that speed.

    It would have been impossible to have the same edgy fun on that bike at less than top whack. It was a better bike in every way, but much less fun.

    Unfaired, naked bikes with no more than two cylinders are the way to go.


    SeanT said:

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.

    In which case, you need to go the whole hog, get a pilot's licence and buy a light aircraft. A much sexier and noteworthy way of killing yourself than in a sports car.

    (On a sad note, I am serious about motorbikes. Several of my dad's friends killed themselves in their sixties on motorbikes. They had learnt to ride on small motorbikes when young in the 1950s and 1960s, but gave up when wives and kids came along. Then after they retire they felt like reliving their youth and bought motorbikes. Except they are now so much more powerful. In one case he went for a test ride on a secondhand bike and never made it back to the showroom. My dad's lost more friends to motorbikes than any other unnatural cause).
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    AveryLP said:

    SeanT said:

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.

    You're what? 50?

    You're past the 30-45 age range for virility-recapturing sports cars (my brother was an exception: he bought an Elise at 29). You are now into the corporate family's-left-the-roost age range, where you buy safe but sure cars that show your increased status. Nothing showy or salesmany, something of prestige and comfort that highlights your true position in the world. You are a doer (*). You are successful. You are above the minions. You no longer need a Chelsea tractor to tow the eldest daughter's horse to gymkhana.

    Next comes the 60-75 car range, suitable for day trips to the beach and occasionally taking grandkids. And if you are of a certain mindset, a motorbike that soon kills you.

    (*) From what you've written on here, a doer of everything.
    Probably true for most, but I am an exception, due to my being a retard in so many ways: that is to say, I didn't quit drugs (and associated partying) til I was 37 - yes, 37 - when most people give them up in their mid-late 20s. I didn't have my kids til I was in my mid 40s. Didn't buy a home til then (for related reasons), didn't start making proper money til I was about 40-45, etc etc

    So in a bizarre way I am about 10-15 years behind everyone else, which probably accounts for the fact I want a fast, sad, male mid-life-crisis car 10 years after most men.

    Also right now I have loads of dosh and nothing to spend it on, meanwhile half my elderly relatives are dying off, so I have a strong sense of Carpe Diem, & Buy That Roadster.
    Pay off your mortgage and, if you have any spare cash left over, buy a country retreat or a continental holiday home.

    If property doesn't float your boat, better still pass the spare cash onto a competent investment/tax manager.

    You bought a new car last year. Annually suffering first year depreciation costs on new motors is no way to stay rich.

    But you know all that. You are just missing your youthful risk fixes.

    Silly boy!
    As the old saying goes: a stockbroker is a man who looks after your money until it's all gone.

    You only live once: be frugal and leave something for your children to remember you by...
  • Options
    Danny565Danny565 Posts: 8,091
    Whenever I start to despair about Ed M (this EU referendum mess has certainly not been his finest hour), David Miliband helpfully pops up to remind us how things could've been even worse. This Newsnight interview now -- never has someone said so many words yet said so little of substance.
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    Labour chose he right Milliband, though I would have preferred Burnham.

    Tonights poll is too early to tell on the referendum, it takes weeks for these speeches to percolate through to the polls.
    Danny565 said:

    Whenever I start to despair about Ed M (this EU referendum mess has certainly not been his finest hour), David Miliband helpfully pops up to remind us how things could've been even worse. This Newsnight interview now -- never has someone said so many words yet said so little of substance.

  • Options
    TykejohnnoTykejohnno Posts: 7,362
    Patrick O'Flynn ‏@oflynndirector · 2 mins
    Staggered to hear BBC News at Ten ran an item based on Nikki Sinclaire smear

  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    edited March 2014
    compouter taking a night off?

    *titters*
  • Options

    Patrick O'Flynn ‏@oflynndirector · 2 mins
    Staggered to hear BBC News at Ten ran an item based on Nikki Sinclaire smear

    You wouldn't catch PB sticking that story in nighthawks....
  • Options
    FregglesFreggles Posts: 3,486
    AveryLP said:

    compouter taking a night off?

    *titters*

    Is crossover happening next week then?

  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    edited March 2014

    AveryLP said:

    Charles

    ...

    Aggregate productivity stats don't make a lot of sense, ar.

    With manufacturing, output per input labour hour is a reasonable metric.

    With services, especially those where output value varies by a large amount (e.g financing mergers and acquisitions) then hourly productivity figures don't really help our understanding of change.

    This is why the increasing granularity of recent productivity changes by the ONS statisticians is to be welcomed.

    We need to compare like with like.

    The same applies to comparing aggregrate productivity growth on a decade to decade basis. The changes in growth rate will probably tell us more about sectoral changes in output mix than they will about productivity. At present 79 out 100 hours worked in the UK are in the services sector. The output of a burger flipper will will be covered as will that of a City forex trader: the value of the burger flipper's output will vary within a very narrow range and will on the whole reflect his personal productivity but a forex trader's output will vary within a large range mostly determined by market conditions beyond the trader's direct control.

    I am in favour of increased analysis of the UK's productivity 'problem' but we need meaningful comparisons to learn anything valuable.
    A bit of advice as to your personal productivity problem Avery:

    Less can be more.

    Now here's a few ideas I've had:

    1) The government subsidising consumption by £100bn per year provides no incentive for increasing produtivity in wealth consuming sectors. Note that public sector productivity has started to improve now that the endless increases in government spending of the Labour years have been reduced.

    2) Low interest rates have stopped the malinvestment and low productivity zombie firms from being cleared from the economy - creative destruction is a necessary part of productivity growth.

    3) The availability of endless numbers of willing and cheap but low productivity economic migrants acts as a disincentive for business to invest in new technology and equipment.

    4) Ever increasing numbers of regulations, QA crap etc is causing an increasing proportion of labour overheads without increasing output.
    All sound ideas, ar, and being worked on now by the government.

    But your expectations are unrealistic with regard to the speed and scale of change.

    The Admin and Support sub-sector changes in productivity are though a significant achievement and almost certainly relate to improved public sector productivity caused by headcount reductions.

    All the same it is easier to achieve increases in the ratio if only the input side varies and the output remains fixed (as is the case mostly with public services).
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    There is a budget next week, for the master strategist to present. It could happen,.

    But I am not convinced. a drift back to a five point Labour lead more likely.
    Freggles said:

    AveryLP said:

    compouter taking a night off?

    *titters*

    Is crossover happening next week then?

    Freggles said:

    AveryLP said:

    compouter taking a night off?

    *titters*

    Is crossover happening next week then?

  • Options
    fitalassfitalass Posts: 4,279
    edited March 2014
    Can you imagine the msm ignoring this kind of story if it involved Clegg, Cameron or Miliband? Nope, neither can I, you have to wonder how on earth Farage thought that he could get away with this kind of personal Office set up and keep it under the media radar all the way to the Euros/local elections after all the previous fuss over politicians expenses at Westminster?

    I even remember back when Cameron and the Conservatives were still in Opposition, certain media organisations tried to get a journalist into a job at CCHQ.

    Patrick O'Flynn ‏@oflynndirector · 2 mins
    Staggered to hear BBC News at Ten ran an item based on Nikki Sinclaire smear

  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    Freggles said:

    AveryLP said:

    compouter taking a night off?

    *titters*

    Is crossover happening next week then?

    We need just one more Miliband policy announcement.

    A wafer thin mint, perhaps.
  • Options
    TykejohnnoTykejohnno Posts: 7,362
    Daniel Hannan ‏@DanHannanMEP · 2 mins
    So true. RT @AshleyWills "People who say nobody cares about the EU tend to care an awful lot for it themselves..."

  • Options
    Danny565Danny565 Posts: 8,091

    Daniel Hannan ‏@DanHannanMEP · 2 mins
    So true. RT @AshleyWills "People who say nobody cares about the EU tend to care an awful lot for it themselves..."

    I say no-one cares about the EU, and I genuinely don't. I would probably vote to stay in just because it's better to be on the safe side, but in all likelihood I highly doubt anything would be much different if we were outside of it. I'm truly baffled by the fact so many members of the Establishment are so fanatically obsessed by it, whether they're anti- or pro-.
  • Options
    compouter2compouter2 Posts: 2,371
    And still no crossover........onward Basil!
  • Options
    RodCrosbyRodCrosby Posts: 7,737

    And still no crossover........onward Basil!

    See you in May, if not before...
  • Options
    fitalassfitalass Posts: 4,279
    Seant, its time to start looking to invest in a 2/3 bedroom home rather than a four seater sports car. :)
    SeanT said:

    AveryLP said:

    SeanT said:

    SeanT said:

    Forgive me for veering speedily offtopic, and doing a personal handbrake turn to boot - but no one is chatting anyway, so.....

    Back to cars. I'm thinking of buying a sports car - but it needs four seats, and two/three doors.

    Any ideas?

    The Audi TT is a bit predictable. The Audi S1 looks incredibly fast but it is a hatchback. Hm.



    (*) From what you've written on here, a doer of everything.
    Probably true for most, but I am an exception, due to my being a retard in so many ways: that is to say, I didn't quit drugs (and associated partying) til I was 37 - yes, 37 - when most people give them up in their mid-late 20s. I didn't have my kids til I was in my mid 40s. Didn't buy a home til then (for related reasons), didn't start making proper money til I was about 40-45, etc etc

    So in a bizarre way I am about 10-15 years behind everyone else, which probably accounts for the fact I want a fast, sad, male mid-life-crisis car 10 years after most men.

    Also right now I have loads of dosh and nothing to spend it on, meanwhile half my elderly relatives are dying off, so I have a strong sense of Carpe Diem, & Buy That Roadster.
    Pay off your mortgage and, if you have any spare cash left over, buy a country retreat or a continental holiday home.

    If property doesn't float your boat, better still pass the spare cash onto a competent investment/tax manager.

    You bought a new car last year. Annually suffering first year depreciation costs on new motors is no way to stay rich.

    But you know all that. You are just missing your youthful risk fixes.

    Silly boy!
    All true, all too true. The annual depreciation is insane. I've basically spent £20k in three years for the pleasure of having "new" cars - with nothing to show at the end of it. Nuts.

    But what else does one spend spare money on? I get free holidays as part of the job (at the moment!) so a holiday home is pointless. A property investment will just turn into a money pit, I fear, or at least a boring, tedious distraction which makes me waste even more time.

    I am gonna pay off a large chunk of the mortgage. That is indeed good sense. After that... maybe just one boy's toy? As a reward?

    *makes praying gesture*
  • Options
    anotherDaveanotherDave Posts: 6,746
    fitalass said:

    Can you imagine the msm ignoring this kind of story if it involved Clegg, Cameron or Miliband? Nope, neither can I, you have to wonder how on earth Farage thought that he could get away with this kind of personal Office set up and keep it under the media radar all the way to the Euros/local elections after all the previous fuss over politicians expenses at Westminster?

    I even remember back when Cameron and the Conservatives were still in Opposition, certain media organisations tried to get a journalist into a job at CCHQ.

    Patrick O'Flynn ‏@oflynndirector · 2 mins
    Staggered to hear BBC News at Ten ran an item based on Nikki Sinclaire smear

    We only learned that Charles Kennedy was a drunk after he stepped down from leader of the LDs.

  • Options
    TykejohnnoTykejohnno Posts: 7,362
    Danny565 said:

    Daniel Hannan ‏@DanHannanMEP · 2 mins
    So true. RT @AshleyWills "People who say nobody cares about the EU tend to care an awful lot for it themselves..."

    I say no-one cares about the EU, and I genuinely don't. I would probably vote to stay in just because it's better to be on the safe side, but in all likelihood I highly doubt anything would be much different if we were outside of it. I'm truly baffled by the fact so many members of the Establishment are so fanatically obsessed by it, whether they're anti- or pro-.
    Wake up man,you stay in just to be on the safe side,you do know we were a very successful independent nation before the lying scumbag politicians of the last 40 years brainwashed the masses.



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    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983

    we were a very successful independent nation before the lying scumbag politicians of the last 40 years brainwashed the masses.

    You have a very low opinion of the masses.
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    TykejohnnoTykejohnno Posts: 7,362
    Neil said:

    we were a very successful independent nation before the lying scumbag politicians of the last 40 years brainwashed the masses.

    You have a very low opinion of the masses.
    I have a very low opinion of politicians as well ;-)

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    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983

    Neil said:

    we were a very successful independent nation before the lying scumbag politicians of the last 40 years brainwashed the masses.

    You have a very low opinion of the masses.
    I have a very low opinion of politicians as well ;-)

    That's fair enough but what did the masses ever do to you?
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    fitalassfitalass Posts: 4,279
    Charles Kennedy only resigned after some of his Westminster party colleagues gave him a great big push, and because they felt that his problem was effecting his job as Leader of the party.

    fitalass said:

    Can you imagine the msm ignoring this kind of story if it involved Clegg, Cameron or Miliband? Nope, neither can I, you have to wonder how on earth Farage thought that he could get away with this kind of personal Office set up and keep it under the media radar all the way to the Euros/local elections after all the previous fuss over politicians expenses at Westminster?

    I even remember back when Cameron and the Conservatives were still in Opposition, certain media organisations tried to get a journalist into a job at CCHQ.

    Patrick O'Flynn ‏@oflynndirector · 2 mins
    Staggered to hear BBC News at Ten ran an item based on Nikki Sinclaire smear

    We only learned that Charles Kennedy was a drunk after he stepped down from leader of the LDs.

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    TykejohnnoTykejohnno Posts: 7,362
    Neil said:

    Neil said:

    we were a very successful independent nation before the lying scumbag politicians of the last 40 years brainwashed the masses.

    You have a very low opinion of the masses.
    I have a very low opinion of politicians as well ;-)

    That's fair enough but what did the masses ever do to you?
    They voted new labour in ;-)
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    MrJonesMrJones Posts: 3,523
    SeanT said:

    All true, all too true. The annual depreciation is insane. I've basically spent £20k in three years for the pleasure of having "new" cars - with nothing to show at the end of it. Nuts.

    But what else does one spend spare money on? I get free holidays as part of the job (at the moment!) so a holiday home is pointless. A property investment will just turn into a money pit, I fear, or at least a boring, tedious distraction which makes me waste even more time.

    I am gonna pay off a large chunk of the mortgage. That is indeed good sense. After that... maybe just one boy's toy? As a reward?

    *makes praying gesture*

    "But what else does one spend spare money on?"

    Search for Atlantis (or something equally cool).
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    anotherDaveanotherDave Posts: 6,746
    fitalass said:

    Charles Kennedy only resigned after some of his Westminster party colleagues gave him a great big push, and because they felt that his problem was effecting his job as Leader of the party.

    fitalass said:

    Can you imagine the msm ignoring this kind of story if it involved Clegg, Cameron or Miliband? Nope, neither can I, you have to wonder how on earth Farage thought that he could get away with this kind of personal Office set up and keep it under the media radar all the way to the Euros/local elections after all the previous fuss over politicians expenses at Westminster?

    I even remember back when Cameron and the Conservatives were still in Opposition, certain media organisations tried to get a journalist into a job at CCHQ.

    Patrick O'Flynn ‏@oflynndirector · 2 mins
    Staggered to hear BBC News at Ten ran an item based on Nikki Sinclaire smear

    We only learned that Charles Kennedy was a drunk after he stepped down from leader of the LDs.

    But the MSM ignored the story that the leader of the LDs was a drunk. But an MEP accuses Mr Farage of having had an affair with his secretary x many years ago is a story they can't ignore.
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    compouter2compouter2 Posts: 2,371
    RodCrosby said:

    And still no crossover........onward Basil!

    See you in May, if not before...
    I am sure you will see me most days on here seeing as you are a regular.
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    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    edited March 2014
    MH370

    Long article with Chinese Government satellite pictures of what could be the Malaysian Airliner after crashing into water.

    http://www.avherald.com/h?article=4710c69b

    A lot of credence being given to photos but still not proven yet.
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    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    May I recommend a Potlach?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potlatch

    Basically, you cement your status as an overlord by a massive party with gifts and by destroying items in public. It is the logical form of conspicuous consumption. Sports cars just to show off are a bit naff aren't they?
    MrJones said:

    SeanT said:

    All true, all too true. The annual depreciation is insane. I've basically spent £20k in three years for the pleasure of having "new" cars - with nothing to show at the end of it. Nuts.

    But what else does one spend spare money on? I get free holidays as part of the job (at the moment!) so a holiday home is pointless. A property investment will just turn into a money pit, I fear, or at least a boring, tedious distraction which makes me waste even more time.

    I am gonna pay off a large chunk of the mortgage. That is indeed good sense. After that... maybe just one boy's toy? As a reward?

    *makes praying gesture*

    "But what else does one spend spare money on?"

    Search for Atlantis (or something equally cool).
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    ZenPaganZenPagan Posts: 689
    @SeanT

    If you are looking for a machine to give a slight rise in the adrenaline level can I suggest this as you can probably afford it

    http://www.marineturbine.com/press/miami/06062002.pdf

    *should you buy one I demand a go on it :)
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    RodCrosbyRodCrosby Posts: 7,737
    edited March 2014
    MrJones said:

    SeanT said:

    All true, all too true. The annual depreciation is insane. I've basically spent £20k in three years for the pleasure of having "new" cars - with nothing to show at the end of it. Nuts.

    But what else does one spend spare money on? I get free holidays as part of the job (at the moment!) so a holiday home is pointless. A property investment will just turn into a money pit, I fear, or at least a boring, tedious distraction which makes me waste even more time.

    I am gonna pay off a large chunk of the mortgage. That is indeed good sense. After that... maybe just one boy's toy? As a reward?

    *makes praying gesture*

    "But what else does one spend spare money on?"

    Search for Atlantis (or something equally cool).
    Some thoughts

    1. Give it away to a good cause
    2. Buy a "private plate"
    3. Get your teeth sorted
    4. Invest in wine (if it goes tits up, you can drown your sorrows in style)
    5. Put it on a Hung Parliament 2015
    6. Invest in Startups for the taxbreaks (satisfaction of paying no tax to the Taxman)
    7. Lend to small companies
    8. Buy some gold and silver
    9. Buy a cheapish 60s classic car, Frogeye Sprite, 250SL, Jensen CV8
    10. "Invest" in Liverpudlian DSS tenants for a (unleveraged) 14% annual return.
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    nigel4englandnigel4england Posts: 4,800
    Anyone else watch the programme about the miners strike?

    Really interesting, they were set up by the Tories and terribly led by a communist with a huge agenda. People know me on here as a kipper but I supported the miners in principle, they were a hugely proud group of men led by someone who was and still is a fool.

    I used to deliver into the NCB headquarters in Victoria on a Monday afternoon, but I refused to cross the picket line manned by the Kent miners. I used to get the guy on the gate to let the NCB kitchen staff know I was there and they came out to collect the goods, I got to know the Kent miners on the picket and no way would I cross the line, though I nearly lost my job over it.

    At the time my job had a, erm, black market attached to it, basically we were on the fiddle. So I used to give the boys on the picket line as much as I could, which was as much cheese and dairy products as I could it and at least £20 every week, which when you think my third daughter was born in May that year means that as far as I am concerned I did my bit.

    The one thing I was a little disappointed with was that none of the people in the programme condemned Scargill, when he led them to virtual poverty to suit his own agenda.

    One thing that did stand out though was how the South Yorkshire police falsified statements after the disgrace of Orgreave, and then did the same after Hillsborough. Nice bunch.
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    MrJonesMrJones Posts: 3,523
    @Fox, @Rod

    I was thinking that - if you succeeded - would go in the history books like a lost city or a yeti or something.
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    compouter2compouter2 Posts: 2,371
    Front page of The Scum....what's that all about then?
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    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815

    Front page of The Scum....what's that all about then?

    See TSE's Link 7 above.
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    compouter2compouter2 Posts: 2,371
    Nigel getting the Labour treatment from the friends of the Tory party.
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    fitalassfitalass Posts: 4,279
    Farage and UKIP need to man up or get out of the msm kitchen if they cannot understand or accept this level of scrutiny, especially when they will happily try to court and generate as much publicity for their political cause using the very same msm. We would be here all week if we trawled back over the last decade on PB and added up all the similar msm scrutiny that led to an uncomfortable headline for Clegg, Cameron, Miliband, or many other leading Westminster politicians. Seriously, UKIP have been pretty damn lucky not to have been subjected to that kind of intense media scrutiny or coverage despite some of their previous scandal laden history!

    fitalass said:

    Charles Kennedy only resigned after some of his Westminster party colleagues gave him a great big push, and because they felt that his problem was effecting his job as Leader of the party.

    fitalass said:

    Can you imagine the msm ignoring this kind of story if it involved Clegg, Cameron or Miliband? Nope, neither can I, you have to wonder how on earth Farage thought that he could get away with this kind of personal Office set up and keep it under the media radar all the way to the Euros/local elections after all the previous fuss over politicians expenses at Westminster?

    I even remember back when Cameron and the Conservatives were still in Opposition, certain media organisations tried to get a journalist into a job at CCHQ.

    Patrick O'Flynn ‏@oflynndirector · 2 mins
    Staggered to hear BBC News at Ten ran an item based on Nikki Sinclaire smear

    We only learned that Charles Kennedy was a drunk after he stepped down from leader of the LDs.

    But the MSM ignored the story that the leader of the LDs was a drunk. But an MEP accuses Mr Farage of having had an affair with his secretary x many years ago is a story they can't ignore.
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    fitalassfitalass Posts: 4,279
    edited March 2014
    I really enjoy Eagles Nighthawks political round up of the news. But I have one niggling complaint of late, the way Eagles is presenting the links to the stories. I always link to any media story by highlighting and crediting the media source, and often the author of the article as well, and then I link to their headline on any given story. I am finding this latest way of presenting the links to current political stories all a bit messy and uninspiring. Sorry.
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    fitalassfitalass Posts: 4,279
    DAMIAN MCBRIDE!!

    Nigel getting the Labour treatment from the friends of the Tory party.

This discussion has been closed.