I'm holding a referendum in Auchentennach on whether to bake a celebratory NO pie on 17th September.
Contents to include humble Pork pie, Swede and a wee taster of tartan squirrel.
Yumtastic !!
I'm laying plans for a "We Said NO Party" .... it's going to be one hell of a shindig .... I may shell out a full half crown for such an indulgence .... mind you I want the threepence back on the bottles ....
Just switched on BBC News 24, saw a report about a helicopter and assumed it was a report about the North Sea crash. Sadly it's a new crash in Norfolk with 4 fatalities.
I'm holding a referendum in Auchentennach on whether to bake a celebratory NO pie on 17th September.
Contents to include humble Pork pie, Swede and a wee taster of tartan squirrel.
Yumtastic !!
Does it sound as good as the humble pie you ate after your hilarious 'scottish tory surge' in 2010?
Pandatastic !!
I regret Porky you are now suffering from "Ave it itis" as I made no such "Scottish tory surge" prediction and you will search in vain for it in the archives.
No matter ....
Sadly Porky you have become a dull fellow and my forbearance toward a poor soul such as you has evaporated. You are barely competent as a debate opponent and your repartee borders on the banal.
However I shall leave you the last word .... unutterably turgid as it will be.
I regret Porky you are now suffering from "Ave it itis" as I made no such "Scottish tory surge" prediction and you will search in vain for it in the archives.
No matter ...
I was obviously referring to the scottish tory surger not you old man. You comprehension 'skills' are letting you down, yet again.
Sadly Porky you have become a dull fellow and my forbearance toward a poor soul such as you has evaporated. You are barely competent as a debate opponent and your repartee borders on the banal.
Come off it Mr Pork; the law of unintended consequence has happened over all Governments for many years. How will Ed and Ed balance and improve a budget without taxing Banker's bonuses, which have already ben taken up 11 times? A general point and I know that much more is needed from Labour, which will be the catylist of the upcoming Election!
On a general point, I do not hold with Labour or its policies, but I don't abuse their Leader or anyone else. Indeed I stood against Magaret Beckett in 2005. Perhaps you could moderate the "fop" word. It didn't do you much good in Crewe and may have passed its sell-by date!!
Reading through PB today, we must be getting close to how many times the PB Hodges have mentioned Tim since he has left compared to how many times he actually posted. Is that the fabled crossover people keep talking about?
Reading through PB today, we must be getting close to how many times the PB Hodges have mentioned Tim since he has left compared to how many times he actually posted. Is that the fabled crossover people keep talking about?
Reading through PB today, we must be getting close to how many times the PB Hodges have mentioned Tim since he has left compared to how many times he actually posted. Is that the fabled crossover people keep talking about?
Come off it Mr Pork; the law of unintended consequence has happened over all Governments for many years. How will Ed and Ed balance and improve a budget without taxing Banker's bonuses, which have already ben taken up 11 times?
They won't. They have learned nothing from when Brown and Darling crashed the economy and suffer from the same the same delusion that the tories do in that if they keep ignoring what happened it can't possibly happen again.
On a general point, I do not hold with Labour or its policies, but I don't abuse their Leader or anyone else. Indeed I stood against Magaret Beckett in 2005. Perhaps you could moderate the "fop" word. It didn't do you much good in Crewe and may have passed its sell-by date!!
You're confusing me with a Labour supporter and someone who doesn't consider little Ed to be a weak leader or as the PB tories put it endlessly "crap".
As for the humbug about sparing party leaders from mockery, if they spent less time on inept PR and dreaming up ways to label their opponents ("Red Ed" "Dodgy Dave") then perhaps they and their supporters would have a leg to stand on when they object to that.
Reading through PB today, we must be getting close to how many times the PB Hodges have mentioned Tim since he has left compared to how many times he actually posted. Is that the fabled crossover people keep talking about?
You're thè only person who&'so mentîoñed it...
Sorry Charles, if you have a read through todays efforts, you will see at least three mentions.
Reading through PB today, we must be getting close to how many times the PB Hodges have mentioned Tim since he has left compared to how many times he actually posted. Is that the fabled crossover people keep talking about?
You are getting tired,'pouter.
Take a rest. Sit down. Have a cup of tea.
It won't be long now.
Not getting tired, I have got used to the polling stanchions. Basil on the other hand is still a bit narked.
Reading through PB today, we must be getting close to how many times the PB Hodges have mentioned Tim since he has left compared to how many times he actually posted. Is that the fabled crossover people keep talking about?
You're thè only person who&'so mentîoñed it...
Sorry Charles, if you have a read through todays efforts, you will see at least three mentions.
Two of whom were Neil and me who are PbTories OUT and PROUD; both of us (together with Rev Professor Nabavi) have wined and dined thanks to tim. It was only appropriate we should salute him on the occasion of MORI showing Dave ahead of Ed for the fourth successive month.
By the way, I meant to extend my warmest congratulations and appreciations for your magnificent canvassing contribution that resulted in such a tremendous result in Bury last week.
Bill Butler selected for Anniesland. Anniesland was paired with Clydebank and Milngavie. He got it over Des McNulty. Anne McTaggart lost the woman race to West Dunbartonshire Cllr Gail Çasey who will fight Clydebank .
Have been reading Steve Richards Whatever It Takes, not exactly a Gordon Brown biography but an account of New Labour from the Brown perspective. Generally an interesting read though one bit I read this afternoon had me in fits of laughter.
It was well known that Brown and Charles Clarke were far from close colleagues. However when Brown became PM he was keen to offer Clarke some kind of role if only to avoid him sniping on the backbenches. Brown was also aware though that it had only been a year since Clarke had been forced to resign as Home secretary so told him he would have to wait but nonetheless wanted to give him a 'big' job later on. Within a few months of his premiership Brown got back in touch with Clarke to offer him the role of ........ special envoy to Basra. Clarke turned the job down being concerned about possible assassination. Richards used this as an example of Brown's poor people management skills although perhaps Brown was simply going by the ruthless politician's handbook whereby on seizing power you should make sure that your enemies are exiled to Siberia and not realising this was meant metaphorically not literally.
Thank you Mr Pork! It was a general expression of irritation. I don't abuse or generally mock party leaders, unless it is something that tey have done and are accountable for. hence "Fop", "Crap" and other epithets do not add to the sum of human knowledge! Also on a tactical point, you were using the Fop word so much that it stifled your points!
Meanwhile, let us enjoy Jack W' s Pie, a glass of something refreshing and a fascinating ride through the political landscape over the next 14 months!
Reading through PB today, we must be getting close to how many times the PB Hodges have mentioned Tim since he has left compared to how many times he actually posted. Is that the fabled crossover people keep talking about?
You're thè only person who&'so mentîoñed it...
Sorry Charles, if you have a read through todays efforts, you will see at least three mentions.
Two of whom were Neil and me who are PbTories OUT and PROUD; both of us (together with Rev Professor Nabavi) have wined and dined thanks to tim. It was only appropriate we should salute him on the occasion of MORI showing Dave ahead of Ed for the fourth successive month.
By the way, I meant to extend my warmest congratulations and appreciations for your magnificent canvassing contribution that resulted in such a tremendous result in Bury last week.
I thought my two pensioners were going to swing it.....twas not to be. All good fun though.
Interesting crop of by-elections. UKIP doing OK but not spectacularly. The Amber Valley result again shows that UKIP isn't really breaking through in working-class wards - it looks as though the BNP vote transferred to them and that was about it. A couple of really good LibDem results there, suggesting a willingness to vote for them tactically, and Labour in good shape overall (apart from not matching 94% in Knowsley).
Within a few months of his premiership Brown got back in touch with Clarke to offer him the role of ........ special envoy to Basra. Clarke turned the job down being concerned about possible assassination. Richards used this as an example of Brown's poor people management skills although perhaps Brown was simply going by the ruthless politician's handbook whereby on seizing power you should make sure that your enemies are exiled to Siberia and not realising this was meant metaphorically not literally.
Clarke told me a similar story, though in his version it was "special envoy to the West Indies" - he said he'd replied that it would do neither of their reputations any good. The variation of detail is curious, though.
Avery, I got caught up following the local by-election results on twitter while watching Owen Jones trying to lecture Michael Portillo, Andrew Neil and Alan Johnson on the importance and contribution of Unions. Some interesting moments, especially when you see Jones (born 1984) straying onto the miners strikes. I don't think he could see how ironic it was for him to preach to three gentleman who were actually involved in politics, unions and journalism during this actual period of Union history the 80's .
Twitter The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 6m LAB HOLD Crewe West (Cheshire East)
Good on him for having the brass neck for another appearance.
But my thoughts were much the same. I remember the tree day week, and the miners strike of 83-4. I do not need a lecture from Jones on what it was all about!
Avery, I got caught up following the local by-election results on twitter while watching Owen Jones trying to lecture Michael Portillo, Andrew Neil and Alan Johnson on the importance and contribution of Unions. Some interesting moments, especially when you see Jones (born 1984) straying onto the miners strikes. I don't think he could see how ironic it was for him to preach to three gentleman who were actually involved in politics, unions and journalism during this actual period of Union history the 80's .
Twitter The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 6m LAB HOLD Crewe West (Cheshire East)
Lib Dems have won Canterbury Barham Downs , figures to follow , turnout a decent 41.3% .
I suggested that might happen. With Mark Senior's inspiration everything is possible.
I thought I saw an emaciated man wearing sandals wandering the streets of Canterbury handing out some early Maundy money in coins with vine entwined pagodas.
Avery, I got caught up following the local by-election results on twitter while watching Owen Jones trying to lecture Michael Portillo, Andrew Neil and Alan Johnson on the importance and contribution of Unions. Some interesting moments, especially when you see Jones (born 1984) straying onto the miners strikes. I don't think he could see how ironic it was for him to preach to three gentleman who were actually involved in politics, unions and journalism during this actual period of Union history the 80's .
Twitter The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 6m LAB HOLD Crewe West (Cheshire East)
Good on him for having the brass neck for another appearance.
But my thoughts were much the same. I remember the tree day week, and the miners strike of 83-4. I do not need a lecture from Jones on what it was all about!
Avery, I got caught up following the local by-election results on twitter while watching Owen Jones trying to lecture Michael Portillo, Andrew Neil and Alan Johnson on the importance and contribution of Unions. Some interesting moments, especially when you see Jones (born 1984) straying onto the miners strikes. I don't think he could see how ironic it was for him to preach to three gentleman who were actually involved in politics, unions and journalism during this actual period of Union history the 80's .
Twitter The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 6m LAB HOLD Crewe West (Cheshire East)
But the miners were not there for a teddy bears picnic, they were there to intimidate, and there was plenty of violence by pickets over the strike.
The irony is, if Scargill had had a vote in 83, then he probably would have had a strike ballot in his favour. As it was he was not willing to have a strike ballot, so there was not solidarity from the beginning.
Good on him for having the brass neck for another appearance.
But my thoughts were much the same. I remember the tree day week, and the miners strike of 83-4. I do not need a lecture from Jones on what it was all about!
Avery, I got caught up following the local by-election results on twitter while watching Owen Jones trying to lecture Michael Portillo, Andrew Neil and Alan Johnson on the importance and contribution of Unions. Some interesting moments, especially when you see Jones (born 1984) straying onto the miners strikes. I don't think he could see how ironic it was for him to preach to three gentleman who were actually involved in politics, unions and journalism during this actual period of Union history the 80's .
Twitter The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 6m LAB HOLD Crewe West (Cheshire East)
Avery, I got caught up following the local by-election results on twitter while watching Owen Jones trying to lecture Michael Portillo, Andrew Neil and Alan Johnson on the importance and contribution of Unions. Some interesting moments, especially when you see Jones (born 1984) straying onto the miners strikes. I don't think he could see how ironic it was for him to preach to three gentleman who were actually involved in politics, unions and journalism during this actual period of Union history the 80's .
Twitter The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 6m LAB HOLD Crewe West (Cheshire East)
Twitter The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 1m LAB HOLD Farley (Luton)
The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 2m Ludlow North (Shropshire) Result: LDem - 45.3% (+11.7) CON - 29.9% (-10.5) IND - 17.4% (+17.4) LAB - 7.4% (-1.4)
Interesting that the closer you get to the Welsh border the poorer is Labour's vote.
It shows that mis-performance in office matters.
Fitalass
Owen Jones wafts in from Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Altogether inferior to Luton.
Must be getting a cheap flight there then considering he is from Sheffield and he could have wafted in closer to home say Manchester or Leeds/Bradford Airport.
As a LibDem and Cleggite to boot, I appreciate that I am supporting a minority position.
I do not think that the Lib Dems will be making any gains. The Leicester South surge a few years ago was all to do with a very local issue over the licensing of taxi cabs, not a surge of centrism!
Avery, I got caught up following the local by-election results on twitter while watching Owen Jones trying to lecture Michael Portillo, Andrew Neil and Alan Johnson on the importance and contribution of Unions. Some interesting moments, especially when you see Jones (born 1984) straying onto the miners strikes. I don't think he could see how ironic it was for him to preach to three gentleman who were actually involved in politics, unions and journalism during this actual period of Union history the 80's .
Twitter The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 6m LAB HOLD Crewe West (Cheshire East)
Twitter The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 1m LAB HOLD Farley (Luton)
The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 2m Ludlow North (Shropshire) Result: LDem - 45.3% (+11.7) CON - 29.9% (-10.5) IND - 17.4% (+17.4) LAB - 7.4% (-1.4)
Interesting that the closer you get to the Welsh border the poorer is Labour's vote.
It shows that mis-performance in office matters.
Fitalass
Owen Jones wafts in from Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Altogether inferior to Luton.
Must be getting a cheap flight there then considering he is from Sheffield and he could have wafted in closer to home say Manchester or Leeds/Bradford Airport.
Avery, I got caught up following the local by-election results on twitter while watching Owen Jones trying to lecture Michael Portillo, Andrew Neil and Alan Johnson on the importance and contribution of Unions. Some interesting moments, especially when you see Jones (born 1984) straying onto the miners strikes. I don't think he could see how ironic it was for him to preach to three gentleman who were actually involved in politics, unions and journalism during this actual period of Union history the 80's .
Twitter The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 6m LAB HOLD Crewe West (Cheshire East)
Twitter The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 1m LAB HOLD Farley (Luton)
The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 2m Ludlow North (Shropshire) Result: LDem - 45.3% (+11.7) CON - 29.9% (-10.5) IND - 17.4% (+17.4) LAB - 7.4% (-1.4)
Interesting that the closer you get to the Welsh border the poorer is Labour's vote.
It shows that mis-performance in office matters.
Fitalass
Owen Jones wafts in from Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Altogether inferior to Luton.
Must be getting a cheap flight there then considering he is from Sheffield and he could have wafted in closer to home say Manchester or Leeds/Bradford Airport.
My apologies.
They all sound the same to me, compouter.
No problem, your stereotyping has duly been noted ;-)
As a LibDem and Cleggite to boot, I appreciate that I am supporting a minority position.
I do not think that the Lib Dems will be making any gains. The Leicester South surge a few years ago was all to do with a very local issue over the licensing of taxi cabs, not a surge of centrism!
David Smith seems to be a real favourite economist amongst Tories who still want to defend the free market. In the grand scheme of things he is basically a non-entity.
Let me pose a challenge. How many countries in the OECD can people name that had a lower savings rate and/or a lower investment rate than the UK in 2013? The CIA website has 2013 estimates.
Capitalism with all the actual capital formation taken out.
Per capita GDP rose considerably over the decade, and there was some cracking music; I am watching some classic seventies soul on BBC4 right now. It is not just PB that entertains us insommniacs.
Of course the Liberals of the time were busy shooting dogs on Dartmoor, but every man requires a pastime!
As a LibDem and Cleggite to boot, I appreciate that I am supporting a minority position.
I do not think that the Lib Dems will be making any gains. The Leicester South surge a few years ago was all to do with a very local issue over the licensing of taxi cabs, not a surge of centrism!
Per capita GDP rose considerably over the decade, and there was some cracking music; I am watching some classic seventies soul on BBC4 right now. It is not just PB that entertains us insommniacs.
Of course the Liberals of the time were busy shooting dogs on Dartmoor, but every man requires a pastime!
As a LibDem and Cleggite to boot, I appreciate that I am supporting a minority position.
I do not think that the Lib Dems will be making any gains. The Leicester South surge a few years ago was all to do with a very local issue over the licensing of taxi cabs, not a surge of centrism!
Per capita GDP rose considerably over the decade, and there was some cracking music; I am watching some classic seventies soul on BBC4 right now. It is not just PB that entertains us insommniacs.
Of course the Liberals of the time were busy shooting dogs on Dartmoor, but every man requires a pastime!
As a LibDem and Cleggite to boot, I appreciate that I am supporting a minority position.
I do not think that the Lib Dems will be making any gains. The Leicester South surge a few years ago was all to do with a very local issue over the licensing of taxi cabs, not a surge of centrism!
Per capita GDP rose considerably over the decade, and there was some cracking music; I am watching some classic seventies soul on BBC4 right now. It is not just PB that entertains us insommniacs.
Of course the Liberals of the time were busy shooting dogs on Dartmoor, but every man requires a pastime!
As a LibDem and Cleggite to boot, I appreciate that I am supporting a minority position.
I do not think that the Lib Dems will be making any gains. The Leicester South surge a few years ago was all to do with a very local issue over the licensing of taxi cabs, not a surge of centrism!
Just back in and I note that Jade Dernbach seems to have single-handedly beaten the West Indies earlier on. I expect grovelling apologies from Pbc's haters in the morning.
Avery, I got caught up following the local by-election results on twitter while watching Owen Jones trying to lecture Michael Portillo, Andrew Neil and Alan Johnson on the importance and contribution of Unions. Some interesting moments, especially when you see Jones (born 1984) straying onto the miners strikes. I don't think he could see how ironic it was for him to preach to three gentleman who were actually involved in politics, unions and journalism during this actual period of Union history the 80's .
Twitter The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 6m LAB HOLD Crewe West (Cheshire East)
Twitter The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 1m LAB HOLD Farley (Luton)
The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 2m Ludlow North (Shropshire) Result: LDem - 45.3% (+11.7) CON - 29.9% (-10.5) IND - 17.4% (+17.4) LAB - 7.4% (-1.4)
Interesting that the closer you get to the Welsh border the poorer is Labour's vote.
It shows that mis-performance in office matters.
Fitalass
Owen Jones wafts in from Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Altogether inferior to Luton.
Must be getting a cheap flight there then considering he is from Sheffield and he could have wafted in closer to home say Manchester or Leeds/Bradford Airport.
My apologies.
They all sound the same to me, compouter.
No problem, your stereotyping has duly been noted ;-)
I think the brand thing may have wobbled a bit too much. It was worth experimenting in Wythenshawe but i think the positioning needs to go back to solid centre-right as in the end they want to be aiming at getting at least 2/3 of the Con vote imo.
Media PC enforcement
Tricky when the media attacks over something that was said. If Farage gives in then its demoralising but if they don't then it carries on. In theory the more they treat the PC media as the enemy the better but battles need to be picked.
Totally off topic, but just ordered the film Good Vibrations after a recommendation from a friend who said it was worth it for the soundtrack alone. I would definitely place the Undertones Teenage Kicks in my top 10 favourite singles, just wondering how this film managed to totally pass under my radar until someone highlighted it to me?!
Totally off topic, but just ordered the film Good Vibrations after a recommendation from a friend who said it was worth it for the soundtrack alone. I would definitely place the Undertones Teenage Kicks in my top 10 favourite singles, just wondering how this film managed to totally pass under my radar until someone highlighted it to me?!
Read the articles, they've tracked it apparently. The ACARS was pinging the satellite, even though Malaysian Airlines hadn't purchased a subscription for their planes to send actual data...
We have now arrived at the point that Obamacare does not resemble at all the bill passed by Congress. The White House has unilaterally changed Obamacare almost 30 times.
We were told that the employer mandate and individual mandate were essential to Obamacare, and the administration argued to the Supreme Court that the tax was essential.
The employer mandate was meant to begin in fall 2014. It has been postponed twice, and now will not kick in until after the 2016 presidential election.
The Obama folks insist they have not repealed the individual mandate. This forces everyone to either buy health insurance or pay a tax. The government calls this the 'shared responsibility payment'.
There is a form you can fill out to apply for an exemption from the tax for various reasons.
There were 13 distinct exemptions. Sometime in late December - very quietly - a 14th was added.
13 says You received a notice saying that your current health insurance plan is being cancelled, and you consider the other plans available unaffordable. and asks you to submit with your application Copy of notice of cancellation.
14 says You experienced another hardship in obtaining health insurance. and asks you to Please submit documentation if possible.
So essentially the administration has gutted Obamacare on its own. With the addition of 14 the individual mandate is essentially dead.
We have now arrived at the point that Obamacare does not resemble at all the bill passed by Congress. The White House has unilaterally changed Obamacare almost 30 times.
We were told that the employer mandate and individual mandate were essential to Obamacare, and the administration argued to the Supreme Court that the tax was essential.
The employer mandate was meant to begin in fall 2014. It has been postponed twice, and now will not kick in until after the 2016 presidential election.
The Obama folks insist they have not repealed the individual mandate. This forces everyone to either buy health insurance or pay a tax. The government calls this the 'shared responsibility payment'.
There is a form you can fill out to apply for an exemption from the tax for various reasons.
There were 13 distinct exemptions. Sometime in late December - very quietly - a 14th was added.
13 says You received a notice saying that your current health insurance plan is being cancelled, and you consider the other plans available unaffordable. and asks you to submit with your application Copy of notice of cancellation.
14 says You experienced another hardship in obtaining health insurance. and asks you to Please submit documentation if possible.
So essentially the administration has gutted Obamacare on its own. With the addition of 14 the individual mandate is essentially dead.
Has anyone been sacked/jailed over the IRS business?
Read the articles, they've tracked it apparently. The ACARS was pinging the satellite, even though Malaysian Airlines hadn't purchased a subscription for their planes to send actual data...
The talking heads on Al Jazeera, CNN, and Fox - and the initial Wall Street Journal article - talked as if there were 3 distinct transmissions -transponders, ACARS, and the engine data, all independent, and apparently only the engines were still pinging the equivalent of "I'm here and ready to send".
I don't know if that is indeed the case. The longer this goes without much new information, the more confusing all the speculation gets. The other fact is that there is no real leadership on this, and the various countries fighting like ferrets in a sack doesn't help either.
This is a bit of a nightmare scenario, which may not necessarily be completely barking:
"JackArmstrong 1:22 AM GMT [Edited]
Scenario: Al Qaeda in Somalia coordinated the hijacking (or pilot complicity) of Flight 370, to have it go "dark" and turn to Somalia at the point where it leaves Malaysia air traffic control, simulating a catastrophic event. It turns due west and crosses the Malaysia/Thailand peninsula at low altitude, then once over the Andaman Sea, it resumes a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet -- with 8.5 hours of fuel on board at takeoff as reported by Malaysia air officials, this provides sufficient fuel to reach central Somalia at standard cruising speed of 490 knots (560 mph).
The plane lands while it is still completely black and still nighttime in Somalia. There, it is refueled. The Somali al Qaeda place on board a nuclear device, that has been stolen from Pakistan, or from a former Soviet bloc country, or “donated” by NK – take your pick – and then at some point takes off for its real target, which could be as far as the U.S. since a fully fueled 777 can fly halfway around the world. It once again flies “dark”, then as it approaches its target, it contacts the target country, stating that it has been hijacked, has passengers on board and is running out of fuel and must land. It is permitted to enter airspace, heads for the target city and detonates the bomb low over the city."
Until I read this comment it hadn't really dawned on me how dangerous it could be to have a rogue 777 hidden away somewhere. No wonder the Americans are taking such a close interest in tracking it down.
There is no official statement that these pings have been picked up just insiders briefing selected US publications.
The theory makes sense and is consistent with other claims, for example villagers hearing a low flying plane over the North Malaysian peninsular and secondary reports of primary radar detection by the Malaysian military in same area.
The theory is also consistent with Sky TV speculation of the flight crew being knocked out by hypoxia after a sudden event causing decompression.
But the direction of the Search and Rescue operation doesn't seem to be giving that much weight to this "new" information. SAR ops continue in the South China Sea, Malaccan Straights and Andaman Sea.
The US Ship is joining the Andaman Sea SAR open rather than looking for the plane in the mid Indian Ocean.
All we can really conclude at the moment is that no one really knows what happened or where the plane crashed.
On the pings, I understand from PPRuNe that these are directed at ground stations which then respond to initiate a further transmission which is what is routed via satcom to the manufacturers. The ground stations only acknowledge pings for scheduled (and pre-contracted and paid for) transmissions as you indicate. Otherwise the pings are ignored and discarded. The theory being advocated is that satellite (or other) surveillance has picked up the ping traffic as part of a catch all trawl and that the MH370 pings have subsequently been filtered out of the noise following a targetted and specialist operation.
We need official confirmation of this though before it can be accepted as true.
Read the articles, they've tracked it apparently. The ACARS was pinging the satellite, even though Malaysian Airlines hadn't purchased a subscription for their planes to send actual data...
We have now arrived at the point that Obamacare does not resemble at all the bill passed by Congress. The White House has unilaterally changed Obamacare almost 30 times.
We were told that the employer mandate and individual mandate were essential to Obamacare, and the administration argued to the Supreme Court that the tax was essential.
The employer mandate was meant to begin in fall 2014. It has been postponed twice, and now will not kick in until after the 2016 presidential election.
The Obama folks insist they have not repealed the individual mandate. This forces everyone to either buy health insurance or pay a tax. The government calls this the 'shared responsibility payment'.
There is a form you can fill out to apply for an exemption from the tax for various reasons.
There were 13 distinct exemptions. Sometime in late December - very quietly - a 14th was added.
13 says You received a notice saying that your current health insurance plan is being cancelled, and you consider the other plans available unaffordable. and asks you to submit with your application Copy of notice of cancellation.
14 says You experienced another hardship in obtaining health insurance. and asks you to Please submit documentation if possible.
So essentially the administration has gutted Obamacare on its own. With the addition of 14 the individual mandate is essentially dead.
Has anyone been sacked/jailed over the IRS business?
During an interview on Super Bowl Sunday Obama said that there was not a smidgen of evidence of wrong ding at the IRS - bone headed actions, but that's all.
That was surprising, as there is an ongoing thorough investigation into the IRS scandal.
In fact it is so thorough that the investigators have yet to interview any of the groups targeted by the IRS.
The woman appointed to lead the investigation was a major money raiser for Obama, a bundler.
I think we can all see were this is going.
As if that's not bad enough, several Democratic lawmakers, including Chuck Schumer, have written to the IRS asking them to formally codify their process of harrassing conservative groups.
This is a bit of a nightmare scenario, which may not necessarily be completely barking:
"JackArmstrong 1:22 AM GMT [Edited]
Scenario: Al Qaeda in Somalia coordinated the hijacking (or pilot complicity) of Flight 370, to have it go "dark" and turn to Somalia at the point where it leaves Malaysia air traffic control, simulating a catastrophic event. It turns due west and crosses the Malaysia/Thailand peninsula at low altitude, then once over the Andaman Sea, it resumes a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet -- with 8.5 hours of fuel on board at takeoff as reported by Malaysia air officials, this provides sufficient fuel to reach central Somalia at standard cruising speed of 490 knots (560 mph).
The plane lands while it is still completely black and still nighttime in Somalia. There, it is refueled. The Somali al Qaeda place on board a nuclear device, that has been stolen from Pakistan, or from a former Soviet bloc country, or “donated” by NK – take your pick – and then at some point takes off for its real target, which could be as far as the U.S. since a fully fueled 777 can fly halfway around the world. It once again flies “dark”, then as it approaches its target, it contacts the target country, stating that it has been hijacked, has passengers on board and is running out of fuel and must land. It is permitted to enter airspace, heads for the target city and detonates the bomb low over the city."
Until I read this comment it hadn't really dawned on me how dangerous it could be to have a rogue 777 hidden away somewhere. No wonder the Americans are taking such a close interest in tracking it down.
Andy
The stuff of fiction.
The Boeing 777-200 would have been carrying a maximum amount of 7 1/2 hours of fuel on the Kuala Lumpur to Beijing flight. Most of the pilots on PPRuNe believe it would have been carrying less fuel.
So given that it had already travelled 40 minutes in the near opposite direction and would need to recover distance to the east, say 30 minutes, it would not have had sufficient fuel to reach Somalia. This particularly applies as it would have needed to fly some way below 30,000 feet to evade commercial radar detection and other air traffic on a westerly flightpath. The lower the altitude the higher the fuel consumption and therefore the shorter the distance it can fly.
Comments
Who could possibly believe Cammie was nothing more than a second rate Blair impersonator after this moving and stirring oratorical triumph.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCovGqMiZyA
*chortle*
http://www.politicshome.com/uk/article/94538/the_times_friday_14th_march_2014.html
No matter ....
Sadly Porky you have become a dull fellow and my forbearance toward a poor soul such as you has evaporated. You are barely competent as a debate opponent and your repartee borders on the banal.
However I shall leave you the last word .... unutterably turgid as it will be.
..........................................................
Good night PBers.
No matter. JackW is 107. Pies !!
Take a rest. Sit down. Have a cup of tea.
It won't be long now.
They won't. They have learned nothing from when Brown and Darling crashed the economy and suffer from the same the same delusion that the tories do in that if they keep ignoring what happened it can't possibly happen again.
You're confusing me with a Labour supporter and someone who doesn't consider little Ed to be a weak leader or as the PB tories put it endlessly "crap".
As for the humbug about sparing party leaders from mockery, if they spent less time on inept PR and dreaming up ways to label their opponents ("Red Ed" "Dodgy Dave") then perhaps they and their supporters would have a leg to stand on when they object to that.
Runnymede Con hold Con 489 Lab 329 UKIP 327 Loony 15
Con 489
Lab 329
UKIP 327
Loony 15
Lab 595
UKIP 259
Con 229
LD 41
Amber Valley Lab hold Lab 595 UKIP 259 Con 229 LD 41
By the way, I meant to extend my warmest congratulations and appreciations for your magnificent canvassing contribution that resulted in such a tremendous result in Bury last week.
The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 1m
ANOTHER LDem GAIN, this time in Ludlow North (Shropshire) off CON.
The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 43s
Longview (Knowsley) Result: LAB - 64.8% (-29.0) IND - 31.6% (+31.6) CON - 3.6% (+3.6)
Bill Butler selected for Anniesland. Anniesland was paired with Clydebank and Milngavie. He got it over Des McNulty.
Anne McTaggart lost the woman race to West Dunbartonshire Cllr Gail Çasey who will fight Clydebank .
It was well known that Brown and Charles Clarke were far from close colleagues. However when Brown became PM he was keen to offer Clarke some kind of role if only to avoid him sniping on the backbenches. Brown was also aware though that it had only been a year since Clarke had been forced to resign as Home secretary so told him he would have to wait but nonetheless wanted to give him a 'big' job later on. Within a few months of his premiership Brown got back in touch with Clarke to offer him the role of ........ special envoy to Basra. Clarke turned the job down being concerned about possible assassination. Richards used this as an example of Brown's poor people management skills although perhaps Brown was simply going by the ruthless politician's handbook whereby on seizing power you should make sure that your enemies are exiled to Siberia and not realising this was meant metaphorically not literally.
Meanwhile, let us enjoy Jack W' s Pie, a glass of something refreshing and a fascinating ride through the political landscape over the next 14 months!
Thank you.
The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 14m
Barham Downs (Canterbury) Result: LDem - 37.3% (-3.4) CON - 31.5% (-11.4) UKIP - 18.1% (+18.1) LAB - 8.6% (+8.6) GRN - 4.4% (-12.0)
The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 15m
Chertsey Meads (Runnymede) Result: CON - 42.2% (-8.2) LAB - 28.4% (+9.1) UKIP - 28.2% (+5.5) OMRLP - 1.3% (+1.3)
The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 19m
Heanor West (Amber Valley) Result: LAB - 52.9% (-3.3) UKIP - 23.0% (+23.0) CON - 20.4% (-5.2) LDem - 3.6% (+3.6)
The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 1m
LAB HOLD Farley (Luton)
The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 2m
Ludlow North (Shropshire) Result: LDem - 45.3% (+11.7) CON - 29.9% (-10.5) IND - 17.4% (+17.4) LAB - 7.4% (-1.4)
http://youtu.be/0Vt_cglf6UY
It shows that mis-performance in office matters.
UKIP winning nowhere
Farley, Luton result: LAB 72.5% (+17.6), #UKIP 13.3% (+5.6) CON 9.1% (-9.0), LDEM 2.7% (-7.7), GRN - 2.4% (+2.4).
I can imagine all those postal votes for labour brought in en mass by the asian mafia in Luton.
Twitter
The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 6m
LAB HOLD Crewe West (Cheshire East)
Farley (Luton) Result: LAB - 72.5% (+17.6) UKIP - 13.3% (+5.6) CON - 9.1% (-9.0) LDem - 2.7% (-7.7) GRN - 2.4% (+2.4)
But her connection was more with Luton Airport, the point of embarkation of her waft, mistaken by her admirer for paradise.
The association came from a Campari ad, probably made by Roger, where the script was:
Admirer; "Were you truly wafted here from paradise?"
Chase (in her full cockney accent) "Nah, Luton Airport!".
The Columnist Elects @ColumnistElects 20m
LAB HOLD Crewe West (Cheshire East)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jeGLrvy5i8
Wikipedia says she/Campari inspired a pop tune "Luton Airport".
http://youtu.be/dldJCeZjcBo
Surprised he was willing to have another go after being skewered by Neil in the past:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSC3RMstJl8
Good on him for having the brass neck for another appearance.
But my thoughts were much the same. I remember the tree day week, and the miners strike of 83-4. I do not need a lecture from Jones on what it was all about!
Though Runnymede was fun !
Rumours of our death are greatly exaggerated!
Owen Jones wafts in from Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Altogether inferior to Luton.
Then they'll turn blue, Dr. Sox.
But the miners were not there for a teddy bears picnic, they were there to intimidate, and there was plenty of violence by pickets over the strike.
The irony is, if Scargill had had a vote in 83, then he probably would have had a strike ballot in his favour. As it was he was not willing to have a strike ballot, so there was not solidarity from the beginning.
I do not think that the Lib Dems will be making any gains. The Leicester South surge a few years ago was all to do with a very local issue over the licensing of taxi cabs, not a surge of centrism!
http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/northern_irish_entrepreneur_among_norfolk_helicopter_crash_victims_1_3431382
They all sound the same to me, compouter.
Blue allows infinitely pleasant permutations.
Per capita GDP rose considerably over the decade, and there was some cracking music; I am watching some classic seventies soul on BBC4 right now. It is not just PB that entertains us insommniacs.
Of course the Liberals of the time were busy shooting dogs on Dartmoor, but every man requires a pastime!
http://youtu.be/g7gutsi1uT4
For that real seventies vibe:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01r3pmc/The_Ballad_of_Mott_the_Hoople/
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304185104579437573396580350?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304185104579437573396580350.html
http://www.wyff4.com/national/malaysian-officials-dispute-report-on-missing-plane/24951222http://www.wyff4.com/national/malaysian-officials-dispute-report-on-missing-plane/24951222
I think the brand thing may have wobbled a bit too much. It was worth experimenting in Wythenshawe but i think the positioning needs to go back to solid centre-right as in the end they want to be aiming at getting at least 2/3 of the Con vote imo.
Media PC enforcement
Tricky when the media attacks over something that was said. If Farage gives in then its demoralising but if they don't then it carries on. In theory the more they treat the PC media as the enemy the better but battles need to be picked.
imo
Youtube - Good Vibrations Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE17U5ML9dQ
The ACARS was pinging the satellite, even though Malaysian Airlines hadn't purchased a subscription for their planes to send actual data...
We were told that the employer mandate and individual mandate were essential to Obamacare, and the administration argued to the Supreme Court that the tax was essential.
The employer mandate was meant to begin in fall 2014. It has been postponed twice, and now will not kick in until after the 2016 presidential election.
The Obama folks insist they have not repealed the individual mandate. This forces everyone to either buy health insurance or pay a tax. The government calls this the 'shared responsibility payment'.
There is a form you can fill out to apply for an exemption from the tax for various reasons.
There were 13 distinct exemptions. Sometime in late December - very quietly - a 14th was added.
http://marketplace.cms.gov/getofficialresources/publications-and-articles/hardship-exemption.pdf
13 says You received a notice saying that your current health insurance plan is being cancelled, and you consider the other plans available unaffordable. and asks you to submit with your application Copy of notice of cancellation.
14 says You experienced another hardship in obtaining health insurance. and asks you to Please submit documentation if possible.
So essentially the administration has gutted Obamacare on its own. With the addition of 14 the individual mandate is essentially dead.
I don't know if that is indeed the case. The longer this goes without much new information, the more confusing all the speculation gets. The other fact is that there is no real leadership on this, and the various countries fighting like ferrets in a sack doesn't help either.
"JackArmstrong
1:22 AM GMT [Edited]
Scenario: Al Qaeda in Somalia coordinated the hijacking (or pilot complicity) of Flight 370, to have it go "dark" and turn to Somalia at the point where it leaves Malaysia air traffic control, simulating a catastrophic event. It turns due west and crosses the Malaysia/Thailand peninsula at low altitude, then once over the Andaman Sea, it resumes a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet -- with 8.5 hours of fuel on board at takeoff as reported by Malaysia air officials, this provides sufficient fuel to reach central Somalia at standard cruising speed of 490 knots (560 mph).
The plane lands while it is still completely black and still nighttime in Somalia. There, it is refueled. The Somali al Qaeda place on board a nuclear device, that has been stolen from Pakistan, or from a former Soviet bloc country, or “donated” by NK – take your pick – and then at some point takes off for its real target, which could be as far as the U.S. since a fully fueled 777 can fly halfway around the world. It once again flies “dark”, then as it approaches its target, it contacts the target country, stating that it has been hijacked, has passengers on board and is running out of fuel and must land. It is permitted to enter airspace, heads for the target city and detonates the bomb low over the city."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/china-satellite-spots-floating-objects/2014/03/13/72688034-aa68-11e3-b61e-8051b8b52d06_allComments.html?ctab=all_&
Until I read this comment it hadn't really dawned on me how dangerous it could be to have a rogue 777 hidden away somewhere. No wonder the Americans are taking such a close interest in tracking it down.
There is no official statement that these pings have been picked up just insiders briefing selected US publications.
The theory makes sense and is consistent with other claims, for example villagers hearing a low flying plane over the North Malaysian peninsular and secondary reports of primary radar detection by the Malaysian military in same area.
The theory is also consistent with Sky TV speculation of the flight crew being knocked out by hypoxia after a sudden event causing decompression.
But the direction of the Search and Rescue operation doesn't seem to be giving that much weight to this "new" information. SAR ops continue in the South China Sea, Malaccan Straights and Andaman Sea.
The US Ship is joining the Andaman Sea SAR open rather than looking for the plane in the mid Indian Ocean.
All we can really conclude at the moment is that no one really knows what happened or where the plane crashed.
On the pings, I understand from PPRuNe that these are directed at ground stations which then respond to initiate a further transmission which is what is routed via satcom to the manufacturers. The ground stations only acknowledge pings for scheduled (and pre-contracted and paid for) transmissions as you indicate. Otherwise the pings are ignored and discarded. The theory being advocated is that satellite (or other) surveillance has picked up the ping traffic as part of a catch all trawl and that the MH370 pings have subsequently been filtered out of the noise following a targetted and specialist operation.
We need official confirmation of this though before it can be accepted as true.
That was surprising, as there is an ongoing thorough investigation into the IRS scandal.
In fact it is so thorough that the investigators have yet to interview any of the groups targeted by the IRS.
The woman appointed to lead the investigation was a major money raiser for Obama, a bundler.
I think we can all see were this is going.
As if that's not bad enough, several Democratic lawmakers, including Chuck Schumer, have written to the IRS asking them to formally codify their process of harrassing conservative groups.
http://aclj.org/free-speech-2/left-demands-irs-redouble-targeting-tea-party-and-conservative-groups
The stuff of fiction.
The Boeing 777-200 would have been carrying a maximum amount of 7 1/2 hours of fuel on the Kuala Lumpur to Beijing flight. Most of the pilots on PPRuNe believe it would have been carrying less fuel.
So given that it had already travelled 40 minutes in the near opposite direction and would need to recover distance to the east, say 30 minutes, it would not have had sufficient fuel to reach Somalia. This particularly applies as it would have needed to fly some way below 30,000 feet to evade commercial radar detection and other air traffic on a westerly flightpath. The lower the altitude the higher the fuel consumption and therefore the shorter the distance it can fly.
Dramatic story though.