I don't think this will work in the UK. The UK is totally different to the US and I don't think Cameron is the right person to communicate to most people outside of the south east of England. At the election in 2015, I expect it will be the same as 2010, when the Tories spent much more on billboards and newspaper advertising. I am not conviced by online campaigns, as most people under say 50, would not be that interested in viewing and there is a danger in spoofs being made attacking the party, which people take more notice of. If the Tories get into a war with UKIP about immigration/EU issues, it will just push a lot of people towards other parties.
Why does Harry Styles walk like Mr Burns from The Simpsons? Can Farage square that circle? At least, after the protest EU vote, we can gauge how disaffected the electorate have become. Anything over, say, 10% and lo wish turnout in the GE for UKIP and Houston.......
And yet – and here we discover an illuminating difference in standard – it remains the case that the SNP find Britain’s aspirations to “Great Power” status both ridiculous and distasteful. The UK clings to faded imperial “glory” and looks absurd. It should face reality and accept the world has changed. The world has moved on and so should Britain. Come in Colonel Blimp, your time was up long ago.
Fine. If that’s the sort of thing you like it’s the sort of thing you like. But Putin’s policy – both domestic and abroad – is designed to reassert Russia’s place as a Great Power. The collapse of the Soviet Union – that is, of Russia’s internal empire – was a calamity and if the USSR cannot be revived Russian pride can and Putin’s Eurasian Union, the next best thing to the USSR, will have to do what it can to compensate for that tragedy [sic].
PS , even given it is by Massie who is excellent and is actually a very good review of the topic. He gives an intelligent viewpoint and is nothing like the rabid dog stuff that most of the unionists post. He is one Tory I really like , unfortunately not enough to balance the normal turnips like Scott.
I entirely agree re Mr Massie (even if not always with him). He is one of the few right wing columnists I always try to read. (Mr Cochrane seems to have gone quiet recently, or it it that I have given up on the DT?) By comparison, I recall that recently one of Mr Massie's fellow Speccie columnists was foaming at the mouth about the SNP of planning the deliberate expropriation of English landowners, huntin' shootin' anf fishin' or otherwise (no doubt related to certain Speccie persons' family landholdings). Ad this brings me to the current resumption of Salmond -bashing (when in fact he was much more praiseful of Frau Merkel).
A friend of mine - no SNP supporter but an absolutely natural Labour voter - commented to me last weekend that this sort of equation of Scotland with a country beginning with Z, and the incessant attacks on Mr Salmond personally, were doubly insulting to him (my friends) and his compatriots. As far as he and many others are concerned, the Scots voted Mr Salmond in with a majority - which is more than can be said for any other pol in the UK - and they will dam' well vote him out again if and when they want. Something to think about for those PBers who like to play dictator bingo.
Clifford was granted conditional bail but told by the judge that that should not be taken as an indication of the sentence that will be passed on Friday.
I don't know the sentencing guidelines but you'd have to imagine that several counts of indecent assault, with no guilty plea, will involve at least some jail time.
One aspect of the press attention on UKIP is that its distracting attention from the start of one of the coalition's tougher welfare reforms.
If you've been out of work and claiming for three years, you now have to go to the dole office every day or commit to six months voluntary service.
Even as a Thatcherite tory, I think that's maybe a tad harsh.
Not really. Extremely popular amongst all those not out of work as well I would imagine. If you've been out of work for three years you need some dedicated one on one time, every day, to get you into one of the 600,000 vacancies out there.
I don't know what was written earlier, but if Mike Smithson, "On the face of it this is quite appealing and my guess is that it will get a good response rate," thinks that he will get a chance to speak to Cammo personally, then he is more of a fantasist than many of us.
Cammo would have to be on the phone 24 hrs a day, without food or sleep, to speak to just 144 people a day, for just 10 minutes.
It's a load of phony bollocks and OGH has fallen for it. I'm sure many will fall for it; at first. Only to be doubly disappointed and let down when the truth perculates through their befuddled minds. Oh joy!
I guess you've never heard of conference calling before...
Even less chance to ask a pertinent question then. The call will last 30 minutes. Say only 1000 people tune in. That will allow precisely 4/5 people to ask a question -if that. All they will hear is Cammo sounding off on how well he has done for the first 15 mins.
Glasman’s latest intervention is still an illuminating one. First, it represents the latest incarnation of the Labour Party’s favorite new pastime, “Defining the Defeat”. Most senior Labour supporters recognise the game is almost up. They can read the polls, and the economic indicators, and Miliband’s personal approval ratings. And they know what they foreshadow.
So the various Labour factions are starting to put down markers. They are attempting to ensure that when Labour loses in 2015 it will have lost because their personal strategy wasn’t followed. Which is why last month we had the think tanks warning that Miliband wasn’t being radical enough. That was immediately followed by Len McCluksey warning he wasn’t being Left-wing enough. This morning Jessica Asato, Labour’s candidate in Norwich North – and something of a New Labour poster girl – has warned Labour “has still got a lot of convincing to do” on the economy, and more generally needs to “lift the conversation into a serious offer for the future”. Norwich North is significant because it represents the seat Labour needs to win to secure an overall majority.
I don't know what was written earlier, but if Mike Smithson, "On the face of it this is quite appealing and my guess is that it will get a good response rate," thinks that he will get a chance to speak to Cammo personally, then he is more of a fantasist than many of us.
Cammo would have to be on the phone 24 hrs a day, without food or sleep, to speak to just 144 people a day, for just 10 minutes.
It's a load of phony bollocks and OGH has fallen for it. I'm sure many will fall for it; at first. Only to be doubly disappointed and let down when the truth perculates through their befuddled minds. Oh joy!
I guess you've never heard of conference calling before...
Even less chance to ask a pertinent question then. The call will last 30 minutes. Say only 1000 people tune in. That will allow precisely 4/5 people to ask a question -if that. All they will hear is Cammo sounding off on how well he has done for the first 15 mins.
It's still a load of bollocks.
More so than leaders of the minor parties having a play debate? Or less so
Plus with the shortage of job center staff, you will be able to stand and jeer at all those queuing outside. And the possibilities for "sanctions" to lower the unemployment figures must have you reaching for the kleenex?
Plus with the shortage of job center staff, you will be able to stand and jeer at all those queuing outside. And the possibilities for "sanctions" to lower the unemployment figures must have you reaching for the kleenex?
A female teacher has been stabbed to death at a school in Leeds.
Police said a 15-year-old male pupil at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Neville Road has been arrested.
The woman, who has not been named, was taken to hospital but later pronounced dead.
Det Supt Simon Beldon, of West Yorkshire Police, described the stabbing as an "isolated incident" and said there was "no ongoing risk to pupils or staff".
Glasman’s latest intervention is still an illuminating one. First, it represents the latest incarnation of the Labour Party’s favorite new pastime, “Defining the Defeat”. Most senior Labour supporters recognise the game is almost up. They can read the polls, and the economic indicators, and Miliband’s personal approval ratings. And they know what they foreshadow.
So the various Labour factions are starting to put down markers. They are attempting to ensure that when Labour loses in 2015 it will have lost because their personal strategy wasn’t followed. Which is why last month we had the think tanks warning that Miliband wasn’t being radical enough. That was immediately followed by Len McCluksey warning he wasn’t being Left-wing enough. This morning Jessica Asato, Labour’s candidate in Norwich North – and something of a New Labour poster girl – has warned Labour “has still got a lot of convincing to do” on the economy, and more generally needs to “lift the conversation into a serious offer for the future”. Norwich North is significant because it represents the seat Labour needs to win to secure an overall majority.
We can read Hodges drivel ourselves (presumably he is filling his boots on the the marginals that the Tories need to win but are heavily odds against in?).
Why not, for a change, post an opinion of your own rather than copying and pasting drivel from other people?
"Something very odd going on in Portsmouth today. Owners of Portsmouth Guidhall now barring cameras from tonight's Farage event … If the owners were so uncomfortable with such a political event, why did they accept Ukip's booking?"
twitter.com/JGForsyth/status/460769585403527168
The Guildhall appears to be owned by Portsmouth City Council.
One thing is true in all the above, and that is Nick Cohen has gone a trifle crazy and is frothing at the mouth like one infected with Rabies. Ah, I see now! Old Nick has been bitten by UKIP. LOL
How to argue like a Europhile, method #3: Smear your opponents as reactionary bigots.
Would Nick Cohen dare to use the comments by council candidates that were subsequently kicked out the party as being representative of party policy? Ugly, ugly, ugly. I'm surprised the Speccie published such a thing.
One aspect of the press attention on UKIP is that its distracting attention from the start of one of the coalition's tougher welfare reforms.
If you've been out of work and claiming for three years, you now have to go to the dole office every day or commit to six months voluntary service.
Even as a Thatcherite tory, I think that's maybe a tad harsh.
Not really. Extremely popular amongst all those not out of work as well I would imagine. If you've been out of work for three years you need some dedicated one on one time, every day, to get you into one of the 600,000 vacancies out there.
Especially given that millions are looking for jobs. Might as well have public galleries built and fill them up with rotten fruit and vegetables.
One thing is true in all the above, and that is Nick Cohen has gone a trifle crazy and is frothing at the mouth like one infected with Rabies. Ah, I see now! Old Nick has been bitten by UKIP. LOL
How to argue like a Europhile, method #3: Smear your opponents as reactionary bigots.
Would Nick Cohen dare to use the comments by council candidates that were subsequently kicked out the party as being representative of party policy? Ugly, ugly, ugly. I'm surprised the Speccie published such a thing.
According to you the other day, I'm a Europhile. Either there's a lot of them about, or you need to readjust your radar.
A massive part of UKIP's appeal is that they are quite clearly not the Establishment. And lots of papers and parties are attacking them for not holding mainstream views. Which is why they're so popular.
It's like the Gene Hunt poster the Milibands unveiled, but on a grander scale. If the mainstream parties hadn't contracted their views to represent a smaller portion of the electorate, there wouldn't be a socially conservative, anti-EU space for UKIP to occupy.
Edited extra bit: my typing's atrocious, for some reason. Corrected a few typos, but I'd be unsurprised if a few are still there...
A female teacher has been stabbed to death at a school in Leeds.
Police said a 15-year-old male pupil at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Neville Road has been arrested.
The woman, who has not been named, was taken to hospital but later pronounced dead.
Det Supt Simon Beldon, of West Yorkshire Police, described the stabbing as an "isolated incident" and said there was "no ongoing risk to pupils or staff".
Bloody Hell.
I hope to goodness it didn't occur in front of other kids.
Very sad news regarding the female teacher in Leeds. There was a piece on the news last night about how many weapons are taken into schools, as a sort of mini-MAD, because many don't want them but feel vulnerable without a knife or suchlike.
Novel PR stunt "The Ukip campaign double-decker bus collided with a Portsmouth railway station canopy as the driver attempted to manoeuvre out of a car park after greeting party leader Nigel Farage."
Novel PR stunt "The Ukip campaign double-decker bus collided with a Portsmouth railway station canopy as the driver attempted to manoeuvre out of a car park after greeting party leader Nigel Farage."
I'm not sure how well it will work in practice, but it's RF, and therefore it's cool. ;-)
'‘We have set the detection zone around a vehicle to 2.5m,’
In a city, the device will be giving off a continuous warning, rendering it useless as drivers will simply ignore it.
The clever thing would be to apply some vector based collision analysis that alerts the driver if the path of the cyclist and his vehicle are going to converge.
I'm not sure how well it will work in practice, but it's RF, and therefore it's cool. ;-)
Nice idea - and I can see how it would work. The obvious danger in my mind is at the point when the majority of cyclists have one, the driver looks less carefully for cyclists as 'the alert hasn't gone off, so it must be fine' - so it is then more dangerous for those cyclists who don't have a tag.
Very sad news regarding the female teacher in Leeds. There was a piece on the news last night about how many weapons are taken into schools, as a sort of mini-MAD, because many don't want them but feel vulnerable without a knife or suchlike.
Eerily similar to the docudrama If.... Of a few years ago
Mr. Taffys, perhaps. There's also the element of declining discipline from parents, perhaps not unrelated to the view of fathers (by some) as some sort of optional extra.
I recall my mother telling me that if someone were naughty when she were young they'd get a clip round the ear from a teacher or policeman, and another when they got home from their parents. Nowadays [or so I've heard] parents tend to defend their kids even if they're clearly in the wrong.
Greater discipline would be good not only for children, but teacher and parents too. Authority that isn't exercised is diminished.
I don't know what was written earlier, but if Mike Smithson, "On the face of it this is quite appealing and my guess is that it will get a good response rate," thinks that he will get a chance to speak to Cammo personally, then he is more of a fantasist than many of us.
Cammo would have to be on the phone 24 hrs a day, without food or sleep, to speak to just 144 people a day, for just 10 minutes.
It's a load of phony bollocks and OGH has fallen for it. I'm sure many will fall for it; at first. Only to be doubly disappointed and let down when the truth perculates through their befuddled minds. Oh joy!
I guess you've never heard of conference calling before...
Even less chance to ask a pertinent question then. The call will last 30 minutes. Say only 1000 people tune in. That will allow precisely 4/5 people to ask a question -if that. All they will hear is Cammo sounding off on how well he has done for the first 15 mins.
It's still a load of bollocks.
But it's not about having your own question answered, you put too much emphasis on that idea. I don't think anyone who listens believes that every single person will get their question answered, what it is about is showing that the PM listens to ordinary people like those invited to the call and that there is a direct connection between callers and the PM. It is a good idea, much like town hall meetings and the old Cameron Direct stuff. In an era where politicians are seen as out of touch, getting back in touch with them via a few hours spent on a conference call is a great idea. The real reason you seem so against it is that it will draw a lot of wavering Tory voters back towards Cameron by forming a personal link to the PM.
I'm not sure how well it will work in practice, but it's RF, and therefore it's cool. ;-)
Nice idea - and I can see how it would work. The obvious danger in my mind is at the point when the majority of cyclists have one, the driver looks less carefully for cyclists as 'the alert hasn't gone off, so it must be fine' - so it is then more dangerous for those cyclists who don't have a tag.
I can see several issues with it: TheWatcher mentions one below. Information overload and complacency *may* cause problems in the real world. Your point is also valid: will people look in the mirrors less and therefore put others, including pedestrians as well as other cyclists, in danger?
Still, it's a promising idea.
Last year I had a conversation with a colleague where anyone - especially pedestrians - could have little beacons to alert automated cars of their presence, as a redundant system to back up the automated systems. It's certainly feasible. But it should never be relied upon; it should be a redundant system.
Protein powder ?! Why would you even allow a physically dangerous and violent prisoner access to refined protein, it has one purpose only - to build muscle !
I'm not sure how well it will work in practice, but it's RF, and therefore it's cool. ;-)
Not sure lorry drivers will stump up £400 for the in-cab warning receiver.
What I'd do is develop the tech, get your tech (preferably with a few patents behind it) standardised, then get governmental bodies to mandate it. It would be much cheaper if built into the existing black boxes.
A big expense might be cabling from the sensors, which would have to go through the existing sockets. Although do trailers already have the capability to include sensors (e.g. reversing sensors / cameras?)
One thing thats confusing me slightly is the assumption that 6'1 people have at least 32" or 33" legs. I'm a 31" leg - do I have an abnormally long torso o_O ?
Protein powder ?! Why would you even allow a physically dangerous and violent prisoner access to refined protein, it has one purpose only - to build muscle !
"Following the judgement, Thakrar [the prisoner] boasted about it on his Facebook page"
Mr. Pulpstar, it's possible. I had some physiotherapy when I was about 14-15 (very minor issue) and the torturess/physiotherapist suggested I had long legs (I'm average or a little below average height) so some variance of that nature must be possible.
One thing is true in all the above, and that is Nick Cohen has gone a trifle crazy and is frothing at the mouth like one infected with Rabies. Ah, I see now! Old Nick has been bitten by UKIP. LOL
How to argue like a Europhile, method #3: Smear your opponents as reactionary bigots.
Would Nick Cohen dare to use the comments by council candidates that were subsequently kicked out the party as being representative of party policy? Ugly, ugly, ugly. I'm surprised the Speccie published such a thing.
The latter day Speccie would like to see the back of UKIP tout suite. It upsets it's Cammeronian editor.
It's a shame. The elections were free and fair, Morsi won, narrowly, then started acting like Coptics were pinatas and he'd been declared President Eternal. If he'd been more reasonable or they'd had a parliamentary rather than a presidential system things could've gotten better.
Mr. Pulpstar, it's possible. I had some physiotherapy when I was about 14-15 (very minor issue) and the torturess/physiotherapist suggested I had long legs (I'm average or a little below average height) so some variance of that nature must be possible.
From careful observation of young women that would appear to be so!
Engineering's also an argument against revisionists who think the Dark Ages were not so bad and the people then just as civilised as the Romans. There is no Dark Age colosseum, nor did the Saxons build bridges to match those of Rome.
I don't know what was written earlier, but if Mike Smithson, "On the face of it this is quite appealing and my guess is that it will get a good response rate," thinks that he will get a chance to speak to Cammo personally, then he is more of a fantasist than many of us.
Cammo would have to be on the phone 24 hrs a day, without food or sleep, to speak to just 144 people a day, for just 10 minutes.
It's a load of phony bollocks and OGH has fallen for it. I'm sure many will fall for it; at first. Only to be doubly disappointed and let down when the truth perculates through their befuddled minds. Oh joy!
I guess you've never heard of conference calling before...
Even less chance to ask a pertinent question then. The call will last 30 minutes. Say only 1000 people tune in. That will allow precisely 4/5 people to ask a question -if that. All they will hear is Cammo sounding off on how well he has done for the first 15 mins.
It's still a load of bollocks.
But it's not about having your own question answered, you put too much emphasis on that idea. I don't think anyone who listens believes that every single person will get their question answered, what it is about is showing that the PM listens to ordinary people like those invited to the call and that there is a direct connection between callers and the PM. It is a good idea, much like town hall meetings and the old Cameron Direct stuff. In an era where politicians are seen as out of touch, getting back in touch with them via a few hours spent on a conference call is a great idea. The real reason you seem so against it is that it will draw a lot of wavering Tory voters back towards Cameron by forming a personal link to the PM.
Not at all. I'm against it because it's so obviously a stunt from a PM and party that has lost it's way. I'm betting it will have no effect on the EU or local elections on May 22nd. And further more, it will be seen for the bollocks it is by an increasing number of voters.
Cammo trieda similar thing on the internet. Epic Fail!
Not sure there is anything we can do about it, but Egypt sounds a right mess.
We should go to war there to prevent them from getting democracy.
Egypt has gone downhill since they kicked out the British Empire.
One of my first acts as Directly Elected Dictator will be to reorganise the United Kingdom into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society which I assure you will last for ten thousand years.
I'd have thought getting HGV RFiDs backfitted/built in wouldn't be an insurmountable problem - I doubt an individual Lorry Driver would have anything to do with the procurement decision as I'd wager 99+% of Lorries are 'business' vehicles in the truest sense of the word and thus owned by companies not individuals.
However, if you do have white fivers or the like, don't send them to the Bank of England, they'll be worth more to a collector, or you could just save them and leave them to your descendents.
I'd have thought getting HGV RFiDs backfitted/built in wouldn't be an insurmountable problem - I doubt an individual Lorry Driver would have anything to do with the procurement decision as I'd wager 99+% of Lorries are 'business' vehicles in the truest sense of the word and thus owned by companies not individuals.
Actually I think quite a few are "one man bands" working to contract.
I think the Euros are hard to read. At a push I'd guess UKIP will get the largest vote share, with Labour a little behind them, and the Tories in third place.
However, what is clear is that UKIP has built up massive expectations. Anything less than first place will look like a disappointment, and first place is already 'in the price'.
The result will be primarily compared to the result last time, whatever the expectations. The difference from the expectations may be the caveat, however.
The expectation that Farage & co have built up is that they will win. Anything less is failure. Poll findings like the YouGov one only add to the pressure.
"The expectation that Farage & co have built up is that they will win. Anything less is failure."
No, that is your expectation management.
A close 2nd will be presented as very good for UKIP in the MSM, as the distant 2nd was in Wythenshawe, even though you tried to paint it as a disaster on here.
I think the Euros are hard to read. At a push I'd guess UKIP will get the largest vote share, with Labour a little behind them, and the Tories in third place.
However, what is clear is that UKIP has built up massive expectations. Anything less than first place will look like a disappointment, and first place is already 'in the price'.
The result will be primarily compared to the result last time, whatever the expectations. The difference from the expectations may be the caveat, however.
The expectation that Farage & co have built up is that they will win. Anything less is failure. Poll findings like the YouGov one only add to the pressure.
"The expectation that Farage & co have built up is that they will win. Anything less is failure."
No, that is your expectation management.
A close 2nd will be presented as very good for UKIP in the MSM, as the distant 2nd was in Wythenshawe, even though you tried to paint it as a disaster on here.
Possibly, but UKIP didn't go around saying they were going to win W&SE for a year or more beforehand. A close second will probably still look pretty good in the MSM, but winning aren't OGH's expectations but UKIP's very public ones.
I think the Euros are hard to read. At a push I'd guess UKIP will get the largest vote share, with Labour a little behind them, and the Tories in third place.
However, what is clear is that UKIP has built up massive expectations. Anything less than first place will look like a disappointment, and first place is already 'in the price'.
The result will be primarily compared to the result last time, whatever the expectations. The difference from the expectations may be the caveat, however.
The expectation that Farage & co have built up is that they will win. Anything less is failure. Poll findings like the YouGov one only add to the pressure.
"The expectation that Farage & co have built up is that they will win. Anything less is failure."
No, that is your expectation management.
A close 2nd will be presented as very good for UKIP in the MSM, as the distant 2nd was in Wythenshawe, even though you tried to paint it as a disaster on here.
Possibly, but UKIP didn't go around saying they were going to win W&SE for a year or more beforehand. A close second will probably still look pretty good in the MSM, but winning aren't OGH's expectations but UKIP's very public ones.
Have UKIP actually said they are going to win the Euros ?
This morning an MEP from the struggling junior coalition partner called on the Deputy Prime Minister to resign as party leader over fears that his unpopularity could cost his party all its seats at the upcoming Euro elections.
It was Ireland rather than the UK though - clearly the Irish Labour party is less disciplined than the UK Lib Dems!
I'd have thought getting HGV RFiDs backfitted/built in wouldn't be an insurmountable problem - I doubt an individual Lorry Driver would have anything to do with the procurement decision as I'd wager 99+% of Lorries are 'business' vehicles in the truest sense of the word and thus owned by companies not individuals.
AIUI, there are a lot of owner-operator HGV operators in the UK, or small companies. Many are very marginal businesses. According to this, 44% of all lorries are owner-operator, but I'd be surprised if these are the biggest HGVs.
I went to school with the son of the owner of the following company. One of its depots is rather precariously situated between a small historic bridge and a very large hill: http://www.bjwaters.co.uk/
The only people who care about expectation management are on this board! Personally, i think anything less than 99.9% for the Labour Party would be an absolute disaster here...
I think the Euros are hard to read. At a push I'd guess UKIP will get the largest vote share, with Labour a little behind them, and the Tories in third place.
However, what is clear is that UKIP has built up massive expectations. Anything less than first place will look like a disappointment, and first place is already 'in the price'.
The result will be primarily compared to the result last time, whatever the expectations. The difference from the expectations may be the caveat, however.
The expectation that Farage & co have built up is that they will win. Anything less is failure. Poll findings like the YouGov one only add to the pressure.
"The expectation that Farage & co have built up is that they will win. Anything less is failure."
No, that is your expectation management.
A close 2nd will be presented as very good for UKIP in the MSM, as the distant 2nd was in Wythenshawe, even though you tried to paint it as a disaster on here.
Possibly, but UKIP didn't go around saying they were going to win W&SE for a year or more beforehand. A close second will probably still look pretty good in the MSM, but winning aren't OGH's expectations but UKIP's very public ones.
They haven't said they expect to win though, as far as I've seen
They said if they win it will cause a political earthquake
There's a lot of work going on on driverless cars - top of the range cars already go a long way towards the final aim. I was talking about having such beacons as a redundant safety system.
One thing is true in all the above, and that is Nick Cohen has gone a trifle crazy and is frothing at the mouth like one infected with Rabies. Ah, I see now! Old Nick has been bitten by UKIP. LOL
How to argue like a Europhile, method #3: Smear your opponents as reactionary bigots.
Would Nick Cohen dare to use the comments by council candidates that were subsequently kicked out the party as being representative of party policy? Ugly, ugly, ugly. I'm surprised the Speccie published such a thing.
According to you the other day, I'm a Europhile. Either there's a lot of them about, or you need to readjust your radar.
I happily withdrew the allegation from you. If you're neutral on EU membership, then you're not a Europhile or a Eurosceptic. But it's fair to say that most of the establishment commentators are pro-EU.
I do hope if these unemployed people are going to forced to come in everyday they will be able to get free public transport there, otherwise they will not have any money left from their benefit to pay for food etc.
I think back to my niece who had just graduated but after suffering a home invasion by armed thugs and being tied up in their beds in their flat and having a gun shoved in her face, she decided she'd had enough of London, she decided to move back to the Isle of Wight to be near her mum. It has been a long struggle for her to get full time work. The Isle of Wight's is the pitts if you are young , the Island is stuffed full of retirees and holiday home owners who don't need jobs and are hence vociferous nimbies to all forms of development.
Anyway while she was unemployed they closed the local job centre and said she had to go to Ryde to sign on, which was a pain as it cost over £7 return, which is a lot if you are single and under 25, as there no extra benefits to claim for them.
What they should do is give them a free travel pass for the local area, but what I expect will happen is that they will have to keep the bus ticket and claim it back each day, which will of course take ages and they will end up spending hours a day just going to and from a job centre and the time involved there.
So this is really about punishment, rather than effective use of resources. But on the other hand they are only doing this to people who have been out of work for more than three years so they won't actual need to employ that many more staff to do it.
As for my niece, it's been a series of low paid part time jobs in the shops and restaurants of the Isle of Wight, non of whom are offering full time work and know they have people over a barrel. But now she has got a full time job as a teaching assistant at a special needs school, which she is hoping to upskill into a special needs teacher (very good money). She loves it but lets just say she is shocked by the language and behavior of ten year olds.
Lets just say she has developed pungent views of the parents of the 'ferals' that get referred to the school. Children have not been washed, or know how to use a knife or fork. The mothers who have multiple fathers and just throw their kids outside from morning to dusk to fend for themselves and collect the benefits. That's not to say they are the majority etc, but they have grown to be a big enough group to be a worry. Then you have the wet blankets all cheer leading on their delinquent morons 'praising him because he's done a whole page of his home work this week as part of his sanction. But working with genuine autism cases can be hard but very satisfying for her and quite a few of the ferals aren't that bad yet, they just want some love and attention, it can break your heart to hear some of the stories about mummies different boyfriends.
One thing is true in all the above, and that is Nick Cohen has gone a trifle crazy and is frothing at the mouth like one infected with Rabies. Ah, I see now! Old Nick has been bitten by UKIP. LOL
How to argue like a Europhile, method #3: Smear your opponents as reactionary bigots.
Would Nick Cohen dare to use the comments by council candidates that were subsequently kicked out the party as being representative of party policy? Ugly, ugly, ugly. I'm surprised the Speccie published such a thing.
According to you the other day, I'm a Europhile. Either there's a lot of them about, or you need to readjust your radar.
I happily withdrew the allegation from you. If you're neutral on EU membership, then you're not a Europhile or a Eurosceptic. But it's fair to say that most of the establishment commentators are pro-EU.
It's also a bit of a stretch to call Nick Cohen a Europhile:
many don't want them but feel vulnerable without a knife or suchlike.
I sometimes wonder whether, in getting rid of corporal punishment, we've simply replaced one form of barbarism for a worse one.
You were safe in my day if you obeyed the rules, because the teachers beat the cr8p out of any jack the lad who fancied himself.
That's basically the gist of it. If you ignore 1% carrying knives then you eventually get 15% carrying them to protect themselves from the 1% and by that point you can't just lock people up for carrying because most of the people you'd be locking up wouldn't be the cause of the problem.
How absurd a position have we got to in modern Britain that, when a man gets arrested for quoting a book by Winston Churchill, the media doesn't report the actual quote that caused the arrest:
Certain opinions are now completely off limits to us. Media outlets who don't agree with them aren't even allowed to reproduce them, in case us plebeians take them to heart. And claims liberals in government don't give a damn about it.
Maidstone nominations finally available . The final figures for candidates are therefore
Lab 4192 Con 4137 LD.. 2927 UKIP 2179 Green 1875 TUSC 557 CPA 61 Liberal 43 Eng Dem 31 Respect 15 Ind/No Desc 367 Minor parties 384
Other totals may vary slightly because
1) 70 odd local by elections being held on May 22nd , some as double vacancies will be included in the above , others as single elections will probably not be . 2) Some of the No Description candidates do represent a party but because of nomination errors are not allowed to state their party on the ballot paper .
Comments
Can Farage square that circle?
At least, after the protest EU vote, we can gauge how disaffected the electorate have become. Anything over, say, 10% and lo wish turnout in the GE for UKIP and Houston.......
I get letters from Ed Balls and e-mails from Grant Schnapps. I feel like I must've have done something terribly wrong...
PS , even given it is by Massie who is excellent and is actually a very good review of the topic. He gives an intelligent viewpoint and is nothing like the rabid dog stuff that most of the unionists post. He is one Tory I really like , unfortunately not enough to balance the normal turnips like Scott.
I entirely agree re Mr Massie (even if not always with him). He is one of the few right wing columnists I always try to read. (Mr Cochrane seems to have gone quiet recently, or it it that I have given up on the DT?) By comparison, I recall that recently one of Mr Massie's fellow Speccie columnists was foaming at the mouth about the SNP of planning the deliberate expropriation of English landowners, huntin' shootin' anf fishin' or otherwise (no doubt related to certain Speccie persons' family landholdings). Ad this brings me to the current resumption of Salmond -bashing (when in fact he was much more praiseful of Frau Merkel).
A friend of mine - no SNP supporter but an absolutely natural Labour voter - commented to me last weekend that this sort of equation of Scotland with a country beginning with Z, and the incessant attacks on Mr Salmond personally, were doubly insulting to him (my friends) and his compatriots. As far as he and many others are concerned, the Scots voted Mr Salmond in with a majority - which is more than can be said for any other pol in the UK - and they will dam' well vote him out again if and when they want. Something to think about for those PBers who like to play dictator bingo.
If you've been out of work and claiming for three years, you now have to go to the dole office every day or commit to six months voluntary service.
Even as a Thatcherite tory, I think that's maybe a tad harsh.
Something about Banff and Bucking
The end
The effect can also be seen with UKIP and the media.
Perhaps the Scottish Sun wants a "Yes" vote...
If you've been out of work for three years you need some dedicated one on one time, every day, to get you into one of the 600,000 vacancies out there.
It's still a load of bollocks.
Plus with the shortage of job center staff, you will be able to stand and jeer at all those queuing outside.
And the possibilities for "sanctions" to lower the unemployment figures must have you reaching for the kleenex?
Make my milkshake a Loganberry. It's Purple!
Police said a 15-year-old male pupil at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Neville Road has been arrested.
The woman, who has not been named, was taken to hospital but later pronounced dead.
Det Supt Simon Beldon, of West Yorkshire Police, described the stabbing as an "isolated incident" and said there was "no ongoing risk to pupils or staff".
Bloody Hell.
We can read Hodges drivel ourselves (presumably he is filling his boots on the the marginals that the Tories need to win but are heavily odds against in?).
Why not, for a change, post an opinion of your own rather than copying and pasting drivel from other people?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27144637
twitter.com/JGForsyth/status/460769585403527168
The Guildhall appears to be owned by Portsmouth City Council.
http://www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk/about-us/portsmouth-cultural-trust
http://democracy.portsmouth.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=PARTY&VW=LIST&PIC=0
Winning here!
Would Nick Cohen dare to use the comments by council candidates that were subsequently kicked out the party as being representative of party policy? Ugly, ugly, ugly. I'm surprised the Speccie published such a thing.
And well you should not, for a huge bank balance is my ally, and a powerful ally it is.
If I was him I'd be filling my boots on labour, just in case!!
A massive part of UKIP's appeal is that they are quite clearly not the Establishment. And lots of papers and parties are attacking them for not holding mainstream views. Which is why they're so popular.
It's like the Gene Hunt poster the Milibands unveiled, but on a grander scale. If the mainstream parties hadn't contracted their views to represent a smaller portion of the electorate, there wouldn't be a socially conservative, anti-EU space for UKIP to occupy.
Edited extra bit: my typing's atrocious, for some reason. Corrected a few typos, but I'd be unsurprised if a few are still there...
RIP.
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/electronics/news/uk-firm-plans-trials-of-rfid-based-cycle-safety-system/1018467.article?cmpid=tenews_248366
I'm not sure how well it will work in practice, but it's RF, and therefore it's cool. ;-)
I don't think she's going to be complimentary ...
"The Ukip campaign double-decker bus collided with a Portsmouth railway station canopy as the driver attempted to manoeuvre out of a car park after greeting party leader Nigel Farage."
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/local/ukip-bus-crashes-into-portsmouth-station-1-6025252
I sometimes wonder whether, in getting rid of corporal punishment, we've simply replaced one form of barbarism for a worse one.
You were safe in my day if you obeyed the rules, because the teachers beat the cr8p out of any jack the lad who fancied himself.
In a city, the device will be giving off a continuous warning, rendering it useless as drivers will simply ignore it.
The clever thing would be to apply some vector based collision analysis that alerts the driver if the path of the cyclist and his vehicle are going to converge.
I recall my mother telling me that if someone were naughty when she were young they'd get a clip round the ear from a teacher or policeman, and another when they got home from their parents. Nowadays [or so I've heard] parents tend to defend their kids even if they're clearly in the wrong.
Greater discipline would be good not only for children, but teacher and parents too. Authority that isn't exercised is diminished.
Still, it's a promising idea.
Last year I had a conversation with a colleague where anyone - especially pedestrians - could have little beacons to alert automated cars of their presence, as a redundant system to back up the automated systems. It's certainly feasible. But it should never be relied upon; it should be a redundant system.
http://www.cyclechat.net
I'm not defending corporal punishment. A few of our teachers were nasty b8stards. But bullies and time wasters had no rights.
hmm
Protein powder ?! Why would you even allow a physically dangerous and violent prisoner access to refined protein, it has one purpose only - to build muscle !
A big expense might be cabling from the sensors, which would have to go through the existing sockets. Although do trailers already have the capability to include sensors (e.g. reversing sensors / cameras?)
WTF?
A colleague of mine once spent a week setting up the timings of baked bean and soup canning lines in a factory. He'd appreciate this:
http://www.tickld.com/x/engineers
Engineers rule your world... ;-)
It's a shame. The elections were free and fair, Morsi won, narrowly, then started acting like Coptics were pinatas and he'd been declared President Eternal. If he'd been more reasonable or they'd had a parliamentary rather than a presidential system things could've gotten better.
Engineering's also an argument against revisionists who think the Dark Ages were not so bad and the people then just as civilised as the Romans. There is no Dark Age colosseum, nor did the Saxons build bridges to match those of Rome.
Cammo trieda similar thing on the internet. Epic Fail!
One of my first acts as Directly Elected Dictator will be to reorganise the United Kingdom into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society which I assure you will last for ten thousand years.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-27143459
However, if you do have white fivers or the like, don't send them to the Bank of England, they'll be worth more to a collector, or you could just save them and leave them to your descendents.
No, that is your expectation management.
A close 2nd will be presented as very good for UKIP in the MSM, as the distant 2nd was in Wythenshawe, even though you tried to paint it as a disaster on here.
Google Shows How Its Self-Driving Cars Are Getting Smarter With 700K Miles Driven
http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/28/google-shows-how-its-self-driving-cars-are-getting-smarter-with-700k-miles-driven/
It was Ireland rather than the UK though - clearly the Irish Labour party is less disciplined than the UK Lib Dems!
http://www.commercialmotor.com/business-resources/how-to-become-an-owner-operator
I went to school with the son of the owner of the following company. One of its depots is rather precariously situated between a small historic bridge and a very large hill:
http://www.bjwaters.co.uk/
Figures who 'expect' UKIP to win: Peter Hain; Lord Tebbit; "The experts"
Edit: Bookies (Shortest odds); Punters (Most bets) also.
They said if they win it will cause a political earthquake
Ladbrokes Politics @LadPolitics 1m
Ladbrokes: UKIP now odds-on to top Euro poll following surge of bets today. http://sportsbeta.ladbrokes.com/politics pic.twitter.com/1m7uvo4PyI
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/sarah-palin-says-waterboarding-is-how-wed-baptize-terrorists-if-she-were-president-9298004.html
Could almost be a line from 'Team America...World police'
Stop blaming the media for the rise of UKIP (and stop calling them 'racist' at every opportunity) - my blog > http://liberalconspiracy.org/2014/04/27/why-blaming-the-media-or-calling-them-racist-wont-deal-with-the-ukip-problem/ …
I think back to my niece who had just graduated but after suffering a home invasion by armed thugs and being tied up in their beds in their flat and having a gun shoved in her face, she decided she'd had enough of London, she decided to move back to the Isle of Wight to be near her mum. It has been a long struggle for her to get full time work. The Isle of Wight's is the pitts if you are young , the Island is stuffed full of retirees and holiday home owners who don't need jobs and are hence vociferous nimbies to all forms of development.
Anyway while she was unemployed they closed the local job centre and said she had to go to Ryde to sign on, which was a pain as it cost over £7 return, which is a lot if you are single and under 25, as there no extra benefits to claim for them.
What they should do is give them a free travel pass for the local area, but what I expect will happen is that they will have to keep the bus ticket and claim it back each day, which will of course take ages and they will end up spending hours a day just going to and from a job centre and the time involved there.
So this is really about punishment, rather than effective use of resources. But on the other hand they are only doing this to people who have been out of work for more than three years so they won't actual need to employ that many more staff to do it.
As for my niece, it's been a series of low paid part time jobs in the shops and restaurants of the Isle of Wight, non of whom are offering full time work and know they have people over a barrel. But now she has got a full time job as a teaching assistant at a special needs school, which she is hoping to upskill into a special needs teacher (very good money). She loves it but lets just say she is shocked by the language and behavior of ten year olds.
Lets just say she has developed pungent views of the parents of the 'ferals' that get referred to the school. Children have not been washed, or know how to use a knife or fork. The mothers who have multiple fathers and just throw their kids outside from morning to dusk to fend for themselves and collect the benefits. That's not to say they are the majority etc, but they have grown to be a big enough group to be a worry. Then you have the wet blankets all cheer leading on their delinquent morons 'praising him because he's done a whole page of his home work this week as part of his sanction. But working with genuine autism cases can be hard but very satisfying for her and quite a few of the ferals aren't that bad yet, they just want some love and attention, it can break your heart to hear some of the stories about mummies different boyfriends.
http://nickcohen.net/2013/07/02/when-will-the-left-turn-against-the-eu/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-27186573
Certain opinions are now completely off limits to us. Media outlets who don't agree with them aren't even allowed to reproduce them, in case us plebeians take them to heart. And claims liberals in government don't give a damn about it.
Lab 4192
Con 4137
LD.. 2927
UKIP 2179
Green 1875
TUSC 557
CPA 61
Liberal 43
Eng Dem 31
Respect 15
Ind/No Desc 367
Minor parties 384
Other totals may vary slightly because
1) 70 odd local by elections being held on May 22nd , some as double vacancies will be included in the above , others as single elections will probably not be .
2) Some of the No Description candidates do represent a party but because of nomination errors are not allowed to state their party on the ballot paper .