Sinn Fein have selected Ian Patrick Milne to be co-opted as MLA for Mid Ulster to replace the one elected as MP in the by-election. This Milne got a life sentence but was sent out after the Good Friday Agreement.
Interesting move by Theresa May. It would be good if this set a trend for removing 'arms-length' agencies with their own Chief Executives and bureaucracies which serve only to reduce democratic accountability.
I have a couple of rugby questions - have now watched several Super League games, and am currently watching Wasps v Northampton. It's great to see rugby of all codes again.
1,. I notice that many kickers of points after tries go through the same routine. They stand behind the ball, feet together, crouch slightly, their hands clasped tightly in front of them, looking like they are seriously constipated, and desperately trying to have a dump. Why is this?
2. In rugby league games, during the individual shots after a try, many of the players raise their hands in front, and hook their first fingers together - why is this?
As to players leading out small children in miniature uniforms at the start of a game - that is just creepy.
Now there's the nominations phase. Just candidates with at least 1 nomination (from ward branches and affiliates) can be considered at shortlisting stage.
For anyone interested in Cyprus, there's an interesting article on Conhome by Andrew Lillico. He points out that when banks go insolvent in a western democracy, depositors have almost never faced haircuts of more than 20 per cent, largely because the bank has many assets in the form of loans, and these can be sold on by the liquidators (albeit at a discount).
Its only in the third world ie Latin America where depositors have faced bigger losses in recent times.
your 1. This strange crouching kicking technique was first used by the great England kicker Johny Wilkinson, and is now seemingly universally used. It's a bit like the Fosberry flop in the high jump. You don't have to do it that way, but that seems to be the most effective way.
Kickers all used to have their only individual styles, but now most use the Wilkinson way.
Crick UKIP supporters in Portsmouth holding meeting tonight to form local branch in expectation Mike Hancock will resign and cause by-election
An interesting commentary on the level of UKIP activity at the grassroots - they don't actually have a branch. No doubt this is true of most constituencies - this adds to the feeling that they are over-hyped and their general election performance will be poor.
Russians are now the 2nd most frequent visitors to the ultra-luxe resorts in the Maldives.
Presumably, the Maldives won't be discouraging this type of investment with 40% haircuts on the deposits of Russians on the basis they are probably all gangster scum.
2. In rugby league games, during the individual shots after a try, many of the players raise their hands in front, and hook their first fingers together - why is this?
Its a charity symbol for Joining Jack, a charity for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
I believe the Super League as a whole and all clubs in it are trying to raise awareness and funds for Joining Jack and the players 'salute' with that symbol.
Some of you may have missed the fact that Labour has just hired a fellow Canary,Matthew McGregor who worked with the Obama team.With the Tories "Merlin" running on a mixture of string and 3-in-1 oil,this is a a nice edge for Labour to have. Expect a rabid rebuttal for each and every time Tory/LibDem/SNP/BNP/Ukip breaks wind. Ever had the rug being pulled from under you?This guy is an expect in rug-pulling!
Agreed. It is an excellent step but it makes the decision to appoint the former head of such a dysfunctional and disorganised body to a more senior post even more inexplicable.
Ms Homer seems to have left an organisation that was so incapable of doing its job that it now needs to be broken up. Her argument that the problems arose after her departure show, if anything, an even greater lack of awareness and sense of responsibility. I really don't understand this one.
Hopefully the dreadful idea of using agency status to avoid responsibility has now hit its high watermark and will remain in retreat.
I thought about putting some money on Kensington & Chelsea, on the grounds that, if I remembered correctly, Sir Malcolm Rifkind was no spring chicken and therefore might be prepared to stand down. So I checked and found the constituency no longer exists; there's Kensington, represented by the afore-mentioned Sir Malcolm and Chelsea & Fulham represented the much younger Greg Hands.
"The hotel was so new they didn't have a money-counting machine so two local girls had to stay up til 3am counting the notes."
The above sentence shows how backward the UK is in a simple thing like money-counting machines: so wither our economy? No major bank in london seems to have one on the counter available for the depositor or saver to see. Instead one has to wait for laborious hand counting to end. All the banks in in Europe and most in the middle east do have them, and they are so easy and quick to count and change your money, whatever the currency.
There. Bish bosh. Job done. This is the UK property market: let it unfurl.
Not sure that is necessarily a good idea. Don't really fancy an even larger mortgage, but clearly something needs to change. The stench of Stagnation is pungent.
The criticism of UKBA is unjustified. It was never meant to work. It was always a sham set up by labour to reassure brits alarmed by mass immigration.
The civil servants at UKBA behaved how labour wanted them to behave, just as labour got the civil servants it wanted at the NHS. Token expulsions only.
Agreed. It is an excellent step but it makes the decision to appoint the former head of such a dysfunctional and disorganised body to a more senior post even more inexplicable.
Ms Homer seems to have left an organisation that was so incapable of doing its job that it now needs to be broken up. Her argument that the problems arose after her departure show, if anything, an even greater lack of awareness and sense of responsibility. I really don't understand this one.
Hopefully the dreadful idea of using agency status to avoid responsibility has now hit its high watermark and will remain in retreat.
Indeed. I have no idea how the woman got her new job. Absolute insanity of rewarding failure.
Agreed. It is an excellent step but it makes the decision to appoint the former head of such a dysfunctional and disorganised body to a more senior post even more inexplicable.
Ms Homer seems to have left an organisation that was so incapable of doing its job that it now needs to be broken up. Her argument that the problems arose after her departure show, if anything, an even greater lack of awareness and sense of responsibility. I really don't understand this one.
Hopefully the dreadful idea of using agency status to avoid responsibility has now hit its high watermark and will remain in retreat.
Indeed. I have no idea how the woman got her new job. Absolute insanity of rewarding failure.
Ms Homer seems to have left an organisation that was so incapable of doing its job that it now needs to be broken up.
I disagree. Civil servants carry out the instructions of their ministers, and I bet that was exactly the case here. The understand was probably something along the lines of 'make it look as if you're doing something, the immigration natives are getting restless'
Well call me old fashioned if you like but a civil servant who is willing to work on such a basis (even if your hypothesis is true and I always prefer incompetence as an explanation to conspiracy) is not fit to be employed, let alone promoted.
There used to be a poster on here called Tapestry. Haven't seen him for a while but you 2 would get on famously.
Just remember that if those supposedly organising these conspiracies were half as competent as they would need to be we would have competent administration in this country. The record of the last 50 years suggests otherwise.
I thought senior civil servants have a duty to carry out the instructions of ministers, whether they agree with the instruction or not. They are meant to be unbiased and unpolitical tools of policy. That is their function.
The civil servants at the UKBA were only the tools of labour policy at the time. If you want to blame someone, blame the minister. He has the power.
You've seen the kickers in the Six Nations. Most of them are pretty deadly anywhere within 50 yards, despite often having to kick at an angle. Why don't US Football coaches pick some of them up?
I'm not 100% sure what you are referring to but Caroline is a left-wing MP for a left-wing party and I expect (and would profit from) that to remain the case after 2015.
Hopefully the new Home office bods that deal with our borders, lets call them UKBA the 2nd for short will actually police the borders effectively. Me and some others debated this a while back and came to the conclusion that UKBA should probably die but that whatever entity took over its work should resource & manage it properly.
I just had a dinner of wagyu beef cheeks, accompanied by airplaned Aussie asparagus, alongside Grand Cru red and so on and so forth. It was dished up in a teak house built on stilts so you can watch the manta rays underneath blah de blah
This is my latest hotel. Huvafen Fushi. It's clientele is 36% Brits, the Russians are the next most frequent visitors.
Guess what? It is 95% full. That counts as complete occupancy in hotel world. Sold out. And STANDARD rooms are $2000 a night minimum at this time of the year.
That's the most basic room. $2000. And they have zero availability.
Who are all these rich people???
Russian oil oligarchs, saudi princes and international thriller writers ?
You've seen the kickers in the Six Nations. Most of them are pretty deadly anywhere within 50 yards, despite often having to kick at an angle. Why don't US Football coaches pick some of them up?
I asked an American bloke that on a plane journey recently - he told me that with a few exceptions the best rugby players now earn more than kickers do. Don't know if it is true or not, but now that rugby is professional, a world class kicker would be giving up quite a lot to become a kicker in American footballer - maybe the direct money would be similar, but in terms of exposure, love of the game, minutes on the field etc, there is no comparison.
I'm not 100% sure what you are referring to but Caroline is a left-wing MP for a left-wing party and I expect (and would profit from) that to remain the case after 2015.
They're setting up the "People's Assembly" together. All power to the soviets!
That's interesting SO. I've also been reading there's a big health question mark now over football in the form of head injuries. Even the pres said he would struggle to recommend his son play the sport.
US demographics being what they are, you'd have thought soccer can only get stronger.
" Guess what? It is 95% full. That counts as complete occupancy in hotel world"
Not in my experience it doesn't, at least not in the UK.
A number of years ago, I used to stay a couple of nights a month in a modern well-run hotel in a suburb of Leeds. The hotel which was owned by a major national chain was managed by the brother of a well known celebrity so I won't mention his or the hotel's name.
Over the several months during which I stayed there I got to know this manager well and we'd often share a few drinks in the bar. He was proud of the fact that his hotel had around the highest occupancy rate of any in the group - pushing 105% on a Monday - Friday basis IIRC which baffled me somewhat until he explained that a number of, ahem, "husband and wife" guests would sometimes arrive during the course of the day usually without any luggage, paying for their room on arrival only to depart usually within the hour.
I don't know what happened to the manager in question, but I felt sure he was destined either for promotion for demonstrating enterprise or the sack for running a whore house.
I agree with May that it's better if quangos are inside ministries so the Minister can't say who-me? when things go wrong. That said, we should accept that things do sometimes go wrong, and it takes evidence of systematic failure to make it fair to demand that heads roll.
To reply to AN1 on the last thread - as you say, people tend to judge the NHS by their experience of it, and polls suggest that most patients find the experience positive. It's the voters you need to convince if you want to break up the NHS, not me. But there's a reason why the Tories don't try, and it's not that they all genuinely think the system is wonderful. That's why I was curiuous about UKIP's view. Do they want it broken up and competition to rule?
I just had a dinner of wagyu beef cheeks, accompanied by airplaned Aussie asparagus, alongside Grand Cru red and so on and so forth. It was dished up in a teak house built on stilts so you can watch the manta rays underneath blah de blah
This is my latest hotel. Huvafen Fushi. It's clientele is 36% Brits, the Russians are the next most frequent visitors.
Guess what? It is 95% full. That counts as complete occupancy in hotel world. Sold out. And STANDARD rooms are $2000 a night minimum at this time of the year.
That's the most basic room. $2000. And they have zero availability.
Who are all these rich people???
It would be interesting to know how many people are actually paying for their stay. You will be writing an honest account of your stay in return for free flights, food and accommodation. Others may be staying as a gift from a (very) rich relative or friend. However, some others may not have paid, and be offering other services in return. In other words, they will be staying as payment of a bribe.
Bribes are not just about money. Indeed, such non-monetary bribes can be easier to conceal. It may only be a handful, but it would not surprise me in the least if a few of the people around you were staying as part of a bribe.
George Osborne's comments on the Cyprus bailout are quite interesting. He criticised the eurozone and is aiming to keep the UK branches of Laiki out of the haircut.
Just about everyone has recent experience of the NHS - usually in the form of the GP. Moans include the booking arrangements, the Receptionists, the opening hours and NOT their experience of the GP themselves, which is almost always positive - or of the nurse who deals with vaccinations and most children's minor medical matters.
They dissociate the medical (good, kind, caring) from the non-medical staff (rude, obstructive).
Few have any experience of overseas medical care, nor ask why we trumpet shorter waiting-times without asking 'Why are there ANY waiting-lists/times AT ALL? (other countries manage to avoid them)'. The uncomfortable answer is that it saves some money that way, even if it also causes increased and avoidable pain and suffering.
Hence they regard the NHS as being A Good Thing, without wondering why their Tesco is open 24/7 (or at least 18/7), whilst their GP's surgery is open for 6hrs or so, 5 days a week (in terms of actually interacting with a GP); the out-of-hours service, which a GP practice used to provide themselves is another instance of Labour's monumental incompetence at management.
Particularly of professionals: school terms were geared to the Christian and farming calendars, yet remain almost immutable, whilst the hours (formerly 9-4, now 9-3ish) were geared around a Mum collecting her child/ren and then calling in at the shops to buy food for family supper when husband got home at 5-6.
None of those constraints apply today - Q. so why are we wedded to them? A - because it suits the employees to do so (ie not the consumers)
He was proud of the fact that his hotel had around the highest occupancy rate of any in the group - pushing 105% on a Monday - Friday basis IIRC which baffled me somewhat until he explained that a number of, ahem, "husband and wife" guests would sometimes arrive during the course of the day usually without any luggage, paying for their room on arrival only to depart usually within the hour.
TimShipman Osborne repeatedly refusing to admit that mortgage scheme will lead to house price rises. Tyrie unamused by his wriggling...
Without having seen the performance there is nothing bizarre about it.
While it is a reasonable case that it *may* lead to rising house prices, the Chancellor can't just go out and throw "wills" around just because some journalist wants him to.
That's interesting SO. I've also been reading there's a big health question mark now over football in the form of head injuries. Even the pres said he would struggle to recommend his son play the sport.
US demographics being what they are, you'd have thought soccer can only get stronger.
Yes, he said that too. The big hits - which really are immense because of the speed at which these vast players run at each other - are increasingly taking their toll, and the authorities are having to introduce new rules to lessen the chances of long-term brain damage. Basically, it's just too dangerous. Although rugby platers are big, they cannot be the size of American footballers because they have to last for 60-80 minutes; also the nature of the physical confontation is very different, with much more close quarter stuff involving hnads and legs, rather than forearms and torsos. If you think about an American football scrimmage, it basically starts from the players opposing each other in the start position for a sprint - that creates a momentum you rarely get in rugby, while in rugby you are not just trying to stop someone - you also need to get the ball from them, so the way you seek to stop them is different.
Another interesting fact is that a large percentage of American footballers are bankrupt within 5 years of retirement. They get treated a lot worse than most other US sports professionals - certainly basketball and baseball players.
But did an opinion poll of people from a cross section of society say they would like to listen to him talk then go for a pint with him? Thats the real test...
1,. I notice that many kickers of points after tries go through the same routine. They stand behind the ball, feet together, crouch slightly, their hands clasped tightly in front of them, looking like they are seriously constipated, and desperately trying to have a dump. Why is this?
It is a style made popular by Johnny Wilkinson. I understand he was taught it by a coach, and he was a very good kicker. Others do it because they think if they look like him, maybe they can kick like him ...
Not be jingoist about this. I'm genuinely curious.
I really enjoy watching American Football and am suitably impressed by the athletic prowess and professionalism on display - except when it comes to kicking.
I appreciate that the football they use is smaller and more difficult to kick accurately but even so....
You've seen the kickers in the Six Nations. Most of them are pretty deadly anywhere within 50 yards, despite often having to kick at an angle. Why don't US Football coaches pick some of them up?
I don't think many of the kicks in the US game are from a dead ball so the comparison is not exact.
" Guess what? It is 95% full. That counts as complete occupancy in hotel world"
Not in my experience it doesn't, at least not in the UK.
A number of years ago, I used to stay a couple of nights a month in a modern well-run hotel in a suburb of Leeds. The hotel which was owned by a major national chain was managed by the brother of a well known celebrity so I won't mention his or the hotel's name.
Over the several months during which I stayed there I got to know this manager well and we'd often share a few drinks in the bar. He was proud of the fact that his hotel had around the highest occupancy rate of any in the group - pushing 105% on a Monday - Friday basis IIRC which baffled me somewhat until he explained that a number of, ahem, "husband and wife" guests would sometimes arrive during the course of the day usually without any luggage, paying for their room on arrival only to depart usually within the hour.
I don't know what happened to the manager in question, but I felt sure he was destined either for promotion for demonstrating enterprise or the sack for running a whore house.
Doesn't have to be the latter, does it? Surely a lot of those people would be young people living with their parents or married people having affairs.
You've seen the kickers in the Six Nations. Most of them are pretty deadly anywhere within 50 yards, despite often having to kick at an angle. Why don't US Football coaches pick some of them up?
Actually I've not seen the Six Nations, which is on BBC America over lunch and I keep forgetting to dvr it, mainly because the only promos I see for it are during dvred episodes of 'Top Gear' viewed after the event. Didn't it used to be 5 nations?
For a place kicker it might be good. Depending on how the game goes, you might get off the bench, perform the kick off with the ball on the kicking tee, then go sit down again as few as 2 or 3 times per game. That's your sole contribution to the game. It's a boring living. You don't need accuracy, except to prevent the ball going through the end zone if possible.
Also don't forget that there is a 25 second play clock in the NFL. Taking time to collect yourself is not an option.
Kicking field goals is a very different animal. You pace off your 6 or 8 step drop back with the play clock typically running already. You begin your run when the ball is snapped, something over which the kicker has no control. When you start your run the ball isn't visible, merely the holder's finger on the ground where the ball will be. The ball will arrive a split second before your foot contacts it. It's a question of holder and kicker working together day after day to get the timing down.
Kicking in the NFL is a completely different skill than in rugby, or soccer for that matter. A few have made the transition, but not that many.
Regarding somebody's comment regarding salaries - for 2013 the MINIMUM salary of an NFL player is $405,000. This rises to a minimum of $630,000 in their 3rd year.
So even a rookie kicker warming the bench all day will get at least $405k in his first season, and a 50% bounce over the next 3.
Also remember of course, that if a field goal kicker misses 4-5 kicks in a row, or generally doesn't have a 75% or higher average, he will be released by the team and replaced. Most kickers tend to have been with several teams.
Field goal kickers have a high pressure job. If you miss the kick, other players will stay away from you, and it's very lonely.
The Bank of Spain expects the Spanish economy to register a larger contraction than the current government forecast.
The Spanish central bank said that the economy will contract by 1.5% this year and only expand in 2014 by 0.6%.
This forecast compares with government estimates of only a 0.5% drop in 2013, with stronger growth of 1.2% for next year.
The bank also said it expects Spain's deficit to moderate to 6.0% of gross domestic product this year and only decrease to 5.9% in 2014.
Unemployment is also estimated to reach no less than 27.1% in 2013 before a slight decrease to 26.8% in 2014. The government forecast was for 24.3% and 23.3%, respectively.
Even though Spain's deficit forecasts are better than those of the UK, we should all thank our Gods that we have George in control over here.
The standard of kicking in American football is far better than rugby - almost nobody ever misses from less than 40 to 45 yards. It's not just two or three good kickers - just about every team has someone who is that good.
Paul Thorburn (Welsh rugby kicker) trained with an American football team in the 80s and he was pretty hopeless - he played in the American Bowl exhibition game at Wembley. They let him kick-off and his kick was about 20 yards short of where it should have been and after that the coach didn't let him have another go.
I agree it is very likely to provide support for house prices at or above current levels. However, that is my estimate as a professional investor in real estate (among other things). There are other pressures which are far more significant - demand from the Eurozone for instance.
It is always risky to disaggregate single factors. Moreover, I'm not the Chancellor and so the public statements that I make may have less impact on the market.
Anyone - given that you have repeatedly said that high house prices are a problem for the economy, why would you want the Chancellor to stand up and say something that will be reported as "Chancellor says house prices will rise" and could lead to a self-reinforcing trend? Far better for him to say nothing.
o/t tomorrow's Dail by-election in Meath East seems to be on a knife-edge. FG's odds have gone from 4/1 to 4/9 back to 5/6 (joint favourite with FF now). I only had a small amount on so I've kept my 4/1 bet, here's hoping the sympathy vote wins out.
I dimly recall from the early days of Channel 4's coverage of the sport here that there was an English kicker (John Smith?) who played successfully for a few seasons with the Patriots. The story went that a US coach on holiday in the UK had seen him playing soccer for Torquay (or some similarly modest outfit) and recruited him for a trial. It went well and the young man was suddenly earning the kind of salary that would have made even the top soccer stars envious.
I always thought that if he could do it, so could plenty of others - and particularly those playing Rugby rather than Association football.
Obviously John Smith adapted pretty well, and maybe he had some rare talent, but all the same I have always thought US coaches might be missing a trick by not scouting more around the soccer leagues of Europe.
But I do appreciate the kind of differences and difficulties you highlight.
Brendon O'Neill gives his impression of modern day progressives. A must read!
Those days are long gone. Today, bereft of both wit and ambition, the shuffling zombie movement that passes for the Left no longer calls for full employment, or a "great production", or the right of men to hunt and read to their heart's content (hunting is evil, right?). Instead it demands, or rather pleads for, the protection of the welfare state from government cuts. That's it.
AN1: you're saying that voters are wrong to like the NHS, because they don't know better systems. I'm not really engaging on that because I try not to get into policy debates here (though I've experience of lots of foreign systems and think you may perceive thier grass as greener than it is). I'm just saying that it's a political fact that most people think the NHS is very good overall.
You're entitled to disagree, obviously, but you can see that parties are reluctant openly to criticise what is arguably our one really popular national institution apart from the monarchy (which, in a precise mirror image, Labour doesn't try to attack, even if we're not really persuaded it's a brilliant idea).
You've seen the kickers in the Six Nations. Most of them are pretty deadly anywhere within 50 yards, despite often having to kick at an angle. Why don't US Football coaches pick some of them up?
For a place kicker it might be good. Depending on how the game goes, you might get off the bench, perform the kick off with the ball on the kicking tee, then go sit down again as few as 2 or 3 times per game. That's your sole contribution to the game. It's a boring living. You don't need accuracy, except to prevent the ball going through the end zone if possible.
Also don't forget that there is a 25 second play clock in the NFL. Taking time to collect yourself is not an option.
Kicking field goals is a very different animal. You pace off your 6 or 8 step drop back with the play clock typically running already. You begin your run when the ball is snapped, something over which the kicker has no control. When you start your run the ball isn't visible, merely the holder's finger on the ground where the ball will be. The ball will arrive a split second before your foot contacts it. It's a question of holder and kicker working together day after day to get the timing down.
Kicking in the NFL is a completely different skill than in rugby, or soccer for that matter. A few have made the transition, but not that many.
Regarding somebody's comment regarding salaries - for 2013 the MINIMUM salary of an NFL player is $405,000. This rises to a minimum of $630,000 in their 3rd year.
So even a rookie kicker warming the bench all day will get at least $405k in his first season, and a 50% bounce over the next 3.
Also remember of course, that if a field goal kicker misses 4-5 kicks in a row, or generally doesn't have a 75% or higher average, he will be released by the team and replaced. Most kickers tend to have been with several teams.
Field goal kickers have a high pressure job. If you miss the kick, other players will stay away from you, and it's very lonely.
So a kicker will probably not earn as much as a top class kicker (international back) in rugby and he will not be in the game anywhere near as much - and, as you say, the American football kicker will only be judged on his kicking.
Comments
He'd be very popular in South Yorkshire.
Surprised Padfdy Power haven't put a Liverpool seat on the list.
From one sentence in the Maze to another in Stormont, the guy cant seem to catch a break.
but does he like Teddy Bears?
He was last seen with a ballot box in one hand and a teddy bear in another.
Teddy Bears vote. They also have a high turnout.
Moving to your patch, are the Cllrs all from Southwark? http://www.catherinemcdonald.org.uk/what-people-are-saying/
Yes, they are, there would appear to be 0 local momentum behind her campaign, I'd be very surprised if she won.
1,. I notice that many kickers of points after tries go through the same routine. They stand behind the ball, feet together, crouch slightly, their hands clasped tightly in front of them, looking like they are seriously constipated, and desperately trying to have a dump. Why is this?
2. In rugby league games, during the individual shots after a try, many of the players raise their hands in front, and hook their first fingers together - why is this?
As to players leading out small children in miniature uniforms at the start of a game - that is just creepy.
Now there's the nominations phase. Just candidates with at least 1 nomination (from ward branches and affiliates) can be considered at shortlisting stage.
Its only in the third world ie Latin America where depositors have faced bigger losses in recent times.
your 1. This strange crouching kicking technique was first used by the great England kicker Johny Wilkinson, and is now seemingly universally used. It's a bit like the Fosberry flop in the high jump. You don't have to do it that way, but that seems to be the most effective way.
Kickers all used to have their only individual styles, but now most use the Wilkinson way.
LD 32.6%
Con 23.6%
UKIP 23.2%
Lab 14.1%
Others 6.5%
It's before the watershed! I'm sure Marf can do versions with personalised vices. Mine would be too embarrassing to say.
He could be sure of doing better than Dellingpole did.
Presumably, the Maldives won't be discouraging this type of investment with 40% haircuts on the deposits of Russians on the basis they are probably all gangster scum.
I believe the Super League as a whole and all clubs in it are trying to raise awareness and funds for Joining Jack and the players 'salute' with that symbol.
http://joiningjack.org/menu/competitions/jj-salute.aspx
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21941395
Expect a rabid rebuttal for each and every time Tory/LibDem/SNP/BNP/Ukip breaks wind.
Ever had the rug being pulled from under you?This guy is an expect in rug-pulling!
Agreed. It is an excellent step but it makes the decision to appoint the former head of such a dysfunctional and disorganised body to a more senior post even more inexplicable.
Ms Homer seems to have left an organisation that was so incapable of doing its job that it now needs to be broken up. Her argument that the problems arose after her departure show, if anything, an even greater lack of awareness and sense of responsibility. I really don't understand this one.
Hopefully the dreadful idea of using agency status to avoid responsibility has now hit its high watermark and will remain in retreat.
Hmmm
"The hotel was so new they didn't have a money-counting machine so two local girls had to stay up til 3am counting the notes."
The above sentence shows how backward the UK is in a simple thing like money-counting machines: so wither our economy? No major bank in london seems to have one on the counter available for the depositor or saver to see. Instead one has to wait for laborious hand counting to end. All the banks in in Europe and most in the middle east do have them, and they are so easy and quick to count and change your money, whatever the currency.
Not sure that is necessarily a good idea. Don't really fancy an even larger mortgage, but clearly something needs to change. The stench of Stagnation is pungent.
The civil servants at UKBA behaved how labour wanted them to behave, just as labour got the civil servants it wanted at the NHS. Token expulsions only.
Interesting point.
Not sure they would be allowed to introduce extra 'runners' after the bet had been struck.
We must ask Tissue Price when he next surfaces.
EDIT: btw, I meant to imply anyway that 1/6 would be value against standing anywhere at the next GE.
I disagree. Civil servants carry out the instructions of their ministers, and I bet that was exactly the case here. The understand was probably something along the lines of 'make it look as if you're doing something, the immigration natives are getting restless'
Us plebs are just stuck in the middle.
Well call me old fashioned if you like but a civil servant who is willing to work on such a basis (even if your hypothesis is true and I always prefer incompetence as an explanation to conspiracy) is not fit to be employed, let alone promoted.
Yes, I noticed that, but I'm still not sure they can do that.
TP's the man.
There used to be a poster on here called Tapestry. Haven't seen him for a while but you 2 would get on famously.
Just remember that if those supposedly organising these conspiracies were half as competent as they would need to be we would have competent administration in this country. The record of the last 50 years suggests otherwise.
I thought senior civil servants have a duty to carry out the instructions of ministers, whether they agree with the instruction or not. They are meant to be unbiased and unpolitical tools of policy. That is their function.
The civil servants at the UKBA were only the tools of labour policy at the time. If you want to blame someone, blame the minister. He has the power.
David alludes to a certain 'Tapestry', once of this parish.
It is not a compliment.
(In fact, if I were you, I'd consult my lawyer.)
Good for Super League - sounds like a worthy cause.
I see Caroline Lucas has decided to cast in her lot with Owen Jones at the People's Front of Judea....
Surprise? significance?
"This is my latest hotel. Huvafen Fushi. It's clientele is 36% Brits, the Russians are the next most frequent visitors.
http://huvafenfushi.peraquum.com/default.aspx"
Even by your standards that looks pretty special.
It is not just London that has gone offshore from the domestic economy; there is a whole new class out there.
Can you answer one for me?
You've seen the kickers in the Six Nations. Most of them are pretty deadly anywhere within 50 yards, despite often having to kick at an angle. Why don't US Football coaches pick some of them up?
I'm not 100% sure what you are referring to but Caroline is a left-wing MP for a left-wing party and I expect (and would profit from) that to remain the case after 2015.
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/david-blackburn/2013/03/theresa-mays-abolition-of-ukba-shows-how-the-immigration-consensus-favours-the-tories-and-her/
The Brits probably got it at 75% discount on Priceline.
US demographics being what they are, you'd have thought soccer can only get stronger.
" Guess what? It is 95% full. That counts as complete occupancy in hotel world"
Not in my experience it doesn't, at least not in the UK.
A number of years ago, I used to stay a couple of nights a month in a modern well-run hotel in a suburb of Leeds. The hotel which was owned by a major national chain was managed by the brother of a well known celebrity so I won't mention his or the hotel's name.
Over the several months during which I stayed there I got to know this manager well and we'd often share a few drinks in the bar. He was proud of the fact that his hotel had around the highest occupancy rate of any in the group - pushing 105% on a Monday - Friday basis IIRC which baffled me somewhat until he explained that a number of, ahem, "husband and wife" guests would sometimes arrive during the course of the day usually without any luggage, paying for their room on arrival only to depart usually within the hour.
I don't know what happened to the manager in question, but I felt sure he was destined either for promotion for demonstrating enterprise or the sack for running a whore house.
I agree with May that it's better if quangos are inside ministries so the Minister can't say who-me? when things go wrong. That said, we should accept that things do sometimes go wrong, and it takes evidence of systematic failure to make it fair to demand that heads roll.
To reply to AN1 on the last thread - as you say, people tend to judge the NHS by their experience of it, and polls suggest that most patients find the experience positive. It's the voters you need to convince if you want to break up the NHS, not me. But there's a reason why the Tories don't try, and it's not that they all genuinely think the system is wonderful. That's why I was curiuous about UKIP's view. Do they want it broken up and competition to rule?
Bribes are not just about money. Indeed, such non-monetary bribes can be easier to conceal. It may only be a handful, but it would not surprise me in the least if a few of the people around you were staying as part of a bribe.
One for your 'I told you so' dept:
Telegraph going behind a paywall:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/digital-media/9954534/The-Telegraph-subscribe-to-Britains-finest-journalism.html
One for the fop finder general Tim methinks....
Just about everyone has recent experience of the NHS - usually in the form of the GP.
Moans include the booking arrangements, the Receptionists, the opening hours and NOT their experience of the GP themselves, which is almost always positive - or of the nurse who deals with vaccinations and most children's minor medical matters.
They dissociate the medical (good, kind, caring) from the non-medical staff (rude, obstructive).
Few have any experience of overseas medical care, nor ask why we trumpet shorter waiting-times without asking 'Why are there ANY waiting-lists/times AT ALL? (other countries manage to avoid them)'. The uncomfortable answer is that it saves some money that way, even if it also causes increased and avoidable pain and suffering.
Hence they regard the NHS as being A Good Thing, without wondering why their Tesco is open 24/7 (or at least 18/7), whilst their GP's surgery is open for 6hrs or so, 5 days a week (in terms of actually interacting with a GP); the out-of-hours service, which a GP practice used to provide themselves is another instance of Labour's monumental incompetence at management.
Particularly of professionals: school terms were geared to the Christian and farming calendars, yet remain almost immutable, whilst the hours (formerly 9-4, now 9-3ish) were geared around a Mum collecting her child/ren and then calling in at the shops to buy food for family supper when husband got home at 5-6.
None of those constraints apply today - Q. so why are we wedded to them? A - because it suits the employees to do so (ie not the consumers)
While it is a reasonable case that it *may* lead to rising house prices, the Chancellor can't just go out and throw "wills" around just because some journalist wants him to.
"Refuses to admit". PAH!
Another interesting fact is that a large percentage of American footballers are bankrupt within 5 years of retirement. They get treated a lot worse than most other US sports professionals - certainly basketball and baseball players.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21942995
Not be jingoist about this. I'm genuinely curious.
I really enjoy watching American Football and am suitably impressed by the athletic prowess and professionalism on display - except when it comes to kicking.
I appreciate that the football they use is smaller and more difficult to kick accurately but even so....
Of course a fan could tell you more
@PickardJE: RT @psmith: *** TELEGRAPH LAUNCHES PAYWALL *** online access restricted to paper/tablet subscribers, everyone else gets 20 free http://bit.ly/15QpqQN
For a place kicker it might be good. Depending on how the game goes, you might get off the bench, perform the kick off with the ball on the kicking tee, then go sit down again as few as 2 or 3 times per game. That's your sole contribution to the game. It's a boring living. You don't need accuracy, except to prevent the ball going through the end zone if possible.
Also don't forget that there is a 25 second play clock in the NFL. Taking time to collect yourself is not an option.
Kicking field goals is a very different animal. You pace off your 6 or 8 step drop back with the play clock typically running already. You begin your run when the ball is snapped, something over which the kicker has no control. When you start your run the ball isn't visible, merely the holder's finger on the ground where the ball will be. The ball will arrive a split second before your foot contacts it. It's a question of holder and kicker working together day after day to get the timing down.
Kicking in the NFL is a completely different skill than in rugby, or soccer for that matter. A few have made the transition, but not that many.
Regarding somebody's comment regarding salaries - for 2013 the MINIMUM salary of an NFL player is $405,000. This rises to a minimum of $630,000 in their 3rd year.
So even a rookie kicker warming the bench all day will get at least $405k in his first season, and a 50% bounce over the next 3.
Also remember of course, that if a field goal kicker misses 4-5 kicks in a row, or generally doesn't have a 75% or higher average, he will be released by the team and replaced. Most kickers tend to have been with several teams.
Field goal kickers have a high pressure job. If you miss the kick, other players will stay away from you, and it's very lonely.
That's why I was curiuous about UKIP's view. Do they want it broken up and competition to rule?
It's on their website and the answer would seem to be neither. Their answer is devolution.
http://www.ukip.org/content/ukip-policies/2843-health-ukip-policy#
See, I KNEW a fan would know more
From the Eurozone. This time Spain.
The Bank of Spain expects the Spanish economy to register a larger contraction than the current government forecast.
The Spanish central bank said that the economy will contract by 1.5% this year and only expand in 2014 by 0.6%.
This forecast compares with government estimates of only a 0.5% drop in 2013, with stronger growth of 1.2% for next year.
The bank also said it expects Spain's deficit to moderate to 6.0% of gross domestic product this year and only decrease to 5.9% in 2014.
Unemployment is also estimated to reach no less than 27.1% in 2013 before a slight decrease to 26.8% in 2014. The government forecast was for 24.3% and 23.3%, respectively.
Even though Spain's deficit forecasts are better than those of the UK, we should all thank our Gods that we have George in control over here.
4. Restore traditional nursing, especially the non-university-trained State Enrolled Nurses or equivalent.
Hmm where have I heard that recently.....?
Paul Thorburn (Welsh rugby kicker) trained with an American football team in the 80s and he was pretty hopeless - he played in the American Bowl exhibition game at Wembley. They let him kick-off and his kick was about 20 yards short of where it should have been and after that the coach didn't let him have another go.
It is always risky to disaggregate single factors. Moreover, I'm not the Chancellor and so the public statements that I make may have less impact on the market.
Anyone - given that you have repeatedly said that high house prices are a problem for the economy, why would you want the Chancellor to stand up and say something that will be reported as "Chancellor says house prices will rise" and could lead to a self-reinforcing trend? Far better for him to say nothing.
Thanks TimB. Very helpful.
I dimly recall from the early days of Channel 4's coverage of the sport here that there was an English kicker (John Smith?) who played successfully for a few seasons with the Patriots. The story went that a US coach on holiday in the UK had seen him playing soccer for Torquay (or some similarly modest outfit) and recruited him for a trial. It went well and the young man was suddenly earning the kind of salary that would have made even the top soccer stars envious.
I always thought that if he could do it, so could plenty of others - and particularly those playing Rugby rather than Association football.
Obviously John Smith adapted pretty well, and maybe he had some rare talent, but all the same I have always thought US coaches might be missing a trick by not scouting more around the soccer leagues of Europe.
But I do appreciate the kind of differences and difficulties you highlight.
" Surely a lot of those people would be young people living with their parents or married people having affairs."
I feel sure that in most instances that was precisely the case - I was merely spicing up the story somewhat!
Those days are long gone. Today, bereft of both wit and ambition, the shuffling zombie movement that passes for the Left no longer calls for full employment, or a "great production", or the right of men to hunt and read to their heart's content (hunting is evil, right?). Instead it demands, or rather pleads for, the protection of the welfare state from government cuts. That's it.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/brendanoneill2/100209116/what-self-respecting-member-of-the-working-class-would-sign-up-for-the-patronising-zombified-peoples-assembly/
You're entitled to disagree, obviously, but you can see that parties are reluctant openly to criticise what is arguably our one really popular national institution apart from the monarchy (which, in a precise mirror image, Labour doesn't try to attack, even if we're not really persuaded it's a brilliant idea).
Noted with thanks, Mike.
Yes, I remember Thorburn, but was unaware of the American football connection.