More news from the so-called Islamic Human Rights Commission:-
- Theresa May is Islamophobe of the year - Maajid Nawaz is UK Islamophobe of the year.
And I wonder if Sadiq Khan will come to regret speaking at an event organised in Parliament by Cage in June 2012 in favour of Babar Ahmed, later sentenced in the UK to 12 years in prison for terrorist offences.
Apparently Khan has his own Labour campaigh for human rights, funded to the tune of £5000 by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, another branch of the same Joseph Rowntree trust which has funded Cage and which has been shamed/pressured into stopping.
More news from the so-called Islamic Human Rights Commission:-
- Theresa May is Islamophobe of the year - Maajid Nawaz is UK Islamophobe of the year.
And I wonder if Sadiq Khan will come to regret speaking at an event organised in Parliament by Cage in June 2012 in favour of Babar Ahmed, later sentenced in the UK to 12 years in prison for terrorist offences.
Apparently Khan has his own Labour campaigh for human rights, funded to the tune of £5000 by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, another branch of the same Joseph Rowntree trust which has funded Cage and which has been shamed/pressured into stopping.
Who is Majid Nawaz ?
One of the leading and most outspoken liberal Muslims. Labour could learn a lot from his stance, I highly recommend reading a few of his articles.
More news from the so-called Islamic Human Rights Commission:-
- Theresa May is Islamophobe of the year - Maajid Nawaz is UK Islamophobe of the year.
And I wonder if Sadiq Khan will come to regret speaking at an event organised in Parliament by Cage in June 2012 in favour of Babar Ahmed, later sentenced in the UK to 12 years in prison for terrorist offences.
Apparently Khan has his own Labour campaigh for human rights, funded to the tune of £5000 by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, another branch of the same Joseph Rowntree trust which has funded Cage and which has been shamed/pressured into stopping.
Who is Majid Nawaz ?
My Lib Dem candidate in Hampstead. An ex-jihadist. Founder of Quilliam. From what I have seen a good egg, good candidate and a thoughtful commentator on Islamic issues - and others as well. Was attacked recently for saying that he was not offended by a Jesus and Mo cartoon and was fed up with others taking offence over the slightest thing. Did not get the support he deserved from the Lib Dem hieararchy.
He will get my vote, though, and a few others in the Cyclefree household!
Sky News Newsdesk @SkyNewsBreak 23s24 seconds ago Hillary #Clinton says she used private e-mail server to conduct government business while she was U.S. Secretary of State "for convenience"
Utter bollocks. Once it is set up, you cannot tell the difference between which server you are using on your mail client (unless the state department has additional security requiring more password prompts, which would be a stupid reason to not use it).
More news from the so-called Islamic Human Rights Commission:-
- Theresa May is Islamophobe of the year - Maajid Nawaz is UK Islamophobe of the year.
And I wonder if Sadiq Khan will come to regret speaking at an event organised in Parliament by Cage in June 2012 in favour of Babar Ahmed, later sentenced in the UK to 12 years in prison for terrorist offences.
Apparently Khan has his own Labour campaigh for human rights, funded to the tune of £5000 by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, another branch of the same Joseph Rowntree trust which has funded Cage and which has been shamed/pressured into stopping.
So May is the World Islamaphobe of the year? Naively, I would have thought there would be better contenders in Israel...!
I thought they'd gone for Charlie Hebdo.
I mean, that's spectacular.
They have multiple categories....other winners included Maajid Nawaz
Oh ok. Best Sound Direction in Islamophobia, that sort of thing?
Trying to find any remaining value in the Scottish constituency markets, conclusion I've reached is that no seat is safe from the SNP. A good example is Orkney & Shetland where Carmichael clearly has a fight on his hands. He is an Edinburgh lawyer in-comer, the SNP have selected a retired high school teacher who probably taught 75% of the electorate and knows the rest as parents, UKIP have selected a local fisherman:
The UKIP candidate secured 7% in 2010 and will surely do much better this time around. As far as I can tell SLAB and the Tories are yet to select candidates, they will no doubt be selecting locals as well. I think Carmichael is toast - the SNP at 4/1 might be a value bet.
Is this actually a serious post? Orkney and Shetland were first and fourth ranked in favour of No, the SNP have never done well here and Carmichael has a very strong personal following. 4/1 is a joke, I would need 10/1 to even consider such a bet.
You're talking to the man who is on at 125-1 for 0-5 Labour MPs in Scotland so I wouldn't dismiss any of it as a joke.
More news from the so-called Islamic Human Rights Commission:-
- Theresa May is Islamophobe of the year - Maajid Nawaz is UK Islamophobe of the year.
And I wonder if Sadiq Khan will come to regret speaking at an event organised in Parliament by Cage in June 2012 in favour of Babar Ahmed, later sentenced in the UK to 12 years in prison for terrorist offences.
Apparently Khan has his own Labour campaigh for human rights, funded to the tune of £5000 by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, another branch of the same Joseph Rowntree trust which has funded Cage and which has been shamed/pressured into stopping.
So May is the World Islamaphobe of the year? Naively, I would have thought there would be better contenders in Israel...!
I thought they'd gone for Charlie Hebdo.
I mean, that's spectacular.
They have multiple categories....other winners included Maajid Nawaz
Oh ok. Best Sound Direction in Islamophobia, that sort of thing?
More news from the so-called Islamic Human Rights Commission:-
- Theresa May is Islamophobe of the year - Maajid Nawaz is UK Islamophobe of the year.
And I wonder if Sadiq Khan will come to regret speaking at an event organised in Parliament by Cage in June 2012 in favour of Babar Ahmed, later sentenced in the UK to 12 years in prison for terrorist offences.
Apparently Khan has his own Labour campaigh for human rights, funded to the tune of £5000 by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, another branch of the same Joseph Rowntree trust which has funded Cage and which has been shamed/pressured into stopping.
Who is Majid Nawaz ?
My Lib Dem candidate in Hampstead. An ex-jihadist. Founder of Quilliam. From what I have seen a good egg, good candidate and a thoughtful commentator on Islamic issues - and others as well. Was attacked recently for saying that he was not offended by a Jesus and Mo cartoon and was fed up with others taking offence over the slightest thing. Did not get the support he deserved from the Lib Dem hieararchy.
He will get my vote, though, and a few others in the Cyclefree household!
I really hope he makes it into Parliament but Labour will hold H+K quite easily even without the personal support Glenda Jackson has. Sadly the Labour candidate seems a bit nice but dim and will probably a stooge of the Whip's office. Her views on freedom of speech are slightly alarming as well.
Sky News Newsdesk @SkyNewsBreak 23s24 seconds ago Hillary #Clinton says she used private e-mail server to conduct government business while she was U.S. Secretary of State "for convenience"
Utter bollocks. Once it is set up, you cannot tell the difference between which server you are using on your mail client (unless the state department has additional security requiring more password prompts, which would be a stupid reason to not use it).
What is that smell...something stinks...
Actually, giving her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she couldn't connect to her official account on a personal device. She should have used an official device all of the time, instead of making her own email server.
Trying to find any remaining value in the Scottish constituency markets, conclusion I've reached is that no seat is safe from the SNP. A good example is Orkney & Shetland where Carmichael clearly has a fight on his hands. He is an Edinburgh lawyer in-comer, the SNP have selected a retired high school teacher who probably taught 75% of the electorate and knows the rest as parents, UKIP have selected a local fisherman:
The UKIP candidate secured 7% in 2010 and will surely do much better this time around. As far as I can tell SLAB and the Tories are yet to select candidates, they will no doubt be selecting locals as well. I think Carmichael is toast - the SNP at 4/1 might be a value bet.
Is this actually a serious post? Orkney and Shetland were first and fourth ranked in favour of No, the SNP have never done well here and Carmichael has a very strong personal following. 4/1 is a joke, I would need 10/1 to even consider such a bet.
You're talking to the man who is on at 125-1 for 0-5 Labour MPs in Scotland so I wouldn't dismiss any of it as a joke.
That is an amazing bet! When the hell did he get odds on that and why wasn't it shared on here!? Boo this man.
Sky News Newsdesk @SkyNewsBreak 23s24 seconds ago Hillary #Clinton says she used private e-mail server to conduct government business while she was U.S. Secretary of State "for convenience"
Utter bollocks. Once it is set up, you cannot tell the difference between which server you are using on your mail client (unless the state department has additional security requiring more password prompts, which would be a stupid reason to not use it).
What is that smell...something stinks...
Actually, giving her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she couldn't connect to her official account on a personal device. She should have used an official device all of the time, instead of making her own email server.
The Chinese must be pi$$ing themselves...do we need to get one of our top hackers on it...nah, she is on hotmail from an unsecured iphone.
Sky News Newsdesk @SkyNewsBreak 23s24 seconds ago Hillary #Clinton says she used private e-mail server to conduct government business while she was U.S. Secretary of State "for convenience"
Utter bollocks. Once it is set up, you cannot tell the difference between which server you are using on your mail client (unless the state department has additional security requiring more password prompts, which would be a stupid reason to not use it).
What is that smell...something stinks...
Actually, giving her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she couldn't connect to her official account on a personal device. She should have used an official device all of the time, instead of making her own email server.
There is no explanation - except a desire to hide her correspondence from scrutiny.
Just wondering, has Sam Cam or Miriam González Durántez ever done a big sit down with BBC or Sky etc?
AFAIK, they seem to keep themselves to themselves and just get on with their own careers, despite constant and often really nasty abuse been thrown at their husbands and their family.
I don't believe either have, - and I'm slightly amused as to why the BBC has decided now, to give a politicians wife such unparalleled media access?
Both Sam and Miriam did extended interviews before the last election I seem to remember. It's fairly obvious in this day and age that the leaders wives are box office. But then it's the BBC and it's Justine Thornton/Miliband, so yeah it must be all part of the conspiracy to win Ed the election.........
More news from the so-called Islamic Human Rights Commission:-
- Theresa May is Islamophobe of the year - Maajid Nawaz is UK Islamophobe of the year.
And I wonder if Sadiq Khan will come to regret speaking at an event organised in Parliament by Cage in June 2012 in favour of Babar Ahmed, later sentenced in the UK to 12 years in prison for terrorist offences.
Apparently Khan has his own Labour campaigh for human rights, funded to the tune of £5000 by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, another branch of the same Joseph Rowntree trust which has funded Cage and which has been shamed/pressured into stopping.
Who is Majid Nawaz ?
My Lib Dem candidate in Hampstead. An ex-jihadist. Founder of Quilliam. From what I have seen a good egg, good candidate and a thoughtful commentator on Islamic issues - and others as well. Was attacked recently for saying that he was not offended by a Jesus and Mo cartoon and was fed up with others taking offence over the slightest thing. Did not get the support he deserved from the Lib Dem hieararchy.
He will get my vote, though, and a few others in the Cyclefree household!
Trying to find any remaining value in the Scottish constituency markets, conclusion I've reached is that no seat is safe from the SNP. A good example is Orkney & Shetland where Carmichael clearly has a fight on his hands. He is an Edinburgh lawyer in-comer, the SNP have selected a retired high school teacher who probably taught 75% of the electorate and knows the rest as parents, UKIP have selected a local fisherman:
The UKIP candidate secured 7% in 2010 and will surely do much better this time around. As far as I can tell SLAB and the Tories are yet to select candidates, they will no doubt be selecting locals as well. I think Carmichael is toast - the SNP at 4/1 might be a value bet.
Is this actually a serious post? Orkney and Shetland were first and fourth ranked in favour of No, the SNP have never done well here and Carmichael has a very strong personal following. 4/1 is a joke, I would need 10/1 to even consider such a bet.
You're talking to the man who is on at 125-1 for 0-5 Labour MPs in Scotland so I wouldn't dismiss any of it as a joke.
That is an amazing bet! When the hell did he get odds on that and why wasn't it shared on here!? Boo this man.
I think I vaguely remember him posting about it (Perhaps the odds were 33-1 or so at the time), and I dismissed it as fanciful nonsense.
Trying to find any remaining value in the Scottish constituency markets, conclusion I've reached is that no seat is safe from the SNP. A good example is Orkney & Shetland where Carmichael clearly has a fight on his hands. He is an Edinburgh lawyer in-comer, the SNP have selected a retired high school teacher who probably taught 75% of the electorate and knows the rest as parents, UKIP have selected a local fisherman:
The UKIP candidate secured 7% in 2010 and will surely do much better this time around. As far as I can tell SLAB and the Tories are yet to select candidates, they will no doubt be selecting locals as well. I think Carmichael is toast - the SNP at 4/1 might be a value bet.
Is this actually a serious post? Orkney and Shetland were first and fourth ranked in favour of No, the SNP have never done well here and Carmichael has a very strong personal following. 4/1 is a joke, I would need 10/1 to even consider such a bet.
You're talking to the man who is on at 125-1 for 0-5 Labour MPs in Scotland so I wouldn't dismiss any of it as a joke.
That is an amazing bet! When the hell did he get odds on that and why wasn't it shared on here!? Boo this man.
I think I vaguely remember him posting about it (Perhaps the odds were 33-1 or so at the time), and I dismissed it as fanciful nonsense.
Sky News Newsdesk @SkyNewsBreak 23s24 seconds ago Hillary #Clinton says she used private e-mail server to conduct government business while she was U.S. Secretary of State "for convenience"
F*ck the BBC. F*ck them. If they pull Top Gear I will stop paying my license fee and watch the rest of their crappy bollocks on iPlayer, especially as the license fee will have to rise by 7% to make up for the lost £300m Top Gear earns worldwide, every year.
Asinine lefty wankers.
I see #BringBackClarkson is trending at number 6, worldwide, perhaps unsurprising as Top Gear is the world's most popular fact-based TV show.
BBC = Buncha Brainless Cockhats.
Grrr.
For the BBC this is like getting Al Capone on tax evasion.
F*ck the BBC. F*ck them. If they pull Top Gear I will stop paying my license fee and watch the rest of their crappy bollocks on iPlayer, especially as the license fee will have to rise by 7% to make up for the lost £300m Top Gear earns worldwide, every year.
Asinine lefty wankers.
I see #BringBackClarkson is trending at number 6, worldwide, perhaps unsurprising as Top Gear is the world's most popular fact-based TV show.
BBC = Buncha Brainless Cockhats.
Grrr.
Might it not be worth waiting to find out why he was trying to punch a producer?
F*ck the BBC. F*ck them. If they pull Top Gear I will stop paying my license fee and watch the rest of their crappy bollocks on iPlayer, especially as the license fee will have to rise by 7% to make up for the lost £300m Top Gear earns worldwide, every year.
Asinine lefty wankers.
I see #BringBackClarkson is trending at number 6, worldwide, perhaps unsurprising as Top Gear is the world's most popular fact-based TV show.
BBC = Buncha Brainless Cockhats.
Grrr.
Might it not be worth waiting to find out why he was trying to punch a producer?
Producer: I think SK Tremayne should be our next star in a reasonably priced car Clarkson: I don't need no literary fag *punch*
I voted to maintain the FPTP system in the referendum, but I now wonder whether it was a mistake.
No.
AV is the worst electoral system ever devised by man.
It can be objectively shown to be the best, in the single-winner case.
But any system, be it AV or FPTP, that takes no account of national votes in a national election is certainly in the running for the title of "worst".
Single Outcome STV (which is what AV really is) is not the "best" unless you are the third largest party. That's why the Liberals chose it, gives them the biggest chance of gaining seats without them being undermined by the "smaller" parties.
It would have been ironic if it had passed and annihilated them in May.
F*ck the BBC. F*ck them. If they pull Top Gear I will stop paying my license fee and watch the rest of their crappy bollocks on iPlayer, especially as the license fee will have to rise by 7% to make up for the lost £300m Top Gear earns worldwide, every year.
Asinine lefty wankers.
I see #BringBackClarkson is trending at number 6, worldwide, perhaps unsurprising as Top Gear is the world's most popular fact-based TV show.
BBC = Buncha Brainless Cockhats.
Grrr.
What's the world coming to if you can't chin the odd producer who's trying to impose the kind of PC agenda the Nazis would have been proud of?
No that I know what's gone on. But then neither do the free Clarkson army.
F*ck the BBC. F*ck them. If they pull Top Gear I will stop paying my license fee and watch the rest of their crappy bollocks on iPlayer, especially as the license fee will have to rise by 7% to make up for the lost £300m Top Gear earns worldwide, every year.
Asinine lefty wankers.
I see #BringBackClarkson is trending at number 6, worldwide, perhaps unsurprising as Top Gear is the world's most popular fact-based TV show.
BBC = Buncha Brainless Cockhats.
Grrr.
Sadly, the BBC will have little qualms about acting out over this. I believe they are currently preparing to back a compulsory licence fee for everyone resident in the UK. Given the support among those on the left of the political spectrum for the Beeb, that could well happen under an Ed Miliband-led government. Then you would not have any choice but to pay or go to prison. I would hope if such a policy came into practice, there would be a mass non-compliance, as there was the last time a government tried to implement a poll tax.
More news from the so-called Islamic Human Rights Commission:-
- Theresa May is Islamophobe of the year - Maajid Nawaz is UK Islamophobe of the year.
And I wonder if Sadiq Khan will come to regret speaking at an event organised in Parliament by Cage in June 2012 in favour of Babar Ahmed, later sentenced in the UK to 12 years in prison for terrorist offences.
Apparently Khan has his own Labour campaigh for human rights, funded to the tune of £5000 by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, another branch of the same Joseph Rowntree trust which has funded Cage and which has been shamed/pressured into stopping.
I find it surprising that Maajid Nawaz can be classed as an "Islamophobe". He is a believing Muslim, I understand. From what I've heard, he seems to be exactly the sort of reform-minded Muslim that the Islamic world desperately needs.
I voted to maintain the FPTP system in the referendum, but I now wonder whether it was a mistake.
No.
AV is the worst electoral system ever devised by man.
It can be objectively shown to be the best, in the single-winner case.
But any system, be it AV or FPTP, that takes no account of national votes in a national election is certainly in the running for the title of "worst".
Single Outcome STV (which is what AV really is) is not the "best" unless you are the third largest party. That's why the Liberals chose it, gives them the biggest chance of gaining seats without them being undermined by the "smaller" parties.
It would have been ironic if it had passed and annihilated them in May.
What gives you the idea that the LibDems (not the Liberals....... different Party ........) chose it?
In fact, I can't think of a single BBC TV producer I have met who didn't provoke, in me, the sincere desire to punch their lights out, given half a chance.
My understanding of the TV industry is that it's full of slimy, unscrupulous individuals. Thought Auntie was probably the best of a bad bunch though.
Well, a phobia is an irrational fear. Any such fear in Israel is entirely rational.
Indeed, any fear here is pretty rational given what's going on.
So either there are no Islamophobes or we all are. A sort of Je suis un Islamophobe/Spartacus/Charlie moment.
Poking fun at these toads is necessary. Anger and sarcasm and contemptuous mockery are necessary tools. They're mine anyway.
This is one reason why I think the word "Islamophobia" should not be used. I know that Antifrank, a poster I much respect, disagreed because he felt that sometimes people did say horrible things about Muslims. And I agree that unnecessary impoliteness to people is unwarranted and uncivilised.
But "Islamophobia" is deliberately confusing attacks on people with attacks on a religion, on an idea - and we should refuse to allow that distinction to be muddied.
(snip good stuff)
(Though on the latter I tend to the view that if people want dignity or respect, they need to show it and earn it.)
You're usually quite astute on these matters, but on this I mostly disagree. True, Islamaphobia can - and is - used to silence people with valid views - and that is wrong. But that does not mean that it is right to tar everyone from a faith or even country with the same brush as the evildoers, as too many people do. Including sometimes on here.
That *is* Islamaphobia.
Also, fear of my Muslim neighbours, associates and friends is irrational. They've given me no reason to fear them, and I doubt they ever will. Why should I fear them?
BTW, I utterly agree with the Israel part - if any country has a right to fear its situation, it is them. And I say publish cartoons, and decry those who try to strangle free speech. But we should also decry the genuine Islamaphobes, the ones who hate as much as those they attack.
My wife (sorry to those who seem to take afront when I mention her, but it is relevant) is Turkish, and was raised in a Muslim country. She is an atheist. I am agnostic. Our son could choose either of those courses, or become Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or anything else. Whichever he chooses, we shall try to direct him in the right path, and to become a good citizen of this brilliant country.
If he chooses to be a Muslim, then I don't want him to be disliked, feared or prejudiced against just because of that choice, in the same way I would not want it if he was a Jew, gay, a TS, or even, God help him, a Labour supporter.
On this, je ne suis pas Cyclefree ...
(BTW, I agree the awards are stupid and self-defeating, and the people who support them should be ashamed of themselves. But that does not mean people are not, or cannot be, islamaphobes, and that we should not call them out on it.).
The BBC seems to be trying to destroy itself at the moment. You have to wonder if the Tory plants on the BBC Trust and Board are being put in place to remove any good opinions the public still have for the corporation.
Just in the last 12 months, they've cancelled Ripper Street and In The Flesh despite massive ratings (relative for In The Flesh but for BBC3 its the only decent thing to come out the channel), destroyed themselves in Scotland and if they do end up sacking Clarkson they will likely make themselves Insolvent.
Election Forecast now assume 66% probability of CON most seats.No overall majority over 90% probability.Neither of which means there will not be an Ed Miliband led government.
Flamboyant Ukip spokesman who compared Nigel Farage to Jesus sacked after series of gaffes EXCLUSIVE: Winston McKenzie dropped as Commonwealth spokesman
I voted to maintain the FPTP system in the referendum, but I now wonder whether it was a mistake.
No.
AV is the worst electoral system ever devised by man.
It can be objectively shown to be the best, in the single-winner case.
But any system, be it AV or FPTP, that takes no account of national votes in a national election is certainly in the running for the title of "worst".
Single Outcome STV (which is what AV really is) is not the "best" unless you are the third largest party. That's why the Liberals chose it, gives them the biggest chance of gaining seats without them being undermined by the "smaller" parties.
It would have been ironic if it had passed and annihilated them in May.
What gives you the idea that the LibDems (not the Liberals....... different Party ........) chose it?
The Liberals had one requirement from co-alition - electoral reform. They brought the Single Outcome STV demand to the table, the Tories knocked them down to a Referendum.
Either way, it was the Liberals chose Single Outcome STV and they did it deliberately as a way of gerrymandering FPTP rather than offering the British people a genuinely proportional form of elections. They thought as the perennial Third Party they had the most to gain and nothing to lose.
Hence, if it had passed the irony of them dropping to under 5 seats would have been supreme.
Does Clarkson have history with the Telegraph, because they are 3 articles basically saying good riddance? It is more over the top than the Guardian's coverage.
Tin Foil Hats alert. A load of businessmen bought a successful business, not because it was a successful brand, no, something or other to do with them being Tories (shock a load of wealthy businessmen might be Tories) and Sam Cam worked there and David might have been thinking about running for leader at the time IF the Tories lost the 2005 GE...is Tap writing for the Guardian these days?
Trying to find any remaining value in the Scottish constituency markets, conclusion I've reached is that no seat is safe from the SNP. A good example is Orkney & Shetland where Carmichael clearly has a fight on his hands. He is an Edinburgh lawyer in-comer, the SNP have selected a retired high school teacher who probably taught 75% of the electorate and knows the rest as parents, UKIP have selected a local fisherman:
The UKIP candidate secured 7% in 2010 and will surely do much better this time around. As far as I can tell SLAB and the Tories are yet to select candidates, they will no doubt be selecting locals as well. I think Carmichael is toast - the SNP at 4/1 might be a value bet.
Against that:
1. The LibDems kept exactly two constituency seats in the Scottish parliament last time: Orkney, and Shetland. 2. Orkney & Shetland had one of the lowest "Yes" votes in Scotland. 3. Alistair Carmichael clearly has established a personal vote as his share has gone from 41.3% in 2001 to 62% in 2010. That's a full 10% more than (local boy) Jim Wallace ever got.
I'd need 6 or 8-1 to tempt me to bet on the SNP here.
Now, the rest of the Scottish LibDems for that matter...
I feel pretty confident in saying that come the 8th of May Alistair Carmichael will be known as The Scottish Liberal Democrat.
Tin Foil Hats alert. A load of businessmen bought a successful business, not because it was a successful brand, no, something or other to do with them being Tories (shock a load of wealthy businessmen might be Tories) and Sam Cam worked there and David might have been thinking about running for leader at the time IF the Tories lost the 2005 GE...is Tap writing for the Guardian these days?
Anything in The Grauniad on the industrial levels of phone hacking at The Mirror? I thought that kind of investigative journalism was right up their street. Or not.
Flamboyant Ukip spokesman who compared Nigel Farage to Jesus sacked after series of gaffes EXCLUSIVE: Winston McKenzie dropped as Commonwealth spokesman
I voted to maintain the FPTP system in the referendum, but I now wonder whether it was a mistake.
No.
AV is the worst electoral system ever devised by man.
It can be objectively shown to be the best, in the single-winner case.
But any system, be it AV or FPTP, that takes no account of national votes in a national election is certainly in the running for the title of "worst".
Single Outcome STV (which is what AV really is) is not the "best" unless you are the third largest party. That's why the Liberals chose it, gives them the biggest chance of gaining seats without them being undermined by the "smaller" parties.
It would have been ironic if it had passed and annihilated them in May.
What gives you the idea that the LibDems (not the Liberals....... different Party ........) chose it?
The Liberals had one requirement from co-alition - electoral reform. They brought the Single Outcome STV demand to the table, the Tories knocked them down to a Referendum.
Either way, it was the Liberals chose Single Outcome STV and they did it deliberately as a way of gerrymandering FPTP rather than offering the British people a genuinely proportional form of elections. They thought as the perennial Third Party they had the most to gain and nothing to lose.
Hence, if it had passed the irony of them dropping to under 5 seats would have been supreme.
Not "quite", and you are still making the rather juvenile assumption that the LibDems are synonymous with a Liberal party. There is a liberal wing, true, but the Liberal party is a totally separate organisation. But then a genuine understanding of the world around them is not something associated with denizens of the right.
Flamboyant Ukip spokesman who compared Nigel Farage to Jesus sacked after series of gaffes EXCLUSIVE: Winston McKenzie dropped as Commonwealth spokesman
Trying to find any remaining value in the Scottish constituency markets, conclusion I've reached is that no seat is safe from the SNP. A good example is Orkney & Shetland where Carmichael clearly has a fight on his hands. He is an Edinburgh lawyer in-comer, the SNP have selected a retired high school teacher who probably taught 75% of the electorate and knows the rest as parents, UKIP have selected a local fisherman:
The UKIP candidate secured 7% in 2010 and will surely do much better this time around. As far as I can tell SLAB and the Tories are yet to select candidates, they will no doubt be selecting locals as well. I think Carmichael is toast - the SNP at 4/1 might be a value bet.
Against that:
1. The LibDems kept exactly two constituency seats in the Scottish parliament last time: Orkney, and Shetland. 2. Orkney & Shetland had one of the lowest "Yes" votes in Scotland. 3. Alistair Carmichael clearly has established a personal vote as his share has gone from 41.3% in 2001 to 62% in 2010. That's a full 10% more than (local boy) Jim Wallace ever got.
I'd need 6 or 8-1 to tempt me to bet on the SNP here.
Now, the rest of the Scottish LibDems for that matter...
I feel pretty confident in saying that come the 8th of May Alistair Carmichael will be known as The Scottish Liberal Democrat.
Flamboyant Ukip spokesman who compared Nigel Farage to Jesus sacked after series of gaffes EXCLUSIVE: Winston McKenzie dropped as Commonwealth spokesman
More news from the so-called Islamic Human Rights Commission:-
- Theresa May is Islamophobe of the year - Maajid Nawaz is UK Islamophobe of the year.
And I wonder if Sadiq Khan will come to regret speaking at an event organised in Parliament by Cage in June 2012 in favour of Babar Ahmed, later sentenced in the UK to 12 years in prison for terrorist offences.
Apparently Khan has his own Labour campaigh for human rights, funded to the tune of £5000 by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, another branch of the same Joseph Rowntree trust which has funded Cage and which has been shamed/pressured into stopping.
Who is Majid Nawaz ?
My Lib Dem candidate in Hampstead. An ex-jihadist. Founder of Quilliam. From what I have seen a good egg, good candidate and a thoughtful commentator on Islamic issues - and others as well. Was attacked recently for saying that he was not offended by a Jesus and Mo cartoon and was fed up with others taking offence over the slightest thing. Did not get the support he deserved from the Lib Dem hieararchy.
He will get my vote, though, and a few others in the Cyclefree household!
Flamboyant Ukip spokesman who compared Nigel Farage to Jesus sacked after series of gaffes EXCLUSIVE: Winston McKenzie dropped as Commonwealth spokesman
Comments
He will get my vote, though, and a few others in the Cyclefree household!
http://maajidnawaz.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-31819843
Perhaps she got IT advice from a Labour figure who used the password - Password.
It appears that the Conservatives have some momentum though.
The debates are X-factor.
Both are about 3-4 days out of date - do try to keep up.
Info from their websites at this minute.
L+1
C+1
C+4
C+4
http://goo.gl/9RfFdf
/shameless plug
Poll by Cameron`s former private pollster.
Poll in Tory supporting paper.
Poll by Tory Lord.
Poll in Tory supporting paper.
I`ll go with the websites.;-)
But any system, be it AV or FPTP, that takes no account of national votes in a national election is certainly in the running for the title of "worst".
Con shortlist
Shaun Bailey
Victoria Borwick
Charlotte Vere
Do we root for Vere because we are tired to see her in Conservative shortlists every month?
Clarkson: I don't need no literary fag
*punch*
It would have been ironic if it had passed and annihilated them in May.
No that I know what's gone on. But then neither do the free Clarkson army.
That *is* Islamaphobia.
Also, fear of my Muslim neighbours, associates and friends is irrational. They've given me no reason to fear them, and I doubt they ever will. Why should I fear them?
BTW, I utterly agree with the Israel part - if any country has a right to fear its situation, it is them. And I say publish cartoons, and decry those who try to strangle free speech. But we should also decry the genuine Islamaphobes, the ones who hate as much as those they attack.
My wife (sorry to those who seem to take afront when I mention her, but it is relevant) is Turkish, and was raised in a Muslim country. She is an atheist. I am agnostic. Our son could choose either of those courses, or become Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or anything else. Whichever he chooses, we shall try to direct him in the right path, and to become a good citizen of this brilliant country.
If he chooses to be a Muslim, then I don't want him to be disliked, feared or prejudiced against just because of that choice, in the same way I would not want it if he was a Jew, gay, a TS, or even, God help him, a Labour supporter.
On this, je ne suis pas Cyclefree ...
(BTW, I agree the awards are stupid and self-defeating, and the people who support them should be ashamed of themselves. But that does not mean people are not, or cannot be, islamaphobes, and that we should not call them out on it.).
(dons his flameproof suit).
Just in the last 12 months, they've cancelled Ripper Street and In The Flesh despite massive ratings (relative for In The Flesh but for BBC3 its the only decent thing to come out the channel), destroyed themselves in Scotland and if they do end up sacking Clarkson they will likely make themselves Insolvent.
Unless an actual Tory party forms I can't see the Conservatives losing K&C
EXCLUSIVE: Winston McKenzie dropped as Commonwealth spokesman
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2988526/Flamboyant-Ukip-spokesman-compared-Nigel-Farage-Jesus-sacked-series-gaffes.html
Either way, it was the Liberals chose Single Outcome STV and they did it deliberately as a way of gerrymandering FPTP rather than offering the British people a genuinely proportional form of elections. They thought as the perennial Third Party they had the most to gain and nothing to lose.
Hence, if it had passed the irony of them dropping to under 5 seats would have been supreme.
And that was before Clarkson.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/10/tory-donor-windfall-for-camerons-weeks-before-party-leadership-bid
Tin Foil Hats alert. A load of businessmen bought a successful business, not because it was a successful brand, no, something or other to do with them being Tories (shock a load of wealthy businessmen might be Tories) and Sam Cam worked there and David might have been thinking about running for leader at the time IF the Tories lost the 2005 GE...is Tap writing for the Guardian these days?
But then a genuine understanding of the world around them is not something associated with denizens of the right.
Anyone labelling him as an Islamophobe has the credibility of the Spanish Inquisition labelling someone a heretic. They must be CAGE lite.
Hasten to add - only been there once, got lost trying to drive to somewhere in Kent, I think.
new thread