@SouthamObserver "I can't think of a more important issue facing the UK than whether it will continue to exist in its current form." Seriously? In an Ashes summer?
Fantastic - "Like" - although it's also interesting considering the discussion below. @JamesKelly sometimes says that a comment "isn't related to politics or betting" and I agree with a literal interpretation of that phrase. In the absence of politics, I like to read about other betting on here too. I've made some decent money with the help of PtP, Lucian and others on the horses and I've lost some on Mr Dancer's rollercoaster ride of F1 "tips" :-)
It would be better with 50 thoughtful comments rather than an RSS feed of twitter feed posts, cats, F1 and other bits and bobs.
I enjoy seeing F1 and other betting "bits and bobs", F1, cricket, horses, tennis etc filling the gaps (and related tweets) when the politics is a bit thin. And I occasionally punt based on them.
On that note, it's Queens Birthday bank holiday weekend in Gib and I've got a barbeque to light up. Hasta más tarde, mis amigos!
Today being the last day of the US Open, a quick golf story.
In 1999, Payne Stewart won the US Open. He turned to the runner up, Phil Mickelson, hugged him, told him he would win this one day, then famously took his head in his hands and said "You are going to be a father!". Phil's wife Amy gave birth to their daughter Amanda the next day.
That was the first of Phil's FIVE 2nd place finishes, more than anyone else in the tournament's history.
Phil, like Jack Nicklaus before him, is famously a family man, taking time out mid-tournament to turn up at family occasions.
Last Sunday he flew from Memphis to Philadelphia. He then flew back to southern California for his daughter Amanda's (yes, the one born in 1999) 8th grade graduation, where she was the speaker. That was at 6pm Wednesday, Pacific Time. He was on the plane back east at 8pm (11pm on the east coast), landing at 4.30am and being at the course at 5.30am for a 7am tee time on Thursday. Factor in a 3.5 hour weather delay during his round, and he still led the field after the first round. And the second. And the third.
So here we are on Sunday, Phil has led from the outset, it's Fathers Day, and it's his birthday. Every TV commentator, analyst, most of the crowd, everyone, is willing Phil on to win today.
His playing partner today is Hunter Mahan. Mahan's wife is due to give birth imminently.
So this is Karma, the circle of,life - all of it. If you're a Phil fan, and most golf fans are this Sunday, it's going to be a roller-coaster ride with Phil - he'll be wild off the tee, with some miraculous recovery shots, incredible bunker play, and unbelievable clutch putts.
So will Phil finally win the US Open at the 23rd attempt? We'll know in about 6-7 hours.
"Since I broke the Rennard story, some very old-fashioned attitudes to sexual harassment have been on display in the upper echelons of the Lib Dems.
Baroness Williams, one of the party's peers, said the claims had been "hopelessly exaggerated", and her colleague Lord Greaves described Lord Rennard's behaviour as "fairly mild sexual advances"."
"Since I broke the Rennard story, some very old-fashioned attitudes to sexual harassment have been on display in the upper echelons of the Lib Dems.
Baroness Williams, one of the party's peers, said the claims had been "hopelessly exaggerated", and her colleague Lord Greaves described Lord Rennard's behaviour as "fairly mild sexual advances"."
The old-fashioned attitudes are not just to be found in the Lib Dems: it was shown on PB as well, particularly by one poster.
It's nice when a politician says: "We f'ed up. We made a mistake. Now we have to try and put things right, and also to try to ensure it does not happen again." The problem is the media slaughter them for it, which means such candid language is rare. Worse, it forces them towards a cover-up.
In the case of Rennard, regardless of his guilt or innocence, it seems that the internal Lib Dem mechanisms went very wrong over the last couple of years. Instead of admitting that early on, they attempted a minor cover-up that, in the way of these things, blew up in their faces.
Baroness Williams' comments are morally, legally and politically inadvisable.
"Since I broke the Rennard story, some very old-fashioned attitudes to sexual harassment have been on display in the upper echelons of the Lib Dems.
Baroness Williams, one of the party's peers, said the claims had been "hopelessly exaggerated", and her colleague Lord Greaves described Lord Rennard's behaviour as "fairly mild sexual advances"."
It's nice when a politician says: "We f'ed up. We made a mistake. Now we have to try and put things right, and also to try to ensure it does not happen again." The problem is the media slaughter them for it, which means such candid language is rare. Worse, it forces them towards a cover-up.
In fairness Farron started off well:
"Speaking to the Today programme, he said: ‘The one thing I probably can tell you without going through due process is that we screwed this up as a party.
‘There are individuals out there who we had a duty of care towards and we did not fulfil that duty of care.
‘That is something that we have to learn from, apologise for and make sure it never happens again.’
"Since I broke the Rennard story, some very old-fashioned attitudes to sexual harassment have been on display in the upper echelons of the Lib Dems.
Baroness Williams, one of the party's peers, said the claims had been "hopelessly exaggerated", and her colleague Lord Greaves described Lord Rennard's behaviour as "fairly mild sexual advances"."
The old-fashioned attitudes are not just to be found in the Lib Dems: it was shown on PB as well, particularly by one poster.
It's nice when a politician says: "We f'ed up. We made a mistake. Now we have to try and put things right, and also to try to ensure it does not happen again." The problem is the media slaughter them for it, which means such candid language is rare. Worse, it forces them towards a cover-up.
In the case of Rennard, regardless of his guilt or innocence, it seems that the internal Lib Dem mechanisms went very wrong over the last couple of years. Instead of admitting that early on, they attempted a minor cover-up that, in the way of these things, blew up in their faces.
Baroness Williams' comments are morally, legally and politically inadvisable.
It seems what happened with Rennard is the response was the old informal "we'll have a word" followed up by suggesting he might want to retire etc.
I was incandescently angry about both Rennard but especially the comments by certain party figures.
My honest opinion is it's endemic in politics, both the low level sexual harrassment and the informal "words" to deal with complaints.
JK You seem to be positioning yourself as some sort of expert on the beauty or otherwise of Slovenia..I have never nbeen but see it from afar. Have you ever been and what was your opinion?.
You may have missed this and might find it educational
You're right, most instructive. I now know that one can use Grecian2000 on one's beard as well as one's Barnet. Last week's QT also told me that getting 3.3% of the vote in the last Scottish election is no hindrance to an appearance on a Scottish QT, and that George is willing to tell porkies about the economics of London and the SE to grease his London mayoral candidacy.
Presumably the lower his vote goes, the more George will whine about his right to be listened to, one of the several things he has in common with NF.
Galloway has an odd world view but he does stick to his principles.
I'm happy for the Scots to decide their destiny and I'm no historian ... but they do sometimes seem to be their own worst enemies. Is it true that there were more Scots on the Government side than there were on the Jacobite side at Culloden?
And as for Wallace, wasn't it his fellow Scots who did for him in the end?
And for you historians, why was Edward Longshanks remembered more for being the hammer of the Scots and not for marmalising the Welsh? Yes, I know Malleus wotsit was written on his tomb but perhaps they didn't know the Latin for Welsh.
Whatever the result of the referendum, I hope the result is accepted with good grace by all concerned.
Regarding movies, I've found myself going back to the 60s recently to revisit some older B & W titles.
I spent a few days in Paris as a teenager in the 60s. One of things that struck me was the large number of road junctions around Notre Dame etc where there were shrines listing 5-6 names, and all with the same few dates.
Based on the great book by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, "Is Paris Burning?" tells the story of the liberation of Paris. It's an intriguing story as the city had no military or strategic significance whatever in the allied campaign to defeat Germany after D-Day, and was essentially liberated solely to appease the French. It is a true story.
'The Train', starring Burt Lancaster is fiction, and describes the attempts of the French underground to stop a train full of looted French artworks from reaching Germany, under the command of fanatical German officer Paul Schofield.
...why was Edward Longshanks remembered more for being the hammer of the Scots and not for marmalising the Welsh? Yes, I know Malleus wotsit was written on his tomb but perhaps they didn't know the Latin for Welsh.
malleus gallorum
But it also means "hammer of chickens" so perhaps not considered appropriate.
"Since I broke the Rennard story, some very old-fashioned attitudes to sexual harassment have been on display in the upper echelons of the Lib Dems.
Baroness Williams, one of the party's peers, said the claims had been "hopelessly exaggerated", and her colleague Lord Greaves described Lord Rennard's behaviour as "fairly mild sexual advances"."
The old-fashioned attitudes are not just to be found in the Lib Dems: it was shown on PB as well, particularly by one poster.
It's nice when a politician says: "We f'ed up. We made a mistake. Now we have to try and put things right, and also to try to ensure it does not happen again." The problem is the media slaughter them for it, which means such candid language is rare. Worse, it forces them towards a cover-up.
In the case of Rennard, regardless of his guilt or innocence, it seems that the internal Lib Dem mechanisms went very wrong over the last couple of years. Instead of admitting that early on, they attempted a minor cover-up that, in the way of these things, blew up in their faces.
Baroness Williams' comments are morally, legally and politically inadvisable.
It seems what happened with Rennard is the response was the old informal "we'll have a word" followed up by suggesting he might want to retire etc.
I was incandescently angry about both Rennard but especially the comments by certain party figures.
My honest opinion is it's endemic in politics, both the low level sexual harrassment and the informal "words" to deal with complaints.
I used to do some recruiting for a couple of companies I worked for; always at the graduate and junior levels. We had an f'load of training, which was kept up to date by regular six-monthly briefings. One company in particular was paranoid about being sued and was very strict about contacts with external people. For instance, attending meetings alone in person was frowned upon (teleconferences were fine).
If a private company (rightly) has to behave in that way at a junior level, then why should a political party be able to behave on the old principles?
It was clear from the very beginning that the Lib Dem's processes for handling such complaints were either non-existent or were not followed, and that should have been clear to them very early without the Morrisey review.
Some basic questions would have been: *) Were complaints really made? *) Where is the paperwork? *) What actions were decided? *) Were the actions followed? *) Were the actions, with hindsight, right? (I.e. did we make the correct decision?) *) Who was involved with the process?
They should have been able to get basic answers to these in the first few hours after the recent story broke. They lead onto other questions, but the answers should have told them that things were very wrong.
These things happen in any organisation with more than a handful of people in; often they are misunderstandings, but patterns of behaviour can occur. What matters is the way they are handled, from the bottom of the organisation to the very top. It is also important for the same rules to be applied over the entire organisations; i.e. no let-offs for senior staff.
You may have missed this and might find it educational
You're right, most instructive. I now know that one can use Grecian2000 on one's beard as well as one's Barnet. Last week's QT also told me that getting 3.3% of the vote in the last Scottish election is no hindrance to an appearance on a Scottish QT, and that George is willing to tell porkies about the economics of London and the SE to grease his London mayoral candidacy.
Presumably the lower his vote goes, the more George will whine about his right to be listened to, one of the several things he has in common with NF.
Concerning hair dyes. Salmond should stop using boot polish on his eyebrows and consider Grecian.
An entertaining interview with Tebbitt in the Graun.
"Norman Tebbit interview: 'No, I'm not a homophobe' These must be troubling times for Norman Tebbit. He's clearly not a fan of gay marriage; or of David Cameron. In fact, almost the only person to get a good word from him is Jimmy Savile."
"JK You seem to be positioning yourself as some sort of expert on the beauty or otherwise of Slovenia..I have never nbeen but see it from afar. Have you ever been and what was your opinion?"
Yes, I was there in 2008. I thought it was good, but your villa was obscuring my view of Austria, so it dropped a few points on that front.
Galloway has an odd world view but he does stick to his principles.
I'm happy for the Scots to decide their destiny and I'm no historian ... but they do sometimes seem to be their own worst enemies. Is it true that there were more Scots on the Government side than there were on the Jacobite side at Culloden?
And as for Wallace, wasn't it his fellow Scots who did for him in the end?
And for you historians, why was Edward Longshanks remembered more for being the hammer of the Scots and not for marmalising the Welsh? Yes, I know Malleus wotsit was written on his tomb but perhaps they didn't know the Latin for Welsh.
Whatever the result of the referendum, I hope the result is accepted with good grace by all concerned.
The Scottish clans lined up as follows at Culloden:
My own Scots ancestors were on the Government side, and there were a good number of English, French and Polish on the Jacobite side. It was not simply a Anglo Scottish battle, there was a religious and cultural element. My ancestors were staunch Presbyterians and would rather be ruled by Hanoverian Protestants than Scottish Catholics.
Then as now people do not divide neatly on these issues.
Galloway has an odd world view but he does stick to his principles.
I'm happy for the Scots to decide their destiny and I'm no historian ... but they do sometimes seem to be their own worst enemies. Is it true that there were more Scots on the Government side than there were on the Jacobite side at Culloden?
And as for Wallace, wasn't it his fellow Scots who did for him in the end?
And for you historians, why was Edward Longshanks remembered more for being the hammer of the Scots and not for marmalising the Welsh? Yes, I know Malleus wotsit was written on his tomb but perhaps they didn't know the Latin for Welsh.
Whatever the result of the referendum, I hope the result is accepted with good grace by all concerned.
The Scottish clans lined up as follows at Culloden:
My own Scots ancestors were on the Government side, and there were a good number of English, French and Polish on the Jacobite side. It was not simply a Anglo Scottish battle, there was a religious and cultural element. My ancestors were staunch Presbyterians and would rather be ruled by Hanoverian Protestants than Scottish Catholics.
Then as now people do not divide neatly on these issues.
I see clans Cameron and Davidson were with Bonnie Prince Charlie. I see no mention of Salmonds or Sturgeons.
Galloway has an odd world view but he does stick to his principles.
I'm happy for the Scots to decide their destiny and I'm no historian ... but they do sometimes seem to be their own worst enemies. Is it true that there were more Scots on the Government side than there were on the Jacobite side at Culloden?
And as for Wallace, wasn't it his fellow Scots who did for him in the end?
And for you historians, why was Edward Longshanks remembered more for being the hammer of the Scots and not for marmalising the Welsh? Yes, I know Malleus wotsit was written on his tomb but perhaps they didn't know the Latin for Welsh.
Whatever the result of the referendum, I hope the result is accepted with good grace by all concerned.
The Scottish clans lined up as follows at Culloden:
My own Scots ancestors were on the Government side, and there were a good number of English, French and Polish on the Jacobite side. It was not simply a Anglo Scottish battle, there was a religious and cultural element. My ancestors were staunch Presbyterians and would rather be ruled by Hanoverian Protestants than Scottish Catholics.
Then as now people do not divide neatly on these issues.
I had ancestors lined up on both sides of the battle, indeed one ancestor ended up as part of group who were taken to London and imprisoned following the battle. He was IIRC, one of only two of them who was able to return home, it helped that he was a Minister. The others I believe were transported.
"I see clan Cameron was with Bonnie Prince Charlie. I see no mention of Salmonds or Sturgeons."
Which just goes to show that even their forebears had a problem with inhuman weapons of death. For an ethnic determinist such as yourself, that must be rather impressive.
One down and two to go = Spiderman I is simply wonderful - just enough action, geekery, humour and plot/pace. Shame about The Green Goblin's iffy costume but we can't have everything.
Tobey Maguire really was inspired casting - and I'd forgotten the theme music was Chad Kroegar's Hero.
I can't think of a single Scottish Labour poster ever on PB - unless of course we count Mr Pork here.
*tears of laughter etc*
You're the one who referred to yourself as a "serial labour voter" dear.
Don't blame me that you are easily the most inept tory spinner on this site and there is a great deal of competition for that title from your chums.
Plato may well have been a serial Labour voter who now has moved on. I travelled much the same path, being a member of the Labour party from 1995 to 2003 or so. Hell hath no fury etc.
I could even be won back as a voter if Ed Milliband ditched the dangerous and loathsome Ed Balls. I was positively impressed by Andy Burnham this week at the NHS commissioning show, and health policy heavily influences me for obvious reasons.
I think part of the reason the Left wingers who actively post here feel so outnumbered is that they speak from the left wing of a fairly broad church party, so even centrist Labour and LibDems are caricatured as PBtories.
"I think part of the reason the Left wingers who actively post here feel so outnumbered is that they speak from the left wing of a fairly broad church party, so even centrist Labour and LibDems are caricatured as PBtories."
Oh, come now. I agree that Labour are a centre-right party, but Plato isn't exactly a centre-right New Labour type. She's on the hard right, and if she did vote Labour three times, why she did it is anyone's guess.
"I think part of the reason the Left wingers who actively post here feel so outnumbered is that they speak from the left wing of a fairly broad church party, so even centrist Labour and LibDems are caricatured as PBtories."
Oh, come now. I agree that Labour are a centre-right party, but Plato isn't exactly a centre-right New Labour type. She's on the hard right, and if she did vote Labour three times, why she did it is anyone's guess.
Kelly , you support a far right nationalist movement whose aim is to turn Scotland into a corporate tax haven. Cut the crap my friend.
Miss Plato, the first two spiderman films (Maguire) were very good. I was less taken with the third.
Incidentally, Spiderman 2 was also a fun computer game, largely because the web-slinging physics worked brilliantly.
I agree re Spiderman II - I was so concerned that Salt Lake City would have nothing to do when I got there, I booked myself tickets to see it before I flew out! However, my keeness to see it got the better of me and I saw it at the IMAX at Universal Studios instead - perfect for that sort of thing.
I didn't like Spidey III much - Tobey doesn't do dark so am waiting to see if it'll be a horrible re-run or a pleasant surprise after all...
Never tried the game, but I just looked up the awards for the film and it got lots for the soundtrack, choreography etc inc 2 Oscar nominations which I'd totally forgotten about.
so even centrist Labour and LibDems are caricatured as PBtories.
If you seriously think that Clegg's problems and startlingly bad approval ratings stem from him being seen as a centrist and not a yellow tory then that would be your business.
If you actually believe Blair will not forever be remembered as the new labour PM who backed the somewhat less than centrist Neoconservative Bush to the hilt on Iraq, then that too would be your call and you're welcome to make it.
More realistic assessments would point to both as perfect examples of leaders who pulled their parties to the right.
JK ..My Villa, as you call it ,is south of Austria, and whilst I can see the mountains of Slovenia, a view from Slovenia would not obscure any view from there of Austria, therefore you are guilty of lying..hey ho.
@PBModerator - am I missing something re your request that neither I or Mr Kelly refer to each other. I haven't made a single reference bar saying I thought Braveheart was a poor film compared to Apollo 13 and that was to someone else.
I'm not interested whatsoever in personal spats as they're tedious for everyone bar the person who prolongs them.
"JK ..My Villa, as you call it ,is south of Austria, and whilst I can see the mountains of Slovenia, a view from Slovenia would not obscure any view from there of Austria, therefore you are guilty of lying"
Miss Plato, the first two spiderman films (Maguire) were very good. I was less taken with the third.
Incidentally, Spiderman 2 was also a fun computer game, largely because the web-slinging physics worked brilliantly.
I agree re Spiderman II - I was so concerned that Salt Lake City would have nothing to do when I got there, I booked myself tickets to see it before I flew out! However, my keeness to see it got the better of me and I saw it at the IMAX at Universal Studios instead - perfect for that sort of thing.
I didn't like Spidey III much - Tobey doesn't do dark so am waiting to see if it'll be a horrible re-run or a pleasant surprise after all...
Never tried the game, but I just looked up the awards for the film and it got lots for the soundtrack, choreography etc inc 2 Oscar nominations which I'd totally forgotten about.
When/why did you go to SLC if I may ask?
Maybe you can watch The Amazing Spiderman after number 3 and tell me if it's worth seeing. Her Indoors has mentioned it a few times but surely it's just Spiderman again??
"am I missing something re your request that neither I or Mr Kelly refer to each other."
The phrase used was "refer directly or indirectly". Go on, make us laugh - tell us you haven't referred to me indirectly about eighteen times since that laughable "request" was made.
One down and two to go = Spiderman I is simply wonderful - just enough action, geekery, humour and plot/pace. Shame about The Green Goblin's iffy costume but we can't have everything.
Tobey Maguire really was inspired casting - and I'd forgotten the theme music was Chad Kroegar's Hero.
Please please please....stop giving good reviews to movies that are total and utter toilet! You've already had a go at Inception today, one of the great masterpieces of moviemaking in the 21st Century so far. Did you not know that Christopher Nolan is a God?
Follow the golden rules: Firstly, if it's got the word Star at the beginning of it's title, a movie is invariably excellent. Secondly, if Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks or Stephen King have anything to do with a movie then it is guaranteed crap. I would add Patrick Stewart to that list, but he has played a small roll in one of the gratest tv/film franchises of all time.
Now, down to business, listen and obey. Go watch, if you haven't already? Homeland, Sherlock, Doctor Who, The Avengers, Star Trek:Into Darkness, Suits, The Good wife, Hawaii Five-0 remake, Arrested Development, The Newsroom, (I dare you buggers to slag this off for being Sorkinised liberal propaganda, it disses the Tea party as the infiltrating nutjobs they really are. Sorkin would be a Cameroon if he was Political over here). You have my permission to go see Man of Steel since it does Superman justice.
Ms Plato, if you don't hurry up and get your tv and movie taste in order, then I nominate you to spend your life in the kitchen baking all Pber's some pie. Woman and politics/understanding great movies? Pah!
One down and two to go = Spiderman I is simply wonderful - just enough action, geekery, humour and plot/pace. Shame about The Green Goblin's iffy costume but we can't have everything.
Tobey Maguire really was inspired casting - and I'd forgotten the theme music was Chad Kroegar's Hero.
Please please please....stop giving good reviews to movies that are total and utter toilet! You've already had a go at Inception today, one of the great masterpieces of moviemaking in the 21st Century so far. Did you not know that Christopher Nolan is a God?
Follow the golden rules: Firstly, if it's got the word Star at the beginning of it's title, a movie is invariably excellent. Secondly, if Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks or Stephen King have anything to do with a movie then it is guaranteed crap. I would add Patrick Stewart to that list, but he has played a small roll in one of the gratest tv/film franchises of all time.
Now, down to business, listen and obey. Go watch, if you haven't already? Homeland, Sherlock, Doctor Who, The Avengers, Star Trek:Into Darkness, Suits, The Good wife, Hawaii Five-0 remake, Arrested Development, The Newsroom, (I dare you buggers to slag this off for being Sorkinised liberal propaganda, it disses the Tea party as the infiltrating nutjobs they really are. Sorkin would be a Cameroon if he was Political over here). You have my permission to go see Man of Steel since it does Superman justice.
Ms Plato, if you don't hurry up and get your tv and movie taste in order, then I nominate you to spend your life in the kitchen baking all Pber's some pie. Woman and politics/understanding great movies? Pah!
David, check out US sitcom Community, you can thank me later.
Miss Plato, the first two spiderman films (Maguire) were very good. I was less taken with the third.
Incidentally, Spiderman 2 was also a fun computer game, largely because the web-slinging physics worked brilliantly.
I agree re Spiderman II - I was so concerned that Salt Lake City would have nothing to do when I got there, I booked myself tickets to see it before I flew out! However, my keeness to see it got the better of me and I saw it at the IMAX at Universal Studios instead - perfect for that sort of thing.
I didn't like Spidey III much - Tobey doesn't do dark so am waiting to see if it'll be a horrible re-run or a pleasant surprise after all...
Never tried the game, but I just looked up the awards for the film and it got lots for the soundtrack, choreography etc inc 2 Oscar nominations which I'd totally forgotten about.
When/why did you go to SLC if I may ask?
Maybe you can watch The Amazing Spiderman after number 3 and tell me if it's worth seeing. Her Indoors has mentioned it a few times but surely it's just Spiderman again??
I did a road trip all around Nevada, Colorado, California, Arizona and Utah. I originally wanted to see the Bonneville salt flats and a load of other amazing landscapes and SLC had so much folklore about it.
If you get the chance, its a very welcoming city and the Mormons aren't scary at all or weird. It's also incredibly clean and polite/safe.
"I have noticed that your leader , Salmond , has despaired of the Arc of Prosperity nations"
Hardly. Norway is one of the most prosperous countries on Earth, and what we wouldn't give for an Icelandic recovery.
Iceland and Norway aren't in the EU. Salmond's a slavish europhile , thus his current crush on rich EU tax haven , Luxembourg. Eck's always sucking up to the rich boys.
MalcolmG..The mountains of Slovenia..Seen from afar, yes they are more beautiful in a scenic sense than the Cairngorms. it depends if you like towering granite peaks or some high grassy mounds. I say that with great experience of campimg and walking over the Grampians ,as well as other high places in Scotland , as we have discussed many times before. Apparently my villa .which must be enormous, is obscuring the view of Austria from Slovenia, according to one James Kelly, perhaps he should pay a visit to an optician..
Braveheart was an absolute crock.Almost everything about it was laughable..in fact the only good things were the Highland settings
Braveheart was historical and geographic garbage. It was filmed in Eire.
But it was good light entertainment
I remember enjoying it at the time, but don't think it has aged well. I've tried to watch it a couple of times since, but usually end up getting bored within an hour.
One down and two to go = Spiderman I is simply wonderful - just enough action, geekery, humour and plot/pace. Shame about The Green Goblin's iffy costume but we can't have everything.
Tobey Maguire really was inspired casting - and I'd forgotten the theme music was Chad Kroegar's Hero.
Please please please....stop giving good reviews to movies that are total and utter toilet! You've already had a go at Inception today, one of the great masterpieces of moviemaking in the 21st Century so far. Did you not know that Christopher Nolan is a God?
Follow the golden rules: Firstly, if it's got the word Star at the beginning of it's title, a movie is invariably excellent. Secondly, if Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks or Stephen King have anything to do with a movie then it is guaranteed crap. I would add Patrick Stewart to that list, but he has played a small roll in one of the gratest tv/film franchises of all time.
Now, down to business, listen and obey. Go watch, if you haven't already? Homeland, Sherlock, Doctor Who, The Avengers, Star Trek:Into Darkness, Suits, The Good wife, Hawaii Five-0 remake, Arrested Development, The Newsroom, (I dare you buggers to slag this off for being Sorkinised liberal propaganda, it disses the Tea party as the infiltrating nutjobs they really are. Sorkin would be a Cameroon if he was Political over here). You have my permission to go see Man of Steel since it does Superman justice.
Ms Plato, if you don't hurry up and get your tv and movie taste in order, then I nominate you to spend your life in the kitchen baking all Pber's some pie. Woman and politics/understanding great movies? Pah!
David, check out US sitcom Community, you can thank me later.
Seen some already, quite good. Brownie points for you sir. One of my Scottish mates asked me if Taggart had been finally cancelled? He thought it was a really well made docusoap. Where are they now?
so even centrist Labour and LibDems are caricatured as PBtories.
If you seriously think that Clegg's problems and startlingly bad approval ratings stem from him being seen as a centrist and not a yellow tory then that would be your business.
If you actually believe Blair will not forever be remembered as the new labour PM who backed the somewhat less than centrist Neoconservative Bush to the hilt on Iraq, then that too would be your call and you're welcome to make it.
More realistic assessments would point to both as perfect examples of leaders who pulled their parties to the right.
I appreciate that I am in a fairly small minority in thinking well of Nick Clegg, but neither he or I are Tories. Blair lost me in 2003 over two issues, the Iraq war and the privatization of the NHS.
If you think that all LibDems and centrist Labour figures like Burnham are Tories, then I am not surprised that you feel outnumbered. Not everyone to the right of you is a Tory, and to think so is to cater to such a narrow socialist mindset that Labour would be very foolish to follow. It was regaining the center that was the Labour triumph of 1997. The hard left did the opposite in 1983, and would be no more popular with their manifesto today, possibly less so.
Galloway has an odd world view but he does stick to his principles.
I'm happy for the Scots to decide their destiny and I'm no historian ... but they do sometimes seem to be their own worst enemies. Is it true that there were more Scots on the Government side than there were on the Jacobite side at Culloden?
And as for Wallace, wasn't it his fellow Scots who did for him in the end?
And for you historians, why was Edward Longshanks remembered more for being the hammer of the Scots and not for marmalising the Welsh? Yes, I know Malleus wotsit was written on his tomb but perhaps they didn't know the Latin for Welsh.
Whatever the result of the referendum, I hope the result is accepted with good grace by all concerned.
Precisely because he marmalised the Welsh, but only temporarily subjugated the Scots. His PR folks did the talking... ;-)
If you like a good old fashioned American ww2 shoot 'em up movie, may I commend to you 'The Bridge at Remagen', a historical epic regarding the capture of a bridge over the Rhine at the end of ww2.
Braveheart has been criticized - among other things - for having the Battle of Stirling Bridge re-enacted without Stirling, a river, or a bridge.
Regarding the historical accuracy of 'The Bridge at Remagen', the facts in the movie are:
1) there was a bridge at Remagen 2) it was captured intact by the Americans
the rest of the movie is pure fiction.
- but it's enjoyable with George Segal leading the US attack, and Robert Vaughn playing the German bridge commander.
Braveheart was an absolute crock.Almost everything about it was laughable..in fact the only good things were the Highland settings
Braveheart was historical and geographic garbage. It was filmed in Eire.
But it was good light entertainment
I remember enjoying it at the time, but don't think it has aged well. I've tried to watch it a couple of times since, but usually end up getting bored within an hour.
I'd stick Braveheart in the same category as Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves. I can suspend a lot of reality in exchange for a good film, both of these had me wondering what I was doing watching them, PoT was particularly egregious when it came to geography.
What betting opportunities are available re the glorious Chaffinch? I assume all the discussion on here will lead to a great tip for the Chaffinch grand national or something.
Stalking must have betting possibilities surely? What are the odds that we are all going to join a suicide cult and leave this world,if the purile behaviour of those who should know better doesn't stop excrementing itself over this site soon. PB betting, PB for five year olds more like.
Galloway has an odd world view but he does stick to his principles.
I'm happy for the Scots to decide their destiny and I'm no historian ... but they do sometimes seem to be their own worst enemies. Is it true that there were more Scots on the Government side than there were on the Jacobite side at Culloden?
And as for Wallace, wasn't it his fellow Scots who did for him in the end?
And for you historians, why was Edward Longshanks remembered more for being the hammer of the Scots and not for marmalising the Welsh? Yes, I know Malleus wotsit was written on his tomb but perhaps they didn't know the Latin for Welsh.
Whatever the result of the referendum, I hope the result is accepted with good grace by all concerned.
The Scottish clans lined up as follows at Culloden:
My own Scots ancestors were on the Government side, and there were a good number of English, French and Polish on the Jacobite side. It was not simply a Anglo Scottish battle, there was a religious and cultural element. My ancestors were staunch Presbyterians and would rather be ruled by Hanoverian Protestants than Scottish Catholics.
Then as now people do not divide neatly on these issues.
One of my lot (Argyll) fought for the winners, while the Grahams were neutral.
I think part of the reason the Left wingers who actively post here feel so outnumbered is that they speak from the left wing of a fairly broad church party, so even centrist Labour and LibDems are caricatured as PBtories.
And the reason why "PB Tory" annoys is that it lumps together the likes of Richard Nabavi and myself with those like Moniker or Richard Dodd with whom I suspect we differ on more than we agree.
If you think that all LibDems and centrist Labour figures like Burnham are Tories
I don't. The lib dems aren't seeing their base disappearing because that base has suddenly lurched to the left.
The difference between a Blairite and tory is hardly that pronounced since Cammie is nothing more than a second rate Blair impersonator.
Though I admit I do find it odd that you don't seem to realise Burnham pushed through and was a cheerleader of Blairite reforms of the NHS like foundation hospitals.
You could always just bleat about socialists as that always convinces that someone is a pragmatic centrist and not right wing.
If you think that all LibDems and centrist Labour figures like Burnham are Tories
I don't. The lib dems aren't seeing their base disappearing because that base has suddenly lurched to the left.
The difference between a Blairite and tory is hardly that pronounced since Cammie is nothing more than a second rate Blair impersonator.
Though I admit I do find it odd that you don't seem to realise Burnham pushed through and was a cheerleader of Blairite reforms of the NHS like foundation hospitals.
You could always just bleat about socialists as that always convinces that someone is a pragmatic centrist and not right wing.
Burnham certainly did, but all three parties went into the last election advocating foundation hospitals and greater use of private companies, at least in NHS England. It was a very frank interview with Burnham on Wednesday and he was quite clear that he felt that the pendulum had swung too far in the use of private provision, and that he wanted less private provision in the future. I know because I was in the audience, as were a lot of private health care providers and GP commissioners.
He is a centrist Labour politician, and the other politician there was Norman Lamb. But to you we are all undifferentiated PB Tories.
Burnham certainly did, but all three parties went into the last election advocating foundation hospitals and greater use of private companies, at least in NHS England.
Well that clearly means it was a great idea and a centrist policy. The lib dems have certainly not been divided over the wisdom over such reforms since then as Lansley will testify. Burnham's amusing conversion away from them also don't point to them being hastily thought out Blairite tosh.
Lamb is a possible compromise candidate should the lib dems ever inexplicably rid themselves of the 'centrist' Clegg. Yet Lamb is not faring well against the likes of Vince or Farron in the popularity stakes as he is not quite that big move away from Clegg and the more rabid orange bookers.
I realise you are trying very hard to support your straw man but the fact that orange bookers and Blairites clearly have much in common with tories (despite not being tories) is something you will have to deal with yourself. It is you that is unceasingly trying to rope everyone in to the PBtory label in a somewhat pitiful effort to deflect away from the fact that on PB referring to tory posters as PB tories somehow upsets those tory posters beyond all reason and usually drives them to hysteria.
Burnham certainly did, but all three parties went into the last election advocating foundation hospitals and greater use of private companies, at least in NHS England.
Well that clearly means it was a great idea and a centrist policy. The lib dems have certainly not been divided over the wisdom over such reforms since then as Lansley will testify. Burnham's amusing conversion away from them also don't point to them being hastily thought out Blairite tosh.
Lamb is a possible compromise candidate should the lib dems ever inexplicably rid themselves of the 'centrist' Clegg. Yet Lamb is not faring well against the likes of Vince or Farron in the popularity stakes as he is not quite that big move away from Clegg and the more rabid orange bookers.
I realise you are trying very hard to support your straw man but the fact that orange bookers and Blairites clearly have much in common with tories (despite not being tories) is something you will have to deal with yourself. It is you that is unceasingly trying to rope everyone in to the PBtory label in a somewhat pitiful effort to deflect away from the fact that on PB referring to tory posters as PB tories somehow upsets those tory posters beyond all reason and usually drives them to hysteria.
If you wish to attempt to annoy orange bookers and centrist Labour politicians by classing them PB Tories, when they clearly are not, then do not be surprised when you are outnumbered by them.
The Lefts ability to lose friends and alienate people remains legendary. And unspoofable.
Burnham certainly did, but all three parties went into the last election advocating foundation hospitals and greater use of private companies, at least in NHS England.
Well that clearly means it was a great idea and a centrist policy. The lib dems have certainly not been divided over the wisdom over such reforms since then as Lansley will testify. Burnham's amusing conversion away from them also don't point to them being hastily thought out Blairite tosh.
Lamb is a possible compromise candidate should the lib dems ever inexplicably rid themselves of the 'centrist' Clegg. Yet Lamb is not faring well against the likes of Vince or Farron in the popularity stakes as he is not quite that big move away from Clegg and the more rabid orange bookers.
I realise you are trying very hard to support your straw man but the fact that orange bookers and Blairites clearly have much in common with tories (despite not being tories) is something you will have to deal with yourself. It is you that is unceasingly trying to rope everyone in to the PBtory label in a somewhat pitiful effort to deflect away from the fact that on PB referring to tory posters as PB tories somehow upsets those tory posters beyond all reason and usually drives them to hysteria.
If you wish to attempt to annoy orange bookers and centrist Labour politicians by classing them PB Tories
I haven't but you self-evidently are classing them so, have done it repeatedly and are still doing it in your amusing desperation.
The Lefts ability to lose friends and alienate people remains legendary.
How quickly you have forgotten that you were supposed to be attacking me for herding a mass of people into one label. More likely you are just completely oblivious to how hypocritical that telling 'slip' makes you look.
Comments
I disagree with IOS I enjoy seeing F1 and other betting "bits and bobs", F1, cricket, horses, tennis etc filling the gaps (and related tweets) when the politics is a bit thin. And I occasionally punt based on them.
On that note, it's Queens Birthday bank holiday weekend in Gib and I've got a barbeque to light up. Hasta más tarde, mis amigos!
In 1999, Payne Stewart won the US Open. He turned to the runner up, Phil Mickelson, hugged him, told him he would win this one day, then famously took his head in his hands and said "You are going to be a father!". Phil's wife Amy gave birth to their daughter Amanda the next day.
That was the first of Phil's FIVE 2nd place finishes, more than anyone else in the tournament's history.
Phil, like Jack Nicklaus before him, is famously a family man, taking time out mid-tournament to turn up at family occasions.
Last Sunday he flew from Memphis to Philadelphia. He then flew back to southern California for his daughter Amanda's (yes, the one born in 1999) 8th grade graduation, where she was the speaker. That was at 6pm Wednesday, Pacific Time. He was on the plane back east at 8pm (11pm on the east coast), landing at 4.30am and being at the course at 5.30am for a 7am tee time on Thursday. Factor in a 3.5 hour weather delay during his round, and he still led the field after the first round. And the second. And the third.
So here we are on Sunday, Phil has led from the outset, it's Fathers Day, and it's his birthday. Every TV commentator, analyst, most of the crowd, everyone, is willing Phil on to win today.
His playing partner today is Hunter Mahan. Mahan's wife is due to give birth imminently.
So this is Karma, the circle of,life - all of it. If you're a Phil fan, and most golf fans are this Sunday, it's going to be a roller-coaster ride with Phil - he'll be wild off the tee, with some miraculous recovery shots, incredible bunker play, and unbelievable clutch putts.
So will Phil finally win the US Open at the 23rd attempt? We'll know in about 6-7 hours.
It'll be interesting to see how the men's tournament at Wimbledon turns out this year.
And even nicer than Slovenia, I'm sure you'd agree.
"Since I broke the Rennard story, some very old-fashioned attitudes to sexual harassment have been on display in the upper echelons of the Lib Dems.
Baroness Williams, one of the party's peers, said the claims had been "hopelessly exaggerated", and her colleague Lord Greaves described Lord Rennard's behaviour as "fairly mild sexual advances"."
http://www.channel4.com/news/lord-rennard-sexual-harassment-police-interview
You may have missed this and might find it educational ;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAGGxgrR4qo
It's nice when a politician says: "We f'ed up. We made a mistake. Now we have to try and put things right, and also to try to ensure it does not happen again." The problem is the media slaughter them for it, which means such candid language is rare. Worse, it forces them towards a cover-up.
In the case of Rennard, regardless of his guilt or innocence, it seems that the internal Lib Dem mechanisms went very wrong over the last couple of years. Instead of admitting that early on, they attempted a minor cover-up that, in the way of these things, blew up in their faces.
Baroness Williams' comments are morally, legally and politically inadvisable.
In fairness Farron started off well:
"Speaking to the Today programme, he said: ‘The one thing I probably can tell you without going through due process is that we screwed this up as a party.
‘There are individuals out there who we had a duty of care towards and we did not fulfil that duty of care.
‘That is something that we have to learn from, apologise for and make sure it never happens again.’
http://metro.co.uk/2013/02/24/nick-clegg-admits-lord-rennard-concerns-in-2008-but-angrily-denies-claims-of-a-cover-up-3511992/
But then the tug of tribal loyalty proved too strong:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/liberaldemocrats/9901942/Tim-Farron-newspapers-reported-Lord-Rennard-claims-to-influence-Eastleigh-results.html
It's nice when a politician says: "We f'ed up. We made a mistake. Now we have to try and put things right, and also to try to ensure it does not happen again." The problem is the media slaughter them for it, which means such candid language is rare. Worse, it forces them towards a cover-up.
In the case of Rennard, regardless of his guilt or innocence, it seems that the internal Lib Dem mechanisms went very wrong over the last couple of years. Instead of admitting that early on, they attempted a minor cover-up that, in the way of these things, blew up in their faces.
Baroness Williams' comments are morally, legally and politically inadvisable.
It seems what happened with Rennard is the response was the old informal "we'll have a word" followed up by suggesting he might want to retire etc.
I was incandescently angry about both Rennard but especially the comments by certain party figures.
My honest opinion is it's endemic in politics, both the low level sexual harrassment and the informal "words" to deal with complaints.
Last week's QT also told me that getting 3.3% of the vote in the last Scottish election is no hindrance to an appearance on a Scottish QT, and that George is willing to tell porkies about the economics of London and the SE to grease his London mayoral candidacy.
Presumably the lower his vote goes, the more George will whine about his right to be listened to, one of the several things he has in common with NF.
Galloway has an odd world view but he does stick to his principles.
I'm happy for the Scots to decide their destiny and I'm no historian ... but they do sometimes seem to be their own worst enemies. Is it true that there were more Scots on the Government side than there were on the Jacobite side at Culloden?
And as for Wallace, wasn't it his fellow Scots who did for him in the end?
And for you historians, why was Edward Longshanks remembered more for being the hammer of the Scots and not for marmalising the Welsh? Yes, I know Malleus wotsit was written on his tomb but perhaps they didn't know the Latin for Welsh.
Whatever the result of the referendum, I hope the result is accepted with good grace by all concerned.
I spent a few days in Paris as a teenager in the 60s. One of things that struck me was the large number of road junctions around Notre Dame etc where there were shrines listing 5-6 names, and all with the same few dates.
Based on the great book by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, "Is Paris Burning?" tells the story of the liberation of Paris. It's an intriguing story as the city had no military or strategic significance whatever in the allied campaign to defeat Germany after D-Day, and was essentially liberated solely to appease the French. It is a true story.
'The Train', starring Burt Lancaster is fiction, and describes the attempts of the French underground to stop a train full of looted French artworks from reaching Germany, under the command of fanatical German officer Paul Schofield.
But it also means "hammer of chickens" so perhaps not considered appropriate.
I was incandescently angry about both Rennard but especially the comments by certain party figures.
My honest opinion is it's endemic in politics, both the low level sexual harrassment and the informal "words" to deal with complaints.
I used to do some recruiting for a couple of companies I worked for; always at the graduate and junior levels. We had an f'load of training, which was kept up to date by regular six-monthly briefings. One company in particular was paranoid about being sued and was very strict about contacts with external people. For instance, attending meetings alone in person was frowned upon (teleconferences were fine).
If a private company (rightly) has to behave in that way at a junior level, then why should a political party be able to behave on the old principles?
It was clear from the very beginning that the Lib Dem's processes for handling such complaints were either non-existent or were not followed, and that should have been clear to them very early without the Morrisey review.
Some basic questions would have been:
*) Were complaints really made?
*) Where is the paperwork?
*) What actions were decided?
*) Were the actions followed?
*) Were the actions, with hindsight, right? (I.e. did we make the correct decision?)
*) Who was involved with the process?
They should have been able to get basic answers to these in the first few hours after the recent story broke. They lead onto other questions, but the answers should have told them that things were very wrong.
These things happen in any organisation with more than a handful of people in; often they are misunderstandings, but patterns of behaviour can occur. What matters is the way they are handled, from the bottom of the organisation to the very top. It is also important for the same rules to be applied over the entire organisations; i.e. no let-offs for senior staff.
'that's not all Boris has been doing. Zinger of a col coming later' deerin
I'm assuming a column by Boris.
"Norman Tebbit interview: 'No, I'm not a homophobe'
These must be troubling times for Norman Tebbit. He's clearly not a fan of gay marriage; or of David Cameron. In fact, almost the only person to get a good word from him is Jimmy Savile."
http://tinyurl.com/mvojucm
You're the one who referred to yourself as a "serial labour voter" dear.
Don't blame me that you are easily the most inept tory spinner on this site and there is a great deal of competition for that title from your chums.
Yes, I was there in 2008. I thought it was good, but your villa was obscuring my view of Austria, so it dropped a few points on that front.
http://unknownscottishhistory.com/articlefourteen.php
My own Scots ancestors were on the Government side, and there were a good number of English, French and Polish on the Jacobite side. It was not simply a Anglo Scottish battle, there was a religious and cultural element. My ancestors were staunch Presbyterians and would rather be ruled by Hanoverian Protestants than Scottish Catholics.
Then as now people do not divide neatly on these issues.
I see clans Cameron and Davidson were with Bonnie Prince Charlie. I see no mention of Salmonds or Sturgeons.
I had ancestors lined up on both sides of the battle, indeed one ancestor ended up as part of group who were taken to London and imprisoned following the battle. He was IIRC, one of only two of them who was able to return home, it helped that he was a Minister. The others I believe were transported.
Which just goes to show that even their forebears had a problem with inhuman weapons of death. For an ethnic determinist such as yourself, that must be rather impressive.
Tobey Maguire really was inspired casting - and I'd forgotten the theme music was Chad Kroegar's Hero.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etp8L9pbqeM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD8YAn1Uzzc
I could even be won back as a voter if Ed Milliband ditched the dangerous and loathsome Ed Balls. I was positively impressed by Andy Burnham this week at the NHS commissioning show, and health policy heavily influences me for obvious reasons.
I think part of the reason the Left wingers who actively post here feel so outnumbered is that they speak from the left wing of a fairly broad church party, so even centrist Labour and LibDems are caricatured as PBtories.
Oh, come now. I agree that Labour are a centre-right party, but Plato isn't exactly a centre-right New Labour type. She's on the hard right, and if she did vote Labour three times, why she did it is anyone's guess.
Incidentally, Spiderman 2 was also a fun computer game, largely because the web-slinging physics worked brilliantly.
Seriously mate, you're mixing me up with someone else. I don't support UKIP.
I didn't like Spidey III much - Tobey doesn't do dark so am waiting to see if it'll be a horrible re-run or a pleasant surprise after all...
Never tried the game, but I just looked up the awards for the film and it got lots for the soundtrack, choreography etc inc 2 Oscar nominations which I'd totally forgotten about.
If you actually believe Blair will not forever be remembered as the new labour PM who backed the somewhat less than centrist Neoconservative Bush to the hilt on Iraq, then that too would be your call and you're welcome to make it.
More realistic assessments would point to both as perfect examples of leaders who pulled their parties to the right.
Even the Game of Thrones RPG was reportedly a huge steaming pile of dung.
I suspect they would be both interesting and highly predictable, all at the same time!
I'm not interested whatsoever in personal spats as they're tedious for everyone bar the person who prolongs them.
You're forgetting about the shadow.
Maybe you can watch The Amazing Spiderman after number 3 and tell me if it's worth seeing. Her Indoors has mentioned it a few times but surely it's just Spiderman again??
The phrase used was "refer directly or indirectly". Go on, make us laugh - tell us you haven't referred to me indirectly about eighteen times since that laughable "request" was made.
Follow the golden rules: Firstly, if it's got the word Star at the beginning of it's title, a movie is invariably excellent. Secondly, if Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks or Stephen King have anything to do with a movie then it is guaranteed crap. I would add Patrick Stewart to that list, but he has played a small roll in one of the gratest tv/film franchises of all time.
Now, down to business, listen and obey. Go watch, if you haven't already? Homeland, Sherlock, Doctor Who, The Avengers, Star Trek:Into Darkness, Suits, The Good wife, Hawaii Five-0 remake, Arrested Development, The Newsroom, (I dare you buggers to slag this off for being Sorkinised liberal propaganda, it disses the Tea party as the infiltrating nutjobs they really are. Sorkin would be a Cameroon if he was Political over here). You have my permission to go see Man of Steel since it does Superman justice.
Ms Plato, if you don't hurry up and get your tv and movie taste in order, then I nominate you to spend your life in the kitchen baking all Pber's some pie. Woman and politics/understanding great movies? Pah!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxTPEd_Skfc
;^ )
Hardly. Norway is one of the most prosperous countries on Earth, and what we wouldn't give for an Icelandic recovery.
If you get the chance, its a very welcoming city and the Mormons aren't scary at all or weird. It's also incredibly clean and polite/safe.
Unlike your country of choice Italy, which is in the eurozone? Is that a step you'd like to see Britain take?
One of my Scottish mates asked me if Taggart had been finally cancelled? He thought it was a really well made docusoap. Where are they now?
If you think that all LibDems and centrist Labour figures like Burnham are Tories, then I am not surprised that you feel outnumbered. Not everyone to the right of you is a Tory, and to think so is to cater to such a narrow socialist mindset that Labour would be very foolish to follow. It was regaining the center that was the Labour triumph of 1997. The hard left did the opposite in 1983, and would be no more popular with their manifesto today, possibly less so.
Metropolitan Railway steam engine No.1 was on the Epping Ongar Railway today! Will also be there next two weekends. Dates from 1898!
https://twitter.com/Sunil_P2/status/346354301091844096/photo/1
Braveheart has been criticized - among other things - for having the Battle of Stirling Bridge re-enacted without Stirling, a river, or a bridge.
Regarding the historical accuracy of 'The Bridge at Remagen', the facts in the movie are:
1) there was a bridge at Remagen
2) it was captured intact by the Americans
the rest of the movie is pure fiction.
- but it's enjoyable with George Segal leading the US attack, and Robert Vaughn playing the German bridge commander.
Stalking must have betting possibilities surely? What are the odds that we are all going to join a suicide cult and leave this world,if the purile behaviour of those who should know better doesn't stop excrementing itself over this site soon. PB betting, PB for five year olds more like.
Great stuff, and quite spooky.
Followed by the weird satirical South African Sci-fi "District 9”
BOOM.
Everything in life is subtle shades of grey.
The difference between a Blairite and tory is hardly that pronounced since Cammie is nothing more than a second rate Blair impersonator.
Though I admit I do find it odd that you don't seem to realise Burnham pushed through and was a cheerleader of Blairite reforms of the NHS like foundation hospitals.
You could always just bleat about socialists as that always convinces that someone is a pragmatic centrist and not right wing.
Nighthawks is open.
Revealing that GCHQ spys on our allies (which I had assumed anyway), and exactly how they did so, seems a little off.
He is a centrist Labour politician, and the other politician there was Norman Lamb. But to you we are all undifferentiated PB Tories.
Lamb is a possible compromise candidate should the lib dems ever inexplicably rid themselves of the 'centrist' Clegg. Yet Lamb is not faring well against the likes of Vince or Farron in the popularity stakes as he is not quite that big move away from Clegg and the more rabid orange bookers.
I realise you are trying very hard to support your straw man but the fact that orange bookers and Blairites clearly have much in common with tories (despite not being tories) is something you will have to deal with yourself. It is you that is unceasingly trying to rope everyone in to the PBtory label in a somewhat pitiful effort to deflect away from the fact that on PB referring to tory posters as PB tories somehow upsets those tory posters beyond all reason and usually drives them to hysteria.
The Lefts ability to lose friends and alienate people remains legendary. And unspoofable.
Unspoofable indeed.
http://www.gamblingblog.biz/