Watching the Criterium du Dauphinee, the team time trial. The Canondale Garmin team are on the road, losing one of their riders off the back. His name? Jack Bauer.
Who can forget Watson's excoriating attack on the Mirror for phone hacking and his calls for it to be shut down and its journalists thrown out of their jobs just like at NOTW:
"The Mirror group have admitted to what has been suspected for some time - they used to hack phones too.
"Today's revelations only make the argument stronger that the Leveson recommendations should be implemented in full.
The way Labour doing this is nuts. Surely, if they are to be of any use, the deputy and the leader must be on at least speaking terms with each other. If not the deputy simply becomes a distinct power base within the party and a source of dissent and confusion.
Of course Mr Watson is an incredibly nice chap who can work with anyone and would never dream of dripping uncomplimentary remarks about a colleague in the ears of a helpful journalist. Well, anyone except the last leader of the Labour party. Nice though he is, what is the point of making him deputy if Kendall was made leader and could not stand him (entirely hypothetical of course)?
The only sensible way to do this, as I have said before, is to have joint tickets leading to a unified leadership. Teams work: Cameron and Osborne, Blair and Brown, Maggie and Whitelaw. Split leadership such as Labour had under Ed does not.
The way to do it is not to have a totally made up and bogus position of deputy leader.
A pretty fair point. It's politically useful though, the Prescott example being a case in point - a figure of great stature (ahem) in his party but crap at the job of being a minister. As deputy leader he had the prestige but limited the damage he could by running important bits of the country.
Other countries use Ambassadorships for this purpose.
While the 538 projection for the Commons was laughably inept in 2010 and 15.
538, like HYUFD of our parish, places inordinate faith in the accuracy of polls, or at least in the accuracy of the wisdom of crowds of polls. When the polls are doing well and it is a two horse race, 538 is remarkably accurate. Their models, IMO, are remarkably unsuited for multiparty politics or elections where polling is not capturing undercurrents, such as the 2010 and 2014 mid-terms here.
They predicted 54 gains in the US house in 2010, which isn't bad going at all. They were spot on in 2012 too. They might be rubbish at UK elections but their US track record is very admirable overall. Certainly better than Politico, who were predicting a coin toss in 2012 when Silver rightly pointed out the dynamics showed a solid Obama win from the start.
To be fair though, an asthmatic 3 toed sloth with some heavy shopping and a low sense of self-esteem could have predicted an Obama win in 2012.
What's intriguing is the total disconnect between Obama's electoral performance and that of his party.
Actually, it was an asthmatic ant with heavy shopping!
Watching the Criterium du Dauphinee, the team time trial. The Canondale Garmin team are on the road, losing one of their riders off the back. His name? Jack Bauer.
If he's been dropped already this could be the longest day of his life.
While the 538 projection for the Commons was laughably inept in 2010 and 15.
538, like HYUFD of our parish, places inordinate faith in the accuracy of polls, or at least in the accuracy of the wisdom of crowds of polls. When the polls are doing well and it is a two horse race, 538 is remarkably accurate. Their models, IMO, are remarkably unsuited for multiparty politics or elections where polling is not capturing undercurrents, such as the 2010 and 2014 mid-terms here.
They predicted 54 gains in the US house in 2010, which isn't bad going at all. They were spot on in 2012 too. They might be rubbish at UK elections but their US track record is very admirable overall. Certainly better than Politico, who were predicting a coin toss in 2012 when Silver rightly pointed out the dynamics showed a solid Obama win from the start.
To be fair though, an asthmatic 3 toed sloth with some heavy shopping and a low sense of self-esteem could have predicted an Obama win in 2012.
What's intriguing is the total disconnect between Obama's electoral performance and that of his party.
Actually, it was an asthmatic ant with heavy shopping!
That was Blackadder - I changed the creature and added the low sense of self-esteem so can claim some originality :-)
The way Labour doing this is nuts. Surely, if they are to be of any use, the deputy and the leader must be on at least speaking terms with each other. If not the deputy simply becomes a distinct power base within the party and a source of dissent and confusion.
Of course Mr Watson is an incredibly nice chap who can work with anyone and would never dream of dripping uncomplimentary remarks about a colleague in the ears of a helpful journalist. Well, anyone except the last leader of the Labour party. Nice though he is, what is the point of making him deputy if Kendall was made leader and could not stand him (entirely hypothetical of course)?
The only sensible way to do this, as I have said before, is to have joint tickets leading to a unified leadership. Teams work: Cameron and Osborne, Blair and Brown, Maggie and Whitelaw. Split leadership such as Labour had under Ed does not.
The way to do it is not to have a totally made up and bogus position of deputy leader.
A pretty fair point. It's politically useful though, the Prescott example being a case in point - a figure of great stature (ahem) in his party but crap at the job of being a minister. As deputy leader he had the prestige but limited the damage he could by running important bits of the country.
Its not really, as deputy leader he had whatever powers Blair let him have. There is no reason the post couldn't be abolished altogether and that the leader couldn't appoint a deputy if he or she required.
Same as the post of Deputy PM. Clearly Clegg (as part of the quad) wielded far more power as Deputy PM than Prescott ever did as deputy. Though Clegg did it from being leader of the junior party and so essentially having veto power over much the Commons could do.
Prescott meanwhile had the power to ... mouth platitudes at PMQs whenever Blair was out of the country. And that was about it.
Watching the Criterium du Dauphinee, the team time trial. The Canondale Garmin team are on the road, losing one of their riders off the back. His name? Jack Bauer.
Wasn't that yesterday? Looks like my fantasy team may be, er, sub-optimal.
Is sub-optimal the same as deferred success?
Sort of. In this case, it's more post-dated failure.
The way Labour doing this is nuts. Surely, if they are to be of any use, the deputy and the leader must be on at least speaking terms with each other. If not the deputy simply becomes a distinct power base within the party and a source of dissent and confusion.
Of course Mr Watson is an incredibly nice chap who can work with anyone and would never dream of dripping uncomplimentary remarks about a colleague in the ears of a helpful journalist. Well, anyone except the last leader of the Labour party. Nice though he is, what is the point of making him deputy if Kendall was made leader and could not stand him (entirely hypothetical of course)?
The only sensible way to do this, as I have said before, is to have joint tickets leading to a unified leadership. Teams work: Cameron and Osborne, Blair and Brown, Maggie and Whitelaw. Split leadership such as Labour had under Ed does not.
The way to do it is not to have a totally made up and bogus position of deputy leader.
A pretty fair point. It's politically useful though, the Prescott example being a case in point - a figure of great stature (ahem) in his party but crap at the job of being a minister. As deputy leader he had the prestige but limited the damage he could by running important bits of the country.
Other countries use Ambassadorships for this purpose.
Newspapers: I read the DM and Graun online, the latter more than the former plus I comment sometimes on CiF. I buy (occasionally) The Times in print, I look at the DT whenever it's lying around. I count myself a Times Reader.
Plus am an, um, true blue Cons.
On TVs - may I be the first to ask: what is a 4k TV?
Basically a Ultra High Definition TV. About 4 times better picture quality than a normal HD TV
It is literally four times the pixels. The change from traditional SDTV to HDTV was four times, which is the same as from HDTV to UHD.
Yes and to your eyes looks just the same
I can most definitely tell the difference (just can't currently afford it). It depends on the size of the screen but the bigger the screen the more noticeable the difference.
My Laptop I'm typing on now is 1920x1080 (the same resolution as full HDTV), there's no reason a 50" TV can't have a higher resolution than a Laptop.
I din't mean than 4k couldn't be a small improvement, but there's no way your viewing experience will be anything like 4 times better.
I agree that four times better is an overstatement (as it was for HDTV), but it will be better. Its an understatement to say you can't see the difference.
I'm looking forward to 4k gaming though I suspect we'll need to wait for PS5 or PS6 to make the most of it. By which point at this rate we could be talking about 16k TVs and so it goes on!
I believe 4k is at the limit of human visual acuity; any more pixels and we would need new eyes, as someone suggested.
The furthest the unaided human eye can see is quite a few million light years - The Andromeda galaxy
Newspapers: I read the DM and Graun online, the latter more than the former plus I comment sometimes on CiF. I buy (occasionally) The Times in print, I look at the DT whenever it's lying around. I count myself a Times Reader.
Plus am an, um, true blue Cons.
On TVs - may I be the first to ask: what is a 4k TV?
Basically a Ultra High Definition TV. About 4 times better picture quality than a normal HD TV
It is literally four times the pixels. The change from traditional SDTV to HDTV was four times, which is the same as from HDTV to UHD.
Yes and to your eyes looks just the same
I can most definitely tell the difference (just can't currently afford it). It depends on the size of the screen but the bigger the screen the more noticeable the difference.
My Laptop I'm typing on now is 1920x1080 (the same resolution as full HDTV), there's no reason a 50" TV can't have a higher resolution than a Laptop.
I din't mean than 4k couldn't be a small improvement, but there's no way your viewing experience will be anything like 4 times better.
I agree that four times better is an overstatement (as it was for HDTV), but it will be better. Its an understatement to say you can't see the difference.
I'm looking forward to 4k gaming though I suspect we'll need to wait for PS5 or PS6 to make the most of it. By which point at this rate we could be talking about 16k TVs and so it goes on!
I believe 4k is at the limit of human visual acuity; any more pixels and we would need new eyes, as someone suggested.
The furthest the unaided human eye can see is quite a few million light years - The Andromeda galaxy
Recently heard that the human eye can detect a match struck 50 miles away.
Which is a hell of a piece of kit to be issued with at birth! And means ARP Wardens were right to be paranoid about a chink of light in curtains, when German bombers were less than a tenth of that distance overhead.
Newspapers: I read the DM and Graun online, the latter more than the former plus I comment sometimes on CiF. I buy (occasionally) The Times in print, I look at the DT whenever it's lying around. I count myself a Times Reader.
Plus am an, um, true blue Cons.
On TVs - may I be the first to ask: what is a 4k TV?
Basically a Ultra High Definition TV. About 4 times better picture quality than a normal HD TV
It is literally four times the pixels. The change from traditional SDTV to HDTV was four times, which is the same as from HDTV to UHD.
Yes and to your eyes looks just the same
I can most definitely tell the difference (just can't currently afford it). It depends on the size of the screen but the bigger the screen the more noticeable the difference.
My Laptop I'm typing on now is 1920x1080 (the same resolution as full HDTV), there's no reason a 50" TV can't have a higher resolution than a Laptop.
I din't mean than 4k couldn't be a small improvement, but there's no way your viewing experience will be anything like 4 times better.
I agree that four times better is an overstatement (as it was for HDTV), but it will be better. Its an understatement to say you can't see the difference.
I'm looking forward to 4k gaming though I suspect we'll need to wait for PS5 or PS6 to make the most of it. By which point at this rate we could be talking about 16k TVs and so it goes on!
I believe 4k is at the limit of human visual acuity; any more pixels and we would need new eyes, as someone suggested.
The furthest the unaided human eye can see is quite a few million light years - The Andromeda galaxy
This does NOT, of course, apply to the officiating of sporting events.
Newspapers: I read the DM and Graun online, the latter more than the former plus I comment sometimes on CiF. I buy (occasionally) The Times in print, I look at the DT whenever it's lying around. I count myself a Times Reader.
Plus am an, um, true blue Cons.
On TVs - may I be the first to ask: what is a 4k TV?
Basically a Ultra High Definition TV. About 4 times better picture quality than a normal HD TV
It is literally four times the pixels. The change from traditional SDTV to HDTV was four times, which is the same as from HDTV to UHD.
Yes and to your eyes looks just the same
I can most definitely tell the difference (just can't currently afford it). It depends on the size of the screen but the bigger the screen the more noticeable the difference.
My Laptop I'm typing on now is 1920x1080 (the same resolution as full HDTV), there's no reason a 50" TV can't have a higher resolution than a Laptop.
I din't mean than 4k couldn't be a small improvement, but there's no way your viewing experience will be anything like 4 times better.
I agree that four times better is an overstatement (as it was for HDTV), but it will be better. Its an understatement to say you can't see the difference.
I'm looking forward to 4k gaming though I suspect we'll need to wait for PS5 or PS6 to make the most of it. By which point at this rate we could be talking about 16k TVs and so it goes on!
I believe 4k is at the limit of human visual acuity; any more pixels and we would need new eyes, as someone suggested.
The furthest the unaided human eye can see is quite a few million light years - The Andromeda galaxy
This does NOT, of course, apply to the officiating of sporting events.
Newspapers: I read the DM and Graun online, the latter more than the former plus I comment sometimes on CiF. I buy (occasionally) The Times in print, I look at the DT whenever it's lying around. I count myself a Times Reader.
Plus am an, um, true blue Cons.
On TVs - may I be the first to ask: what is a 4k TV?
Basically a Ultra High Definition TV. About 4 times better picture quality than a normal HD TV
It is literally four times the pixels. The change from traditional SDTV to HDTV was four times, which is the same as from HDTV to UHD.
Yes and to your eyes looks just the same
I can most definitely tell the difference (just can't currently afford it). It depends on the size of the screen but the bigger the screen the more noticeable the difference.
My Laptop I'm typing on now is 1920x1080 (the same resolution as full HDTV), there's no reason a 50" TV can't have a higher resolution than a Laptop.
I din't mean than 4k couldn't be a small improvement, but there's no way your viewing experience will be anything like 4 times better.
I agree that four times better is an overstatement (as it was for HDTV), but it will be better. Its an understatement to say you can't see the difference.
I'm looking forward to 4k gaming though I suspect we'll need to wait for PS5 or PS6 to make the most of it. By which point at this rate we could be talking about 16k TVs and so it goes on!
I believe 4k is at the limit of human visual acuity; any more pixels and we would need new eyes, as someone suggested. The furthest the unaided human eye can see is quite a few million light years - The Andromeda galaxy
This does NOT, of course, apply to the officiating of sporting events.
..... I'm not so sure, I think you ought to be able to spot a hand ball on the outer spiral arm. LBW for a ball pitching just on leg stump might be a bit tricky.
Tom Watson is a perfect example of how it's often inaccurate to assume "the union candidate" and "left-wing" are the same thing. Watson has never said or done anything particularly left-wing to my knowledge, the only reason the union barons favour him is because he knows how to work "the machine" and does personal favours for the Len McCluskeys of the world.
I'm generally very sympathetic on immigration, and generally skeptical of complaints about reporters pushing a particular view in a report, but if the few minutes of this upcoming BBC piece on lorry drivers are reflective of the wider piece, the reporter was very much making their own view clear as they interviewed the subjects.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
Tom Watson is a perfect example of how it's often inaccurate to assume "the union candidate" and "left-wing" are the same thing. Watson has never said or done anything particularly left-wing to my knowledge, the only reason the union barons favour him is because he knows how to work "the machine" and does personal favours for the Len McCluskeys of the world.
Angela Eagle and John Healey are probably both more left-wing than Watson is (Creasy maybe isn't "left-wing" in a traditional sense but even so her campaign against Wonga et al would probably give the Blairite "pro-business" idiots palpitations).
But Watson is being rewarded for his terrier-like tenacity against News International, where he has shown a grim determination to root out the worst excesses of the newspaper industry....
...whilst being utterly blind to similar - perhaps even more egregious - abuses by Mirror Group. Of COURSE the members are going to reward him.
The furthest the unaided human eye can see is quite a few million light years - The Andromeda galaxy
But doesn't that cause a strain? (It's OK. I can find my own way out)
On the subject of being able to spot a foul at that distance, the Andromeda galaxy contains about 1 trillion stars and is twice as big as the Milky Way - so the odds must be that at any one time of observation someone must be handling the ball or be out LBW. And given the number of galaxies in the known universe (100 billion) then red cards must be popping out all of the time. Something Joey Barton should think about.
You can get 2-1 on Lloris being at Man U soon.... seems value to me with Vorm sitting on the bench and Hugo reported in French media as wanting Champs League. Assumes De Gea is going to Spain of course.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
Meanwhile it looks as though the EU has blinked re Greece. I can't believe that Tsipras et al's bad behaviour is going to be rewarded, although we are talking about the EU, so I don't know why I should be so amazed.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
Hardly a case of UKIP being 'on the ball', more a case of UKIP being ludicrously inconsistent. They keep telling us that one of the arguments for leaving the EU is that it would allow us to sign strong free-trade agreements with the US and other countries. So why on earth do they object to, err, a strong free-trade agreement with the US?
It's bonkers. They are all over the place, or, to be more precise, just jumping on multiple bandwagons trundling off in opposite directions. It's as though they deliberately want to sabotage the Out vote in the referendum - that's the only explanation which makes any sense.
The furthest the unaided human eye can see is quite a few million light years - The Andromeda galaxy
But doesn't that cause a strain? (It's OK. I can find my own way out)
On the subject of being able to spot a foul at that distance, the Andromeda galaxy contains about 1 trillion stars and is twice as big as the Milky Way - so the odds must be that at any one time of observation someone must be handling the ball or be out LBW. And given the number of galaxies in the known universe (100 billion) then red cards must be popping out all of the time. Something Joey Barton should think about.
The Andromeda Galaxy is also due to collide with the Milky Way, and I bet there'll be a foul or two in that.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
Hardly a case of UKIP being 'on the ball', more a case of UKIP being ludicrously inconsistent. They keep telling us that one of the arguments for leaving the EU is that it would allow us to sign strong free-trade agreements with the US and other countries. So why on earth do they object to, err, a strong free-trade agreement with the US?
It's bonkers. They are all over the place, or, to be more precise, just jumping on multiple bandwagons trundling off in opposite directions.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
UKIP continues its march to the left economically. Being against free trade with America with far left nonsense. Why any right-wing voters continue to vote for these clowns is beyond me.
Its silly as TTIP could be a stepping stone to leaving the EU. Richard of this parish proposes we leave the EU but stick in EFTA but that's a problem as it means we still need to keep open borders which is one of the Outs arguments. If TTIP exists then we could have a position of leaving the EU/EFTA/EEA altogether but staying in the TTIP along with America and have free trade with both America and Europe without the requirements of being in the EU.
The furthest the unaided human eye can see is quite a few million light years - The Andromeda galaxy
But doesn't that cause a strain? (It's OK. I can find my own way out)
On the subject of being able to spot a foul at that distance, the Andromeda galaxy contains about 1 trillion stars and is twice as big as the Milky Way - so the odds must be that at any one time of observation someone must be handling the ball or be out LBW. And given the number of galaxies in the known universe (100 billion) then red cards must be popping out all of the time. Something Joey Barton should think about.
The Andromeda Galaxy is also due to collide with the Milky Way, and I bet there'll be a foul or two in that.
I'm generally very sympathetic on immigration, and generally skeptical of complaints about reporters pushing a particular view in a report, but if the few minutes of this upcoming BBC piece on lorry drivers are reflective of the wider piece, the reporter was very much making their own view clear as they interviewed the subjects.
The piece was on BBC World News about 30 minutes ago. The blond lady in the truck would ask of the truckers about the immigrants "They're only doing what's nest for their families - wouldn't you?"
I still haven't quite got my head around exactly what this report means, and would love to see details in a final report, but this story about the recent A400M plane crash is quite amazing:
I'm generally very sympathetic on immigration, and generally skeptical of complaints about reporters pushing a particular view in a report, but if the few minutes of this upcoming BBC piece on lorry drivers are reflective of the wider piece, the reporter was very much making their own view clear as they interviewed the subjects.
It must take a large dose of cognitive dissonance to believe on the one hand that France is a lovely place, and on the other, that people need to flee for their lives to get from Calais to Dover.
@KennyFarq: Pete Wishart is to be chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster, says SNP. A job for a consensual figure universally respected.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
Hardly a case of UKIP being 'on the ball', more a case of UKIP being ludicrously inconsistent. They keep telling us that one of the arguments for leaving the EU is that it would allow us to sign strong free-trade agreements with the US and other countries. So why on earth do they object to, err, a strong free-trade agreement with the US?
It's bonkers. They are all over the place, or, to be more precise, just jumping on multiple bandwagons trundling off in opposite directions. It's as though they deliberately want to sabotage the Out vote in the referendum - that's the only explanation which makes any sense.
Do you *really* require an explanation of the difference between being signed up to TTIP, and having the ability to negotiate our own trade deals?
Perhaps not as tricky as Dickie, but her favourables and character ratings are heading south.
But aren't all the GOP candidates (excepting Pataki, who probably won't win the nomination) too bonkers to beat her?
Hardly a surprise to see WSJ attacking the Democrat frontrunner.
Perhaps by European political standards. The centre in the US is way to the right of the centre of even England, let alone the UK or continental democracies. (Which is why a Democrat felt politically at home helping Cameron to victory)
Hillary is pursuing the Miliband get out the base strategy, basically ceding the centre. Rubio or Bush could (but not necessarily will) easily mop that up against her. Walker would be Hillary's mirror image, exciting and mobilizing the conservative base but basically ceding the centre. If it's Hillary against Walker and neither side makes fatal gaffes, it comes down to whatever the enthusiasm gap is between the two parties. FWIW, again with no fatal gaffes on either side, I think Hillary loses handily to either Rubio or Bush. And by a big margin to Kasich, who's problem would be to get the nomination.
What would make the election truly interesting is if someone of Bloomberg's stature entered the race on the Dem side.
I know it would not be a popular opinion in this country but I'd like to see Walker win. If you ignore his religion he's made some great free market reforms in the likes of Thatcher/Reagan in his state and could do a great job.
The Democrats would be mobilised against him but that doesn't mean they'd win (as they didn't win the recall vote like they expected they would).
Walker enacted sweeping Trade Union reform, but exempted those Unions that backed his election campaign.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
UKIP continues its march to the left economically. Being against free trade with America with far left nonsense. Why any right-wing voters continue to vote for these clowns is beyond me.
Its silly as TTIP could be a stepping stone to leaving the EU. Richard of this parish proposes we leave the EU but stick in EFTA but that's a problem as it means we still need to keep open borders which is one of the Outs arguments. If TTIP exists then we could have a position of leaving the EU/EFTA/EEA altogether but staying in the TTIP along with America and have free trade with both America and Europe without the requirements of being in the EU.
Zac Goldsmith is very against TTIP, his father would be proud, he wrote one of the best refutations of free trade. Sad that more of our politicians don't prioritise the interests of their constituents rather than big American corporations.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
Hardly a case of UKIP being 'on the ball', more a case of UKIP being ludicrously inconsistent. They keep telling us that one of the arguments for leaving the EU is that it would allow us to sign strong free-trade agreements with the US and other countries. So why on earth do they object to, err, a strong free-trade agreement with the US?
It's bonkers. They are all over the place, or, to be more precise, just jumping on multiple bandwagons trundling off in opposite directions. It's as though they deliberately want to sabotage the Out vote in the referendum - that's the only explanation which makes any sense.
Do you *really* require an explanation of the difference between being signed up to TTIP, and having the ability to negotiate our own trade deals?
How does TTIP differ from a US-UK trade deal signed by a UK not a member of the EU?
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
UKIP continues its march to the left economically. Being against free trade with America with far left nonsense. Why any right-wing voters continue to vote for these clowns is beyond me.
Its silly as TTIP could be a stepping stone to leaving the EU. Richard of this parish proposes we leave the EU but stick in EFTA but that's a problem as it means we still need to keep open borders which is one of the Outs arguments. If TTIP exists then we could have a position of leaving the EU/EFTA/EEA altogether but staying in the TTIP along with America and have free trade with both America and Europe without the requirements of being in the EU.
I'm not sure how you work that one out. In order to trade with the EU we would have to be in the single market. The TTIP has not been signed yet and any agreement with the US - like elsewhere in the world would have to be renegotiated afresh if we left the EU. Of course if we left the EU the legal status of hundreds of thousands of UK citizens living and working in Europe would be uncertain, as well as the status of anybody thinking about living and doing business with the EU.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
Hardly a case of UKIP being 'on the ball', more a case of UKIP being ludicrously inconsistent. They keep telling us that one of the arguments for leaving the EU is that it would allow us to sign strong free-trade agreements with the US and other countries. So why on earth do they object to, err, a strong free-trade agreement with the US?
It's bonkers. They are all over the place, or, to be more precise, just jumping on multiple bandwagons trundling off in opposite directions. It's as though they deliberately want to sabotage the Out vote in the referendum - that's the only explanation which makes any sense.
This is just Farage being 'relieved' at not winning a seat in Parliament and just the way he takes a rest over the summer all as promised. In fact he is a bonkers pillock of Brownian proportions.
That's a total of 163, leaving (in theory) only 69 undecideds. In practice not all Labour MPs will nominate anyone (I imagine Harriet and Ed M won't, for example).
In other words, it's extremely unlikely that Mary Creagh can make the ballot, and Jeremy Corbyn is going to have trouble.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
UKIP continues its march to the left economically. Being against free trade with America with far left nonsense. Why any right-wing voters continue to vote for these clowns is beyond me.
Its silly as TTIP could be a stepping stone to leaving the EU. Richard of this parish proposes we leave the EU but stick in EFTA but that's a problem as it means we still need to keep open borders which is one of the Outs arguments. If TTIP exists then we could have a position of leaving the EU/EFTA/EEA altogether but staying in the TTIP along with America and have free trade with both America and Europe without the requirements of being in the EU.
Zac Goldsmith is very against TTIP, his father would be proud, he wrote one of the best refutations of free trade. Sad that more of our politicians don't prioritise the interests of their constituents rather than big American corporations.
Even James Goldsmith would have agreed that free trade between the US and EU is very different from free trade between the US and the China of 30 years ago. He warned against the impact of rapid globalisation in an unequal world, rather than against free trade per se.
Do you *really* require an explanation of the difference between being signed up to TTIP, and having the ability to negotiate our own trade deals?
I certainly do. Please go ahead.
The content Richard. You know, the actual words on the bit of paper that people sign? The clue's in the title. The idea that a party who support the ability to negotiate a deal with another country should support anything that says 'deal' on the top is so cretinous it renders me almost speechless.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
Meanwhile it looks as though the EU has blinked re Greece. I can't believe that Tsipras et al's bad behaviour is going to be rewarded, although we are talking about the EU, so I don't know why I should be so amazed.
My understanding was that there had been broad agreement between the EU and Greece for the last three or four weeks, but the IMF was demanding VAT reform in return for its sign off.
The only way the EU could "blink" on its own would be if it were to replace all the IMF loans themselves. I don't think that would be politically acceptable in Germany (or in other fiscally Conservative countries) - and don't forget any new deal for Greece has to pass the Bundestag.
So, I'm not sure where you're getting your info from...
Do you *really* require an explanation of the difference between being signed up to TTIP, and having the ability to negotiate our own trade deals?
I certainly do. Please go ahead.
The content Richard. You know, the actual words on the bit of paper that people sign? The clue's in the title. The idea that a party who support the ability to negotiate a deal with another country should support anything that says 'deal' on the top is so cretinous it renders me almost speechless.
Do you *really* require an explanation of the difference between being signed up to TTIP, and having the ability to negotiate our own trade deals?
I certainly do. Please go ahead.
The content Richard. You know, the actual words on the bit of paper that people sign? The clue's in the title. The idea that a party who support the ability to negotiate a deal with another country should support anything that says 'deal' on the top is so cretinous it renders me almost speechless.
Expecting the US to spend days and weeks negotiating a separate deal with the UK would certainly be a good way of making them regard us as 'special'.
Do you *really* require an explanation of the difference between being signed up to TTIP, and having the ability to negotiate our own trade deals?
I certainly do. Please go ahead.
The content Richard. You know, the actual words on the bit of paper that people sign? The clue's in the title. The idea that a party who support the ability to negotiate a deal with another country should support anything that says 'deal' on the top is so cretinous it renders me almost speechless.
No, the idea that the UK can negotiate, by itself, a better deal is cretinous. In any case what better deal do you want? The objection to TTIP seems to be that it is what UKIP claim to want - a free trade deal. By definition that means we can more easily sell stuff to them and they can more easily sell stuff to us, without bureaucracy and without zealous over-regulation. That means accepting that their rules on, for example, product and food safety are adequate (and them accepting ours).
It makes sense for the loony left to oppose TTIP - they don't claim to want easy trade relationships. It makes absolutely zero sense, not a smidgen of an iota of sense, for a party which argues it wants less protectionism and regulation to do so.
Burnham nominated himself. So they can do it. Anyway, I doubt they will nominate someone else! So rather than 69 it is already down to 64 with Corbyn and Creagh potentially at 14 and 8
I guess candidates for Deputy are staying neutral. If somebody is at 33, I can see Harriet or EdM doing the token nomination...IIIRC HH did nominate Diane last time.
How does TTIP differ from a US-UK trade deal signed by a UK not a member of the EU?
The answer is that, were we not a member of the EU, we would almost certainly piggyback the TTIP and join it anyway. With the exception of the mega-deals (like TTIP), most trade agreements are negotiated under WTO auspices. The result of this is that it is highly unlikely our external trade situation would change meaningfully were we to leave the EU.
Burnham nominated himself. So they can do it. Anyway, I doubt they will nominate someone else! So rather than 69 it is already down to 64 with Corbyn and Creagh potentially at 14 and 8
I guess candidates for Deputy are staying neutral. If somebody is at 33, I can see Harriet or EdM doing the token nomination...IIIRC HH did nominate Diane last time.
Do you *really* require an explanation of the difference between being signed up to TTIP, and having the ability to negotiate our own trade deals?
I certainly do. Please go ahead.
The content Richard. You know, the actual words on the bit of paper that people sign? The clue's in the title. The idea that a party who support the ability to negotiate a deal with another country should support anything that says 'deal' on the top is so cretinous it renders me almost speechless.
Expecting the US to spend days and weeks negotiating a separate deal with the UK would certainly be a good way of making them regard us as 'special'.
There wouldn't be a separate deal: we would almost certainly become co-signatories on the deal anyway.
How does TTIP differ from a US-UK trade deal signed by a UK not a member of the EU?
The answer is that, were we not a member of the EU, we would almost certainly piggyback the TTIP and join it anyway. With the exception of the mega-deals (like TTIP), most trade agreements are negotiated under WTO auspices. The result of this is that it is highly unlikely our external trade situation would change meaningfully were we to leave the EU.
Burnham nominated himself. So they can do it. Anyway, I doubt they will nominate someone else! So rather than 69 it is already down to 64 with Corbyn and Creagh potentially at 14 and 8
I guess candidates for Deputy are staying neutral. If somebody is at 33, I can see Harriet or EdM doing the token nomination...IIIRC HH did nominate Diane last time.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
UKIP continues its march to the left economically. Being against free trade with America with far left nonsense. Why any right-wing voters continue to vote for these clowns is beyond me.
Its silly as TTIP could be a stepping stone to leaving the EU. Richard of this parish proposes we leave the EU but stick in EFTA but that's a problem as it means we still need to keep open borders which is one of the Outs arguments. If TTIP exists then we could have a position of leaving the EU/EFTA/EEA altogether but staying in the TTIP along with America and have free trade with both America and Europe without the requirements of being in the EU.
Zac Goldsmith is very against TTIP, his father would be proud, he wrote one of the best refutations of free trade. Sad that more of our politicians don't prioritise the interests of their constituents rather than big American corporations.
Even James Goldsmith would have agreed that free trade between the US and EU is very different from free trade between the US and the China of 30 years ago. He warned against the impact of rapid globalisation in an unequal world, rather than against free trade per se.
I believe he did argue in general against free trade however he proposed regional blocs of equal economic status could be acceptable. A lot economic research has tended to support his position since, although it remains largely in academia.
Anyway TTIP is written by US politicians and EU bureaucrats, neither of whom I trust.
As a Tory of course, I think Watson for deputy is a wonderful idea.....
Best news of the day. To choose a back stabbing, slimy, union plotter as the back up to the Leader would be a "brave" move.
But on the plus side, he stood up to an invidious media mogul who had the temerity to stop supporting Labour after 14 years – that’s got to count for something..?
I feel like I've wandered into the twilight zone. There's no difference between TTIP and any other future agreement negotiated solely by this country on its own behalf that could possibly come to pass? Ok. It would annoy the Americans too much to have to negotiate a seperate deal? Um.
I feel like I've wandered into the twilight zone. There's no difference between TTIP and any other future agreement negotiate solely by this country on its own behalf that could possibly come to pass? Ok. It would annoy the Americans too much to have to negotiate a seperate deal? Um.
Perhaps you could outline the deal you'd like, and how it differs from TTIP?
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
UKIP continues its march to the left economically. Being against free trade with America with far left nonsense. Why any right-wing voters continue to vote for these clowns is beyond me.
Its silly as TTIP could be a stepping stone to leaving the EU. Richard of this parish proposes we leave the EU but stick in EFTA but that's a problem as it means we still need to keep open borders which is one of the Outs arguments. If TTIP exists then we could have a position of leaving the EU/EFTA/EEA altogether but staying in the TTIP along with America and have free trade with both America and Europe without the requirements of being in the EU.
Zac Goldsmith is very against TTIP, his father would be proud, he wrote one of the best refutations of free trade. Sad that more of our politicians don't prioritise the interests of their constituents rather than big American corporations.
Even James Goldsmith would have agreed that free trade between the US and EU is very different from free trade between the US and the China of 30 years ago. He warned against the impact of rapid globalisation in an unequal world, rather than against free trade per se.
I believe he did argue in general against free trade however he proposed regional blocs of equal economic status could be acceptable. A lot economic research has tended to support his position since, although it remains largely in academia.
Perhaps we could dump the EEA and the TTIP and form a free trade zone with Russia.
After all, Russia's exports are slightly larger than Belgium's.
Sad that more of our politicians don't prioritise the interests of their constituents rather than big American corporations.
The mantra of socialists the world over. Len McCluskey would be proud of his left wing Comrades in UKIP standing up to the big, nasty, American, capitalist corporations.
Madness. Sooner we have TTIP the better, I hope the left wing loons and those who've jumped on their bandwagon don't prevent it.
Newspapers: I read the DM and Graun online, the latter more than the former plus I comment sometimes on CiF. I buy (occasionally) The Times in print, I look at the DT whenever it's lying around. I count myself a Times Reader.
Plus am an, um, true blue Cons.
On TVs - may I be the first to ask: what is a 4k TV?
Basically a Ultra High Definition TV. About 4 times better picture quality than a normal HD TV
It is literally four times the pixels. The change from traditional SDTV to HDTV was four times, which is the same as from HDTV to UHD.
Yes and to your eyes looks just the same
I can most definitely tell the difference (just can't currently afford it). It depends on the size of the screen but the bigger the screen the more noticeable the difference.
My Laptop I'm typing on now is 1920x1080 (the same resolution as full HDTV), there's no reason a 50" TV can't have a higher resolution than a Laptop.
I din't mean than 4k couldn't be a small improvement, but there's no way your viewing experience will be anything like 4 times better.
I agree that four times better is an overstatement (as it was for HDTV), but it will be better. Its an understatement to say you can't see the difference.
I'm looking forward to 4k gaming though I suspect we'll need to wait for PS5 or PS6 to make the most of it. By which point at this rate we could be talking about 16k TVs and so it goes on!
I believe 4k is at the limit of human visual acuity; any more pixels and we would need new eyes, as someone suggested.
The furthest the unaided human eye can see is quite a few million light years - The Andromeda galaxy
Recently heard that the human eye can detect a match struck 50 miles away.
Which is a hell of a piece of kit to be issued with at birth! And means ARP Wardens were right to be paranoid about a chink of light in curtains, when German bombers were less than a tenth of that distance overhead.
unless said person was v high up the curvature of the earth would surely preclude this.
For an observer on the ground with eye level at h = 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), the horizon is at a distance of 2.9 miles (4.7 km). For an observer standing on a hill or tower 100 feet (30 m) in height, the horizon is at a distance of 12.2 miles (19.6 km). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizon
Newspapers: I read the DM and Graun online, the latter more than the former plus I comment sometimes on CiF. I buy (occasionally) The Times in print, I look at the DT whenever it's lying around. I count myself a Times Reader.
Plus am an, um, true blue Cons.
On TVs - may I be the first to ask: what is a 4k TV?
Basically a Ultra High Definition TV. About 4 times better picture quality than a normal HD TV
It is literally four times the pixels. The change from traditional SDTV to HDTV was four times, which is the same as from HDTV to UHD.
Yes and to your eyes looks just the same
snip
I din't mean than 4k couldn't be a small improvement, but there's no way your viewing experience will be anything like 4 times better.
I agree that four times better is an overstatement (as it was for HDTV), but it will be better. Its an understatement to say you can't see the difference.
I'm looking forward to 4k gaming though I suspect we'll need to wait for PS5 or PS6 to make the most of it. By which point at this rate we could be talking about 16k TVs and so it goes on!
I believe 4k is at the limit of human visual acuity; any more pixels and we would need new eyes, as someone suggested.
The furthest the unaided human eye can see is quite a few million light years - The Andromeda galaxy
Recently heard that the human eye can detect a match struck 50 miles away.
Which is a hell of a piece of kit to be issued with at birth! And means ARP Wardens were right to be paranoid about a chink of light in curtains, when German bombers were less than a tenth of that distance overhead.
unless said person was v high up the curvature of the earth would surely preclude this.
Newspapers: I read the DM and Graun online, the latter more than the former plus I comment sometimes on CiF. I buy (occasionally) The Times in print, I look at the DT whenever it's lying around. I count myself a Times Reader.
Plus am an, um, true blue Cons.
On TVs - may I be the first to ask: what is a 4k TV?
Basically a Ultra High Definition TV. About 4 times better picture quality than a normal HD TV
It is literally four times the pixels. The change from traditional SDTV to HDTV was four times, which is the same as from HDTV to UHD.
Yes and to your eyes looks just the same
I can most definitely tell the difference (just can't currently afford it). It depends on the size of the screen but the bigger the screen the more noticeable the difference.
My Laptop I'm typing on now is 1920x1080 (the same resolution as full HDTV), there's no reason a 50" TV can't have a higher resolution than a Laptop.
I din't mean than 4k couldn't be a small improvement, but there's no way your viewing experience will be anything like 4 times better.
I agree that four times better is an overstatement (as it was for HDTV), but it will be better. Its an understatement to say you can't see the difference.
I'm looking forward to 4k gaming though I suspect we'll need to wait for PS5 or PS6 to make the most of it. By which point at this rate we could be talking about 16k TVs and so it goes on!
I believe 4k is at the limit of human visual acuity; any more pixels and we would need new eyes, as someone suggested.
The furthest the unaided human eye can see is quite a few million light years - The Andromeda galaxy
Recently heard that the human eye can detect a match struck 50 miles away.
Which is a hell of a piece of kit to be issued with at birth! And means ARP Wardens were right to be paranoid about a chink of light in curtains, when German bombers were less than a tenth of that distance overhead.
unless said person was v high up the curvature of the earth would surely preclude this.
sounds like someone dreaming to me, would need to see some real proof before I would believe that.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
Meanwhile it looks as though the EU has blinked re Greece. I can't believe that Tsipras et al's bad behaviour is going to be rewarded, although we are talking about the EU, so I don't know why I should be so amazed.
My understanding was that there had been broad agreement between the EU and Greece for the last three or four weeks, but the IMF was demanding VAT reform in return for its sign off.
The only way the EU could "blink" on its own would be if it were to replace all the IMF loans themselves. I don't think that would be politically acceptable in Germany (or in other fiscally Conservative countries) - and don't forget any new deal for Greece has to pass the Bundestag.
So, I'm not sure where you're getting your info from...
Reports today that Germany is prepared to give Greece staggered relief - in exchange for just one major reform, allow some of the relief to flow:
Do you *really* require an explanation of the difference between being signed up to TTIP, and having the ability to negotiate our own trade deals?
I certainly do. Please go ahead.
The content Richard. You know, the actual words on the bit of paper that people sign? The clue's in the title. The idea that a party who support the ability to negotiate a deal with another country should support anything that says 'deal' on the top is so cretinous it renders me almost speechless.
Expecting the US to spend days and weeks negotiating a separate deal with the UK would certainly be a good way of making them regard us as 'special'.
There wouldn't be a separate deal: we would almost certainly become co-signatories on the deal anyway.
? This is an example of negotiating our own trade deals? ''me too! me too!'' In any even co-signature would hardly cover for a start the EU side of the deal which would mean being part of the single market and free movement of labour. All of which still leaves the UKIP position confusing since its protest vote is basically driven by anti muslim/pakistani hatred, not trade with the EU.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
Meanwhile it looks as though the EU has blinked re Greece. I can't believe that Tsipras et al's bad behaviour is going to be rewarded, although we are talking about the EU, so I don't know why I should be so amazed.
My understanding was that there had been broad agreement between the EU and Greece for the last three or four weeks, but the IMF was demanding VAT reform in return for its sign off.
The only way the EU could "blink" on its own would be if it were to replace all the IMF loans themselves. I don't think that would be politically acceptable in Germany (or in other fiscally Conservative countries) - and don't forget any new deal for Greece has to pass the Bundestag.
So, I'm not sure where you're getting your info from...
Reports today that Germany is prepared to give Greece staggered relief - in exchange for just one major reform, allow some of the relief to flow:
Well there was never a deal and there will never be a deal, for the past 4 months Greece and Germany are following the traditional european way of can kicking down the road, they are simply trying to prolong the fruitless negotiations for the sake of politics just so they can say that they are negotiating. If the ECB bonds are somehow sidelined the negotiations can be extended for months if not years and that suits everyone since no one wants to confront the issue.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
Meanwhile it looks as though the EU has blinked re Greece. I can't believe that Tsipras et al's bad behaviour is going to be rewarded, although we are talking about the EU, so I don't know why I should be so amazed.
My understanding was that there had been broad agreement between the EU and Greece for the last three or four weeks, but the IMF was demanding VAT reform in return for its sign off.
The only way the EU could "blink" on its own would be if it were to replace all the IMF loans themselves. I don't think that would be politically acceptable in Germany (or in other fiscally Conservative countries) - and don't forget any new deal for Greece has to pass the Bundestag.
So, I'm not sure where you're getting your info from...
Reports today that Germany is prepared to give Greece staggered relief - in exchange for just one major reform, allow some of the relief to flow:
Hmmm... I'm quite close to the German negotiating team, and I've not heard anything yet. There was certainly talk of an interim deal, though. Perhaps this is it.
Agence France-Presse @AFP 9m9 minutes ago #BREAKING Greece considering bailout extension to March 2016: Greek source
As I said they are seeking to prolong the negotiations for as long as possible. But to do that the bonds held by the ECB will have to be dealt with somehow, in order to kick the greek problem into the long grass for a few months.
How does TTIP differ from a US-UK trade deal signed by a UK not a member of the EU?
The answer is that, were we not a member of the EU, we would almost certainly piggyback the TTIP and join it anyway. With the exception of the mega-deals (like TTIP), most trade agreements are negotiated under WTO auspices. The result of this is that it is highly unlikely our external trade situation would change meaningfully were we to leave the EU.
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
Meanwhile it looks as though the EU has blinked re Greece. I can't believe that Tsipras et al's bad behaviour is going to be rewarded, although we are talking about the EU, so I don't know why I should be so amazed.
My understanding was that there had been broad agreement between the EU and Greece for the last three or four weeks, but the IMF was demanding VAT reform in return for its sign off.
The only way the EU could "blink" on its own would be if it were to replace all the IMF loans themselves. I don't think that would be politically acceptable in Germany (or in other fiscally Conservative countries) - and don't forget any new deal for Greece has to pass the Bundestag.
So, I'm not sure where you're getting your info from...
Reports today that Germany is prepared to give Greece staggered relief - in exchange for just one major reform, allow some of the relief to flow:
Hmmm... I'm quite close to the German negotiating team, and I've not heard anything yet. There was certainly talk of an interim deal, though. Perhaps this is it.
Agence France-Presse @AFP 9m9 minutes ago #BREAKING Greece considering bailout extension to March 2016: Greek source
As I said they are seeking to prolong the negotiations for as long as possible. But to do that the bonds held by the ECB will have to be dealt with somehow, in order to kick the greek problem into the long grass for a few months.
How much of this is is simply to prevent Greece leaving the Euro?
Do you *really* require an explanation of the difference between being signed up to TTIP, and having the ability to negotiate our own trade deals?
I certainly do. Please go ahead.
The content Richard. You know, the actual words on the bit of paper that people sign? The clue's in the title. The idea that a party who support the ability to negotiate a deal with another country should support anything that says 'deal' on the top is so cretinous it renders me almost speechless.
No, the idea that the UK can negotiate, by itself, a better deal is cretinous. In any case what better deal do you want? The objection to TTIP seems to be that it is what UKIP claim to want - a free trade deal. By definition that means we can more easily sell stuff to them and they can more easily sell stuff to us, without bureaucracy and without zealous over-regulation. That means accepting that their rules on, for example, product and food safety are adequate (and them accepting ours).
It makes sense for the loony left to oppose TTIP - they don't claim to want easy trade relationships. It makes absolutely zero sense, not a smidgen of an iota of sense, for a party which argues it wants less protectionism and regulation to do so.
Well currently the UK has no power to negotiate any trade deal at all as we have ceded that power entirely to the EU. So whether the TTIP deal is good or bad for us (and I am not necessarily opposed to it) is immaterial as we are not able to do much about it either way.
Labour have always wanted Deputy Leaders with some bottom (Sorry Harriet!). Anyway TW fits the bill. I think though that I once was told in a private conversation that he 'wasn't a nice man'. I'm not sure what that was pointing at, and the likes of Prescott and Harman would certainly fall foul of that test, but there may have been a stronger dislike implied.
I'll be a bit sorry to see Harriet go. Her winning the deputy leadership was my biggest ever political winnings (I had no information beyond the public domain). Every time I see her I think of all the money she's made me, then I think about how she might feel used, and then I smile even more (Sorry again - I bet there's never been a post with two apologies to HH in it before - unless Jack's a regular).
How does TTIP differ from a US-UK trade deal signed by a UK not a member of the EU?
The answer is that, were we not a member of the EU, we would almost certainly piggyback the TTIP and join it anyway. With the exception of the mega-deals (like TTIP), most trade agreements are negotiated under WTO auspices. The result of this is that it is highly unlikely our external trade situation would change meaningfully were we to leave the EU.
How does TTIP differ from a US-UK trade deal signed by a UK not a member of the EU?
The answer is that, were we not a member of the EU, we would almost certainly piggyback the TTIP and join it anyway. With the exception of the mega-deals (like TTIP), most trade agreements are negotiated under WTO auspices. The result of this is that it is highly unlikely our external trade situation would change meaningfully were we to leave the EU.
Do you *really* require an explanation of the difference between being signed up to TTIP, and having the ability to negotiate our own trade deals?
I certainly do. Please go ahead.
The content Richard. You know, the actual words on the bit of paper that people sign? The clue's in the title. The idea that a party who support the ability to negotiate a deal with another country should support anything that says 'deal' on the top is so cretinous it renders me almost speechless.
No, the idea that the UK can negotiate, by itself, a better deal is cretinous. In any case what better deal do you want? The objection to TTIP seems to be that it is what UKIP claim to want - a free trade deal. By definition that means we can more easily sell stuff to them and they can more easily sell stuff to us, without bureaucracy and without zealous over-regulation. That means accepting that their rules on, for example, product and food safety are adequate (and them accepting ours).
It makes sense for the loony left to oppose TTIP - they don't claim to want easy trade relationships. It makes absolutely zero sense, not a smidgen of an iota of sense, for a party which argues it wants less protectionism and regulation to do so.
Well currently the UK has no power to negotiate any trade deal at all as we have ceded that power entirely to the EU. So whether the TTIP deal is good or bad for us (and I am not necessarily opposed to it) is immaterial as we are not able to do much about it either way.
Is there any concrete case regarding the EU about which you have a strong opinion or is it just the principle you object to?
How does TTIP differ from a US-UK trade deal signed by a UK not a member of the EU?
The answer is that, were we not a member of the EU, we would almost certainly piggyback the TTIP and join it anyway. With the exception of the mega-deals (like TTIP), most trade agreements are negotiated under WTO auspices. The result of this is that it is highly unlikely our external trade situation would change meaningfully were we to leave the EU.
How does TTIP differ from a US-UK trade deal signed by a UK not a member of the EU?
The answer is that, were we not a member of the EU, we would almost certainly piggyback the TTIP and join it anyway. With the exception of the mega-deals (like TTIP), most trade agreements are negotiated under WTO auspices. The result of this is that it is highly unlikely our external trade situation would change meaningfully were we to leave the EU.
Agence France-Presse @AFP 9m9 minutes ago #BREAKING Greece considering bailout extension to March 2016: Greek source
As I said they are seeking to prolong the negotiations for as long as possible. But to do that the bonds held by the ECB will have to be dealt with somehow, in order to kick the greek problem into the long grass for a few months.
How much of this is is simply to prevent Greece leaving the Euro?
It's nothing to do with the Euro now.
It's simple politics. A deal will be catastrophic politically for the greek government and the EU will never accept anything less that a politically catastrophic deal, but no one wants to take the blame for failure. So they simply prolong the negotiations to avoid a deal or a failure.
How does TTIP differ from a US-UK trade deal signed by a UK not a member of the EU?
The answer is that, were we not a member of the EU, we would almost certainly piggyback the TTIP and join it anyway. With the exception of the mega-deals (like TTIP), most trade agreements are negotiated under WTO auspices. The result of this is that it is highly unlikely our external trade situation would change meaningfully were we to leave the EU.
Please can I see a version with the British territories included, Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies and their relations to the bodies of Europe, as well as the relationship between themselves. Thanks
Whoah. Source Times. The annual bill for NHS negligence in pregnancy has reached £1 billion after more than 1,300 babies were killed or maimed last year.
If the NHS were spending 1/120th of its annual budget each year on 1300 babies then it would indeed be a strange thing. What the times says is ''The NHS paid or set aside just under £1 billion last year to settle 1,316 claims of negligence in maternity units, up from £488 million a decade ago,''. This is not the same as 'spending' 1 billion each year.
How does TTIP differ from a US-UK trade deal signed by a UK not a member of the EU?
The answer is that, were we not a member of the EU, we would almost certainly piggyback the TTIP and join it anyway. With the exception of the mega-deals (like TTIP), most trade agreements are negotiated under WTO auspices. The result of this is that it is highly unlikely our external trade situation would change meaningfully were we to leave the EU.
Comments
"The Mirror group have admitted to what has been suspected for some time - they used to hack phones too.
"Today's revelations only make the argument stronger that the Leveson recommendations should be implemented in full.
You tell 'em Tom! No punches pulled there!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29339756
As a Tory of course, I think Watson for deputy is a wonderful idea.....
Same as the post of Deputy PM. Clearly Clegg (as part of the quad) wielded far more power as Deputy PM than Prescott ever did as deputy. Though Clegg did it from being leader of the junior party and so essentially having veto power over much the Commons could do.
Prescott meanwhile had the power to ... mouth platitudes at PMQs whenever Blair was out of the country. And that was about it.
Which is a hell of a piece of kit to be issued with at birth! And means ARP Wardens were right to be paranoid about a chink of light in curtains, when German bombers were less than a tenth of that distance overhead.
The furthest the unaided human eye can see is quite a few million light years - The Andromeda galaxy
This does NOT, of course, apply to the officiating of sporting events.
..... I'm not so sure, I think you ought to be able to spot a hand ball on the outer spiral arm. LBW for a ball pitching just on leg stump might be a bit tricky.
(It's OK. I can find my own way out)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33066763
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/watch-ttip-vote-in-european-parliament-descends-into-chaos-after-ukip-meps-spark-protest-10310457.html
Ukip MEPs sparked a protest that sent the European Parliament into chaos today after a crucial vote and debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was suspended.
Nigel Farage marched to the front of the room after MEPs narrowly voted in favour of a a last-minute delay in the latest debate on the free trade agreement with the United States. The Ukip leader claimed this was proof the EU was "running scared" of the strength of opposition to TTIP.
...whilst being utterly blind to similar - perhaps even more egregious - abuses by Mirror Group. Of COURSE the members are going to reward him.
You can get 2-1 on Lloris being at Man U soon.... seems value to me with Vorm sitting on the bench and Hugo reported in French media as wanting Champs League. Assumes De Gea is going to Spain of course.
very
very
It's bonkers. They are all over the place, or, to be more precise, just jumping on multiple bandwagons trundling off in opposite directions. It's as though they deliberately want to sabotage the Out vote in the referendum - that's the only explanation which makes any sense.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromeda–Milky_Way_collision
Although as it's due to occur in about four billion years time, I doubt even a Premier League ref could make extra time last that long.
Its silly as TTIP could be a stepping stone to leaving the EU. Richard of this parish proposes we leave the EU but stick in EFTA but that's a problem as it means we still need to keep open borders which is one of the Outs arguments. If TTIP exists then we could have a position of leaving the EU/EFTA/EEA altogether but staying in the TTIP along with America and have free trade with both America and Europe without the requirements of being in the EU.
I still haven't quite got my head around exactly what this report means, and would love to see details in a final report, but this story about the recent A400M plane crash is quite amazing:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-33078767
A great big 'oops' there, then.
The crash killed four people on board.
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/06/sadiq-khan-and-tessa-jowell-are-tight-race-nominations-close-labours-london-mayoral
Note in particular the bit about union support at the end of the article - very good news for Sadiq Khan, I think.
The Republicans would be foolish to select him.
Of course if we left the EU the legal status of hundreds of thousands of UK citizens living and working in Europe would be uncertain, as well as the status of anybody thinking about living and doing business with the EU.
Crobyn 13
Creagh 7
Kendall 37
Cooper 46
Burnham 60
In fact he is a bonkers pillock of Brownian proportions.
Watson 54
Flint 35
Healey 20
Eagle 18
Bradshaw 15
Creasy 14
Ali 13
In other words, it's extremely unlikely that Mary Creagh can make the ballot, and Jeremy Corbyn is going to have trouble.
The only way the EU could "blink" on its own would be if it were to replace all the IMF loans themselves. I don't think that would be politically acceptable in Germany (or in other fiscally Conservative countries) - and don't forget any new deal for Greece has to pass the Bundestag.
So, I'm not sure where you're getting your info from...
Candidates for Leader haven't done so yet.
What about deputies nominating leaders and leaders deputies?
It makes sense for the loony left to oppose TTIP - they don't claim to want easy trade relationships. It makes absolutely zero sense, not a smidgen of an iota of sense, for a party which argues it wants less protectionism and regulation to do so.
I guess candidates for Deputy are staying neutral. If somebody is at 33, I can see Harriet or EdM doing the token nomination...IIIRC HH did nominate Diane last time.
(As an aside, the level of tariffs imposed on goods coming into the UK is among the lowest in the world. See: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/TM.TAX.MRCH.WM.AR.ZS?order=wbapi_data_value_2013+wbapi_data_value+wbapi_data_value-last&sort=asc)
Anyway TTIP is written by US politicians and EU bureaucrats, neither of whom I trust.
Kendall's campaign chair has nominated Kendall
Do Corbyn and Creagh have a campaign manager?
Let's hear it.
After all, Russia's exports are slightly larger than Belgium's.
Madness. Sooner we have TTIP the better, I hope the left wing loons and those who've jumped on their bandwagon don't prevent it.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2015/jun/10/greece-creditors-reforms-tsipras-merkel-hollande-live
In any even co-signature would hardly cover for a start the EU side of the deal which would mean being part of the single market and free movement of labour.
All of which still leaves the UKIP position confusing since its protest vote is basically driven by anti muslim/pakistani hatred, not trade with the EU.
If the ECB bonds are somehow sidelined the negotiations can be extended for months if not years and that suits everyone since no one wants to confront the issue.
It's like the palestinian peace process.
The annual bill for NHS negligence in pregnancy has reached £1 billion after more than 1,300 babies were killed or maimed last year.
#BREAKING Greece considering bailout extension to March 2016: Greek source
As I said they are seeking to prolong the negotiations for as long as possible.
But to do that the bonds held by the ECB will have to be dealt with somehow, in order to kick the greek problem into the long grass for a few months.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Supranational_European_Bodies-en.svg
I'll be a bit sorry to see Harriet go. Her winning the deputy leadership was my biggest ever political winnings (I had no information beyond the public domain). Every time I see her I think of all the money she's made me, then I think about how she might feel used, and then I smile even more (Sorry again - I bet there's never been a post with two apologies to HH in it before - unless Jack's a regular).
I think he will win too.
http://bit.ly/1GeOgyv
There's also this version which I think is more pleasing on the eye:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Supranational_European_Bodies_with_NATO_members-en.svg
I really want to do an "Acropolis Now" headline.
http://www.ltparis.com/images/venn/venn-diagram.jpg
It's nothing to do with the Euro now.
It's simple politics.
A deal will be catastrophic politically for the greek government and the EU will never accept anything less that a politically catastrophic deal, but no one wants to take the blame for failure.
So they simply prolong the negotiations to avoid a deal or a failure.
What the times says is ''The NHS paid or set aside just under £1 billion last year to settle 1,316 claims of negligence in maternity units, up from £488 million a decade ago,''.
This is not the same as 'spending' 1 billion each year.
http://bit.ly/1B2ID7L
I promise never to write another thread on electoral reform were it to happen