HYUFD there is an alternative anyway. A former Home Secretary (like Howard) who could be a unity candidate still serves as an MP ... Alan Johnson
Posties turned it down at least twice. Even bailed from the SCOTE. Position. (Though I think he should get some credit for that but won't.)
Frying pan/ fire candidate.
Never believe anything until it's been officially denied. The fact that he's turned it down is precisely because he's long been touted as a serious contender. The fact that he's turned it down also is because he's not such an ambitious egotist which is a good thing with a young cardinals/old Pope unity candidate which is what he'd be. The postie is balanced enough for the party to unite behind without being firmly in any particular camp that would anger opponents.
Alan Johnson would be 70 by 2020. Even his song and witty monologue and soft shoe shuffle will be getting laboured by then.
I think Maggie would have sorted out the limp lettuce leaf Obama in a very short time..She would have publicly asked questions that his own Congress seem afraid to ask..she would have shamed him..
I doubt that very much. That simply is not how it works. Maggie would have made her view known in private but she would never have gone public criticising the White House. You are being naive to think otherwise.
Yes I agree. There is a load of downright fanciful thinking going on with the pro Mrs T brigade. Much as I adore her, she like every other politician on Gods Earth (and blog editor and commentator) was not perfect and indeed was lets face it PM when the Falklands was invaded. No doubt Mrs T learned a lesson about the Foreign Office, but it was too late by then.
The main thing she learned was that the FO could do better. Perhaps just luck, but she did manage to take the UK once again to the forefront of world politics. She'd have happily disagreed with the US.
Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists.
CofE now considering legal action.
This will be interesting especially if it gets a legal hearing. Lots of cans of worms in this one.
That is really appalling. Which cinemas exactly? Vue ones, Odeon ones? All of them?
Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists.
CofE now considering legal action.
This will be interesting especially if it gets a legal hearing. Lots of cans of worms in this one.
I don't really see how legal action would work... but nevertheless an idiotic policy, that bans the harmless and allows the offensive (but at least we could say the latter was consistent with cinemas' defence of films).
DCM are clear that they don't allow political or religious advertising at all. If they are forced to change that policy, it opens a whole can of worms.
If it were judicially reviewable it could easily be struck down for want of a policy that actually achieved the stated aim of avoiding offence in a meaningful way.
However DCM is clearly not a government body and its policy cannot be overturned in that way. The current draft is enough to get it through the Equality Act I would have thought.
Labour MPs warn they are losing support in droves in a stronghold seat up for grabs in a crucial by-election next month. - Many say they are deserting the party because they believe its leader is “anti-British”.
Corbyn’s 30 years of anti-western baggage and support for terrorist across the globe may be his undoing – are there no videos of him praising the UK Seumas Milne can unearth?
Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists.
CofE now considering legal action.
This will be interesting especially if it gets a legal hearing. Lots of cans of worms in this one.
That is really appalling. Which cinemas exactly? Vue ones, Odeon ones? All of them?
It was interesting yesterday that they wanted to do house to house surveys. I'd not mind that at all if they came knocking. National ID cards seem a good idea now in retrospect too.
I seem to recollect that TInTIn was good at sorting this sort of stuff out. How times change.
Tin Tin was quite useless on his own. To succeed he needed Captain Haddock, the Thompson Twins and, of course, Snowy. Some Belgian geek in plus fours was never good enough, he needed Brits around him to survive.
None of those characters were British were they? Thompson and Thomson were called Dupond and Dupont (or similar) in the original books to my knowledge.
Correct....
The series is set during a largely realistic[3] 20th century. Its hero is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter and adventurer. He is aided by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy (Milou in the original French edition). Later, popular additions to the cast included the brash and cynical Captain Haddock, the highly intelligent but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus (French: Professeur Tournesol), and other supporting characters such as the incompetent detectives Thomson and Thompson (French: Dupont et Dupond) and the opera diva Bianca Castafiore.
Thanks. Quite a credit to the original cartoons that the characters were such universal archetypes we all recognise our own countries in them. Everyone (rightfully) loves Asterix & Obelix, but Tintin is very underrated imo.
It was interesting yesterday that they wanted to do house to house surveys. I'd not mind that at all if they came knocking. National ID cards seem a good idea now in retrospect too.
I seem to recollect that TInTIn was good at sorting this sort of stuff out. How times change.
Tin Tin was quite useless on his own. To succeed he needed Captain Haddock, the Thompson Twins and, of course, Snowy. Some Belgian geek in plus fours was never good enough, he needed Brits around him to survive.
None of those characters were British were they? Thompson and Thomson were called Dupond and Dupont (or similar) in the original books to my knowledge.
Correct....
The series is set during a largely realistic[3] 20th century. Its hero is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter and adventurer. He is aided by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy (Milou in the original French edition). Later, popular additions to the cast included the brash and cynical Captain Haddock, the highly intelligent but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus (French: Professeur Tournesol), and other supporting characters such as the incompetent detectives Thomson and Thompson (French: Dupont et Dupond) and the opera diva Bianca Castafiore.
Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists.
CofE now considering legal action.
This will be interesting especially if it gets a legal hearing. Lots of cans of worms in this one.
That is really appalling. Which cinemas exactly? Vue ones, Odeon ones? All of them?
I think Maggie would have sorted out the limp lettuce leaf Obama in a very short time..She would have publicly asked questions that his own Congress seem afraid to ask..she would have shamed him..
I doubt that very much. That simply is not how it works. Maggie would have made her view known in private but she would never have gone public criticising the White House. You are being naive to think otherwise.
Yes I agree. There is a load of downright fanciful thinking going on with the pro Mrs T brigade. Much as I adore her, she like every other politician on Gods Earth (and blog editor and commentator) was not perfect and indeed was lets face it PM when the Falklands was invaded. No doubt Mrs T learned a lesson about the Foreign Office, but it was too late by then.
The main thing she learned was that the FO could do better. Perhaps just luck, but she did manage to take the UK once again to the forefront of world politics. She'd have happily disagreed with the US.
She publically disagreed with Reagan over Grenada.
Yes - fair summary I think. It was I think also comforting to see all our preconceptions about Australians (bless 'em) being confirmed with -- ''Interestingly, as far as economic complexity (i.e. how much intellectual property there is in its exports), Australia ranks 71st in the world. For comparison, Spain is 25th.''
The most chilling is the potential offence to 'atheists' - you don't believe there is a God, an afterlife, or indeed any post-life consequences to our earthly actions, so why exactly would you be 'offended' by any belief people want to engage in or spread? Pathetic.
It was interesting yesterday that they wanted to do house to house surveys. I'd not mind that at all if they came knocking. National ID cards seem a good idea now in retrospect too.
I seem to recollect that TInTIn was good at sorting this sort of stuff out. How times change.
Tin Tin was quite useless on his own. To succeed he needed Captain Haddock, the Thompson Twins and, of course, Snowy. Some Belgian geek in plus fours was never good enough, he needed Brits around him to survive.
None of those characters were British were they? Thompson and Thomson were called Dupond and Dupont (or similar) in the original books to my knowledge.
Correct....
The series is set during a largely realistic[3] 20th century. Its hero is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter and adventurer. He is aided by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy (Milou in the original French edition). Later, popular additions to the cast included the brash and cynical Captain Haddock, the highly intelligent but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus (French: Professeur Tournesol), and other supporting characters such as the incompetent detectives Thomson and Thompson (French: Dupont et Dupond) and the opera diva Bianca Castafiore.
Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists.
CofE now considering legal action.
This will be interesting especially if it gets a legal hearing. Lots of cans of worms in this one.
That is really appalling. Which cinemas exactly? Vue ones, Odeon ones? All of them?
Three cinemas were mentioned at the moment can't remember them all. TSE is certainly a card carrying congregation member of one of them.
Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists.
CofE now considering legal action.
This will be interesting especially if it gets a legal hearing. Lots of cans of worms in this one.
That is really appalling. Which cinemas exactly? Vue ones, Odeon ones? All of them?
Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists.
CofE now considering legal action.
This will be interesting especially if it gets a legal hearing. Lots of cans of worms in this one.
To me at least, it seems the Church of England has finally hired someone with PR skills...
It was interesting yesterday that they wanted to do house to house surveys. I'd not mind that at all if they came knocking. National ID cards seem a good idea now in retrospect too.
I seem to recollect that TInTIn was good at sorting this sort of stuff out. How times change.
Tin Tin was quite useless on his own. To succeed he needed Captain Haddock, the Thompson Twins and, of course, Snowy. Some Belgian geek in plus fours was never good enough, he needed Brits around him to survive.
None of those characters were British were they? Thompson and Thomson were called Dupond and Dupont (or similar) in the original books to my knowledge.
Correct....
The series is set during a largely realistic[3] 20th century. Its hero is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter and adventurer. He is aided by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy (Milou in the original French edition). Later, popular additions to the cast included the brash and cynical Captain Haddock, the highly intelligent but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus (French: Professeur Tournesol), and other supporting characters such as the incompetent detectives Thomson and Thompson (French: Dupont et Dupond) and the opera diva Bianca Castafiore.
Alastair Meeks. A good summary on the state of the bulk of the Labour MPs. Their plan seems to be to make life so uncomfortable for Corbyn that he gives up. Problem is that the Corbynites have no intention of giving up control of the party and have several alternatives to Corbyn as hard left Leaders.
Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists.
CofE now considering legal action.
This will be interesting especially if it gets a legal hearing. Lots of cans of worms in this one.
I don't really see how legal action would work... but nevertheless an idiotic policy, that bans the harmless and allows the offensive (but at least we could say the latter was consistent with cinemas' defence of films).
DCM are clear that they don't allow political or religious advertising at all. If they are forced to change that policy, it opens a whole can of worms.
If it were judicially reviewable it could easily be struck down for want of a policy that actually achieved the stated aim of avoiding offence in a meaningful way.
However DCM is clearly not a government body and its policy cannot be overturned in that way. The current draft is enough to get it through the Equality Act I would have thought.
Presumably the CoE didn't bother reading the Ts & Cs.
It was interesting yesterday that they wanted to do house to house surveys. I'd not mind that at all if they came knocking. National ID cards seem a good idea now in retrospect too.
I seem to recollect that TInTIn was good at sorting this sort of stuff out. How times change.
Tin Tin was quite useless on his own. To succeed he needed Captain Haddock, the Thompson Twins and, of course, Snowy. Some Belgian geek in plus fours was never good enough, he needed Brits around him to survive.
None of those characters were British were they? Thompson and Thomson were called Dupond and Dupont (or similar) in the original books to my knowledge.
Correct....
The series is set during a largely realistic[3] 20th century. Its hero is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter and adventurer. He is aided by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy (Milou in the original French edition). Later, popular additions to the cast included the brash and cynical Captain Haddock, the highly intelligent but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus (French: Professeur Tournesol), and other supporting characters such as the incompetent detectives Thomson and Thompson (French: Dupont et Dupond) and the opera diva Bianca Castafiore.
Thanks. Quite a credit to the original cartoons that the characters were such universal archetypes we all recognise our own countries in them. Everyone (rightfully) loves Asterix & Obelix, but Tintin is very underrated imo.
I should have said it was the other way around, at least in England. The Asterix adventures have never had the attention they deserve (even though many years ago a Sunday paper had a regular spot on the cartoon page) whilst Tintin has been over exposed (Snowy is a fox terrier and the Thompson twins and Haddock are French - piffle).
Why should some cinema-goer who has paid good money to watch a movie be subjected to some dreary religious propaganda. Ridiculous.. keep religion out of the cinema..If you want to pray then go to a Church, Synagogue or Mosque..or whatever place you worship at..I would certainly be asking for my money back if I was forced to watch that religious drivel..
Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists.
CofE now considering legal action.
This will be interesting especially if it gets a legal hearing. Lots of cans of worms in this one.
I don't really see how legal action would work... but nevertheless an idiotic policy, that bans the harmless and allows the offensive (but at least we could say the latter was consistent with cinemas' defence of films).
DCM are clear that they don't allow political or religious advertising at all. If they are forced to change that policy, it opens a whole can of worms.
If it were judicially reviewable it could easily be struck down for want of a policy that actually achieved the stated aim of avoiding offence in a meaningful way.
However DCM is clearly not a government body and its policy cannot be overturned in that way. The current draft is enough to get it through the Equality Act I would have thought.
Presumably the CoE didn't bother reading the Ts & Cs.
They probably did, knew if was going to be struck down, and did it anyway.
Frankly a lot more people will take notice this way.
"Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists."
Seems a bit mad but I suppose it spares us chunks of the Koran should anyone choose to use it as a sound track in an ad. Come to think of it.....
I think Maggie would have sorted out the limp lettuce leaf Obama in a very short time..She would have publicly asked questions that his own Congress seem afraid to ask..she would have shamed him..
I doubt that very much. That simply is not how it works. Maggie would have made her view known in private but she would never have gone public criticising the White House. You are being naive to think otherwise.
Yes I agree. There is a load of downright fanciful thinking going on with the pro Mrs T brigade. Much as I adore her, she like every other politician on Gods Earth (and blog editor and commentator) was not perfect and indeed was lets face it PM when the Falklands was invaded. No doubt Mrs T learned a lesson about the Foreign Office, but it was too late by then.
PM when the Falklands were invaded. PM when defence cuts and the withdrawal of HMS Endurance emboldened Argentina. PM when subsequent defence cuts weakened the navy still further.
Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists.
CofE now considering legal action.
This will be interesting especially if it gets a legal hearing. Lots of cans of worms in this one.
That is really appalling. Which cinemas exactly? Vue ones, Odeon ones? All of them?
Appalling in which way? The ban, or the protest?
The ban, obviously.
At a time when religion is killing people I'm not so sure.
I don't know if you're a religious person or not. However I find people that have irrational beliefs generally unfit for polite conversation. It does rather scare me.
Why should some cinema-goer who has paid good money to watch a movie be subjected to some dreary religious propaganda. Ridiculous.. keep religion out of the cinema..If you want to pray then go to a Church, Synagogue or Mosque..or whatever place you worship at..I would certainly be asking for my money back if I was forced to watch that religious drivel..
As an ulta-sectarian fundamentalist extremist agnostic - what is the difference between selling religion in the cinema and selling the fantasy that eating a cheap bar of chocolate will make a woman into Audrey Hepburn?
The Lords Prayer is, at least, written in rather elegant English.
There were 9 in the Temperence Seven ('one over the eight' apparently).
And a very fine band they were. I remember going to see them on on their "30 not out tour", they finished off the first half of the session by announcing an interval and a race to the bar. It was the longest interval I can remember and the only one where the lead singer bought my wife and I a drink.
For those too young to remember the Temperance Seven here is a sample of their music:
It was interesting yesterday that they wanted to do house to house surveys. I'd not mind that at all if they came knocking. National ID cards seem a good idea now in retrospect too.
I seem to recollect that TInTIn was good at sorting this sort of stuff out. How times change.
Tin Tin was quite useless on his own. To succeed he needed Captain Haddock, the Thompson Twins and, of course, Snowy. Some Belgian geek in plus fours was never good enough, he needed Brits around him to survive.
None of those characters were British were they? Thompson and Thomson were called Dupond and Dupont
Thanks. Quite a credit to the original cartoons that the characters were such universal archetypes we all recognise our own countries in them. Everyone (rightfully) loves Asterix & Obelix, but Tintin is very underrated imo.
When I was very young I was more a fan of TInTIn though that was because it had been translated into English as I recollect in the book The school had. Also a TV programs in the 60's. The infants school had the Asterix one as well but it was still in French so pictures only really and thus not a lot of interest.
I developed on from that and was an avid fan of Sccoby Doo the original firstTV series. I actually still like Scooby and queued up with the kids to watch it on big screen years ago. . They don't like Scooby but it wasn't for them. Linda Cardellini may have also had something to do with it being such a great actress in'all *cough*
MALMESBURY..Yep we might as well get Donald Duck to read the Lords prayer for all the meaning it has..But if I pay to watch a movie I do bt want to have to suffer some ridiculous religious theory presented as some form of fact or undeniable truth...take it away..it is obviously nonsense..
The series is set during a largely realistic[3] 20th century. Its hero is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter and adventurer. He is aided by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy (Milou in the original French edition). Later, popular additions to the cast included the brash and cynical Captain Haddock, the highly intelligent but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus (French: Professeur Tournesol), and other supporting characters such as the incompetent detectives Thomson and Thompson (French: Dupont et Dupond) and the opera diva Bianca Castafiore.
Malmsbury..You obviously think there is no difference between Religion and a chocolate bar...probably right..but at least we can all eat and enjoy the chocolate bar..and not have to endure the mind numbing stupidity of the big guy in the sky nonsense
The 'right' of the Labour Party represents 4.5% of the membership. They are not going to regain control. However, a charismatic figure of the 'soft left' could garner enough support from across the party to beat JC in a head to head contest. Any suggestions on who that might be?
Hilary Benn obviously, though I expect him to be anointed unopposed only once virtually all Labour MPs are on board
Charismatic?
Neither was Howard, they need an experienced unity candidate first
Experienced?
Howard had served as a Secretary of State of one of the great offices of state. Which great office of state has Benn been Secretary for in government?
Hilary Benn Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural affairs and International Development, he is also Shadow Foreign Secretary as Howard was Shadow Chancellor, there is no alternative!
Neither DEFRA nor International Development are great offices of state comparable to Home Secretary. The comparison is very weak.
Your comparison is utterly irrelevant, Benn, like Howard, is the only Shadow Cabinet Minister who was also a Cabinet Minister and is in one of the 3 main Shadow Ministerial roles ie Shadow Home Sec, Shadow Foreign Sec or Shadow Chancellor and who also has some appeal to the 'soft left' as Howard had appeal to the 'soft right', whether he was Home Secretary or Agriculture Secretary is irrelevant, he is the only potential unity candidate on offer!
Andrew Burnham was SoS for Health and senior to Benn in Brown's government. He wouldn't be the unity candidate of course for several other reasons, but Benn's not the only ex cabinet minister at the top of the tree.
Burnham was beaten in the leadership contest, even if he came second, he cannot now be appointed leader by MPs in total reversal of the members' decision, the same with Cooper, that would be like the Tories replacing IDS with Clarke or Portillo, it would never happen. The only viable candidate would be one closer to the Corbynite wing ie Benn, just as Howard was closer to the IDS wing
"Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists."
Seems a bit mad but I suppose it spares us chunks of the Koran should anyone choose to use it as a sound track in an ad. Come to think of it.....
Quite . If they say yes then where does it end they will all jump the bandwagon. Not sure the CofE have thought this through in full. Probably over the top really when all you want to do is to sit back, relax and watch the Exorcist or Emmanuelle does Thailand.
BMG Research @BMGResearch 2h2 hours ago Nov Westminster voting intention: CON: 37% (-) LAB: 30% (-1) UKI: 15% (-) LIB: 7% (+1) OTH: 10% (-) (11 - 17 Nov)
who are BMG?
http://www.bmgresearch.co.uk/who-we-are/, they poll for the Evening Standard amongst others. That poll suggests no change from the general election in terms of the Tory and Labour gap but UKIP up a bit
Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists.
CofE now considering legal action.
This will be interesting especially if it gets a legal hearing. Lots of cans of worms in this one.
That is really appalling. Which cinemas exactly? Vue ones, Odeon ones? All of them?
Appalling in which way? The ban, or the protest?
The ban, obviously.
At a time when religion is killing people I'm not so sure.
I don't know if you're a religious person or not. However I find people that have irrational beliefs generally unfit for polite conversation. It does rather scare me.
I'm not sure this is a 'ban' as such - just a perfectly reasonable turning down of custom. I don't know the legal position, but morally, Vue etc. Should be free to do business with whoever they wish. If I went to a cinema and it ran a religious message prior to the film I would certainly be less likely to return. I expect this is true of others too. Vue etc are therefore making a perfectly reasonable business decision.
I think Maggie would have sorted out the limp lettuce leaf Obama in a very short time..She would have publicly asked questions that his own Congress seem afraid to ask..she would have shamed him..
I doubt that very much. That simply is not how it works. Maggie would have made her view known in private but she would never have gone public criticising the White House. You are being naive to think otherwise.
Yes I agree. There is a load of downright fanciful thinking going on with the pro Mrs T brigade. Much as I adore her, she like every other politician on Gods Earth (and blog editor and commentator) was not perfect and indeed was lets face it PM when the Falklands was invaded. No doubt Mrs T learned a lesson about the Foreign Office, but it was too late by then.
PM when the Falklands were invaded. PM when defence cuts and the withdrawal of HMS Endurance emboldened Argentina. PM when subsequent defence cuts weakened the navy still further.
correct. In fairness Lord Carrington resigned immediately and took responsibility for this.
It is worth noting it was the opposite of anything Labour did in their 13 years where ministers refused to resign or finally had to be dragged by the feet from office. The finger nail scrape marks are still visible on the carpets and woodwork even to this day.
Why should some cinema-goer who has paid good money to watch a movie be subjected to some dreary religious propaganda. Ridiculous.. keep religion out of the cinema..If you want to pray then go to a Church, Synagogue or Mosque..or whatever place you worship at..I would certainly be asking for my money back if I was forced to watch that religious drivel..
As an ulta-sectarian fundamentalist extremist agnostic - what is the difference between selling religion in the cinema and selling the fantasy that eating a cheap bar of chocolate will make a woman into Audrey Hepburn?
The Lords Prayer is, at least, written in rather elegant English.
TBH .....I thought it was beer that did that......
Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists.
CofE now considering legal action.
This will be interesting especially if it gets a legal hearing. Lots of cans of worms in this one.
That is really appalling. Which cinemas exactly? Vue ones, Odeon ones? All of them?
Appalling in which way? The ban, or the protest?
The ban, obviously.
At a time when religion is killing people I'm not so sure.
I don't know if you're a religious person or not. However I find people that have irrational beliefs generally unfit for polite conversation. It does rather scare me.
I'm not sure this is a 'ban' as such - just a perfectly reasonable turning down of custom. I don't know the legal position, but morally, Vue etc. Should be free to do business with whoever they wish. If I went to a cinema and it ran a religious message prior to the film I would certainly be less likely to return. I expect this is true of others too. Vue etc are therefore making a perfectly reasonable business decision.
Would you really be less likely to go to the cinema to watch a film because of the adverts? Really? I'd only probably stay away from a cinema if its in the USA, and therefore a gun-free zone and therefore unsafe.
On that very subject, MrsM and MasterM apparently wish me to accompany them to the cinema in half an hours time to watch Hunger Games Mockinjay 2.
Unfortunately I've not seen Part 1 so I think this is going to be a bit tedious without knowing the storyline. Plus I read the review on Breitbart and it's supposed to be pants. Joy.
Positive news for the LDs in Oldham. An activist reports as follows:
"I was up there for 3 days, managed to get a Labour voter who voted all his life to consider to lend his vote to the Lib Dems. Seem happy to do so. Hopefully we can get the same with many others."
".. Should be free to do business with whoever they wish... "
I agree, but that is not the law of the land, is it? Some customers businesses may not turn down, so let us not pretend that there is freedom on these matters..
".. Should be free to do business with whoever they wish... "
I agree, but that is not the law of the land, is it? Some customers businesses may not turn down, so let us not pretend that there is freedom on these matters..
Very true. If the C of E fights this it could get messy.
".. Should be free to do business with whoever they wish... "
I agree, but that is not the law of the land, is it? Some customers businesses may not turn down, so let us not pretend that there is freedom on these matters..
That's the massive elephant in the room here. If they were cake makers for example ...... The legal challenge if there is one will be quite fascinating. The outcome will be probably the ads will go and extra on tickets as RD mentions up thread. The losers as always will be Joe Public who just want to watch a movie.
The 'right' of the Labour Party represents 4.5% of the membership. They are not going to regain control. However, a charismatic figure of the 'soft left' could garner enough support from across the party to beat JC in a head to head contest. Any suggestions on who that might be?
Harriet
Hardly - she bears responsibility for Corbyn getting momentum in the first place!
Agreed. Supporting the welfare cuts to be seen as financially responsible 4 1/2 years before the next election was stupid. Funny, the £4.4bn cuts in WTC was buried in that.
Nonetheless, she cannot be criticised much. All we need to do is replay Cameron eulogy to her on her last day as acting leader again and again.
Alastair Meeks. A good summary on the state of the bulk of the Labour MPs. Their plan seems to be to make life so uncomfortable for Corbyn that he gives up. Problem is that the Corbynites have no intention of giving up control of the party and have several alternatives to Corbyn as hard left Leaders.
The problem with the plan is that Corbyn is famously obstinate in changing his views. I cannot see him going voluntarily.
If he were to go, the only acceptable leader pending a new contest would be Tom Watson as Deputy Leader. Any attempt to install Benn (or AN Other) would be very destructive.
How bad would things have to get for Corbyn to quit? Even if Labour got savaged in London, Wales, Scotland and councils next year, Corbyn would hang on. Being in a minoriyy of one has never troubled him. He knows that he is right.
".. Should be free to do business with whoever they wish... "
I agree, but that is not the law of the land, is it? Some customers businesses may not turn down, so let us not pretend that there is freedom on these matters..
Well you can turn it down - you've just got to lie with a straight face when they ask why.
Alastair Meeks. A good summary on the state of the bulk of the Labour MPs. Their plan seems to be to make life so uncomfortable for Corbyn that he gives up. Problem is that the Corbynites have no intention of giving up control of the party and have several alternatives to Corbyn as hard left Leaders.
The problem with the plan is that Corbyn is famously obstinate in changing his views. I cannot see him going voluntarily.
If he were to go, the only acceptable leader pending a new contest would be Tom Watson as Deputy Leader. Any attempt to install Benn (or AN Other) would be very destructive.
How bad would things have to get for Corbyn to quit? Even if Labour got savaged in London, Wales, Scotland and councils next year, Corbyn would hang on. Being in a minoriyy of one has never troubled him. He knows that he is right.
His aim is not to become Prime Minister. His aim is to refound Labour as a party following his principles. He will not achieve that by quitting. The polls are an irrelevance for him.
To get rid of him and keep the party together, Labour MPs are going to have to take their message to the Labour party members and to persuade them. With the right message, they are persuadable. They're looking for the vision thing. What does the average Labour MP think that the Labour party is for in 2015? Frankly, I'm buggered if I can work that out.
Cant wait to see ISIS or some other Extremist religious group claiming equal rights to show their propaganda in the Cinemas...A few beheadings or hangings before the main event should bring the punters in...and the screaming on social media and elsewhere would be deafening..
Cant wait to see ISIS or some other Extremist religious group claiming equal rights to show their propaganda in the Cinemas...A few beheadings or hangings before the main event should bring the punters in...and the screaming on social media and elsewhere would be deafening..
I don't think gore/violence are treated the same way as a religious message. Seriously...
Australia The Financial Review quotes the IMF (Sept 15) ''The Abbott government's budget repair is at risk of floundering because of over-inflated revenue and spending expectations, says a damning assessment by the International Monetary Fund that calls for a broader GST, ending the capital gains tax discount and curbs to high-end superannuation concessions. Delivering a warning that the Reserve Bank of Australia might need to deliver more interest rate cuts, a team of the Washington-based fund's officials visiting the country said Australians faced significantly weaker income growth than they have been used to over the past two decades. James Daniel, the IMF's mission chief to Australia, said economic growth was likely to remain at about a new normal of just 2.5 per cent over the longer term, falling well short of the forecasts outlined in the May budget for growth of about 3.5 per cent.''
The IMF have been known to be wrong of course... I happily admit I know nothing of these matters, but there it is as an official and presumably expertly informed opinion. I leave it to others to digest.
My experience is that experts are every bit as bad at economic forecasts as non-experts.
I do not think that either the IMF or the OECD has a particularly stellar forecasting record. And there are many who strongly criticize their economic prescriptions for countries - from all sides. Certainly nothing they declare should be taken as Gospel.
IMF often seem keen on upping/broadening VAT/GST - is there any particular reason for that? It must be anti-consumption....
I am not a tax expert, but my guess is that VAT is supposedly a non-market-distorting tax.
It is also, of course, a very regressive tax as the poor spend a greater percentage of their income on consumption.
As a Socialist whose background is in Accounting, I have over time changed my view on VAT.
What you say is indeed correct, if , and a big if, all the rich were indeed declaring their true income and / or not reducing their self employed [ or one person company ] income through spurious expenses to lower the tax bill. 99% do that. PAYE earners cannot do that.
Also, whilst the poor do indeed spend most of their income, a lot of that is on food. Staple foods are VAT at 0%.
VAT is very difficult to evade. The "value added" part means that the tax is collected at stage of the transaction until the final one. So all the component parties would have to cheat for the HMRC to lose the whole 20%.
Cant wait to see ISIS or some other Extremist religious group claiming equal rights to show their propaganda in the Cinemas...A few beheadings or hangings before the main event should bring the punters in...and the screaming on social media and elsewhere would be deafening..
all advertisements are graded by the BBFC, and the CoE one was given a U, meaning it could accompany the film in question. the BBFC presumably also check if the add incites racial violence.
Alastair Meeks. A good summary on the state of the bulk of the Labour MPs. Their plan seems to be to make life so uncomfortable for Corbyn that he gives up. Problem is that the Corbynites have no intention of giving up control of the party and have several alternatives to Corbyn as hard left Leaders.
The problem with the plan is that Corbyn is famously obstinate in changing his views. I cannot see him going voluntarily.
If he were to go, the only acceptable leader pending a new contest would be Tom Watson as Deputy Leader. Any attempt to install Benn (or AN Other) would be very destructive.
How bad would things have to get for Corbyn to quit? Even if Labour got savaged in London, Wales, Scotland and councils next year, Corbyn would hang on. Being in a minoriyy of one has never troubled him. He knows that he is right.
His aim is not to become Prime Minister. His aim is to refound Labour as a party following his principles. He will not achieve that by quitting. The polls are an irrelevance for him.
To get rid of him and keep the party together, Labour MPs are going to have to take their message to the Labour party members and to persuade them. With the right message, they are persuadable. They're looking for the vision thing. What does the average Labour MP think that the Labour party is for in 2015? Frankly, I'm buggered if I can work that out.
I agree that control of the party is his objective. When has Corbyn ever courted the general public?
The PLP know what they are against, but much harder to know what they are for. Mind you the same could be said about the Tories a decade ago, yet within 5 years they were in Downing St.
I do not know whether the members could depose Corbyn either. What would be the mechanism?
Alastair Meeks. A good summary on the state of the bulk of the Labour MPs. Their plan seems to be to make life so uncomfortable for Corbyn that he gives up. Problem is that the Corbynites have no intention of giving up control of the party and have several alternatives to Corbyn as hard left Leaders.
The problem with the plan is that Corbyn is famously obstinate in changing his views. I cannot see him going voluntarily.
If he were to go, the only acceptable leader pending a new contest would be Tom Watson as Deputy Leader. Any attempt to install Benn (or AN Other) would be very destructive.
How bad would things have to get for Corbyn to quit? Even if Labour got savaged in London, Wales, Scotland and councils next year, Corbyn would hang on. Being in a minoriyy of one has never troubled him. He knows that he is right.
Tom Watson is way to divisive, look at the way he undermined Blair. Benn is the only viable choice, the trigger would probably be losing a Labour seat to UKIP in a by-election, Oldham is likely a bit too early but it will be very tight
Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists.
CofE now considering legal action.
This will be interesting especially if it gets a legal hearing. Lots of cans of worms in this one.
That is really appalling. Which cinemas exactly? Vue ones, Odeon ones? All of them?
Appalling in which way? The ban, or the protest?
The ban, obviously.
At a time when religion is killing people I'm not so sure.
I don't know if you're a religious person or not. However I find people that have irrational beliefs generally unfit for polite conversation. It does rather scare me.
People are killing people. People who classify those who don't share their own beliefs as apostates and infidels. Wherever belief is the core of a violent conflict (as opposed to money and power masquerading as religion), it is not belief that's the problem, but intolerance of the beliefs of others. Something that your post is considerably closer to on the spectrum than someone who wishes to promote the Lord's Prayer.
I tend to find people with glib, intellectually sloppy, 'trendy' views of the impossibility of their being a spiritual realm rather scare me. Not because of their own rather weak-minded arguments, but because they're so easily manipulated by God-haters like that nutter Dawkins for their own ends.
The 'right' of the Labour Party represents 4.5% of the membership. They are not going to regain control. However, a charismatic figure of the 'soft left' could garner enough support from across the party to beat JC in a head to head contest. Any suggestions on who that might be?
Hilary Benn obviously, though I expect him to be anointed unopposed only once virtually all Labour MPs are on board
Might not be too far away if Cameron can get enough on board in the Syria vote.
We shall see
If Corbyn sticks to his present line and applies a whip then I can see the Syria vote becoming a rallying point for prospective stalking horses.
It will certainly be a watershed moment. If he fails to carry the PLP on such a vote then he could carry no other and as you say the Stalking horse would most likely appear. If The PLP fails to have the cojones to resist the three line whip theN Corby could as good as do what he likes and would not be removed.
The ironic thing is that either way he will have a de facto civil war behind the scenes and spend more time looking at people behind him than in front. Not good for Labour either way really. All their own fault as well.
I wonder what odds you'd get on the Syria vote being (say) two days before the Oldham by-election?
I spy a free vote coming along. Albert from Altrincham has already suggested it apparently.
Alastair Meeks. A good summary on the state of the bulk of the Labour MPs. Their plan seems to be to make life so uncomfortable for Corbyn that he gives up. Problem is that the Corbynites have no intention of giving up control of the party and have several alternatives to Corbyn as hard left Leaders.
The problem with the plan is that Corbyn is famously obstinate in changing his views. I cannot see him going voluntarily.
If he were to go, the only acceptable leader pending a new contest would be Tom Watson as Deputy Leader. Any attempt to install Benn (or AN Other) would be very destructive.
How bad would things have to get for Corbyn to quit? Even if Labour got savaged in London, Wales, Scotland and councils next year, Corbyn would hang on. Being in a minoriyy of one has never troubled him. He knows that he is right.
Tom Watson is way to divisive, look at the way he undermined Blair. Benn is the only viable choice, the trigger would probably be losing a Labour seat to UKIP in a by-election, Oldham is likely a bit too early but it will be very tight
Whenever a Labour leader has died or stepped down, the Deputy Leader has stood in. There is no precedent for anyone else. Labour will follow the rule book.
RobD You obviously haven't been to the cinema recently..it is all gore and violence..twould be difficult to see where the ISIS film ends and the main feature begins..
It was interesting yesterday that they wanted to do house to house surveys. I'd not mind that at all if they came knocking. National ID cards seem a good idea now in retrospect too.
I seem to recollect that TInTIn was good at sorting this sort of stuff out. How times change.
Tin Tin was quite useless on his own. To succeed he needed Captain Haddock, the Thompson Twins and, of course, Snowy. Some Belgian geek in plus fours was never good enough, he needed Brits around him to survive.
None of those characters were British were they? Thompson and Thomson were called Dupond and Dupont (or similar) in the original books to my knowledge.
Correct....
The series is set during a largely realistic[3] 20th century. Its hero is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter and adventurer. He is aided by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy (Milou in the original French edition). Later, popular additions to the cast included the brash and cynical Captain Haddock, the highly intelligent but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus (French: Professeur Tournesol), and other supporting characters such as the incompetent detectives Thomson and Thompson (French: Dupont et Dupond) and the opera diva Bianca Castafiore.
Cant wait to see ISIS or some other Extremist religious group claiming equal rights to show their propaganda in the Cinemas...A few beheadings or hangings before the main event should bring the punters in...and the screaming on social media and elsewhere would be deafening..
I don't think gore/violence are treated the same way as a religious message. Seriously...
I've just watched the CofE advert, and it's actually quite beautiful. I'm not religious at all and am usually averse to imaginary sky pixies, but that advert was serene and peaceful. Not sure I'd fancy it before setting down to watch Tokyo Gore Police in 3D, though!
Corbynistas I suspect don't give a crap about the polls today. They are on a long March. Priority 1 is taking over the party machine and assets. Once they have that in their hands they can then start converting the workers to their fundamentalist leftie political agenda.
As they are a kind of cult, they know they are right so current voter difficulties don't matter
The 'right' of the Labour Party represents 4.5% of the membership. They are not going to regain control. However, a charismatic figure of the 'soft left' could garner enough support from across the party to beat JC in a head to head contest. Any suggestions on who that might be?
Hilary Benn obviously, though I expect him to be anointed unopposed only once virtually all Labour MPs are on board
Might not be too far away if Cameron can get enough on board in the Syria vote.
We shall see
If Corbyn sticks to his present line and applies a whip then I can see the Syria vote becoming a rallying point for prospective stalking horses.
It will certainly be a watershed moment. If he fails to carry the PLP on such a vote then he could carry no other and as you say the Stalking horse would most likely appear. If The PLP fails to have the cojones to resist the three line whip theN Corby could as good as do what he likes and would not be removed.
The ironic thing is that either way he will have a de facto civil war behind the scenes and spend more time looking at people behind him than in front. Not good for Labour either way really. All their own fault as well.
I wonder what odds you'd get on the Syria vote being (say) two days before the Oldham by-election?
I spy a free vote coming along. Albert from Altrincham has already suggested it apparently.
Meantime what is the SNP position today?
The SNP will abstain in the end.
If they vote against it will be unpopular, probably even in Scotland, but they may predict mission creep and the war turning sour in the long term, thus voting against will have much greater long term gain.
Re Benn - as I indicated before, if the main markets move too fast, then backing Benn (current at 15-17) would be value if the wheels of a coup are in force against Corbyn. that hasn't happened yet obviously!
Benn does not have too many enemies !
Legions of Corbynistas are making Benn voodoo dollies as we speak....
Maybe he sees Benn as Labour's lifeboat? Should we ask him?
2017 might be the Year of the Hil(l)ary's
Just to make Plato sleep better [ or maybe worse ] I did not vote for Corbyn. I voted 1. Cooper and 2. Burnham. The other two spots were left blank.
I am a party loyalist so I would be loathed to support removing a properly elected leader. But we are in 1983 territory here. Foot was a giant compared to Corbyn. Corbyn is an intellectual dwarf. Despite his well attested civility in behaviour even to his opponents and this is true, he is still a schemer. Scheming from the far left went down considerably since the early 90's because their position was hopeless. This leadership election, particularly the £3 lot allowed the rebirth of the scheming left. Don't blame the Unions here. They tolerate Corbyn, that's about it.
However, much Miliband is derided his case was nowhere near as hopeless as many in PB pretend. The reason the Tories are in power is because they won 27 seats of the Liberal Democrats. There is very little Miliband could have done about that.
RobD You obviously haven't been to the cinema recently..it is all gore and violence..twould be difficult to see where the ISIS film ends and the main feature begins..
RobD You obviously haven't been to the cinema recently..it is all gore and violence..twould be difficult to see where the ISIS film ends and the main feature begins..
Except one would be real life, the other fantasy.
Going to the cinema is supposed to be to escape from reality...
99% of people who are not on PAYE bung through spurious expenses and so lower their tax liability? You obviously have a much lower opinion of the abilities of HMRC than I, or indeed, my accountant have. So low it would seem that I wonder if you have ever been self-employed.
Not that I ever tried it, I like to sleep at night, but for your information HMRC is actually very good at spotting dodgy claims, and once they get their hooks into you life becomes very difficult because they will go back years looking at every expense claimed. It happened to a chum of mine, who was actually as pure in his tax affairs as the driven snow, but for whatever reason (probably the business he was in) the Revenue decided he was worthy of investigation and his life was mad hell for months.
Maybe you could leave off your prejudices once in a while.
Australia The Financial Review quotes the IMF (Sept 15) ''The Abbott government's budget repair is at risk of floundering because of over-inflated revenue and spending expectations, says a damning assessment by the International Monetary Fund that calls for a broader GST, ending the capital gains tax discount and curbs ...sed fund's officials visiting the country said Australians faced significantly weaker income growth than they have been used to over the past two decades. James Daniel, the IMF's mission chief to Australia, said economic growth was likely to remain at about a new normal of just 2.5 per cent over the longer term, falling well short of the forecasts outlined in the May budget for growth of about 3.5 per cent.''
The IMF have been known to be wrong of course... I happily admit I know nothing of these matters, but there it is as an official and presumably expertly informed opinion. I leave it to others to digest.
My experience is that experts are every bit as bad at economic forecasts as non-experts.
I do not think that either the IMF or the OECD has a particularly stellar forecasting record. And there are many who strongly criticize their economic prescriptions for countries - from all sides. Certainly nothing they declare should be taken as Gospel.
IMF often seem keen on upping/broadening VAT/GST - is there any particular reason for that? It must be anti-consumption....
I am not a tax expert, but my guess is that VAT is supposedly a non-market-distorting tax.
It is also, of course, a very regressive tax as the poor spend a greater percentage of their income on consumption.
As a Socialist whose background is in Accounting, I have over time changed my view on VAT.
What you say is indeed correct, if , and a big if, all the rich were indeed declaring their true income and / or not reducing their self employed [ or one person company ] income through spurious expenses to lower the tax bill. 99% do that. PAYE earners cannot do that.
Also, whilst the poor do indeed spend most of their income, a lot of that is on food. Staple foods are VAT at 0%.
VAT is very difficult to evade. The "value added" part means that the tax is collected at stage of the transaction until the final one. So all the component parties would have to cheat for the HMRC to lose the whole 20%.
A good point.
Tbh VAT is a very good tax for luxury goods: only paid by those who can afford it and at the time of the purchase.
One of my gripes with the EU is that we're not allowed to apply zero rating to any new classification of good/service. Seems silly.
RobD Why not..the films are just as graphic and explicit..blood..screaming..pain..beheadings..death..on what grounds could they object..after all the ISIS claim to be a religious movement..
Australia The Financial Review quotes the IMF (Sept 15)
James Daniel, the IMF's mission chief to Australia, said economic growth was likely to remain at about a new normal of just 2.5 per cent over the longer term, falling well short of the forecasts outlined in the May budget for growth of about 3.5 per cent.''
The IMF have been known to be wrong of course... I happily admit I know nothing of these matters, but there it is as an official and presumably expertly informed opinion. I leave it to others to digest.
My experience is that experts are every bit as bad at economic forecasts as non-experts.
I do not think that either the IMF or the OECD has a particularly stellar forecasting record. And there are many who strongly criticize their economic prescriptions for countries - from all sides. Certainly nothing they declare should be taken as Gospel.
IMF often seem keen on upping/broadening VAT/GST - is there any particular reason for that? It must be anti-consumption....
I am not a tax expert, but my guess is that VAT is supposedly a non-market-distorting tax.
It is also, of course, a very regressive tax as the poor spend a greater percentage of their income on consumption.
As a Socialist whose background is in Accounting, I have over time changed my view on VAT.
What you say is indeed correct, if , and a big if, all the rich were indeed declaring their true income and / or not reducing their self employed [ or one person company ] income through spurious expenses to lower the tax bill. 99% do that. PAYE earners cannot do that.
Also, whilst the poor do indeed spend most of their income, a lot of that is on food. Staple foods are VAT at 0%.
VAT is very difficult to evade. The "value added" part means that the tax is collected at stage of the transaction until the final one. So all the component parties would have to cheat for the HMRC to lose the whole 20%.
A good point.
Tbh VAT is a very good tax for luxury goods: only paid by those who can afford it and at the time of the purchase.
One of my gripes with the EU is that we're not allowed to apply zero rating to any new classification of good/service. Seems silly.
I forgot to add that the only way to tax some of the "black money" of criminals and tax dodgers is through VAT or duties.
99% of people who are not on PAYE bung through spurious expenses and so lower their tax liability? You obviously have a much lower opinion of the abilities of HMRC than I, or indeed, my accountant have. So low it would seem that I wonder if you have ever been self-employed.
Not that I ever tried it, I like to sleep at night, but for your information HMRC is actually very good at spotting dodgy claims, and once they get their hooks into you life becomes very difficult because they will go back years looking at every expense claimed. It happened to a chum of mine, who was actually as pure in his tax affairs as the driven snow, but for whatever reason (probably the business he was in) the Revenue decided he was worthy of investigation and his life was mad hell for months.
Maybe you could leave off your prejudices once in a while.
I have filed hundreds of accounts for self employed people. Not lately, I agree. To automatically, charge 50% of home telephone bills, 75% of motor expenses etc. [ Of course, the accountant's fees ] is routine whether correct or not. The HMRC does not have the time and resource to check every one.
The clever accountant does it reasonably. He/she gets away with it.
Rob D doesn't matter.. the content is the same..where would..could ..the censor draw the line..on what basis..the religious group could very easily say it was all shot in a studio and the victims were actors..The only real victim here is the Cinema chain..
RobD You obviously haven't been to the cinema recently..it is all gore and violence..twould be difficult to see where the ISIS film ends and the main feature begins..
Yes we bloody well would. Even 'gore' films are cinematic, all but a very few are not truly realistic and our brains can tell the difference, that's why most films, however bloody, are not disturbing, again outside a few hyper realistic films.
Alastair Meeks. A good summary on the state of the bulk of the Labour MPs. Their plan seems to be to make life so uncomfortable for Corbyn that he gives up. Problem is that the Corbynites have no intention of giving up control of the party and have several alternatives to Corbyn as hard left Leaders.
The problem with the plan is that Corbyn is famously obstinate in changing his views. I cannot see him going voluntarily.
If he were to go, the only acceptable leader pending a new contest would be Tom Watson as Deputy Leader. Any attempt to install Benn (or AN Other) would be very destructive.
How bad would things have to get for Corbyn to quit? Even if Labour got savaged in London, Wales, Scotland and councils next year, Corbyn would hang on. Being in a minoriyy of one has never troubled him. He knows that he is right.
Tom Watson is way to divisive, look at the way he undermined Blair. Benn is the only viable choice, the trigger would probably be losing a Labour seat to UKIP in a by-election, Oldham is likely a bit too early but it will be very tight
Whenever a Labour leader has died or stepped down, the Deputy Leader has stood in. There is no precedent for anyone else. Labour will follow the rule book.
Watson is awful, but he does have a mandate.
He could be a stop-gap for a very short period but that is it
Why are we wasting time discussing the ridiculous notion that ISIS would or could use cinema advertising ffs? They are listed as a terrorist organisation (except by the US). They can't just ring up the agency and place an advert.
What could happen is that an organisation like the Muslim Council of Britain could launch an ad campaign for Islam, and as a Christian I wouldn't mind that at all - perhaps they'd have something to say worth hearing.
99% of people who are not on PAYE bung through spurious expenses and so lower their tax liability? You obviously have a much lower opinion of the abilities of HMRC than I, or indeed, my accountant have. So low it would seem that I wonder if you have ever been self-employed.
Not that I ever tried it, I like to sleep at night, but for your information HMRC is actually very good at spotting dodgy claims, and once they get their hooks into you life becomes very difficult because they will go back years looking at every expense claimed. It happened to a chum of mine, who was actually as pure in his tax affairs as the driven snow, but for whatever reason (probably the business he was in) the Revenue decided he was worthy of investigation and his life was mad hell for months.
Maybe you could leave off your prejudices once in a while.
Mr L, I have a high opinion of your contributions here, but I suggest that your friend was at the lower end of the self-employed income scale. The further up the income scale you go, so I am informed, and the better connected the accountant one is able to hire, the more one is able to get away with.
His aim is not to become Prime Minister. His aim is to refound Labour as a party following his principles. He will not achieve that by quitting. The polls are an irrelevance for him.
To get rid of him and keep the party together, Labour MPs are going to have to take their message to the Labour party members and to persuade them. With the right message, they are persuadable. They're looking for the vision thing. What does the average Labour MP think that the Labour party is for in 2015? Frankly, I'm buggered if I can work that out.
To be honest, what parties are "for" doesn't matter very much. One could equally ask what the Conservatives are "for" as well.
Labour's situation, as it was in the 1980s, is they are wholly dependent on their principal opponent for their next move. Opposition is about opportunism and taking advantage of the problems/crises/gaffes which will inevitably arise within any Government.
In a period of crisis, as we are now, it's natural for support to rally to the Government - politicians in power love times like this. Almost everything can be argued and sacrificed on the altar of "national security"and opposition can be shouted down on the same basis. When "normal service" resumes, it will be the day-to-day minor issues of governing that will cause the big problems.
Re Benn - as I indicated before, if the main markets move too fast, then backing Benn (current at 15-17) would be value if the wheels of a coup are in force against Corbyn. that hasn't happened yet obviously!
Benn does not have too many enemies !
Legions of Corbynistas are making Benn voodoo dollies as we speak....
Maybe he sees Benn as Labour's lifeboat? Should we ask him?
2017 might be the Year of the Hil(l)ary's
Just to make Plato sleep better [ or maybe worse ] I did not vote for Corbyn. I voted 1. Cooper and 2. Burnham. The other two spots were left blank.
I am a party loyalist so I would be loathed to support removing a properly elected leader. But we are in 1983 territory here. Foot was a giant compared to Corbyn. Corbyn is an intellectual dwarf. Despite his well attested civility in behaviour even to his opponents and this is true, he is still a schemer. Scheming from the far left went down considerably since the early 90's because their position was hopeless. This leadership election, particularly the £3 lot allowed the rebirth of the scheming left. Don't blame the Unions here. They tolerate Corbyn, that's about it.
However, much Miliband is derided his case was nowhere near as hopeless as many in PB pretend. The reason the Tories are in power is because they won 27 seats of the Liberal Democrats. There is very little Miliband could have done about that.
Absolutely Mr S.That 27, plus the SNP gains from Labour have put Cameron and Osborne into the positions in which they are.
I hope I live long enough to see their comeuppence!
99% of people who are not on PAYE bung through spurious expenses and so lower their tax liability? You obviously have a much lower opinion of the abilities of HMRC than I, or indeed, my accountant have. So low it would seem that I wonder if you have ever been self-employed.
Not that I ever tried it, I like to sleep at night, but for your information HMRC is actually very good at spotting dodgy claims, and once they get their hooks into you life becomes very difficult because they will go back years looking at every expense claimed. It happened to a chum of mine, who was actually as pure in his tax affairs as the driven snow, but for whatever reason (probably the business he was in) the Revenue decided he was worthy of investigation and his life was mad hell for months.
Maybe you could leave off your prejudices once in a while.
I have filed hundreds of accounts for self employed people. Not lately, I agree. To automatically, charge 50% of home telephone bills, 75% of motor expenses etc. [ Of course, the accountant's fees ] is routine whether correct or not. The HMRC does not have the time and resource to check every one.
The clever accountant does it reasonably. He/she gets away with it.
So are you saying that as an accountant you put through tax returns that were fraudulent?
Certainly the practices you mention (75% of motor expenses, 50% of home telephone bills) would be pounced on today, I doubt any decent accountant would let them pass without evidence let alone HMRC. I fear you are very out of date on this matter.
Alastair Meeks. A good summary on the state of the bulk of the Labour MPs. Their plan seems to be to make life so uncomfortable for Corbyn that he gives up. Problem is that the Corbynites have no intention of giving up control of the party and have several alternatives to Corbyn as hard left Leaders.
The problem with the plan is that Corbyn is famously obstinate in changing his views. I cannot see him going voluntarily.
If he were to go, the only acceptable leader pending a new contest would be Tom Watson as Deputy Leader. Any attempt to install Benn (or AN Other) would be very destructive.
How bad would things have to get for Corbyn to quit? Even if Labour got savaged in London, Wales, Scotland and councils next year, Corbyn would hang on. Being in a minoriyy of one has never troubled him. He knows that he is right.
His aim is not to become Prime Minister. His aim is to refound Labour as a party following his principles. He will not achieve that by quitting. The polls are an irrelevance for him.
To get rid of him and keep the party together, Labour MPs are going to have to take their message to the Labour party members and to persuade them. With the right message, they are persuadable. They're looking for the vision thing. What does the average Labour MP think that the Labour party is for in 2015? Frankly, I'm buggered if I can work that out.
Labour is an anachronism. The world has moved on but Labour hankers after the good old days when unions ruled the roost and any old leftie dross was welcome in the party
If he is ousted without the 59% of Labour members and supporters who voted him in as their first preference in September getting their chance to say their piece, there will be hell to pay.
Surbiton I was investigated by the Tax office...they went through every piece of paper going back six years..my accountant was heavily involved and his bill was several hundred pounds..after a few weeks of camping in the house they found I was short by 20 pounds....it cost me a packet and the taxpayer some thousands of pounds..
Cant wait to see ISIS or some other Extremist religious group claiming equal rights to show their propaganda in the Cinemas...A few beheadings or hangings before the main event should bring the punters in...and the screaming on social media and elsewhere would be deafening..
To have any impact these days, it would have to be live
If he is ousted without the 59% of Labour members and supporters who voted him in as their first preference in September getting their chance to say their piece, there will be hell to pay.
But what could members and supporters do?
IDS won 60% of Tory members votes, they did not get any say when he was ousted and replaced by Howard and the Tory Party did not rip itself to shreds
If he is ousted without the 59% of Labour members and supporters who voted him in as their first preference in September getting their chance to say their piece, there will be hell to pay.
But what could members and supporters do?
Arrange /organise a challenge before Conference every year if they can buily enough MPs into it.
Comments
However DCM is clearly not a government body and its policy cannot be overturned in that way. The current draft is enough to get it through the Equality Act I would have thought.
Corbyn’s 30 years of anti-western baggage and support for terrorist across the globe may be his undoing – are there no videos of him praising the UK Seumas Milne can unearth?
The series is set during a largely realistic[3] 20th century. Its hero is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter and adventurer. He is aided by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy (Milou in the original French edition). Later, popular additions to the cast included the brash and cynical Captain Haddock, the highly intelligent but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus (French: Professeur Tournesol), and other supporting characters such as the incompetent detectives Thomson and Thompson (French: Dupont et Dupond) and the opera diva Bianca Castafiore.
Would make a good pub quiz question that.
http://en.tintin.com/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Tintin
Thanks. Quite a credit to the original cartoons that the characters were such universal archetypes we all recognise our own countries in them. Everyone (rightfully) loves Asterix & Obelix, but Tintin is very underrated imo.
The series is set during a largely realistic[3] 20th century. Its hero is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter and adventurer. He is aided by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy (Milou in the original French edition). Later, popular additions to the cast included the brash and cynical Captain Haddock, the highly intelligent but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus (French: Professeur Tournesol), and other supporting characters such as the incompetent detectives Thomson and Thompson (French: Dupont et Dupond) and the opera diva Bianca Castafiore.
Would make a good pub quiz question that.
http://en.tintin.com/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Tintin
Whereas the 1980s pop-group incarnation of the Thomson Twins was actually a trio
Yes - fair summary I think.
It was I think also comforting to see all our preconceptions about Australians (bless 'em) being confirmed with -- ''Interestingly, as far as economic complexity (i.e. how much intellectual property there is in its exports), Australia ranks 71st in the world. For comparison, Spain is 25th.''
There were 9 in the Temperence Seven ('one over the eight' apparently).
@SunNewsdesk: ‘You don’t put diesel in a Ferrari’ - Tory MP’s response to illegal drugs quiz https://t.co/eyCN68LYy1 https://t.co/1l2HJyWqok
Haddock is also French in the original, but he is clearly influenced by the British: an old seafarer, addicted to Scotch whisky.
Perhaps today he would be Captain Enormohaddock...
Even Yul Brynner needed 6 other people to help him.
I should have said it was the other way around, at least in England. The Asterix adventures have never had the attention they deserve (even though many years ago a Sunday paper had a regular spot on the cartoon page) whilst Tintin has been over exposed (Snowy is a fox terrier and the Thompson twins and Haddock are French - piffle).
Frankly a lot more people will take notice this way.
"Church of England "bewildered" by refusal of cinemas to show Church of England advert featuring the Lord's Prayer. It is considered that it may cause offence to other religions and atheists."
Seems a bit mad but I suppose it spares us chunks of the Koran should anyone choose to use it as a sound track in an ad. Come to think of it.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNWElWsRWPE
I don't know if you're a religious person or not. However I find people that have irrational beliefs generally unfit for polite conversation. It does rather scare me.
The Lords Prayer is, at least, written in rather elegant English.
For those too young to remember the Temperance Seven here is a sample of their music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0UdkKH-0Es
I developed on from that and was an avid fan of Sccoby Doo the original firstTV series. I actually still like Scooby and queued up with the kids to watch it on big screen years ago. . They don't like Scooby but it wasn't for them. Linda Cardellini may have also had something to do with it being such a great actress in'all *cough*
Nov Westminster voting intention:
CON: 37% (-)
LAB: 30% (-1)
UKI: 15% (-)
LIB: 7% (+1)
OTH: 10% (-)
(11 - 17 Nov)
who are BMG?
It is worth noting it was the opposite of anything Labour did in their 13 years where ministers refused to resign or finally had to be dragged by the feet from office. The finger nail scrape marks are still visible on the carpets and woodwork even to this day.
http://youtu.be/0NEJvnz6Wn8
On that very subject, MrsM and MasterM apparently wish me to accompany them to the cinema in half an hours time to watch Hunger Games Mockinjay 2.
Unfortunately I've not seen Part 1 so I think this is going to be a bit tedious without knowing the storyline. Plus I read the review on Breitbart and it's supposed to be pants. Joy.
I agree, but that is not the law of the land, is it? Some customers businesses may not turn down, so let us not pretend that there is freedom on these matters..
Nonetheless, she cannot be criticised much. All we need to do is replay Cameron eulogy to her on her last day as acting leader again and again.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34199070
If he were to go, the only acceptable leader pending a new contest would be Tom Watson as Deputy Leader. Any attempt to install Benn (or AN Other) would be very destructive.
How bad would things have to get for Corbyn to quit? Even if Labour got savaged in London, Wales, Scotland and councils next year, Corbyn would hang on. Being in a minoriyy of one has never troubled him. He knows that he is right.
To zombies. They get a very bad press. Not Corbyn bad of course but still really negative.
The question is simple: does the Labour party want to survive or not? No second (or fourteenth) chances, yes or no? Survive or not. Choose.
To get rid of him and keep the party together, Labour MPs are going to have to take their message to the Labour party members and to persuade them. With the right message, they are persuadable. They're looking for the vision thing. What does the average Labour MP think that the Labour party is for in 2015? Frankly, I'm buggered if I can work that out.
What you say is indeed correct, if , and a big if, all the rich were indeed declaring their true income and / or not reducing their self employed [ or one person company ] income through spurious expenses to lower the tax bill. 99% do that. PAYE earners cannot do that.
Also, whilst the poor do indeed spend most of their income, a lot of that is on food. Staple foods are VAT at 0%.
VAT is very difficult to evade. The "value added" part means that the tax is collected at stage of the transaction until the final one. So all the component parties would have to cheat for the HMRC to lose the whole 20%.
The PLP know what they are against, but much harder to know what they are for. Mind you the same could be said about the Tories a decade ago, yet within 5 years they were in Downing St.
I do not know whether the members could depose Corbyn either. What would be the mechanism?
I tend to find people with glib, intellectually sloppy, 'trendy' views of the impossibility of their being a spiritual realm rather scare me. Not because of their own rather weak-minded arguments, but because they're so easily manipulated by God-haters like that nutter Dawkins for their own ends.
Watson is awful, but he does have a mandate.
Good taste in clubs, though.
Haddock is also French in the original, but he is clearly influenced by the British: an old seafarer, addicted to Scotch whisky.
Other countries do have seafarers, and those seafarers do get old...
But that's why the cartoons are so good - it never occurs that it's not British character.
As they are a kind of cult, they know they are right so current voter difficulties don't matter
I am a party loyalist so I would be loathed to support removing a properly elected leader. But we are in 1983 territory here. Foot was a giant compared to Corbyn. Corbyn is an intellectual dwarf. Despite his well attested civility in behaviour even to his opponents and this is true, he is still a schemer. Scheming from the far left went down considerably since the early 90's because their position was hopeless. This leadership election, particularly the £3 lot allowed the rebirth of the scheming left. Don't blame the Unions here. They tolerate Corbyn, that's about it.
However, much Miliband is derided his case was nowhere near as hopeless as many in PB pretend. The reason the Tories are in power is because they won 27 seats of the Liberal Democrats. There is very little Miliband could have done about that.
Worth reading, if you can stomach it.
The last couple of sentences are very, erm, Charlie Brooker.
99% of people who are not on PAYE bung through spurious expenses and so lower their tax liability? You obviously have a much lower opinion of the abilities of HMRC than I, or indeed, my accountant have. So low it would seem that I wonder if you have ever been self-employed.
Not that I ever tried it, I like to sleep at night, but for your information HMRC is actually very good at spotting dodgy claims, and once they get their hooks into you life becomes very difficult because they will go back years looking at every expense claimed. It happened to a chum of mine, who was actually as pure in his tax affairs as the driven snow, but for whatever reason (probably the business he was in) the Revenue decided he was worthy of investigation and his life was mad hell for months.
Maybe you could leave off your prejudices once in a while.
Tbh VAT is a very good tax for luxury goods: only paid by those who can afford it and at the time of the purchase.
One of my gripes with the EU is that we're not allowed to apply zero rating to any new classification of good/service. Seems silly.
The clever accountant does it reasonably. He/she gets away with it.
What could happen is that an organisation like the Muslim Council of Britain could launch an ad campaign for Islam, and as a Christian I wouldn't mind that at all - perhaps they'd have something to say worth hearing.
Labour's situation, as it was in the 1980s, is they are wholly dependent on their principal opponent for their next move. Opposition is about opportunism and taking advantage of the problems/crises/gaffes which will inevitably arise within any Government.
In a period of crisis, as we are now, it's natural for support to rally to the Government - politicians in power love times like this. Almost everything can be argued and sacrificed on the altar of "national security"and opposition can be shouted down on the same basis. When "normal service" resumes, it will be the day-to-day minor issues of governing that will cause the big problems.
I hope I live long enough to see their comeuppence!
Certainly the practices you mention (75% of motor expenses, 50% of home telephone bills) would be pounced on today, I doubt any decent accountant would let them pass without evidence let alone HMRC. I fear you are very out of date on this matter.
IDS won 60% of Tory members votes, they did not get any say when he was ousted and replaced by Howard and the Tory Party did not rip itself to shreds
Arrange /organise a challenge before Conference every year if they can buily enough MPs into it.