Categories
politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Marf catches the mood as the cold sets in
politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Marf catches the mood as the cold sets in
politicalbetting.com is proudly powered by WordPress
with "Neat!" theme. Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
You've joined George at the top.
'Incidentally, I was very amused by your statement upthread that saving money is not a legitimate purpose of an Act of Parliament. What world do you live in?'
It's a pity that that wasn't what I said. My point was that saving money was not a legitimate justification for an Act of Parliament having retrospective effect. The amendments to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 made by the Police (Detention and Bail) Act 2011 were deemed to have always had effect in order to prevent the award of damages to people unlawfully detained by the police. The Jobseekers (Back to Work Schemes) Bill will make ultra vires regulations retrospectively intra vires in order to save money. If saving money were a legitimate justification for Acts of Parliament having retroactive effect, couldn't we get out of our problems by amending the last decade's Consolidated Fund Acts to reduce the annual expenditure paid out of public funds? Or how about retroactively amending the last decade's Finance Acts so that income tax was deemed to have been charged at a higher rate?
Such measures would rightly be considered outrageous, and are politically impossible. The only reason that the 2011 Act and 2013 Bill are politically possible is because the unfairly disadvantaged groups (alleged criminals and JSA claimants respectively) are seen as legitimate targets. That is no way to run a free society.
FPT: Good evening, everyone.
I'm hoping that Vettel and Webber bitching about the tyres means they'll struggle again. The Ferraris seem good and the Lotus likewise. If it's soggy then Button and Perez could come into play.
How many thousand posts can we get out of "downgrade did not happen"? More than we got from "man on boat doesn't get money he didn't ask for"?
I've replied on the previous thread. Time to 'draw a line' as our unlamented former PM was fond of saying.
Efthimia Efthimiou @EfiEfthimiou 5m
#Cyprus People gathered outside Parliament, with Russian flags.
and
EU flag burned outside Cypriot parliament building
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/mar/22/eurozone-crisis-cyprus-bailout-russia-vote#block-514c9d04b5795d794abf42c1
The UK's creditworthiness continues to be underpinned by its high-income, diversified and flexible economy - underscored by the rise in employment despite the tepid economic recovery - and the authorities' commitment to deficit reduction.
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/detail.cfm?pr_id=786657&cm_sp=homepage-_-FeaturedContentLink-_-Learn More
Same message as Moody's. Times are hard, but There Is No Alternative, and certainly no room for Ballsonomics.
I think on reflection it might be time to declare a flood. Maybe that will stop it raining.
PS Gone for an avatar that makes me laugh for the time being.
http://www7.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2010/04/17/how-high-can-the-lib-dems-go/
People gathered outside Parliament, with Russian flags and EU flag burned outside Cypriot parliament building
I doubt the Cypriots enthusiasm for Russia will go so far as exchanging the Euro for the Rouble.
Maybe they should ask George for the pound back. It is climbing relentlessly and has even shrugged off the impact of Ed Conway's tweet.
http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/images/WolfsonPrize/wep shortlist essay - roger bootle.pdf
Some of its recommendations look oddly familiar:
"Accordingly, it would be advisable to prevent people from withdrawing more money from the country in the run-up to exit by effectively bottling it up within the domestic economy. In particular, when the redenomination was announced but before notes were available, cash machines, or 'ATMs', would need to be shut down."
"The exiting country could simply declare a bank holiday in which all banking transactions, including those conducted electronically, were prevented. One approach would be to make the announcement of departure on a Friday, after the close of business, leaving the weekend, when most banks would be closed anyway, to make the necessary arrangements. But this could not be allowed to be a normal banking weekend as electronic transactions would still need to be prevented and ATMs shut down.
If more time were needed then the banks could be forced to close, or at least forced to close for deposit withdrawal, on Monday and Tuesday. Making use of a national extended bank holiday period, such as over Easter, could also be useful."
Admit it, Avery, you have a boy crush on George!
My feelings towards George are like a novitiate towards his Cardinal Archbishop.
The passion is purely intellectual.
http://politicalbetting.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/1060/#Comment_1060
When I went to Russia on the seven day Moscow/St Petersburg trip in 2000, you could not go wrong with American dollars.
When I went to Russia on the seven day Moscow/St Petersburg trip in 2000, you could not go wrong with American dollars.
I won't ask how you spent those dollars, OL.
By 2000, most official outlets were meant to have stopped accepting the US dollar.
Tsk! Tsk! as our resident international thriller writer might say.
If only Cardinal O'Brien had reached out to you for guidance many years ago
http://politicalbetting.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/1068/#Comment_1068
Taxis, meals, alcohol and souvenirs.
Most people quoted prices in USD.
The groups of nubile, young ladies sitting in the hotel lobby were not exactly my thing.
I have a disability which means I lose sensation in hands and feet-very common-so warmth is important and we all need to be warm.
I have been saving this up as this.The first serious political party to offer NO VAT ON ENERGY BILLS has my vote that is for sure.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has all the evidence anyone will need to see just how poverty caused by the high cost of fuel has reached millions of the UK population.
I found Michael Meacher's blog on the matter.You may find it informative.
http://www.michaelmeacher.info/weblog/2013/03/british-gas-is-organising-blackouts-for-2017-to-maximise-its-profits/
Where/How would they have cut the deficit in half now ?
Carola could you pm me the bank details and I will set something similar up. I think it's a lot better than using the donate button every so often (especially as I dont seem to get on with PayPal) and hopefully it's easier for Mike to plan. Given what I pay for a daily 'paper and what I get back from that and pbc whatever I donate will be a bargain.
But Labour planned to cut capital spending in half, tim. What would that have done for growth?
With Vanilla embedded in the PB WordPress template I don't think you can change the thread ordering from newest to oldest. Mike Smithson can do it but it is a global setting that affects all users. Robert S. has said he will be implementing a number of configurable features of Vanilla over the next few days/weeks but he hasn't said whether user configurable thread ordering is available to be implemented.
Plato discovered a way of getting oldest first thread ordering but it is a bit of a clunk. You need to navigate to the Vanilla hosting page direct bypassing the pb webpage and you can get a paginated oldest first thread. I got stuck there last night and didn't like it. Plato acted as SatNav to get me back.
Try http://politicalbetting.vanillaforums.com/ if you want to test it out.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-22/the-secret-gingrich-santorum-unity-ticket-that-nearly-toppled-romney
Have sent you a msg. Not sure if it's a private one as you can click on - I've forgotten what it was now - to see msgs! (This is all new to me...).
In your profile on discussions you can see how many page views the threads have had.
*blunders around a bit more*
http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/FAA6D08BFB44428D86456CC2CE4C42C0.pdf
There is every chance that tim's brutal cuts to the benefits of disabled single mothers might have produced growth. But at what cost?
Only kidding, tim, ribbing you is my pre-getting drunk entertainment
I wonder how people will react when they're freezing in a blackout or even without a blackout but just can't pay their bills and they eventually find out they're in that situation because the BBC wouldn't report that global warming flat-lined in 1998?
Then again by the time it's really biting the news and interweb might be fully under the censor.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/gerry-adams-reveals-his-passion-for-teddy-bears-8546480.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/22/will-sun-back-ukip-2015
Someone should kidnap his Teddy Bears, torture and kill them, bury them in the Cooley peninsula and then never tell him where to find them.
To give him a slight taste of his own medicine.
http://politicalbetting.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/1078/#Comment_1078
Don't you know, when Labour cut capital spending it's good for economic growth, but when the coalition do it it's a disaster.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2297560/Labour-living-past-economy-Mandelson-claims-attack-Ed-Balls.html?fb_action_ids=10200418637045038&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={"10200418637045038":371978882915939}&action_type_map={"10200418637045038":"og.likes"}&action_ref_map=[]
So it's now Osborne stoking up inflation? Wasn't it Brown and Darling that started QE? Oh right, it was.
And we'll wake up to PM Miliband and some nice bet winnings.
Has been a marvelous.
For example the EU ordering the early shut-down of the coal-fired plants.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-22/rudd-says-he-will-never-be-leader-again/4588644
Providing a crushing reminder every few weeks of how catastrophic the Tories are as a government.
They drown out any ''good' news the Tories attempt to jump on.
I wonder if the airlift of €1m to Cyprus "for the troops" was cover for several billions worth of newly printed Cyprus Pounds fresh from the Mint (or whoever prints notes nowadays)?
the drip drip drip nature of them
I don't think it is anything to do with rating agencies, Ben.
Best see a doctor quickly.
I am FAR too drunk to comment sensibly on that! I'm sure you'll bring it up again when I'm sober
The downgrade that Ed Balls has been praying for all week that did not happen?
Great for Labour.
Personally ? 1 CON 2 LIB DEM at the moment, or maybe not 2 LD - it would depend what side of bed I got out on GE morning to be honest. I live in a LAB safe seat, but one the CONs would have to win to have a 'good' majority, LDs aren't anywhere...
Anyway I'm convinced that Kippers are by far the most bloody minded / most likely to cut off their nose to spite their own face group of voters of the lot.
I wasn't aware Labour had any infrastructure spending plans - remember they cancelled the last pre-2010 election spending review.
That would be the principled opposition which acknowledges that it would have to cut at 80-90 per cent of the rate being cut by the present government but which never either agrees a single cut or proposes any single alternative?
So it WAS true that Weapons of Monetary Destruction could be launched and reach Cyprus within the hour?
Housebuilding sets David Cameron and George Osborne against 'nimby' Tories
Backlash against new homes scheme expected from 8 out of 10 Conservative councillors, who say areas already overdeveloped
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/mar/22/housebuilding-cameron-osbourne-confrontation-tories
It did stress for me it is a bit strange in some ways that Gove is not more widely approved of, as he is easily one of the more formidible and convincing ministers I have seen; I can only suppose that trying to make as many changes as he has, stirring up so much antipathy against him, wrecks any positive imagine of him becoming more entrenched.
I'd never see Emily Thornberry before, but she was pretty good too, even if she came of second best against Gove I felt, while Horowitz and Littlewood were both very entertaining in their way, with some good points.
Really it was only the Green woman, Natalie Bennet, who came across poorly, with very little insight, good delivery or entertainment value, at least one of which it is necessary to have while on QT if you are to do well. Still, I went to the same university if Wikipedia is correct, so maybe I should give her another chance.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2297606/Parents-year-old-boy-allegedly-died-scurvy-appear-court-charged-child-neglect.html
http://politicalbetting.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/1118/#Comment_1118
The Green woman made Harriet Harman look like the life and soul of a party.
http://politicalbetting.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/1121/#Comment_1121
I'd have thought it would be very difficult to get scurvy these days.
Start at 9.40 to 10.40 to see Thornberrys phoney outrage ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK_L2zTeGVc
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100208655/the-salvation-army-captain-peacock-and-the-lefty-megabores-who-hate-michael-gove/
Oh yes, I remember that bit now, she did lay it on a bit thick to get a cheer, didn't remember it was the same person. Hitchens responded pretty well to the histrionics in fairness, not that he doesn't engage in hyperbole himself.
She did strike me as someone who's better when starting off, making a point, rather than responding to someoen else's points, as she made some quite theatrical looks and scoffs (par for the course really). When she spoke first she was very reasonable seeming.
Seems to be me that he's now trying to blow bubbles.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21907022
Dr. Spyn, I fear the warmist zealots and the lazy, short-sighted energy policy (or lack thereof) could end up having serious consequences.
Mr. Gin, I've always wanted a wood-burning stove. From stone cold, how long does it take to warm up?
Flipper Darling would be more likely to take part in the scheme than laugh at it's incompetence after all.
I know your MEP list will be decided at the Spring Conference. Do you know the exact timing of the announcement of results? So I can stay vigilant
"It's when Conservatives profess to be in a state of surprise and shock at the electorate's failure to see how brilliant Gove is that I realise there's not the slightest chance of them getting back to power for another generation. Really, you haven't got a blo dy clue. "
Barking up the wrong tree there, my friend. I've never voted Tory in my life, though I supported the idea of Cameron leading a Con-LD Coalition over any alternative (that it has not worked out at all is deeply unfortunate). In fact I voted Lib Dem - so your implication above that to express support for Gove one must be a Conservative is complete hash, and indicative of the kind of tribal thinking that I detest.
I will not say I support all of Gove's ideas, nor that they would convince me to vote Tory, I merely think he comes across as intelligent and capable, which when you place him next to your Osbornes or your Hunts, to take but two examples, is leaps and bounds above them.
http://blogs.espnf1.com/The_Inside_Line/archives/2013/03/the_downward_spiral.php
Not the same as printing, of course, but still an intriguing thought.
Mr. Pulpstar, you're quite right. Dicking about, cowardice, short-sightedness and a zealous belief in global warming has led us to an unhealthy energy situation.
The power of PB!!